tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155853741712764167.post3428056273629534409..comments2024-02-01T23:41:43.069-05:00Comments on Out of the Past: Nicholas Ray: The Glorious Failure of an American Director by Patrick McGilliganRaquel Stecherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02687110907002450794noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155853741712764167.post-27312513564582734172011-10-30T20:49:17.471-04:002011-10-30T20:49:17.471-04:00Great review!
Have you seen Wim Wenders' film...Great review!<br /><br />Have you seen Wim Wenders' film "Lightning Over Water?" It's a sort of gonzo documentary about Ray at the end of his life. It swerves often into disturbing territory concerning Ray's health, though it's interesting as a time capsule and it contains some of the first ever video to film transfers.<br /><br />I wonder what shape Jesus's teeth were in...Mark Zerohttp://bookmarkzero.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155853741712764167.post-82069133416282528172011-10-30T14:26:37.026-04:002011-10-30T14:26:37.026-04:00sounds like a good read. interested to learn more...sounds like a good read. interested to learn more about his working relationship with james dean.Aguilar Elliothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06200558918676043343noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155853741712764167.post-11650187993815398072011-10-29T16:30:31.814-04:002011-10-29T16:30:31.814-04:00Blake - Thank you so much for stopping by and givi...Blake - Thank you so much for stopping by and giving us your opinion. I like Ray's films, I enjoyed Lusty Men, On Dangerous Ground, In a Lonely Place, etc. but I prefer Kazan's work. Not to say Ray wasn't a brilliant director. I guess just misunderstood? Maybe that's where the glorious part comes in from "glorious failure". Anyways, I really do appreciate the opinion of someone else who has read this book. <br /><br />I never thought at any point that McGilligan didn't admire Ray. I think there was a lot of context but it didn't get away from the fact that Ray was a unique filmmaker as shown by his existing body of work. The author did seem somewhat preoccupied with Kazan vs. Ray.Raquel Stecherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02687110907002450794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155853741712764167.post-71222498464765298342011-10-29T11:57:41.098-04:002011-10-29T11:57:41.098-04:00Nice review. Ray's a darn good director. Seem...Nice review. Ray's a darn good director. Seemed to make films that generated great appreciaton of or loathing. My two favorite of his are In a Lonely Place and Johnny Guitar.readermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14487543323041619050noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155853741712764167.post-42467018516564638892011-10-26T00:44:32.156-04:002011-10-26T00:44:32.156-04:00Blake L makes some very good points! i didnt wnant...Blake L makes some very good points! i didnt wnant to babble on like i usually do, lol, but Rays body of work IS singularly unique, and tho i dont feel its the greatest body of work of any film maker during that time period (i'll reserve that for Alfred Hitchcock) i certainly feel its one of the best. his films are a one of a kind experience and at the end of the day he was simply a great storyteller, who sometimes really hit the nail on the head in a way nobody else did or could. fwiw i LOVE- They Drive by Night, in a Lonely Place, On Dangerous Ground and Party Girl to name a few. i got to see Rebel on the big screen once and tho i had seen it on video a few times, i was still completely awed by his use of color and of course Deans iconic performance. the kazan-ray connection is interesting, i recall reading a quote from Ray when Splendor in the Grass came out regarding Warren Beatty - "He's just aping James Dean!"<br />I think Rays influence is still being felt today in the work of guys like Tarantino and Scorsese (Ture Romance is, at its heart, like They Live by Night on steroids)<br />man i really wanna see party Girl again now, lol! you always do this to me Quelle, lol!<br /><br />btw a bit of a bummer, the blooper dvd that came with my jack Klugman book is a dummy promo copy and wont play, it has a big sticker on it that says so :(((((((( i had an odd couple marathon starting last weekend and finished off the whole first season, like being a teen-ager again, lol!<br /><br />so much for NOT babbling on O_oArtman2112https://www.blogger.com/profile/03062864368596074661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155853741712764167.post-43211414309351268982011-10-25T18:36:00.909-04:002011-10-25T18:36:00.909-04:00I've read some of the book and "The Glori...I've read some of the book and "The Glorious Failure of an American Director" is a terrible title, and McGilligan has little insight about him; he was not mismatched to Hollywood but one of those who took American genres and made them richer and deeper through individual handling. I doubt his body of work would be near what it is as an arty/experimental filmmaker. For the time he was a commercial filmmaker, though only about 15 years, he was a commanding artist--working on the same level as John Ford and Vincente Minnelli through those years. There isn't a body of work through those years that can surpass his best--all masterpieces and over half the films. I'm referring to THEY LIVE BY NIGHT, IN A LONELY PLACE, ON DANGEROUS GROUND, THE LUSTY MEN, JOHNNY GUITAR, REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE, BIGGER THAN LIFE, BITTER VICTORY, WIND ACROSS THE EVERGLADES, PARTY GIRL and THE SAVAGE INNOCENTS. Though they have affinities and were friends, Kazan can't touch Ray overall--at his best he's great but that's rare, and he came up to the above eleven titles only twice, with WILD RIVER and SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS after he had matured as a filmmaker, while Ray was great from the beginning.<br /><br />In short, Nicholas Ray was one of the greatest of all directors anywhere ever and deserves better<br />than McGilligan (and McGilligan really misses it on Ray's direction of women). Ray's personal struggles and demons are beside the point--it's the films he created that count, and they remain glorious and repay endless reviewing.Blake Lnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155853741712764167.post-36424430899274056222011-10-25T11:36:47.057-04:002011-10-25T11:36:47.057-04:00Robby - I remembered you mentioning that you had r...Robby - I remembered you mentioning that you had read the book and was curious about your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by! I have to say, I wasn't all that interested in the Frank Lloyd Wright stuff. Hmm... Although another reviewer mentioned that as a highlight of the book.<br /><br />Mercurie - Perhaps. That's a good point. Maybe Hollywood's control forced him to be more creative or prevented him from going too crazy. At the end of his life, Ray would come up with new scripts that kept getting more and more complicated. In a bad way.<br /><br />Artman/Paulie - Yay! I was hoping you'd stop by. I'm glad for the films that slipped through the net and made it onto screens. Ray wasn't successful but at least he was different and wanted to try different things. I appreciate that a lot.Raquel Stecherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02687110907002450794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155853741712764167.post-21991967472880938932011-10-25T00:44:48.990-04:002011-10-25T00:44:48.990-04:00Ray is a fascinating film maker who made fascinati...Ray is a fascinating film maker who made fascinating but not always successful films. however his best work imo stands as some of the best films of their time. i often put him and sam fuller on sort of the same plane, they were mavericks working within the studio system and managed to make films that are often hard to believe ever actually saw the light of day! but i'm sure glad they did! great review Quelle, i may have to get this book!Artman2112https://www.blogger.com/profile/03062864368596074661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155853741712764167.post-23821492902353709362011-10-24T17:28:30.429-04:002011-10-24T17:28:30.429-04:00I've always been interested by Nicholas Ray an...I've always been interested by Nicholas Ray and I do think he was mismatched with Hollywood. At the same time, however, I have to wonder if Hollywood did not rein in what could have been self indulgence on Nicholas Ray's part had he been an indy filmmaker. Since Ray never got the chance to be an independent filmmaker, I guess we'll never know.<br /><br />One thing I do have to say. I think I would have made a lousy cinematographer for Ray! Blue is my favourite colour. :-)Terence Towles Canotehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18397088843628331615noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6155853741712764167.post-10431272188154184072011-10-24T17:01:29.267-04:002011-10-24T17:01:29.267-04:00Great review Raquelle. I agree, the beginning of t...Great review Raquelle. I agree, the beginning of the book is a much more enjoyable read than the end of the book. Ray's later years were quite depressing. One of the interesting parts in the biography for me was Ray's time that he spent at Frank Lloyd Wright's commune like campus, Taliesin, and what life was like during his days there.Robby Cresshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00535820211830339224noreply@blogger.com