Etruscello

With my thanks again to those who responded with a list of old Brit films for a NY newbie, I can now announce that my wife and I have seen three: Brief Encounter, Kind Hearts and Coronets and Black Narcissus.
We found the Criterion Collecton DVD of Brief Encounter, with commentary by film historian Bruce Eder. We love this film! Yes, you've probably guessed that we're late middle-aged. We could readily imagine a Monty Pyton spoof and critical commentary on its corn-ball attributes, but we loved it. I guess one can say it's a fairy-tale for adults -- not meant to be fully realistic, rather to appeal to universal human archetypal sentiments. The gorgeous Rachmaninoff score only enhances the romantic mood set by the cinematography and superb performances (especially Celia Johnson's). The film historian claims that the time setting for this 1945 film is actually 1938 -- that a sense of pre-war innocence was essential for the romance. Interesting. We Googled Celia Johnson and learned that she was Miss MacKay in the Prime of Miss Jean Brody -- one of our favorite films, Brit or otherwise. We watch her performance in that film again. She must have been a superb actress -- two very different roles, 25 years apart, and each drawn out with consumate skill!
Kind Hearts and Coronets, VHS from our local library, was a hoot! We think it was quintessential understated British humour -- with tour de force performance(s) by Alec Guinness. Dennis Price was also priceless -- it's too bad we don't know much about him in the States. I plan to copy this for my movie collection.
What do we say about Black Narcissus? Well, 2 out of 3 wasn't bad. With the exception of Deborah Kerr's performance, we found the characterizations rather one-dimensional and, at points, comical. The mad nun seemed to arbitrarily turn this exotic romantic adventure into an Alfred Hitchcock movie -- outdoing even Psycho for wierd killer-transformation effects. Sabu is still the Elephant Boy, his role as a prince not withstanding. And it's never clear why 2 nuns are crazy about the David Harrar character -- not a hunk by today's standards (any standards?). I had read that this movie dared to portray nuns as passionate women. Along these lines, all I heard was one nun say "I love you" near the end of the movie. Hot stuff! Yes, the exotic settings are pretty. And the movie was certainly worth the viewing -- as an interesting example of its genre.
Well, we're going back to the library this weekend, this time for the next two on our list: Passport to Pimlico and The Railway Children.
With much appreciation, Tom

Fellwanderer

Glad you enjoyed the first two - shame about Black Narcissus.

You've a couple of crackers to look forward to.

P2P - I'm sure I remember the East End still looking not dissimilar in the late 1950s.

The Railway Children - what can I say? If I only had one film to watch, this would be it - but I won't say why until you've seen it.

FELL
[img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cool.gif[/img]

All the best
FELL

A signature is no substitute for a life