Resurfaced Short Reviews, Part III

These are Resurfaced short or quickie reviews written in 2002 or earlier. For more information, please visit this link: Resurfaced Reviews.

The Picture of Dorian Gray

Rating

Director

Albert Lewin

Screenplay

Albert Lewin (Novel: Oscar Wilde)

Length

1h 50m

Starring

George Sanders, Hurd Hatfield, Donna Reed, Angela Lansbury, Peter Lawford, Lowell Gilmore, Richard Fraser, Douglas Walton, Morton Lowry, Miles Mander, Lydia Bilbrook, Mary Forbes, Robert Greig

MPAA Rating

Not Rated

Basic Plot

A picture is painted of a man named Dorian Gray. Before the small statue of a foreign god, he makes a wish to remain eternally youthful and that his moral corruptionn and pain remain hidden, he does not realise that his prayer is answered until he takes a glance at the painting one day and it has changed and not for the better. It’s aged slightly and the signs of his corruption become more and more evident in the painting as the years pass. During this time, he remains as young and handsome as he was when the portrait was painted.

Review

In an absolutely fascinating filmre is plenty to praise. Let’s start with the performances, all were quite good with note going to a brilliantly reserved Hurd Hatfield as Dorian Gray and a wonderful Angela Lansbury who received her second Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress in this film despite only appearing for a whole of 20 – 30 minutes. Add to this a beautiful cinematography overhead light swinging violently across the room in one set of scenes that cast alternating bits of darkness and light across the room giving an eerie sense of fate. And the set design and art direction must also be mentioned. Add to that a Beautifully worked painting that truly captures the evil of a man who’s spirit and flesh are rotting away. Kudos to Henrique Medina for the paintings.

Review Written

Unknown

Sleeping Beauty

Rating

Director

Les Clark, Clyde Geronimi, Eric Larson, Wolfgang Reitherman

Screenplay

Erdman Penner, Joe Rinaldi, Winston Hibler, Bill Peet, Ted Sears, Ralph Wright, Milt Banta (Story: Charles Perrault)

Length

1h 15m

Starring

Mary Costa, Bill Shirley, Eleanor Audley, Verna Felton, Barbara Luddy, Barbara Jo Allen, Taylor Holmes, Bill Thompson

MPAA Rating

Approved

Basic Plot

Sleeping Beauty is a well-known story of a young girl, placed under an evil spell by a cruel witch, who must live out her life in the seclusion of a beggar’s hut with her three fairy godmothers who keep her safe and out of the evil Maleficent’s eye.

Review

The best of Disney’s 1950s films, Sleeping Beauty is well-crafted and surprisingly unbiased towards women, while some remains, it is overshadowed by some of Disney’s best animation of the time period. The opening sequence, with a very realistic-looking book opening to reveal a fairy tale story progresses evenly and merrily to its wonderful climax. Maleficent is still one of Disney’s best villains and the three fairy godmothers are a delight creating some of the screen’s most hilarious moments.

Review Written

Unknown

The Ten Commandments

Rating

Director

Cecil B. DeMille

Screenplay

Aeneas MacKenzie, Jesse L. Lasky Jr., Jack Gariss, Fredric M. Frank (Books: Dorothy Clarke Wilson, J.H. Ingraham, A.E. Southon)

Length

3h 40m

Starring

Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner, Anne Baxter, Edward G. Robinson, Yvonne De Carlo, Debra Paget, John Derek, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Nina Foch, Martha Scott, Judith Anderson, Vincent Price, John Caradine, Olivia Deering, Douglass Dumbrille, Frank DeKova, Henry Wilcoxon, Eduard Franz, Donald Curtis, Lawrence Dobkin, H.B. Warner, Julia Faye

MPAA Rating

Approved

Basic Plot

The Ten Commandments is based directly on a tale from the Bible, more specifically the book Exodus. Moses must lead his people from Egypt where they are being held as slaves to the promised land.

Review

Anyone who’s ever been to Sunday School or any form of Christian Church knows the story of The Ten Commandments and Moses’ struggle to free the slaves in Egypt. So, following the Ten Commandments differences in story are miniscule if present at all. Cecil B. DeMille master showman, brings to brilliant life an Epic Biblical adventure with a great cast, even the normally-wooden Charlton Heston, beautiful sets, interesting costumes and eye-catching special Effects. One of the best, if not THE best Bible-based film Ten Commandments suffers little more than the occasional insufferability of its lead.

Review Written

Unknown

Cinderella

Rating

Director

Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske

Screenplay

William Peed, Erdman Penner, Ted Sears, Winston Hibler, Homer Brightman, Harry Reeves, Kenneth Anderson, Joe Rinaldi (Story: Charles Perrault)

Length

1h 14m

Starring

Ilene Woods, Eleanor Audley, Verna Felton, Rhoda Williams, James Macdonald, Luis Van Rooten, Don Barclay, Lucille Bliss, John Fontaine, Mike Douglas, William Phipps

MPAA Rating

Approved

Basic Plot

We all know the story, Cinderella, forced to be the slave to her wicked stepmother after her father dies, she longs to marry a Prince, but cannot attend the ball because of her chores. Her pet mice help her escape the dungeon of her life with the aid of a fairy godmother and become the hit of the ball and catch the eye of the Prince.

Review

Suffering immeasurably from stereotypical female submission, Cinderella is little more than it appears, an animated film based on a male-driven plot. Today, Disney’s heroines are powerful, yet beautiful. Strong-willed, yet gentle. Cinderella is not. With a wise fairy godmother, some decent comedy and a host of standard Disney fare, Cinderella never manages to be more than the average Disney Animated film.

Review Written

Unknown

Liar Liar

Rating

Director

Tom Shadyac

Screenplay

Paul Guay, Stephen Mazur

Length

1h 26m

Starring

Jim Carrey, Maura Tierney, Justin Cooper, Cary Elwes, Anne Haney, Jennifer Tilly, Amanda Donohoe, Jason Bernard, Swoosie Kurtz, Mitchell Ryan, Chip Mayer, Eric Pierpoint

MPAA Rating

PG-13

Basic Plot

Fletcher Reede is a lawyer. His sole purpose and the one that keeps in employed is to lie. After missing one too many events with his son, Max wishes at his birthday party that for just one day, his dad couldn’t tell a lie.

Review

A Surprising film when you realise that Jim Carrey is the star. His performances are so similar that it’s hard to find a movie that he’s in that is rather good. His Ace Ventura act is getting old and is still carrying into this film. This time he actually has some quiet time in a low emotional state that gives us hope for future roles. The other performances are standard for a comedy and the plot falls along the same line. The most interesting part is some of the comedy within, it works well for the most part and doesn’t leave you bored for long. As Mrs. Doubtfire did for divorce, this film does for lawyers, except with a more annoying actor in the lead.