BFI Tournament - The Greatest BRITISH films - Page 7

MartinTeller · 10-23-2003, 12:27 PM

By "adventurous", I simply meant to decide for yourself what is "good", rather than crib from some pre-approved list. (Again, that comment is not directed at you Martin, but just a general statement...enjoy your movies!)

I do decide for myself what's good. I don't agree with everything on the S&S list. But at least it gives me a starting point to decide what to check out. If I see something on the library/rental store shelf that looks interesting, I'll grab it. That's exactly what happened with Man with the Movie Camera, which I took home without realizing it was an S&S selection. And I loved it. From there, I'll branch out and check out other Vertov films. And discussing it in the S&S thread turns me on to other similar films I might like (thanks Brook!).

I don't have time to watch every movie in the universe, if that's what it takes to be "adventurous" in your eyes. I need some reason to check out a movie first... a recommendation, a director I like, an interesting description on the cover, something. Judging by the less than enthusiastic comments about Quatermass in this thread, I think I'll give that one a pass. Many of the films in this tournament are on my "intend to watch someday" list. But there's a whole lot of other stuff on that list, too.

However, I might soon have lots of time. I've just been informed that I'm being "let go" at the end of the year. Merry Xmas!

Bill McA · 10-23-2003, 12:48 PM

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I don't agree with everything on the S&S list. But at least it gives me a starting point to decide what to check out.

That's fine and dandy...just don't stop at the end of those lists, as some people do .

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However, I might soon have lots of time. I've just been informed that I'm being "let go" at the end of the year.

Sorry to hear that.

I just came out of a somewhat 'extended' unemployment last year, myself.
I LOVED the free time...but having no money to spend was a bummer!

george kaplan · 10-23-2003, 01:40 PM

Well just for the record I have yet to see Battlefield Earth, Freddy Got Fingered or Friday the 13th part 25. As far as the BFI, I've probably only seen about 1/3, but that doesn't exactly make me a philistine.

Lew Crippen · 10-23-2003, 02:12 PM

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but that doesn't exactly make me a philistine.

Right you are George. That is not what makes you a Philistine.

george kaplan · 10-23-2003, 03:44 PM

I asked for that one. :b

Jim_K · 10-23-2003, 08:27 PM

First of all Bill pretty much covered what I would've said but I will respond to some of Martin's earlier comments

I do my best to see a large variety of films, not just the new releases. But there's only so many hours in the day, and I have a job and a high-maintenance girlfriend and 4 pets to deal with.

and I work 40+ hours a week, have an expecting wife, a puppy who I take to training class, a house that I'm constantly remodeling, softball league, etc, etc.

So whats your point?

Are you inferring that I must be some loser who does nothing all day but watch obscure movies 18 hours a day?

The British film industry is not known for pumping out classics.

They've made their fair share of classics in fact more than any other country outside the U.S. (IMO)

If you want to pat yourself on the back for seeing Quatermass and the Pit, well, more power to you, I guess. But I don't appreciate getting insulted in the bargain.

It's not a pissing contest or a feeling of superiority but it's really a drag that there aren't more adventurous types here. I recently watched Zatoichi meets the One-Armed Swordsman & The Scarlet Empress. Loved both of them & I'd love to discuss but I'll be damned if I'd waste my time posting something about them. What's the point?

Now I could go over in Movies and start a thread about the different colored lightsabers in Star Wars & it'll be 10 pages long by tomorrow afternoon.

If I post a thread about A Matter of Life and Death (one of the highest regarded British Classics of all time) I'll be lucky to get 3 responses.

This tells me the vast majority of members are mostly into Hollywood bluckbusters and could give a shit about anything else.

That's sad.

People like Bill, Steve, Brook, Lew, the people in the S&S, AFI, 30's challenges, etc, are the exception rather than the rule here.

And Bill is right, those lists are a great start but don't stop there.

One thing I do agree with you on, Jim -- 2001 shouldn't be in this tournament.

Well it's not in anymore.

SteveGon · 10-23-2003, 10:46 PM

I tend to agree with Jim that the majority of the membership here, most of whom claim to love movies, pretty much stick to Hollywood fare. I'm not an elitist by any means, but I do love to make new discoveries and I find it depressing that so few others actively seek out more obscure fare - there are TONS of great flicks out there. I understand time constraints due to jobs, etc., but I'm always hearing people brag about how many times they've watched Lord of the Rings or whatever. Why not skip watching that for the umpteenth time and try something new? Hey, I love The Third Man, but I only watch it once or twice a year!

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I recently watched Zatoichi meets the One-Armed Swordsman & The Scarlet Empress.

Haven't seen the former (did pick up the Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo DVD, though), but loved The Scarlet Empress.

Now I'm gonna go watch The Man Who Laughs.

MartinTeller · 10-23-2003, 11:14 PM

Are you inferring that I must be some loser who does nothing all day but watch obscure movies 18 hours a day?

I don't care what you do. I'm just explaining why I don't have time to watch every movie that someone in the world likes. I'm having a hard enough time trying to watch all the ones that interest me that are well-known.

This tells me the vast majority of members are mostly into Hollywood bluckbusters and could give a shit about anything else.

Really? All it tells me is that not many people have seen A Matter of Life and Death. That's not especially shocking, considering the movie is not available on Region 1 DVD, and this is a forum that's mostly dedicated to DVDs.

I resent the implication that I, or anyone else here who you don't really know at all, is some kind of drone who sticks solely to "Hollywood bluckbusters". (The only reason I have so many recent Hollywood movies in my "last 10" there in the sig is because my girlfriend unfortunately is only interested in Hollywood blockbusters, and our Saturday movie outings tend to cater to her tastes rather than mine). Very few of my favorite films are Hollywood blockbusters. Granted, they aren't paragons of obscurity, either, but I have no specific aversion to lesser-known films. Whenever I come across mention of one that interests me, I seek it out. But my "want to see" list is extremely long.

I can't claim to be a film expert. But I do pride myself on my open mind and willingness and desire to seek out lesser-known gems. So it irks me when you imply that not seeing Quatermass and the Pit makes me a slave to Hollywood.

I'm not an elitist by any means

Steve, I like you, I really do. But you most definitely do come off as an elitist sometimes. At least, that's my impression.

george kaplan · 10-23-2003, 11:20 PM

I think you're being a bit hard on people. It's natural that people are most familiar with popular films from their time frame (my father doesn't know squat about Lord of the Rings but he could tell you all about the films he grew up with). Yes, it's great to expand your horizons. But that can take a long time to do, and if you start out with older films you've never seen like Citizen Kane, Casablanca, etc., and it takes longer to get to silent films, foreign films, and especially obscure films that aren't even on lists like S&S, then I think you need to cut people a little slack. I'm almost certain that for anyone here that I could name dozens of great films they've never seen (and the same could be said about me). Given enough time I'm sure people will get around to seeing Lemonade Joe, Emetai, Bomb at 10:10 and Trunk to Cairo, but if they've seen those before they've seen Adam's Rib, Double Indemnity, It Happened One Night and The Thin Man, then I'm not very impressed.