Zabriskie Point is “great” as a B movie. It’s like a crazy parody on the ’60’s. We expect more from Antonioni, but hey, sometimes you take what you can get. The line Mark gives the tech at the airport when stealing the plane “I’m just going for a ride, wanna come?” is worth the price of admission alone. As is the beginning when he leaves the meeting with the white college activists and the black panthers; “I’ll die for any cause, but not of boredom. I’m outta here”. Something about his casual indifference I found, was really amusing. Especially juxtaposed up against Daria’s naivety and the general crazy atmosphere we think of about that time period. Then you had the flyover Daria’s car in the desert. To say nothing of the bizarre sex scene at the title’s location. The film was a lot of fun, if not great. Antonoioni never really lived up to the promise he showed after making his famous tetralogy.
GANGS OF NEW YORK, JACK, THE FOUNTAIN, BROTHERS GRIMM
Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange and Scorsese’s work after the 80s are two big examples for me at least. Kubrick may have put in some great visuals to ACO, but the film was flimsy and nowhere near the best of his work. Scorsese gone too far off the rails, I no longer have the same interest in the characters he makes like I did with Taxi Driver and King of Comedy, but I was never his biggest fan to begin with, still though his work has largely declined post-Goodfellas and it hasn’t gone back up.
“Zabriskie Point” is just plain terrible from start to finish. The acting is atrocious. Neither of the leads had the slightest idea what they were doing, and it feels almost cruel to watch them. Of course, the great master filmmaker didn’t exactly know what he was doing, either, did he? He didn’t know what he wanted to say — certainly not compared to the merciless precision and confidence of “L’Avventura” or “L’Eclisse.”
And Justin, when you say “I’m on his wavelength” regarding Fassbinder, it seems as if you are saying you incapable of watching him objectively, that your own sentimental sense of identification gets in the way. Personally, I try not to regard filmmakers as imaginary friends or buddies or pals, even and especially ones who voice my own thoughts or open my eyes.
I can’t quite join the “Marnie” haters. I think it’s an interesting study, even if it is a bit outre.
The OP mentioned “Jamaica Inn”, and I must say, that while the film was not a masterpiece, I do think that it is a very good fillm, featuring a great performance by Charles Laughton.
I think that the Idiot is not Kurosawa’s best film, but also, the version that we get is about an hour and a half shorter than what Kurosawa had intended. His version may have been worse, or it may have been great, we will never know. Kurosawa’s worst film though, is undoubtably “Rhapsody in August”
Bergman’s worst film is “The Silence”, and Fellini’s worst is “Satyricon”, while I’ll take A clockwork orange any day over “Eyes Wide Shut”.
i like how for every person that claims one movie is shite, another pops up in defense to tout its merits
People, by that I mean critics, always hold directors against their previous success, no matter how good or bad the following films are. It’s a curse that didn’t exist when people focused their attention of the film not their makers.
Gone are the days where where a director is allowed to develop a body of work. I don’t get why all the hoopla over the films above but I can see your point. Satyricon is regarded as a great film from an influential perspective, so you’re missing the point of it all: Directors peak. Each of the films you’ve mentioned offer something interesting, even if the results don’t measure they’ll be held in contempt against their better work. I site Coppola and Altman as an example, none of the films you’ve mentioned are considered stinkers, go with Joel Schumacher then.
These directors where giants in their field, and the few films they made revolutionized motion pictures. Jack was a work for hire, made at a time where his unrealized projects did not come to fruition. Coppola was dissolutioned with hollywood at the time, and again, when you’ve made the godfather and apocalypse now why does it matter that he made jack? people peak, their best work produced as a combination of timing and lighting.
Now…The Fountain is indefensible. I will go to work on anyone who thinks it’ll be remembered ten years down the road. The film is a conceptual nightmare, something that should’ve been best left when aborted the first time.
NEH, I’m going to be one of those people right now …
@Jason: THE SILENCE is nowhere near being a bad movie, let alone Bergman’s “worst.” In fact, it ranks in the stratosphere with the best.
LOLITA is neither a bad movie, nor is it Kubrick’s “worst.” Nearly 50 years on, and it holds up beautifully, and with fully realized performances from James Mason and Shelley Winters. Damned-near untouchable, especially considering when it was made and how it was made.
O.C. AND STIGGS may not be NASHVILLE, but it is a delightful little slice film, much in the same way BREWSTER McCLOUD is. Altman was merely tickling yet another fancy there.
@ALANEDIT: Thanks for putting it the way you did. What this is all really about is not really merit but disappointment. THE MISSOURI BREAKS has consistently been panned as Arthur Penn’s great “embarrassment.” He feels it is not only one of his best but exactly what he wanted to make and say.
I retract my prior post about Frankenheimer. I concur wholeheartedly about Joel Schumacher.
“O.C. and Stiggs” is not delightful at all. It’s horrible. It’s painful to even sit through. As bad a movie as has ever been made.
Thank you christopher! wholeheartedly agree with points of view: merit and disappointment. I would like to add something to the perception of “Kubrick’s worst”.
I don’t understand why people have that analogy about film directors, all their body of work is part of a legacy that speaks for itself. When a body of work is as legendary as Kubrick’s, people love to compare that way. Each one is a gem. Same argument for this post, it’s the smaller lesser known films that sometimes offer something that the big ones don’t, which are formed by the perception partly done by critical status.
Joel Schumacher, any takers?
Moderated
Why did the Coen Bros. make The Ladykillers?
Why did Stanley Kubrick make 2001: A Space Odyssey?
Why did Michel Gondry make Human Nature?
Why did Quentin Tarentino make Deathproof?
Why did Robert Rodriguez make Shark Boy and Lava Girl?
Why did Wes Anderson make The Royal Tenenbaums?
I’m gonna get a lot of shit for numbers 2 and 6, but it’s how I feel.
Woody Allen- Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Ridley Scott- A Good Year
Sidney Lumet- Family Business
And to Sully i will let the 2001 go as i love it but Rodriguez has made a few kids films so i guess its for the kids and a paycheck. I liked Deathproof.
As for Wes Anderson i don’t even know why he is so well liked.
Robert J3—really, Vicky Christina over Jade Scorpion or Hollywood Ending or Celebrity or Scoop…? Woody’s bottom seems deeper than VCB (which is indeed only okay, at best).
Didn’t Cohens do Ladykillers as a deal to make the films they wanted to make? Same thing with Shark Boy? Of course, that doesn’t make these movies watchable.
2046 is a film that makes me wanna punch the wall. I hate, pretentious bull to the 9th degree.
RICHARD- funny you say Celebrity… when i went to it in the Theaters a guy in front of me was fo angry he swore never to see another Allen film. I liked it. VCB was the first time i watched one of his films and felt let down. (Loved Scoop).
And 2046 made me pull out my hair, Kar Wai Wong lost me with it. I saw it right after in the mood for love (which i loved).
>>Joel Schumacher, any takers?<<
I won’t defend him exactly, but LOST BOYS is fun, PHONE BOOTH is a superior thriller (though Larry Cohen’s screenplay is probably what really makes this work) and PHANTOM OF THE OPERA is a superior work. Schumacher, I find, usually gets shit for his Batman films … but he was merely giving Warner Bros exactly what they thought they wanted at the time. After Burton’s second film did less well than anticipated, WB wanted to go back to the feel of the Adam West TV show.
>>As for Wes Anderson i don’t even know why he is so well liked.<<
You either grok Wes Anderson or you don’t. I think he’s magnificently funny and very true to life.
For Drew:
Amen on Hook. Gawd, what a deplorable waste of talent and money. If ever a man put his middle-aged angst on the big screen and wasted a boatload of cash in the process, it was Spielberg.
Cheers,
Cteve
cinemauprising.blogspot.com
I guess I’m the only one who thinks 2046 is vastly superior to In the Mood for Love in every sense, hell I think My Blueberry Nights is superior to ITMFL as well.
I found In the Mood for Love to be extremely dull. I got the repressed yearning, the sadness, the fleeting eye contact in the soup line. But it just didn’t resonate with me the same way Fallen Angels and Happy Together did. I have not seen 2046 but I think maybe Wong Kar-Wai needs to get away from those characters for a while.
Some vindication, finally!
Rodney, it’s just that I share a lot of his beliefs and vision, and I’ve watched his films so many times that I see how they all fit together. I wouldn’t want to pull one out of the overall equation. Objectivity is not always the best way to approach art — one should have love and passion for at least something, otherwise it’s all dry and academic. I do agree with you on Zabriskie Point, very badly acted and terribly dated.
Marnie is an amazing film. When that huge tree branch rams through the office window, you just go, “That’s Sean Connery’s dick!”
I took O.C. and Stiggs to be a minor comedy about anarchy in the suburbs. Like much of what was made in the 80s, it’s a bit more flash than substance, but I think Altman was trying for something “youthful.”
My Blueberry Nights is a chunk of shit covered in neon lights. It has NO redeemable factors whatsoever.
And yet I still prefer it to ITMFL, but for me nothing in the world of film will ever beat Wong’s output in the 90s. 2046 has been the closest he has come to capturing his former glory.
Brian DePalma- The Black Dahlia(he has alot of these, i love the guy but who you kidding. Anyone remember The phantom of the paradise)
Spielberg – Indiana Jones and the kingdom of the crystal skull
Coppola – Jack
Woody Allen – Anything Else
George Lucas – The new star wars trilogies(all three of them)
Ron Howard – The Davinci Code
Michael Mann – Miami Vice
Fallen Angels is just a masterpiece. When the one woman comes to understand that she has to give up her hitman lover, that he’s never going to love her, I don’t think I’ve ever seen such genuine heartache captured onscreen. You suddenly have this feeling that you know, or recognize, something about life.
Since when “Fellini-Satyricon” has become a lousy movie?
To me it is Fellini’s 3rd best picture. I’ll tell you more: togheter with “Le Tentazioni del Dottor Antonio”, “8 1/2” and “Giuilietta degli Spiriti”, this film features the best directing from Fellini.
I could understand your dislike for this film just if you’re not Italian (or French). Just the people who are born among the ruins of Roman Empire can perceive this film correctly. This comes from the Collective Unconscious theory. Experience confirms that… Personally I don’t know a single friend of mine who doesn’t like this film. While I could enumerate thousands of North American who dislike this masterpiece…
That’s the why Hollywoodian reconstructions of Ancient Rome (from “Ben Hur” to “Gladiator”) will always be inferior to the Rome envisioned by Fellini or Brass.
BENE VALETE.
:D
I was hooked on Satyricon right from the moment when they force that guy onstage in the clown show and chop his hand off for real. I thought to myself, I’m seeing the ancient world here. No excuses, no apologies, everything weird as hell.
Harry-Lost me at Phantom of the Opera.Andrew Lloyd Webber is a terrible hack.
I have always loved Satyricon. Not sure it’s a great film or not but it gives me considerable pleasure.
Have found Wong Kar-wei to get duller with each successive film. Peaked with Chungking Express and Fallen Angels.
NE1
Moderated