Had mixed feeling about "Alfie" remake;
not sure why Hollywood feels compelled
to remake classic films, period.....
(answer: Greed!). Interesting update
on film; thought Jude Law gave it his
best shot; though he's no Michael Caine
(but then, who is?).
AGREED! ALTHOUGH THIS SEEMED TO HAVE SOME THOUGHT (NOT TO MENTION SOME ATTEMPT AT ORIGINALITY) BEHIND IT. I KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN ABOUT RE-MAKES...OR SEQUALS FOR THAT MATTER. GOFATHER III COMES TO MIND AS A COMPLETE DISASTER AND UNDERMINING THE 1ST TWO FILMS (PARTICULARLY NO. 2). A COMPLETE WASTE OF TIME, IMHO.
AS FOR LAW, IT ALMOST SEEMS LIKE HE'S A CHARACTER ACTOR W/ A LEADING MAN'S FACE, ETC. CASE IN POINT WAS THE GREAT PERFORMANCE HE GAVE IN "ROAD TO PERDITION." HIS ENTRY INTO THE FILM WITH THAT PIDGEON WALK, ETC. WAS PRICELESS. HE NAILED IT AND IT SHOWS WHAT HE'S CAPABLE OF WHEN GIVEN THE RIGHT ROLE. STILL, I KNOW "ROAD TO PERDITION" IS NOT THE JUDE LAW FILM THAT COMES TO MIND FOR MOST (AGAIN, A SHAME, I THINK :-)
I thought the same thing re: Murnau.
He was resistant to sound revolution
(yay...) & appeared to continue to
buck the revolution making silent films
into the foreseeable future...I've seen
both of his last two films: "City Girl"
& "Tabu," which were interesting cinematic
experiments, indicating Murnau was continuing
to push the evelope cinematically... I guess
its all conjecture from this point on.
"Four Devils" (the other post-"Sunrise" film)
is unfortunately 'lost' so another piece of the
puzzle remains obscure...
A TRAGIC LOSS--ONE CAN JUST IMAGINE WHAT OTHER FILMS HE HAD IN HIM. SUNRISE IS BEYOND BRILLIANT :-)! HAVEN'T SEEN "TABU" THOUGH IT'S CONSIDERED A BONA-FIDE MASTERPIECE. AND "CITY GIRL" I'VE NEVER HEARD OF, SO THANKS FOR THE HEAD'S UP, BILL.
ON A SIDE NOTE, I DECIDED TO TINKER WITH MY RECORDING EQUIPMENT RECENTLY AND DISCOVERED THAT I CAN MAKE YOU A COPY OF TYRONE POWER SENIOR'S "WITHOUT MY CHILDREN" (1916) ON DVD AND BARRYMORE'S "THE TEMPEST" ON VHS (UNFORTUNATELY, I CAN'T MAKE A DVD COPY OF THE LATTER). IN ANY CASE, LET ME KNOW IF YOU'RE INTERESTED (I'M DYING TO GET RID OF SOME OF MY VHS TAPES, SO THIS WOULD BE A GOOD 'EXCUSE' TO DO SO :-)!!)
Agree with you completely on "Alfie" remake,
Joanne. They *did* try to inject some thought
*&* originality (updating it & setting it in
NYC as opposed to London, but still keeping the character as a cockney Brit...)to it & tweaking
the plot from the original.
Also agree with you about Law; BTW, I did see
"Road to Perdition" & loved it & his performance
(As well as everyone else's...). And what a
cinematic epitath for the late cinematographer
Conrad Hall! I esp. loved the 'silent' rainy
apocalypse near the end of the film; wonderfully
orchestrated...
Thank you so much for the offer to dupe "Without
My Children" & "The Tempest," Joanne! That would
be wonderful! I can return the favor with "City
Girl," I think. Have to check on to see if it's
'copyable'... If it is it would be on VHS; don't
have the equipment yet to burn DVDs,
unfortunately... :-( Don't have "Tabu," seen it
in Atlanta on the big screen about ten years ago,
but remember the cinematography was breathtaking...
