Films Recently Watched

[Taupe Beats]

 

I like the Tennesse Williams comment - that actually helps frame things better (in my mind). Ok, interesting - I adore some T. Williams and most of the films I love are of an earlier era (e.g., Streetcar Name Desire w/ skinny Brando). Set design photos are dope. 

 

Question: If I were to give this another try, can to you recommend anything to keep in mind going in to help keep myself open? I know when I first watched it the pitch was so heavy handed on the "terrifying film" that, particularly in a modern context, it just ended up being laughable. 

 

I definitely think Charles Laughton was going for an over-the-top tone in the film, consciously. Interviews with him also indicated as much. Also to note, Laughton was English and was self-aware about trying to present a "Southern Gothic" film. The cultural filter therein also adds to the surreal and comical nature of it. If those damn kids were just a little smarter and less obnoxious...

 

For a revisit, maybe try a double-feature with Badlands. I have no proof to this, but have always speculated that Malick wanted Martin Sheen to play Charlie Starkweather as a contrast to the Robert Mitchum character in The Night of the Hunter. It's interesting to compare the characters (even if Starkweather is loosely based off a real person) and performances. 

 

On Fritz Lang, I agree that M is better than Metropolis (and The Testament of Dr. Mabuse is better than both), but would be quick to point out that Lang's work ultimately suffered without Thea Von Harbou. 

[T3551ER]

 

 

I like the Tennesse Williams comment - that actually helps frame things better (in my mind). Ok, interesting - I adore some T. Williams and most of the films I love are of an earlier era (e.g., Streetcar Name Desire w/ skinny Brando). Set design photos are dope. 

 

Question: If I were to give this another try, can to you recommend anything to keep in mind going in to help keep myself open? I know when I first watched it the pitch was so heavy handed on the "terrifying film" that, particularly in a modern context, it just ended up being laughable. 

 

I definitely think Charles Laughton was going for an over-the-top tone in the film, consciously. Interviews with him also indicated as much. Also to note, Laughton was English and was self-aware about trying to present a "Southern Gothic" film. The cultural filter therein also adds to the surreal and comical nature of it. If those damn kids were just a little smarter and less obnoxious...

 

For a revisit, maybe try a double-feature with Badlands. I have no proof to this, but have always speculated that Malick wanted Martin Sheen to play Charlie Starkweather as a contrast to the Robert Mitchum character in The Night of the Hunter. It's interesting to compare the characters (even if Starkweather is loosely based off a real person) and performances. 

 

On Fritz Lang, I agree that M is better than Metropolis (and The Testament of Dr. Mabuse is better than both), but would be quick to point out that Lang's work ultimately suffered without Thea Von Harbou. 

 

 

DOPE. Absolutely fascinating too. I've been meaning to get around watching Badlands so this is a nice "next free Sunday" double-feature plan. Maybe try and triple play it w/M. 

 

On the topic of interesting older directors - John Frankenheimer's "Seconds" is particularly good. 

 

[Taupe Beats]

Nice, I've neglected watching Seconds, need to. The middle still reminds me of that iconic shot of Sterling Hayden in Dr. Strangelove, and all of them look like Chris Marker's La Jetee.

 

In absolutely no relation to this conversation at all, I've been on a big Stan Brakhage kick lately. It's easy to fall into the trap of playing the music of your choice over his films but it's worth avoiding that and falling into Brakhage's ideas of "visual rhythm". Adds more purpose to his editing.

Edited January 22, 2019 by Taupe Beats

[cichlisuite]

^ If you're into the old school, go real old school. Fritz lang's M is the business.

it is. or Dr. Mabuse, or Dr. Caleghari (not from Lang)

or on a lighter note, City Lights

old school beats everything

[TRiP]

 

Fyre

 

New docu on Netflix about the Fyre festival fiasco. Anxiety inducing, how they all went along with it for so long is worrying...miracle no one died. Fun watch, but gotta feel for those locals ;(

Gofundme has raised over $150,000 to pay the poor caterer.

 

 

Ah that's great!

 

Although no doubt there were others who were left out of pocket that just didn't feature in the docu

[iococoi]

^ If you're into the old school, go real old school. Lascaux Cave is the business.

 

[T3551ER]

Nice, I've neglected watching Seconds, need to. The middle still reminds me of that iconic shot of Sterling Hayden in Dr. Strangelove, and all of them look like Chris Marker's La Jetee.

 

In absolutely no relation to this conversation at all, I've been on a big Stan Brakhage kick lately. It's easy to fall into the trap of playing the music of your choice over his films but it's worth avoiding that and falling into Brakhage's ideas of "visual rhythm". Adds more purpose to his editing.

 

MMM La Jetee. What an amazeballs film. . . the eye opening scene is probably in my top 3 most terror inducing moments in cinema ever. . . 

[cwmbrancity]

only on WATMM could you even expect to encounter folks slandering Night of the Hunter with such vague abandon, however:

 

 

Other than the kids (and to a point, Shelley Winters), I love The Night of the Hunter. It's like a very self-conscious and macabre take on Tennessee Williams (and at least for me, that works). Robert Mitchum gives one of the better performances I can remember. And the set design is amazing throughout:

 

 

 

top post - for similar reasons i love it too, Mitchum is the o.g psychopathic human terminator & Charles Laughton takes the viewer on a true trip into proper noir (how did he not direct more?), its angular cuts that splice into each of the scenes & frames has prompted a weekend re-watch, ta Mr Taupe

 

The Conformist does similar angular work with interiors, humans & scales, even if the genres, themes & colour formats are different:

 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065571/

 

time off rewatches = The Good, the Bad & the Ugly (Eli Wallach!), Under the Skin, original Solaris, Don't Look Now & Kwaidan....the intro to latter's "The Woman in the Snow" sequence (where the blokes get lost and the sky is full of eyes) is prob my favourite scene in film

 

 

 

it's all in the eyes

 

[Taupe Beats]

 

The Conformist does similar angular work with interiors, humans & scales, even if the genres, themes & colour formats are different:

 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065571/

 

That's a very interesting comparison and one I'd never thought of before. I know Bertolucci and Storaro have both spoke at length on this film, yet I've never checked any of it. Need to do so. One of the most visually stunning films, esp. with the color choices. And Dominque Sanda...

 

Bertolucci's career is fascinating. A ton of terrible films (and a couple good ones) that also happen to have fascinating premises and ambitious production values. 1900 is an awful film but it's totally worth a watch nonetheless. Tonino Guerra's fever dream (I'd have rather seen Pontecorvo direct it but that was never gonna happen). 

[bendish]

This thread just went all film school. Good shit. Gimme lists.

[usagi]

Richard Stanley (Hardware, Dust Devil) is doing an adaptation of Lovecraft's The Colour Out Of Space with Nic Cage, on the back of Mandy's success.

[Taupe Beats]

This thread just went all film school. Good shit. Gimme lists.

 

Get ready for an adventure:  http://www.theyshootpictures.com/gf1000.htm

[Guest]

 

In absolutely no relation to this conversation at all, I've been on a big Stan Brakhage kick lately. It's easy to fall into the trap of playing the music of your choice over his films but it's worth avoiding that and falling into Brakhage's ideas of "visual rhythm". Adds more purpose to his editing.

 

Interesting point about Brakage. My go to is usually Ae's 'see on see' soundtracking The Dante Quartet, but you're right about visual rhythm. I recently showed Rage Net to a group of high school students and they got it, had interesting things to say about how the rhythms, color, and composition are evocative of the subjective experience of rage, the gropings for a reasonable explanation to calm down and then the next eruption of irrational emotional reaction. We were doing a lesson on the early days of film and I self-indulgently brought Brakage in after showing the colorized version of Melies' Trip to the Moon and talking about how each frame was hand-painted, but it paid off fortunately. 

[marf]

star is born

 

should have been directed by whoever directed boogie nights. 

Needed a timeframe. The film feels like everything happened in a week. 

[Taupe Beats]

damn, RIP Jonas Mekas

[Echolalia]

Richard Stanley (Hardware, Dust Devil) is doing an adaptation of Lovecraft's The Colour Out Of Space with Nic Cage, on the back of Mandy's success.

TIWYWTIWYG innit? Stanley had to leave Montsegur but if that has meant he is back making film then so be it.

[Hk47]

Mortal Engines.

It was basically a live action Sine Mora...

With dialed back gore....

How is someone shot in the stomach and only has a quarter sized dot of blood on their hand after 30 seconds of putting pressure on it?!

Goddamn PG-13 bullshit.

[Hk47]

star is born

 

should have been directed by whoever directed boogie nights.

Needed a timeframe. The film feels like everything happened in a week.

It did...

Stars are born quickly...

=P

[Squee]

Widows - I really liked it!

[Hk47]

Widows - I really liked it!

Me too!!

I mean... It's basically a typical 'heist' film, but it was nice how they made it a female heist film. Little change of direction.

 

I'll never watch it again.... But I don't feel like I waisted those 2 hours.

=P

[tec]

Cold Hell - somehow this has snuck into Shudder and is in people's best horror of 2018 lists, but if is was English it would star Robson Green and be an ITV Drama. Dogshit, even worse than Predators, the last awful film I saw.

[auxien]

Richard Stanley (Hardware, Dust Devil) is doing an adaptation of Lovecraft's The Colour Out Of Space with Nic Cage, on the back of Mandy's success.

 

colour me intrigued... . . . .

[Taupe Beats]

 

 

In absolutely no relation to this conversation at all, I've been on a big Stan Brakhage kick lately. It's easy to fall into the trap of playing the music of your choice over his films but it's worth avoiding that and falling into Brakhage's ideas of "visual rhythm". Adds more purpose to his editing.

 

Interesting point about Brakage. My go to is usually Ae's 'see on see' soundtracking The Dante Quartet, but you're right about visual rhythm. I recently showed Rage Net to a group of high school students and they got it, had interesting things to say about how the rhythms, color, and composition are evocative of the subjective experience of rage, the gropings for a reasonable explanation to calm down and then the next eruption of irrational emotional reaction. We were doing a lesson on the early days of film and I self-indulgently brought Brakage in after showing the colorized version of Melies' Trip to the Moon and talking about how each frame was hand-painted, but it paid off fortunately. 

 

 

This is awesome! That's the coolest high school class I've ever heard of. Probably not age-appropriate, but 23rd Psalm Branch is quite the companion to Rage Net

[eugene]

widows was really bad, and very disappointing too considering his previous 12 years a slave. it's severely over-scripted and overloaded so that nothing resembles anything relatable and realistic. it seems like it was designed to address and to tick every hot button, contemporary issue in current discourse and to link all of them into some kind of a wholesome statement about the state of things, and all of that under the genre of a heist film that's supposed to provide entertainment as well. even on paper that just couldn't succeed. predictably it all ends up shallow, full of bad telegraphy dialogue and nonexistent characterization besides some tags (for example, a pretty white girl who was abused by a now dead husband and had a shitty mother, and she can shoot well.). the heist elements are basic and uninspired with all kinds of lame twists. really feels like the shit netflix manufactures all the time with the help of its ai that probably crawls the web to analyze what people are talking about to later put those issues in the scripts, and then it was shoved into the most banal heist stricture. completely devoid of any artistry.

[bendish]

widows was really bad, and very disappointing too considering his previous 12 years a slave. it's severely over-scripted and overloaded so that nothing resembles anything relatable and realistic. it seems like it was designed to address and to tick every hot button, contemporary issue in current discourse and to link all of them into some kind of a wholesome statement about the state of things, and all of that under the genre of a heist film that's supposed to provide entertainment as well. even on paper that just couldn't succeed. predictably it all ends up shallow, full of bad telegraphy dialogue and nonexistent characterization besides some tags (for example, a pretty white girl who was abused by a now dead husband and had a shitty mother, and she can shoot well.). the heist elements are basic and uninspired with all kinds of lame twists. really feels like the shit netflix manufactures all the time with the help of its ai that probably crawls the web to analyze what people are talking about to later put those issues in the scripts, and then it was shoved into the most banal heist stricture. completely devoid of any artistry.

And despite the above probably being true, it was also really enjoyable.