what's it all about, marnie?

i know 'north by northwest' and 'psycho' are the big winners in the hitchcock poll. i did like the first one but not enough to own it. i have never seen the second.

something about 'nxnw' is too fussy/stylish yet i adore 'marnie' which is very stylized. if 'strangers on a train' is my fave bxw hitchcock movie, 'marnie' is my fave color feature. sean connery is absolutely dreamy as the kind, curious, committed husband of a true psycho tuna, played beautifully by tippi hedren.

an extra bonus to this film is actress diane baker who is determined to prove just how unbalanced our tippi truly is. love, determination, ownership, and the sad truth of a parent's sins falling upon/within the head of a child.

not one to rest on her laurels, tippi has six movies in production right now.

photo: marnie: a thief in wool clothing walking away with the cash.

bette

painting by Peter Paul Rubens

further proof

myrna loy attains perfection.

may i have the last dance

'the misfits' was the last film for both marilyn monroe and clark gable. they were great in this film i lament.

man of the hour

the ballad of paul and jeanne

la petite mort

although 'last tango in paris' is in glorious color, these black and white images are revelatory. i grasp more with each viewing. my most recent discovery is how much the dynamic changes when 'paul' hears 'jeanne' say that she loves him. why must love ring the death knell? that's a question that's been asked since 1 plus 1 did not equal 2.

thank you

'last tango in paris' is one of my favorite movies. if i ever run out of ideas, i could do worse than paint every scene. it is breathtakingly beautiful. marlon and maria were at their most stunning and bertolucci's grasp of the city's majesty combined with the details of the shoddy (but huge) empty apartment where the lovers meet... it is all just about too much for my little brain.

the close-ups of maria pretty much prove how the camera does indeed fall in love.

the film is naked, honest, meaningful, and timeless. brando is agile, funny, and deeply generous. schneider must have been pushed too far in some instances and i do applaud her.



photo: PARIS - JULY 01: Actress Maria Schneider receives decoration at the Ministry of Culture on July 1, 2010 in Paris, France.

it can't happen here

but it can surely happen on the studio lot. fun times. SHOOTING THE MGM LOGO, 1924

friends for life

i would imagine so!

photo: Paulette Goddard and Charlie Chaplin in 'Modern Times' - 1936

lest we forget

Michael Cimino pronounced [ˈtʃamɪnəʊ], (that was helpful), went down with the ship. how many captain's can say that? well, they'd be past hearing.

i have not seen 'heaven's gate' but the story behind it is as interesting as the few scenes i have watched. 'united artists' (the film company created by chaplin and pickford) never recovered from this one movie. after a gorgeous reign whereby classics were made, cimino's folly led to the company being sold. it is a story that hollywood still dissects.

it was the '70's. i am sure egos were seriously tripping. how can i not imagine piles of cocaine on everyone's desk? still, there was a movie that came out before 'heaven's gate' called 'the deer hunter.' that sweetheart won 5 oscars.

talk about a sophomore slump.

photo: John Cazale, Christopher Walken, Robert De Niro in 'the deer hunter' (1978)

jean

this beautiful array of images of the irresistibly funny and alluring jean harlow was put together by sherry wallace. the song is from my cd 'psychedelicate' and the beautiful piano playing is courtesy of tyler ramsey.