Stephen Schaefer’s Hollywood & Mine – Boston Herald

As everyone adapts to the restrictions imposed by social isolation, the Internet and streaming services are naturally happy to take over from the cancellation of American life as we have always known.

I was struck the other night how incredibly satisfying it was to surf the chains and suddenly catch up with the last moments of a movie I’ve seen many times, Some like it hot. As I watched Marilyn Monroe sing her sad love songs (“ I’m Through with Love ”) with Sweet Sue and her Society Syncopaters as Tony Curtis drops the slogan to proclaim his love, while Jack Lemmon confesses to Osgood why Joe E. Brown can’t get married (I’m a man!), knowing every line, every musical landmark, every camera angle suddenly looked like Proust’s madeleine, a flashback when I saw Billy Wilders’ masterpiece the very first time. Thinking about how Monroe was / is / will always remain wonderful. You wonder what the film must have meant for me with its travesty, its dance (Cha-cha-cha) and its romantic reconstruction in black and white of this legendary era of the Roaring Twenties.

The next night, I had a similar epiphany while watching one of the best westerns Hollywood has ever made: the 1939s. Destry rides again (Blu-ray, new 4K digital restoration via Universal Pictures and The Film Foundation, Criterion Collection, Not Rated) with James Stewart (the same year he was Smith goes to Washington “) and in her glorious and legendary return Marlene Dietrich. Destry remains so alive today because it recognizes that pure evil exists in the world, that evil is destructive and, above all, powerful. In this way, these are stories for adults, not for children.

Destry is, like most westerners, a folk tale, set in a lawless border town where the forces of women of civilization who are wives, mothers, teachers are determined to eliminate the thugs led by Brian Donlevy (doubling his wickedness this year- there as a sadist Foreign Legionnaire in Nice gesture but would soon improve his image with the title role in Preston Sturges The Great McGinty). Donlevy, a cleverly low murderer, rules the city of “Destry”; he made sure the sheriff went to an unmarked grave and made sure everyone knew it and was properly bullied. He introduced into a crooked card game with Frenchy (Dietrich!), The singer of the dance hall and his lover and accomplice to deceive the vulnerable farmers of our land. Director George Marshall, whose career began in the era of silence, quickly and economically introduced a mortal world, stacked against the weak, ruled by the powerful. A savior is wanted and Stewarts Destry, the son of a legendary six-shot lawyer, accepts the post of sheriff. Stewarts Grit like a man who does not carry a gun, avoids conflict and likes to tell short stories about human behavior, makes him a big disappointment for all those who hoped that he would be a dominant hero of John style Wayne. Instead, Stewart, who easily conveys a determination of steel behind this mild-mannered facade (imagine Clark Kent and Superman), takes it slowly, focusing on law and order until a dead end becomes inevitable. Destry has two classic songs from Dietrich, Little Joe and See What the Boys in the Backroom Will Have. Her Frenchy shakes and throws a head of blond Shirley Temple style curls. She is a wild woman, with a character that is presented as “Destry just started: Dietrich and Una Merkel have the cat fight to end all cat fights, a salon fight that goes on indefinitely without double. The magic of cinema here Destry rides again burned when we didn’t expect it. In 1939, classified as the best year for the studio system, it is understandable that it was not nominated for the best film. Yet it certainly ranks among the best of all time. The Special Characteristics of the Criterion include a new interview with the critic Imogen Sara Smith, a new interview with “James Stewart: a biography” author Donald Dewey, an essay by critic Farran Smith Nehme and the Lux Radio Theater broadcast from ’45 with Stewart and Joan Blondell.

Wednesday, April 1, Toshiro Mifune, the biggest and best known of Japanese actors, would have been 100 years old. TCM has therefore projected half a dozen of its greatest successes, all in collaboration with the writer-director Akira Kurosawa, another giant of Japanese cinema. I plan to watch four: Rashomon from 1950, the film that established their reputation, The seven samurai (54) which ranks among the greatest films ever made, one based on the classics of John Ford Westerns, Yojimbo (61) – this translates to The bodyguard – and like Samurai which was redone in Hollywood as The Magnificent Seven, was redone by Sergio Leone A handful of dollars. It was an unauthorized remake; Kurosawa pursued and won a settlement plus 15% of the profits! And then there is the only contemporary Japanese thriller in this group, the 1963 Up and down.

It’s an intriguing story and an equally intriguing picture. Adapted from a novel by Ed McBain, his books at that time were considered pulp fiction! Up and down In Mifune, a prosperous Tokyo industrialist whose son is kidnapped and a huge ransom of 30 million yen is demanded. Only his son was not taken away, it was his playmate, the driver’s son, who was kidnapped. The film is carefully divided into two halves, the first of which is High, referring to the hilltop house of Mifunes (the Japanese title more clearly suggests the dynamics at play: Heaven and hell). The kidnapper can use a telescope and look in the Mifunes lounge. He has developed an irrational hatred of the almighty man on the hill and his ransom demand is intended to humiliate him.

The second half goes down Low to catch the kidnapper turned killer. Kurosawa proves what a staging master he is, what energy he can summon. Sure High where we stay in the living room, the physical space is continuously modified by where the police, the detective, the wife of Mifunes, the driver and Mifune are standing or sitting. It is without a doubt theatrical that the characters shout, discuss, bow and cry. The way Kurosawa locates the camera to observe everyone in the room, we understand how the geography of where they are and with whom they hang determines what is said and done. It is never static. The hunt is kinetic, propulsive, wonderful. Kurosawa allows us to practically feel the summer heat of 105 degrees at 9 am in these lower depths. At an extended police conference, a glimpse of all the evidence from various cop teams, everyone sweats, literally fades while working in a scorching hell. the ‘Low’ the end embraces chaos as the police follow the killer, hoping to arrest him for murder where hell will be executed rather than extortion and only 15 years. Teams in casual attire hunt down the kidnapper who must buy heroin and return to the villa where he has hidden his two accomplice junkies and hopes to assassinate them. The sensational Kurosawa sequence here is a crowded and rowdy dance club where we are pretty much neck and neck with everyone, crossing and moved by the crowd. Then there is a coda which is as good as all of the above and ends Up and down with a noise. It is really enough to make you forget the virus and think of paradise and perhaps hell.

A family horror marks death

The 4 parts Deadwater fell which starts on Monday 6 April on AcornTV with weekly episodes, considers the growing ripple effects that a horrible tragedy leaves on a small Scottish town. There are 2 couples in the center of this very slow and extremely moody series. David Tennant, the Scottish actor known for playing Doctor Who and Broadchurch, is Doctor Tom Kendrick, married to the elegant elementary school teacher Kate (Anna Madely).

They have 3 young daughters. Jess (Cush Jumbo from CBS All accesses The good fight) is a teacher with Kate. She is associated with Police Sergeant Steve Campbell (Matthew McNulty). When a fire breaks out and people die, questions are then asked that point to intentional homicides. Deadwater fell becomes both a mystery of the murder and an examination of the illusions we carry about knowledge, the real knowledge of people. McNultys stands out here as a guilty cop whose every step is wrong, no matter how generous or whatever his intentions are. Deadwater fell also asks: When is the right time to tell your sweetheart that you’ve slept with your best friend?

NEW DVDs:

A 21TH CENTURY ALCOTT Greta Gerwigs adaptation of Louisa May Alcotts classic of the 19th century Little woman (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital, Sony, PG) uses Alcotts magazines, details from the period and the novel itself for a star version which was nominated for 6 Oscars and won 1 for its costumes. The most important change is Gerwigs mixing events, mixing deadlines and adding fantastic scenes that we only realize gradually are fantasies.

For me, this was perhaps the most enjoyable change, offering filmmakers a personal vision of how to tell this popular story. The stars of the big cast start with Saoirse Ronans Jo (and notice, please, have there been any protests against the fact that she was Irish and not American as Cynthia Erivo was charged with being British and to play Harriet Tubman? !!?). Florence Pughs, who was looking for husband Amy (also like Ronan Oscar nominee) was a revisionist interpretation that works. Don’t miss Chris Cooper, Tracy Letts, Louis Garrel and, of course, Meryl Streep. At 2 hours and 15 minutes, this Little woman is maybe 20 minutes too long. Special features include a backstage, short films on adaptation, modern sensibility, tests of hair and makeup and Gerwig discussing the fusion of his own style with the history of the period. A special note must be made of the Yorick La Sauxs cinematography which gives a browned glow to the interiors by the fireside and a breathtaking clarity outside, you can almost feel the air cold rise in your nose.

A TIMELESS RICHARD WIDMARK A star from his memorable debut in 1947 in Kiss of death until his death at 93 in 2008, Richard Widmark was talented enough to escape the transcript that followed his Oscar-nominated tour as sadist Tommy Udo, the thug who giggled happily while pushing a woman in a wheelchair into the stairs until his death.

1957 Time limit (Blu-ray, KL Studio Classics, Not Rated), now in a brand new 2K master, ranks as a personal project for Widmark: he produced, performed and hired another actor Karl Malden (Oscar nominated for At the water’s edge, Oscar winner for A streetcar called desire) to direct the adaptation of his play by Henry Denkers. This is a trial with Widmark as judge advocate for Richard Basehart (televisions Journey to the bottom of the sea), accused of collaborating with the enemy during the Korean War. It is Maldens’ only management effort. Widmark would produce 2 additional films, The secret routes (61) he ended up directing without credit, and The Bedford incident in 65 who marked his third team with Sidney Poitier, a lifelong friend. Discover 3 of the best films from Widmarks Madigan directed by Don Siegel, Coma a very sexy medical thriller scripted and directed by Michael Crichton, and the star of 1961 Judgment in Nuremberg.

A PROMISING START If you are interested in the start of a spectacular international career, in this case with the writer-director of the Greeks Yorgos Lanthimos, then consult Lobster and Favorite first solo feature filmmakers, the 2005 Kinetta (Blu-ray, Kino Lorber, unclassified). A trio reconstructs murder scenes in a desolate Greek seaside resort (one that looks uncomfortable now).

The murders, all of local women, are courtesy of a local serial killer. The three, a hotel maid, an obsessive-compulsive detective and a photo store clerk, are not as concerned about the homicides as they are about their own psycho-sexual obsessions. Lanthimos became a rising star four years later with the surrealist Dogtooth on the bizarre life of a family with 3 teenagers. There was sex, strangeness and a kind of socio-cultural point. Six years later in 2015, Lobster with Colin Farrell and Rachel Weisz won Lanthimos an Oscar nomination for his screenplay – and the cachet of doing what he wanted. It meant another extremely strange film, an adaptation of the classic Greek tragedy, 2017 The killing of a sacred deer where a household headed by Farrell must sacrifice one of his own to appease the gods. Nicole Kidman is the wife who has to play death to have sex with her husband and Irelands Barry Keoghan the orphaned messenger whose claims become truly horrible.

The following year, Lanthimos presented the Oscar winner The favourite with Olivia Colman requisitioning the award for best actress for her supporting role as Queen Anne. Lanthimos was named best director and best film.

A DOCTOR TO DIE? Quirky is the word for French import Balthazar: series 1 (DVD, 6 episodes, 2 discs, AcornTV, unclassified). A riff on these brilliant morgue detectives, only here with a slight French touch. Balthazar is Raphael Balthazar (Tomer Sisley), a Parisian medical examiner who can practically speak to the dead. Naturally, this collides with the French chief inspector (Hlne de Fougerolles). As brilliant as it is and it EAST altogether, the brilliant guy Balthazar is haunted by the murder of his wife a dozen years earlier. When evidence suggests that the case could be reopened, it also means that the killer is probably on the run, able to kill again. In French with English subtitles.