ABCs at the Movies: The Doubles Round!

[southendmd]

IMDb:

Made in 1919, "The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari" was literally years ahead of its time and remains a triumphant accomplishment in the genre of German Expressionism. Remembered mainly for its stunning sets, which featured crooked buildings and twisted landscapes, "Cabinet" also boasts one of the first attempts at a twist ending, something quite new and shocking for its time.

Told mainly from the point of view of Francis, a young man who lives in the small village of Holstenwall, Germany, "Cabinet" tells the tale of murder and madness which seems to accompany the arrival of a carnival. Francis and his best friend Alan go to the carnival and are presented with the sideshow attraction Cesare the Somnambulist, a gaunt and hideous young man who spends his life sleeping in a coffin-like cabinet and seems able to predict the future when awake. Cesare (played by a young Conrad Veidt, who later went on to play the evil Nazi general in Casablanca) informs Alan that he will soon die, and indeed, Alan is found murdered the next morning. Suspicion turns to the eerie somnambulist and his strange keeper, a man called Caligari. As Francis desperately tries to solve the mystery and find his friends killer, it seems that the beautiful young Jane, beloved by both Alan and Francis, has been targeted as the next victim.

This is a genuinely creepy film which delves deep into the mysteries of the abnormal mind...an uncomfortable journey to say the least. Everyone is suspect and, in the end, we must ask ourselves: "who is really the mad one here?"

Subtle and ingenious, we see the world the way an insane person might see it; warped and confused, a nightmarish terrain where nothing makes sense and balance is not to be found.

The impact of this film is still being felt and seen today, and for good reason. It is a shocking, disturbing masterpiece. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

[oilgun]

To be directed by the Coen Brothers!



From Publishers WeeklyReviewed by Jess Walter - They are the "frozen Chosen," two million people living, dying and kvetching in Sitka, Alaska, the temporary homeland established for displaced World War II Jews in Chabon's ambitious and entertaining new novel. It is—deep breath now—a murder-mystery speculative-history Jewish-identity noir chess thriller, so perhaps it's no surprise that, in the back half of the book, the moving parts become unwieldy; Chabon is juggling narrative chainsaws here.The novel begins—the same way that Philip Roth launched The Plot Against America—with a fascinating historical footnote: what if, as Franklin Roosevelt proposed on the eve of World War II, a temporary Jewish settlement had been established on the Alaska panhandle? Roosevelt's plan went nowhere, but Chabon runs the idea into the present, back-loading his tale with a haunting history. Israel failed to get a foothold in the Middle East, and since the Sitka solution was only temporary, Alaskan Jews are about to lose their cold homeland. The book's timeless refrain: "It's a strange time to be a Jew."Into this world arrives Chabon's Chandler-ready hero, Meyer Landsman, a drunken rogue cop who wakes in a flophouse to find that one of his neighbors has been murdered. With his half-Tlingit, half-Jewish partner and his sexy-tough boss, who happens also to be his ex-wife, Landsman investigates a fascinating underworld of Orthodox black-hat gangs and crime-lord rabbis. Chabon's "Alyeska" is an act of fearless imagination, more evidence of the soaring talent of his previous genre-blender, the Pulitzer Prize–winning The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay.Eventually, however, Chabon's homage to noir feels heavy-handed, with too many scenes of snappy tough-guy banter and too much of the kind of elaborate thriller plotting that requires long explanations and offscreen conspiracies.Chabon can certainly write noir—or whatever else he wants; his recent Sherlock Holmes novel, The Final Solution, was lovely, even if the New York Times Book Review sniffed its surprise that the mystery novel would "appeal to the real writer." Should any other snobs mistake Chabon for anything less than a real writer, this book offers new evidence of his peerless storytelling and style. Characters have skin "as pale as a page of commentary" and rough voices "like an onion rolling in a bucket." It's a solid performance that would have been even better with a little more Yiddish and a little less police. (May)Jess Walter was a finalist for the 2006 National Book Award for The Zero and the winner of the 2006 Edgar Award for best novel for Citizen Vince.

[MaineWriter]

Documentary about Zip, also known as the Monkey Man. He was one of the longest serving and most popular performers in the sideshow of the Barnum and Bailey Circus.

He was born William Henry Johnson in 1842 and died of pneumonia at the age of 84 in 1926.

[MaineWriter]

This game started back in October and we have reached a milestone...every year in the IMDb movie database has been played (or has been eligible for play)...from 1888 to 2013. Wow!

From now on, the game will shift to being "special rounds" and for the special rounds, any movie THAT HAS NOT BEEN PLAYED from 1888 to 2013 is fair game.

I welcome folks' suggestions and ideas for special rounds. I'd like to try to keep them fun and innovative...and a bit challenging.

Please send me your ideas. I have learned so much from this game, I really want to keep it going and learn a whole lot more!

Coming up momentarily....our next round of the "new" game....have fun!

Leslie
GameMistress

[MaineWriter]

Special Round: We Fought on American Soil

For this round, war movies, or movies with battle scenes, that take place on American soil. "American" is defined as north and south America...in other words, WWII movies that take place in Europe would not make the grade. The Revolutionary War, Civil War, obscure battles in Mexico, Canada, and Argentina would all be okay.  I'll let the players define "battle."

As noted previously, any movie from 1888-2013 can be played but unplayed movies only.

Wildcard X is in effect.

PM me with questions. Have fun!

Leslie
GameMistress

[Fran]

A User Comment at IMDb:

It is impossible to see this film and not find it intelligently hilarious. You will laugh your way through it and never once feel your time has been wasted. The premise is simple and, in an odd way, that may in fact be it's strength.

During the last days of the Civil War, a contingent of Union soldiers, have made an uneasy accommodation with their Confederate counterparts stationed a few miles away. Every day at a certain time, each side fires a round of cannon fire at the other, timed to a deliberate miss. The aim of both sides is to, hopefully, last out the war in this manner: reasonably safe and secure.

This arrangement works quite well, until a brash headstrong Union Captain (played well by Glenn Ford) decides, on his own, to go out and capture a few of the "enemy". This of course forces their equally reluctant "enemy" to retaliate.

Ford's Commander (played with exquisite timing by veteran actor Melvyn Douglas) is horrified. "What have you done?" he shouts at him, "Take them back! How many times have I instructed you not to show initiative?" From this point on, the humor escalates and never ceases.

Staffed by some of the most recognized character actors of the time, we are treated to a highly skilled portrayal of an incredibly believable assortment of military misfits. What makes them believable is that their characterizations are delivered with depth. And this, in a sense, makes them somewhat realistic and all the more funnier.

This high caliber B-film is well-scripted and, to it's credit, is finally being recognized for the cinematic gem that it is. My advice to all film lovers is to seek out this almost forgotten treasure. Trust me, you won't be disappointed.

[southendmd]

IMDb:  During the civil war, injured Yankee soldier, John McBurney (Clint Eastwood) is rescued on the verge of death by a teenage girl from a southern boarding school. She manages to get him back to the school, and at first the all-female staff and pupils are scared. As he starts to recover, one by one he charms them and the atmosphere becomes filled with jealousy and deceit.

[louisev]

this film is one I have always enjoyed (so to speak), and it plays an important role in my novel series, 'The Greenlea Tales', as Ellery, Colson's lover, has a special place in his er, heart, for Clint Eastwood.

[MaineWriter]

this film is one I have always enjoyed (so to speak), and it plays an important role in my novel series, 'The Greenlea Tales', as Ellery, Colson's lover, has a special place in his er, heart, for Clint Eastwood.

Ah, yes, good memories...and I still haven't seen this movie!

L

[MaineWriter]

from IMDb:

Charlie's War is the story of Charlotte Lewis (Olympia Dukakis), a woman who is experiencing serious emotional and mental turmoil brought about by nightmares of increasing intensity. In the dreams, she is a young girl, and she runs from unknown terrors. Trying to understand her troubling dreams, Charlotte revisits part of her childhood, which comes back to her in a series of impressionistic memories. Charlie (Ariel Blackwood), her sister, Jobie (Maggie Jones), and her mother (Bobbie Eakes) move in with her grandmother (Lynn Redgrave). It is 1944, and World War II rages in Europe and the Far East. Though Grandma's farm seems to be a peaceful refuge, there is an undercurrent of fear and brooding menace in their surroundings. Diane Ladd also stars as the older Jobie. Other featured actors are Ruby Guidara, David Alford, Hunter Hayes, Christina Zorich, and Isabella Steele. The cast is supported by several well-known Nashville actors, among whom are, Peggy Walton-Walker, Jim Wright, Cliff Cudney, Matthew Gerbig, Natalia Duncan, Vernon Winfrey (Oprah's dad), Roger Allen, Tamara Trexler-Motley and Wes Motley.


Has anyone here ever seen this? It sounds like it had a star-studded premiere in Nashville and then disappeared. Was it ever released commercially?