The Phliadelphia Story and High Society are very similar. Both kept to the story line and most of the time kept to the script, verbatim.The biggest difference between the two is mostly the musical numbers. I enjoyed High Society more than Philadelphia Story even though the songs were a bit random, which was customary for this time period. Also, in High Society, Mike Connor never offers to marry the Tracy Lord and instead her ex husband, Dexter, immediately offers his own hand in marriage.
Stylistically the two could'nt be anymore different. The Philadelphia Story has a more urgent sense to it, and everything is supposed to be taken very seriously. High Society, on the other hand, has more of a comedic aspect to it, in ways almost making fun of the situation Tracy gets entangled in. In addition, High Society is more fun for the audience to watch and Philadelphia Story is entertaining in a different way.
While the two differed in a few ways, they were very similar, but I enjoyed High Society the most.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
High Society
A musical remake of the Philadelphia Story, high society is a fun whirlwind of a movie.
High Society's cast has some of Hollywood's household names, Grace Kelly as Tracy Lord, Bing Crosby as C.K. Dexter-Haven, Frank Sinatra as Mike Connor, and Celeste Holm as Liz Imbrie. The film recieved two nominations for the song "True Love", nominated for best song, and best music/scoring of a musical picture (all of the music was written by Cole Porter). In addition, it recieved a WGA nomination for best written American musical.
High society begins with Louis Armstrong in a fun and upbeat song aptly titled "High Society". The story line follows the same as Philadelphia Story: a young girl engaged who has a brief moment of imperfection and kisses a reporter, then realizes that she still loves her ex husband and they get married and live happily ever after.
I enjoyed the movie a great deal. Grace Kelly was wonderful, although sometimes her portrayal of the character became confusing. I also thought the musical numbers added to the energy of the film and made it very upbeat, keeping the audience light-hearted and engaged. I enjoyed seeing Louis Armstrong but at times I felt his part was a little random. I thought it was a great adaptation of the story and I loved getting to see Frank Sinatra do his thing (and personally I would've married him in a heart beat!). Overall I give the film a B.
High Society's cast has some of Hollywood's household names, Grace Kelly as Tracy Lord, Bing Crosby as C.K. Dexter-Haven, Frank Sinatra as Mike Connor, and Celeste Holm as Liz Imbrie. The film recieved two nominations for the song "True Love", nominated for best song, and best music/scoring of a musical picture (all of the music was written by Cole Porter). In addition, it recieved a WGA nomination for best written American musical.
High society begins with Louis Armstrong in a fun and upbeat song aptly titled "High Society". The story line follows the same as Philadelphia Story: a young girl engaged who has a brief moment of imperfection and kisses a reporter, then realizes that she still loves her ex husband and they get married and live happily ever after.
I enjoyed the movie a great deal. Grace Kelly was wonderful, although sometimes her portrayal of the character became confusing. I also thought the musical numbers added to the energy of the film and made it very upbeat, keeping the audience light-hearted and engaged. I enjoyed seeing Louis Armstrong but at times I felt his part was a little random. I thought it was a great adaptation of the story and I loved getting to see Frank Sinatra do his thing (and personally I would've married him in a heart beat!). Overall I give the film a B.
Friday, April 23, 2010
The Philadelphia Story
This movie has what I call one crazy wedding! I'm not sure why Katherine Hepburn's new fiance would want to marry a girl who still lives next door to her ex-husband (who is much cuter than him).
The Philadelphia Story stars Katherine Hepburn as Tracy Lord, Cary Grant as C.K. Dexter Haven, and James Stewart as Macauley Connor. The movie racked up some major acclaim, winning 1 Oscar for best actor (James Stewart) and best writing/screenplay. It earned nominations for best actress (Katherine Hepburn), best supporting actress (Ruth Hussey), best Director (George Cukor), and best picture (Joseph L. Mankiewicz). In addition, Katherine Hepburn recieved a NYFCC award for best actress.
The story begins with Tracy Lord, a girl raised in a wealthy family, who we find out is going to be married the next day. Nothing new just your ordinary bride. But then the audience finds out she's been divorced, once she accidently comes across a picture of her ex-husband. Interesting, but we can deal with that. They obviously aren't on good terms by her reaction to the picture. But wait! Her ex-husband lives right NEXT DOOR?! Who does that? Why?? Well, her ex-husband/neighbor, Dexter, is obviously still madly in love with Tracy. He comes over to visit and talks to her about the wedding, even gives Tracy a wedding present... a momento of THEIR HONEYMOON! Awkward, I know. Well once the audience meets Tracy's fiance, George Kittridge (John Howard), he resembles nothing of Dexter. He's very business like, everything must be proper.... basically not a lot of fun. So, from the very beginning (albeit it's still weird), the audience is rooting for Dexter. But then the night before the wedding there's a party, and there's alcohol, and there's this really cute reporter and one thing leads to another and.... Houston, we got a problem. Tracy feels the pressure to be perfect throughout the entire movie, so when Dexter tells her what happened the night before she freaks out. Then, after a lot of confusion, Dexter and Tracy get married and everyone lives happily ever after.
I really enjoyed the movie, although there were some interesting parts. Katherine Hepburn did a great job in the role of Tracy. I liked the scenery they chose to use for the film. Everyone did a really great job and I really enjoyed it. I give it a solid B.
The Philadelphia Story stars Katherine Hepburn as Tracy Lord, Cary Grant as C.K. Dexter Haven, and James Stewart as Macauley Connor. The movie racked up some major acclaim, winning 1 Oscar for best actor (James Stewart) and best writing/screenplay. It earned nominations for best actress (Katherine Hepburn), best supporting actress (Ruth Hussey), best Director (George Cukor), and best picture (Joseph L. Mankiewicz). In addition, Katherine Hepburn recieved a NYFCC award for best actress.
The story begins with Tracy Lord, a girl raised in a wealthy family, who we find out is going to be married the next day. Nothing new just your ordinary bride. But then the audience finds out she's been divorced, once she accidently comes across a picture of her ex-husband. Interesting, but we can deal with that. They obviously aren't on good terms by her reaction to the picture. But wait! Her ex-husband lives right NEXT DOOR?! Who does that? Why?? Well, her ex-husband/neighbor, Dexter, is obviously still madly in love with Tracy. He comes over to visit and talks to her about the wedding, even gives Tracy a wedding present... a momento of THEIR HONEYMOON! Awkward, I know. Well once the audience meets Tracy's fiance, George Kittridge (John Howard), he resembles nothing of Dexter. He's very business like, everything must be proper.... basically not a lot of fun. So, from the very beginning (albeit it's still weird), the audience is rooting for Dexter. But then the night before the wedding there's a party, and there's alcohol, and there's this really cute reporter and one thing leads to another and.... Houston, we got a problem. Tracy feels the pressure to be perfect throughout the entire movie, so when Dexter tells her what happened the night before she freaks out. Then, after a lot of confusion, Dexter and Tracy get married and everyone lives happily ever after.
I really enjoyed the movie, although there were some interesting parts. Katherine Hepburn did a great job in the role of Tracy. I liked the scenery they chose to use for the film. Everyone did a really great job and I really enjoyed it. I give it a solid B.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Rebecca
Having read the book, I was very excited to watch this movie! I absolutely loved the book and couldn't set it down! But as any avid Harry Potter fan knows, the movie never meets the reader's expectations...
The film starred Laurence Olivier as Maxim de Winter and Joan Fontaine as the second Mrs. de Winter. It was directed by the highly acclaimed Alfred Hitchcock, who with this film won his first and only Oscar as best Director.
Rebecca is a story about a woman who lingers on past her demise and affects those close to her. Maxim has supposedly been married to an angel. She was known very widely as the perfect wife, the perfect host, and the perfect friend. Once she passed on everyone saw Maxim fall apart, assuming it due to her loss. When Maxim meets the future Mrs. de Winter, he sees his second chance at happiness and immediately takes hold of it. With not a lot of time gone by, the two have a hasty marriage and an impromptu honeymoon, then head straight back to Manderly, Maxim's revered mansion. Mrs. de Winter realizes things aren't as lovely as she thought when she meets the stoic Ms. Danvers, an avid fan of the deceased Rebecca who is bordering lesbianism. Maxim acts strangely when at Manderly and their relationship begins to crumble, until they find Rebecca's boat sunk at the bottom of a lake. Then Maxim pours out every lie to Mrs. de Winter giving them a closer bond, but leading to another court case, in which his life is endangered if he doesn't win. The movie is topped off with a raging fire, set by the insane Ms. Danvers, and a passionate kiss of renewed love.
Had I not read the book, I think I would have really enjoyed the movie. Judith Anderson (as Ms. Danvers) did a fantastic job of portraying her character! She was exactly as I envisioned her in the book except for the fact that she seemed to have a gross and addictive attraction to Rebecca. I could not stand Joan Fontaine, though. She was too whiney and unrelatable. In the book, the reader can really understand her and feels compassionate toward her, but in the film she gets rather annoying and a bit too naive. Olivier played the part perfectly except that the contrast between him before he spills to Mrs. de Winter and after was not as apparent. I don't think he portrayed Maxim as angry as he should have been. Because I read the book I give Rebecca a B-.
The film starred Laurence Olivier as Maxim de Winter and Joan Fontaine as the second Mrs. de Winter. It was directed by the highly acclaimed Alfred Hitchcock, who with this film won his first and only Oscar as best Director.
Rebecca is a story about a woman who lingers on past her demise and affects those close to her. Maxim has supposedly been married to an angel. She was known very widely as the perfect wife, the perfect host, and the perfect friend. Once she passed on everyone saw Maxim fall apart, assuming it due to her loss. When Maxim meets the future Mrs. de Winter, he sees his second chance at happiness and immediately takes hold of it. With not a lot of time gone by, the two have a hasty marriage and an impromptu honeymoon, then head straight back to Manderly, Maxim's revered mansion. Mrs. de Winter realizes things aren't as lovely as she thought when she meets the stoic Ms. Danvers, an avid fan of the deceased Rebecca who is bordering lesbianism. Maxim acts strangely when at Manderly and their relationship begins to crumble, until they find Rebecca's boat sunk at the bottom of a lake. Then Maxim pours out every lie to Mrs. de Winter giving them a closer bond, but leading to another court case, in which his life is endangered if he doesn't win. The movie is topped off with a raging fire, set by the insane Ms. Danvers, and a passionate kiss of renewed love.
Had I not read the book, I think I would have really enjoyed the movie. Judith Anderson (as Ms. Danvers) did a fantastic job of portraying her character! She was exactly as I envisioned her in the book except for the fact that she seemed to have a gross and addictive attraction to Rebecca. I could not stand Joan Fontaine, though. She was too whiney and unrelatable. In the book, the reader can really understand her and feels compassionate toward her, but in the film she gets rather annoying and a bit too naive. Olivier played the part perfectly except that the contrast between him before he spills to Mrs. de Winter and after was not as apparent. I don't think he portrayed Maxim as angry as he should have been. Because I read the book I give Rebecca a B-.
Maltese Falcon
Maltese Falcon is hard to describe. If you get some sort of an idea of what it's about, then I'll have done my job.
Everyone knows the very famous Humphry Bogart and his cool demeanor. If you're a Bogart fan, then you'll love this movie. He stars as Sam Spade alongside Mary Astor as Brigid O'Shaughnessy. Maltese Falcon was nominate for three Oscars: Best Supporting actor (Sydney Greenstreet), best picture, and best writing/screenplay.
Oh where to begin..... Well it starts with a girl (as they always do) who needs help from private detectives Spade and Archer. Archer decides to take the case since he thinks the girl is pretty cute. His unloyalty to his wife leads to his demise (what goes around comes around!) on the job. Now it's up to Spade to figure out why Archer died and who killed him. And thus commences the chaos.... the girl was lying, a guy wants this falcon, he tries to kill Spade, fat man kisses up to Spade, assisstant follows Spade, fat man wants the falcon, Spade tries to find falcon, girl involved with the two men, dead man with bundle comes to Spade's office, they all open the package AND!.... it's fake. All of that trouble for a stupid falcon.
If you haven't already noticed, I did not particularly enjoy this movie. There were too many twists so the audience member became confused as to who did what and who's on who's side. I liked Bogart in the movie, but felt Astor's character got very annoying. The film had great potential but, honestly, I had no attatchment to the bird because I had no idea what the point of having it was. Most of the time I just felt bad for Bogart getting stuck in this crazy goose chase. Overall, I give the film a C+.
Everyone knows the very famous Humphry Bogart and his cool demeanor. If you're a Bogart fan, then you'll love this movie. He stars as Sam Spade alongside Mary Astor as Brigid O'Shaughnessy. Maltese Falcon was nominate for three Oscars: Best Supporting actor (Sydney Greenstreet), best picture, and best writing/screenplay.
Oh where to begin..... Well it starts with a girl (as they always do) who needs help from private detectives Spade and Archer. Archer decides to take the case since he thinks the girl is pretty cute. His unloyalty to his wife leads to his demise (what goes around comes around!) on the job. Now it's up to Spade to figure out why Archer died and who killed him. And thus commences the chaos.... the girl was lying, a guy wants this falcon, he tries to kill Spade, fat man kisses up to Spade, assisstant follows Spade, fat man wants the falcon, Spade tries to find falcon, girl involved with the two men, dead man with bundle comes to Spade's office, they all open the package AND!.... it's fake. All of that trouble for a stupid falcon.
If you haven't already noticed, I did not particularly enjoy this movie. There were too many twists so the audience member became confused as to who did what and who's on who's side. I liked Bogart in the movie, but felt Astor's character got very annoying. The film had great potential but, honestly, I had no attatchment to the bird because I had no idea what the point of having it was. Most of the time I just felt bad for Bogart getting stuck in this crazy goose chase. Overall, I give the film a C+.
Double Indemnity
Film Noir: a genre of mystery, dark lighting, and a deviously psycho wife plotting her husband's death. That can pretty much sum up Double Indemnity for you. Following every rule in the book, Double Indemnity is a classic version of film noir, and sets the standard for many more in that genre.
The movie stars Fred MacMurray as Walter Neff and Barbara Stanwyck as Phyllis Dietrichson, who was nominated for an Oscar. The film also recieved nominations for best black and whit cinematography, best Director (Billy Wilder), best music/score, best picture, best sound, and best writing/screenplay.
Double Indemnity is about an insurance agent, Walter Neff, who tries to sell a life policy to an older man unsuccessfully. When the man's wife, Phyllis Dietrichson, approaches him about making a crooked deal, Neff walks away. After thinking it over, Neff becomes very curious about if it is really possible to get away with such a scandal, then decides to take the deal. They get through with the plan, while having a steamy affair on the side, and think they got away with it. But to their dismay, Barton Keyes (Edward G. Robinson) remains suspicious as to how the husband's death really happened, and if it was an accident. Eventually, after several twists and turns, Keyes figures Neff out in a very dramatic ending scene.
I enjoyed Double Indemnity. There were many things that I did not expect to happen and I stayed intrigued throughout the entire film. I thought the scenery really added to the mood of each scene and was a great asset to the film. In addition, the lighting was perfect. Because the film is black and white, lighting is essential, and I thought Wilder did a great job of making sure it was just right. Over all, I give this movie an A- only because some of the lines were cheesy.
The movie stars Fred MacMurray as Walter Neff and Barbara Stanwyck as Phyllis Dietrichson, who was nominated for an Oscar. The film also recieved nominations for best black and whit cinematography, best Director (Billy Wilder), best music/score, best picture, best sound, and best writing/screenplay.
Double Indemnity is about an insurance agent, Walter Neff, who tries to sell a life policy to an older man unsuccessfully. When the man's wife, Phyllis Dietrichson, approaches him about making a crooked deal, Neff walks away. After thinking it over, Neff becomes very curious about if it is really possible to get away with such a scandal, then decides to take the deal. They get through with the plan, while having a steamy affair on the side, and think they got away with it. But to their dismay, Barton Keyes (Edward G. Robinson) remains suspicious as to how the husband's death really happened, and if it was an accident. Eventually, after several twists and turns, Keyes figures Neff out in a very dramatic ending scene.
I enjoyed Double Indemnity. There were many things that I did not expect to happen and I stayed intrigued throughout the entire film. I thought the scenery really added to the mood of each scene and was a great asset to the film. In addition, the lighting was perfect. Because the film is black and white, lighting is essential, and I thought Wilder did a great job of making sure it was just right. Over all, I give this movie an A- only because some of the lines were cheesy.
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