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Brook K · 11-20-2003, 12:32 PM

Yes, Mon Oncle is my favorite of the 3. I love how Tati uses sounds to give just the right "punch" to his bits. I also feel sorry for the kid, having to grow up with parents as hopelessly clueless and conventional as his are. Playtime is, I'm guessing, one of those movies like Lawrence of Arabia, that will be a revelation if I ever get to see it in 70mm on a big screen, but seeing it in the cramped confines of my 32" TV, I'd put it at the back. It isn't as funny as the other two, and I don't find Tati's social commentary as advanced or complex as say, Godard's or Rohmer's.

I recently saw Band of Outsiders for the 1st time too. It has some magical moments, is full of Godard's wit and references, and the beautiful Anna Karena goes without saying, but I don't find the story to be as moving as several of his other films or the camerawork as masterful.

224 is The Age Of Innocence a story of passions suppressed and unrealized due to adherence to social convention. A sumptuous period piece, done with the full grandeur of Hollywood capabilities captured in precise detail by Martin Scorsese and his cinematographer, Michael Ballhaus. It includes a beautiful score of classical pieces and benefits from the performance of Daniel Day-Lewis, surely one of the finest actors to emerge in the 1980's.

However, perhaps as an extension of the brief discussion George brought up about films made from literary works, this was not a film I was able to fully embrace. This could be due to the shooting style and voice-over narration, which seems to hold up the story's era as something for modern viewers to gawk at and be amused by, rather than a real place the characters inhabit. Every meal, style of dress, mode of communication or mannerism is identified and codified by the camera and narrator rather than simply letting the viewer observe for themselves.

The story itself feels cut down from a larger whole. (I don't know if this is the case or not, I'll have to go back and read some reviews, but it seems like the Richard E. Grant role, for instance, must have been much larger for him to even take the part. He's talked about in hushed tones several times, but has virtually no screen time.) The concentration is almost entirely on the love triangle of Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer and Wynona Rider, with rare interventions from the outside world to add any sort of dramatic imperative or scenes of import that would invigorate a story the audience knows the conclusion of in the first 5 minutes. Perhaps it is my somewhat negative attitudes to the two actresses in question, but I found myself much more interested in the cinematography and the establishing shots composed to look like classical paintings than I was enraptured by the story.

11-20-2003, 12:32 PM	#1204 of 3734
Brook K Member Location: St. Louis, MO Join Date: Feb 2000 Local Time: 12:13 AM Local Date: 12-05-2008 Posts: 10,467	Yes, Mon Oncle is my favorite of the 3. I love how Tati uses sounds to give just the right "punch" to his bits. I also feel sorry for the kid, having to grow up with parents as hopelessly clueless and conventional as his are. Playtime is, I'm guessing, one of those movies like Lawrence of Arabia, that will be a revelation if I ever get to see it in 70mm on a big screen, but seeing it in the cramped confines of my 32" TV, I'd put it at the back. It isn't as funny as the other two, and I don't find Tati's social commentary as advanced or complex as say, Godard's or Rohmer's. I recently saw Band of Outsiders for the 1st time too. It has some magical moments, is full of Godard's wit and references, and the beautiful Anna Karena goes without saying, but I don't find the story to be as moving as several of his other films or the camerawork as masterful. 224 is The Age Of Innocence a story of passions suppressed and unrealized due to adherence to social convention. A sumptuous period piece, done with the full grandeur of Hollywood capabilities captured in precise detail by Martin Scorsese and his cinematographer, Michael Ballhaus. It includes a beautiful score of classical pieces and benefits from the performance of Daniel Day-Lewis, surely one of the finest actors to emerge in the 1980's. However, perhaps as an extension of the brief discussion George brought up about films made from literary works, this was not a film I was able to fully embrace. This could be due to the shooting style and voice-over narration, which seems to hold up the story's era as something for modern viewers to gawk at and be amused by, rather than a real place the characters inhabit. Every meal, style of dress, mode of communication or mannerism is identified and codified by the camera and narrator rather than simply letting the viewer observe for themselves. The story itself feels cut down from a larger whole. (I don't know if this is the case or not, I'll have to go back and read some reviews, but it seems like the Richard E. Grant role, for instance, must have been much larger for him to even take the part. He's talked about in hushed tones several times, but has virtually no screen time.) The concentration is almost entirely on the love triangle of Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer and Wynona Rider, with rare interventions from the outside world to add any sort of dramatic imperative or scenes of import that would invigorate a story the audience knows the conclusion of in the first 5 minutes. Perhaps it is my somewhat negative attitudes to the two actresses in question, but I found myself much more interested in the cinematography and the establishing shots composed to look like classical paintings than I was enraptured by the story. Yes, Captain Hammer's here, hair blowing in the breeze. The day needs my saving expertise! - Captain Hammer, Corporate Tool 2002 Sight & Sound Challenge: 314 Last Watched: An Autumn Afternoon Last 10 Films Watched: Wanted - B- / Mongol - B+ Flicka - C+ / Bicycle Thieves - A Le Deuxième Souffle - A- / Transsiberian - B Fanfan la Tulipe - B+ / Hancock - B- The Nightmare Before Christmas - A- / Tropic Thunder - B DVD BEAVER My Collection