Welcome to the latest edition of Head to Head, in which our Quickflix critic takes on our readers in a rip-snorting battle to the death! You pick the film, and we pick the fight!
This week, Adrian Phoon celebrated the cinematic classic All About Eve. For his troubles, he picked up a double pass to In The Loop. You can win free movie tickets too by sending your mini-reviews to us here at Quickflix!
Adrian Phoon will argue FOR the film while Quickflix critic Simon Miraudo will shame himself by admitting that he has never seen it. Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below. Spare no vitriol! Choose your side! There can only be one winner!
Adrian Phoon – 5/5
All About Eve is a classic 1950 film, about as camp as they come. Bette Davis plays Margot, a seasoned theatre star whose celebrity is usurped by her scheming young protégé, Eve (Anne Baxter). While the diva battle is deliciously over-the-top, the characterisations are poignant and 3-dimensional. And how could you not love Bette Davis’s performance, which combines requisite scenery-chewing with moments of subtle, surprising quiet. The script, written by Joseph Mankiewicz, builds the story around his characters; their fates are determined by their behaviour. Whatever discomfort we may feel about a male scriptwriter depicting women behaving badly dissipates when we realize that the men in this film behave no better: they are either stupid pawns or amoral schemers themselves. All About Eve is a highly theatrical tribute to the theatre, with insights into the hedonistic world of celebrity that may be even more potent today than it was 60 years ago.
Simon Miraudo – Unseen
Allow me to assign myself a one-star rating and reveal that I have actually never seen All About Eve. “Monster!” I hear you shout. I know, I know, I really should have seen it by now. If I made the time to watch Land of the Lost, I certainly should have made the time to watch All About Eve. As any movie buff knows, it’s hard work absorbing all these amazing films, going back through the archives and taking in the works of classic filmmakers such as Kurosawa, Fellini, Truffaut etc. You don’t want to miss a single entry from their oeuvre. Combine that with a dedication to watch every cinema release (including, shamefully, Tooth Fairy) and perhaps you understand my failure to have seen All About Eve at this point in my life. BUT … I’m not trying to get myself out of this. I’ve learnt my lesson. Adrian’s review has inspired me to seek out the film and finally check it out. So, I’m going to hand the reigns over to you the reader. Do you dare take on Adrian and debate the merits of All About Eve? If not, care to chastise me for having never seen it?
Now it’s over to you! What are your thoughts on All About Eve? Let us know in the comments section below. If you would like to be featured in the next Head to Head and possibly win some free movie tickets, send your mini-reviews to us here at Quickflix!
