Monday, April 12, 2010

When's the last time...

...you watched an old classic? Was it your first time seeing it?
*

47 comments:

Wilfred said...

one week ago.
streetcar named desire.
twas my first time watching it.
what display of acting prowess!

mrripley said...

I recently sat through torch song a 1953 campathon with the joan crawford.

Unknown said...

Does this count? I saw The Blob for the first time this week on TCM. I live near where it was filmed, but I'd never seen it before.

Wilfred said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Wilfred said...

oh, scrap the Streetcar. Kait's post reminded me that I just watched The Haunting on TCM just last night.

James T said...

The most appropriate question at the moment! I watch almost only classics at the moment.

Last: The Lady Eve
Second to last: The Letter

I'm in the middle of Now, Voyager.

Did Dancer in the Dark count as classic? Well, that too!

NATHANIEL R said...

The Blob!!! i think that counts Kait.

Wilfred it sounds like you had two goodies.

Amir said...

i watched michelangelo antonioni's 'il deserto rosso' last night.
i thought the visuals of the film were astonishing, both in terms of setting and cinematography.

vg21 said...

Just yesterday I saw Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. I fell in love with the musical in 2005 in Birmingham and I really loved the film version. Of course, it is very different from a musical today, but Sally Ann Howes's singing and those dance performances are irresistible:).

Lev Lewis said...

Just watched two thirds of Bergman's "Silence" trilogy. "Through A Glass Darkly" and "Winter Light". The former has what is possibly the greatest last line ever spoken in film. Hyperbole much, but really ... powerful stuff.

Deus Ex Machina said...

This week I watched Rififi, Ran, Mr. Hulot's Holiday and Rome Open City.
LEv, actually "the Silence" is my favorite of the trilogy.

miracleman said...

I just watched 'Brief Encounter' because I'm reading a book that is based on the story with modern gay retelling, 'Without Paradise'. Very over acted but I'll bet there wasn't a dry eye in the house when it first showed.

par3182 said...

last night i finally got around to watching the adventures of barry mckenzie (1972)

well...it's a classic down here

Lev Lewis said...

Well, I'll find out very shortly.

NoNo said...

I saw Spellbound two weeks ago on TCM for the first time. I now think I need to actively seek out all of his filmography because I've seen 6 of his films prior to this and I loved almost all that I've seen.

Jenn said...

two days ago I saw "A Raisin In The Sun" after re-reading the play. definitely one of Sidney Poitier's most powerful performances.

Flosh said...

MEDIUM COOL two days ago, thanks to Netflix Instant View. Some really incredible stuff in that movie.

notanotherblog said...

Waterloo Bridge, a few days ago. Everyone's lovin' Vivien Leigh this past week.

ClaudeMedwenitsch said...

this weekend:
Pillow Talk
I Remember Mama
The Awful Truth
My Man Godfrey
Dark Victory

"He loves me, he put me in the shower!"

KTibbs617 said...

Adam's Rib for the umpteenth time.
Spencer/Tracy is always a good time. I think Pat & Mike is their only pairing I've yet to see.

"Licorice, I'm a sucker for licorice." my dad and I quote this film & Desk Set until my mother screams in annoyance. Brilliant.

Benji said...

On Friday, 'The Ghost and Mrs. Muir'.
I hadn't watched it for years, but revisiting it only confirmed my recollections of its haunting and poignant beauty. A great film!

vg21 said...

Oh, another, I have just finished The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. It was the first time I had seen it, it's astonishingly great. Maggie Smith is breathtaking.

Greg Boyd said...

A few weeks ago I watched "Rashomon" and "Repulsion" on consecutive days. The former is one of the best films I've ever seen, and the latter is also really good (though not quite as scary as advertised).

MrW said...

Just yesterday I re-watched 'Another Thin Man'.

The last time I watched a classic for the first time must have been a few weeks ago already, when I watched 'Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles' and 'Blithe Spirit' within a few days.

Ah, 'Blithe Spirit'. How can one not love Margaret Rutherford...

NATHANIEL R said...

Benji ... i've never seen the Ghost and Mrs. Muir. i must get on that.

Catherine said...

Just recently saw My Man Godfrey for the first time and nearly burst a blood vessel I was laughing so hard. Every single actor in that film is falling over themselves to make you laugh, and it all works so perfectly together. And a rewatch of Meet John Doe, which is fairly unbeatable Capracorn.

Volvagia said...

Well last old classic I saw was a Fellini. Juliet of the Spirits, which like my current experience of Fellini, is intellectual and always interesting, but not emotional. My directors notebook is, at current thought: Huston > Lynch > DePalma > Bunuel > Fellini > The Archers > Luhrmann > Scorsese > Hitchcock > Lumet

Dimitra said...

Gone With The Wind. I loved the book, but I couldn't stand the melodramatism of the film. Scarlett is not a very likable character anyway, but especially in the film I couldn't connect with her in any level. In the end I was disappointed by one of the most popular films of all time.

On the other hand, I loved A Streetcar Named Desire, which I watched before GWTW.

Kenn said...

Breakfast at Tiffany's on Friday (at a theatre!) and The Hidden Fortress last night.

Burning Reels said...

I don't think Brief Encounter is overacted at all miracleman - the essence is pure polite yet hidden Englishness of the time.

Depends what we're calling old - rewatched the hypnotic Aguirre, Wrath of God last night.

A couple of weeks ago, finally saw It Happened One Night - what a treat:)

Lorenzo said...

This afternoon... Kubrick's The Killing... I had already seen it twice, but everytime I'm astounded by its greatness: can a movie be a perfect noir, a noir parody and an absolute masterpiece at the same time? Yes, and this is the proof! Love the flipping back and forth in time most of all... This movie leaves you with a deep feeling of doom and despair, and yet you feel excited cause it is just evident you've just watched the a masterpiece.

Daryn G said...

One week ago. Chris Marker's La Jetee and Sans Soleil on DVD. Both first time.

badmotherfucker said...

Just saw A Streetcar Named Desire for the first time last Sunday and I'm convinced Vivien Leigh gave the second greatest performance of all time -- behind Maria Falconetti in The Passion of Joan of Arc. Marlon Brando gets most of the hype, but once the credits rolled I was left wondering why I'd not known Blanche DuBois the way I knew Norma Desmond prior to watching Sunset Boulevard.

On another note, it always irks me when people list the greatest performances of all time and fail to acknowledge Falconetti's breathtaking achievement; mostly because I know they've never seen it or else it'd be there. Seriously, that movie should be required viewing for any self-proclaimed film buff.

Zach said...

Rewatched Sunset Boulevard last night/this morning. Still a great film, but I can saw some spots that could have been tidied up a bit.

I also thought that a movie like that would probably not get made today, if anything because of all the voice-over. And what actress would put themselves out there like Gloria Swanson did? She deserved the Oscar, but, like many years, it went to a "lighter" performance (Judy Holliday, Born Yesterday).

Nevertheless, see Sunset Boulevard if you haven't yet - still worth it.

Zach said...

KUBRICK = God

I swear that KUBRICK could do no wrong. Never a misstep. If you think there was, watch that film again and you'll see - a master filmmaker like we may never see again.

Julienne said...

breakfast at tiffany's last sat. second viewing

Danny King said...

Last night. It was Carol Reed's The Third Man and I adored every minute of it.

RobUK said...

My Fair Lady, about a week ago. Seen it before but not for years. Had love for most of the musical sequences but overall found it a little laboured, and Hepburn pretty bad.

FrenchGirl said...

"chinatown" by Polanski

John T said...

I just rewatched Waterloo Bridge, which is one of those intensely beautiful movies that for some reason doesn't make your general "classics" lists, but is still just plain wonderful.

Rick Schoen said...

Just yesterday, I was flipping the channels and landed on TCM at the start of West Side Story. It has been a long while since I've seen so I thought why not.

Clarence said...

The last classic I saw was All About Eve which was like three or four weeks ago. It's one of my absolute favorite films ever.

This week I'm planning on watching either Raise the Red Lantern or In the Mood for Love for the first time. I don't know if you consider them classics but I've been very curious about both.

Dieter said...

Rewatched "Ace In The Hole" for the umpteenth time yesterday. Has become a yearly ritual. Surely the most cynical movie ever made. You gotta love Billy Wilder's dialogue: "I can handle big news and little news. And if there's no news, I'll go out and bite a dog.” Greatest Kirk Douglas performance ever as well...

dmb said...

Probably nearly every week at least once. I have a great library where I live that's full of old classics for free.
The last one though would be I Am A Fugitive From A Chain Gang ( 1932 ) starring Paul Muni, which earned the film and actor Oscar nominations.
It surprising how well it's held up and Muni is so believable as a man who escapes from a hardcore chain gang to become a successful businessman only to have the law finally catch up to him after being a good citizen for many years. He then volunteers to turn himself in on promise he will do a short term, but only to be lied to and never being released and go crazy in the process.
Very good movie. Very moving. Worth the rental.

Henry said...

Seven Brides For Seven Brothers. Great film.

Oh, no. The last time all the way through was 12 Angry Men. Still as great as the first time I saw it.

Before that was Roman Holiday. I love that movie. So wished Gregory Peck ended up with Aubrey Hepburn in the end. I'm still peeved about that.

Unknown said...

ben hur, two weeks ago.

Great¡¡

Unknown said...

It's funny that Vivien Leigh is mentioned in these comments for the 3 films she did in Hollywood. A full score.
Beautiful and talented Miss Leigh. That's a classic.