Rouben Mamoulian (Queen Christina) 0 — Hal Hartley (Surviving Desire) 1
Rouben Mamoulian (Queen Christina): 1 —vs— Hal Hartley (Surviving Desire): 0
Queen Christina 1 – Surviving Desire 0
Rouben Mamoulian (Queen Christina) – 0 vs Hal Hartley (Surviving Desire) – 1
Rouben Mamoulian (Queen Christina) 0 vs Hal Hartley (Surviving Desire) 1
Queen Christina 1 – Surviving Desire 0
Rouben Mamoulian (Queen Christina) 0 vs Hal Hartley (Surviving Desire) 1
I love when a film have so good dialogues that you forget everything else because you concentrate so hard to be sure not to miss anything. That’s how Surviving Desire was for me.
It’s funny because Hartley seems to have such a specific style that we could easily think that he is redoing the same film over and over, but he is not, and even if he was I like it so much that I wouldn’t care.
Hartley seems to focus a lot on culture, mostly literature. I wish he’d make a film about cinema (maybe he has and I just don’t know… but if he hasn’t, it would be nice).
I must say that I’m slightly disappointed by the music because it’s usually so good in Hartley’s films… but I think the strange dance in the street make up for that.
Queen Christina is a gem. A beautiful historical costume drama that you can’t imagine being made today or I might just like that genre a little more. The glorious Greta Garbo (that final image!), lesbian undercurrents, immaculate compositions. What more do you want? Surviving Desire though still hits me in the way Hartley film don’t anymore. It’s a film I can inhabit.
Rouben Mamoulian (Queen Christina) 0 vs Hal Hartley (Surviving Desire) 1
Rouben Mamoulian (Queen Christina) – 0 vs Hal Hartley (Surviving Desire) – 1
Queen Christina 1 – Surviving Desire 0
Queen Christina (Mamoulian) – 0 // Surviving Desire (Hartley) – 1
This is my favourite Mamoulian yet, but also the only one I’m not voting for… strange. Glad to finally vote for one of Riss’s picks, though – Surviving Desire really resonated with me, almost every line of dialogue hitting home one way or another. Very brisk pace and compact runtime. And I loved the dance scene as well, although I was imagining the Dr Love scene from The Scenic Route all the way through.
4-7 Hartley!
Queen Christina 1 — Surviving Desire 0
This was an easy choice for me. Judging by the votes, I’m concerned that I might just not “get” Hartley, yet. The first film of his I saw was The Book of Life, prior to this DC, and I was fairly unimpressed. Then, I saw The Unbelievable Truth, which I liked. And now, Surviving Desire, which I find to be very kitschy, though not bad. Other than those three, I’ve seen a few shorts, but I fear I may just not “get” him. I absolutely loved Queen Christina, enjoying practically every moment of it. Sure, it’s a costume drama, and sure it has its moments of kitsch, but it’s such a beautiful film. I’m also a sucker for charm and Greta Garbo’s ridiculous chuckle in Queen Christina prompted me to fall head-over-shoes for her. So, I may be biased, a little. But, either way, that’s where I stand. I’ll definitely take it upon myself to watch more Hartley in the near future.
Rouben Mamoulian (Queen Christina) 1 Hal Hartley (Surviving Desire) 0
Mamoulian’s greatest film against a Hartley’s average film.
While a thought the cinematography of Daniels was beautiful — such rich blacks, a true example of near perfect B/W cinematography, and even the soft lighting on Garbo didn’t bug me — I’m not a fan of Garbo, and though I thought she played the part well, I wasn’t invested in her. Part of that has to do with the acting style of the era.
And Hartley’s film is my favorite from him and I have watched it many, many times and it never gets old.
Queen Christina 0, Surviving Desire 1
Rouben Mamoulian (Queen Christina) – 1 vs Hal Hartley (Surviving Desire) – 0
VOTING IS CLOSED
Hartley takes it, 8-7.
WOOOOHOOOOOO! The director I’m managing actually won a match. I am a loser no longer!
It’s funny because Hartley seems to have such a specific style that we could easily think that he is redoing the same film over and over, but he is not, and even if he was I like it so much that I wouldn’t care.
I think when people say that a certain directors is making the same film over and over it’s because the person doesn’t really like the style and is not interested to notice the differences within the style. Some people devour films from genres that all seem the same to many people, but I’m sure the relish the differences and see them as a lot more vast than someone unfamiliar with the genre would.
Hartley seems to focus a lot on culture, mostly literature. I wish he’d make a film about cinema (maybe he has and I just don’t know… but if he hasn’t, it would be nice).
I’m trying to think and I’m not sure that he really has. Most of his characters seem to reference literature and poetry mostly. But as I’ve mentioned many times before I feel like his films also have a lot of dance and theatre qualities to them.
I must say that I’m slightly disappointed by the music because it’s usually so good in Hartley’s films… but I think the strange dance in the street make up for that.
Good point. I can’t even remember what the music is like in this film, but most of his scores are supurb.
And I loved the dance scene as well, although I was imagining the Dr Love scene from The Scenic Route all the way through.
After discovering Rappaport in this cup I’m seeing him doing some things that other American independent directors like Jarmusch and Hartley did a lot later but got more credit for.
This was an easy choice for me. Judging by the votes, I’m concerned that I might just not “get” Hartley, yet. The first film of his I saw was The Book of Life, prior to this DC, and I was fairly unimpressed. Then, I saw The Unbelievable Truth, which I liked. And now, Surviving Desire, which I find to be very kitschy, though not bad. Other than those three, I’ve seen a few shorts, but I fear I may just not “get” him.
It’s certainly possible that he just isn’t your thing. If you liked The Unbelievable Truth though maybe you need to see some more of his work with Burke. Simple Men might be worth trying or one of my very favorites I didn’t have a chance to use, No Such Thing.
I’m torn in my opinion of Queen Christina. Interesting as a love story, but I have a few hangups. First of all I can’t believe that it would have taken Antonio so long to figure out that Christina was a woman. My suspension of disbelief is higher when the style is a bit more fantastic or poetic like in Shakespeare.
Also it sucks sometimes to be a monarch, but isn’t the point of it that you give up a lot of your personal freedoms for the sake of your kingdom? It seems like this film is trying to put a very American individualistic ethos to another culture.
Risselada, I’ll definitely consider seeing those. The two Hartley films I have in my queue are Henry Fool (since I didn’t get a chance to see it) and Trust.
Thanks for the suggestions!
It seems like this film is trying to put a very American individualistic ethos to another culture.
A grand Hollywood tradition. :-)
^So true
Kai White
The extended voting period for this match lasts until 7:00 pm BST (6:00 pm GMT) on Friday, August 12, which means that users will have over 48 hours in order to publish their votes. The world map which lists all current time zones can be found on www.worldtimezone.com, so that everyone can be up to date about how much time is left.
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Film A 1 (or 0) – Film B 0 (or 1)
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The match you´re going to vote for on this thread is:
Rouben Mamoulian (Queen Christina) vs Hal Hartley (Surviving Desire)
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