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Syd

Posted: Sun Nov 30, 2008 7:57 pm

Site Admin Joined: 21 May 2004 Posts: 12921 Location: Norman, Oklahoma

Encounters at the End of the World just came out on DVD. It's not as powerful or focused as Grizzly Man, but it's still well worth seeing. Herzog is as interested in the people who go to work in Antarctica as he is in photographing the continent itself, although he still shows us scenes of haunting beauty, and occasional ugliness (McMurdo Base looks, as he says, like an ugly mining town. He likes the people who work there, though.)

He does get around to penguins, asking the penguinologists about the penguins' sex life and whether they go mad. Then he shows us a flock of penguins, most of whom are going to the sea to feed, some to the colony, and one that just stands there for a while, then heads off for the mountains that lie between him and the Antarctic plateau, where it will eventually starve to death. Even if you catch the penguin and bring it back to the colony, it will still just walk off in the same direction, certain that it is the right one, with interesting and unlikely characters who are not likely to be eaten by a bear. They're at the wrong end of the world for that.

This has been described by someone on Ebert's website as essentially being a home movie. I think that's more or less true, but it's a really enjoyable home movie.

Last edited by Syd on Sun Oct 06, 2013 11:17 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Marj

Posted: Sun Nov 30, 2008 10:37 pm

Joined: 21 May 2004 Posts: 10497 Location: Manhattan

billyweeds wrote:

Marj wrote:

In that case, Pineapple Express goes on my list.

Some Like It Hot meets Pulp Fiction at a Three Stooges convention.

That's some cute meet!

mo: Considering all of the movies coming out in December, I can wait. It'll be something to look forward to.

gromit

Posted: Sun Nov 30, 2008 11:04 pm

Joined: 31 Aug 2004 Posts: 9010 Location: Shanghai

Syd wrote:

This has been described by someone on Ebert's website as essentially being a home movie. I think that's more or less true, but it's a really enjoyable home movie.

Yeah, but a Werner Herzog home movie.
A new addition to the Herzogiverse.
I've been meaning to watch it.

Pineapple Express is out here on Dvd, but sounds too dopey to watch.

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billyweeds

Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2008 12:27 am

Joined: 20 May 2004 Posts: 20618 Location: New York City

gromit wrote:

Pineapple Express is out here on Dvd, but sounds too dopey to watch.

That's what I thought, until I saw it. Brilliant is the word...plus side-splitting...plus action-packed. It's a one-of-a-kind movie.

Ghulam

Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2008 1:46 am

Joined: 20 May 2004 Posts: 4742 Location: Upstate NY

Syd,

I liked "Encounters at the End of the World" a lot. The voice-over is excellent. Herzog is in a meditative mood, but there are also many laughs. And those characters are fascinating.

Befade

Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2008 2:04 pm

Joined: 20 May 2004 Posts: 3784 Location: AZ

Yambu.............I've been thinking about you lately. I've taken in a few movies with my almost 5 grandson: Wall-E (for the second time)....it is a visual treat, Iron Man........yes the grandson watched this......what do you think of letting him sit through violent scens? Downey made it richer........with a fine humor., and Monster House........I like this the best loved Maggie Gyllanhal's bad babysitter, DJ's hefty boyfriend, and Constance the mad house/wife............fun............now ready for more serious fare with my daughter-in-law: Let the Right One In.

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gromit

Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2008 2:55 pm

Joined: 31 Aug 2004 Posts: 9010 Location: Shanghai

Syd wrote:

Even if you catch the penguin and bring it back to the colony, it will still just walk off in the same direction, certain that it is the right one.

I wonder if this is true.
It's the kind of thing Herzog says with conviction, but he's prone to alter reality into a storyline he prefers.

It's funny to watch Werner among scientists, as he really has no clue about science. On the commentary track he gets a fair amount wrong, and Henry Kaiser usually corrects him.

There is a dvd extra of footage under the ice/undersea shot by Henry Kaiser. It's just extended views of what we see in the film. I found it kind of hard to watch, mostly due to Kaiser's accompanying guitar work on the soundtrack.

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Killing your enemies, if it's done badly, increases their number.

Syd

Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2008 5:09 pm

Site Admin Joined: 21 May 2004 Posts: 12921 Location: Norman, Oklahoma

gromit wrote:

Syd wrote:

Even if you catch the penguin and bring it back to the colony, it will still just walk off in the same direction, certain that it is the right one.

I wonder if this is true.
It's the kind of thing Herzog says with conviction, but he's prone to alter reality into a storyline he prefers.

I was wondering whether the penguin had a secret hideaway in the mountains where he kept his parka.

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I had a love and my love was true but I lost my love to the yabba dabba doo, --The Flintstone Lament

mo_flixx

Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2008 11:04 pm

Joined: 30 May 2004 Posts: 12533

Does anyone remember a movie from 1975 with Richard Dreyfuss called "Inserts?" I'm sure I saw it at the time...but have been reading the bio of Jessica Harper (who's in it) from "Suspiria." It's about a guy who's making silent pornos in the early thirties. Sounds bizarre. It seems that Harper was drawn to really off-beat projects before she married and more or less retired.

I decided to buy a used copy from amazon.com . Curious about members' comments - if any.

Nancy

Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2008 11:39 pm

Joined: 20 May 2004 Posts: 4607 Location: Norman, OK

mo_flixx wrote:

I haven't seen it, but remember hearing about it at the time.

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Isaacism, 2009

yambu

Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2008 12:08 am

Joined: 23 May 2004 Posts: 6441 Location: SF Bay Area

Befade wrote:

We are of two minds, Betsy. I saw Wall-E, with the idea of taking him to it the next day. I just thought it was too violent, with the female shooting everything that moved. Also, the chase scene just went on and on, with quick cutting that wore me out.

So he has yet to be to the big screen. His parents pretty much confine him to DVDs of Bob the Builder and Thomas the Steam Engine. Not even Sesame Street.

I'm told my very first film was Going My Way, with Bing Crosby and Barry Fitzgerald. The first one I remember was Disney's Song of the South, about Uncle Remus. Zippity Doo-Dah.

Nancy

Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2008 12:11 am

Joined: 20 May 2004 Posts: 4607 Location: Norman, OK

yambu wrote:

I'm told my very first film was Going My Way, with Bing Crosby and Barry Fitzgerald. The first one I remember was Disney's Song of the South, about Uncle Remus. Zippity Doo-Dah.

The first film I remember seeing was Francis in the Haunted House. I was two years old.

_________________
"All in all, it's just another feather in the fan."

Isaacism, 2009

mo_flixx

Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2008 12:22 am

Joined: 30 May 2004 Posts: 12533

yambu wrote:

Befade wrote:

I think "Madagascar 2" would be perfect for a very young 'un. Not to see a movie on the big screen is akin to child abuse IMO. Wink

Think of all that kid is missing!

I think my first movie was either "Alice in Wonderland" or a re-release of "Snow White."

When my nephew was very young, I sent him a DVD of Bergman's "The Magic Flute" for Christmas. He loved it.

Joe Vitus

Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2008 6:30 am

Joined: 20 May 2004 Posts: 14498 Location: Houston

mo_flixx wrote:

I remember it as an interesting movie, and Veronica Cartwright has an intriguing supporting role as a heroine addict flapper/porn actress. It's entirely filmed on one set (in Britain, I believe, though the setting is Hollywood) but I don't recall it feeling like a stage play at all. I remeber feeling the time and place very authentically conveyed. I saw it back in the early 90's. I was/am a big Jessica Harper fan. I don't think it's her best movie or one of her best performances, but she's good. While I never really felt the need to watch it again, I've thought about it over the years and wondered how it held up. I'll be curious to know your response.

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billyweeds

Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2008 7:34 am

Joined: 20 May 2004 Posts: 20618 Location: New York City

I remember the devastating critical reaction to Inserts, which I've never seen but which sounds as if it may have been ahead of its time. In any case, it seriously hurt Dreyfuss's career at the time.

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