SEPTEMBER 1981, STOCKHOLM, MUNICH

Luchino Visconti: Ossessione (IT 1943) with Clara Calamai and Massimo Girotti. Visiting Münchner Filmmuseum I saw this masterpiece for the first time. I was surprised by the low contrast and the worn quality. Little did I know that that's all there is. The still looks better than the surviving film.

Sleep, My Love / Pisara myrkkyä. US 1948. D: Douglas Sirk. Fkl / Fst. A ghostly atmosphere of nightmare and distrust. Claudette Colbert, Robert Cummings, Don Ameche, George Coulouris, Raymond Burr. Hazel Brooks a comical vamp.
Imitation of Life / Suurinta elämässä. US 1958. D: Douglas Sirk. Fkl / Fh. My Sirk favourite. Lana Turner.
Magnificent Obsession / Lääkärin omatunto. US 1954. D: Douglas Sirk. Fkl / Fh. I sensed the parodic quite strongly. Rock Hudson, Jane Wyman. The bright pop colour.
Der Gang in die Nacht. DE 1920. D: F. W. Murnau. Fkl / Fh. Recently discovered, long believed lost. Memorable images: the blind painter Conrad Veidt stands in the boat that is being rowed to the coast. The blind Veidt leans on his arm, the empty canvas behind him.
A Woman's Secret / Kiinnitys elämään. US 1949. D: Nicholas Ray. Fkl / Fh. Melvyn Douglas, Maureen O'Hara. The director's touch hardly evident. Good dialogue.
The Barefoot Contessa / Paljasjalkakreivitär. US 1954. D: Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Ava Gardner. tv. On tv the excessive talk is emphasized. The Reverse Cinderella: the countess who wants to dance barefoot.
A Time to Love, a Time to Die / Rakasta tänään, huomenna... US 1958. D: Douglas Sirk. Remarque. Fkl / Fst. Not quite convincing.
Phantom / Fantom. DE 1922. D: F. W. Murnau. Fkl / Fst. Great visuals, hallucinations and delirium fits, but Alfred Abel is not interesting enough.
Captain Lightfoot / Kaikki puolestasi. US 1954. D: Douglas Sirk. Rock Hudson (Lightfoot), Jeff Morrow (Thunderbolt). Fkl / Fh. Not impressed. Irish rebel swashbucklers of the early 19th century.
Don't Look Back / Älä katso taaksesi. US 1967. D.A. Pennebaker. Bob Dylan. Fkl / Fh. Invaluable.
Pather panchali / Tien laulu. In 1955. D: Satyajit Ray. Fkl / Fh. In the middle of this I started to discover S.J.
Der brennende Acker / Palava pelto. DE 1922. D: F. W. Murnau. Long believed lost, just recently found. Fkl / Fh. Can be compared with Zvenigora and Sibiriade: the tale of the field of legends. Beneath it, oil is found.
Москва слезам не верит / Moskova ei usko kyyneliin / Moscow Does Not Believe In Tears. SU 1980. D: Vladimir Menchov. Astoria. Disappointing, a mediocre touch to an interesting subject of the three women and their fates. The saving grace: Aleksei Batalov's character, one of those accusing figures in the Soviet cinema of the age.
Dyrygent / Orkesterinjohtaja / Dirigenten / The Conductor. PL 1980. D: Andrzej Wajda. John Gielgud. Fst. Moderately good. The emigrant conductor's visit to his home country.
...
In Munich
I spent a week in a German language bath during the Oktoberfest. I lived in Schwabing and visited the Alps and Ludwig's fairy-tale castles. I spent all my money at the fabulous Filmland bookstore, buying treasures such as the complete version of Lotte H. Eisner's Murnau monograph which existed only in German.
...
Ossessione / Riivaajat. IT 1942. D: Luchino Visconti. Münchner Filmmuseum. In Italian without translation. A full print but from a worn and low contrast source. V. had the grip from the start.
Rock Around the Clock / Tunnista tuntiin. US 1956. D: Fred F. Sears. Bill Haley & His Comets. Münchner Filmmuseum. Ever worse than I had expected. The only bright thing: The Platters performing The Great Pretender and Only You. Tony Williams's tenor reaches unbelievable layers of madness.
Cameo Kirby / Kuohuvaa verta. US 1923. D: John Ford. Münchner Filmmuseum. A print in Czech. Probably not an especially good film, but could I help liking it? The style brings to mind Griffith, Sjöström, and Murnau. The tale of Mississippi, a steamboat gambler (John Gilbert). Certain scenes are very beautiful.
+ [?North of the Hudson Bay?. US 1923. D: John Ford. Münchner Filmmuseum. May I have seen fragments of this Tom Mix film written by Jules Furthman on 26 Sep 1981 in Munich?]
Im Lauf der Zeit. DE 1975. D: Wim Wenders. tv. I didn't get it this time.
Lola / Lola. DE 1981. D: R. W. Fassbinder. Marmorhalle. I wasn't moved.
The Misfits / Nicht gesellschafsfähig. tv. DF = Deutsche Fassung. [X]