Arthur - 1981 Original

I watched it from start to finish this week uncut probably for the first time in 25 or more years. Just some random thoughts and notes..

1. Great film but comedy, unfortunately, doesn't usually translate to the next generation. I think this is because comedic films generally have to be edgier than their contemporaries so when we look 20-30 years back, it's a completely different direction.
2. The two best scenes are when Arthur goes to Susan's dad's house to take her our to propose. The bit with the moose is priceless along with some of Arthur's one liners. The second is the scene when Arthur goes to Linda's that same night. The short portion where Arthur goes to the wrong door is great. An incredibly smart line follows when Arthur finally gets to Linda's and her dad answers and Arthur says (carryover from previous scene) "Don't you hate Perry's wife?!"
3. The very last scene after the wedding where they are on the steps of the church and Arthur's grandmother is talking to them and Linda says "I've always been poor and usually been happy." - WOW did she ever sound like her mom in The Wizard of Oz. I had to rewind and watch this line like 10 times. It was surreal.
4. John Gielgud won an Academy Award for best supporting actor. Well deserved especially when I look at his competition from the nominations that year. However, I really believe that 80% of this was a function of the script and his dry British wit along with the accent. I read on wiki that they also were looking at Alec Guinness and David Niven for the role. I truly believe either of those could have done a bang up job in that role as well.
5. When the music at the very end transitions from light and bouncy to Arthur's theme and they pan out on what I assume is Park Avenue, it REALLY takes you back. I could watch the end of that movie a hundred times.
6. My opinion is that this movie was the beginning of the rebirth of NYC. Overall, it painted the city in a fairly good light. Koch was the mayor then and I think the pressure started mounting to get back to NYC being the financial leader in the word, Denkins comes in with his racial kumbaya which only increased the crime rate, then Rudy supplanted him and cleaned up Time Square, etc.
7. The film is barely over 90 minutes. I would love to see some of the filmed scenes that were cut out.
8. "Tell your story walking!"
9. I was only 11 when it came out so I probably didn't watch it (and probably on VHS) until I was 14 or 15. I remember thinking why did they choose Liza Minnelli as his love interest especially when Jill Eikenberry was much more attractive but when you rewatch it at 50, you realize that happiness over time can be much more important than $ or looks.

Just my 2 cents.