I MARRIED A WITCH — SHOCKTOBER!

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While this classic screwball comedy's obvious influence on inspiring "Bewitched," that great '60s/'70s television show, it's Veronica Lake who casts the longest shadow.

Talk about iconic.

Veronica Lake's undeniable sensuality is a marvel to behold. What man could ever hope to resist this feminine creature of dynamic poise and lithe beauty?

Veronica Lake is at her most seductive as Jennifer, a witch being chaperoned by her alcoholic witch dad (Cecil Kellaway). Daughter and dad travel by broom while resting as smoke plumes.

Jennifer is a fire starter in every sense of the phrase.

Ted Tetzlaff's black-and-white cinematography is so lush it could bring a tear to your eye.

Prolific French director René Clair sets a racy tone for the comedy to spike with sexy innuendo.

Jennifer is a shameless homewrecker to Fredrick March's upper class Jonathan Woodley, a small town politician on the verge of marrying local socialite Estelle (Susan Hayward).

René Clair allows his energetic actors to snap their dialogue into a modern rhythm that is contagious. We get swept up in the screwball promise of unreasonable romance and all of the destruction that it brings.

"I Married A Witch" is a high concept movie, especially for 1942. The comic absurdity carries a Frenchness in its lighthearted attitudes regarding relations between men and the women who enchant them.

Very witchy indeed.

Not Rated. 77 mins.

 

EYES WITHOUT A FACE — SHOCKTOBER!

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Master filmmaker Georges Franju had been making films for 25 years before he terrified audiences with "Eyes Without A Face" in 1960.

This groundbreaking horror movie significantly influenced Alfred Hitchcock, whose "Psycho" and "The Birds" owes "Eyes Without A Face" several obvious debts.

Agonizingly grotesque sequences are executed with admirably simple effects. 

Georges Franju uses a jarring soundscape to ratchet up suspense in a disquieting narrative about Dr. Génessier (Pierrre Brasseur), a mad doctor attempting a risky face-transplant for his horribly disfigured daughter, Christiane. The irritating sound of dogs barking sends chills down your spine.

Dr. Génessier keeps Christiane locked away in his mansion's attack, where she wears a plastic mask to hide her disfigurement from a car accident that her father caused.

Edith Scob gives elegant physical resonance to Christiane's pained existence with gentle dance-like movements that give her an ethereal quality not far removed from that of a zombie.

Alida Valli brings beauty and gravitas to the film as Dr. Génessier's partner-in-crime, medical assistant, lover, and former patient, whose pretty face he delivered as his greatest medical achievement.

Noir elements from a criminal investigation, play out against Dr. Génessier's serial killer habit of feeding off local college girls whose faces he steals.

"Eyes Without A Face" is a rare horror film that allows the audience's imagination to run wild, while also giving us an unrelenting sense of suspense. When things get gory, we understand their underlying meaning of abject terror on multiple emotional levels.

Prepare to be shocked.

God may not believe he's a doctor, but there are doctors who believe the reverse.

Not Rated. 90 mins.

IN PRAISE OF LOVE — CANNES 2001

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French New Wave Cinema standard bearer Jean-Luc Godard's 2001 study in inventive filmic expression carries significant weight.

Godard refracts historic, personal, and editorial messaging through pure cinematic poetry.

The narrative involves a filmmaker navigating his current documentary navigating his current project while recovering emotionally after the break-up of a 10-year relationship.

A shift from black-and-white to color has a profound effect on the audience.

Godard's kaleidoscopic approach to storytelling is refreshing for his willingness to to make political statements big and small.

Jean-Luc Godard takes a steely knife to Stephen Spielberg, who he detests with an obvious fury.

Love isn't all that Godard is praising.

Hollywood and Americans represent people who refuse to ever become adults.

"In Praise of Love" could easily serve as a permanent installment at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

I screened this beautiful film in its truly amazing 4K restoration, kicking off the L’Alliance New York's Version restaurée series, held at the lovely Florence Gould Theater in Midtown Manhattan.

Check it out.

The every-Tuesday night series runs Tuesday, September 10, 2024 - Tuesday, December 17, 2024.

Rated PG. 97 mins.