The Crimson Pirate

One of my all time favorites.

he he ... when I was young, one of the local TV stations would get a single movie and play it over and over for maybe a week. One week, during the summer, I believe, so I was home from school, and my sister and I watched it ... over and over and over. My mother came to hate that movie. (historical note: this was probably circa 1960, so there was nothing BUT broadcast ... the three main stations plus an early version of PBS)

I watched it with my movie night friends a little while ago. I had forgotten so much.

Same thing in NYC Metro area. Channel 9 did the same movie at the same time all week, and The Crimson Pirate was in that rotation. (So was Godzilla, which my mother would watch all the time, even though it scared the bejusus out of me.)

I haven't opened the Criterion app for weeks, but I did yesterday and they put Local Hero on the service! I haven't seen it in decades but it seems like a perfect type of movie to group-watch in a time like this. To keep with the theme, Burt Lancaster is in it, I believe.

Yes, this is one of the ones going away 3/31 (however, likelier to come back than some of the others since it is part of their catalog). The cycling on the channel is a little frustrating with Criterion but I'd rather them have the wide variety they do with their featured collections than only just have a static version of their catalog. Especially since they are very good about listing what will be going away at the end of the month. But it does mean I prioritize certain things over others just because they are "going away"--For example, I haven't yet touched "Scores by Quincy Jones" and I'm dying to.

My god, I love Local Hero. The scene where wassname eats the meal, and slowly realizes... it's all so great.

The motorcycle! Wedge Antilles! Baby Doctor Who! Also, one of the loveliest themes, ever ever ever, thank you, Mark Knoffler.

I've been going through some DVDs; so far in the past week or two, I've watched Aquaman, Jupiter Ascending and League of Gods. Lets me avoid the news, if nothing else.

ones going away 3/31

I watched several films on "going away on 3/31" list on Criterion Channel this past weekend, in an effort to avoid the news. Interesting bunch, if a bit of a mixed bag.

Local Hero: a rewatch after many years, it remains a total charm attack. I'd forgotten that the ending for Peter Riegert's character was bittersweet rather than sweet. A balm to the troubled spirit, especially those amazing views of the Scottish sky and the sea.

In the Cut: Jane Campion's take on an erotic thriller. Doesn't hold together all that well as a thriller, but it's moody and unsettling, with fabulously impressionistic camera work. Meg Ryan and Mark Ruffalo are both very interesting in roles that are far from their wheelhouse. I dug it.

A Girl Walks Alone Home At Night: I've heard about this film but never got around to watching it until now. A leisurely-paced oddball not-quite-horror vampire romance, performed in Persian but filmed in California, kinda of Jim Jarmusch-esque but with distinctively female sensibilities. A bit self consciously cool in parts but with some striking images.

The Rose Tattoo: I picked this one over Fugitive Kind among the two Tennessee Williams/Anna Magnani collaborations going away tomorrow, and maybe I should have picked the other one? Incredibly over the top all over (I mean, it's Tennessee fucking Williams, what did I expect), although Magnani is great in it, a total force of nature. If you want every hoary Italian stereotype ever dreamed of splashed across the screen nonstop, this is your movie. Burt Lancaster trying to pass himself off as Italian made me laugh.

I tried to watch Sweet Smell of Success first, which was clearly a better movie than The Rose Tattoo from the first 20 minutes I watched, but it was too fucking cynical for my current frame of mind. Will give it a try next time it comes along in rotation.

Right now, I'm watching Red River, which is gorgeously shot and smartly paced, except I can't seem to divorce my modern sensibilities from the film while watching classic Cowboys vs. Indians battle scenes, or watching John Wayne be Macho Macho Man. Maybe it'll go down better with some wine.

Local Hero: a rewatch after many years, it remains a total charm attack. I'd forgotten that the ending for Peter Riegert's character was bittersweet rather than sweet. A balm to the troubled spirit, especially those amazing views of the Scottish sky and the sea.

In personal Top ten.

A Girl Walks Alone Home At Night: I've heard about this film but never got around to watching it until now. A leisurely-paced oddball not-quite-horror vampire romance, performed in Persian but filmed in California, kinda of Jim Jarmusch-esque but with distinctively female sensibilities. A bit self consciously cool in parts but with some striking images.

My favorite directorial debut since...I don't know. Blood Simple.

Right now, I'm watching Red River, which is gorgeously shot and smartly paced, except I can't seem to divorce my modern sensibilities from the film while watching classic Cowboys vs. Indians battle scenes, or watching John Wayne be Macho Macho Man. Maybe it'll go down better with some wine.

It helps that Wayne's character is supposed to be an asshole.