Gaslight (1944)

#78 on Thrills

Hey hey now!  A blog post! What is this mysterious thing, long forgotten? I failed miserably at reaching my year goal in 2012 for the list, so I'm going to try to make up for it in 2013 by being more consistent with both my watching and my blogging. Wish me luck, faithful readers!

Lets start off the year with the psychological thriller, Gaslight.  I always find suspense, and psychological thrillers to be so much more frightening than gore and horror.  Because the things in a psychological thriller like Gaslight? could foreseeably happen. And we all know that reality is scarier than any fiction.

Gaslight tells the story of Paula, who's aunt was a famous opera singer.  The film starts after Paula's aunt is murdered, with Paula is trying to start over.  She meets and falls in love with Gregory.  They get married, and move back into the home where her aunt was murdered.  Suddenly things start to go missing.  Gregory is insisting that Paula herself is taking and losing the items, but she has no recollection of doing such things. Is it all in her mind? Or is something more sinister going on? (The answer is yes.  Something more sinister is ALWAYS going on….)

Beautiful, but crazy. Or crazy, but beautiful?

Ingrid Bergman is looking gorgeous, as usual.  I find that she always plays characters that terrible things happen to (or at least in the films I’ve seen).   She plays these tragic characters so well, though.   Bergman must have been doing something right, because she won the Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role (her first).

This film marks Angela Lansbury's film debut, as a maid. That would come full circle for her, when she became a tea pot….

Fun Facts: Gaslight was originally a play, and has a few film adaptations.  When this version came out, MGM apparently tried to destroy all the prints of the 1940 version.  Luckily, they were unsuccessful.  Gaslighting is now used as a term in clinical and research literature for psychology, the phenomenon coming from this story.

Favorite Quote:

Gregory Anton: I knew from the first moment I saw you that you were dangerous to me.

Brian Cameron: I knew from the first moment I saw you that you were dangerous to her.

Beauty and the Beast (1991)

#22 on Musicals, #34 on Passions, #7 on 10 Top 10: Animated

Yes, this is the Disney movie.   Having recently seen the 3D release of Beauty and the Beast, it is on my mind.  I was excited to see it on the big screen. That sweeping ballroom shot is spectacular on any screen, but having it be on a screen the size of a wall made it that much more impressive. 

The danger with watching a movie you loved as a kid when you are an adult is that you have a hard time being objective about whether or not the film is actually good.  Luckily, Beauty and the Beast is good no matter what. By setting it in no time in particular, it can easily translate to any day, and be relatable: Being an outcast and finding someone else who understands you.  Whether you are the bookish smart girl, or the ill-tempered beast being judged by appearance (...and your angry outbursts).

I really love the voice acting that was done in this film.  Paige O'Hara gave Belle such intelligence and heart.   Jerry Orbach as Lumiere was hilarious and I had no idea it was him until a few years ago.  Robby Benson's voice was altered with growls and roars by animals, but through that his performance as the Beast really shines through.  Richard White had the perfect mixture of smarmy arrogance in his voice for Gaston. It made my skin crawl a little bit.

The songs are so much a part of the story that it is no wonder they were able to make this into a Broadway show. These are songs that help to carry the story forward, while still being catchy, and memorable.  Unlike some musicals, where a song seems to be stuck in there just for the sake of having a song.

Beauty and the Beast is also notable because it is one of 6 animated films to make The List, that is on lists besides the 10 Top 10: Animated list. Animation and voice acting is such a huge part of the film industry. It is nice to see that AFI recognizes that just because a movie is animated, or marketed towards a younger audience, does not mean that it is not a worthwhile contribution to the film industry.

Favorite Quote:

Beast: I want to do something for her... but what?
Cogsworth: Well, there's the usual things: flowers... chocolates... promises you don't intend to keep...