Part of the weekly blogathon hosted by the lovely blog Wandering Through the Shelves. To participate, just pick three movies based around the week's given theme. Come join us!
This week's theme is pretty self-explanatory. Black & White can be extremely effective when used well, and indeed is usually used to make a point. Arguably all of my picks this week are throwbacks to an older style of filmmaking, which is why they went for B&W instead of color. I love them all for very different reasons.
Young Frankenstein (Mel Brooks, 1974) "It's FRAHNK-un-shteen!" "Roll, roll, roll in ze hay!" "What hump?" "Put. Ze candle. BACK." "It's pronounced
eye-gore." "SAY IT! He... vas... my... BOYFRIEND!" "Could be worse. Could be raining." I could quote this film from here to eternity. Mel Brooks's delightful horror spoof is utter perfection from first frame to last, with Gene Wilder as Frederick, the grandson of the famous Dr. Victor Frankenstein, lured back to his family castle in Transylvania, which he has inherited after the death of his great-grandfather. Despite trying to distance himself from his family name and history, he finds his grandfather's lab - along with a book helpfully titled "How I Did It" - and decides to recreate his grandfather's experiment. Wilder is at his crazed. manic best here, and ultimate Mel Brooks sidekick Marty Feldman is priceless as his assistant Igor. The rest of the cast (Teri Garr, Cloris Leachman, Peter Boyle, and of course Madeline Kahn) are also their usual brilliant selves. As with any Brooks film, the gags are fast, furious, and flawlessly funny.
The Artist (Michel Hazanavicious, 2011) The first movie about movies to win the Oscar for Best Picture, and a most deserving winner. Yes, it looks and feels just like a silent film, and that's a great enough feat in this day and age, but it's also very sly in the way it uses its soundtrack, first noticeable in one early scene where film star George Valentin (the effortlessly charming and charismatic Jean Dujardin) and up-and-coming extra Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo, the most interesting new face in movies) are shooting a scene for a film where they bump into each other on the dance floor, and they keep making mistakes or breaking character, and as they reshoot and reshoot the scene, the score ever so slowly drops out, until we're just watching them dance together, falling in love at first sight. Hazanavicious has made a film that condenses virtually all of film history into one delightful package.
The Artist is why I love movies.
Frances Ha (Noah Baumbach, 2013) Greta
Gerwig's performance here is one of the greatest female lead
performances of the last ten years. But, as with my other two picks, the entire ensemble is
just perfection (although special shout-out to Mickey Summer, who is just as brilliant as Gerwig in the role of Frances's best friend). And even though the film revolves around Gerwig's
awkward Frances, each ensemble member gets a chance to shine, even if
it's just one quick reaction shot. Blisteringly funny, beautifully painful, and
acutely observed, this is the finest film about... whatever this
generation that just graduated from college is called. I can't praise it enough.
BONUS PICK
Sin City (Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller, 2005) One of the most distinctive and visually stunning films of the new millennium, I didn't feel I could in good conscience pick
Sin City because it technically does have color. But goddamn do I love this movie. The images, largely pulled almost directly from Frank Miller's singular graphic novels, sear themselves into your brain after just one viewing. It may be almost too hard-boiled for its own good, but what a vision it is to behold.
Ahh...finally something I've seen The Artist. I like it a lot but didn't quite love it. Yes the leads are both very charming and how cute and talented was the dog Uggie.
ReplyDeleteI'm allergic to dogs so I'm not a big fan in general, but I <3 Uggie! SO CUTE!
DeleteNice list! I love that you picked Young Frankenstein, that's a great one. I didn't like the Artist, and while I liked Frances Ha, I thought the use of black and white was too gimmicky for that flick. Gerwig was fantastic though, I was so psyched when she got that Globe nomination.
ReplyDeleteOMG me too! At the time I remember thinking it meant she actually had a shot at getting an Oscar nom, even though common sense would dictate otherwise. It's such a brilliant, vanity-free performance. I actually don't think that film would have looked as good in color for some reason.
DeleteGreat picks! Frances Ha is delightful, and despite the backlash, I cheered when The Artist won the Oscar! Young Frankenstein is a classic for a reason...brilliant film!
ReplyDeleteI remember at the time being really happy for The Artist while at the same time wishing it had been another film that won. Which one, I wasn't sure, but I remember feeling like it just wasn't representative of the year in film. But I got over that pretty quick, because it really is such a fantastic film.
DeleteI like Greta Gerwig and that movie, but it just feels so cringy to me, it's hard to get through!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting! I agree, it is SUPER cringe-y, but it fits that space SO well. Like the sequence in Paris. I was laughing at the same time that I was shouting at her "STOP BEING SUCH AN IDIOT!"
Delete"Ah sweet mystery of life at last I've found youuuu..." Young Frankenstein is a brilliant choice! Every single one of your quotes took me right to a picture of the movie in my mind. What an amazing ensemble.
ReplyDeleteLove The Artist. I had to drag a couple of friends who were resistant to the concept of a silent film to see it with me but they ended up really liking it once they picked up the rhythm of the different format. I think what makes it so accessible is that it doesn't try to be to challenging outside of its silent concept. If the story had been too obtuse it wouldn't have connected with a wide audience as it did.
Haven't seen Frances Ha yet, I'm not overly fond of Greta Gerwig, but I've only heard good things so I'll get around to it eventually. Sin City is another I've missed. I thought about seeing it when it was out, it's not my kind of movie but I liked the cast except for Rourke, but several of my friends who had been looking forward to it hated it so I gave it a pass.
I ran into that conundrum about a film that uses both B&W and color but decided to include the one that did since both were elemental to the story the film was telling. So my three this week are:
Pleasantville (1998)-Twin brother and sister Toby Maguire and Reese Witherspoon are magically transported back to the idyllic land of the 50's dream town of Pleasantville by TV repairman Don Knotts where their more modern outlook wrecks havoc on the status quo. Bookended by color sequences this parable about prejudice and fear of the unknown is a highly entertaining mixture of humor and drama with a cast full of award worthy performances.
Hester Street (1975)-Joan Micklin Silver directed this drama set in New York City just before the turn of the century. The story follows the culture clash between Russian Jew Yankel, now Jake, who has assimilated to his new country over a three year period and his wife Gitl and son Yossele who have just arrived and cling to the old ways much to his consternation and distress. Carol Kane as Gitl was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar. Filmed in both Yiddish and English.
Lenny (1974)-Bob Fosse's harrowing trip down the rabbit hole that was Lenny Bruce's life with Dustin Hoffman absolutely brilliant in the lead. Downbeat film is difficult to watch at times as we see Bruce's blistering talent crushed, sometimes by his own actions and poor judgement and finally by the government. Dusty is great, this really is one of his best performances, and is fortunate to have as his co-star the equally strong Valerie Perrine as his mess of a wife Honey. Had she competed in Supporting Actress which would have been the role's proper placement instead of lead she probably would have won the Oscar. Also excellent is actress Jan Miner, famous as Madge the manicurist in the Palmolive commercials for over 25 years, as Bruce's mother. She was a surprising casting choice at the time because of her typecasting but Fosse made the right choice in casting her. The black and white cinematography compliments the story and adds an edge to the film that would have been missing in color.
It's VERY difficult to choose between Young Frankenstein and The Producers for my favorite Mel Brooks movie. I probably like the latter better overall, but the former MIGHT have more/better laughs (and lots more Gene Wilder. And Madeline Kahn). I had not been a huge fan of Greta Gerwig prior to Frances Ha, but she's really just incredible in it. Sin City is probably a case of style over substance but WHAT style. It's breathtaking, especially on a big screen.
DeleteI ADORE Pleasantville. I excluded it for this, though, because the early sequences are in color. I really love the way they use color though. Also the best Tobey Maguire's ever been. And Joan Allen is just perfection. Love Don Knotts's cameo.
As I said on Drew's blog, Carol Kane just destroys me in Hester Street. What a gem of a film.
I REALLY need to see Lenny.
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ReplyDeleteComedy is very subjective, so it makes sense that they're not all universally beloved. I don't know how anyone would not find Young Frankenstein hilarious, but I'm sure there are comedies that you love that I don't find funny at all, too!
DeleteI also haven't seen The Artist since my first viewing, and writing it up made me really want to watch it again.
I was kind of not surprised at the terrible reviews for the Sin City sequel as I know many people who either downright hated the first one or were at first bowled over by the aesthetics but then came around to disliking the rest of it. I still want to see it, but it won't be for a while, just in case it really is terrible.
I feel like Frances Ha was very clued in to the hipster cliche of it all, which made it a bit more bearable for me.
I came over from Drew's blog and I wrote in his post that I would pick Young Frankenstein and The Artist (3rd being Schindler's List). I love the Artist and its magical way to bring back the great films of that time. Young Frankenstein is a gem of a film. Comedy is quite subjective so some may not like it especially if one is not a Mel Brooks fan but i adore this film and when i got married (my ex now but still great friends) we shook elbows (The Hair!).
ReplyDeleteI kind of love how The Artist is the inverse of Singin' In The Rain - instead of a color talkie about the advent of talkies, it's a black & white silent about them; it really lets George take a fall before getting back up whereas Don skates right on through. How cute that must have been at your wedding!
DeleteGreat list! Young Frankenstein is a terrific choice. I once almost got a t-shirt with "Abby Normal" written across the front.
ReplyDeleteOMG that would be AWESOME!
DeleteI was so close to picking Frances Ha myself. It just doesn't beat out Nebraska for me as best of the 10s. I will be watching The Artist for the first time very soon for a project I'm working on. Young Frankenstein is so classic. Great picks!
ReplyDeleteI like Nebraska but don't love it. I also kind of don't understand the ridiculously high praise of Bruce Dern's performance. I was more impressed by Will Forte. Can't wait to hear what you thought of The Artist!
DeleteYES! I'm not the only one who found a contemporary film paying homage to the silent era for my list (although mine is a bit more obscure). I'll confess that I wasn't really the biggest fan of The Artist. Stylistically it was interesting (the way its constructed as a silent film but plays with sound) but I never really got into its overall story. Also, I didn't even realize until I started trying to put together my list that Frances Ha was shot in black and white. Interesting.
ReplyDeleteYoung Frankenstein is definitely a lot of fun. I was considering it for my own list but I already chose it for when the week on zombie films. That one had a lot of great moments. I liked the part where Igor takes the brain with the label clearly saying "WARNING! ABNORMAL! DO NOT USE THIS BRAIN" and then when asked about it he claims the brain came from "Abby... Something. Abby... Normal".