My Year in Film: January & February

I have very shamefully been neglecting this blog for the last couple of month and I apologise profusely. I have not, however, been neglecting films. Like last year, I hope to have watched 365 films before the it's time to sing Auld Lang Syne and, although technically I'm 20 films behind, I'm ever hopeful that I can accomplish my goal. I've seen some absolutely brilliant films in January and February, something I hope will continue to happen throughout the rest of the year.

2012's round-up posts will be in the same format as last year, minus the most watched actors and actresses lists (because they were a real pain to compile). Feel free to comment with film suggestions, whether they be your favourites or just films you think everyone should see at least once! 

January
1. Avanti! (1972) - Jack Lemmon, Juliet Mills ★★★★★
2. *Another Thin Man (1939) - Myrna Loy, William Powell, Virginia Grey ★★★★
3. Irma La Douce (1963) - Shirley MacLaine, Jack Lemmon ★★★★★
4. Easy Living (1936) - Jean Arthur, Ray Milland ★★★★★
5. Revolutionary Road (2008) - Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet ★★★★
6. Defiance (2008) - Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, Jamie Bell ★★★★
7. *The Mad Miss Manton (1938) - Barbara Stanwyck, Henry Fonda ★★★★
8. The Notorious Landlady (1962) - Kim Novak, Jack Lemmon, Fred Astaire ★★★★
9. *Mamma Mia! (2008) - Meryl Streep, Julie Walters, Colin Firth, Pierce Brosnan, Amanda Seyfried ★★★★★
10. No Highway in the Sky (1951) - Glynis Johns, Marlene Dietrich, James Stewart ★★★★★
11. *The Awful Truth (1937) - Irene Dunne, Cary Grant ★★★★★
12. *The Palm Beach Story (1942) - Claudette Colbert, Joel McCrea, Mary Astor, Rudy Valee ★★★★★
13. *The King and I (1956) - Deborah Kerr, Yul Brynner, Rita Moreno ★★★★★
14. *Random Harvest (1942) - Greer Garson, Ronald Colman, Henry Travers ★★★★★
15. *The Lady Eve (1941) - Barbara Stanwyck, Henry Fonda, Charles Coburn ★★★★★
16. While You Were Sleeping (1995) - Sandra Bullock, Glynis Johns, Bill Pullman ★★★
17. Papa's Delicate Condition (1963) - Glynis Johns, Jackie Gleason ★★★
18. The Hours (2002) - Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore, Clare Danes, Ed Harris ★★★★★
19. Under the Tuscan Sun (2003) - Diane Lane, Sandra Oh, Lindsay Duncan ★★★
20. Stepmom (1998) - Susan Sarandon, Julia Roberts ★★★★★
21. The Great Lie (1941) - Mary Astor, Bette Davis, George Brent ★★★★
22. *Yours, Mine, and Ours (1968) - Lucille Ball, Henry Fonda, Van Johnson ★★★★★

February
23. Blonde Fever (1944) - Mary Astor, Philip Dorn, Felix Bressart, Gloria Grahame ★★
24. Red Dust (1932) - Jean Harlow, Mary Astor, Clark Gable ★★★★
25. Little Women (1949) - Mary Astor, June Allyson, Elizabeth Taylor, Margaret O'Brien, Janet Leigh ★★★
26. Across the Pacific (1942) - Mary Astor, Humphrey Bogart ★★
27 *Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) - Mary Astor, Judy Garland, Margaret O'Brien ★★★★★
28. Chromophobia (2005) - Damian Lewis, Kristin Scott Thomas, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Chaplin, Ian Holm, Penélope Cruz ★★★★★
29. La Vie en Rose (2007) - Marion Cotillard, Sylvie Testud ★★★★★
30. Chocolat (2000) - Juliette Binoche, Johnny Depp, Judi Dench ★★
31. Noel (2004) - Susan Sarandon, Penélope Cruz, Paul Walker, Robin Williams ★★★★
32. Superstar (1998) - Will Ferrell, Molly Shannon, Glynis Johns ★★★★
33. That Darn Cat! (1965) - Hayley Mills, Dean Jones, Elsa Lanchester ★★★★
34. Bottle Shock (2008) - Alan Rickman, Chris Pine, Bill Pullman ★★★★
35. Lost in Translation (2003) - Bill Murray, Scarlett Johannsson, Giovanni Ribisi ★★★★★
36. Oorlogswinter (2008) - Martijn Lakemeier, Yorick van Wageningen, Jamie Cambell Bower ★★★★★
37. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005) - Martin Freeman, Mos Def, Sam Rockwell, Zooey Deschanel, Bill Nighy, Anna Chancellor, Alan Rickman, Helen Mirren, Warwick Davis, Steven Fry ★★★★
38. Coffee and Cigarettes (2003) - Cate Blanchett, Bill Murray, Tom Waits, Roberto Benigni, Sam Rockwell, Iggy Pop, Steve Buscemi ★★★
39. One Fine Day (1996) - Michelle Pfeiffer, George Clooney ★★★
40. *Dodsworth (1936) - Mary Astor, Ruth Chatterton, Walter Huston, David Niven ★★★★
41. Zwartboek (2006) - Carice van Houten, Sebastian Koch, Thom Hoffman, Halina Reijn ★★★★★
42. She-Devil (1989) - Meryl Streep, Roseanne Barr ★★
43. Das Boot: Director's Cut (1981) - Jürgen Prochnow, Herbert Grönemeyer, KlausWennemann ★★★★★
44. Das Leben der Anderen (2006) - Ulrich Mühe, Sebastian Koch, Martina Gedeck, Ulrich Tukur ★★★★★

1900s - 0
1910s - 0
1920s - 0
1930s - 6
1940s - 8
1950s - 2
1960s - 5
1970s - 1
1980s - 2
1990s - 4
2000s - 16
2010s - 0

As well as the following five, two of my other most loved films of the past two months are Avanti! (1972) and Zwartboek (2008).

Irma La Douce, 1963

I firmly believed that Wilder, Lemmon, and MacLaine couldn't possibly do anything better together than they did in The Apartment, but, boy, was I wrong! Whilst it does feel a little sacrilegious to say that it surpasses the aforementioned film, Irma La Douce certainly gives it a run for it's money. Wilder made some of his finest films with Jack Lemmon, and I firmly believe that they are one of the most noteworthy examples of director & actor working together like a well-oiled machine to create something of extreme quality.

La Vie en Rose, 2007

La Vie en Rose is a film I've wanted to see for a long time but have never got around to watching. Although I'm not exactly fanatical about Edith Piaf, I do have a soft spot for her and, although by all accounts it's not the most accurate of biopics, LVER is a tremendous film that packs an incredible emotional punch. Marion Cotillard's performance as Piaf is alone worth watching the film for. It's rare to see such precise characterisation that isn't just overt mimicry in a biopic (a nod to Cate Blanchett as K.Hep. in The Aviator is called for at this point. Best!).

Lost in Translation, 2003

I found this film, a story of two lost souls in a foreign city, extremely touching and poignant. There's something very Brief Encounter-esque about it but without a single trace sentimentality. From what I've heard you either love it or you hate it, but, personally, I think it's a case of watching it at the right moment in your life. There's something in there for everyone and if you've watched it previously and disliked it, I urge you to give it another shot.

Oorlogswinter (Winter in Wartime), 2008

What could be more compelling than a film about occupied Holland seen through the eyes of a young boy who is old enough to understand what is what is happening around him but not quite old enough to do anything about it? Absolutely nothing. I wasn't expecting anything from this film, I watched it because I often would rather watch a mediocre film about WWII than a film about anything else. Needless to say, it completely bowled me over. The young actor (Martijn Lakemeir) who played the main character, Michiel, is very talented and, although it's entirely beside the point, has an incredibly sweet English accent.

Das Boot, 1981

Ever since I was little I've heard my Dad singing the praises of Das Boot but until now I'd never got around to watching it. Big mistake. I saw the director's cut which is 208 minutes long and I became more and more tense with each passing minute. The realism of the dialogue, the acting, and the undercurrent of strained emotion is incredible. It has a depth (no pun intended) that not many films focusing on the World War II manage to achieve.

Thanks for reading! :)

Avanti! (1972)

The 1970s is my least favourite decade for film but I will admit that the beginning of the decade had some really great, and some of my favourite, films (The Godfather, The Godfather: Part II, Fiddler on the Roof, Harold and Maude, to name but a few). So when I decided to watch something made in 1972 for my first film of 2012, I had my fingers crossed that it would be one of the better films of the '70s. It didn't let me down.

Avanti!, 1972

The director: Billy Wilder

The stars: Jack Lemmon, Juliet Mills

IMDb says: A successful business man goes to Italy to arrange for the return of his tycoon-father's body only to discover dad had died with his mistress of long standing.

Although the story is ridiculously unbelievable (but if you watched The Miracle of Morgan's Creek immediately before watching Avanti! it wouldn't seem half so crazy), Avanti! is without a doubt one of the most charming comedic films I've seen in a long time. 

Wendell Armbruster, Jr. (Jack Lemmon) travels to island of Ischia to take the body of his late father back to America but upon arriving, he is informed by fellow traveller Pamela Piggott (Juliet Mills), a poor English woman, that his father and her mother were lovers and that they both died in the car crash. Pamela wants their parents to be buried together on the island, but Wendell is determined to have his father sent back to America where a huge, nationwide funeral is being planned. Before they can come to an agreement, however, both of the bodies are stolen from the morgue. Whilst all this is going on, Pamela somehow manages to convince Wendell that they must celebrate their parents memories by spending the evening as their parents did when they were staying on Ischia (with the help of the hotel staff who provide them with all the food and drink that their parents were accustomed too.). I'm not sure nude swimming at sunrise was on Wendell's itinerary though. The rest of the film is fairly predictable but, nevertheless, enjoyable.

It's definitely not perfect but Billy Wilder never made a film that wasn't worth watching (*cough*exceptforSabrina*cough*) and his films with Jack Lemmon are all fantastic. With beautiful scenery, terrific acting (I'd never seen Juliet Mills in a film before; the Mills family have far too much talent!), and Billy Wilder in the director's seat, it's a film you should just sit back and enjoy. One of the only flaws about the film is that at 138 minutes, it is rather long for such a fluffy comedy. That being said, it didn't really feel as though it was dragging at any point. 

Thanks for reading! 

It's Christmastime! A Gift Guide For Classic Film Lovers.

I've seen a few of gift guides popping up on various blogs and decided that I'd jump on the bandwagon and give it a go. Whether you're buying for someone who is already a huge classics fan or whether you're trying lure someone into the world of classic film, this list is for you!  

1. Yul Brynner: A Photographic Journey

I've been eyeing this up ever since it was first published last year. And, although I've not actually seen it in the flesh, I have seen many of the photos people have scanned from it and can vouch for their extreme wonderfulness. The photos are absolutely breathtaking and I guarantee you that the classic film fan in your life will absolutely love this!

2. Myrna Loy and William Powell Collection

Contains: Manhattan Melodrama (1934), Evelyn Prentice (1934), Double Wedding (1937), I Love You Again (1940), Love Crazy (1941).

You can't beat a bit of Loy and Powell and this box set is chock-a-bloc with five of their always wonderful films.

A cheaper alternative: The Thin Man Complete Collection

3. Forbidden Hollywood Collection (Vol.1, Vol.2, & Vol.3)

Vol.1: Baby Face (1933), Red Headed Woman (1932), Waterloo Bridge (1931).

Vol.2: The Divorcee (1930), A Free Soul (1931), Three on a Match (1932), Female (1933), Night Nurse (1931).

Vol.3: Other Men's Women (1931), The Purchase Price (1932), Frisco Jenny (1932), Midnight Mary (1933), Heroes For Sale (1933), Wild Boys of the Road (1933).

You don't get much better that a box set full of Pre-Codes. Oh, but wait, what about THREE box sets full of pre codes? Now you're talking. Someday these beautiful babies will be mine. MINE. 

4. That's Entertainment! Deluxe Four Disc Collector's Edition

I think everyone has seen parts of That's Entertainment! on tv around Christmas every year but this four disc set is just fabulous and I know I would love to find it sitting under my tree. Apparently, although Amazon says that the four disc set is Region 1, in actuality it is region free so I would definitely shell out the extra money for this superior (or so I'm told) set as opposed to the Region 2 three disc set.

5. Brief Encounter Blu Ray

I personally don't own a blu ray player yet but for anyone who does, this is a must. Can you imagine how much more depressing and heartbreaking this film must be in HD? I feel tears welling up just thinking about it.

6. The Sound of Music Gift Set

Does this really need to be explained? I thought not. 

A cheaper alternative: The Sound of Music 45th Anniversary Edition (Blu-ray + DVD)

7. Alfred Hitchcock 14 Disc Box Set

Contains: Saboteur (1942), Shadow of a Doubt (1943), Rope (1948), Rear Window (1954), The Trouble With Harry (1955), The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956), Vertigo (1958), Pyscho (1960), The Birds (1963), Torn Curtain (1966), Topaz (1969), Frenzy (1972), Family Plot (1976).

I gave this to my brother for Christmas last year to try and get him into classics. I'm not sure it worked but it's still a really brilliant box set. 

8. The Red Shoes Criterion Collection

When I eventually buy my first Criterion DVD, I just know this will be one of my top choices. I saw The Red Shoes for the first time a couple of weeks ago and it was more magnificent than I could have imagined. And come on, just look at the DVD cover! Who wouldn't want to have that in a place of prominence in their house? 

A cheaper alternative: The Red Shoes - Restored (Blu Ray)

9. Billy Wilder Collection Vol.1&Vol.2

Vol.1: Some Like it Hot (1959), One, Two, Three (1961), Irma La Douce (1963), Kiss Me, Stupid (1964), Avanti!(1972). 

Vol.2: The Seven Year Itch (1955), Witness For the Prosecution (1957), The Apartment (1960), The Fortune Cookie (1966), The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970).

Billy Wilder. That is all. No, but in all honesty, as well as looking pretty snazzy, I think I'm safe in saying that these box sets would go down very well with most classic film fans.

10. Tracy and Hepburn the Definitive Collection

Contains: Woman of the Year (1942), Keeper of the Flame (1942), Without Love (1945), The Sea of Grass (1947), State of the Union (1948), Adam's Rib (1949), Pat and Mike (1952), Desk Set (1957), Guess Who's Coming To Dinner? (1967).

This box set is just exploding with awesome. There have been many Tracy&Hepburn box sets made but this is the only one so far to include all 9 of their films. 

A cheaper alternative: The Tracy and Hepburn Signature Collection 

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Hope you enjoyed drooling over this list! (It's OK, I did too ;D) Speak to you soon!

10 Favourite Directors

It has come to my attention that I've never really paid much homage to the great directors of classic film on my blog previously, so I thought I would remedy that with a list, in no particular order, of my 10 favourite classic directors. Enjoy!

Sir Alfred Hitchcock

Favourite film(s): The 39 Steps (1935), Shadow of a Doubt (1944), Rear Window (1954), The Birds (1963)

Billy Wilder

Favourite film(s): The Lost Weekend (1945), The Apartment (1960)

Preston Sturges

Favourite film(s): The Lady Eve (1941), Sullivan's Travels (1941)

William Wyler

Favourite film(s): These Three (1936), Mrs. Miniver (1942), Detective Story (1951), The Big Country (1958), How To Steal a Million (1966)

Howard Hawks

Favourite Film(s): His Girl Friday (1940), Ball of Fire (1941), Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)

Elia Kazan

Favourite films: Gentlemen's Agreement (1947), Splendor in the Grass (1961)

Leo McCarey

Favourite film(s): Make Way For Tomorrow (1937), The Awful Truth (1937), Love Affair (1939), An Affair to Remember (1957) 

George Cukor

Favourite film(s): The Women (1939), The Philadelphia Story (1940), I'll Be Seeing You (1944), My Fair Lady (1964)

George Stevens

Favourite film(s): Swing Time (1936), The More the Merrier (1943), I Remember Mama (1948), Giant (1956)

Frank Capra

Favourite film(s): It Happened One Night (1934), Meet John Doe (1941)

Who are your favourite directors? I had to leave several whom I really love of this list, but it had to be done! *sobs*