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I had a cold this week but after watching Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (on the Criterion Channel) it was gone. Marilyn Monroe is a comic genius and Jane Russell is a fucking legend. A film about besties being drop-dead flawless and bringing out the best in each other, getting over and getting theirs. It is pure cinema.
Mar 23, 2024
Related Recs
Forever iconic. This movie has everything—Bette Davis, homoerotic obsession, a scene-stealing cameo from a little-known up-and-coming actress named Marilyn Monroe…
Apr 30, 2024
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A very meta film by Billy Wilder. Gloria Swanson plays Norma Desmond, a silent film star of a bygone era who has been pushed out of stardom with the rise of movies with sound.
William Holden plays Joe Gillis, a struggling screenwriter/playboy who finds himself in peculiar circumstances after his car blows a tire in the midst of being chased by some intimidating repo men and rolls right into Norma Desmond’s driveway.
Gloria Swanson is serving the kentiest of kent in her iconic role as Norma Desmond and it leaves ”not a crumb” to be swept up or whatever the kids are saying nowadays.
Gloria was a silent film actress for real reals, starring in the films of Cecil B. Demille (he is also in the movie). Like the movie, her real life silent film career was also put on pause when sound came to major motion pictures. Sunset Boulevard was considered her comeback, post silent-film era.
The film seamlessly blurred the lines between reality and fiction, and audiences perceived the film to be an actual representation of Gloria Swanson’s life. Though, in real life, Gloria Swanson was an inventress and fashion designer (article with more about this linked above) and had a thriving life post-silent film era.
The film is shot gorgeously in crisp black and white, keeps you hooked with strange and unexpected moments, sublime acting, directing, and dialogue. The film consistently wows me in every aspect, and is truly a must-see sight to behold.
Apr 28, 2024
I was so incredibly delighted by 'Jewel Robbery' that immediately after, in the span of 3 days, I have watched 4 other films starring these 2 (that being William Powell and Kay Francis) (+ 2 other 1930s comedies of a similar type [yes, I have a lot of free evenings this week lol])!
I hope that quickly conveys just how fun a watch this is! How charming the performances, how lovely the costumes, how silly the premise and how wonderfully committed the film is to it! It does exactly what it needs to and dares to do nothing else unnecessary!
If you haven't gotten into old movies I think this one might just do the trick!
If we're gonna live in a hellscape echo of the 30's we might as well marvel at the movies they made, and get a good dose of empathy for all those who watched this in the theater back then.
(S/O to the director btw, who helped people flee Germany!)
Apr 3, 2025
Top Recs from @johnsays
I believe this album has soothing properties. It's also a perfect counterbalance to the frigid cold in NYC right now.
Jan 19, 2024
A lot of which is now streaming on the Criterion Channel! RIYL unbridled emotional complexity, novelistic films about families, "genre" filmmaking by a dyed-in-the-wool New Yorker. I'd start with We Own the Night, a film I wish I could see for the first time again. If this is your first time I'm v jealous.
Jan 19, 2024
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you know you want those mochi rice nuggets and sunflower butter cups, just get them!
Jan 22, 2024