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Thread: MC's Criterion Challenge 2021 (by way of Letterboxd)

  1. #201
    Cinematographer Mal's Avatar
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    10. Hell's Heroes (1929) - Went with an old Wyler film. Bunch of bank robbers find themselves having to shape up and take care of an orphan. Its a quick bite of filmmaking style and story, enjoyed the characters and cinematography. 7/10.

  2. #202
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    Quote Quoting Zac Efron (view post)
    10. Hell's Heroes (1929) - Went with an old Wyler film. Bunch of bank robbers find themselves having to shape up and take care of an orphan. Its a quick bite of filmmaking style and story, enjoyed the characters and cinematography. 7/10.
    Ooohhh this sounds good. I must check it out. Haven't seen any of Wyler's stuff from that early.

    Have you seen The Heiress? It is SO. DAMN. GOOD.
    "All right, that's too hot. Anything we can do about that heat?"

    "Rick...it's a flamethrower."

  3. #203
    Cinematographer Mal's Avatar
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    I have not. Will do!

  4. #204
    The Pan megladon8's Avatar
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    Trying to decide what to watch from Wes Anderson's Top 10, and nothing is really jumping out at me to be honest.

    Might put all the titles on the wall, cover my eyes and throw a dart.
    "All right, that's too hot. Anything we can do about that heat?"

    "Rick...it's a flamethrower."

  5. #205
    collecting tapes Skitch's Avatar
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    I tried to help. I haven't seen a single one of those films.

  6. #206
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    Was interested in The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, but it isn't on Criterion Channel.

    Currently trying to decide between The Exterminating Angel and The Insect Woman. Leaning towards the former.
    "All right, that's too hot. Anything we can do about that heat?"

    "Rick...it's a flamethrower."

  7. #207
    Quote Quoting megladon8 (view post)
    Currently trying to decide between The Exterminating Angel and The Insect Woman. Leaning towards the former.
    I almost went with those as well. Seem like solid choices.

  8. #208
    Cinematographer Mal's Avatar
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    Au hasard Balthazar is, imo, the best movie on Wes' list.

  9. #209
    Quote Quoting megladon8 (view post)
    Currently trying to decide between The Exterminating Angel and The Insect Woman. Leaning towards the former.
    Why not watch both (and Madame de... and Au hasard Balthazar and Pigs and Battleships and La Prise de pouvoir par Louis XIV)? I haven't seen The Friends of Eddie Coyle but the book is a masterpiece.
    Last edited by baby doll; 03-09-2021 at 05:05 AM.
    Just because...
    The Fabelmans (Steven Spielberg, 2022) mild
    Petite maman (Céline Sciamma, 2021) mild
    The Banshees of Inisherin (Martin McDonagh, 2022) mild

    The last book I read was...
    The Complete Short Stories by Mark Twain


    The (New) World

  10. #210
    The Pan megladon8's Avatar
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    Watched The Exterminating Angel, and loved it.

    Just as relevant today as its set time period, with stuff rich aristocrats satisfyingly taken down several notches.

    "He took off his jacket? What poor etiquette!"

    I loved the central mystery, and its Twilight Zone-esque moral commentary (not to mention an ending that felt like it could have been penned by Serling himself).

    Was nothing at all what I expected. Very pleasantly surprised. Can't wait to watch it again.
    "All right, that's too hot. Anything we can do about that heat?"

    "Rick...it's a flamethrower."

  11. #211
    Nice Meg. Yeah, a friend of mine watched it as well and had a similar reaction. I might bump it ahead of Viridiana as my next Bunuel movie.

  12. #212
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    Quote Quoting Idioteque Stalker (view post)
    Nice Meg. Yeah, a friend of mine watched it as well and had a similar reaction. I might bump it ahead of Viridiana as my next Bunuel movie.
    I think this was my first from Buñuel.

    I'm loving this Criterion Challenge (despite being a bit behind). I've now seen 3 movies I may never have otherwise, and all 3 have been great viewings.

    Also, the Criterion Channel is a godsend.
    "All right, that's too hot. Anything we can do about that heat?"

    "Rick...it's a flamethrower."

  13. #213
    Quote Quoting megladon8 (view post)
    I think this was my first from Buñuel.
    For your second, you might want to check out Le Charme discret de la bourgeoisie, which is a sort of companion film to El ángel exterminador. In his autobiography, Buñuel expressed a certain amount of dissatisfaction with the earlier film, which he had originally planned to make in England (where the kind of aristocracy portrayed in the film actually existed), and the film is a bit shaky technically in comparison with his later European films (there's a visible boom mic in one shot). Le Charme discret de la bourgeoisie is a much more polished piece of filmmaking with bigger stars, although in the areas that count, it's actually not that much more interesting and successful.
    Just because...
    The Fabelmans (Steven Spielberg, 2022) mild
    Petite maman (Céline Sciamma, 2021) mild
    The Banshees of Inisherin (Martin McDonagh, 2022) mild

    The last book I read was...
    The Complete Short Stories by Mark Twain


    The (New) World

  14. #214
    After sitting on a DVD my grandma bought me over a decade ago, I went with Lonesome for week 10. The human condition is politely declining your friends’ invitation to Coney Island (“I’m afraid I have too many things to do”) just to sit alone in your apartment filing your nails and flipping through magazines. Don’t listen to the haters who say the spoken dialogue ruins the film -- I mean it’s terribly awkward, sure, but the entire movie is such a chaotic and silly romp (complete with bonkers carnival attractions, an arrest for “picking up girls,” and more confetti than you’ve ever imagined) that the occasional thirty-second early-sound clip simply becomes another sideshow attraction in this non-stop Roaring Twenties jamboree. This Pal Fejos cat is full-steam-ahead with the cinematic trickery, too: plenty of multiple exposure shots (like a clock superimposed over images of our leads at their jobs, a constant reminder of their menial work), some truly gorgeous color tinting (most remarkably a magical realism dance sequence that surely inspired West Side Story and La La Land), and an incredibly mobile camera that careens overhead, flips upside-down, and attaches to the front of a roller-coaster. One of the earliest in its genre, Lonesome is one of the rare rom-coms in which the lovers’ delight in each other is equaled by a delight of craft and tone. Four stars. Thanks grandma.

  15. #215
    Quote Quoting baby doll (view post)
    For your second, you might want to check out Le Charme discret de la bourgeoisie, which is a sort of companion film to El ángel exterminador.
    This might explain why I've always confused them.

  16. #216
    The Pan megladon8's Avatar
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    Quote Quoting baby doll (view post)
    For your second, you might want to check out Le Charme discret de la bourgeoisie, which is a sort of companion film to El ángel exterminador. In his autobiography, Buñuel expressed a certain amount of dissatisfaction with the earlier film, which he had originally planned to make in England (where the kind of aristocracy portrayed in the film actually existed), and the film is a bit shaky technically in comparison with his later European films (there's a visible boom mic in one shot). Le Charme discret de la bourgeoisie is a much more polished piece of filmmaking with bigger stars, although in the areas that count, it's actually not that much more interesting and successful.
    Thank you for the recommendation!

    I was reading that Buñuel was disappointed that the budget budget Exterminating Angel didn't allow him to go as far as he wanted. His original intent was to have the people devolve into cannibals.

    I think I prefer what we got. Do you think the film would have been stronger if it went that direction?
    "All right, that's too hot. Anything we can do about that heat?"

    "Rick...it's a flamethrower."

  17. #217
    The Pan megladon8's Avatar
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    Idioteque, you've sold me on Lonesome.

    I'm looking forward to seeing more silent stuff with this challenge. I see multiple opportunities to watch things that have been on my radar for years and just never gotten around to them.

    My favorite is still The Phantom of the Opera from '25. Freaking gorgeous production, that is. Chaney kills it. Love it to death.
    "All right, that's too hot. Anything we can do about that heat?"

    "Rick...it's a flamethrower."

  18. #218
    Producer Yxklyx's Avatar
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    Quote Quoting Zac Efron (view post)
    10. Hell's Heroes (1929) - Went with an old Wyler film. Bunch of bank robbers find themselves having to shape up and take care of an orphan. Its a quick bite of filmmaking style and story, enjoyed the characters and cinematography. 7/10.
    Where did you see it?

  19. #219
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    Quote Quoting Dukefrukem (view post)
    It's a remarkable debut. I dont think it's as good as peak Coens (Fargo), but I love seeing their early work and how they build on their black humor. The 'dead end' bit should have been on screen more.

    I also think the script is a little weak and unbelievable, mainly around the PI. But hey, my wife and I both liked it. So that's a win. 1/1.
    For me, Blood Simple and Fargo are about tied. I love both of them equally. They are their two masterpieces. As for Buñuel, I'm not a big fan. I think his best work is at the start when his movies were more surreal as with Un Chien Andalou and L' Âge d'or - he sacrifices too much with narrative in his later films and I don't think they've aged well - in contrast to Jodorowsky.
    Last edited by Yxklyx; 03-13-2021 at 02:13 AM.

  20. #220
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    Rewatching O Brother Where Art Thou? recently was great. I was never very fond of it, but loved it this time.

    I was just too young to get most of the humor, having been like 13 when I saw it.

    Also Raising Arizona is a darn masterpiece.
    "All right, that's too hot. Anything we can do about that heat?"

    "Rick...it's a flamethrower."

  21. #221
    Producer Yxklyx's Avatar
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    Quote Quoting Zac Efron (view post)
    Au hasard Balthazar is, imo, the best movie on Wes' list.
    Stroszek or Au hasard Balthazar? - Kurt Cobain

  22. #222
    Quote Quoting megladon8 (view post)
    Thank you for the recommendation!

    I was reading that Buñuel was disappointed that the budget budget Exterminating Angel didn't allow him to go as far as he wanted. His original intent was to have the people devolve into cannibals.

    I think I prefer what we got. Do you think the film would have been stronger if it went that direction?
    It's hard to say; a lot would depend on the execution. Still, the film works so well without the characters resorting to cannibalism it's hard to imagine that it would be much better if they did.
    Just because...
    The Fabelmans (Steven Spielberg, 2022) mild
    Petite maman (Céline Sciamma, 2021) mild
    The Banshees of Inisherin (Martin McDonagh, 2022) mild

    The last book I read was...
    The Complete Short Stories by Mark Twain


    The (New) World

  23. #223
    Quote Quoting Yxklyx (view post)
    As for Buñuel, I'm not a big fan. I think his best work is at the start when his movies were more surreal as with Un Chien Andalou and L' Âge d'or - he sacrifices too much with narrative in his later films and I don't think they've aged well - in contrast to Jodorowsky.
    Personally I've always considered L'Age d'or one of Buñuel's lesser films. It doesn't do anything that Un chien andalou didn't do better in less time. Rather than sacrificing anything, it seems to me that Buñuel's later films are enhanced by their narratives which provide a context for their surrealist elements so that they register more forcefully. By contrast, it's the more freeform (read: undisciplined) films of Jodorowsky that strike me as relics of the '60s counterculture in their compulsion to pile one outrageous image on top of another at the expense of any sustained narrative, as a result of which a film like El topo is ultimately less than the sum of its parts.
    Just because...
    The Fabelmans (Steven Spielberg, 2022) mild
    Petite maman (Céline Sciamma, 2021) mild
    The Banshees of Inisherin (Martin McDonagh, 2022) mild

    The last book I read was...
    The Complete Short Stories by Mark Twain


    The (New) World

  24. #224
    Replacing Luck Since 1984 Dukefrukem's Avatar
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    Watched Rebecca for the #12 item.

    Average for Hitchcock.
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  25. #225
    The Pan megladon8's Avatar
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    Quote Quoting Dukefrukem (view post)
    Watched Rebecca for the #12 item.

    Average for Hitchcock.
    If I tell Jen this this will cry.
    "All right, that's too hot. Anything we can do about that heat?"

    "Rick...it's a flamethrower."

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