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Author Topic: 1SO vs. All the Directors  (Read 85515 times)

1SO

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Re: 1SO vs. All the Directors
« Reply #410 on: June 29, 2018, 12:26:22 AM »
Black Moon is very weird, makes House almost normal. Is it good.... tough call, it would need several viewings to determine. It does provide some very odd moments. House is the wrong comparison, Eraserhead would be better, although Black Moon is well lit.
House, Eraserhead, El Topo... these are fun films to try and figure out. They also feature stunning lighting that can support multiple layers of weird and stimulating. Black Moon is shot by Sven Nykvist in a naturalistic style, but not gritty, which fit Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

Dave the Necrobumper

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Re: 1SO vs. All the Directors
« Reply #411 on: June 29, 2018, 07:02:19 AM »
Yes the lighting in Black Moon was not a strong feature (although my memory of Eraserhead is lots of night time shots) and it does not add to the weirdness of the film, rather it is banal like it is saying: what we are watching is normal, real even, but that does not fit with what we are watching as it is not normal. There is an overall flatness to the feel of the film. Still it feels like there is more waiting to be discovered, but requiring multiple viewings. The trouble is, the film is not strongly driving you to want to watch it multiple times.

1SO

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1SO vs. All the Directors - Anthony Mann
« Reply #412 on: June 29, 2018, 09:02:09 AM »
#145 Anthony Mann Ranked List

I didn't know who Anthony Mann was before I joined the forums. MartinTeller got me interested when he said that Mann was terrific at both Westerns and Noir at a time when I was getting deep into both. I agree about the Westerns, but the Noirs often make ridiculous decisions, and I would think there were two different directors if not for how much great Noir gets into Mann's westerns. Mann has a wonderful sense of space for the characters within the frame and in relation to the camera, and to complete his collaborations with John Alton I will be watching The Black Book (aka. Reign of Terror) (1949)

Mann is a director I don't get tired of, so I'm open to watch...
Strangers in the Night (1944)
Strange Impersonation (1946)
The Heroes of Telemark (1965)

However, Mann also has a pair of Epic Historical films for me to see.
El Cid (1961)
The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964)
« Last Edit: June 29, 2018, 09:56:18 AM by 1SO »

1SO

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1SO vs. All the Directors - Vincente Minnelli
« Reply #413 on: July 02, 2018, 10:34:49 AM »
#146 Vincente Minnelli Ranked List

I don't knock Minnelli as much as I used to. That's a combination of noticing what he does very well in terms of the camera and the Art Direction and watching the Essential melodrama Home From the Hill, (not my MOST Buried Treasure, but it's down pretty deep.) My problems with Minnelli can be seen in Meet Me in St. Louis, which I think is a little overrated and The Band Wagon, which I think is poorly directed except for the "Girl Hunt Ballet".

So far, deep dives with Minnelli has led me to more misfires than gems, so I'm sticking to 3 from my Watchlist.
The Cobweb (1955)
Lust for Life (1956)
Tea and Sympathy (1956)

pixote

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Re: 1SO vs. All the Directors
« Reply #414 on: July 02, 2018, 01:14:04 PM »
Hmm. I'm probably even less a fan of Minnelli than you are, so this could be interesting. Tea and Sympathy is my favorite of his and the one I've been meaning to revisit; and Lust for Life is the other one I've most been meaning to see. They're both on Filmstruck, along with The Cobweb, so I guess I'm joining in, at least for two of them. I think I'll let you be the guinea pig on The Cobweb before I decide whether to make time for it.

Really strong piece of writing. Hope I remember to read it again if/when I watch Tea and Sympathy.

It's been seven years, so I thought you might need the above reminder.

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1SO

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Re: 1SO vs. All the Directors
« Reply #415 on: July 02, 2018, 02:58:21 PM »
The thread has a lot of good reading once you've seen the films. sdedalus' post is why it went onto my Watchlist.

Tell me Home From the Hill is at least something you're interested in.

pixote

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Re: 1SO vs. All the Directors
« Reply #416 on: July 02, 2018, 03:48:13 PM »
Tell me Home From the Hill is at least something you're interested in.

Having George Peppard and George Hamilton in the same film seems like it violates some universal maxim, but I'm always interested in a Mitchum film. I picture it, perhaps, as a Minnelli-directed version of Giant, which is kind of a worst-of-both-worlds scenario ... but it sounds like thematically it'll tie together with Tea for Sympathy in worthwhile ways. Decisions, decisions.

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Re: 1SO vs. All the Directors
« Reply #417 on: July 03, 2018, 02:59:05 PM »
I think I'll let you be the guinea pig on The Cobweb before I decide whether to make time for it.

Your country thanks you for your sacrifice.

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1SO

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Re: 1SO vs. All the Directors
« Reply #418 on: July 04, 2018, 02:09:28 AM »
I think I'll let you be the guinea pig on The Cobweb before I decide whether to make time for it.
Spoiler Alert: I don't recommend you make time for it.

1SO

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1SO vs. All the Directors - Kenji Mizoguchi
« Reply #419 on: July 07, 2018, 08:57:58 AM »
#147 Kenji Mizoguchi Ranked List

I never got into Mizoguchi. I tried back when he was a favorite of Martinteller, and I discovered Sansho the Bailiff, which is in my Essentials. He's a director where what I would read about him would never seep into my viewing experiences. Because of that, I've seen very few of his 94 features. Only a third of these are relatively easy to find, but with Martin cooling on him as well I'm not feeling compelled. ICM recommends 8 titles but I'm just going to watch the one on top, Taira Clan Saga (1955).