Children of Men
Contempt
Days of Heaven
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
If…
Last Days
Lost in Translation
Pierrot Le Fou
Regular Lovers
Red Desert
I’m actually quite… umm… confused about Made in U.S.A. being released too. I mean, it’s Godard and it’s Karina and it’s fun to watch, but isn’t the masterpiece that a lot of people will be expecting.
I would realy love it if Criterion would release Godard’s First Name: Carmen. Anyone else agree?
Apparently Waltz plays “the ultimate cartoon Nazi”, which makes me weary if the award is really deserved.
Overall, I have to say this was the most exciting Cannes film festival in quite some time, what with the “Antichrist” and “Kinatay” controversy. Quality-wise it was a little shaky, as the parts seemed to be better than the whole. It just proves there really will be no beating the 2007 Cannes selection. But it was definitely an improvement over 2008’s yawn of a festival.
Antichrist – Features hardcore sex, violence and a close up of genital self-mutilation. Elicited boos/ jeers at the morning press screening, and at the press conference later that day Von Trier was verbally attacked by a British reporter who asked him to “justify” his making the movie (a question that was followed by laughs and smatterings of applause).
Kinatay – Features a 45 minute assault/murder/dismemberment of a prostitute that was shown in graphic detail. Roger Ebert went on to say that he took back what he said about “The Brown Bunny” and dubbed Kinatay the worst film ever to be shown in the history of the festival.
I can sort of see where Fransisco is coming from. I find Velvet Goldmine to be much too cold and calculated, and Rhys-Meyers really is no match against Cate Blanchett. I’m Not There and Velvet Goldmine are very similar in content, but I just found I’m Not There to be much more involving and exciting to watch. But I still think it’s a solid film, surely one of the most overlooked of the 1990’s.
Far From Heaven may be his most critically well-received movie, but once I again I couldn’t help but watch the movie with a layer of detachment: the pervasive “1950’s melodrama” aesthetic made it impossible to give any emotional investment in these characters. You could say that this is the point, but I’ll take the “I Want You” sequence in I’m Not There over the entirety of Far From Heaven.
By the way, does anyway else think that Criterion should release Velvet Goldmine and Safe? Those are two movies screaming for a release.
Andy Warhol – hmm… maybe Todd Haynes??? His films deal largely with the role identity in the public domain plays in one’s life, which Warhol also had an interest in (or maybe created in the first place?) with the silk screen portraits.
Wow, I’m surprised to see so much support for Synecdoche, NY. I admire the film and appreciate the adventurousness of it, but it is hard to love (Even Glenn Kenny, who had it on his top ten list, called it “the most thoroughly joyless film I’ve ever seen”).
While not as radical, I think Eternal Sunshine is just as brilliant viewing after viewing (while I simply cannot bring myself to venture back to Synecdoche,NY), and I still hold up my assertion that it’s one of the most daring, exhilarating and creative romantic comedies of all time.
The three-minute montage inserted in the middle of the apartment scene in Contempt.
It’s so beautiful and poetic, and is made all the more meaningful by the fact that if these two characters would simply share their true feelings (as stated in the circling voice over that accompanies the montage) they could solve their problems.
I recently viewed both of these again recently, so I just thought I’d start a thread asking of everyone’s thoughts/preferences on these two films. The main comparison is that they both take place in 1960’s London, even though one can argue that they are wildly different in what they portray, but anyway…
Blow-Up is certainly the more popular film, and I’ve always liked it and found it a fun and entertaining watch, but it really is horribly dated, and exists entirely on the surface. Not to mention I can’t help but feel that Antonioni was simply recycling his lack of plot resolve he made famous with the disappearance of Anna in L’Avventura with the murder mystery aspect in Blow-Up.
Performance has certainly not emerged unscathed over thirty years, and Mick Jagger’s “acting” definitely takes some getting used to, but there is a real darkness and mystery to it that keeps me interested. And I also think it’s a terrific time capsule of a very precise period of the late 1960s: when the countercultural hippie-optimism gave way to a sort of unsettling dread that would later be justified by the oncoming Vietnam War.
What irks me about the trailer is that it doesn’t even look like it has been adapted to be a movie musical. It’s just Kate Hudson and Penelope Cruz dancing and singing on a stage while Marshall is filming. With Chicago it kind of worked but I don’t know if it will be here.
2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (Jean-Luc Godard)
3 Women (Robert Altman)
Contempt (Jean-Luc Godard)
Day for Night (Francois Truffaut)
Days of Heaven (Terrence Malick)
Last Days (Gus Van Sant)
Mulholland Dr. (David Lynch)
Pierrot Le Fou (Jean-Luc Godard)
Red Desert (Michelangelo Antonioni)
Regular Lovers (Philippe Garrel)
Was just looking at the “best french films since 2000” topic and this came to my mind. While not very well known, I think it’s one of the more interesting films of the decade. On a technical level, I think it’s a triumph, and while the story goes completely off the rails in the last third I still think it’s a terrific, challenging plunge into the corporate-technological vortex of today.
What's your Top 10? about 3 years ago
Children of Men
Contempt
Days of Heaven
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
If…
Last Days
Lost in Translation
Pierrot Le Fou
Regular Lovers
Red Desert
Go to Comment
The Auteurs' Fake Criterion Covers about 3 years ago
Don’t be too cruel… it is my first time and I have a lot to learn Photoshop wise…
Go to Comment
What is (are) your favorite frame(s)? about 3 years ago
Go to Comment
The Auteurs' Fake Criterion Covers about 3 years ago
Go to Comment
What is (are) your favorite frame(s)? about 3 years ago
Go to Comment
YOUR PREDICTION FOR THIS YEAR'S PALM D'OR WINNER? about 3 years ago
I have a definite feeling it’s going to be The White Ribbon.
If not, either A Prophet, Fishtank or Bright Star.
Your thoughts thus far?
Go to Comment
YOUR PREDICTION FOR THIS YEAR'S PALM D'OR WINNER? about 3 years ago
Antichrist = Special Jury Prize anyone???
Go to Comment
2 OR 3 THINGS I KNOW ABOUT HER about 3 years ago
So is anyone else ridiculously excited for this to come out? July can’t come soon enough…
Go to Comment
YOUR PREDICTION FOR THIS YEAR'S PALM D'OR WINNER? about 3 years ago
I was right as well! Yay for White Ribbon!
Go to Comment
2 OR 3 THINGS I KNOW ABOUT HER about 3 years ago
I’m actually quite… umm… confused about Made in U.S.A. being released too. I mean, it’s Godard and it’s Karina and it’s fun to watch, but isn’t the masterpiece that a lot of people will be expecting.
I would realy love it if Criterion would release Godard’s First Name: Carmen. Anyone else agree?
Go to Comment
YOUR PREDICTION FOR THIS YEAR'S PALM D'OR WINNER? about 3 years ago
Apparently Waltz plays “the ultimate cartoon Nazi”, which makes me weary if the award is really deserved.
Overall, I have to say this was the most exciting Cannes film festival in quite some time, what with the “Antichrist” and “Kinatay” controversy. Quality-wise it was a little shaky, as the parts seemed to be better than the whole. It just proves there really will be no beating the 2007 Cannes selection. But it was definitely an improvement over 2008’s yawn of a festival.
Go to Comment
YOUR PREDICTION FOR THIS YEAR'S PALM D'OR WINNER? about 3 years ago
Antichrist – Features hardcore sex, violence and a close up of genital self-mutilation. Elicited boos/ jeers at the morning press screening, and at the press conference later that day Von Trier was verbally attacked by a British reporter who asked him to “justify” his making the movie (a question that was followed by laughs and smatterings of applause).
Kinatay – Features a 45 minute assault/murder/dismemberment of a prostitute that was shown in graphic detail. Roger Ebert went on to say that he took back what he said about “The Brown Bunny” and dubbed Kinatay the worst film ever to be shown in the history of the festival.
Go to Comment
Velvet goldmine- Todd Haynes greatest film? about 3 years ago
I can sort of see where Fransisco is coming from. I find Velvet Goldmine to be much too cold and calculated, and Rhys-Meyers really is no match against Cate Blanchett. I’m Not There and Velvet Goldmine are very similar in content, but I just found I’m Not There to be much more involving and exciting to watch. But I still think it’s a solid film, surely one of the most overlooked of the 1990’s.
Far From Heaven may be his most critically well-received movie, but once I again I couldn’t help but watch the movie with a layer of detachment: the pervasive “1950’s melodrama” aesthetic made it impossible to give any emotional investment in these characters. You could say that this is the point, but I’ll take the “I Want You” sequence in I’m Not There over the entirety of Far From Heaven.
By the way, does anyway else think that Criterion should release Velvet Goldmine and Safe? Those are two movies screaming for a release.
Go to Comment
Who is the BEST critic in the business right now? about 3 years ago
Hmmm… I think I would have to say Manohla Dargis. No matter what, she always approaches films with an open mind.
Other great critics:
Kent Jones
A.O. Scott
Amy Taubin
Go to Comment
IF YOU WERE TO COMPARE A DIRECTOR TO A VISUAL ARTIST, WHO WOULD HE BE? almost 3 years ago
Luis Bunuel – Salvador Dali (I know, an easy one)
Andy Warhol – hmm… maybe Todd Haynes??? His films deal largely with the role identity in the public domain plays in one’s life, which Warhol also had an interest in (or maybe created in the first place?) with the silk screen portraits.
Go to Comment
IF YOU WERE TO COMPARE A DIRECTOR TO A VISUAL ARTIST, WHO WOULD HE BE? almost 3 years ago
I was also thinking of comparing Wong Kar-Wai to Edward Hopper.
Go to Comment
Your favorite title sequence almost 3 years ago
Made in U.S.A. – uses only initials when addressing the cast/crew.
Go to Comment
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind or Synecdoche Newyork almost 3 years ago
Wow, I’m surprised to see so much support for Synecdoche, NY. I admire the film and appreciate the adventurousness of it, but it is hard to love (Even Glenn Kenny, who had it on his top ten list, called it “the most thoroughly joyless film I’ve ever seen”).
While not as radical, I think Eternal Sunshine is just as brilliant viewing after viewing (while I simply cannot bring myself to venture back to Synecdoche,NY), and I still hold up my assertion that it’s one of the most daring, exhilarating and creative romantic comedies of all time.
Go to Comment
GODARD'S LATER WORK IN THE CRITERION COLLECTION? almost 3 years ago
Slow Motion. Passion. Hail Mary. Histoire(s) du Cinema. Detective. First Name: Carmen. Anyone else like to see these added to the collection?
My current DVD of First Name: Carmen has an appalling image and subtitles burned into the screen…
I’ve also been dying to see Slow Motion.
Go to Comment
Film Magazines almost 3 years ago
Sight and Sound is a good magazine, but the writers at Film Comment go much deeper in their critiques/analysis of films.
Go to Comment
Ommited Auteurs almost 3 years ago
Jacques Rivette!
Go to Comment
What Are Your Cinematic Moments of the "Ecstatic Truth"? almost 3 years ago
The three-minute montage inserted in the middle of the apartment scene in Contempt.
It’s so beautiful and poetic, and is made all the more meaningful by the fact that if these two characters would simply share their true feelings (as stated in the circling voice over that accompanies the montage) they could solve their problems.
Go to Comment
BLOW-UP VS. PERFORMANCE almost 3 years ago
I recently viewed both of these again recently, so I just thought I’d start a thread asking of everyone’s thoughts/preferences on these two films. The main comparison is that they both take place in 1960’s London, even though one can argue that they are wildly different in what they portray, but anyway…
Blow-Up is certainly the more popular film, and I’ve always liked it and found it a fun and entertaining watch, but it really is horribly dated, and exists entirely on the surface. Not to mention I can’t help but feel that Antonioni was simply recycling his lack of plot resolve he made famous with the disappearance of Anna in L’Avventura with the murder mystery aspect in Blow-Up.
Performance has certainly not emerged unscathed over thirty years, and Mick Jagger’s “acting” definitely takes some getting used to, but there is a real darkness and mystery to it that keeps me interested. And I also think it’s a terrific time capsule of a very precise period of the late 1960s: when the countercultural hippie-optimism gave way to a sort of unsettling dread that would later be justified by the oncoming Vietnam War.
Go to Comment
What Do You Think Of The New "Nine" Musical Trailer ? almost 3 years ago
What irks me about the trailer is that it doesn’t even look like it has been adapted to be a movie musical. It’s just Kate Hudson and Penelope Cruz dancing and singing on a stage while Marshall is filming. With Chicago it kind of worked but I don’t know if it will be here.
Go to Comment
A Crash Course In Film (Help Needed) almost 3 years ago
Amy Taubin put out a list of 25 films every film student needs to see:
http://mfaphoto.schoolofvisualarts.edu/wp-content/themes/mfaphototheme/pdfs/mfapvrm_filmlist.pdf
Go to Comment
The Auteurs 'Cinetech' Poll. almost 3 years ago
2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (Jean-Luc Godard)
3 Women (Robert Altman)
Contempt (Jean-Luc Godard)
Day for Night (Francois Truffaut)
Days of Heaven (Terrence Malick)
Last Days (Gus Van Sant)
Mulholland Dr. (David Lynch)
Pierrot Le Fou (Jean-Luc Godard)
Red Desert (Michelangelo Antonioni)
Regular Lovers (Philippe Garrel)
Go to Comment
La Maman Et La Putain, is it worth watching? almost 3 years ago
If I may ask, how have you gotten access to La Maman Et La Putain?
Go to Comment
New York Film Festival almost 3 years ago
Too bad Enter the Void isn’t finished… that would’ve been a hoot to have seen on the website lineup
Go to Comment
best foreign films from 2000 onwards - France almost 3 years ago
Don’t forget:
demonlover, dir. Olivier Assayas (2002)
Go to Comment
WHAT DOES EVERYONE THINK ABOUT demonlover? almost 3 years ago
Was just looking at the “best french films since 2000” topic and this came to my mind. While not very well known, I think it’s one of the more interesting films of the decade. On a technical level, I think it’s a triumph, and while the story goes completely off the rails in the last third I still think it’s a terrific, challenging plunge into the corporate-technological vortex of today.
Go to Comment