Showing posts with label 1957. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1957. Show all posts

Classic Movie Review Nights of Cabiria

Nights of Cabiria 

Directed by Federico Fellini 

Written by Federico Fellini, Ennio Flaiano, Tullio Pineal 

Starring Giulietta Masina, Francois Perier, Franca Marzi

Release Date September 13th, 1957

The classic on the latest edition of the Everyone’s a Critic Movie Review Podcast is Nights of Cabiria, Federico Fellini's lovely, episodic exploration of a very unique and poignant life. Set in Rome in 1957, the story follows a sex worker named Cabiria as she goes through several days of trials in her troubled life. Nights of Cabiria was recently remastered and re-released in theaters by Rialto Pictures. The film received a new translation and a remastering of that iconic Nino Rota soundtrack. 

When we think of suspense we don’t often think of Fellini and we certainly don’t think of a movie like Nights of Cabiria. Fellini’s reputation is that of an absurdist provocateur and artist following his odd muse to unique and revealing places. Nights of Cabiria meanwhile, feels breezy with an overarching sadness in our empathy for Guilietta Masina’s wonderful Cabiria, a sex worker who is the constant folly of fate.

Find my full length review at Geeks.Media, linked here. 



Classic Movie Review Witness for the Prosecution

Witness for the Prosecution (1957)

Directed by Billy Wilder 

Written by Larry Marcus, Billy Wilder, Harry Kumitz 

Starring Charles Laughton, Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich, Elsa Lanchester

Release Date December 17th, 1957 

Published 

The opening moments of Billy Wilder's Witness for the Prosecution set the stage for where we will be spending a good portion of our story, an English courtroom located in the famed, Old Bailey, the name given to the English Criminal Court Building in London. This is important for setting the scene for American audiences as an English courtroom is quite different from American courtroom. Director Billy Wilder chooses specifically to open on this courtroom to disabuse audiences of the notion of an American court proceeding. It's a little thing, a subtle bit of audience manipulation but a crafty choice by a very smart director. 

Our first introduction to our main character, our true protagonist Sir Wilfrid (Charles Laughton), comes in a very charming scene. The comic dynamic of the cantankerous Sir Wilfrid and the bright-eyed optimism of his nurse Miss Plimsoll (Elsa Lanchester from The Bride of Frankenstein), establishes an unexpectedly comic tone for what we are expecting to be a courtroom drama. The colorful performances of Laughton and Lanchester and their unforced chemistry sets the tone for the rest of the movie, a tone that will deepen but never waver from being charming and only modestly mysterious. Our expectations are upended in the best way possible as we are treated to a wonderful comic dynamic. 

The idea that Charles Laughton was only 57 years old when he played the role of Sir Wilfrid is staggering. He looks to be in his 70s or perhaps early 80s. You might be thinking, young actors are often cast to play older characters but, by the timeline of Sir Wilfrid and his association with his assistant Mr. Carter (Ian Wolfe), the timeline has Sir Wilfrid the same age as Laughton, in his late 50s. And the mind reels. Regardless of how old anyone in this movie looks, Laughton is childlike in his enthusiasm. Specifically, Laughton as Sir Wilfrid delighting in his new chair lift in his office is a sight to behold. Laughton's pudgy face and gleaming eyes, so clearly delighting in this new toy that you can't help but giggle. 

This character trait is rather typical of an Agatha Christie character and a Billy Wilder character. Both of these legends enjoyed adding quirky traits to their characters, giving them a depth of personality that extends beyond the story being told. These traits endear them to the audience, bring the audience around to their side with the kind of writing shorthand that too few filmmakers or storytellers take the time for, especially from the perspective of more than 66 years later. We fall for Laughton's charming gluttonous, enthusiastic, personality first and that draws us deeper into the mystery that he will work to uncover. 

Read my full length review at Geeks.Media 



Movie Review You Can't Run Forever

You Can't Run Forever (2024) Directed by Michelle Schumacher Written by Caroline Carpenter and Michelle Schumacher Starring J.K. Simmons...