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The Hunters (Theo Angelopoulos, 1977)
Following on from The Travelling Players, the film explores the legacy of the political conservatives in Greece who benefited from the financial backing of the USA in the 1940s and 1950s which was used for infrastructrual repairs and development, and used to fund the anti-communist campaigns that prevented Greece from 'going communist' be it in alliance with Tito's Yugoslavia or Moscow. The Hunters of the title discover the body of a communist guerilla in the snows of northern Greece, take it back to their hotel and through a variety of tableaux of historical events ranging from the 1930s to the 1960s, expose themselves to a mock trial -all the Hunters are senior figures in politics, business and the military, but for one ex-communist who signed a loyalty declaration at the end of the civil war in 1949 and went on to make millions as a building contractor. All have some form of guilt that is exposed in the film, all decide eventually to bury the corpse in the snow in the hope that a past they cannot own up to will go away. But obviously, when the snows thaw, the body will be re-discovered. Visually stunning, evocative, poetic, profound -one of Angelopoulos' best films, and it includes an auto-erotic orgasm that exposes When Harry Met Sally for the flimsy nonsense it is -the General's wife (played by the enigmatic Eva Kotamanidou) writhes on a dancefloor in full view of the band and the other guests imagining herself having sex with the King...
http://www.theoangelopoulos.com/hunters.htm
Anatomy Of A Murder, great courtroom drama directed by Otto Preminger with James Stewart, Lee Remick, Ben gazzara and George c Scott.
Plus a wonderful score by the late great Duke Ellington.
Duke Ellington - Flirtibird (Anatomy of a Murder) - YouTube
Prospero that is one of the most bloated and pointless films I have ever seen, two hours and forty minutes of prolix garbage; if you want a court-room drama then even Witness for the Prosecution is a better film: better dialogue, shorter, better acting. There comes a point in the Preminger film -indeed in most of his films when one shouts SHUT UP out of exasperation at the turgid scripts he worked with. Very poor choice on your part.
Ha ha - well Stavros, I'm a big Jimmy Stewart fan so anything he is in i will watch - and he is some of my favourite old films, The Philadelphia Story, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence and Harvey to name just three. Plus as I say - I love the Duke Ellington soundtrack. I didn't find it turgid. But then our point of congruence on films is a liking for long and - to many people - dull movies. You like that dull Hungarian (have you seen the Turin Horse yet0 and I like other "dull" films. Never the twain etc....
And yes i do recall that Witness For The Prosecution is a better film.
I'm a geek, what can I say...
Stavro Stavro Stavro.........somewhere your unkind words are creating ripples:Quote:
Originally Posted by Stavros
http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/26/showbi...html?hpt=hp_c2
Not unkind at all, When Harry Met Sally is not cinema, its just two very irritating people filmed while chatting for an hour and a half, it would be boring if you had to listen to them when stuck on a long-distance train or aeroplane journey, so why pay to see such things? Also, in The Hunters, the auto-erotic sex scene has depth and significance, and is brilliantly performed by one of Angelopoulos' regular players Eva Kotamanidou. Watch and compare....Quote:
Originally Posted by runningdownthatdream
Spaceballs
A new documentary on the making of "Wish You Were Here"
Ghost Rider Spirit of Vengance Nicolas Cage movies keep getting shitter and shitter. I was a fan of the Ghost Rider comic books back in the 90's. This movie is pure shit. Nicolas Cage acting was cringe worthy. This movie makes the first movie look like The Godfather. The worst movie I have ever seen.
Million Dollar Baby (Clint Eastwood, 2004)
First time I have seen this as I didn't like the idea of women boxing -boxing in general is loathesome, even if there are some great boxing films. I wasn't expecting such a desperately sad ending, and in its own way the film, deliberately or not, raises questions about the so-called sport. The irony is in the title; this may even be one of Eastwood's best films.
The Rainmaker - Francis Ford Coppola directed adaptation of a John Grisham book. Schmaltzy and sentimental court room film whose only redeeming feature was the way it highlighted the sort of iniquity that the Affordable Health Care Act should prevent in future. (The plot pivots around a US insurance corporation refusing to cover a young man's needed treatment for Leukemia). But a lousy film.
Wow - you are bordering on praise for a recent Hollywood production!Quote:
Originally Posted by Stavros
I think it's the best film that Eastwood has both acted in and directed. Not overly-wrought and sentimental. Just a brilliant story, acting, directing.
Praise where praise is due; Eastwood's films are generally better than much of the showy trash the US produces. A lot of my favourite films are American...is there anything good at this year's Toronto Film Festival?
Not sure about TIFF this year - it's been a long time since I paid attention to what they do. Are you attending?Quote:
Originally Posted by Stavros
Last few movies I watched were disappointing. Should have known better than to watch Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (how the hell did that ever win an Academy Award for anything!!?!) and The Long Riders (all James Gang movies were ruined after watching The Assassination of Jesse James....).
In the middle of La Mome/La Vie en Rose which is nice to look at, to hear, and with a sublime performance by Marion Cotillard. I know for you Stavro it is likely over-sentimental rubbish!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5I14qkywyQ
I watched this (Hara-Kiri) yesterday and was massively impressed. Saw the directors "13 assassins" a week earlier, which was good also but this remake is definetly an improvement on the style, and definetly one to see!
Its emotianally charged, beautifull to look at, and has thrilling swordplay scenes - all of which rate high in my book. Plus its a very interesting look at the perverted code of honour that the samurai followed, something i have a great interest in and have been reading lots on lately also.
Plus the red suit of armour is just sooooo lush, and I happened to see the actual article with my own eyes in an exhibition at the leeds armory a few years back, and its visual representation in the movie came very close to the effect of awe it has on you in person.
Cant wait for this to come out this year in 3D, I get the feeling the dojo interiors are going to look astounding with the added visual depth.
9/10
If I could I would go to the TIFF, there are usually some interesting films on show and I like Toronto anyway. As for La Vie en Rose, it has a lot of biographical holes, but I Love the film! Marion Cotillard is superb.Quote:
Originally Posted by runningdownthatdream
I heard about this book on the radio and thought it was a joke, it is real!
Cluck!: The True Story of Chickens in the Cinema: Amazon.co.uk: Jon Stephen Fink: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41UWFQJuc0L.@@AMEPARAM@@41UWFQJuc0L
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http://www.bda.org/your-membership/d...he-movies.aspx
This is a film festival I'm sorry I missed!
Six String Samurai.
I thought it was something in the industrial/education and training genre but I am wrong...no...anything to do with dentists is best avoided as far as I am concerned...but is it any more compelling than chickens in the movies?Quote:
Originally Posted by Prospero
The Night of the Generals (Anatole Litvak 1967)
Peter O'Tooole, a fine actor reduced to playing Lawrence of Bavaria in a Nazi uniform; squirming in front of Van Gogh; other fine actors playing solid roles in an allegory on justice set against the July plot of 1944. Unbelievable.
The Night of the Generals Trailer - YouTube
I remember reading the book by Hans Helmet Kirst on which this film is based. The book was bad enough.
Death Race 2000
Hellraiser: Revelations
Tiny Furniture - written and directed by Lena Dunham at the age of 23. A lame film but a first try-out for the characters later developed in the Girls TV comedy series. Lena Dunham is a talent to watch I think. In some ways there are hints of a young Woody Allen - though less witty. The social observation in Girls seems acute (though its a social milieu of which i know nothing - 20 somethings in contemporary NYC.)
LONDON BOULEVARD.
Did you take money offa my Mitchell
Wuthering Heights (Andrea Arnold, 2011)
Emily Bronte's peculiar novel has attracted many film versions, why I do not know. If the book isn't bad enough -relentless hysterics, asthmatic crabbed writing, the films can never decide if Heathcliff is a Gypsy, Black, or even just a 'white man' with flowing black locks of hair. The films usually ignore half the book anyway focusing solely on the doomed relationship between Heathcliff and Cathy.
Andrea Arnold has shot the film with intense beauty, but the style she has been evolving, working with non-actors, minimal script, which sort of worked with Fish Tank, here reduces the story, insofar as there is one, to a lot of meaningful looks. Liberties are taken with the text, such as the young Heathcliff's riposte to the Linton's when they first meet: Fuck off, you cunts. I don't think that's in the book.
Wuthering Heights (2011) - Official Trailer - YouTube
I had a boss like Wally Binghampton once.
Ernest Borgnine Talks "Escape from New York" - YouTube
[QUOTE=buttslinger;1167808]I had a boss like Wally Binghampton once.
Thanks for the link Buttslinger -EB was one of those actors who never gave a duff performance and gave weight and depth to the films he was in. He had a good life and made some good films too.
Men Who Stare At Goats
There's two hours of my life I'll never get back.
Charlie Wilson's War
Quote:
Originally Posted by eccentricBlue
Phillip Seymour Hoffman was great in that.
Real movie: "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo"
Stupid late-nite movie: "Deep In The Valley"
Last night I watched a troubling documentary entitled The Forgotten Bomb.
The Forgotten Bomb trailer - YouTube
Rise of the Planet of the Apes. It's pretty good.
It gets good when the Apes fight back.... The Star of the film is a very smart chimp -- :)
Rise of the Planet of the Apes Movie Trailer 3 Official (HD) - YouTube
savages and ted. Both were worth the time and money...
The King's Speech..excellent movie