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One Million Years B.C. (1966)
Comedy ?
I'd be interested to find out who decided to categorise this as a comedy. Obviously someone who's never watched it. Admittedly Percy Herbert was in a couple of Carry Ons, but really ?
Anyway, despite the costumes and rubber dinosaurs it's actually a very entertaining and enjoyable film, reasonable story line, and good sound track. Some of the ideas are well thought out and the lack of intelligible language adds to it. We all know why Ms Welch was cast but she does a fairly good job, and Shawshank probably owes her some royalties! Bit of an anthropological lesson too, with the two tribes representing Neanderthals and Homo sapiens.
Curtain Up (1952)
Very very slow and little substance
Huge fan of Rutherford and Morley, but this is really slow, almost no comedy ,or drama, about the only interest is rep theatre theme. I've been generous and given it two stars, because without either of the two stars this would be a candidate for most boring film I've ever watched.
Fellini - Satyricon (1969)
Yep, it's a Fellini film
If you haven't seeen this, watch the trailer first. Good. Anyone still left? You'll probably enjoy it, although for the other 98% of people who decided the trailer was enough evidence I suggest you watch something more entertaining, like a 12 hour loop of grass growing.
Dunkirk (2017)
Dunkirk ?
No, just no. Appalling. Now I've got to come up with 5 lines of text! The John Mills version is far more watchable. My father was at Dunkirk, he'd have been horrified at this film. What a waste of time and money, and it's not even historically on the nose. Santa Claus Conquers the Martians is a better film.
Dead Cert (1974)
Go-Pontinental
Interesting film, however this is less a review more a footnote. One of the horses involved was well known to racing enthusiasts of the day, Go-Pontinental, owned by Fred Pontin, who ran in the '68 National as a fancied horse, missed out the next 4 Nationals, returning as a 13 year old in '73, and a 14 year old in '74, by which time he was the proverbial 100-1 rank outsider. Timeform shortly after the '74 National rated him "of no note whatsoever".
Operation Bullshine (1959)
WW2 comedy set in AA Battery - a bit lame
I found this on DVD in a local charity shop, and purchased it out of interest as had not heard of it before. The cast is perhaps average, although Peter Jones does an excellent turn as a gunner with a speech impediment, Naunton Wayne is barely recognisable, late in his career, and Donald Sinden seems slightly uneasy in his role as the Battery officer who's wife turns up unexpected while he's the target for most of the ATS girls' affections. The similarities to Carry on England are many, although less smutty. Overall, this is a mediocre film, it could have been much better scripted, and the cast has too many holes. I'll keep it, just in case I decide to give it a second viewing, but 5/10 is about as much as I envisage I'll ever score it.
Carry on Doctor (1967)
The best, most complete cast, of any Carry On
You either love them or hate them, and if you're reading reviews on them you probably fall into the former category, so I won't disappoint you because this is about as good as it gets. Only Kenneth Connor is missing, and you get the added delights of Peter Gilmour, Brian Wilde ( Mr Barraclough in Porridge ), Dilys Laye, Frankie Howerd and many others. Almost every scene is funny, Jim Dale stands out ( a vastly underrated talent ), with Barbara Windsor exuberant, Bernard Bresslaw in one of his best roles, Julian Orchard in a cameo, Sid and Joan, Hattie and Charles, and need I say more. This was perhaps, with Camping and Up the Khyber, the pinnacle, from then on it went downhill faster than Franz Klammer. Oh happy days, nearly all the cast members sadly departed us. If you're new to Carry On's, most of series is excellent, but don't watch Columbus. It's not a Carry On really, lame and dull.
Castle in the Air (1952)
Forgotten film, worth a watch
Some films are saved by a good quality cast, and this almost is, with Margaret Rutherford and David Tomlinson, but it's a bit flighty and does tend to drag just a little bit in the middle. The plot is a good idea but the remainder of the cast are relative unknowns who don't give you that cosy feeling a lot of British comedy of the 50s does. It would have been better with one or two character actors thrown in, maybe Richard Wattis or Irene Handl, just to add another dimension. That said it is worth watching and wouldn't sit out of place in anyone's DVD library. I only wish someone at one the major film distribution companies would have a brain wave one day, dig out all the small British films of the 50s and release them all on modern format. A lot of my collection from this era is on VHS...you can't get it more up to date! I've given this a 6, it could have been much better, but it's still one I'm keeping in my collection.
The Importance of Being Earnest (1952)
The ultimate theatre experience
I've given this 10 out of 10, because it doesn't matter how many times I watch it, I can't think of any way you could improve it. The original play is a classic, and this is a fairly good interpretation of the second, slightly shorter, version of Wilde's masterpiece. The cast is to die for, every role seems to have been written for the cast members, not the other way round! I've seen many stage versions, and although many have been excellent, I always find myself comparing them to this gem, and this always comes out on top. Probably only Hobson's Choice, with Charles Laughton, comes close to this level of perfection. Redgrave is brilliant, and shows an acting style not seen in any of his other films, contrasting wildly with the dull grey Crocker-Harris or studiously obsessive Barnes Wallace. Denison is a revelation as Algernon, a stage expert at his best, Tutin, in her film debut, is as close to an English Rose as ever portrayed on film, Greenwood, with her distinctive voice the perfect foil. Malleson and Rutherford are a match for any famous screen couple, and even Richard Wattis, Aubrey Mather and Walter Hudd as the 3 butlers are just right for their cameos. And then there's Edith Evans, in her most famous role, rightly so, delivering one of the most famous quotes ever on screen. Am I biased towards this film ? Yes, stuck on a desert island this would be my number one pick.
Citizen Kane (1941)
Citizen Kane - Great in the black & white era, not now.
This film is a prime example of the difference between film critics and film watchers. Whilst there is no doubt that the script, acting, cinematography, direction etc are first rate, it's actually rather boring. It's worth watching once, to see what all the hype is about, but it just doesn't have that entertainment value. I'm probably alone in this view, but if it came out now it'd most likely bomb at the cinema because it's just not watchable enough, particularly for today's audiences who only really want to see modern stars they know or special effects and loud explosions ! Maybe my rating of 3 is a bit harsh, but I'm a great lover of 30s and 40s films, and if you hold this up against, say, The Adventures of Robin Hood, Gone with the Wind, or Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, it just doesn't have that X factor. I'd be the first to admit it's a landmark film, but too many critics still hold a candle up to this film as the ultimate movie experience, but I'm sorry... it's not !