Thursday Movie Picks: Fake Identities
1) A Knight's Tale - About a poor man who poses as a lord to enter a jousting tournament. This is one of those movies that's on TV quite frequently and if I catch it, I always sit down and watch it. I miss Heath Ledger and he and the rest of the cast are so great in this.
2) A History of Violence - About a family man who has tried to invent a new persona to step away from his violent past. This is one of my favorite Viggo Mortensen performances.
3) Parasite - About a poor family who lie about their credentials to become staff in a rich home. I still think about this movie so much. I very rarely buy films on DVD any more and this is one I bought immediately when it came out. It's so good.
Oh man, I love A Knight's Tale. It's so much fun. A History of Violence was great too!
ReplyDeleteIt really is. I love that it has become such a classic.
DeleteI saw A Knight’s Tale in the theatre and hated the music of today and the words we say placed into the film. I found it stupid even though I love Heath Ledger. I love Virgo and this is one film I still have to see. Parasite was excellent until that bloody part which just comes out of nowhere and, to me, makes no sense.
ReplyDeleteI loved the modern music getting inserted into the film! I thought that was a fun touch. I liked the ending of Parasite too, I thought it had to build to something gruesome considering how everything was escalating.
DeleteI'm with Birgit about the modern music in Knight's Tale though it didn't make me hate the film but it was jarring and anachronistic.
ReplyDeleteA History of Violence was much better than I expected it to be. It's not one I return to but I was glad I watched it.
I have yet to see Parasite and I really have to get on it. It's screwing with my completist streak, I've seen every other Best Picture winner but that one! :-(
I found three that look at the theme in slightly different ways.
This Side of the Law (1950)-Picked up on a vagrancy charge wanderer David Cummins (Kent Smith) is bailed out by lawyer Philip Cagle (Robert Douglas) because he bears a remarkable resemblance to multi-millionaire Malcolm Taylor. As it happens Taylor is about to be declared dead after having gone missing seven years hence, if David will assume Taylor’s identity and convince his estranged family-wife Evelyn (Viveca Lindfors), brother Calder (John Alvin) and sister-in-law Nadine (Janis Paige)-that he is truly the missing man Cagle will pay him five thousand dollars. What seems like easy money quickly spirals into a web of deception and murder.
The Man Who Never Was (1956)-During WWII as Britain mobilizes to invade Sicily, intelligence agent Ewen Montagu (Clifton Webb) conceives a diversionary scheme to lead Germany to believe the true target is Greece. Creating the false identity of Major William Martin for a young man with no family who recently died of pneumonia (giving the appearance of drowning) Montagu plants phony top secret documents on the body and arranges for it to wash ashore in Spain. While Hitler believes the information German undercover agent Patrick O’Reilly (Stephen Boyd) is skeptical. His suspicions risk exposing the deception.
The Great Imposter (1961)-Young Ferdinand Demara Jr. (Tony Curtis) quits high school to join the Army with hopes of becoming an officer but finds his lack of education stands in his way. His solution is to fake papers as an officer in the Marines but eventually his lie is detected. On the run he assumes the identity of a Trappist monk. In time though he again must flee and as the years pass Demara impersonates a sailor, prison warden, teacher and doctor as his journeys take him around the globe. This is based on a true story.
You definitely need to get on Parasite! (and I need to get on the rest of the Best Picture winners. I've only seen 46 of them)
DeleteI haven't seen any of your picks this week but I'm familiar with the last two.
I have not seen A Knight's Tale, and I probably should one day. Love the other two.
ReplyDeleteIf The Man Who Never Was sounds interesting, the book is even better. The movie is based on a real spy operation in WWII to throw off the Nazis about the location of the Allied invasion of Sicily. The book Operation Mincemeat details the entire story, and it's absolutely worth a read if you like history, spy stuff, or just a good ripping yarn.
I'll have to check that book out!
DeleteNice picks! We share A Knight's Tale in common, and I almost picked Parasite for a fourth extra one. I'm always amazed by how seamless that family just takes on these roles and how the lines aren't even blurred morally if it's right or not.
ReplyDeleteI know. Parasite is so wonderful. I'm glad to see A Knight's Tale getting a lot of love today.
DeleteI love all 3 of those films and once I get my stimulus check and use it to buy a Blu-Ray player. I'm getting Parasite on Blu-Ray as I want to see the black-and-white version of the film. My mom loves that movie as well.
ReplyDeleteI had no issues with the usage of modern music in the film as I thought it fit really well. Plus, I can't help but think of that film whenever I hear "Golden Years" as it was remixed by Bowie's longtime producer Tony Visconti specifically for that film. And to think, Bowie actually wrote the song for Elvis to sing. The King would've had a fucking monster of a hit.
I think of it too when I hear Golden Years, which is one of my favorite Bowie songs anyways.
DeleteI rarely buy blu rays anymore but I did buy Parasite. Worth it!
Was it the Criterion version?
DeleteIt was not :( I don't own any Criterion movies but I think I might splurge and get Memories of Murder on Criterion.
DeleteI haven't seen your first pick, but A History of Violence is so good, and Parasite is one of my favourite Best Picture winners.
ReplyDeleteNow I need to rewatch A Histroy of Violence after talking about it so much.
DeleteGreat Choices! Would "The Usual Suspects" also work? That one immediately came to mind (despite having that creepy Kevin Spacey).
ReplyDeleteThat would've been a good pick! Creepy Kevin Spacey is in two of my all time favorite movies. Life is rough. lol
DeleteI think I may have seen A Knight's Tale a long time ago. Don't remember anything but don't think I liked it.
ReplyDeleteHaven't seen the other two but really want to see Parasite.
Aww that's too bad. I love that movie. Parasite is awesome!
DeleteI think I haven't seen the middle one but I really want to. Viggo is such a gem! And oh how I miss Heath... one of these days I need to put aside my sadness and celebrate his filmography again. I mean it's been years... I should be able to by now.
ReplyDeleteI still get sad after I watch him but during, I enjoy you. You should definitely check out A History of Violence!
DeleteI can't believe I didn't think of A Knight's Tale even though I only just rewatched it last month.
ReplyDeleteIts such a good movie!
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