Thursday, May 19, 2022

Thursday Movie Picks-Mazes

 


I love mazes but have only been in sad little mazes like one at Niagara Falls. I’d love to be in a big maze like one in "The Shining" but don't know any in my area. Check out Wandering Through The Shelves who chose a fun theme this week which is all about the Maze. Nope, I decided not to go with the most famous one, the aforementioned Shining but picked 3 I think you may like.

1. THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI-1947

This stars the husband and wife team of Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth, nicknamed "Beauty and The Brain" by the press but, by this time, they were not happily married and it shows in this film because Welles decided to have Hayworth's beautiful auburn locks cut and died platinum blonde. She also seems quite hard in this film as the femme fatale. In this movie, Hayworth is married to an old coot who hires Irish( hahaaa) Orson Welles to help out on their yacht. There is much duplicity going on including a couple of murders where it culminates in an excellent climax in a mirrored maze. That climax is justifiablely famous

2. LABYRINTH-1986

I haven’t seen this film in decades and want to watch it again. I remember seeing it in the theatre and thought it was quite excellent for its beautiful dream-like world inside this labyrinth ruled over by the goblin king, played by David Bowie. Jennifer Connelly plays a beautiful 16 yr old who has to take care of her baby brother and, in a fit of anger, wishes the baby be taken by the goblin king. As soon as she wishes this, it happens and she must find a way out of the labyrinth in order to save her baby brother. Along the way, she meets up with some characters who become her friends and vice versa. The sets and costumes are truly quite beautiful and this movie deserves its cult status.

3. IN THE NAME OF THE ROSE-1986

This is another film I saw in the theatre and also love because of the beautiful labyrinth of the secret library held in a mysterious monastery. Sean Connery plays a Friar(no, not Tuck) who, along with his assistant( Christian Slater) come to this monastery to investigate the strange death of a monk. It is a whodunit set in the 1300s when the inquisition was around as well as disease, poverty and religious fervour. I love Connery’s character, a sort of early Sherlock Holmes, who loves the written word but also loves solving a good mystery. I found this film quite ...fun and engaging. It’s worth a watch.

I feel guilty not choosing "The Shining" ...which films would you choose?

20 comments:

  1. Hi, Birgit!

    Happy Thursday, dear friend!

    I love (there's that word again) movies with mazes, and enjoyed the maze scene in The Shining. I have not seen The Lady From Shanghai, but appreciate the madness that came from the mind of Orson Welles. It's a safe bet that I would enjoy his 1947 film noir.

    Yessum, Labyrinth is a great pick for this category. I have seen it a few times, primarily because I am a Jennifer Connelly fan and completist. I threw up in my mouth a little when the trailer narrator uttered the following: "A world where anything seems possible and nothing is what it seems." Hairspray's Tracy Turnblad, now age 76, cries: "Mama... welcome to America in the 2020s!"

    I enjoy watching Sean Connery work, and Christian Slater was double dynamite in Dirty John S-2: The Betty Broderick Story and in the mini-series Dr. Death, both highly recommended. You've got me interested in Name Of The Rose. I think it would have been a hoot to send Adrian Monk to investigate the strange death of a monk. You wrote: "set in the 1300s when the inquisition was around as well as disease, poverty and religious fervour." Hairspray's Tracy Turnblad, now age 76, cries: "Mama... welcome to America in the 2020s!"

    Shirley, few things would be as terrifying as being trapped in a maze of funhouse mirrors and being stalked by Pennywise the Dancing Clown. That's what happens in this scene from the 2019 supernatural horror film It Chapter Two (2019), the second movie of a two-part adaptation of the 1986 novel It by Stephen King.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAEp9IiU59c

    Thanks for the morning movie entertainment, dear friend BB. Have a safe and happy weekend!

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  2. The Shining came to mind first but The Cube is the ultimate maze movie.

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  3. I think Labyrinth will be popular today. Lady in Shanghai sounds interesting. I need to add that to my list.

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  4. Hi Birgit!

    Lady from Shanghai is such an odd beast, equal parts intriguing and messy. Rita participated gladly at first and was happy Welles was playing with her image but by the time production actually started their marriage but failing hard and it became a difficult experience. Still interesting to see her in a different way and it is ultimately not a bad film just a troubled one.

    I wanted to love both Labyrinth and In the Name of the Rose more than I did. Didn't hate either but one watch was enough.

    My first thought was also Lady from Shanghai, then Inception which is a near constant maze. The other is an obscure B movie from the 50's set in Scotland but filmed in the US (and in 3-D!) called The Maze with Richard Carlson. It's about a young man who inherits his uncle's castle which has a mysterious and apparently enchanted (cursed) maze cut into the hedges on the grounds.

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  5. While I have seen your first and third picks, I am at a complete loss to think of a picture with a maze.

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  6. Hello Birgit, I've only seen Name of the Rose and found it fascinating, not a film you could have 40 winks during as your had to keep watching of you'd loose the plot. I also tried to read the book, but found it too difficult. I hope you are keeping well, Kate x

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  7. I've seen all three of your picks but it was so long ago I couldn't tell you anything about those films. I know I've seen a number of films that included maze sequences but I can't recall any right now including one that I watched just the other night that included a carnival mirror maze pursuit.

    There is Pan's Labyrinth which I have on DVD but haven't watched in a number of years so I can't recall exactly how the maze motif fits other than in the title. And for me there is a television opera by Gian Carlo Menotti called Labyrinth. I remember watching this on TV in 1963 and enjoying it a great deal. I've never been able to find a recording of this, but I'd love to see it again. As I recall the story takes place in a maze-like hotel where each room has something weird to offer.

    Speaking of labyrinthian surrealism, just the other night I watched a wonderful film by Luis Bunuel called The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie. Though nothing takes place in a literal maze, the story arc goes off on so many twists and turns the film experience almost creates a sense of being lost in a maze. This film was a pleasant surprise for me.

    Good topic with lots of choices. Too bad I can't remember more of the ones I've seen.

    Arlee Bird
    Tossing It Out

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  8. I didn't know Welles and Hayworth were married! I always learn something new here;)
    Hugs

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  9. I haven't seen any of these. I don't even know if I've seen a movie with a maze. Something to look out for in future, I think.

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  10. I haven't seen any of your picks.
    I know In the Name of the Rose was made into a TV mini-series recently.

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  11. I've seen Labyrinth but not the other two!

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  12. I've heard of a few of these but haven't seen any of them. I'm not sure these are films that I can get into. I always like reading about the movies you've seen, though.

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  13. I have seen Labyrinth! Great pick! I did think of The Shining right away when I saw the theme. Your other picks are new to me. Always great to hear about new to me movies. :)

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  14. yeh Birgit I have seen Labyrinth....hope you are keeping well....xxxx

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  15. Hi sis! There's quite an incredible supernatural maze featured in one of the Harry Potter movies... perhaps the fourth one? And, someone above mentioned the movie "Cube" and that's a great one too. I've also seen a sequel to Cube... both are somewhat mind blowing.

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  16. Saw Name of the Rose, but it's been a long time. Enjoy your extended weekend:)

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  17. I would have picked "The Shining"...lol. Name of the Rose was great!

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  18. Can't wait to see pictures of the pup......:)

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  19. I haven't even heard of any of these. I am definitely out of my element.

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  20. I can't believe I still haven't seen Labyrinth 😅

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