NinadeL

I expected the worst and got a pretty good biopic. Yes, it's 1980s TV, it's cheap, and it's naive and romantic, but in relation to the Hearst and Davies phenomenon, it's actually a very tasteful and clever treatment. A lot of time is spent on the events of the 1910s, the Ziegfeld shows, and the time Marion made her first film Runaway, Romany. There is a lot of explanation of their relationship, of the social circumstances in which it seemed at first that Hearst would divorce when he finally gave up his political ambitions. The individual cases of their lives together, such as the death of Thomas Ince (The Cat's Meow) and Citizen Kane (RKO 281, Mank) are treated in separate films and are either hinted at here or not given space at all. On the other hand, we get the opportunity to explore Marion and Charlie Chaplin's friendship, and the making of When Knighthood Was in Flower, but the move to sound film and the later years are not as important. Virginia Madsen is good, very good even, and could surprisingly lean on very well-chosen masks and costumes that naturally illustrate the time and style that Marion was going through.

The phenomenon of Liz Taylor and her tumultuous relationship with Richard Burton has found a place in the hearts of many. This couple is famous for a number of post-war films from the 60s and 70s such as: Cleopatra, The V.I.P.s, The Sandpiper, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Taming of the Shrew, Doctor Faustus, The Comedians, Boom!, Under Milk Wood, Hammersmith Is Out, Divorce His - Divorce Hers, and they logically fascinated their audiences in the theatrical version of "Private Lives" that played on Broadway in 1983. They were married twice, divorced twice, but they never stopped interesting the public. This is, of course, excellent material for an intimate behind-the-scenes drama of that last show of theirs, performed by Helena Bonham Carter and Dominic West. Of course, viewers who are familiar with the realities are better off, while those who want to know more must look elsewhere. But let's be glad it wasn't another week with Marylin. Because soon films will be made about key minutes in the lives of famous people, and that will be unbearable.

A magnificent biography of the man behind the Ziegfeld Follies phenomenon. Although the film had to be planned as an intermission screening, the sequences from Follies are definitely worth your time. Something so grandiose and lavish may have faded from the art of filmmaking over time, but thanks to old films, the shows live on to this day. It's important to keep coming back to them.

The Florodora Girl, produced by and starring Marion Davies, is a contribution to the broader nostalgic sub-genre of "The Gay Nineties," which refers to the American decade of the 1890s. It is something like the old golden days of Europe, or rather a memory of the good times between the Congress of Vienna and the outbreak of the First World War. It is more or less individual for each part of the world. Mae West offered a slightly spicier take on the whimsical nineties in She Done Him Wrong or Belle of the Nineties, while Disney had The Nifty Nineties, and after the war, she became the indomitable Hello, Dolly! So what is the triumph of this version? Marion's triumph is particularly the final lavish scene shot in 2-strip Technicolor, which I will always have a soft spot for, whether in combination with silent or sound film.

The ambitious, interesting subject with an attractive cast was unfortunately not turned into a truly engaging film. That is a great shame and a missed opportunity.

A solid representative of the romcom genre. Nothing special, it’s all just routine, and everything is as it should be. She is sympathetic but blind to her future counterpart, he is thickheaded and of course they are only brought together by chance and we have to wait for a happy ending after the seemingly final separation. Jennifer Aniston is a genre pro, and the others don’t spoil it for her, so there's nothing to worry about. It’s an ideal relaxing film that doesn't draw unnecessary attention to itself, doesn't ask questions, and simply flows and does its job.

It needed some time away from it. I've always considered Just a Gigolo as a rather negative film, a big departure for Marlene Dietrich. And this really is not the best film to watch. Yet it becomes much more interesting if we place it among the series of films from the 1970s that spontaneously began to admire interwar decadence. Whether European or American. There is indeed a bit of Cabaret and The Great Gatsby with Redford in Just a Gigolo. We get a nicely wooden Bowie in the lead role, and a spectacular Dietrich, right up to the end of her days. Then there are the legendary hits "Johnny" and "Ich Küsse Ihre Hand, Madame," but unfortunately they are included in new and worse arrangements. The more interesting performances are given by Sydne Rome (in the hands of worse directors a stripped actress, while the better ones have her wearing clothes) and the darling Curd Jürgens. The icing on the cake is the endearingly intractable problem of two different versions left over after the original material was cut by more than half an hour. In this way, the audience can argue forever about which version of Just a Gigolo is better. I'm looking forward to Kästner's novel anyway.

One of the best reflections on the phenomenon of contemporary girls' literature and related media outputs. A funny experience that is not tasteless. It’s clever in so many references and in working with the individual actors. The cute Hanka Vítová and her girlish group of flower girls are full of popular faces, led by Helča Bušová and seconded by Božena Šustrová and Marie Norrová. It's also wonderful to watch Schránil and Veverka in roles that are the opposite of what they usually play. A separate category of ingenious humor is the naive "gentleman" of Vlasta Hrubá. The queens were the old ladies Nedošinská and Májová. There is much to admire here, not least the work with advertising and the appeal of gossip or single motherhood. "I'm a woman who knows what she wants!"

A slight disappointment. The idea is fine, and the individual details are wonderful (the idea of a children's detective story, the attractive setting of the castle, the social motif), but the whole thing somehow just fails. It is better to evaluate it as an amateur endeavor, as in a mixture of everything that came from Brno of the time. It's almost unbelievable how even such children's films become great compared to this Moravian mistake. I'm sorry to have to say it, but it was a waste of decent actors (for example Vlasta Hrubá, František Paul, Jindřich Plachta or Miloš Nedbal), alongside naturals (Jarmila Urbánková or Jan Purkrábek). And of course, the kids needed better guidance, not to mention the poor technical quality.

Beautiful. This type of film turns golden over time and must be seen in the context of Švankmajer's works because sheer love of E. A. Poe or the Marquis de Sade does not really suffice in this case. It’s a wonderful demonstration that even the most popular actors can stand on their pedestals rightfully. Today, it is also charming that some of the perverse props from this film adorn the National Gallery's exhibitions.