I confess, I’ve seen a few films since I last posted. They are as follows:
- Modern Times (Charles Chaplin, 1936)
- A Day In The Country (Jean Renoir, 1936)
- The Grand Illusion (Jean Renoir, 1937)
- Bringing Up Baby (Howard Hawks, 1938)
- The Rules Of The Game (Jean Renoir, 1939)
- His Girl Friday (Howard Hawks, 1939)
- Only Angels Have Wings (Howard Hawks, 1939)
- The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums (Kenji Mizoguchi, 1939)
- The Shop Around The Corner (Ernst Lubitsch, 1940)
- Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941)
- Sullivan’s Travels (Preston Sturges, 1941)
- To Be Or Not To Be (Ernst Lubitsch, 1942)
- The Magnificent Ambersons (Orson Welles, 1942)
- The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger, 1943)
It’s been too long for me to say much of value. But there was a stark difference between the films of Renoir and Hawkes as we approached the Second World War. While Renoir broods over the last war and the future of Europe, Hawks relishes in slaking America’s thirst for entertainment. Renoir is blowing smoke rings into the void while Hawks can’t seem to light his cigarette lest he stop moving.
Mizoguchi’s complete lack of closeups kept the entire film at a distance. It was, for the first hour or so, a slog. But then it evolved into a rewarding prodigal son epic.
Lubitsch hasn’t missed. Shop Around The Corner was incredibly charming and, dare I say, a completely ignored Christmas classic. To Be Or Not To Be was razor sharp and almost certainly influenced Inglorious Basterds. He is the perfect mix of old and new world.
Sullivan’s Travels seemed strangely modern in a Hollywood sort of way. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I was completely taken by Veronica Lake’s autistic charm.
There’s nothing to say that hasn’t been said about Welles’s films. Melodramatic, high-stakes, capital-A American storytelling. But here’s my take: Orson Welles is a Randian figure. They are two sides of the same megalomanic horseshoe. I don’t care if they were “politically opposed”, they have much more in common than either would ever dare to admit. They see with the same eyes.
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (in Technicolor!) was visually stunning. I don’t think we can even make films that look like that anymore. This is fitting, because the film is a slow wave goodbye to an era that will never return. A poignant meditation on the passage of time that has been poorly served by its name.

















