05-04-2005
342) Scarface. First off, I have seen the Scarface you are thinking about Donna. This is the 1930s Howard Hughes production. It's pretty much true that all guys have seen the De Palma/Pacino remake, and as such it's hard to comment on this one without comparing. I've always said that remakes are usually a waste because most movies that get remade are already good and only movies that were decent but could have been great should be remade. That's kind of the way I feel about this. I've made no bones about my feelings for the De Palma Scarface. I've always thought it was just okay, and when I tell people I don't really like it I get the look usually reserved for people who say they've never seen Star Wars. But after seeing the original I'm a little more appreciative. It seems like De Palma did what I've always wanted in a remake and took a decent movie and made it better. Both pretty well share the same plot, but there was so much more detail put into the remake and the script and acting are far better. I will say that it was great to see Hawk's directing and to see where a lot of the grammar of the visual language of gangster/crime movies that followed for years came from, but Hawks wasn't quite up to the challenge of dealing with actors just yet. Muni played Tony with a certain weird comedy, more Tony Soprano than Tony Montana, and a lot of his delivery was so over the top it was laughable. Most everyone else was either wooden or over the top, too. Still, it was an interesting watch simply for the signifigance it holds in film history.
343) The Magnificent Ambersons. TMC was running a bunch of Orson Welles movies tonight and this is the only one I hadn't seen. It seemed like weird subject matter for Welles since it was basically a costumed soap opera. I was pretty bored by it until about an hour in, and I suspect Orson's directions to Joseph Cotten consisted of "Now do it like I would" and "No, no, no! Act like ME!" because the whole time he seemed to be doing an impression of Welles. Whatever.
343 down, 657 to go.
343) The Magnificent Ambersons. TMC was running a bunch of Orson Welles movies tonight and this is the only one I hadn't seen. It seemed like weird subject matter for Welles since it was basically a costumed soap opera. I was pretty bored by it until about an hour in, and I suspect Orson's directions to Joseph Cotten consisted of "Now do it like I would" and "No, no, no! Act like ME!" because the whole time he seemed to be doing an impression of Welles. Whatever.
343 down, 657 to go.
posted by Todd Jones at 10:56 PM
10 Comments:
I think that's the first time in history Howard Hughes has been confused with Howard Hawks
Dude, Chris just burned you.
Dude, Chris just burned himself. Scarface was PRODUCED by Howard HUGHES (hence, "This is the 1930s Howard Hughes production.") and DIRECTED by Howard HAWKS (hence, "...Hawk's directing..."). I provide those handy little links to the movies I'm talking about for a reason here, people.
Did calling me out on that make you as nerd-happy as when you correctly identified a vanity plate as the serial number to the Millenium Falcon?
ok, maybe he didn't burn you the first time, but that second time he defintely did...
Don't start trying to shift the foolishness spotlight to me Chris. You shot your mouth off trying to call me out and you ended up looking foolish, so don't pull this whole "look at that nerd, getting pleasure from showing off how much he knows about movies!" when all the evidence to show your assertion was ridiculous was right there in the post you were commenting on. It doesn't make me nerd happy or any other kind of happy to correct what should be plainly obvious.
Gentlemen, gentlemen... Let's be civil here!
Now, did I just fart?
And another thing!
Wow Toddo, this is a really cool undertaking on your part. I happened to talk to Robin the other day and she mentioned it.
As a former Blockbuster employee, and long-time fan of mediocre cinema, I just can't help but respect this. BTW, I saw you mention Hillary Duff a few entries ago, have you been watching Robot Chicken? They did a great movie trailer for Hillary Duff as Anne Frank--it was so funny/not at all amusing I didn't know whether to laugh or shoot someone.
As I live and breathe, if it isn't Will. I'm glad you are on board with the undertaking. I'm afraid I haven't been watching Robot Chicken. I caught a couple of them, but I'm pretty disgruntled about the lack of Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Sealab lately so I've strayed from the Adult Swim. I mean, Harvey Birdman is kind of funny, but it's not worth two episodes a night. And why no more Brak Show?! I'm just saying...
I never got into Brak, or Space Ghost for that matter. It's a pity Sealab is over and done with, the last episode being kind of a letdown. Aqua Teen can still suprise on occassion. But I have to agree with you on Harvey Birdman.
I was talking to some friends about this at lunch today, and did the quick math: this is a full time job! 40 hours a week is roughly 2000 hours annually, which is about the amount of time you're devoting to this. Wow!
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