NOSFERATU is the first cinematic "Dracula" adaptation, and most subsequent adaptations rely heavily on its influence. The silent film technique is pretty much perfect for the genre, but I have to say...the scenes where Count Orlock (Max Shreck) is not on screen are tediously boring. If it weren't for Shreck's nightmarishly perfect portrayal of the vampire, this film would simply be work to sit through. I know there is that whole..."Well, you have to realize that it was made in 1922" stuff. Well, THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI was made even earlier and is still scary and entertaining. Count Orlock is Iconic, the movie is generally a bore.
I was surprised by how intense this film was with the flogging and other mistreatments of the crew of the Bounty. Charles Laughton is now one of my favorite cinematic villains. He is so despicable it is fun to hate him. I am also starting to understand why Clark Gable was such a star. He is always smirking and almost grandstanding for the camera, as if his performances are outside of the movie he is starring in (this goes for GONE WITH THE WIND as well), but he is so good at it that all is forgiven. For a movie made in 1935, the production design is superb, and the scenes in Tahiti are a lot of fun. Just a great film worth of that 1935 Best Picture Oscar.
These are the movies I had seen out of the book upon the start of this project.
1-Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (1937) B 2-The Wizard of Oz (1939) A 3-Fantasia (1940) A 4-Dumbo (1941) B+ 5-12 Angry Men (1957) A 6-Throne of Blood (1957) B+ 7-Dr. Strangelove (1964) A 8-The Sound of Music (1965) A 9-The Producers (1968) A- 10-Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971) A- 11-Sleeper (1973) B 12-The Exorcist (1973) A 13-Young Frankenstein (1974) A 14-Blazing Saddles (1974) A 15-Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) B 16-Jaws (1975) A 17-Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977) A- 18-Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) A- 19-Annie Hall (1977) A 20-Grease (1978) B 21-Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979) B- 22-Apocalypse Now (1979) B 23-The Muppet Movie (1979) A- 24-The Shining (1980) A- 25-Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) A 26-Airplane (1980) A 27-Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) A 28-E.T. The Extra Terrestrial (1982) A- 29-Poltergeist (1982) B+ 30-The Evil Dead (1982) B- 31-Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983) B 32-Amadeus (1984) A 33-A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) B 34-Beverly Hills Cop (1984) B 35-Ghostbuster (1984) B+ 36-Out of Africa (1985) B 37-Back to the Future (1985) A+ 38-Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986) B+ 39-Platoon (1986) A 40-Top Gun (1986) B 41-Full Metal Jacket (1987) A 42-A Fish Called Wanda (1988) A 43-The Naked Gun (1988) A- 44-Big (1988) A- 45-Die Hard (1988) A- 46-Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) A 47-Rain Man (1988) A 48-Batman (1989) B+ 49-Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) B+ 50-Glory (1989) A 51-Goodfellas (1990) A 52-Pretty Woman (1990) B 53-Edward Scissorhands (1990) A- 54-Delicatessan (1991) B 55-Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991) A 56-The Silence of the Lambs (1991) A 57-JFK (1991) A 58-Reservoir Dogs (1992) A- 59-Unforgiven (1992) A 60-Groundhog Day (1993) A 61-Philadelphia (1993) A- 62-Jurassic Park (1993) A 63-Schindler's List (1993) A 64-Forrest Gump (1994) A 65-The Lion King (1994) A 66-Clerks (1994) A 67-Pulp Fiction (1994) A 68-The Shawshank Redemption (1994) A+ 69-Babe (1995) B 70-Braveheart (1995) B+ 71-Toy Story (1995) A 72-Casino (1995) A 73-Clueless (1995) A- 74-Seven (1995) A- 75-The Usual Suspects (1995) B+ 76-Independence Day (1996) A- 77-Scream (1996) B+ 78-The English Patient (1996) A- 79-Boogie Nights (1997) B+ 80-Titanic (1997) A+ 81-Saving Private Ryan (1998) A 82-There's Something About Mary (1998) A- 83-Three Kings (1999) B+ 84-Fight Club (1999) A 85-The Blair Witch Project (1999) B 86-Being John Malkovich (1999) A- 87-American Beauty (1999) A 88-The Matrix (1999) A 89-The Sixth Sense (1999) B 90-Gladiator (2000) A 91-Meet the Parents (2000) C+ 92-Traffic (2000) B 93-Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) A- 94-Amelie (2001) B+ 95-Moulin Rouge (2001) A- 96-The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) B+ 97-The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (2001) A 98-The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) A 99-The Pianist (2002) A 100-The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003) A+ 101-Oldboy (2003) A 102-Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003) A- 103-The Passion of the Christ (2004) A- 104-Crash (2004) A 105-Sideways (2004) A 106-Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004) B+ 107-Brokeback Mountain (2005) A 108-Little Miss Sunshine (2006) A 109-Apocalypto (2006) A- 110-The Departed (2006) A- 111-Pan's Labyrinth (2006) A 112-Borat (2006) B 113-The Lives of Others (2006) A- 114-Once (2006) A- 115-The Queen (2006) A 116-The Host (2006) D 117-The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007) A- 118-No Country For Old Men (2007) A 119-Into the Wild (2007) A 120-There Will Be Blood (2007) A 121-Atonement (2007) A This is the biggest movie I have ever seen, and I am sorry that I have never seen it on the big screen. When a movie seems to dwarf GONE WITH THE WIND, BEN HUR, and LORD OF THE RINGS...it MUST be big. Watching the desert canvas that David Lean was painting on throughout LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, I couldn't help but think that even then, the lens wasn't big enough to capture the vastness of the Arabian desert. Never before have I seen the desert as such a harsh, unforgiving terrain. I also have to mention Peter O'Toole, who plays Lawrence as a hubristic, effeminate oddball, and it is totally believable that he was able to unite the Arab tribes against the Turks. WOW!!! Simply WOW!!!!!
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These are Kevin's viewings out of the above Steven Jay Schneider tome Archives
May 2012
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