Jason's Blog, page 194
November 27, 2010
Trolls and dragons
This is from a story done for a Norwegian newspaper sometime in the mid nineties. I did the drawings, script by Kaj Clausen.
November 26, 2010
It's A Wonderful Life
James Stewart wonders if he has wasted his life. An angel shows him otherwise. Also starring Donna Reed and Thomas Mitchell, directed by Frank Capra.
A lot of the Capra films have dated. This film also, but at the same time it has a timeless quality. It's like a fairytale or a fabel. The bad guy, Potter, is taken right out of Dickens. The film famously flopped when it came out, only later to be rediscovered on tv. What can I say about it? It's an incredibly emotional experience. For some films it must be allowed for even a grown man to cry. This film tops that list. Other films on that list in my case is ET and The Searchers (the moment when John Wayne picks up Natalie Wood in his arms and says, Let's go home Debbie.) Hell, I've even cried during episodes of The Simpsons (the one where Bart is caught shoplifting and the one where he sells his soul.) It must be part of growing older, I guess. The twelve years old me would be so disgusted.
Anyway, even if there is a cynical part of you that says it's not that simple and life in a small town can't possibly be that idyllic (just watch Twin Peaks for chrissake!), it's difficult not to be affected by the film. Try.
A lot of the Capra films have dated. This film also, but at the same time it has a timeless quality. It's like a fairytale or a fabel. The bad guy, Potter, is taken right out of Dickens. The film famously flopped when it came out, only later to be rediscovered on tv. What can I say about it? It's an incredibly emotional experience. For some films it must be allowed for even a grown man to cry. This film tops that list. Other films on that list in my case is ET and The Searchers (the moment when John Wayne picks up Natalie Wood in his arms and says, Let's go home Debbie.) Hell, I've even cried during episodes of The Simpsons (the one where Bart is caught shoplifting and the one where he sells his soul.) It must be part of growing older, I guess. The twelve years old me would be so disgusted.
Anyway, even if there is a cynical part of you that says it's not that simple and life in a small town can't possibly be that idyllic (just watch Twin Peaks for chrissake!), it's difficult not to be affected by the film. Try.
November 25, 2010
The Philadelphia Story
Katharine Hepburn is about to be remarried. Her first husband, Cary Grant, turns up the day before the wedding, bringing along reporters James Stewart and Ruth Hussey. Directed by George Cukor.
Can there be a more perfect film? Let's see - Casablanca, The Godfather, Days of Heaven, Paris Texas... well, I guess there can! But still... It's a pretty much flawless film. There was a moment in time when these people got in front of the camera, 70 years ago actually, it's on film, and we get to watch it in our livingrooms, today or tomorrow. The actors, the script and the direction, everything came together for this little masterpiece. Even the girl playing the little sister is good, not as annoying as kid actors often can be. Stewart is especially funny in the scenes where he's drunk. It's he who has the most showy part of the male actors; Grant, bless him, doesn't try to steal the spot light, but rather delivers a low key but very appealing performance.
In the beginning of the film Hepburn has no tolerance for human weakness; she is referred to as a goddess to be admired, not a real human being. During the film she learns a lesson, not to put herself or others on a pedestal. It's a bit ironic that that's exactly what has happened with these actors - they have become immortal gods and goddesses. I think it's a bit too easy to have this nostalgic awe for the past and say, Ah, they don't make movies like this anymore. Well, mostly they don't, but I think, say, Cate Blanchett, Brad Pitt and George Clooney could have done the job just as well. I'm not talking about a remake, but if it had been an original film made today. And I don't really see any reason why the script couldn't have been written now. Teenagers would be bored out of their skulls watching this film, of course, sending text messages during most of it, but fuck them anyway.
Can there be a more perfect film? Let's see - Casablanca, The Godfather, Days of Heaven, Paris Texas... well, I guess there can! But still... It's a pretty much flawless film. There was a moment in time when these people got in front of the camera, 70 years ago actually, it's on film, and we get to watch it in our livingrooms, today or tomorrow. The actors, the script and the direction, everything came together for this little masterpiece. Even the girl playing the little sister is good, not as annoying as kid actors often can be. Stewart is especially funny in the scenes where he's drunk. It's he who has the most showy part of the male actors; Grant, bless him, doesn't try to steal the spot light, but rather delivers a low key but very appealing performance.
In the beginning of the film Hepburn has no tolerance for human weakness; she is referred to as a goddess to be admired, not a real human being. During the film she learns a lesson, not to put herself or others on a pedestal. It's a bit ironic that that's exactly what has happened with these actors - they have become immortal gods and goddesses. I think it's a bit too easy to have this nostalgic awe for the past and say, Ah, they don't make movies like this anymore. Well, mostly they don't, but I think, say, Cate Blanchett, Brad Pitt and George Clooney could have done the job just as well. I'm not talking about a remake, but if it had been an original film made today. And I don't really see any reason why the script couldn't have been written now. Teenagers would be bored out of their skulls watching this film, of course, sending text messages during most of it, but fuck them anyway.
November 24, 2010
Harvey
James Stewart has an invisible friend, a two meter long rabbit called Harvey. Directed by Henry Koster.
This must surely be one of the best performances by James Stewart. I can't really think of an other actor from that period that could have done the job as well. As with a lot of old comedies I find this film to be more appealing than actually funny. The times it IS funny it's always character based. You don't get the feeling the film makers tried to cram in as many jokes as possible, just to get the laughs. If there is something that separates this film from modern comedies I can't really think of an other word than CLASS. That works both ways, of course, since the opposite of class, rudelessness and tastelessness, often is very funny.
It's made me think of what recent comedies I've liked, and I can only think of Liar Liar and Knocked Up. They're both sort of exceptions. I don't like most of the films of Jim Carrey or Judd Apatow. Two of their films, Fun With Dick And Jane and Funny People actually made me angry of having wasted my time after having watched them. That can't really be a good thing for comedies, I would think. A lot of these films seem to be based on improvisation. You take actors that are known to be funny, put them together and hope that at least one of them will say or do something funny. Sometimes it works. Most of the times you get unfunny drek like The Wedding Crashers or The Hangover. But to be fair, it might be a generation thing. Animal House and Stripes I still find funny and can watch over and over.
Oh, another thing, while I'm up on my soapbox - why are trailers for comedies so awful? It might be a good film, but based on the trailer, the last thing you want to do is go see it. Oh, well... Next up: Philadelphia Story!
This must surely be one of the best performances by James Stewart. I can't really think of an other actor from that period that could have done the job as well. As with a lot of old comedies I find this film to be more appealing than actually funny. The times it IS funny it's always character based. You don't get the feeling the film makers tried to cram in as many jokes as possible, just to get the laughs. If there is something that separates this film from modern comedies I can't really think of an other word than CLASS. That works both ways, of course, since the opposite of class, rudelessness and tastelessness, often is very funny.
It's made me think of what recent comedies I've liked, and I can only think of Liar Liar and Knocked Up. They're both sort of exceptions. I don't like most of the films of Jim Carrey or Judd Apatow. Two of their films, Fun With Dick And Jane and Funny People actually made me angry of having wasted my time after having watched them. That can't really be a good thing for comedies, I would think. A lot of these films seem to be based on improvisation. You take actors that are known to be funny, put them together and hope that at least one of them will say or do something funny. Sometimes it works. Most of the times you get unfunny drek like The Wedding Crashers or The Hangover. But to be fair, it might be a generation thing. Animal House and Stripes I still find funny and can watch over and over.
Oh, another thing, while I'm up on my soapbox - why are trailers for comedies so awful? It might be a good film, but based on the trailer, the last thing you want to do is go see it. Oh, well... Next up: Philadelphia Story!
November 23, 2010
The Man From Laramie
James Stewart is looking for the man who killed his brother. Also starring Arthur Kennedy.
It's maybe the best of the Mann / Stewart films I've seen so far. I'm not sure if it deserves to be called a true classic. I think I still prefer Mann's film noirs (like Raw Deal and Desperate) to his westerns. They're fine, but he doesn't seem to have it in his blood the same way John Ford did. However, crime films fell out of flavour in the 50s, and westerns was the big thing. Directors who wanted to work didn't have that much of a choice. This film was apparently one of the first westerns to be shot in cinemascope, a choice that makes sense for a genre where the landscape is such a big part of the story.
It's maybe the best of the Mann / Stewart films I've seen so far. I'm not sure if it deserves to be called a true classic. I think I still prefer Mann's film noirs (like Raw Deal and Desperate) to his westerns. They're fine, but he doesn't seem to have it in his blood the same way John Ford did. However, crime films fell out of flavour in the 50s, and westerns was the big thing. Directors who wanted to work didn't have that much of a choice. This film was apparently one of the first westerns to be shot in cinemascope, a choice that makes sense for a genre where the landscape is such a big part of the story.
Bend of The River
James Stewart is a man with a past, guiding a band of settlers to a new life in the west. Also starring Arthur Kennedy, Rock Hudson and Julia "Creature of the Black Lagoon" Adams.
It's a pretty classic western, not one of the best, but not bad either. The film asks a question, can a man change? And the answer is yes. And no.
It's a pretty classic western, not one of the best, but not bad either. The film asks a question, can a man change? And the answer is yes. And no.
November 22, 2010
James Stewart
I've been watching season 8 of 24 on dvd lately, so there has been less time for movies. It was another disappointing season after the equally disappointing seasons 6 and 7. And it seriously started to repeat itself. A mole at CTU, really?! The show has always been a mix of the exciting and the silly, there's been both the death of Chappelle and Bauer's wife getting amnesia, but at it's best you were up at three in the morning, watching just one more episode.
Writing about the Cary Grant films made me want to rewatch Philadelphia Story and also some other James Stewart films like Harvey. But first some westerns he made with Anthony Mann. It's still a bit difficult for me to believe in Stewart as a cowboy. The skinny guy from the Capra films in a cowboy hat?! But I guess he came back from being in World War 2 a changed man. First up is The Far Country, where Stewart and Walter Brennan go mining for gold in Klondike. Jack Elam is one of the bad guys. Where's Lee Van Cleef? I guess he was busy shooting another western that week.
It's not a bad film. I could write a paragraph about it's theme of the individual versus the community, but I mostly watch these films to see cowboys fighting indians or cowboys strumming a guitar and serenading their horse.
November 18, 2010
An old cartoon
-Isn't it difficult to play by notes when you're blind?-Yes, I can't C.
November 16, 2010
Only Angels Have Wings
Cary Grant runs an airfield in South America. Fresh off the bananaboat comes dancer Jean Arthur. Also starring Rita Hayworth and Thomas Mitchell, directed by Howard Hawks.
I got a feeling of Milton Caniff from this film. Okay, there is no Terry or any pirates, but Grant plays a Pat Ryan or Steve Canyon kind of guy. It has some of the same spirit. All that is missing is a bad guy who talks of himself in the third person. It's a story about bravery, I guess, in the typical Hawksian, unsentimental style. Jean Arthur is the Hawksian woman that prefers to hang out with the guys, and Grant gets to show he can also look good in a leather jacket. It's old Hollywood at it's best.
I got a feeling of Milton Caniff from this film. Okay, there is no Terry or any pirates, but Grant plays a Pat Ryan or Steve Canyon kind of guy. It has some of the same spirit. All that is missing is a bad guy who talks of himself in the third person. It's a story about bravery, I guess, in the typical Hawksian, unsentimental style. Jean Arthur is the Hawksian woman that prefers to hang out with the guys, and Grant gets to show he can also look good in a leather jacket. It's old Hollywood at it's best.
November 14, 2010
Indiscreet
Theatre actress Ingrid Bergman falls for diplomat Cary Grant, who claims he's separated from his wife who won't give him a divorce. Directed by Stanley Donen.
Grant and Bergman are being very sophisticated, going to the opera, having an affair and living in big, luxurious apartments. It's all very grown up. But it's a bit hard to care about their characters. Their lives are just a bit too idyllic. You almost feel you should wear a tuxedo and drink dry martinis while watching.
Grant and Bergman are being very sophisticated, going to the opera, having an affair and living in big, luxurious apartments. It's all very grown up. But it's a bit hard to care about their characters. Their lives are just a bit too idyllic. You almost feel you should wear a tuxedo and drink dry martinis while watching.
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