Saturday
Jun132020
Where ya from, soldier?
Saturday, June 13, 2020 at 6:31AM 
Marlon Brando in Sayonara (1957) is from the same farm as Foghorn Leghorn, that's where he's from.
Talk amongst yourselves, readers. What's on your cinematic mind? We'll have a review of Da 5 Bloods soon but what else is on your cinematic mind? Behind the scenes wer're having a Sayonarara / Peyton Place kind of weekend.
Reader Comments (17)
As always, Jennifer Jones.
Also, my online move club just rewatched and discussed In the Heat of the Night, and it says so much to us that's relevant to the times in which we live. It's also making me think about Poitier and Steiger, both phenomenal in the movie, and how much of their filmographies I still have to visit.
I was finally able to see Corpus Christi - the Polish nominee for Best Foreign, oops International, Film, thus finally completing the arduous task of seeing every film nominated for an Oscar last year. It is excellent, and would have been worthy of winning. I still like Parasite better, but not much better, and this is its equal (so was Les Miserables), and the main actor, Bartosz Bielenia is magnificent. I hope he has a career ahead of him
It’s Ethan Embry’s 42nd birthday today, so I’m debating whether to revisit “Pizza” “Sweet Home Alabama” or finally watch “Cheap Thrills” in honor of this day.
Aw doing a little prep for the next Smackdown!
Peyton Place is both over the top and so prosaic now but Hope Lange is very good.
I'm going to have to revisit Sayonara. It's probably been a decade since I saw it last and I don't really remember Miyoshi Umeki in it. At this point my clearest memory of her is as Mrs. Livingston in the Bill Bixby TV series of The Courtship of Eddie's Father.
Just finished watching a fun 60's spy spoof with Dirk Bogarde and a hilarious Robert Morley called Hot Enough for June. I'm going to make it a point to watch more of both of their films.
I've just watched Diary of a country priest (1951) and The handmaiden(2016), both very good but depressing and disturbing in different ways, so next I´ll watch a comedy to relax.
I just watched "Sayonora" last week for the first time. Wow, it deserves a lengthy analysis. On the one hand, when watched in an historical context there are some things to applaud: Marlon Brando's character is in love with and has physical intimacy with an Asian woman which was both against the law and a huge no-no with the production code at the time. Also--and really surprising for the 1950s--the military gets fairly vilified in the film for its policy of forbidding overseas soldiers from bringing their Asian wives to the US. All that said, it's a truly terrible film dramatically. Joshua Logan's direction is as bad as all his films--listless, no sense of pacing, everything viewed in distancing long or medium shots, pointless musical interludes. Ricardo Montablan turns up as an Asian character. You don't believe me, do you? Watch it. Brando gives a horrible performance--so indulgent and self-absorbed and pleased with himself you almost think he's joking. Only good performance in the film comes from Patricia Owens as Brando's fiancé from back home. She's sincere and reliable, a shame she didn't have a bigger career.
What is your take on PEYTON PLACE?
I recently watched it for the first time and was expecting it to be worse than it was, but as I was watching it, also wishing it was either better -- or honestly campier -- as well.
Lana Turner's Best Actress nomination was one of the more mediocre of the '50s -- she was never a great actress -- but I did enjoy the performance by Hope Lange. Law & Order: SVU basically owes its entire history to Lange's character arc LOL.
I would looooove to see a Supporting Actress smackdown for 1957 -- so curious for y'all's take on that year. (Forgive me if you've already done it.)
Like all the highest quality commenters and cinema fans I'm still buzzing from the announcement of the return of the glorious 10-wide Best Picture field at the Oscars!
Oh, I'm just thinking about when/if cinemas will re-open again and when/if they do what will be the first film I'll see.
At the moment, maybe Mulan, which I want to support (Disney actually casting Asian actors, kick-ass female lead etc.) but is the film I want to make that risky first step into theatre going for?
Dear god Sayonara and Peyton Place are slogs.I'd watched them last year when the 57 smackdown was first announced to happen. They fit in with the bloated oscar frontrunners of the 50's that just don't age well for me.
I'll be interested to hear the thoughts of everyone when the 57 smackdown is done because it ranks among my least favourite lineups in the history of the category. It and 46 are the ones which come to mind as the weakest in the Oscars history. Speaking of 46 I can't wait for that eventual smackdown because the category contains a blackface and yellowface performance which of course age poorly.
I'm on a 99 rewatch this week and a lot of people talk about the greatness of american cinema from that year equally as great is the international cinema offerings. AAMM is without a double the best but directors who also were doing great work were Koreeda, Assayas, Mehrjui and many more.
I unfollowed Matt Neglia. He's super annoying.
Well honestly, what's been on my mind is that I have been missing this particular feature of the site but mostly I've been missing the weekly "what did you watch this week" roundup. I know that was for the boxoffice report, but I've found myself watching FAR more movies in lockdown than I ever did in real life. They just happen to be streaming on my little TV in my apartment.
Because of the above comments, I'm now thinking of Sayonara which I watched during lockdown. There is so much about it I liked but I thought Marlon Brando was affected and weird and I thought Ricardo Montalban as a Japanese theatrical master was possibly more embarrassing than Mickey Rooney in Breakfast At Tiffany's. At least Mickey is in a comedy, and I have always just pretended he's an insane person who happens to think he's Japanese. I feel that the Oscars went to Miyoshi Umeki and Red Buttons just as thanks for making the movie tolerable, sort of like the ones that went to George Chakiris and Rita Moreno, i.e. THANK YOU for making/saving this movie!
The main thing on my mind is that in lockdown I watched a movie that I really liked that not only had I never seen, but that I had never even heard of. It was an early Powell & Pressburger called I Know Where I'm Going. I liked pretty much everything about it, and a romantic comedy that doesn't require everyone in the movie to act like fools is pretty hard to come by.
I just saw Scream Factory's blu ray edition of "The Fan"(1981) this is a must have just for the extras and a hysterical commentary track by three gay film fanatics
Nathaniel- yikes Peyton P. and Sayonara BOTH in one weekend?! Sounds like quite a slog. Good luck! I still need to rent the latter for the '57 Smackdown. I found PP's script truly awful, but was amused by the most paternalistic doctor. and Russ Tamblyn was cute.
I agree the "what did i see this weekend" feature of this site is fun and hope it continues even w/o boxoffice. I just put two new titles i was not familiar with in my queue thanks to these comments: "The Fan" and "Hot Enough for June" (thanks commenters!). I love Bogarde and since i ADORED "Modesty Blaise" I have high hopes for HEFJ (aka Agent 8 3/4).
Myself this weekend:
- Eyes Without a Face (1960) - what a fantastic French horror/noir. lovely B/W shots, a modern sensibility. I can't recommend this enough! And now I understand Edith Scob wearing that plastic mask in "Holy Motors"
- Something for Everyone (1970)- rented for my personal "Queer film fest at home" since Frameline is not on. Sexy sinister Michael York comes to an Austrian villa and starts fucking everyone. including hottie son Anthony Higgins and (spoiler) the lady of the house Angela Landsbury. Surely this must have been inspired by Pasolini's "Teorema" (1968)... or was this just a subgenre back then??
" Peyton Place" the book is darker than the movie but I'm that strong rape scene must have really been a shocker when the movie was released
Hope Lange and Sessue Hayakawa were robbed.
My family and I are all movie addicts and this morning, we decided to watch all of Cate Blanchett’s movies. It all started with my sister, asking if she is typecasted.
Started today with Veronica Guerin and Notes on a Scandal.
Those two movies are in my mind right now. Tomorrow we are watching Paradise Road and The Missing.