28 Film Discussion Threads Later

[Spinal]

Smiles of a Summer Night? No, he's not much of a fan, but he's wrong. I forgive him though, because of his overall Bergman love.

To be fair, I've admitted myself that I'm probably wrong.

[Spinal]

IFC's 50 greatest trailers of all time.

Strange Days! Excellent choice. Loved that trailer.

[trotchky]

More thoughts on Sweet Movie:

I thought it was really hilarious and like Austin Powers in its use of visual puns, like the penis montage at the end of Austin Powers. However, this movie, Sweet Movie, used sex related visual puns in a much more transgressive and pointed way and I felt it was pretty heavily self-critical in the second half.

Spoilers, but they don't really matter.

I think the second half really rips on Communism much more than Capitalism; I felt the point of the commune was to criticize the communist movement as it existed in the early '70s, by showing these people who have taken a particular doctrine to its extreme and lived in deluded, self-imposed squalor because of that.

This could be universally established already (haven't read any lit. on the movie), but, and correct me if I'm wrong here, but isn't the commune meant to take place in a metaphorical "future" where the Potemkin Sailor and the Anarchist Woman have fucked and produced ideological offspring, represented by the people in the commune? And the squalor they actively embrace is basically what is being criticized. And their indoctrination to it. The whole boat thing is a metaphor for communism's literal progress in soviet nations and ideological progress in the west.

As for The Queen Virgin, she ended up there through a series of things that happen to her, each with her going lower and lower on the economic latter, after she rejects her husband's degrading sexual fetish.

Lots of obvious implications there, etc.

The first part, the footage of victims of Nazi experiments being uncovered, "We must always remember these things, and never speak of them," or whatever, yeah, it's interesting that that is used as a metaphor for both America and Communism up to a certain point, when offspring "SLASH" another generation is conjured up, hence the baby being physically injured news footage and the final shot being the the little children waking up wrapped in plastic on the beach. What will these children do next??

However, the sheer visceral joy of watching the movie is what I was most taken by.

[Qrazy]

You've seen The Seventh Seal? That isn't Nykvist. I don't want to slight Nykvist. He is obviously talented. I'm sure his input in the look of the films he worked on are noted by Bergman, and used by Bergman. I'm just saying, as the director, Bergman should be held most responsible for what the end product is. After all outside of a Tarkovsky film, a Polanski film, and What's Eating Gilbert Grape? has anyone seen a Nykvist filmed non-Bergman film?

# Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) - Solid work.
# New York Stories (1989) (segment "Oedipus Wrecks") - Poor work.
# Another Woman (1988) - Mediocre work.
# The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988) - Solid work.
# The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981) - Average work.
# Black Moon (1975) (director of photography) - Solid work.

[B-side]

Buffalo '66 is an invigorating piece of well-realized Americana. I originally had written a lot more, but it can basically be boiled down to this: I liked the formative experiments; the overhead shots, the picture-in-picture, the aspect ratios (which coincidentally, showed up in Tetro). I also liked the approach it took to trying to show us a different side of a very disturbed character (Billy), while at the same time, adding depth to this character with everyone he encountered. The movie also has a lot to say about America's obsession with sports (obviously there's the title, but the movie could not have taken place in any other country). Anyway, I loved it, but I still think Gallo gave a better performance in Tetro and The Brown Bunny may be even better than this.

Yeah, I really liked it, too. I don't wanna sound like "that guy", but was all that road footage really necessary? I understand it's more about mood and atmosphere than anything, but it got to be kinda excessive. Luckily, before it grated me too much, Bud got to Daisy's house and I was thoroughly engaged for the rest of the film and sufficiently blown away by the entire hotel sequence.

[Qrazy]

Have you seen Wild Strawberries yet? That one's great too.

It's alright. Pretty good.

It has silent film director Victor Sjöström as the lead, and he does fantastic.

Yeah, he does.

[soitgoes...]

# Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) - Solid work.

Forgot about that one. Also Sleepless in Seattle, for whatever that is worth.

The point stands his success kinda seems tied to the quality of the directors he works with.

[Qrazy]

Forgot about that one. Also Sleepless in Seattle, for whatever that is worth.

The point stands his success kinda seems tied to the quality of the directors he works with.

I think they both deserve a lot of credit. It's hard to know with visuals. I believe Nykvist did have a rather revolutionary aesthetic but the two careers are inextricably tied together. Gunnar Fischer was also a quality DP.

[Qrazy]

I never realized that the guy who DP'd Terms of Endearment, The Verdict, Prince of the City, a bunch of other Lumet films and Speed... went on to direct Romeo Must Die, Exit Wounds, Cradle 2 the Grave and Doom.

WTF?

[Grouchy]

I deleted this post because I didn't think anyone would get the reference. If I'm not mistaken, wasn't it on Match Cut where people were claiming directors knew about 9/11 happening or something? I think I'm way off, which is why I decided to delete the post.

I've never heard that one before. I did hear the one about the televised moon landing being a fake shoot directed by Kubrick for the U.S. government as a way to win the Cold War.

Qrazy, watch The Hill inmediately. The Fugitive Kind is good too, but it's mostly Brando's show.

[Qrazy]

I've never heard that one before. I did hear the one about the televised moon landing being a fake shoot directed by Kubrick for the U.S. government as a way to win the Cold War.

Qrazy, watch The Hill inmediately. The Fugitive Kind is good too, but it's mostly Brando's show.

Will do.

---

On a Nykvist note I'd be very interested to see this adaptation of Siddhartha which he apparently DP'd.

[Mysterious Dude]

I actually don't think the cinematography for The Seventh Seal or Wild Strawberries is anywhere near as good as it is in the films photographed by Nykvist. There are moments that are very good, but overall, I find the lighting a lot less natural.

[Derek]

Bah. Y'all are crazy regarding Zombie's Halloween. What they did to Michael Myers is the equivalent of a remake of Jaws that spends an hour with the shark and his underwater family having precious moments about why he can't stop eating wanna-be pirates.

I've only seen the first 20-25 minutes, but I was wondering who cares about Michael Meyers being picked on as a kid. Apparently a lot of people...

[Mara]

I have to admit, I was quite surprised... and, indeed, impressed, with Kiss of the Spider Woman. It's one of those films that sets itself up to be one thing and then slowly unravels into something less simple and facile. The premise-- of the two prisoners trying to pass the interminable time-- becomes more deeply nuanced as the film progresses.

The original tension is I think one of gender relations, despite the fact that both the main characters are male. Luis is not only homosexual, but really transgendered-- he wants to be a woman and despises his own masculinity. He figures into all the stereotypes, both positive and negative, about women. He is sentimental and irrational. He is kind and gentle. He is motivated almost entirely by emotion. He is weak.

Valentin, on the other hand, is overwhelmingly masculine. He is cold and calculating, brave and ideal-driven, angry and proud. He wears his beard, his blood, and his dirt as a badge of honor, while Luis is forever grooming and cleaning himself.

This begins to play out in their fantasy-land, where Luis tells a story that means one thing to him-- the triumph and tragedy of love-- and quite another thing to Valentin, who sees it as political brainwashing. (Is it either? Is it both?) And it probably would have been a decent film if it had stopped there.

A few of the reviews I've skimmed about this film suggest that the two characters "change" each other. I don't think this is true. They are who they have always been. Luis is, in fact, strong. What seemingly makes him weak (his sentimentality, his gentleness) are actually his strengths. He is not becoming a man when he, without flinching, cleans the clothes and floor that Valentin soils while sick. He is, instead, being maternal. His femininity is like the science experiment we had to do in eighth grade, when we mixed corn starch and water-- fluid when at rest, but hard as a rock when under pressure.

Valentin doesn't soften while in prison. He does not become more gentle. Instead, we are slowly shown that part of being masculine is compassion.

And the final quarter of the film, which surprised me extremely, shows that either man can do great things, even when moved from opposite motivations... that political fervor and love are both potent passions.

This is one of those films that I wanted to rewatch immediately after seeing it. I think I need to see it again to sort out how I really feel about it.

[megladon8]

I'll have to see that one, Mara. Raul Julia played Valentin, right? I loved him. I think he could have made a killing in the voice-over market today.


Jen and I watched Donnie Darko last night. She hadn't seen it since it first came out, and hated it. The trailers had apparently sold it as a horror, and she was deeply disappointed.

However, she seemed to like it more this time around. And I still adore it. It really is one of the greatest looks at adolescent angst I have ever seen, and a very important movie in my "lifetime movie line".

Jen did point out a significant problem that I hadn't caught on to despite having seen it countless times and analyzing it from every direction...

[

Show Spoiler

...if Frank the Bunny was helping Donnie to save all these lives by taking him back in time to die when the jet engine hit his room, then why would Frank have bothered waking him up and getting him out of bed that night to begin with?

]

However, my explanation for this is that Frank (or whatever entity it was that took on the persona of Frank to communicate with Donnie) was giving Donnie a look at his "set path" and the opportunity to change it if he felt he wanted to.

Anyways, it's a wonderful movie, with one of the greatest soundtracks of all time.

[Mara]

I'll have to see that one, Mara. Raul Julia played Valentin, right? I loved him. I think he could have made a killing in the voice-over market today.

Did you notice I got all the way through my thoughts without mentioning how smoking hot Raul Julia was in the film? I'd like to think I'm growing as a person.

[megladon8]

Did you notice I got all the way through my thoughts without mentioning how smoking hot Raul Julia was in the film? I'd like to think I'm growing a person.

You're growing a person???

Is this what the kids are calling it these days?

:lol:

[Mara]

Err... oops.

[Qrazy]

I actually don't think the cinematography for The Seventh Seal or Wild Strawberries is anywhere near as good as it is in the films photographed by Nykvist. There are moments that are very good, but overall, I find the lighting a lot less natural.

Well yeah natural lighting is Nykvist's thing. I agree about Wild Strawberries. I thought I was enthusiastic about The Seventh Seal lighting but it's been 6 years so I can't be sure.

[Dead & Messed Up]

I've only seen the first 20-25 minutes, but I was wondering who cares about Michael Meyers being picked on as a kid. Apparently a lot of people...

It's not that. The first hour or so showed Zombie clearly in his element, finding a fresh dynamic with the material. Meyers was clearly fucked up from the beginning, but it's nice to see him retreat further and further into madness.

And I don't take the film as canon or anything. It's just another way of looking at a cultural icon.

[Grouchy]

Mara, the novel by Manuel Puig is one of my favorite things I ever read. In fact, anything by Puig is worth your time. An anomaly in my country's literature, but one of the greatest.

I haven't seen the movie but I'll get around to it.

[Mara]

Mara, the novel by Manuel Puig is one of my favorite things I ever read. In fact, anything by Puig is worth your time. An anomaly in my country's literature, but one of the greatest.

I'm actually trying to bookmooch it. We'll see...

[lovejuice]

Mara, the novel by Manuel Puig is one of my favorite things I ever read. In fact, anything by Puig is worth your time. An anomaly in my country's literature, but one of the greatest.

I haven't seen the movie but I'll get around to it.

if i ever finish my top 100 book thread, spider-woman will be really high on the list.

i'm interested, why he's "anomaly?" care to explain more?

[B-side]

I think Happy Together might be my favorite Kar-Wai so far. It's so wonderfully expressive.

[trotchky]

One remarkable thing I want to add about Sweet Movie while I'm still coherent enough to do so: the last ~25 minutes are some of the most hauntingly tragic I've seen, and for the film to accomplish that all through metaphor, well, we're talking about some Synecdoche, New York-caliber shit right there. It's often funny and sad at the same time and for the same reason. Few films can lay claim to that.