Three Colors: Blue for me. I am always interested in how film can communicate a person’s internal journey/struggle/story. I think this film does it better than any other I have seen.
I think Barry Lyndon is his most under-appreciated work. There are moments in it of perfect tension and sublime beauty. And, he had a lens engineered for the film so he could shoot the candle-lit scenes…by candlelight. It’s great length and slow pacing make it a challenge for many people, but if you give in to it, you find that it is utterly masterful and utterly what Kubrick wanted it to be, I believe.
Ok, so since I am new to the site, i am supposed to introduce myself. I am a filmmaker. I have also taught film classes in various places over time. I love film. Because I love it so much it is often hard for me to say which are my favorite films or which filmmaker I like best. Many of them are so wonderful to me that to choose a favorite would feel like a betrayal to the others. Sort of like the way a parent doesn’t really ever want to say which child is his favorite or whatever.
Currently, I am most passionate about documentary – making them and watching them. I have become increasingly dissatisfied with narrative film. It’s been a while since a really remarkable narrative, fictional piece of cinema has come to the screen. Last year’s There Will Be Blood and No Country for Old Men were notable exceptions, but there was still something missing in them. Perhaps I am just getting old and my irrational passion for things is waning. Perhaps engagement with the film lovers on this site will stir something in me.
Ok, so since I am new to the site, i am supposed to introduce myself. I am a filmmaker. I have also taught film classes in various places over time. I love film. Because I love it so much it is often hard for me to say which are my favorite films or which filmmaker I like best. Many of them are so wonderful to me that to choose a favorite would feel like a betrayal to the others. Sort of like the way a parent doesn’t really ever want to say which child is his favorite or whatever.
Currently, I am most passionate about documentary – making them and watching them. I have become increasingly dissatisfied with narrative film. It’s been a while since a really remarkable narrative, fictional piece of cinema has come to the screen. Last year’s There Will Be Blood and No Country for Old Men were notable exceptions, but there was still something missing in them. Perhaps I am just getting old and my irrational passion for things is waning. Perhaps engagement with the film lovers on this site will stir something in me.
There Will Be Blood is the most recent example that comes to mind. The end of No Country for Old Men is also quite devastating in it’s honest admission that some troubles are not for certain men, that their hopes lies in their death and freedom from the perils of the world.
If I might evoke a television show, even though this is a site for movies, I will evoke the conclusion of the Sopranos. Utterly profound, baffling, perfect.
The Deerhunter is an ending that haunts me always. Such a perfect depiction of the hopeless grief of the situation. Scrambled eggs, booze, God Bless America.
I very possibly was Fellini Satyricon…wait…maybe that was only a Janus film? twas on VHS. The Seventh Seal perhaps. But then there were all those laserdiscs my professor showed us in College. I can’t remember now. :-(
I don’t know how to respond to all of this without getting emotional and saying things I can’t take back. I guess for me, if not for Orson Welles, I would not be interested in filmmaking. It’s because of renegade’s like him that we even have a concept of making a film “independently.”
I keep trying to write more, but it keeps getting emotional so I will stop.
Nathan, I you are are entitled to your opinion. My question for you, however is this: who is a genius in your opinion?
I think at the end of the day, Gus Van Sant doesn’t give a shit what you think about his films. He had the balls out to make Gerry. He had the balls out to make Good Will Hunting and he had the Balls out to make Elephant. Does this make him great? Well, that’s difficult to say. What is does make him is someone I respect and admire. He makes art, for better or worse, some works more relevant than others. But either way, he keeps on. He just keeps on.
Richard L. – not sure what point you are trying to make about Van Sant’s “homoerotic sensibilities.” Is this sensibility something he needs to discipline? Would we want Fellini to discipline his hyper-heterosexual tendencies? Or Woody Allen? Are you suggesting filmmakers suppress their sexuality? If this begins happening, then they will begin to suppress something that goes to the core of their very being, the very thing we love so much about them as filmmakers.
Maybe Bergman only appeals to moody, brooding types of people who tend to ruminate over the meaning of life, whether God is real or loving, and if there really is a right or wrong.
Or perhaps the comment that was made by Rodney Welch about Bergman making truly “adult films” is quite apropos. One only has to read Images: My Life in Film to realize that Bergman was a spiritually damaged individual, wrestling with his religious upbringing and his feelings about his affairs with women, the pain and suffering making his films actually caused him (he talks about actually getting sick when a film "came to him). I would argue that he was very much the tortured artist. I would also argue that this was his fault. He chose his misery in a way. Whether he had to or not is something only he knows. Whatever the case may be, his themes are very “adult” ones.
Ok…what’s the point I am trying to make. I suppose my point is this—Bergman is a deeply subjective filmmaker. His films always emanate from some place inside of him. Their themes are his themes. So, it would follow then that not everyone would like Bergman. Nor should everyone like Bergman. I suppose the reason his has garnered so much acclaim is that he made the films he needed to make. He made them as honestly and truthfully as he could every time. So, to some, these films might be boring. To other’s they might be brilliant.
And finally, I think that if you can get through life, not giving two shits about Bergman’s work, then perhaps, you are better for it. This is heavy, depressing, emotionally challenging stuff.
Ah…this film. I have yet to see a film quite like it. It is a puzzle as Kana points out – is it a documentary? mockumentary? I tend to think it is more of an essay on art. The most profound message that I get from the film is the idea that perhaps art does not really have any owners…is a Picasso forgery by Elmyr less Picasso if we can’t tell the difference? does it matter? I love these questions. They condemn all the stupid elitism that so often plagues the art world (including the film world).
When I say "A Perfect Film", What One Film Pops Into Your Head First? over 3 years ago
Three Colors: Blue for me. I am always interested in how film can communicate a person’s internal journey/struggle/story. I think this film does it better than any other I have seen.
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Spout.com vs. Theauteurs.com over 3 years ago
Which film community/criticism website do you prefer?
spout.com or theauteurs.com
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What is Kubrick's Most Under-Appreciated Film? over 3 years ago
I think Barry Lyndon is his most under-appreciated work. There are moments in it of perfect tension and sublime beauty. And, he had a lens engineered for the film so he could shoot the candle-lit scenes…by candlelight. It’s great length and slow pacing make it a challenge for many people, but if you give in to it, you find that it is utterly masterful and utterly what Kubrick wanted it to be, I believe.
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Is Deckard a replicant? over 3 years ago
yes, he is a replicant.
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newbie intro thread over 3 years ago
Dude…welcome. I am a newbie here to. The conversations around here seem genuine.
I like your stuff. It reminds me of when I worked at a local contemporary art gallery. We were always getting the types of installations you do.
very cool!
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New to Auteurs over 3 years ago
Ok, so since I am new to the site, i am supposed to introduce myself. I am a filmmaker. I have also taught film classes in various places over time. I love film. Because I love it so much it is often hard for me to say which are my favorite films or which filmmaker I like best. Many of them are so wonderful to me that to choose a favorite would feel like a betrayal to the others. Sort of like the way a parent doesn’t really ever want to say which child is his favorite or whatever.
Currently, I am most passionate about documentary – making them and watching them. I have become increasingly dissatisfied with narrative film. It’s been a while since a really remarkable narrative, fictional piece of cinema has come to the screen. Last year’s There Will Be Blood and No Country for Old Men were notable exceptions, but there was still something missing in them. Perhaps I am just getting old and my irrational passion for things is waning. Perhaps engagement with the film lovers on this site will stir something in me.
Go to Comment
New to The Auteurs? You Belong Here over 3 years ago
Ok, so since I am new to the site, i am supposed to introduce myself. I am a filmmaker. I have also taught film classes in various places over time. I love film. Because I love it so much it is often hard for me to say which are my favorite films or which filmmaker I like best. Many of them are so wonderful to me that to choose a favorite would feel like a betrayal to the others. Sort of like the way a parent doesn’t really ever want to say which child is his favorite or whatever.
Currently, I am most passionate about documentary – making them and watching them. I have become increasingly dissatisfied with narrative film. It’s been a while since a really remarkable narrative, fictional piece of cinema has come to the screen. Last year’s There Will Be Blood and No Country for Old Men were notable exceptions, but there was still something missing in them. Perhaps I am just getting old and my irrational passion for things is waning. Perhaps engagement with the film lovers on this site will stir something in me.
Go to Comment
Who do you read? over 3 years ago
At the moment….
Cormac McCarthy
Spaulding Gray
Delillo
In my life, these have influenced me….
Steinbeck
Hemingway
Barth
Salinger
Camus
Dostoevsky
Solyzhenitzen
C.S. Lewis
Potok
and so many others I cannot bring to mind.
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Most Traumatic or Dramatic Film Endings over 3 years ago
There Will Be Blood is the most recent example that comes to mind. The end of No Country for Old Men is also quite devastating in it’s honest admission that some troubles are not for certain men, that their hopes lies in their death and freedom from the perils of the world.
If I might evoke a television show, even though this is a site for movies, I will evoke the conclusion of the Sopranos. Utterly profound, baffling, perfect.
The Deerhunter is an ending that haunts me always. Such a perfect depiction of the hopeless grief of the situation. Scrambled eggs, booze, God Bless America.
Go to Comment
Spout.com vs. Theauteurs.com over 3 years ago
Ok, so there’s no comparison.
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Spout.com vs. Theauteurs.com over 3 years ago
Ah, my, how the plot thickens. Thanks for entering the fray of this conversation.
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What was the first Criterion movie you watched? over 3 years ago
I very possibly was Fellini Satyricon…wait…maybe that was only a Janus film? twas on VHS. The Seventh Seal perhaps. But then there were all those laserdiscs my professor showed us in College. I can’t remember now. :-(
Go to Comment
Controversial opinion: Orson Welles is not very good over 3 years ago
I don’t know how to respond to all of this without getting emotional and saying things I can’t take back. I guess for me, if not for Orson Welles, I would not be interested in filmmaking. It’s because of renegade’s like him that we even have a concept of making a film “independently.”
I keep trying to write more, but it keeps getting emotional so I will stop.
Nathan, I you are are entitled to your opinion. My question for you, however is this: who is a genius in your opinion?
Go to Comment
Whats your favourite actor,and what actor is so bad you cant look at him over 3 years ago
Favorite: Daniel Day Lewis
Least Favorite: Dane Cook
or
Favorite: Orson Welles
Least Favorite: Zoey Daschenel.
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Age / Level of education? (An informal poll) over 3 years ago
31, with a BFA in Film Studies from Calvin College.
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Opinions of Van Sant? over 3 years ago
I think at the end of the day, Gus Van Sant doesn’t give a shit what you think about his films. He had the balls out to make Gerry. He had the balls out to make Good Will Hunting and he had the Balls out to make Elephant. Does this make him great? Well, that’s difficult to say. What is does make him is someone I respect and admire. He makes art, for better or worse, some works more relevant than others. But either way, he keeps on. He just keeps on.
Richard L. – not sure what point you are trying to make about Van Sant’s “homoerotic sensibilities.” Is this sensibility something he needs to discipline? Would we want Fellini to discipline his hyper-heterosexual tendencies? Or Woody Allen? Are you suggesting filmmakers suppress their sexuality? If this begins happening, then they will begin to suppress something that goes to the core of their very being, the very thing we love so much about them as filmmakers.
Go to Comment
SHOULD THE CRITERION COLLECTION INCLUDE TELEVISION SHOWS? over 3 years ago
Yes. Freaks & Geeks, The Wire, The Sopranos, BSG, Twin Peaks.
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SHOULD THE CRITERION COLLECTION INCLUDE TELEVISION SHOWS? over 3 years ago
Yes. Freaks & Geeks, The Wire, The Sopranos, BSG.
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INGMAR BERGMAN: GENIUS...OR...OVERRATED BORE? over 3 years ago
Maybe Bergman only appeals to moody, brooding types of people who tend to ruminate over the meaning of life, whether God is real or loving, and if there really is a right or wrong.
Or perhaps the comment that was made by Rodney Welch about Bergman making truly “adult films” is quite apropos. One only has to read Images: My Life in Film to realize that Bergman was a spiritually damaged individual, wrestling with his religious upbringing and his feelings about his affairs with women, the pain and suffering making his films actually caused him (he talks about actually getting sick when a film "came to him). I would argue that he was very much the tortured artist. I would also argue that this was his fault. He chose his misery in a way. Whether he had to or not is something only he knows. Whatever the case may be, his themes are very “adult” ones.
Ok…what’s the point I am trying to make. I suppose my point is this—Bergman is a deeply subjective filmmaker. His films always emanate from some place inside of him. Their themes are his themes. So, it would follow then that not everyone would like Bergman. Nor should everyone like Bergman. I suppose the reason his has garnered so much acclaim is that he made the films he needed to make. He made them as honestly and truthfully as he could every time. So, to some, these films might be boring. To other’s they might be brilliant.
And finally, I think that if you can get through life, not giving two shits about Bergman’s work, then perhaps, you are better for it. This is heavy, depressing, emotionally challenging stuff.
Go to Comment
Underrated Films... over 3 years ago
Julian Goldberger’s Trans.
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Whats the scariest film ever or some of ur favorites over 3 years ago
As I remember it from childhood – The Watcher in the Woods.
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F for Fake over 3 years ago
Ah…this film. I have yet to see a film quite like it. It is a puzzle as Kana points out – is it a documentary? mockumentary? I tend to think it is more of an essay on art. The most profound message that I get from the film is the idea that perhaps art does not really have any owners…is a Picasso forgery by Elmyr less Picasso if we can’t tell the difference? does it matter? I love these questions. They condemn all the stupid elitism that so often plagues the art world (including the film world).
Go to Comment