Classics

I had a run of watching movie classics that I have always wanted to see but had not.  Funny now looking at these three I watched recently, I see that they all have a strong female lead.  Not sure that that means but I did not draw the connection until I saw them lined up like that.  I also put them in order of my favorite first.  Wow Sunset Boulevard, amazingly good.  Tragic but poignant.  You feel such pity for Norma but not in a condescending way.  Everyone creates their reality, it is just not normally as forceful or distinct as Norma does.  And Joe, oh my William Holden was perfect.  You want to hate him but you can't.  He is in a trap and you can clearly see he helped build it as we all do with our problems.  What a brilliant movie

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I watched all 4 hours plus of Cleopatra and enjoyed it all.  When Cleopatra arrives in Rome, I was as stunned and astonished as the people of Rome.  The movie is 53 years old and no CGI yet that scene was over the top jaw dropping.  Liz Taylor, what a powerhouse.  Liz was 5'2" and she wielded Cleopatra's power as if she was 7 foot tall.  If you read the historical accounts of Cleopatra, she was not the great beauty that Liz was but she was extremely intelligent, well skilled at understanding the world, and used her sexuality in a time when female sexuality was to be used by men not by women.  I thought Liz did a great job.  Some over the top dramatics for effect but overall just a charismatic women carving her place in a male dominated world.  In a side note, Liz Taylor was stunning, just

absolutely breath takingly beautiful.  Piercing eyes and how the hell do you get skin that perfect.

Last in the line up was Breakfast at Tiffany's.  I felt pressure to love it but in reality I just found it ok.  Truman Capote certainly does not express as well as Tennessee Williams the pathos, confusion, and tragedy of love but he gave it a good shot.  I found it interesting that the characters both sold their time to build the worlds they created.  I suppose in 1961 that was shocking to see on screen but I found it interesting because again everyone creates their own reality by any means possible.  In truth I did not find Holly Golightly to be delightful, interesting yes but delightful no.  She definitely was out for number one and I get that it was the point of the story as she could not see or appreciate what she had, but I do not particularly like watching people that are not gracious.  To her everyone was a rat or a super rat, when she was a mega rat.  I guess I could understand the sadness of Norma Desmond, or the complexity of Cleopatra, and maybe if I could get that better view of Holly, I would have liked this movie better.

My run of classics.  I am happy I watched them all.