Andrew Sarris: "Strained Seriousness"

Watched Reisz's The Gambler yesterday for the first time in ages. Give or take the heavy-handed ending (which really has Toback's name all over it), quite good. I was surprised by Lauren Hutton--much better than those early-'70s Ali McGraw and Candice Bergen performances. Carbone from Goodfellas has a small part!

The three guys who've been most lost to history: Bryan Forbes, Sidney J. Furie, Albert Lewin. (Forbes did direct The Stepford Wives later on...saw Seance on a Wet Afternoon once and didn't care for it.)

And yet I'm voting for Lewin if only to influence people to see the Hollywood art film Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (and to avoid the disappointing, "intellectual" Saadia). Here's a book all about him but be prepared to pony up some serious cash.

went to see Pandora about 2-3 years ago, good one.

The one guy where I haven't seen anything (just checked, and he only directed seven films). I thought that might have been the case with Furie, too--born in Toronto--but forgot that Lady Sings the Blues was his.

The Picture of Dorian Gray was one of my high school favorites.

I can hear you quoting it whilst drinking pinot from your Thermos.

Lots of great choices here. I'm torn between Dassin, Frankenheimer, Schlesinger, and Sturges.

I can hear you quoting it whilst drinking pinot from your Thermos.

"Nothing can cure the senses but the soul."

http://imbibenewyork.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/ce-wine-3-e1308767719262.jpg?w=500&h=666

The weird thing about having Kubrick in this group is that The American Cinema basically covers up until 1967--that's when the yearly lists at the back of the book stop, although I think there's brief mention of 2001 in the Kubrick entry. Whatever you think of Kubrick from '68 forward, "inflate rather than expand" doesn't seem to me to be an accurate description of his earlier films. Lolita, maybe; as historical epics go, Spartacus is about as lean as coherent as it gets; and I don't think the words even remotely apply to The Killing, Paths of Glory, or Dr. Strangelove. If you're someone who agrees with the placement for 2001 and everything after, then you might want to credit Sarris with prescience. But in the context of when the book was published, it doesn't make sense to me. I'd have gone with either "The Far Side of Paradise" or "Expressive Esoterica."

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Went with Fleischer, for The Narrow Margin but could have voted for some others

went to see /Pandora/ about 2-3 years ago, good one.

Sarris had at least five minutes in that For the Love of Movies documentary, most of it devoted to Kael. Some of the time he still hadn't moved past the bitterness of his infamous obituary--repeating the story of their first meeting--but there was also some graciousness evident. At one point he credited Kael with being way ahead of him on Scorsese and De Palma.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Another scintillating poll result from movie-mad ILX.

lol

We should redo this without kubrick, just to see some interesting results...

Albert Lewin with 456 votes that's what.

http://www.nndb.com/people/975/000078741/demarest03.jpg

Not sure if I should put Andy out to pasture or carry on. Jean Negulesco and Rex Ingram do not bode well for future turnout.

Sarris nailed Negulesco. His Scope output is unwatchable.

RIP

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/21/movies/andrew-sarris-film-critic-dies-at-83.html?_r=1&smid=tw-share

Kinda hope Pauline Kael had an obit prewritten for him before she died.