list http://www.spout.com/ Recent community activity around The Philadelphia Story on Spout Copyright 2005-9 Spout, LLC Spout RSS http://www.spout.com/images/SpoutLogoRSS.jpg http://www.spout.com/ 136 30 http://www.spout.com/films/The_Philadelphia_Story/26633/default.aspx Title: The Philadelphia Story
Year: 1940
Director: George Cukor
Plot: We open on Philadelphia socialite C.K. Dexter Haven (Cary Grant) as he's being tossed out of his palatial home by his wife, Tracy Lord (Katharine Hepburn). Adding insult to injury, Tracy breaks one of C.K.'s precious golf clubs. He gallantly responds by knocking her down on her million-dollar keester. A couple of years after the breakup, Tracy is about to marry George Kittridge (John Howard), a wealthy stuffed shirt whose principal recommendation is that he's not a Philadelphia "mainliner," as C.K. was. Still holding a torch for Tracy, C.K. is galvanized into action when he learns that Sidney Kidd (Henry Daniell), the publisher of Spy Magazine, plans to publish an exposé concerning Tracy's philandering father (John Halliday). To keep Kidd from spilling the beans, C.K. agrees to smuggle Spy reporter Macauley Connor (James Stewart) and photographer Elizabeth Imbrie (Ruth Hussey) into the exclusive Lord-Kittridge wedding ceremony. How could C.K. have foreseen that Connor would fall in love with Tracy, thereby nearly lousing up the nuptials? As it turns out, of course, it is C.K. himself who pulls the "louse-up," reclaiming Tracy as his bride. A consistently bright, bubbly, witty delight, The Philadelphia Story could just as well have been titled "The Revenge of Katharine Hepburn." Having been written off as "box-office poison" in 1938, Hepburn returned to Broadway in a vehicle tailor-made for her talents by playwright Philip Barry. That property, of course, was The Philadelphia Story; and when MGM bought the rights to this sure-fire box-office success, it had to take Hepburn along with the package -- and also her veto as to who her producer, director, and co-stars would be. Her strategy paid off: after the film's release, Hepburn was back on top of the Hollywood heap. While she didn't win the Oscar that many thought she richly deserved, the little gold statuette was bestowed upon her co-star Stewart, perhaps as compensation for his non-win for 1939's Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Donald Ogden Stewart (no relation to Jimmy) also copped an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. The Philadelphia Story was remade in 1956 with a Cole Porter musical score as High Society. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Times Tagged: 51
Number of Lists: 49
Number of blog posts: 6
Number of discussion threads: 2
SpoutRating: 3
]]>Thu, 14 May 2009 18:09:13 GMTThe Philadelphia Story1940George CukorWe open on Philadelphia socialite C.K. Dexter Haven (<a href="/players/P____28204/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Cary Grant</a>) as he's being tossed out of his palatial home by his wife, Tracy Lord (<a href="/players/P____31873/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Katharine Hepburn</a>). Adding insult to injury, Tracy breaks one of C.K.'s precious golf clubs. He gallantly responds by knocking her down on her million-dollar keester. A couple of years after the breakup, Tracy is about to marry George Kittridge (<a href="/players/P___219908/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>John Howard</a>), a wealthy stuffed shirt whose principal recommendation is that he's not a Philadelphia "mainliner," as C.K. was. Still holding a torch for Tracy, C.K. is galvanized into action when he learns that Sidney Kidd (<a href="/players/P____16850/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Henry Daniell</a>), the publisher of <I>Spy Magazine</I>, plans to publish an exposé concerning Tracy's philandering father (<a href="/players/P____29857/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>John Halliday</a>). To keep Kidd from spilling the beans, C.K. agrees to smuggle <I>Spy</I> reporter Macauley Connor (<a href="/players/P____68236/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>James Stewart</a>) and photographer Elizabeth Imbrie (<a href="/players/P____34127/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Ruth Hussey</a>) into the exclusive Lord-Kittridge wedding ceremony. How could C.K. have foreseen that Connor would fall in love with Tracy, thereby nearly lousing up the nuptials? As it turns out, of course, it is C.K. himself who pulls the "louse-up," reclaiming Tracy as his bride. A consistently bright, bubbly, witty delight, The Philadelphia Story could just as well have been titled "The Revenge of Katharine Hepburn." Having been written off as "box-office poison" in 1938, Hepburn returned to Broadway in a vehicle tailor-made for her talents by playwright Philip Barry. That property, of course, was The Philadelphia Story; and when MGM bought the rights to this sure-fire box-office success, it had to take Hepburn along with the package -- and also her veto as to who her producer, director, and co-stars would be. Her strategy paid off: after the film's release, Hepburn was back on top of the Hollywood heap. While she didn't win the Oscar that many thought she richly deserved, the little gold statuette was bestowed upon her co-star Stewart, perhaps as compensation for his non-win for 1939's Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. <a href="/players/P___112782/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Donald Ogden Stewart</a> (no relation to Jimmy) also copped an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. The Philadelphia Story was remade in 1956 with a <a href="/players/P___106882/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Cole Porter</a> musical score as <a href=/films/15369/default.aspx style='text-decoration:underline'>High Society</a>. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide51Tag Target (>10)49623http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/t79454zoeph.jpghttp://www.spout.com/films/The_Philadelphia_Story/26633/default.aspxFilm http://www.spout.com/blogs/risselada/archive/2009/5/14/42274.aspx Post By: Risselada
Post To: Risselada Blog
Post Date: 5/14/2009 2:03:54 PM
Body: This blog entry is part of my "movie year countdown round #2". Read more about that here. The Philadelphia Story Oh man what a disappointment. I've seen this film on too many lists of classics to ignore it. But I can't share the sentiments of these list makers in this case. This is my first Katherine Hepburn movie, and her uptight character was unfortunately what I had stereotyped her as from what little I'd seen of her in other contexts. Cary Grant seemed strange and snooty too. And Jimmy Stewart just failed to stand out the way I have come to expect from him. No one else is worth mentioning either. I will admit that a main issue here may be my aversion towards these kinds of upper class marriage and divorce comedies. At least ones that assumes the audience has a real interest in the selfish lives of these people rather than poking fun of them. I just have no empathy for their situation when the film assumes I do. I guess that's the problem. That, and the fact that I had no idea what was going on for quite a bit of the early part of the movie. I'm not sure if I ever really did understand everything that was going on, but I had little incentive to try too hard after I had seen enough of the movie that I was losing hope for the level of enjoyment I had anticipated. Maybe I was just in the wrong mood too. That can happen right? Or maybe I just don't need excuses not to like a movie that so many other people do. Rating: 4/10
]]>Thu, 14 May 2009 18:03:54 GMTRisseladaRisselada Blog5/14/2009 2:03:54 PMThis blog entry is part of my "movie year countdown round #2". Read more about that here. The Philadelphia Story Oh man what a disappointment. I've seen this film on too many lists of classics to ignore it. But I can't share the sentiments of these list makers in this case. This is my first Katherine Hepburn movie, and her uptight character was unfortunately what I had stereotyped her as from what little I'd seen of her in other contexts. Cary Grant seemed strange and snooty too. And Jimmy Stewart just failed to stand out the way I have come to expect from him. No one else is worth mentioning either. I will admit that a main issue here may be my aversion towards these kinds of upper class marriage and divorce comedies. At least ones that assumes the audience has a real interest in the selfish lives of these people rather than poking fun of them. I just have no empathy for their situation when the film assumes I do. I guess that's the problem. That, and the fact that I had no idea what was going on for quite a bit of the early part of the movie. I'm not sure if I ever really did understand everything that was going on, but I had little incentive to try too hard after I had seen enough of the movie that I was losing hope for the level of enjoyment I had anticipated. Maybe I was just in the wrong mood too. That can happen right? Or maybe I just don't need excuses not to like a movie that so many other people do. Rating: 4/10 http://www.spout.com/blogs/pippin06/archive/2009/4/17/41642.aspx Post By: pippin06
Post To: Reel Thoughts
Post Date: 4/17/2009 7:46:40 PM
Body: What's the AFI Project, you ask? For more information, or if you just enjoy my bemused ramblings, read here: http://www.spout.com/blogs/pippin06/archive/2008/3/1/25756.aspx The Philadelphia Story is on the following AFI lists: The Original Top 100 (#51)100 Funniest Films (#15)100 Years...100 Passions (#44)The Revised Top 100 (#44)10 Top 10's (#5 Romantic Comedy) I saw The Philadelphia Story initially as one of the films I consented to watch the first time I tried to make it through the Original AFI list. Ever since then, I've counted it among my top ten favorite films of all time (so long as you count trilogies as one movie :-D). Sure, it's a romantic comedy, and sure, it follows the formula established a few years earlier by It Happened One Night, but what the Philadelphia Story has that most romantic comedies typically don't is a high threshold of wit, a wonderfully written adapted screenplay with more layers than its surface belies, and three legendarily wonderful actors rounding out a truly superb cast. To think that a film with Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, and James Stewart would have any potential to be somehow less-than or worse would be a sort of blasphemy indeed. Plus, the film is just downright funny. It makes me giggle every time I see it, and I've seen it many times in the last decade or so. The Philadelphia Story opens with wealthy Philadelphia socialite C.K. Dexter Haven (Grant) walking out on his wife, Tracy Lord-Haven (Hepburn). She breaks his putter. He "socks" her and knocks her on her million-dollar keister. Cut to two years later: the society pages are announcing the pending nuptials of Tracy to miner-turned-mogul George Kittridge (John Howard), who is stalwartly not part of the old-time Philadelphia aristocracy, even as he wants their privileges. Though the wedding is the talk of the town, Tracy has some high-minded ideals (because, in fact, all of her ideals are high-minded) about keeping her family's private business out of the publicly-consumed tabloid papers. The trouble is, tabloid rag Spy Magazine has been targeting her citadel of privacy for years and decides to send in snarky writer-reporter Macaulay Connor (Stewart) and photographer Elizabeth Imbrie (Ruth Hussey) to cover the event - with the help of "Dex" and his prior family connections. Knowing that the presence of reporters in the house might cause one of their famous rows, Dexter explains to Tracy that Spy's editor, Sidney Kidd, will publish a story implicating her philadering father unless she cooperates. Begrudgingly, she obliges, though on her own terms, and the resulting comedy of errors bears witness to something of a love rectangle with a predictable yet hilariously satisfying outcome. I love this film as much as I do because first and foremost: it's funny. It's so funny! I was in stitches the first time I saw it, and I've still been known to giggle at it after years of repeat viewings. The dialogue and story, adapted from the play of the same name by the actual playwright, includes so many excellent one-liners, candidly ascerbic and timeless observations, and undeniable wit, it's hard not to fall in love with it. In fact, the storyline unfolds not unlike an Oscar Wilde play, minus the pithy English affectations. The banter is quick and intelligent, the commentary is about the disparities of class, and the situations are a bit screwball without actually crossing the line. My favorite scenes start with the pre-wedding party at Uncle Willie's house, at which point Tracy - who has always chastised her ex-husband for his seeming if slight alcoholism - has begun to be tidily intoxicated on champagne herself, after hearing about some of her less-ideal personality traits from her ex-husband and father and after drowning her sorrows in the bubbly. These scenes progress the budding romance between Connor and Tracy, while they are both intoxicated, and because these two actors were so good at what they did, the scenes themselves are perfectly executed and roll-on-the-floor-with-hysterical-laughter humorous. Second: this film contains three legendary actors that were never in another film together again and that were at their finest at the time of its making. Hepburn negotiated a comeback for herself after years of being labeled "box office poison," but the role suited her to a tee, and you have to admire her sense of survival and business acumen. In fact, I admire the choice to play this character, even if it is similar to the actress portraying her: a strong, opinionated female during a time when women weren't encouraged for such behavior. Now, of course, the morals of the story find Tracy being too strong and, therefore, weakened by her own prejudice against weakness, but we'll ignore that for now. One of my two favorite Hepburns was brilliant in the role; her performance is an absolute treat to watch. The other two were also in top form. Stewart won the only Oscar of his career for this movie, and while many thought he should have won for Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, I would submit that his performance in this film is at least unique. It was not frequent that Jimmy played cynical and sardonic, and even his character in Rear Window doesn't quite measure up to the Connor character's piercingly merciless commentaries on class. Coupled with a supporting turn by Ruth Hussey that actually inspires me to want to play her role if I ever get a chance to be part of the stage version, the novelty of seeing Jimmy Stewart in this film doing this particular type of character - so against his type of imperfect but relatable everymen - is truly worth the watch. And, of course, Cary Grant was at his dapper and debonair finest, even if the character wasn't much of a stretch for him. Finally: even though the film is a romantic comedy with at least an expected outcome, the journey toward that outcome makes everything entirely fulfilling. Tracy learns some lessons, Dexter learns (or re-learns) forgiveness, Connor relaxes his own prejudices. Plus, the subtext of the story is to remark on tabloid voyeurism and the idiosyncracies of the wealthy. This kind of discussion, even if superfically considered in a romantic comedy, is as timeless as this film has now become. All in all, I can't say enough good things about The Philadelphia Story, and I haven't noticed any flaws or elements that detract from this film for me, save for the semi-abrupt ending, but that's only because it leaves me wanting more. It may not be George Cukor's most visually creative picture, but there are some romantically poetic uses of camera and lighting to create and reflect mood, such as the scene when Tracy stares thoughtfully at the model of her prior honeymoon sailboat in her pool that was given to her by Dexter as a wedding present. Ultimately, though, the true Philadelphia Story is about its pitch-perfect writing and one-shot assembly of such a talented and enjoyable ensemble cast. I consider this film something of a masterpiece - I feel like it's the perfect thinking-person's romcom - and so I'm actually inclined to give the film a 10 for masterpiece! I also own the film. It passed the test ages ago. So, what can I say? The Philadelphia Story is highly entertaining, deserves all of its AFI rankings, and should not be missed.
]]>Fri, 17 Apr 2009 23:46:40 GMTpippin06Reel Thoughts4/17/2009 7:46:40 PMWhat's the AFI Project, you ask? For more information, or if you just enjoy my bemused ramblings, read here: http://www.spout.com/blogs/pippin06/archive/2008/3/1/25756.aspx The Philadelphia Story is on the following AFI lists: The Original Top 100 (#51)100 Funniest Films (#15)100 Years...100 Passions (#44)The Revised Top 100 (#44)10 Top 10's (#5 Romantic Comedy) I saw The Philadelphia Story initially as one of the films I consented to watch the first time I tried to make it through the Original AFI list. Ever since then, I've counted it among my top ten favorite films of all time (so long as you count trilogies as one movie :-D). Sure, it's a romantic comedy, and sure, it follows the formula established a few years earlier by It Happened One Night, but what the Philadelphia Story has that most romantic comedies typically don't is a high threshold of wit, a wonderfully written adapted screenplay with more layers than its surface belies, and three legendarily wonderful actors rounding out a truly superb cast. To think that a film with Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, and James Stewart would have any potential to be somehow less-than or worse would be a sort of blasphemy indeed. Plus, the film is just downright funny. It makes me giggle every time I see it, and I've seen it many times in the last decade or so. The Philadelphia Story opens with wealthy Philadelphia socialite C.K. Dexter Haven (Grant) walking out on his wife, Tracy Lord-Haven (Hepburn). She breaks his putter. He "socks" her and knocks her on her million-dollar keister. Cut to two years later: the society pages are announcing the pending nuptials of Tracy to miner-turned-mogul George Kittridge (John Howard), who is stalwartly not part of the old-time Philadelphia aristocracy, even as he wants their privileges. Though the wedding is the talk of the town, Tracy has some high-minded ideals (because, in fact, all of her ideals are high-minded) about keeping her family's private business out of the publicly-consumed tabloid papers. The trouble is, tabloid rag Spy Magazine has been targeting her citadel of privacy for years and decides to send in snarky writer-reporter Macaulay Connor (Stewart) and photographer Elizabeth Imbrie (Ruth Hussey) to cover the event - with the help of "Dex" and his prior family connections. Knowing that the presence of reporters in the house might cause one of their famous rows, Dexter explains to Tracy that Spy's editor, Sidney Kidd, will publish a story implicating her philadering father unless she cooperates. Begrudgingly, she obliges, though on her own terms, and the resulting comedy of errors bears witness to something of a love rectangle with a predictable yet hilariously satisfying outcome. I love this film as much as I do because first and foremost: it's funny. It's so funny! I was in stitches the first time I saw it, and I've still been known to giggle at it after years of repeat viewings. The dialogue and story, adapted from the play of the same name by the actual playwright, includes so many excellent one-liners, candidly ascerbic and timeless observations, and undeniable wit, it's hard not to fall in love with it. In fact, the storyline unfolds not unlike an Oscar Wilde play, minus the pithy English affectations. The banter is quick and intelligent, the commentary is about the disparities of class, and the situations are a bit screwball without actually crossing the line. My favorite scenes start with the pre-wedding party at Uncle Willie's house, at which point Tracy - who has always chastised her ex-husband for his seeming if slight alcoholism - has begun to be tidily intoxicated on champagne herself, after hearing about some of her less-ideal personality traits from her ex-husband and father and after drowning her sorrows in the bubbly. These scenes progress the budding romance between Connor and Tracy, while they are both intoxicated, and because these two actors were so good at what they did, the scenes themselves are perfectly executed and roll-on-the-floor-with-hysterical-laughter humorous. Second: this film contains three legendary actors that were never in another film together again and that were at their finest at the time of its making. Hepburn negotiated a comeback for herself after years of being labeled "box office poison," but the role suited her to a tee, and you have to admire her sense of survival and business acumen. In fact, I admire the choice to play this character, even if it is similar to the actress portraying her: a strong, opinionated female during a time when women weren't encouraged for such behavior. Now, of course, the morals of the story find Tracy being too strong and, therefore, weakened by her own prejudice against weakness, but we'll ignore that for now. One of my two favorite Hepburns was brilliant in the role; her performance is an absolute treat to watch. The other two were also in top form. Stewart won the only Oscar of his career for this movie, and while many thought he should have won for Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, I would submit that his performance in this film is at least unique. It was not frequent that Jimmy played cynical and sardonic, and even his character in Rear Window doesn't quite measure up to the Connor character's piercingly merciless commentaries on class. Coupled with a supporting turn by Ruth Hussey that actually inspires me to want to play her role if I ever get a chance to be part of the stage version, the novelty of seeing Jimmy Stewart in this film doing this particular type of character - so against his type of imperfect but relatable everymen - is truly worth the watch. And, of course, Cary Grant was at his dapper and debonair finest, even if the character wasn't much of a stretch for him. Finally: even though the film is a romantic comedy with at least an expected outcome, the journey toward that outcome makes everything entirely fulfilling. Tracy learns some lessons, Dexter learns (or re-learns) forgiveness, Connor relaxes his own prejudices. Plus, the subtext of the story is to remark on tabloid voyeurism and the idiosyncracies of the wealthy. This kind of discussion, even if superfically considered in a romantic comedy, is as timeless as this film has now become. All in all, I can't say enough good things about The Philadelphia Story, and I haven't noticed any flaws or elements that detract from this film for me, save for the semi-abrupt ending, but that's only because it leaves me wanting more. It may not be George Cukor's most visually creative picture, but there are some romantically poetic uses of camera and lighting to create and reflect mood, such as the scene when Tracy stares thoughtfully at the model of her prior honeymoon sailboat in her pool that was given to her by Dexter as a wedding present. Ultimately, though, the true Philadelphia Story is about its pitch-perfect writing and one-shot assembly of such a talented and enjoyable ensemble cast. I consider this film something of a masterpiece - I feel like it's the perfect thinking-person's romcom - and so I'm actually inclined to give the film a 10 for masterpiece! I also own the film. It passed the test ages ago. So, what can I say? The Philadelphia Story is highly entertaining, deserves all of its AFI rankings, and should not be missed. http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/10/27/36709.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 10/27/2008 7:00:43 PM
Body: It’s been more than 100 years since the Philadelphia Quakers changed their name to the Philadelphia Philadelphians, which was thankfully shortened to “Phillies” very quickly, probably by printers who were afraid of using up all of their ‘P’s in the printing press. Since being founded in 1883, they’ve been one of the most tenacious teams in baseball, winning six pennants, and the World Series in 1980. In fact, in all of American sports (not just baseball), the Phillies are the team that’s been in one city with one name for the longest time. They’re one game away from another World Series win tonight, despite being the Major League team with the most losses in history. We celebrate their scrappiness with a list of quintessential Philadelphia movies. Check them out after the break. Rocky When most people think about Philadelphia and movies, the first thing that springs to mind is the iconic shot of Rocky Balboa running up the stairs to the Philadelphia Museum of Art and triumphantly pumping his fists to the sky from Rocky. City Commerce Director Dick Doran said Sylvester Stallone and the movie did more for Philadelphia’s image than Ben Franklin,  and that scene has probably been recreated by thousands of people that visit the city. In fact, the closing credits of Rocky Balboa is a long montage of images of people imitating his famous run, and there are countless fan recreations on YouTube. The Philadelphia Story Even though it’s set entirely on a Hollywood soundstage, this 1940 film skewers Philadelphia high society  in a comedy of errors. It also features Katherine Hepburn, Jimmy Stewart, and Cary Grant at the top of their game, with Stewart winning an Oscar for Best Actor for his role. Katherine Hepburn had previously starred in the Broadway play the film is based on, and eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes bought the film rights for the play and gave them to her as a gift. Which was somewhat ironic, since Philip Barry had written the play for her in an effort to bring her back to Broadway. It’s still one of the best-written romantic comedies of all time, and the city of brotherly love is probably proud of the fact that its name is in the title. Mannequin Set in the famous Wanamaker’s department store in downtown Philadelphia, this is one of those quintessential 1980s movies that critics hated, but audiences adored. Although this story about window display mannequin come to life might not hold up well today, it has grossed over $42 million dollars and was considered such a success that they made a sequel in 1991 called Mannequin Too: On The Move. That one didn’t do quite so well. The original featured both Andrew McCarthy during his rise in the Brat Pack, and Kim Cattrall in her pre-pre-pre Sex and the City days. Besides giving us Starship’s “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now,” the film has become iconically linked with Philadelphia through Wanamaker’s, now a Macy’s, which was the first department store in Philly and one of the first in the United States in 1876. Philadelphia This movie provided the one-two punch of a powerful performance from Tom Hanks along with Bruce Springsteen’s “Streets of Philadelphia” song, both of which netted Oscars. This film not only addressed AIDS and gay issues in a straightforward manner that was extremely new for Hollywood, it helped open the door for future films and even television series in the sexually conservative (at least in gay and lesbian terms) entertainment industry. It also was shot in key locations around the city, including the courtroom scenes which were filmed in an actual court in Philadelphia. Ironically, Denzel Washington’s character says he prays that the Phillies will win the pennant, and when this film came out in 1993 they did just that. The Sixth Sense M. Night Shyamalan famously shoots all of his movies in or around Philadelphia, and this is easily his most famous. Shymalan goes out of his way to show that the film is set in his hometown, including in the opening scene where Bruce Willis and Olivia Williams are looking at a citation Willis has just received from the mayor. The camera pans all the way down to show the words “of Philadelphia.” The film also features several key locations in South Philadelphia. The filmmaker has continued to show love for the city, although audiences haven’t been loving his movies. The Sixth Sense grossed over $600 million at the worldwide box office, but his latest, The Happening, has only pulled in $163 million. Dawn of the Dead Although most of this film takes place in a shopping mall in Monroeville, PA, the action starts in Philadelphia with the main characters fleeing from pandemonium in the city via helicopter. The entire city has become overrun with zombies, which is probably high time to leave any city. The Philadelphia S.W.A.T. team responds to an apartment building full of zombies, which doesn’t turn out so well for them since zombie attack from your reanimated dead loved one probably isn’t in the training manual. Romero shot the film in and around Philadelphia for around $650,000 dollars in 1978, and it still stands as one of the best horror movies of all time and the strongest in his zombie trilogy which includes Night of the Living Dead and Day of the Dead. National Treasure Right on the heels of the success of The Da Vinci Code came this Nicolas Cage starrer with historic clues to lost treasure hidden in Philadelphia. The central clue in the film is the Declaration of Independence, which leads the main characters to Independence Hall (where the Declaration was signed) in Philadelphia where they find a pair of special glasses hidden by Philadelphia’s most famous historical resident, Benjamin Franklin. Although the treasure ends up being underneath an old church in Boston, the scenes in Philadelphia with the secret brick and Franklin’s glasses are one of the most interesting homages to Indiana Jones’ headpiece to the Staff of Ra in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Nicolas Cage’s character is also named Benjamin Franklin Gates, so they had to show some Philly love. Trading Places This comedic version of the prince and the pauper tale is set in an affluent neighborhood in Philadelphia, and in the offices of a commodity brokerage downtown. It’s a double rags to riches tale, with Winthorpe and Billy Ray (Dan Ackroyd and Eddie Murphy) swapping places before they turn the tables on the Duke brothers and bankrupt them as well. Winthorpe’s mansion is actually a real location in a ritzy part of town, and many of the downtown scenes key Philadelphia locations and even local television reporters as extras. Although Randolph and Mortimer return briefly in Murphy’s Coming to America, they’re seen as bums in New York, and not Philadelphia. Witness Ironically, most of this key Philadelphia movie doesn’t take place in the city at all, but rather in the Amish communities of nearby rural Lancaster County. The film opens with a very young Lukas Haas witnessing a murder, which leads to a conspiracy within the city’s police department. Police Captain John Book, played by Harrison Ford, is shot while discovering this, and takes Haas back home to protect him. However, he collapses from his bullet wound, and is nursed back to health by a bonnet-wearing Kelly McGillis. He stays on to protect the boy, and is eventually accepted by the community before offing the bad guys and returning to the big city. 12 Monkeys While this Terry Gilliam post-apocalyptic film is set mostly in modern-day Baltimore and Philadelphia, it’s the shots of the virus ravaged Philly that are the most haunting. Bruce Willis roams the future devastated landscape in his steampunk environmental suit while encountering wild animals and looking for clues that can help the human race repopulate and return to the surface. The iconic ending sequence in the airport was actually shot inside the Philadelphia Convention Center, and the asylum where Willis is a patient is the Eastern State Penitentiary, which is the one of two things Charles Dickens wanted to see when he visited the U.S. The other was Niagara Falls. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Mon, 27 Oct 2008 23:00:43 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com10/27/2008 7:00:43 PMIt’s been more than 100 years since the Philadelphia Quakers changed their name to the Philadelphia Philadelphians, which was thankfully shortened to “Phillies” very quickly, probably by printers who were afraid of using up all of their ‘P’s in the printing press. Since being founded in 1883, they’ve been one of the most tenacious teams in baseball, winning six pennants, and the World Series in 1980. In fact, in all of American sports (not just baseball), the Phillies are the team that’s been in one city with one name for the longest time. They’re one game away from another World Series win tonight, despite being the Major League team with the most losses in history. We celebrate their scrappiness with a list of quintessential Philadelphia movies. Check them out after the break. Rocky When most people think about Philadelphia and movies, the first thing that springs to mind is the iconic shot of Rocky Balboa running up the stairs to the Philadelphia Museum of Art and triumphantly pumping his fists to the sky from Rocky. City Commerce Director Dick Doran said Sylvester Stallone and the movie did more for Philadelphia’s image than Ben Franklin,  and that scene has probably been recreated by thousands of people that visit the city. In fact, the closing credits of Rocky Balboa is a long montage of images of people imitating his famous run, and there are countless fan recreations on YouTube. The Philadelphia Story Even though it’s set entirely on a Hollywood soundstage, this 1940 film skewers Philadelphia high society  in a comedy of errors. It also features Katherine Hepburn, Jimmy Stewart, and Cary Grant at the top of their game, with Stewart winning an Oscar for Best Actor for his role. Katherine Hepburn had previously starred in the Broadway play the film is based on, and eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes bought the film rights for the play and gave them to her as a gift. Which was somewhat ironic, since Philip Barry had written the play for her in an effort to bring her back to Broadway. It’s still one of the best-written romantic comedies of all time, and the city of brotherly love is probably proud of the fact that its name is in the title. Mannequin Set in the famous Wanamaker’s department store in downtown Philadelphia, this is one of those quintessential 1980s movies that critics hated, but audiences adored. Although this story about window display mannequin come to life might not hold up well today, it has grossed over $42 million dollars and was considered such a success that they made a sequel in 1991 called Mannequin Too: On The Move. That one didn’t do quite so well. The original featured both Andrew McCarthy during his rise in the Brat Pack, and Kim Cattrall in her pre-pre-pre Sex and the City days. Besides giving us Starship’s “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now,” the film has become iconically linked with Philadelphia through Wanamaker’s, now a Macy’s, which was the first department store in Philly and one of the first in the United States in 1876. Philadelphia This movie provided the one-two punch of a powerful performance from Tom Hanks along with Bruce Springsteen’s “Streets of Philadelphia” song, both of which netted Oscars. This film not only addressed AIDS and gay issues in a straightforward manner that was extremely new for Hollywood, it helped open the door for future films and even television series in the sexually conservative (at least in gay and lesbian terms) entertainment industry. It also was shot in key locations around the city, including the courtroom scenes which were filmed in an actual court in Philadelphia. Ironically, Denzel Washington’s character says he prays that the Phillies will win the pennant, and when this film came out in 1993 they did just that. The Sixth Sense M. Night Shyamalan famously shoots all of his movies in or around Philadelphia, and this is easily his most famous. Shymalan goes out of his way to show that the film is set in his hometown, including in the opening scene where Bruce Willis and Olivia Williams are looking at a citation Willis has just received from the mayor. The camera pans all the way down to show the words “of Philadelphia.” The film also features several key locations in South Philadelphia. The filmmaker has continued to show love for the city, although audiences haven’t been loving his movies. The Sixth Sense grossed over $600 million at the worldwide box office, but his latest, The Happening, has only pulled in $163 million. Dawn of the Dead Although most of this film takes place in a shopping mall in Monroeville, PA, the action starts in Philadelphia with the main characters fleeing from pandemonium in the city via helicopter. The entire city has become overrun with zombies, which is probably high time to leave any city. The Philadelphia S.W.A.T. team responds to an apartment building full of zombies, which doesn’t turn out so well for them since zombie attack from your reanimated dead loved one probably isn’t in the training manual. Romero shot the film in and around Philadelphia for around $650,000 dollars in 1978, and it still stands as one of the best horror movies of all time and the strongest in his zombie trilogy which includes Night of the Living Dead and Day of the Dead. National Treasure Right on the heels of the success of The Da Vinci Code came this Nicolas Cage starrer with historic clues to lost treasure hidden in Philadelphia. The central clue in the film is the Declaration of Independence, which leads the main characters to Independence Hall (where the Declaration was signed) in Philadelphia where they find a pair of special glasses hidden by Philadelphia’s most famous historical resident, Benjamin Franklin. Although the treasure ends up being underneath an old church in Boston, the scenes in Philadelphia with the secret brick and Franklin’s glasses are one of the most interesting homages to Indiana Jones’ headpiece to the Staff of Ra in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Nicolas Cage’s character is also named Benjamin Franklin Gates, so they had to show some Philly love. Trading Places This comedic version of the prince and the pauper tale is set in an affluent neighborhood in Philadelphia, and in the offices of a commodity brokerage downtown. It’s a double rags to riches tale, with Winthorpe and Billy Ray (Dan Ackroyd and Eddie Murphy) swapping places before they turn the tables on the Duke brothers and bankrupt them as well. Winthorpe’s mansion is actually a real location in a ritzy part of town, and many of the downtown scenes key Philadelphia locations and even local television reporters as extras. Although Randolph and Mortimer return briefly in Murphy’s Coming to America, they’re seen as bums in New York, and not Philadelphia. Witness Ironically, most of this key Philadelphia movie doesn’t take place in the city at all, but rather in the Amish communities of nearby rural Lancaster County. The film opens with a very young Lukas Haas witnessing a murder, which leads to a conspiracy within the city’s police department. Police Captain John Book, played by Harrison Ford, is shot while discovering this, and takes Haas back home to protect him. However, he collapses from his bullet wound, and is nursed back to health by a bonnet-wearing Kelly McGillis. He stays on to protect the boy, and is eventually accepted by the community before offing the bad guys and returning to the big city. 12 Monkeys While this Terry Gilliam post-apocalyptic film is set mostly in modern-day Baltimore and Philadelphia, it’s the shots of the virus ravaged Philly that are the most haunting. Bruce Willis roams the future devastated landscape in his steampunk environmental suit while encountering wild animals and looking for clues that can help the human race repopulate and return to the surface. The iconic ending sequence in the airport was actually shot inside the Philadelphia Convention Center, and the asylum where Willis is a patient is the Eastern State Penitentiary, which is the one of two things Charles Dickens wanted to see when he visited the U.S. The other was Niagara Falls. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/groups/Top_5/Re_Top_5_Romantic_Films/190/35891/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: filmgal81
Post To: Top 5
Post Date: 10/4/2008 6:48:00 AM
Body: Roman Holiday is a great film! I also really love Audrey's role in Breakfast at Tiffany's. Casablanca is also timeless, proving that whether love last a year or just moment, it does not diminish its value. I was not in love with the Sabrina starring Audrey Hepburn. I prefer the remake with Harrison Ford, Julia Ormond and Greg Kinnear. I know, how could I choose the remake over the classic ( and with such a class act as Audrey in the starring role), but there you have it. :) [quote user="pippin06"] Ok, filmgal, I'll play. Casablanca - The romance is fleeting and the story tragic in some ways, but the intertwining of the Rick and Ilsa characters is heartbreaking. Bridget Jones' Diary - The retooling of Pride and Prejudice for girls who aren't stick thin (I relate, see). When Harry Met Sally - It's more than just the fake orgasm scene. It's the best thing written by Nora Ephron ever and possibly Meg Ryan's best performance (think about it). Roman Holiday / Sabrina - Two of the best Audrey movies are some of the most heartfelt romances on film. The Philadelphia Story - It's more situational, a little screwball, and fraught with triangles, but this hilarious movie featuring the other Hepburn puts together Cary Grant as the smitten ex-husband, Jimmy Stewart as the smitten but snarky gossip reporter, and Katharine Hepburn as the high-ideals object of everyone's affection. What's not to love. Hey, I loved the Fountain; I don't know why people have reacted to it the way they have, it's not any more or less mindbendy than Requiem for a Dream or Pi, Aronofsky's previous efforts. Also, the Princess Bride will be a perennial fave of mine, but I've seen it so many times, and it's so screwy, my heart doesn't melt as much as it does to these other films. I saw Wuthering Heights a long time ago, I have to see it again, but it's one of my favorite books in the whole world! [/quote]
]]>Sat, 04 Oct 2008 10:48:00 GMTfilmgal81Top 510/4/2008 6:48:00 AM Roman Holiday is a great film! I also really love Audrey's role in Breakfast at Tiffany's. Casablanca is also timeless, proving that whether love last a year or just moment, it does not diminish its value. I was not in love with the Sabrina starring Audrey Hepburn. I prefer the remake with Harrison Ford, Julia Ormond and Greg Kinnear. I know, how could I choose the remake over the classic ( and with such a class act as Audrey in the starring role), but there you have it. :) [quote user="pippin06"] Ok, filmgal, I'll play. Casablanca - The romance is fleeting and the story tragic in some ways, but the intertwining of the Rick and Ilsa characters is heartbreaking. Bridget Jones' Diary - The retooling of Pride and Prejudice for girls who aren't stick thin (I relate, see). When Harry Met Sally - It's more than just the fake orgasm scene. It's the best thing written by Nora Ephron ever and possibly Meg Ryan's best performance (think about it). Roman Holiday / Sabrina - Two of the best Audrey movies are some of the most heartfelt romances on film. The Philadelphia Story - It's more situational, a little screwball, and fraught with triangles, but this hilarious movie featuring the other Hepburn puts together Cary Grant as the smitten ex-husband, Jimmy Stewart as the smitten but snarky gossip reporter, and Katharine Hepburn as the high-ideals object of everyone's affection. What's not to love. Hey, I loved the Fountain; I don't know why people have reacted to it the way they have, it's not any more or less mindbendy than Requiem for a Dream or Pi, Aronofsky's previous efforts. Also, the Princess Bride will be a perennial fave of mine, but I've seen it so many times, and it's so screwy, my heart doesn't melt as much as it does to these other films. I saw Wuthering Heights a long time ago, I have to see it again, but it's one of my favorite books in the whole world! [/quote] http://www.spout.com/groups/Top_5/Re_Top_5_Romantic_Films/190/35870/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: pippin06
Post To: Top 5
Post Date: 10/3/2008 2:27:13 PM
Body: [quote user="filmgal81"] My Top 5 in this category are: Closer: I happen to love this film, but many folks I know thought it was too...unhappy? I did not think it was unhappy really, but i did think that it showed how complex relationships are and how unknowable people can be. Life does not have the scripted happy ending, with Nessun Dorma exploding in the background. Life is not as dramatic, or clear cut. The Fountain: Another film I know alot of people I know just didn't get. This was Aronofsky's love letter to us all- what's not to love?! Wuthering Heights: Laurence Olivier, Merle Oberon- the chemistry and performance of a lifetime. Camille: One of the most amazing Garbo films. A story of a woman who was not what she seemed- she was more. The Princess Bride: This film fits into so many categories, it never ceases to amaze me. [/quote] Ok, filmgal, I'll play. Casablanca - The romance is fleeting and the story tragic in some ways, but the intertwining of the Rick and Ilsa characters is heartbreaking. Bridget Jones' Diary - The retooling of Pride and Prejudice for girls who aren't stick thin (I relate, see). When Harry Met Sally - It's more than just the fake orgasm scene. It's the best thing written by Nora Ephron ever and possibly Meg Ryan's best performance (think about it). Roman Holiday / Sabrina - Two of the best Audrey movies are some of the most heartfelt romances on film. The Philadelphia Story - It's more situational, a little screwball, and fraught with triangles, but this hilarious movie featuring the other Hepburn puts together Cary Grant as the smitten ex-husband, Jimmy Stewart as the smitten but snarky gossip reporter, and Katharine Hepburn as the high-ideals object of everyone's affection. What's not to love. Hey, I loved the Fountain; I don't know why people have reacted to it the way they have, it's not any more or less mindbendy than Requiem for a Dream or Pi, Aronofsky's previous efforts. Also, the Princess Bride will be a perennial fave of mine, but I've seen it so many times, and it's so screwy, my heart doesn't melt as much as it does to these other films. I saw Wuthering Heights a long time ago, I have to see it again, but it's one of my favorite books in the whole world!
]]>Fri, 03 Oct 2008 18:27:13 GMTpippin06Top 510/3/2008 2:27:13 PM[quote user="filmgal81"] My Top 5 in this category are: Closer: I happen to love this film, but many folks I know thought it was too...unhappy? I did not think it was unhappy really, but i did think that it showed how complex relationships are and how unknowable people can be. Life does not have the scripted happy ending, with Nessun Dorma exploding in the background. Life is not as dramatic, or clear cut. The Fountain: Another film I know alot of people I know just didn't get. This was Aronofsky's love letter to us all- what's not to love?! Wuthering Heights: Laurence Olivier, Merle Oberon- the chemistry and performance of a lifetime. Camille: One of the most amazing Garbo films. A story of a woman who was not what she seemed- she was more. The Princess Bride: This film fits into so many categories, it never ceases to amaze me. [/quote] Ok, filmgal, I'll play. Casablanca - The romance is fleeting and the story tragic in some ways, but the intertwining of the Rick and Ilsa characters is heartbreaking. Bridget Jones' Diary - The retooling of Pride and Prejudice for girls who aren't stick thin (I relate, see). When Harry Met Sally - It's more than just the fake orgasm scene. It's the best thing written by Nora Ephron ever and possibly Meg Ryan's best performance (think about it). Roman Holiday / Sabrina - Two of the best Audrey movies are some of the most heartfelt romances on film. The Philadelphia Story - It's more situational, a little screwball, and fraught with triangles, but this hilarious movie featuring the other Hepburn puts together Cary Grant as the smitten ex-husband, Jimmy Stewart as the smitten but snarky gossip reporter, and Katharine Hepburn as the high-ideals object of everyone's affection. What's not to love. Hey, I loved the Fountain; I don't know why people have reacted to it the way they have, it's not any more or less mindbendy than Requiem for a Dream or Pi, Aronofsky's previous efforts. Also, the Princess Bride will be a perennial fave of mine, but I've seen it so many times, and it's so screwy, my heart doesn't melt as much as it does to these other films. I saw Wuthering Heights a long time ago, I have to see it again, but it's one of my favorite books in the whole world! http://www.spout.com/blogs/usesoap/archive/2008/4/7/27033.aspx Post By: usesoap
Post To: usesoap Blog
Post Date: 4/7/2008 10:47:59 AM
Body: “Leatherheads” has had a long a storied journey to the big screen, and has mutated into several incarnations in the process.It was once envisioned to be a historically accurate account of football’s earliest innovators, a blood-and-mud saga of gridiron gladiators, and a comedic take on colorful pigskin pioneers.It arrives in theaters as a screwball comedy throwback – cobbled together with romantic subplots, early growing pains of the game, and fictional glimpses into the lives of the sport’s bruising brotherhood.The result is a curious mix that is overstuffed with half-planned protractions of what might have been if director/star George Clooney had remained focused not on merely gaining yardage with small hand-offs of laughter, but on just where the goal line of his film was.Not screwy enough for screwball, not hard-hitting enough for a sports picture, and far-too-slight as a commentary on the souring of the game with all its “rules” and “regulations,” “Leatherheads merely scrambles in scene after scene, wearily winding down the clock.Clooney plays Dodge Connelly, the aging coach and player of the amateur Duluth Bulldogs, one of the last holdouts in a rapidly diminishing field of football teams in 1925.In order to boost sales and escape working in “the real world,” Connelly concocts a plan to enlist a star athlete who has returned from World War I a hero and whose ubiquitous visage is pimped out on more products than Michael Jordan is his prime.But there is a cloud that follows this young hero, Carter “The Bullet” Rutherford (played by “The Office’s” John Krasinski), as his military heroics might not be all that it appears.Enter Lexie Littleton (played by perma-puckering Renee Zellweger), a hard-edged moll who’s the ace reporter for the local paper intent on cracking the shell of this “Bullet.” Her presence sets up a rather static love triangle between her, the young rising star and the aging Donnelly. While there are moments of back-and-forth banter, a la “Philadelphia Story,” little of it lands with the impact Grant and Hepburn so successfully accomplished decades ago.The chemistry between its romantic leads is so week and predictable, it would be eclipsed by a grade school science fair.After veering from ensemble action comedy to bickering romance, the film takes yet another curious detour in its final act to comment on American values, the country’s need for heroes and how the formality of regulated sports drains the fun out of the game.Clooney has proven himself sure-footed when he’s behind the camera in his two previous outings, “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind” and “Good Night, and Good Luck.” But here, he feels completely off balance. It has moments of artistic flourish, but it gets dogpiled under the heft of so many extra slender subplots. In front of the lens, he’s as easygoing as ever, slightly summoning a variation on his deft comedic work in “O Brother, Where Art Thou,” and he takes more than a few good-natured jabs at his age, but he can do little to extract much from co-stars Zellweger and Krazinski, who seem unable to establish their footing from one scene to the next.“Leatherheads,” though infinitely more competent a film, shares much with Will Ferrell’s latest amateur-to-pro sports comedy, “Semi-Pro,” in which it suffers from jarring tonal shifts that ultimately hobble it at its knees. It’s light enough to keep audiences occupied with slight smirks, but like the players on the soggy field in the film’s final game, “Leatherheads” becomes too muddied with plot that we are really unable to distinguish just who these people are.
]]>Mon, 07 Apr 2008 14:47:59 GMTusesoapusesoap Blog4/7/2008 10:47:59 AM&ldquo;Leatherheads&rdquo; has had a long a storied journey to the big screen, and has mutated into several incarnations in the process.It was once envisioned to be a historically accurate account of football&rsquo;s earliest innovators, a blood-and-mud saga of gridiron gladiators, and a comedic take on colorful pigskin pioneers.It arrives in theaters as a screwball comedy throwback &ndash; cobbled together with romantic subplots, early growing pains of the game, and fictional glimpses into the lives of the sport&rsquo;s bruising brotherhood.The result is a curious mix that is overstuffed with half-planned protractions of what might have been if director/star George Clooney had remained focused not on merely gaining yardage with small hand-offs of laughter, but on just where the goal line of his film was.Not screwy enough for screwball, not hard-hitting enough for a sports picture, and far-too-slight as a commentary on the souring of the game with all its &ldquo;rules&rdquo; and &ldquo;regulations,&rdquo; &ldquo;Leatherheads merely scrambles in scene after scene, wearily winding down the clock.Clooney plays Dodge Connelly, the aging coach and player of the amateur Duluth Bulldogs, one of the last holdouts in a rapidly diminishing field of football teams in 1925.In order to boost sales and escape working in &ldquo;the real world,&rdquo; Connelly concocts a plan to enlist a star athlete who has returned from World War I a hero and whose ubiquitous visage is pimped out on more products than Michael Jordan is his prime.But there is a cloud that follows this young hero, Carter &ldquo;The Bullet&rdquo; Rutherford (played by &ldquo;The Office&rsquo;s&rdquo; John Krasinski), as his military heroics might not be all that it appears.Enter Lexie Littleton (played by perma-puckering Renee Zellweger), a hard-edged moll who&rsquo;s the ace reporter for the local paper intent on cracking the shell of this &ldquo;Bullet.&rdquo; Her presence sets up a rather static love triangle between her, the young rising star and the aging Donnelly. While there are moments of back-and-forth banter, a la &ldquo;Philadelphia Story,&rdquo; little of it lands with the impact Grant and Hepburn so successfully accomplished decades ago.The chemistry between its romantic leads is so week and predictable, it would be eclipsed by a grade school science fair.After veering from ensemble action comedy to bickering romance, the film takes yet another curious detour in its final act to comment on American values, the country&rsquo;s need for heroes and how the formality of regulated sports drains the fun out of the game.Clooney has proven himself sure-footed when he&rsquo;s behind the camera in his two previous outings, &ldquo;Confessions of a Dangerous Mind&rdquo; and &ldquo;Good Night, and Good Luck.&rdquo; But here, he feels completely off balance. It has moments of artistic flourish, but it gets dogpiled under the heft of so many extra slender subplots. In front of the lens, he&rsquo;s as easygoing as ever, slightly summoning a variation on his deft comedic work in &ldquo;O Brother, Where Art Thou,&rdquo; and he takes more than a few good-natured jabs at his age, but he can do little to extract much from co-stars Zellweger and Krazinski, who seem unable to establish their footing from one scene to the next.&ldquo;Leatherheads,&rdquo; though infinitely more competent a film, shares much with Will Ferrell&rsquo;s latest amateur-to-pro sports comedy, &ldquo;Semi-Pro,&rdquo; in which it suffers from jarring tonal shifts that ultimately hobble it at its knees. It&rsquo;s light enough to keep audiences occupied with slight smirks, but like the players on the soggy field in the film&rsquo;s final game, &ldquo;Leatherheads&rdquo; becomes too muddied with plot that we are really unable to distinguish just who these people are. http://www.spout.com/blogs/risselada/archive/2007/11/19/21772.aspx Post By: Risselada
Post To: Risselada Blog
Post Date: 11/19/2007 11:10:22 AM
Body: This is a list for Round 2 of my movie year countdown viewing project as first described here. If by any strange chance whoever is reading this is actually following along you may notice that I'm still less than two thirds of the way through my original one. Well I'm starting this new one because as much as I love old movies it can get a little tedious watching just older movies. So I'm going to be blending my watching of the two lists together. Still focusing on the original one, but every once in a while sliding in the next entry from this new list.Again these new movies are limited to full length movies that are available on Netflix. And for this new round instead of picking a movie from every year, I will be picking a movie from every two years. For example the first movie must have come out during 2006 or 2007. The second movie must have come out in 2004 or 2005. The next in 2002 or 2003. You see.The list is not finished yet, but here is what I have decided so far. I will update this post later with the new flicks.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------1. Children of Men (2006)2. The New World (2005)3. Mou gaan dou (Infernal Affairs) (2002)4. Riri Shushu no subete (All About Lily Chou-Chou) (2001)5. Party Monster (1998)6. Hard Eight (1996)7. Smoke (1995)8. Jennifer Eight (1992)9. The Fisher King (1991)10. Tetsuo (Tetsuo, the Iron Man) (1989)11. Angel Heart (1987)12. Runaway Train (1985)13. Burden of Dreams (1982)14. The Big Red One (1980)15. Stalker (1979)16. Network (1976)17. Angst essen Seele auf (Ali: Fear Eats the Soul) (1974)18. The Wicker Man (1973)19. Land des Schweigens und der Dunkelheit (Land of Silence and Darkness) (1971)20. Z (1969)21. In Cold Blood (1967)22. Suna no onna (Woman in the Dunes) (1964)23. The Intruder (1962)24. Jungfrukällan (The Virgin Spring) (1960)25. Pickpocket (1959)26. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)27. Kiss Me Deadly (1955)28. Shane (1953)29. Winchester '73 (1950)30. The Big Clock (1948)31. The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)32. The Chronicle History of King Henry the Fift with His Battell Fought at Agincourt in France (1944)33. Hi Diddle Diddle (1943)34. The Philadelphia Story (1940)35. Angels with Dirty Faces (1938)36. Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)37. Man on the Flying Trapeze (1935)38. I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932)39. Zemlya (Earth) (1930)40. Die Büchse der Pandora (Pandora's Box) (1929)41. The Unknown (1927)42. Seven Chances (1925)43. Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler - Ein Bild der Zeit (Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler) (1922)44. The Kid (1921)45. Male and Female (1919)46. Umirayushchii Lebed (The Dying Swan) (1917)47. The Birth of a Nation (1915)
]]>Mon, 19 Nov 2007 16:10:22 GMTRisseladaRisselada Blog11/19/2007 11:10:22 AMThis is a list for Round 2 of my movie year countdown viewing project as first described here. If by any strange chance whoever is reading this is actually following along you may notice that I&#39;m still less than two thirds of the way through my original one. Well I&#39;m starting this new one because as much as I love old movies it can get a little tedious watching just older movies. So I&#39;m going to be blending my watching of the two lists together. Still focusing on the original one, but every once in a while sliding in the next entry from this new list.Again these new movies are limited to full length movies that are available on Netflix. And for this new round instead of picking a movie from every year, I will be picking a movie from every two years. For example the first movie must have come out during 2006 or 2007. The second movie must have come out in 2004 or 2005. The next in 2002 or 2003. You see.The list is not finished yet, but here is what I have decided so far. I will update this post later with the new flicks.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------1. Children of Men (2006)2. The New World (2005)3. Mou gaan dou (Infernal Affairs) (2002)4. Riri Shushu no subete (All About Lily Chou-Chou) (2001)5. Party Monster (1998)6. Hard Eight (1996)7. Smoke (1995)8. Jennifer Eight (1992)9. The Fisher King (1991)10. Tetsuo (Tetsuo, the Iron Man) (1989)11. Angel Heart (1987)12. Runaway Train (1985)13. Burden of Dreams (1982)14. The Big Red One (1980)15. Stalker (1979)16. Network (1976)17. Angst essen Seele auf (Ali: Fear Eats the Soul) (1974)18. The Wicker Man (1973)19. Land des Schweigens und der Dunkelheit (Land of Silence and Darkness) (1971)20. Z (1969)21. In Cold Blood (1967)22. Suna no onna (Woman in the Dunes) (1964)23. The Intruder (1962)24. Jungfruk&auml;llan (The Virgin Spring) (1960)25. Pickpocket (1959)26. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)27. Kiss Me Deadly (1955)28. Shane (1953)29. Winchester &#39;73 (1950)30. The Big Clock (1948)31. The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)32. The Chronicle History of King Henry the Fift with His Battell Fought at Agincourt in France (1944)33. Hi Diddle Diddle (1943)34. The Philadelphia Story (1940)35. Angels with Dirty Faces (1938)36. Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)37. Man on the Flying Trapeze (1935)38. I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932)39. Zemlya (Earth) (1930)40. Die B&uuml;chse der Pandora (Pandora&#39;s Box) (1929)41. The Unknown (1927)42. Seven Chances (1925)43. Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler - Ein Bild der Zeit (Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler) (1922)44. The Kid (1921)45. Male and Female (1919)46. Umirayushchii Lebed (The Dying Swan) (1917)47. The Birth of a Nation (1915) http://www.spout.com/blogs/devastating1/archive/2007/6/12/10938.aspx Post By: devastating1
Post To: devastating1 Blog
Post Date: 6/12/2007 3:39:21 PM
Body: Where to begin? A cast that includes Katharine Hepburn, James Stewart and Cary Grant should be enough for anyone, but they are shored up by a superb supporting cast and a script that krrps getting deeper with every viewing. Sent down to Phildelphia to cover Hepburn's closely guarded society wedding, Stewart's a reluctant paparazzi and a struggling writer who feels out of place amongst the old money set. Cary Grant plays Hepburn's honest ex husband who has been blackmailed into getting Stewart in to the gathering. The tensions are high, the dialogue cracks along and sexual hang-ups are eluded to. A masterpiece in timing, writing and direction, this is no black and white film to be sniffed at. Enjoy.
]]>Tue, 12 Jun 2007 19:39:21 GMTdevastating1devastating1 Blog6/12/2007 3:39:21 PMWhere to begin? A cast that includes Katharine Hepburn, James Stewart and Cary Grant should be enough for anyone, but they are shored up by a superb supporting cast and a script that krrps getting deeper with every viewing. Sent down to Phildelphia to cover Hepburn&#39;s closely guarded society wedding, Stewart&#39;s a reluctant paparazzi and a struggling writer who feels out of place amongst the old money set. Cary Grant plays Hepburn&#39;s honest ex husband who has been blackmailed into getting Stewart in to the gathering. The tensions are high, the dialogue cracks along and sexual hang-ups are eluded to. A masterpiece in timing, writing and direction, this is no black and white film to be sniffed at. Enjoy. http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/love/MemberTagFilms.aspxlove
Number of films tagged: 12478

Number of people who tagged: 336

Number of times used: 1477

]]>Wed, 09 Dec 2009 05:08:37 GMT124783361477Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/funny/MemberTagFilms.aspxfunny
Number of films tagged: 607

Number of people who tagged: 316

Number of times used: 940

]]>Tue, 08 Dec 2009 00:46:10 GMT607316940Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/Classic/MemberTagFilms.aspxClassic
Number of films tagged: 816

Number of people who tagged: 312

Number of times used: 1453

]]>Sun, 23 Aug 2009 22:54:36 GMT8163121453Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/comedy/MemberTagFilms.aspxcomedy
Number of films tagged: 1086

Number of people who tagged: 253

Number of times used: 1340

]]>Tue, 08 Dec 2009 21:38:24 GMT10862531340Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/family/MemberTagFilms.aspxfamily
Number of films tagged: 6288

Number of people who tagged: 226

Number of times used: 1138

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]]>Wed, 25 Feb 2009 18:54:50 GMT595364Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/divorce/MemberTagFilms.aspxdivorce
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]]>Wed, 25 Nov 2009 05:35:44 GMT104245121Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/wedding/MemberTagFilms.aspxwedding
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]]>Sun, 12 Apr 2009 16:46:30 GMT342840Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/reporter/MemberTagFilms.aspxreporter
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