I told some of you guys, but I'm watching all the Criterion movies in order. I'm going to be talking about them a little in here, I've decided.
This week: A Night To Remember by Roy Ward Baker
SPOILERS! (Click to view)
Based almost entirely on Walter Lord's book of thr same name, this is a tragic and detail-oriented account of the Titanic disaster, produced by William McQuitty, who was old enough in the fifties to remember the launch of the Titanic when he was a child. Though not a single established "star" was in this movie, the ensemble does an understated job of subtle acting, not hamming it too badly unless hamminess is called for (see "the drunken baker".) Though many of the details of the event can be recalled by anyone that's seen the crappy rip-off Titanic, many details of this much more historical account are gripping and often, sadly, surprising. Watching the Californian, a ship seven miles from the Titanic never catch on about the disaster is suspenseful and gut-wrenching, and the sudden death of "the newlyweds," clearly the inspiration for DiCaprio and Winslet's parts in Titanic, was a jaw-dropper.
All in all, the movie is most likely too slow and too obvious a plot for any but the commited historical genre movie-watchers, but it does reward it's audience with the kind of simple, unshowy acting that has all but disappeared these days.
Snob snob snob......Anyway!
Very tired and poor these days, but other than that enjoying myself. How about you?
Also, I have two new interviews up in Chief Issue: Here you go and Here you go again
We carry the entire Criterion collection where I work and people can check them all out for free. Needless to say they're pretty damn popular.