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| Ghulam |
 Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2008 3:49 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 4742
Location: Upstate NY
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| Pedro Almodovar's Live Flesh (1997) with Javier Barden has a somewhat unbelievable but imaginative story of passions, jealousies, revenge and fatalism, which has been masterfully directed into a thoroughly interesting and absorbing movie. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2008 7:15 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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gromit wrote: Joey Lauren Adams was memorable as the lead actress in Chasing Amy. Has kept busy but in mostly small roles or iffy projects since.
Didn't like Chasing Amy or her in it, but she is lovely in an almost unknown Kramer vs. Kramer clone called A Cool, Dry Place in which Vince Vaughn stands in for Dustin Hoffman in a kind of rock-and-roll take on the character of a single dad. Vaughn is sensational, and the movie is well worth your time. |
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| mo_flixx |
| Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2008 7:16 am |
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Joined: 30 May 2004
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| Rod |
| Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2008 8:57 am |
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Joined: 21 Dec 2004
Posts: 2944
Location: Lithgow, Australia
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Ghulam wrote: Pedro Almodovar's Live Flesh (1997) with Javier Barden has a somewhat unbelievable but imaginative story of passions, jealousies, revenge and fatalism, which has been masterfully directed into a thoroughly interesting and absorbing movie.
Live Flesh deserves more of a rep than it has. I wish it had been treated better when it came out, because it was far superior in focus, drama, and humour to either of his subsequent day-glo noir films, Bad Education and Volver, and Almodovar might have been encouraged to give them an edge they otherwise lacked. |
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A long time ago, but somehow in the future...It is a period of civil war and renegade paragraphs floating through space. |
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| mo_flixx |
| Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2008 9:28 am |
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Joined: 30 May 2004
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I recently saw Haneke's original "Funny Games" (German). I saw the American version last spring.
I'm wondering if anyone else can comment on this. It appears that the American version is an almost shot-by-shot remake of the German original. I'm wondering if there were any changes for cultural reasons... I seem to recall the Americans did _not_ have a German shepherd (maybe a golden??). And the music i.d. in the car at the beginning was different, too.
Frankly I was struck by how very similar the two films are. The last time I can recall such shot-by-shot similarity was when VanSant remade "Psycho."
[BTW, I remember that a lot of people were really turned off by the violence in this film...but that's not what I'm asking about.] |
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| lady wakasa |
| Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2008 10:29 am |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 5911
Location: Beyond the Blue Horizon
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Live Flesh was the first movie that got me liking Almodovar. I didn't like the soap-opera-ish comic quality of his early films. This was something definitely more mature, and showed he was moving away from that.
I have a theater poster of that in a tube somewhere; the place I saw it at was giving them away(!).
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There was always something about Chasing Amy that I liked. It's been awhile, so I'm not sure I can pinpoint it; but it's enough that I've considered getting an autographed copy from Kevin Smith's website. |
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| mo_flixx |
| Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2008 10:47 am |
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Joined: 30 May 2004
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| I still prefer Almodovar's earlier films - really like their visual style. My favorite is "Matador" with the very young, very hot Antonio Banderas. |
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| lady wakasa |
| Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2008 12:31 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 5911
Location: Beyond the Blue Horizon
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Mo - one thing I've figured out in the past few years is that I approach movies as extensions of books. I'm very much about how the story plays out, and then I look at the cinematography, acting, editing, etc.
It's kind of interesting to compare that to other people - because I see a lot of different takes. No one's right or wrong, but it definitely goes a long way in determining how people react to movies.
One of the big realizations I've had about my time on the internets. |
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| lady wakasa |
| Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2008 12:40 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
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Location: Beyond the Blue Horizon
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A question about DVD versions; posting to see if anyone here knows the answer, I'm also trying elsewhere.
There are two versions of Perfect Blue: a 73-minute version that came out in 2000,
and an 83-minute version that came out in 2007.
(Not looking at the Blu-Ray version.)
Same production company, etc. Does anyone know the difference? |
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| mo_flixx |
| Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2008 7:05 pm |
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Joined: 30 May 2004
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lady wakasa wrote: Mo - one thing I've figured out in the past few years is that I approach movies as extensions of books. I'm very much about how the story plays out, and then I look at the cinematography, acting, editing, etc.
It's kind of interesting to compare that to other people - because I see a lot of different takes. No one's right or wrong, but it definitely goes a long way in determining how people react to movies.
One of the big realizations I've had about my time on the internets.
My big thing is the visuals. I suppose I approach movies more like a comic strip or a story board. I get really excited by camera angles, etc. To me a mark of a great film would be to watch it silent to see if it held up visually.
I also like early Godard for the visuals and use of primary colors and graphics (how he uses text).
For example, a movie with mostly talking heads wouldn't do it for me no matter how brilliant the script or how good the acting. One of my favorite shots of all time is the long shot fight in the hotel room in "Detour." It was done that way (no cuts) for obvious budget reasons, but I really admired the audacity of Ulmer to do it in just one long shot, no closeups.
I like camera movements which anticipate rather respond to a film's content. Fritz Lang did a brilliant one in (I think) "While the City Sleeps."
I studied Slavko Vorkapich and think he was a brilliant master of montage.
I do however very much dislike tricky visuals.
Different strokes... |
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2008 7:16 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 14498
Location: Houston
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lady wakasa wrote: A question about DVD versions; posting to see if anyone here knows the answer, I'm also trying elsewhere.
There are two versions of Perfect Blue: a 73-minute version that came out in 2000,
and an 83-minute version that came out in 2007.
(Not looking at the Blu-Ray version.)
Same production company, etc. Does anyone know the difference?
I checked at Amazon. The top DVD is the unrated Director's Cut. |
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| tirebiter |
| Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2008 8:05 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: not far away
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| mo: Anybody who's a Slavko Vorkapich fan is alright by me. |
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| mo_flixx |
| Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2008 8:38 pm |
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Joined: 30 May 2004
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tirebiter wrote: mo: Anybody who's a Slavko Vorkapich fan is alright by me.
Yea!! I took his course on Sat. mornings in Westwood, Calif. Guess who else took it...William Friedkin!
Vorkapich was very old at the time...but boy, was he ever brilliant.
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Are you jiving me?? |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Fri Dec 12, 2008 12:05 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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| mo--If there is one thing that is certain in my life besides death and taxes, it is that I will never ever watch even one single frame of either version of Funny Games. You can tell me, and anyone else can tell me, that it's artistic. But I will not spend one nanosecond of my life watching a movie which I already know will make me nauseous and give me nightmares. |
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| lady wakasa |
| Posted: Fri Dec 12, 2008 12:13 am |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 5911
Location: Beyond the Blue Horizon
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mo_flixx wrote: For example, a movie with mostly talking heads wouldn't do it for me no matter how brilliant the script or how good the acting.
Just curious... then you don't really like, say, Ken Burns documentaries? Or is that a different animal? |
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