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I had a cold this week but after watching Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (on the Criterion Channel) it was gone. Marilyn Monroe is a comic genius and Jane Russell is a fucking legend. A film about besties being drop-dead flawless and bringing out the best in each other, getting over and getting theirs. It is pure cinema.
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Forever iconic. This movie has everything—Bette Davis, homoerotic obsession, a scene-stealing cameo from a little-known up-and-coming actress named Marilyn Monroe…
Apr 30, 2024
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A very meta film by Billy Wilder. Gloria Swanson plays Norma Desmond, a silent film star of a bygone era who has been pushed out of stardom with the rise of movies with sound.
William Holden plays Joe Gillis, a struggling screenwriter/playboy who finds himself in peculiar circumstances after his car blows a tire in the midst of being chased by some intimidating repo men and rolls right into Norma Desmond’s driveway.
Gloria Swanson is serving the kentiest of kent in her iconic role as Norma Desmond and it leaves ”not a crumb” to be swept up or whatever the kids are saying nowadays.
Gloria was a silent film actress for real reals, starring in the films of Cecil B. Demille (he is also in the movie). Like the movie, her real life silent film career was also put on pause when sound came to major motion pictures. Sunset Boulevard was considered her comeback, post silent-film era.
The film seamlessly blurred the lines between reality and fiction, and audiences perceived the film to be an actual representation of Gloria Swanson’s life. Though, in real life, Gloria Swanson was an inventress and fashion designer (article with more about this linked above) and had a thriving life post-silent film era.
The film is shot gorgeously in crisp black and white, keeps you hooked with strange and unexpected moments, sublime acting, directing, and dialogue. The film consistently wows me in every aspect, and is truly a must-see sight to behold.
Apr 28, 2024
One of the funniest movies I've ever seen, you can tell the US still didn't have a huge grudge against communists at the time. Hollywood studios still had a sense of humor about it cause they didn't have to be afraid of getting McCarthyed.
Sep 18, 2024
Top Recs from @johnsays
I believe this album has soothing properties. It's also a perfect counterbalance to the frigid cold in NYC right now.
Jan 19, 2024
A lot of which is now streaming on the Criterion Channel! RIYL unbridled emotional complexity, novelistic films about families, "genre" filmmaking by a dyed-in-the-wool New Yorker. I'd start with We Own the Night, a film I wish I could see for the first time again. If this is your first time I'm v jealous.
Jan 19, 2024
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you know you want those mochi rice nuggets and sunflower butter cups, just get them!
Jan 22, 2024