What classics did you watch this week? (5/16-5/22)

A Farewell to Arms (Frank Borzage, 1932) - I can't speak to this film's worth as an adaptation of the Hemingway novel, as I've never read it, but it's an excellent film. Borzage lost little of his talent when he moved to sound. This is a rare film from the era where the camera moves almost constantly, and there are many clever filmmaking conceits throughout (most notably the long POV sequence after Gary Cooper is first paralyzed). Cooper stars as an American fighting for Italy in WWI. He falls for nurse Helen Hayes, though they are not allowed to marry. That can't keep them apart, though, and when he goes back to fight she goes off to Switzerland - secretly pregnant. The two have vowed to write each other, but a conspiracy keeps their correspondences from reaching each other. This is pure melodrama, and by the end it turns into an unabashed weepy, but it's beautiful throughout, quite romantic and downright sexy at times. Both Cooper and Hayes are fantastic. Adolph Menjou as Cooper's best friend and Mary Philips as Hayes' do well in the major supporting roles. 9/10. YES.

Mustang (Deniz Gamze Ergüven, 2015) - The Virgin Suicides, Turkish style. Five beautiful teenage girls are scandalized after they are seen playing with teenage boys at the beach. Their formerly permissive grandmother, their guardian (their parents are dead), decides to lock them down. She plans to marry them off one by one before any virginities are lost (which would make them unmarryable). The girls are free spirits and cannot stand the oppression. This is a very well made film and the young actresses are wonderful (particularly the youngest, Günes Sensoy, who narrates the story). It took me a while before I caught onto it, but certain plot points are so moving that I was eventually swept away. It's beautiful and deeply moving. 9/10. YES.

Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising (Nicholas Stoller, 2016) - A rare comedy sequel indeed. Plot-wise it does what most comedy sequels do, which is recycle the original's plot pretty much exactly. It mostly doesn't just recycle the gags, though, and somehow the whole thing turns out a bit funnier than the original. It's also a dumb comedy with a surprisingly progressive outlook, but without seeming even the least bit preachy about it. Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne return as homeowning parents. They're selling the home from the first one to move to a better one, but they're in escrow for 30 days. In next door moves a new sorority (led by Chloe Grace Moretz, Kiersey Clemons and Beanie Feldstein - the latter vying to replace Rebel Wilson) who are determined to be the first sorority able to throw their own parties - they find the frat parties a tad too rapey. Zach Efron, the frat boy rival from the first movie, factors into the plot in a major way, but it's pretty clever and I'd rather not spoil it. Efron is probably the funniest member of the cast, but everyone gets their moment. It's well worth seeing if you need a laugh. 8/10. yes.

The Nice Guys (Shane Black, 2016) - '70s detective movie starring Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe, directed by Kiss Kiss Bang Bang's Shane Black. It is a ton of fun. There's definitely something missing that I'm not quite able to put my finger on - it really feels like it should be an all-time classic, but ends up falling short. There's some weaknesses in the script, like Black isn't quite able to make his themes work entirely. It has so much great stuff in it, though. The two leads are ace, both giving near-career best performances. Angourie Rice is also excellent as Gosling's teenage daughter. They do fail to establish a great antagonist, though bad guys Matt Bomer, Keith David and Beau Knapp are all memorable. Others who will remain nameless aren't as good. The film is very funny, thankfully, with Crowe and Gosling bouncing off each other nicely. It is true most of the best bits were given away in the film's two trailers. If you haven't seen them, you might enjoy this even more than I did. I'd definitely recommend it either way. 8/10. yes.

I gotta apologize to some bitches. I'm forever changed by what I've seen here.

I guess you know that Hemingway preferred this one to the 50s version.
Hemingway really like to see Gary Cooper in his movies.
I think he specifically asked for Gary Cooper to be For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943)

No, I hadn't read about Hemingway's reaction to this. I like For Whom the Bell Tolls a lot, too. In fact, it's the only Hemingway novel I've read (also a small handful of short stories) and I think the film slightly improves on the novel by making the character of Maria, mostly because she's played by the excellent Ingrid Bergman, a three dimensional character, which she wasn't in the novel.

I gotta apologize to some bitches. I'm forever changed by what I've seen here.

There are some really dreadful copies around, unfortunately (and I watched one of them). Sometimes public domain is a bit of a disaster.

If they organise the revolution like they did this meeting, what'll happen?

I watched a public domain copy. Thankfully, it didn't look too bad. I guess Kino has released a good version of it, at least in Region 1.

I gotta apologize to some bitches. I'm forever changed by what I've seen here.

Kino's version is excellent, though the BFI's Region B Blu-ray/DVD combo is the best release - it looks like the same excellent transfer but also has the alternate happy ending, some newsreel footage of the Italian front, a brief interview with Borzage and Cecil B. De Mille and a booklet.

Hemingway's reaction to the film is curious: he apparently absolutely despised it when it came out but liked Cooper, who pretty much embodied his male ideal, and when they became friends a few years later - one of his few enduring friendships, it seems - his opinion somewhat mellowed into dislike, largely because he disliked most of the other screen adaptations of his books even more.


"Security - release the badgers."

I was crying for a good ten minutes afterward.

I gotta apologize to some bitches. I'm forever changed by what I've seen here.