28 Film Discussion Threads Later

[Spinal]

i dunno, it's probably not that much different than preferring the first book of the trilogy (which I do) to the others.

Do you call that one your favorite and the last one the best? That's the point of contention.

[Russ]

Damn. These important things ya'll find to argue about.

[Qrazy]

Yeah, I know how the argument goes. And while I can sorta kinda understand it when you're talking about Citizen Kane vs. Die Hard 2, I'm absolutely bewildered why one would bother to make the distinction between two Lord of the Rings films.

Why? I personally consider Fellowship both my favorite and the best... but for instance when I think of Star Wars I could easily envision someone who prefers Return of the Jedi but recognizes Empires Strikes Back is the best.

[Spinal]

Damn. These important things ya'll find to argue about.

Indeed. Let's discuss something important. Like how much of a bad human being Mel Gibson is.

[Skitch]

Why? I personally consider Fellowship both my favorite and the best... but for instance when I think of Star Wars I could easily envision someone who prefers Return of the Jedi but recognizes Empires Strikes Back is the best.

*raises hand* that'd be me, sir.

I really don't see what's so difficult to understand here, fellas.

He thinks ROTK was the best made, and FOTR his favorite. Perhaps he prefers the connections of the troupe and the creation and outset of the journey, rather than the struggle and strife and conclusion, even if it employs a more solidified structure as a film.

Perhaps.

This is why I can't make lists of top films unless I break it down to rediculous titles with lots of qualifiers.

[Spinal]

*raises hand* that'd be me, sir.

I really don't see what's so difficult to understand here, fellas.

He thinks ROTK was the best made, and FOTR his favorite. Perhaps he prefers the connections of the troupe and the creation and outset of the journey, rather than the struggle and strife and conclusion, even if it employs a more solidified structure as a film.

Perhaps.

This is why I can't make lists of top films unless I break it down to rediculous titles with lots of qualifiers.

The basic problem is that if 'a more solidified structure' doesn't make for a more enjoyable, satisfying film for you personally, then you shouldn't use it as a criterion. You're trying to assume an objective stance and take a guess what someone else finds important in a film. Unless you're a film scholar, I see no reason to do that.

[Sven]

but you don't care what I think anyway, nor will you ever see it the same way.

Come on, dude.
This is just rude.
I never showed you this attitude.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Come on, dude.
This is just rude.
I never showed you this attitude.

He's just sore.
He saw much more.
His view of the contrary is quite poor.

[Skitch]

The basic problem is that if 'a more solidified structure' doesn't make for a more enjoyable, satisfying film for you personally, then you shouldn't use it as a criterion. You're trying to assume an objective stance and take a guess what someone else finds important in a film. Unless you're a film scholar, I see no reason to do that.

No no no, please don't misunderstand, I was not taking that stance. I was just throwing random things out there that one could possibly use as starting points for backing up ones opinion in a 'favorite v best' type argument.

I personally few LOTR as one film.

[Ezee E]

He's just sore.
He saw much more.
His view of the contrary is quite poor.

Don't you make me roar.

[[ETM]]

Come on, dude.
This is just rude.
I never showed you this attitude.

Yeah, sorry. I happen to do this for a living (this as in design CD and DVD packaging among other things) and I'm sensitive to criticism of attempts at something different in that area. God knows I tried to pull off certain things but nothing could get past the suits who "know what people like". I suppose they have a good point.

Anyway - it's a thankless area of graphic design as things are expected to be done a certain way and there's very little room for creativity, so I applaud Criterion for trying. A quick search shows my appreciation of the design is largely shared so all may not be lost, as they say.

[Bosco B Thug]

But it's only the words that get lost. The picture itself remains visibly either unchanged or so minutely changed that it does not matter. And that is an eyesore.

Haha, I was going to comment that the picture does fold in as well, but then I reread your post.

I think it's kinda cool, but having not seen The Thin Red Line, is there really no blatant premise or thematic point in the film that calls for this concept? I know some have given nice interpretations, but if there's nothing really concrete (like a monologue going, "Life is like... reading a book," or strong book imagery in the film), I agree it's an odd piece of tomfoolery.

[Spinal]

The only possible connection I can think of is that there's lots of inner monologues in voiceover and people typically associate inner monologues with novels. Still think it doesn't fit the film.

[MacGuffin]

I agree with Spinal, Sven and Derek. For me, the cover simply isn't very nice to look at. The line really fucks it up, aesthetically. I preferred the original.

[Qrazy]

The basic problem is that if 'a more solidified structure' doesn't make for a more enjoyable, satisfying film for you personally, then you shouldn't use it as a criterion. You're trying to assume an objective stance and take a guess what someone else finds important in a film. Unless you're a film scholar, I see no reason to do that.

Tangential example... Anna Karenina was a great book, I liked it a lot but it's not one of my absolute favorite books. Why? Predominantly because the aristocracy annoy me. I recognize this is not a great reason to like a book less per se and thus I don't fault the book for it. The book deserves it's acclaim and yet I don't love it as much as a few other less literarily compelling novels.

I can respect a piece of art but not love it. Now the term 'best' is still highly debatable and possesses a great deal of subjective weight... but despite these subjective entanglements there can still be a distinction between best and favorite.

[Scar]

Put me in the camp of great idea, bollocks execution.

[[ETM]]

They should just stick with the floating heads for everything so everything is at least equally crappy.

[Watashi]

Speaking of cool-looking covers, the Insomnia Blu-ray cover is quite Criterionesque.

[MacGuffin]

Now that is an awesome cover.

[Watashi]

Now that is an awesome cover.

It reminds me of Alan Wake and Silent Hill.

[MacGuffin]

It reminds me of Alan Wake and Silent Hill.

I may just be a sucker for that style where the picture is made up of a bunch of little dots. Severely underused in graphic design and quite aesthetically pleasing.

[[ETM]]

Srsly? Man with a gun, huge text right in the middle?

[Qrazy]

Srsly? Man with a gun, huge text right in the middle?

I'm with ETM.

[Grouchy]

Yeah, it's just as a still from the crucial scene of the movie with a title. I much prefer the Thin Red Line one.

[MacGuffin]

I think you guys are forgetting that sometimes simplicity makes for a better cover.