At last! A great new print---and choice of B&W or color! Good long ago, but this LEGEND print is astonishing--sharp focus; perfect tone contrast. A HUGE new appreciation---like a fresh movie. Now in the all-time top 10. From arty opening titles...
- 29.March.2010
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- by: Democritus
- Democritus rated this movie
 10/10Must See
At last! A great new print---and choice of B&W or color! Good long ago, but this LEGEND print is astonishing--sharp focus; perfect tone contrast. A HUGE new appreciation---like a fresh movie. Now in the all-time top 10. From arty opening titles to the mixture of comedy & (careful) social criticism in the depression depths, a very great American movie. Three years into FDR's New Deal, one feels fresh air & hopes breathing through, several times sarcastically refers to the prior president's do-nothing pull-yourself-up-alone assurances of "prosperity just around the corner," i.e., don't expect the gov't to fix this. If you must ignore the politics for your own reasons, there's still plenty to enjoy. William Powell is wonderful & wryly underplayed as the archetypal unemployed "Forgotten Man"---overlooked not because he wants a handout, but is just one of millions being swept under the rug. Carole Lombard is a live-wire joy. Her so-dramatic intonations--- "Why bother? It's all a delusion"---concerning high society affairs, after failing to snag his heart, are a real tickle. This depiction of life among the rich surpasses "Holiday" (1938), which I thought I'd love. Yet it's airless, compared to this relatively earthy urban comedy. After seeing it in B&W, I even watched it again ---outrage/heresy-- colorized & thought it was great, too! Provocatively challenging way to see it anew as non-nostalgia. (OK, I was a bit delirious.) Seriously, it's what historians call "recovery of a usable past"---making new & legitimate use of the artifacts of former culture to find insight and tools for advancements of today. Respect the artists' unique integrity; a colorized version is NOT the same artwork it was. But I think now I'm in favor of it as something else, for use in our own time, with the original available. A true golden oldie in fun fine form. 10-09 __ Oops. Netfl:x just reverted to an older version--no color option either. Sad. 12-09
- 29.March.2010
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- by: Democritus
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It's hard to call this a romantic comedy since there really isn't any romance in it. Irene chases Godfrey around, but she never tries to woo him. The Bullocks running around like children is the funniest part of the movie. I wonder how a film with...
- 27.March.2009
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- by: heapshake
- heapshake rated this movie8/10Great
It's hard to call this a romantic comedy since there really isn't any romance in it. Irene chases Godfrey around, but she never tries to woo him. The Bullocks running around like children is the funniest part of the movie. I wonder how a film with the storyline of the Bullocks would be accepted today with the current economic problems. A rich family that parties while their business loses money only to be bailed out and live happily ever after would probably be panned. It is a very witty movie and except for parts of the ending it is a good story.
- 27.March.2009
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- by: heapshake
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Does this gene fit My Man Godfrey?
