The Doorway to Hell (1930) Review: The Good, The Bad & How to Watch American Film, Crime, Drama Academy Awards, 1931- Nominee: Best Writing, Original Story The early 1930s in Hollywood were marked by a frantic, electric energy as the industry found its voice—literally. In the middle of this transition, a gritty little gem called The Doorway to Hell slipped into theaters, offering a blueprint for the gangster epics that would soon dominate the silver screen. While it often sits in the shadow of the titans that followed, this film captures a specific, raw moment in cinematic history that feels surprisingly modern even today. More on Wikipedia or Mubi The Brutal Elegance of The Doorway to Hell At its heart, the story follows a young gang leader who attempts to trade the chaos of the underworld for a quiet, respectable life. It is a classic American tragedy wrapped in the smoke of a speakeasy. The narrative leans heavily into the irony of a man trying to es...
Watch Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot (1953)
on
Get link
Facebook
X
Pinterest
Email
Other Apps
Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot (1953) French Film, Comedy English title: Monsieur Hulot's Holiday
Winner. FIPRESCI Prize (Independent Award)
Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot (French: Les Vacances de M. Hulot; released as Monsieur Hulot's Holiday in the US) is a 1953 French comedy film starring and directed by Jacques Tati. It introduced the pipe-smoking, well-meaning but clumsy character of Monsieur Hulot, who appears in Tati's subsequent films, including Mon Oncle (1958), Playtime (1967), and Trafic
(1971). The film gained an international reputation for its creator
when released in 1953. The film was very successful, totalling 5,071,920
ticket sales in France.
For the most part, in Les Vacances, spoken dialogue is limited
to the role of background sounds. Combined with frequent long shots of
scenes with multiple characters, Tati believed that the results would
tightly focus audience attention on the comical nature of humanity when
interacting as a group, as well as his own meticulously choreographed
visual gags. However, the film is by no means a 'silent' comedy, as it
uses natural and man-made sounds not only for comic effect but also for
character development.
The film was made in both French and English language versions. While Tati had experimented with color film in Jour de fête,Les Vacances is black and white. The jazz score, mostly variations on the theme "Quel temps fait-il à Paris", was written by Alain Romans.
Three versions of the film ended up being done. Tati withdrew the
original 1953 version in 1959 while a second version was done in 1962
that was later taken out of circulation to be held in escrow due to his
bankruptcy in 1967. In 1978, Tati reissued the film with twelve minutes
trimmed to go with re-arrangement of certain shots (which went with a
new arrangement of the main theme) to go along with new footage shot in
Saint-Marc-sur-mer that he labeled as the definitive version of the film
prior to his death in 1982. The 1978 version is labeled by the Les
Films de Mon Oncle as the "definitive" version of the film. Only the
original and 1978 version are available on home video.
Monsieur Hulot comes to a beachside hotel for a vacation and accidentally, but good-naturedly, causes havoc. More on Wikipedia or Mubi
Cannes Film Festival, 1953- Winner: FIPRESCI Prize, (2009) Official Selection Berlin International Film Festival, 1990 & 2010- Official Selection Academy Awards, 1956- Nominee: Best Original Screenplay National Board of Review, 1954- Winner: Top Foreign Films Viennale, 2004- Official Selection Box Office Hit
Comments
Post a Comment