tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-227751790693713235.post6795969188053717941..comments2024-03-22T14:48:09.697-04:00Comments on Dell on Movies: 2019 Blind Spot Series: Guess Who's Coming to DinnerDellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05634519605152190304noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-227751790693713235.post-77776946669199281032019-03-14T12:43:42.645-04:002019-03-14T12:43:42.645-04:00I do enjoy this film very much and consider it qui...I do enjoy this film very much and consider it quite good even today. I don't think it is dated too much although i wondered why such a cultured man would want to be with such a flighty numbskull. Tracy was excellent in the film especially when he walks, stops and then talks. Everyone thought it was so well done when all he was doing was looking down for his mark:)Birgithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09439720285857050428noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-227751790693713235.post-36702664154728979392019-03-03T12:43:19.631-05:002019-03-03T12:43:19.631-05:00One of those movies the Academy goes for with a me...One of those movies the Academy goes for with a message about tolerance. I love the song Glory of Love from the soundtrack, and the acting is solid, but I find the story forgettable and predictable. A classic that isn't quite as great as its reputation. As you say, the film paved the way for other filmmakers, and in that sense it's significant.Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09395044055566348346noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-227751790693713235.post-18222953517706010372019-03-02T23:18:56.784-05:002019-03-02T23:18:56.784-05:00Kate Hepburn is one of those cases where she was c...Kate Hepburn is one of those cases where she was certainly deserving at different points in her career of the four Oscars she won just not, except in the case of The Lion in Winter, for the films she was awarded for. Never the most prolific actress, her previous film-Long Day's Journey Into Night (where she is extraordinary and one of those times she was deserving but lost) was five years previous to Dinner and much of that time was devoted to caring for Tracy whose epic drinking had ruined his health by the early sixties. All that was well-known within the Hollywood community which without a doubt played into her winning. <br /><br />It seems crazy that Anne and Faye in their iconic roles lost to her. If you haven't seen the other two nominated performances they are both worth catching up with. Audrey Hepburn's Wait Until Dark was her last film for about a decade, she retired to raise her children, and is a very tense thriller. The Whisperers is a bleak, sadly haunting film but Edith Evans (a legendary stage actress) is brilliant.<br /><br />joel65913https://www.blogger.com/profile/14526657073681774683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-227751790693713235.post-9722099103095592442019-03-01T20:43:15.037-05:002019-03-01T20:43:15.037-05:00I'm with you. Poitier is basically a billboard...I'm with you. Poitier is basically a billboard poster, rendering him rather boring without much to do. Of what little I have seen from this year, I wouldn't consider this top tier, either.Dellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05634519605152190304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-227751790693713235.post-3275041093475257202019-03-01T20:40:44.797-05:002019-03-01T20:40:44.797-05:00Yes, Poitier's character is my main hang-up wi...Yes, Poitier's character is my main hang-up with this movie. "Almost superhuman" is an entirely too apt description of him. It robs the movie of so much tension and it never feels like anything is truly in doubt. I think it's good, but yes, flawed.<br /><br />I didn't get that same vibe from Houghton, but she was not in the same class as Hepburn and Tracy. However, I also agree Hepburn should not have won Best Actress. Both Bancroft and Dunn were far and away better.<br /><br />Hearing Sanford's voice immediately gave me pause, too. I had no idea she was in it, so I was like what's Weezy doing here? It certainly took me a minute or two to get back into the movie.Dellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05634519605152190304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-227751790693713235.post-18985205503442392772019-03-01T20:10:06.356-05:002019-03-01T20:10:06.356-05:00I was surprised and appreciative just how fast we ...I was surprised and appreciative just how fast we got into the meat of the matter. That definitely kept things tight.Dellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05634519605152190304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-227751790693713235.post-27308077669356011802019-03-01T20:08:31.809-05:002019-03-01T20:08:31.809-05:00It was a big deal here in the States for a couple ...It was a big deal here in the States for a couple weeks a few years back because ads for mainstream high profile products just didn't have interracial couples. And some people wanted to keep it that way.Dellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05634519605152190304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-227751790693713235.post-25450138049622369242019-03-01T20:04:25.110-05:002019-03-01T20:04:25.110-05:00Yeah, that remake was terrible. It is worth seeing...Yeah, that remake was terrible. It is worth seeing. You could argue, though, that this was a whole movie about being politically correct.Dellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05634519605152190304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-227751790693713235.post-51422969256670003652019-03-01T08:02:24.077-05:002019-03-01T08:02:24.077-05:00Not sure what happened but I think I accidentally ...Not sure what happened but I think I accidentally submitted my comment before finishing. Anyways, I had said that as much as I wanted to like this film...something always felt rather flat. Poitier's character's seeming emptiness was partially to blame, but I also think that the year itself isn't kind to this film. 1967 is one of, if not the greatest year for film, ever, and considering this top tier always felt off to me. Nice write up though!Drew @ Man About Wordshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00147239310157205264noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-227751790693713235.post-59054277310182782572019-02-28T19:49:05.742-05:002019-02-28T19:49:05.742-05:00I've always found this to be okay but flawed f...I've always found this to be okay but flawed for many of the reasons you mentioned. <br /><br />Poitier is just too good too be true. In a way at this point in time he is the type of person that someone of Joanna's station would meet (a distinguished educator whose intelligence and ambition has enabled him to move beyond the boundaries society had in place at the time) but he is nearly superhuman. Poitier does what he can but it really is everyone else that has characters of more depth. He is easily eclipsed by everyone but Houghton, who to me is stiff and mannered in contrast to the other more seasoned performers. She is good casting however since being Kate Hepburn's real life niece she certainly looks as if she would be the pair's child. <br /><br />Roy Glenn is good as Sidney's father but Beah Richards is the standout of his two parents even though she has less screen time. There is a gentle wariness and depth in her playing. <br /><br />But of course it's the Tracy & Hepburn duo, along with Poitier, that got the film made and pulled in the crowds. Tracy gives an incredibly deep performance, particularly so taking into consideration how ill he was (he was gone less than 3 weeks after filming wrapped and both Hepburn & Kramer had to put up their salaries as surety for him to be cast) and his final speech is a beautiful thing. Kate Hepburn is very good, her ability to focus and deliver such a commendable performance in light of her nursing Tracy at the same time is impressive indeed, but I can't say I think she deserved the Oscar she received. The way I think it played out is that the Hollywood community at the time saw it as a career acknowledgement reward since without Tracy by her side they assumed she might withdraw not knowing that she'd come rip roaring back the very next year with a truly deserving piece of work in The Lion in Winter. She's good here and hits the proper emotional beats but no way is this role the equal of the ones she was up against, Anne Bancroft in The Graduate, Faye Dunaway in Bonnie & Clyde, Audrey Hepburn in Wait Until Dark and Edith Evans in The Whisperers. Any one of their wins would have made more sense than Kate's. <br /><br />As is common with older films it's cool to see performers pop up who went on to greater fame from there, in this case The Jefferson's Isabel Sanford and Virginia Christine who for decades was Mrs. Olson in the Folger coffee TV ads, but it does take you out of the picture temporarily. In a way its a disservice to the performer, both actresses do well in their roles in this film, but there's really no way around it. <br /><br />The picture is very earnest and never condescends to either its characters nor audience and its heart and the filmmakers hearts are all in the right place but it screams "I'M AN IMPORTANT PICTURE, LOVE ME!!!" a bit too much. joel65913https://www.blogger.com/profile/14526657073681774683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-227751790693713235.post-24478443949290979752019-02-28T11:40:04.991-05:002019-02-28T11:40:04.991-05:00I had this as a Blind Spot a few years ago and I a...I had this as a Blind Spot a few years ago and I agree it holds up. I like how you mentioned the plot getting right to it, I enjoyed that as well.Brittani Burnhamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07975067259283007280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-227751790693713235.post-66493338787995460702019-02-28T06:25:35.633-05:002019-02-28T06:25:35.633-05:00I'm glad to hear that it still holds up after ...I'm glad to hear that it still holds up after so long. I had no idea about the controversy around a Cheerios ad, that's shocking!Often Off Topichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15683076467959831961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-227751790693713235.post-52275799298605823212019-02-28T00:49:15.002-05:002019-02-28T00:49:15.002-05:00This is a film that I haven't seen though I ha...This is a film that I haven't seen though I have unfortunately seen that remake with Kettlehead. Of all the white boys Zoe Saldana could've been with, why him? He's an idiot.<br /><br />I still want to see this as this was the last film Spencer Tracy has been in and I'd like to see him respond to someone as dignified as Sidney Poitier. It must feel like a weird film back then as I want to know what I would feel if I saw it without all of this political correctness bullshit that we're dealing with. Oh man, I bet there were black women that were like... AW HELL NAW!!!! WHY DID HE CHOOSE THAT WHITE GIRL?!<br />thevoid99https://www.blogger.com/profile/03055459287396592446noreply@blogger.com