#1972 films

[cressida-jayoungr]

One Dress a Day Challenge

November: Grey Redux

The Millionairess / Maggie Smith as Epifania Ognisanti di Parerga

Maggie Smith is the ultimate in 1930s chic in head-to-toe grey with extravagant furs on top of a fur-trimmed cape. She even has grey hose, shoes, gloves, and purse. A side-of-the-head hat with a filmy veil and flower-shaped metallic ornament finishes off the outfit.

The Millionairess was presented as a BBC Play of the Month in 1972. The costume designer was Rita Reekie, who worked on many BBC shows from the 1960s to the 1990s.

[callmebrycelee]

Man Crush Monday Ben Affleck

In the entire time I’ve been selecting Man Crush Mondays, I don’t think this week’s MCM has ever come up — but today, he’s finally getting his moment. Without further ado, my Man Crush Monday of the week is none other than Ben Affleck.

Actor and filmmaker, Ben was born August 15, 1972, in Berkeley, California. His first acting role came in 1981 when he played Tommy in The Dark End of the Street. Since then, he has built one of the most recognizable careers in Hollywood, appearing in School Ties, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dazed and Confused, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Good Will Hunting, Armageddon, Shakespeare in Love, Dogma, Boiler Room, Reindeer Games, Pearl Harbor, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, The Sum of All Fears, Daredevil, Elektra, Clerks II, Argo, The Accountant, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Justice League, Deep Water, Air, The Flash, and The Accountant 2.

Ben’s trophy shelf is stacked. He has won two Academy Awards — Best Original Screenplay for Good Will Hunting and Best Picture for Argo. He’s earned two BAFTAs for Argo (Best Film and Best Direction) and three Golden Globe Awards — Best Screenplay for Good Will Hunting, Best Motion Picture – Drama for Argo, and Best Director for Argo.

Ben is 53, six‑foot‑three, and a Leo.

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[cressida-jayoungr]

One Dress a Week Challenge

October: Yellow

Lady Sings the Blues / Diana Ross as Billie Holiday

Another Billie Holiday biopic, another yellow dress! This one is a great recreation of 1930s fashion in all its ruffly, bow-bedecked glory, complete with matching hat. Interestingly, the pattern on the material shows up better in black and white than it does in color.

One touch that I really like about the accessories is that that her necklace, earrings, and bracelet, while they harmonize just fine, are clearly all acquired separately. This makes sense, since Billie is just starting out at this point and doesn't have much.

Trivia: This outfit (sketch below left) may have been based on a 1936 painting by Reginald Marsh (below right).

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[adamwatchesmovies]

A Clockwork Orange (1972)

A Clockwork Orange is unpleasant. It’s a violent, disturbing, and shocking film. It is impossible to leave unaffected by its content, and the story it tells leaves a lasting impression. You'd have to be a little demented to call it your favorite movie but it's so well made and so instantly iconic it demands to be seen.

In a futuristic London, Alex (Malcolm McDowell) is a teenage delinquent whose pastimes include assault, Beethoven’s symphonies, and rape. After an evening of “ultra-violence” goes awry, he is abandoned by his gang of droogs and captured by the authorities. The film chronicles the government’s attempt to rehabilitate him.

How much you will hate Alex cannot be understated. No one could actually sympathize with the morally bankrupt Alex, not after witnessing him terrorize the innocents who cross paths with him and having a grand time doing so, but director Stanley Kubrick makes you understand what he’s about in a fascinating way. He may be psychotic and a plague upon mankind, but he’s got a dangerous kind of charisma. There’s undeniable intelligence motivating his actions. You can't look away.

While watching A Clockwork Orange, you always keep an eye on yourself. You don’t want to like Alex. You don’t want ANYONE to sympathize or do anything less than inflict pain upon the young man. It would be easy to maintain that loathing if it weren't for Malcolm McDowell’s performance. He always threatens to make you forget what you want to feel. He lures you in. His slang-laden language and the way he rationalizes his behavior are entrancing. There’s something about someone this evil that's compelling.

A Clockwork Orange stirs complex emotions within its audience, particularly once Alex begins undergoing rehabilitation. If what Alex undergoes were done to a normal person, it’d be easy to call it horrific. When it's done to him, you don’t know how to feel. Should I relish in the torture he undergoes? Should I be the bigger person and hope the treatment works so he can live peacefully with the people that would’ve been his victims? If some of the "weirdness for weirdness' sake" lost you a bit in the beginning, this moral dilemma will grab you and make you forget about any gripes you had before. You kind of don’t want him to be cured so you can continue to hate Alex. You worry that you won’t be able to set your feelings aside, to accept his rehabilitation if the treatment he goes through is successful.

It’s all stylishly handled by Stanley Kubrick, who adapts Anthony Burgess' novel with a screenplay that (in this viewer’s opinion) improves upon the original material. Though difficult to watch, for the storm of emotions it generates, for the immortal performance by McDowell, and the unforgettable image it contains, A Clockwork Orange is an absolute must-see. (On DVD, May 19, 2017)