This is turning into a multi-hankie thread. All of the music mentioned is just too moving! But now, to get it out of my system, I’ll watch “Manhunt”, “Empire of the Sun”, the last half of “Hope and Glory”, (to give my spirits a little lift) and then read some of Ray’s “Dandelion Wine” to help get things back into perspective.

Chap,
Very good. I just had a day off and, after completing various chores, "Centered" myself with some Chaplin and Marx Brothers...

Ah, Chaplin. The unattended party discovered by the girl in “The Gold Rush”, the hardboiled egg sequence in “The Circus”, the flower sequence and the final scene in “City Lights”, Albert Einstein weeping during the final scene at the premier of “City Lights”. Great stuff.

Chap,
The scenes you mention are some of the most moving in cinema history.
Here's some trivia fer ya: Chaplin played violin (left-handed) and even played with Einstein! He also wrote all the music for his films, or, to be more precise, had people who could notate music write down what he told them.
Einstein, by the way, was a big fan of "Time For Beanie" which was created by Stan Freberg and Bob Clampett. I got to meet Bob Clampett and talked with him for a couple hours...

I think Jimmy Stewart was also a fan of “Time For Beany”.

Fascinating about Einstein and the violin. It was Chaplin’s music by the way that initially sparked my interest in his films. I never found the piano music that was usually associated with silent films particularly appealing, but when I saw “City Lights”, oh, my. And then of course the other aspects of the film, well, I couldn’t get enough of Chaplin after that. Here, in case you haven’t already seen this quick comment regarding the ending of “City Lights”:

“It is enough to shrivel the heart to see; it is the highest moment in movies.” – James Agee

For a real multi-hankie movie, "Mrs. Miniver" might just do. I haven't seen it all through, but caught the end once and wondered why they were playing "Pomp and Circumstance."

I learned what a difference music made in Chaplin's films when, after watching a restored version of "The Gold Rush" with a friend, I thought I'd give my parents this great experience and picked up a set of Chaplin films at a yard sale. Unfortunately they were unrestored and the people who put them together were especially careless, sticking in whatever unrelated music ran the same general length as a given scene. It really spoiled the viewing experience. Luckily I paid only three bucks.

dandelion,
The “Gold Rush” scenario you describe is close to what happened to me. My first attempt at that film and I ended up with the honky tonk stuff.

Ah, “Mrs. Miniver”. Lovely film. Courage knew no gender during that beast of a war. I think it was co-written by James Hilton, the author of “Lost Horizon” and “Goodbye Mr. Chips", and based on the wonderful stories of Jan Struther.

For heart-wrenchers, some that come immediately to mind are "How Green Was My Valley", "The Best Years Of Our Lives", and "Penny Serenade".
More if I think about it...

Of the 40's war films, “The Human Comedy”, “Manhunt”, “Sun Valley Serenade” and “Hollywood Canteen” affect me the most. But in a general list of heart-wrenchers I would definitely place “How Green Was My Valley” in the top three. The mother reminds me of one of my grandmothers. Same look, same brogue.

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Saw "King Kong" this afternoon. Only twenty people in the theater, but that's a Saturday matinee in Dayton for ya. I expect their Friday and Saturday night showings were pretty full.

"King Kong" is special to me. I remember watching the old movie on Saturday afternoon TV as a little kid, and when I saw the 1976 version in the theater I thought it was really good. (Of course, this new one blew it to kingdom come.) That same year (giving away my age here) I went through freshman initiation. My senior was named Marie King and had the idea to make me "Marie's King Kong." Being off at school, no one had a Barbie doll for Fay Wray so she improvised a cardboard figure labeled "Fay Ray," and just laughed when I pointed out she'd spelled the last name wrong. (Of course I was seldom without a book with "Ray" on the cover!) I still have a picture of me as King Kong (maybe I'll post it here if I can ever figure out how) and the cardboard "Fay Ray."

I mostly loved this movie. Some of the scenes were a bit drawn-out. Not having seen it, I didn't know why someone on the "Twilight Zone" forum started a thread on it headed "King Long" but did after I'd sat there awhile. This was only a glance-at-the-watch twice movie--pretty good for 3+ hours but not "totally enthralled the whole time." Well-written, well-acted, absolutely exquisite special effects, not for little kids or fainthearted folk--though SO WONDERFUL to see a whole movie with no bad language or strongly adult situations (the closest to that was the studio exec's discussion of breasts--hilarious!) It was really true to the spirit of entertainment from the time it portrayed! And it wasn't just "an adventure pic." It was truly art.

I sorta noticed a giant ape go past a few times there. It was kinda like "Moby-Dick," ya know, where a giant whale comes into it but he isn't mentioned until far along in the story. Carl Denham (Jack Black) was sure a Captain Ahab, though. (Whatta ya wanna bet he had Kong stuffed and mounted to recoup his losses from all the lawsuits no doubt showered on him for a torn-up theater, trashed trolley cars, and general mayhem in the streets?) You know who else he really reminded me of? Orson Welles! Did he remind anyone else of anyone or anything?

So, yeah, the big ape was something, but my real question is, did anyone besides me notice that Kyle Chandler was in this picture? Because I love Kyle Chandler and I thought he did great.

For those who are unaware of it, Jackson wrote a “King Kong” script in 1996. At some point after that he visited Fay Wray and videotaped her in her home. The following is the closing scene of the 1996 script:

“EXT. FIFTH AVENUE - MORNING

CROWDS are gathering to STARE at KONG'S BODY ... we only see his HAND
on the edge of frame.

A POLICEMAN ushers people away ...

POLICEMAN
Come on folks ... it's all over. The airplane's got him.

PUSH IN ... to an OLD LADY standing in the crowd. She shakes her head
sadly ...

OLD LADY
It wasn't the airplanes ... it was beauty killed the beast.

The OLD LADY turns and slowly walks away from CAMERA.

FADE TO BLACK.

THE END”

And of course the “OLD LADY” would have been Fay Wray. I think that would have been kind of nice.

dandelion,
Wasn't Kyle Chandler the secretary? Bruce somthing or other? Oh! Yes, yes, he was the actor, wasn’t he? Oh God. That was excellent stuff. My whole family loved that character.

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I've already posted a bit about this most enjoyable movie; but one thing I noticed and wonder if anyone else did: having great affection for the original film and a special love of Max Steiner's music, I was pleased that a wee bit of the original score was used in the new film. If memory serves, it was in the Kong-in-chains-in-the-theatre scene. I did not, however, see any reference to Steiner in the credits. Did I just miss it? Anyway, for fans of this music, there's a fine recording of it available on CD from 1998. If the name Max Steiner doesn't ring a bell, perhaps you'll recall the fine music in films like "Casablanca" and "Gone With The Wind"...

Narnia was okay. The book is still much better. I'll probably see King Kong on video.

nonoonoononononononono!
Kong will be destroyed on video!
for 2 reasons:
1. This movie is one of those movies that is really meant to be seen on a giant screen with popcorn and a crowd. It's epic and fun and exciting and VISUAL and that gets lost on a small screen
2. If it's video you'd watch it on, it'd be panned-and-scanned. This was made in 2.35:1, pretty much cinemascope. Really wide aspect ratio. Basically, you're missing half the picture that way. An easy way to maim the film. If you want to see it at home, I strongly encourage you to rent the widescreen DVD.

Yeah, Kyle Chandler was the actor. Even though he convincingly played an obnoxious character in this film, he's very versatile. He was my choice for Montag in a "Fahrenheit 451" remake and I think he'd be great!

It would have been really nice if Fay Wray could have been in the new film. I did enjoy the brief reference paying tribute to her.

It does do to mention that Ray so promoted the original film that some friends of his saw it and came to him saying, "We saw Kong last night. So what?"
"Well, where did you see it?"
"On TV."
"No, no, no, that's all wrong! On TV, you have Kong in your lap. In the theater, Kong has you in his lap. The only right way to see it is in a theater!"

With the size of people's TVs these days, watching a DVD at home is about like watching a theatrical movie, though. "Fahrenheit 451" with its wall screens has come to pass. I know several people planning to view Kong at home.