must be tough to find a girl who could take a punch nowadays

Another unlikely set of movies to see all in a row.

How Green was my Valley (1941) - "Huw Morgan is about to move away from the south Wales coal mining village he has lived in his entire life. He remembers his growing up, when the dust from the coal mines—then new to the area—had not yet darkened the lush, green valley. His father and his five brothers worked in the mines, which ended up being a source of conflict not only between management and laborers but also within the Morgan family. His only sister Angharad fell in love with the new preacher, Mr. Gruffydd, who had a slightly different view of his relationship with her. Huw would be the only one to obtain an education, but he learned as much about life as he did about book learning in his schooling."
source: I borrowed the DVD from my parents' collection
I watched it because: it's a familiar title that I knew nothing about
IMDB: 7.7/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 93% Audience: 81%
my IMDB: 7/10

notable quote: "You will be queen wherever you walk."

MPAA rating: passed

directed by: John Ford

my notes: there's a lot going on in this little movie: sexual and gender repression, school bullying and beatings, labor uprising, class struggles—and a whole lot of Welshness, which is hard to explain but even harder to understand if one is not Welsh. Still, it's a glimpse of a very young Roddy McDowall as Huw, and the lovely Maureen O'Hara as Angharad. My favorite was Walter Pidgeon as Mr. Gruffydd.

Academy Award winner:
• Best Picture

• Best Supporting Actor—Donald Crisp

• Best Director—Ford

• Best Cinematography, Black and White—Arthur C. Miller

• Best Art Direction - Interior Decoration, Black and White—Richard Day, Nathan Juran, Thomas Little
Academy Award nominee:
• Best Supporting Actress—Sara Allgood

• Best Writing, Screenplay—Philip Dunne

• Best Sound, Recording—Edmund H. Hansen

• Best Film Editing—James B. Clark

• Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic Picture—Alfred Newman
overall:  recommended

Warrior (2011) - "The youngest son of an alcoholic former boxer returns home, where he's trained by his father for competition in a mixed martial arts tournament - a path that puts the fighter on a collision course with his estranged older brother."

source: DVD
I watched it because: it's been a while since I've seen it
IMDB: 8.1/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 84% Audience: 92%
my IMDB: 8/10

notable quote: "I forgive you—but I do not trust you."

MPAA rating: PG-13

directed by: Gavin O'Connor

my notes: bloody violent (the shoulder tearing sound!) and emotionally brutal, this is an awesome movie that gets to me, out of nowhere. Nick Nolte's performance as Paddy Conlon is fearless and devastatingly vulnerable. Kevin Dunn, as Principal Zito, is wonderful. And the two leads—Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton—are amazing. It's a long movie, though (140 min.), and one moment I thought, dang this is long! But the next minute I was into it, fully. Twice I had to stop the DVD because I was crying so hard I couldn't focus. I don't know that I want to see it again, since it breaks my heart, but sure glad I got to watch it.

Academy Award nominee: Best Supporting Actor—Nick Nolte
overall: recommended

Gandhi (1982) - "The last fifty years of the life of Mahatma Gandhi leading to his assassination in 1948 is portrayed. In the late 1800's South Africa, then Indian-British attorney Mohandas Gandhi takes up the cause of fighting what he sees as racially discriminatory laws against colored people such as himself and other ethnic Indians. Being that South Africa is part of the British Empire, he is hoping that news of such in the British press will support his cause. Although violence is used against him by the authorities, his protests are only by peaceful means. Having made a name for himself as a motivator of peaceful action which he does not want confused with passivity, Gandhi returns to India in 1915, when he has now abandoned his western clothing for more basic self-made garb of shawls and loincloths. He is asked by prominent Indian figures of the day, such as Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabhbhai Patel, and Muhammad Ali Jinnah, to join the fight for Indian independence from the British, despite some within that group believing Gandhi's methods ineffective. Because of internal religious conflicts between the Hindus and minority Muslims among others, the British believe that an Indian self-government would lead to chaos, which to Gandhi is beside the point. But Gandhi's ability to rally the troops is enough to strike fear in the British controlled authorities, who do whatever they feel they need to quash his quiet revolution while trying not to make him appear the martyr. Even if Gandhi and his cohorts are able to achieve independence for their homeland, Gandhi must figure out how to control the dissent between the Hindus and the Muslims. Among those documenting the process are American journalist Vince Walker and American photojournalist Margaret Bourke-White, both on the most part sympathetic to Gandhi's cause."

source: DVD
I watched it because: I haven't seen it since seventh grade, and it won a boatload of awards
IMDB: 8.0/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 89% Audience: 92%
my IMDB: 9/10

AFI: 100 Years…100 Cheers (2006) #29

    100 Years … 100 Heroes and Villains (2003) Hero #21

notable quote: "There are no goodbyes for us. Wherever you are, you will always be in my heart."

MPAA rating: PG

directed by: Richard Attenborough

my notes: what a marvelous, wrenching film! Surprisingly wry at times, it doesn't seem three hours long. Ben Kingsley is truly amazing, wholly embodying in the great man. I also enjoyed the performances of Ian Charleson (Charlie Andrews), Edward Fox (Gen. Dyer), and Rohini Hattangadi (Mrs. Kasturba Gandhi).

Academy Award winner:
• Best Picture—Attenborough

• Best Actor—Ben Kingsley

• Best Director—Attenborough

• Best Writing, Screenplay written directly for the screen—John Briley

• Best Cinematography—Billy Williams, Ronnie Taylor

• Best Art Direction - Set Decoration—Stuart Craig, Robert W. Laing, Michael Seirton

• Best Costume Design—John Mollo, Bhanu Athaiya (Athaiya became the first Indian-born person to win an Oscar)

• Best Film Editing—John Bloom
Academy Award nominee:
• Best Sound—Gerry Humphreys, Robin O'Donoghue, Jonathan Bates, Simon Kaye

• Best Music, Original Score—Ravi Shankar, George Fenton

• Best Makeup—Tom Smith
overall: recommended

Terror by Night (1946) - "Traveling on the overnight train from London to Edinburgh, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are accompanying Roland Carstairs and his mother. They are there to protect the famed Star of Rhodesia, a 400-plus carat diamond that Mrs Carstairs had received on her anniversary many years before. There had been an attempt to steal the diamond while in London but when young Carstairs is killed and the diamond stolen, Holmes realizes that it must be the work of the noted thief and criminal, Colonel Sebastian Moran."
source: DVD
I watched it because: Holmes is my hero
IMDB: 6.7/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 75% Audience: 64%
my IMDB: 6/10

notable quote: "To what am I indebted for this intrusion?"

MPAA rating: Approved

directed by: Roy William Neill

my notes: this is an extra-twisty one, as it was written directly for the screen and based on a conglomeration of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's works. That means that watching while doing something else (like, say, blogging) is tough. Still, it is entertaining and absolutely worth watching.

overall:  recommended

 

The Blue Max (1966) - "Lt. Bruno Stachel (George Peppard), a brash German World War I fighter pilot, is driven to shoot down 20 enemy planes, thus garnering him the Blue Max, a coveted medal. His superior, Count von Klugermann (James Mason), is aware that Bruno will stop at nothing to receive the honor, and admires his tenacity. The count's nephew, Willi (Jeremy Kemp), is Bruno's main competition for the prize, but Bruno is determined to eliminate his adversary and secure the honor for himself."

source: borrowed the DVD from my parents' collection
I watched it because: Peppard has a certain something
IMDB: 7.1/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 100% Audience: 76%
my IMDB: 6/10

notable quote: "'Chivalry? To kill a man, then make a ritual out of saluting him - that's hypocrisy. They kill me, I don't want anyone to salute.'

    'They probably won't.'"

MPAA rating: Approved

directed by: Jack Guillermin

my notes: what a strange idea for a movie in English! Glorifying German flyers...yikes. Peppard plays the arrogant, unlikable Stachel with panache and charm. Kemp—a favorite of mine—is terrific as the buttoned up real hero, Willi von Klugermann. However, Mason has one look (which isn't anything special) and Ursula Andress, as the Countess with whom everyone is [not] sleeping, is a terrible but attractive actress. This one - despite the Tomatometer - is barely worth a look.

overall: only marginally recommended

 

[the title quotation is from Warrior]