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The Lake Update for July

Journeys in Classic Film Posted by on Jun 30, 2013

July went from a relatively quite month on the blog to a roaring month filled with craziness.  In this month’s report I’ll discuss a few things that you might want to check out. To those wondering about the What Price Hollywood? Blogathon.  I regret to say it doesn’t appear to be read more

A Life Of Her Own (1950)

Journeys in Classic Film Posted by on Jun 30, 2013

A Life Of Her Own starts with such promise in its attempts to showcase the harsh world of the modeling industry.  Unfortunately, the script takes a left turn into domestic melodrama, complete with infidelity, undermining everything that’s been built up.  With engaging performances from Ann Dvo read more

Hercules (1997)

Journeys in Classic Film Posted by on Jun 29, 2013

As the nineties wound their way to the end, Disney started to stray farther and farther from the quality animation and scripts that sparked the Disney Renaissance.  The last four Disney films of the decade would be a fairly mixed bag, but none of them epitomized the sorry state of affairs better tha read more

Hard Times (1975)

Journeys in Classic Film Posted by on Jun 29, 2013

As I mentioned in my review of The Only Game in Town, Blu-ray distributor Twilight Time is enjoying the super sounds of the ’70s with their latest release cycle.  I may have been blase about Only Game, but that’s because I hadn’t sat down to watch Hard Times.  Hard Times is my firs read more

Hell’s House (1932) (1)

Journeys in Classic Film Posted by on Jun 29, 2013

For a movie entitled Hell’s House, the events depicted are far from hellish.  Hell’s House is an old-fashioned juvenile detention film worth watching for an early appearance by Bette Davis (two years later she would launch to stardom in Of Human Bondage, which I reviewed here).  Leading read more

The Only Game in Town (1970)

Journeys in Classic Film Posted by on Jun 28, 2013

The last film from lauded director George Stevens is a sad foray into modern filmmaking with two stars that flashily highlight where entertainment came from, and where it was headed.  The Only Game in Town is the sole film to boast two egos the likes of Elizabeth Taylor and Warren Beatty, but the sc read more

Of Human Bondage (1934) (3)

Journeys in Classic Film Posted by on Jun 28, 2013

Of Human Bondage is a frustrating, well-acted adaptation of the novel by W. Somerset Maugham.  The acting, and the entire narrative is pompous and overwrought, but said performances are surprising.  Bette Davis sizzles as the downtrodden succubus while Leslie Howard proved to me he isn’t a tal read more

Executive Suite (1954) (2)

Journeys in Classic Film Posted by on Jun 27, 2013

Executive Suite is a story about business; it’s intricacies and the soul-sucking potential it has.  That’s all well and good, but it creates a rather pedantic narrative where the audience is blatantly able to figure out the ending and understand that business is EVIL.  Thankfully, the read more

News From the Lake for the Week of June 26th, 2013

Journeys in Classic Film Posted by on Jun 26, 2013

I am all sorts of scattered this week so I’ll be playing catch-up for a few days.  I did want to get the news out so let’s discuss what’s coming up on the DVD/Blu-ray schedule for you to spend your money on. 20th Century Fox will kick us off!  In celebration of its 80th-anniversa read more

Pier Angeli: A Fragile Life

Journeys in Classic Film Posted by on Jun 24, 2013

McFarland is the publishing company to go to if you want insightful biographies of little known celebrities.  Every one of their works is written by authors who do their due diligence, and appear to have a genuine affection for the person they’re writing about; no one seeks to write a salaciou read more

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)

Journeys in Classic Film Posted by on Jun 22, 2013

The Hunchback of Notre Dame has plateaued in its enjoyment level for me.  As a kid, I hated the film and it’s increasingly grown to be an unsung gem of the mid-90s from an animation and musical standpoint.  However, as is the case with Pocahontas, you really can’t water down this film read more

Too Many Husbands (1940) (1)

Journeys in Classic Film Posted by on Jun 21, 2013

Whether it’s a man and two women, or a woman and two men, the love triangle has been Hollywood’s bread and butter for decades.  1940 was all about this, as evidenced by two highly similar movies that came out within months of each other – the Cary Grant starring My Favorite Wife, read more

There’s Always Tomorrow (1956)

Journeys in Classic Film Posted by on Jun 20, 2013

Sirkian melodrama is painted in shades of gray, which is necessary for stories that have conflicting viewpoints and/or enough complexity.  There’s Always Tomorrow should be an incisive revelation of infidelity and deterioration within the nuclear family – a popular trope of Sirk’s. read more

News From the Lake for the Week of June 19th, 2013

Journeys in Classic Film Posted by on Jun 19, 2013

Pretty slow news week  what’s new from Criterion and Warner Archive. Warner Archive pays tribute to the life of actress Esther Williams, who passed away last week, by releasing a newly remastered copy of Jupiter’s Darling (1956) directed by George Sidney and co-starring Marge and Gower read more

Leave Her to Heaven (1945)

Journeys in Classic Film Posted by on Jun 18, 2013

  Twilight Time does it again with the release of the 1945 melodrama/film noir Leave Her to Heaven.  I’ve had this on my TCM Top 12 since April, and I’m glad I waited for the Blu-ray release which lovingly preserves and enhances the three-strip Technicolor process.  Leave Her to read more

The Secret Garden (1949)

Journeys in Classic Film Posted by on Jun 18, 2013

I’ve always been nonchalant about The Secret Garden.  I never read it as a kid, and while I saw the various film adaptations I was never particularly fond of them; I was a Little Princess girl (how funny that both Princess and Garden were written by the same author, and saw adaptations in the read more

Vivien Leigh: A Biography (AND CONTEST!)

Journeys in Classic Film Posted by on Jun 17, 2013

I didn’t adore author Anne Edwards biography on Judy Garland, but she turned that around with her exploration into the troubled mind of actress Vivien Leigh.  Recently republished, Vivien Leigh: A Biography is a biting analysis of the actress with a focus on her childhood growing up in India, read more

Pocahontas (1995)

Journeys in Classic Film Posted by on Jun 16, 2013

The minute Disney decided to adapt the Pocahontas tale for the big-screen, they had to expect problems.  The story has become a romanticized examination of early intolerance and love transcending all that’s been critiqued ever since.  Disney is definitely firing on all cylinders with the music read more

Tenth Avenue Angel (1948)

Journeys in Classic Film Posted by on Jun 14, 2013

Margaret O’Brien is scrambling up the ranks to becoming one of my favorite actresses, and in watching Tenth Avenue Angel you understand why she was so popular; she is able to elevate a non-existent plot to tolerable lengths with her effervescence and blithe spirit.  None of this makes the actu read more

News From the Lake for the Week of June 12th, 2013

Journeys in Classic Film Posted by on Jun 12, 2013

It’s mostly DVD/Blu-ray news this week, but with all that I’ll mention details on a new Hollywood biography you should look into as well as more fun with Cleopatra. Cleopatra is already out on Blu-ray, but 20th Century Fox can’t get enough of creating fun ways to engage with the read more
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