Hollywood Movie Reviews......... Options

[Reeth]

Please review and express your feelings about the Hollywood movies old and new ,that you have watched,liked & would recommend to the other members ......

I start off with an all time favourite film of my entire family....i have lost count of the number of times
i have watched this since the time.....

The Ten Commandments (1956)






It is one of the Greatest movies ever made in the history of World Cinema...
The film covers the life of Moses from his discovery in a basket floating on the Nile as a baby by
Bithiah, a childless young widow and daughter of the then-Pharaoh, Rameses I, to his eventual
departure from Israel in the wake of God's judgment that he not be allowed to enter the Promised
Land. In between, the film depicts the early adulthood of Moses as a beloved foster son of
Pharaoh Seti I (successor of Rameses I and brother of Bithiah) and general of his armies, his
romance with Throne Princess Nefertari and rivalry with the Pharaoh's own son,
Prince RamesesII.

Critics have argued that considerable liberties were taken with the Biblical story, affecting the film's
claim to authenticity, but this has had little effect on its popularity.....

Aside from winning the Academy Award for Best Effects, Special Effects, it was also nominated for
Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color, Best Cinematography, Color, Best Costume Design,
Color (Edith Head, Ralph Jester, John Jensen, Dorothy Jeakins and Arnold Friberg), Best Film Editing,
Best Picture and Best Sound, Recording







Cecil B DeMille’s swan song is a movie for the ages. At 75 the legendary director was at the
peak of his fame, his name a house-hold word and his voice recognized by millions. He probably
knew The Ten Commandments would be his last film it almost killed him. He certainly knew it
would be his most important.

Shot in widescreen Technicolor, The Ten Commandments remains the standard by which
Biblical epics -- and many epics in general -- are measured
When Moses turns his staff into a snake and back again, the effect is seamless. His turning of the Nile
into blood is an impressive camera trick, but his parting of the Red Sea is one of Hollywood's most
famous stunts. It's worth sitting through the 220 minutes of movie for this alone....

MAIN CAST

#Charlton Heston as Moses
# Yul Brynner as Pharaoh Rameses II
# Anne Baxter as Nefertari
# Edward G. Robinson as Dathan
# Yvonne De Carlo as Sephora
# Debra Paget as Lilia
# John Derek as Joshua
# Sir Cedric Hardwicke as Pharaoh Seti I

But the Ten Commandments isn’t about God alone.... It’s about a woman, Neferteri the beauty of
Egypt, and whom she marries will become Pharoe and rule the Earth...she prefers Moses who races
chariots and saves old women from being crushed under the monumental obilisk he is raising in honor
of Neferteri’s father — and helped by the fact he’s played by manly-man Charlton Heston who looks
great,She does not want Ramses, the delicious Yul Brenner who wants Neferteri because of the
wealth and power that comes with her.
Moses is banished and Neferteri is forced to marry Ramses instead.
History might know about Moses and Ramses, but DeMille knew about
scorned women.....




It remains one of the five most successful films of all time.It is Cecil B. DeMille’s last and arguably
greatest film.....Definitely worth watching....

[Dimple]

My personal favorite:

THE SOUND OF MUSIC : 1965
===============



Julie Andrews ... Maria

Christopher Plummer ... Captain Georg von Trapp
Richard Haydn ... Max Detweiler
Peggy Wood ... Mother Abbess
Anna Lee ... Sister Margaretta
Portia Nelson ... Sister Berthe
Ben Wright ... Herr Zeller
Daniel Truhitte ... Rolfe
Norma Varden ... Frau Schmidt
Marni Nixon ... Sister Sophia
Gilchrist Stuart ... Franz (as Gil Stuart)
Evadne Baker ... Sister Bernice
Doris Lloyd ... Baroness Eberfeld
Charmian Carr ... Liesl von Trapp

Nicholas Hammond ... Friedrich von Trapp


Maria had longed to be a nun since she was a young girl, yet when she became old enough discovered that it wasn't at all what she thought. Often in trouble and doing the wrong things, Maria is sent to the house of a retired naval captain, named Captain Von Trapp, to care for his children. Von Trapp was widowed several years before and was left to care for seven 'rowdy' children. The children have run off countless governesses. Maria soon learns that all these children need is a little love to change their attitudes. Maria teaches the children to sing, and through her, music is brought back into the hearts and home of the Von Trapp family. Unknowingly, Maria and Captain Von Trapp are falling helplessly in love, except there are two problems, the Captain is engaged, and Maria is a postulant! Written by Katy Richardson

The Sound of Music is a magical, heart - warming story of a spirited young nun - Maria who gets sent to be the governess of Captain Von Trapp's 7 children as his wife died years back & goes away alot. The Children have drove all the over governesses away by playing tricks on them, to get their father's attention however with "fraulein" (young lady) Maria they take to her kindness, and she brings music & love back into the hearts of the children & the Captain, who although is engaged to the Baroness, is falling madly in love with Maria, & she is him, it is only when the Baroness tells Maria that the Captain loves her she panics & returns to the Abby, where the Rev. Mother tells her she has to look for her life, & so she returns to the home of the Captain & Children by which time Georg Von Trapp decides he can't marry the Baroness if he's in love with Maria, & calls off his engagement & tells Maria. The happy ending comes when Maria & Georg Marry, but have to leave Austria as he has to take a position in the Navy round the time the Nazis were in Power, The Sound of Music is based on a true story surrounding The Von Trapp's, & the 40th Anniversary DVD of this has many special features inc. a 50 min documentary on the real Von Trapp Family. This is one of the best films of all time & will always be a classic for all the family. Written by Katie

Baron Von Trapp, a widower, runs his home near Salzburg like the ship he once commanded. That changes when Maria arrives from the convent to be the new governess of his seven children. Their romps through the hills inspire all to sing and to find joy in the smallest things -- like raindrops on window panes. With a renewed zest for life, the baron hosts a party to introduce his new fiance. Maria knows then she does not want to be a nun. She marries the baron. The happy ever after part is threatened when Austria's new German rulers want the baron back in military service. Written by Dale O'Connor {daleoc@interaccess.com}

Maria is a failure as a nun. The Mother Superior sends her off in answer to a letter from a retired naval captain for a governess for his seven children. She goes to their house and finds that she is the latest in a long line of governesses run off by the children. She teaches the children to sing and that becomes their bonding force, of course leading her to fall in love with their father and marries him. As this is happening Austria votes to be assumed by Germany on the eve of World war II. Written by John Vogel {jlvogel@comcast.net}

Captain Baron von Trapp is a widowed ex-naval officer with seven children who serve only to remind him of his deceased wife. The Von Trapp home is thus turned into a gloomy place of order and discipline, until the arrival of a new governess: Frauline Marie who is from a nearby Salzburg abbey. Marie shows the Von Trapp children the miracle of the Sound of Music, and teaches them how to sing. Captain von Trapp's heart opens up to feelings he had forgotten and he and Marie fall in love. Marie and Georg von Trapp are married, only to have their world brought down around them by the 1938 Anschluss of Austria, where Nazi Germany takes control of the country and demands that Captain von Trapp assume a position in the German Navy.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[YaarMere]

How cool was Yul Brynner I ask?? He goes: "I'm told that I can rely on you - rely on you to sell your own mother 4 a price"

[Reeth]

How cool was Yul Brynner I ask?? He goes: "I'm told that I can rely on you - rely on you to sell your own mother 4 a price"

LOL That to Edward Robinson,playing Dathan in the movie right?? this guy below??

[Dimple]

Cleopatra (1963)

Director:Joseph L. Mankiewicz
more
Writers:Plutarch (histories) and
Suetonius (histories) ...
more
Release Date:31 July 1963 (UK) more
Genre:Biography / Drama / History / Romance more
Tagline:The motion picture the world has been waiting for!
Plot Outline:Historical epic. The triumphs and tragedy of the Egyptian queen, Cleopatra. more
Plot Synopsis:This plot synopsis is empty. Add a synopsis
Plot Keywords:Alexandria Egypt / Food Taster / Roman Empire / Father Son Relationship / Fire more
Awards:Won 4 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 11 nominations


Elizabeth Taylor ... Cleopatra

Richard Burton ... Marc Antony

Rex Harrison ... Julius Caesar
Pamela Brown ... High Priestess
George Cole ... Flavius

Hume Cronyn ... Sosigenes
Cesare Danova ... Apollodorus
Kenneth Haigh ... Brutus
Andrew Keir ... Agrippa

Martin Landau ... Rufio

Roddy McDowall ... Octavian - Caesar Augustus
Robert Stephens ... Germanicus
Francesca Annis ... Eiras, Cleopatra's handmaiden
Grégoire Aslan ... Pothinus (as Gregoire Aslan)
Martin Benson ... Ramos


I have always thought it was one of the most underrated Hollywood epics.First of all,it's only partially an epic:most of the scenes are intimate,generally two characters who are constantly tearing each other apart.Joseph L. Mankiewicz,one of the most intelligent director of his time,rewrote the dialogue during the shooting,night after night ,and the results are stunning,considering the difficulties he encountered with his budget and his stars.Cleopatra's dream is perfectly recreated,much better than in De Mille 's version -a good one,though-:It's Alexandre the great 's plan ,this Alexandre from whom she's descended,to make a huge empire,uniting the Orient and the Occident.One of the major scenes takes place near the great conqueror's grave .The second part has Shakespeareans accents:Cleopatra becomes some kind of Lady Macbeth,and Marc Anthony is left alone against the whole Roman army (the Shakespearian trees).The last lines (repeated twice) are some of the finest you can find in an epic movie.And look how Fellini has been influenced by Mankiewicz for the final of his "Satyricon":the photograph turning into a fresco. As for the epic scenes,they are here,of course but they are little over 20% of the movie.And to Cleo's awesome Rome entrance ,you can prefer Ceasar's epilepsy fit.The actors are not as uneven as it's often said.Elizabeth Taylor had already worked with Mankiewicz (the extraordinary "suddenly last Summer") and she learned a lot with him;she's now ready for the great roles of the sixties:"Virginia Woolf","Secret ceremony" "taming of the shrew".Richard Burton had been "Alexander the great" (coincidence!) in a rather academic movie,and here he portrays a clumsy,almost Don Quixotesque Marc Anthony with art.However,Rex Harrison steals the show in the first half.Supporting actors ,including Roddy MCDowall ,a puny but shrewd Octavious,and Richard O'Sullivan ,an effeminate Ptolemy. This visual poem,a feast for the eye and for the mind must be restored to favor.

[YaarMere]

LOL That to Edward Robinson,playing Dathan in the movie right?? this guy below??

Yes. Thatz him.

Charlton Heston goes to Yul that your horses need rest when they get tired, these slaves too need rest. Yul's reply:

"Slaves draw stone and brick. My horses draw the next Pharaoh."

Lol! Lol! My guy gets 10/10 4 smugness.

[Nidhi]

"So it shall be written & So it shall be done"

[Reeth]

Good choice Dimple both 'Sound Of Music 'and 'Cleopatra' are classics...go on
with your choice of movies

Another favourite movie of mine,one never gets tired of watching this any number of times...
Mackenna's Gold (1969)




Mackenna's Gold a Western film released i the year 1969 ,directed by J. Lee Thompson, starring
Gregory Peck, Omar Sharif and Camilla Sparv. It tells the story of how the lure of gold corrupts a
diverse group of people.......

The story goes.....An old legend talks about a fortune in gold hidden in the 'Canyon del Oro', guarded
by the Apache gods. A man named Adams found it, only to have the Indians capture and blind him and
kill all his companions. Years later, Marshal Mackenna (Gregory Peck) kills an Indian chief who
tried to bushwack him and comes into possession of a map that supposedly shows the way to the
treasure. Though sceptical, he memorizes the directions before burning the map.





Meanwhile, notorious Mexican outlaw Colorado (Omar Sharif) and his gang had been tracking the
old man for two weeks to get the map, all while being chased by the U.S. army. He takes shelter in
the house of the old judge of the town of Blaskburg, stealing horses, mules and food for his journey.
He kills the judge and kidnaps his daughter, Inga Bergmann (Camilla Sparv), as a hostage in
case the cavalry catches up with him.

When he finds that MacKenna has destroyed the map, he threatens Inga in order to force the lawman
into leading them to the canyon.On their trek, they are joined by a posse of townsmen who become
infected by gold fever, among them a newspaper editor, a storekeeper, a priest and old Adams
himself......
They are trailed by the cavalry, under the leadership of Sergeant Tibbs (Telly Savalas). Almost
everyone in the gang, (execpt for Mackenna, Colorado, Inga, Hesh-ke, and Hachita), are killed in
an ambush by the cavalary or by other Apaches, (who are trying to protect the gold from outsiders).
Tibbs periodically sends messengers back to his commanding officer, supposedly to keep him informed.
Eventually, the patrol is whittled down to just a couple of men. At that point, Tibbs kills them and joins
the outlaws.





Finally they reach the place specified in the map, where a tall rock tower, 'The Shaking Rock', stands.
As the sun rises on the specified day, the shadow of the pinnacle points to the hidden entrance to the
canyon. Seeing this, MacKenna, who had been skeptical until then, begins to believe in the legend.....




Directed by J. Lee Thompson
Produced by Carl Foreman,Dimitri Tiomkin
Written by Heck Allen (novel)Carl Foreman

[b]Starring

Gregory Peck
Omar Sharif
Camilla Sparv
Julie Newmar
Lee J. Cobb
Telly Savales

Music by Quincey Jones[/b]
Running time 128 min.

[mmuk2004]

Reminds me of two of my favorites by Mankiewicz, All About Eve(1950) and Sleuth(1972). All About Eve is about a brilliant, magnetic, erratic and bitchy Broadway star, Margot Channing(Bettie Davis) who has already reached her peak and Eve Harrington (Anne Baxter) who is her fan who wants to step into her shoes... all the way. The movie is studded with fascinating characters, sharply observed situations, and exhilaratingly witty dialogue. The film got numerous nominations for the Oscars and won the best director, best screenplay and best supporting actor (George Sanders in a superb performance as a cynical drama critic). The film is an absolute must see...

And ditto for Sleuth. Mind Game at its best by two masters of their trade, Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine and some superb dialogues. A treat.

Roger Ebert on Sleuth
SLEUTH, a totally engrossing entertainment, is funny and scary by turns, and always superbly theatrical. It's the kind of mystery we keep saying they don't make anymore, but sometimes they do, and the British seem to write them better than anyone. The movie is based on the long-running play by Anthony Shaffer, who also wrote Hitchcock's FRENZY. Both films have in common a nice flair for dialogue and a delicate counterpoint between the ironic and the gruesome.
What really makes the movie come alive--what makes it work better than the play, really--are the lead performances by Lord Laurence Olivier, Michael Caine, and Alec Cawthorne. Olivier plays the wealthy mystery writer Andrew Wyke as a true-blue British eccentric: His head, like his house, is cluttered with ornate artifacts largely without function. The hero of his detective stories, the wonderfully named St. John Lord Merridewe, is equally dotty. Olivier is clearly having fun in the role, and he throws in all kinds of accents, asides, and nutty pieces of business. Michael Caine, who might seem an unlikely candidate to play Milo Tindle, turns out to be a very good one. He manages somehow to seem smaller and less assured than Olivier (even while he towers over Olivier). And he is strangely touching as he dresses up in an absurd clown's costume to steal the jewels. Inspector Doppler, the kindly old investigator who suspects that Andrew has murdered Milo, is played by Alec Cawthorne, a veteran stage actor making his movie debut

[Reeth]

madhavi Thanks a lot for for reviewing 2 of the finest movies .........i am yet to see All about Eve ,but 've heard a lot about Bette Davis and this movie....definitely will look out for it.....
seen Sleuth and liked it a lot......... ......i have always liked Michael caine and his kind of restrained acting....Laurence Olivier is another great actor......

[mmuk2004]

You are welcome Reeth, just found a wonderful clip of the movie on Youtube. Davis throwing a fit with aplomb, fighting with the whole world, her playright, her director and boyfriend and her producer.



And the trailer of Sleuth:

[mmuk2004]

Here is another couple of favorite movies from the great director Billy Wilder. I like most of his movies and he made vastly different kinds of movies from film noir to screwball comedy. Let me begin with his two big hits with Marilyn Monroe in the fifties, The Seven Year Itch(1955) and Some Like it Hot(1959), two films that really defined the fascinating sexuality of Monroe.

The Seven Year Itch(1955) is a comedy about marital infidelity set in New York city. Richard Sherman (Eweing) is a typical businessman publisher who has sent his wife and son to Maine to escape the sweltering heat of New York in summer and plans to be good in their absence.His resolutions are completely forgotten when his tenant from upstairs drops her flowerpot on him and walks into his air-conditioned apartment and his imagination runs riot. Based on a risque Broadway play, Wilder with his scriptwriter had to really work on their lines and scenes in the film to get around the strict film censorship board of the fifties. The resulting film is brilliant for its interplay of the suggestive and the innocent and Monroe epitomises that to a T. It has the famous subway grate scene that has Monroe standing on the subway grate with her skirt flying up around her waist.

Here is a brief scene from the movie:



Some Like it Hot (1959) is a personal favorite about two musicians(Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis), in Chicago, who witness the Valentine Day's Massacre and are hotly pursued by the gangsters, to escape whom they dress in drag and join an all girl's band which has Monroe as the lead singer. (Reminds you of Rafoochakkar? Don't even go there, the hindi version just got the shell of the story...all the daring suggestiveness slyly introduced in the film by Wilder is completely lost in the Hindi version). The film has some superb repartees and one-liners, the best being the one with which the movie ends. The film is completely absurd with the typical underlying cynicism of Wilder, cushioned beautifully with some superb acting and sparkling wit. The comic timing of the duo is perfect and Marilyn sizzles in the movie. Marilyn was notorious for the number of takes she needed for the simplest of scenes and dialogues, but watch her on screen and she seems a natural.

[Reeth]

You are welcome Reeth, just found a wonderful clip of the movie on Youtube. Davis throwing a fit with aplomb, fighting with the whole world, her playright, her director and boyfriend and her producer.



And the trailer of Sleuth:

Thanks a lot Madhavi.....

[Reeth]

Here is another couple of favorite movies from the great director Billy Wilder. I like most of his movies and he made vastly different kinds of movies from film noir to screwball comedy. Let me begin with his two big hits with Marilyn Monroe in the fifties, The Seven Year Itch(1955) and Some Like it Hot(1959), two films that really defined the fascinating sexuality of Monroe.

The Seven Year Itch(1955) is a comedy about marital infidelity set in New York city. Richard Sherman (Eweing) is a typical businessman publisher who has sent his wife and son to Maine to escape the sweltering heat of New York in summer and plans to be good in their absence.His resolutions are completely forgotten when his tenant from upstairs drops her flowerpot on him and walks into his air-conditioned apartment and his imagination runs riot. Based on a risque Broadway play, Wilder with his scriptwriter had to really work on their lines and scenes in the film to get around the strict film censorship board of the fifties. The resulting film is brilliant for its interplay of the suggestive and the innocent and Monroe epitomises that to a T. It has the famous subway grate scene that has Monroe standing on the subway grate with her skirt flying up around her waist.

Here is a brief scene from the movie:



Some Like it Hot (1959) is a personal favorite about two musicians(Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis), in Chicago, who witness the Valentine Day's Massacre and are hotly pursued by the gangsters, to escape whom they dress in drag and join an all girl's band which has Monroe as the lead singer. (Reminds you of Rafoochakkar? Don't even go there, the hindi version just got the shell of the story...all the daring suggestiveness slyly introduced in the film by Wilder is completely lost in the Hindi version). The film has some superb repartees and one-liners, the best being the one with which the movie ends. The film is completely absurd with the typical underlying cynicism of Wilder, cushioned beautifully with some superb acting and sparkling wit. The comic timing of the duo is perfect and Marilyn sizzles in the movie. Marilyn was notorious for the number of takes she needed for the simplest of scenes and dialogues, but watch her on screen and she seems a natural.

Have seen both.....Seven Year Itch is incredibly funny....
the famous scene....

[Reeth]

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (1966)

Yet another favourite of mine...........The best Spaghetti Western to date.....



Italian master Sergio Leone's "The Good, The Bad & the Ugly" is an epic Western of
mythic proportions. Most directors never come close to making a film this good. The amazing thing
about Leone is that he actually eclipsed this accomplishment two years later with "Once Upon a Time
in the West." "The Good, The Bad & the Ugly" was Leone's final film with Clint Eastwood. The three
Eastwood/Leone films have erroneously been called the "Dollars Trilogy" or "The Man With No Name
Trilogy." The fact is, Eastwood played three different characters in the films and each one had a
different name.

Leone's trilogy of spaghetti westerns (the first two were A Fistful of Dollars and For a Few DollarMore).
In this sweeping film, the characters form treacherous alliances in a ruthless quest for Confederate gold.









Leone's reinvention of the western reaches its epic apotheosis in a movie about the pursuit of gold lost
by the Confederates during the Civil War in the Texas theater. Clint Eastwood is the "good"
(slow to anger, but quick on the trigger), Lee Van Cleef is the bad (an elegant exemplar of
absolute evil) and Eli Wallach is the "ugly" (a menacingly funny, totally amoral bandido
whose relationship with the Eastwood character consists largely of betrayals). Leone's magnificent style is
all contrasts (huge panoramic shots alternating with tight close-ups, very slow build-ups to lightning-fast action)
This perfectly matches a narrative that encompasses sadistic brutality, wild humor and, yes, a tragic vision
of war and its consequences......



THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY is one of the most enjoyable and fascinating films to ever
come out of the western genre- spaghetti or otherwise.........
Absolutely recommended.