What Movie Did You Watch This Weekend? The Third.

[Lyle (Mooska)]

Watched "Watch on the Rhine (1943)" starring Bette Davis (very young) and Paul Lukas.  -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036515

Clocking in at 1:43 minutes, the B/W is based on a story by Lillian Hellman.  The film dives into the lives of a well-to-do family who's daughter returns with her German husband and family.   Their story slowly unfolds for being part of the German resistance to Hitler.  Hellman's materials often were melodramatic and this is no exception.  We got a hefty dose near the end.  I watched it b/c it was a Bette Davis film I'd not seen and it got high marks on IMDB 7.1/10.  My threshold is typically 7/10.   I cannot say I'd recommend it unless you are a Bette Davis fan or just have a lazy Saturday afternoon.  V.

I agree with you, Vincent, I've never been much enthused about this film, either.
It is very topical to the moment and probably felt important at the time. It's rating on IMDB seems much too high.
It had 4 Oscar nominations:
1943
ACTOR -- Paul Lukas {"Kurt Muller"}
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE -- Lucile Watson {"Fanny Farrelly"}
BEST PICTURE -- Warner Bros.
WRITING (Screenplay) -- Dashiell Hammett

And Paul Lukas, who I like in many movies, WON Best Actor. But look who he was up against:
Humphrey Bogart -- Casablanca {"Rick Blane"}
Gary Cooper -- For Whom the Bell Tolls {"Robert Jordan"}
Paul Lukas -- Watch on the Rhine {"Kurt Muller"}
Walter Pidgeon -- Madame Curie {"Pierre Curie"}
Mickey Rooney -- The Human Comedy {"Homer Macauley"}

[Vic]

Something, beyond the movie really, that struck me while watching it is when they arrive in Germany for the Olympics and we see the Nazi flags and such around, this was three years before WWII started, and the people there didn't know what the future would hold.

Hitler became Chancellor in 1933 and in 1934 declared himself sole ruler and Führer over all Germany. Much like today's Putin's Russia there were no other parties in subsequent elections. They were masters at propaganda and marketing. The 1936 Berlin Olympics was the show case opportunity for the Nazis to show the world their supremacy. And it definitely made an impression!

The film has several lines that hint at this knowledge that even a team of Junior Rowers from far off Washington were aware of the Nazi threat, which I thought was very good. And they certainly seemed overwhelmed by it, not just by the occasion.

There's the scene in The Boys in the Boat where one of the rowers says something to Jesse Owens. I wonder if that really happened? It didn't feel organic in the moment when it happened in the film, but it's possible it did. I say it didn't feel organic, because it was just too perfect.

Now that you say it that scene seemed a bit awkward to me. Not sure why.

[Jeff Wrangler]

I guess for historical purposes, if you can find it, I suggest "Triumph of the Will," about the Nuremburg rally. I saw it in a college Poli Sci class ( a very long time ago  ), and it's amazing in a horrifying way. Hitler is clearly seen as "the second coming."

[Lyle (Mooska)]

Now that you say it that scene seemed a bit awkward to me. Not sure why.

Awkward is a good word.

[Vic]

I guess for historical purposes, if you can find it, I suggest "Triumph of the Will," about the Nuremburg rally. I saw it in a college Poli Sci class ( a very long time ago  ), and it's amazing in a horrifying way. Hitler is clearly seen as "the second coming."

I found it, and downloaded it, but I haven't watched it again. Judging by Wikipedia's description of it, I may not. I think have actually seen it, long ago. I worked in both advertising and marketing in my younger years and it is used as a study, being 'the best propaganda film ever made' et al. It's not banned in Germany though not shown in theaters, mostly used in universities as you also mention.

I don't really share this continuing fascination with WW2 and the Nazis. It will be 80 years in a few days commemorating D-Day! It has almost passed out of living memory, with just a few centenarians left who actually experienced it. Time to let it go?

Sure, it has had, and still has, an immense imprint on Western culture, including the leather gay scene, for example, but as the son of a man who fought and was a POW of the Japanese for 3.5 years, and who had nightmares his whole life thereafter, which did affect us, his children, I try not to delve too deeply into it myself.

Hollywood, however, continues to use it as an endless source of material. In the context of "Boys in the Boat" and their entry into the stadium, it shows the use of Saturation Advertising, heavy on the use of Symbols and Symbolism, which the Nazis got from the Romans.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triumph_of_the_Will

[gattaca]

...

And Paul Lukas, who I like in many movies, WON Best Actor. But look who he was up against:
Humphrey Bogart -- Casablanca {"Rick Blane"}
Gary Cooper -- For Whom the Bell Tolls {"Robert Jordan"}
Paul Lukas -- Watch on the Rhine {"Kurt Muller"}
Walter Pidgeon -- Madame Curie {"Pierre Curie"}
Mickey Rooney -- The Human Comedy {"Homer Macauley"}

Yeap.  It was over-the-top melodramatic even for me. 

WOW!  That's quite a "pack" to play against.  I wonder if he won b/c "the vote" got split so badly across the others? 

BTW, I definitely have "Boys in the Boat (2023)"  on my must watch listing.  I need something simple, not draining, well done and "eye-catching"...!!    Clooney seems to have done a really good job.  The film debuted in December (I think) and got passed over.  Unclear why really because it's another "non-Universe" film which is really well done but audiences are just not responding.  Maybe we are all too burned out from politics, trials, lies, conflicts, wars... and very little peace and comfort.

-> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1856080

Rotten's audience score may have this one damn right at 57/97 % Sometimes the critics are just too damn full of themselves to "enjoy a film", especially one based on a true uplifting story.  ->  https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_boys_in_the_boat

Ebert's site review 3.5/4.0 -> https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-boys-in-the-boat-movie-review-2023
"Director George Clooney understands the strength of this classic underdog story, and he knows how to tell it, with gorgeous visuals and heartfelt performances. "
"In one nice moment, as the Washington team is entering the arena, they have a brief conversation with American hero Jesse Owens, asking him if he is there to show the world what he can do. In just a few seconds, Jyuddah Jaymes as Owens adds another layer of meaning to the film, with dignity and grace, replying, “To show the people at home.” This is an old-fashioned story told in an old-fashioned way, and sometimes that is a good way to remind all of us we are better than those who didn’t believe in us. "   
V.

[Vic]

Awkward is a good word.

It feels like the scene is pasted in as an afterthought, perhaps to give Jesse Owens a bit more significance?

He symbolized everything the Nazis were against.

From Wikipedia:
"He achieved international fame at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany, by winning four gold medals: 100 meters, long jump, 200 meters, and 4 × 100-meter relay. He was the most successful athlete at the Games and, as a black American man, was credited with "single-handedly crushing Hitler's myth of Aryan supremacy".

[Vic]

I guess for historical purposes, if you can find it, I suggest "Triumph of the Will," about the Nuremburg rally. I saw it in a college Poli Sci class ( a very long time ago  ), and it's amazing in a horrifying way. Hitler is clearly seen as "the second coming."

I watched the first 15 minutes of it, then skimmed through the rest... enough.   

[Lyle (Mooska)]

It feels like the scene is pasted in as an afterthought, perhaps to give Jesse Owens a bit more significance?

He symbolized everything the Nazis were against.

From Wikipedia:
"He achieved international fame at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany, by winning four gold medals: 100 meters, long jump, 200 meters, and 4 × 100-meter relay. He was the most successful athlete at the Games and, as a black American man, was credited with "single-handedly crushing Hitler's myth of Aryan supremacy".

This is what I'll say, if people in the U.S. don't know who Jesse Owens is, then they don't know much of anything...or worse, don't care to. His name is always coming up here and there nearly as much as Jackie Robinson's. There's been documentaries about him, TV movies about him, he's always portrayed in Olympics documentaries and there was a 2016 film, titled Race, about him which also starred Jason Sudekis of Ted Lasso.

Like I said in a previous post, I don't know if these rowers actually did know who Jesse Owens was, and if they did, this portrayal actually occurred. If the scene in the movie as portrayed actually happened, I say it was really awkwardly done. It would have played better if they showed a couple of the rowers pointing Jesse Owens out and said to one another, "Look, there's Jesse Owens, the track star." But it played more like the filmmakers wanted the audience to know and that felt insulting in some way.

I just looked up to see if I could find out and I saw an article that had interviewed the screenwriter, Mark L. Smith. He was asked if the Jesse Owens stuff was in the book and he said, "No we added the stuff with Jesse Owens and I added a little bit more interaction with him on the ship over, on the ride over, but we just didn't have time for it in the movie to keep it in."

It still doesn't really answer my question of whether or not the rowers actually had any interaction with him, on the boat or at the games, but if it isn't the book, which you'd think a reference of that would be mentioned, then I'm guessing it didn't happen.

By the way, I mentioned somewhere that this movie took a long time to get made and went through several hands and one of those was that the movie was originally going to be directed by Kenneth Branagh. In this case, I'm glad George did it.

[Lyle (Mooska)]

--Shirley

A biopic about Congresswoman Shirley Chisolm and her run for President in 1972. Regina King is quite good in the title role and the film also stars Terence Howard, Lucas Hedges and Brian Stokes Mitchell.

IMDB synopsis: The intimate portrayal of trailblazing political icon Shirley Chisholm, the first Black Congresswoman and the first Black woman to run for President of the U.S., and the cost of accomplishment for Shirley herself. This film will tell the story of Chisholm's boundary-breaking and historic presidential campaign, based on exclusive and extensive conversations with family, friends and those who knew her best.

If one is interested in these types of historical biopics of famous eople I think it's well worth your time. I recall Shirley in the news back in those days, but obviously only knew the headlines concerning her.

SIDEBAR: Last year Mel Brooks had a several episode comedy reboot on Hulu: History of the World Part 2. One of the recurring sketches was titled SHIRLEY! and it was as if Shirley Chisolm had like a Norman Lear comedy series in the '70s! Wanda SYkes played Shirley. Heh!

[Vic]

I just looked up to see if I could find out and I saw an article that had interviewed the screenwriter, Mark L. Smith. He was asked if the Jesse Owens stuff was in the book and he said, "No we added the stuff with Jesse Owens and I added a little bit more interaction with him on the ship over, on the ride over, but we just didn't have time for it in the movie to keep it in."

It still doesn't really answer my question of whether or not the rowers actually had any interaction with him, on the boat or at the games, but if it isn't the book, which you'd think a reference of that would be mentioned, then I'm guessing it didn't happen.

I guess this is what they mean by 'creative license' and 'based on a true story'.

[Vic]

Watched "Watch on the Rhion (1943)" starring Bette Davis (very young) and Paul Lukas.  -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036515

As a fan of Bette Davis I've collected about 20 movies of her so far, but I don't have this one. Sounds interesting!

[Jeff Wrangler]

As a fan of Bette Davis I've collected about 20 movies of her so far, but I don't have this one. Sounds interesting!

Have you got The Little Foxes? That's also based on something by Lillian Hellman.

[Jeff Wrangler]

I just finished watching Unstoppable on AMC. I thought it was very well done. But then, from my perspective, it's got Denzel Washington, Chris Pine--and trains. What's not to like? 

I do remember--vaguely--the incident the story was based on. After the recent incident in East Palestine, Ohio, I guess they can't make a movie like this one anymore.

I immediately recognized Aisha Hinds (Hen on 9-1-1) in a short, unnamed supporting role.

[Vic]

Have you got The Little Foxes? That's also based on something by Lillian Hellman.

Yes, I do. Haven't watched it in ages. Will do.

I just got a hold of "Storm Center", 1958, which I watched. It's about the McCarthy era when the obsession of communists ('reds') is at its peak. She plays an elderly librarian who refuses to take a book on communism out of the public library, and the consequences thereof. Other than that relevance, to show the madness of that era, I wouldn't say it's one of her better roles.