lazarus
Blue Crack Supplier
Random Movie Talk XIII: In Which I Cannot Come Up With a Relevant or Witty Title
- Thread starter Lancemc
- Start date
The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
LMP
Blue Crack Supplier
Regular. I couldn't go without the Scorsese/Powell commentary.
U2DMfan
Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS
I hadn't seen The Searchers since I was a kid, and I stayed up last night specifically to watch it on TMC.
This was AFI's best western of all time in their latest installment...
Bullfuckassshit. I don't get the fascination with Ford, outside of visual aesthetics. I didn't recall anything more than my superficial impression when I was young.
#1 Natalie Wood is and will always be fucking gorgeous.
#2 John Wayne is perfectly the caricature of John Wayne
#3 A gorgeous 'setting' does not make a great film all by itself.
#4 Did I mention how delicious Natalie Wood is?
#5 Watch West Side Story to see how delicious she is.
#6 Something can (obviously) still be great and incredibly overrated.
Whatever...I could name five Westerns I would take, easily over The Searchers. That is not to say that it wasn't good or even great. Just that so much like everything that is considered great (with few exceptions; e.g. 2001:ASO) is vastly overrated.
This was AFI's best western of all time in their latest installment...
Bullfuckassshit. I don't get the fascination with Ford, outside of visual aesthetics. I didn't recall anything more than my superficial impression when I was young.
#1 Natalie Wood is and will always be fucking gorgeous.
#2 John Wayne is perfectly the caricature of John Wayne
#3 A gorgeous 'setting' does not make a great film all by itself.
#4 Did I mention how delicious Natalie Wood is?
#5 Watch West Side Story to see how delicious she is.
#6 Something can (obviously) still be great and incredibly overrated.
Whatever...I could name five Westerns I would take, easily over The Searchers. That is not to say that it wasn't good or even great. Just that so much like everything that is considered great (with few exceptions; e.g. 2001:ASO) is vastly overrated.
RedRocksU2
Blue Crack Addict
Unbelievable.
lazarus
Blue Crack Supplier
#2 Wayne plays a much, MUCH darker character in The Searchers than he normally did.
Natalie Wood isn't really worth discussing w/r/t this film, so I'm taking your opinion with a giant grain of Angelina Jolie's new film.
I'm going to defer to Dave Kehr's perfect little capsule review on this film, which is about as concise as one can be on it (I may have posted this before):
"We may still be waiting for the Great American Novel, but John Ford gave us the Great American Film in 1956. The Searchers gathers the deepest concerns of American literature, distilling 200 years of tradition in a way available only to popular art, and with a beauty available only to a supreme visual poet like Ford. Through the central image of the frontier, the meeting point of wilderness and civilization, Ford explores the divisions of our national character, with its search for order and its need for violence, its spirit of community and its quest for independence."
Natalie Wood isn't really worth discussing w/r/t this film, so I'm taking your opinion with a giant grain of Angelina Jolie's new film.
I'm going to defer to Dave Kehr's perfect little capsule review on this film, which is about as concise as one can be on it (I may have posted this before):
"We may still be waiting for the Great American Novel, but John Ford gave us the Great American Film in 1956. The Searchers gathers the deepest concerns of American literature, distilling 200 years of tradition in a way available only to popular art, and with a beauty available only to a supreme visual poet like Ford. Through the central image of the frontier, the meeting point of wilderness and civilization, Ford explores the divisions of our national character, with its search for order and its need for violence, its spirit of community and its quest for independence."
OP
OP
Lancemc
Blue Crack Addict
lazarus
Blue Crack Supplier
Anyone with Turner Classic Movies and DVR would do well to record Raymond Bernard's epic adaptation of Les Miserables, which starts in like 10 minutes and runs about 5 1/2 hours in three parts. It was released in a Criterion Eclipse set with Bernard's great war film Wooden Crosses which was worth every penny I paid for it.
If you miss it, I'd think about trying to get ahold of it. It's a towering achievement.
If you miss it, I'd think about trying to get ahold of it. It's a towering achievement.
OP
OP
Lancemc
Blue Crack Addict
I don't get TCM, but I'll try to track that one down.
lazarus
Blue Crack Supplier
You may as well check out Wooden Crosses first. It's even better, and uses techniques that are way ahead of their time. Kubrick's Paths of Glory will seem a lot less impressive after you see this.
U2DMfan
Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS
I understand these aren't all your words, Laz.
At least I like you.
Maybe, although in 'Red River' and 'Man Who Shot Liberty Vallance' he wasn't peaches and cream. Perhaps True Grit, but I haven't seen that in ages.
The comments about Natalie Wood were lighthearted, meant to be a way to say "she's fucking hot" under the guise of a self-serious commentary about the film. Which is what I (more often than not) read here...a bunch of self-serious wank. Just trying to play the part. But I guess I don't have the 'clique' credentials to do so without being reprimanded.
As for the actual wank in this review about "distilling 200 years of tradition" PICK UP a fucking history book someone... the reviewer or the reader. For the love of God, he's hopefully talking purely about cinematics, right? Ford didn't 'explore' anything. The book was based on historical accounts, whether acknowledged or not. The script had to have been in the vein or if not, even more so of a Hollywood excursion into 'John Wayne saviour' territory. So for fuck's sake, spare me. It's either historically off or VERY historically off. "Supreme poet"...shall I post Fords' own words here (about the project) for comic value? It's a beautiful film and like so many other pieces of popular art, it is attributed various plaudits with incredibly daft grandeur.
The nature of Native American relations weren't (freshly) scratched on the Goddamn surface here. Not remotely. (the statement here is on the obvious, there was friction on both sides...)
It was supposedly alluded to, (only now) in a hippy-revisionist "oh yes, do you see what he's saying here?"-manner. Fuck that noise. The Comanche's were barbarians according to Ethan Edwards and (essentially) Ford himself. A "visual poet", in what respect? He documented Monument Valley for the sixth time (or whatever)? Yes, it was beautiful but what changed from what came before? He'd already written those 'poems'. Hipster, 'film geek' garbage.
Ford influenced the way other filmmakers made grand statements with the lens in this film (and credit to him for that). The entrance of the sheriff in Lawrence of Arabia comes to mind. But this is 'inside baseball'...it's like giving credit to Les Paul for overdubbing. Yes, give the credit, but does that change the fact that Les Paul's album with Mary Ford (the original) was kind of fucking silly? It broke new ground, give credit where it's due, but let's not go overboard. All I'm saying is, overrated...that's the only point.
OP
OP
Lancemc
Blue Crack Addict
Do you often enjoy using so many words to say nothing?
lazarus
Blue Crack Supplier
Double Waingro!!
lazarus
Blue Crack Supplier
.
UberBeaver
Breakdancing Soul Pilgrim
Not sure when I'm supposed to submit this by, so I'll just put it here now:
Metropolis. I've always wanted to see this, but never have. It's available for streaming on Netflix as well.
Metropolis. I've always wanted to see this, but never have. It's available for streaming on Netflix as well.
UberBeaver
Breakdancing Soul Pilgrim
What is it with this site? It freezes, double posts, WTF?
UberBeaver
Breakdancing Soul Pilgrim
N/M Wrong Thread.
Criterion Sale has indeed started. Here is a list of discounts, etc:
Barnes And Noble Coupon Thread Part 2 - DVD Talk Forum
Got Rossellini's War Trilogy for $29 with the codes.
Barnes And Noble Coupon Thread Part 2 - DVD Talk Forum
Got Rossellini's War Trilogy for $29 with the codes.
LMP
Blue Crack Supplier
I'm 20 minutes into Snake Eyes and it's already the most entertaining Nic Cage performance that I've seen; it's been at 11 the entire time. Dear Lord.
lazarus
Blue Crack Supplier
No love from the Heat fan clan?
I'm a little hurt.
I'm a little hurt.
OP
OP
Lancemc
Blue Crack Addict
So for this Criterion sale I'm thinking
Red Desert
Mystery Train
Days of Heaven (finally)
all on Blu, along with the 4 by Agnes Varda DVD box set. Now I'm guessing the best way to do it is to order each one separately so as to apply one of the 20 or 15% off to the highest-prices item coupons to each one, right?
Red Desert
Mystery Train
Days of Heaven (finally)
all on Blu, along with the 4 by Agnes Varda DVD box set. Now I'm guessing the best way to do it is to order each one separately so as to apply one of the 20 or 15% off to the highest-prices item coupons to each one, right?
No spoken words
Blue Crack Supplier
Criterion Sale shit that went down today:
Red Desert
Revanche
Yojimbo/Sanjuro
The Last Emperor
Red Desert
Revanche
Yojimbo/Sanjuro
The Last Emperor
OP
OP
Lancemc
Blue Crack Addict
Decent haul overall.
No spoken words
Blue Crack Supplier
Go fuck yourself.
I really meant to say, yeah, not a bad haul. I already own Days of Heaven, as it turns out....
Now go fuck yourself.
If you shout...
Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS
That Varda set is far, far, far beyond essential. Killer stuff.
OP
OP
Lancemc
Blue Crack Addict
I've already seen each film in the set at least once.. but I could easily rewatch one a week. Really want to get my hands on it. wat..
lazarus
Blue Crack Supplier
Storaro + Bertolucci > Lance
lazarus
Blue Crack Supplier
So has anyone done the math to see if joining B&N is worth it this time around? And I'm talking about ONLY using the membership for this sale alone, because I would never order anything else from them.
It depends a bit on how much you will spend. If you go beyond 25 dollars (which gives you free shipping), you don't need to be a member to get the best price. The cheapest I could get was to buy through the "Library Bookstore" (Barnes & Noble - Business to Business online bookstore for Corporate, Government, Libraries, Institutions, and Strategic Partnerships) and then use the 20% discount for new accounts (U8K3U4A). This stacks the 50% discount, 10% discount of the library store, 20% for new accounts and free shipping if it's above 25 dollars.
For single DVDs that cost less than 25 dollars, I think the cheapest is to print a 5$ off coupon and buy in store (members would have an additional 10% off, but I don't think that makes it worth it to be a member).
Similar threads
- Sticky
