Play Misty For Me

[masterchief]

I saw this last night, and I thought it was terrific.
 I was acctually scared, and thought the Bathroom scene was better that the Bunny Boiler scene in Fatal Attraction.
One of my favourite thrillers of all time.

[philo]

That was also a great transfer of the film.  


Philo .

[vik]

why do they put it on so late?

its far better then total recall

[KC]

Play Mistry For Me   If at first you don't succeed, try, try, again!

[masterchief]

Play Mistry For Me   If at first you don't succeed, try, try, again!

You didn't like it KC ?

[KC]

Check the thread title!  

[vik]

its a mistry

still better then total recall - no cgi in it

except for clints get up

cool monterey festival scenes

[masterchief]

LOL...I did realise it after I posted "Didn't you like it KC ?" But the board was down. Shall I change the thread title KC ?

[Kal Varnsen]

The "bunny boiler" scene from Fatal Attraction was incredibly cheesy and predictable. I want some of the stuff the Academy voters were smoking when they nominated it for six Oscars.

You would expect a movie with a subject like Play Misty For Me to be filled with clichés. And most of those movies (often made for TV) do have a lot of clichés, but not Play Misty For Me. After all these years, it still manages to be fresh and original among hundreds of other "person is stalked by psychopath" movies.

[allycat]

I'm watching this film tomorrow night on my own video copy as it's been a long time (again!) since I've seen it and I want to see it again. Then I'll post more thoughts!

I remember someone asking me (I think it was you, KC!) in the 'Tag, You're It!' thread (some questions I still have left to answer, I think, from a long time ago!) if I could play either role in Misty would I rather be Evelyn or Tobie. I answered rather shallowly (even after giving it some thought) that I'd probably have to choose Tobie because she gets to be naked with Clint   That scene where she and Dave (Clint) are in the woods together...whew! But in terms of character, Evelyn seemed much more interesting to me. Well, more passionate anyway, even if she is a nutcase! I may revise my opinion after seeing Misty again on Thursday night.

(An afterthought: KC, what happened to the 'Tag, You're It!' thread? I couldn't find it when I did a search...)

[KC]

LOL...I did realise it after I posted "Didn't you like it KC ?" But the board was down. Shall I change the thread title KC ?

I went ahead and  changed it ... hope you don't mind.

[Chessie]

ally I agree with you on the character...  

[allycat]

Well, here are my thoughts on ...Misty I know there's been a film discussion about this in the recent past, but I just want to post my initial thoughts on seeing the film again (after years!) without possibly being influenced by anything I see on those threads. Then, I'll look over the threads, and maybe post some more once I've read through them.

I liked the opening shot of the film - an aerial shot with a view of the cliffs. It's particularly striking because there's no soundtrack, other than the natural sound of the waves crashing on the shore. Perhaps as Misty was Clint's directorial debut and is shot in Carmel, it was a more personal experience for him. It allowed him to show the beauty of the region, too.

The opening shot of the film is interesting as the camera zooms in on Clint as Dave Garver staring down at the rocks - cleverly foreshadowing the ending of the film when he and Tobie look down at Evelyn's lifeless body floating in the water (a bit gruesome - and a bit like Scorpio at the end of Dirty Harry).

And like Dirty Harry, the soundtrack is very funky and jazzy. Of course, the Monterey Jazz Festival plays an important part in the film. Maybe this is Clint making the film more personal again - showing his love of music, jazz in particular.

I really appreciated Jessica Walters' performance this time around. I mean, she really makes you dislike her! And one minute she's nice, the next minute she completely snaps, then she's back to normal as if nothing has happened. You know, the end scene made me think of Psycho...just with the policeman dying and the slashing with the knife and the scissors. I guess that's just a coincidence. (Aside note: I wonder if Clint has an opinion on Psycho, and Hitchcock in general?) Also the scenes with Evelyn and the knife - as Hitchcock did in the shower scene in Psycho, Clint really makes us believe that that knife is slashing poor Birdie - it makes me squeamish every time I see that scene!

It also struck me just this second that interestingly, Clint's character is rather vulnerable in this film. Not quite as vulnerable as he is in, say, The Beguiled, of course, but he does get injured at the end, quite badly, in the hand, (that turned my stomach too!) shoulder and leg. Even though he survives at the end, it isn't immediately clear that he will subdue Evelyn (if that's the right word) as she has the upper hand for most of the film, if you think about it, and in the sequence at the end. Is it fair to say that Dave has a bit of luck when he finally knocks Evelyn through the window and out over the cliff edge? Up to that point she had the knife and she wasn't at all injured.

Anyway, I didn't mean to discuss the ending of the film before I'd mentioned the rest of it, but I thought it was an interesting point to raise, as it shows that, even at this early stage in his career, Clint wasn't afraid to play more vulnerable characters, characters who could be hurt - in The Beguiled and Misty, by women, no less! I think that's really interesting. You could of course argue that, despite the positive aspects of both films, that women have important roles in both films and are portrayed as being strong (as I prefer to see it - I guess Tobie is independent in Misty though her character is a little weak) you could also argue on the negative side and say that women are portrayed as man-haters, as wanting to get their revenge on men, which in turn is a misogynistic view of women. But...I prefer to see it the other way

Guess what - I have tons more to say on this, but I'd better say it in bits because otherwise it won't be easily digestible   I hope that gets people talking on Misty again, especially those fans like me who missed out on the earlier 'proper' discussion

[mgk]

Great post, Ally.

I really appreciated Jessica Walters' performance this time around. I mean, she really makes you dislike her! And one minute she's nice, the next minute she completely snaps, then she's back to normal as if nothing has happened. You know, the end scene made me think of Psycho...just with the policeman dying and the slashing with the knife and the scissors. I guess that's just a coincidence. (Aside note: I wonder if Clint has an opinion on Psycho, and Hitchcock in general?) Also the scenes with Evelyn and the knife - as Hitchcock did in the shower scene in Psycho, Clint really makes us believe that that knife is slashing poor Birdie - it makes me squeamish every time I see that scene!

I couldn't agree with you more about Jessica Walter's performance in Misty.  Not only do you dislike Evelyn for what she's doing to Dave but Walter's excellent portrayal of Evelyn was scary....we absolutely never knew what she would do next and, of course, neither did Dave.  She could be calm and loving one minute and come out of nowhere with a frightening psychotic attack on someone or something.

You compared the slasing scene with Evelyn and Birdie to the slashing scene with Norman (Anthony Perkins) and Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) in Psycho.  Yes, to me, those scenes are similar:  both really surprise you, both seem to go on forever, both seem to mutilate the poor victims, and both make you think that there is no way for either victim to survive and, of course, one didn't.  I know that the shower scene in Psycho is always mentioned when people are discussing scary scenes and I certainly agree that it should be right up there in the top ten, but, in my opinion, the scene with Evelyn slashing at poor Birdie just seems more real.  It looks like she is really cutting and stabbing Birdie with every blow.

The only thing I have found where Eastwood even discusses this scene is in KC's book:

Kaminsky:  I was watching your knifing scenes closely, and you actually show a couple of slashes, unlike Psycho, though the feeling of revulsion and pain is similar.
Eastwood:  Well, I just preferred to make it a little more...maybe I'm not as subtle as Hitchcock.

(Chapter7 in Clint Eastwood by Stuart M. Kaminsky, reprinted in Clint Eastwood Interviews, p. 18)

And, isn't there a story floating around somewhere about Eastwood asking for someone to bring some "blood" for that scene and they came back with a very small amount?  Eastwood says (paraphrasing here):  "No,....I need a bucket of blood." (If that's a true story, maybe someone remembers it and can quote it accurately here.)

Another quote from Eastwood about this film and Hitchcock can also be found in KC's book:

Play Misty For Me, on the other hand, was fun because it had elements of a Hitchcock-type thing, but at the same time it was unlike Hitchcock.  A lot of time in his films -- like Psycho -- the story part doesn't mean anything until you get to the impact of the psychotic thing.  In Misty, you have that interpretation of commitment between individuals and how this interpretation takes people in certainly different directions.  I think it was a much more contemporary thing for people today, because so many people go through this in various relationships -- not just, as in the case of this picture, where the man is a victim, but there are women who become suppressed or choked by an individual just because somebody has different ideas about a relationship.

(Published in Focus on Film, no. 25, Summer-Fall 1976: 12-20.  Reprinted in Clint Eastwood Interviews, p. 40)

Anyway, I didn't mean to discuss the ending of the film before I'd mentioned the rest of it, but I thought it was an interesting point to raise, as it shows that, even at this early stage in his career, Clint wasn't afraid to play more vulnerable characters, characters who could be hurt - in The Beguiled and Misty, by women, no less! I think that's really interesting. You could of course argue that, despite the positive aspects of both films, that women have important roles in both films and are portrayed as being strong (as I prefer to see it - I guess Tobie is independent in Misty though her character is a little weak) you could also argue on the negative side and say that women are portrayed as man-haters, as wanting to get their revenge on men, which in turn is a misogynistic view of women. But...I prefer to see it the other way

I have always found that an interesting side of Eastwood.  In spite of the fact that he has been "tagged" with being extremely macho, especially when this movie was made in the 1970s, he has never had a problem with giving women roles that not only allow them to be strong but he's always been willing to be the victim of those strengths.

[Eastwood57]

Misty has always been one of my favorite Clint films. Jessica Walter played the part perfectly, by the end of the movie, you were glad to see Clint punch her through the window and down the cliff!
And there were more than a few memorable lines in it:

".....I knew you'd never do anything to spoil it....."
"To SPOIL WHAT!!"
"What we have between us"
"We haven't got a Goddamned thing between us, I don't know how many ways I have to tell you....."

"What is this, be kind to Senior Citizens week?"

"Why don't you go cruise some sailors"
"Seafood? ugh...."

[tempest]

Now this is a classic thriller, I recently watched it with my 15 year old son. He loved it, scared him a couple times and his description of Evelyn hit the mark, "Dad, this lady is psycho, scary as all hell."  This comes a kid living in the age of slasher films and gory video games. After all these years this film still packs a whollup, and Clint's hair and clothes are classic Truly a fine film from a great film maker. Can anyone name or count how many films it inspired? Now that is the mark of a classic. And yes, Unforgiven is a love story. Sorry, I could not resist. Misty also had a great soundtrack.

[allycat]

Thanks for your post too, mgk I was waiting for someone to post some Hitch quotes, so thanks for those, also. As I don't have KC's book (yet, I hasten to add!) I couldn't do it myself.

Stand by for some more Misty thoughts...I'm glad that interest in this thread has been revived...

[Christopher]

This comes a kid living in the age of slasher films and gory video games. After all these years this film still packs a whollup

That's a very good point! And this comes from a kid who in recent years found a love of horror movies of all kinds. (I'm referring to myself there, of course )

The scene where Evelyn attacks Birdie is my favorite in the film. A very chilling scene! I find it quite disturbing.