A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH is one of my favorite movies of all time. I think
it's absolutely brilliant in the way the screenplay is worked out and in the
imagination of its visuals. True, the color is more vivid and dynamic in BLACK
NARCISSUS (also a wonderful movie), but I don't find A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH
"slow" for an instant. It holds me in absolutely rapt attention every time I
see it ( I saw this movie on its first release in the mid forties when a wee
child...and I never forgot it!)
Recently (this sunday I believe) the LA Times did a piece on the restoration of
the negative for THE RED SHOES, which had been stored in England and apparently
was in really bad shape. Robert Gitt of UCLA supervised the restoration and
apparently it will be available on blu-Ray before too long. Can't wait!! Talk
about the voluptuous use of color!!
Richard
Richard Del Belso
Date: Tue, 19 May 2009 14:17:52 -0700
From: davidmkusum...@hotmail.com
Subject: Re: [MOPO] OT: The Forgotten Man from "GWTW" and "The Wizard of Oz"
To: MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU
The recent thread on Powell-Pressburger made me re-watch BLACK NARCISSUS, on a
beautiful Blu-Ray DVD transfer. What a stunning looking film, and Kathleen
Byron was just as creepy as ever as the wacked-out Sister Ruth. My wife
couldn't believe what they got away with back in 1947. Crazed, sex-starved
nuns? What is this, Ken Russell?
Absolutely spot-on! The interview of Kathleen Byron on the Criterion edition
is something else. I know fans of Powell's "Peeping Tom" and the
Powell-Pressburger "I Know Where I Am Going!" will disagree, but Black
Narcissus is to me is the spookiest and the most electric film in the
Powell-Pressburger library. Not only does it have a hot-hot-hot looking Byron
in that final scene before she goes over the.... (well, I won't spoil it for
those who haven't seen it) -- it also has a jail-bait looking Jean Simmons
teasing her way through the picture. All that estrogen floating around in that
mountain top sanctuary for nuns is "heaven" for any guy unlucky to stumble
upon. The picture is a little slow, but the visuals and that ending is
stunning. The thing that's amazing is that according to Scorcese,
Powell-Pressburger were unknowns in the USA by the 1970s and then enjoyed a
resurgence in popularity after he did Taxi Driver and sought them out -- to the
point that they are now considered legendary. Their use of color is stunning.
I didn't care for the David Niven-Kim Hunter picture, "A Matter of Life and
Death," (re-named "Stairway to Heaven" for USA release) -- but wow, it looks
like it was shot yesterday! Those guys were way ahead of their time.
> Date: Tue, 19 May 2009 11:39:40 -0700
> From: jbirddougl...@cox.net
> Subject: Re: OT: The Forgotten Man from "GWTW" and "The Wizard of Oz"
> To: MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU
>
> That would be Michael Curtiz, but I'm sure most people on this list
> already know that. Remember; and I need to remind you guys periodically
> about this... we are movie dorks here, and the movie dork's diet
> consists of massive amounts of arcane cinematic lore that no one else
> cares about, except, of course, other members of our species. (I watched
> DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL last night...not the recent Keanu Reeves turd,
> but the great Robert Wise original....and I was a babbling tsunami of
> verbal trivia throughout the film. I finally glanced at my wife, and she
> had the same glazed look that I get when my friends talk about sports I
> shut up and let Gort do the talking.)
> Curtiz had quite a career, ranging from MILDRED PIERCE to KING CREOLE,
> but...well, you all know that....
> I love these discussions, by the way, because it prods me to seek out
> films I either haven't seen or haven't watched in years. The recent
> thread on Powell-Pressburger made me re-watch BLACK NARCISSUS, on a
> beautiful Blu-Ray DVD transfer. What a stunning looking film, and
> Kathleen Byron was just as creepy as ever as the wacked-out Sister Ruth.
> My wife couldn't believe what they got away with back in 1947. Crazed,
> sex-starved nuns? What is this, Ken Russell?
> Greg Douglass
> Ron Magid wrote:
> > You think Fleming is forgotten - good luck finding anyone who knows
> > the answer to this one:
> >
> > Who directed Casablanca? (Hint: he also directed, speaking of 1939,
> > Adventures of Robin Hood - codirected by another great no one
> > remembers...)
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