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Post by Chuck on Dec 30, 2005 8:05:52 GMT -5
Dr. Thompson, I strongly recommend that you examine the work of Fritz Lang. I think you'll be very surprised.
Even something as simple as Ministry of Fear is stunning in its style.
M is the thriller that all other thrillers point to. Peter Lorre had just come off a Brecht show (Mann Ist Mann, I believe) and is incredible in the film.
While the City Sleeps was Lang's last Hollywood film, and he hated Hollywood by then. It's about newpaper reporters trying to catch a serial killer before the cops do.
Go to the Internet Movie Data Base and check the body of work that Lang has. And then start discovering his films.
Bon Appitite!!
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Post by ijon on Dec 30, 2005 9:33:24 GMT -5
Chuck, do you recommend "Die Frau Im Mond?" As a space freak I've always been curious about it. Recently I've seen it advertised but also seen some fairly dismissive reviews.
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Post by Chuck on Dec 30, 2005 9:40:06 GMT -5
Ijon, Die Frau in Mond was Lang's last silent film, and I saw it years ago (not a very good print, as I remember). It was okay. Nothing trend setting or spectacular. It seemed very limited by technology - i.e., sound would have greatly improved the film so you could hear the dialogue. I almost wish he would have waited to make it until after sound had come in.
Lang's next film, by the way, was M. He got it all together for that one, I must say.
I find Lang's silent films are interesting viewing, and should be required for students of cinema. (You can see him developing his cinematic language.) Just my humble opinion.
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Post by Nunyerbiz on Dec 30, 2005 9:46:22 GMT -5
That's kind of how I felt about Brazil the first time I saw it... altho I did like it better on a second viewing a few years back.
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Post by Chuck on Dec 30, 2005 10:04:04 GMT -5
Nunyerbiz, 12 Monkeys is also much better the second time you see it. The first viewing is always, "What the hell is going on?" The second viewing, you get it, and you realize that it's all laid out for you.
And by the way, did you see the "Director's Cut" of Brazil? Criterion (God bless them) issued Brazil in a 3-dvd package. First disc, the butchered American cut. Second disc, features on the whole release fiasco. Third disc, the Director's Cut, the European version with everything (including the ending) intact. Again, I say God Bless Criterion.
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Post by Da Worm Fizzle on Dec 30, 2005 12:25:48 GMT -5
John Woo has some good movies, and I enjoy his stylized, dancing gun battles. Hard Boiled is one of my favorite movies, the last half hour is a thing of beauty. I even liked the last half hour of MI:2.
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Post by Chuck on Dec 30, 2005 13:31:55 GMT -5
Hard Boiled is brilliant. So is The Killer.
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Post by Mr. Atari on Dec 31, 2005 0:22:08 GMT -5
I'll back you all up on Brazil (the Criterion version is amazing) and 12 Monkeys as being brilliant, brilliant films.
What about contemporary auteurs like the Coen Brothers, Wes Anderson, or Paul T. Anderson?
I think the Coen Brothers early work was amazing up to (and including) "The Big Lebowski". Since then, they've been going downhill quickly.*
I have yet to see a bad Wes Anderson film. He, like Tarantino, seems a bit full of his own style. But unlike Tarantino, his substance can be very deep.
Paul T. Anderson is a bit too weird for my tastes. Of his 3 films so far, I like "Punch Drunk Love" the best.
*"O Brother..." being a notable exception.
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Post by Da Worm Fizzle on Dec 31, 2005 16:09:13 GMT -5
I agree with the early work of the Cohen brothers, back when they and Sam Raimi were still fresh-faced in the business. Raimi's early work was also good, (the first two Evil Dead movies were quite inspired) but I think he sold out doing those Spider-man films. I'm probably alone on this since he did such a good job at them.
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Post by Detective Mitchell on Jan 13, 2006 12:18:55 GMT -5
While we're on the topic of Wes Anderson, can somebody please tell me how anyone can consider THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS to be a comedy? Because it has got to be one of the most depressing films I have ever seen.
With that out of the way, I absolutely like Terry Gilliam. Saw BRAZIL, loved it, and am now seeking out more of his work.
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Post by Chuck on Jan 13, 2006 12:28:32 GMT -5
Detective, I really found Royal Tenenbaums to be very funny.
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Post by Mr. Atari on Jan 13, 2006 15:40:08 GMT -5
While we're on the topic of Wes Anderson, can somebody please tell me how anyone can consider THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS to be a comedy? Because it has got to be one of the most depressing films I have ever seen. With that out of the way, I absolutely like Terry Gilliam. Saw BRAZIL, loved it, and am now seeking out more of his work. I think thematically, it was a great drama about family, loss, and forgiveness. The long shot with the fire truck was brilliant, and the ending scene at the cemetary was perfect. But otherwise, Anderson & Company executed it with great comic timing and over-the-top characters. I thought it was very funny. The interplay between Gene Hackman and Danny Glover gets me every time. And how can you not laugh at the awkward proposition Glover gives Anjelica Huston, while he falls down a pit, and her equally awkward response?
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Post by In_Stereo on Jan 13, 2006 16:08:13 GMT -5
Very good, Forrest, very good.
Any thoughts on my favourite "great" director, Woody Allen, or haven't you seen him? (If not, I can recommend some of his)
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Post by In_Stereo on Jan 13, 2006 16:49:53 GMT -5
If you've seen Annie Hall, you've seen a summary of Woody's views on life and love. That's why he's so inconsistent; after about 1980, he just started repeating the same themes over and over. Of the post-1980 Woody films I've seen (not including C&M), the only ones I thought were really great were Purple Rose of Cairo and Deconstructing Harry (though I'm seeing Match Point sometime next week and I've got Zelig queued up in Netflix).
Bananas, Take the Money and Run, What's Up Tiger Lily, Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex, Manhattan, Sleeper, Love and Death, Annie Hall, all hilarious, all great. After 1980, watch your step. (that is of course just my opinion).
Oh, and never... never... NEVER WATCH ANYTHING ELSE. (the movie, I mean)
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Post by Detective Mitchell on Jan 13, 2006 22:10:39 GMT -5
While we're on the topic of Wes Anderson, can somebody please tell me how anyone can consider THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS to be a comedy? Because it has got to be one of the most depressing films I have ever seen. With that out of the way, I absolutely like Terry Gilliam. Saw BRAZIL, loved it, and am now seeking out more of his work. I think thematically, it was a great drama about family, loss, and forgiveness. The long shot with the fire truck was brilliant, and the ending scene at the cemetary was perfect. But otherwise, Anderson & Company executed it with great comic timing and over-the-top characters. I thought it was very funny. The interplay between Gene Hackman and Danny Glover gets me every time. And how can you not laugh at the awkward proposition Glover gives Anjelica Huston, while he falls down a pit, and her equally awkward response? My uncle rented this onece, and we watched it, expecting a comedy or dark comedy, but it was just depressing. All of those funny bits that you mentioned I must have missed or they kind of went out the window when we saw Richie attempt suicide. Aside from that, I felt that the film had an overall air of lonelieness and just, to me, didn't feel like a comedy (or a dark comedy, for that matter), and it really turned me off. Donm't get me wrong, I do think that some depressing things can be beautiful pieces of work, like the theme to THE GOOD SON (Elmer Bernstein will be missed) and the ending to FALLING DOWN, but for some reason, TRT just rubbed me the wrong way. Now, Wes did a fine job with The Life Aquatic, and the only thing that could have made the Buckaroo Banzai homage at the end better was if they used the end credits music from BB, or used Uptown Girl (see the trivia for BB on that one).
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