Boom! 1968
Posted by spheer2002 | Filed under Film, Films of the 1960's
Some of us Invite Death…
…..and some of us try to escape it on a lonely island surrounded by the sea, scorched by the eternal sunshine,
‘Sissy’ Goforth (Elizabeth Taylor)the richest woman in the world lives on her luxury island somewhere in the Mediterranean and rules over all like a great dying monster, while dictating her autobiography , a poet( Richard Burton) washes up upon her great island, a poet who has been nicknamed”Angelo Del Morte” or The Angel of Death, because all woman he encounters are ( as Noel Coward puts it) a few steps away from the Grave Digger.
Based off an unsuccessful Stage Play By Tennessee Williams‘ from the early 1960’s that had starred Talulah Bankhead and Tab Hunter, its a wonder any producer would have put any money into it at all ,aside from the fact it was a ”Tennessee Williams” Play and it was to star Power Couple Liz + Burton,
It at the end of the day quite a minimalist play similar to Night of the Iquana , and is set catastrophically on an unnamed private island in the middle of the ocean where Taylor Sunbaths her Dying Body in the sunshine, but there are some redeeming qualities,Noel Coward makes good with his interesting little role as ”the Witch of Capri” essentially playing… Himself and Sports quite a primitive, but interesting score by John Barry ( Born Free, and the James Bond Theme) which to this day is incredibly popular with collectors.
This Film Interestingly enough is Praised most loudly by John Waters who has screened the last remaining print of the film in several parts of the states , has sited it as (along with Imitation of Life) as one of the greatest influences and a testament to his craft
Like Most Taylor Burton Films of the late 1960’s this one bombed most horribally , and was one of their last great screen apperaences together, it had been ravaged bu critics everywhere, and was seen to be a ”Folly” for everyone conserned, However as a film which deals with isolation Dying and or death as a metaphor, its one of the best there is.
Tags: Based off Play, Death, Decadence, dying, fate, Island, Melancholy, metaphor, Noel Coward, Tennessee Williams
Juliet of the Spirits 1965
Posted by spheer2002 | Filed under Film, Films of the 1960's
Mommie Dearest
Juliet of the Spirits (Italian: Giulietta degli spiriti) is a film directed by Federico Fellini
Juliet is a 40 something bored married woman who after a strange experience during a New Aged Séance , starts to feel a contact with Spirits as she did as a child She soon becomes aware he husband is having an affair and starts to explore her spititual and sexual self through daydreams and Nightmares,
Described by “Annie Hall” as the smoking gun of Fellinis self indulgence , (he was experimenting with LSD at the time) it is however a film that profiles how people who have forgotten how to live either through career or marriage and become lifes Wallflowers can deal be helped to deal with their own psychological hang ups and empower themselves to live without guilt or shame.
Tags: Decadence, Fellini, Infidelity, Marriage, New Age, Porn Star, Psychotherapy, Séance, Spiritualism, Supernatural
Something’s Got to Give 1962
Posted by spheer2002 | Filed under Film, Films of the 1960's
'An Unfinished Life'
One of The Most Famous Unfinished films in Hollywood History Something’s Got to Give is the Last Marilyn Monroe appeared in.
A Remake of ‘My Favorite Wife’ it was directed by George Cukor and Starred Dean Martin Cyd Charisse its was one of only two films being shot by 20th Century Fox the other being Cleopatra (which was running massively Budget) The Story Involves a man who has recently remarried 5 years after his wife’s apparent death in a shipping accident, after returning from his honeymoon he soon learns his first wife(rescued from a desert island) is alive and well which creates one or more complications due to complications with Monroe Cukor, and the studio the production was halted shortly after Monroe would soon be dead.
Only a few years later it would be revived an renamed as Move Over Darling directed by Michael Gordon and would Star Doris Day, in the Marilyn role, and would give Day two New songs for her Future Live Shows.
Somethings Gotta Give was released on dvd in the most completed chronological form form in 1999 featuring Monroe’s famous nude scene (The first of a Major star at the time) its a glimpse of that might have been if completed,
Tags: Comedy, Divorce, George Cukor, Marilyn Monroe, Marriage, Presumed dead, screwball, Unfinished
The VIPS 1963
Posted by spheer2002 | Filed under Film, Films of the 1960's
Grand Hotel at the Airport boasts an allstar cast including Elizabeth Taylor Richard Burton (Whos afraid of Virginia Woolf) Rod Taylor (’The Time Machine’ Aussie Aussie Aussie!) Maggie Smith (Oh so Young) Orson Welles (Everything) Margaret Rutherford(Oscar thank you!) and Louis Jourdan (Gigi)
a bunch of varied High profile person are trapped at an airport with various things in their lives coming to a climax as a result including bankruptcy, Tax evasion , Lost of Property ,and Divorce/Elopement)
Love is found and lost but all is resolved,
Based on an actual event involving the time Vivian Leigh tried to do a runner on Laurence Olivier with Peter Finch perhaps around the same time Leigh was Slated to Film with Finch in 1954 in ” Elephant Walk” a film she started but to her erratic behavior due to her Bipolar Condition pulled out of. The Strange Irony about this of course is that Elizabeth Taylor Stepped in to Fill the Role.
Its melodrama without Douglas Sirk with many levels to follow, and Maggie Smith In one of Her first films roles after a Stage Career Almost Steals the Acting stripes from Taylor, but it holds your attention, watch it at least for Margaret Rutherford’s short lived Oscar Winning performance and the cute little scene she does with her real live husband , the film is a waiting room with more than just out of date magazines
Tags: Airport, Based off Play, Divorce, Elizabeth Taylor, Movie Star, Richard Burton, Taylor + Burton
Satyricon 1969
Posted by spheer2002 | Filed under Film, Films of the 1960's
'Your Turn'
Directed by Federico Fellini
This Homoerotic Pansexual work is loosely based on Petronius’s work, Satyricon, a series of bawdy and satirical episodes written during the reign of the emperor Nero and set in imperial Rome. its more about the age of aquarius than ancient rome but its great to watch,
This is said to be Fellinis Reaction to 1969 free love period, which made his Dolce Vita almost 10 years earlier , a reaction to what was then a booming postwar liberated society seem quite tame considering how controversial it was at that time (see Divorce Italian style if you dont believe me)
Satyricon describes a different decadence
a decadence which seems wasted now
Tags: Ancient Rome, Decadence, Fellini, Homoerotic, Of Gay Interest
Marnie 1964
Posted by spheer2002 | Filed under Film, Films of the 1960's
This is said to have killed the career for Hitchcock,
buts its the best of his Physco- Dramas film and one of the most experimental The beautiful Marnie Edgar (Tipi Hedron)is a first class bookkeeper and the apple of her employers’ eyes. She Also happens also to be a Grand larcenist, compulsive thief who Steals hundreds of thousands of Dollars, under man pseudonyms and guises , She steals not because she is poor or greedy but for no apparent reason at all. After a failed attempt to steal from the charismatic predatory Mark Rutland (Sean Connery ‘Fresh from Dr No) He takes her and Sexually Blackmails her into marring him.
Thinking he can Unravel Her Sexual and Social Problems by wedding her and Bedding her only causes more chaos and erratic behavior , its only out of a true love for her and Freudian psychology does he uncover the mysteries of her past that contribute to her penchant for taking other people’s money and her Sexual frigidity
The Last Collaboration Between Hitchcock and many people who had worked with him before, this is know to many as the last great Seminal Hitchcock Film, After the Trauma of working with Hitchcock on ”The Birds” Tippi decided not to go for round three although to this day has stated it is her favorite of the two films she did with Hitchcock because of the Complex Characterization of Marnie, One of the most Complex female Characters of the 1960’s If not ever!
Hitchcock Also Parted Company with his Favorite Writer Over a Argument about a scene involving Rape as well as some of his film editors and DOP’s, But the greatest loss was the End of the Era of Hitchcock and Bernard Herrmann the Great Film Composer who gave Vertigo its Uninterrupted Anxiety,North by Northwest its Drive and Psycho its Stabbing, Herrmann Parted Company with Hitchcock over what he thought was an indicate score and the need to generate a”Hit Tune” From the Music,
Although a Song called ”Marnie” was composed for Nat king Cole to sing, it didn’t fare well at all, even less than the film itself
The Interesting thing of course after more than 40 years
this was the last film that featured the ”Hitchcock Blond”
At the Time Marnie was Criticized by people for seeming too fake with its painted backdrops and studio shots ,as most films were now being done on location, But these in later years has been Argued as some of Hitchcocks quintessential traits in order for is films to truly have his signature
What ever you may think of Marnie its is Just as important as all the Other Greats in the Cannon of Hitchcock and The Last great Film of a Magnificent Director .
You Will See Red
Tags: Freudian, Frigidity, Hitchcock, Psychological Thriller, Thief, Twist
The Misfits 1962
Posted by spheer2002 | Filed under Film, Films of the 1960's
Nothing can live unless something dies…
Roslyn (Marilyn Monroe ‘The Seven Year’) Itch is a very beautiful yet disturbed woman who has just got divorced. She meets to traveling stock workers , Guido(Eli Wallach , the only living cast member) and Gay(Clarke Gable ‘Gone with the Wind), who take her to Guido’s house in the country (the House where his wife had died)to relax and forget the difficulties of the past few weeks. Everything is fine at first, but soon the two men fall in love with Roslyn and start showing some bad aspects of their characters. Soon they meet another friend of Gay’s(Montgomery Clift , Interesting as Mr Gable was a big old Homophobe ), and the four of them go to hunt some wild horses (for Dog meat). This is when things just… explode! These guys are all misfits who cling to each over through their loneliness and their deep seeded troubles, although this is never spoken they are all chasing what seems to bt what remains the tail end of their life,
As Clarke Gable and Marilyn Drive off towards the morning star, knowing that in the real world they would both soon be dead within a matter on a month is quiet special and ironic to watch .
But its very special for Marilyn too as she honestly believed Gable to be her Birth Father, so it must have felt like a relief to hold his hand as they both drive off into what lies ahead.
Tags: Arthur Miller, Based off Novel, Death, Desert, Divorce, Marilyn Monroe, Melancholy, Reno
