100 Films Closer to Death

[movieman1957]

I also watched it at Mr. Arkadin's suggestion. We commented on the religious overtones to it and I think it needs more than one viewing to really talk about it. There were parts of it I found a little confusing but Mr. A helped clarify things.

[srowley75]

One of my personal favorites. Sorry about your headache. I hope you will try again another time without the pounding cerebellum.

If I may adapt a well-worn contemporary cliche to this situation: it wasn't the movie, it was me. I don't mean to criticize the film - it just wasn't one I should've watched under the circumstances.

In terms of the visuals, I thought it virtually immaculate. I watched the director's cut (though I understand another version was recently released to DVD) and to me it looked clean enough that it could've been Blu-Ray for all my considerably-less-than-20/20-vision might've perceived. Even if I'd been in the mood, however, I could tell it was probably one of those films that you can't simply watch once. Rebekah seemed to like it okay even though sci-fi doesn't usually appeal to her. We both noticed the Christian elements popping up throughout. When Hauer put the nail through his hand I didn't think there was any more room for doubt.

We've had some spare time over the past week or so and managed to work in a few others. I'll post remarks about those plus a few we watched a month or so ago:

*Jules and Jim (1961): Mainstream contemporary Hollywood -i.e., that Hollywood whose films play at our local cinema in podunk Parkersburg, WV - very rarely seems to release serious films that center on the lives of fallible human characters, and as such I found this Truffaut classic particularly refreshing to revisit. For some reason I find myself forgetting that the story takes place in the early 20th century rather than during the 1960s. Rebekah complained a bit about the European freespiritedness that guided the three main characters, and while I could understand what she meant, we both had to admit we've known people very much like these three - in fact, the entire narrative closely mirrored a current situation involving one of her best friends (we couldn't decide whether her friend was more Jules or Jim, but her boyfriend is quite like Catherine). I don't think Rebekah would've denied that it was a well-made film, but she's not yet progressed to the point that she can really appreciate/enjoy bittersweet stories like this one that don't end with someone skipping away to enjoy the rest of his/her life. The inevitable ending is so well done, and yet even though I think she could see what was coming, it still annoyed her.

*Le Samourai (1967) – A first time viewing for us both. I decided to schedule it one night after a discussion that involved (among other foreign actors) Alain Delon. As this is one of his best films, and it was on the almighty list, I thought we’d give it a go. As it turned out I was very impressed, though I think Rebekah was unenthusiastic. The pacing wasn’t fast enough for her, but I thought Melville built suspense beautifully, especially during the scenes when Delon is brought into the police station. I also liked how he used Delon’s chattering bird effectively in certain scenes. I wasn’t sure what to make of Delon’s acting ability, but I’ll say that his emotionless performance was what the role called for. This was also the first Melville film I’d seen, and as it is I’m eagerly anticipating sitting down to view Le Cercle Rouge, which I’ve heard is equally impressive. Something tells me this film has either been remade or is going to be.

*West Side Story (1961) – I’d been eager to revisit this one ever since I got my LCD. I forget what led to our bumping this one up in the queue. Leonard Bernstein’s winning score is for me the star of this film, though certain of the actors are impressive- fiery Rita Moreno, of course, and I always find myself wishing that Tamblyn - who seemed to give his role all he had and then some - had gotten that Oscar nomination that eventually went to Chakiris. And as I’d hoped, the dances and photography looked great on a large screen and made me wish I had the opportunity to see it in a theater. I think Rebekah was impressed with the music and choreography primarily, but she mentioned how she didn’t much care for Richard Beymer, who to her didn’t come across like the onetime leader of a tough street gang (and I agree) – unlike Tamblyn, who despite his clean-cut appearance puts forth enough streetwise anger and sneering contempt to make his performance believable. I think she was glad to finally see the film, but it won’t enter her list of favorites.

*Life of Brian (1979) – Dare I utter that while I was very much in the mood for something daring, funny, and controversial, my opinion of this film ran parallel to how I feel about the work of the Python troupe as a whole: for the first half hour, they’re funny, and after that I’ve had enough to last a while. By that time I’ve become fully absorbed into their wacky world, and their bizarre, shocking humor begins to lose its power and thereby, its appeal. I once saw an interview with John Cleese in which (while discussing Fawlty Towers) he offered the opinion that the funniest situations in life are those in which confusion reigns because of miscommunication. And in this film I can’t help but believe the Python troupe was guided by that central idea, because forever throughout the film there are scenes of individuals or groups who are operating on different planes and who are trying to explain or convince each other of something and thereby creating more confusion, or else one individual purposely tries to mislead another and ironically both somehow wind up making a connection. Once you get the gist of how most every situation is going to play out, then nothing seems particularly inspired. I think Rebekah enjoyed some of it, but I think both of us agreed that after watching 13 seasons of South Park, Life of Brian seems relatively tame.

*The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) – One of my all-time favorites that I’d been wanting to share with her for a while. I saved this one for a night when I thought she just needed an intriguing story to keep her interest. As it turned out she enjoyed herself completely, and I think she may have made this movie one of her favorites as well. In years past I’d pooh-poohed Gloria Grahame’s Oscar win for Best Supporting Actress, but after this viewing I think she did well playing the comic relief role of an annoying albeit harmless birdbrain. Given the current state of both of our lives, we both identified very strongly with the situation that Turner, Powell, and Sullivan find themselves in: they bear legitimate grudges against manipulative Douglas and yet (appallingly) are made to feel guilty by Pidgeon for feeling the way they do.

-Stephen

[JackFavell]

For years I didn't watch The Bad and the Beautiful, because I didn't like Kirk Douglas and also because I thought I was too highbrow to watch it..... I couldn't have been more wrong. I somehow put it on a level with The Oscar in my mind. I saw it a couple of years ago, and I never miss watching it now. It's a hugely entertaining film, though I usually skip the first part for some reason. The best section is the Dick Powell/Gloria Grahame/Gilbert Roland one.

[Mr. Arkadin]

Blade Runner lovers, I've never been able to make much sense out of this movie, and I'm wondering if that's because I've seen it only once or twice, on TV broadcasts, and salient scenes may have been cut out. Has that been your experience?

Hi Judith,

If you saw BR on a TV broadcast with commercials, there's a very good chance that essential details were edited out. I refused to watch Chinatown (1974) for years because the cut up version I saw on TV (at 10 yrs old) did not make any sense to me.

Unfortunately, this is not the only reason that people find the movie confusing, as there are actually four different cuts of the film. When Ridley Scott's original workprint was shown at previews, many people (who only came to see Ford because of Star Wars) could not understand the film at all and the depressing ending really upset viewers.

Remember, these newer Ford fans had latched on to his successful works with Lucas and Spielberg, which were more simplistic and upbeat. Therefore, the studio (which had invested 20 million and a lot of blood, sweat, and tears) demanded changes. The film's unicorn dream sequence was cut, a "happy ending" tacked on, and a voice over (which Ford hated and performed badly, hoping it would be unusable), was added, which seemed to fare better at the previews.

When the film played in theaters, it bombed, but the new medium of VHS and Laserdisc created a rediscovery and cult-like status. In 1992, someone found Ridley's original cut workprint and started showing it in theaters (this workprint did not have the unicorn). Ridley got permission to clean up the print, add the unicorn, and issue a new VHS/DVD as the official Directors Cut.

There had been an International Cut floating around also. This print was like the original, but had a bit more gore (the scene where Roy Batty shoves a nail through his hand [obvious allusion to crucifixion] is more graphic) and Ridley wanted to add these elements while fixing some original problems, such as the scene where Batty releases the dove into a blue sky instead of the rain soaked night (they discovered doves couldn't fly when they were wet!). Thus, the Final Cut came into being. So what should you see? I recommend the Directors or Final cut (the differences are minimal).

Blade Runner is a film that has its feet in two worlds (along with Godard's Alphaville [1965]), where the dark humanity of film noir collides with the heavy morality of science fiction, creating a synthesis that is futuristic, but familiar. This same concept applies to Vangelis incredible scoring, where he combines acoustic and electronic instruments in allusion to the movie's "real" and "artificial" characters. Above all, Ridley's film questions the idea of what constitutes person in an eroding society of creators and their creations.

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I hope you'll give it another look sometime.

[Mr. Arkadin]

Re:Jules and Jim, Le Samourai, Bad and the Beautiful

These are all great films and you can't go wrong with any of them. I'd love to have a thread on each one and discuss them for a few weeks!

[jdb1]

Mr. A, thanks for your assessment of Blade Runner. I'll be on the lookout for the versions you recommended. I do like the look of the film, I just couldn't figure it out. (And I like the look of Rutger Hauer, too.)

[Mr. Arkadin]

Your welcome. As others have said, it's a movie you need to see more than once. I'm constantly finding new things in it.

For those who don't mind a little reading, I highly recommend these two books:


Future Noir: The Making of Blade Runner
http://tinyurl.com/y3hkqsx

Retrofitting Blade Runner: Issues in Ridley Scott's Blade Runner and Phillip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
http://tinyurl.com/y2dwoh6

[srowley75]

We watched Riefenstahl's Triumph of the Will (1934) a couple days ago. Rebekah loves programs about history and, after I told her about this propaganda film, she seemed very curious about it (she also seemed interested in viewing Olympia at some point). I figured that she would begin to zone out eventually, to my surprise, she stayed with it til the end. Besides Hitler, she'd read or heard about some of the other people in the film (e.g., Hess, Goebbels) and she mentioned that it was interesting (not to mention chilling) seeing their faces and hearing them speak. Since the film was subtitled, we were able to discuss the propaganda techniques of Riefenstahl while we viewed the movie. We were both surprised at the sheer number of people present at these ceremonies - it looked as though all Germany had come out at this particular event - and obviously that aspect was crucial to the overall effect of Riefenstahl's message (one of the main techniques employed by Riefenstahl throughout the film is the bandwagon approach). We also noticed how Hitler spoke often in generalities - e.g., referring to Germany maintaining racial purity without, of course, mentioning anything specific about ethnic cleansing - and given how many Germans felt following World War I, I can understand how they might've found themselves taken in by a man who spoke so fervently and mightily about national pride. Overall, a film that should certainly be viewed in more classrooms and discussed at length - both how Riefenstahl's techniques were employed in 1934 and how filmmakers and pseudojournalists do so even today. If I ever taught a secondary level English course, I'd consider making it a part of my curriculum.

We're also still slowly but surely finishing Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler. We also started Kiss Me Deadly last night but have yet to finish it.

-Stephen

[Mr. Arkadin]

Triumph of the Will is an incredible movie. The first time I ever saw the film was a shabby VHS in German with no subtitles, and I was glued to the screen throughout.

Here's an older thread with some interesting discussion on LR:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/vie ... 714#p31714

[srowley75]

Last night we finally finished Robert Aldrich's pulpy Kiss Me Deadly (1955), directed by Robert "loves filthy, perverse things"* Aldrich and starring Tarantino favorite Ralph Meeker. I'd seen the film once or twice before but on this particular viewing, it struck me how far the material treads into camp territory with, for example, its superficially naive mix of high and low culture and its oversexed protagonist Mike Hammer (and I won't even start on the name - reminds me of MST3K's riffs on Reb Brown"s character in Space Mutiny). That's not to say I think badly of the film - it's great Cold-War-era fun thanks to its fast-paced script and sleazy characters. Unfortunately, I don't think Rebekah shared my view. At first she was drawn in when I mentioned Tarantino and was even more curious when Cloris Leachman showed up in the now-famous opening scene. As we got further into the film, however, she seemed have problems staying interested in the sometimes-confusing plot (which, granted, isn't all that important - when the suitcase finally shows up, it's become a MacGuffin anyway) and I don't think she could really connect with any of the characters. Toward the end she mentioned that she was fighting sleep, and I think she found the ending overdone (I showed her the alternate ending as well). We both commented on the none-too-subtle stereotyping (e.g., Mike breaks in on an Italian as he's singing along to opera and boiling spaghetti, then threatens him by breaking a recording of Pagliacci), which is to be expected of material of this sort, especially from the '50s. While she didn't explicitly say that she disliked the film, I think it's safe to say this was not a favorite of hers, even as I enjoyed revisiting it.

*(this according to Joan Crawford, anyway)

[srowley75]

Tonight Rebekah and I watched Aliens (1986). When I catch my breath I'll post a full review. I'll just say it was the first Cameron film I've seen thus far that I enjoyed completely. It was every bit as good as its predecessor.

-Stephen

[charliechaplinfan]

Stephen I'm so glad you are back and have restarted this brilliant thread. You've been watching some good movies.

I love Jules Et Jim, I could talk about it 'til the cows come home. I love Jeanne Moreau, she's great in it.

West Side Story, I couldn't agree more, the film is weakened for me by Richard Beymer as Tony, he's not convincing, it's a film that I feel has a piece of crucial casting so wrong. I love the musical itself, Rita Moreno and Natalie Wood make up for the error in Tony's casting. I just can't see what Maria sees in Tony.

I haven't seen Le Samourai yet but I have watched some of Melville's work. I look forward to watching it soon.

I seem to remember watching Blade Runner many years ago, I didn't appreciate it at the time.

[MichiganJ]

Tonight Rebekah and I watched Aliens (1986).

Did you watch the theatrical version or the special edition? If you didn't watch the special edition, I would encourage seeing it sometime. The added length allows for considerably more character development (and more Aliens, too.)

It's hard to beat Scott's original but Cameron took the story in a very exciting direction. While nowhere near as good, David Fincher's Alien 3 has creepy atmosphere to spare and even Resurrection is worth a peak, if only for some of writer Joss Wedon's (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) off-center humor.

The rumor is that the original Alien is being re-made, with Ridley and Tony Scott producing.

I'll just say it was the first Cameron film I've seen thus far that I enjoyed completely. It was every bit as good as its predecessor.

Although I haven't seen Avatar, I generally like James Cameron's films, particularly Aliens and The Abyss.

[srowley75]

Incidentally - for those who'd like an alternate take on the top 1,000 films, click here. The guy who maintains this site has essentially taken every known "greatest movies evah" list (even the 1001 Movies book) and from those he developed a ranking system and compiled the be-all, end-all of movie lists.

I printed this one a while back but haven't looked at it in a few months. Recently, with help from other guests to the site and enthusiasts who post on IMDB's message boards, the sitemaster compiled a second batch of 1,000 great films here, to keep you busy if you've already seen most of the titles on the initial list.

-Stephen

[charliechaplinfan]

I didn't leave a comment about Triumph of the Will. I was chilled by it, the hair stood up on the back of my neck and I felt sickened, yet I couldn't turn it off, I'm sure I'm not alone. Her opening sequence of the plane coming in to land was a clever way to present Hitler.

Thanks for the alternative lists.