Reviews

I thought that "The Naked Kiss" was very well done for a low budget film. It deals with a very raw reality that exists within the darker side of our culture. However, in dealing with such dark realities it expresses a very feminist message through its use of a very strong and independent female lead character.

There were certainly some odd parts to the film that I did not think expressed it's intended metaphor well enough, as well as quite a few technical inferiority's, as far as filming goes. However, at the same time I found many techniques that i thought were done very well, such as the use of the children in representing her reconnecting with her inner self, as well as the children singing to portray a feeling of purity and innocence.

This film was rather disappointing for me a quite a few levels. The biggest reason being, I think, because I am a very big fan of "Bonnie and Clyde" and this simply seemed to be a very very bad version of that movie (even though it was made first). I also was expecting a film noir and just because it had a corrupted female and some shadowy shot this movie is supposed to be one? I guess i just had too many expectations for the movie, prior to my watching it, which it could not fulfill.

However, there certainly were some enjoyable elements of "Gun Crazy". The acting was rather silly which made it funny to watch. Some scenes were great, for example, Laurie's (Laurie being the lead female character) circus side show where she performs her shooting skills in a cow girl costume. This scene was probably one of her best in the film which she performs with much cool headed sass. Another great scene it the last one when Laurie and Bart (Bart is the star character in the film) wake up beside the swamp, find themselves surrounded by white mist and fog within which they can hear the police searching for them but can not see them, where they eventually get shot to death in an anxiety and paranoid ridden craze. Although this scenes scenery was pretty artificial looking and their acting is (as usual) a bit laughable, it was a genuinely sad but wonderful ending to this movie.

As you can see I found much good and bad in this film but my overall opinion is that it is certainly a film worth watching.

"Lady From Shanghai" is not one of those movies that you can watch and then easily forget. It's beautiful camera work and imagery, that leads you through the stories endlessly twisting plot, seemed to stick my mind. The one scene that completely blew me away was brilliant fun house final finale, where the final shoot out happens, inside a maze of mirrors, creating an astonishingly avant-guarde and edgy work of art.

There are certainly some things within the film that make it appear a bit less professional. Some of which are Welles' extremely thick Irish accent, which seems to come and go as it pleases, and its sometimes overly complicated sub-plots, All in all it is a wonderful and complex display of love, betrayal and murder and is yet another example of Orson Welles genius.

I am having a hard time finding the words to explain just how much I detested this movie. The historical trial of Henriette Deluzy-Desportes and the Duc de Praslin is a tragic and compelling story that, I feel, had the potential to be a fantastic film, but failed.

Although the cinematography certainly had something to say for itself, it in no way could make up for the terrible structure of the film, the badly written script and most of all the horrendously overacted characters. The worst of them were the Duc's children who were so over-the-top-corny and sickeningly fake that it was almost painful to watch.

In conclusion, this film left me feeling nothing more than irritated and profoundly disappointed.

"The Grapes of Wrath" is a wonderful adaptation of John Steinbeck's 1939 Pulitzer-prize winning novel. I have a very high level of respect for John Ford and the scrutiny that came down upon him after directing this film, one of the most left-leaning, liberal films in Hollywood at the time.

The visual quality of this film is beautiful and the cinematography so clearly expresses the deep sadness and uncertainty of a family that has been forced out of their home and off of their land. There are too many beautiful visual moments in the film to explain in detail, but there seemed to be a pattern of filming that stuck out in my mind, and that is when only the reflection of conversational scenes are filmed, either in the reflection of a windshield or in a review mirror. This camera technique presented the very translucent and uncertain emotions that this wandering family must have been feeling. As I said this is only one of many successful visual scenes that make this film the emotional and beautiful success that it is.

"Freaks" Directed by Tod Browning (1932) is an unforgettable and a must see movie! After watching it for the first time the other day, it immediately became one of my favorites.

The thing that mostly makes this film unforgettable is its unique cast in which consists almost exclusively of actors with genuine deformities and disabilities. This movie caused quite a stir and was opposed by many when in came out in the '30s. I find it very sad that so many turned against Browning after this movie, because in my eyes the making of it was one of the most kind hearted things that he could have done for so many people; not only kindhearted for people with physical abnormalities but also for any person whom has ever been bullied, misunderstood or felt different or estranged from others.

This movie brings you behind the scenes of a carnival show and into the real lives of the "freaks" and their tight knit community. It shows you some of the trials and tribulations that they face (which often are not so different from most), the inequalities and injustices that others inflict upon them, and the lengths to which they will go to protect and defend one another. If at first you find this movie in all of its raw honesty a little unsettling, I can almost guarantee that by the end of this short 62 minute film, you will feel moved by and maybe even empathize with the spirit and kind loyalty of this fantastic cast of characters.

"It Happened One Night" is a charming and fresh comedy with a series of mix-ups, inconvenient circumstance and an eventually happy ending. This movie is a perfect example of what many romantic comedies were like during it's time, mostly due to the many rules and regulations of the Motion Picture Production Code, which came into effect in 1930. For example Peter (played by Clark Gable) and Ellie (a married woman and played by Claudette Colbert), go through much together throughout the movie and during these series of events they fall in love. On two separate occasions they end up having to stay the night in one hotel room together. Both times the rooms have two separate single beds on opposite sides of the room and between them a blanket gets hung in order to make this situation seem more appropriate, and to ensure that nothing would happen between this man and woman. Even though Paul and Ellie develop strong feelings for each other, to the point where Ellie (in desperation not to go back to her husband) practically throws herself at Paul, but is told that she had better get back to her side of the blanket. It is not until the very end, after the marriage gets properly annulled and Paul and Ellie get married, that the movie can make the suggestion that something more than flirting may happen between the two. Although I would never wish for the any type of censorship on Hollywood (or anyone else) to come back into effect today, there was something about the modesty and innocence of the film (a quality that is almost extinct in modern comedies) that I really appreciated. That combined with its witty comments and intellectual dialog that made watching it a truly refreshing and enjoyable experience.

Sunrise was a visually fun and engaging film. Techniques such as sound, lighting and double exposures were used very often throughout the film. I felt that using these techniques was a very successful tool for portraying how the characters are thinking and feeling, which in return aids the viewer in obtaining a heightened emotional awareness for the characters and the film's over all plot.

Although I have always adored and appreciated silent films, this movie did not strike me as a particularly memorable or moving one. I would never blame this on the artistry of the film but more on the absurdity of its series of events. The whole idea of this woman forgiving her husband, after he has been having an affair and after he attempted to murder her completely disturbed me. The bulk of the movie takes place in the city, after the wife's almost-murder, where there is a romantic portrayal of this husband and wife very happily and romantically reconnecting, so I suppose I could say that for the bulk of the movie I found myself rather annoyed and uncomfortable.

However, despite my general discomfort with the storyline, I was able to enjoy and appreciate the movie partially due to my slight obsession with Margaret Livingston but mostly due to my deep admiration for F.W. Murnau's advanced cinematic artistry.