TV/Movies Megathread

[Josephus]

Doctor Sleep. One of the few occasions where the film is better than the book.

[The Minsky Moment]

It's been a while since I read 1001 Arabian Nights but my recollection is that there are several (real) Abbasid caliphs that appear in the stories, and "Jafar" was actually the name of Haroun al-Rashid's vizier - and both appear in the stories (only Jafar in the movie). The framing story is stories being told to a fictional Sassanian monarch.  The center of gravity of the cultural setting is medieval Perso-Islamic world centered around the Mesopotamian region regardless of the names of the places given in the stories.

[Gups]

Aladin is (or was) a popular pantomine in the UK and and usually had a Chinese flavour to it.

[Syt]

I remember watching Aladdin as puppet theater on TV and I had it as audio play on record (along with other classics like Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves or Caliph Stork).

[Gups]

Aladin is (or was) a popular pantomine in the UK and and usually had a Chinese flavour to it.

Should have read back, this has be extensively dissected earlier...

[Savonarola]

The Muppet Movie (1979)

Still a delight.  Paul Williams' soundtrack is great; his gift for lyrics really shine through, sometimes sophisticated (The Rainbow Connection) sometimes silly (Fact is there's nothing nothing you can't do; cause even Santa Claus believes in you.)  The cameos are great too, especially Orson Welles with the standard "Rich and Famous" contract.

Some of the full body muppet scenes are a bit rough.  It's surprising how much Jim Henson and co. had advanced their craft by The Dark Crystal just three years later.

[Eddie Teach]

On Cel's recommendation, I watched The Order. Super cheesy, but in a fun way.

[Savonarola]

La Souriante Madame Beudet (1923)

Madame Beudet is trapped in a loveless marriage to a buffoonish man who routinely plays a practical joke where he pulls out an empty gun and pretends to commit suicide; and I'm sure you can figure out the rest of the story from there.

The film is sometimes noted for presenting an early feminist point of view.  Also the director, Germaine Dulac, would make one of the first surrealist films (or proto-surrealist, or one of the last impressionistic films depending on which pretentious film critic you believe) La Coquille et le Clergyman.  La Souriante Madame Beudet uses of double exposure and dreams so some critics regard it as proto-surrealistic (or proto-proto-surrealistic or late-impressionistic) however other film movements would use the same techniques; notably expressionism, but even social crusader Lois Weber would do that in "Hypocrites."

[Savonarola]

Easy Rider (1969)

Cult classic, of course, but one that I don't think holds up very well.  The scenes with Jack Nicholson are great; just his sheer talent brings to film to life and he's the only character with a back story or any character development; however Jack is only in the film for about 20 minutes.  The rest of the film is an interesting as a time capsule of the late 1960s and has some very cool road scenes; but there's no story, the characters are enigmas and the avant-garde attempts are all atrocious.

Kick ass soundtrack, though.   

[The Minsky Moment]

As Jack road movies from that era go, The Last Detail is probably the better choice, with a lot more Jack.

[Admiral Yi]

The only competition I can think of to Easy Rider in the Unwatchable Cultural Icon category is Billy Jack.

[celedhring]

Rewatched Marathon Man. This is a film that I hadn't seen in decades and remember being disappointed by it. Liked it far more this time, and the single reason is that the dubbed version I originally watched completely destroyed Laurence Olivier's performance. Hoffmann is also less whiny and more relatable. That said, for being a movie about nazi criminals it has some uncomfortable racism in it 

The film got me in the mood for 1970s thrillers, so I'm going to try and dig up a few in the coming days.

[Admiral Yi]

The natural accompaniment to Marathon Man is The Boys From Brazil.

[Admiral Yi]

Then The Odessa File!

[Josquius]

I've been watching Future Man. Into s2 now.
It is really quite good.