I was looking forward to this recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book for my screening of The Ten Commandments; the gang from Monty Python taking on religion. Brian (Graham Chapman) was born on the same day as Jesus, just in the stable next door, and consequently, spends his life…
Tag: melodrama
Starship Troopers 3: Marauder (2008) – Edward Neumeier
Johnny Rico (Casper Van Dien) returns to the franchise in this second direct to DVD sequel that sees the fight with the bugs continue. After the second one, I don’t know if things would get better or worse, but with the Sci-Fi Chronicles book as my guide, I dove into the worlds, based loosely…
Gone With The Wind (1939) -Victor Fleming, George Cukor and Sam Wood
A gorgeous score by Max Steiner welcomes me to this towering four hour epic based on Margaret Mitchell’s classic (albeit incredibly racist) tale of the south. This was one I had never seen, but as I dove back into the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book, specifically the romance and melodrama section,…
El Cid (1961) – Anthony Mann
The recommendations for my viewing of Henry V for the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book gets underway with this towering film from Anthony Mann. Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren headline in this three-hour epic that chronicles the life and times of El Cid, known in Spain as Rodrigo Diaz (Heston), a…
42nd Street (1933) – Lloyd Bacon
My foray into musicals continues with 42nd Street, the first recommendation to come from my viewing of Gold Diggers of 1933. Yet another film that was delightfully enjoyable, though I tended to enjoy some of the antics the girls got up to in Gold Diggers a little more. Having said that, the musical numbers,…
Queen Christina (1933) – Rouben Mamoulian
My time with Greta Garbo continues as I continue to explore the recommended titles from my viewing of Anna Karenina for the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book. This time, it’s 1933’s Queen Christina. High melodrama to be sure! Garbo plays the titular Christina, a 17th century Swedish Monarch, who is put…
The Grand Hotel (1932) – Edmund Goulding
It’s time to check in on Greta Garbo again, as we take on another recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of Anna Karenina. This one is based on the novel by Vicki Baum, and is filled with melodrama, one for almost every room in the hotel….
Anna Karenina (1935) – Clarence Brown
It’s time to return the romance and melodrama section of the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book, and the title under examination time is the 1935 Greta Garbo classic based on the epic novel by Leo Tolstoy. Garbo is the titular Anna in 19th century St. Petersburg. Her husband, Karenin is played…
The Devil is a Woman (1935) – Josef von Sternberg
The final pairing of von Sternberg and Marlene Dietrich is this film, and it is also the final recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book for my screening of The Blue Angel. This time around, Dietrich, who plays Concha Perez, is nothing but trouble. And, she doesn’t even get any proper…
Shanghai Express (1932) – Josef von Sternberg
The next entry in the Romance and Melodrama category for my viewing of The Blue Angel from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book is this very enjoyable film, that again features von Sterberg directing, and Marlene Dietrich starring. The film follows a collection of passengers aboard the Shanghia Express, amongst them,…
The Mind Reels 