Greer Garson Store - Know me by the films I see

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Know me by the films I see - January 2008
By an Amazon.com customer

	Nosferatu (The Ultimate Two-Disc Edition) Buy new: $24.99 / Used from: $16.99 ***** 1922. Directed by Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau. Undoubtedly, THE DVD release of 2007. The one and only Dracula was Max Schreck whose performance haunted the nights of generations of movie lovers. Like me.
	The Barefoot Contessa Buy new: $12.99 / Used from: $5.98 ***** 1954. Written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Academy award and Golden Globe earned by Edmond O'Brien. Huge and incredibly intelligent movie featuring an idealistic Spanish dancer lost in Hollywood. Masterpiece.
	Suddenly, Last Summer Buy new: $9.99 / Used from: $7.99 ***** 1959. Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Three nominations for the Academy Awards and Golden Globe for Elizabeth Taylor. Outstanding screenplay by Tennessee Williams filled with symbols and cymbals. Masterpiece.
	Cleopatra (Five Star Collection) Buy used from: $8.85 ***** 1963. Written for the screen and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Four Academy Awards. First seen on a small TV set, then several times in theaters and finally on DVD. CLEOPATRA is not your usual peplum, it's a geyser of sublime scenes bound to stay in our collective unconscious. Indispensable.
	The Honey Pot (Anyone for Venice?) (It Comes Up Murder) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - Spain ] ***** 1967. Written for the screen and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. A firework of wit and unforgettable lines and a lesson of mise-en-scene. Indispensable.
	There Was a Crooked Man... Buy new: $14.99 / Used from: $12.03 ***** 1970. Produced and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. How to transform the screenplay of a western dealing with a daring prison escape into a smart and satiric film about honesty and prison reforms ? Well, just ask Mankiewicz, one of the top directors of the Golden Age of Hollywood. An indispensable DVD in the honest man's library.
	Sleuth Buy used from: $59.99 ***** 1972. Written by Anthony Shaffer from his own play and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Earned the 1973 Edgar Allan Poe Award and four nominations for the Academy awards. A murder mystery movie and a sublime film about humiliation. Masterpiece.
	Shallow Grave Buy used from: $3.09 ***** 1994. Directed by Danny Boyle. This multi-awarded thriller is outstanding. The film explores the reactions of three friends when their new flatmate dies in his bed leaving a suitcase loaded with money in the closet. Birth of a new first-class director.
	Werckmeister Harmonies Buy new: $26.99 / Used from: $19.41 ***** 2000. Co-written and directed by Béla Tarr. 145 minutes of perfection. With Werner Herzog, Sergei Parajanov and Andrei Tarkovsky, Béla Tarr belongs to the small group of visionary directors. Undisputable masterpiece.
	Brokeback Mountain (Widescreen Edition) Buy new: $8.49 / Used from: $2.19 ***** 2005. Directed by Ang Lee. Three Academy awards, three Golden Globes and Golden Lion of the 2005 Venice Film Festival. True love between two modern cowboys. Deserves all the praise it created.
	Black Snake Moan Buy new: $13.49 / Used from: $3.94 ***** 2006. Written and directed by Craig Brewer. An aging and religious bluesman decides to reform a wild young woman and chains her in his house. It's been a long time I haven't been so enthralled by a recent movie. Highly recommended.
	Julius Caesar Buy new: $8.49 / Used from: $3.66 ****1/2 1953. Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Five nominations for the Academy awards but only one win in the Best Art Direction category. An all-star cast with Marlon Brando, James Mason, Deborah Kerr, John Gielgud, Louis Calhern, Greer Garson and Edmond O'Brien. Brando's speech at the Capitol is outstanding.
	The Quiet American Buy new: $9.99 / Used from: $1.98 ****1/2 1958. Co-written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Is Audie Murphy a spy or an idealist ? Michael Redgrave doesn't hesitate much when the American starts to court his Vietnamese mistress. Excellent adaptation of the Graham Geene novel.
	Guys & Dolls (Widescreen Deluxe Edition) Buy new: $21.99 / Used from: $4.46 **** 1955. Written for the screen and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. The antepenultimate Samuel Goldwyn production earned four nominations for the Academy awards and two Golden Globes. Marlon Brando and Jean Simmons are never ridiculous.
	Police Python 357 [Region 2] **** 1976. Co-written and directed by Alain Corneau. César award in the Best Editing category. A cop, accused of the murder of his chief's mistress, decides to start his own investigation. Montand and Périer are nothing but marionettes in the hands of Simone Signoret and Stefania Sandrelli. A movie to rediscover at short notice.
	Trainspotting - Director's Cut (Collector's Edition) Buy new: $14.99 / Used from: $9.99 **** 1996. Directed by Danny Boyle. British Academy Award in the Best Screenplay-adapted category. The movie that launched the career of Danny Boyle, Ewan McGregor and Robert Carlyle. Tragi-comedy at its best.
	In the Bedroom Buy new: $11.49 / Used from: $0.40 **** 2001. Co-written and directed by Todd Field. Five nominations for the Academy awards. Great first movie from a director who delivered, five years later, another wonderful movie: LITTLE CHILDREN. Without a doubt, he's a future master.
	Romance & Cigarettes Buy new: $16.99 / Used from: $4.24 **** 2005. Written and directed by John Turturro. An original musical comedy with some great actors as Susan Sarandon, Christopher Walken and Kate Winslet. Recommended.
	Hustle & Flow (Widescreen Edition) Buy new: $7.49 / Used from: $1.69 **** 2005. Written and directed by Craig Brewer. Two nominations and one Academy award. Excellent second movie of a director who came up with a first-class film - BLACK SNAKE MOAN - one year later. Three common themes in these movies : redemption, hookers and music.
	Sunshine Buy new: $13.49 / Used from: $4.43 **** 2007. Directed by Danny Boyle. A British science fiction movie is always fun to watch as though the recurrent and only theme handled by the few directors interested by this genre is the end of the world. Note the work on colors and the numerous associations eye/sun. Enjoy.
	Indian Summer [Region 2] ( Le Professeur ) France Buy used from: $37.80 ***1/2 1972. Written and directed by Valerio Zurlini. A professor who likes to gamble and to write poems, accepts a job in Rimini, Italy. Soon he falls in love with Vanina, a 19 years old student with, already, a past.
	A Woman At Her Window ***1/2 1976. Co-written and directed by Pierre Granier-Deferre. Two nominations for the 1977 César Awards. A love story between a communist runaway (Lanoux) and a member of the high bourgeoisie (Schneider) in 1936 under the martial law in Greece. If at first the movie may annoy a little, it delivers nevertheless a certain charm after a while.
	I Love All Of You Buy used from: $24.13 ***1/2 1980. Written and directed by Claude Berri. 2 nominations for the French César awards (Best Music and Best Supporting Actor). An all-star cast for this rather bitter comedy of manners. Deneuve's character is unable to have a stable relationship.
	Kalifornia Buy new: $10.49 / Used from: $5.18 ***1/2 1993. Directed by Dominic Sena. Two couples travel west. David Duchovny is a psychologist and Brad Pitt a serial killer. Thanks to Juliette Lewis and Brad Pitt's performances, this movie is worth your time.
	A Life Less Ordinary Buy new: $7.49 / Used from: $2.00 ***1/2 1997. Directed by Danny Boyle. A love story between an unsuccessful writer and a wealthy heiress. This black comedy isn't the best movie so far of the British director but it deserves some attention. Superb dance scene between Ewan McGregor and Cameron Diaz.
	Amen ***1/2 2002. Co-written and directed by Costa-Gavras. Seven nominations for the French César awards but only one win in the Best Writing category. The real story of SS Kurt Gerstein who tried to alert the world about concentration camps.
	Friday Night Lights (Widescreen Edition) Buy new: $9.99 / Used from: $0.01 ***1/2 2004. Co-written and directed by Peter Berg. Another football movie telling, this time, the story of a Texas high school team heading to the state championship. Good movie.
	Shoot 'Em Up Buy new: $11.49 / Used from: $3.88 ***1/2 2007. Written and directed by Michael Davis. Without a worthy screenplay, the film is nonetheless an interesting homage to the cinema of John Woo and his colleagues from Hong Kong. Entertaining.
	Spoiled Children (Des enfants gâtés) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - France ] Buy used from: $24.99 *** 1977. Co-written and directed by Bertrand Tavernier. One nomination for the French César awards (Jean-Pierre Aumont). You'll find social topics and autobiographical inspiration in this film which is not the best of the French director.
	Le Maitre D'ecole (Original French ONLY Version) Buy used from: $54.99 *** 1981. Written and directed by Claude Berri. An unemployed decides to become a teacher. He has no special teaching methods but he loves and understands children. Nice comedy. Nice, just nice.
	Millions Buy new: $7.99 / Used from: $1.00 *** 2004. Directed by Danny Boyle. How to spend two hundred thousands pounds in a week when you are a child ? This British comedy is fun to watch, well filmed and it says two or three important things about money. Give it a chance.
	One Wild Moment Buy used from: $9.75 **1/2 1977. Written and directed by Claude Berri. Two friends, Pierre and Jacques, drive to the Côte d'Azur with their teen daughters for vacation. One night, Pierre sleeps with his friend's daughter. Will he dare to speak the truth to Jacques ?
	The Bourne Ultimatum (Widescreen Edition) Buy new: $9.99 / Used from: $4.03 **1/2 2007. Directed by Paul Greengrass. If hysterical editing and a tremulous camera are your cup of tea, this movie could please you. No second degree here, no artistic ambition, just popcorn cinema. Already forgotten.

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