terencebells

How mysterious certain films can be. They become addictive. I've seen Lebowski at least a dozen time and most of the times by accident. It was on TV or a friend is watching it and it is enough to catch a glimpse to be hooked, completely hooked. Last night I saw it on purpose with a couple of friends and I think I'm stating to realize what is it - A unique combination of talents all looking in the same direction --- The Coen Brothers are, probably, the only ones who know what they are seeing and the rest just trust their vision. Totally. Jeff Bridges is miraculous. His character is unique, never seen and at the same times is all of Bridges characters put together. I love him in this part and I love the Coen brothers for writing it knowing, I'm sure, that Bridges was going to give it that real, totally real surreal kind of life. Philip Seymour Hoffman, comes in to do what he does best, being memorable and then, of course, John Tarturro, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, delicious, each one of them - I'm pretty sure The Big Lebowski will be around for centuries and it will always have something to say even if we don't know exactly what.

I knew I had seen it, I had a black and white James Wong Howe Cinemascope memory and Paul Newman's body language. How he walks, how he stands. I remember thinking that Jake Gyllenhaal had borrowed that physicality for his character in "Brokeback Mountain" and I just realized that Larry McMurtry is the author of both "Brokeback Mountain" and "Hud". He provides us with a look into the modern cowboy that is not only unique but mesmerizing. Paul Newman's Hud is a cad and yet you feel we sense that behind the bravado hides a desperate man looking for something. Something personal and unspoken. Hud is one of my favorite Newman performances. Soulless and yet needy. Is it a coincidence that the only woman that"got away" from Hud is named Alma? - Alma in Spanish means soul - Alma is played by Patricia Neal with power and humanity and she won the Oscar for it. Melvyn Douglas also won the Oscar for his superb performance and Brandon de Wilde deserved one of his own. He is extraordinary. Hud has become an important film in my life and in future viewings in years to come I may discover why.

Ryan Murphy's series "Feud" in which Jessica Lange and Susan Sarandon play Joan Crawford and Bette Davis at the time of Baby Jane and beyond. I got so engrossed the series that I had to see What Ever Happened To Baby Jane again. Wow! Now, it all feels slightly different, less campy more poignant. Joan Crawford as played by Jessica Lange - the best performance by an actress in many, many years - is a totally recognizable person, crazy or not. When George Cukor tries to convince Joan not to be so vindictive "you're better than this Joan" to what Crawford/Lange replies: "No George, I'm not" Fantastic! Like another user already mention, I agree What Ever Happened To Baby Jane and Feud will be feeding each other keeping each other alive for generations to come.