I am seriously considering destroying this blog at the end of the year. (But not before I replace it with something newer and better.) I simply haven't had the time or discipline to supply new content. Okay, okay. I've had the time, just not the discipline.
But before I move on, I think I'll glut this blog with reviews of current movies instead of waiting until December to reveal an end-of-the-year wrap-up. New movies are more fun to talk about because everyone has equal access. (Besides, I can't expect others to love British post-war cinema as much as I do!)
Some new stuff is forthcoming, so stay tuned.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
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5 comments:
Besides, I can't expect others to love British post-war cinema as much as I do!
Just give me a list, and I'll watch 'em! Love that stuff, but haven't seen enough. BTW, Overlord was a very, very interesting film. Never seen anything quite like it.
I was thinking about compiling a list of all the good WWII-era British films, but maybe I'll just make that a goal of this new blog I'm thinking about doing. Meanwhile, I feel like I've got to read more Graham Greene to fully appreciate that cultural milieu. You're an inveterate Greene fan, right Adam?
I feel very close to the WWII generation for some reason. My grandfather (on my dad's side) was commander of a patrol ship during wartime, and my grandmother (on my mother's side) emigrated from England just before the blitz. I wish I could have spent more time with them.
My advice to any burgeoning fan of Brit cinema: get your hands on as much Carol Reed, Powell & Pressburger, Launder & Gilliat, and early David Lean as possible. Then watch all the top-rated Ealing comedies. Then watch Bryan Forbes (he doesn't really count as a post-war director, but he preserved a classicism that got lost during the New British Cinema).
Overlord was very interesting, no? It almost launched the docu-drama all by itself.
Before you delete this blog I hope you're able to preserve all these reviews in a searchable database of some kind, or at least an archive that lists the movies/post titles. I've often come across a movie and thought, I remember Nate wrote something about this a couple years ago, and tried looking for it.
I don't know if you'd be able to do that with the new Blogger or if you'd have to import your posts to another blog application.
Thanks, Nate. Interesting list. I've seen a fair amount of Reed and Powell & Pressburger, but I'm just now starting to see more Lean (I have Brief Encounter at home now). I'm completely unfamiliar with Launder & Gilliat. As for Forbes, I've just seen Seance and the awful Stepford Wives.
And Greene's such an interesting figure. Half of his novels that I've read aren't worth recommending. But Our Man in Havana and The Power and the Glory are excellent. The End of the Affair comes close to excellence. And then there are some great stories, like "The Basement Room" and his ghostly tale "A Little Place off the Edgware Road."
Yes, blogging can be very taxing! But you have one of the most agile cinematic minds extant. Hope to see you in print for a long time!
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