Two Very Different Gems!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                     Last Saturday, as David and I settled down to watch "Svengoolie," who was showing "The Incredible Shrinking Man," which we last saw minus sound, due to station problems, I discovered Channel 13 was showing "Moonstruck" that evening, and the decision was made.

                                        If you have seen it, darlings, you know it is the perfect comforting, cheer up movie.  If you haven't, then as Cher's Loretta says, "Snap out of it!"

                                         When I saw this film in 1987--and I saw it many times--I wanted to be just like Cher on the poster.  I even once kicked a can down the street, like Cher, in my camel haired coat.

                                            For those who want love, and even more for those who have it and appreciate it, "Moonstruck" celebrates everything romantic, including the kind of New York City that is no more.  That stunning shot of daybreak, with the twin towers showing now brings tears to my eyes, even though the shot of daybreak is incredibly beautiful.

                                              The opening shots of Lincoln Center made me feel so proud, as that was where I was working back then.  It was my home away from home.

                                            And, girls, the scene where Cher gets her hair done and a new outfit, and drinks wine as she gets ready for the evening?  It is what we all want, isn't it?

                                             Add to this delicious food shots in a restaurant or at home, plus a cast that could not be equaled, let alone paid substantially if tried to assemble today.  How sad some of those--including Oscar winner Olympia Dukakis--are gone.

                                                 David and I felt so good after "Moonstruck."

                                                  Now, when do we go to the Italian restaurant, and have wine?

                                                                                     

                                    For a very different kind of gem, David and I rushed to the Film Forum the very next day to catch an early screening--11am--of John Ford's drama of social realism, "How Green Was My Valley."  If you need a tearjerker, darlings, this is it.  The above shot of Roddy McDowall being hauled up from the mine holding his dead father (Oscar winner Donald Crisp) in his arms is heartbreaking to watch, and in some ways says all there is to say about this film.

                                      Based on Richard Llewlyn's novel, which I read in eighth grade, the film tells the story of the Morgans, a coal mining family in Wales.  It is a story of love and loss and is filled with any number of gripping and moving moments.  The Welsh Singers add a lyricism to the story, but it is the performances of the cast--Roddy McDowall, in what might have been his first performance as the young Huw Morgan, from whose viewpoint the story is told, Maureen O'Hara, looking stunning at only 19, as Angharad, Anna Lee as Bronwyn, and Sara Allgood and Donald Crisp, as the parents.  Patrick Knowles is outstanding as one of the brothers, and this may be the only film featuring both siblings, Barry Fitzgerald and Aruthur Shields.  

                                         Of course, Arhtur Miller's cinematography shows the promise he would later expand upon two years later, in "The Song Of Bernadette."  The set design, the actual village and mine reconstructed with authenticity, is a major set piece in this stand out film of beauty and spirit.

                                          But love, and loss, are at the heart of "How Green Was My Valley."  

                                         Different as it is from "Moonstruck," it is a gem, and offers a kind of comfort and hope one might not expect.

                                            I went through several tissues, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!