Quote:
Cinema has long made the hallowed halls of education one of its most oft utilized settings, whether real (Eastside High School) or fictional (Rydell High School), of this world (Greendale Community College) or existing in another realm (Hogwarts). But where most are set in public schools or universities, it is the boarding school that often makes for a more interesting subset of school-based films for the opportunity to create a more instant feel for community and togetherness, whether in countless Anime fare, dramatic tales set in the past, or more action-oriented movies like Toy Soldiers, one of this reviewer’s favorite guilty pleasures. Director Ida Lupino’s 1966 film The Trouble with Angels, set in an all-girls Catholic boarding school, is a classic family-friendly Comedy that might show its age in 2019 but that remains true to the essential characters and the realities of life in one of cinema’s more endearing and possibility-filled essential locations.

Mary Clancy (Hayley Mills) and Rachel Devery (June Harding) meet on the train on their way to St. Francis Academy, an all girls boarding school run by Catholic nuns. The girls become fast friends and spend the next few years trying to outwit the nuns and pull off various stunts. Mother Superior (Rosalind Russell) serves as both an authoritative foil for the girls’ rebellion and the guiding hand that nurtures them through their troubled years at the school, although the girls’, and Mother Superior’s, fate remains in doubt: will the girls ever make it to graduation, and can Mother Superior survive years of torment?

At first glance, the story of a couple of rebellious students fighting against authority feels tired and trite, but it’s not so much the essential plot ebbs and flows or the specifics of any of the antics that make it work but rather the actors’ commitment to making it happen with a genuine air of freshness and audience involvement. Rosalind Russell shines as Mother Superior, bringing personality to a role that is often typecast and artificial. Her character often wrestles with the desire to both strangle and save the girls, and perhaps what is most remarkable in the performance is her ability to find real emotional depth — from anger to levity — even from a position of supposedly unflappable, immutable authority. Russell does a great job providing both the impetus for Mills’ character to change and playing the prototypical authority figure any rebellious teen would seek to circumvent. June Harding plays the perfect sidekick to Mills’ mastermind and beautifully channels teenage moodiness and angst.

The character of Mary is a departure for Hayley Mills, best known for her sweet disposition in her more iconic Disney roles, including Pollyanna and The Parent Trap. Mills nevertheless commands the role and the screen and performs equally well on both sides of the character’s ledger, working both Mary’s smoking, rule-breaking troubled teen demeanor and, later, the more mature adult. Her ability to create and convey a thoughtful and caring personality immediately followed by a mischievous prank keeps the film’s humorous approach moving along and prevents the film from succumbing to the overpowering clutches of a full-on teen rebellion drama.

Contemporary audiences may find the movie more than a little dated. Smoking is the girls’ preferred rebellion of choice, while their punishment of choice is the dirty duty of washing pots and pans (which, coincidentally, is also a punishment, and a plot point, in Toy Soldiers). The wardrobe isn’t at all risqué even when it’s meant to be (though the film does succeed in presenting the dichotomy between the girl’s school uniforms and casual attire) and one scene involves the girls literally ironing their hair — with an iron and an ironing board — in an effort to straighten it. The film is a charming relic that doesn’t rely on its physical characteristics so much as its personable characters and the story they shape. Like any classic, it transcends its look, even if it’s well beyond its cultural expiration date.

The Trouble with Angels.1966.576p.BDRip-AVC.ZONE.mkv

General
Container:  	Matroska
Runtime: 	1 h 50 min
Size: 	2.50 GiB
Video
Codec: 	x264
Resolution: 	1024x554 
Aspect ratio:  	1.85:1
Frame rate: 	23.976 fps
Bit rate: 	3 000 kb/s
BPP: 	0.221
Audio
#1:  	English 2.0ch AC-3 @ 224 kb/s

https://nitro.download/view/3BE9297E409DB57/The_Trouble_with_Angels.1966.576p.BDRip-AVC.ZONE.mkv

Language(s):English
Subtitles:English

The post Ida Lupino – The Trouble with Angels (1966) first appeared on Cinema of the World.

Criterion wrote:
Astonishing Alpine location photography and a young Robert Redford in one of his earliest starring roles are just two of the visual splendors of Michael Ritchie’s visceral debut feature, Downhill Racer. In a beautifully understated performance, Redford is David Chappellet, a ruthlessly ambitious skier competing for Olympic gold with an underdog American team in Europe, and Gene Hackman provides tough support as the coach who tries to temper the upstart’s narcissistic drive for glory. With a subtle screenplay by acclaimed novelist James Salter, Downhill Racer is a vivid character portrait buoyed by breathtakingly fast and furious imagery that brings the viewer directly into the mind of the competitor.

Extras:
Featurette: How Fast. – Duration : 00:12:25
This is a summary of the movie narrated by Robert Redford. Probably used as a promotional vehicle for the movie.
Featurette: Coblenz, Harris, and Jalbert. – Duration : 00:29:51
In this 2009 video piece, production manager Walter Coblenz, editor Richard Harris, and technical adviser, ski double and cameraman Joe Jay Jalbert discuss the making of Downhill Racer
Interview with Robert Redford and screenwriter James Salter – Duration : 00:33:48
Each of whom offer a wealth of information about the circuitous route the film took to its completion.
Trailer – Duration: 00:02:39

https://nitro.download/view/D8619F6EC19B63A/Downhill_Racer_JHG_CG.avi
https://nitro.download/view/E1888AFBDC448E6/D_R_EXTRAS.rar

Language:English

The post Michael Ritchie – Downhill Racer [+Extras] (1969) first appeared on Cinema of the World.