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Author Topic: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon  (Read 75496 times)

oldkid

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #230 on: October 03, 2010, 10:57:08 PM »
The Red Shoes



I was going to wait a couple days to allow this film to gel before I wrote a review, but my head is too full of it.  I can’t escape it.  This is easily one of the best films I’ve ever seen.  I am completely bowled over. 


Prototype for the musical, Cats

All three acts are excellent in their own ways.  The first act of two new talents—Victoria, the dancer and Julian, the composer—both given an opportunity to shine by the ballet director, Lermontov is exciting and you can feel the pride and excitement as they prove themselves worthy of greatness.  The final act, as it all crumbles and there is given a spark of hope as it might all come together again until that hope is crushed by the two men, playing tug-of-war with Vickie in between. 





But it is the shortest act, the ballet in the center that is the sparkling gem of the film.  We are told that the dancing was to be spectacular, and the music amazing.  And those aspects do not disappoint—both the music and the dancing are spectacular compared to the work in the rest of the film, which is marvelous.  But the use of film to turn the ballet into something that could not be presented on stage, with one masterful surprise after another.  Some might see it as simple camera tricks to make it more than a ballet, but in fact the cinematography and change of perspective and even the “tricks” enrich the ballet, deepen the story, and so ends up enriching the whole movie.  The way the story is told three times in the film, and yet each time is more powerful than the last.  But the ballet is still the crux, it is what holds the film together.  Ah, this is a masterwork.







Technical—5/5—Amazing throughout.  Every aspect of this film was top notch—the cinematography, the color, the writing, the direction, the acting.  Not a single miss.  My eyes were wide the whole time.  I almost want to give it six out of five, but that’d be cheating.

Interest—5/5—Obviously.  The music was masterful.  The story was complex enough, but intricately threaded throughout.  Most scenes were visually vibrant, but the ballet… I hated to blink.

Tension—5/5—The final act was full of tension and suspense.  The rest of it wasn’t about tension, but it didn’t need to be.

Emotional—5/5—No, I didn’t cry, but I was still taken on the emotional roller coaster: joy, awe, suspense, mourning, it was all there.

Characters—4/5—This is the only spot where I would mark it a little down.  I wish Julian’s character were a bit more developed, so we could have a little more understanding for him in the final scenes.  Boris and Vickie shone and a supporting character might have an occasional bit of shared glory.

Theme—5/5—Very tight, if difficult to put in a sentence.  Perhaps, “That which is most desired becomes a trap, yes, even a death trap.”  Marvelous development of theme here.

Ethics—5/5—There are many ethical questions that revolve here.  How should Boris and Julian have responded correctly—instead of as boars—even if they thought they knew what was right for Vickie?  Looking at the film from a feminist perspective certainly would see it differently.  Also, what is the best kind of life is best to live—one for love or for one’s innate talent?  Is there a possible balance?  There are a lot of questions, and few answers, but that makes for a marvelous ethical discussion.

Personal—4/5—No, I have never been in any of these situations before.  My love and my talent happened to go hand in hand.  And my talent is not so desired that celebrity comes into play at all.   But I have been given the experience of these young people by the film.  I was there and experienced it in a way that only the best films can convey.  I have to give it high marks for allowing me to have the experience.



Before this film, I have never seen a Powell and Pressburger.  I expect to see more after this.

I have gushed.  And, of course, I will follow suit in my placement:

1. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
2. In America
3. Rear Window
4. Amelie
5. The Red Shoes
6. Edward Scissorhands
7. Princess Mononoke
8. The Dark Knight
9. Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
10. Tideland
11. The Brothers Bloom
12. I [Heart] Huckabees
13. I’m Not There
14. Dog Day Afternoon
15. Brick
16. District 9
17. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
18. Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl
19. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring
20. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
21. The Son (2003)
22. Raising Arizona
23. Do The Right Thing
24. Adaptation
25. Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs
26. Scizopolis
27. Buckaroo Bonzai Across the Eighth Dimension
28. *ucking Amal/Show Me Love
29. Three Kings
30. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
31. The Science of Sleep
32. Scarecrow
33. Fitzcaraldo
34. Harold and Maude
35. Repulsion
36. Mister Roberts
"It's not art unless it has the potential to be a disaster." Bansky

Beavermoose

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #231 on: October 03, 2010, 11:03:52 PM »
 :D
Steve, you are win.

MartinTeller

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #232 on: October 03, 2010, 11:11:47 PM »
Before this film, I have never seen a Powell and Pressburger.  I expect to see more after this.

Oh, you're in for a treat.  Of the 14 Powell/Powell & Pressburger films I've seen, none of them were any less than "very good".  Not a single one.  My personal favorite is A Matter of Life and Death.

Sam the Cinema Snob

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #233 on: October 03, 2010, 11:15:05 PM »
You must check out Black Narcissus.

FroHam X

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #234 on: October 03, 2010, 11:16:51 PM »
You must check out Black Narcissus.

And Colonel Blimp.
"We didn't clean the hamster's cage, the hamster's cage cleaned us!"

Can't get enough FroHam? Read more of my musings at justAtad

oldkid

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #235 on: October 03, 2010, 11:18:45 PM »
Both are on my list.  And they are at the top of my instant queue.  And I haven't listened to Adam and Matty's review of either because I am going to watch them first.  In the next few weeks, I hope.
"It's not art unless it has the potential to be a disaster." Bansky

Beavermoose

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #236 on: October 03, 2010, 11:19:21 PM »
You must check out Black Narcissus.

And Colonel Blimp.

And Peeping Tom

And A Matter of Life and Death

MartinTeller

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #237 on: October 03, 2010, 11:20:52 PM »
And the oft-overlooked Contraband, which is basically P&P doing British-era Hitchcock.

And Matter of Life and Death, just in case you missed it the first two times.

verbALs

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #238 on: October 03, 2010, 11:22:25 PM »
Quote
I hated to blink.
The perfect quote for this film, well said.


Before this film, I have never seen a Powell and Pressburger.  I expect to see more after this.

Oh, you're in for a treat.  Of the 14 Powell/Powell & Pressburger films I've seen, none of them were any less than "very good".  Not a single one.  My personal favorite is A Matter of Life and Death.

You are so right MT!
I used to encourage everyone I knew to make art; I don't do that so much anymore. - Banksy

1SO

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #239 on: October 03, 2010, 11:29:21 PM »
Can anyone comment on Tales of Hoffmann?  It's a Powell/Pressburger filming of a ballet starring Moira Shearer.  From the youtube clips it looks like a feature length version of the cinematic ballet sequence at the heart of Red Shoes.

 

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