Happy July 4th! Time for a Classic TV Marathon

There's a lot of hours in between the BBQ and the fireworks— best spent with a little classic TV! I offer, Moonlighting Seasons 1 & 2. Moonlighting remains one of the relatively few classic shows that managed to get the whole run out on DVD, based on the efforts of an avid fan base. Season One was just five episodes, so, as with the DVD, I’ll combine the two for my ranking below. Season one’s best episode was “The Next Murder You Hear,” about a talk show host who is apparently murdered while on the air. Season two remains the series best season; although the single greatest epsiode, “Atomic Shakespeare,” would make its appearance in season three. The classic episodes of season two include: “The Lady in the Iron Mask,” the Orson Welles introduced black & white episode “The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice,” “Somewhere Under the Rainbow,” “Portrait of Maddie,” “Atlas Belched,” “’Twas the Episode Before Christmas,” “The Bride of Tupperman,” “In God We Strongly Suspect,” “Every Daughter’s Father Is A Virgin,” and the Whoopi Goldberg/Judd Nelson guest-starring season finale “Camille.” I’ll be revisiting Moonlighting over the next few blog entries and reviewing these episodes. Below is my ratings of each season one and two episode based out of **** stars.

Moonlighting – Season One
Pilot (aired: 03/03/85) ** 1/2
1. "Gunfight at the So-So Corral" (aired:03/05/85) ** 1/2
2. "Read the Mind, See the Murder" (aired:03/12/85) **
3. "The Next Murder You Hear" (aired:03/19/85) ***
4. "Next Stop Murder" (aired:03/26/85) **
5. "The Murder’s in the Mail" (aired:04/02/85) ** 1/2

Moonlighting – Season Two
6. "Brother, Can You Spare a Blonde?" (aired:09/24/85) ** 1/2
7. "The Lady in the Iron Mask" (aired:10/01/85) ***
8. "Money Talks— Maddie Walks" (aired:10/08/85) ** 1/2
9. "The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice" (aired:10/15/85) *** 1/2
10. "My Fair David" (aired:10/29/85) ** 1/2
11. "Knowing Her" (aired:11/12/85) **
12. "Somewhere Under the Rainbow" (aired:11/19/85) ****
13. "Portrait of Maddie" (aired:11/26/85) ***
14. "Atlas Belched" (aired:12/10/85) ***
15. "‘Twas the Episode Before Christmas" (aired:12/17/85) ****
16. "The Bride of Tupperman" (aired:01/14/86) ***
17. "North By North Dipesto" (aired:01/21/86) **
18. "In God We Strongly Suspect" (aired:02/11/86) *** 1/2
19. "Every Daughter’s Father Is a Virgin" (aired:02/18/86) ****
20. "Witness for the Execution" (aired:03/11/86) ** 1/2
21. "Sleep Talkin’ Guy" (aired:04/01/86) ** 1/2
22. "Funeral for a Door Nail" (aired:04/29/86) ** 1/2
23. "Camille" (aired:05/13/86) ****

This Month on TCM: "Wild Strawberries" (1957)

On Sunday July 13, TCM is playing one of Ingmar Bergman's most well-known films, Wild Strawberries.

Wild Strawberries was one of two Ingmar Bergman releases in 1957; the other was The Seventh Seal. The two films confirmed Bergman’s reputation as a new, important talent, following the success of 1955s Smiles of A Summer Night. In the US, they were rolled out in 1958 (Seal) and 1959 (Strawberries); Wild Strawberries earned Bergman a well-deserved Oscar nomination for best original screenplay.

The film is about an elderly professor who travels by car to accept an honorary award, and on the way reminiscences about his life, with some regret. The film begins in professor Isak Borg’s home, at his desk, where, through his narration, we’re filled in on the backstory of his life. The next scene, following the credits, is a startling dream sequence in which the professor confronts his own death.

This dream sequence, with its striking sound design (it plays mostly silent, with punctuations of sound effects and music at dramatic beats), is the single most memorable sequence in the film. Except for Bunuel (and Dali’s Spellbound dream sequence) this kind of dream sequence was little seen in cinema up to this point. The dream is seen through the eyes of the main character, experienced by him, and makes a strong impression on the viewer. It can seem dated today, even pretentious. But Sjostrom conveys such bewilderment and wonder that we’re drawn into the scene as any other well-played dramatic scene might register.

As Isak travels with his daughter-in-law we get to know more about his current relationships. Additionally, we see a series of characters in various stages of life, notably a bickering middle-aged couple. These little character vignettes strengthen the film, adding depth to it’s themes and support of the central characterization. Among these is a surprising one— Isak takes time out to visit his mother, who’s 96. We also see Isak’s relationship with his childhood sweatheart thorough a flashback and in a modern version thorough a young outgoing girl who Isak picks up along the way (both roles are played by Bibi Anderson).

The entire film has a dreamlike quality and appears to put forth the notion that our lives are actually completely out of our hands, despite any decision-making we’ve made along the way— an anti-existentialist tone. Isak is at once an important member of society and as he puts it, “the faculty should have made me honorary idiot.” Isak is searching for answers, essentially searching for God. It’s possible that Isak is seeking God as an excuse for his bad life choices. Isak is, at the very least, looking for a tranquil end to his twilight years, in which everything has had a purpose, everything makes sense.

Victor Sjostrom’s casting is as much a masterstroke (he was one of the most prominent actor/directors in Swedish cinema, appearing in his last film) as the performance he gives. With each close-up Bergman gives him, we see a combination of Isak’s uncertainty and eternal hope, despite his age, and despite his fears, and despite his past mistakes.

For some reason, Wild Strawberries is less compelling on repeat viewings, perhaps because when you get back to it you’ve taken in Bergman’s later, more mature works, of which Wild Strawberries serves as a primer, up-to-and-including his great “swansong” Fanny and Alexander. The initial viewing of the film though has a powerful impact, again perhaps due to Sjostrom.

Wild Strawberries (1957): A Bergman primer, with a central performance by Victor Sjostrom, as great as any in film history, tapping into the viewer’s own uncertainties and fears with life’s course.

Heritage Galleries July Auction

Heritage Auction Galleries, based in Dallas Texas, hosts three major vintage movie poster auctions annually (in the months of March, July, and November) amidst many throughout the year. Among this month's one-sheets for auction include posters of silent era films, 40s noirs, 40s westerns, and 50s sci-fi. The one-sheets include a significant number of Hitchcock titles, among them the classic Saul Bass Vertigo poster.




Here are some of the other one-sheets up for auction this month:

Summer Movie Box Office 2008-- The Mid Point

The hits, the misses of summer movies 2008, so far... Easily on the misses side would be Speed Racer (an abysmal $42.9 million-to-date, domestic), The Love Guru ($26.1 million to-date domestic), and Narnia: Prince Caspian (a not-even Horton Hears A Who! total to-date of $137.8 million domestic). Thankfully, Prince Caspian's international numbers ($275.6 million to-date) assure the continuation of the series. The hits: Iron Man, Indy, Sex and the City, and relatively: The Incredible Hulk and Zohan. Overachievers also certainly include What Happens in Vegas.

Here are the top ten summer movies so far (domestic grosses to-date):

1. Iron Man ($309.5)
2. Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull ($300.8)
3. Kung Fu Panda ($181.1)
4. Sex and the City ($140.8)
5. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian ($137.8)
6. The Incredible Hulk ($117.2)
7. You Don't Mess With the Zohan ($91.7)
8. Get Smart ($80.4)
9. What Happens in Vegas ($78.4)
10. WALL-E ($72.0)

Now onto July 4th Weekend and Hancock (with The Dark Knight looming large, July 18).

June Movie Watching

I saw just four films theatrically. There were a bunch of "skip its" for me this month, including Hulk, The Happening, and The Love Guru.

First up, I saw the much-maligned You Don't Mess With the Zohan. I've seen next-to-none of Adam Sandler's films theatrically, but this seemed just weird enough to see. Although it was lengthy, the jokes that connected were evenly spread and I had a good time. I'm surprised it got so trashed by the critics. If I remember correctly, when Phillips suggested to "rent it," Roeper was mortified.

Get Smart had me sinking in my seat during its opening thirty minutes or so, but it got better as it went along and I really liked the casting. I'm not seeing a sequel here (then again there is a Pink Panther 2 coming up...). I'm glad for Steve Carell's sake that it was a hit (if it had flopped as bad as Evan Almighty he would have had a problem). By the way— Carell has one "r": looks funny when it's spelled correctly.

Kung Fu Panda and WALL-E. What can I say? I thought they were fun, nice, visually striking.... but just not that deep. I have to be honest. I so preferred last year's Ratatouille. I'm definately in the minority on this I realize (although a few friends seem to agree with me). But this is the harsh review; generally both have a lot going for them.

Watched just one thing on the tube: a 1939 Laurel & Hardy— The Flying Deuces. No great moments (a la the dance in 1935's Bonnie Scotland) but solid laughs from the boys-- a lot of fun and just an hour-or-so long.

This Month on TCM: "Spellbound" (1945)

Tomorrow, TCM will be showing Alfred Hitchcock's Spellbound. Although not up to par with Hitchcock's greatest films, Spellbound nonetheless was nominated for more Oscars than any of his films outside of Rebecca— six in total, including Best Picture and Best Director, and won for Miklos Rozsa's score.

Spellbound concerns a woman psychiatrist's attempts to cure a potentially dangerous amnesiac for whom she has fallen in love. The emphasis is on psychoanalysis and as a result there is a lot of talk. Despite its talkiness and the fact that its often over-the-top, Spellbound is oddly watchable. In many ways, particularly with the knowledge of the Selznick publicity machine, its multiple Oscar nominations aren't that unfathomable.

The film is atypical Hitchcock, particularly for his later films, because the plot is mainly mystery-in-lieu-of-suspense. Basically, we're holding out until the end to find out what is causing Gregory Peck's John Ballantine to suffer so.

This is one of Gregory Peck's earliest roles and therefore falls within the period in which he was considered a stiff, uninteresting actor. Time and memories of Atticus Finch make his early parts more palatable. And in this one, his character is suffering from memory loss and dizzy spells, so anything works. Ingrid Bergman is at her most beautiful, but you can’t ignore that the love story is absurdly abrupt (unexcused by the acknowledgement of this fact in dialogue).

This is a lush, very “Hollywood” production, punctuated by a fascinating, if all-too-brief Salvador Dali dream sequence.

Spellbound (1945): Oddball Hitchcock film has a lot of talk but remains entertaining as Hollywood gloss, with a striking centerpiece of a Salvador Dali dream sequence.

Indy and Iron Man: Photo finish?

The general consensus these days is that The Dark Knight will be the biggest summer movie (domestic). But what of second place? Everyone I know is convinced that Indiana Jones has been beaten by Iron Man. But the fact of the matter is, Indy is pulling in twice as much as Iron Man and is on twice as many screens... and it's not that far behind.

Despite my lackluster summer box office predix, I offer another— that Indiana Jones will end up beating Iron Man if just by a few hundred thousand dollars, domestically. We won't know for sure until some time in August. I'll be keeping a close watch.