dirac

Well, I wasn’t thinking “touching” so much as “soppy,” with Holden doing that “’Tis a far, far better thing I do” routine, sending his girl off to the fiance she doesn’t love because Holden is tainted because of his affair with Swanson or something. My hunch is Wilder wanted a boffo ending without alienating the audience from his hero by a) having him leave with the girl while poor Swanson goes bananas or b) having him reject a nice girl for moola. A genuine black comedy would have him send the girl away because, much as he loves her, he loves bespoke suits more.

Well, not quite. I'm not crazy about the article (the "worth looking at" should not be taken as a recommendation , but it's not that bad. She does put Ashton in an historical context, whatever you think of how she did it, and she does defend her positions. B.H. Haggin thought pretty much as she does about Ondine, Daphnis, et al. I do not say I agree, mind.

A few comments. I’m limiting my remarks to movies I think really belong to the “very best” category. “It Happened One Night” inaugurated the era of screwball along with “Twentieth Century” and although it is a love story it should really be classed with the screwball comedies, IMO. Groundhog Day. One of the few pictures – made by an alumnus of Saturday Night Live that is good by any standard. I think it will be a classic. Bill Murray’s best performance, too. We haven’t mentioned any drawing room comedies. The movie of Frederick Lonsdale’s “On Approval” with Clive Brook and Googie Withers is a true classic. “The Reluctante Debutante” is definitely not, but it does have Kay Kendall and Rex Harrison partnering each other in a dazzling display of light comedy technique. They make daredevil feats of timing and delivery look effortless. What Harrison can do with an inflection or a reaction shot is amazing, just amazing. Some Like It Hot is a nearly perfect farce. (Interesting that one of its nearest rivals, Tootsie, also has cross dressing as a central element of the plot.) M*A*S*H broke the mold of the service comedy genre and it still makes me laugh every time. Best black comedy: Kind Hearts and Coronets, with Dennis Price eliminating eight versions of Alec Guinness. (canbelto, I’d suggest Sunset Boulevard is actually a pretty straightforward melodrama with some bizarre comic trimmings.) Most overrated black comedy: Monsieur Verdoux. The Lady Eve. Henry Fonda at his most appealing and Barbara Stanwyck at her best (“I’ve been British.”) Unfaithfully Yours, with Rex Harrison and Linda Darnell. Another by Preston Sturges. Harrison is an egomaniacal conductor obsessed with the possibility of his wife’s infidelity. Best screwball comedy: Tough to choose, but I’m inclined to nominate “My Man Godfrey,” which contains elements of some rather savage satire, as the best screwballs often did. William Powell is perfect as the perfect butler, Carole Lombard reaches one of her personal bests, and the supporting cast is awesome. I do not find any of the Mel Brooks pictures really good as a whole, although Young Frankenstein comes closest. The Frankenstein plot gives it a structure his other movies lack, and I have never laughed harder in my life than I did at Wilder’s and Peter Boyle’s rendition of “Puttin’ on the Ritz.” I fear I thought “The Producers” was pretty bad – some good ideas not developed, and Zero Mostel is way too much. And I’m sorry, carbro, but I thought “Blazing Saddles” was stupid, just plain dumb and not that funny, except for Alex Karras punching out the horse. Buster Keaton’s “The Navigator.” I went to see it at a repertory theatre after it had passed its 75th birthday, and the theatre was rocking with laughter. I almost forgot National Lampoon's Animal House, which I also think has staying power. (It's generally regarded as the progenitor of all the grossout comedies to come, but it really isn't like that.)

Lewis Segal reviewed the new film “Ballets Russes” at length for The Los Angeles Times this weekend. I was struck by the quote below. He has other remarks to make in this vein. I’m wondering how many would agree? Disagree? And if you agree, do you think that today’s dancers have assets the dancers of the past didn’t – that we have lost, but also gained? Or not?

Two long articles by Jennifer Homans on Ashton for The New Republic and Marcia B. Siegel on Bournonville for the Hudson Review, are posted in today's Links. Both are worth looking at.

Good choice, stinger784. I’d forgotten all about “American Beauty” to tell you the truth. I think it would have been unwise of Hepburn to try her own singing in "My Fair Lady." She has a pleasant enough voice, but that score was composed for a real singer. Davis won her Oops Oscar for “Dangerous” the year after Of Human Bondage. IMO, she was better in “Dark Victory” -- maybe Davis' very best performance, a large statement --than Leigh was in “GWTW,” although I understand why Leigh won. Davis could also have won in 1940 for “The Letter,” etc., etc. She really had no rival in those years. (Also, I wouldn't call it a housedress exactly, Davis just wasn’t dressed to the nines.)

Thanks for the information, Dr. Coppelius.

Crowe won for “Gladiator” for a couple of okay reasons, even if he did appear to be walking through the movie with a hangover. 1. Russell Crowe, even a disengaged Russell Crowe, is still better than almost anybody and he was the central factor in Gladiator’s success, making a ridiculous role plausible, human, and moving. 2. He didn’t win for The Insider before. I guess I should note for the record that no one is saying that boxers are mean, nasty people with fangs who snarl at you on the street. I was trying to get at something more nuanced. Returning to Russell, since I brought him in from left field, I would draw your attention to his portrayal of Braddock in Cinderella Man. Out of the ring, Braddock is your basic Good Guy, but in the ring he gets this tiny smile as he hammers away, and you can see the pleasure he takes in his calling and his skills.

May I suggest, respectfully that I don’t think canbelto was saying that a woman from Maggie’s background by definition wouldn’t be interested in boxing. She was suggesting that it was implausible for this particular young woman. Obviously there’s room for discussion, but I’m inclined to agree that the picture doesn’t account for why this nice girl with her less than imposing physique wants to box, and Swank, although I admired her performance, doesn’t suggest (as Russell Crowe, playing another paragon, does in “Cinderella Man” -- with no help from the script, I might add) that apart from other motivations, Maggie has her aggressive side. Look at the way Morgan Freeman punches out the snotty kid. Yes, the kid has it coming – but suddenly you see this mild old man turn tiger. As for being “acceptable” – there is a scene in the movie where Maggie’s mother whines – all she does is whine, actually – that people will laugh at Maggie for boxing. I’m sure you’re correct in calling it an acceptable goal for a woman of Maggie’s class, but it’s not shown as such in the movie. Maggie is clearly meant to be swimming against the tide. I like boxing, for the record. carbro, you don't have to worry about the boxing in MDB turning you off -- you hardly see any. About The English Patient. It was indeed overrated in some quarters, and I just ate it up with a spoon.

carbro, you beat me to the punch -- I saw a copy of the paperback today, too!

Thanks for weighing in, Ed. I agree about Million Dollar Baby. Eastwood’s movies tend to be overpraised – good intentions taken for achievement – and MDB was another honest effort in a mediocre year for the kind of pictures that get award nominations. (Wasn’t a good boxing picture, either, but then I was not expecting it to be. It’s so hard to find boxing movies with well-staged matches. I did have hopes, unfulfilled, for Cinderella Man.) I don’t agree about Citizen Kane or Pulp Fiction. You can disagree about how good they really are, but both pictures changed the landscape and deserved their prominence.

Thanks, EvilNinjaX, for those titles, some of whom may not be known to Stateside moviegoers. That Jennifer Garner remake doesn't sound promising.

My own thoughts were that his words and actions pretty much spoke for themselves.

Sorry, if I'm the prima ballerina and carrying the ballet on my shoulders, I'm going to wear blue and not any "muted earth tones," thank you very much. I can imagine the critics now: "Last night, she added "Giselle" to her long list of signature roles. And she was a vision....in brown."

Winona Ryder doesn’t fit Wharton’s description, true, but I agree with canbelto that she rises to the occasion beautifully in that last scene alone with Day-Lewis, big brown eyes wide as she moves in for the kill. De Niro would have been the perfect Seventies Gatsby, not that I think a successful movie could ever be made of that book for reasons beyond the bounds of this thread, although we’ve already transgressed those. Interestingly, Gatsby was made at that time because Ali MacGraw, at that time married to Robert Evans of Paramount, had a longstanding yen to play Daisy. Then she went off on location with Steve McQueen, with predictable consequences, and she and Evans were phfft. McQueen offered his services for nothing, or at a very reduced rate, if Paramount would cast MacGraw anyway, but no dice. MacGraw would have been just as bad as Farrow, if not worse, but McQueen might have made a fine Gatsby. So it's quite true that vocal suitability was not a primary concern.

Fontaine is too pretty, true, but the Hollywood of that era would never have cast a genuinely plain actress as Jane. That something bugs a lot of other people too. The funny thing about Garson is, just as she’s getting on your nerves, she’ll turn around and be absolutely perfect. I didn’t mind the date change in the Garson/Olivier P&P. I wouldn’t like it if all Austen-based movies did the same, but I had no problem with it. I did feel that the tone of the humor wasn’t quite right – too broad, not dry enough, too much Dickens, too little Austen. Thanks for reviving this thread, canbelto.

bart writes: One of the distinguishing features of Clarence Day, Sr. was his total lack of wisdom (not brains, he was plenty smart). vagansmom writes: With all due respect to Russell Baker, Masterpiece Theatre has never been the same without Alistair Cooke. I can hear him now. kfw, I read Winesburg, Ohio back in school and although I liked it I never returned to it -- too sad. Sherwood Anderson is one of the forgotten men of American literature.

Back when I had a real figure, I might have thrown modesty to the winds and worn Allegra Kent's Seven Deadly Sins bikini. Now I need something more discreet, but as Bart has already claimed title to Carabosse, I'll go for the red ballgown and cloak Anne Bancroft wears as Anna Karenina in The Turning Point. As things go further downhill, expect me as one of the Ugly Sisters in the Ashton version of Cinderella.

I forgot to add to my previous post in response to richard53dog's heads up about Skate America that Cohen is injured, too -- don't know how serious it is. I'd like to see Cohen try more adventurous music selections. I admire her flexibility but wish she would focus more on what the blade is doing on the ice as opposed to being as stretchy as possible. (Though, to give her credit, she has been working on that.)

Interesting, and thank you for the info. The stories aren’t really like that. The family is very specifically Victorian. The world is gentle and secure, yes, but Father doesn’t always know best, although he thinks he does, and Day, Jr. describes a world that’s changing all the time – he tells a story about the family’s first telephone, and what happened to their old family home in Madison Avenue when the neighborhood changed, and describes the gentle conflict between his parents that arises late in their married life when Mrs. Day musters up the courage to ask her husband for an allowance. (The author observes that women in those days had little ready cash and not much need for it – they couldn’t venture far without a male escort, their elaborate heavy dresses and hairdos limited their mobility, they rarely lunched out except in private houses, etc. But Mrs. Day’s younger friends get allowances from their husbands, instead of constantly having to apply to their spouses for funds, and this makes an impression on his mother.) Day tells a story about his father insisting that he learn to play the violin, although Clarence, Jr. has no ear for music, and although the story is gentle and funny you can also see that it must have been a painful and somewhat humiliating experience.

We’ve had figure skating threads in the past, especially during Olympic years, and they’re fine, but I’d like to note a few guidelines as the season gets underway. There are figure skating boards where they get into the brutal nitty-gritty of rule changes, who’s injured, who’s not, etc., and we can discuss those things, but please keep it general, focusing more on performances than arcana of the sport. (Obviously people will refer to historical performances and other details, but I hope you get the idea.) That is, do try to keep in mind that this is a ballet board frequented by some people who also like skating and not the reverse. (And please avoid nicknames for skaters that skate fans would recognize but nonfans might not.) I’m sure Helene and others will report to us from nationals and on television broadcasts (who knows, maybe I will, too). I believe Kwan is out with a ligament injury and I suspect we’ll not see her before nationals. When last I checked, Hughes was toying with the idea of a return but isn’t going to do so. Cohen is a fine skater, although no particular favorite of mine, and she’ll always contend. I used to get fed up with Kwan-worship in her peak years, but in some ways I admire her more now. Slutskaya is another skater who’s grown on me with time, and if she wins a bunch of stuff this season I won’t cry about it.

bart, I can do better than that. I have trouble remembering birthdays of loved ones and the amount of money in my checking account, but not only do I recall Leon and Lurene but William Powell and Irene Dunne in the movie. I've never seen the series, but I saw the picture and disliked it. Too broad, too cutesy-wootsy -- even Powell was off form -- and the actual Clarence Day, Sr. would have snorted at the ending. I never saw the TV series -- what was it like? vagansmom, my book is an old one called The Best of Clarence Day, which was put together after his death. It contains Life with Father, God and My Father, Life with Mother, and This Simian World.

Nureyev had an amazing career, didn’t he? I think it’s perfectly safe to say we won’t see the like again. I love the Father Brown stories too, dido. As you say, they’re perfect bedtime reading. Dorothy Sayers is a great mystery writer in that particular style, which isn’t one I especially care for (me heap big fan Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler).

I was merely agreeing with redbookish that the circumstances around Ahnlund’s resignation and certain remarks of his quoted in the press didn’t contribute much to enlightened debate. In this as in other matters, there is always room for discussion. The Guardian, which has a lot of useful links posted, also provides one with a list of all the prizewinners in this category since 1960. http://books.guardian.co.uk/nobelprize/sto...1591466,00.html

James Wolcott thumps the tub vigorously for Roger Copeland's “Merce Cunningham: the Modernizing of Modern Dance.” I am reluctant to proffer advice to a formidable stylist like Wolcott, but I certainly do wish writers would avoid the hideous jargon phrase “major thrusts,” which I had hoped would go away at some point but now seems a permanent part of the journalistic landscape. Kenner never did get around to writing about dance, although he didn’t miss much else. I wish he had; Wolcott is right, Kenner and Cunningham would have been a dream pairing of author and subject.