2. Diabolique (1955) - [rewatch] Holy shit is this a perfect movie?? I rated it 4.5 stars because I always hesitate to rate something 5 stars. I watched this for the first time about a decade ago - and I liked it, but I don't remember being blown away by it as I was with this rewatch. I think part of it is because I was also in the middle of reading a book about Hitchcock, and this is so clearly Hitchcockian - although it can be argued that Hitchcock, himself, was inspired by this (he actually tried to option the rights to the story but lost to Clouzot. I think it just added a layer of context that I was missing before. I also vaguely remember watching the remake (I think it had Sharon Stone in it?), and it being very bad, but now I'm curious to rewatch that as well. It's just such a good story, with an excellent "eye-popping" twist and ending. And even rewatching it, I don't really see any noticeable plot holes - other than the fact that their whole idea revolves around the basis of literally scaring someone to death (which is obviously not a guaranteed way to kill someone). I thought about it for days after watching it.
3. Shampoo - [blind spot] I didn't really like this at all, which is surprising because I love Goldie Hawn so much (I'm so looking forward to next year when my retrospective expands to include 80s movies - I'm so going to include Private Benjamin, and one of my favorite movies ever, Overboard). But I've never really been a fan of Warren Beatty (I don't dislike him, but he's never wowed me and he always seems a bit smug to me). I don't find him convincing as this Casanova type character at all. I also expected this to be a raunchy comedy, and it's not? It's actually very boring, and I don't think I laughed once; nor did I think it was raunchy (just because there's sex that doesn't equal "raunchy"). I just didn't connect with any aspect of it, and it seems ridiculous that all this takes place in one day.
4. Pygmalion - [blind spot] I obviously know the story and have enjoyed multiple renditions of it - My Fair Lady, the Bernard Shaw play, I've even read Metamorphosis (in Latin) which references the original Greek myth. I somehow missed watching this, though. It's decent - nowhere near as good as My Fair Lady, but there are parts that I really liked. Wendy Hiller in the Eliza Doolittle role is incredible. She has some great scenes - my favorite is when she's describing this really horrifying scene to the group, but she's practicing saying it all proper. Her line delivery is just perfect. Also, I'm surprised they didn't make her a scream queen after that fantastic scream she wails in the bathtub. But aside from a few great scenes, I was a little bored with it as a whole.
5. Strangers on a Train - [rewatch] I think I've only seen this Hitchcock once, so I remember the basic plot, but not a lot of the details (like, I definitely thought the scene on the train lasted a lot longer!). This is an incredible movie though. Definitely among my favorite Hitch's. Some incredible shots - like the shot of him strangling her reflected in the glasses (holy shit!). And then the end carousal scene - how they shot the plastic horses to almost look evil as they spun around - just genius filmmaking that is so rare to find in the modern day film world. I didn't realize that this is a Patricia Highsmith story - the same author as The Talented Mr. Ripley, which really, really made me long for a Hitchcock version of that. I think the Netflix series was definitely trying to emulate Hitchcock (and I enjoyed it), but nobody can compare. On a side note - my husband and I went out to dinner with a friend of mine and her husband (she's like my little sister, really), who are in their late 20s and she asked me for some classic movie recommendations and I said "well, you can't go wrong with any Hitchcock movies" and her husband said "is that an actor?", "uh...no...Hitchcock? The director?"...*crickets* "The very famous director?!? The Birds, Psycho, Rear Window...like the inspiration for every modern thriller made??"...and nothing. My husband could tell I was getting heated and put his hand on my leg and gave me a look like "let it go", but my mind is still blown that neither of them had heard of Alfred Hitchcock. Stop the planet, I want off.
6. Piranha (1978) - [blind spot] I honestly thought that I had seen this before, but as I started watching it, I realized that I had not. I think I may have seen one of the sequels and thought it was the original? I'm not sure, but none of this seemed familiar. I actually LOVE the remake that came out in 2010 (Piranha 3D), SOOO much (the sequel Piranha 3DD was garbage though). And I liked this one well enough. I definitely wasn't expecting full nudity within the first 30 seconds, but ok. I do think that watching (maybe?) one of the sequels (or I just looked it up and their was a tv movie remake in the mid 90s? Maybe I saw that as a kid and thought it was the original??), had a negative impact for my views on swimming in lakes. I actually really hate swimming in lakes - the water is always so dirty and dark, and I'm always convinced their are water monsters in them. EW. Anyway, this is satisfying - the carnage at the end is great, and I love the scene where they rescue the little boy in the river. It's a little too obvious that it's trying to build on the hype for Jaws, and had a little too many similarities, but overall I had fun.
7. Close Encounters of the Third Kind - [rewatch] This is one of those movies that I saw as a kid, and I thought it was boring so I've always put off rewatching it (I just remember a lot of old men talking, and talking, and talking). I've definitely wanted to rewatch - and assumed that I would love it, so now is that time! And guess what??? I didn't really love it. It's boring (eeek!). There are things I like about it, and it's obviously a well-made movie (I rated it 3.5 stars, but I definitely thought I was going to rate it 4 or more stars with this rewatch). Plus, I love Richard Dreyfuss (shame about the human garbage he became). I also think the alien design is really, really cool - very spider-like and creepy. The kid in this is super adorable - I actually thought he might be related to Dreyfuss (in real life) because he kind of has the same features (he's not, though). Anyway, I just think the whole thing is kind of a slog. And unfortunately I don't think much has changed with our reactions and our penchant for mass hysteria. I mean, the fact that a worldwide pandemic hit and the first thing people did was stock up on toilet paper tells you everything you need to know about present day humanity.
8. The Invisible Man (1933) - [blind spot] I have been wanting to watch this ever since I watched the remake starring Elisabeth Moss a few years ago - but, guess what?? It hasn't been available on any streaming service which is really annoying - it wasn't so bad when I was able to get Netflix discs sent to me. I always added unavailable movies to my Netflix queue and I would be able to watch literally anything within a few days time. Now. I have to wait, and wait, and wait. But I just realized something super cool that I didn't know - I now have Sling instead of cable and I didn't know that I could record off of Sling so I found this movie airing on TCM at 2am randomly and I recorded it! Like the old days of DVR! I also like watching TCM movies because they do a little intro at the beginning with fun facts about the movie. Anyway, I really enjoyed the remake for this (even though I don't like Moss), so I looked forward to watching this and I'm happy to report that I liked this as well. The effects are so simple, but they are done so well - especially for a film from the 30s. Plus a young Gloria Stuart! The remake is very differently done, which kind of makes me appreciate it even more. But I like that the original story explores the darker side of someone gaining this power of invisibility and using it to basically become a super villain.
9. Network - [blind spot] I know, I know - this is definitely one of my bigger film blind spots! I always get it confused with All the President's Men, so when I think of it, I go "oh yeah, I've seen that" but I definitely haven't. I've seen some clips, I believe, in my film studies classes, but I'm pretty sure I haven't seen the whole thing in full until now. And holy shit - it's close to perfect. I know a lot of projects based on television journalism use this movie as a reference point - like The Morning Show, Spotlight, etc., but I immediately thought of Christine, not even realizing that Christine is based on a true story and Network is based on that true story! Wow. That's really interesting (caused me to pause the movie and read all about it before restarting this movie). Anyway, Faye Dunaway is simply flawless. I love seeing the classic lines within the context of the movie ("I'm as mad as Hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore" and "We're number one!"). It's also very funny in some bits - like Barbara reading out the potential project titles and character descriptions. I giggled.
10. Kramer vs. Kramer - [blind spot] Another big blind spot for me - and I was blown away by Dustin Hoffman in this. I was more expecting it from Meryl Streep, and I didn't realize that she is a supporting role for this (although with some of the arguments being made today - I think if this came out present day she would be submitted in the lead actress role). I think that obviously a lot of people can relate to the divorce aspect, and being the child of divorced parents. I think that would be really hard for a lot of children to grasp and deal with - being pulled by both parents in different directions, having to celebrate events separately (and often twice), etc., but I will always stand by the fact that happier people make better parents. There is something to be said for staying in a marriage "for the kids", and if you are still friendly, respectful, etc., maybe it is worth sacrificing a certain amount of happiness so that your child can have a stable family home. I don't know - each case is different, but I do think this woman lost the plot when she abandoned her child. There's just no excuse. I also think there could have been better communication - he admits his wrongs, and apologizes for them, but she doesn't really. It's odd for this very "grey" story to take the side of the father so clearly - he steps up and realizes how much his son needs him. He even loses his job over it. That's not to say that I don't empathize with Streep's character - in the 70s, feminism was really taking shape and I think a lot of women reevaluated their life and realized how deeply unhappy they were in traditional housewife roles (not all women, of course, many are very happy in these roles and are demonized for it). It also brings to light the whole "the courts side with the mother in most cases" as very problematic. On a personal note - my mom had both of her parents abandon her (and her 4 siblings), so she lived with her aunt & uncle for few years until her mother suddenly wanted her back. She went back to live with her mom, thinking for her entire teen and adult life that her aunt & uncle didn't want her anymore until just a few years ago, her uncle told her that when her mother announced she wanted her back, he went to a lawyer and they basically told him he had no case. The court would side with her mother EVEN THOUGH SHE ABANDONED 5 CHILDREN. Isn't that insane? My mother's life would have been a lot different if she stayed with them (but she probably also wouldn't have become a teen mother, which means she wouldn't have had me!). Anyway, I really loved this movie and it's definitely going to stay with me for a while.
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