Notices by Nicholas Whyte (nwhyte@wandering.shop), page 3

93) Cimarron (1931)

Western clichés, racist, jarringly episodic, erases the feminism of the original novel.

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/cimarron-or-how-to-erase-feminism/

48) Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

Character study of how Lawrence transforms himself, a damaged person bringing that damage to others. Amazing scenery and superb music. There is not a single woman among the credited cast.

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/lawrence-of-arabia-and-the-seven-pillars-of-wisdom/

91) Wings (1928)

The very first Oscar!!! Plot very obvious and make-up very weird (surely even by 1927 standards). But good cinematography for the aerial combat.

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/wings-1927/

92) Cavalcade (1933)

Oddly stagy on screen, and yet loses much of the attractive cynicism of Noël Coward's original theatre script.

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/cavalcade-film-and-theatre-script/

47) Gigi (1958)

Actually subversive of gender politics; Gigi and her relatives navigate a world ruled by men, but at their own pace and by their own rules. Isabel Jeans, Hermione Gingold, and esp Leslie Caron all adorable.

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/gigi-1958-plus-original-book-and-bonus-cat/

This marks the halfway point of this crazy project.

90) The Broadway Melody (1929)

Clichéd plot and some surprisingly poor acting, but some spectacular song and dance sequences.

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/broadway-melody-1929/

88) Argo (2011)

Appalling erasure of the women and people of colour in the real history on which the film is based. Good filmography though.

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/argo/

89) All the King's Men (1949)

Curiously undramatic (reputedly under-rehearsed) despite dramatic political story, disgracefully erases the entire African-American population of the original book.

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/all-the-kings-men-1949-film-and-novel-by-robert-penn-warren/

44) It Happened One Night (1934)

Gable and Colbert are a great double-act. Her plot line is emancipation and personal choice, ending with (tastefully implied) glorious sex. The bus is brilliant early 20th-century creaky technology. (And the autogyro!)

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/it-happened-one-night-1934/

87) Forrest Gump (1994)

I don’t find learning disabilities particularly funny, and I don’t like people’s accents being used as markers of their stupidity. Not as sound on race as it thinks it is. Pointless trek across America. Some very good special effects.

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/forrest-gump/

86) Patton (1970)

The central character is not very nice and not very interesting, and goes around fighting people, mostly but not always the enemy.

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/patton-1970/

84) American Beauty (1999)

Protagonist's male gaze is very creepy. All of the (100% white) characters are awful people, apart from the daughter and the gay neighbours, so it’s difficult to be interested in what happens to them.

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/american-beauty/

85) Braveheart (1995)

A violent and silly film. Great use of (mostly Irish) scenery, swirling music, culminating in martyrdom. At least the characters are distinguishable and nearly interesting.

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/braveheart-and-blind-harrys-wallace/

83) The Artist (2011)

Everyone is white, even in the crowd scenes, apart from some delusional African warriors. Derivative and pastiche - the good bits are not new and the new bits are not very good. Protagonist so unpleasant at the beginning that it’s difficult to be very pleased by his redemption at the end.

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/the-artist/

81) A Beautiful Mind (2001)

A story of romance triumphing over adversity, but you won’t learn much from it, or indeed you may learn the wrong things from it, about mental illness, mathematics, John Nash, or Alicia Nash. A lot of Truth here has been sacrificed for Art, leaving only a basic glurge plot.

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/a-beautiful-mind/

82) No Country for Old Men (2007)

I admired it a bit without really liking it. Almost all the speaking characters are white men. Lots of Mexicans get killed without a chance to do anything much. The law enforcers never do anything wrong. I found it quite shockingly racist. I also did not care for the fetishisation of violence.

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/no-country-for-old-men-film-and-book/

37) The English Patient (1996)

I confess that the film as a whole didn't grab me by the feelings as I had expected it might. But it has lots of Juliette Binoche, so I'm giving it extra marks.

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/the-english-patient/

38) Ben-Hur (1959)

It’s long. The spectacle on the screen is just about enough to keep you interested. It's rather queer. The music is extraordinary, expressive, convincing. The chariot race is just fantastic.

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/ben-hur-movie-1959-and-book-1880/

80) Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)

Laughton is one-note, and there are some other shaky performances and set-up. But the Pacific filming is spectacular.

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/mutiny-on-the-bounty-1935/