28 Film Discussion Threads Later

[Sven]

Don't be pompous, Sven.

Just let me be ME, man!

[MacGuffin]

Just let me be ME, man!

If it helps any, I've been meaning to give Night Moves a look here soon.

[balmakboor]

You don't know what that means? It means I find The Edge of the World to be a superior film on the technical front. That is, I think the cinematography is superior above anything, though that's not to speak ill of the cinematography in How Green Was My Valley, which is great. I just found the Powell to be more expressive in its framing and editing.

One film can be vastly more expressive than another while being technically considerably inferior. I think the technical craftsmanship of both is impeccable although the Powell does occasionally show its more limited resources.

For what it's worth, I'm most fond of A Canterbury Tale and Peeping Tom from Powell.

On an unrelated note, I just rewatched The Deer Hunter and find it to be on the very short list of greatest films of all time.

[Spinal]

Gotta risk pomposity and agree with Sven's sentiment.

[StanleyK]

Yeah, I was mixing up diegetic with non-diegetic; my bad.

So then the point is that the music is diegetic, not non-diegetic. Well, they do play it up for gags quite a bit in that film, but I don't think it has any significance, per se, greater than being used for punctuation.

On the soundtrack, there's big portentious music playing, and it's the kind of overtly dramatic stuff that tells you the guy Lebowski is going to meet is important as hell.

But while the scene plays out, it's revealed ... that music isn't on the soundtrack, it's playing in the room the two characters are standing in.

Well, if it is used just for gags, then at least it certainly works wonders.



Also Sunset Blvd. rules, endingcredits is right on the money.

[StanleyK]

A Clockwork Orange is one of the most challenging films about morality ever. To present such a deplorable character as Alex DeLarge, and then to even so claim the right to a moral choice to be inalienable to the human condition, is a very ballsy and rewarding approach. Too bad the film itself says so, quite explicitly, by way of the chaplain character; he really just basically tells you what the movie is about in the scene following Alex's "rehabilitation". A most un-Kubrick-like move, particularly disappointing as the film is the culmiation of his favorite theme- Ludovico technique aside, the stripping of Alex's possession and clothes is the epitome of dehumanization, synthetized in a hilarious scene of Kubrick's brand of dark humor.

[Boner M]

Destricted - Begins with a closeup of a half-chub pulsating on the verge of an erection; an apt metaphor for the quality of this collection. Matthew Barney's (where the aforementioned image is from) is memorably strange and not much else, like much of his work. Richard Prince's is a neat concept - exploiting the nostalgic qualities of an old porn VHS - but could've been elaborated further. Gaspar Noe's 1/2 hour of tedium has nearly ruined the lingering goodwill I had toward him. Sam Taylor-Wood's is a gag that probably only works in the company of a large audience. Larry Clark's is roughly what you'd expect & too long, but not bad. The Balkan one is the winner by default, I guess, mainly cos of the animated sequences.

Boiling Point - Long forgotten 1993 Wesley Snipes vehicle that has rep in some circles as a termite-art neo-noir par excellence; a virtually action-free piece that even flirts with dreamy melancholy at times. Too formulaic to be truly memorable, but there's satisfaction to be had in watching how steadfastly this denies its core audience the high-octane charge they've come for. Dennis Hopper is godawful though; baffling that he considers this some of his best acting work.

[Spinal]

Destricted - Begins with a closeup of a half-chub pulsating on the verge of an erection; an apt metaphor for the quality of this collection. Matthew Barney's (where the aforementioned image is from) is memorably strange and not much else, like much of his work. Richard Prince's is a neat concept - exploiting the nostalgic qualities of an old porn VHS - but could've been elaborated further. Gaspar Noe's 1/2 hour of tedium has nearly ruined the lingering goodwill I had toward him. Sam Taylor-Wood's is a gag that probably only works in the company of a large audience. Larry Clark's is roughly what you'd expect & too long, but not bad. The Balkan one is the winner by default, I guess, mainly cos of the animated sequences.

Oh, you didn't get the version with the pooping. You lucky person.

[Boner M]

Oh, you didn't get the version with the pooping. You lucky person.

It isn't listed on the IMDb either... must be an extra special bonus for Netflix users.

[Spinal]

It isn't listed on the IMDb either... must be an extra special bonus for Netflix users.

I think it's an American version of the DVD. At least, according to the official website for the film.

[baby doll]

Weekend:

The Chelsea Girls (Andy Warhol, 1966)
Fata Morgana (Werner Herzog, 1971)
Hôtel Monterey (Chantal Akerman, 1972)
Ludwig (Luchino Visconti, 1972)
Sleeper (Woody Allen, 1973)
Ju tu il elle (Chantal Akerman, 1974)
News From Home (Chantal Akerman, 1977)
Les Rendez-vous d'Anna (Chantal Akerman, 1978)

[Boner M]

News From Home (Chantal Akerman, 1977)

****, plz. I think it's even better than Dielman.

[MacGuffin]

I guess I find Swanson to just be a bit one-note in it, maybe too overtly theatrical. I like the movie overall.

[Qrazy]

I guess I find Swanson to just be a bit one-note in it, maybe too overtly theatrical. I like the movie overall.

She was a silent film star. She still thinks of herself as a silent film star. The entire world for her has become a silent film, hence theatricality.

[MacGuffin]

She was a silent film star. She still thinks of herself as a silent film star. The entire world for her has become a silent film, hence theatricality.

I realize she is intentionally annoying and theatrical. I think there are different kinds of ways annoying or theatrical can be channelled, and the way she chose began to grate on me by the time the movie ended. I think she'd be more appropriate if she was sane.

[Melville]

****, plz. I think it's even better than Dielman.

Agreed.

[baby doll]

****, plz. I think it's even better than Dielman.

Let's wait until I see it first.

[MacGuffin]

Hotel Monterey is a beautiful, beautiful film.

[Ezee E]

Sitting at the parents' house, watching The Godfather on AMC, and I wonder if I underrate it. I fall in love with it immediately again, and it feels like I'm watching it for the first time all over again, and I get especially pissed when the commercials come on. I should've definitely put it in my tops for the 70's.

[Irish]

I should've definitely put it in my tops for the 70's.

Imagine me slapping you across the face, with a satin glove, Daffy Duck style.

;-)

[Derek]

I think she'd be more appropriate if she was sane.

Why not have Holden alive in the pool at the beginning, treading water and narrating the entirely different film you apparently want?

[Qrazy]

Why not have Holden alive in the pool at the beginning, treading water.

Good point. That would definitely make the film less cynical. I think you're onto something here.

[Stay Puft]

On the topic of Akerman, has anyone seen her later work? I only ever see people talking about her 70's work. I noticed Netflix has a couple of her newer films streaming, The Captive from 2000 and Tomorrow We Move from 2004. Thinking about watching them. Any thoughts?

[Duncan]

On the topic of Akerman, has anyone seen her later work? I only ever see people talking about her 70's work. I noticed Netflix has a couple of her newer films streaming, The Captive from 2000 and Tomorrow We Move from 2004. Thinking about watching them. Any thoughts?

I've seen The Captive. Remember liking it at the time, but can't recall much of it. It was the sort of standard feminist setup of a guy keeping a woman in a house, but by the end you're all like, but who was really the captive? A lot of it is shot in intentionally drab taupes and beiges. Still camera, long takes. And then it's punctuated by these really glorious car rides that are kind of dreamy and creepy and sexy.

[balmakboor]

On the topic of Akerman, has anyone seen her later work? I only ever see people talking about her 70's work. I noticed Netflix has a couple of her newer films streaming, The Captive from 2000 and Tomorrow We Move from 2004. Thinking about watching them. Any thoughts?

I've seen From the East. It has its merits. Lots of very long tracking shots of scenes throughout Eastern Europe with no hint of anything particularly dramatic taking place -- other than what's already inherent with people going through cold, snowy days throughout Eastern Europe. I loved how it looked as I've loved how all of her films looked.