In another life and time I would have loved to have majored in film study. I have been in love with films since I was 6 years old and taken to my first at the Savoy Cinema in Cork to see Cinderella. The night enchanted me. Thehuge organ at intermission coming out of the floor with the words of the songs printed on the screen, the extra B films, the newsreels, the icecream brought around in those little tubs with the wooden spoon, the upper balcony, the lower balcony. The magnificence of it all. Spellbound didn't cover it.
One of the huge bonuses of my childhood was spending a chunk of the summer with my favourite aunt in the small town where I was born. Her husband owned the town cinema. I remember the serials on Saturday and the rapid turnover of various films during the couple of weeks I stayed there. I feasted on the likes of Roy Rogers and other films which were sanitized censored by the RCs who influenced the government and their righteous puritan hypocritcal hellhole Office of the Censor. I only got to see complete films when I moved to Canada including, if you can believe it, Hamlet with Lawrence Olivier and the unintelligible Gigi (huge swathes of film-ribbon on the floor in that one) so the plot hadn't made sense and finally did.
I've been in love with film for ever. I would mitch off school on a Wednesday afternoon and scrape enough money to go to the foreign film cinema and feast on German, Italian and French films (all cut by said Office). And of course the American blockbusters, short on nuance but loud on effects and Big Screen theatrics.
I had a collection of thousands upon thousands of films, many taped by me especially from TVO, an Ontario station that featured fabulous films on Saturday Night at the Movies along with serious interviews with the cast and directors. Downsizing, I had to let go of this massive collection (indexed and documented to boot - ADD much?)
I saved some of my favourites. But not many.
I recently discovered Criterion which has about 1000 old films in stock for streaming and am positively thrilled to bits. It continuously changes what's available and for me, this is a gift out of the blue. Around $8 a month to subscribe. Many are the foreign films from my teenage life at that tiny foreign film cinema in Cork which opened up so much of the world to me.
I try and see all the Oscar winners every year. Still. And I post irregularly on IMDB and have since 1999(ye gads, 24 years!)
Here's the link to that: Wisewebwoman - Movies
My favourite film of all time? The Dead
But there are so many close that I can't possibly list them all.
But a recent one comes to mind (pardon my Irish bias)
Bless you, Criterion.
And your favourite film?
For a change we are not in lockstep with this one. Film is pretty much a closed book to me. I rarely watch them and none spring to mind as being particularly memorable/moving. Himself irritates me on a regular basis when I mention that I have read the book and won't be seeing the movie by saying 'oh, did they make a book out of that?'
ReplyDeleteI read voraciously as you know EC and rarely, if ever, has a movie matched the quality of the book. Recent disaster was "Otto" an absolute travesty of a film from a delicate Swedish novel called "Ove." I get so angry at the Hollywoodizations of films, two by fours. No nuance or sublety.
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You know, I have never been a great fan of movies. For whatever reason it has never been my thing, and I can't even remember the last film I saw - probably "Schindler's List" and to answer your question also my favourite.. I suppose it has something to do with spending a life outdoors, and perhaps being inside has never had the same allure. Having said that I used to attend regularly at the local symphony orchestra, and for the few years we had a local opera company hardly missed a performance. I have also from time to time visited the local chamber music society. Never a great fan of being part of large groups I think that COVID isolation reinforced that feeling and I couldn't see myself sitting in a crowded theatre any more.
ReplyDeleteLoved that film too David. I am a huge fan of opera and symphony and was an ardent fan of both in Toronto but alas out here the addiction hasn't been fed. I was a member of the Toronto Film Society for quite a while and loved the rare stuff they showed.
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Oh I too loved The Dead and will watch it happily at any opportunity. I can't put a finger on why it moves me so, but it does ... perhaps my Irish great-great-great grandmother's genes are in me somewhere.
ReplyDeleteAnother movie I quite like is Bandits, about a kidnapped woman who falls in love with two of her kidnappers -- and they make it work.
I also loved Outrageous! starring the drag queen Craig Russell. The characters were so loveable I was sad when the film ended.
-Kate
I loved your other two as well. I saw Craig in a live show once, he died very young, I think it was AIDS?
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OMG, yes! Outrageous! Haven't thought about it in a while but loved it too.
DeleteGoing to see a film was certainly an different experience inn the sixties. It is a hard call but my favourite film is a French thriller called Diva, released in 1981. I expect it has held up well.
ReplyDeleteI made a note of that Andrew and I will see it it's on any of the streams.
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Not a fan of films, either.
ReplyDeleteInteresting Joanne, we all have our passions, don't we?
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Favourite? I couldn't possibly have just one favourite! Although Fool's Gold might just edge out some of the other favourites. I also have a large film collection, all DVDs and have recently begun wondering what on earth will happen to them all when I kick the bucket. I could ask the kids to come and choose some for themselves, but one wouldn't be interested, one might take a bunch to sell on ebay, one already has all the movies I have and more, and I don't know about the fourth child. He doesn't get much time for watching movies. I'll let them sort it out after I'm gone. Ditto the CDs and books.
ReplyDeleteI'm not much into romcoms, River, I like mysteries and subtle story lines. A good yarn as my people say, never goes amiss with me. Some adventures, some war films, character driven I do like. The world of films is vast. I gave my huge collection away in chunks. Streaming has made a huge difference.
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I love movies too. I have many favourites, too many to list. I like the way I can get totally immersed in a film in a way that's not possible in a book (all those words get in the way!).
ReplyDeleteI have to say I get equally immersed in a good well written book Nick. But movies can also take my breath away. I remember a Japanese effort called After Life and a German one called The Lives of Others which still stay with me even now.
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Yellow Shoes
ReplyDeleteHere in the UK mitching is called bunking off; it was nice to see it reinstated!
We were not allowed to go to the cinema during term time - my puny little private protestant school of no account had to stamp its authority in ways other than excellence.
I'm proud to say my friend and I managed to mitch every Wednesday afternoon to the Dun Laoghaire Adelphi to watch whatever was on, sharing a tube of Rowntrees Fruitgums.
Favourite movies?
I also dislike rom-coms and adore rough tough movies like Goodfellas and a great favourite, Sexy Beast.
Yes, they're violent but there is so much humanity and subtlety in them too.
A fellow mitcher! I didn't get into the long story of getting caught and publicly expelled (it was a private convent school) for skipping French on Wednesday afternoons - fairplay to us, she was an appalling teacher among many excellent ones - but my parents managed to get me publicly reinstated with a suitable meaningless grovel, (the horror and shame from my parents broke my heart). I learned more from those fab French films than I ever did from Sister Paul.
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I love film, but I'm not particularly discerning. I was the child who stood up in movie theaters and shouted "Watch out!" to someone about to ambushed, and the adult whose husband caught her waving "Bye" to someone leaving in a movie watched on television. I'm often sucked into the story too soon, too much.
ReplyDeleteI get immersed also Linda, I cry a lot. But also talk back to the screen when script/actor/big reveal is cr*p and then vent by writing a blistering review.
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I did a double major and found I loved film maybe even more than books. Definitely more accessible once my vision failed. Here are two short doc lovelies which cost +/-- $2 each. You'll smile and smile. Dear Mabel... . Lots of free-ish film from NFB. https://www.nfb.ca/film/mabel/
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Nearly missed this Emma as it's attached to another comment.
DeleteI'll check it out. Tx
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Ohd rats I published before I found this FREE version of Mabel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UZU9V8rojY&ab_channel=NFB
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Not sure what this is Emma?
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My favorite is Field of Dreams. And yes, I know people think it's hokey. I do not care. Burt Lancaster's speech (as the older Midnight Graham) is one of my favorite scenes in any movie. I love love love going to the theater. I go by myself now, which is perfectly fine. So many people sit home if they don't have a significant other; rubbish.
ReplyDeleteAgreed Elle, I have gone alone to events that appeal for a long time now, I could wait around forever for someone to be equally interested. I liked that movie also, and certain scenes in films can live with us a long time and it's hard to define why.
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Over the years I have read many movie recommendations on blogs but I mostly didn't take note of them which is a little sad. I'm delighted that you have some records I can refer to next time I want to watch a good film!
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