tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post1691658539298005382..comments2024-03-15T04:08:16.172-04:00Comments on Only the Cinema: On the WaterfrontEd Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18014222247676090467noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-219443455313304922011-02-12T09:02:38.720-05:002011-02-12T09:02:38.720-05:00Thanks, JAFB. I'll have to keep an eye out for...Thanks, JAFB. I'll have to keep an eye out for <i>A Letter To Elia</i>. Kazan is such an interesting figure.Ed Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18014222247676090467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-78443698168984884642011-02-12T06:46:23.113-05:002011-02-12T06:46:23.113-05:00Remarkable review, as ever, Ed, especially the par...Remarkable review, as ever, Ed, especially the part where you contrast the plot with Kazan's biography. <br /><br />I just saw A LETTER TO ELIA, which discusses this dimension to be a part of all his subsequent films. A film that would make a great companion to this review.<br /><br />Cheers!<br /><br />P.S: Thanks David. That's a lot of great stuff in just those two comments here. Will Just Another Film Buffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17880550053788464732noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-13533225023770697932011-02-11T09:44:54.852-05:002011-02-11T09:44:54.852-05:00David, I've been meaning to examine later Polo...David, I've been meaning to examine later Polonsky for a while. Maybe soon I'll finally get to that one.<br /><br />Shubhajit, thanks for the comments. It's an interesting, conflicted film for such a classic, and the political subtext is a big part of that - and David, Shubhajit can answer this, but by "uncalled for" I think he just means that the film's parallels to Ed Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18014222247676090467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-26357233678822365412011-02-11T09:19:11.847-05:002011-02-11T09:19:11.847-05:00What do you mean "uncalled for"? It'...What do you mean "uncalled for"? It's been talked about by critics since Day One -- most memorably by the great Lindsay Anderson in his seminal essay "Stand Up! Stand Up!"DavidEhrensteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11016905507543736049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-37101089391058809562011-02-11T01:17:18.790-05:002011-02-11T01:17:18.790-05:00What a superb analysis of the film!!!
There are ...What a superb analysis of the film!!!<br /> <br />There are portions in your review where you've mentioned certain pointers about the film, like the over-reliance on "filmy" dialogues & larger-than-life performances by the actors. <br /><br />Yet, these very facets, that could have easily backfired, ensured a classic status in this case - and it was great reading how you broughtShubhajithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02040495040897333606noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-46252551295026295752011-02-10T14:07:42.900-05:002011-02-10T14:07:42.900-05:00Abe Polansky was quite a guy. I got to know him a ...Abe Polansky was quite a guy. I got to know him a bit in his last years, and visited him once at his condo in Beverly Hills. "It's on McCarty drive. That's not <i>MaCarthy Drive</i> you know!"<br /><br />During the blacklist he wrote through "fronts." Before his passing he saw his credit for the screenplay of <i>Odds Against Tomorrow</i> restored (Nelson Gidding was DavidEhrensteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11016905507543736049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-53646104320004553992011-02-10T13:41:34.382-05:002011-02-10T13:41:34.382-05:00Sounds like a very interesting book, David. The wh...Sounds like a very interesting book, David. The whole period is fascinating, in a nausea-inducing way, and it's interesting to see all the justifications and reasons that people give for getting swept up in the whole mess.<br /><br />There's no comparison, really, to <i>Force of Evil</i>, an absolutely great film from a director whose career was sadly truncated by HUAC. <br /><br />And Ed Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18014222247676090467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-91695144678987762852011-02-10T10:56:29.519-05:002011-02-10T10:56:29.519-05:00Lee J. Cobb's "Johnny Friendly" is l...<em>Lee J. Cobb's "Johnny Friendly" is like Bluto in the Popeye cartoon strips.</em><br /><br />Ha! That nails it!Jason Bellamyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18150199580478147196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-61860832407338485192011-02-10T10:30:14.515-05:002011-02-10T10:30:14.515-05:00The book to read about why Kazan named names to HU...The book to read about why Kazan named names to HUAC is <i>Mike Connolly and The Manly Art of Hollywood Gossip</i> by Val Holley (McFraland and Company). It's a very important book about a little known but key figure in Old Hollywood -- Mike Connolly of the "Hollywood Reporter." While everyone knows about Hedd and Louella this gossip columnist was far more <i>inside</i> Hollywood --DavidEhrensteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11016905507543736049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-62745746379315812852011-02-10T08:57:45.303-05:002011-02-10T08:57:45.303-05:00I know the moment you're talking about, Jason,...I know the moment you're talking about, Jason, it's definitely great. Brando is just so much fun to watch in this: all those small gestures, the little idiosyncracies of his movement, his way of carrying himself, his control over his face. It's a master class, not only in acting, but in attitude.Ed Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18014222247676090467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-57790936820583384332011-02-10T08:49:13.623-05:002011-02-10T08:49:13.623-05:00When someone who knows I like movies but isn't...When someone who knows I like movies but isn't a movie diehard/geek/etc asks me what I think the best movie of all time is, I often answer that it's <em>On the Waterfront</em>. It's not that I think it is now or that I ever did. But when talking to the non-diehard crowd it's an answer that no one argues with, and one that keeps me from seeming elitist or tied to a specific genre.<Jason Bellamyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18150199580478147196noreply@blogger.com