Claus, I have not seen the newer adaptation, but the Lolita of the novel is bratty, making Humbert’s obsession with her all the more pathetic. Though it may not have worked in the film, I think the actress was probably trying to play it as the character in the book was written.
My first one was Ralph Fiennes at about 13; needless to say, my friends were baffled. It was also around this time that I first saw Brando in ‘Streetcar’. What a shock that was!
Now, I am happy to watch practically anything if I’ll be rewarded with a glimpse of Buster Keaton, Alec Guiness (no matter how silly his costume of accent), Marcello Mastroianni, Oskar Werner, or Tim Roth. (And [should I mention this?] Woody Allen. Ok, I said it!)
I’m not a junkie (yet), as today marked my first time ever posting on the website, but I can already see that this is going to be a major distraction from more productive things I should be doing (like the English paper that I should be writing right now).
I only pointed that out from a sense of duty as a Lolita-lover. However, though I haven’t seen the new film, I can understand the character being played too bratty, in a film as serious as this one apparently is, seeming wrong. It was great in the first movie because it was supposed to be a comedy. It worked in the book because of Nabokov’s brilliant writing. However, stripped of that sparkling prose and played as a tragedy, I imagine it would just seem silly that a seemingly-sophisticated grown man would be going crazy over such a crass child. So, I imagine you were right in your assessment that it just didn’t work.
Though not as amusing as everyone else’s comments, I feel La Grande Illusion’s English title should be The Great Illusion, not The Grand Illusion. You still get the same basic meaning, but it seems to me that the word “great” better conveys the idea. Plus, the film is set during “The Great War”!
I’m so excited about the Bunuel releases and The Last Metro: I’ve been desperate to see these films for a long time. Hobson’s Choice is probably my favorite early Lean, and I’m glad that there will be a better release of The Hit (the current one is dreadful).
I’ve heard a lot about In the Realm of the Senses. That might be one to rent…
Edit: I just looked at the websites information on Science is Fiction. It looks amazing!
Oscar and Lucinda by Peter Carey — Werner Herzog: I wasn’t crazy about the adaptation with Ralph Fiennes and Cate Blanchett. Gillian Armstrong is too grounded; this needs that crazy-yet-humanistic touch he achieved in Fitzcarraldo.)
Notre Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo — Arnaud Desplechin: Despite having only seen two of his films, I think he could probably handle the multiple storylines and tones. Plus, I imagine he would be gutsy enough to find a way of including the “Bird’s Eye View of Paris” chapter.
Ada, or Ardor by Vladimir Nabokov — Jean-Luc Godard: While reading this, I kept thinking that this was the literary equivalent of the French New Wave. I think sixties Godard could have made an amazing film out of this great book (my favorite Nabokov).
Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand — Jean Renoir: I imagine he could have made an amazing film from the play, deftly handling the huge shifts in tone.
Chris: I can understand disliking Godard’s films because they are so self-concious, but you can’t really criticize him for it, since that was what he was going for.
Welles’ quote is fantastic. He was one of the most intelligent filmmakers ever, even if that intellect was usually overshadowed by his outsized personality/persona.
Herzog’s statement is pretty funny. I can’t decide which I like more, Herzog films or the Herzog persona. As great as the films are, everything he says or does is so wonderfully amusing!
Justin: Perhaps their bleakness would cancel each other out, and it would actually be downright jolly. I can see the posters for the film, touting David Lynch’s latest light-hearted romp, based on the novel by the man who brought us such heart-warming gems as Waiting for Godot and Krapp’s Last Tape.
These quotes remind of reading George Bernard Shaw’s criticism. He is one of my favorite writers, but I always find myself surprised by how critical he can be of other artists (even Shakespeare!). But I suppose that is the way of all great, distinct artists: they have such a strong personal vision that anyone or anything that does not adhere to that is wrong.
And I am seriously hoping a book of directors’ opinions of each other comes along someday. :)
Noel: Thanks for answering! Your work sounds very interesting (frightening, as well, but certainly interesting). Wouldn’t we all rather be at a film festival? :)
I normally hate listening to books on tape, but I would love to hear Jeremy Irons do anything, even recount his destructive sexual obsession with a pre-adolescent girl.
Die Asta: I have to disagree with you there. As much as I love the “early, funny ones”, whole schlemiel schtick is not exactly a turn on. I prefer slightly later Woody (say, late-70s through ‘80s, with Everyone Says I Love You thrown in because he was just too cute singing "I’m Through with Love"), despite the fact that the characters he played were, generally, progressively more egotistical, selfish, cruel, petty, neurotic, hypocritical, vain, intellectually arrogant…I hope this is not a portent for future relationships.
By the way, what does your name mean? I hope it is not a death threat addressed to Nick and Nora’s adorable pooch.
My film-viewing has never really been effected by a director’s personal life (though, I will admit that I have a hard time accepting morality tales from Mr. Griffith), but I know some people who refuse to watch films because of the people involved. My dad finds anything with Jane Fonda or Barbara Streisand unappealing because of their personal politics, and, unfortunately, I know many people who aren’t even interested in watching Woody Allen films because they consider him a pedophile and child molester. A friend’s mother made a comment along those lines when I brought up one of his films, after which I quickly filler her in on the behavior of Roman Polanski, whose Oliver Twist she had just bought on impulse. I hoped to make a point by doing that, but I’m pretty sure I just prevented her watching her movie. Oh, well.
Die Asta: That’s an interesting story. I have never seen any of her films, but I have just recently taken a keener interest in silent films, so I will certainly look out for her.
It’s funny, in the past two weeks, I have just started trying to teach myself German, so my first thought was that your name meant something in German. When I was unable to find the word (name, it turns out) “Asta” in any English-German dictionaries, I decided that it must have been a Thin Man reference.
: P
A Streetcar Named Desire was probably the first film I saw that made me take film seriously, but seeing 8 1/2 was what made me a confirmed cinemaniac. Funnily enough, I didn’t think I cared for it at first: I couldn’t get into the plot, I got lost in the transitions from fantasy to reality, I found it technically stunning, but emotionally unengaging. However, I dreamed about it the entire night after my first viewing, and images and snatches of music and dialogue infected my consciousness for weeks. When I saw it the second time, I found it fascinating, thrilling, hilarious, and couldn’t believe that I could ever have found it boring! Now, I have seen it at least five times, I imagine, and consider it to be one of my favorite films.
I think my mother’s favorite is Terms of Endearment, my father’s is undoubtably Forrest Gump (he never misses an opportunity to quote it), and they both enjoy things like Austin Powers and Dumb and Dumber. Credit where credit is due: my dad does enjoy films like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Godfather, Goodfellas, etc. (he can appreciate classics if they’re masculine, in English, and are not more than 40 years old), and my mother will always agree to watch any film I ask her to, and has sat through The Rules of the Game and (more recently) A Christmas Tale and at least pretended to like them.
My father and I have a standing agreement that if I watch We Were Soldiers, he will watch a film of my choice. Despite my first instinct to be spiteful and choose a film that he will dislike as much as I’m sure I will dislike We Were Soldiers, I would hate to pass up the opportunity to show him a classic film that he would enjoy. I have thought about maybe going with Shoot the Piano Player, but, then again, subtitles might not be the way to go (and I’m not sure if he would care for its romanticism). Do you guys have any suggestions?
Soybean: Great idea; I hadn’t thought of that one, despite the fact that I’ve mentioned Orson Welle’s monologue to him several times. I’ve also started thinking that he might like Bridge on the River Kwai (though I worry he’ll dislike it because of the length).
And please don’t tell me anything bad about We Were Soldiers! I really want to go in with an open mind. I was just speaking to my dad, and he tried to dispell my fears that it would be jingoistic and excessively gory. I just want to watch it with no qualms or expectations, so I can make my dad happy by seeing a film that was obviously very meaningful to him.
David: What a great way to experience Band of Outsiders! With such interesting things happening in film at that time, that festival must have been very exciting.
Sad to say, this isn’t the first time I’ve made a mistake like this. There has been many a time when I have sat puzzling over a French sentence that seems completely nonsensical, only to realize that just because a word LOOKS like one in English, doesn’t mean the two words have anything in common!
I’ve noticed that it’s not even just in movies with younger audiences. I go to the Met movie theater simulcasts regularly. At these showings, almost everyone other than myself is over the age of fifty, yet there have been many I have seen where people talked through the entire thing.
I think the ability of the audience to accept the actor as a character also depends a great deal upon the film itself. I saw the movie ‘Ship of Fools’ the other day and kept thinking, “How wonderful Oskar Werner is in this!” But when I see him in ‘Jules and Jim’, I don’t think about the fact that he is an actor: he is just Jules. The difference is that ‘Ship of Fools’ is a mediocre film that depends completely upon the (generally, quite good) performances of the actors, while ‘Jules and Jim’ is a great film, where all of the elements are so well-done that one performance does not stand out any more than another.
I think I’ll continue the trend and ask something completely off-topic: does anyone have the obituary Updike wrote for Nabokov? I’ve wanted to read it for some time, but have been unable to find it.
Tobias: Thank you for the selections you posted. Very interesting.
Tobias: Thank you for looking. I have scoured the internet and been unable to find it, but the few excerpts I have read (like the ones you posted: lovely, and so apt) have really piqued my interest.
Lolita over 3 years ago
Claus, I have not seen the newer adaptation, but the Lolita of the novel is bratty, making Humbert’s obsession with her all the more pathetic. Though it may not have worked in the film, I think the actress was probably trying to play it as the character in the book was written.
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SEX & LOVE IN CELLULOID: WHO FIRST, AND WHO LATELY, TURNED YOU ON? over 3 years ago
My first one was Ralph Fiennes at about 13; needless to say, my friends were baffled. It was also around this time that I first saw Brando in ‘Streetcar’. What a shock that was!
Now, I am happy to watch practically anything if I’ll be rewarded with a glimpse of Buster Keaton, Alec Guiness (no matter how silly his costume of accent), Marcello Mastroianni, Oskar Werner, or Tim Roth. (And [should I mention this?] Woody Allen. Ok, I said it!)
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THE AUTEURS JUNKIES CRISIS CENTRE/SUPPORT GROUP/COUNSELLING SERVICE over 3 years ago
I’m not a junkie (yet), as today marked my first time ever posting on the website, but I can already see that this is going to be a major distraction from more productive things I should be doing (like the English paper that I should be writing right now).
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Lolita over 3 years ago
Claus,
I only pointed that out from a sense of duty as a Lolita-lover. However, though I haven’t seen the new film, I can understand the character being played too bratty, in a film as serious as this one apparently is, seeming wrong. It was great in the first movie because it was supposed to be a comedy. It worked in the book because of Nabokov’s brilliant writing. However, stripped of that sparkling prose and played as a tragedy, I imagine it would just seem silly that a seemingly-sophisticated grown man would be going crazy over such a crass child. So, I imagine you were right in your assessment that it just didn’t work.
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Mistransalted titles over 3 years ago
Though not as amusing as everyone else’s comments, I feel La Grande Illusion’s English title should be The Great Illusion, not The Grand Illusion. You still get the same basic meaning, but it seems to me that the word “great” better conveys the idea. Plus, the film is set during “The Great War”!
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SEX & LOVE IN CELLULOID: WHO FIRST, AND WHO LATELY, TURNED YOU ON? over 3 years ago
MMoore: It’s true! It’s true! Unfortunately, I think I’m a bit too young, even for HIM.
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THE AUTEURS JUNKIES CRISIS CENTRE/SUPPORT GROUP/COUNSELLING SERVICE over 3 years ago
Noel: Where are you stationed? Sorry to be so nosy. : P
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Criterion Coming Soon and Discussion over 3 years ago
I’m so excited about the Bunuel releases and The Last Metro: I’ve been desperate to see these films for a long time. Hobson’s Choice is probably my favorite early Lean, and I’m glad that there will be a better release of The Hit (the current one is dreadful).
I’ve heard a lot about In the Realm of the Senses. That might be one to rent…
Edit: I just looked at the websites information on Science is Fiction. It looks amazing!
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You choose the book to make into a film. Then choose the director. Go! over 3 years ago
Oscar and Lucinda by Peter Carey — Werner Herzog: I wasn’t crazy about the adaptation with Ralph Fiennes and Cate Blanchett. Gillian Armstrong is too grounded; this needs that crazy-yet-humanistic touch he achieved in Fitzcarraldo.)
Notre Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo — Arnaud Desplechin: Despite having only seen two of his films, I think he could probably handle the multiple storylines and tones. Plus, I imagine he would be gutsy enough to find a way of including the “Bird’s Eye View of Paris” chapter.
Ada, or Ardor by Vladimir Nabokov — Jean-Luc Godard: While reading this, I kept thinking that this was the literary equivalent of the French New Wave. I think sixties Godard could have made an amazing film out of this great book (my favorite Nabokov).
Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand — Jean Renoir: I imagine he could have made an amazing film from the play, deftly handling the huge shifts in tone.
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Herzog, Welles, and Bergman on Godard over 3 years ago
Chris: I can understand disliking Godard’s films because they are so self-concious, but you can’t really criticize him for it, since that was what he was going for.
Welles’ quote is fantastic. He was one of the most intelligent filmmakers ever, even if that intellect was usually overshadowed by his outsized personality/persona.
Herzog’s statement is pretty funny. I can’t decide which I like more, Herzog films or the Herzog persona. As great as the films are, everything he says or does is so wonderfully amusing!
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You choose the book to make into a film. Then choose the director. Go! over 3 years ago
Justin: I think Beckett by way of Lynch might be too bleak for me to handle.
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You choose the book to make into a film. Then choose the director. Go! over 3 years ago
Justin: Perhaps their bleakness would cancel each other out, and it would actually be downright jolly. I can see the posters for the film, touting David Lynch’s latest light-hearted romp, based on the novel by the man who brought us such heart-warming gems as Waiting for Godot and Krapp’s Last Tape.
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Herzog, Welles, and Bergman on Godard over 3 years ago
These quotes remind of reading George Bernard Shaw’s criticism. He is one of my favorite writers, but I always find myself surprised by how critical he can be of other artists (even Shakespeare!). But I suppose that is the way of all great, distinct artists: they have such a strong personal vision that anyone or anything that does not adhere to that is wrong.
And I am seriously hoping a book of directors’ opinions of each other comes along someday. :)
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THE AUTEURS JUNKIES CRISIS CENTRE/SUPPORT GROUP/COUNSELLING SERVICE over 3 years ago
Noel: Thanks for answering! Your work sounds very interesting (frightening, as well, but certainly interesting). Wouldn’t we all rather be at a film festival? :)
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Lolita over 3 years ago
I normally hate listening to books on tape, but I would love to hear Jeremy Irons do anything, even recount his destructive sexual obsession with a pre-adolescent girl.
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SEX & LOVE IN CELLULOID: WHO FIRST, AND WHO LATELY, TURNED YOU ON? over 3 years ago
Die Asta: I have to disagree with you there. As much as I love the “early, funny ones”, whole schlemiel schtick is not exactly a turn on. I prefer slightly later Woody (say, late-70s through ‘80s, with Everyone Says I Love You thrown in because he was just too cute singing "I’m Through with Love"), despite the fact that the characters he played were, generally, progressively more egotistical, selfish, cruel, petty, neurotic, hypocritical, vain, intellectually arrogant…I hope this is not a portent for future relationships.
By the way, what does your name mean? I hope it is not a death threat addressed to Nick and Nora’s adorable pooch.
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In the spirit of the 'Riefenstahl' thread: Are there directors whose 'baggage' is so great it influences your viewing? over 3 years ago
My film-viewing has never really been effected by a director’s personal life (though, I will admit that I have a hard time accepting morality tales from Mr. Griffith), but I know some people who refuse to watch films because of the people involved. My dad finds anything with Jane Fonda or Barbara Streisand unappealing because of their personal politics, and, unfortunately, I know many people who aren’t even interested in watching Woody Allen films because they consider him a pedophile and child molester. A friend’s mother made a comment along those lines when I brought up one of his films, after which I quickly filler her in on the behavior of Roman Polanski, whose Oliver Twist she had just bought on impulse. I hoped to make a point by doing that, but I’m pretty sure I just prevented her watching her movie. Oh, well.
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SEX & LOVE IN CELLULOID: WHO FIRST, AND WHO LATELY, TURNED YOU ON? over 3 years ago
Die Asta: That’s an interesting story. I have never seen any of her films, but I have just recently taken a keener interest in silent films, so I will certainly look out for her.
It’s funny, in the past two weeks, I have just started trying to teach myself German, so my first thought was that your name meant something in German. When I was unable to find the word (name, it turns out) “Asta” in any English-German dictionaries, I decided that it must have been a Thin Man reference.
: P
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what film or films may have made you into the fan/fanatic you are over 3 years ago
A Streetcar Named Desire was probably the first film I saw that made me take film seriously, but seeing 8 1/2 was what made me a confirmed cinemaniac. Funnily enough, I didn’t think I cared for it at first: I couldn’t get into the plot, I got lost in the transitions from fantasy to reality, I found it technically stunning, but emotionally unengaging. However, I dreamed about it the entire night after my first viewing, and images and snatches of music and dialogue infected my consciousness for weeks. When I saw it the second time, I found it fascinating, thrilling, hilarious, and couldn’t believe that I could ever have found it boring! Now, I have seen it at least five times, I imagine, and consider it to be one of my favorite films.
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Movies your parents like over 3 years ago
I think my mother’s favorite is Terms of Endearment, my father’s is undoubtably Forrest Gump (he never misses an opportunity to quote it), and they both enjoy things like Austin Powers and Dumb and Dumber. Credit where credit is due: my dad does enjoy films like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Godfather, Goodfellas, etc. (he can appreciate classics if they’re masculine, in English, and are not more than 40 years old), and my mother will always agree to watch any film I ask her to, and has sat through The Rules of the Game and (more recently) A Christmas Tale and at least pretended to like them.
My father and I have a standing agreement that if I watch We Were Soldiers, he will watch a film of my choice. Despite my first instinct to be spiteful and choose a film that he will dislike as much as I’m sure I will dislike We Were Soldiers, I would hate to pass up the opportunity to show him a classic film that he would enjoy. I have thought about maybe going with Shoot the Piano Player, but, then again, subtitles might not be the way to go (and I’m not sure if he would care for its romanticism). Do you guys have any suggestions?
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Movies your parents like over 3 years ago
Soybean: Great idea; I hadn’t thought of that one, despite the fact that I’ve mentioned Orson Welle’s monologue to him several times. I’ve also started thinking that he might like Bridge on the River Kwai (though I worry he’ll dislike it because of the length).
And please don’t tell me anything bad about We Were Soldiers! I really want to go in with an open mind. I was just speaking to my dad, and he tried to dispell my fears that it would be jingoistic and excessively gory. I just want to watch it with no qualms or expectations, so I can make my dad happy by seeing a film that was obviously very meaningful to him.
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what film or films may have made you into the fan/fanatic you are over 3 years ago
David: What a great way to experience Band of Outsiders! With such interesting things happening in film at that time, that festival must have been very exciting.
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what film or films may have made you into the fan/fanatic you are over 3 years ago
Alex: It was my first, as well! I received that and The Seventh Seal for Christmas, and my money has been slowly dwindling away ever since…
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SEX & LOVE IN CELLULOID: WHO FIRST, AND WHO LATELY, TURNED YOU ON? over 3 years ago
Sad to say, this isn’t the first time I’ve made a mistake like this. There has been many a time when I have sat puzzling over a French sentence that seems completely nonsensical, only to realize that just because a word LOOKS like one in English, doesn’t mean the two words have anything in common!
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What Happened to Etiquette at the Movies? over 3 years ago
I’ve noticed that it’s not even just in movies with younger audiences. I go to the Met movie theater simulcasts regularly. At these showings, almost everyone other than myself is over the age of fifty, yet there have been many I have seen where people talked through the entire thing.
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Is the cult of celebrity and PR destroying our ability to suspend disbelief? over 3 years ago
I think the ability of the audience to accept the actor as a character also depends a great deal upon the film itself. I saw the movie ‘Ship of Fools’ the other day and kept thinking, “How wonderful Oskar Werner is in this!” But when I see him in ‘Jules and Jim’, I don’t think about the fact that he is an actor: he is just Jules. The difference is that ‘Ship of Fools’ is a mediocre film that depends completely upon the (generally, quite good) performances of the actors, while ‘Jules and Jim’ is a great film, where all of the elements are so well-done that one performance does not stand out any more than another.
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What Happened to Etiquette at the Movies? over 3 years ago
Mao: That man’s lack of manners is appalling. :)
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Forgive me for going off topic over 3 years ago
I think I’ll continue the trend and ask something completely off-topic: does anyone have the obituary Updike wrote for Nabokov? I’ve wanted to read it for some time, but have been unable to find it.
Tobias: Thank you for the selections you posted. Very interesting.
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Forgive me for going off topic over 3 years ago
Tobias: Thank you for looking. I have scoured the internet and been unable to find it, but the few excerpts I have read (like the ones you posted: lovely, and so apt) have really piqued my interest.
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Forgive me for going off topic over 3 years ago
Bob: Thank you so much! What a pleasure to finally get to read this!
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