Hidden Gems #6

Hidden Gem #60: The Steel Trap (1952, U.S.A.)

Director: Andrew L. Stone

This 'man on the run' caper packs an additional wallop of suspense by focusing on our main protagonist's continuously fascinating and unpredictable behaviour: one response will surprise us with an even riskier "second job" for him to complete. (More here).   

Hidden Gem #59: The Hill (1965, U.K.)

Director: Sydney Lumet

Far less known than Lumet's earlier play adaptation of 12 Angry Men, this pressure cooker of a story by Ray Rigby is expertly handled by its accomplished director delivering intense characterisations and performances that burn right through us including a career best by Sean Connery. (See: Inspecting a Hidden Gem).

Hidden Gem #58: Death Note a.k.a. Desu nôto (2006, Japan)

Director: Shusuke Kaneko

A live action translation of a very popular, ingenious Manga/Anime series that's packed with creative characters, wild story elements, sly humour and a dramatically charged battle of strategies, taking us on one hell of a genre-crossing ride.

(Out of 5 Treasure Chests)

Hidden Gem #57: Death Note II: The Last Name a.k.a. Desu nôto: The last name (2006, Japan)

Director: Shusuke Kaneko

This bold sequel picks up right where the first Death Note left off, introducing additional captivating story twists and exciting conflict resolutions.

(Out of 5 Treasure Chests)

Hidden Gem #56: Diamonds of the Night a.k.a. Démanty noci (1964, Czechoslovakia)

Director: Jan Němec

Hallucinatory fantasy, brutal reality and 'Bunuelian' imagery are perfectly blended in this groundbreaking nightmare of two young Jewish concentration camp escapees; from an under appreciated director who importantly formed part of the Czech New Wave (including Ivan Passer and Milos Forman).

Hidden Gem #55: Your Three Minutes Are Up! (1973, U.S.A.)

Director: Douglas Schwartz

A highly enjoyable mixture of irreverent comedy with a serious examination of developing maturity, this gem contains a wealth of pleasantly engaging interactions between our two diverse lead performers.

Hidden Gem #54: Patterns (1956, U.S.A.)

Director: Fielder Cook

Personal ambition conflicts with the human values of a newly hired executive thrust into a world of ruthless big business practices, with Rod Serling's acidic dialogue being the fuse that ignites the explosive dramatic fireworks in this emotionally devastating cinematic gem. (More here).

Hidden Gem #53: The Holy Mountain (1973, Mexico/U.S.A.)

Director: Alexandro Jodorowsky

If you enjoy getting high, do so when seeing this expert satirist's abstract mosaic of absurd, grotesque imagery and sacrilegious symbolism which pokes fun at the idea that there is something meaningful to be made out of life or for that matter, this motion picture.  

Hidden Gem #52: Dark Hazard (1934, U.S.A.)

Director: Alfred E. Green

One wouldn't expect to find a compulsive gambler so endearing, but this character continuously exhibits such a distinctively warm human kindness, with the added bonus of being portrayed by the great Edward G. Robinson, that's precisely what happens in this little gem guaranteed to put a big grin on your face. (More here).

Hidden Gem #51: Straight Time (1978, U.S.A.)

Director: Ulu Grosbard

Just as Jose Giovanni (an ex-con turned screenwriter) introduced a sensational new perspective of gritty realism into the French crime genre, so did Edward Bunker for its American counterpart, not only writing Straight Time's source novel No Beast So Fierce while in prison, but also co-writing the screenplay and working as a consultant on this supremely made project. (More here).

A.G.

Hidden Gems #7 is here.

Sterling Silver Dialogue #13

Sterling Silver Dialogue From The Movies: 

Do you know where they're from?

"You always have a very smooth explanation ready."

(response) "What do you want me to do, learn to stutter?"

"I certainly wish you would have invented a more reasonable story. I felt distinctly like an idiot repeating it."

(response) "Don't worry about the story's goofiness. A sensible one would have had us all in the cooler."

"Well sir, here's to plain speaking, clear understanding. You're a close-mouthed man?"

(response) "Nah, I like to talk."

(reply) "Better and better. I distrust a close-mouthed man. He generally picks the wrong time to talk and says the wrong things. Talking's something you can't do judiciously, unless you keep in practice. Now, sir. We'll talk, if you like. I'll tell you right out, I am a man who likes talking to a man who likes to talk."

"That's wonderful sir, wonderful. I do like a man who tells you right out he's looking out for himself. Don't we all? I don't trust a man who says he's not."

"By Gad sir, you are a character, that you are! There's never any telling what you'll say or do next, except that it's bound to be something astonishing."

"Keep on riding me and they're gonna be picking iron out of your liver."

 (reply) "The cheaper the crook, the gaudier the patter."

"Look, I'll make it easy for you. The time has come when you must tell me you have a wife and two adorable children... and this madness between us can't go on any longer."

(response) "Bet you've heard that line often enough."

"This is a very strange love affair."

(response) "Why?"

(reply) "Maybe the fact that you don't love me."

"Oh man... Don't hit me with them negative waves so early in the morning."

"Why don't you knock it off with them negative waves?!! Why don't you dig how beautiful it is out here? Why don't you say something righteous and hopeful for a change?"

"Woof, woof, woof woof! That's my other dog imitation."

"Always with the negative waves Moriarty. Always with the negative waves."

"I'm a seeker too. But my dreams aren't like yours. I can't help thinking that somewhere in the universe there has to be something better than man. Has to be."

Answers to Sterling Silver Dialogue #13 are here.

Sterling Silver Dialogue #12

Sterling Silver Dialogue From The Movies: 

Do you know where they're from?

"There's something about the sound of my own voice that fascinates me."

Veda: (regarding a gift from her mother) "The dress. It's awful cheap material. I can tell by the smell."

Kay: (Veda's sister) "What did you expect? Want it inlaid with gold?"

Veda: "Well, it seems to me, if you're buying anything, it should be the best. This is definitely not the best."

Kay: "Oh, quit. You're breakin' my heart."

Veda: "Oh it's impossible. Look at it. Ruffles. Oh I wouldn't be seen dead in this rag. It's horrible! How could she have bought me such a thing?"

Veda: (to her mother) "With this money I can get away from you. From you and your chickens and your pies and your kitchens and everything that smells of grease. I can get away from this shack with its cheap furniture. And this town and its dollar days, and its women that wear uniforms and its men that wear overalls."

Veda: (to her mother) "You think just because you made a little money you can get a new hairdo and some expensive clothes and turn yourself into a lady. But you can't, because you'll never be anything but a common frump whose father lived over a grocery store and whose mother took in washing. With this money I can get away from every rotten stinking thing that makes me think of this place or you!"

"Personally, Veda's convinced me that alligators have the right idea. They eat their young."

"You know I like Mexico; it's so... Mexican."

"This isn't the real Mexico, you know that. All border towns bring out the worst in a country. I can just imagine your mother's face if she could see our honeymoon hotel."

"From here on it's Mexico, Mr. Thornton."

(reply) "What's the closest town of any size?"

(response) "Agua Verde."

(reply) "What's in Agua Verde?"

(response) "Mexicans. What else?"

(philosophically about himself) "Mongo only pawn in game of life."

"Go home Martins, like a sensible chap. You don't know what you're mixing in. Get the next plane."

Martins: "As soon as I get to the bottom of this, I'll get the next plane."

(reply) "Death's at the bottom of everything, Martins. Leave death to the professionals."

Martins: "Mind if I use that line in my next Western?"

"I told you to go away, Martins. This isn't Santa Fe. I'm not a sheriff and you aren't a cowboy. You've been blundering around with the worst bunch of racketeers in Vienna, your precious Harry's friends, and now you're wanted for murder."

Martins: "Put down drunk and disorderly too."

(reply) "I have."

"Don't be so gloomy. After all it's not that awful. Like the fella says, in Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love. They had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock."

"I think you're a very stupid person. You look stupid, you're in a stupid business, and you're on a stupid case."

(reply) "I get it. I'm stupid."

"It was one of those transient motels, something between a fleabag and a dive."

(on being shaken by the lapels) "Now wait a minute. I've been slapped, scratched, punched, knocked unconscious, drugged, and shot at, looking for your Velma, so quit trying to make a milkshake out of my insides, will you?"

"This car sticks out like spats at an Iowa picnic."

(upon finding someone he's been searching for) "I spotted your car."

(reply) "You spotted my car? Will it wash off? That's a rental."

Answers to Sterling Silver Dialogue #12 are here.

End Credits #15: Cinema's 2013 Lost Treasures Montage Part 4

Some of Cinema's 2013 Lost Treasures. The music by Ennio Morricone is from the film A Time of Destiny.

Capturing a Golden Moment #7: Sometimes a Great Notion

In this series I'd like to present some exceptional scenes inspired by cinema's most gifted artists of yesteryear.

Sometimes a Great Notion (1971)

Director: Paul Newman

Scene: "Logging Accident"

Harrowing but poignant, Newman's directorial debut reveals the unique identities of his characters and their deeply commited relationships with one another in this stunningly tragic scene.

Sometimes a Great Notion is available on Blu-ray here:

Sometimes A Great Notion [Blu-ray]

$13.30

Starring Paul Newman, Henry Fonda, Lee Remick

Buy on Amazon

It is also available on DVD here:

Sometimes a Great Notion

$17.98

Starring Paul Newman, Henry Fonda, Lee Remick, Richard Jaeckel, Linda Lawson

Buy on Amazon