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Which movies would you like to see on The Auteurs? almost 4 years ago

I feel that the following titles would make great additions to the library/database…

The Evil Dead
The Thing (1982)
High Tension
Blow Out
Profondo Rosso (Deep Red)
To Catch A Thief
The Wicker Man (1973)
Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Superman I & II

However, I absolutely love this site and greatly appreciate the fantastic work that has already taken place and continues to transpire.

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Any Commentaries you've listened to more than once? almost 4 years ago

Bruce Campbell’s Evil Dead commentary is my personal favourite. I’ve listened to it multiple times as there is so much funny packed into those anecdotes. PTA’s expletive-laden, enthusiastic commentary for Boogie Nights is quite informative (very interesting when he states that he learned so much about filmmaking from listening to laserdisc commentaries). Cronenberg on Videodrome was rather fascinating (hell, whenever Cronenberg speaks up, you can’t help but listen to the man). And Fincher, Pitt & Norton commenting on Fight Club is also a lot of fun.

Edit: Also, anything that gives insight into how Kubrick did his thing will also have replay value with me. In particular, Garrett Brown with John Baxter on The Shining commentary and Malcolm McDowell with Nick Redman on A Clockwork Orange.

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List/Order all Criterions you own almost 4 years ago

Oooh, my first Criterion listing thread! Well, here is my modest personal Criterion Collection. 20 inches…er…items long.

(listed in the order that I acquired them, starting way back in the year 2000)

Beastie Boys Video Anthology
Spartacus
Dead Ringers
Rushmore
Traffic
The Royal Tenenbaums
Do The Right Thing
Chasing Amy
Man Bites Dog
Rashomon
Solaris
Videodrome
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
F For Fake
The Seventh Seal
La haine
Breathless
Bottle Rocket (Blu-ray)
The Seventh Seal (Blu-ray)
Repulsion (Blu-ray)

Got my eyes on: Pierrot Le Fou on Blu-ray (it shall be a blind purchase come September) and 8 1/2 (which I’ve viewed many times on TV, but have yet to own it on Digital Versatile Disc).

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Any Commentaries you've listened to more than once? almost 4 years ago

@ Napoleon Blownapart: I have no idea why I haven’t purchased Bruce Campbell’s book yet, but if it’s anything like the commentary then I’ll definitely have to check it out; thanks for the recommendation. As for the Fight Club commentary, one of my favourite moments (and there are many) is when Tyler’s moonlighting as a projectionist and as soon as the penis shot in the film strip shows up, Norton goes: “Fincher appears in all his films.” I love the commentary for Seven as well. Hell, any Fincher commentary is widely informative and just plain dope. Speaking of which, I still need to get the Zodiac Blu-ray so I can listen to Fincher talk about that epic feature for almost 3 hours (has anyone here listened to that entire track yet? And if so, what did you think?).

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What is Kubrick's Most Under-Appreciated Film? almost 4 years ago

Most under-appreciated = Paths Of Glory (spoiler: amongst the many memorable Kubrickian tracking shots, the execution scene has what I consider to be the greatest and most intense tracking shot of all-time)

Most misunderstood = Eyes Wide Shut (it’s flawed yet fantastic; I’d give it another 10 years for the critics to catch up on its brilliance)

And while I’m at it, most overrated = A Clockwork Orange (don’t get me wrong though, I absolutely love ACO but sometimes I think it gets too much love)

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Your Favorite Giallo's almost 4 years ago

2 films that I have been watching the hell out of lately: Profondoooooo Rossssoooooo (at least that’s how I pronounce it) and L’aldilà aka The Beyond (although I don’t know if I would consider The Beyond a giallo…but I love it all the same). Also, I would really like to check out Torso someday as well as the films of Mario Bava (of which, I am ashamed to admit, I’ve seen none of yet).

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31 Days in October over 3 years ago

Cool, I’ve been doing the whole 31 Horror films in October thing as well! This is my first time attempting such an epic film-related endurance feat and it’s quite the daunting task, but a lot of fun too (and what better way to celebrate the best month of the year?). I call my little horror movie marathon “31 Days of Night” (although I’ve never seen 30 Days of Night, I did like the title enough to ever so slightly alter it for my own purposes). Currently viewing my 12th selection: Black Christmas aka Silent Night, Evil Night (the 1974 Canadian classic, of course).

Check out my progress here if you’re interested: http://magicjuan.tumblr.com/tagged/31DoN

Best of luck to everyone and Happy October!

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Kubrick's Best Film... over 3 years ago

I may as well just rank all of the master’s films:

1st tier:
The Shining —→ my pick for Kubrick’s best
2001: A Space Odyssey
Eyes Wide Shut
A Clockwork Orange

2nd tier:
Barry Lyndon
Paths of Glory
Lolita
Dr. Strangelove

3rd tier:
Full Metal Jacket
The Killing
Spartacus
Killer’s Kiss

An enthusiastic 5 stars for the 1st tier, 5 stars for the 2nd tier and 4 stars for the 3rd tier. The man never made a mediocre or bad film. However Eyes Wide Shut and Barry Lyndon (which I hope gets a Blu-ray transfer one of these days) both keep rising up on the list the more I view them. I envision Barry Lyndon one day cracking into the 1st tier, thereby bumping Clockwork down to a solid 5 star rating.

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If You Could Have a Criterion Title Tattooed on Your Penis, Which Would It Be and Why? over 3 years ago

F for FAKE…because (hold your laughter) it’s the “hard” truth wrapped in a magical lie. cough But really, F for FAKE is my favourite Criterion, so it’s gotta be the title to tattoo down there regardless of the multiple inferences (be it complimentary or self-deprecating).

Alternate porn title/easy joke: F for F*CK.

Sorry, Mr. Welles.

Edit: And to complete the shooting of myself in the foot, here’s the Criterion cover that’s a hundred times more hilarious now that it’s being posted in this thread.

Joke’s on me. ahem Good night.

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Help make The Auteurs totally awesome over 3 years ago

I second many of the excellent suggestions that have already been given:

-Allowing a half star rating system would be sublime (right now, I often generously round up). I certainly wouldn’t mind re-doing all of my ratings more accurately.

-An Android app would be nice (or a mobile interface at the very least).

-The concept of “scrobbling” your film viewings (almost like a last.fm for movies) is genius. I have a PS3 as well and would certainly love this option if it’s at all possible.

-The ability to manually rearrange the order of Favourite Auteurs. A few months back, my list of fave auteurs got inexplicably scrambled (and not just cleanly reversed but a completely new and random order appeared and has remained since).

-New image options in the “My Style” section (or the ability to upload your own).

Otherwise, this is one of my favourite sites EVER and you guys are doing a fantastic job (especially with the daily flow of new additions to the database). Many thanks and keep up the great work!

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mubi about 3 years ago

@RLS: Well said (re: your shaggy dog post) and I like that idea. mubile.com: Nubile movies for the cinephile inside you.

Hmmm…that sounds really dirty. And as such, I like it even more.

Still trying to process the name change of one of my TOP 3 favourite sites on the entire web. Although my gut reaction is indeed a negative one (add me to the list) and that’s not because I hate change, but because “theauteurs” was an absolutely perfect term to symbolize everything that we all love about this much-needed exclusive online film community. Not so much…(pointing in the direction of little “mubi” over there)

I shall grab a cup of tea and ponder over this a bit more…

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Di Leo's To Be Twenty about 3 years ago

I have indeed viewed Fernando Di Leo’s Avere vent’anni and I absolutely enjoyed it as well. This was a film I had heard about for a while now. And last year, I read an interview with Eli Roth where he discussed how the film blew him away (that was the kicker that inspired me to finally track it down). Kudos on purchasing the film on DVD. But considering that I do not own a region-free player, I admit that I went the bittorent route in acquiring this film where fortunately it came with the proper SRT file which provided English subtitles for the Italian cut of Di Leo’s most (in)famous feature. Frankly, I’m a bit surprised that English subtitles were not included on the DVD at all. Shame.

Judging by your post, I’ve deduced that you’ve only viewed the US cut of the film? The thing is (and you may be aware of this), To Be Twenty/Being Twenty should only be experienced via the uncut Italian version. From what I understand, the US cut is pretty much a light-hearted, comedic sexual romp from start to finish (normally, there’s nothing wrong with that) with the order of events slightly rearranged and many of the sex scenes cut a bit short for content. Double shame.

Alternatively, the Italian cut is Di Leo’s original vision in its entirety and not only provides the viewer with the full-on sexual exploits of both of these gorgeous women (Gloria Guida in particular renders me speechless with her beauty, not to mention that is also her voice singing the lovely theme song, which plays a key part throughout the film). But the plot unravels in the proper sequence (and in a way where you truly grow to care about the lead characters), masterfully setting up the story’s conclusion where…well, I don’t want to spoil anything if you haven’t viewed this cut of the film. But the unforgettable way that Being Twenty ends was a huge reason why it was re-cut (and ultimately dumbed-down) for American audiences. Triple shame.

So basically, the Italian cut of Avere vent’anni is the version you must see at all costs! With it, Di Leo made a strong statement about the extreme consequences of living the care-free hippie lifestyle and it most certainly deserves the notorious reputation it has received amongst 1970’s sexploitation films. As for me, when I finally viewed Avere vent’anni for the first time after all of the hype (while knowing full well what the film was building up to), it did not disappoint. Plus, I couldn’t get that theme song out of my head for a few days. If this existed in the database (and we were able to rate using half stars), I would give the film 4.5 stars. Perhaps I should go ahead and submit it for inclusion (if it hasn’t been submitted already, that is).

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FILM DATABASE SUBMISSION MAY 2010 about 3 years ago

Avere vent’anni (1978)
Dir. Fernando Di Leo

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Di Leo's To Be Twenty about 3 years ago

Glad to find others out there in (shudder) Mubi-world who appreciate this little known, ballsy and misunderstood sexploitation film as much as I do. Also, you’ll all be happy to know that I submitted the film not long after my previous post (via both the submission form and corresponding thread…it’s my first submission!). So now we play the waiting game…

@Rudy: The Raro DVD is the one with the blue cover, right? Yes, I was referring to that as well (I think it’s the only DVD release of To Be Twenty). I was just under the impression that the Italian cut did not have English subtitles, thereby limiting you from fully experiencing it (that is if you don’t speak Italian, which I do not). But thank goodness you at least got the English dub working as I couldn’t stand the idea of anyone viewing this film by way of the edited US cut alone. Although IMO it’s optimal to view Avere Vent’anni with the Italian soundtrack and English subtitles (unless of course the English dub is word-for-word identical to the subtitles). Regardless, being exposed to Di Leo’s original vision in its entirety is a memorable experience no matter how you slice it.

If you’re interested, check out The Book of Lists: Horror edition under the entry “Eli Roth’s Top Ten Nastiest Horror Movie Genital Mutilations” for a great description of the film from the modern day horror maestro (the final scene of To Be Twenty is number one on the list). Roth has also mentioned Avere Vent’anni in a few interviews leading up to the release of Hostel: Part II in 2007 where he also talks about Sergio Martino’s Torso (a widely entertaining 5-star giallo IMO) as an influence on the Hostel sequel. No doubt the man knows his horror films extremely well.

@Marq: I made sure to give the lovely Ms. Guida top-billing when I filled out the submission form. So the countdown to joining the Gloria Guida auteurs fan club has begun!

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the dead trilogy about 3 years ago

All social commentary aside (and you all have done a much better job in explaining the meat on the bones than I could), DAWN is by far my favourite. Mainly because of the 4 very well established characters (that we spend over 2 hours getting to know intimately), the humour (both intentional and unintentional), Savini in an active role as Blades (while providing what I felt were the best gore scenes in the entire trilogy), the then unique mall setting (with all of the establishments frozen in time in the late 70s) all backed by the ominous sounds of Goblin in their finest hour. And you just can’t beat that legendary tagline (“When there’s no more room in hell…” and you know the rest). But no matter what your pick may be, there is no other trilogy out there quite like Romero’s Dead Trilogy. Which is mainly why Uncle George gets a lifetime pass from me, no matter what projects he chooses to tackle (yes, even an ill-advised 3-D remake of my favourite Argento, Profondo Rosso).

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DENNIS HOPPER HAS DIED about 3 years ago

“Do you want me to pour it?”
“No, I want you to fuck it! Shit, yes, pour the fuckin’ beer!”

So much greatness in this epic scene, by everyone involved.

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How to claim 3 month subscription over 2 years ago

I’d like to echo Cecil Will Nekomimi Kolohe’s question and ask if the 3 month subscription begins only when I click the activation link or do I have 3 months to click the link before it and the free viewing period expires (at the end of May/beginning of June, I’m guessing). If possible, I would like to spread the cinematic goodness throughout the year as I see fit, with MUBI and a few other media streaming services that I am currently subscribed to. In particular, I would love to save the 3 months for whenever the MUBI PS3 app is eventually rolled out in North America (later this year, hopefully?).

In any event, great contest and I appreciate the fact that many of us have actually won something!

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How to claim 3 month subscription over 2 years ago

Good to know re: the PS3 MUBI app not coming Stateside anytime soon (too bad). Final question: what time frame would qualify as waiting “too long” to click that link before it expires (for future reference).

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