#CurateMyLife: Classic Film

After reading Aurora's post for the #CurateMyLife #ClassicMovies project I decided to attempt to tackle it as well.  I was also motivated because I had to do a major apartment clean-up for a small Oscar Party this weekend.  Anyway, be sure to check out Aurora's post and check out the #CurateMyLife blogathon which was created by Margaret Perry.

The deadline for the blogathon has extended through February 29th (Happy Leap Day!), which means I can partake.

While working on this post I kind of realized that my life and most definitely my classic movie life is split between my apartment in LA and my parent's house in NY, so my collection is a bit bi-coastal.  But, I'm going to try to just focus on the things I have in my apartment currently since those are the items I have chosen to have here in LA with me.  Here we go!


1. DVD/Blu ray Collection
My current collection covers a number of different shelves in my apartment and are organized in a few different ways.  The majority of the DVDs and Blu rays are simply alphabetized, yet separated one area for DVDs another for Blu ray in the tower shelves, however I recently attempted some categorizing.  This came about mostly because I had purchased more bookshelves.  The current categories include: Musicals, Hitchcock, My Top 30, Criterion, Disney, TCM releases, Holiday Films, Box Sets, and Film Franchises.

I honestly get a lot of flack about my collection from some of my friends and peers.  They are flabbergasted that anyone would, in this day and age, be actively building a physical media collection while so many movies are available digitally.  I get their point of view, but I'm a physical/tangible media kind of gal.  I like knowing that I have that access to a particular film without having to rely on the internet, a thumb drive or a cloud.  There are also so many titles that come and go from streaming services that I really appreciate the perceived permanency of DVDs and Blu rays.

2.  VHS Collection
I don't currently have any VHS titles in my apartment, I do still have a bit of a VHS collection in NY though.  I do have a VCR here though for VHS rentals.

3.  Favorite DVD/Blu ray
I am terrible when it comes to favorites, which is evidenced by my shelf of top 30 films, but those don't even include movies from my other categories, so with that preface, I guess if I had to pick my favorite DVD or Blu ray, I guess I would go with the Criterion edition of Charade because I love that movie so much and it was nice that it got a proper home video release, even though it's in public domain.  My other favorite is the Beatles movie Help! partially because I love it so much, but also because it was such a treat when it came out on DVD/Blu ray.

4. Favorite VHS
My most sentimental VHS tapes are the old clam shell Disney movies, they're not here with me, but I would say they're my faves.

5.  Classic Film Related Wall Art
This was one of the categories that got me super excited to do this project.  I love being able to display my Classic Film wall art and it makes me feel better when I see it.  I feel like Charlie Chaplin is greeting me when I come home from work.  I'll start with the amazing pieces from Dorothy, their stuff is so creative and really beautiful:

It's hard to tell from my not so great pictures, but they are a Film Map, a Hollywood Star Chart and a Love Star Chart.  The map is a street map of an area that could be LA which is made up of over 900 film titles including Sunset Blvd, Valley of the Dolls, Chinatown, and Gosford Park.  The Hollywood Star Chart is based on the sky over LA on October 6, 1927 and includes constellations of 62 films (chosen from the films selected for preservation by the National Film Preservation Registry) and their 'stars.'  The Love Star Chart is made up of 74 romantic films (from the BFI Love season) and is based on the sky over NY on November 26, 1942.  That ended up being long winded, but I love these prints!

Here are some other items all around my apartment, movie posters, cooking shots from classic films in the kitchen, and TCM-ness.

6.  Classic Film related household product (i.e. mug, dishtowel, picture frame, etc.

I don't have that many household classic film related products, so this may be a stretch, but I have some magnetics and mugs!

7. Classic Film Movie Ticket

I decided to go with my TCM Classic Film Festival Pass because those are essentially tickets to many wonderful Classic Films.

TCMFF passes from 2010-2014

2015 TCMFF Pass

8.  Picture of you and friends/family enjoying a classic movie experience
While looking for pictures for this section I noticed that I don't really take too many selfies or pictures of myself or the people with me at or before events.  I typically take pictures of the event, which in hindsight is a bit of a bummer.  I should be better about including pictures of the people with me at that time.

I also noticed that all of these pictures are from TCM events, I'm not surprised, just an interesting observation.  The top row is a picture of me and my dad is from last year's TCM Film Festival and a snapshot of my mom on the red carpet for the opening night screening of Cabaret.  The next row is a picture of me with my friend Tracy who stopped by Hollywood to talk to me while I waited in line for Singin' in the Rain at the first TCM Film Festival and me and my cousin at I can't remember what screening that was but it was at a TCM Film Fest and the final picture is me and my brother during the NYC TCM Classic Film Bus Tour.

9.  Picture of Fan Art
This is by far my favorite set of fan art, the drawings were done by the amazing artist Kate Gabrielle, you can check out here work here: Kate Gabrielle

What I like most is the difference in the style, yet each one is amazing (just a note: the 2 center-ish pictures are actual photos, not drawings by Kate).

10.  Classic Movie Related Souvenir
I don't think I have anything that fits this category.
11.  Object that once belonged to a Classic Film Star
Another category that I don't have anything for, but that would be awesome.

12.  Picture of yourself with a Classic Film Star
All of these are thanks in large part to TCM:

13.  Selfie from TCM Film Festival
Not big on selfies in general

14.  Selfie with Robert Osborne
Haven't been lucky to snag a selfie with Mr. Osborne, but I have spoken to him on a couple of occasions at the film festival.

15.  Classic Film Book Collection

16.  Favorite movie star biography/autobiography
I don't currently have a favorite biography or autobiography here in LA.  In fact, a large majority of my book collection is currently in NY.  I was always partial to biographies written by Charlotte Chandler and I think Ginger Roger's autobiography is my favorite.

17.  Misc. anything missing from this list that you feel is part of your classic film life.  Be Creative!
This might not be super creative, but in the last year or so I've started making these little montages, sometimes they're themed and sometimes they're not.  The first one I made was with actual 4X6 photos, which I arranged and fit together and then got laminated.  I then started creating them using different collage/montage programs like Picasa and Fotor.

This project was extremely enjoyable, it was a great opportunity to evaluate the items that I have decided to surround myself with and to think about the reasons why they're a part of my life.  And I think the conclusion, at least for me, is that these classic film items add something special to my life and just genuinely make me happy.

I think Margaret came up with a wonderful blogathon/hashtag and it's been a pleasure to participate.  Be sure to follow her and Curate My Life on Twitter and here is her blog with more information about the project: Margaret Perry

"It's pronounced Fronkensteen" (Day 2 of the 2012 TCM Classic Film Festival)

On to day 2 of the 2012 TCM Classic Film Festival.  It started bright and early with a screening of Cover Girl at the Chinese 6, introduced by Gene Kelly's widow, Patricia Ward Kelly and Robert Osborne.  Patricia came into the theater and introduced herself and shook hands with almost everyone in the theater.  She was very personable and seemed very excited to be there.  While walking around she mentioned that she had added 5 years to her age on their wedding license.  She also made jokes about looking like Jamie Lee Curtis and she certainly did.  She was full of energy and it was very interesting to see and hear speak.

 

 Robert Osborne said that he was most excited to see this movie and was happy to see a full house, and that he had wished that Rita Hayworth were alive to see this kind of reception.  He also mentioned that if he were able to stay and watch a whole movie at the festival that Cover Girl would be it.  He also discussed Gene Kelly's career and suggested that MGM didn't know what to do with Gene Kelly, since he wasn't taken care of or treated properly.  He also said that he had the chance to see Gene Kelly on his last day on an MGM set.  I'm a huge Gene Kelly fan and it's always a treat to see him on the big screen.

Up next was Funny Face at Grauman's Chinese.  There was an interview with Stanley Donen by Robert Osborne before the screening.  I always enjoy a nice Stanley Donen interview, he's very candid and doesn't sugar coat anything.  He means what he says and says what he means, shoots from the hip.  In regards to Funny Face he candidly told us that it was a challenge, he didn't have theater people, or show people, what he had was Audrey, Fred and Paris and the challenge was to fill the space and hold the interest, while also not going over budget. He also talked about his love of film and fascination with the screen.  He thinks of film as an elastic medium and that they can be so many different things.

They also surprised Stanley with a birthday cake!

We all sang Happy Birthday and Robert asked him if he found any significance in the piano design, Stanley immediately said the 88 keys for his 88th birthday.  There was also a wonderful video tribute to Stanley Donen.  Seeing Fred Astaire dance on the big screen is always a treat and it was fun to introduce my mom to another movie she hadn't seen before.  Her first comment after the movie, "wasn't Fred Astaire a little old for her?"  Yes mom, but that's when we suspend our disbelief and focus on the pretty costumes, music and dancing.

After this it was time to head back to the Chinese 6 for Nothing Sacred starring Carole Lombard and Fredric March, it was introduced by Deborah Nadoolman Landis.  Before the movie, Landis talked about the amazing Carole Lombard and the costumes and beautiful NY sets.  I believe this was the first technicolor film shot in New York.  I found this movie to be very humorous and a great showcase of Carole Lombard's talents.  This was a fun movie to get to see for the first time at the festival.

My mom and I then rushed back to Grauman's to catch the screening of Vertigo that was to be introduced with a Kim Novak interview.  I was very excited for this screening and interview.  I'm a HUGE fan of Hitchcock (in case you haven't noticed) and was so thrilled that Kim Novak who had been out of the spotlight for such a long time would be there to discuss both her career and work in the movie.

I found Kim Novak to be a little nervous and slightly guarded, while still kind and willing to discuss working with Alfred Hitchcock and the movie.  She was interviewed by Robert Osborne who, as always, was a very calming presence.  She said that she liked working with Hitchcock and that she was able to give up control when it was necessary.  Robert asked about the very famous suit that she wore throughout the movie and Kim said that it felt like a strait-jacket and that it didn't feel comfortable, but she used that discomfort and made it work.  She determined that it was good and right for the character.

 It was quite an experience to see this movie in Grauman's Chinese theater, every detail, every moment of suspense and intrigue was heightened.  About half way through the movie I noticed that Kim Novak was sitting about 2 rows diagonally in front of me, which was pretty much the most surreal experience I can imagine (thanks TCM Classic Film Festival).  Occasionally throughout the movie I would try to see her reactions to the film, she seemed to be enjoying it.

My final movie of the first full day of the festival was Young Frankenstein, co-written and directed by the one and only Mel Brooks.  He was also on hand for an interview before the movie.  I had the enormous pleasure of getting to see The Producers at the first TCM Film Festival and hear Mel Brooks speak before the screening and knew that I had to see him again.  He is so funny and engaging, he's what I always imagined a grandfather would be like (one of my grandfathers passed away before I was born and the other passed away when I was less than a year old).  He kept saying how ridiculous we all were for staying up late and paying to watch his little movie, in fact to quote him, " you're fans, you're nuts."  But I couldn't imagine a better way to end the day.

Mel started off the conversation by talking about having seen Frankenstein in 1931 when he was about 5 years old with his mother.  When he got home from the movie he was he was so terrified of the monster he wanted to close all the windows so the monster wouldn't come and bite him, eat him and kill him.  But his mother said that it was too hot to close all the windows in the apartment, and he explained again that he was scared the monster would come and bite him, so his mother sat him down and explained that, if the monster wanted to come and find him he'd have to take a train from Transylvania and find his way to Williamsburg, I guess humor ran his family.

The interview was equal parts entertaining and informative.  He talked about the meetings he had at Columbia and their reaction to wanting to film it in black and white (they were not thrilled).  He also talked about Gene Wilder having written the premise for Young Frankenstein, on the condition that he wouldn't also star in the movie (that did not come to pass).  And he also let us know that the movie is 1/2 comedy and 1/2 tribute to James Whale, it's always great to discover an amazing contributor to the film industry is himself a fan and wants to honor the past.

it's (almost) alive!

Having the opportunity to watch the movie in a PACKED theater (the Egyptian Theater, no doubt) was an amazing experience, the laughter was almost non-stop, the crowd was so into the movie and made the viewing experience that much better.  And what a cast! Gene Wilder, Madeline Kahn, Marty Feldman, Peter Boyle, Cloris Leachman, Teri Garr, Kenneth Mars, and a Gene Hackman cameo! Such a great film.

Weird to see them in color

All in all this was another fabulous day at the TCM Classic Film festival. Going back through the pictures and trying to remember everything that happened is so wonderful and makes me even more excited (if that's even possible) for the next TCMFF. 
Up next: Day 3 which includes: Auntie Mame, first thing in the morning, Snow White and Seven Dwarfs, Counsellor at Law, Singing in the Rain, and Marathon Man!

Friday Favorite: Wait Until Dark

I apologize for the delay of my Friday Favorite this week, I'm dealing with some stupid stuff in my personal life and I was out late to dinner with a friend last night, which didn't allow for movie watching time or writing time.  So I'm a little late, but hope to have the post up before the end of the day.

All week I was trying to select my Friday Favorite and realized that my first 3 posts in this series have all been romantic films and all the movies that popped in my head for this week's installment were romances as well.  I guess I adore romance in movies.  So instead of doing a 4th movie filled with romance either peppered with comedy or drama or comedy and drama, I'm going to select one of my favorite suspense thrillers this week.  I like to experience the chills and spills as much as the next person.  That's why this week's Friday Favorite is: Wait Until Dark.  This movie stars Audrey Hepburn, Alan Arkin and Richard Crenna.  It is directed by Terence Young, who appears to have directed many James Bond films.  It was released in 1967 by Warner Brothers.  The music in the film, like some other Audrey Hepburn films (Charade and Breakfast at Tiffany's) was provided by Henry Mancini and the movie was produced by Hepburn's then husband, Mel Ferrer.  And it's from a play by Frederick Knott.

This movie is a very suspenseful thriller, with many chilling moments.  It stars Audrey Hepurn, in an Academy Award nominated role as Susy Hendrix, a blind woman who lives in a basement apartment in NYC with her husband.  Her husband unwittingly ends up in the possession of a doll filled with heroin.  This results in a rag-tag triad of henchman consisting of a super creepy Alan Arkin, a dashing Richard Crenna and a bumbling Jack Weston terrorizing Susy and her apartment while trying to get their hands on the doll.

I first saw this movie in 2006 and was quite frightened it.  The film pretty much plays into every fear that a woman living alone has ever had.  Coming home and worrying that there are strangers in the house, worrying that you can't leave, so scary!  And what makes it especially disconcerting in this movie is that it's all happening to sweet and innocent Audrey Hepburn, who's character also happens to be blind.  The movie takes place all in one location, the basement apartment.  This is most likely due to the fact that the source material is a play, but it also adds to the suspense and drama.  The location makes you feel trapped and claustrophobic, just like Susy, you can't get out.  It also takes place over the course of one day, which also makes it feel more immediate.

Another very chilling element in the movie is the incidental music, it is beyond creepy.  It makes me think of nails on a chalkboard, it is very eerie and unsettling.  It's filled with dissonant tones and it is used very well to set the tone and to supplement the overall feel of the movie.  Good job Mr. Mancini

This movie also features a good old fashioned swinging camera/chair/tripod/knife fight, well really just a stand-off.  Upon rewatching it, it actually made me giggle, watching Richard Crenna swing that camera, like he was Spartacus or something, here is a collage for your viewing pleasure:

you definitely don't see that everyday

Favorite Supporting Character:
It's hard to choose since the cast is so small and most of the supporting cast are villains and I don't usually have a soft spot for villains.  I'd have to choose the neighbor Gloria, played by Julie Herrod she's a young girl who's supposed to help out Susy when she can.  But she starts off throwing a little hissy fit in Susy's apartment and throwing all the kitchen utensils and things all over the floor, which is kind of a jerk move, Susy could so easily trip!  But she eventually apologizes and begins to be nice, helpful, and looks out for Susy.  Ultimately Gloria is Susy's greatest alley.  I suppose one could chalk her little tantrum up to being young.

There's also a funny exchange after the throwing sessions. Susy asks: Did we break anything?  and Gloria answers: I only throw unbreakables.

Favorite Scene:
 It's also hard to pick a favorite scene from this movie, I guess the one that is the most terrifying to watch and elicits the most emotion is the scene where Alan Arkin's character Roat, surprises Susy in the apartment alone and begins to torment her by running a scarf near her face and ears.  It is so scary and makes you imagine what it would be like if someone was doing that to you and you couldn't see what it was or where it was coming from, it's well acted and really disturbing...in a good way.

After re-watching the movie I checked out the special features and there was a featurette about the making of the movie that included interviews with Alan Arkin and Mel Ferrer.  They said it was very difficult to cast the Alan Arkin role because no one wanted to be so mean to Audrey Hepburn and Arkin himself said that it was difficult to be so terrible to such a lovely person.  Additionally Ferrer commented that this role was definitely against type for Hepburn, who had typically been cast in romantic lead and ingenue roles, but she played a very convincing blind person and conveyed the appropriate amount of fear.  Hepburn also opted not to wear restrictive lenses that would make her eyes look cloudy, instead she was able to create that affect herself by making her eyes look stare-y eyed instead.

 It's also interesting to note that after this film Hepburn took a 9 year hiatus from film making and didn't make another film until 1976's Robin and Marian, and then only acted in 4 more movies until her much too soon passing in 1993.

I'm conflicted over posting anymore cause I don't want to spoil the movie for anyone, so I think that's it for this post.  When it comes to a suspense/thriller there are obviously elements one should not give away in case people haven't seen the movie, but the movie does a wonderful job of keeping you on the edge of your seat, misguiding you, and scaring your pants off.  It was also somewhat difficult to think in terms of favorites when it comes to a suspense/thriller, maybe next time I do a film like this on a Friday Favorite I will change the format, since it's hard to have favorites when it comes to terrorizing Audrey Hepburn.  But that does it for this Friday Favorite, I will try to be more timely next week and I may end up back in the Romance genre, but we'll see, maybe there's a screwball comedy in our future.  As always, thanks for tuning in!

Stanley Donen Mini-Film Festival

In honor of my 200% increase in followers I figured I'd try to get a post up before the end of the weekend, as you can see I have failed.  Hello followers!

So this past weekend, I very unexpectedly became a patron of a Stanley Donen film festival at the Walter Reade Theater at the Lincoln Center in NYC.  I found out about it from a Tweet by @criterion at 5:30pm on Wednesday.  The tweet said that Stanley Donen would be doing a Q&A at a screening of Funny Face that night at 6:15.  I wish I had known about it sooner, but I decided just to go for it, I work close-ish to the city.  Alas it ended up taking me an hour and 25 minutes to get to the theater.  The staff was nice enough to let me in and they told me that Stanley Donen was going to be speaking AFTER the movie, so I was elated.  I did feel bad that I showed up so late and just wanted to stand in the back of the theater until the movie ended, but one of the ushers asked me to take a seat.  I tried to walk to a seat unnoticed, but I didn't succeed.  I managed to upset an older woman who was wearing sunglasses, she kept turning around to see what I was up to.  I wasn't up to anything, just being a late arrival to the movie.  I showed up just in time for this scene:

It was great to get to see this scene, especially since it oddly went on to  become a GAP commercial.  Seeing it in it's true form was exciting and wonderful.  Overall it was so great to see 'Funny Face' on the big screen. I have to admit it isn't one of my favorite Audrey Hepburn movies and it isn't one of my favorite Fred Astaire movies.  I think the age difference is somehow more noticeable in this movie.  I don't mind it at all in Charade, but for some reason it's irksome here.  Anyway, on to the positives....Audrey Hepburn looked GORGEOUS!  The dresses and costumes were marvelous!  And the songs were 'SWonderful :)  I may have to watch the whole thing on DVD sometime soon, I feel just terrible that I missed the beginning and I apologize to any people I may have disturbed.

After the movie (and the applause) Stanley Donen came up to the front of the theater and was joined by Mike Nichols, who I was quite surprised to see, yet for some reason I didn't appreciate his presence or feel a thrill or anything  (I don't think I've forgiven him for 'Closer,' but I do LOVE!! 'Working Girl' 'The Birdcage' and 'The Graduate').  The Q&A went very nicely and both directors shared their experiences as directors and what it's like to try to please studios and the importance of telling a good story.  They seemed to be good friends and had an easy time talking with one another.  I learned that Mike Nichols is a fan of Opera (he made a number of references to them) and that Mr. Donen doesn't appreciate pretentious people and thinks that the only assholes in the world are people who think they're perfect and infallible.  I wish I had had a pen to write down some of the very funny things that he had to say about making movies and working in the business.

They then opened up the room for questions, someone asked how he came to work with Moore and Cook on the movie Bedazzled (which I have yet to see).  He said that he had been living in England at the time, had watched one of their shows on TV and was interested in working with them.  I wish I could remember the other questions that people asked...maybe they'll come to me at a later date and time.  In any event it was great to see the movie and to see Stanley Donen in person, he was very well spoken.  I tried to get his autograph after the screening, but he semi-respectfully declined.

So that was the first screening I attended, more to come, which will include: Indiscreet, The Pajama Game and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and another Q&A with Stanley Donen (with pictures!).