Hey, guys!
Welcome to another entry for Thursday Movie Picks.
It’s a series hosted by Wandering through the Shelves, so if you want to join the party, head over to her blog! It’s pretty easy: check out each week’s topic and come up with 3 to 5 movies that fit the theme.
This week I’ll talk about some famous movies that came to my mind when I read Letter as this week’s topic!
#1 Letters from Juliet
I’ve never seen this film and most likely won’t ever check it out. It’s one of those romantic flicks, so if that is your thing, give it a go. There are lots of positive reviews out there.
#2 The Scarlet Letter
The Scarlet Letter has inspired several adaptations, none of which I’ve seen (yet). Once I get around to reading the book, I will make sure to also watch some of the more famous screen versions. I know that the reviews on the Demi Moore version are rather negative, but it’s still the most famous one.
#3 Letter from Iwo Jima
Also haven’t seen this one yet, but I’m always interested in a well-made war movie. The reviews for this one are very positive, so it’s been on my list for quite some time.
Which film did you did you think of for this week’s topic? Let me know in the comments!
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Letters from Iwo Jima is fascinating and at times sad. I liked Letters from Juliet but it is heavy with that romantic yearning vibe. This version of The Scarlet Letter is crap, a near total reworking of the book and not in a good way, and that’s from someone who isn’t fond of the book, The silent Lillian Gish version is good and there was a good PBS take on it in the 70’s with Meg Foster but overall I’m not a big fan of the source material. Oh and then of course there’s the charming reinvention of it Easy A. That would be my favorite of all versions.
With so many choices I went with some favorites.
A Letter to Three Wives (1949)-Three well to do suburban wives (Linda Darnell, Ann Sothern and Jeanne Crain) are preparing to chaperone a children’s outing to an island picnic when they receive a letter from their mutual fremeny Addie Ross that she won’t be joining them because she’s left town and in so doing has taken one of their husbands with her. Cut off from the world for the day each wife reviews her marriage wondering if she’s the one now husbandless. Incisive look at personal relationships was nominated for many Oscars (and should have garnered a few more) and won best screenplay and director for Joseph Mankiewicz.
This was one of my selections for Dell’s Girl Week a few years back.
https://dellonmovies.blogspot.com/2016/11/girl-week-2016-letter-to-three-wives.html
The Letter (1940)-The film opens on a pan of a sleepy night on a Malaysian plantation when the peace is shattered by a gunshot. A man stumbles out of the house and down the stairs followed by a woman (Bette Davis) emptying her revolver into him. She tells her husband and the law that the man, a family friend, was attacking her and maintains her innocence throughout a trial but suddenly the dead man’s Eurasian wife sends word through an emissary that she possesses a letter that holds secrets. Top notch drama contains one of Davis’s best, most contained performances guided by William Wyler.
The Kremlin Letter (1970)-An unauthorized letter is sent to Moscow alleging the U.S. government’s willingness to help Russia attack China. Former naval officer Charles Rone (Patrick O’Neal) and his team are sent to retrieve the missive. Going undercover they successfully reach out to Erika Kosnov (Bibi Andersson), the wife of a former agent, now married to the head of Russia’s secret police (Max von Sydow). Their plans are interrupted, however, when their Moscow hideout is raided by a cunning politician (Orson Welles). Decent cold war thriller directed by John Huston loaded with familiar faces including George Sanders and Max von Sydow.
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We share a pick with Letters from Iwo Jima. I have that film on DVD. It’s a great war film.
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I hope to check it out soon, the trailer is so promising.
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Letters from Iwo Jima is excellent.
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Oh man, The Scarlet Letter. I hated that book with a passion, we had to read it in school lol. They made us watch the older version of it too which was equally as terrible.
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Haha, so maybe it’s not that bad that I never got around to reading it!
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Ok , I must see Letters to Juliet since it takes place 8n Europe and I am a sucker for Europe’s locales. The most famous film is actually the 1926 version starring Lilian Gish which I still Ave to see but most forget this film since it is a silent. When this version with Demi Moore came out, it was universally panned and I still Ave to see this version too. I love t(e last film which deal with this subject in a very respectful way despite the cruelty the Japanese inflicted on the captured soldiers.
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Oh, I didn’t know that there was such an old movie on the topic! Need to check that one out!
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Was there an actual letter in Scarlet Letter? I haven’t read the book nor the movie, but I thought the letter was not a written correspondence but rather just the alphabet A in scarlet the main character had to wear.
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I honestly don’t even know. Maybe I’ll find out when I pick up the book at some point 😉
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