Recently Seen Movies
Classic American Movies:
Phil Karlson, Kansas City Confidential (1952) (5/10)
Jules Dassin , Night and the City (1950) (6/10)
Nicholas Ray, Party Girl (1958) (7/10)
Otto Preminger, Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950) (6/10)
Maya Deren, Meshes of the Afternoon (1943) (10/10)
Maya Deren, At Land (1944) (10/10)
Raoul Walsh, High Sierra (1941) (6/10)
Currently Playing:
Albert Brooks, Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World (2005) (8/10)
Sonderberg, Bubble (2005) (7/10)
Haneke, Cache (2005) (10/10)
Foreign Cinema:
Robert Bresson, Pickpocket (1959) (10/10)
Louis Malle, Zazie dans le metro (1960) (8/10)
Chris Marker, Le Joli mai (1963) (10/10)
Felix van Groeningen, Steve + Sky (2003) (3/10)
Naruse, Anzukko (1958) (8/10)
Naruse, Daughters, Wives and a Mother (1960) (9/10)
Naruse, Approach of Autumn (1960) (8/10)
Naruse, Older Brother, Younger Sister (1953) (8/10)
Naruse, Late Chrysanthemums (1954) (10/10)
American Independents:
John Cassavetes, Minnie and Moskowitz (1971) (9/10)
Ira Sachs, Forty Shades of Blue (2005) (7/10)
Other:
John Carpenter, In the Mouth of Madness (1994) (4/10)
Phil Karlson, Kansas City Confidential (1952) (5/10)
Jules Dassin , Night and the City (1950) (6/10)
Nicholas Ray, Party Girl (1958) (7/10)
Otto Preminger, Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950) (6/10)
Maya Deren, Meshes of the Afternoon (1943) (10/10)
Maya Deren, At Land (1944) (10/10)
Raoul Walsh, High Sierra (1941) (6/10)
Currently Playing:
Albert Brooks, Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World (2005) (8/10)
Sonderberg, Bubble (2005) (7/10)
Haneke, Cache (2005) (10/10)
Foreign Cinema:
Robert Bresson, Pickpocket (1959) (10/10)
Louis Malle, Zazie dans le metro (1960) (8/10)
Chris Marker, Le Joli mai (1963) (10/10)
Felix van Groeningen, Steve + Sky (2003) (3/10)
Naruse, Anzukko (1958) (8/10)
Naruse, Daughters, Wives and a Mother (1960) (9/10)
Naruse, Approach of Autumn (1960) (8/10)
Naruse, Older Brother, Younger Sister (1953) (8/10)
Naruse, Late Chrysanthemums (1954) (10/10)
American Independents:
John Cassavetes, Minnie and Moskowitz (1971) (9/10)
Ira Sachs, Forty Shades of Blue (2005) (7/10)
Other:
John Carpenter, In the Mouth of Madness (1994) (4/10)
posted by Alex | 5:21 PM
3 Comments:
Party Girl starts out very slow (not that the pacing is slow) because you only discover the truth of the movie after the halfway point. It's not a gangster picture at all, which is hard to believe if you only see the first half. Ray had to pretend it was a 1930s gangster flick to make the movie, but it simply isn't (and I think it would be a stronger movie if Ray had dropped the gangster elements and moved it to the present day).
This is the best named blog I've ever come across. Thank you Alex.
I was amazed by Party Girl, even seeing it in a pan/scan vhs a few years ago. It might be best to see it surrounded by one or more other Ray films, particularly to see that the editing is speaking volumes. A few sequences and shots seem to be perfectly realized and tempered (the cocktail party scene, for instance). Alex, when you say its not a gangster picture, I think of Godard dedicating Made in USA to Nick Ray (and Sam Fuller) and how that film isn't really a noir either. Great color in both!
ps- Alex, I saw one of your comments on Girish's blog, I have Wanda and Ice if you are interested...
Peter, whatever it was that you missed about Party Girl, I missed it too. Alex, I would love to hear more about your impressions, because to me it remained a beautiful but rather hollow gangster pic throughout.
I am delighted to see Late Chrysanthemums' rating. The other Naruses on your list give me a pang because I did not manage to see them. I saw 10 of the 34 shown at the Cinematheque and could easily have seen all of them.
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