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dhitman
Reviews
Prince of Foxes (1949)
Underrated classic with outstanding cast and acting
My opinion is that Prince of Foxes could have been as popular as Captain From Castile if it would have been produced in color. The actors were wonderful and Everet Sloan as Belli was perfect. Could there be a better Cesare Borgia than Orson Welles playing everyone against everyone else? The locations and background shots added to the authenticity of the era and personalities portrayed. The shots within the hall with the tapestries on the walls were lost in the black and white production. This movie stoked my interest in Italian history of the Borgia period and Italian history in general.
It is a classic story of Italy buried by cheap producers. I wonder how it would look colorized?
The Counterfeit Traitor (1962)
A wonderful World War Two story
The picture captures the true feeling of the war and the heroic attempt of a few people to contribute to the destruction of a dictatorship.
The line " you can read about a hundred atrocities, hear about a thousand, but you only have to see one" will always stay with me.
I wonder why Eric Erickson has not been mentioned in history as a hero of World War Two? He was very similar to Oscar Shindler. I would hope that the real story of Eric Erickson is told some day.
Lilli Palmer was wonderful and injected the reality of the war inside Germany throughout the picture. She was the most believable of all the characters. The scenes in the prison and her character's death were very realistic and left you with how helpless they were under the Nazi regime.
Next to " The Bridge On The River Kwai" this is William Holden's best picture.
The Aviator (2004)
A miscast lead role
I think Leonard DiCaprio was the wrong choice for this role. George Clooney or Richard Gere would have brought more power to the role.
Howard Hughes was a larger than life man, with a bit of the devil in him, the only good scene for DiCaprio was before the Senate.
I also think the movie spent too much time on his cleanliness fetish and not enough on his accomplishments.
I thought Cate Blanchett and others were superb in a supporting role, the movie is a little too long.
Martin Scorsese did a pretty fair job, but at times the pace was too slow and disconnected. I do think that a change in the leading role could have helped the picture at the Oscars.
Twelve O'Clock High (1949)
Great teaching tool for management and leadership
After seeing this movie a number of times, it occured to me that a classic example of leadership and management style was portrayed in this movie. It is one of a few movies that I wished I could play in as an actor. I thought the humor and intensity were life like. When Dean Jagger says " I was hoping the General would not go into this right now, I think I am suffering from battle fatigue" is classic humor in a serious movie.