This is the original version with Gregory Peck. I also read this movie got 161 cuts from the British censors, and they still wanted an X rating for it due to themes of sadism and child endangerment. Interesting.
This film was very, very good. It started out with a curiosity of this guy looking for someone else who is a lawyer. It escalates into stalking and then worse. The suspense is tight right from the get go. Things just keep getting worse as our hero tries to protect his family, but with every turn, the villain has the upper hand. Even in the final masterplan, things go horribly wrong.
If you like suspense flicks, this one definitely has it where it counts. We really care about the man and his family, and have some concern for what the bad guy is going to do. Recommended.
Showing posts with label 1962. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1962. Show all posts
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Lawrence of Arabia -- 1962 -- PG
This is the longest theatrical movie I know of topping off at 217 minutes (227 with the Overture, Entr'acte and Exit Music). The theatrical edition of Return of the King only runs 200 minutes (the extended edition run 250, making it the longest overall I know of). This movie was so long, there is an intermission scripted into the movie so people get a potty break at about 140 minutes into it.
NOTE: I did learn that The Ten Commandments clocks in at 220, so it is technically longer, but it doesn't have the music, so it could go either way depending on whether you want to count the music.
That aside, this movie is very well-paced. It flows easily from point to point and T.E. Lawrence's plight is well-conceived and believable. He is a man who came from the British army to Arabia and ends up uniting several warring Arabian tribes in an effort to place Arabia under their rules instead of Britain's.
The only complaint I have is the unbelievably long (but picturesque) riding sequences. 30 minutes could have been cut from the final product if there weren't so many camels walking across the desert shots. There was a full 7 minutes devoted to a tribe leaving their village to go to war. It got real old real fast.
Beyond this, however, it did earn a well-deserved best picture award in 1962, along with 6 others and proves to be overall a very good film.
NOTE: I did learn that The Ten Commandments clocks in at 220, so it is technically longer, but it doesn't have the music, so it could go either way depending on whether you want to count the music.
That aside, this movie is very well-paced. It flows easily from point to point and T.E. Lawrence's plight is well-conceived and believable. He is a man who came from the British army to Arabia and ends up uniting several warring Arabian tribes in an effort to place Arabia under their rules instead of Britain's.
The only complaint I have is the unbelievably long (but picturesque) riding sequences. 30 minutes could have been cut from the final product if there weren't so many camels walking across the desert shots. There was a full 7 minutes devoted to a tribe leaving their village to go to war. It got real old real fast.
Beyond this, however, it did earn a well-deserved best picture award in 1962, along with 6 others and proves to be overall a very good film.
Friday, January 16, 2009
To Kill A Mockingbird -- 1962 -- NR
This is a film which follows primarily two children during the great depression living their lives in a small Alabama town suffering greatly from the depression. Through them, we get also the development of their father, a lawyer, as he tries a case of a black man accused of raping a white woman.
While the film covers an oddly large amount of time from one summer to another, the movie centers around two primary topics. The one providing info about the black man and his crime; the other about a mysterious character named Boo Radley who we never see until near the end. These two characters provide almost perfect parallels to each other in the lives of the father and children respectively.
While most of the events ran to an inevitable conclusion, the film was very satisfying to watch, had some great plotting, a very well-paced and well setup courtroom scene (which is saying a lot), and some great characters running around town. A solid film.
While the film covers an oddly large amount of time from one summer to another, the movie centers around two primary topics. The one providing info about the black man and his crime; the other about a mysterious character named Boo Radley who we never see until near the end. These two characters provide almost perfect parallels to each other in the lives of the father and children respectively.
While most of the events ran to an inevitable conclusion, the film was very satisfying to watch, had some great plotting, a very well-paced and well setup courtroom scene (which is saying a lot), and some great characters running around town. A solid film.
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