Post by Ladyfingers on Nov 2, 2021 5:27:59 GMT
Rewatched this with the girlfriend and I really enjoyed it more than I remembered. My girlfriend loved it too. It's a fundamentally basic sort of film that's just a set of punchlines and visual gags, but the performances and the visual style are so damned good it's borderline ecstatic. Even if you can see the punchlines coming a mile away, the delivery knocks them into the stratosphere. I also finally made the connection with the black markings around the front door of the house and the pitch that got poured on the carollers in the intro gag.
Looking at the reviews on Rotten Tomatoes is depressing. Most of them were written around its release and are highly unflattering, but reading one or two modern revisits and there's much more appreciation for the lightning in a bottle the film actually catches.
I'm also pleased I replaced the DNRed British Blu-ray I had with a much more natural-looking, grainy American copy. The film looks amazingly rich and beautiful. They really went to town on fabrics, costumes and decor.
