Reviews

Although this film is not so perfect as it is normally stated, it is a very important film neverthless. In Brazil, it's usually a case of "love it or hate it" as regards to this film. It may not be perfect, but it is impressive, and shows efficiently political corruption and the degradation of one's soul as well. Although somewhat confused in some moments, the film is packed with great scenes, and is always visually impressive. It also had the merit of discussing Brazil's problems at the time, using fictional "Eldorado" as a shield against the strong censorship applied in these days. Has it's place guaranteed in brazilian cinerama.

I didn´t expect much of this film, as it is not much mentioned nowadays. Although it is a very simple movie, it evocates eternal values, such as honor, friendship and respect for other people's own values, that truly makes you feel very well after seeing it. It shows, also, how every religion should be guided and thought to someone, and not how it is usually done.

Only a movie from the 40's, like this one, dated like it is, to remind us some values that we are forced to forget everyday in this "global" world of merges, fusions, profits and unemployment. It is a lesson of humanity, decency and of how a man can stick to his opinions and really make the difference.

Greed is one of the best films of the silent era, and, probably, one with the best ending that I've seen in my life. The scenes in the Death Valley are simply unforgettable. You keep on remembering them weeks after seeing the film.

Stroheim here proves that he was indeed a great director. Altough the whole movie don't hold up as well as in the final scenes (something almost impossible), we can see many scenes of pure talent. The opening scenes, presenting McTeague to us, are very beautiful and they illustrate perfectly his character. The actors are very good, too.

Seeing the movie as it is now, I think that it was a blessing that Irving Thalberg has reduced the film from its previous 9 hours to 140 minutes. It would, probably, be too much for the audience. 9 hours is always too much, even if the film is Greed. But, I admit it, a few more scenes wouldn´t hurt us as well.

This is an absolute brazilian classic, and I wouldn´t be too patriot to call it as an international classic as well, altough it must be very hard for foreigners to be able to see this one. There isn´t much of a story, but Mário Peixoto (who never directed any other film in his life) give us a very stylistic film, in which, as in all silent films, what matters is what is shown, and not what is told. In fact, there are only two "dialogs" in the whole movie.

Limite is almost a filmed poetry, and we´re carried away by its smooth rhythym and great visual power. A must-see picture.

Even though I have already heard a great deal about this film, I was surprised to see the strength of the movie. It holds up very well, and it´s not very dated, except for some short comic scenes where John Gilbert is with his friends.

There are several great and memorable moments, especially the one in which Gilbert and Reneé Adoreé are separated and the end of the movie, which is still very powerfull. An almost perfect film.

Now this is certainly the film that should have got the Foreign Language Oscar. A shame that the winner was "Life is Beautiful", by far the worst of the nominees.

The story of the brothers that help each other in their small difficulties is extremely touching. Here we have a film that shows us real life and also remind us of our childhood and all the problems we had then, that we just forget with the years. Even the kid's race in the end is excellently made, making us cheer for the boy as never before.

The cast is great, specially the brothers, and the director has certainly given us a lesson of directing. Congratulations to everyone involved in the making of this great movie.

Although Call Northside 777 is not a memorable movie, it has its place in history, as it enabled James Stewart to develop his style of interpretation. After WW II, the viewers were no longer accepting James Stewart in his usual role of the "good guy next door". Even It's a Wonderful Life, made in 1946, a true classic nowadays, was a box office failure then. James Stewart noticed that he had to be more human, more "down to Earth". He does so in this picture, giving new life to his career, that would, in the long run, make him one of the best actors ever. An important movie for any James Stewart fan.

Although this is not one of Hitchcock's best, it is still a good film. I guess this is one thing that separates the great ones from the merely good ones: The fact that even their "minor" works are worth seeing. It has some good scenes, specially in Old Bailey, and Gregory Peck, Charles Coburn and Charles Laughton (as usual) all give good performances. The only problems are the scenes with Gregory Peck and Ann Todd. They make the film seem a little bit dated. Unfortunately, The Paradine Case has many of such scenes. If Hitchcock focused more on the criminal case, it would have been much better...

Anyway, it's a good movie. I wouldn't say that you must see it, but you certainly should see it.

This was really a star-making movie. It did a great job in promoting the careers of Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Michael Curtiz and Erich Wolfgang Korngold. The result was a reward for Warner Bros. for their courage in putting their bets in the unknown, at the time, Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland. Their successful partnership would be repeated in many films.

Captain Blood deserves its place as a vintage classic adventure. The chemistry between Flynn and Olivia de Havilland is perfect, and the cast supports them very well. A true great movie, with a good script and an excellent score by Korngold. Satisfaction guaranteed.

This film is one of the most perfectly cast I have ever seen. Montgomery Clift is great and Ralph Richardson gives a fantastic performance, as a father that just can't love and feel proud of his daughter. Usually, such actors would dominate and steal every scene if the leading actress, in this case, was not Olivia de Havilland, in what is certainly one of the best performances I have seen in my life by an actor or actress. It's impressive to see Catherine Sloper's changes throughout the movie. A very good script also, adapted from Henry James's "Washington Square", with interesting and complex characters. A remarkable movie.

This movie is an absolute classic. Brave performances by everyone: Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck (wonderful here), James Gleason, Edward Arnold, Walter Brennan and so on. The script is excellent. We see the construction of the John Doe myth, since it's created in a reporter's imagination, to its complete success in achieving a great popularity. Then we see the forces behind such a phenomenon, and their own ideas in how to use properly this John Doe character. This was a very brave film in its time, as it shows Police Forces backing D. B. Norton in his corrupt ideals. The film is packed with unforgettable scenes: The arrival of Gary Cooper, The Radio speech, James Gleason eye-opening talk to Gary Cooper, Gary Cooper facing Edward Arnold and his comrades, the raining convention scene (hugely impressive) and even the end of the movie, although many people think it could be better. For, me, at least, it was excellent, as the whole movie.

If you're a Frank Capra fan, you simply can't miss this one.

This movie is quite interesting. A rare Hitchcock film in which we only find out who the murderer is in the end. Herbert Marshall is excellent here, as always, and the cast supports him well. The film has some memorable scenes, as when Marshall goes to prison to talk to the prisoner and when the jury decides about the verdict of the accused. The end is completely unpredictable.

This is the first real Hitchcock movie. The one in which he really starts to use all his abilities, although we can see that they are still not mature yet. It's very interesting because he makes a lot of experiments in this film, like the glass ceiling, and we see how hard he wanted, at the time, to really make his mark, to stand above the rest. Although the ending is not very good, the first 20 minutes of The Lodger are impressive, with Hitchcock slowly telling us (visually, of course) about the killer and his particularities, until the arrival of Ivor Novello. A must-see picture to any real Hitchcock fan

This film is even better than its original, Hitchcock's Dial M for Murder. And that is certainly not easy to accomplish. Of course, there are some elements that are very similar to Dial M, but there are many differences, and they were all for better. The plot is excellent, as in the classic movie, and Michael Douglas is perfect, as usual. Even after the "telephone scene" the film continues to amuse us, with a lot of twists. The only disappointment is Gwyneth Paltrow. A great work by Andrew Davies.

This film starts very well. A great murder scene, with all its details richly exposed. Then we go to the investigations, and the film suddenly begins to disappoint us deeply. The public is held within the Hotel, and in an hour everyone is back to their normal lives, no one seems to have witnessed a murder during a fight shown on TV. The fighters are ridiculous, too fat to be taken seriously. The investigations leads us to another conspiracy (which thriller doesn't have it nowadays?). Then, we find out who the bad guy is(guess who?) midway through the movie, and from then on it's downhill.

Nicholas Cage, which is shown as corrupt early on, dramatically changes his mind, turn down a million Dollars and challenges his best friend because of a girl he just met. The reasons why the girl risks her life are not believable, either. Then we have the end, which is the worst thing Brian de Palma has ever done. Where is the Director of The Untouchables, Dressed to Kill, Carrie and Body double?