It's not like I need a film to add to my all-time favorites list, which already is so lengthy that it's unwieldy. I know. I tried to make a file of them, and it quickly was overwhelming. I'm not sure what happens if I try a project several people suggested: listing every film I can recall watching. Has anyone tried that? I'm sure there must be some who started keeping records at a certain point. So, what's my most recent find?
La tête en friche (2010) - IMDb aka My Afternoons with Margueritte ~ It was subtitled, so I pushed the laptop aside and enjoyed. I have a feeling that it's impossible for me to be disappointed by Gerard Depardieu. I try to figure out what it is about him that is so riveting. I only know that, after seeing
Get Out Your Handkerchiefs (1978) - IMDb, back when HBO aired Best Foreign Language Film (for which it won the Oscar) and the nominees each year, I've watched as many of his films as became available~not nearly enough. I've already watched "Vatel" twice and am hoping to see it again.
I know the thread title asks for "the last movie you have watched", but I can't resist sharing from my film journal. Let's work backwards this time as I continue my movie binge:
Black Legion (1937) - IMDb ~ Each time I see it, I wonder what could have kept Humphrey Bogart from a Best Actor nomination. So, right now, I am checking out the nominees: Spencer Tracy for "Captains Courageous" (BA winner and his first of back-to-back Oscars), Fredric March in "A Star Is Born" (OK... He would've gotten my vote over everyone~maybe~I think.), Paul Muni (a masterful chameleonic actor!) in "The Life of Emile Zola", Robert Montgomery (as a charming sociopath) in "Night Must Fall", and Charles Boyer in "Conquest" (sadly, one I have yet to see). I guess that Bogie had far too much competition.
The Story of Louis Pasteur
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0028313/ ~ Speaking of Paul Muni... Many consider this the best he ever did. I have to admit that it's one time that I'm never conscious of the actor as sometimes happens with his roles. He won the Best Actor Oscar for it. My favorite of his films is "The Good Earth" (1937), for which co-star Luise Rainer won the second of her back-to-back Best Actress Oscars; the first was for "The Great Ziegfeld" (1936). She was the first to do that: two in a row.
Point Blank (1967) - IMDb ~ After being doublecrossed and left for dead, a mysterious man named Walker (Lee Marvin as an unstoppable juggernaut) singlemindedly tries to retrieve the money that was stolen from him. Yes, "Payback" (1999) with Mel Gibson is a remake. As powerful as "Payback" is, it's a breeze compared to "Point Blank" by John Boorman ("Deliverance" and "Excalibur", just to name a couple of his works). As an extra for the guys, there's Angie Dickinson.
The Dirty Dozen (1967) - IMDb ~ A U.S. Army major (Lee Marvin again) is assigned a dozen convicted murderers to train and lead them into a mass assassination mission of German officers in World War II. Cast: Charles Bronson, Donald Sutherland, Clint Walker, Telly Savalas, John Cassavetes, Ernest Borgnine, Jim Brown, Robert Ryan, etc.
Monte Walsh (1970) - IMDb ~ An aging cowboy (Yep! Lee Marvin!) realizes that the West he knew and loved will soon be no more--and that there will be no room for him, either. "Nobody gets to be a cowboy forever." ~ great Jack Palance line
Cat Ballou (1965) - IMDb ~ This kicked off the Marvin marathon (I think... At least, it's when I tuned in to TCM), and it's still one of my all-time favorites since seeing it in the theater. Everyone is perfect, as are the music (especially the Shouters/minstrels), sets and everything else. Lee Marvin, helped by the leaning horse, won Best Actor Oscar in his double role. You can have "Blazing Saddles". I'll stick with "Cat Ballou"! My other favorite comedy Westerns are "Texas Across the River", "The Frisco Kid", and James Garner's two "Support Your" films. I haven't seen it for a long time, but I'd like to revisit "The Villain".
That's as far back as I'd better go. Insomnia certainly makes for an interesting collection of films watched.
P.S. "I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang" (1932)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0023042/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 is just getting started, with Paul Muni in the lead. Not surprisingly, he was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar. There were only three nominees that year; Muni, Leslie Howard in the time travel romance "Berkeley Square" and the winner, Charles Laughton in "The Private Life of Henry VIII.".
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. Phoenix and Seymour Hoffmann were both excellent.
