THE DANMAN CAN

At 3 and 3/4 hours long, few movies are as captivating as  Lawrence Of Arabia   (1962). Hell, few movies are as captivating at half that length. I've watched  David Lean 's not-so-lean desert epic three times now, if memory serves correct. The previous viewing was 10 years ago for the film's 50th anniversary, when it was released to Blu-ray. The time before that was a year shy of the 40th anniversary, when the film was released to DVD. Now I've watched LOA  on a third format, 4K UHD, looking the best I've ever seen it (I haven't gotten around to seeing a 70mm print yet).  It's difficult to explain what is so fascinating about this film, outside of the obvious—the impressive technical achievements. The central figure is captivating, even if he is a sadistic colonialist with a fractured psyche. LOA is rightly considered one of the greatest films ever made for many reasons, which I won't attempt to list. It's not a film I watch often, largely due to the...

David Lean 's Summertime (1955) represents a certain bygone melodramatic movie romance and fully embraces the cliches that go along with that genre, though there is a melancholic quality to the film that falls short of fairy tale. It can come off a bit hammy and its gender politics are certainly dated by today's standards. But there is an undeniable charm, lushness, and amusing sense of humor to this story of a Venetian holiday affair, which makes it easy to get swept up in the world of its characters. Summertime  features one of Katharine Hepburn 's best performances—the way she conveys awkwardness, loneliness, and heartbreak is universal.  David Lean Feature Films Ranked

Despite historical inaccuracies and a running time that stretches a bit further than needed, The Bridge On The River Kwai (1957) is a rousing adventure film of impressive scope. As I get older, Bridge does begin to feel a bit more like a product of its time instead of an all-out timeless classic. At this point, given what I just mentioned and the fact that I've seen it numerous times, it's the kind of film that I can drift in and out on a Sunday afternoon, but still enjoy the same experience. Director David Lean 's film about British prisoners of war forced to build a bridge on the " Death Railway " for the Japanese Army during World War II is based on Pierre Boulle 's (who also wrote Planet Of The Apes  in 1963) book The Bridge Over The River Kwai  (1952), which I've read, but don't recall much of (might be time for a re-read). According to Wikipedia "Boulle had been a prisoner of the Japanese in Southeast Asia and his story of collaboration...

The epic to end all epics. What's great about this film is that it's so simple at its core and manages to stay interesting for over 3 hours. Eventually, I'll get around to reading the novel. Here's a great rendition of Maurice Jarre's memorable theme, as perfrmed by Chet Atkins :

Summertime   (1955) is my first "non-epic" David Lean film.  Rygar & I began our first, and hopefully regular, Criterion Collection Night with this title. We really should have paid more attention and talked less though...