Couldn’t Movies be like listening to the Violin.
and Video Games be like playing the Violin.
Anybody could do either, but it takes a certain discipline or feeling to appreciate music, or to play it with the feeling it was intended by the composer. I think people watching movies or playing games can easilly overlook the vision and artistry of the creator if they are not so inclined.
Love Kobayashi, Love Hara-Kiri.
1. Made sense to me, it was his shame of becoming a petty extortionist that made him do it, not the sword. Of course, sadly, for his tormentors it was just a joke and they wanted to make an example of him.
2. If he didn’t manage to kill anybody, it would have been too bleak, even if more realistic. It think the Terminator type massacre is a litttle bit cathartic after what came before.
3. You mean that stuff in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon where they fly is fake!!!???
It’s just not very good. Ledger was fine, but the plot is just endless beat-the-clock scenario’s where the Joker has somebody’s girlfirend tied to a barrel of gunpowder and the fuse is lit. It was way too long and that CGI crap at the end with the computer spy vision was straight out of some dreck like “Eagle-Eye”. The syrupy bit at the end where the hardened inmate teaches us all about humanity nearly made me yack. There’s lots of other good mainstream movies, and if it has to be comic book stuff, I prefer Sin City or even X-Men.
It was not inspired by anything, it is a remake of the Cassavettes film, Gloria. Which is kind of a terrible movie, Cassavettes doing a “blockbuster”…but sort of fascinating. It’s also a favorite of Wong Kar-Wai.
Big fan, I think he’s discounted as a provacatuer only, but Gummo is really an intelligent piece of Americana that should be view alongside something like The Right Stuff. I liked Mr. Lonely as well, but it’s certainly a “gentle” movie, and bothered people who wanted it to be more “sick”. It reminded me of the more laid-back experimental stuff from the 60s. Also, a side note, I met Harmony, and he went out of his way to sign every dorky fan-boy’s import copy of Ken Park, and was very friendly and personable.
A long time ago, it was anounced that Antichrist was going to be a “commercial” movie. To oversimplify, I think this is LVT wanting to make a little money on the SAW franchise’s popularity. More power to him. There is a reason that Salo has more of a commercial reputation than all the rest of Pasolini’s films.
@Shotzi, “Unrated” DVDs are a goldmine, just because it might not get seen in theatres doesn’t mean a horror movie won’t make money. I can see the front cover now “This is the most despairing film I’ve ever have seen.” – Roger Ebert
Jesus was a good guy, but even by the most favorable accounts, he couldn’t get everybody to like him. If he couldn’t do it, good luck talking the unwashed masses into appreciating a good movie.
Finally saw it, and it’s good. TIlda does a better Gena Rowlands than Gena herself. Jeremy, you are crazy though, this is a complete remake of Gloria. Yes there are differences, but the plot, the character, and the themes are identical. Tilda Swinton is basically doing a Gena Rowlands impersonation through this whole thing. It’s sort of like Fingers vs. Beat my Heart Skipped. I like it better than the original…but it couldn’t exist without it.
At home I’m pretty good at stopping the movie and going to “intermission” (bed) when my eyelids get droopy. I’ve never slept in a theater, because I could never accept spending money to sleep. The exception to this is purposefully sleeping in a movie when I worked at a theater, so I got in free. It is actually quite wonderful, very womb-like, and I recommend it. You occasionally wake from your dream to another dream, and back again, it’s very nice. I seem to remember Kiarostami also recommending sleeping through his movies. Here you go:
It’s Johnny Hallyday, and he is hardly an art-house star, he’s a huge music star in France (or at least he was). I’m assuming you wouldn’t call the Rolling Stones and Jane Fonda art-house, but they both starred in Godard movies.
Yeah, The Conversation is the final word, I think, in terms of illustrating importance of sound.
Robert Altman also gets brought up a lot for the overlapping dialogue he uses in things like Nashville.
I always thought 2001 had a very inventive and progressive sound design as well.
Outside of the Criterions and new Hollywood, what are some interesting titles available on this format? Particularly interested in foreign (Not-American) films.
I was interested too, and started a seperate thread, looking for more arthouse /foreign fare, but I received only 1 response.
The ones you like are all over the map, so maybe you should specify more what kind of movie you’re interested in?
For now I can say that the Bladerunner Blu-Ray is just beautiful, plus a great movie.
It’s weird that people on a Criterion forum ( a company long known for high-quality home video) are so misinformed about image quality. I can accept that you think movies are a waste of money, and you rather just steal them off the file-sharing sites, but if you’re going to spend money on them, you may as well get the best version. In the case of Blu-Ray you can get a region free player for $160 that will upscale your standard DVDs to 1080p and play any DVD or BR from around the world. In addition some of the Criterions Bu-Rays are actually priced less than the DVD version. I’ll admit that when the players were priced $500+ and there was no media it was not ready for primetime, but right now it’s really acceptable for somebody serious about cinema. The image quality is VERY different if you are a discerning customer.
I imagine this will probably the last “physical” movie format, and the future is downloads.
@RAYSQUIRREL
I would agree, however at least pre-colonialism they were killing eachother on their own terms, without guns and bombs and such it wasn’t as easy. Africa is a mess right now because of Colonialism and European meddling, without a doubt. See also the Middle East, Yugoslavia, India/Pakistan, Chile, etc, etc…..
@RAYSQUIRREL
I would agree, however at least pre-colonialism they were killing eachother on their own terms, without guns and bombs and such it wasn’t as easy. Africa is a mess right now because of Colonialism and European meddling, without a doubt. See also the Middle East, Yugoslavia, India/Pakistan, Chile, etc, etc…..
What a ridiculous list, but at least it is interesting. I assuming this was done by committee, which make the idiosyncratic choices that much more random. Of the ones I have seen….
1. Mulholland Drive, David Lynch
Yes.
2. Elephant, Gus Van Sant
Horrible, just horrible
3. Tropical Malady, Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Eh, it’s ok.
4. The Host, Bong Joon-ho
So-so.
5. A History of Violence, David Cronenberg
So-so, one of Cronenberg’s worst.
9. Le Nouveau monde, Terrence Malick
Horrible, just horrible, Malick’s worst.
10. Ten, Abbas Kiarostami
Yes.
Right, but I would expect individual critics to have weird lists. Cahiers as a whole I would think would be a little more straightforward. Like getting a group of people to agree that Tropical Malady is the #3 movie of the decade is just odd. Also, sorry if I derailed the discussion with my dislike for Van Sant, as I’ll admit I am not a fan at all.
Yes, the 35mm print of Gone With The Wind looked better in 1939 than either the current DVD or Bleu-Ray (tee-hee) can look today. That is not subjective, it is fact.
“well i guess i just dont see how a movie that i watch in theaters is more high def than blu ray, because it isnt.”
OH MY GOD PEOPLE!!! How can you be so incredibly ignorant and also be 100% convinced you know everything? There is a wealth of information on the internet if you actually care, but this shit is really cut & dry. Blu-Ray looks better than DVD because there are more “dots” on the screen. A movie theater film 35mm film print is a different technology but also sort of has dots, and in fact it has more dots than either Blu-Ray or DVD, so it looks even better. There are other factors, but until you understand the basics, there is nothing else to talk about.
Video Games Get The Criterion Treatment about 3 years ago
Pac-man = Andy Warhol
GTA = Tarantino
Resident Evil = Romero
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Video Games Get The Criterion Treatment about 3 years ago
Oh, and Mario Bros = Fellini
Couldn’t Movies be like listening to the Violin.
and Video Games be like playing the Violin.
Anybody could do either, but it takes a certain discipline or feeling to appreciate music, or to play it with the feeling it was intended by the composer. I think people watching movies or playing games can easilly overlook the vision and artistry of the creator if they are not so inclined.
Go to Comment
Some objections to Harakiri about 3 years ago
Love Kobayashi, Love Hara-Kiri.
1. Made sense to me, it was his shame of becoming a petty extortionist that made him do it, not the sword. Of course, sadly, for his tormentors it was just a joke and they wanted to make an example of him.
2. If he didn’t manage to kill anybody, it would have been too bleak, even if more realistic. It think the Terminator type massacre is a litttle bit cathartic after what came before.
3. You mean that stuff in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon where they fly is fake!!!???
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Some objections to Harakiri about 3 years ago
Oh, and if you wanted more realism, I think you’ll really dig Kobayashi’s “The Human Condition”, coming soon to Criterion
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Best of Coming-Of-Age Cinema about 3 years ago
Flirting
Year My Voice Broke
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What is up with all the Dark Knight hate? about 3 years ago
It’s just not very good. Ledger was fine, but the plot is just endless beat-the-clock scenario’s where the Joker has somebody’s girlfirend tied to a barrel of gunpowder and the fuse is lit. It was way too long and that CGI crap at the end with the computer spy vision was straight out of some dreck like “Eagle-Eye”. The syrupy bit at the end where the hardened inmate teaches us all about humanity nearly made me yack. There’s lots of other good mainstream movies, and if it has to be comic book stuff, I prefer Sin City or even X-Men.
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Erick Zonka's Julia about 3 years ago
It was not inspired by anything, it is a remake of the Cassavettes film, Gloria. Which is kind of a terrible movie, Cassavettes doing a “blockbuster”…but sort of fascinating. It’s also a favorite of Wong Kar-Wai.
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PEOPLE THAT RESPECT AND DEFEND HARMONY KORINE'S WORK, SHOW YOURSELF! about 3 years ago
Big fan, I think he’s discounted as a provacatuer only, but Gummo is really an intelligent piece of Americana that should be view alongside something like The Right Stuff. I liked Mr. Lonely as well, but it’s certainly a “gentle” movie, and bothered people who wanted it to be more “sick”. It reminded me of the more laid-back experimental stuff from the 60s. Also, a side note, I met Harmony, and he went out of his way to sign every dorky fan-boy’s import copy of Ken Park, and was very friendly and personable.
Go to Comment
Cannes Antichrist Reaction about 3 years ago
A long time ago, it was anounced that Antichrist was going to be a “commercial” movie. To oversimplify, I think this is LVT wanting to make a little money on the SAW franchise’s popularity. More power to him. There is a reason that Salo has more of a commercial reputation than all the rest of Pasolini’s films.
Go to Comment
Cannes Antichrist Reaction about 3 years ago
@Shotzi, “Unrated” DVDs are a goldmine, just because it might not get seen in theatres doesn’t mean a horror movie won’t make money. I can see the front cover now “This is the most despairing film I’ve ever have seen.” – Roger Ebert
Go to Comment
The Human (waiting) Condition. about 3 years ago
I agree, though why no blu-ray? Missed opportunity.
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Can you prove a film is good? almost 3 years ago
Jesus was a good guy, but even by the most favorable accounts, he couldn’t get everybody to like him. If he couldn’t do it, good luck talking the unwashed masses into appreciating a good movie.
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The Human (waiting) Condition. almost 3 years ago
The previous release (image entertainment?) was piss poor, non-anamorphic, etc… The Criterion should be a revelation.
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Erick Zonka's Julia almost 3 years ago
Finally saw it, and it’s good. TIlda does a better Gena Rowlands than Gena herself. Jeremy, you are crazy though, this is a complete remake of Gloria. Yes there are differences, but the plot, the character, and the themes are identical. Tilda Swinton is basically doing a Gena Rowlands impersonation through this whole thing. It’s sort of like Fingers vs. Beat my Heart Skipped. I like it better than the original…but it couldn’t exist without it.
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Ok, admit you dozed off or slept while watching.... over 2 years ago
At home I’m pretty good at stopping the movie and going to “intermission” (bed) when my eyelids get droopy. I’ve never slept in a theater, because I could never accept spending money to sleep. The exception to this is purposefully sleeping in a movie when I worked at a theater, so I got in free. It is actually quite wonderful, very womb-like, and I recommend it. You occasionally wake from your dream to another dream, and back again, it’s very nice. I seem to remember Kiarostami also recommending sleeping through his movies. Here you go:
http://spaniardintheworks.blogspot.com/2007/05/some-thoughts-on-kiarostamis-five.html
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Jonathan Rosenbaum is giving a lecture for my cinema class tonight. Any questions you'd like to ask? over 2 years ago
Considering he praised A.I. to high heaven, I would ask him to retire.
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johnny holliday over 2 years ago
It’s Johnny Hallyday, and he is hardly an art-house star, he’s a huge music star in France (or at least he was). I’m assuming you wouldn’t call the Rolling Stones and Jane Fonda art-house, but they both starred in Godard movies.
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Are there any remakes that are better than the original film? over 2 years ago
I’m sure this will be unpopular, but…
The Beat My Heart Skipped > Fingers
Julia > Gloria
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Innovative use of sound! over 2 years ago
Yeah, The Conversation is the final word, I think, in terms of illustrating importance of sound.
Robert Altman also gets brought up a lot for the overlapping dialogue he uses in things like Nashville.
I always thought 2001 had a very inventive and progressive sound design as well.
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Innovative use of sound! over 2 years ago
double post
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Non-Criterion Blu-Ray Titles over 2 years ago
Just got an region-free Blu-Ray machine.
Outside of the Criterions and new Hollywood, what are some interesting titles available on this format? Particularly interested in foreign (Not-American) films.
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Blu-Ray's worth buying over 2 years ago
I was interested too, and started a seperate thread, looking for more arthouse /foreign fare, but I received only 1 response.
The ones you like are all over the map, so maybe you should specify more what kind of movie you’re interested in?
For now I can say that the Bladerunner Blu-Ray is just beautiful, plus a great movie.
Go to Comment
Blu-Ray's worth buying over 2 years ago
It’s weird that people on a Criterion forum ( a company long known for high-quality home video) are so misinformed about image quality. I can accept that you think movies are a waste of money, and you rather just steal them off the file-sharing sites, but if you’re going to spend money on them, you may as well get the best version. In the case of Blu-Ray you can get a region free player for $160 that will upscale your standard DVDs to 1080p and play any DVD or BR from around the world. In addition some of the Criterions Bu-Rays are actually priced less than the DVD version. I’ll admit that when the players were priced $500+ and there was no media it was not ready for primetime, but right now it’s really acceptable for somebody serious about cinema. The image quality is VERY different if you are a discerning customer.
I imagine this will probably the last “physical” movie format, and the future is downloads.
Go to Comment
Racism in Avatar over 2 years ago
When Will White People Stop Making Movies Like “Avatar”?
When black people stop making movies “Soul Plane”.
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Racism in Avatar over 2 years ago
@RAYSQUIRREL
I would agree, however at least pre-colonialism they were killing eachother on their own terms, without guns and bombs and such it wasn’t as easy. Africa is a mess right now because of Colonialism and European meddling, without a doubt. See also the Middle East, Yugoslavia, India/Pakistan, Chile, etc, etc…..
Go to Comment
Racism in Avatar over 2 years ago
@RAYSQUIRREL
I would agree, however at least pre-colonialism they were killing eachother on their own terms, without guns and bombs and such it wasn’t as easy. Africa is a mess right now because of Colonialism and European meddling, without a doubt. See also the Middle East, Yugoslavia, India/Pakistan, Chile, etc, etc…..
Go to Comment
Cahiers names War of the Worlds as one of the best of the decade?? over 2 years ago
What a ridiculous list, but at least it is interesting. I assuming this was done by committee, which make the idiosyncratic choices that much more random. Of the ones I have seen….
1. Mulholland Drive, David Lynch
Yes.
2. Elephant, Gus Van Sant
Horrible, just horrible
3. Tropical Malady, Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Eh, it’s ok.
4. The Host, Bong Joon-ho
So-so.
5. A History of Violence, David Cronenberg
So-so, one of Cronenberg’s worst.
9. Le Nouveau monde, Terrence Malick
Horrible, just horrible, Malick’s worst.
10. Ten, Abbas Kiarostami
Yes.
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Cahiers names War of the Worlds as one of the best of the decade?? over 2 years ago
Right, but I would expect individual critics to have weird lists. Cahiers as a whole I would think would be a little more straightforward. Like getting a group of people to agree that Tropical Malady is the #3 movie of the decade is just odd. Also, sorry if I derailed the discussion with my dislike for Van Sant, as I’ll admit I am not a fan at all.
Go to Comment
blu-ray is kinda bullshit over 2 years ago
Yes, the 35mm print of Gone With The Wind looked better in 1939 than either the current DVD or Bleu-Ray (tee-hee) can look today. That is not subjective, it is fact.
Go to Comment
blu-ray is kinda bullshit over 2 years ago
“well i guess i just dont see how a movie that i watch in theaters is more high def than blu ray, because it isnt.”
OH MY GOD PEOPLE!!! How can you be so incredibly ignorant and also be 100% convinced you know everything? There is a wealth of information on the internet if you actually care, but this shit is really cut & dry. Blu-Ray looks better than DVD because there are more “dots” on the screen. A movie theater film 35mm film print is a different technology but also sort of has dots, and in fact it has more dots than either Blu-Ray or DVD, so it looks even better. There are other factors, but until you understand the basics, there is nothing else to talk about.
Go to Comment