28 Film Discussion Threads Later

[B-side]

Ah, well if it was filmed by someone who has done solid work then it must be good. Please, save your appeals to authority for someone easily moved by such poor argumentation. Zsigmond has done good work. He's also lensed Jersey Girl and Real Genius.

I wasn't insinuating that Zsigmond's name alone warrants praise, it was just an aside.

The film's plot twists are absurd, the melodrama off the charts... and you're telling me the appeal of the film lies in De Palma's visual sleight of hand? From where I'm sitting I see flourish without purpose, drama with no brains or soul. Oh and of course De Palma's standard banal, ass ugly close-ups.

The legitimacy of the plot twists doesn't really concern me. It's the operatic delicacy with which the material is handled that concerns me. The flourish has plenty of purpose, not the least of which would be De Palma's appeal to the era in which it's set initially. If you recall, in the beginning of the film, De Palma sets it up as a sort of reaction to classic Hollywood romanticism with lines of dialogue setting the couple up as entirely pure spirits destined to be together forever. That he immediately destroys that pure image and proceeds to sully it with the subsequent subversiveness is entirely in line with that theme. The soft focus ornamental glow beckons perfectly to the dreamy haze of old school romance. Candles and religious imagery contradict the perversion and grant a sheen of faux idealism to the decidedly strange proceedings. Most close-ups are banal and generally pretty ugly. When De Palma decides to start being expressive with his close-ups is when the magic happens:

[Spinal]

I love the cinematography in 70s softcore porn.

I'm sure this surprises no one.

[MadMan]

I'd say that De Palma's Blow-Out is better than anything QT ever made except for Pulp Fiction, although really based off what I've viewed from both they are not really that similar when it comes to their directing styles.

Obsession sounds intriguing to me, and I'm curious as to what I'll think of it.

[B-side]

Cronenberg's The Fly is easily one of the best horror films I've ever seen. Man merging with cold, indifferent technology. The pleasures of the flesh. Body horror. A horror film with real, well-earned emotional pull.

The Ox-Bow Incident. So good. Remarkably grim for the era.

[dreamdead]

Stephen Frears' Tamara Drewe is enjoyable fluff. Nothing terribly innovative (whereas Dirty Pretty Things was quite good), but the ensemble is appreciable enough. Like to see Frears do more taxing work, but whatev.

[Qrazy]

Cronenberg's The Fly is easily one of the best horror films I've ever seen. Man merging with cold, indifferent technology. The pleasures of the flesh. Body horror. A horror film with real, well-earned emotional pull.

The Ox-Bow Incident. So good. Remarkably grim for the era.

Agreed on both counts. Good films.

[Qrazy]

I wasn't insinuating that Zsigmond's name alone warrants praise, it was just an aside.

The legitimacy of the plot twists doesn't really concern me. It's the operatic delicacy with which the material is handled that concerns me. The flourish has plenty of purpose, not the least of which would be De Palma's appeal to the era in which it's set initially. If you recall, in the beginning of the film, De Palma sets it up as a sort of reaction to classic Hollywood romanticism with lines of dialogue setting the couple up as entirely pure spirits destined to be together forever. That he immediately destroys that pure image and proceeds to sully it with the subsequent subversiveness is entirely in line with that theme. The soft focus ornamental glow beckons perfectly to the dreamy haze of old school romance. Candles and religious imagery contradict the perversion and grant a sheen of faux idealism to the decidedly strange proceedings. Most close-ups are banal and generally pretty ugly. When De Palma decides to start being expressive with his close-ups is when the magic happens:

I don't see how a 360 camera motion era switch says anything about a reaction to Hollywood romanticism.

Those shots are pretty awful in my opinion. I don't agree with you re: most close-ups. Dreyer handles close ups very well, Antonioni when he infrequently uses them, Fellini, etc.

[Li Lili]

Cronenberg's The Fly is easily one of the best horror films I've ever seen. Man merging with cold, indifferent technology. The pleasures of the flesh. Body horror. A horror film with real, well-earned emotional pull.

To me, The Fly was the least favourite by Cronemberg. I vaguely remember the original, saw it too long ago.
I prefered Dead Ringers or even Videodrome, perhaps not the same horror, but I found them more interesting.

[MadMan]

Cronenberg's The Fly for me right now is his third best movie-still have to see Dead Ringers. Review of it is in my blog located in my sig /shameless plug.

Its been a while since I last saw it, but The Ox-Bow Incident is a pretty good western, really powerful and features a typically great Henry Fonda performance.

[Russ]

Russ Goes Boating with Celine and Julie..

What a strange little film.

I think what I love most about the experience was going into it cold; I was completely unfamiliar with Rivette or his films, and really had no idea what to expect with this one.

If you haven't seen it yet, you probably should stop reading now.

And knowing nothing at all about it, you can imagine how frustrated I was feeling, just before the half-way point of this 3 hour-and-change extravaganza. I mean, it takes at least that long to figure out just exactly what kind of movie you're watching! But once you do figure things out just a bit, then all the Alice in Wonderland references start to make more sense. I love how Rivette almost reinvents the medium by forsaking formal narrative and characterization tropes while incorporating elements that betray a fascination for said tropes. It's a dizzying, Möbius strip of an experience to be sure. Being such a Lynch fan, I couldn't believe how comfortably this film fits in-between Inland Empire and, especially, Mulholland Drive.

As luck would have it, I viewed Vera Chytilová's Daisies on the front end of this weekend double feature and, call me crazy, but I see a fairly obvious influence of the Czech new wave classic on the French new wave classic (at least as much as the subsequent influence on Lynch). This is apparent in Celine and Julie's second half, where playfulness and anarchy reign, but especially in the symbiotic bond between the two actresses. There may be a similar feminist reading, like Daisies, but it's nowhere nearly as overt. Anyway, it turned out to be a delightful double-bill.

Not just one, but two films with which I couldn't be more satisfied. Both are **** films, for sure.

I am curious, tho -- how are these films regarded around here? Any big time fans?

[D_Davis]

The Ox-Bow Incident. So good. Remarkably grim for the era.

Haven't seen the film, but I've got the book lined up to read next year.

[Qrazy]

To me, The Fly was the least favourite by Cronemberg. I vaguely remember the original, saw it too long ago.
I prefered Dead Ringers or even Videodrome, perhaps not the same horror, but I found them more interesting.

Yeah, those two are his best.

[Qrazy]

Russ Goes Boating with Celine and Julie..

What a strange little film.

I am curious, tho -- how are these films regarded around here? Any big time fans?

Celine and Julie is one of my most hated films. Daisies I enjoyed.

[Spinal]

Here's what I wrote about Celine and Julie after seeing it at a local arthouse theater.

[Spinal]

Here's what I wrote about Celine and Julie after seeing it at a local arthouse theater.

Weird. I compared it to Daisies.

[B-side]

I don't see how a 360 camera motion era switch says anything about a reaction to Hollywood romanticism.

It doesn't. It was just a neat trick.:P

Those shots are pretty awful in my opinion. I don't agree with you re: most close-ups. Dreyer handles close ups very well, Antonioni when he infrequently uses them, Fellini, etc.

They're very soft. Shrouded in the romantic subjective gaze. The candles are pure romance. The shot with the out of focus candlelight behind Courtland takes place in a church. Idealism. He meets her in a church. Could you get a more pure romantic encounter? De Palma weaves in the subversiveness by focusing on the wearing away of the old painting, and whether or not it'd be best to let the prior painting wear away to reveal a never-seen one beneath, or restore the old one and never see what's beneath. An obvious metaphor for his life after his first wife's death, but it works and speaks to my previously mentioned thematic interpretations involving the death of pure romance.

[Rowland]

Less than two months and we'll be immersed again in seemingly endless critical evaluations and lists for the year, which means I have lots of catching up to do so that I'm up to speed. Frankly, I'm a bit daunted by how much I want to see, so prioritization will be key. Tonight, I think I'll start with... Nostalgia for the Light.

[Stay Puft]

Tonight, I think I'll start with... Nostalgia for the Light.

You have chosen wisely.

This is the time of year when I start trying to catch up with more documentaries. Netflix proved useful for this purpose last year.

[MadMan]

If its not on Netflix, I'll have to go with RedBox, for better or for worse. Not really sure I want to hit up my local video store, and I'll try and see whatever is good in theaters this winter.

[Derek]

Less than two months and we'll be immersed again in seemingly endless critical evaluations and lists for the year, which means I have lots of catching up to do so that I'm up to speed. Frankly, I'm a bit daunted by how much I want to see, so prioritization will be key. Tonight, I think I'll start with... Nostalgia for the Light.

You've probably watched more films from 1981 than 2011 so far this year.

I'm in the same boat as you. So much catching up to do, though fortunately AFI Fest starts in a couple days, so I'll get a nice batch of 2011 viewing done in a week.

[Watashi]

Being a year completest is overrated.

[Rowland]

Being a year completest is overrated.

I don't watch movies I have no desire to see. Being the sort of year completest who watches as much junk as possible, even when, if they're honest with themselves, they aren't likely to get anything out of it, is overrated.

[Ezee E]

Sometimes I have to see a few shit ones with friends/groups/etc. If I do that, then they'll more then likely come with me to something like Melancholia later...

[Ezee E]

And Take Shelter is getting some love here. Can y'all explain yourselves without spoiling anything? All I know is that Michael Shannon is in it.

[B-side]

I scribbled some disparate thoughts on A History of Violence. You can, and should, read them here.