On Holiday ( February 12th → February 17th ) in
MUBI editor and contributor.
I’ve always liked cinema and I’ve tried to watch one movie a day for more than 30 years now. Firstly in the theaters and, after the birth of my children, mainly home and late at night. It’s the only way I can digest a working day. So I admire a lot the people here who seem to have the time to watch 2, 3 or more movies a day.
When you grow older (and believe me, it comes faster that you can imagine), the problem of selecting a film becomes rather difficult. First of all, I’ve understood that a movie I didn’t enjoy when it was theatrically released in the 70’s or the 80’s could well become a favorite of mine nowadays so, even if I must have seen around 10’000 films in my life, I decided to rate here only films I saw recently. Secondly, I constantly hesitate between choosing to discover an old master or to discover a new director whose name is on everyone’s lips.
I’m convinced that, even in the worst B movie, there are a few seconds of pure cinema to be found. That’s why I’m ready to see anything from the first Lumière movies to the most abstruse contemporary works.
I enjoy following the development of personal themes throughout the filmography of a director. It’s a sure way to consider a film director as an auteur or not.
I’ve never seen a movie on the screen of a PC nor downloaded any films, books or series from the internet. I suppose that’s because I belong to a generation who liked to touch things and enjoyed wandering through libraries in the search of a special book. However, when I want to see a peculiar film, I’m ready to spend hours in front of my PC in order to find a decent copy of the title. I don’t mind buying VHS if it’s the only way to see a movie.
Besides cinema, I like to read, mainly classics, crime or SF novels. I listen to classical music as well as country music or the rock and roll bands of the 70’s, 80’s or the 90’s.
Current reading : Balzac and A.E. Van Vogt
Current musicians : Tom Petty, The Traveling Wilburys
Current passions : Criterion films, American Film Noir, André de Toth, Fred Zinnemann, Joseph Losey, John Huston, Ivan Passer, Basil Dearden and Mauro Bolognini.
Please excuse my English I learned mostly by reading or seeing movies with English subtitles.
Ratings :
One Star : Crap
Two Stars : Already Forgotten
Three Stars : Recommended to some extent
Four Stars : Highly Recommended. Go Go Go !
Five Stars : Masterpiece At least to me!
Flag counter started July, 2nd 2010.
