I'm having a problem.
I could see Notorious every day. I can't get past it. I'm stuck. I'm stuck in a Notorious loop. Every time I see the film, the problem grows. The hunger will not cease, the thirst will not be slaked. More and more space is carving itself out from within me, leaving room for this movie and this movie alone.
I'm obviously an addict and I'm trying to come clean. But I can't stop. I just can't stop.
Posted by sheilaYou've already taken the first step, Sheila. And that's always the hardest.
Posted by: Emily at July 8, 2004 4:15 PMJust imagine what a Notorious Anonymous meeting would be like.
"Hi. My name is Sheila and I'm a notorious addict."
Posted by: red at July 8, 2004 4:19 PM"It started out so innocent. At first, it was just once or twice a week at home. Then that wasn't good enough anymore. I had to see it on the big screen. Over time, I gradually lost my grip on reality. When I finally hit rock bottom, I found myself in Philadelphia eating day-old chicken out of a dumpster behind a Chinese take-out joint."
Posted by: Emily at July 8, 2004 4:29 PMIt's the Nazis isn't it? Films with Nazis and romance always hit big. A perfect evil and a perfect good.
Posted by: Big Dan at July 8, 2004 4:47 PMNot to mention Cary Grant's dimple and his bitter hurt eyes. And Claude Rains as a mother-dominated Nazi. And that last scene. And the scene at the racetrack where Grant and Bergman meet surreptitiously and she admits she has added Rains to her list of "playmates". The way Cary Grant lights a cigarette. The sudden convulsive crying Bergman does when she realizes what is going on. And ... did I mention Cary Grant's dimple?
I can't get enough.
I am not a well woman. And it makes me very happy.
Posted by: red at July 8, 2004 4:54 PMAs a former obsessed Ingrid Bergman addict I totally sympathize with what you're going through. It passes with time, though. "Gaslight" was the film I was stuck on, although I had to see "Notorious" many times as well.
-Bryan
Posted by: Bryan at July 9, 2004 8:50 AMKiss a little longer, Cary and Ingrid. Jeez!
Posted by: Dude at July 12, 2004 5:29 PMEver since I canceled my cable completely over a year ago, a tape of one night of Turner Classic Movies has become like crack to me. It's 3 Billy Wilder films from the week he died in '02 - One, Two, Three; Double Indemnity, and The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes. A promo tape of 'Gaslight' and some station content, from when TCM launched.
You haven't helped me avoid becoming a black-and-white junkie, Sheila. Neither has 'Mulholland Dr.' -- I just rented 'Persona' and loved it. I also live within driving distance of a great repertory cinema (Cornell) and I am kicking myself that I MISSED both 'Sunset Blvd.' and 'In a Lonely Place' on the big screen this summer. Now I'm waiting to get them from Netflix... but oh man, my life must be the poorer for not seeing those two flicks larger than life.
Posted by: Dan at August 24, 2004 10:44 AMI should have said 'also' for that TCM Gaslight tape... one of the rare benefits of journalism is the odd promo item. I still get all the Hallmark Hall of Fame movies when new, and some are quite good.
Posted by: Dan at August 24, 2004 10:47 AMDan -
Gaslight - woah. What a MOVIE!
And In a Lonely Place is FABulous. I think I wrote a post on it when I first saw it - In my humble opinion, it's Bogart's best acting job.
Posted by: red at August 24, 2004 10:48 AMOh yeah, I just read your InAL.P. review last night. It's even better than the 100 greatest performances essay on Bogie's role, in one of the film mags or other.
And now I am Dano, in deference to that other Dan who was here first. and more often. as is the way of life.
I'll be scouring the west village for videos after this weekend's hoopla, pre-convention.
