The Cinema Thread

[Vrede too]

Friendly Persuasion

Would have been a good one anytime, but kind of remarkable for 1956.

Height of the Cold War
WW2 and Korea were recent memories
Serious approach to Quakerism/pacifism
Female minister
"The film was originally released with no screenwriting credit because (Michael) Wilson was on the Hollywood blacklist. His credit was restored in 1996."
Jim Crow was alive and well
Very black character is very positive
Slavery and the CSA are presented as wrong without question
Solid cast
Funny and serious, not preachy
"President Ronald Reagan made a gift of the film to Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev "

[billy.pilgrim]

Friendly Persuasion

Would have been a good one anytime, but kind of remarkable for 1956.

Height of the Cold War
WW2 and Korea were recent memories
Serious approach to Quakerism/pacifism
Female minister
"The film was originally released with no screenwriting credit because (Michael) Wilson was on the Hollywood blacklist. His credit was restored in 1996."
Jim Crow was alive and well
Very black character is very positive
Slavery and the CSA are presented as wrong without question
Solid cast
Funny and serious, not preachy
"President Ronald Reagan made a gift of the film to Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev "

Was Michael Wilson one of the names Ronnie the actor gave to the FBI because he "felt" they were commies?



And - good film.

[Vrede too]

Was Michael Wilson one of the names Ronnie the actor gave to the FBI because he "felt" they were commies?

And - good film.

His Wiki page doesn't say.

... His screenplay for Friendly Persuasion was nominated for an Academy Award, but was disqualified because his name did not appear in the credits. Director William Wyler wanted his brother, Robert Wyler, and Jessamyn West credited for rewriting the script, but Wilson disputed this. Wyler then was able under the rules of the blacklist to have one of the few films in history credited to no writer at all....

Helluva career, just some of what he wrote or co-wrote:
It's a Wonderful Life
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Lawrence of Arabia
Planet of the Apes
Che!

[billy.pilgrim]

Was Michael Wilson one of the names Ronnie the actor gave to the FBI because he "felt" they were commies?

And - good film.

His Wiki page doesn't say.

... His screenplay for Friendly Persuasion was nominated for an Academy Award, but was disqualified because his name did not appear in the credits. Director William Wyler wanted his brother, Robert Wyler, and Jessamyn West credited for rewriting the script, but Wilson disputed this. Wyler then was able under the rules of the blacklist to have one of the few films in history credited to no writer at all....

Helluva career, just some of what he wrote or co-wrote:
It's a Wonderful Life
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Lawrence of Arabia
Planet of the Apes
Che!

Bet ol' Ronnie didn't recognize the irony of giving something he tried to destroy to Gorbachev.

I don't know if the names of the people he tried to ruin are known as it was private squealing.

[Vrede too]

Bet ol' Ronnie didn't recognize the irony of giving something he tried to destroy to Gorbachev.

I don't know if the names of the people he tried to ruin are known as it was private squealing.

Good point about the irony. Rat Reagan may not have known since Wilson wasn't officially credited until 1996, but he may have found out who the writer was through other means.

[Vrede too]

Just watched True Romance again.



What a cast!

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The Wrestler

I gotta start watching more upbeat movies, but it's a great one.

Winter's Bone

Holy crap. But still .

Based on a book written by Daniel Woodrell, who also wrote the book that this was based on:

Ride with the Devil (1999)



A lot of the young cast has killed it since, as has Director Ang Lee.

I may have to read one of his novels sometime.

[billy.pilgrim]

The Wrestler

I gotta start watching more upbeat movies, but it's a great one.

Winter's Bone

Holy crap. But still .

Based on a book written by Daniel Woodrell, who also wrote the book that this was based on:

Ride with the Devil (1999)



A lot of the young cast has killed it since, as has Director Ang Lee.

I may have to read one of his novels sometime.

Holy crap is a great description of Winter's Bone

Never saw the movie version of Child of God, but the book is definitely Holy Crap. McCarthy's first 3 books are all Appalachia Holy Crap and the 4th, while not a page turner is one of his most memorable to me.

[Vrede too]

I don't remember ever even hearing about this one, 1994, the motion picture debut of 12-year-old Natalie Portman. Whoever cast her is a genius. Jean Reno and Gary Oldman, as always, are excellent, too.

Léon: The Professional

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The Call

It would probably be appropriate to classify Brad Anderson’s ferociously taut thriller The Call as a nail-biter, but that would imply that you’d be capable of digging your tightly clenched fists out of the movie-theater armrests to begin with (note to guys taking a date to the film -- wear a leather jacket with long sleeves)....

And, it's Halle Berry and Abigail Breslin.

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Heard on Charlie Rose: The Hulk is a metaphor for bipolar disorder.

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Ant-Man

I'm not much of a Marvel superhero fan, but this one has a strong cast and is a cut above the others I've seen.

[Vrede too]

Salt of the Earth (1954 film)



Salt of the Earth is a 1954 American drama film written by Michael Wilson, directed by Herbert J. Biberman, and produced by Paul Jarrico. All had been blacklisted by the Hollywood establishment due to their alleged involvement in communist politics.

The drama film is one of the first pictures to advance the feminist social and political point of view. Its plot centers on a long and difficult strike, based on the 1951 strike against the Empire Zinc Company in Grant County, New Mexico. In the film, the company is identified as "Delaware Zinc," and the setting is "Zinctown, New Mexico." The film shows how the miners, the company, and the police react during the strike. In neorealist style, the producers and director used actual miners and their families as actors in the film.

It also advance the Mexican-American social and political point of view.

Empire Zinc strike

The Empire Zinc strike, also known as the Salt of the Earth strike, was a 15-month-long miners' strike in New Mexico against the Empire Zinc Company for its discriminatory pay and housing practices. The strike drew national attention, and after it was settled in 1952, a movie entitled Salt of the Earth (1954) was released that offered a fictionalized version of events.

The strike

On October 17, 1950, the Local 890 chapter of the International Union of Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers went on strike, demanding that the company end its discriminatory pay and segregated housing systems. They later added indoor plumbing and hot water for Mexican-American homes to their list of demands. The company fought back, sending police to harass picketers, posting eviction notices on company houses, and cutting off credit to strikers at the company grocery store. Labor activist Clinton Jencks, who was the union's business agent when the strike was organized and was elected president of Local 890 in early 1951, was arrested on strike and kept in solitary confinement for 16 months. Violence erupted on several occasions, especially when the company brought in strikebreakers. As reports spread of these confrontations, miners at other companies in the region joined the walkout.

Eight months into the strike, the company got a court injunction forbidding picketers to return to the picket line the following day. With the threat of jail time and fines looming over them, the men left the picket line, only to be replaced by their wives and, in some cases, children. Since the women were not themselves striking workers, the same legal tactics could not immediately be used against them. However, the women still suffered police harassment and some mass arrests. Eventually the court issued an anti-picketing injunction against the women, but prior mass arrests of women and some children had drawn unfavorable attention in the national news and the local sheriff delayed in carrying out the injunction.

After 15 months, the company came to an agreement with the striking workers on January 21, 1952. Empire Zinc gave the strikers nearly everything they asked for, agreeing to improve wages and benefits and provide hot water to homes in the town.

[GoCubsGo]

Someone is watching TCM.

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Someone is watching TCM.

I'm not a huge fan of old movies, but the description of this one interested me and it turned out to be worth it.

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James Cameron Wishes We Would Shut Up About Jack’s Titanic Death, Already: ‘It’s Called Art’

James Cameron doesn’t really appreciate all of the haters and losers (and Mythbusters) out there who think Jack and Rose could’ve shared their Titanic floating board in the middle of the Atlantic ocean....

I thought the same thing.

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Lone Star (1996 film)

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Selma (film)



Seemed fitting to watch given Tuesday's upcoming shame.

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Wild (2014 film)

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Rango (2011 film)