- Lacombe, Lucien (Louis Malle)
- The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (Fred Schepisi)
- The Tarnished Angels (Douglas Sirk)
- Make Mine Mink (Robert Asher)
- Orpheus (Jean Cocteau)
- All That Heaven Allows (Douglas Sirk)
- Lightning (Mikio Naruse)
- The Verdict (Don Siegel)
- Lifeboat (Alfred Hitchcock)
- Fort Apache (John Ford)
1- I have been trying to see as much Douglas Sirk as I can lay my eyes on. Some of it is astounding, some of it is excruciating. All That Heaven Allows falls into the astounding group, and The Tarnished Angels, along with the supremely insane Written On The Wind, for me, alas, fall into the excruciating group. It might just be me, though. When I first saw Imitation of Life, I wanted to throw things at the TV. Now I think it is a masterpiece. Not on the level of All That Heaven Allows, but a masterpiece. Stay tuned for an article on Sirk appreciation, soon I hope.
2- Both Lacombe, Lucien and The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith are powerful works on the destructive power of racism and hatred. Both are films that I have heard of for years but never got a chance to see. Thank you, TCM
3- After the magnificent but depressing experience of the two films above, the exact tonic I needed was Make Mine Mink. For some reason I always thought it was a Doris Day vehicle. Much to my delight it turned out to be one of those confections of absolute insanity that only the British of the 1950/60s could have created. All hail, Terry-Thomas.
4- Over the years I have viewed and re-viewed Beauty and the Beast by Jean Cocteau. I had seen Orpheus years ago and remembered it as beautiful but difficult. Seeing it again, it was still very beautiful, but seemed less substantive than the perfection that is Beauty and the Beast. And was there ever a more beautiful man than Jean Marais?
5- The ‘Cavalry Trilogy’ of John Ford occupies a position in his oeuvre comparable to that of the Henriad in Shakespeare’s canon. A recent viewing of Fort Apache convinced me of this. If I ever get over my natural indolence, I will write a piece telling you why.
6- It’s time for a Have You Tried…. piece on Mikio Naruse. He is criminally unknown and amazingly wonderful.
7- Having seen it over 30 years ago, I remembered Lifeboat as one of those ambitious but failed Hitchcock experiments, like Rope. Man, was I wrong. The constraints he puts on himself seem to unleash his genius even more. Take that, Lars Van Trier and your Five damned Obstructions!
The Discreet Bourgeois 