Poll

Night Of The Hunter Is...

The Greatest Movie Ever Made
0 (0%)
The Greatest American Movie Ever Made
0 (0%)
One Of The Best
10 (27.8%)
A Great Movie
11 (30.6%)
A Good Movie
3 (8.3%)
An Alright But Overrated Movie
2 (5.6%)
A Bad Movie
0 (0%)
Never Seen Night Of The Hunter But Want to
7 (19.4%)
Never Seen Night Of The Hunter & Don't Care About It
3 (8.3%)

Total Members Voted: 36

Author Topic: Night Of The Hunter Is...  (Read 3392 times)

skjerva

  • Godfather
  • *****
  • Posts: 9448
  • I'm your audience.
Re: Night Of The Hunter Is...
« Reply #10 on: July 12, 2008, 11:14:49 AM »
I guess I get to be alone in saying it's an alright but overrated movie...

yes you do

nah, i'm with you gateway.  i haven't done it for ages, and liked it when i did, but the way it is gushed over in certain quarters seems excessive.
But I wish the public could, in the midst of its pleasures, see how blatantly it is being spoon-fed, and ask for slightly better dreams. 
                        - Iris Barry from "The Public's Pleasure" (1926)

saltine

  • Administrator
  • Godfather
  • ******
  • Posts: 9800
Re: Night Of The Hunter Is...
« Reply #11 on: July 12, 2008, 07:51:27 PM »
Beautiful, in every way!

So glad the board (and especially chester) led me to this film.
Texan Down Under

Basil

  • Godfather
  • *****
  • Posts: 9513
  • Entrepreneur, spiritualist, healer.
Re: Night Of The Hunter Is...
« Reply #12 on: July 14, 2008, 03:50:48 PM »
I need to see it. Soon.
A$AP Fables

Thor

  • Godfather
  • *****
  • Posts: 6535
    • KTQ
Re: Night Of The Hunter Is...
« Reply #13 on: July 14, 2008, 04:12:11 PM »
One of the best.

I would have gone further but the top 2 options are just two specific. It might be the best b/w American movie though...
Wanting for Thor what Thor wants for Thor.

m_rturnage

  • FAB
  • Elite Member
  • ******
  • Posts: 1834
  • Beauty hurts.
    • Too Much Time on My Hands
Re: Night Of The Hunter Is...
« Reply #14 on: July 15, 2008, 09:50:47 AM »
I showed this to a film group and had a lot of people laugh at the camp stylization of it and deem it "stupid" and "boring."

After the film ended, one of the professors in the group tried his best to shame all of the viewers. One of the best film discussions I have ever heard.
http://www.26screenplays.com - Short screenplays for independent filmmakers.

You light a man a fire, and he's warm for a night. You light a man ON fire, and he's warm for the rest of his life.

skjerva

  • Godfather
  • *****
  • Posts: 9448
  • I'm your audience.
Re: Night Of The Hunter Is...
« Reply #15 on: July 15, 2008, 12:09:56 PM »
I showed this to a film group and had a lot of people laugh at the camp stylization of it and deem it "stupid" and "boring."

After the film ended, one of the professors in the group tried his best to shame all of the viewers. One of the best film discussions I have ever heard.

what did the discussion, and shaming, sound like?
But I wish the public could, in the midst of its pleasures, see how blatantly it is being spoon-fed, and ask for slightly better dreams. 
                        - Iris Barry from "The Public's Pleasure" (1926)

m_rturnage

  • FAB
  • Elite Member
  • ******
  • Posts: 1834
  • Beauty hurts.
    • Too Much Time on My Hands
Re: Night Of The Hunter Is...
« Reply #16 on: July 15, 2008, 12:59:56 PM »
I showed this to a film group and had a lot of people laugh at the camp stylization of it and deem it "stupid" and "boring."

After the film ended, one of the professors in the group tried his best to shame all of the viewers. One of the best film discussions I have ever heard.

what did the discussion, and shaming, sound like?

You know the scene in the basement where Mitchum is chasing the kids and throws his arms out towards them like Frankenstein? HUGE laughs. Most of the laughs came form college-age kids who thought the whole thing was, and I quote, "cheeseball."

The professor responded with a lengthy discussion about how this film is a tribute to the silent film era and pushes the envelope as far as cataloging  and expanding the visual language. There are disembodied heads narrating the story, the iris in scene transitions, the themes of water purity and cleanliness, and incredible lighting in almost every scene, not to mention Mitchum's performance.

I'm in the office and don't have the time to go in detail, but that is a high-level of what happened. The younger viewers were not able to articulate a single thing about why the movie was stupid - they just reacted to the stylized tone of the film. The professor was able to articulate and point to specific moments and techniques used throughout the film - so he won.
http://www.26screenplays.com - Short screenplays for independent filmmakers.

You light a man a fire, and he's warm for a night. You light a man ON fire, and he's warm for the rest of his life.

roujin

  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 15508
  • it's all research
Re: Night Of The Hunter Is...
« Reply #17 on: July 15, 2008, 04:02:45 PM »
The murder scene + the trek down the river are two of the best scenes ever.

wombat

  • Junior Member
  • *
  • Posts: 33
Re: Night Of The Hunter Is...
« Reply #18 on: July 20, 2008, 11:07:38 PM »
I just finished watching Night of the Hunter and I have to bow to the collective wisdom of the boards. I came extremely close to turning it off, but the strong performances by Mitchum and Lillian Gish kept me just interested enough to see the film through to the end. While watching, I must admit I found the film campy and boring without realizing that the style of the film is intentionally expressionistic; however, looking back after having read some of the previous posts as well as Ebert's review, everything came sharply into focus.

Throwing in my two cents, Night of the Hunter is a solid allegorical tale backed by excellent acting (at least on the parts of Mitchum and Gish). Also, according to many it is a great piece of art; however, being a young college-aged whipper snapper, I wouldn't know anything about that.

 

love