Classic Movie Picks: June 2014

by Lani

Each month, I scour the Turner Classic Movies schedule for upcoming films that I can't miss. The highlights are posted here for your reading and viewing pleasure! (All listed times are Eastern Standard, check your local listings or TCM.com for actual air times in your area. Each day's schedule begins at 6:00 a.m.; if a film airs between midnight and 6 a.m. it is listed on the previous day's programming schedule.)

Posting a bit late this month due to a much needed vacation; however, this month is packed with interesting films, particularly ones with French roots, starting tonight with...

6/8, 4 AM - Orpheus (1949)
Many artists have been inspired by the Greek myth of Orpheus, a musician who travels to the underworld to retrieve his dead wife Eurydice; Orpheus is able to win her freedom on the condition that he not look back as the two return to the world of mortals (if you think he doesn't look back, then you may not want to hear the story of Lot and his wife, either). French director Jean Cocteau moves the story to post-WWII France and casts Orpheus as a successful poet disdained by the Left Bank intellectuals. Despite the magical elements of the story, Cocteau wanted the film to have a directness, so that what appeared on screen felt real and not like sets & special effects. Scenes of the journey to the underworld take place among the eerie ruins of Saint-Cyr military school, which had been destroyed during the war. Only practical effects were used, no camera tricks -- so, for example, when Orpheus reaches through a mirror which turns to liquid, the actor is actually sticking his hands into a pool of mercury. Cocteau's films are always visually stunning and surprising; they truly epitomize the idea of "movie magic."

BONUS PICK: 6/8, 2 AM - Black Orpheus (1959)
This adaptation of the Orpheus & Eurydice myth takes place in the favelas of Rio during Carnaval. The striking images and exuberant music are sure to make an impression. The film's originality and unexpected setting has made it a favorite among film lovers and critics.

6/15, 2 AM - Purple Noon (1960)
I am a fan of Anthony Minghella's The Talented Mr. Ripley and ever since that film came out in 1999, I've wanted to see the earlier French adaptation of the same Patricia Highsmith story. In Purple Noon, Alain Delon plays Tom Ripley, the resourceful mimic and forger who becomes obsessed with his callow playboy friend. Highsmith's stories prove that sometimes villains can be more compelling than heroes.

6/18: Directed by Rene Clair
8 PM - Under the Roofs of Paris (1930)
9:45 PM - July 14th (1933)
11:30 PM - A Nous la Liberte (1931)
1 AM - Le Million (1931)
2:30 AM - The Grand Maneuver (1955)
Rene Clair is considered France's first great comedy director, known for strong visuals and impish wit. His work was a source of inspiration for such greats as Charlie Chaplin and the Marx Brothers. His French-language films of the 1930s, four of which are showing tonight, are from what's considered his most creatively successful period. Though he was initially wary of incorporating sound into film, he was able to introduce sound without losing the sophisticated visual language developed during the silent era. Later, Clair also found success in Hollywood in the 40s with films like I Married a Witch starring Fredric March and Veronica Lake. 1955's The Grand Maneuver was his first film in color and one of his last films. As the New Wave began to dominate the French film scene, Clair's more traditional style of movie making fell out of fashion among critics. However, with the advantage of hindsight, Clair's achievements and influence are recognized today.

BONUS PICK: 6/18, 4:30 AM - Gigi (1949)
Most classic movie fans are familiar with the 1958 musical version of Gigi, based on a short story by French author Colette about a teenage courtesan-in-training in trun of the century Paris. However, this 1948 French romantic comedy was the first film version of that story and it remains truer to the source material than the later Hollywood film. Explicit mentions of Gigi's intention of becoming a rich man's mistress, as well as the fact that the women in her family never married, were too scandalous to pass the American Production Code.

6/22: Blue, White, and Red
2 AM - Blue (1993)
3:45 AM - White (1993)
5:30 AM - Red (1994)
Polish Director Krzysztof Kieslowski's Three Colors Trilogy was shot over a period of nine months in France and hailed as a masterpiece almost immediately following its release; each of the films received international accolades on their own. Each film tells stories of very personal connections, set against a backdrop of the political changes affecting Europe at the end of the Cold War. 
In Blue, the tragedy of the group, Juliette Binoche plays Julie, a woman grappling with the grief of losing her husband and child in a car accident. Her husband, Patrice, was a composer whose final concerto was written to celebrate the unification of Europe. As Patrice's assistant struggles to finish the concerto, Julie learns of secrets in her husband's past.
White is a black comedy about a Polish hairdresser living in Paris who decides to return to Poland after his French wife, played by Julie Delpy, leaves him. He finds his homeland in transition from communism to democracy and shrewdly begins to grab any opportunity to get ahead. After transforming to a savvy businessman from his pitiful and penniless former self, he becomes determined to win back his wife.
Red depicts an unlikely friendship between a young model, played by Irene Jacob, and a retired judge, played by Jean-Louis Trintignant. The judge eavesdrops on his neighbors in an attempt to sort out their messy lives; however, the ultimate message of the film is that life, and love, cannot be controlled.

6/30, 2 AM - $ [a.k.a. Dollars] (1971)
I am always interested in a heist movie; watching them is a bit like eating a midnight snack -- just as when you sneak down to the kitchen for a treat, there's an illicit pleasure to be had in watching the crime unfold. I've never seen this movie starring Warren Beatty and Goldie Hawn as would-be bank robbers; however, a daring caper in a far-flung locale (this time Hamburg, Germany) should make for a light, but tasty late night snack. (And I had to pick something without subtitles this month!)