Buscemi Now?

"It's simple for everybody else. You give them a Big Mac and a pair of Nikes and they're happy. I just can't relate to 99% of humanity."
- Seymour (Steve Buscemi) GHOST WORLD (Dir. Terry Zwigoff, 2001) 



I'm right there with you Seymour. Everybody I know - every fellow film fanatic, co-worker, and passerby on the street (yes, I've polled people) loves Steve Buscemi. I've never heard a hating word from anyone about the hero of indie cinema who right after 9/11 donned his old fireman gear and put in weeks of 12 hour days to sift through the rubble at Ground Zero. Every time out - whether it is in his run through the classic Coen brothers canon, scene stealing turns in Quentin Tarentino flicks, and, my personal favorite, the above quoted GHOST WORLD he pulls off the enviable task of being extremely creepy yet incredibly lovable at the same time. 



So why is it that his last 2 films, both critically acclaimed, did not get wider releases and are virtually unknown by those same fellow film fanatics, co-workers, and passerbys? Neither INTERVIEW (which he directed) nor DELIRIOUS came anywhere close to a theater near me. In fact apart from his brief but brilliant appearance in PARIS, JE T'AIME (again with the Coen bros.) his most visible showing at the multiplex in recent years was the voicing of Templeton the Rat in the live action remake of CHARLOTTE'S WEB!

INTERVIEW, Buscemi's 4th film as director (the others - TREES LOUNGE, ANIMAL FACTORY, and LONESOME JIM) was just released on DVD but unfortunately I'm going to have to wait til March to see DELIRIOUS. That's a shame because after reading director Tom DiCillo's frustrated email to Roger Ebert in which he says "I’m kind of struggling on my own to make sense of how a film I put my soul into, that Buscemi put his soul into, a film that generated such strong, positive reviews, had no life in the market" (you can read more here on DiCillio's blog) - 



I'm really dying to see it. However I am happy to have just viewed INTERVIEW which I'm also happy to review:





INTERVIEW (Dir. Steve Buscemi, 2007)
This remake of the 2003 Dutch film by Theo van Gogh (1957-2004) is an engrossing vehicle for the acting directing Buscemi. The sweet rub here is that his cynical political journalist (for the fictional Newsworld) character Pierre Peders is in danger of being seriously one-upped by his assigned subject Sienna Miller as Katya, a complicated and possibly deranged B-movie/TV show star. 



Apart from the waiter and a few restaurant patrons and some voices on cell phones this is a two person show. It is essentially a stage play, being that it appears to happen in real time and takes place mainly in one location - Miller's opulent and over-sized loft.

"Why do you choose only the most commercial crap that's out there?" Buscemi attacks. Miller counters "I enjoy entertaining millions upon millions of people." She goes further - "How big is your readership?" He smugly replies "Oh, you know, I have dozens of readers." 



With that only being the icing on the acidic exchange cake we follow these two through a series of mind games and mood swings and never lose interest in either character. Both are deluded and seem to base their existence on their ability to bullshit more articulately than most people to the point that their careers hinge on it. Their tortured talk is never tedious and feels almost all too natural so if you get past the initial cringe factor INTERVIEW is well worth your time. 



So since I have to wait to see DELIRIOUS I thought it would be fun to recount: 



5 Classic Steve Buscemi Characters:


1. Seymour - GHOST WORLD (Dir. Terry Zwiggoff, 2001) "I couldn't imagine you'd have any interest in me except as an amusingly cranky eccentric curiosity" he tells Enid (Thora Birch) but there's a lot more to him than he lets on. This old jazz record collecting, Cook's Chicken archiving, and desperate personal ad declaring dude may be a "dork" as Rebecca (Scarlett Johansson) calls him but he's our dork. Buscemi is at the top of his game here and there's a nice bonus after the end credits - there's a reversal of fortunes of sorts. A scene in which Seymour has his ass kicked in the convenience store is replayed but this time he kicks ass and even yells "Motherfuckers! Fuck with me?"




2. Mr. Pink - RESERVOIR DOGS (Dir. Quentin Tarentino, 1992) This is the role that turned the world on to the beauty of Buscemi. As the smartest of a crew of jewelry store thieves (though that's not saying much), Buscemi had the most memorable dialogue ("I don't tip because society says I have to") and the most entertaining 'tude. His reaction to the name his character is given is also cemented in cineste's psyches - "'Mr. Pink' sounds like 'Mr. Pussy'. Tell you what, let me be Mr. Purple. That sounds good to me. I'm Mr. Purple."






3. Carl Showalter - FARGO (Dir. Joel Coen, 1996) Another thief but this time far from smart, Carl is constantly described throughout this stone cold classic as "kinda funny lookin'". Nothing ever seems to go right for the guy - he's beaten up, shot in the face, and finally wood chipper fodder but every time I see this film I cherish Carl's crisises more and more. When he angrily says to a airport lot attendent "You know these are the limits of your life man" I feel the Carl that is within us all smile.




4. Donny, Who Loved Bowling * - THE BIG LEBOWSKI (Dir. Joel Coen, 1998) Yes another Coen bros. outting but one I couldn't leave off the list. Theodore Donald Kerabatsos (betcha didn't know his full name) is probably the stupidest character Buscemi has ever played - he never seems to follow what the Dude (Jeff Bridges) or Walter (John Goodman) are talking about, always weighing in way too late with comments like "His name's Lebowski? That's your name, Dude!" Still, talk about a lovable lug! Like his other Coen Brothers parts Donny doesn't live to see the end credits. Semi-narrator The Stranger (Sam Elliot) breaks the 4th wall and says to us at the end of the tale - "I didn't like seeing Donny go". I didn't either.

* I call him such because it's not just the way Walter eulogized him - it's also the name of a electronica band from Austin, Texas.




5. Tony Blundetto - The Sopranos (1999-2007) It was sweet that Buscemi came aboard the HBO powerhouse as a major player in the 5th season. He played Tony Soprano's (James Gandofini) just released from prison cousin Tony B. At first he tries to go legit as a licensed massage therapist but gets pulled back in to the mafia underworld. Seething with rage but still armed with cutting oneliners - this was primo Buscemi and that he directed 4 episodes of the series was pretty sweet too.





Okay, that's my fave Buscemi five - if you have prefered other characters of his (perhaps Nick Reve in LIVING IN OBLIVION, Rex in AIRHEADS, or even Rockhound in ARMAGEDDON maybe?) then send 'em on!

Also it used to be said that somebody has only truly made it if they were on the cover of Rolling Stone or if they hosted Saturday Night Live, these days I think it's if you've appeared on The Simpsons which Buscemi has twice - first as himself in a typical celebrity cameo and second as Dwight, a bank robber who Marge tries in vain to help.

Okay! I'm all Buscemi-ed out now. As Carl said in FARGO "that was a geyser!"





More later...

"Yippie-kye-ay, Mister Falcon!" And Other EDITED FOR TV favorites

"This town is like a great big chicken just waitin' to get plucked.”
- Tony Montana (Al Pacino) from the edited for television edit of SCARFACE (1983) * (If you need to know the original line email the address below)



Usually I avoid when movies are shown on broadcast television because they're edited-for-time full-screen versions - I mean it's almost like they don't count. But sometimes when I come upon a movie I like when changing channels I've found they are sometimes worth watching for the re-dubbing of profane lines.




SCARFACE above, and THE EXORCIST are famous for their creative hilarious for-all-audiences re-toolings. Not content to just use 'freak' or 'freaking' the censors picked every other f-word (frozen, fruitful, foolish, etc.) in the dictionary to cover all the 'fucks' in a recent airing of FARGO. It's quite a different movie when you see Steve Buscemi yelling "you foolish people!" after being shot in the face you know?

These are some other funny examples:



THE BIG LEBOWSKI (1998)

Original line : "You see what happens Larry, when you fuck a stranger in the ass?"
- Walter (John Goodman)

Edited line : “You see what happens Larry when you find a stranger in the Alps?”

Also :

"This is what happens when you pump a stranger's gas!" and “What the frog?” – Barry (Jack Black)  

HIGH FIDELITY (2000)






THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY (1998)

“Froggin’ ashpole”
- Ted (Ben Stiller) to Pat (Matt Dillon)



PLATOON (1986)

“Come on maggot farmer, move!”
- Pvt. Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen)



SCARFACE (1983)

Original Line: "How'd you get that scar? Eating pussy?"
- Immigration Officer (Garnett Smith)

Edited Line: “how’d you get that scar? Eating Pineapple?” (also “pudding”)




THE USUAL SUSPECTS (1995)

Original Line: : "Hand me the keys you fucking cock sucker"
- spoken by all 5 suspects (Kevin Pollack, Stephen Baldwin, Benicio Del Toro, Gabriel Byrne, and Kevin Spacey) in the police line up.

Edited Line: "Hand me the keys you fairy godmother."




DIE HARD (1988)

Original Line: "Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker!"
- John McClane (Bruce Willis)

Edited Line: "Yippie-kye-ay, Mister Falcon!"






LETHAL WEAPON (1987)

2 lines both spoken by one of the candidates for MAN OF THE YEAR 2006 - Mel Gibson as lovable suicidal cop Martin Riggs :

"We bury the funsters!”
and
"I'm a real cop, this is a real badge and this is a real firing gun!"





GOODFELLAS (1990)

Original Line : "You're a fuckin' mumblin', stutterin' little fuck"
Tommy (Joe Pesci)

Edited Line : "You're a friggin' mumblin', stutterin' little fink."







THE EXORCIST (1973)

Original Line: "Your mother sucks cocks in Hell!"-
Regan (Linda Blair) possessed by Pazuzu (voice - Mercedes MacCambridge)

Edited Line: "Your mother sews socks that smell!"



PULP FICTION (1994)

Original Line : "I got my eyes wide fuckin' open!"
- Jules (Samuel L. Jackson)

Edited Line: "I got my eyes wide focused open!"



ROBOCOP (1987)


"You're gonna be a real mothercrasher!"
- Bob Morton (Miguel Ferrer)



Send your favorite 'edited for TV' lines to: Boopbloop7@gmail.com









So if Peter O'Toole was pulled over and arrested for drunk driving would his mug shot look an better or worse than the poster for his latest film?


Discuss.










And all I want to know about this movie is -

does it have a montage?






More later...

A Big Lebowski Sleep-Over

"I guess that's the way the whole durned human comedy keeps perpetuatin' itself."
- The Stranger (Sam Elliot) THE BIG LEBOWSKI (Dir. Joel Coen, 1998) 




A few weeks back I went with some friends to a BIG LEBOWSKI party. Of course there was plenty of White Russian drinking (everyone it seems had brought Kahlua, milk and vodka) and individualized drinking games - I myself drinking to every time "the rug tied the room together". The hosts had a bevy of t-shirts with quotes from the film like "The Dude abides", "mark it zero" and "Lebowski Urban Acheiver."




I was disappointed there wasn't one for "you mean coitus?"

Anyway they had a DVD projector and it was great to see the movie on a big screen again. 




At the beginning of the movie when the Dude (Jeff Bridges) makes out a check to Ralph's grocery store for 69 cents it is notable that the date on the check is Sept. 11th 1991. 




Especially since he pauses while writing it to glance up at President Bush Sr. on a wall mounted TV monitor saying "this aggression will not stand" in reference to the Gulf War.

Just a coincidence and not a prophecy, sure but I was watching THE BIG SLEEP (Dir. Howard Hawkes, 1946) the other day and noticed that at the beginning that detective Phillip Marlowe (Humprey Bogart) while reviewing his newest case is handed an envelope of promissory notes with the date September 11th, 1945. 




The Coen brothers have admitted that big influences on THE BIG LEBOWSKI included the arguably classic in-every-way THE BIG SLEEP and the Robert Altman's 70's shaggy private dick Rip Van Marlowe mystery THE LONG GOODBYE so it makes perfect sense. 






More later...

100 Years, 100 Better Quotes

The American Film Institute just unveiled another mighty list - this one is of 100 movie quotes :

AFI'S 100 YEARS, 100 MOVIE QUOTES

Thinking that many of the lines while great are too obvious we here at film babble compiled an alternate list. 



Some lines come from the same movies, some are more profane but all are ones we cherish more than the AFI's precious official annointing. Enjoy!



FILM BABBLE BLOG'S 100 YEARS, 100 BETTER QUOTES



1. Girl: "What're you rebelling against, Johnny?"
Johnny Strabbler (Marlon Brando): "Whaddya got?"
- THE WILD ONE (1953) Can't believe this didn't make the AFI's list! Heh - losers.



2. "My teenage angst now has a body count" - Veronica Sawyer (Winnona Ryder) HEATHERS (1989)



3. "Well, let's not start sucking each other's dicks just yet." - The Wolf (Harvey Keitel) PULP FICTION (1994)





     

4. "You aren't too bright. I like that in a man. " - Matty (Kathleen Turner) BODY HEAT (1981)



5. "We figured there was too much happiness here for just the two of us, so we figured the next logical step was to have us a critter." - H.I. (Nicolas Cage) RAISING ARIZONA (1987)



6. "Into the mud, scum queen!" - Dr. Hfuhruhurr (Steve Martin) THE MAN WITH TWO BRAINS (1982)



7. "I don't know, I'm making this up as I go. " - Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981)



8. "Mother! Oh God, mother! Blood! Blood!" - Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) PSYCHO (1960)




9. "But, I'm funny how? Funny like a clown? I amuse you? I make you laugh? I'm here to fuckin' amuse you?" - Tommy (Joe Pesci) GOODFELLAS (1990)



10. "Like the fella says, in Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love - they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock." - Harry Lime (Orson Welles) THE THIRD MAN (1949)



11. "I'll show you a life of the mind!" - Charlie Meadows (John Goodman) BARTON FINK (1991)



12. "These go to eleven" - Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest) THIS IS SPINAL TAP (1984)



13. "All I'm saying is that if I ever start referring to these as the best years of my life - remind me to kill myself." - Randall 'Pink' Floyd (Jason London) DAZED AND CONFUSED (1993)



14. "One of us, one of us!" - A freak from FREAKS (1932)



15. "Who did the president, who killed Kennedy, fuck man! It's a mystery! It's a mystery wrapped in a riddle inside an enigma! The fuckin' shooters don't even know! Don't you get it?" - David Ferrie (Joe Pesci) JFK (1991)



16. "His brain has not only been washed, as they say... It has been dry cleaned." Dr. Yen Lo (Khigh Dheigh) THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE (1960)



17. "I don't want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don't want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed. You know, as a career, I don't want to do that." - Lloyd Dobbler (John Cusack) SAY ANYTHING (1988)



18. "Oh please, if everyone around here is going to start telling the truth, I'm going to bed."
- Jackie O. (PARKER POSEY) HOUSE OF YES (1997)



19. "Can I borrow your towel? My car just hit a water buffalo." - Fletch (Chevy Chase) FLETCH (1985)



20. " I'm a goddamn marvel of modern science." - McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST 1975



21. " Come on, man. I had a rough night and I hate the fuckin' Eagles, man!" - The Dude (Jeff Bridges) THE BIG LEBOWSKI (1998)

22. "Sticks and stones may break your bones but words cause permanent damage." - Barry (Eric Bogosian) TALK RADIO (1988)



23. "I will not be ignored, Dan!" - Alex Forrest (Glenn Close) FATAL ATTRACTION (1987)



24. "This is so bad it's gone from good back to bad again" - Enid (Thora Birch) GHOST WORLD (2001)



25. "Why do I hear 50 thousand dollars worth of pyscho-therapy dialing 911?" - Gabe (Woody Allen) HUSBANDS AND WIVES (1992)



26. "Well, then, I just HATE you... and I hate your... ass... FACE!" - Corky St. Clair (Christopher Guest) WAITING FOR GUFFMAN (1996)



27. "You see, if it bends, it works. If it breaks, it doesn't work." - Lester (Alan Alda) CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS (1989)







28. "One through nine, no maybes, no supposes, no fractions. You can't travel in space, you can't go out into space, you know, without, like, you know, uh, with fractions - what are you going to land on - one-quarter, three-eighths? What are you going to do when you go from here to Venus or something? That's dialectic physics." - Photojournalist (Dennis Hopper) APOCALYPSE NOW (1979)



29. "Don't call me chicken" - Jim Stark (James Dean) REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE (1955)



30. "I'm not even supposed to be here today!" - Dante Hicks (Brian O'Halloran) CLERKS (1994)



31. "I'm so rich, I wish I had a dime for every dime I had" - Arthur (Dudley Moore) ARTHUR (1981)




32. "So it's sorta social, demented and sad, but social. Right?" - John Bender (Judd Nelson) THE BREAKFAST CLUB (1985)



33. "I am not your problem to solve!" - Alice Green (Meg Ryan) WHEN A MAN LOVES A WOMAN (1994)



34. "Why are frogs falling from the sky?" - Phil Parma (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) MAGNOLIA (1999)



35. Gonzo (Dave Goelz): "Well, I want to go to Bombay, India to become a movie star."
Fozzie (Frank Oz): "You don't go to Bombay to become a movie star. You go where we're going, Hollywood." Gonzo: "Well, sure, if you want to do it the *easy* way."
- THE MUPPET MOVIE (1978)



36. "If Mike Tyson dreams about whuppin' my ass , he better wake up and apologize."
- SWEET WILLIE DICK (Robin Harris) DO THE RIGHT THING (1989) - Tarantino used a variation of this line in RESERVOIR DOGS 1992- "You shoot me in a dream, you better wake up and apologize." - Mr. White (Harvey Keitel)



37. "I am so glad that I got sober now so I can be hyper-conscious for this series of humiliations." - Suzanne (Merle Streep) POSTCARDS FROM THE EDGE (1990)



38. "Nothing happens in the world? Are you out of your fucking mind? People are murdered every day. There's genocide, war, corruption. Every fucking day, somewhere in the world, somebody sacrifices his life to save someone else. Every fucking day, someone, somewhere makes a conscious decision to destroy someone else. People find love, people lose it. For Christ's sake, a child watches her mother beaten to death on the steps of a church. Someone goes hungry. Somebody else betrays his best friend for a woman. If you can't find that stuff in life, then you, my friend, don't know crap about life. And why the FUCK are you wasting my two precious hours with your movie? I don't have any use for it. I don't have any bloody use for it."
- Robert McNee (Brian Cox) ADAPTATION (2001)



39. "I am the motherfucking shore patrol, motherfucker!" - Budduskey (Jack Nicholson) THE LAST DETAIL 1973






40. "In this country, you gotta make the money first. Then when you get the money, you get the power. Then when you get the power, then you get the women." - Tony Montana (Al Pacino) SCARFACE (1983)



41. "Where does he get those wonderful toys?" -The Joker (Jack Nicholson) BATMAN (1989)



42. "Come on, fellas. Rome wasn't built in a day." - Coach Morris Buttermaker (Walter Matthau) "Yeah, it took several hundred years." -Ogilvie ( Alfred Lutter III)
BAD NEWS BEARS (1976)






43. "Harold, *everyone* has the right to make an ass out of themselves. You just can't let the world judge you too much."
- Maude (Ruth Gordon) HAROLD AND MAUDE (1971)



44. "Make like a tree...and get outta here." - Biff (Thomas F. Wilson) BACK TO THE FUTURE (1985)



45. "I'll bet you're the kind of guy that would fuck a person in the ass and not even have the goddam common courtesy to give him a reach-around." - Gunnery Sergeant Hartman (R. Lee Ermey) FULL METAL JACKET (1986)



46. "Sex without love is an empty experience, but as empty experiences go it's one of the best." - Boris (Woody Allen) LOVE AND DEATH

47. "You're right, I did lose a million dollars last year. I expect to lose a million dollars this year. I expect to lose a million dollars *next* year. You know, Mr. Thatcher, at the rate of a million dollars a year, I'll have to close this place in... 60 years. - Charles Foster Kane (Orson Welles) CITIZEN KANE (1941)



48. "Wouldn't this be a great world if insecurity and desperation made us more attractive? If "needy" were a turn-on?" - Aaron Altman (Albert Brooks) BROADCAST NEWS (1987)



49. "Just when I thought that I was out they pull me back in." - Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) GODFATHER PART III - Funny how everyone's least favorite GODFATHER film has one of the most quoted lines., huh?



50. "You have clearance Clarence, roger Roger, what's our vector Victor?" - Captain Clarence Oveur (Peter Graves) AIRPLANE! (1980) - You gotta admit this is better than the 'Shirley' line.



51. "Only one is a wanderer; two together are always going somewhere." - Madeleine (Kim Novak) VERTIGO (1958)






52. "The first rule of Fight Club is you don't talk about Fight Club." - Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) FIGHT CLUB (1999)



53. "I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me me." - God (George Burns) OH GOD (1977)





54. Sam Burns (John Lithgow) - "You're a very rude young woman. I know Douglas from the Rotary and I can't believe he'd want you treating customers so badly." Checkout Girl : "I don't think I was treating her badly." Sam Burns : "Then you must be from New York." - TERMS OF ENDEARMENT (1983)



55. "If you don't get the President of the United States on that phone, do you know what's gonna happen to you?...You're gonna have to answer to the Coca-Cola Company." - Colonel Bat Guano (Keenen Wynn) DR. STRANGELOVE (1964)



56. "I have a head for business and a bod for sin. Is there anything wrong with that?" - Tess McGill (Melanie Griffith) WORKING GIRL (1988)



57. "That is one nutty hospital." - Jeff (Bill Murray) TOOTSIE (1982)



58. "I'm not bad, I'm just drawn that way." - Jessica Rabbit (Kathleen Turner) WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT (1988)



59. "Roads? Where we're going we don't need - roads." - Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) BACK TO THE FUTURE (1985)



60. "He's got a real purty mouth, ain't he?" - Toothle



61. "They're not gonna catch us. We're on a mission from God." -Elwood Blues (Dan Aykroyd) THE BLUES BROTHERS (1980)

62. "It's okay with me." - Philip Marlowe (Elliot Gould) THE LONG GOODBYE (1973)



63. "Withdrawing in disgust is not the same as apathy." - Written on a piece of a paper recited by some dude in SLACKER (1991) - also quoted in R.E.M.'s "What's The Frequency Kenneth" - "Richard said, Withdrawal in disgust is not the same as apathy".



64. "Back and to the left." - Jim Garrison (Kevin Costner) JFK (1991)



65. "Worry is like interest paid in advance on a debt that never comes due." - George Lang (Ricky Jay) THE SPANISH PRISONER (1997)



66. "It really tied the room together" - just about everybody in THE BIG LEBOWSKI (1997)



67. "What in the wide world of sports is going on here?!!?" - Taggart (Slim Pickens) BLAZZING SADDLES (1974)



68. "I've got a bad feeling about this" - Luke Skywalker(Mark Hamil), Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Obi Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), C-3PO (Anthony Daniels, Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams), etc. said in every STAR WARS movie (1977-2005)



69. "Sometimes I doubt your commitment to Sparkle Motion." - Kitty Farmer (Beth Grant) DONNIE DARKO (2001)



70. "My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." - Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin) THE PRINCESS BRIDE (1987)



71. "I believe in the cock, the pussy, the small of a woman's back, the hanging curve ball, high fiber, good scotch, that the novels of Susan Sontag are self-indulgent, overrated crap. I believe Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. I believe there ought to be a constitutional amendment outlawing Astroturf and the designated hitter. I believe in the sweet spot, soft-core pornography, opening your presents Christmas morning rather than Christmas Eve and I believe in long, slow, deep, soft, wet kisses that last three days." - Crash Davis (Kevin Costner) BULL DURHAM (1987)



72. "As long as there's, you know, sex and drugs, I can do without the rock and roll." - Mick Shrimpton (R.J. Parnell) THIS IS SPINAL TAP (1984)






73. "Ah Kirk, my old friend. Do you know the Klingon proverb that tells us revenge is a dish that is best served cold? It is very cold in space." - Khan (Ricardo Montalban) STAR TREK II : THE WRATH OF KHAN (1982)



74. "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it." - Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick) FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF (1986)



75. "I think you're the opposite of a paranoid. I think you go around with the insane delusion that people like you." - Harry Block (Woody Allen) DECONSTRUCTING HARRY (1997)



76. "Human sacrifices, dogs and cats living together! Mass hysteria!" - Peter Venkman (Bill Murray) GHOST BUSTERS (1984)



77. "Pimps is an ugly word. We could call ourselves love brokers!" - Bill Blazejowski (Michael Keaton) NIGHT SHIFT (1981)



78. "Look at me, jerking off in the shower... This will be the high point of my day; it's all downhill from here." - Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey) AMERICAN BEAUTY (1999)



79. "Don't point that finger at me unless you intend to use it." - Oscar Madison (Walter Matthau) THE ODD COUPLE (1968)



80. "I'd buy that for a dollar!" - Bixby Snyder (S.D. Nemeth) ROBOCOP (1988)



81. Superman (Christopher Reeve) : "Is that how a warped brain like yours gets its kicks? By planning the death of innocent people?
Lex Luther (Gene Hackman) : "No, by causing the death of innocent people."
SUPERMAN : THE MOVIE (1978)



82. "Strange game--the only winning move is not to play." - Joshua (computer) WAR GAMES (1983)




83. "This is the most uncomfortable coffin I've ever been in" - Bela Lugosi (Martin Landau) ED WOOD (1994)



84. "The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist." - Verbal (Kevin Spacey) THE USUAL SUSPECTS (1995)



85. "Strange things are afoot at the Circle K" - Ted Logan (Keanu Reeves) BILL AND TED'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE (1989)

86. "I know what you're thinking: "Did he fire six shots, or only five?" Well, to tell you the truth in all this excitement, I've kinda lost track myself. But, being this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself one question: "Do I feel lucky?" Well, do ya punk?" - Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) DIRTY HARRY (1971)



87. "It was the classic mother B.B. gun block: "You'll shoot your eye out." That deadly phrase uttered many times before by hundreds of mothers, was not surmountable by any means known to kiddom." - Ralphie (Jean Sheppard) A CHRISTMAS STORY (1983)



88. "Now that's a real shame when folks be throwin' away a perfectly good white boy like that." - Tree Trimmer (Steven Williams) BETTER OFF DEAD (1985)



89. "No, I have to do this my way. You tell me what you know, and I'll confirm. I'll keep you in the right direction if I can, but that's all. Just... follow the money." - Deep Throat (Hal Holbrook) ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN (1976)



90. " I may go back to hating you. It was more fun." - Roger (Cary Grant) NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1958)



91. "Well, we lost the first game of the season. I know it shouldn't bother me, but it does. We always lose the first game of the season and the last game of the season. (pause)
AND ALL THOSE STUPID GAMES IN BETWEEN!" - Charlie Brown (Peter Robbins) A BOY NAMED CHARLIE BROWN (1969)



92. "Now that I've met you, would you object to never seeing me again?" - Claudia Wilson Gator (Melora Walters) MAGNOLIA (1999) - this line was lifted from the Aimee Mann song "Deathly".





93. "I was just thinking what an interesting concept it is to eliminate the writer from the artistic process. If we could just get rid of these actors and directors, maybe we've got something here." - Griffin Mill (Tim Robbins) THE PLAYER (1992)



94. "Can you imagine what this man would be like had anyone ever loved him?" - Henry Kissinger (Paul Sorvino) NIXON (1995)



95. "No, if anyone orders Merlot, I'm leaving. I am NOT drinking any fucking Merlot!" - Miles (Paul Giamatti) SIDEWAYS (2004)


96. "At this moment, I didn't feel shame or fear, but just kind of blah, like when you're sitting there and all the water's run out of the bathtub." - Holly (Sissy Spacek) BADLANDS (1973)



97. "Last time I saw a mouth like that, it had a hook in it." - Al (Rodney Dangerfield) CADDYSHACK (1980)



98. "Your car is uglier than I am. Oops, that didn't come out right." - Carol (Mackenzie Phillips) AMERICAN GRAFFITI (1973)



99. "You're an errand boy, sent by grocery clerks, to collect a bill." - Kurtz (Marlon Brando) APOCALYPSE NOW (1979)



100. "You see the whole culture. Nazis, deodorant salesmen, wrestlers, beauty contests, a talk show. Can you imagine the level of a mind that watches wrestling? But the worst are the fundamentalist preachers. Third grade con men telling the poor suckers that watch them that they speak with Jesus, and to please send in money. Money, money, money! If Jesus came back and saw what's going on in his name, he'd never stop throwing up." - Frederick (Max Von Sydow) HANNAH AND HER SISTERS (1986)



Take that AFI! 




More later...

Listomania: Coen Brothers Edition

To celebrate the release of the new Coen brothers movie THE LADYKILLERS tomorrow, this is a special edition of Film Babble Blog’s Listomania dedicated to the work of Joel and Ethan Coen.



This is a career re-cap of sorts with Coen bros. lists, quotes, fun facts, and other whatnot leading up to my review of their newest that will be posted tomorrow.



Okay then... First up:


BASIC FILMOGRAPHY AND GUIDE TO THIS POST 

BS: BLOOD SIMPLE (1984) RA: RAISING ARIZONA (1987) 
MC: MILLER'S CROSSING (1990) 
BF: BARTON FINK (1991) 
HP: HUDSUCKER'S PROXY (1994) 
F: FARGO (1997) 
TBL: THE BIG LEBOWSKI (1998) 
OBWAT: O BROTHER WHERE ART THOU? (2000) 
TMWWT: THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE (2001) 
IC: INTOLERABLE CRUELTY (2003) 
LK: THE LADYKILLERS (2004)


THE COEN BROTHERS REPERTORY ROLE CALL 1984-2004:


Steve Buscemi: MC, BF, HP, F, BL 
Campbell, Bruce: HP, F, IC, LK (2 small parts and 2 as "soap actor on TV" - all 4 un-credited) 
Blake Clark: IC, LK 
George Clooney: OBWAT, IC 
Charles Durning: HP, OBWAT 
John Goodman: RA, BF, BL, OBWAT 
Holly Hunter: BS, RA, OBWAT 
John Mahooney: BF, HP 
John McConnell: MC, OBWAT, LK 
Frances McDormand: BS, RA, F, MWWT 
Jon Polito: MC, BF, HP, BL, MWWT 
Stephen Root: OBWAT, LK 
Tony Shalhoub: MC, BF, BL, MWWT 
Hallie Singleton: MWWT, LK 
Peter Stormare: F, BL 
Billy Bob Thornton: MWWT, IC 
John Turturro: MC, BF, BL, OBWAT 
M. Emmet Walsh: BS, RA 

COEN BROS. FUN FACT FORUM: 

The line "if a frog had wings it wouldn't bump its ass a-hoppin'" appears in 2 Coen Bros. flicks - RA (1987) & HP (1994)

Musicians Aimee Mann (as the nihilist's girlfriend) and Jimmie Dale Gilmore (as Smokey - the league bowler who insists that he "wasn't over the line") make brief but notable cameos in BL (1997)

In RA (1987) Nicholas Cage works at Hudsucker Industries - an obvious connection to their later film HP (1994)

In MC there's a building called the Barton Arms another obvious connection to a later film. 

F (1996) says at the beginning "This is a true story - the events of this film took place in Minnesota in 1987..." This is totally false. They made the whole thing up! Those damn pranksters!

Editor Roderick Jaynes - listed as a member of BAFTA (The British Academy Of Film and Television Arts) was nominated for F (1996) and praised for his work on BS and BF (I know its confusing - see above code will ya?), but was found out upon his Oscar nomination to being a fabrication by the Coens. That's right, Jaynes never existed. They created the name because when editing BS (1984) they thought there were too many Coens in the credits already.

In IC (2003) Judge Marva Munson played by Isabell O'Connor finds in favor of Rex Rexroth (Edward Herrmann) in the Divorce trial proceedings leaving his wife (Catherine Zeta Jones) literally out in the cold. In LK (2004) Marva Munson (Irma T. Hall) is unkowingly duped into being a front for a heist. Why the same name? Are the characters related or the same person at different points in their lives? Maybe they just like the name. Who knows?

3 LOST OR FORGOTTEN OR OBSCURE OR JUST IGNORED COEN OR COEN RELATED FILMS: 

CRIMEWAVE (1985): Hard to find movie at most videostores and unavailable on DVD. Written by the Coen brothers but directed by Sam Raimi. "We prefer it lost" - Joel Coen to Uncut Magazine (May 1998). 

THE NAKED MAN (1993): Ethan Coen co-wrote this oddity with director J Todd Anderson.

BAD SANTA (2003): Ethan Coen executive produced and came up with the story with Joel Coen.

COEN BROTHERS ON DVD - WHAT SHOULD YOU BUY AND WHAT SHOULD YOU WAIT FOR THE SPECIAL EDITION OF? 

BS (1984): BUY IT - This currently available Universal DVD contains the director's cut that was theatrically released in 2000 plus a commentary by Kenneth Loring of Forever Young Films and a great old school trailer. I seriously doubt we'll get any more material on the Coen's debut movie so go ahead and get it. 

RA (1997): WAIT FOR THE SPECIAL EDITION - This paltry disc from 2oth Century Fox has no extras and being that it is a comic masterpiece and the flick that busted the Coens into the mainstream somewhat it deserves better. Much better. Hold out until the powers that be grant this a special edition. It's got to happen.

MC (1990) - BUY IT

BF (1991) - BUY IT

HP (1994) - WAIT FOR THE SPECIAL EDITION

F (1996) - BUY IT Good new 2003 special edition was worth waiting for. It has a new documentary "Minnesota Nice", a commentary by Roger Deakins, and a cool Charlie Rose appearance by the Coens along with Frances McDormand. Shame on you if you don't already own this.

BL (1998) -WAIT FOR THE SPECIAL EDITION

TMWWT (2001) - BUY IT This contains one of the funniest DVD commentaries ever with Joel, Ethan, and Billy Bob Thornton tracking the "Ed nod" and adding lots of witty insight into an otherwise stoic, dry, and slow film. Also contains a few brief inessential deleted scenes - just a couple of hair-cut examples that were rightfully cut. Definitely a strong Coen Bros film that gets better every viewing. Get it and watch it with the commentary and try not to agree.

IC (2003) - BUY IT The most commercial outting yet by our indie duo comes with a decent DVD transfer and a number of outtakes - really bloopers and unused footage. The Coen Brothers apparently don't think of "deleted scenes" in the same way that most of us do judging by their DVDs.

THE COEN BROTHERS IN THE ROUND

Evelle (picking up a bag of balloons): Do these blow into funny shapes and all? 
Grocer: Well, no, unless round is funny.

- From RA.

According to the IMDB: "The Coens frequently focus on round spinning objects. The hat in Miller's Crossing, bowling balls and tumble-weed in BL, hair pomade tins in OBWAT...or UFO and a car wheel in TMWWT." To that we can add the hula hoops in HP (1994). I loved the touch that when Charles Durning re-appears as the ghost of Hudsucker, his halo spins like a hula hoop lit up around his head.

The Barber shop pole and the contrasting haircut head-shots in MWWNT are other notable circular examples. The bowling balls that the IMDB mentions in BL provide many opportunities for shots involving rolling roundness. The best and most unique shot comes from a montage in which we got a barrell view of a spinning bowling alley as a ball rolls down the lane. That's right - it's a point-of-view shot from the finger hole on a bowling ball! I'm still not exactly sure how they pulled that off.

Part of the Coens style in scene set-up is to display extreme close-ups of inanimate objects. In BF (1991) our protagonist rings the desk bell at the hotel and we get a shot of the bell as it boings thoughout the lobby and slowly stops vibratingly buzzing - beyond beautiful. In the world of Coen cinema round isn't just funny - it's hilarious!

Check back tomorrow for the Film Babble Blog Review of THE LADYKILLERS.

More later...