tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post6495002378935828797..comments2024-03-26T05:01:57.793-07:00Comments on DREAMS ARE WHAT LE CINEMA IS FOR...: SEANCE ON A WET AFTERNOON 1964Ken Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-35975411859573874082021-12-20T18:55:57.092-08:002021-12-20T18:55:57.092-08:00Hello, Gill
Thanks so much for checking this out a...Hello, Gill<br />Thanks so much for checking this out and commenting. Kim Stanley worked so seldom in films, but the legacy of performances she left behind, big or small, are impressive. She's very shattering in this. I liked her a lot in "Frances", too.<br />Highly recommend "The Goddess." featuring a young Patty Duke. Ken Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-47404437479953162232021-12-19T12:33:50.194-08:002021-12-19T12:33:50.194-08:00Hi there, this does sound like another one to watc...Hi there, this does sound like another one to watch. Reviewed Kim Stanley in Frances recently and really was impressed. This cast does sound good and I love Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf so going to check this out.Realweegiemidget Reviewshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07112425802962283173noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-5768246702674946762020-10-11T15:50:55.157-07:002020-10-11T15:50:55.157-07:00Hey Pete
I've always liked the title, too. Gre...Hey Pete<br />I've always liked the title, too. Great observations you make about Attenborough and how his latter-career popularity overshadows some of his brilliant early work (did you ever see him in 10 RILLINGTON PLACE? That movie's so creepy I've only seen it once. Attenborough is terrific).<br />It's also wonderful to hear you waxing enthusiastically about Nannette Newman. <br />It's always interesting to hear what a first-timer thinks of a film I've now seen several times. It's illuminating to find out what aspects of the story still work, etc. From your comments, it feels as though the strength of the performances was a prominent take-away.<br />Again, impressed by the sheer number of new films you're giving a chance. Thanks for taking all of us on a little bit of your journey. Cheers, Pete!Ken Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-69497668163759206622020-10-09T18:29:49.700-07:002020-10-09T18:29:49.700-07:00Hi Ken-
This title has attracted me for years, so ...Hi Ken-<br />This title has attracted me for years, so evocative. I didn't know anything of the plot however, so I presumed it was some sort of ghost story...which in a way it is, just not in the obvious way. Luckily it is included on one of the streaming services I have access to.<br />The acting by Stanley and Attenborough is so solid. I actually feel badly for those that don't like it! (The description in one of the above comments is pretty funny.) That last monologue at the seance is quite the tour-de-force, especially after all of the "is she or isn't she" question marks that dot the rest of the performance. As commanding as Stanley is, the film rides mostly on Attenborough's shoulders though, which he does effortlessly. Now if only more than a sliver of the people who know him from Jurassic Park had any idea he was this brilliant in his earlier days...<br />And Newman has no right to be as good as she is considering the main reason she's there. Between this and Stepford, she more than acquits herself. As you say, she's the sympathetic center out of all of the characters, and she plays it just right.petlodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01271851273533301436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-52054105616298011572020-03-15T20:05:49.901-07:002020-03-15T20:05:49.901-07:00Kim Stanley was the single greatest actress of the...Kim Stanley was the single greatest actress of the 20th century, and Marlon Brando so much as said so.<br /><br />Read FEMALE BRANDO, the only full length biography ever written about her. A woman who payed a tragic price for her little-recognized genius.(As if that should be a surprise.)<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-20490989326489938562015-02-04T14:57:48.306-08:002015-02-04T14:57:48.306-08:00I like the tone of this film a great deal as well....I like the tone of this film a great deal as well. And your observations on the different approaches to horror and suspense are well taken. Some stories use humor and horror beautiful and still remain compelling and frightening; but sometimes it's great to sit through a film that is a tad restlessness in its grimness. i was quite taken with how harrowing I found "10 Rillington Place"...I just loved it, but I'm not sure I'd want to revisit it. I had to look up "The Abandoned," I've never seen it but now i'm intrigued.<br />Thanks for your thoughtful comments, and for visiting this blog!Ken Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-27832419992396917792015-01-31T11:48:02.543-08:002015-01-31T11:48:02.543-08:00This gem of a horror flick does indeed have that w...This gem of a horror flick does indeed have that wonderful heavy, deadly earnest atmosphere that seems to be a lost craft these days. Not that horror that uses humor or high adrenaline/visual shocks can never work (Rosemary's Baby, the Abandoned), but nothing can top the slow unrelenting creep of this kind of film. Also did Magic and 10 Rillington Place. No comic relief or anything to pull you out of the weirdness - creates a true alternate reality with a long creepy after glow. So so serious and so good.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-29886297321321548112014-08-27T07:24:25.059-07:002014-08-27T07:24:25.059-07:00Hi GOM
That is the most hilarious description of S...Hi GOM<br />That is the most hilarious description of Stanley's acting style I've ever read! I'm in the other camp, but I can't help but admire how close to home that delineation really is! <br />And yes, I am with you on Attenborough's performance. His eyes in this are amazing, and their contrasting noisy/quiet styles perfectly set off the strange, co-dependent relationship of their characters. <br />It's funny, I don't know if this is on DVD or not. If it isn't, it should be. Such a wonderful film,<br />Thanks for commenting!Ken Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-22463359662235124682014-08-26T10:42:15.527-07:002014-08-26T10:42:15.527-07:00I saw this film many years ago and unfortunately h...I saw this film many years ago and unfortunately haven't been able to view it since. But even after all this time, I vividly remember Richard Attenborough's performance. I know that Kim Stanley received all the accolades, although I've always found her mannered and too much in the I-Am-Acting-Here-Dammit! mode for my tastes (it's that kind of method acting in which the actor creates the character and then steps aside and points out to you how he's done it while he performs). It was Attenborough who impressed me; I never had a sense of the actor behind the character he's creating, but only of the helpless, complex man in the story. Attenborough was so quiet and self-contained, but the way he used his eyes, and his reserved, yet tense presence, was what stood out for me. He took a tawdry character and made him touching and sympathetic, especially how he conveyed his love for his deranged wife and his complicated knowledge of the wrongness of his actions. I do hope this film soon gets the DVD treatment it deserves, if it hasn't already.Grand Old Movieshttp://grandoldmovies.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-9593722505818250292012-10-17T13:37:51.735-07:002012-10-17T13:37:51.735-07:00Hi Ava
I love your comment about Attenborough look...Hi Ava<br />I love your comment about Attenborough looking like an Edward Gorey illustration! What a perfectly succinct a description! However, I had no idea about his familial loss in 2004. That is sad news, indeed.<br />Thanks for sharing your impressions of the film, and I agree, the time it devotes to character development in instrumental in its being so distinctive. <br />As per the film's ending, I am sure you heard it right. I was just referencing the many online reviews I read that claimed the kidnapped girl had been killed by the couple when Myra's final trance reveals that not to be the case. <br />Thanks very much for stopping by, Ava!Ken Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-11718397201235797092012-10-17T10:11:04.979-07:002012-10-17T10:11:04.979-07:00I first saw this on TV when I was living in Austra...I first saw this on TV when I was living in Australia. I couldn't ever forget it, it haunted me. When I moved back to the U.S., I despaired of ever seeing it again, as no one I knew ever heard of it. Eventually it came to Netflix and TCM, and I was able to spread the word. This movie has it all. Most importantly, it has character development, something not very well done these days.I can't improve upon anything written here, but I have a question for Ken: I thought I knew what was said at the end, but now I doubt myself. Can you clue us in?<br /><br />As a final note, Richard Attenborough (who always reminded me of an Edward Gorey illustration, never more so than in this film)lost his daughter and granddaughter in the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami. Tragic.Avanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-66238503499043002472012-09-05T12:15:43.714-07:002012-09-05T12:15:43.714-07:00I must confess, I only noticed the other articles ...I must confess, I only noticed the other articles in the newspaper AFTER watching the movie and looking at the still image in your review above; I DID mean to look at the other articles as I was watching the movie, because this is something I love doing, but by the time I was about to look at the various other headings, the movie skipped to the next shot, and I didn't want to rewind the DVD and interrupt the flow of the movie. But yes, 9 times out of 10, this would be something I'd notice. Had I watched this on the big screen, I would've got it straight away, because these things tend to leap out at you at the cinema.<br /><br />Bogus newspapers in movies are always fun. I often wonder if they print an entire page, or simply doctor a pre-existing newspaper. Once I attended a Stanley Kubrick exhibition and one of the best things on display was the newspaper shown near the end of "A Clockwork Orange". As far as I recall, I do believe it was a real newspaper of some type, with the bogus article about Alexander.<br /><br />"Le Samourai" is great; it has a wonderfully paranoid, suspenseful subway sequence that I thought about as watching the subway scene in "Seance on a Wet Afternoon". Mark Vanselownoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-11742379577638727832012-09-04T05:42:08.425-07:002012-09-04T05:42:08.425-07:00Hi Mark
You know, years before I ever saw the film...Hi Mark<br />You know, years before I ever saw the film, I too loved the title "Seance on a Wet Afternoon." If I were a writer and came up with that as the title of my novel, I'd be so pleased with myself I'd probably give myself writer's block. I'm glad you pointed that out. Also, glad you got around to seeing this. You put a pretty weighty situation on my shoulders when you say a you've been inspired to seek out a film based on what you've read here. I hope I never lead you too far astray.<br /><br />This film is really something. I just was blown away by it. Glad you liked it.<br /><br />I've never seen nor heard of "Le Samourai" before you mentioned it, but I looked it up and it sounds right up my alley.<br /><br />Lastly, that was an excellent, one-of-a-kind observation you made about the newspaper and that somewhat ironic article I never would have noticed.You should be proud...you've got the eagle eyes and unique perspective of a film critic! Ken Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-6869099613937636752012-09-03T21:22:43.061-07:002012-09-03T21:22:43.061-07:00"Seance on a Wet Afternoon" is one of th..."Seance on a Wet Afternoon" is one of those great titles for a film--I had been long familiar with the film "by name" but not "by experience". Here in Australia, I'm guessing that the film is pretty well-known (at least by name) by people from its generation. <br /><br />I've just taken a look at this one; again, they don't make them like this anymore. The scene in the subway was especially engaging; have you seen "Le Samourai"? <br /><br />The night before, I watched "The Goddess". What can I say? Nobody portrays a nervous breakdown like Kim Stanley! As for Nanette Newman: well, my belief is that if you wish to cast someone "near and dear" to you in a film and they can play the role, why not? I think she's very good in this and wonderfully cinemagenic.<br /><br />One of my favourite things to do when watching films, whenever they show a close-up of a newspaper with an article pertinent to the storyline, is to look for the surrounding articles. I'm glad there's a still from the movie posted above, because just to the left of the kidnapping story, there's a column about a golfer who hits a hole-in-one for 10,000 quid. Some people, such as the Savages, go to elaborate (not to mention positively evil) lengths for fame and fortune; for others, it's not so complicated.<br /><br />Thank you, Ken, for reviewing this film and for your recommendation.Mark Vanselownoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-48811260596737855252012-07-07T10:46:44.340-07:002012-07-07T10:46:44.340-07:00Wow! I didn't know it was already on DVD! And....Wow! I didn't know it was already on DVD! And...ad everything falls into place...I found out that they have it at Netflix, so it's on my queue. It's almost as if spiritual intervention was involved!<br />Thanks for bringing this to my attention, Poseidon!Ken Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-29237660935024482102012-07-07T06:34:33.895-07:002012-07-07T06:34:33.895-07:00Your wish is my command! (But I suggest renting i...Your wish is my command! (But I suggest renting it, if possible, over buying it.)<br /><br />http://www.amazon.com/Cat-Hot-Roof-Jessica-Lange/dp/6305081905/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_topPoseidon3https://www.blogger.com/profile/10465785002285422594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-59744320194461289332012-07-06T13:08:18.788-07:002012-07-06T13:08:18.788-07:00Hi Poseidon
Nanette Newman is actually very good i...Hi Poseidon<br />Nanette Newman is actually very good in this film. I think the nepostism thing always hints that a person is otherwise unqualified, but like with Tim Burton and Helena Bonham Carter (not married but nepotismn once removed), it's often just a recognition of a underused talent. Nanette provides the one human, sympathetic contrast. Her beauty and composure and well as how she demonstrates how deeply she is affected by the kidnapping is actually the human thread that ratchets up the suspense a great deal. (And I too loved her in "The Stepford Wives")<br />I never saw the TV production of "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" you mention, but I love that cast! Maybe it'll appear on DVD one day. Thanks as always, Poseidon for saying hello and taking the time to comment!Ken Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-84581073399541380722012-07-06T13:02:14.753-07:002012-07-06T13:02:14.753-07:00It is a rare movie today that becomes one of my la...It is a rare movie today that becomes one of my lasting, re-watchable favorites, but this one certainly has. And as I said, given how much it involves so many of the things I enjoy (complex female protagonist, mood, character-driven narrative) I'm so surprised in all my years how this film escaped me. (Richard Lester's "Petulia" joins these ranks). Interesting point you make about the changing climate of British films reflecting the changing times, at least in regard to dark crime dramas. I've seen "the Krays" and "Dance with a Stranger", but Iunfamiliar with some of those other infamous criminals you mentioned. Off to Google... Thanks so much, Mark! I owe you one for this film. It's fantastic.Ken Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-12676700746156008522012-07-06T05:03:03.867-07:002012-07-06T05:03:03.867-07:00Did you dislike Nanette in the film? It's bee...Did you dislike Nanette in the film? It's been too long since I've seen it to recall what I thought of her myself, but I certainly never forgot her hilarious turn in Stepford Wives. Family connections or not, I thought she did pretty well in that. Kim Stanley, as you say, always seemed to take great advantage of the few film opportunities that came her way. I think I first saw her in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof as Big Mama (with Rip Torn, Tommy Lee Jones and an endlessly languid Jessica Lange.)Poseidon3https://www.blogger.com/profile/10465785002285422594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-88084320003300661652012-07-06T02:56:16.009-07:002012-07-06T02:56:16.009-07:00I am so glad you enjoyed it!
I have a thing for t...I am so glad you enjoyed it!<br /><br />I have a thing for these kind of gloomy, psychological noirish crime movies that my country turned out in the early 60s (with the previous decades shadow still hanging heavy over them) Of course they also tap in, whether intentionally or not, to a closing chapter in British history too-capital punishment, and from this era the names of Ruth Ellis (whose story was made in the 80s as Dance With A Stranger) Derek Bentley (Let Him Have It from the early 90s) Timothy Evans and John Christie (later explored with Attenborough as you say in 10 Rillington Place) still ring out today, as do those who escaped such punishment (and the argument whether they really should have) the truly evil Myra Hindley and Ian Brady.Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14569732807130090838noreply@blogger.com