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Posted: |
Oct 31, 2020 - 5:04 AM
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By: |
Damian
(Member)
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Firstly, am I in the right thread. Check!
The Fury of Achilles (1962) 9/10 with Gordon Mitchell, Piero Lulli, Mario Petri and Jacques Bergerac( no, not him from Jersey). I have been waiting for years to see this one again. My memories of it were good but picture quality was poor. At last here was an almost perfect wide-screen version in English. Heaven. This I is deffinately one one of the top efforts. Well made, good colour and actions was above par. Even Gordon was more.restrained than usual. It was about the familiar Trojan war story but from a different angle. What I liked was that the film.was that it carried a feeling of doom and destiny along. Achilles new he would die once he'd killed Hector. Hector new he'd die if he faced off big A. Oracles would say same. Also it ended before the wooden horse episode. Achilles new he was invincible apart from one spot. However he didn't know which spot. The film ended, quite poiniantly, the night before his last day, on a nice sunset. Carlo Davina's music was good and memorable and available from all good outlets.
Followed by
Six Bounty Killers for a massacre. 2/10 with Robert Woods and Donal O'Brien. It was shite, I've said too much already.
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Posted: |
Nov 3, 2020 - 1:54 PM
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By: |
MusicMad
(Member)
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The Mirror Crack'd (1980) ... 4-/10
Glossy adaption of a very weak Agatha Christie ~ Miss Marple crime story, padded with irrelevant scenes to fill the running time. And yet, it is the padding which provides a lot of the entertainment with several actors, far from their heydays, hamming it up ... leaving a few stalwart British character actors to keep the story grounded.
At times I thought Elizabeth Taylor was as neurotic as her character and then suddenly, she showed her class; Rock Hudson was very good throughout; and Kim Novak excelled. Only Tony Curtis seemed below par and appeared to act as if he wished he wasn't there.
Lead Angela Lansbury had limited screen time which was to the film's advantage as she wasn't very good, not a patch on the known actresses who have played the part. As CI Craddock, Edward Fox was a disaster ... almost an embarrassment but this is largely down to his dialogue.
Geraldine Chaplin had the most significant role and carried the mysterious actions off well ... just how involved was she in the murder, etc.
Nice settings, unfussy direction and a music score (John Cameron) which was at times pleasant and at other times intrusive ... a sax-dominate theme recurred at inappropriate times.
I'm glad I watched it but I won't be looking again.
Mitch
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NEVER TOO LATE: THE DOC SEVERINSEN STORY (2020) – 8/10
This is a wonderful portrait of trumpeter and former “Tonight Show” bandleader Doc Severinsen, who, nearly 30 years after leaving television, and at 93 years old, still maintains a rigorous public performance schedule. The film covers Severinsen’s entire life and career—his childhood in a small Oregon town, his musical training, his playing with the big bands of Charlie Barnett and Jimmy Dorsey, his job as a studio musician for NBC and then bandleader of “The Tonight Show” orchestra for 30 years, and his current life as a touring musician.
With two ex-wives and a current one, five children, and eight grandchildren, one thing has been foremost in Severinsen’s life—his trumpet playing. In his career, he’s played thousands of tour dates. He’s made more than 40 albums and appeared as a guest artist on as many more. He is still on the road three weeks out of every month. “I just love it,” he says of his profession.
Directors Kevin Bright and Jeff Consiglio filmed Severinsen at home and on tour for 38 days. They recorded enough performance footage, they say, to create an album or two, only a fraction of which appears in the 84-minute film itself. But there are some choice moments of Severinsen’s artistry in the film, which make it clear that he ranks among the nation’s greatest trumpet players.
The film includes praise for Severinsen from Questlove, the current “Tonight Show” bandleader, as well as famed trumpeter Chris Botti. A segment with the two trumpeters playing together is a highlight of the film. There’s also an amusing section looking at Doc’s “Tonight Show” wardrobe, where he seemingly wore a different, flamboyantly-colored outfit on every show for 30 years. As a film, NEVER TOO LATE also has a colorful visual design that other, more drab-looking documentaries could emulate. If you enjoy Severinsen’s brand of big band jazz, you should seek out this film.
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Posted: |
Nov 3, 2020 - 11:54 PM
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By: |
BillCarson
(Member)
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To Hell and Back
1955
My memory of this film - based on Audie Murphy's ww2 exploits - was limited, other than a scene where he climbs up on a tank and shoots a load of attacking Germans with the mounted machine gun. Possibly a bit corny. However, having revisited the film, it is not a bad "follow a squad of soldiers thru training and into various campaigns" movie, a successful formula used again and again in war movies before and since. I liked it. Murphy was Murphy but it had a bit of grit, the action was good and altho he takes control in fight scenes, there was nothing too unrealistic. There was barely a medal he didnt win.
7.3 out of 10.
Narrator: "...War, to the foot soldier, is a continual fight for a few yards of dirt that always seemed to lie ahead of him, to be taken from the enemy or to be held at all costs. Why? As often as not he doesn't know in regard to the overall campaign. On Sicily, all he knew was that he took the entire island in 38 days - What he had accomplished gave the Allies a giant base of operation close to the Italian mainland."
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Posted: |
Nov 4, 2020 - 2:55 PM
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By: |
MusicMad
(Member)
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The Love Witch (2016) ... 4-/10
Not my usual type of film, the synopsis of a woman using magic to attract a man was interesting enough to give it a try. I had no idea what to expect, other than an up-to-date version of Bewitched ... the 1960s TV show enjoyed for so long.
A glossy, 1960s' Technicolor picture ... some really dreadful back projection (emulating films of that era?), narration bordering on the ridiculous and acting which was so stilted and unnatural that I had to keep telling myself this was as directed.
After ten minutes or so I was about to turn off when the music score changed: we couldn't believe we were listening to Ennio Morricone ... one of his gorgeous romantic melodies. And this kept me watching long enough to become interested in the story ... more's the pity 
There is plenty of the Maestro's music to help pass the time (and others') but the film, despite several good scenes and a script which mocks all and sundry ... from the glossy sex-comedies of the 1950s/60s to Hammer horror witch covens (more sex than witchcraft), taking a swipe at police dramas, etc. ... is far too long. An interesting idea which should have been so much better but with script, direction, original music and other production duties all by Anna Biller and a cast of, to me, unknowns, it was a waste of my time.
Except that I got to hear some lovely Ennio Morricone music 
Mitch
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