Directors Why Does George Kaplan Hate This Movie Tournament? (1 Viewer)

[Rain]

That's insane. :rolleyes

Today:

Taxi Driver, though I'm not overly fond of either movie.

Blow Up but it's very close.

No time for commentary, work bekons.

 

[Lew Crippen]

Now I'd have thought that would have been a George comment.

 

[Brook K]

Trainspotting?

Taxi Driver

abstain, no Blow-Up...I am wondering what Persona could have and should have been?

 

[Bill McA]

Taxi Driver
Blow Up

I will say that I initially felt the same way about Taxi Driver as George does now...but I eventually changed my mind

 

[Elizabeth S]

Requiem for a Dream

 

[Agee Bassett]

Taxi Driver
Persona

 

[JohnRice]

Hey, who's this Agee Bassett guy? I thought he was a myth.

 

[Walter Kittel]

Taxi Driver - Like both, but this is one of the classics of the '70s and has been a longtime favorite.

abstain - No Persona, but I really, really like Blow Up. If I recall correctly, George despises the ending of this film; but I for one simply love it.

- Walter.

 

[Agee Bassett]

Nope, still not deemed worthy of Snopes just yet. Sporadic haunting just isn't sexy.

 

[Lew Crippen]

Taxi Driver wins 6–1 and Blow Up and and Persona are tied at 2 each. I’ll break the tie for Blow Up

Taxi Driver and Blow Up advance to the Sweet Sixteen.


Round 1: Bracket 11:

Moulin Rouge, a story of Toulouse-Lautrec’s Paris, with brilliant cinematography making that point in frame after frame. Nominated for a slew of Oscar’s, BAFTA’s and other groups around the world, including Nicole Kidman’s bravura performance, this version of Camille probably set the stage for Chicago’s win a year later.

vs.

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Mike Nicols’ version of the Eward Albee play is as fine a translation of stage to screen as possible. There are few movies that George hates with which I disagree more on his views (i.e. why he dislikes the movie).



Round 1: Bracket 12:

Broken Blossoms, while not as well known as director D.W. Griffith’s massive productions (.e.g Birth of a Nation), is generally considered one of his best movies. Since one of the core notes of this movie is a very marked point on racism, it is particularly surprising that George hates this movie.

vs.

The Searchers, right up at the top of George’s hate list, this movie by the Johns is often considered the best Western ever made. Opinion is somewhat divided as to the racist message contained in the story, but for me, this is not film with a racist message.


Why does George hate these movies? He explains:

“Moulin Rouge

“Horrible music, horribly edited in a hyper-MTV style, with a horrible story, horribly told. Just horrible.

“Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

“Another thing I hate are films populated with nothing but dysfunctional characters acting in bizarre or psychotic ways, doing stupid things for no good reason. How this passes for "character development" and "multi-dimensional characters", rather than actual good character development (e.g., C.C. Baxter in The Apartment) is beyond me. Watching such weird, unlikeable and boring characters is something I always hate doing, and hence this film (though there are much worse offenders than this one).

“Broken Blossoms

“It's been a long time, and frankly I don't recall much about this film. Like all of the films on this list, it's true that on a scale from 1 to 10, I'd rate it a 0. I have no interest in watching it again, and did not enjoy watching it the first time. So in that sense, it's hated, but nothing particular jumps out at me to remember any 'aggravating circumstances'.

“The Searchers

“And so we come to another category of film I hate. If there's one thing I hate in this world is racism and racists, and when I watch a film that I see as promoting a racist message, hate is not a strong enough word. With most such films, some others defend the film as not being racist, and that's their perogative. But since I see the film as racist, I hate it. In this case it is blatantly clear to me that film makes a hero of the John Wayne character. The film is the story of his adventures, and he is clearly promoted as the protagonist. He's clearly a racist, but the film never makes that a bad thing. Disagree if you will, but to me this is one of the most virulently racist pieces of shit ever to come out of Hollywood. My hatred of this film can not be overstated.”

 

[SteveGon]

Abstain on the first match - no WAOVW.

The Searchers on the second.

Broken Blossoms is a "meh" movie for me. Now, I hate racism at least as much as George, but still don't see The Searchers as a racist movie in its overall intent. Yes, John Wayne's character is a racist and is the protagonist, but protagonist does not always equal "hero." Yes, that fact probably slips under the radar of the many people who know Wayne only for his heroic roles, those who are just watching a "John Wayne western" when they spin this movie. But for the more enlightened, there is something more going on - summed up in that final shot - something that's saying that these western archetypes we so love should really be held under closer scrutiny.

 

[Brook K]

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Never thought of these characters as weird or psychotic. They're married. )

The Searchers (tough choice as BB is excellent. Once again, Wayne isn't a hero)

 

[Walter Kittel]

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

The Searchers - Really looking forward to the Ford/Wayne boxset. Really, really looking forward to this film on HD DVD.

- Walter.

 

[JohnRice]

I'll have to double abstain since it's been far too long since I saw Virginia Wolfe and I've never seen Broken Blossoms. I was going to comment on the other two, but maybe it's better I don't. Besides, Steve already hit the major point on The Searchers.

 

[Rain]

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. Though admittedly, I've never seen it all the way through in one continuous sitting, nor have I seen it properly (it was on TV), any given 5 minutes of it even viewed on a TV from the early 1950s would be more impressive than the vastly overrated competition here.

Um, gonna have to agree on all counts here. In particular, watching Jim Broadbent singing Like a Virgin was unpleasant, disturbing and I actually felt embarrassed for him.

Sadly, have to abstain on the second, though glad that a favourite is winning.

 

[Bill McA]

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Broken Blossoms, or The Yellow Man and the Girl

 

[Lew Crippen]

Liz shuts out Nicole, 4–0, as Ford handles Griffith 3–1.

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and The Searchers advance.


Round 1: Bracket 2:

Barry Lyndon, for me the best of Stanley Kubrick’s movies and included in the S&S list. Kubrick and DP John Alcott have shot some of the most breathtakingly beautiful scenes ever captured on film. I find the scene where Lyndon (Ryan O’Neal) goes berserk the best example of controlled violence that I’ve seen (just watch everything in that scene).

vs.

Belle du Jour, one of the best movies from one of the best directors (Luis Buñuel) this study of love and sex (and their differentiation) is both erotic and heartbreaking.


Round 1: Bracket 7:

The Marriage of Maria Braun, another Euorpean story that points out that love, sex and marriage are not necessarily the same (is this why George hates some of these movies? ). This one is by Rainer Werner Fassbinder and predictably does not have the flair and humor of the Latin director—yet it is equally powerful, if more direct.

vs.

Dawn of the Dead, a zombie follow-up to George Romero’s debut zombie movie Night of the Living Dead. For most critics, Romero used the 10 years between the two movies wisely and they consider this sequel far superior to its predecessor. But this is clearly not enough for George.


Why does George hate these movies? He rationalizes:

"Barry Lyndon

"Kubrick made mostly good movies, with numerous great ones. By far the worst one he made was Barry Lyndon. Boring and melodramatic are the two nicest things I can say about it.

"Belle du Jour

"Have I mentioned how much I hate films about braindead, psychotic, fucked up women? Nuff said.

"Marriage of Maria Braun

"Hmm. Have I mentioned how much I hate films about braindead psychotic, fucked up women?

"Dawn of the Dead

"I find zombies pretty boring conceptually. I hate gore. And I hate films without any the pretense of a halfway decent story. And frankly, badly directed b-movies with cheesy acting, and special effects that are 'special' only in the 'special olympics' sense of the word don't do much for me either. 2 hours of dead air would have been infinitely more watchable than 5 minutes of Dawn of the Dead."

 

[SteveGon]

Abstain - Embarrassed to say I haven't yet seen the Bunuel.

Dawn of the Dead - TMOMB is solid, but no match for DOTD.


You should read Roger Ebert's Dawn of the Dead review. But then again, it probably wouldn't change your mind.

 

[Elizabeth S]

Barry Lyndon

 

[JohnRice]

Blow Up just arrived from NetFlix. I watched the opening and it looks totally groovy dude.