tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8545661733980837263.post6252076782553052635..comments2023-03-30T16:56:53.692-07:00Comments on Icebox Movies: Was Annie (1982) Huston's worst movie?Adam Zanziehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14524618281515322239noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8545661733980837263.post-78110213581690309402012-12-25T09:44:38.280-08:002012-12-25T09:44:38.280-08:00I enjoyed reading your assessment of Huston's ...I enjoyed reading your assessment of Huston's film version of Annie. I saw t years ago and frankly don't remember much about it. It definitely lacked Huston's signature stamp on it ; anyone could have made it. I recently saw his 1966 epic "The Bible", a movie some may categorize as among the director's worst films but in all honesty I found the movie to be fascinating in parts and a much better film than most critics considered it to be when it premiered. Though overlong and lumbering, it has some striking moments and it is visually awesome to look at. But "Annie" is simply dead on arrival, a movie with no soul, in my opinion.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8545661733980837263.post-53262481204545860942010-08-09T19:54:45.277-07:002010-08-09T19:54:45.277-07:00Ha! Good point, Adam. I'm not sure but maybe...Ha! Good point, Adam. I'm not sure but maybe the radio program was more commercialized than the comic strip, but even so they were both extremely popular. There was something about a poor orphan being saved from poverty by a rich benefactor. Heck there still is. I'm still looking out for mine!Jason Marshallhttp://moviesovermatter.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8545661733980837263.post-64962651535729509152010-08-09T13:20:20.580-07:002010-08-09T13:20:20.580-07:00Judy, it's good you mention The Mackintosh Man...Judy, it's good you mention <i>The Mackintosh Man</i> because that's another Huston title that has eluded me (actually, I've had a seriously hard time locating almost all of his late 60's/early 70's titles). I think Finney's singing is odd, too, though the one scene I remember liking of him is when he yells, "I WANT A <i>BOY</i>!" when they first take Annie to his house.<br /><br />Jason, pleased to meet you! The blogathon has been going very well so far. I agree that <i>Annie</i> would probably prove to be a dull experience were I to revisit it; as for the portrayal of the Depression, you're probably dead-on about that. Though surely Little Orphan Annie didn't please all children back then, did it?<br /><br />Remember what it did to Ralphie, for instance? "Be... Sure... To... Drink... Your... Ovaltine. <i>Ovaltine</i>??? A crummy commercial? Son of a bitch!"Adam Zanziehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14524618281515322239noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8545661733980837263.post-25769580915922624832010-08-09T12:02:49.662-07:002010-08-09T12:02:49.662-07:00Hi Adam, Great project here! I rewatched "An...Hi Adam, Great project here! I rewatched "Annie" a couple of years ago and I have to say I was stunned at how bad it was. I remember vaguely liking it as a child, but on another viewing I was just bored most of the time. Most of the musical numbers are silly ("We Got Annie!" Really?) and your friend Sarah is right: Aileen Quinn's performance is tedious and predictable. <br /><br />That said, I don't think it is fair to knock the movie for its saccharine portrayal of the Great Depression. It is, after all, based on a Broadway play that is based on a radio program that is based on a comic book that originated in the Great Depression. Little Orphan Annie was meant to be an escape for kids during those years without ignoring the realities of the time. Could the movie have dealt with a lot of the political and social issues better? Absolutely and it would have made for a richer film that would still have entertained children.Jason Marshallhttp://moviesovermatter.worpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8545661733980837263.post-52069696675957363142010-08-09T00:11:17.083-07:002010-08-09T00:11:17.083-07:00Hi Adam, 'Annie' isn't my favourite mu...Hi Adam, 'Annie' isn't my favourite musical, but I think Huston's film of it is quite watchable, though I'd agree it is definitely one of his lesser films. Having just watched his early 1970s thriller 'The Mackintosh Man', I'd have to say 'Annie' is more fun! However, I'm not a big fan of watching Albert Finney sing - though he is probably better in this than in 'Scrooge'!Judyhttp://movieclassics.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8545661733980837263.post-56040933736661733562010-08-08T21:28:51.957-07:002010-08-08T21:28:51.957-07:00Can't wait to read your Dead piece, Sam.
I ac...Can't wait to read your <i>Dead</i> piece, Sam.<br /><br />I actually must confess that I have an issues with a lot of musicals... of course, as you already know, Jewison's <i>Fiddler on the Roof</i> is an exception for me. I wish Huston could have made a musical as EPIC as that one.Adam Zanziehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14524618281515322239noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8545661733980837263.post-63936833611634328022010-08-08T17:37:50.380-07:002010-08-08T17:37:50.380-07:00ANNIE isn't exactly WEST SIDE STORY, but I fou...ANNIE isn't exactly WEST SIDE STORY, but I found it bearable. Leave it to many to always go after the musical when it comes to citing the worst of anything! Ha!<br /><br />I'm hoping to get something to you on THE DEAD, Adam!Sam Julianonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8545661733980837263.post-11070378208654462972010-08-08T11:43:01.443-07:002010-08-08T11:43:01.443-07:00Thomas, I would actually LOVE a piece on Phobia, i...Thomas, I would actually LOVE a piece on <i>Phobia</i>, if you'd be willing to write about it... even <i>I've</i> never seen it. I had been trying hard to find a copy of it in the months leading up to the blogathon, but my search was in vain. Feel free to write about that as well as <i>Reflections in A Golden Eye</i> or <i>Wise Blood</i> (the latter being one of my personal favorites).Adam Zanziehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14524618281515322239noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8545661733980837263.post-82913775500909530502010-08-08T00:25:22.788-07:002010-08-08T00:25:22.788-07:00I haven't seen Annie since I was like 8 years ...I haven't seen Annie since I was like 8 years old (I guess I liked it at the time, but I'm pretty hazy on it), but there's no way it's worse than Phobia, which is a very mediocre take on the "psychologist group pseudo-slasher" (a la Schizoid and Color of Night), and I'm one of the biggest slasher apologists out there. I don't think too many people have seen it, as I've brought it up a few times to people who were big John Huston fans and they had never heard of it. If you want, I could contribute a review of it to the blogathon here. I enjoy rambling on about these types of films anyway. Otherwise, I was thinking of doing Reflections in a Golden Eye or Wiseblood, if I have time.Thomas Dukehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00804326045764733280noreply@blogger.com