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| gromit |
 Posted: Wed Jul 15, 2015 12:30 pm |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9016
Location: Shanghai
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Had been meaning to watch The Sargasso Manuscript for many years now. It's supposed to be a sort of trippy cult classic, and the dvd cover looks like it was inspired by the Grateful Dead. So I was surprised that it's a costume drama. 17th C Spain or whenever the Spanish Inquisition was running wild and people dressed like Pilgrims and the Three Musketeers.
It's rather long and almost winks at its length by inserting multiple stories within stories. The first part -- a full movie length -- concerns a Waloon guard captain trying to get to Madrid, but he keeps getting caught up in a loop attributed to evil spirits. Just when he's either going to get sexed up or killed or sometimes both in succession, he finds himself on the hard cold ground beneath a makeshift gallows. Multiple times.
There's a large book which seems to prophesize or control some of these occurrences, but that gets sort of put to the side in Part II, where stories start unfolding within stories. I think it's the kind of film you have to take on its own terms. I think I was at times too literal and wondered throughout why he needed to get to Madrid and why the Inquisition wanted to capture him. The costumes and hairstyles are quite good. Though there are more skulls lying around everwhere than seemed necessary. I should have paid more attention to the characters in the second half and how the stories interrelated. That seemed more fruitful than worrying about the plot.
So for those keeping score at home, Part I features a repetitive loop , while Part II is comprised of stories within stories and shifts in characters. All of which keeps our Captain of the Walloon Guards form getting where he wants to go.
I should mention that this is a Polish film from 1965. I think it would make a good companion piece to Rosselini's Pascal. Both mix in religion with superstition as key elements of the times. |
Last edited by gromit on Wed Jul 15, 2015 2:37 pm; edited 3 times in total
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| bartist |
| Posted: Wed Jul 15, 2015 1:32 pm |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
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Location: Black Hills
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| bartist |
| Posted: Wed Jul 15, 2015 1:33 pm |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
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| Double post |
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| carrobin |
| Posted: Wed Jul 15, 2015 1:46 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
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| That clip still makes me laugh too much to watch all of it here in the office. Back in 1998, when I worked for a financial publication, I was doing a double proofread one morning with the copy chief, reading down a list of companies and their headlines. When I read "Schlumberger makes a Spanish acquisition," the copy chief said "I didn't expect a Spanish acquisition!"--and of course I replied "Nobody expects a Spanish acquisition!" And we continued with the proofreading. It's nice to work with people who know the classics. |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Wed Jul 15, 2015 2:43 pm |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
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In Sargasso Manuscript, the Spanish Inquisition does pop up unexpectedly from behind rocks and boulders, occasionally waylaying the wrong victim. They wear black robes and hoods, with large gold medallions over their nose and mouth area. Definitely weird looking.
And unexpected. |
Last edited by gromit on Mon Jul 20, 2015 9:54 am; edited 1 time in total
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Wed Jul 15, 2015 4:11 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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carrobin wrote: That clip still makes me laugh too much to watch all of it here in the office. Back in 1998, when I worked for a financial publication, I was doing a double proofread one morning with the copy chief, reading down a list of companies and their headlines. When I read "Schlumberger makes a Spanish acquisition," the copy chief said "I didn't expect a Spanish acquisition!"--and of course I replied "Nobody expects a Spanish acquisition!" And we continued with the proofreading. It's nice to work with people who know the classics.
OMG. One of those great moments in life. |
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| whiskeypriest |
| Posted: Wed Jul 15, 2015 5:23 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: "It's a Dry Heat."
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carrobin wrote: That clip still makes me laugh too much to watch all of it here in the office. Back in 1998, when I worked for a financial publication, I was doing a double proofread one morning with the copy chief, reading down a list of companies and their headlines. When I read "Schlumberger makes a Spanish acquisition," the copy chief said "I didn't expect a Spanish acquisition!"--and of course I replied "Nobody expects a Spanish acquisition!" And we continued with the proofreading. It's nice to work with people who know the classics. |
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| carrobin |
| Posted: Wed Jul 15, 2015 8:55 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
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Location: NYC
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That copy chief is now a vice president at Goldman Sachs, so I just hope the "monster squid" hasn't spoiled his style. But with Python on his side, I think he's safe.
I guess "Casablanca" is too far back--or maybe the line is a little too subtle--to make an immediate connection. (But I remember it because I like Rick's comeback to Renault's correction-"I was misinformed.") I often bite back "Butley" quotes, unless I'm talking with my friend David, who knows the film well. But I'm surprised sometimes at how many people recognize Monty Python references--even if they aren't sure what they're from. |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2015 1:06 am |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
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Location: Shanghai
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| Vampire Squid ... |
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| carrobin |
| Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2015 9:15 am |
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| That's it. I knew "monster" wasn't quite right… |
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| Syd |
| Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2015 1:02 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
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I'm watching The Universe of Jacques Demy more because it's directed by Agnès Varda then from any fondness for Demy. I hadn't realized that he did a whole series of musicals where the dialog is sung monotonously. I guess that makes him an auteur of some sort. I'm getting the feeling I would get watching a Chris Columbus retrospective directed by Martin Scorsese.
Later: Varda's film is kind of haphazard and bounces around Demy's career, with clips from his films that convince me not to see most of them. I'm more interested in some of his early documentaries, although his version of The Pied Piper looks interesting. His later films look awful. |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2015 10:26 am |
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I'm quite a Jacques Demy fan.
He gets great performances from his female leads (Anouk Aimée in Lola; Jeanne Moreau in Bay of Angels; Deneuve and Dorleac in Young Girls of Rochefort, etc). He had a great run in the 60's. His films have such a great sense of atmosphere to them, dispensing with or at least not terribly concerned with conventional storytelling/plot for the most part.
Lola (1961) is imo an important early French New Wave film. Often overlooked, as is Chabrol's early films, such as Les Bonnes Femmes (1960). In Lola, Anouk Aimee is powerful, as is the sense of longing and despair. Lola and Bay of Angels have some great B&W cinematography and very good music/musical scores. I'm not a fan of musicals, but the Umbrellas of Cherbourg and Young Girls of Rochefort are light and enjoyable. Like some singing update of the Marius/Cesar films of the early 30's.
Donkey Skin (1970) was a bit odd, and whimsical. Some charming moments but I had some trouble getting involved.
I think there's often a lot more going on, and a lot of attention to detail and craft, hidden in plain sight in Demy films. Criterion released a Demy box set last year which will hopefully up his profile. The set includes 4 early short films he directed which help trace his development and style. I really think Demy had a unique sensibility. |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2015 10:58 am |
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After Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler (1922) and before Metropolis (1927), Fritz Lang banged out a mammoth 2-part epic Die Nibelungen (1924). Both parts are around 2.5 hours long. Part I was a huge success; while Part II got mixed reviews and was frequently edited down and chopped up, often with the most popular scenes from Part I spliced in as flashbacks and/or prologue.
The costumes and set design are rather impressive and scene-stealing at times. The hairstyles and helmets and other assorted headgear are standouts. Especially the bird motif helmets and King Attila's four-layer crown. Part I featuring Paul Richter as Siegfried has more characters and dramatic arc and a better flow than Part II. Part II: Kriemhild's Revenge is a harsher revenge drama, with some confusing edits at times, and a number of characters not well-defined.
Both feature impressive sets, and large-scale action. Part I has a famous sequence where Siegfried kills a dragon, a pretty lifelike creature for 1924 (with 7 men inside, operating the movements).
The odd thing is Siegfried seems to be just riding by notices a dragon drinking from a watering hole, and Siegfried decides to kill it for no reason. There's no backstory of the dragon terrorizing anyone, or any benefit to Sieggy or anyone from this deed.
It's interesting how women control the action in both films, manipulating the men and kings to do their bidding. Brunhild in the first part is tough and tomboyish and headstrong. She sets bad things in motion after she's been done wrong. Then in Part II, Kriemhild is just unyielding and super-determined.
Interestingly, near the climax of Dr. Mabuse, Lang burns down an old munitions factory, with Lang himself pushing the buttons to set the charges and topple the 4 tall chimneys and whatnot. And in the climax of Die Nibelungen, Lang burns down a large palace built for the film, with Lang himself firing off the initial burning arrow that starts the conflagration.
Anyway, Die Nibelungen should be seen for the spectacle of the sets and costumes. Some of the acting is good. The musical score is impressive. Some of the crowd scenes and stunts looked possibly dangerous. Really no expense was spared. One of Goebbels favorite films ... |
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| Syd |
| Posted: Fri Jul 24, 2015 7:29 pm |
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I found myself on Brunhild's side in the quarrel with Siegfried.
Zou Zou: Zou Zou (Josephine Baker) and Jean (Jean Gabin) are brother and sister* who grow up in a circus where they have an act where they are twins, and love each other, Zou Zou at least in more of a sisterly way.* Jean goes to sea for a year, and when he comes back, he's in the brig, but escapes to see Zou Zou and their adopted father, meets a pretty girl, is caught and goes back to the brig.
Next thing we know, he's an electrician for a Parisian musical and gets Zou Zou a job in the laundry for the show, with a bunch of pretty girls, including Clare, who Zou Zou introduces to Jean, resulting in a romantic triangle. Meanwhile, the leading lady is more interested in her Brazilian lover and frequently shows up late or not at all. She's also the producer's mistress.
Well, with one thing or another the show looks like a disaster, the leading lady looks like she'll take off, there is no understudy, no secretly talented usherette, and Josephine Baker in the laundry. Can this show be saved?
Oh, and Jean is arrested for a murder than Zou Zou witnessed (and saw the real murderer) and she needs to raise money to save Jean. How can she make a lot of money in a hurry? Well yeah, but how can she make a lot of money in a hurry that won't get her arrested?
This is a much weaker Baker vehicle than Princess Tam Tam, although there are quite a few good character actors in it, and Baker and Gabin are fine. The big problem is that it's badly plotted, and often gets tedious. A good example: Baker and Jean's "father" is badly injured in a fall (and may be dead). Zou Zou rushes off to find Jean and witnesses the murder. The father is not mentioned for the rest of the movie. Was he left in the apartment to die and rot?
And I kept waiting for Baker to get a major dance number, and there is one--but Baker is not in it and it's pretty dull. However, she does get to sing several good songs, and that's one thing the movie does have over Princess Tam Tam--the songs are better. Even when she's singing passionately about going back to Haiti when she's from Martinique.
*It's a long story.
**Okay, okay, he's a foundling and not a blood relation. |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Sat Jul 25, 2015 2:55 am |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
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Syd wrote: I found myself on Brunhild's side in the quarrel with Siegfried.
Sure, because Siegfrid tricks Brunhild twice. I'm on her side right up until the point where she falsely claims (to her husband King Gunther) that Siegfrid deflowered her when he disguised as Gunther and subdued her.
It's all a bit odd, since it's pretty clear that Siegfrid and Brunhild are a match -- both dashing and headstrong. While Gunther and Kriemhild are both more introverted bland figures -- especially in Part I. Unfortunately they are brother and sister, so can't pair off unless they enter into Syd's Zou Zou film ... |
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