The crowd scenes are among the best ever put on film; there’s no arguement there. CGI, had it been available would have just ruined the movie and completely flipped the film’s aesthetic on it’s head. When BOA was originally released, Pontecorvo had a disclaimer at the beginning of the film stating that their was absolutely no newsreel footage was whatsoever. However, I don’t think the Criterion release still has it.
Pulp Fiction is a great movie, while Reservoir Dogs is kind of a pointless exercise in cynicism. It has some good scenes, but it doesn’t hold up that well.
Mel Gibson’s Icon Pictures didn’t make the film, they only distributed it in North America. But as for the movie itself, it is definately one of those ones that has to be seen in a theatre. The startling images and the assuredness that McQueen presents suggest that he is a great veteran director, not a video artist making his first feature length. Anyway, I agree, Hunger is brilliant.
Personally. I haven’t been able to see a lot of films at Pacific Cinemateque since I’m only seventeen, but I was able to a screening of Blade Runner: Final Cut at Vancity last year, which was pretty amazing. However, I’m pretty sure that the June 17 screening of Vertigo at Cinemateque is all ages, because it’s one of their “Silver Screening” shows.
It might have been, but I saw it at Vancity, as part of their sci-fi/special effects retrospective. Other movies like 2001 and Jason and the Argonauts were playing as well.
Films like Atanarjuat, Mon Oncle Antoine, and Videodrome are absolute masterpieces, but the only Canadian movies to get any real exposure and wide releases are pieces of crap like Passchendale. Even Paul Gross admitted that the “true story” of his grandfather’s experiences in WWI didn’t have any of the romance or mindless heroism that he stuffed into the film. So instead of giving us a smart, introspective look at war and how it has effected our national identity, we get “Paul Gross Saves Europe From the Big Bad Germans”. And now it’s going to be another twenty years until a Canadian director is going to get the oppurtunity to make a film of that scope.
What I would love to see is a box set of Gus Van Sant’s Death Trilogy: “Gerry,” “Elephant,” and “Last Days.” They’re all beautifully evocative and thoughtful portraits, free of the Hollywood-imposed restraints of rationalisation or moralising or repetitive Freudian symbolism. I know that Criterion’s already done a lot of Van Sant, but it would be unfair to penalize these films for that reason alone. They also need “Johnny Guitar,” and basically all of Errol Morris’ work.
Joel Schumacher – Tigerland (everything else to be avoided like the plague)
Richard Donner – The Goonies
Cameron Crowe – Almost Famous
Katherine Bigelow – The Hurt Locker
Sam Mendes – Jarhead
Albert Maysles – Salesman
David Lynch – Eraserhead
Sean Penn – Into the Wild
Christopher Guest – Waiting for Guffman
Spike Jonze – Being John Malkovich
Nick Cassavetes – something by his father
Gus Van Sant – Elephant
Terry Zwigoff – Crumb
Sydney Pollack – Tootsie
Alan Pakula – All the President’s Men
John Hughes – Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Julian Schnabel – Before Night Falls
Spike Lee – Do the Right Thing
Ron Howard – Frost/Nixon
Darren Aronofsky – Pi
Richard Linklater – Dazed and Confused
Barry Levinson – Wag the Dog
Steven Soderbergh – Che
Pixar – Up
No one’s mentioned it yet, but Gus Van Sant’s Elephant is a sorely underappreciated masterpiece. That woul probably be my number one, along with There Will Be Blood; Children of Men; 4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days; and The Fog of War.
I’m sorry Audiosuede, but have you even seen any of Gus Van Sant’s films besides those three? Good Will Hunting is fine but overrated, Milk was at times fantastic, but patchy and uneven, and a ten minute vignette hardly qualifies as a “film.” Don’t get me wrong, I love Van Sant, but this is the man who made Mala Noche, Drugstore Cowboy, My Own Private Idaho, Gerry, Elephant, Last Days, and Paranoid Park, which are all superior films.
I don’t understand all the fuss about this film. Herzog has done far weirder things that turned out in the end to be masterpieces, so I don’t see why this should be any different. And I don’t see why Ferrera is having such a fit over the remake. If Werner Herzog was remaking my movie, I would be kissing his feet in thanks. And besides, Herzog will be able to get a great performance out of Nicholas Cage, who is actually talented—he just picks terrible movies.
It’s not Van Sant’s best work, but it’s still a fantastic film. I’d say that the nonlinear storyline and the cinematography are probably it’s best assets, but so much of it is top notch that it’s really debatable. Paranoid Park has gotten a lot of heat for the acting, but other than the performance of the girl who tells him to write the letter in the scene in the diner (which is only two or three minutes long), I was quite impressed by the whole cast. Still, though, nothing beats Elephant.
It’s not Van Sant’s best work, but it’s still a fantastic film. I’d say that the nonlinear storyline and the cinematography are probably it’s best assets, but so much of it is top notch that it’s really debatable. Paranoid Park has gotten a lot of heat for the acting, but other than the performance of the girl who tells him to write the letter in the scene in the diner (which is only two or three minutes long), I was quite impressed by the whole cast. Still, though, nothing beats Elephant.
Film isn’t an inherently better medium than television, it’s just that in the past filmmakers have had more free reign over what they can and cannot do than their TV counterparts. With the advent of premium cable channels such as HBO, television creators have become more flexible in what they can show and what themes they can explore, and that has been a big boost to the industry. Television has always had a stigma attatched to it, since the best actors, writers and directors have for the most part stayed away and stuck with film. So, in terms of talent film has and probably always will have the upper hand, though it can never truly go into the depth and detail that a long running narrative television program can go into. It’s not a matter of medium, it’s a matter of the quality of work on screen.
I remember seeing Toy Story in theatres when I was three or four, and being blown away by the story and the characters and the sheer breadth of imagination that went into making the film. Of course, being that young, I couldn’t comprehend the technology and innovation used in the production of “my new favourite movie!” While Toy Story I can safely sight as the most important work of cinema of my childhood, it wasn’t until I was fourteen and I saw The Battle of Algiers that I became fully immersed into the world of celluloid. The startling imagery coupled with the gritty immediacy of it all introduced me to a world I had never believed existed. The images that populate the film are still burned into my memory— the guillotine in the empty prison courtyard; the women their respective milkbars, knowing that everybody around them are soon to die; and finally, the revolutionary crowds at the end of the film, waving their flags and chanting their cries. The moment I laid eyes on that film was the moment I kissed any kind of normal social life “goodbye.”
Well, in a way Eli has sold his soul to the devil, so it would make some sense that he hasn’t aged that much. Daniel was, for once, telling the truth when he said that Eli was a false prophet.
For all those people who are getting after Jonny Greenwood’s score in There Will Be Blood, I have to ask, would you take away the dense soundscape from 2001: A Space Odyssey? As stunning as the visuals are, 2001 is first and foremost an aural picture. Having seen a 70 mm print of it recently, I was completely blown away by how important the soundtrack was (and not just The Blue Danube), especially the buzzing of the monolith. Likewise, the visuals in Paul Thomas Anderson’s movie would be strangely hollow without Greenwood’s musical accompaniment. It’s all a great balance act— twisted music for a twisted movie.
I hate Forrest Gump with such a seething rage that words cannot describe the contempt I have for the film. It is suffice to say that I hate it. Another film that I found vastly overrated was Hotel Rwanda, which had absolutely nothing going for it except Don Cheadle and Sophie Okonedo’s performance. I thought it was lazily directed and frankly irresponsible in how it handled its subject matter. Nick Nolte’s performance as a fictional UN peacekeeper is supposedly based on the great Gen. Romeo Dallaire, but there is little in the film to justify this comparison. Hotel Rwanda’s producers didn’t even bother to consult Dallaire about the project. I also hate Forrest Gump.
This kind of thing makes me so angry. The original is just such a fabulous movie, and you know that they’re going to ruin it. After all, this is the man who brought us Forrest Gump.
Everybody talks about how terrible the remake will be if it ever gets made, and, while I wholeheartedly agree, I don’t see it being substantually less violent (other than the tongue scene) if Speilberg goes for an R rating. The thing about Oldboy is that what we imagine the violence to be is so much more intense than what is actually on screen. What is most scarring about Oldboy is the emotional and psychological violence, not the physical.
As most of you guys seem to be quite knowledgable about the Pacific Cinematheque, I was wondering if you could tell me how much of sticklers they are for the 18+ age rules. I’ll be 18 in March, but I think I’ll die if I don’t see some of these pictures for their Best of the Decade retrospective. “A History of Violence,” “Songs from the Second Floor,” “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days.” The list just goes on and on. I love these films so much, and I know there’s no way I’ll get a chance to see them like this ever again.
While not having the worst taste in the world, Peter Travers has never been one to actually say anything exceptionally intelligent about a film. Two critics I would highly recommend are Jim Emerson and Manohla Dargis. Armond White is entertaining just because he’s Armond White.
on those mass protest/revolt scenes about 3 years ago
The crowd scenes are among the best ever put on film; there’s no arguement there. CGI, had it been available would have just ruined the movie and completely flipped the film’s aesthetic on it’s head. When BOA was originally released, Pontecorvo had a disclaimer at the beginning of the film stating that their was absolutely no newsreel footage was whatsoever. However, I don’t think the Criterion release still has it.
Go to Comment
Pulp Fiction v Reservoir Dogs about 3 years ago
Pulp Fiction is a great movie, while Reservoir Dogs is kind of a pointless exercise in cynicism. It has some good scenes, but it doesn’t hold up that well.
Go to Comment
Is Travis a hero or a villain? about 3 years ago
You may feel sympathy for Travis, but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s a psychopath.
Go to Comment
Hunger by Steve Mcqueen about 3 years ago
Mel Gibson’s Icon Pictures didn’t make the film, they only distributed it in North America. But as for the movie itself, it is definately one of those ones that has to be seen in a theatre. The startling images and the assuredness that McQueen presents suggest that he is a great veteran director, not a video artist making his first feature length. Anyway, I agree, Hunger is brilliant.
Go to Comment
Vancouverites Unite about 3 years ago
Personally. I haven’t been able to see a lot of films at Pacific Cinemateque since I’m only seventeen, but I was able to a screening of Blade Runner: Final Cut at Vancity last year, which was pretty amazing. However, I’m pretty sure that the June 17 screening of Vertigo at Cinemateque is all ages, because it’s one of their “Silver Screening” shows.
Go to Comment
Vancouverites Unite about 3 years ago
It might have been, but I saw it at Vancity, as part of their sci-fi/special effects retrospective. Other movies like 2001 and Jason and the Argonauts were playing as well.
Go to Comment
Your favourite voice in cinema about 3 years ago
As much as I hate to say it… William… Shatner.
Go to Comment
The Best Canadian Films of all time? almost 3 years ago
Films like Atanarjuat, Mon Oncle Antoine, and Videodrome are absolute masterpieces, but the only Canadian movies to get any real exposure and wide releases are pieces of crap like Passchendale. Even Paul Gross admitted that the “true story” of his grandfather’s experiences in WWI didn’t have any of the romance or mindless heroism that he stuffed into the film. So instead of giving us a smart, introspective look at war and how it has effected our national identity, we get “Paul Gross Saves Europe From the Big Bad Germans”. And now it’s going to be another twenty years until a Canadian director is going to get the oppurtunity to make a film of that scope.
Go to Comment
Movies That Should Be In the Criterion Collection almost 3 years ago
What I would love to see is a box set of Gus Van Sant’s Death Trilogy: “Gerry,” “Elephant,” and “Last Days.” They’re all beautifully evocative and thoughtful portraits, free of the Hollywood-imposed restraints of rationalisation or moralising or repetitive Freudian symbolism. I know that Criterion’s already done a lot of Van Sant, but it would be unfair to penalize these films for that reason alone. They also need “Johnny Guitar,” and basically all of Errol Morris’ work.
Go to Comment
Best Film by Each of These Directors: Contemporary Americans almost 3 years ago
Joel Schumacher – Tigerland (everything else to be avoided like the plague)
Richard Donner – The Goonies
Cameron Crowe – Almost Famous
Katherine Bigelow – The Hurt Locker
Sam Mendes – Jarhead
Albert Maysles – Salesman
David Lynch – Eraserhead
Sean Penn – Into the Wild
Christopher Guest – Waiting for Guffman
Spike Jonze – Being John Malkovich
Nick Cassavetes – something by his father
Gus Van Sant – Elephant
Terry Zwigoff – Crumb
Sydney Pollack – Tootsie
Alan Pakula – All the President’s Men
John Hughes – Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Julian Schnabel – Before Night Falls
Spike Lee – Do the Right Thing
Ron Howard – Frost/Nixon
Darren Aronofsky – Pi
Richard Linklater – Dazed and Confused
Barry Levinson – Wag the Dog
Steven Soderbergh – Che
Pixar – Up
Go to Comment
Mulholland Drive -- The Best Film of the 2000s (So Far)? almost 3 years ago
No one’s mentioned it yet, but Gus Van Sant’s Elephant is a sorely underappreciated masterpiece. That woul probably be my number one, along with There Will Be Blood; Children of Men; 4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days; and The Fog of War.
Go to Comment
3 Favourite Movies From 5 Favourite Directors almost 3 years ago
I’m sorry Audiosuede, but have you even seen any of Gus Van Sant’s films besides those three? Good Will Hunting is fine but overrated, Milk was at times fantastic, but patchy and uneven, and a ten minute vignette hardly qualifies as a “film.” Don’t get me wrong, I love Van Sant, but this is the man who made Mala Noche, Drugstore Cowboy, My Own Private Idaho, Gerry, Elephant, Last Days, and Paranoid Park, which are all superior films.
Go to Comment
3 Favourite Movies From 5 Favourite Directors almost 3 years ago
Terrence Malick:
Days of Heaven
Badlands
The Thin Red Line
Ingmar Bergman:
The Seventh Seal
Winter Light
Persona
Paul Thomas Anderson:
Magnolia
There Will Be Blood
Boogie Nights
Francois Truffaut:
The 400 Blows
Shoot the Piano Player
Jules et Jim
David Cronenberg:
Videodrome
Naked Lunch
The Fly
Go to Comment
Bad Lieutenant Remake almost 3 years ago
I don’t understand all the fuss about this film. Herzog has done far weirder things that turned out in the end to be masterpieces, so I don’t see why this should be any different. And I don’t see why Ferrera is having such a fit over the remake. If Werner Herzog was remaking my movie, I would be kissing his feet in thanks. And besides, Herzog will be able to get a great performance out of Nicholas Cage, who is actually talented—he just picks terrible movies.
Go to Comment
Movies That Should Be In the Criterion Collection almost 3 years ago
Simply put, they need HERZOG!
Go to Comment
What did you think of Paranoid Park? almost 3 years ago
It’s not Van Sant’s best work, but it’s still a fantastic film. I’d say that the nonlinear storyline and the cinematography are probably it’s best assets, but so much of it is top notch that it’s really debatable. Paranoid Park has gotten a lot of heat for the acting, but other than the performance of the girl who tells him to write the letter in the scene in the diner (which is only two or three minutes long), I was quite impressed by the whole cast. Still, though, nothing beats Elephant.
Go to Comment
What did you think of Paranoid Park? almost 3 years ago
It’s not Van Sant’s best work, but it’s still a fantastic film. I’d say that the nonlinear storyline and the cinematography are probably it’s best assets, but so much of it is top notch that it’s really debatable. Paranoid Park has gotten a lot of heat for the acting, but other than the performance of the girl who tells him to write the letter in the scene in the diner (which is only two or three minutes long), I was quite impressed by the whole cast. Still, though, nothing beats Elephant.
Go to Comment
Do you really consider that TV series have caught up with film in terms of quality? almost 3 years ago
Film isn’t an inherently better medium than television, it’s just that in the past filmmakers have had more free reign over what they can and cannot do than their TV counterparts. With the advent of premium cable channels such as HBO, television creators have become more flexible in what they can show and what themes they can explore, and that has been a big boost to the industry. Television has always had a stigma attatched to it, since the best actors, writers and directors have for the most part stayed away and stuck with film. So, in terms of talent film has and probably always will have the upper hand, though it can never truly go into the depth and detail that a long running narrative television program can go into. It’s not a matter of medium, it’s a matter of the quality of work on screen.
Go to Comment
films that made you love film over 2 years ago
I remember seeing Toy Story in theatres when I was three or four, and being blown away by the story and the characters and the sheer breadth of imagination that went into making the film. Of course, being that young, I couldn’t comprehend the technology and innovation used in the production of “my new favourite movie!” While Toy Story I can safely sight as the most important work of cinema of my childhood, it wasn’t until I was fourteen and I saw The Battle of Algiers that I became fully immersed into the world of celluloid. The startling imagery coupled with the gritty immediacy of it all introduced me to a world I had never believed existed. The images that populate the film are still burned into my memory— the guillotine in the empty prison courtyard; the women their respective milkbars, knowing that everybody around them are soon to die; and finally, the revolutionary crowds at the end of the film, waving their flags and chanting their cries. The moment I laid eyes on that film was the moment I kissed any kind of normal social life “goodbye.”
Go to Comment
Ageing Son vs. Non-Ageing Paul Dano over 2 years ago
Well, in a way Eli has sold his soul to the devil, so it would make some sense that he hasn’t aged that much. Daniel was, for once, telling the truth when he said that Eli was a false prophet.
Go to Comment
What's the most annoying film music you've had to endure? over 2 years ago
For all those people who are getting after Jonny Greenwood’s score in There Will Be Blood, I have to ask, would you take away the dense soundscape from 2001: A Space Odyssey? As stunning as the visuals are, 2001 is first and foremost an aural picture. Having seen a 70 mm print of it recently, I was completely blown away by how important the soundtrack was (and not just The Blue Danube), especially the buzzing of the monolith. Likewise, the visuals in Paul Thomas Anderson’s movie would be strangely hollow without Greenwood’s musical accompaniment. It’s all a great balance act— twisted music for a twisted movie.
Go to Comment
MOVIES TO WATCH WHEN YOU'RE PISSED over 2 years ago
I love the smell of napalm when I’m pissed. Nothing feeds the fire like going down the river with Francis and the gang.
Go to Comment
Overrated Movies over 2 years ago
I hate Forrest Gump with such a seething rage that words cannot describe the contempt I have for the film. It is suffice to say that I hate it. Another film that I found vastly overrated was Hotel Rwanda, which had absolutely nothing going for it except Don Cheadle and Sophie Okonedo’s performance. I thought it was lazily directed and frankly irresponsible in how it handled its subject matter. Nick Nolte’s performance as a fictional UN peacekeeper is supposedly based on the great Gen. Romeo Dallaire, but there is little in the film to justify this comparison. Hotel Rwanda’s producers didn’t even bother to consult Dallaire about the project. I also hate Forrest Gump.
Go to Comment
Moderated
Remake of The Beatle's Yellow Submarine (film) over 2 years ago
This kind of thing makes me so angry. The original is just such a fabulous movie, and you know that they’re going to ruin it. After all, this is the man who brought us Forrest Gump.
Go to Comment
WHICH DIRECTOR WOULD YOU WANT AS YOUR shrink? over 2 years ago
Werner Herzog. The man is a machine. On the other hand, David Cronenberg would have no problem regressing me to a feral state.
Go to Comment
Oldboy remake - Good idea or sacrilege over 2 years ago
Everybody talks about how terrible the remake will be if it ever gets made, and, while I wholeheartedly agree, I don’t see it being substantually less violent (other than the tongue scene) if Speilberg goes for an R rating. The thing about Oldboy is that what we imagine the violence to be is so much more intense than what is actually on screen. What is most scarring about Oldboy is the emotional and psychological violence, not the physical.
Go to Comment
Film quotes you love over 2 years ago
“Mein fuhrer, I can walk!”
- Dr. Strangelove, or; How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
“Let’s get sushi and not pay for it!”
- Repo Man
“I-I’m cooperatin’ here!”
- Fargo
“I am the wrath of God!”
- Aguirre, the Wrath of God
“Fry, you little freshman piggies! Fry!”
- Dazed and Confused
Go to Comment
Vancouverites Unite over 2 years ago
As most of you guys seem to be quite knowledgable about the Pacific Cinematheque, I was wondering if you could tell me how much of sticklers they are for the 18+ age rules. I’ll be 18 in March, but I think I’ll die if I don’t see some of these pictures for their Best of the Decade retrospective. “A History of Violence,” “Songs from the Second Floor,” “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days.” The list just goes on and on. I love these films so much, and I know there’s no way I’ll get a chance to see them like this ever again.
Go to Comment
Peter Travers? over 2 years ago
While not having the worst taste in the world, Peter Travers has never been one to actually say anything exceptionally intelligent about a film. Two critics I would highly recommend are Jim Emerson and Manohla Dargis. Armond White is entertaining just because he’s Armond White.
Go to Comment