letter from an unknown woman is a 1948 american drama romance film directed by max ophüls .

it was based on the novella of the same name by stefan zweig .

the film stars joan fontaine , louis jourdan , mady christians and marcel journet .

in 1992 , letter from an unknown woman was selected for preservation in the united states national film registry by the library of congress as being " culturally , historically , or aesthetically significant " .

letter from an unknown woman is showing at bfi southbank , london , from 12 - 28 february .
joan fontaine and louis jourdan in letter from an unknown woman . photograph : ronald grant archive
letter from an unknown woman ( 1948 film ) was directed by max ophüls . starring joan fontaine , louis jourdan , mady christians and marcel journet .
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it is most unfortunate that the three films you have reviewed for us are not ( yet ? ) available on dvd . i ' ve wanted to see letter from an unknown woman ( 1948 ) for some time now .
i feel that joan fontaine has been overlooked and underrated all these years . a letter from an unknown woman , has sadly been overlooked , even for tcm . i . . .
5 . letter from an unknown woman ( 1948 ) maybe the director ' s most delirious film , a bittersweet and exemplary melodrama about both the allure and the danger of fantasy . structured like an opera , the episodic story illustrates a doomed and delusional love affair with equal parts grace , humor , distemper , and cynicism .
a pianist about to flee from a duel receives a letter from a woman he cannot remember , who may hold the key to his downfall .
joel6 - fontaine has an odd star trajectory , that ' s for sure . some of her roles i absolutely adore like born to be bad and letter from an unknown woman . she can be amazing which is why her choices overall are so baffling !
tags : max ophuls , letter from an unknown woman , liebelei , la ronde , don druke , lola montes , the reckless moment , dave kehr , the earrings of madame de . . . , kent jones , image
the same could be said to any viewers who , like most critics of the film’s day , find the film overly sentimental . like douglas sirk’s written on the wind ( 1956 ) and other hollywood soaps of the period , letter from an unknown woman has climbed in stature after a closer look .
letter from an unknown woman ( 1948 ) is the classic romantic film - a lush tearjerker par excellence - of the bittersweet theme of unrequited , lost love ( it ' s considered a quintessential
woman ' s picture
) . legendary european director max ophuls ' deeply - moving , timeless film , considered his greatest and most successful american film but a film unlike most hollywood films . [ note : the director ' s name was given an alternate american spelling , opuls , in the credits , as in his other american films of the 40s . ]
today , and you’ll most likely evoke an extreme reaction from classic movie spectators .
carla marcantonio is an assistant professor of film and media studies at george mason university .
excellent essay on one of my favorite actresses and which discusses flawlessly two of my top 5 favorite films :
the constant nymph
and
letter from an unknown woman
. very well done moira ! your style is flawless and exquisite . you should write a book !
an excellent film about obsession , disappointment , lost opportunities and depression , all wrapped up with a big costume drama bow . it tells the story of a man who just before he is running away from a duel gets a letter from someone he seems to not know . after that , the film is all told in a flashback from the perspective of the letter writer .
( 1948 ) . only the last film is readily available on dvd , and i have not seen it on broadcast cable in some time .
a pianist about to flee from a duel receives a letter from a woman he cannot remember . as she tells the story of her lifelong love for him , he is forced to reinterpret his own past .
so begins max ophuls’ masterpiece letter from an unknown woman , instantly gripping audiences , but not by setting up a mystery thriller as some might guess . the letter’s recipient is not some private eye who must keep reading to find clues to a potential murder . instead , it’s a suave playboy who must keep reading to see how his own selfish actions have led to the heartache of a woman he does not even remember .
jason fraley holds an m . f . a in film & electronic media from american university and a b . a . in journalism from the university of maryland . he has contributed to
on the subject of stefan’s conversion by the end of the film and its representation of a man’s journey into symbolic order , and thus into history , see tania modleski , “time and desire in the woman’s film” , letter from an unknown woman , ed . virginia wright - wexman and karen hollinger , rutgers university press , new brunswick , 1986 , pp . 249 - 262 . her reading begins from the observation that what is at stake in this film is a man’s word ( 249 ) and a woman’s silence ( 250 ) . i do not take issue with modleski’s reading which focuses on the representation of gender through the tropes of temporality , stasis and action .
in may 1948 , koch was fleetingly rumored to be collaborating with max ophüls on a stage play starring paul draper .
james mason , who appeared in two of max ophüls ' s films , once wrote a short poem about the director that begins :
a shot that does not call for tracks / is agony for poor dear max / who separated from his dolly / is wrapped in deepest melancholy .
the luscious visual audacity of letter from an unknown woman makes mason ' s case perfectly .
in lesser hands this film would be pathetic , masochistic melodrama . but ophuls and screenwriter howard koch never look down upon the lead character . there is no disdain toward her actions . instead , they treat the story with tender sympathy . but , that doesn’t fully erase the underlying darkness of this story in my mind . the film makes love both decadent and horrific . even with the moving score and romantic cinematography letter from an unknown woman feels truly haunting .
[ . . . ] of the hollywood films , one was a bright entertainment , the unjustly neglected the exile with douglas fairbanks , jr . in 1947 . two were flawed but engaging attempts at film noirs , caught ( 1949 ) with robert ryan , and the reckless moment ( 1949 ) both starred james mason at the start of his u . s . career . in the latter film ophüls also evoked a fine performance as a desperate , respectable housewife from one of the most interesting actresses of the ’40s , joan bennett . the director also made one possible masterpiece , letter from an unknown woman in 1948 with joan fontaine . [ . . . ]
the view blurs and fades , signifying a flashback ( for virtually the remainder of the film ) from the unknown woman ' s written deathbed confession , as she tells of her lifelong , almost 20 year obsession with a pianist and actually relives the feelings and thoughts of her life . the reading of the letter is represented by the narrating voice of the woman herself - now dead , although her voice doesn ' t sound labored or deathly sick .
a woman ' s lifelong love for a callous concert pianist leads to tragedy .
the shot from the top of a stairway is one of the dominant motifs in the film . for an excellent analysis of this visual motif refer to wright - wexman’s essay .
there have been dozens of films about unrequited love , about heartbreak , about the lives of two individuals taking different paths and there will continue to be , but letter from an unknown woman stands above pretty much all of them . this forgotten 1948 romantic melodrama is an intensely engrossing piece of cinema well worth seeing for acclaimed german filmmaker max ophuls ' stylistic direction . he was apparently known for his lyrical camera movements , the use of long tracking shots , and his atmospheric evocation of romantic melancholy—all of which are on full display here . it ' s a beautifully roasted chestnut well worth seeking out .
serving as a delivery intermediary in the hallway , john touches stefan ' s arm to interrupt his departure and get his attention . he then shows him an envelope [ a
letter from an unknown woman
] - un - noticed and forgotten in the rush , but placed and served on a silver tray - it came during the night . he tosses the thick envelope onto his desk , pinches the corners of his tired eyes , picks up the envelope , walks to the bathroom , opens the envelope and unfolds the many pages of the letter , and splashes water on his face from a small washbowl .
all the films from all the editions , including those subsequently removed , presently totalling 1199 . an easy way of seeing how…
this guy is stefan brand ( louis jourdan ) , a former concert pianist in 1900 vienna , who has developed a reputation for romancing more women than he can count . the unknown woman , and writer of the letter , is lisa berndle ( joan fontaine ) , an ailing woman wanting to get a few important things off her chest . just as intrigued as viewers , stefan dives into the letter over some coffee and cognac , and the narrative shifts to lisa’s story , signaled by a blurry flashback and fontaine’s narration .
with a sad and heartbreaking story which addressees issues like destiny , love , dignity , pride and regret , max ophuls’ unappreciated little masterpiece , letter from an unknown woman , is more like a story written by leo tolstoy , like the works of the russian writer it takes place in dimly lit noble houses and chooses its characters from the upper - class society , it takes lonely characters and follows them across years as they go from happiness into misery and despair . what ophuls does is that he turns his camera away from all the glamour of houses , clothes and concerts and instead focuses…
although it is angering , one can learn much from this rich film . it is a must see for film lovers and makes you realize how important it is to make the right decision .
[ at the beginning of the letter , stefan would naturally not know that lisa ' s voice should accompany the reading of the letter , because he does not know who sent the letter ! further , some of the events in the film are not witnessed by lisa , as the film frequently mismatches her presence in the narration with various scenes / incidents in the flashbacks . therefore , the film often requires a very non - literal interpretation by the viewer . ]
it is a testament to fontaine as an actress that i don’t utterly revile lisa . often watching fontaine i have the urge to scream , “grow a backbone , woman ! ” which i guess is what many of my female friends think when i put on a fontaine film for a movie night . you may feel sympathy for lisa’s heartbreak and angry at her circumstances in letter from an unknown woman . after all haven’t all of us dealt with unrequited love in some way or another ? but it is hard to forget that lisa continued to choose stefan even when he couldn’t remember her and doing so would could only lead to misery .
then , in october 1959 , koch’s first film job was announced . although it took two years to reach screens , the english film
no direct evidence of an affidavit exists in koch’s papers , but around this time , he went back to work in theater and television . the film industry may not have been so forgiving . a february 1959 letter from civil rights attorney edwin bennet williams suggests that if an affidavit was signed , it alone could not grant koch full reinstatement in the industry :
lisa also wistfully watches his numerous visitors from an upstairs window , noticing that his gatherings are often attended by elegantly - dressed women .
meeting a stranger in a railway station , a woman is tempted to cheat on her husband .
but that ' s asking for a lot . so fontaine has to be taken carefully now . but jourdan ' s lothario has improved beyond belief . jourdan was actually two years younger than fontaine – i wonder if he dared tease her . but both of them had been put under contract by david o selznick ( jourdan had been in the resistance during the war ) – and thus they were loaned out for letter from an unknown woman .
i feel that joan fontaine has been overlooked and underrated all these years . a letter from an unknown woman , has sadly been overlooked , even for tcm . i had looked for years for a copy of it and now finely am able to obtain it . i believe tcm has neglected to show more of miss fontaines ' films especially some of comedic ones . let ' s hope 2012 brings us more of miss fontaine ' s films .
smartly woven by author stefan zweig and poetically adapted to the screen by casablanca co - writer howard koch , letter from an unknown woman is a teary , melodramatic look at societal gender roles , the false hopes of love , and how the two tragically intersect . it may be best articulated in lisa’s sad , written revelation to stefan : “if you could have only recognized what was always yours , you could have found what was never lost . ”
to respond to nick , there ' s an excellent analysis of letters in molly haskell ' s from reverence to rape which brings out the self - sacricial myth at the heart of the woman ' s dream . e . m .
as hollywood changed , fontaine never again had an opportunity to explore the depth of her talent as she did in letter from an unknown woman , and slipped back into playing stock bad girls , pleasant companions , idealized heroines , and dissatisfied women with sharp tongues in such films as born to be bad , september affair , ivanhoe , and tender is the night . this film , which like the other two films discussed here had , according to producer john houseman , a mixed critical reception and was not a financial success at the time of its release . since then , this movie has found an audience and is the widely available on dvd . maybe someday , even those who think they don’t like joan fontaine as an actress will discover these movies . each offers a more complex and varied portrait of a woman in conflict with reality .
hi mdr , actually , letter from an unknown woman , as i mentioned , is the only one of the three that is available on dvd , but it would be great if tcm could eventually include this rko release as part of its programming , allowing a wider audience an introduction to a masterpiece . this above all would be a great addition to tcm , but i realize that not all fox products are readily acquired , ( especially since the fmc provides an outlet on cable for them ) . the real shame is that the constant nymph cannot be seen , though , according to some rather contradictory sources that i ' ve come across , the copyright may become part of the public domain in 2017 or 2018 , freeing the film from litigation .
this is the love every woman lives for . . . the love every man would die for !
in vienna , about 1900 , a dashing man arrives at his flat , instructing his manservant that he will leave before morning : the man is stefan brand , formerly a concert pianist , planning to leave vienna to avoid a duel . his servant gives him a letter from an unknown woman , which he reads . in flashbacks we see the lifelong passion of lisa berndle for him : first as a girl who was his neighbor ; next as a young woman who , in secret , has his child ; then as a mature woman who meets him again and abandons husband and son to be with him . each time he does not remember who she is or that they have ever met . by morning , he has finished the letter , and her husband awaits satisfaction .
letter evokes the turn of the 19 th century to partly avow the bond that psychoanalysis and film share in delivering and shackling us into modern consciousness . it is impossible for me to pursue the implications of this point in this short essay , but one may refer to stanley cavell’s chapter on the film that partly focuses on this problem . see contesting tears : the hollywood melodrama of the unknown woman , university of chicago press , chicago , 1996 , pp . 81 - 113 .
i loved the blog on letter from an unknown woman and stella dallas - i certainly remember loving the first from a long time ago and think i have seen the second too , the plot summary certainly rings a bell - apparently it is unavailable in the uk though according to one of the comments ( probably judy ? ) - i can ' t work out the comments on livejournal - it seems you either have to join or leave one anonymously which i don ' t like doing . anyway all the analysis is brilliant as ever .
it ' s no surprise that these ' endless parades of arrivals and departures ' that make letter from an unknown woman take as much away from these characters as they give . it ' s these actions and the musicality of the performers ' movements matched by the waltz the camera is frequently engaged in that creates ophüls ' tragic world wherein our central woman lisa berndle devotes her life to a man she seems destined not to be with . it ' s always a window or a door blocking lisa from her love - or everything that , to her , represents her love - pertubed by her inability to reach him even through something most brittle . and finally , upon meeting , their attempt to capture missed opportunities and memories can…
continuing the theme of looking back at 1948 ahead of this weekend ' s smackdown . here ' s angelica discussing one of joan fontaine ' s greatest roles . . .
letter from an unknown woman is one of the few films that can be said to be truly beautiful . everything about it is dreamy : the setting , the music , the cast . joan fontaine plays a girl then a woman who is sexually obligated and infatuated to louis jourdan , who is sexually free and only obligated to his music . one of the best parts is when the two main characters meet for the first or second time . they ' re in am amusement park at night on a fake train talking . for the woman it ' s an experience she will treasure forever , but for the man it ' s the beginning of a one night stand . in reality the viewer knows that both of them are on a love train going nowhere . how can a woman be so infatuated with a man ! ? that is what makes this story so sad and heartbreaking . joan fontaine and max opuls should have been nominated for this film .
, max ophüls’s 1948 universal film , joan fontaine falls in love from afar with a concert pianist , played by louis jourdan ; they meet once , make love , then don’t see each other for ten years , during which time she bears and raises their child . he doesn’t remember her when they meet again—at the opera , where
an interview with the chicago native , an artist and activist , about the politics of his sci - fi comedy with radical left and anti - capitalist messages .
, yet tastefully , differentiated himself from the other eighteen , an action that suggested a re - evaluation of the group dynamic might have been in order .
the reason for this reassessment belongs solely to the legendary vision of german director max ophuls . letter from an unknown woman is not only his greatest american contribution , but his greatest contribution , period . rather than transparently following the characters within their fictional world ( like most movies ) , ophuls positions his camera in its own time and space , disconnected from the characters and the reality they know . it gazes at them through a restaurant window . it studies them fatalistically through the bars of a gate . it peers at them through a set of curtains on either side of the frame .
even before the mankiewicz cancellation , though , koch had been contemplating “getting a ‘clearance’” according to the mccall letter .
is usually hailed as his best american film and the clear favorite among many film buffs , both for ophuls ' romanticism and the finely etched performances of fontaine and jourdan .
nevertheless , koch began to distance himself from the political realm in the late 1940s . although he later dated his exit from politics to the early 1950s ,
i won ' t tell you how the story ends – that would be unfair , though i think if you see the film afresh now , you will feel that the melodrama is a little heavy - handed at the end . but we have known all along that stefan ' s perilous thin - ice life has let him be challenged to a duel , and we gather that he is not expected to survive . indeed , he plans to be away before dawn – he has a manservant ( played by art smith ) vital to the whole story . his escape is only prevented because he receives a long letter , a letter from an unknown woman . when he starts to read it , the story it contains dooms him .
his startled attention is turned toward the letter when he sees its letterhead from st . catherine ' s hospital , and its ominous first statement in a female ' s handwriting :
by the time you read this letter , i may be dead .
his brow furrows ( with beads of water ) as he picks up the letter , turns , and dabs his face with a towel . he proceeds into his study where he places the letter on a desk , lights a small lamp , and then leans over to read it .
the heart - breaking tale of their relationship is communicated through flashbacks and the night - time reading of the deathbed letter written by the dying woman - she is the wife of the man the pianist must duel at the coming dawn .
for mankiewicz , koch’s name was only fuel for an already raging public relations fire .
over the same period , koch also suffered from rejection on broadway . his play
a double life 1947 ronald colman , edmond o ' brien , signe hasso . film noir
btw , there are an incredible number of typos in the article - - the kind that spellcheck overlooks . it was a distraction from the otherwise v well written analysis .
a blurred dissolve clears on the face of stefan ( fifteen years later ) who is reading the letter at his desk .
bill rothman’s essay on vertigo also notes points of similarity between these two films . see the chapter entitled , “ vertigo : the unknown woman in hitchcock” in his the “i” of the camera , cambridge university press , cambridge , ma , 1988 , pp . 152 - 173 .
fontaine renders lisa with a sensitivity , intelligence , and naïve hope so that it is hard to hate her . instead , you’re whisked away into the fairytale she so desperately wants to become reality . lisa’s life peaked early she’s forever replaying distorted images of stefan . she created a narrative for him in her youth that neither reality nor age could break . ultimately , letter from an unknown isn’t a love story , it is beautifully rendered portrait of obsession .
the writer ceased to appear in the popular press as a political figure late in 1948 . initially , his flirtation with huac hardly seemed to affect koch’s level of political engagement . he sponsored a world peace conference
,
linda williams ,
' something else besides a mother ;
stella dallas and the maternal melodrama ,
tania modleski ,
time and desire in the woman ' s film ,
christine gledhill , edd .
founded in 1999 , senses of cinema is one of the first online film journals of its kind and has set the standard for professional , high quality film - related content on the internet .
thank you for your comment , judy . i must go back to basinger to read the passages . i had forgotten there was some on letters from an unknown woman . curious what ' s available on one or other side of the atlantic , or available or not anywhere . no dvd for _ letters for an unknown woman _ except at very high price . no packages of dvds of ronald colman , none for jean arthur , none for cary grant ; is it the american popular classic audience the dvd makers seek to please ? if so , why not jean arthur ? because she ' s a woman ? then why not cary grant ? ronald colman was popular with american audiences . is it the non - macho content that doesn ' t go over or is instinctively not wanted ? i found there is a dvd i could get which plays any regions , and i ' ve seen a multiregion or purpose videocassette player , but can ' t as yet tell where to buy them : ) a muse , ellen
the staircase of stefan’s home carries deeper sexual symbolism with each girl he brings up , begging the question of how many other heartbroken “unknown women” have come before laura .
based on the novella by stefan zweig , the film begins in vienna 1900 . we meet stefan ( louis jordan ) a rakish pianist planning to run out of town before a scheduled duel . before he can do so his mute servant ( art smith ) gives him the titular letter . it begins ominously , “by the time you read this letter i may be dead . ”
. even so , koch would have to wait until 1964 for screen credit for an american production .
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i have never seen this film before this past week and where has this film been in my life before . it ' s so beautiful and fontaine is so captivating and this film not being fully embraced my oscars back in 1948 is baffling to me . maybe the academy could only go for one of the de havilland sisters and they choose olivia ' s films the snake pit another film i love . i could imagine the two sisters who hated each would not have wanted to be nominated in the same category even though both of them should have been nominated . this film put all modern love stories to shame because these actors in the 40 ' s & 50 ' s really were masters of creating believable love stories no matter how massive in scale they are .
i finally have received a copy of “the constant nymph . ” i’ve read and heard about this film for so long . when that happens , i am usually disappointed but not this time ! i loved the film , especially joan fontaine’s performance . the music is great and i enjoyed boyer’s acting , but it is fontaine’s film . her acting is nuanced and totally believable . she a very underrated and underappreciated film actress in my opinion .
of course , this does not prove that the incident did not take place ; after all , koch’s name is erased from the popular press in the two major cities of the entertainment industry after the release of the 13th letter in february 1951 .
. too european for success in an era of hollywood escapism , the film failed at the box office , but has lived in the hearts of its fans to become one of the most cherished of all ophuls films .
shortly thereafter , a static high - angle shot watches lisa move diagonally from the bottom of screen left to the top of screen right , already almost a shadow ; here she literally exits the film’s frame , never to be recovered again – except as a flash of past images , or as a ghostly superimposition , or in our viewing and re - viewing of this film again through time . in all these cases , all we have access to are scenes from the film itself , scenes we merely revisit – not unlike lisa’s beloved train travel . yet the question arises : what right does lisa have to ask this man for recognition ? must we rebuke him ? stefan has never been anything other than a man predicated on existing in an evanescent present . he is a man who also has a stake in his fantasy of an ideal woman who never arrives . thus , a world conceived with the deliberateness of a stairway , where every step is fatefully arrived at , meets the randomness of one envisioned as an endlessly shuffled deck of cards . fantasy is the inescapable violence we enact upon each other , making the other invisible . the power of melodrama , and certainly of this melodrama , resides precisely in luring us to these realisations through the banal , the sugar - coated , and perhaps the even laughable desire of a certain unknown woman .
koch , it seems , was the only member of the nineteen to emerge unscathed from the reversal .
add your ratings ! each of the detailed ratings you select will result in a cumulative score for this film .
with houseman supervising , koch and ophuls worked on the screenplay . from the first , ophuls was demanding , insisting on authentic , creative choices throughout the film . though he did not receive a screenwriting credit , houseman ' s memoirs credit him with some of the film ' s most distinctive touches , including the snow - filled amusement park , the deserted dance - hall in which the stars dance as an all - female orchestra plays strauss and the fake train ride , with an attendant pedaling furiously to roll scenery past a stationary train carriage .
this film is so beautiful it brings tears to my eyes every time i watch it and goose bumps to my skin each time i hear the beautiful score of the film . joan fontaine give what arguably is her best performance as does louis jourdan . it is a bittersweet romance that will leave you wanting to watch it over and over . many film historians have written about this film and some of what they have said can be found on the internet .
shows profound human feeling violated by social status , and while there is exaggeration and crudity in the way the story and circumstances are presented , i know from experience , that such violations occur all the time , and believe ( have known of ) where they can be central and wreak irremediable damage on a psyche and a life . this is not just a woman ' s issue , but it can be more likely for a woman , especially as stella is working class and appears to be a woman with a low class lover , ed . in fact she ' s not interested in ed or any man , only her daughter , and i ' ve seen this : woman who are mothers first , last and foremost .
on the other hand , his non - communist status made an affidavit of non - affiliation a viable possibility .
from the boer war through world war ii , a soldier rises through the ranks in the british military .
i was issued a sort of invitation to return to hollywood for an assignment and reinstatement in ‘the industry’ by an ‘un - named major studio executive . ’ i couldn’t take advantage of this opening at the time because i was doing that picture with joe [ losey ] . however , the letter convinced me that my situation could be cleared up in that painless fashion and that the list was practically non - operative as far as i was concerned . the past six months have proved that an illusion .
. directed by king vidor , screenplay by harry wagstaff gribble and based on a very popular novel by a woman , olive higgins prouty , at the time .
this careful use of camera effects turns the film into a piece of music , which is underlined by ophuls ' painstaking selection of the appropriate classical pieces to reflect action and milieu . jourdan ' s theme is taken from lizst ' s piano etude no . 3 , which his character is shown practicing early in the film when he is still a student . it plays whenever fontaine thinks of him , over their love scenes and as he finishes reading her letter at the end . when fontaine encounters him again at the opera , where he does not remember their previous liaison , the music is from mozart ' s
received only mixed reviews , with critics praising the period art direction but often noting the film ' s slow pacing . it was decidedly not what post - war film audiences wanted . theories about the film ' s box - office failure usually blame the casting of jourdan , whom producer houseman felt lacked the sex appeal necessary to make fontaine ' s lifelong devotion both believable and touching . later critics , however , have pointed out that ophuls ' direction supplies all the sensuality required and that , on re - evaluation , jourdan ' s performance is perhaps his finest . another problem for audiences was the film ' s fatalistic plot . by the final shot fontaine ' s character is dead of typhus while jourdan , now chastened from reading her letter , is going off to certain death in a duel with her husband . although this finale seems tragic to contemporary critics , it may have lacked the obvious sense of ennoblement audiences of the 1940s wanted from what was still basically an escapist medium .
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i received my now playing booklet for the month ofmarch and was interested in seeing the movie
letterfrom an unknown woman .
thinking this soundedlike something i would be interested in , i was pleasedbeyond my expectations . this was a lovely and heartbreaking movie of unrequited love spanningthe lifetime of a young woman . i thoroughly enjoyedthe performances and chemistry between louis jourdan and joan fontaine . the movie left me wanting to seeit again . . . but alas , it is not for sale ! i ' m hoping thiswill not be the case for long . i would love to have itin my classic movie collections . thank you oh so much for playing this and makingmy saturday night !
the film ' s literate screenplay was written by previous academy award winner howard koch ( screenwriter for casablanca ( 1942 ) ) , and adapted from a 1922 short story ( novella ) by stefan zweig . fontaine ' s own production company produced the film . john houseman , orson welles ' former partner and the uncredited co - author of citizen kane ( 1941 ) , was the film ' s producer , through rampart productions ( a company owned by william dozier and his wife , actress joan fontaine ) .
utterly transporting and deeply , complicatedly wistful in its exploration of the interplay between romanticism and reality . what an introduction to ophüls .
, during a dinner party , sung by a puppet in a candlelit diorama ; a short lecture follows . ( “hear the strange and illogical but genial rhythm : ‘pami—na . ’ this is no longer the name of a young woman but an incantation , a sorcerer’s formula . ” ) bergman was particularly fond of
doesn ' t have . ophuls ' film is about a fantasy that doesn ' t exist , and the story is improbable throughout .
, which recounts the story of a hollywood producer who is blackmailed . koch himself is utterly dismissive of the film : he relegates it to a single phrase in his memoir , dismissing it out of hand as a film “of no importance” without even mentioning its title .
( 1944 ) . but this time she allowed the child - woman to grow up into a sophisticated , elegant wife and mother still capable of being ruled by the child within .
in pictures - the story of love and romance : from adam and eve to tinder and chemsex . compiled by martin chilton
in the letter we have a young girl who , at that age when girls get crushes , gets a crush for her handsome pianist neighbor , and stalks him from afar . eventually this leads to a life - long obsession punctuated by a couple of actual meetings , and a big disappointing final meeting .
strangely , in spite of his strong endorsement , the national council of arts , sciences and professions ( the asp , of which koch was chair ) was the only chapter of the pca that remained independent of the wallace party in a merger between the party and the pca in june of 1948 .
significantly , the first spoken words in the film ' s first flashback identify and introduce the ' unknown woman ' s name ' - they are called out as a summons by the young girl ' s mother ( mady christians ) from a second - story window , to get her daughter to stop her dreamy contemplation of the delivery van :
lisa , come in lisa . come in this minute , you hear ? lisa !
[ from the previous voice - over , it is clear that lisa identifies this day as a birthday - the beginning of her conscious life . ] after climbing the stairs , lisa meets the occupant ' s mute assistant john , just as she hears her mother call her name one more time :
lisa , what are you doing out there ? come inside .
3 . la ronde ( 1950 ) a transitional film ( don druker is dead - on when he writes ,
the movement toward ophuls ' s baroque masterpiece lola montes is unmistakable .
the film is both completely joyous and stylistically radical , nearly avant - garde in the way it plays with the boundary between life and theater , facilitated by anton walbrook as the raconteur , maybe the best performance in an ophuls film . the director ' s camera is particularly expressive here , comparing and illuminating the dialogue and the images via his famous tracking shots .
eschewing a hack’s against - all - odds psychoanalytic narrative in favor of a thoughtful portrait , simon callow ' s book being wagner traces the evolution of an angry young man to an angry old man who , along the way , unalterably changed the dramaturgy of opera forever .
as with the case of the “single” flashback , this is perhaps not exactly right . there is one other scene where the camera seems to come in search of lisa , in which , after having said goodbye to stefan at the train station , lisa disappears from the frame close to the top of screen right and walks away from the camera . this shot is followed by a dissolve , cueing a temporal ellipsis , that reveals from the top screen right the image of a nun appearing from the darkness and walking toward the camera ( almost fusing with lisa’s position in the previous shot – cavell calls this lisa’s cinematic transfiguration into a nun [ 184 ] ) . the nun walks among curtained enclosures , until she comes upon the curtain that reveals lisa , who has just given birth to her and stefan’s illegitimate son . this figure is something to keep in mind when noting that lisa’s letter arrives to stefan from a “sister in charge” . furthermore , if we consider this film as a key intertext with vertigo , it gives further depth to the death - precipitating presence of the nun in the latter film .
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the day of the waldorf decision , koch publicly disassociated himself from the communist party . in a 26 november 1947 advertisement in the
ophuls was already disillusioned with hollywood , where he had fled during world war ii . he had been fired after only three days shooting his first film there and had been able to complete only one u . s . film to that time , the douglas fairbanks , jr . adventure
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after discovering the dead body of her teenage daughter ' s lover , a housewife takes desperate measures to protect her family from scandal .
observed :
fraley , a film buff , is known for his savantlike ability to name every best picture winner in history , by year .
thus , koch revisited his 1947 advertisement in his letter to gang , unequivocally distancing himself from the party while making an appeal to first amendment rights . yet , while criticism of the ten was certainly implicit in his 1947 public relations move , he makes it quite explicit in his letter to gang . the gesture was not , however , enough gang’s reply to koch said that the latter would need to provide more “specific” answers . koch met with gang , who advised koch to appear before the committee and to publicize his appearance . first , though , gang thought koch ought to “bone up” on extant committee testimony and to generally avoid acting so “naïve” as he did in his letter . ultimately , koch decided to follow the alternate route suggested by the kohner agency and sign an affidavit for a studio executive ( a strange demand , since he had publicized a similar document a decade before ) . having heard this decision , gang “reversed himself completely , agreeing that this approach was more suitable in my case and ‘less work for both of us . ’”
the diamond earrings of a french aristocrat , a wedding gift from her husband , cause a series of conflicts as they change hands repeatedly .
guarantee the perfect movie night with tickets from fandango . find theater showtimes , watch trailers , read reviews and buy movie tickets in advance .
with his pseudonym , koch once again began to work . his first major project in england was an adaptation of his own science - fiction work ,
and backed progressive party candidate henry a . wallace in the 1948 presidential race . at a two - day conference of the liberal activist group the political citizens association ( pca ) , koch made the following statement : “there is hardly anyone in the wallace movement who would not rather lose with wallace than win with any other man . ”
a public campaign was no longer desirable to the writer . after 1948 ( or at the latest 1950 ) , he was a resolutely private figure . koch seems to have avoided ever testifying or “naming names” ( although he admitted to considering it in the late 1950s ) , but he hardly broke or even likely damaged the hollywood lists .
a silent nameless woman who gives up her life for this man . pregnancy outside marriage . death . repetition . we first see the man coming in the morning after the duel has been set . then in the flashback with a woman or women in the morning . he returns with lisa the first time in the dawn , the second , and we end there too . a long night of a life . .
the film spectrum began as a labor of love in may 2005 , and after years of obsessive research , launched in october 2011 . two months later ,
was distributed in the united states by rko , but as koch’s indifference to the film indicates , it played as the second half of a double bill .
the demure , old fashioned , almost victorian persona that joan fontaine had honed for a decade on film before this project found full flower in this movie .
the closed set , the attention to detail , the luxury of rehearsal time , a fine cast , as well as her clear affinity for the character that she played blended together to make an intensely felt movie . the constant nymph ( 1943 ) is probably joan fontaine ‘s least known film today , despite the fact that the actress received an oscar nomination for the role . due to the terms of the author margaret kennedy’s will , this warner brothers film has been mired in litigious limbo for decades . the generosity of a friend who lives abroad enabled me to view a dvd - r of this movie recently .
it is one of the most enjoyable love stories ever created . this film has been requested many times in the recent past . you must have searched all over europe to get a copy of it so it can be shared with your viewing public . this film has the finest cast imaginable . it should appeal to all the women who view tcm . after watching this film from beginning to end you will find that it leaves you with something ; a very strong memory of it . after its first showing on your channel you will find numerous requests to show it again and again . when i first saw this movie in 1948 , i was a young boy who went home and told my mother all about it . back in the days when the theaters handed out dishes to their patrons my mother and i went to see it together . we both got a dish that night . this is one film that i can watch over and over again and never get tired of seeing it . my mother thoroughly enjoyed this movie and i remember her recommending it to all of her friends at the time .
an image in a government briefing book helped a state department official see “the forest for the trees” in the west bank—and then was shared with the president .
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in early 20th - century vienna , stefan brand ( louis jourdan ) is about to leave the city because he faces a duel that he wants no part of . however , before he can do so , he gets an anonymous love letter that changes his life . though stefan is moved by what he reads , he doesn ' t realize that it was written by lisa berndle ( joan fontaine ) , a young woman he has known but disregarded for most of his life . when he finally figures out who his admirer is , it may be too late to prevent a tragedy .
i ' ve read the synopsis of this movie and have been trying to locate or view it for years . . . it is not in release i fear . where can i find a copy or who shows it from time to time . it has become an obsession to find and view this movie .


breakin ' 2 : electric boogaloo is a 1984 film directed by sam firstenberg .

it is a sequel to the 1984 breakdancing film breakin ' .

electric boogaloo was released nine months after its predecessor by tristar pictures and by cannon films a few months later .

in some international locations the film was released under the title breakdance 2 : electric boogaloo .

another sequel , rappin ' ( also known as breakdance 3 ) was made but had an unconnected plot and different lead characters – only ice-t features in all three movies .

breakin ' 2 : electric boogaloo

breakin / breakin 2 : electric boogaloo . title breakin / breakin 2 : electric boogaloo . region 1 . ge _ item _ id : 93878806 ; .
listen to breakin ' 2 electric boogaloo ( 1984 ) - the soundtrack now .
within a year of its release , breakin ' spawned a sequel , breakin ' 2 : electric boogaloo .
cinedigm - uni dist corp brsf15740 breakin / breakin 2 - electric boogaloo ( blu - r . . .
ftl redo - ftl 2 electric boo . . . electric boogaloo uploaded by mscratch
the cinema snob : breakin ' 2 : . . . electric boogaloo uploaded by inkswitch
friday q & a : jesse 2 : electric . . . electric boogaloo uploaded by mscratch
one of the tutorials in badman 2 is titled
demons 2 : electric boogaloo
.
the trollpasta wiki renamed sonic . exe round 2 to sonic . exe 2 : electric boogaloo .
breakin’ and breakin’ 2 electric boogaloo takes us back to hip hop culture in 1984 . a perfect double feature worth busting a move .
find out what ever happen to the 1984 tv show , movie , breakin ' 2 : electric boogaloo .
the witcher 2 [ part 35 ] : roch . . . electric boogaloo uploaded by mscratch
dead space 2 [ part 1 ] : electr . . . electric boogaloo uploaded by mscratch
looking for movie tickets ? enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing breakin ' 2 : electric boogaloo near you .
this dvd is sam firstenberg ' s electric . boogaloo breakin 2 , w / lucinda dickey . oneach dvd or blu - ray .
breakin ' 2 - electric boogaloo . title : breakin ' 2 - electric boogaloo . studio : mgm ( video & dvd ) . condition : good . product category : dvds . format : ntsc , subtitled , full screen , co . about goodwill . . .
breakin ' 2 : electric boogaloo is a 1984 movie about breakdancing , and a sequel to the same year ' s ( you heard us , the same year ) breakin .
ashens : mp4 comparison review part 2 : electric boogaloo ( 2006 ) ( tv episode ) title reference .
' ' breakin ' 2 : electric boogaloo ' ' is rated pg ( ' ' parental guidance suggested ' ' ) . it contains some strong language .
rifftrax live : manos - the hands of fate ( 2012 )
manos 2 : electric boogaloo
mentioned .
manufacturer : cinedigm - uni dist corp . model number : brsf15740 . manufacturer cinedigm - uni dist corp . manufacturer part number brsf15740 . product model brsf15740 . breakin / breakin 2 - electric boogaloo . . .
breakin ' 2 : electric boogaloo shies away from the queerness and ambiguity that help make breakin ' so interesting . turbo spends breakin ' thinking girls are yucky , and seeing them mainly as challenges to his dance floor supremacy . in breakin ' 2 : electric boogaloo , however , the filmmakers felt the need to spell out his heterosexuality by having him fall for a fellow dancer and seek romantic advice from his best buddy ozone .
breakin 2 : electric boogaloo format : blu - ray import plays in english a developer tries to bulldoze a community recreation center . the local breakdancers try to stop it .
breakin ' and breakin ' 2 are both sealed . beat street and the bonus disc have been opened . beat street has some wear .
breakin ' and breakin ' 2 , while not brilliant films in terms of plot and acting ability , are definitely a must - see .
of some note , breakin ' 2 was released the same year as breakin , thus helping to strongly attach the phrase to derided sequels .
skyrim [ part 81 ] - bad dovahk . . . electric boogaloo uploaded by mscratch
electric boogaloo : the wild , untold story of cannon films ( 2014 ) discussed .
bonus points if the sequel is actually named some variation of
electric boogaloo
.
no stage is too distinguished for a breakin’ 2 reference . dan harmon’s return to community prompted the new yorker to publish “’community’ two : electric boogaloo , ” and time out described new york’s freak weather pattern as “polar vortex 2 : electric boogaloo . ” even the new york times ‘s political blog , the caucus , dropped the reference in an article on youtube culture , titling its post “obama girl 2 : electric boogaloo . ”
in an interview , ryan reynolds joked that the crew considered ' untitled deadpool sequel ' and ' deadpool 2 : electric boogaloo ' , before settling on deadpool 2 .
mystery science theater 3000 : the incredible melting man ( 1996 ) ( tv episode ) servo : steve 2 : electric boogaloo .
it ' s always sunny in philadelphia : chardee macdennis 2 : electric boogaloo ( 2016 ) ( tv episode ) title reference .
shout ! factory present breakin’ and breakin’ 2 electric boogaloo . directed by : sam joel silberg & firstenberg starring : adolfo “shabba - doo” quiñones , lucinda dickey , micheal chambers and ice - t . boxset contents : 2 movies on 1 blu - ray . released : april 14 , 2015
fans were deeply , deeply saddened when no amount of letter writing could convince michael bay to name his sequel transformers 2 : electric boogaloo .
in an episode of the clerks animated series , randall described dante ' s relationship as
caitlin and dante 2 : electric boogaloo .
it ' s always sunny in philadelphia gives us chardee macdennis 2 : electric boogaloo , courtesy of frank . much to the groups chargin .
the sasquatch gang ( 2006 ) chapter 5 of the movie is titled
electric boogaloo .
electric boogaloo : the wild , untold story of cannon films ( 2014 ) clips are shown .
dr steel ' s second album was , of course ,
dr steel ii : eclectic boogaloo
. the album art , a parody of the poster art for breakin 2 electric boogaloo , also has to be seen to be believed . ◊
but for movies that barely qualify as movies , breakin ' and breakin 2 : electric boogaloo , both released in 1984 , are surprisingly fascinating all the same , as shout factory ' s feverishly anticipated , recently released blu - ray combo pack of these two films reveals . i ' m not sure how shout factory managed to wrestle the blu - ray rights for breakin ' and breakin 2 : electric boogaloo away from the criterion collection , but i ' m glad they did , because the movies look and sound great .
please feel free to share your electric boogaloo tidbits in the comments and or tell me i’m nuts .
one of the many fake names oafe gave for age of ultron was avengers 2 : electric bugaboo .
the beat doesn’t slow down for the slammin’ sequel to breakin’ , breakin’ 2 : electric boogaloo ! a hip - hop homage to the
hey kids , let ' s put on a show !
. , musicals of hollywood ' s yesteryear , this fly . . .
the beat doesn’t slow down for the slammin’ sequel to breakin’ , breakin’ 2 : electric boogaloo ! a hip - hop homage to the
hey kids , let ' s put on a show !
. , musicals of hollywood ' s yesteryear , this fly . . .
mystery science theater 3000 : ' manos ' the hands of fate ( 1993 ) ( tv episode ) servo : hey , hired 2 : electric boogaloo .
the great luke ski has a song about bacon , titled bacon . devo spice wrote a parody about kevin bacon , titled bacon 2 : electric boogaloo .
the english adaptation of the pokémon manga the electric tale of pikachu that roughly follows the plot of the tv show ' s second volume was electric pikachu boogaloo .
for movies released only seven months apart , breakin ' and breakin ' 2 : electric boogaloo have decidedly different sensibilities . for all its cheesiness and non - ironic embrace of dance movie conventions , breakin ' is rooted in an actual scene and subculture . as silly as it might have been , and breakin ' is gloriously silly , the film could at least be said to have a foundation in reality .
breakin ' introduced me to what would be movies made entirely of music and dance in the break dancing scene . breakin ' 2 : electric boogaloo was just a step above and made the film even better ( kinda cheesy in a good way ) . still a favorite to this day .
breakin ' 2 - electric boogaloo is the birth of a movie title that spawned every sequel of a successful first movie to have a cool name . just add
2 electric boogaloo
to every second movie name and you will understand . boogaloo is a break - dancer . he pops and locks to the hip - hop grooves . this movie is ok , i guess . i am cool . just get it for the title alone .
breakin’ and breakin’ 2 electric boogaloo is just a blissful double feature that’s all about the move and saving the center . this could have been an overemotional and overwrought dud . but instead they wisely kept the tempo light enough to let all the dancers float on air while making gravity defying moves .
team fortress 2 had an update called
robotic boogaloo
, consisting of mostly robotic - themed items .
how i met your mother : rebound bro ( 2008 ) ( tv episode ) stella jokes that having sex again is like
virginity 2 : electric boogaloo .
breakin’ 2 : electric boogaloo was directed by sam firstenberg . who ? exactly . the people that wrote this atrocity of a film never wrote anything else . roger ebert gave this film three stars ! think about that for a minute .
todd ' s pop song reviews : the top ten worst hit songs of 2004 ( 2012 ) ( tv episode )
. . . and the fact that he looks like a cast member of breakin ' 2 : electric boogaloo .
today , michael is busy promoting shout factory’s new blu - ray releases of both breakin’ and breakin’ 2 : electric boogaloo , which came out in april 2015 , and he’s making the most of the renewed interest in his thirty - plus year old films again , fielding calls from “important people like cnn . ”
the phrase
electric boogaloo
has become a common unofficial sub - title for any unnecessary sequel . see more »
“electric boogaloo” screened this week at the toronto international film festival . ratpac documentary films will release it later this year .
cultural infamy : 1984 ' s breakin ' 2 : electric boogaloo contributed precisely one thing to the cultural zeitgeist that the far more successful breakin ' hadn ' t already provided : a zingy subtitle that could be added to the end of virtually any sequel . to this day , children of the ' 80s still frequently reference , say , saw 2 : electric boogaloo or the hills have eyes 2 : electric boogaloo , largely because of the built - in catchy rhyme and sheer silliness value . the gag comes up routinely and randomly , via sources from mr . show to family guy . in a recent online chat with lord of the rings fans , guillermo del toro even joked that h2 : electric boogaloo had been rejected as a possible title for the planned second hobbit movie .
arrow ' d : arrow ' d 2 ! electric - - wait a minute . not this time , buster !
electric boogaloo
is a phrase typically appended to the title of a sequel tv or film production to mock its poor quality . originally featured in the title of the poorly received 1984 dance film breakin’ 2 : electric boogaloo [ 3 ] , the term refers to a type of dance move that arose out of funk and hip hop styles in the 1970s , popularized by the street dance team the electric boogaloos . [ 9 ]
though its subtitle would become the series ' weirdly enduring legacy , breakin ' 2 was nowhere near the success of its predecessor . despite coming out a little over a half a year after breakin ' debuted , breakin ' 2 : electric boogaloo grossed a fraction of breakin ' ' s box - office haul and despite being in the 18th top grossing film of 1984 , shabba doo , boogaloo shrimp and lucinda dickey were seldom seen onscreen in the years that followed , though shrimp did go on to a strange later fame as the choreographer for the robotic urkel sequences on family matters .
maybe , all along , golan had it right . he was just too early . the films that he pioneered have , now , become much loved cults and classics . the title of the film itself comes from the sequel to cult dance movie breakin’ ; the much maligned and , laughable , breakin’ 2 : electric boogaloo .
breakin’ 2 : electric boogaloo , the december 1984 sequel that inspired these wisecracks , remains an internet favorite after 30 years of critical apathy . and yet it’s hard to imagine that most 19 - year - olds sitting at home on thursday night , tweeting stupid fill - in - the - blanks jokes , are aware of their own references . to many , breakin’ 2 : electric boogaloo is just a title taken at face value . beyond that … well , who knows ? turns out the people behind electric boogaloo barely knew what they’d created , a history that makes its status as the lowest - common - denominator twitter joke even more amusing .
naturally references in yu gi oh the abridged series when jean - claude magnum ends the list of movies he ' s starred in with
and devil ninja 2 : electric boogaloo .
in an issue of the comic book miniseries loners , ricochet points out that he ' s technically the second ricochet , and refers to himself as
ricochet 2 : electric boogaloo .
fan convention was called
conventio - con expo - fest - a - rama 2 : electric bugaloo
[ sic ] .
the order of the stick references it . belkar mentions the possibility for thanh to become
miko 2 : electric bugaloo
.
thanks , you . having actually enjoyed breakin ' 2 , i do want to seek out the first one now . mostly for this .
referenced in pokémon black 2 and white 2 of all places . if you finish all the movies in pokéstar studios , you get access to your own dressing room containing some old scripts one of which is galvantula ' s travels 2 : eelektrik boogaloo .
while dismissing breakin’ and breakin’ 2 electric boogaloo would be easy , the harsh reality is that these two film are glorious . movie audiences in 1984 were treated to both dance epics in the spring and winter . rap and break dancing was getting mainstream attention in the early ’80s . the fact that hip hop was a complete lifestyle that included music , dance , fashion and art made it perfect for movies . leave it to cannon films to immediately exploit it for cinematic purposes . these films could have just been boring and forgettable with only a few performance clips worth salvaging . instead breakin’ and breakin’ 2 : electric boogaloo remain enjoyable viewing . they also remind us of ice - t’s not quite og days .
breakin ' and breakin ' 2 : electric boogaloo couldn ' t be more 1984 but from the purview of today , but they fit perfectly within the history of dance movies as the corny but super - fun connective tissue between old - fashioned musicals of the 30s , 40s and 50s and the step up movies of today , whose plots , themes and conflicts look an awful lot like the ones found in the breakin ' movies .
in an episode of teen girl squad , strong bad was about to sic
arrowed 2 : electric boogaloo
on the ugly one before realizing he had drawn her too hot to bump off .
breakin’ 2 : electric boogaloo performed modestly with $ 15 million , more than the astronomically expensive supergirl . perhaps more importantly , it reached kids across the country , who reveled in its weirdness . kids caught breakin’ 2 and carried it with them . take actor and geek connoisseur wil wheaton , who was never the same after he soaked up electric boogaloo . “i saw breakin ’ in the movie theater when i was 9 or 10 years old , ” he says , recalling his terrible dance skills but rabid obsession with early hip - hop . “when breakin’ 2 came out , it landed on me at exactly the right time . in exactly the right way . it was so unapologetically what it was that the young version of me was able to embrace it and fall in love . ”
breakin ' 2 ( and the eagerly anticipated , soon - to - be - released original
breakin '
) have been added to a short list of 80s flix that i just have to have in my collection .
title :
electric boogaloo
. artist : breakin ' 2 . various artist ' s . . electronic , funk , soul , r & b ; , hip hop , electro . very rare copy . from polydor records . original
sealed
. label : polydor records .
breakin ' 2 : electric boogaloo provides the flimsiest of a rationale for the aforementioned dance number where the ill use the hospital ' s instruments not for their intended medical purposes but rather for executing extravagant choreography by having turbo tumble down flights of stairs and end up in a suspiciously boogie - friendly hospital . but for the most part , breakin ' 2 : electric boogaloo doesn ' t feel the need to explain its many flights of giddy fantasy , like a scene where turbo pays homage to fred astaire ' s signature moves in royal wedding by moonwalking on the ceiling .
the beat doesn ' t slow down for the slammin ' sequel tobreakin ' , breakin ' 2 : electric boogaloo ! a hip - hop homage to the hey kids , let ' s put on a show !  . musicals of hollywood ' s yesteryear , this fly fol . . .
dvd - r hell : mr . t ' s be somebody or be somebody ' s fool ( 2012 ) ( tv episode )
that way you can save the community recreation center , because your whole career will consist of starring in ' breakin ' 2 : electric boogaloo . '
sequels are all about raising the stakes , and breakin ' 2 : electric boogaloo does exactly that . in fact , it ' s virtually identical to the first breakin ' , only with a sillier plot and crazier dance sequences . it also retains its predecessor ' s sense of pure glee , preventing the movie from feeling like the crass cash - in it actually is . urltoken
marzgurl reviews : the land before time ii ( 2011 ) ( tv episode ) marzgurl jokingly calls this land before time ii : electric boogaloo .
breakin’ 2 : electric boogaloo to the 10 - year - old mind is epic . i mean , it takes off right where the original film left us with ozone , turbo and kelly fighting “the man” to save their neighborhood community center . cool right ? ? well , not so much when you’re older…
title drop : one of the songs in the movie has the words
electric boogaloo ,
spoken by an electronic voice , as the hook .
just as isaac newton and gottfried leibniz simultaneously discovered calculus while researching independently , [ enter title here ] : electric boogaloo flowed into the internet lexicon through various mentions lacking a common source . wheaton distinctly recalls working on a short film with friends back in 2001 and turning electric boogaloo into a recurring subtitle game . spurred by the experience , he published the phrase ( slipping it to his sizable , internet - using audience ) in an october 2001 plug for his radio show . a month later , the band five iron frenzy would release five iron frenzy 2 : electric boogaloo . dig deep enough and one finds earlier representation . the 1998 ain’t it cool news story “ deliverance 2 : electric banjo boogaloo” tips its hat to the cult film .
welcome back to 1 out of 5 – would recommend , where we continue to pay tribute to the utter insanity that is the production work of golan and globus ! this week , we investigate the movie with a title so ridiculous it’s still a meme thirty years later : 1985’s breakin’ 2 : electric boogaloo .
depending on whether you embrace the breakin ' films as important , fascinating cultural documents of a seminal moment in street culture when it broke through to the mainstream or as unintentionally hilarious camp comedies , the production number in breakin ' 2 : electric boogaloo where the magical power of dance brings a dead man back to life and instantly heals the disabled either ranks as an embarrassing nadir or a wonderfully shameless highlight .
much as “jumping the shark” has become a term for something popular that gets stupid , electric boogaloo , which might be the most rapidly turned - around shark - jump in film history , is now everyone’s favourite stupid sequel name . it fits any bad sequel to which one wishes to apply it , whether said film actually exists or not – try selma 2 : electric boogaloo .
. the title track ,
electric boogaloo ,
did not appear in pop charts and reached place # 45 on the r & b ; chart .
it ' s fun to help poor people , franny canada ( 2005 ) ( short ) a character in the movie holds a sign used in breakin 2 ' .
parodied in this hark ! a vagrant . kate beaton apparently wants
the legend of curly ' s gold
to be the next
electric boogaloo
.
way to ruin the electric boogaloo sequel joke with your thoughtful and insightful review . guess i ' ll have to start using the secret of saurus rock instead .
the “boogaloo” vibe had at least 50 years on electric boogaloo . the word’s etymology is fuzzy and oft - debated , both a latin musical movement exploding in ’50s and ’60s new york and a phrase that emerged from the deep south’s boogie - woogie piano scene . mixing cultures birthed blended sounds , “boogaloo” encompassing everything from bossa nova to r & b and soul . celia cruz , the queen of salsa , had a boogaloo song . james brown had a boogaloo song . ringo starr had a boogaloo song with an incredible frankenstein’s monster–themed music video . brown even shot an instructional video on how to perform his version of “the boogaloo . ”
three times ?
laser sword
,
laser sword ii : electric boogaloo ' ' and
laser sword iii : revenge of laser sword
. shooting an
in an ooc q & a , jadusable replied to a question asking about the name of the movie he ' s filming with
ben 2 : electric boogaloo .
here is a transcript of that q & a if you want it .
michael says that the producers of breakin’ 2 felt that the dance moves he was doing probably wouldn’t last that long , they were just a fad — and they were right , of course . today the movies both look like innocent curios from a quainter time , and michael now says that the reason breakin’ 2 didn’t do as good as breakin’ did was that they were going for a “wholesome… like a christian production , ” instead of something more “street . ”
you ' re welcome america : a final night with george w . bush ( 2009 ) ( tv special )
you turn the whole place into electric boogaloo ?
with “ electric boogaloo : the wild , untold story of cannon films , ” director mark hartley captures the grand - fromage character of cannon , where golan ( who died last month ) and his partner and cousin , yoram globus , created a legacy that included such tours de force as “breakin’ 2 : electric boogaloo , ” “braddock : missing in action iii , ” “death wish iv : the crackdown , ” and “american ninja v . ” they were very big on numbers — except the ones that added up to good business .
electric boogaloo performed by ollie & jerry written by ollie e . brown , attala z . giles , russ regan produced and arranged by ollie e . brown for brown sugar productions
mystery science theater 3000 : the rebel set ( 1992 ) ( tv episode ) crow :
kazan wants me for ' on the waterfront ii : electric boogaloo . '
. the subtitle struck many as hilarious ( incidentally , the
electric boogaloo
is an actual style of dance ) , and since then ,
electric boogaloo
has been used as a spoof subtitle for a sequel to just about anything , especially a sequel perceived or expected to be of inferior quality , felt to be unnecessary , or sequels with unwieldy subtitles .
i use wiki 2 every day and almost forgot how the original wikipedia looks like .
predator , predator 2 , predators , and the upcoming fourth film , the predator .
five iron frenzy named one album five iron frenzy 2 : electric boogaloo after this trope . it was their fourth full - length studio album , and the only one to be self - titled . by contrast , their actual second album is called our newest album ever .
totally awesome ( 2006 ) ( tv movie )
sit your electric boogie ass down .
also referenced in yu - gi - oh ! gx of all things , when chazz plays
beatron 2 : electric bug aloo , uhhh , what i meant was beetle turbo
.
breakin ' 2 features three characters from breakin ' – kelly ( lucinda dickey ) , ozone ( adolfo quinones ) , and turbo ( michael chambers ) – who struggle to stop the demolition of a community recreation center . also appear dancer viktor manoel , ice - t , and martika , who was little known then .
it will enhance any encyclopedic page you visit with the magic of the wiki 2 technology .
ice - t was also in a sequel to electric boogaloo but it had a different story line and was called rappin’ aka breakdance 3 . it also starred mario van peebles and eriq la salle .
. since then ,
a missão
(
the mission
) has become the brazilian equivalent of
electric boogaloo .
the same goes for the italian title of the second film ,
the cinema snob : death wish ii ( 2016 ) ( tv episode )
adding ' electric boogaloo ' as the subtitle to any sequel is a joke that got old decades ago . . .
“electric boogaloo” is the famously silly subtitle for breakin’ 2 ( 1984 ) , one of the first sequels cannon commissioned from a franchise they could take credit for spawning . they weren’t messing around – it opened only six months after the release of breakin’ , easily their biggest theatrical hit . the rush and desperation to surf this particular pop - cultural wave was entirely apparent to audiences , though , who came out in droves for the first movie , then smelled a rat when the second one cranked things up a notch with breakdancing on the ceiling .
region : region b / 2 ( read more about dvd / blu - ray formats . )
at the end of the dvd commentary for the end of evangelion , taliesin jaffe and jason c . lee joke about the ( un ) likelihood of eva 2 : electric boogaloo , which now that the rebuild films and in particular the increasingly popular
sequel theory
exist is particularly hilarious in hindsight .
subscribe to trailers : urltoken subscribe to coming soon : urltoken subscribe to classic trailers : urltoken like us on facebook : urltoken follow us on twitter : urltoken breakin ' 2 : electric boogaloo trailer - directed by sam firstenberg and starring adolfo quinones , michael chambers , harry caesar , john christy ewing , steve notario . a developer tries to bulldoze a community recreation center . the local breakdancers try to stop it . mgm - 1984
in an episode of mr show , a director is described as
the best thing to come out of hollywood since sliced bread , not to mention its sequel , sliced bread ii : electric boogaloo .
the very different responses to breakin ' and breakin ' 2 : electric boogaloo reveals something telling about the transitory nature of fads : they ' re white hot , then ice - cold and seven months were all it took to take breakdancing from the hottest new thing to yesterday ' s embarrassing obsession . golan and globus , whose reagan - era golden age saw them alternating between art house movies by filmmakers like jean - luc godard and norman mailer and b - movies from chuck norris and charles bronson , had an enduring love of fads and trends .
to the degree that breakin ' 2 is remembered for any reason other than the title , it ' s as a quickie flop sequel that trotted out the cast of 1984 ' s breakin ' for another , bigger go - round the same year , quite possibly exhausting both the surprising profits and the minimal goodwill earned by the earlier movie .
breakin’ and breakin’ 2 : electric boogaloo provided just about every kind of possible break to a young untrained actor that you can imagine . michael made a lot of money in a short time , and soon he was driving a corvette — with a customized license plate that read , what else ? boogaloo — to high school ; he says the tried to go back and finish his senior year , but that he had to get a private tutor and drop out because his classmates were mean , and spat on his car’s windows . i seem to recall reading somewhere that he’d bought an apartment building as an investment , too , somewhere in long beach , california .
to this day , neither reichert nor freya are sure why their original breakin’ script was thrown out . but when globus and golan came back to them for electric boogaloo , they had newfound knowledge of breakdance stashed away . they had met the kids , they knew their lives , and they could fill in any blanks with movie tropes .
a terrific documentary on the rise and fall of the most infamous distributor of the 80’s , electric boogaloo is a no holds barred look at the car crash relationship between its founders , menahem golan and yoram globus .
casual investigation points to a slice of ’90s teenage culture losing their minds over electric boogaloo and its strange , disconnected title . while spitballing with wheaton , several factors emerged that could explain electric boogaloo ‘s transformation into a pre - internet joke : there’s the “two” / “boogaloo , ” rhyme factor , the title’s inherent inscrutability , 1 and its ability to encapsulate the film’s aimlessly unadulterated joy . as the actor puts it , dropping a mad libbian reference to electric boogaloo “presupposes the knowledge of the film . not only are you saying something that’s funny , it was also like speaking in a code . you could issue a challenge phrase to see if you got the correct response back . that’s how you knew you were speaking with someone who knew what it was . ”
( by the way , do yourself a favor and check out the documentary about golan’s cannon films , electric boogaloo : the wild , untold story of cannon films … no , seriously , that’s what it’s called ) .
now that i have cleansed my soul of electric boogaloo i am looking forward to dissecting colors , starring sean penn and robert duvall . maybe . if my editor ( we’ll call him dennis ) doesn’t kill me first .
the movies was great with part 1 and part 2 . the movie was a great movie collection .
and then there are the italian dolled up installments , zombi 2 / zombie flesh eaters and sequels .
parodied in an early opening of gremlins 2 the new batch , in which daffy duck attempts to rename the film
the return of super - daffy meets gremlins 2 part 6 : the movie
.
wreck it ralph ' s sequel is titled ralph breaks the internet wreck it ralph 2 . yes , not only is it long , but the phrase
wreck - it ralph 2
is the subtitle .
referenced in twitch plays pokemon red . since the starter was released early on , during most of the run the mob depended solely on a pidgeot , who had grown powerful enough to gain the nickname
bird jesus
. when they captured zapdos , who was similarly high level and also extremely powerful , one of the most popular nicknames for it was bird jesus 2 : electric boogaloo ◊ . ( hilariously enough , zapdos is actually an electric type ) .
the movie was a pretty big flop , and regarded as an entirely unnecessary sequel ; today , it ' s best known for spawning the
electric boogaloo
joke , used to refer to any pointless or strangely - named sequel .
breakin ' 2 : electric boogaloo , in sharp contrast , is cannon ' s conception of an old mgm musical . it ' s cannon co - head menahem golan ' s attempt to reproduce the spectacle and grandeur of a lavish extravaganza from mgm ' s arthur freed unit on a tight budget . as such , it ' s a candy - colored , unabashedly goofy exercise in escapism filled with cartoonish stereotypes of white people as stiff , disproportionately bow - tie - clad goobers and stiffs .
the sequel to the devil may cry and five nights at freddys crossover dantes night at freddys has been confirmed to be named
dante ' s night at freddy ' s 2 : animatronic boogaloo
in reference to this trope .
choose 1 of 2 free * posters with ticket purchase ( * shipping & handling not included ) . buy tickets
the sequel to step up was step up 2 the streets . this could also be considered a numbered sequel .
the haunting in connecticut 2 : ghosts of georgia . maybe the ghosts took a road trip . . . ?
the legacy of breakin’ 2 lives on in both meme and cinematic forms . wheaton still titles blog posts with electric boogaloo ( “i’m so bad at titling things , ” he admits ) . chambers continues to appear , promote , and nurture a dance career exponentially broadened by the film . freya runs into people at the grocery store who can quote the lines . and 19 - year - olds playing @ midnight games on a thursday night are tethered , through osmosis , to just another 1984 movie .
breakin 2 : electric boogaloo , subsequently , recycles the convention of plucky , talented youngsters climactically putting on a big show to raise money for a worthy cause in its cornball tale of a group of passionate street dancers ( the kind who risk it all for their dreams and also challenge the high - low culture divide ) putting on a big breakdancing show to save the youth rec center from being torn down to make space for an evil ( i . e white people - engineered ) shopping center .
in another interview , michael says that the ceiling scene in breakin’ 2 actually inspired lionel richie to write his huge 1986 hit , “dancing on the ceiling , ” and that he and lionel richie became close friends after touring the world together . the entire world .
the cameo : ice t appears at the end , reprising his role from the first breakin ' . this was before he was all that famous .
who would have thought that this movie would be worth a dang . . . turns out this is an extremely dated film which i love . breakin ' 1 was so awesome i had to get breakin ' 2 . michael
boogaloo shrimp
chambers is the best freakin ' dancer i ' ve ever seen . this movie is worth it just to see this man dance , and i ' m not even in to dancing ! ! ! adolpho just kinda gets in the way . my only regret is that chambers isn ' t more recognized .
i knew boogaloo shrimp before everyone knew him as boogaloo shrimp . back in 1983 , michael “boogaloo shrimp” chambers was one of a handful of street dancing teens who used to drop by the record store where i was working at the time — licorice pizza in the lakewood mall , in lakewood , california , located about twenty miles south of l . a . — on the weekends .
while pitching breakin’ to distributors at the 1984 cannes film festival market , globus and golan already had their eyes set on a sequel . but chambers says the producers had trouble selling the film to international vendors who didn’t understand the intricacies of breakdancing . a scene from breakin’ where chambers glides around a balancing broom like a pop - locking david copperfield wowed audiences , but when asked to describe the style , globus and golan came up short . the solution : lift the dancer’s stage name . “golan would shout , ‘look at boogaloo dance electric ! ' ” chambers recalls . this was all despite the fact that someone had claimed this territory . in the late ’70s , a crew called the electric boogaloo lockers twisted , necked , and locked on soul train . chambers says he’s confident that globus and golan had never heard of them .
an episode of phineas and ferb parodies this with the title
phineas and ferb ' s quantum boogaloo
. it was the second episode to feature time travel . it was also the second episode to feature phineas and ferb ' s giant roller coaster . for the record , the original title the creators wanted to go with was
time machine 2 : quantum boogaloo
.
sequel non - entity : james , from the original breakin ' , is totally absent in this movie . his actor christopher mc donald declined to return .
terminator 2 is best movie , terminator part 1 pales in comparison and seems to be a flop . t2 seals our eyes to screens in second half . t3 & t4 were disasters spider man - 2 first one again pales but not by much difference , spiderman 3 was even better . bahubali 2 - indian movie released in 6 indian languages and 11 international languages is highest grossing movie from india . first one was superbly prequeled and laid a blockbuster stage for 2 nd one . such was the beauty of the series that both movies were made in one go and only spaced by 18 months . director spend those months in fine tunning the second part , bahubali 2 was destined to be mega blockbuster . bahubali 2 makes watching bahubali 1 compulsory . bahubali 3 is impossible to make . men in black 2 was good movie but not as great mim1 xmen 2 was better than xmen 1 , but xmen sequels improved with every instalments . starwars series too improved and evolved with time bettering the previous releases .
the new documentary electric boogaloo : the wild , untold story of cannon films revisits the eight or so years when cannon was run by the israeli cousins menahem golan and yoram globus , and it prompts waves of nostalgia about even their silliest efforts to capitalise on public taste .
the cinema snob : voiceless ( 2017 ) ( tv episode )
then this will truly be the electric boogalo the church intended .
saturday night live : miley cyrus / the strokes ( 2011 ) ( tv episode ) in the
duh ! winning !
cold opening , charlie sheen ( bill hader ) says that he feels like he could be in
platoon 2 : electric platoonaloo .
with a title and no script , globus and golan set out to make electric boogaloo in their traditional mode : quickly , modestly , and ridiculously . after hiring first - time screenwriters julia reichert and jan freya to write the script for breakin’ , only to trash it in favor of a new writer’s take , the cannon group recruited them to pen the breakin’ 2 screenplay . much like globus and golan , reichert and freya knew very little about breakdance culture . reichert had written novels and dabbled in screenwriting . when the breakin’ films were in development , reichert ‘s childhood friend , culture critic michael ventura , was working on a book and companion documentary about john cassavetes , who was shooting his final film for cannon , love streams . when globus and golan needed writers for their breakdance project , ventura suggested reichert and his then - wife jan , a performance artist and l . a . weekly writer .
electric boogaloo was the frankie and anette “beach party” movie — or a step up installment if you’re so inclined — of its day . kelly ( lucinda dickey ) , ozone ( quinones ) , and turbo ( chambers ) return from breakin’ , this time with an actual plot : when an evil developer ( peter maclean ) plans to demolish the community recreation center , the breakdance crew must … breakdance to stop it . whatever , it was fun .
movie musicals used to be allowed to be goofy and lightweight , but in recent years they ' ve turned into ponderous , overbudgeted artifacts that take themselves so seriously you feel guilty if you ' re having a good time . remember all the self - importance of
annie
? that ' s why a modest , cheerful little movie like
breakin ' 2 : electric boogaloo
is so refreshing . here is a movie that wants nothing more than to allow some high - spirited kids to sing and dance their way through a silly plot just long enough to make us grin .
the video games were slayers royal for sega saturn , slayers royal 2 for sega saturn and play station , slayers wonderful for playstation .
rosario + vampire ' s second season is titled rosario to vampire capu 2 , a play on the onomatopoeia
kapuchuu ~
.
given the deathless after - life of breakin ' 2 ' s subtitle there was really only one conceivable name for a documentary about cannon films and the colorful relationship between golan and globus . sure enough , when mark hartley , the director of the acclaimed ozsploitation documentary not quite hollywood , recently made a documentary about cannon , he called it electric boogaloo : the wild , untold story of cannon films after a movie that , while it was certainly not the best film cannon ever produced , represented cannon ' s carnival barker , sideshow , huckster sensibility in its purest and most embarrassingly entertaining form .
one of the considered titles for the sequel of ensign sue must die was ensign 2 : electric sue - galoo . while the final product was titled ( probably more appropriate to the subject matter ) ensign two : the wrath of sue , the former was used as a promotional image
shabba doo and boogaloo shrimp reportedly clashed with dickey on set , resenting her background in gymnastics . that friction only adds to the weird
effete man , women - haters club
dynamic between doo , shrimp and dickey ' s characters , and the homoerotic nature of turbo and ozone ' s relationship . in breakin ' the men are flamboyant and the women tend to be aggressive tomboys . even ice - t , not exactly a figure synonymous with androgyny , wears what appears to be a rhinestone - studded leather fetish harness that shows off most of his naked torso during one of his scenes in electric boogaloo .
( i don ' t plan to watch id4 2 btw ; the 1996 movie seemed bad already and i managed to avoid it ) .
armor of god 2 : operation condor was released theatrically in the us first , so it was re - titled operation condor . when that did well , the earlier film in the series was retitled from armor of god to operation condor 2 : the armor of the gods .
curiosity factor : largely ironic . recently , i helped put together a couple of viewing parties for a departing friend , under the heading
wtf musicals
; the idea was to watch a series of generally baffling but entertaining musical features back - to - back , and revel in the cheese . ( also on the program : the forbidden zone , the apple , happiness of the katakuris , romance and cigarettes , and more . ) breakin ' 2 : electric boogaloo was the opener , and was largely on the roster because few of us had ever seen it , in spite of the running - joke title .
i love this movie to the bone . reminds me of my childhood in the 1980 ' s . i would recommend also buying the first breakdance film starring the same actors turbo and ozone and lucinder . raw footage of breaking , street dance , locking and popping . if you are into hip hop , electric funk and appreciation for all aspects of dance , buy electric boogaloo . the kid called ' baby legs ' in the film is a great dancer too
the magic of breakin’ and breakin’ 2 electric boogaloo comes from the core trio . lucinda dickey had been a dancer on solid gold . when she’s feeding off the moves of other dancers , she’s absorbing and not merely waiting to do her trained steps . there is a true joy in her eyes . adolfo “shabba - doo” quiñones was a member of the legendary lockers that also featured fred berry ( rerun on what’s happening ) and toni basil ( easy rider ) . he knew what moves to capture on the screen . micheal chambers was part of quiñones’ dance group after the lockers so the duo knew how to move off each other . he would go on to perform as the urkel - bot on family matters . quiñones is still a major choreographer . dickey married a producer of survivor and retired from showbiz .
in breakin ' 2 : electric boogaloo , turbo , ozone and special k are pied pipers who spread dance everywhere they go , as if blessed with a magical , unseen dance ray that , when pointed in the directions of cops or nurses , instantly transforms them from stiff , white squares into dancing machines . adorable moppets also figure prominently , as befits a movie about street dancers helping protect disadvantaged kids from cartoonishly evil exemplars of white bread , old - money evil . the filmmakers stop just short of having a puppy parade march through the climactic breakdancing show in their efforts to throw in seemingly everything a mass audience might find appealing .
tagged as : 1980s , bad . music , boyle heights , break dancing , city hall , community center , electric boogaloo , growing up , hair , locking , looking back , macarthur park , movies , popping , racism , radiotron , sterotype , stupid , styles , the robot , the worm , white savior
jojo ' s bizarre adventure ' s story is split into several parts , with each one given a very electric boogaloo - ish title . starting from the beginning we have : phantom blood , battle tendency , stardust crusaders , diamond is unbreakable , vento aureo , stone ocean , steel ball run , and jojolion .
this movie is silly beyond silly , but is an entertaining bit of fluff . its bad reputation is well earned and deeply deserved , but it’s fun to watch and doesn’t require your undivided attention , making it good for saturday afternoon viewing . plus , it’s the actual movie that launched the enduring “ * movie * 2 : electric boogaloo” meme , a joke so iconic that the documentary about golan & globus borrowed the title – that’s reason enough alone to watch it .
gradually happened with leprechaun . there ' s leprechaun , followed by leprechaun 2 and leprechaun 3 , then introducing subtitles with leprechaun 4 in space , followed by dropping the number for leprechaun in the hood and ending with leprechaun back 2 tha hood by mimicking two fast two furious ' s ridiculous title .
the kids in ' ' breakin ' 2 : electric boogaloo ' ' like break - dancing so much that they prefer it to drug - taking and larceny . this , they argue , is the reason a community center called miracles , which they have covered with blinding graffiti , should not be razed to make way for a mall . one kindly adult in the area understands the kids and their need to dance ; the others are steadfastly in favor of the shopping center . and there you have it : a plot no teen - movie enthusiast could fail to recognize . be it break - dancing or drag - racing or surfing , some things never change .
ice - t would go on to fame as one of the first gangsta rappers and , later , as a cop for four decades on law & order : special victims unit . but in breakin ' he ' s incongruously cast as a party rapper credited hilariously as
rap talker ,
whose electro - funk - fueled ditties extensively reference both the film ' s plot and its main characters . in breakin ' 2 : electric boogaloo he even performs at the climactic big breakdancing show to summarize the film ' s plot . though he ' s referred to as
ice - t
it ' s as if it ' s an off - brand , discarded version of ice - t , one that was all about getting the party people on their feet rather than tales of criminal bravado , appeared in the film instead of the final , finished version .