The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp [1943]
1. “While men have been fighting, women have been thinking.”
2. “We’re having the Bishop for lunch.” “Let’s hope he’s tender.”
3. A pile of burning leaves in a park on an autumn afternoon. Candy sits alone on a park bench and swats at the grass with his cane.
The Mack [1973]
1. She begs him to be her pimp. He says he’ll think about it.
2. Killer accordion.
3. Sweaty bassist at the Player’s Ball.
La Moustache [2005]
1. The shoelace breaks. Just like it did before.
2. It’s raining so hard that he literally cannot see through the window. The house where he grew up no longer exists.
3. The man shows him pictures that he doesn’t remember. But they actually do exist. It’s at this point he accepts that he really has to go along with what’s happening.
The Young One [1960]
1. The old man has died and his corpse is still lying in the bed. It has one boot on and one boot off. On a table by the bed is a bottle of whiskey and an empty (but previously used) glass. Miller discovers the corpse and says, “So, he finally kicked it.” He notices the bottle just sitting there. Picks up the glass and brings it halfway to his lips. Then he looks over at the bed and thinks better of it, puts it back down. Later he goes back to his cabin and has a drink from his own bottle of whiskey.
2. Smooth tracking shots of the pursuit through the swamp.
3. She walks across the pier awkwardly in her high-heeled shoes. Then she begins to skip across an imaginary hopscotch board.
What a great double bill this would make with The Intruder!
True Stories [1986]
1. The movie was designed for the 1.37:1 aspect ratio. Not widescreen. Very unusual for a 1986 theatrical release. Perhaps Byrne designed it that way so that it wouldn’t lose much when shown on video?
2. “Linda! Larry! There’s no concept of weekends anymore!” He bows and the lights dim except for the spotlights on the table. The other actors are motionless.
3. He pours the colored sand onto the floor in a circle around himself.
The Grapes of Wrath [1940]
1. She reads the postcard one last time and then gently tips it into the flames.
2. The immaculately creased white trousers worn by the camp superintendent.
3. Three shadows in the dirt.
Scott Walker: 30 Century Man [2006]
1. On tour: Roy Orbision, The Walker Brothers, Lulu.
2. Newspaper headline: “Scott hides away in a gloom-world”
3. Someone compares Walker to Francis Bacon. Later, in a recording studio, a percussionist plays a giant piece of meat while Walker listens from the control booth.
Les félins [1964]
1. Jane chops up some herbs, takes a roast leg of mutton out of the oven.
2. “He wants proof that you suffered.” He presses RECORD on the tape machine.
3. Lalo Schifrin’s score. Plucked strings, harpsichord. In a scene towards the end we even get some Dixieland.
A jazzy little movie. If only the screenplay had been a little tighter and the direction a little less arty. Still, I liked it. By the way, the American title Joy House is completely lame.
The Men Who Stare at Goats [2009]
1. “What’s with the air quotes? Are you implying that I’m only capable of ironically strangling you?”
2. “The silence of the goats.”
3. He demonstrates the Predator.
Pretty good! I think it falls a little short of the grand slam it could’ve been with a more seasoned director, but the script is solid and so is the acting. It reminded me a bit of Dr. Strangelove: it’s very, very funny but at the same time what’s at the core of the movie is also pretty sad.
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan [2006]
1. He throws down the bag and the hen squawks.
2. “Let’s go back to New York, at least there are no Jews there.”
3. He comes back to the table and presents the hostess with a white bag.
