28 Film Discussion Threads Later

[Bosco B Thug]

Wow, I don't know how to respond to this. L'eclisse is my favorite of his entire canon. It's the one that resonates most with me.

Well, don't be too disgusted with me. Antonioni's a consummate artist, where every one of his films is a towering work of personal and formal expression, including L'eclisse. So arguments can be made for each of his films on why they are "better" than the others, yet these arguments don't actually lessen the others in turn.

L'eclisse is filled with brilliance, but, to express it unsatisfactorily, I just think it spins its wheels more than the other two. Its more tableau-driven, less eventful story doesn't work as well for me as the more concrete dramas of the other two.

Weekend: Eyes Wide Shut, Wolfen, Blood Feast, Cowards Bend the Knee

[MacGuffin]

Weekend: Eyes Wide Shut, Wolfen, Blood Feast, Cowards Bend the Knee

Blood Feast is great exploitation filmmaking - one of those movies that really does a lot with so little!

[Bosco B Thug]

Blood Feast is great exploitation filmmaking - one of those movies that really does a lot with so little!

The latter two are Netflixes delivered simultaneously. And then I discovered they're both mere minutes above an hour long! So sounds like a double-morsel feature of weird is in store.

Yep, I enjoyed Lewis' 2001 Maniacs for what it was, hoping for a similar small pleasure.

[Rowland]

I enjoyed 2001 Maniacs, but Blood Feast is interminable.

[Rowland]

Seeing The Complete Metropolis tomorrow, a Western New York opening night gala on the biggest digital theater in the area, soooo pumped.

[DrewG]

Seeing The Complete Metropolis tomorrow, a Western New York opening night gala on the biggest digital theater in the area, soooo pumped.

What theater?

[Derek]

Seeing The Complete Metropolis tomorrow, a Western New York opening night gala on the biggest digital theater in the area, soooo pumped.

Awesome. It's really amazing and so great to see all of the Thin Man subplot play out. Should be especially cool to see it in that atmosphere.

[Rowland]

What theater?

Market Arcade, downtown Buffalo.

[Yxklyx]

Awesome. It's really amazing and so great to see all of the Thin Man subplot play out. Should be especially cool to see it in that atmosphere.

Aw man, first I've heard of this!

"a version has been assembled which not only contains all of the original footage (minus a few frames) but restores Lang’s sequencing."

[Ezee E]

Watching Midnight Cowboy and that damn Nilsson song is going to stick in my head forever.

I HATE that song.

[Sxottlan]

Guillermo Del Toro raids the Criterion Collection vault.

Lucky SOB.

[Winston*]

Can anyone recommend some good films from Weimar Germany?

[Yxklyx]

Can anyone recommend some good films from Weimar Germany?

- cream of the crop
M (Fritz Lang)
The Blue Light (Béla Balázs & Leni Riefenstahl)
Asphalt (Joe May)
Metropolis (Fritz Lang)
The Love of Jeanne Ney (Georg Wilhelm Pabst)

- very good
The Last Laugh (F.W. Murnau)
Pandora's Box (Georg Wilhelm Pabst)
Diary of a Lost Girl (Georg Wilhelm Pabst)
The Hands of Orlac (Robert Wiene)
Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler (Fritz Lang)
The Blue Angel (Josef von Sternberg)

Asphalt has the best seduction sequence ever put on film.

[soitgoes...]

Can anyone recommend some good films from Weimar Germany?

I'd consider the following all pretty great:

Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler, Metropolis, M and The Testament of Dr. Mabuse - Lang
Faust, Last Laugh and Nosferatu - Murnau
Leibelei - Ophüls
Kameradschaft, Westfront 1918, Diary of a Lost Girl - Pabst
Blue Angel - von Sternberg
People on Sunday - Siodmak, Siodmak, Ulmer, Zinnemann
Asphalt - May
Berlin: Symphony of a Great City - Ruttmann
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari - Wiene
The Oyster Princess - Lubitsch

[Watashi]

Despite Zack Snyder entering PG territory, Legends of the Guardians still has his trademark stylized action all throughout and this time it doesn't feel distracting because it works in animation giving some coherence to all the frantic owl action.

It's story is a rote Star Wars/Lord of the Rings mish-mash with some interesting twists (a rare kids film that doesn't glorify being a hero), but it's main attraction are the awe-inspiring visuals. There are some really gorgeous moments to be found. It's one flaw is that there's just one pop song in the middle that brought the film to a sudden halt. I'd definitely recommend it to fans of early Don Bluth material.

[Derek]

Despite Zack Snyder entering PG territory, Legends of the Guardians still has his trademark stylized action all throughout and this time it doesn't feel distracting because it works in animation giving some coherence to all the frantic owl action.

You can trademark slow-motion?

[Watashi]

You can trademark slow-motion?

There's slow-motion and then there's Zack Snyder slow-motion.

He has a fetish for it, but out of all his films, animation suits it better.

[Ezee E]

Never knew Snyder even came out with a new movie. I did notice that the movie had some great looking visuals in its trailer, but the whole "Owls of Ga'Hoole" is the dumbest title I've ever seen.

[Ezee E]

And I'll back Wats up on the Snyder "slomo" technique. He overdoes it to the point that you can almost recognize it. The Legends of the Guardian may be an exception just because it was animated, but I bet when Sucker Punch comes out, one will notice.

[Chac Mool]

Stanley Donen's "Charade" may be one of the most entertaining films I've ever seen. It mixes mystery, comedy, action and love story flawlessly, benefits from terrific performances, is intimately attuned to its lush Paris setting and doesn't seem to have aged a day in 40 years. Wow.

[Bosco B Thug]

Stanley Donen's "Charade" may be one of the most entertaining films I've ever seen. It mixes mystery, comedy, action and love story flawlessly, benefits from terrific performances, is intimately attuned to its lush Paris setting and doesn't seem to have aged a day in 40 years. Wow.

People aren't nice to Charade here, but I still cling to my young memories of it that are very much like yours above. So much of it has stuck in my brain even though I haven't seen it in several years.

[Grouchy]

Stanley Donen's "Charade" may be one of the most entertaining films I've ever seen. It mixes mystery, comedy, action and love story flawlessly, benefits from terrific performances, is intimately attuned to its lush Paris setting and doesn't seem to have aged a day in 40 years. Wow.

Yeah, fantastic film. Hollywood at its sexiest.

[Skitch]

Agreed, Charade is wonderful.

[Morris Schæffer]

Was Arabaseque from Stanley Donen? I've seen that one. A fun adventure.

[DavidSeven]

Charade is one of my favorite films. As Hollywood entertainment, it's perfect.