Dirty Movie Club: Sweet Smell of Success
 

The Movie
Sweet Smell of Success
1957, dir. Alexander Mackendrick
Starring Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis

IMDb | Netflix | Blockbuster | Amazon

or it's probably in the Drama section of your video store, or Classics if your drama section doesn't have anything older than 1990 in it...

The Synopsis
Burt Lancaster plays a Walter Winchell-type uber-powerful Columnist in 50s NYC with Tony Curtis as a sleazy power-hungry press agent cowtowed to him in hopes of favors. It's like a contest to see who can out-talk and out-maneuver the other, all drenched in amazing location photography, cool jazz, and probably the best language you've heard in the movies or maybe just plain ever.

Why I Chose It
I think some movies represent more than reality and become a fantasy of a world that you'd want to live in. The first time I saw this movie, i wanted to talk like these guys in my real life. I tried and failed, but still. Similar to Strangelet, I resisted an urge to pick something that's well-known and decided to go with a movie that I just wish everyone I know has seen. I feel like, although this one is usually placed somewhere in those top 100 lists or whatever, maybe a lot of you have never seen it before and now this is your excuse. To those that have, it's an excuse to see it again!

Re: Dirty Movie Club: Sweet Smell of Success
 

Sounds great! I haven't seen it, so I'm really looking forward to it.

Re: Dirty Movie Club: Sweet Smell of Success
 

I watched it with me mum when I was age 6 or so and didn't get it, it will be another nice reminder of how great she is with this revisit.

I'm a bit confused on when we decide when the next in line will reveal their movie choice. I still haven't watched Joe vs. Volcano yet.

Re: Dirty Movie Club: Sweet Smell of Success
 

I've got this added into a friend's netflix cue and will be watching Joe V. Volcano later this week.

Must say that I'm looking forward to Sweet Smell of Success and it's making me fret abit about my initial choice for my film next week as it's an old film as well, but I think I'm gonna stick with it.

Re: Dirty Movie Club: Sweet Smell of Success
 

i'd say having two on the go like this isn't a bad idea in terms of getting the netflix list up faster and such... anyhow i'm like john and havne't watch joe even yet... shall try to tonight...

Re: Dirty Movie Club: Sweet Smell of Success
 

i have a pretty extensive dvd rental here and they didn't have it. grateful for the extra time. I think a library would be a good source for this one.
hope i can find it, you have me sold on the descirption :)

Re: Dirty Movie Club: Sweet Smell of Success
 

Yeah I can't find it at Blockbuster and I don't have NetFlix so...

Hopefully they'll have it at the library.

Re: Dirty Movie Club: Sweet Smell of Success
 

found it :). had to go to a hollywood video flag ship store. under classics.

Re: Dirty Movie Club: Sweet Smell of Success
 

Just got done watching it (yay, Netflix!), and I guess I'm not a big fan of this one. I was taken aback by how...archaic, for lack of a better term, this film is compared to films of today. It's not often you see a film that has one camera, and only one camera, focused on a scene nowadays, and the dialogue sounded unnatural. Granted, this movie was made in another era, but I'm not going to fall into the historical fallacy. I'll stick with my gut because I honestly got bored watching it. The acting was definitely good, and the story itself was well-written (although I'm still finding it hard to believe a newspaper columnist, basically a gossip columnist, has that much power, but maybe it was better established in the 50s), but I didn't care for this one.

Re: Dirty Movie Club: Sweet Smell of Success
 

wow...

it's surprising to me how old movies can be shocking. for the 50's this one is just brutal. You think recent films are so cutting edge and you find out similar things were being done straight faced years ago. Another fine example of that is Neil LaBute's recent movies compared with Carnal Knowledge (with art garfunkel and jack nickolson).

I liked the predominance of jazz. It seemed to be a kind of supporting actor. And the language was pretty memorable. a lot of lines like "don't leave me in a minor key" stuck out for me as quotable.

didn't much like tony curtis' acting or his character but burt lancaster owned the camera up and down.

I'm not sure I would agree its completely archaic. Some of the camera angles and lighting seemed to be fresh just by virtue of not seeing anything like that anymore. and it works with the gritty world view they successfully conjure. Not so much a world that seems realistic, but yet has a consistent internal realism. I think it boils down to whether or not that style works for you. I think it did for me.

Anyway, thanks for the recommend. I enjoyed it.

Re: Dirty Movie Club: Sweet Smell of Success
 

I'm not saying it's completely archaic, and I'm not entirely sure that was the word I was searching for. It's just the one the popped into my head at the moment. I said it because the techniques from fifty years ago just seem so foreign. Back then two cameras on a single scene, I'm sure, was a luxury that we take for granted now. And it was in black and white too, so I guess I'm color-biased. :)

Re: Dirty Movie Club: Sweet Smell of Success
 

Cannot find a copy of this ANYWHERE.

BlockBuster has placed on order, may be 3 weeks until I get to view.

I'm moving on to "A Face In the Crowd" for now.

Re: Dirty Movie Club: Sweet Smell of Success
 

really, really looking forward to this, based on what i've read about it, but it's taken me forever to get Joe Versus the Volcano (hopefully watching it tonight), so ... maybe next week :|

Re: Dirty Movie Club: Sweet Smell of Success
 

i watched this last night while a horrible storm was raging in Brooklyn. sort of SPOILERS below obv.

"brutal" is an apt word -- i know the Hunsecker character was based on a real journalist, but the whole situation with the kid sister was really dark and did seem like a bit of a stretch at times. that said, i'm glad the writers had that sort of ambition, and the dialogue certainly rose up to the occasion. it's so literary that it obviously merits plenty of rewatching. i might buy it, especially since the DVD is so cheap.

the comments about the camera techniques being "dated" seem ironic, given that the film is visually quite modern. i was actually surprised by how lush it looked. i'm thinking especially of the intricate cutting between different perspectives in early scenes (whose only purpose seemed to be to trace out a more immersive sense of space for the viewer), the intense light and shadow (particularly with Hunsecker), the very conscious framing of Falco trailing behind Hunsecker's shadow in most of their scenes together. i especially loved their first scene together, at the dinner table, with Hunsecker describing Falco's many faces and the camera isolating said faces, JJ's various descriptions modulating our understanding of Falco's psychology. it was a really smart use of the medium. then again, maybe this is typical of films from this era, in which case i'll just say that visually, the film seems fairly timeless.

there actually wasn't as much jazz as i was expecting. i wanted a sort of rollicking period film, steeped in 1950's New York City, and while that was basically there, the film was essentially a character piece with the setting as more of a given. bonus points for the sexy & dirty portrayal of journalism though. you (well, i) don't see interesting journalists in movies anymore.

sorry i've been slow with the movie watching. but i'm really enjoying it! :D