Sight and Sound (2002) Greatest Films Club - Page 98

rich_d · 09-23-2006, 10:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seth Paxton

Look, WTF is your problem?

I tried to be polite about the grammar thing and you went off. I let that go because why get into it with someone the responds that way. But personal attacks go over the line, especially a not so subtle "you act like a child" comment.

First, don't put words in double quotes unless you are directly quoting someone. You've been around here long enough to know that.

Second, how do you suggest that your quite obvious comments aren't understood? And yes, I gave you the same thing back. But at least I'm honest about it.

This 'I detect that you're taking this "air of superiority" approach which is undermined by your poor use of grammar' stuff?' That's your idea of polite? Please. Two words Seth: passive aggressive.

Now, if you want to lecture about your approach to watching films or any other subject (including nonsense like generalizing Italian cinema or that film, after music, is not the international language) please set up a thread for it.

However, if you just want to rattle my cage because I believe that a Visconti film is garbage, may I suggest first seeing the film in question.

Now, I'm sure that others are bored with this so I'll give you the last word. Then let's move on.

Holadem · 09-26-2006, 12:35 PM

#90 - Marnie (1964) -

Rounding up Hitchcok on this list, this one feels like an amalgam of his previous flicks. But, I found it most reminscent of Vertigo in tone, characters, music and even some plot elements. The underrated (along with The birds) Hedren was fantastic in her ability to convey cold prudness, defiant sarcasm and irresistible frailty. Bond was pretty good as well. The ending held few surprises, though we are thankfully spared a Psycho-style long and tedious explanation. Not my favorite Hitchcock by a long shot, but a fine movie none the less, more enjoyeable than say, The 39 Steps or Strangers on a Train in my book.

#91 - All About My Mother (1999) -

This is not at all what I expected it to be. The summary on the DVD makes it sound like a sickly sweet, perhaps quirky little flick: From memory, it's something like "single mother loses only son in a accident, and embarks on a journey to find his father and learns to deal with his family". I am thinking I must have read it completely wrong... Anyway, this premise is essentially correct, but certainly does not prepare the unwitting viewer to the strange world where they end-up. The movie is ultimately a celebration of womanhood, up to and including some of the superficially marginal members of the gender. Compassion, heart, resillience are featured along side jealousy and deceptiveness, some of the less agreables (wink wink) aspects of the subject matter which Aldomovar does not shy away from, yet never judges or condemns. These women, are what they are, and remain beautiful as such. The jazzy, moody score deserves a special mention.

I have only seen two Almodovar movies, this and Talk to her, but they share common elements, a reverence of womanhood, a prominence of performance arts, sadness, grief and perhaps to a lesser degree, loneliness. In both movies, characters are moved to tears by a stage play. While the connection between the stage and characters appears to be direct in AAMM, it is rather more nebulous in TTH from what I remember. On a more superficial level, "title cards" (more like subtitles) are used in both, to indicate passege of time in the former, and character connections in the latter. Perhaps just an Almodovar trademark. Watching AAMM makes me want to revisit TTH, which I own, but I won't just yet, as I remember a fairly depressing, if life affirming work.

AAMM is one of the most recent movies on this list which is predictably skewed toward older fare. This prompted me to sort the list by year, out of curiosity, looking for recent material. I was not prepared to find 6 movies by iranian director Kiarostami, all from the 90s

. pretty surprising to see that such a recent director is better represented on this list than a Wilder (4), Bergman (5), Spielberg (3!!!) and countless others. I've not seen a single movie from this fellow, I am intrigued. The local Hollywood Video has The Wind Will Carry Us, I shall check that out that way rather than waiting for netflix.

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H

Adam_S · 09-26-2006, 02:24 PM

Quote:

I was not prepared to find 6 movies by iranian director Kiarostami, all from the 90s

. pretty surprising to see that such a recent director is better represented on this list than a Wilder (4), Bergman (5), Spielberg (3!!!) and countless others. I've not seen a single movie from this fellow, I am intrigued. The local Hollywood Video has The Wind Will Carry Us, I shall check that out that way rather than waiting for netflix.

Perhaps it is surprising, but then the canon has been 'finalized' by these critics in regards to Spielberg, Bergman and Wilder, (though they keep having to smack Spielberg back into the box they drew for him). For a more recent art film favorite like Kiarostami everyone has their individual favorites, and everyone wants to show how hip they are by including one of his films right? After all 'everyone' agrees he's the new, terribly important director.

Right...

Kiarostami films got a total of 17 votes, Bergman's a total of 47 votes, Spielberg 8 votes, Wilder 46. The bias against Spielberg is clear to me, but expected when the list is polling only the elite and art-film inclined.

On the other hand Woody Allen only got two films on the list, George Cukor and Michael Curtiz only one...

as for those last two, take a look at some of Armin's posts in the 1930s thread to get an idea of the current international attitude towards classic hollywood cinema (it's hostile, antagonistic and extremely close-minded to the possibility of artistic merit emerging regularly from the studios).

Holadem · 09-26-2006, 02:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rich_d

Now, if you want to lecture about your approach to watching films or any other subject (including nonsense like generalizing Italian cinema or that film, after music, is not the international language) please set up a thread for it.

I for one appreciate these contributions.

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H

Adam_S · 09-27-2006, 04:06 AM

Quote:

Now, I'm sure that others are bored with this so I'll give you the last word.

Not so much bored as completely astonished that anyone could get Seth as riled up as George gets about John Rice...

george kaplan · 09-27-2006, 07:56 AM

Hey, you won't see me getting riled up about someone who's on my ignore list.

Holadem · 09-27-2006, 08:42 AM

Here I am again commenting on a movie I have to yet to complete. Real life got in the way of my finishing The Battle of Algiers last night, and I will definitely do so tonight. I just wanted to stop and say, what an amazing movie! Unless something goes terribly wrong in the last hour or so I have left, we have a masterpiece on our hands

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H

Holadem · 09-28-2006, 10:06 AM

#92 - Jules and Jim (1962) -

Jules and Jim chronicles the unusual love triangle formed by two best friend and the disarmingly impulsive yet deceptively controlling woman who bewitched them. Catherine is a woman of average looks and intellect, yet possesses a je ne sais quoi which allows her to bend men to her rather fickle will and live her love life on her own terms. As Jim says at some point, she seeks to redefine the terms of love and free them from the trappings of traditional relationships for that perfect melange of the thrills of promiscuity and the security of commitment. Basically, the best of both worlds, the Holy Grail, you go girl!

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And for a while, a long time actually, it works. Our characters find some measure of happiness -- arguably no less than they would in more traditional settings -- in the moral vacuum where Catherine has steered their existence. But will this hedonistic lifestyle prove more compatible with human nature than the alternative?

A true product of the 60s, this fresh, breezy tale was just a wonderful experience, and will be joining my collection very soon.

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H

Haggai · 09-28-2006, 12:09 PM

I was starting to get worried for a while there, Holadem...less than great ratings for Grand Illusion, Rules of the Game, La Strada, 8 1/2, Marnie over 39 Steps and Strangers on a Train...but you're coming back nicely with Battle of Algiers and Jules and Jim!

Holadem · 09-28-2006, 01:54 PM

And I was worried wondering if anyone was still reading this thread

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Well, lemme splain. I rate out of 4 stars, and 3 means "good, enjoyeable movie, probable rewatch potential" which is what I thi