TCM week of July 30, 2023 – Daisies, Errol Flynn

First, some meta/blog discussion… I like doing these TCM review posts (which is probably obvious since I’ve been doing them so frequently, originally and now with the resurrected blog). It’s interesting—to me at least—to think about movies in groups and sets and to be able to draw out connections. And hopefully it’s of some interest to others. I have noticed, though, that I’ve written about the same films multiple times, often saying the same things—like with Kiss Me Kate—and also that I may have inadvertently buried some potentially (hopefully) interesting general material in posts that people who don’t watch TCM might not read, like a discussion of the different musical subgenres in one of those posts in which Kiss Me Kate featured. So I’m going to put some thought into how I do these, going forward. But for now…

oh yeah, before we begin properly – Hello to Jason Isaacs

Sunday, July 30, is a bit all over the map but in a very nice way. Some excellent movies, including

• Glengarry Glen Ross (1992) – which I don’t care for, but I respect that’s a minority view
• Great Expectations (1946) – directed by David Lean, and based on a slimmed down version written for the stage by Alec Guinness. Considered one of the best filmic adaptations of Dickens.
• Gigi (1958) – directed by Vincente Minnelli and starring Leslie Caron, Maurice Chevalier and Hermione Gingold. Not a great musical, but a good one, though there are aspects that seem much less charming now than they presumably did, at least generally, when it came out
• Coming Home (1978) – an important Vietnam War film, with Jane Fonda, who conceived of and produced the film, and cinematography by the great Haskell Wexler
• Being There (1979) – with Peter Sellers. Directed by Hal Ashby, who also directed Coming Home. He had a good 1970s—some truly exceptional work.

So that’s a pretty solid day. But the standout, the real “must see” for the day—and the week— is the last: Daisies, “a 1966 Czechoslovakian surrealist comedy-drama film written and directed by Věra Chytilová” (Wikipedia). Not as well known as it deserves to be, but as with Jeanne Dielman the most recent Sight & Sound Critics Poll has boosted its profile: it was ranked 28th, after never having appeared in any Sight & Sound list previously: “This feminist milestone is an anarchic comedy of subversion whose approach to montage is as exuberant as the film’s two protagonists.” Its appearance, and Jeanne Dielman topping the poll, may reflect changes in the critics polled for the list, as well as an increased interest in more complicated and non-traditional films.

I got turned onto it fairly recently—though before the S&S poll—by a friend who’s an art history professional but regularly knows more about films than me, which is, you know, embarrassing. And when I try to show off some of my art history knowledge to get some of my own back… well, let’s just say it doesn’t go well for me as a rule. But I am grateful for being introduced to this really fascinating piece of filmmaking. (It’s also available on Max, Apple TV and the Criterion Channel.)

I can’t really go through every film that TCM’s screening, though sometimes it’s tempting, so I’m just going to call out a few of the films that seem like highlights from the rest of the week.

• Them (1954) – Monday at 6am. An American giant monster movie, and one of the better ones, with a cameo by… Leonard Nimoy
• Some great film noir as well on Monday
• Lucille Ball on Tuesday
• Anthony Perkins on Wednesday, including Psycho (but not, sadly, Pretty Poison)
• The Silencers (1966) at midnight Thur/Fri – the first Matt Helm film, with Dean Martin as a secret agent. There were a whole bunch of secret agent movies in the 60s, trying to cash in on the success of James Bond. This one is fun, and fun to see Dean Martin doing his thing. It co-stars Daliah Lavi, who was in one of my favorite Bond films, Casino Royale (but probably not the one you’re thinking of). It’s also perhaps the first movie to feature a post-credits scene.
• It’s followed by two blaxploitation films, Slaughter (1972) and then Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold (1975). Not great films from this genre, but of interest.
• That night, Treasure Island (1934), directed by Victor Fleming (who had some success a few years later with Gone with the Wind and The Wizard of Oz – in the same year) and starring Jackie Cooper. Justly famous film version of the book.

And the week closes out, on Saturday night, with two costume dramas starring Errol Flynn, two of the best, non-Robin Hood category: The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939) and The Sea Hawk (1940). Elizabeth and Essex was directed by Michael Curtiz (Casablanca) and also stars Bette Davis as Elizabeth I. Davis’ strong performance was considered Oscar-nomination worthy, but she actually got nominated for Dark Victory instead. The Sea Hawk again has Flynn as a ship captain battling the Spanish Empire and again with some sparks with Queen Elizabeth, in this film played by Flora Robson in a marvelous performance.

And just after midnight: The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). What more could you ask for? Well, Captain Blood (1935), obviously, but still… if you’re into great movies, fun period action and adventure movies, it’s just a terrific triple bill, pretty much unmatched.

For more…

• Jason Isaacs’ strange cult following
• Great Expectations (1946) – Wikipedia
• Great Expectations (1946) – Amazon
• Great Expectations (2023) – the new BBC version with Olivia Coleman
• Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
• Daisies (1966) – Amazon
• Casino Royale (1967) trailer – Youtube
• Casino Royale (1967) – Amazon
• Captain Blood (1935) – Amazon

Filed under: Movies, Classic Films, Film, TCM