Threaded Order Chronological Order
| re: Delicious | |
| Posted by: Jax 01:25 pm EDT 07/17/21 | |
| In reply to: "Involved" - MockingbirdGirl 12:46 pm EDT 07/17/21 | |
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| One of the cleverest, wittiest mysteries ever made. Dyan Cannon steals the film as Sue Mengers. A must see if you never have | |
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| Saw it when it was released | |
| Posted by: showtunetrivia 01:53 pm EDT 07/17/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Delicious - Jax 01:25 pm EDT 07/17/21 | |
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| Was recovering from foot surgery, had an enormous walking cast, and took an aisle seat so I could stick my foot out. And for two hours, I forgot how much my foot hurt. Laura |
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| re: Saw it when it was released | |
| Last Edit: shocktheatre 05:14 pm EDT 07/17/21 | |
| Posted by: shocktheatre 05:05 pm EDT 07/17/21 | |
| In reply to: Saw it when it was released - showtunetrivia 01:53 pm EDT 07/17/21 | |
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| I also saw it upon its original release and have very fond memories of it. I've never seen it since. I'm sorry I missed it on TCM. Last night they did show "Body Heat", another goodie with the FABULOUS Kathleen Turner. |
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| re: Saw it when it was released | |
| Posted by: mikem 06:36 pm EDT 07/17/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Saw it when it was released - shocktheatre 05:05 pm EDT 07/17/21 | |
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| This is really an excellent film of its genre, although its approach to the participants' secrets is extremely dated and this film could never be made today. It is rare to have an original film mystery that completely plays fair with the audience -- not that anyone is going to mull everything over and figure it out while watching but all the clues are completely laid out and are in plain sight (if you know where to look...). Most TV or film mysteries past the Golden Age are not so concerned about allowing the audience to figure out who the killer is, and they often rely on information that the audience doesn't have or don't play fair with the audience (having the murderer played in flashbacks by someone who is physically incompatible with the actual murderer, for example). The plot is extremely convoluted but that's what makes it so good IMO. When you re-watch it, you can see just how intricate it is, but also how well it all fits together. I was a huge fan of this movie before I knew that Sondheim was involved in it. I wish he had written other films. He and Perkins won the award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay from the Mystery Writers of America in 1974 for their work. On a hopefully-not-too-divergent note, does anyone have any recommendations for TV shows or films like The Last of Sheila, that completely play fair with the audience and have the whole complication-upon-complication-that-all-gets-explained-at-the-end like you would see in this movie or one like Murder on the Orient Express? The Last of Sheila and Knives Out are the only two original films or TV films or miniseries that I know of in the past 50 years that are like this. Both Murder on the Orient Express or Knives Out did extremely well at the box office, but the genre in general does not seem to attract much interest in Hollywood. |
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| re: Saw it when it was released | |
| Posted by: Robt 12:13 pm EDT 07/20/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Saw it when it was released - mikem 06:36 pm EDT 07/17/21 | |
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| Another "play fair" film that is quite clever--and with lots of theater favorites in the cast, including Christine Ebersole in a small role-- is Branagh's "Dead Again." Funny, scary, and twisty, it holds up well on a second viewing. | |
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| Life is like a train | |
| Last Edit: WaymanWong 05:05 pm EDT 07/18/21 | |
| Posted by: WaymanWong 04:54 pm EDT 07/18/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Saw it when it was released - mikem 06:36 pm EDT 07/17/21 | |
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| Speaking of ''Murder on the Orient Express,'' I love Sidney Lumet's 1974 movie adaptation, with Albert Finney as Poirot, plus Richard Rodney Bennett's stylish score. It's so much better than the 2017 remake, with Kenneth Branagh as Poirot. ... But did anyone see the 2017 stage version, adapted by Ken Ludwig? It debuted at McCarter Theatre in Princeton, N.J.; Allan Corduner played Poirot. Wasn't there talk of it going to Broadway? | |
| Link | 'Murder on the Orient Express' at the McCarter Theatre (2017 trailer) |
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| re: Saw it when it was released | |
| Posted by: dlittle 12:40 am EDT 07/18/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Saw it when it was released - mikem 06:36 pm EDT 07/17/21 | |
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| Gosford Park is a wonderful whodunnit with a stellar cast and directed by Robert Altman. It’s not the “play fair with the audience” type that you’re looking for. But it’s worth a view non-the-less. | |
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| re: Saw it when it was released | |
| Posted by: Jax 09:08 pm EDT 07/17/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Saw it when it was released - mikem 06:36 pm EDT 07/17/21 | |
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| While they don't have the type of "everyone in a room at the end" trope you may be looking for, I can recommend two thrillers from the 80s and 90s that have clever twisty plots that seem inevitable only in retrospect: MASQUERADE with Rob Lowe and Kim Catrall and MALICE with Nicole Kidman and Alec Baldwin. The less said about the plots, the better. For "everyone in a room" there is the MIRROR CRACK'D with Angela Lansbury. It's a bit heavy handed, but Elizabeth Taylor is quite good in it. Actually, with the success of KNIVES OUT and MARE OF EASTTOWN, I think whodunits are having a comeback, especially on streaming. I think BIG LITTLE LIES w. Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman started it. There's usually a nude dead body (female) in the beginning. Then one hour of community life. Then the body is discovered. The rest of the show concentrates on how the community's secrets about bound up in the killing. |
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| re: Saw it when it was released | |
| Last Edit: mikem 12:02 am EDT 07/18/21 | |
| Posted by: mikem 11:53 pm EDT 07/17/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Saw it when it was released - Jax 09:08 pm EDT 07/17/21 | |
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| Jax, these sound great -- thank you! I've read Mirror Crack'd and will have to look for the film, as well as that of Masquerade and Malice. I've read about 90% of Agatha Christie's novels, but there are still a few I haven't gotten to yet. The only Christie plays I've ever seen are The Mousetrap and And Then There Were None. Here's some interesting trivia: Christie wrote 165 short stories, but only 164 of them have been published in the UK. Christie asked that the one that tells the same story as The Mousetrap not be published until after the London run closed. (Both the short story and the play are based on an earlier radio play by Christie.) I hope to see Witness for the Prosecution at some point. I was debating whether to see it when I was in London in 2019. There is a site-specific run in an old government building that I believe is set up somewhat like a courtroom. I ended up seeing Follies and The Lehman Trilogy instead, which I think was probably the right decision. |
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| Thank you, everyone! | |
| Posted by: mikem 07:28 pm EDT 07/19/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Saw it when it was released - mikem 11:53 pm EDT 07/17/21 | |
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| Thank you to dlittle, chrismpls, Jax, showtunetrivia, Wayman, and everyone else for their great suggestions! A lot of wonderful things to explore! | |
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| re: Saw it when it was released | |
| Posted by: chrismpls 05:37 pm EDT 07/19/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Saw it when it was released - mikem 11:53 pm EDT 07/17/21 | |
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| From the same producers of the '70s "Orient Express" (albeit with a different Poirot, Peter Ustinov"), "Death on the Nile" is terrific. Maggie Smith and Angela Lansbury, in particular, are hilarious. | |
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| re: Saw it when it was released | |
| Posted by: Jax 02:37 am EDT 07/18/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Saw it when it was released - mikem 11:53 pm EDT 07/17/21 | |
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| Director Billy Wilder's 1957 version of WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION with Charles Laughton and Marlene Dietrich is a classic. You couldn't find a better version of the play and it is available on DVD and, probably, streaming. | |
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| re: Saw it when it was released | |
| Posted by: showtunetrivia 01:40 am EDT 07/18/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Saw it when it was released - mikem 11:53 pm EDT 07/17/21 | |
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| I highly recommend CURTAIN UP: AGATHA CHRISTIE, A LIFE IN THE THEATRE by Julius Green, a meticulous study of all of Christie’s plays. Laura |
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| re: Saw it when it was released | |
| Last Edit: shocktheatre 06:59 pm EDT 07/17/21 | |
| Posted by: shocktheatre 06:57 pm EDT 07/17/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Saw it when it was released - mikem 06:36 pm EDT 07/17/21 | |
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| There is something out there right now called "Werewolves Within", which has been gingerly compared to Knives Out. I have not seen Werewolves Within, but I'd like to. Knives Out was a huge hit and you'd think there would be efforts to duplicate its success (indeed, a sequel is in the works). I love this kind of movie, but it involves...screenwriting.... So I guess we have to tough it out through Space Jam 3 and Peter Rabbit 4. Did you ever see "Wetherby" with Vanessa Redgrave? It's not exactly a murder mystery, but it plays fair. Written and directed by David Hare, I believe. I remember it and I only saw it once. |
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| re: Saw it when it was released | |
| Posted by: mikem 11:36 pm EDT 07/17/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Saw it when it was released - shocktheatre 06:57 pm EDT 07/17/21 | |
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| shocktheatre, thank you for the suggestions! I'm not familiar with either Werewolves Within or Wetherby and will try to locate them. | |
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| re: Saw it when it was released | |
| Posted by: Singapore/Fling 11:07 pm EDT 07/17/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Saw it when it was released - shocktheatre 06:57 pm EDT 07/17/21 | |
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| There are multiple “Knives Out” sequels in the works at either Netflix or Amazon. | |
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