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Author Topic: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon  (Read 75454 times)

verbALs

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #400 on: March 26, 2011, 02:41:48 PM »
The idea of cultural imperialism is there (at about the time Britain was being kicked out of India). How military superiority seemed to imply a cultural superiority, of educating the natives, and how we had so much more to learn from them than they did from us. It is an example of lessons learnt in the past not being taken on board in the present. Also Britain's meddling in the 'old world' still has repercussions in British society, and Four Lions might be a comic interpretation of it but it is a consequence of some of what you see in BN. I would expect the US to suffer in exactly the same way unless it learns these lessons. 'Suffer' is harsh because I think the diversity and tolerance that exists here makes the UK a better place.

Mostly though this is a horror film of how the English had lost touch with their basic feeling to the extent that 'over-exposure' to 'savage' sexuality drives some of them mad. Now that makes for a great film! That is why I always find peoples' reactions under-rate this film.
« Last Edit: March 26, 2011, 02:49:45 PM by verbALs »
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oldkid

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #401 on: March 26, 2011, 02:49:22 PM »
I don't mean to quibble because interpretation is so personal, but the reason I brought up the ancient gods is because I think they really were struggling against the ancient power of Aphrodite/Venus/Eros-- beauty, lust, natural passion, romantic desire.  That's the one aspect of the film that is just crystal clear to me.

Odd that you would describe it in terms of Western culture, Greek and Roman gods.

I might do the same with Hindu gods.  However, this is a particularly Western battle of the gods.  There must be one victor, not a compromise between them.   Also the writers were Western, so it is their ideals I am trying to communicate.

And verbALs, the only thing that brought this movie down for me was that the characters didn't really feel fully developed here.  I cannot put that squarely on P and P or certainly not on Deborah Kerr (who was amazing in Colonel Blimp),  (although I found Jean Simmons to be less than convincing), overall I didn't find the reactions to be character-driven.

Again, I am willing to give the film a chance again later, in more than a year.  Certainly there is a great movie there that didn't completely connect to me.
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verbALs

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #402 on: March 26, 2011, 02:53:56 PM »
Ok but I thought Jean Simmons was bloody hot! For a 40s film this was incredibly sexually charged and she was a major part of it. It was slightly worrying that she was of indeterminate age (or actually under-age I can't remember)> it isn't the only time Powell did this either Age of Consent is suspect from this point of view.

Anyway Oldkid getting your perspective on this film is really interesting, thanks great review.
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sdedalus

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #403 on: March 26, 2011, 08:03:38 PM »
I might do the same with Hindu gods.  However, this is a particularly Western battle of the gods.  There must be one victor, not a compromise between them.   Also the writers were Western, so it is their ideals I am trying to communicate.

See, for me, it's more a conflict of West vs. East than an internal Western conflict.

The film was written by Westerners, but it's based on a novel by Rumer Godden, who was an Englishwoman who grew up in India (Jean Renoir's The River is also based on one of her books).
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oldkid

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #404 on: March 26, 2011, 08:33:43 PM »
And of course, we know that Englishmen and -women who grew up in India during the time of the Raj were completely balanced between the West and the East. 

Anyway, I'm not trying to dissuade you from your view of the film.  Only trying to defend my own. 
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sdedalus

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #405 on: March 26, 2011, 09:46:41 PM »
Huh?  Who said anyone was balanced?
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oldkid

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #406 on: March 27, 2011, 12:26:57 AM »
Huh?  Who said anyone was balanced?

Sorry, misspoke.  I mean that the English who grew up in India didn't necessarily know that much about the philosophy of those around them or had much sympathy for it.  I'd have to read the book to know, but really it is the inescapable power of the region that is being described in the film, not their philosophy or native ideals.  Something non-human was attacking the nuns.
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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #407 on: March 27, 2011, 01:07:14 AM »
Ah I see.  I think Godden is pretty knowledgable and sympathetic towards Indian culture, while still being very English.  I think she's more balanced than most were, at least in my experience of her work.

What the nuns are experiencing very much comes out of their surroundings.  This kind of environmental mysticism, with the spirits of the past physically inhabiting the land and infecting (affecting) the present, is a common theme in Powell & Pressburger's films.  Usually it's more benevolent, as in A Canterbury Tale or I Know Where I'm Going!.  But the leads in those films (also women) are more open to their environments than the necessarily repressed nuns are.
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verbALs

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #408 on: March 27, 2011, 07:33:01 AM »
Ah I see.  I think Godden is pretty knowledgable and sympathetic towards Indian culture, while still being very English.  I think she's more balanced than most were, at least in my experience of her work.

What the nuns are experiencing very much comes out of their surroundings.  This kind of environmental mysticism, with the spirits of the past physically inhabiting the land and infecting (affecting) the present, is a common theme in Powell & Pressburger's films.  Usually it's more benevolent, as in A Canterbury Tale or I Know Where I'm Going!.  But the leads in those films (also women) are more open to their environments than the necessarily repressed nuns are.
I saw a connection also with Powell's Edge of the World the power of the environment and in particular the cliffs that so much of the action centres upon.

I, personally, don't believe spirituality and religion always mean the same thing. The environment's spirit is what is prevalent here.
« Last Edit: March 27, 2011, 07:35:16 AM by verbALs »
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oldkid

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #409 on: March 27, 2011, 09:56:10 AM »
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp


 
I just want to say at the beginning that no matter how many times Powell and Pressberger  show me that they are not telling the run-of-the-mill, expected storyline, yet I still fall into their trap.  This bugs me in the most pleasant way.



Technical—5/5—Although not as spectacular as Black Narcissus or The Red Shoes, P and P are nothing if not technical marvels.  Not a single frame out of place.

Interest—5/5—I was most bored at the beginning, trying to get past the whole bio-pic frame.  However, the life is so well told and so many excellent themes are brought in, I was soon drawn in.  And, frankly, this is not the story of a single life, but of a relationship between two men who, given their life context, has a lot of strikes against it.  This is a complex story, with a wonderful composition.  How could I not be fascinated?

Tension—4/5—Not a lot of points of tension, but enough to make the story great.  How will the love triangle work itself out?  Can the friendship be spared through two great wars?   I love the way P and P allow us to draw our own conclusions as to the significance of each event, rather than giving exposition.

Emotional—4/5—There is a lot to be emotional about, but the stoic nature of the men involved prevent one from really seeing their emotion and so one’s own emotion is limited.  Still, it is there.



Characters—5/5—I wish I could express how well these characters are portrayed.  I honestly never want to see this film remade because I cannot imagine anyone portraying Candy, Theo or Edith—Deborah Kerr at her best and that is an amazing statement!—better than they are portrayed.  Anyone else attempting to play these characters would ruin them.

Theme—5/5—To reduce this film to a single theme is to minimalize it.  There is a message about war—one that is so complex that I had to look at the date again to be sure that this film was really made during WWII (certainly not propaganda!).   There is a message about growing older and facing new ideas.  There is the anti-Nazi message which is gratefully short, but a more important message about true patriotism.  And a bittersweet message about regrets.  It all may be focused under a single theme, but it feels more like a real life rather than a bio pic.  This would be a marvelous “desert island” film because there is so much here to tease out, it is worth many rewatchings.



Ethics—5/5—Like the theme, there isn’t a single unified ethical point nor does it seek to preach or give ethical answers.  Yet ethics pervade the film—war isn’t all wrong, but it isn’t all right, either.  Candy is at one point foolish, another noble, even by holding to the same principle.  Teasing out the ethical implications of this film would take a lot of effort, which is one of the glories of it.

Personal—4/5—I haven’t had any of the experiences of Candy.  I’ve never been in war, never been a hero, never been in any kind of love triangle, never had a friendship like Candy and Theo’s.  But one thing I can say: every person is as complex as Candy is portrayed here.  And should anyone wish to tell my story, I would wish it were as complex as this story is told.



I wish that this was the structure that most bio-pics were based on.  I wish that we could see through our stereotypes of individuals and see them as well-rounded persons as this film does.  Every individual human is a culture, an entire species.  I wish we could see them all this way.  Yeah, it’s probably going on my top 100.
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