For a long time now, I’ve been enjoying Birgit’s movie posts at BB Creations and wanted to join in. Today’s the day. 🙂 This will be an occasional, recurring feature.
Thursday Movie Picks is a weekly blogfest hosted by Wandering Through The Shelves. The rules are simple: based on the theme of the week, pick three to five movies and tell us why you chose them. For further details and the schedule, visit the series main page HERE►.
This week’s theme is the first of the Seven Deadly Sins: *LUST*
There are so many movies in this category, it was hard to choose. Here we go!
AMERICAN BEAUTY
(1999)
Lester Burnham is a middle-aged magazine executive who despises his job and is unhappily married to Carolyn, a neurotic and ambitious real estate broker. Their sixteen-year-old daughter, Jane, abhors her parents and has low self-esteem.
The Burnhams’ new neighbors are retired US Marine colonel Frank Fitts and his near-catatonic wife, Barbara. The Fitts’ teenage son, Ricky, obsessively films his surroundings with a camcorder, collecting hundreds of recordings on video tapes in his bedroom, while using his part-time job as a waiter to serve as a front for his secret marijuana dealings.
Let’s try and forget for a moment that Kevin Spacey has been accused of being a low-life, sexual predator. At one time, he was known only as a damn fine actor, which he aptly illustrates in this movie. The rest of the cast also shone, in a movie that won a plethora of awards, including Oscars for Best Picture, Director, Actor, Screenplay and Cinematography.
You want lust? It’s everywhere! Spacey’s character lusts after his teenage daughter’s friend. His wife, played by Annette Benning, lusts after a business competitor. The boy next door lusts after their daughter and even Kevin is secretly desired by another. I won’t spoil it for those of you who haven’t seen the film, but will say, that does NOT end well.
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9 1/2 WEEKS
(1986)
The title of the film refers to the duration of a relationship between Wall Street broker John Gray and divorced SoHo art gallery employee Elizabeth McGraw, who is in her early 30s.
John initiates and controls the various experimental sexual practices of this volatile relationship to push Elizabeth’s boundaries. In doing so, Elizabeth experiences a gradual downward spiral toward emotional breakdown.
I had read the book and was curious to see if the movie would do it justice. As usual, the cinematic version didn’t have quite the same sizzle, but was still attention-holding. After all, it was notorious as the most explicitly sexual big-budget film since “Last Tango in Paris.” (Another contender in this category. Butter, anyone? 😉 )
Considered too explicit by its American distributor, the film was heavily edited for release in the U.S., where it was a box office bomb, grossing only $6.7 million on a $17 million budget. It also received mixed reviews at the time of its release.
However, it became a huge success internationally in its unedited version, particularly in Australia, Canada (where I saw it), France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, making $100 million worldwide. It has also acquired a large fanbase on video and DVD and has developed a cult following.
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THE DEVIL’S ADVOCATE
(1997)
Based on Andrew Neiderman‘s novel of the same name, this movie is about a successful young Florida lawyer (Reeves) who is lured to New York City with promises of a generous salary and upscale apartment by a major law firm.
Over time, while he is consumed with work, his wife (Theron) becomes haunted by frightening visual phenomena. The lawyer slowly begins to realize the owner of the firm (Pacino) is not what he appears to be, and is in fact the Devil.
Pacino’s character, Satan, takes the guise of a human lawyer named after the author of Paradise Lost, John Milton. The story and direction contain allusions to Milton’s epic, Dante Alighieri’s Inferno, and the legend of Faust.
Al Pacino has been one of my favourite actors since 1971, when he starred in The Panic In Needle Park. He brings gusto and panache to every role and makes a perfect fire and brimstone demon.
The Devil’s Advocate premiered to mixed reviews, with critics crediting it for entertainment value and Pacino’s performance. It made over $152 million at the box office and won the Saturn Award for Best Horror Film.
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UNFAITHFUL
(2002)
This movie was adapted from the 1969 French film The Unfaithful Wife (La Femme infidèle). It tells the story of a couple living in suburban New York City (Diane Lane, Richard Gere) whose marriage goes dangerously awry when the wife indulges in an adulterous affair with a stranger she encounters by chance.
Unfaithful grossed $52 million in North America and over $119 million worldwide. Despite mixed reviews overall, Lane received much praise for her performance.
She won awards for best actress from the National Society of Film Critics and New York Film Critics, and was nominated for a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for Best Actress.
I thought the casting of Richard Gere as the husband was unusual, given his classic, handsome features. Hard to believe his wife would stray! But then, the allure and stamina of a sexy younger man is a strong aphrodisiac, especially when the long-term marriage is stagnating.
Lane and Martinez have a sizzling sexual chemistry onscreen but this movie has other elements besides lust. It’s an interesting character study as well, with heavy dramatic overtones and a gripping ending!
To view all the entries and/or add your own, click on the image.
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Dog Mom and (retired) Canine Innkeeper in suburban Toronto, Canada, known as The Doglady. Former corporate workaholic. Writer, photographer, digital creator. Animal lover, music fanatic, inveterate traveller. Eternal hippie/rockchick. History, literature and cinema buff. Hockey and soccer fan. Dedicated night owl. German/Canadian binational, multilingual. Let me entertain you!
Welcome to The Den, Carol! I’m glad you like it. 🙂 I am also participating in #WW this week, which is where I found your post, as well. Here’s the link, in case you want to check it out: http://thedogladysden.com/santorini-greek-odyssey-part-xii/
DEBBIE ~
I have not seen any of the movies you mentioned. But that’s no surprise, because I gave up on Hollyweird when that piece o’ poo-poo won the Academy Award for ‘Best Picture’ in 1983.
Below is an excerpt from the same comment I left on Birgit’s blog. I figure that, since my choices haven’t changed in the last hour, there’s no point in me reinventing the wheel. Here goes…:
I’ll mention (in the ‘John Garfield department’, and for the 103rd time) one of my all-time Top Ten favorite movies ‘TORTILLA FLAT’. John Garfield is lusting after Hedy Lamarr so badly that it very nearly kills him. One of the ultimate movies as it contains EVERYTHING you want to see in a movie. (Similar in that way to ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’ – both have great characters, great humor, and great pathos!!!)
And then there’s this:
“Cowardly scholar Boris Grushenko has the hots for the beautiful Sonja, but cold feet for the Napoleonic Wars.”
His “hots” actually DOES get him killed! For my money, this is easily the funniest movie Woody Allen ever made.
Hi Stephen! 🙂 I looked up 1983 Best Picture and see it was Gandhi. Not gonna ask…. 😀
I was debating whether to go classic or contemporary for this. Classic may have been a better choice. Next time!
Tortilla Flats is a great movie and how sexy was Hedy Lamarr? Double Indemnity is one of my favourites, as is Barbara Stanwyck. The third one I didn’t know. Going by the trailer, it looks a little slapstick. 😀
Thanks for coming by and sharing your movie picks!
I saw American Beauty in the theatre and thought it was involving and well made and acted with great skill but haven’t seen it since.
I didn’t love all of Unfaithful but Diane Lane was tremendous in it. She should have won the Oscar that year.
The Devil’s Advocate is a rather hooty over the top mess but fun in that way bad movies can be. I like Al Pacino but he can be such a variable performer, sometimes absolutely brilliant and others unbelievably hammy. This one is the latter.
I hated 9 1/2 Weeks but a great deal of that is Mickey Rourke, someone who’s appeal has always escaped me.
I tried to find three that dealt with various aspects of lust as well as the carnal.
Lust for Gold (1949)-In the 1880’s Arizona drifter Dutchy Walz (Glenn Ford) and his buddy Wiser (Edgar Buchanan) suspect two men know the location of a gold mine. Tracking them they shoot the pair after which Walz turns on Wiser and kills him as well. Heading to Phoenix with a large stash of nugguts word quickly spreads and shopkeeper Julia Thomas (Ida Lupino) wheedles herself into Walz affections without mentioning her marriage to Pete (Gig Young) in the hopes of getting her hands on the loot. Eventually all turn on each other in their “Lust for Gold”.
The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)-In his lust for power unscrupulous movie producer Jonathan Shields (Kirk Douglas) ruthlessly claws his way to the top of the studio system by discovering, using and discarding movie star Georgia (Lana Turner), director Fred Amiel (Barry Sullivan) and writer James Lee Bartlow (Dick Powell) along the way.
Lolita (1962)-British professor Humbert Humbert (James Mason) relocates to the American suburbs, renting a room from lonely widow Charlotte Haze (Shelley Winters). He finds himself lustfully drawn to Charlotte’s teenage daughter Lolita (the recently departed Sue Lyon) doing whatever necessary including marrying her mother to remain close to the nymphet leading to his downfall. Stanley Kubrick directed his own adaptation of the Nabokov novel.
Welcome to The Den, Joel! 🙂 Your description of Devil’s Advocate made me smile. It definitely was over the top, but I loved Al Pacino’s hammy performance. 😀 Did you see the heavily censored U.S. version of 9 1/2 weeks or the uncut original? The former was a bomb, but the latter, a huge hit. I have seen all the movies you mentioned. Great choices! The Bad and the Beautiful is one of my favourite Kirk Douglas films. May he R.I.P. I was debating whether to go classic or contemporary. Classic would have been the better choice, I think. Next time! Thank you for sharing your thoughts and movie picks.
Unfaithful is great. Diane Lane is an excellent actress and her romance is definitely lustful. American Beauty is very good. I can set aside Kevin Spacey’s behavior and still admire the acting. I love Annette Bening. American Beauty has some great moments of comic relief amid all the drama. I saw 9 1/2 Weeks many years ago and wasn’t impressed. I’ve never seen Devil’s Advocate. I think we can apply lust to Fatal Attraction. It’s lust turned ugly.
Love,
Janie
Hi Janie! 🙂 I concur with everything you said, except for 9 1/2 weeks. You probably saw the heavily censored U.S. version, which likely ripped out the guts of the movie. (That’s why it bombed, there.) The uncut version was a huge hit in Canada and the rest of the world. Fatal Attraction is another good one for this subject. There are so many movies in this category, I had a hard time choosing. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
I still consider Spacey a damn fine actor. He’s been one of my favourite actors since always and will always be, even though he’s a disgusting man. Thankfully I’m able to separate the art from the artist. Anyway, American Beauty is such a great film.
I didn’t love Devil’s Advocate but it fits the theme well.
Welcome to The Den, Sonia! 🙂 I agree about Spacey. His excellent body of work will stand, despite his lurid personal life. A lot of people didn’t like Devil’s Advocate, but I loved it. Al Pacino as the Devil was perfect casting! 😀 Thank you for coming by and for the warm welcome! I will probably do one a month, rather than weekly.
Hey! I was pleasantly surprised to see you join and am glad you are! Thanks for the shout out. and there are so many lust filled movies. I have yet to see 9 1/2 weeks but boy, Mickey Roarke looked good back then…why did he screw his face up so much. I have only seen parts of the Devil’s Advocate but I want to see the whole thing because Al Pacino would chew up the scenery as the devil. I bet American beauty will be popular this week and it is such a good film. I always liked Spacey but ughh…what a disappointment. I found Unfaithful very steamy, well acted and a very interesting ending. Glad you joined!
Hi Birgit! 🙂 I’ve been wanting to join this movie blogfest for a long time, but could never get organized enough, until now. 😛 It won’t be a weekly thing, maybe once a month. I’ll see how things go. I’m glad you enjoyed my selections. Mickey Rourke should have left his face alone, I agree. Lots of actors seem to be victims of terrible plastic surgeons. Many people don’t like Devil’s Advocate, but I loved it! A gripping storyline and Al Pacino as the Devil. Talk about perfect casting! 😀 American Beauty is a stellar film. Spacey’s lurid personal life shouldn’t take away from his excellent portrayal of Lester Burnham. I agree with you about Unfaithful. The actors all did a great job and the ending was a total surprise. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Welcome to The Den, Brittani! 🙂 American Beauty was a stellar film. Thankfully, I can separate actors’ onscreen performances from their sordid personal lives. Thanks for coming by!
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27 thoughts on “STEAMING UP THE SCREEN WITH LUST”
American Beauty is a good pick. You’re right…everyone is lusting after another in the movie.
Welcome to The Den! 🙂 American Beauty was the first movie that came to mind. Thanks for coming by and for hosting this blog party.
Very unique blog ~ love the doggies ~
Happy Moments to You,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)
Welcome to The Den, Carol! I’m glad you like it. 🙂 I am also participating in #WW this week, which is where I found your post, as well. Here’s the link, in case you want to check it out:
http://thedogladysden.com/santorini-greek-odyssey-part-xii/
I’ve seen them all and they are all great picks! What would I add, hmm… Body Heat, with William Hurt, Kathleen Turner, always a favorite!
Nice to see you here, Yolanda! 🙂 Body Heat is an excellent choice for this theme. Thanks for coming by.
I have yet to see any of these, but you sure make them all seem appealing.
They might be available on Netflix or other streaming services. Thanks for coming by, Mike. 🙂
Great picks! I’ve seen all of them except for Unfaithful.
Welcome to The Den, Becks! 🙂 Unfaithful is about as lusty as you can get. Thanks for coming by!
DEBBIE ~
I have not seen any of the movies you mentioned. But that’s no surprise, because I gave up on Hollyweird when that piece o’ poo-poo won the Academy Award for ‘Best Picture’ in 1983.
Below is an excerpt from the same comment I left on Birgit’s blog. I figure that, since my choices haven’t changed in the last hour, there’s no point in me reinventing the wheel. Here goes…:
I’ll mention (in the ‘John Garfield department’, and for the 103rd time) one of my all-time Top Ten favorite movies ‘TORTILLA FLAT’. John Garfield is lusting after Hedy Lamarr so badly that it very nearly kills him. One of the ultimate movies as it contains EVERYTHING you want to see in a movie. (Similar in that way to ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’ – both have great characters, great humor, and great pathos!!!)
[Link> TORTILLA FLAT trailer
And in the ‘Film Noir department’, I’ll go with ‘DOUBLE INDEMNITY’. (He didn’t get the money, and he didn’t get the woman. Ha!-Ha!)
[Link> DOUBLE INDEMNITY trailer
And then there’s this:
“Cowardly scholar Boris Grushenko has the hots for the beautiful Sonja, but cold feet for the Napoleonic Wars.”
His “hots” actually DOES get him killed! For my money, this is easily the funniest movie Woody Allen ever made.
[Link> LOVE AND DEATH trailer
~ D-FensDogG
STMcC Presents BATTLE OF THE BANDS
Hi Stephen! 🙂 I looked up 1983 Best Picture and see it was Gandhi. Not gonna ask…. 😀
I was debating whether to go classic or contemporary for this. Classic may have been a better choice. Next time!
Tortilla Flats is a great movie and how sexy was Hedy Lamarr? Double Indemnity is one of my favourites, as is Barbara Stanwyck. The third one I didn’t know. Going by the trailer, it looks a little slapstick. 😀
Thanks for coming by and sharing your movie picks!
All four fit very well.
I saw American Beauty in the theatre and thought it was involving and well made and acted with great skill but haven’t seen it since.
I didn’t love all of Unfaithful but Diane Lane was tremendous in it. She should have won the Oscar that year.
The Devil’s Advocate is a rather hooty over the top mess but fun in that way bad movies can be. I like Al Pacino but he can be such a variable performer, sometimes absolutely brilliant and others unbelievably hammy. This one is the latter.
I hated 9 1/2 Weeks but a great deal of that is Mickey Rourke, someone who’s appeal has always escaped me.
I tried to find three that dealt with various aspects of lust as well as the carnal.
Lust for Gold (1949)-In the 1880’s Arizona drifter Dutchy Walz (Glenn Ford) and his buddy Wiser (Edgar Buchanan) suspect two men know the location of a gold mine. Tracking them they shoot the pair after which Walz turns on Wiser and kills him as well. Heading to Phoenix with a large stash of nugguts word quickly spreads and shopkeeper Julia Thomas (Ida Lupino) wheedles herself into Walz affections without mentioning her marriage to Pete (Gig Young) in the hopes of getting her hands on the loot. Eventually all turn on each other in their “Lust for Gold”.
The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)-In his lust for power unscrupulous movie producer Jonathan Shields (Kirk Douglas) ruthlessly claws his way to the top of the studio system by discovering, using and discarding movie star Georgia (Lana Turner), director Fred Amiel (Barry Sullivan) and writer James Lee Bartlow (Dick Powell) along the way.
Lolita (1962)-British professor Humbert Humbert (James Mason) relocates to the American suburbs, renting a room from lonely widow Charlotte Haze (Shelley Winters). He finds himself lustfully drawn to Charlotte’s teenage daughter Lolita (the recently departed Sue Lyon) doing whatever necessary including marrying her mother to remain close to the nymphet leading to his downfall. Stanley Kubrick directed his own adaptation of the Nabokov novel.
Welcome to The Den, Joel! 🙂 Your description of Devil’s Advocate made me smile. It definitely was over the top, but I loved Al Pacino’s hammy performance. 😀 Did you see the heavily censored U.S. version of 9 1/2 weeks or the uncut original? The former was a bomb, but the latter, a huge hit. I have seen all the movies you mentioned. Great choices! The Bad and the Beautiful is one of my favourite Kirk Douglas films. May he R.I.P. I was debating whether to go classic or contemporary. Classic would have been the better choice, I think. Next time! Thank you for sharing your thoughts and movie picks.
Unfaithful is great. Diane Lane is an excellent actress and her romance is definitely lustful. American Beauty is very good. I can set aside Kevin Spacey’s behavior and still admire the acting. I love Annette Bening. American Beauty has some great moments of comic relief amid all the drama. I saw 9 1/2 Weeks many years ago and wasn’t impressed. I’ve never seen Devil’s Advocate. I think we can apply lust to Fatal Attraction. It’s lust turned ugly.
Love,
Janie
Hi Janie! 🙂 I concur with everything you said, except for 9 1/2 weeks. You probably saw the heavily censored U.S. version, which likely ripped out the guts of the movie. (That’s why it bombed, there.) The uncut version was a huge hit in Canada and the rest of the world. Fatal Attraction is another good one for this subject. There are so many movies in this category, I had a hard time choosing. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
I still consider Spacey a damn fine actor. He’s been one of my favourite actors since always and will always be, even though he’s a disgusting man. Thankfully I’m able to separate the art from the artist. Anyway, American Beauty is such a great film.
I didn’t love Devil’s Advocate but it fits the theme well.
Welcome to the series, Debbie!
Welcome to The Den, Sonia! 🙂 I agree about Spacey. His excellent body of work will stand, despite his lurid personal life. A lot of people didn’t like Devil’s Advocate, but I loved it. Al Pacino as the Devil was perfect casting! 😀 Thank you for coming by and for the warm welcome! I will probably do one a month, rather than weekly.
Hey! I was pleasantly surprised to see you join and am glad you are! Thanks for the shout out. and there are so many lust filled movies. I have yet to see 9 1/2 weeks but boy, Mickey Roarke looked good back then…why did he screw his face up so much. I have only seen parts of the Devil’s Advocate but I want to see the whole thing because Al Pacino would chew up the scenery as the devil. I bet American beauty will be popular this week and it is such a good film. I always liked Spacey but ughh…what a disappointment. I found Unfaithful very steamy, well acted and a very interesting ending. Glad you joined!
Hi Birgit! 🙂 I’ve been wanting to join this movie blogfest for a long time, but could never get organized enough, until now. 😛 It won’t be a weekly thing, maybe once a month. I’ll see how things go. I’m glad you enjoyed my selections. Mickey Rourke should have left his face alone, I agree. Lots of actors seem to be victims of terrible plastic surgeons. Many people don’t like Devil’s Advocate, but I loved it! A gripping storyline and Al Pacino as the Devil. Talk about perfect casting! 😀 American Beauty is a stellar film. Spacey’s lurid personal life shouldn’t take away from his excellent portrayal of Lester Burnham. I agree with you about Unfaithful. The actors all did a great job and the ending was a total surprise. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
I love American Beauty, but I haven’t seen your other picks. I’m familiar with them, just never sat down to watch.
Welcome to The Den, Brittani! 🙂 American Beauty was a stellar film. Thankfully, I can separate actors’ onscreen performances from their sordid personal lives. Thanks for coming by!
I’ve not seen any of these, but I don’t get out much. If I can find any of them on Netflix or Amazon Prime I’ll watch them.
Have a fabulous day and rest of the week, Debbie. ♥
Hi Sandee! 🙂 These are all older movies, so they might be online. Thanks for coming by.
Good choices. I’ve seen all of them but when I saw the theme I was hard pressed to think of anything except that crazy woman in Basic Instinct.
Basic Instinct certainly fits the bill, too! 🙂 Thanks, Denise.