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Author Topic: Top 100 Club: MartinTeller  (Read 20480 times)

1SO

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Re: Top 100 Club: MartinTeller
« Reply #20 on: May 28, 2018, 11:19:25 PM »
Funeral Parade of Roses
I was looking at your ICM list and was ashamed that I haven't watched all of your films out of respect. However, getting down to the final 12 and watching this, I was reminded of why I abandoned my marathon of Ebert's favorites after he passed away. It was also out of respect. I'm happy to watch the film and there's always some insight into what YOU love about them, but sometimes that's all I get. There's nothing here for me. I recently wrote about the greatness of Something Wild, which bent the rules in a way that changed me. Same with Takeshi Kitano and Bela Tarr, who you introduced me to.

Roses certainly isn't lacking ideas, and it's no so reckless that you can accuse Toshio Matsumoto of having too much imagination. I like the way unexplained shots would be given meaning by the end. You just have to hang through all the experimentation and occasionally endless scenes. (It's energy is blunted by the repetition in scenes like the marijuana-fueled bacchanalia.) I wish I was emotionally invested, especially because the finale made me want to know how much emotions were heating up beneath the splashy surface.

MartinTeller

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Re: Top 100 Club: MartinTeller
« Reply #21 on: May 29, 2018, 12:01:35 AM »
I rewatched that one last month, it had just come out on Blu-Ray. First I watched the bonus disc of Matsumoto's shorts, most of which I found unbearably tedious. It made me nervous about Funeral Parade, wondering if Matsumoto's experimentation was no longer appealing to me. Fortunately it held up for me... yes, there's a lot of ideas going around, but I find almost all of them work. Even the bacchanalia you mention. I didn't find any of them outstayed their welcome... but having watched the shorts recently may have been a factor there, since the shorts typically hammer an idea way beyond the amount of time it remains interesting.

I knew FPoR wouldn't be your cup of tea, but at least you've finally got that checkmark? Don't feel like you have to hold back on your rating, I'd like to know.

1SO

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Re: Top 100 Club: MartinTeller
« Reply #22 on: May 29, 2018, 07:48:23 AM »
2 Stars. For this type of film I was disappointed that the ideas didn't come together because the style took away from any emotional impact.

roujin

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Re: Top 100 Club: MartinTeller
« Reply #23 on: May 29, 2018, 11:11:23 AM »
I remember also disliking Funeral Parade of Roses way back when, but I've read some interesting criticism of it recently, particularly as a queer film that makes me want to watch it again.

Sandy

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Re: Top 100 Club: MartinTeller
« Reply #24 on: May 29, 2018, 03:17:10 PM »
Hairspray



Half expecting a song to burst out of the characters during key points of the film, isn't a reflection in anyway on my desire for it to be like the remake. In fact, it's more a testament to the merit of the original source. I wouldn't have all these songs queuing and running through my head were it not for the progenitor.

This earlier, quieter rendition offers me more, for it deconstructs a slick decedent, showing the purer, more unpolished prototype. And I like it!

It's a bold mixture of serious and silly, combined with the added oomph of being a musical. Not a book musical, but a capturing of dancing and music of the day, in a type of docudrama/comedy way. Is that a genre? :) I'm not told in song what to feel, like in the lyrics, "There's a dream in the future, there's a struggle that we have yet to win..." No, it's just storytelling, or better yet, story showing. Both styles have their appeal. Getting to see them side by side, comparing and contrasting also has its appeal!


Now I finally get to read oldkid's review. :)

MartinTeller

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Re: Top 100 Club: MartinTeller
« Reply #25 on: May 30, 2018, 05:08:59 PM »
I haven't seen the remake... partly because I love the original so much I saw no need for it to be redone, and partly because I couldn't stomach the idea of John Travolta replacing Divine. Having seen them both, how do they compare? Is Travolta a pale echo of Divine, or does he bring his own special something to the role?

Antares

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Re: Top 100 Club: MartinTeller
« Reply #26 on: May 30, 2018, 05:33:03 PM »
Carmen (1983)
★ ★ ★ – Good

You should now check out El Amor Brujo, which I liked even more.
Masterpiece (100-91) | Classic (90-80) | Entertaining (79-69) | Mediocre (68-58) | Cinemuck (57-21) | Crap (20-0)

Sandy

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Re: Top 100 Club: MartinTeller
« Reply #27 on: May 30, 2018, 09:48:39 PM »
I haven't seen the remake... partly because I love the original so much I saw no need for it to be redone, and partly because I couldn't stomach the idea of John Travolta replacing Divine. Having seen them both, how do they compare? Is Travolta a pale echo of Divine, or does he bring his own special something to the role?

I haven't seen Divine in anything else, so don't have a history with actor. Except for a few stilted lines, I think he is fantastic and even the lines made me laugh, because I don't think he is well known for his great thespian skills. If it's believable to say, he makes a much more realistic character. He plays it seriously. Travolta plays it like a caricature, but since the musical feels plasticine, he's able to pulled off all the heavy prosthetics and fit into the style. What I like about Travolta is he pokes fun of his dancing past and comes across as sweet and endearing.

If Divine is your quintessential Edna Turnblad, then you're probably right not to mess with it. But, as musicals go, the 2007 version is a lot of fun. :)

oldkid

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Re: Top 100 Club: MartinTeller
« Reply #28 on: May 30, 2018, 10:29:25 PM »
Sandy, do you recommend the 2007 version to me?  Now that you've read my review, I mean :)
"It's not art unless it has the potential to be a disaster." Bansky

1SO

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Re: Top 100 Club: MartinTeller
« Reply #29 on: May 30, 2018, 10:36:04 PM »
Carmen (1983)
★ ★ ★ – Good

You should now check out El Amor Brujo, which I liked even more.
I'm using Martin as a guide when I Marathon his work.

1. Carmen
2. Peppermint Frappé
3. Flamenco, Flamenco
4. Flamenco
5. Deprisa, deprisa
6. El amor brujo
7. La prima Angelica
8. Cria cuervos
9. Elisa, vida mia
10. Ana y los lobos
11. Tango
12. Sevillanas