Top Hat

Starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rodgers, a classic duo, this film was nothing short of spectacular.

This glorious Astaire-Rodgers musical, made in the "golden age" of Hollywood, is complete with a silly plot, romance, dapper outfits, art deco sets, and plenty of wonderful songs and dance numbers!

The "plot" of the film was just that everyone gets everyone else's identities mixed up, and there are funny misunderstandings because of it. Then everything gets cleared up in the end (big surprise!) Now, that happens in many many MANY films. However, the funny thing was that I wasn't exactly sure what was happening for most of it. I had a vague idea but I was still pretty unsure, and that's generally pretty rare for a film of it's time. Usually everything is laid out so you know what's going on, but the characters don't. Maybe it's just that I'm slow, but I genuinely was lost for a lot of it. And it was refreshing :)

The thing that stood out for me, and made this film unlike your generic 30's/40's romantic/musical/dance/comedy movie, was the dancing. And I'm not just saying that because you're supposed to whilst talking about this film. It was, simply put, some of the most incredible dancing I've seen in a film like this. Hands down.

Despite the fact that the choreography, dancing, singing, and delightful aroma of this film were perfect, many of the cuts were not. Quite a few made me cringe just a bit. I hope I'm not being too critical or particular, because I do realize it was difficult to make EVERYTHING perfect with scissors and glue in the editing room. Still, it was noticeable.

I'd never seen a Astaire-Rodgers film before Top Hat, but I'm very intrigued to see more!

Overall, the film was magical and adorable. Highly recommended if you haven't had the opportunity.

love,
Rose

UPDATE: I have decided to extend the project beyond the summer. Because obviously I can't finish all of them before school. I feel better that it's going to be a bit more loose and not such a time squeeze. Also if you have any suggestions as to films you think I should be watching I would LOVE your suggestions!

It Happened One Night

Another adorable classic. If you haven't seen, or are not planning on seeing It Happened One Night, you are missing out. Two beautiful individuals playing some of their best and well known roles. Both won an Academy Award for their performances. The film also one Best Picture for that year.

Behind the scenes though, those actors are still as stubborn as ever! Claudette demanded a pay raise for this one too. She hated the left side of her face and once painted it green to make sure that they wouldn't film it.

In the scene where Peter (Gable) takes off his shirt and reveals his bare chest, apparently Men's undershirt sales plummeted. How funny!
The scene where Peter eats a carrot on the side of the road was an inspiration for Bugs Bunny to chew a carrot.

Ahhh, such beautiful people! I can't even begin to describe it. It may seem hopeless at first, but you'll warm up to it.

love,
Rose

"Yes... I can see now" (City Lights)

City Lights was a movie I hadn't seen before. Though, like other Chaplin movies, was monotonous at times; it was absolutely worth it. I was squealing with joy. Simply so cute.

One thing I've always noticed about Chaplin films is that he just doesn't need a lot of fancy camera work to get his point across. I mean, back then he was already pretty limited to what he could use and work with... but he uses it in just the right way and brilliantly so.

Like the scene where he first meets his drunken friend by the reservoir. Brilliantly choreographed. He didn't need shot after shot of them splashing around in the water... all he needed was one long shot of him and the guy knocking each other back in again and again. And you're still laughing your ass off even without the shot changing very often.

Speaking of beautifully choreographed... that fight scene! Ahh! So fantastic :)

My book says that the girl who plays The Blind Girl (Virginia Cherrill) was a spoiled, recently divorced, brat. She threatened to leave the set entirely and Chaplin probably would have let her if they weren't so far into the shooting. They never had anything nice to say about each other.
Ahh, but who cares: they have great chemistry on the screen :)

Highly recommended. A must see.

love,
Rose

I'm alone on a bicycle for two..

I saw these beautiful people on Friday.

Life. Changed.

The Beginning

Hello all!
So. I have decided to complete a project where I watch all the movies listed in the book "The Greatest Movies Ever Made".
There are 100 of them. (well, 101 but I'm skipping Star Wars).
I'm going to blog about it. I will be watching all of the films chronologically, as opposed to how they are ranked in the book.

I've already watched The Graduate and Some Like it Hot. I'll post some posts about them later.

Here is the list:
-City Lights (1931)
-King Kong (1933)
-It Happened One Night (1934)
-A Night At The Opera (1935)
-Top Hat (1935)
-Grand Illusion (1937)
-Bringing Up Baby (1938)
-Gone With The Wind (1939)
-The Wizard Of Oz (1939)
-The Bank Dick (1940)
-The Grapes Of Wrath (1940)
-Pinocchio (1940)
-Citizen Kane (1941)
-The Maltese Falcon (1941)
-Casablanca (1942)
-Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
-Double Indemnity (1944)
-The Best Years Of Our Lives (1946)
-The Bicycle Thief (1946)
-It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
-Red River (1948)
-The Third Man (1949)
-All About Eve (1950)
-The Lady Eve (1950)
-Rashomon (1950)
-Sunset Boulevard (1950)
-The African Queen (1951)
-A Place in the Sun (1951)
-Strangers On a Train (1951)
-A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
-Singin' in the Rain (1952)
-On the Waterfront (1954)
-The Seven Samurai (1954)
-Night of the Hunter (1955)
-Pather Panchali (1955)
-The Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
-The Searchers (1956)
-Funny Face (1957)
-Paths of Glory (1957)
-Wild Strawberries (1957)
-Vertigo (1958)
-The 400 Blows (1959)
-Imitation of Life (1959)
-North by Northwest (1959)
-Some Like It Hot (1959)
-Psycho (1960)
-Spartacus (1960)
-La Dolce Vita (1961)
-Jules and Jim (1961)
-Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
-The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
-To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
-8 1/2 (1963)
-Dr Strangelove (1964)
-A Hard Days Night (1964)
-My Fair Lady (1964)
-Dr Zhivago (1965)
-Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
-The Graduate (1967)
-2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
-The Last Picture Show (1968)
-The Producers (1968)
-Rosemary's Baby (1968)
-Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
-Midnight Cowboy (1969)
-The Conformist (1970)
-M*A*S*H* (1970)
-Cabaret (1972)
-The Godfather (1972)
-American Graffiti (1973)
-Chinatown (1974)
-The Conversation (1974)
-The Godfather, Part II (1974)
-Jaws (1975)
-Nashville (1975)
-One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1976)
-Taxi Driver (1976)
-Annie Hall (1977)
-Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
-The Deer Hunter (1978)
-Apocalypse Now (1979)
-Atlantic City (1980)
-Raging Bull (1980)
-Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
-Blade Runner (1982)
-Diner (1982)
-E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
-Blue Velvet (1986)
-Do the Right Thing (1989)
-Goodfellas (1990)
-Groundhog Day (1993)
-Schindler's List (1993)
-Pulp Fiction (1994)
-Shawshank Redemption (1994)
-Fargo (1996)
-L.A. Confidential (1997)
-Saving Private Ryan (1998)
-American Beauty (1999)
-The Lives of Others (2006)
-Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

Wish me luck, and tag along if you like!

love,
Rose