Showing posts with label Kirk Douglas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kirk Douglas. Show all posts

Monday, 23 September 2013

The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946) - ★★★★

Director: Lewis Milestone
Writers: Robert Rossen (Screenplay), John Patrick (Story), Robert Riskin
Stars: Barbara Stanwyck, Van Heflin, Lizabeth Scott, Kirk Douglas, Judith Anderson, Roman Bohnen, Janis Wilson, Darryl Hickman

I think Barbara Stanwyck is possibly the coolest actress that has ever graced the silver screen. She has played some pretty detestable women over the years, which has made me love her more than almost any other actress. In The Strange Love of Martha Ivers, we get to see some of the best acting she's ever done. Not only that, we also get to see the screen debut of Kirk Douglas, one of the coolest actors that ever lived. On top of all this, we get to see Van Heflin play one of his coolest roles. Most importantly, this is the film that showed me the tremendous talent of Lizabeth Scott, a fairly unknown actress that has all the beauty of Bacall and Garbo. These four brilliant actors and the engrossing story make this a film that leaves you wondering what's going to happen next.

Saturday, 13 April 2013

Paths of Glory (1957) - ★★★★★

Director: Stanley Kubrick
Writer: Stanley Kubrick, Calder Willingham, Jim Thompson (Screenplay). Humphrey Cobb (Novel)
Stars: Kirk Douglas, George Macready, Adolphe Menjou, Ralph Meeker, Timothy Carey

Up until this point, I have seen three perfect films. The first is Casablanca by Michael Curtiz. The second, High Noon by Fred Zinnemann. The third, Ikiru by Akira Kurosawa. I will now add Paths of Glory to this list. It's a pure masterpiece by arguably the greatest movie director of all time, Stanley Kubrick. The perfect acting, outstanding cinematography and great story made this a faultless and genius film.