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Post by topbilled on Nov 27, 2023 14:59:13 GMT
Commentary about the original:
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Post by topbilled on Nov 27, 2023 14:59:52 GMT
Word of Mouth segment:
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Post by topbilled on Nov 27, 2023 15:01:57 GMT
Commentary on the remake:
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Post by topbilled on Nov 27, 2023 15:02:38 GMT
Trailer for the remake:
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Post by topbilled on Nov 27, 2023 15:03:28 GMT
Word of Mouth segment for the remake:
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Post by jamesjazzguitar on Nov 27, 2023 19:30:32 GMT
The Opposite Sex is no match for The Women, at all levels. Not even close.
A lot starts with the script (for TW written by two women, for TOS a married couple, which I believe makes a big difference in tone) and direction (George Cukor vs David Miller). Then there are the two main actresses. Yea, I'm no fan of June Allyson and here she comes off as so bitter that who would wish to have her around. Sheer plays the role too much like a sap, but there is a degree of warmth and affection (even though Steven doesn't deserve it!).
But for me the biggest divide are the leading supporting actresses, especially Rosalind Russell and Paulette Goddard. They play their parts with perfection. (and Joan Fontaine does her 40s loving cluelessness here which is endearing)
Then we have the side-kick actresses in Virgina Grey, Marjorie Mann and Lucille Watson. Also, no men. E.g. baseball player turned somewhat actor Jeff Richard as Buck, doesn't cut it. Leslie Nielson is fine but his scenes with Allyson bring out that side of her screen persona that is a real turnoff for me.
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Post by topbilled on Nov 28, 2023 14:42:42 GMT
Thanks for your detailed thoughts, James.
While I can certainly understand the criticism re: the remake, I tend to favor the 1956 version. I think people prefer the original 1939 film, because they prefer the original actresses. Also, most people see the 1939 version first. In my case, I saw the 1956 version first, so it made a strong impression on me without the obvious comparisons.
The remake seems to have slightly glossier production values. I like the fact it has all been filmed in color and I do appreciate seeing the men, which gives it the opposite sex of the title...I felt the original was a little too gimmicky, and I never believed that all those gals could operate in a bubble without us seeing any of the men. The presence of the men in the '56 version establishes the women as heterosexuals.
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Post by jamesjazzguitar on Nov 29, 2023 0:06:03 GMT
As for The Woman featuring no men: I can see why that would be viewed as gimmicky, but I believe it enhances the main theme of the film: the interaction between heterosexual woman when dealing with men's follies (e.g. infidelity, lack of loyalty, dishonesty etc.). How each woman deals with these follies, how woman can support each other or undermine each other.
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Post by topbilled on Nov 29, 2023 0:25:12 GMT
There's a film called THE MEN (1950) which was Marlon Brando's screen debut. It tells the story of a crippled war vet and his buddies, but it doesn't have to resort to the gimmick of keeping all the women in their lives off screen.
The only way THE WOMEN would work for me as a film that only features females on screen is if they were all contained in one remote setting, miles away from men...like if the whole story was about them meeting and interacting on the ranch in Reno. But when we have scenes of them at home, going shopping, dining out, and riding on the train it just seems really gimmicky that there isn't even one male figure in the background anywhere. So because of that, it loses credibility for me. Of course, that doesn't take away from the fine performances or Cukor's sharp direction, but I find the 1956 version much more integrated, balanced and realistic in terms of how the two sexes are depicted, while the focus still remains on the ladies and their personal issues.
***
But as I said earlier, I think sometimes it depends on which version you see first as to which one you most prefer...in this case, both versions are quality "A" productions from MGM.
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Post by NoShear on Dec 13, 2023 23:47:57 GMT
If one lives and dies by colorful musicals, then The Opposite Sex will obviously get the nod over THE WOMEN 'dreariness', but even THE WOMEN offers some Technicolor escapism in the spirit of another 1939 movie - The WIZARD Of OZ - a paradox to the apropos gray of Mary Haines' struggle between pride and inescapable love. And speaking of gray, Dolores Gray's Sylvia Fowler seems an inadequate bitchy yield to the frenetic cattiness of Rosalind Russell's.
Of The WIZARD Of OZ and Rosalind Russell...
I caught TCM's most recent screening of "AUNTIE MAME" and thought that Rosalind Russell's multi-layered dramatic character was so awesome - from pathos sadness to the Wicked Witch of the West evil hand-rubbing: I'll get you, my pretty, and your big blowhard of a husband too...
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