the naked city

Friday Flick:

For me the first time I watched it earlier this year, The Naked City (Netflix link here) fell short of the critical acclaim it enjoyed in 1949 or since.  I was still compelled to watch the Jules Dassin's Noir thriller again.  

I've decided that it is Barry Fitzgerald's casually natural performance as a detective that appeals to me. He definitely paved the way for characters like Columbo, just as an Irishman. He was in a lot of movies, so if you've watched a lot of old ones, you'll probably recognize him.  He's easy to like is all.  The cinematography is solid, too. I appreciated watching the black and white murder mystery plot unfold in 1948 New York City (shot entirely on location rather than in studios).  Even the litter blowing in the streets held my interest. The documentary style compliments the story, too.  

Oddly, and I guess happily, there are a few zinger moments that stood out enough to make me wonder how to develop a drinking game for the movie.  I couldn't think of a game, but I recommend watching the movie with someone else so you can share these zingers.  Maybe it just makes a good social movie.   

Watch for 

• 1) a bold outfit of plaid shorts with a matching plaid cropped top worn by a housewife character in a hideously dated scene on parenting 
• 2) an awesome melodramatic face-slapping scene with a woman (Dorothy Hart) yelling at her fiance (Howard Duff), "You're lying!" 
• 3) a super creepy scene with a pair of hairy sweaty wrestlers. The regular glimpses of NYC subways, store fronts and kids skipping rope.      

I couldn't find a proper trailer but here's a clip:

P.S. It's also freaky to think that Barry Fitzgerald was born in 1888, too.  He died in 1961.  It sounds so old.

Dirty Money

Dirty Money is a 1972 French noir starring Richard Crenna and Catherine Deneuve.  

The film is a simple heist story told mostly still and quiet - showing more than ever telling really.  I love the opening and closings (possibly an inspiration for some Michael Clayton scenes?) of the film best.  There is also a crazy old-school low-budget action sequence using model trains and helicopters.  It freaked me out at first, cause it is so obvious and distracting since I am conditioned by today's hyper-real action sequences, but they do a great job editing it, so ultimately the content drives the scene and therefore the story. Beyond that mark of age, the filmmakers (director, Jean-Pierre Melville, the actors, and all) make a lot of good decisions worth watching.

Watch Dirty Money if you can take sub-titles (or understand French) and appreciate great photography. I'm fantasizing over attempting an indie remake of the movie just to see how it might work in my own language (English) and low-budget status.

p.s. Be warned about my upcoming blog posts.  It's winter and I watch a ton more movies when in hibernation, so it might be movie after movie for a spell.