This is probably the best Christmas movie you've never seen (and by "you," I mean people younger than forty). Modern audiences would recognize the similarities between this movie and its remake, "You've Got Mail" (notice the name of Meg Ryan's shop in the latter), but this one is far superior. James Stewart is a clerk at a store, and he's stressing from the dual difficulties of quarreling with his new colleague (Margaret Sullivan) and coming under suspicion from his manager (Frank Morgan). As you can guess from the similarities between the two movies, Stewart and Sullivan's characters are also carrying on a pen-pal writing romance while being unaware of each other's identity. While "The Shop Around the Corner" is hardly a Christmas movie (neither is "It's a Wonderful Life," for that matter), it's charming, eloquent, simple, remarkable, and humorous. Frank Morgan's lines are even more lump-in-the-throat-inducing than his lines are in "The Wizard of Oz."The Bishop's Wife
Also remade in the 90s (as "The Preacher's Wife" with Denzel Washington and Whitney Houston), this is the other 1940s Christmas movie about a man in need of an angel. Like "It's a Wonderful Life" and "The Shop Around the Corner," the movie combines the blissful atmosphere of the holidays with bitter resentment due to stress, anxiety, and economics. As a matter of fact, sometimes it relies a bit too much of the former instead of the latter; Cary Grant, who's perfect in this movie, rarely does not smile in the movie. His tone is not wittingly and loftily dismissive as it is in some of his more famous roles; here it is constantly rising, expressing confidence as an angel sent to help a bishop (David Niven) re-discover what is important in life. Despite its over-reliance on cheer, it's a wonderful and highly enjoyable movie nonetheless.
Rare Exports
From Finland, this is the most surreal Christmas movie I have ever seen. I can't recall if the movie explored the mythological figure of the Tomte, but the movie does center on a sort of mythical, un-Santa-like imagining of the famous figure. Taking place in a mining town in rural Finland, Santa makes his rounds, this time to provoke chaos and danger instead of the usual niceties. Truly, this movie is difficult to explain; the surrealism mixed with the horror of it all perhaps is an acquired taste, but ultimately it's a recommendable film.
Babes in Toyland
The most famous adaptation of the 1903 Victor Herbert operetta, in some respects the 1934 "Babes in Toyland" feels ahead of its time. While its production value seems inferior, Charlotte Henry as Little Bo-Beep is reminiscent of Snow White, Felix Knight looks and sounds like Robin Hood, Toyland looks similar to Oz, and in many ways it also captures some of what came before it: Henry Brandon reminded me of the ghoulish characters of German Expressionism, and the film makes use of Disney's theme for the Three Little Pigs when they show up (along with a mouse that resembles Mickey). But it is first and foremost a Laurel and Hardy movie, and they are especially charming and humorous here. Comedic giants in a nice ensemble, they have numerous effective moments of humor, like trying to trick the villain Silas Barnaby by giving him a Christmas present in July. Santa Claus also shows up at one point to pick up the toy soldiers he ordered, which are far too big (but come in handy later for an exciting climax). One final note: Roger Ebert has commented that there is no comparison between the use of color and black-and-white cinematography in movies. He argues that black-and-white movies appear timeless, whereas color looks awkward. The analogy he gives is asking his readers to compare the wedding photographs of their parents and grandparents: the grandparents are in black and white and look timeless, while the parents are in color and look goofy. I generally don't agree with him (in terms of black and white versus color), but he's correct here: If you have a choice, pick the original black-and-white version, even for children. Children completely lack any prejudice towards black-and-white movies or towards any older movie or even silent films. Instead, they're totally mesmerized by them, as they should be. It's only when they grow older that they develop ignorant views on the subject. The Star Wars Holiday Special
"If I had the time and a sledgehammer, I would track down every copy of that special and smash it." -George Lucas
This may be the king of all "it's-so-bad-it's-good" movies. This movie is awful and yet so awesome to watch. Just imagine, fans of "Star Wars," that after six movies, that animated show that children seem to like, and the recent announcement of the Disney purchase with three more movies on the way, and all that other stuff, that there in fact remains one more hardly-watched adventure of our beloved characters. A movie like this is one of those rare movies that nearly renders me speechless because it's so difficult to put everything so bizarre about it in print. The plot: Han Solo, Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker and gang all help Chewbakka get back to his home planet (where he apparently has a wife, child and father) in time for Life Day (strikingly similar to Christmas). But our main stars sacrifice most of their appearance for 1970s television stars: Bea Arthur (who sings to the tune of the Cantina theme), Art Carney, and Harvey Korman. Harvey...Korman. If you thought Jar Jar Binks was the most annoying "Star Wars" character, you haven't seen Harvey Korman in "The Star Wars Holiday Special." This movie tries to take what worked so well with "Star Wars" and turns into a farcical mess. At one point it's arbitrarily a cartoon (making it the first appearance of legendary character Boba Fett), or it's a sitcom, and never is it (intentionally) entertaining. Did I mention it's also a musical? Honestly, there are few movie-watching experiences as surreal as watching "The Star Wars Holiday" special. Conan O'Brien once played a clip for Harrison Ford and his reaction was priceless.
"You was here...and you was smoochin' with my brotha!"
Movies, movies, theater, cinema, watch, watching, watches, view, see, saw, cinema, film, flick, motion picture, Wizard of Oz, James Stewart, Jimmy Stewart, Cary Grant, Shop Around the Corner, Bishop's Wife, Star Wars, Holiday Special, You've Got Mail, Laurel and Hardy, Harrison Ford, Conan O'Brien
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment