Dome Vongvises

I've just checked out the strangest triple bill in S&S Challenge history.

Broken Blossoms
Intolerance
Cries And Whispers

Brook, load up on some medication. You're going to need it.

george kaplan

Well I'm in complete agreement with Brook, at least for his first 2 paragraphs. Hey, 2 out of 3 ain't bad for us.

"Movies should be like amusement parks. People should go to them to have fun." - Billy Wilder

"Subtitles good. Hollywood bad." - Tarzan, Sight & Sound 2012 voter.

"My films are not slices of life, they are pieces of cake." - Alfred Hitchcock

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Jim_K

Well Brook, Comedy is subjective and if it's not that funny to a person then it's not that funny. As for the "balanced composition, camera movement, the lines and geometry" in the films I didn't notice anything outstanding, then again I didn't study or read up on Tati before going into the films so I wasn't looking for said qualities. As for the people who love these films, that's great I'm glad they enjoy it. I'm not trying to convince anyone that they shouldn't enjoy them.

As for the French New Wave as I stated already I'm speaking in terms of the films I've seen, which would be mostly Godard & Truffaut. Though I have seen Chabrol's Le Boucher which I liked & tried getting through a Rohmer but that was akin to watching paint dry. We have totally different views on these films, you see brilliant films with "wonderful romances, heartbreaking characters, comedy, satire, biting political and social commentary" while I see sloppy editing, lack of character development, unprofessional camera techniques, tired existentialist cliches, lack of coherent plots, etc. I could go to any of my local universities & watch a student film with the same qualities.


BTW - Implying that I don't "pay attention" is quite frankly a touch insulting and if that was your intent so be it. We obviously have nothing more to discuss.

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Dome Vongvises

We all pay attention. It's just a matter of "so? what's the big deal?". That's where I believe our value systems are clashing.

Seth Paxton

I finally took the time to watch Wages of Fear. It's a solid film and in many ways is similar to Treasure of the Sierra Madre. The mixed languages for actors made it tough to tell what was good or blah acting in the supporting roles, but the 4 protagonists were all very good.

For the most part the film is very well crafted and it does a good job of indicating potential dangers that I really didn't understand even after seeing the film (like having to stay above 40 at one point...I got it but I didn't totally connect to it like something I really understood before the film).

The film has one serious flaw...the tacked on European ending. Just as Hollywood loves to force the happy ending in, European films (esp. French) aren't satisified unless they twist the end in a negative way. While the sequence itself was very good, it stood out like a sore thumb from the rest of the film in tone and theme. It really plays like "oh yeah, now watch what I'm gonna do to him" more than a natural progression to the underlying themes being played out which felt completed to me in the scene proceeding the final sequence.

I tire of the cliched pessimisstic twist endings of European cinema just as much as the romantic happy endings that Hollywood falls back on. Being different from Hollywood does automatically mean its absolved from criticism for not pushing the boundries of its own formulas.

A good, not quite great film IMO.

Seth Paxton

is a great film, but it also is one that raises the question of the boundries of documentary. Obviously the camera setup times were enormous and much of what we see is fully staged. In fact IIRC its not even all his real family or something like that. It's been awhile since I was reading about the film.


But your points about the film show just how strongly our fascination with film centers around seeing people do stuff, especially things foreign to us. Voyer carries such a negative connotation with it, but I would agree that the childlike "learning voyer" is fundamental to our enjoyment of film, probably moreso than the narrative aspect since literature and stagework can also satisfy those needs rather well (and radio too).


For me Nanook is just a very pleasant viewing experience.

Seth Paxton

Yes, I suppose I did. I just was catching up the other day and came upon some newer posts on the subject kicked off by me commenting someone seeing Broken Blossoms.

I agree that it should be put to rest since no one really has anything else to bring to the table on the point (I assume)

We'll have to just agree to disagree and that you are all wrong. Okay, maybe not the 2nd part. I promise not to mention DWG again in this thread.

Brook K

You remember correctly Seth. Flaherty hired the Inuits, they weren't Nanook's family. I have similarly conflicted feelings on the film.

I also agree on Wages of Fear, the ending and the "tacked on feel" was the biggest problem I had with the film as well. The other Clouzot film's I've seen are much more coherent and effectively realized. I'd rank them:
1. Quai D'Orfevres
2. Le Corbeau
3. Diabolique
4. Wages Of Fear

Yes, Captain Hammer's here, hair blowing in the breeze. The day needs my saving expertise! - Captain Hammer, Corporate Tool

2002 Sight & Sound Challenge: 313 Last Watched: Time of the Gypsies

Last 10 Films Watched:
The Guard From Underground - C / Halloween (2007) - B-
Retribution - B / Frontiers - C
The Third Mother - B+ / The Mist - A
Diary of the Dead - B+ / The Invisible Man - B+
Inside - B / The Crazies - B

DVD BEAVER My Collection

Adam_S

yeah I was discussing Nanook earlier today and discovered that much was staged and hired myself, which was a bit of surprise. but it's still an interesting documentary. It's not really important to me that the igloo shots were done in a half igloo, or what was staged. It was difficult enough to get footage of this sort of thing back then, I'm happy to see what are probably somewhat accurate representations rather than a pure fly on the wall perspective.

Adam