Print

[josemas]

I have watched some "old" stuff on the computer. Not really a lot of fun. I think your way of doing it with others is the way to make it more enjoyable.

You are absolutely correct.   I watch plenty of TV shows on my own and usually do a night each week with the wife where we watch a movie and some old TV shows but the weekly Movie Nights with my friends really do enliven the experience of watching old features and shorts.   
Theatrical films, especially in decades past, were designed to be viewed by crowds and work better that way (particularly comedies).

Joe M

[CharlieRock]

I used to have "Guy Movie Night" with my younger brother and best buddie on weekends. But my schedule changed and now I work weekends and they work during the week. 

What did I start watching now? Still going through the Greatest American Hero. Finished up the other shows and started watching Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, and Superman TAS.
Movie night with MrsCharlie caught us watching "Dr. Who: The Keys of Marinus" which is a really old Doctor Who adventure with William Hartnell as the Doctor. It started off pretty slow but got better as it went along and ended up being a decent 'movie'. We also watched "Aliens vs Monsters" which was 'okay' but I recently seen "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" which was a much better animated film so I wasn't impressed by AVM. And, finally, "Blood, the Last Vampire" which is a Japanese flick which you may have seen before called "Blade, but with Wesley Snipes replaced by a Japanese Schoolgirl and all the Vampires wearing ninja jammies." I actually liked it. I think every schoolgirl should carry and learn to wield samurai swords.

[narfstar]

Yeah Meatballs was pretty cool. Prince of Persia was enjoyable fluff

[josemas]

Among the goodies watched at this week's Movie Night were:

Chapter 9 of the Captain Video serial.

A Doggone Mix-up-1938-a two-reel Harry Langdon comedy.

Harem Scarem-1931-a two-reel Al St John comedy.

Hollywood: The Golden Years-1961-an early documentary on silent films, hosted by Gene Kelly and produced by David Wolper (who's death last week prompted us to pull this one out for a watch).

Yesterday and Today-1953-another even earlier documentary that also looked at silent films.  What was interesting about viewing this film was the fact that one of my buddies was in the process of preparing an audio commentary to go with the film's upcoming DVD release and was able to give us info beyond what the film provided, actually correcting some misidentifications made in the film.


Joe M

[josemas]

At this week's Movie Night, in addition to the Captain Video serial (Chapter 10-Menace of the Mystery Metal) we watched a bunch of British and French stuff including:

Showtime-1959-a BBC show, hosted by magicain/entertainer David Nixon, which featured a very late appearance by Chico Marx (of Marx Bros fame).

TV Heroes-"David Nixon"-1995- a short Tames-ITV bio program on the above mentioned British entertainer.

Time Shift-"Missing Presumed Wiped"-2003-a very interesting BBC documentary on how so much of the early British television programming was lost and the efforts being made to recover it.  We followed this up with viewings of a couple of the "rescued" shows.

A Show Called Fred-1956-an episode of this early, very low budget, British television comedy show featuring Goon Show regulars Peter Sellers and Spike Milligan (along with several other talented actors and comedians).  Sellers does an enjoyable Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde spoof.  Certainly an early influence on the Monty Python boys (and other British comedians of the 1960s and 70s).

At Last the 1948 Show-1967-an episode of a program that was a direct precursor to Monty Python with half the Python crew working on this, often hilarious, show.  Pop-eyed Marty Feldman was also a regular.

And we finished the evening by viewing a nice bunch of transfers from 28mm film of rare pre-1920 short films (mostly French) that varied from Max Linder comedies to WWI documentary footage.


And in case you guys think that all I do is watch old movies and read old comics I also got out this weekend to see the Arizona Derby Dames in action!  I'm talking Roller Derby-tough babes in fishnets battling it out in the semi-finals!  Fine family entertainment with the Coffin Draggers beating out the Brutal Beauties, the Bombshells and the Runaway Brides to advance to the championship bout (against the unbeaten Schoolyard Scrappers) next month!  Be there are be square!

Joe M

[bowers]

Good TV is getting pretty scarce lately. No more "Dr. Who" for the season and only two more episodes of "Leverage". Everything else is either reruns or really awful reality shows. Time to bust out some videos! Felt like a bit of swashbuckling , so I watched "Gunga Din" (the punch-spiking scene is priceless) and a French flick with Belmondo called "That Man from Rio". Ah, there's nothing like a hunt for lost treasure , a few narrow escapes, and a good old barroom brawl to lift one's spirits. Cheers, Bowers

[paw broon]

Yes, good tv is scarce.  Reduced to reruns of Murder in Suburbia.  So we've been watching the occasional film. In the last week we've seen Saloon Bar ( British b&w) with Gordon Harker; Night of the Big Heat with Lee, Cushing, Patrick Allen; The Body Snatchers with Allen (again) and Jason connery and The Terror (The Edgar Wallace story)  Great fun.  No chance tonight 'cos I've got to do my Italian homework and my wife is away out.

[josemas]

Bowers,

Agree with you that Gunga Din is a great little adventure flick.  I watch it about once every decade.  Come to think of it I'm about due for another look at it.   I once caught a documentary on director George Stevens (who directed the film) that features some neat 16mm color behind-the-scenes footage of the making of Gunga Din.
I've never seen That Man From Rio but your description sounds enticing so I'll keep my eye open for it.

Joe M

[josemas]

Paw,

We watched a nice 16mm print of Saloon Bar at one of our Movie Nights a few months back.  I'm always up for watching anything with Gordon Harker in it.  He's great in both comedies and dramas.
Also a big fan of Cushing and Lee but don't think I've ever seen Night of the Big Heat.  Sounds like a noir film.
Which version of The Terror did you watch, btw?

Joe M

[paw broon]

I have a few Gordon Harker films ;- Saloon Bar; 2 of the 3 Inspector Hornleigh stories; The Phantom Light and something else that not only have I forgotten the title but I can't find right now.  Night of the Big Heat is an S.F./horror movie based on a book by John Lymington.  Originally released in 1967, it had a dvd release in 2004 in a series called Masters of Horror.  Well worth looking out for.
The Terror is the 1939 version with Wildred Lawson, Bernard Lee, Arthur Wontner and Alastair Sim.
This weekend I've got lined up The Long Arm (The Third Key in USA, I think) starring Jack Hawkins.  An excellent, beautifully filmed, police procedural.

[josemas]

Paw,

Thanks for the info on Night of the Big Heat.  I'll definitely keep an eye out for that one.

We watched the same version of The Terror that you mentioned at a Movie Night several years back.

As for Gordon Harker I've seen him in a number of movies from late 1920s silents on through to the neglected little comedy gem Small Hotel (1957). 
He's always a delight whether he has the lead (such as in the Inspector Hornleigh movies) or providing support to Will Hay, Jessie Matthews, Bobby Howes and others.  You might want to check him out in The Frog (1937) and The Return of the Frog (1938) both of which are adapted from Edgar Wallace mysteries.

Joe M

[paw broon]

Well done!  That was it - The Frog.  Now if only I can lay my hands on it.  So much stuff - so little space.
This afternoon (Sunday) we went to the pictures in Bo'ness, a small town on the shores of the Forth, where there is the Hippodrome.  This is the oldest purpose built cinema in Scotland and a few years ago it was refurbished and reopened by the local council.  Today we saw Went the Day Well with Leslie Banks plus a great cast. A sort of propoganda thriller made during WW2 with stirring music by William Walton.

[josemas]

We watched Went the Day Well at one of our Movie Nights about a year ago.  One of my buddies had been building it up for a few weeks before we ran it so we were really looking forward to it and were not disappointed. 

Still there's nothing like viewing a film projected in a theater (especially a nice old restored theater) with a crowd like you had the chance to see it.   I try to get out to view recent releases at the theaters two or three times a month and when my job situation was different I would get off to film conventions like the Cinecon where we would watch a slew of old movies in the theaters for several days.

We have one old restored theater here in Phoenix-The Orpheum.  They mostly run live shows there now-a-days but occasionally have a "Silent Sunday" where they run a vintage silent film or two with live musical (organ) accompaniment.

Joe M

[paw broon]

And in Sept. at The hippodrome, they're showing A & C. Meet Frankenstein.  How can you beat it?
Want to come along? 

[Tbolt66]

Watched Errol Flynn in DOn Juan last night, and am currently plowing thru season 8 of the XFiles and collection two of Dark Shadows.

[Roygbiv666]

Does anyone watch Sanctuary? I was thinking of getting the Blu-Rays for Season 1-2, as it looks up my alley, but also kinda cheap.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanctuary_(TV_series)

[narfstar]

I watched the first few episodes but it did not catch my interest. I did not care for Warehouse 13 but decided to give it another try. Seems almost like a remake of the old Friday the 13th series. I find some episodes much better than others. Haven has been interesting for the most part

[DennyWilson]

MAD MEN ....'nuff said.

[josemas]

MAD MEN ....'nuff said.

Yeah Mad Men is great.  The wife and I are working our way through the DVD set of season 2 now (and looking forward to further seasons after that).

Some of the goodies watched at my most recent Movie Night-

Captain Video Chapter 11-Weapon of Destruction"-

At Last the 1948 Show-1967-another "lost" episode that was found.  It's interesting to note the various sketches that the Pythons recycled from this show in their later live performances.

The Marty Feldman Comedy Machine-1971-former Goon Spike Milligan co-starred in this comedy sketch show and this particular episode featured the great Groucho Marx (looking elderly but game) appearing in several sketches.

One Pair of Eyes - No, But Seriously...-1969-Marty Feldman takes a serious look at comedy and interviews several other noted British comedians such as Peter Sellers, Eric Morcombe and Dudley Moore.

At the theaters this past month I've seen-

Inception-I really liked this one about things happening within a dream within a dream within a dream, etc...   I'm glad I saw it in theater as you really do have to pay attention as things are happening on various levels and to try watching it at home where multitasking temptations are always lurking would surely have caused me to miss something.

Salt-decent spy/action/thriller which generally kept my attention but ultimately left me thinking I'd watched a pilot for a TV series.

The Expendables-lots of fighting and blowing up stuff (and also a bit more violent than I was expecting) but generally light weight fun watching a boatload of action stars doing their thing.

The Last Exorcism-pretty effective low budget horror flick with no big name actors.  Not nearly as violent as I was expecting (Eli Roth of Hostel fame was the producer) and with surprising few fancy special effects.


I've also been recently working my way through the Adventures of Captain Marvel (1941) serial.  It's a very good, action packed serial which was based on the very early Captain Marvel stories before they had really nailed down the character. 
I've already seen it twice over the years but this has been my wife's first viewing of it.  She has been really taken aback by Cap's sometime violent nature where he occasionally does something like pick up a machine gun to mow down a group of baddies or casually tosses another off the top of a high rise to his doom. 
He really does come across as more like the Punisher than the Big Red Cheese most of us are familiar with.

Joe M

[narfstar]

SALT was fun to watch but nothing special. I figured too much out too soon so it was pretty predictable.

[josemas]

I've recently finished several DVD collections including the following.-

ALIAS-THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON-2002/2003-(22 episodes)-I never followed this series during its initial run but often heard good things about it so this past year I've started working my way through the entire five season run and have been pleased with the twists and turns and the layered plotting in the show.  I did notice that about two-thirds of the way through this season they simplified some of the plotting details.  I hope it doesn't end up dumbing down the series as I move into Season Three later this year.

And three documentary series

THE WAR-2007-(7 episodes)-I also never caught any of this Ken Burns' series on World War II when it first ran so was glad to finally catch-up on it.  WWII is such a vast subject that Burns wisely decides to limit his approach to it by examining the war from the points of view of people who lived in a selected four American cities/towns and how it affected persons from those communities both at home and on the front-lines.  Lots of great footage-much of which I had never seen before.  He dug up lots of color footage both from archives and from home movies which is always welcome as so much of the documentary footage that was released in earlier decades was only black and white.  Interviews with various surviving participants is shown along with the original footage.  Episodes tend to run an hour-and-a-half to two hours.

JAZZ-2001-(10 episodes)-I only watched the first half of this series (again produced by Ken Burns) when it first ran on PBS (as post WWII Jazz doesn't do much for me).  Still I was glad to finally see the whole series which does have some great clips throughout and even though it didn't convert me to being a fan of modern Jazz I now understand a bit more about it and its various permutations.  Episodes generally run an hour-and-a-half to two hours.

EYES ON THE PRIZE-1987-(6 episodes)-Wow, it's been nearly a quarter of a century since this series on the civil rights  struggle in America (1954-1965) first ran on PBS when I last viewed it.  Time flies!  Apparently it was unavailable for a number of years because the rights to use certain clips had expired.  Having finally re-cleared the rights, the series is now out on DVD and available for broadcast again.  Lots of great footage and interviews with people who were involved makes this one definitely worth a watch.

Joe M

[josemas]

Had another interesting Movie Night this past week. 

In addition to a few more chapters of our Captain Video serial here's a few of the goodies we watched.

A Misfit Sailor-1925-2 rls-  This was a comedy short starring Billy Dooley (his very first comedy in fact, IIRC).  Dooley was a tall, lanky comedian who's bones seemed to be made of rubber which made him perfect for knock-a-bout comedies.  He had a starring series for the Al Christie studios from 1925 until 1929 when the public's fascination for sound slowed the careers of many physical comedians.  For some reason he almost always wore a sailor outfit.  While he isn't among the top flight of silent comedians his films are consistently full of slapstick gags that can generally please most crowds.

McVeagh of the South Seas (aka Brute Island)-1914-5 rls-   An early feature film directed, co-written and starring Harry Carey.  Carey had just left an acting apprenticeship under famed director D. W. Griffith when he made this little independent feature which certainly owes some of its tone to Joseph Conrad and some of it's competent directing to Griffith's influence.  After this film Carey would soon find sucess as a popular western star, often working with the great John Ford as his director.

A Thief Catcher-1914-1 rl-  This was the film I was really excited to see.  Until  earlier this year it was thought to be a lost film.  When it was discovered by a film collector at an antiques sale last year he thought it was probably just another old Keystone comedy made by famed comedy producer Mack Sennett.  He didn't even bother to look it over until months had gone by.  When he did unspool it this past spring he thought he recognized one of the actors playing a member of the Keystone cops.  He wasn't sure though so he had one of the foremost silent comedy experts in the U. S. confirm his speculation as to the actor's ID.  He was right.  He had found not only a lost film but one that featured the famed Charlie Chaplin in one of his earliest roles! 
(You all can find out more details about this discovery by googling the film's title as the discovery got international attention.)
Since then a few hundred people have gotten to see the film via presentations at films conventions like Slapsticon and Cinecon.  Likely it's first public showings in over 90 years.
Anyway one of my Movie Night buddies (the above mentioned guy who confirmed Chaplin's ID in the film) managed to get an advance DVD burn of the film (there is a planned DVD release to the general public next year) which he ran for us at our Movie Night.  So cool!

Best

Joe

[narfstar]

You have the right way to watch these movies to make them fun. A night with friends. While I like the old silent movies I seldom bother to watch them because you actually have to take the time to watch the whole thing. My TV time is usually also spent doing other things while the tV is on. Watching with a group of enthusiast would make the time investment worthwhile. I also am not a fan of going to the movies for the same reason of not being able to do something else while watching.

[paw broon]

Don't know about Sanctuary and don't know if we got it here. For my wife and I, the start of the American Football season has made a big difference, with 2 live NFL games a week and, for me, lots of College. As they are on in the early hours, we have to tape and watch later. Also, a new series of New Tricks has started on BBC.  Easily up to it's usual high standard - good stories, excellent cast and occasionally rather funny.
On my way back to a some semblance of normality, I visited a pal a couple of days ago and, apart from talking comics, we watched a couple of episodes of Sword of Freedom, an old British series with Edmond Purdom as Marco del Monte.  This show is one of a number of particularly British young peoples, early evening, historical adventures.  While, in N. America, there were a lot of westerns like Range Rider, Boots and Saddles (which I loved). Lone Ranger, etc. Here we had Robin Hood, The Buccaneers, Ivanhoe. William Tell, S.o.F. and more.  I remember S.o.F. as being action packed and exciting but it hasn't really stood the test of time. Most, if not all, of these series are out on dvd, if anyone is interested.  My pal also loaned me Target Earth and The Monolith Monsters.  Half way through Target Earth and seriously looking forward to M.M.

[narfstar]

I liked all those old black and white adventures. I used to get up early just to watch Robin Hood before going to high school. Paw have you watched the Sharpe series. I LOVED IT! I usually wait ten years before watching a rerun but have already watched Sharpe three times in less than ten years and would not mind watching it again.