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| Joe Vitus |
 Posted: Wed Mar 17, 2010 6:18 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 14498
Location: Houston
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| On another topic: will someone recommend a Jean-Pierre Melville movie for me? |
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| grace |
| Posted: Wed Mar 17, 2010 6:42 am |
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Joined: 11 Nov 2005
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Midnight Express is a very well-done film, with the possible exception of the aforementioned jerkoff scene at which I cringed the first time and now, along with everyone else, guffaw at -- and which has been parodied a number of times, I think most notably by Jim Carrey -- but I have a really hard time working up any sympathy for Billy Hayes.
Yes, the prison system was crazy- insanely inhumane, but the guy was smuggling drugs (was it heroin? It's been a long time). It's not like he was set up, it's not like he was framed -- he made a conscious decision to try and beat the system. And he lost. The European prison systems were/are notoriously harsh, to the point where I recall as a kid seeing commercials about "don't even think of breaking the law over there." I know I'm in the minority, just sayin'.
Midnight Express is extremely well-written, overall well-acted (I think Bo Hopkins is underappreciated in general, likely due to some of his lighter-weight roles), and well put-together. But I couldn't give a damn about the main character, which is kind of the primary reason for watching the flick. (well, except for the homoerotic angle, as previously stated) |
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Wed Mar 17, 2010 9:14 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: Houston
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| It was hash, and I don't have any trouble having sympathy for him, even though he seems rather narcissistic and self-promoting from the real-life evidence I've encountered (quite different from the character in the movie). No one deserves what goes on in those places, and certainly not some kid smuggling hash. |
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| grace |
| Posted: Wed Mar 17, 2010 9:26 am |
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Whether it's morally wrong or not, or whether it's a real crime or not, the fact is that Billy Hayes knew going in that if he got caught, he was screwed. He chose to proceed. What he or anyone deserves doesn't even come into the picture. He knew there would be real consequences for his actions, and he made his decision -- and then was unhappy when it didn't work out the way he thought it would. Boo fuckin' hoo, pal. (aimed at BH, not JV) When Hayes did get out, he thought he was some kind of hero; I thought he was your basic drug smuggler.
I know I'm in the wrong crowd for this, but so be it. I guess marantz has infidelity, and I have this. |
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| whiskeypriest |
| Posted: Wed Mar 17, 2010 9:59 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: "It's a Dry Heat."
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Joe Vitus wrote: On another topic: will someone recommend a Jean-Pierre Melville movie for me? |
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I ask you, Velvel, as a rational man, which of us is possessed? |
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Wed Mar 17, 2010 10:33 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: Houston
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| Thanks. |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Wed Mar 17, 2010 10:59 am |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
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Location: Shanghai
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Joe Vitus wrote: On another topic: will someone recommend a Jean-Pierre Melville movie for me?
I always think of Bob le Flambeur (1956) as the quintessential Melville film, and French crime drama for that matter. Seems like the best and most obvious starting point to me.
I'm not a big fan of Le Samourai (1967) which would usually be thought of as the next stopping point.
Another iconic central performance, this time by Alain Delon. The idea of a philosophical-zen hitman seems rather silly or who cares to me, but has resonated into Pulp Fiction and Jarmusch's recent (bad) Limits of Control.
Le Doulos and Army of Shadows are both quite good, the former with more of a Godard feel, the latter something like Bertolucci's The Conformist.
But I'd start with Bob. It takes the American crime and noir genre and makes them French. |
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| ehle64 |
| Posted: Wed Mar 17, 2010 5:43 pm |
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Location: NYC; US&A
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gromit wrote: Joe Vitus wrote: On another topic: will someone recommend a Jean-Pierre Melville movie for me?
I always think of Bob le Flambeur (1956) as the quintessential Melville film, and French crime drama for that matter. Seems like the best and most obvious starting point to me.
Totally agreed. |
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It truly disappoints me when people do something for you via no prompt of your own and then use it as some kind of weapon against you at a later time and place. It is what it is. |
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Wed Mar 17, 2010 8:06 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: Houston
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| Thanks for the suggestions, guys. |
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| chillywilly |
| Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2010 12:39 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 8251
Location: Salt Lake City
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To anyone who is a Jackass fan (I may very well be the only one out here), avoid Jackass 2.5. It's just a DVD extras of all the bits that weren't good enough to make either feature length movie.
Fortunately, it was only an hour of my time and Netflix instant watch to view this. |
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Chilly
"If you should die before me / Ask if you could bring a friend" |
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| lshap |
| Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2010 1:07 pm |
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Location: Montreal
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chillywilly wrote: To anyone who is a Jackass fan (I may very well be the only one out here), avoid Jackass 2.5. It's just a DVD extras of all the bits that weren't good enough to make either feature length movie.
Fortunately, it was only an hour of my time and Netflix instant watch to view this.
Agreed. The sequel was a shameless ripoff of the first one - an American classic - which of course was originally an homage to the 1940's French film, "Le Cul de Jacques". |
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2010 6:36 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: Houston
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| I did watch a French movie last night where men make jackasses of themselves: Lola Montes is now out on DVD. What a treat. I saw this (in a complete, but very scratched and scarred Cinemascope print) in a friend's film class back in the mid-90's. I liked it okay then. I like it much better now. Not sure I consider it Ophuls' masterpiece, mainly because the color, widescreen and length put it in a somewhat different category from other works, so I'm not sure it makes sense to compare it with Le Plaisir or The Earrings of Madame de... (probably my favorite, but I love every Ophuls I've seen). Maybe it just exists in its own category of Ophuls classics. At any rate, I love it more than ever. |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2010 7:15 pm |
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| Saw it at the New York Film festival in 1969, I think. Excellent print and very good movie. |
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 6:22 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 14498
Location: Houston
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| Caught Bugsy Malone tonight online. Hadn't seen it since I was in the 6th grade. Cute movie, catchy score. This movie should really have a US DVD release. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Sun Mar 21, 2010 6:28 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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OMG. I just saw To Live and Die in L.A. for the first time. Somehow I had bought into the pervasive myth that this fantastic 1985 action flick (but more than that) was part of the decline of William Friedkin's career post-French Connection and Exorcist. But far from it. This is at least as good as The French Connection and (IMO) far better than The Exorcist. It's a cynical, brilliantly choreographed Miami Vice-ish tale of corruption in the titular town, with mind-blowing acting from William L. Petersen and Willem Dafoe. Petersen was never this charismatically hunky, Dafoe never this hauntingly creepy, even in Shadow of the Vampire. I can't believe I never caught this one before. With excellent extras on the rented DVD (including an illuminating mini-doc about a misconceived and luckily scotched alternate ending), this is a possible future purchase for me.
Someday Friedkin's career will be reevaluated and this film may very well be judged his peak. I would accept that judgment. |
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