What a brilliant comedy! This witty story about an irresistable socialite and the men who love her has some of the best dialogue I've ever heard in a film. It's sharp-witted, fast-paced, ironic and intelligent. Besides, I'll gaze at Cary Grant or James Stewart any day.
Normally I'm not an advocate of James Bond. As alluring as he can be, every single one of his films loses me once he starts rolling into bed with women named such things as Pussy Galore or Honey Ryder. But Casino Royale, despite it's flaws, is a stunning film. The cinematography is incredible....it's stark, yet rich, incorporating lots of high-exposure, light drenched shots in with the more moody settings you'd expect. When Bond is whiping the blood off of his face after killing a man, the frantic, shaking camera angles do as much to propel the story along as the acting. The movie opens in harsh black and white, more like moving, artistic mug shots than traditional black-and-white-films. But the scene that will stick with me the most was, in my opinion, sheer brilliance. Bond comes to check on his partner, Vesper Lynd, after they've just killed a man. He finds her sitting in the shower, still in her evening gown, silently crying over the thing she has just done. Bond simply sits in the shower with her and holds her. It was such a wonderful moment. It's moments like that that make great movies.
Have you ever noticed how American films look cooler on foreign posters? This is the Italian poster for the Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire musical Funny Face. It may not be one of my favorite movies, but this is definitely one of my favorite posters.
I am a romantic. Not in the Valentine's Day, rose petals and "oooh, a cute boy!" way. I love chivalry, heroes and the Middle Ages, fierce battles, brilliant painters, the Renaissance, damsels (who aren't in distress) and the courage to do whatever it takes to kill the dragon. I've been in a sort of giddy, "I want to kill a dragon and run off with a knight as we fight off the evil king and live in a secret castle underground" mood. I've been blasting my swashbuckling movie soundtracks, dancing to "Lusty Month of May" from Camelot and feeling more important than I should while The Fellowship of the Ring's battle music plays. In short, as my brother says, I've been "swashing some buckles." (And if you don't get that joke you need to read up on your Robin Hood, Treasure Island and Hero and the Crown.)
Cleopatra is deserving of all the attention she has gotten over the centuries. When the world was dominated by power hungry men, she stood firm and stubbornly worked to make her country as wonderful as it could be, despite a tumultuous upbringing which included a forced marriage to her younger brother. She was bold with her requests and didn't mind raising an eyebrow or two. It's not fair that all people think of when they think of Cleopatra is sexy siren. Yes, sometimes she used her body to um, "forge alliances," which I obviously think is wrong, but she deserves more respect than that. The films that have burned her permanently into pop culture beautifully portrayed the opulence of Egypt, a land where rulers were led to believe that they were gods and all they did was just. The film photographs are of Elizabeth Taylor and Vivien Leigh.
I am not ashamed to admit the main reason why I love this film. It's not the breathtaking cinematography, the impressive special effects, or the intense acting: it's the camels. I can't watch this film without wanting to ride a camel across the desert. Does that make me shallow? Maybe. But if I'm ever an eccentric rich person with money to burn, I'll tell you what my first purchase will be. A camel. I'll name it Shaherazad (but I'll call it Zadi for short.)
The Film Roman holiday is just so much fun. I dare you to watch it and not fall in love. It was Audrey Hepburn's first major motion picture (and won her the Academy Award for Best Actress,) not to mention one of the first Hollywood films to be shot on location. The screenplay writer had to go under a fake name because he was actually on the Hollywood blacklist.
The film is about a princess (Hepburn) who, tired of her duties, runs away and is discovered by a journalist (Peck.) She doesn't tell him who she is, but he figures it out, and plays ignorance so that he can do a big story on "princess gone wild." But, of course, they fall in love, and things get complicated.
This movie inspires me with it's spirited comedic acting, beautiful cinematography and spunky storyline. Okay, so Gregory Peck "inspires" me, too.
