Home Theater Forum - View Single Post - Sight and Sound (2002) Greatest Films Club

Brook K · 02-20-2003, 12:55 PM

Some of this influence is also because, like the New Wavers later, Kurosawa was a fan of American movies. John Ford was his favorite director.

I'm having a great time discovering Douglas Sirk. All That Heaven Allows is about the dark side and hypocrisy of the American Dream. A culture that creates a prison for its members. Whereas Written On The Wind was a work of bravura camera movement, All That Heaven Allows uses grand lighting to make its greatest impression. I was most reminded of Dario Argento's Suspiria as one of the only other films I've seen that uses lighting to such great effect.

The music, set design, costumes, everything within the bounds of the camera lense is used to tell the story and to tell a story that is much deeper than merely what the actors are saying or they're actions onscreen. This is art of a very high caliber, though it's also easy to see why these films could be misinterpreted.

Also very fun to compare this to Haynes' Far From Heaven now that I've finally seen its precursor.

I'll definitely be adding both these Sirk films to my collection and will probably pick up Imitation of Life as well.

Might be awhile before my next entry. My order is still screwy due to out-of-stocks at Netflix and I'm still working on 2002 films and Criterions rather than sticking all the list films at the top. I think Nanook of the North is next on my list.

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02-20-2003, 12:55 PM	#98 of 3706
Brook K Member Location: St. Louis, MO Join Date: Feb 2000 Local Time: 11:30 PM Local Date: 07-06-2008 Posts: 10,363	Some of this influence is also because, like the New Wavers later, Kurosawa was a fan of American movies. John Ford was his favorite director. I'm having a great time discovering Douglas Sirk. All That Heaven Allows is about the dark side and hypocrisy of the American Dream. A culture that creates a prison for its members. Whereas Written On The Wind was a work of bravura camera movement, All That Heaven Allows uses grand lighting to make its greatest impression. I was most reminded of Dario Argento's Suspiria as one of the only other films I've seen that uses lighting to such great effect. The music, set design, costumes, everything within the bounds of the camera lense is used to tell the story and to tell a story that is much deeper than merely what the actors are saying or they're actions onscreen. This is art of a very high caliber, though it's also easy to see why these films could be misinterpreted. Also very fun to compare this to Haynes' Far From Heaven now that I've finally seen its precursor. I'll definitely be adding both these Sirk films to my collection and will probably pick up Imitation of Life as well. Might be awhile before my next entry. My order is still screwy due to out-of-stocks at Netflix and I'm still working on 2002 films and Criterions rather than sticking all the list films at the top. I think Nanook of the North is next on my list. I know what I'm gonna do tomorrow, and the next day, and the next year, and the year after that. - George Bailey 2002 Sight & Sound Challenge: 312 Last Watched: The Life of Oharu Last 10 Films Watched: There Was a Father - A- / The Battle of the River Plate - B In Bruges - B / My Blueberry Nights - C+ WALL*E - A- / Presto - B+ Definitely, Maybe - C+ / Shanghai Express - B+ Persepolis - B+ / The Life of Oharu - B DVD BEAVER My Collection