You're gonna be bothered by how cool I am.

Back to the Premiere list. The first of probably 2 of these today.

98. Barbara Stanwyck as Phyllis Dietrichson
Double Indemnity (1944)



Before there was Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct, there was Barbara Stanwyck in Double Indemnity. This isn't my favorite - by far - of Billy Wilder's movies. It's the film that pretty much established the clichés of film noir, but Wilder's writing is so tongue-in-cheek that you have to love it. Stanwyck's part in it, though, is something particular.

Stanwyck was never a "beauty" along the lines of Lana Turner or Greta Garbo or many other screen sirens. But she can work the heck out of what she's got, and you totally buy that she's someone men would fall all over themselves for. She was either wearing a wig or had her hair dyed blonde for this movie (my money's on "wig"), and it doesn't really suit her at all. But she still finds a way to exude confidence and sexiness. Her first conversation with Fred MacMurray's smooth-talking, somewhat condescending (let's count the number of lines he has that are capped off with "baby", shall we?) insurance salesman is a thing of beauty. And - you know, I'm just going to quote it here, because it's art.

( UST liek woah )

This is not even really my favorite performance of Stanwyck's (that would be The Lady Eve, if you were wondering), but it's so iconic that you can't really talk about Stanwyck without talking about her deliciously evil turn as Phyllis Dietrichson.

Back to the Premiere list. The first of probably 2 of these today.

98. Barbara Stanwyck as Phyllis Dietrichson
Double Indemnity (1944)



Before there was Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct, there was Barbara Stanwyck in Double Indemnity. This isn't my favorite - by far - of Billy Wilder's movies. It's the film that pretty much established the clichés of film noir, but Wilder's writing is so tongue-in-cheek that you have to love it. Stanwyck's part in it, though, is something particular.

Stanwyck was never a "beauty" along the lines of Lana Turner or Greta Garbo or many other screen sirens. But she can work the heck out of what she's got, and you totally buy that she's someone men would fall all over themselves for. She was either wearing a wig or had her hair dyed blonde for this movie (my money's on "wig"), and it doesn't really suit her at all. But she still finds a way to exude confidence and sexiness. Her first conversation with Fred MacMurray's smooth-talking, somewhat condescending (let's count the number of lines he has that are capped off with "baby", shall we?) insurance salesman is a thing of beauty. And - you know, I'm just going to quote it here, because it's art.

( UST liek woah )

This is not even really my favorite performance of Stanwyck's (that would be The Lady Eve, if you were wondering), but it's so iconic that you can't really talk about Stanwyck without talking about her deliciously evil turn as Phyllis Dietrichson.

Lucas has FINALLY answered the prayers of many, many Star Wars fans and is releasing the original, theatrical, unaltered, non-messed-up-with-newfangled-special-effects Star Wars Trilogy on DVD.

It will apparently only be available from September 12 through the end of the year. But OH, how I've longed to see those original films on widescreen DVD.

Lucas has FINALLY answered the prayers of many, many Star Wars fans and is releasing the original, theatrical, unaltered, non-messed-up-with-newfangled-special-effects Star Wars Trilogy on DVD.

It will apparently only be available from September 12 through the end of the year. But OH, how I've longed to see those original films on widescreen DVD.

97. Ben Kingsley as Don Logan
Sexy Beast (2001)



Gandhi who? Seriously, this is about as 180-degree different from Kingsley's most lauded role as it is possible to be. Sexy Beast is about a retired gangster who is doing his best to say "no" to a request from his old crime buddy Don (Kingsley) to un-retire and do another job.

Don is psychotic. What is so scary about him is his unpredictability. He can be incredibly violent as well as incredibly still. And he interchanges the violence and stillness with an alarming ease. Loads of other cinema "bad boys" have made an impression with their stillness or calmness. Marlon Brando stroking that cat in The Godfather, Anthony Hopkins just standing behind that plexiglass in Silence of the Lambs, etc. But Kingsley's stillness seems much more sinister because we see so much of his brutality. His Don Logan seems as if he would just as soon beat you to death with a chair as look at you. That is scary.

As is his relentless pursuit of ex-gangster Gal. He reminds me of a killer in a slasher movie. He can't be stopped, he can't be reasoned with, and he will not take no for an answer. He's frightening when he's beating somebody down, but he's even more chilling when he's not, because underneath all that composure you can positively feel the anger simmering beneath his skin, ready to explode at any moment.

97. Ben Kingsley as Don Logan
Sexy Beast (2001)



Gandhi who? Seriously, this is about as 180-degree different from Kingsley's most lauded role as it is possible to be. Sexy Beast is about a retired gangster who is doing his best to say "no" to a request from his old crime buddy Don (Kingsley) to un-retire and do another job.

Don is psychotic. What is so scary about him is his unpredictability. He can be incredibly violent as well as incredibly still. And he interchanges the violence and stillness with an alarming ease. Loads of other cinema "bad boys" have made an impression with their stillness or calmness. Marlon Brando stroking that cat in The Godfather, Anthony Hopkins just standing behind that plexiglass in Silence of the Lambs, etc. But Kingsley's stillness seems much more sinister because we see so much of his brutality. His Don Logan seems as if he would just as soon beat you to death with a chair as look at you. That is scary.

As is his relentless pursuit of ex-gangster Gal. He reminds me of a killer in a slasher movie. He can't be stopped, he can't be reasoned with, and he will not take no for an answer. He's frightening when he's beating somebody down, but he's even more chilling when he's not, because underneath all that composure you can positively feel the anger simmering beneath his skin, ready to explode at any moment.