The Diving Bell and The Butterfly - Review
2008-05-08 14:35:14
Julian Schnabel, 2007The Diving
Bell and the Butterfly
is the striking adaptation of Jean-Dominique Bauby's memoir 'Le Scaphandre et le papillon', the 43 year old fashion magazine editor, who at the very height of his game falls victim to a stroke and suffers from 'locked-in' syndrome. Rendering him paralysed and unable to speak yet still able to hear and see. Through extensive and furious effort alone he's able to communicate with the aid of his one good eye, blinking a special alphabet code to friends and family, eventually communicating his entire memoir.For the whole first reel we, like him, are paralysed in place, experiencing the horrifying realisation of a rare condition, learning slowly and painfully that we cannot move and even though we believe to be responding to the doct
Watching the 1000 Greatest Films Project
2008-05-08 07:08:44
Being the film freak that I am, I'm totally obsessed by film lists written by critics, academics, film directors and industry people alike. I'm also something of a completest and for quite some time I've searched for a list of films I feel meets my obsessional tastes and then one day I came across this brilliant website.They Shoot Pictures, Don't They? is not only a great website on all matters film related they've also complied the list to end all listsSimply put they've taken every list out there and put them in one place, then tallied up the average score and compiled the ultimate list from the result, giving us a complete top 1000 films. Of course, films are subjective and I have to admit to questioning a fair few inclusions but like it or not this is a definitive critic list and for
Read more: Watching
, Greatest
, Films
, Project
Is there a right way to choke on a biscuit?
2008-05-06 08:45:25
I couldn't help but laugh at the news that James Caan has quit the set of David O'Russell's new film following an argument about how best to choke on a biscuit. I kid you not.According to the Hollywood Reporter filming was only into it's second day, for the political comedy 'Nailed', when the fracas occured between director and star. The script called for Cann's character to choke to death on a cookie but when O'Russell asked for him to cough as he choked, Caan reportedly refused, arguing that it was impossible to cough and simultaneously choke to death. Despite stating that he would film it both ways, Cann walked off the set.Of course David O'Russell does have history with this sort of thing, he famously had altercations with George Clooney whilst filming Three Kings, also, what has
Branded to Kill - Watching the 1000 Greatest Films
2008-05-05 10:18:26
No. 184 - Branded
to Kill - (Seijun Suzuki, 1967)Cook Rice! (Hanada)Over the past couple of weeks I've watched films that I never thought I'd get around to (L'Avventura, Badlands), films that I probably would've passed by (Cabaret, The Grapes of Wrath) and films, such as this one, that I never would have seen in 100 years. Coming straight out of left field and smacking you right between the eyes comes a film dripping with so many ideas it doesn't always hit its mark but when it does you're in for a treat. A cross between a psycho sexual drama, a Japanese generic gangster, avant-garde experimentalism, pop art and surrealism, Branded to Kill fires off one beautifully constructed, and twisted, scene after another. To add further mythology to this wonderful piece of film making is the added
Read more: Watching
, Greatest
, Films
Cabaret - Watching the 1000 Greatest Films
2008-05-05 10:16:41
No 183 - Cabaret (Bob Fosse, 1972)Divine decadence darling! (Sally Bowles)No sooner had I written a post lamenting the wave of remakes than I come to a film in the top 1000 of greatest films (as listed by They Shoot Pictures, Don't They?) which in itself is a adaptation of Christopher Isherwood's 'Goodbye to Berlin' which had been dramatised for both stage and screen as I Am a Camera. After success as a Broadway hit in 1966, Cabaret was taken up by fledgling director Bob Fosse (again, a director whose work I haven't previously seen - this is becoming something of a habit with me) and shot on location in Germany.Set in Berlin in 1931, two years before Adolf Hitler came to total power, Cabaret paints a picture of a society in free fall, escaping through alcohol and drug abuse, casual sex an
Read more: Watching
, Greatest
, Films
The Grapes of Wrath - Watching the 1000 Greatest Films
2008-05-05 10:15:09
No 182 - The Grapes of Wrath (John Ford, 1940)'If there was a law, they was workin' with maybe we could take it, but it ain't the law. They're workin' away our spirits, tryin' to make us cringe and crawl, takin' away our decency.' (Tom Joad)When I read 'The Grapes of Wrath' by John Steinbeck some years back I was emotionally stunned and unable to get over what I had read, about the plight of the Joad family during the Great Depression, I went on to read more about this time period just to make sure it was all real.Being born in England and raised in our school system we have enough of our own history to plow through before looking to America but I did know from documentaries, film stock and literature what happened during that time yet it wasn't until this book that the full horror hit hom
Read more: Watching
, Greatest
, Films
Badlands - Watching the 1000 Greatest Films
2008-05-05 10:01:55
No. 179 - Badlands (Terrence Malick, 1973)'Name's Carruthers. Believe I shoot people every now and then. Not that I deserve a medal' - Kip Carruthers I have such a soft spot for 70's American Cinema, after all this is the cinema I was introduced to as an influential teenager by an earnest father, I feel as if I truly understand this era of film making more than any other period and it was with this eager anticipation that I turned to Badlands. All the defining motives and themes that I associate with this era are here; isolation, political and moral apathy, identity crisis, casual violence, what Malick brings to this period, I somehow I feel I can identify with, is that sense of 'this is life' narrative, where no action is berated or celebrated. Kip kills, Holly narrates whimsically, peop
Read more: Watching
, Greatest
, Films
A Bout De Souffle - Watching the 1000 Greatest Films
2008-05-04 14:38:29
No. 189 - A Bout De Souffle
(Jean-Luc Godard, 1960)'There's no need to lie. It's like poker. The truth is best. The others still think you're bluffing, so you win' - (Michel Poiccard)Somehow I managed to miss this film during my ill-fated Film Studies A-level that I failed spectacularly some 15 years back. I just wasn't ready for this film then, my idea of great cinema happened to be whatever was on the local cinema that week. I fidgeted in class, flicked ink balls at my mate and generally ignored the whole thing. The odd thing though was that the next week we were shown 'The 400 Blows' and I was enraptured and have seen it a dozen times since.Minutes into the film you can sense the text book being ripped up and even 45 years later it appears more daring, original and dangerous than a
Read more: Watching
, Greatest
, Films
Strangers on a Train - Watching the 1000 Greatest Films
2008-04-29 05:28:18
No 187 - Strangers
on a Train
(Alfred Hitchcock, 1951)'My theory is that everyone is a potential murderer.' - (Bruno Anthony)I remember watching my very first Hitchcock film, Psycho, when I was around 11 years old. The title itself suggested something gruesome and disturbing, forbidden even, I sneaked a videotape past my parents into the house and put it on when I found myself alone. Before Norman Bates had even arrived I was starting to freak out and at that tender age I had no idea why my heart was starting to beat quicker. Since then I've consumed so many of Hitchcock's oeuvre (The Birds, Shadow of a Doubt, Vertigo, North by Northwest, Rear Window - to mention a few) I believed I had become so accustomed to his style that he could no longer shock me. Yet with each new film I'm sti
Read more: Watching
, Greatest
, Films
Scarface - Watching the 1000 Greatest Films
2008-04-27 18:45:10
No 188 - Scarface
(Brian De Palma, 1983)'In this country, you gotta make the money first. Then when you get the money, you get the power. Then when you get the power, then you get the women.' (Tony Montana)I'm pushed to answer whether I like Brian De Palma's work or merely appreciate it. Carrie became something of a favourite of mine when I too was that gawky teenager at school, the ultimate revenge movie carefully constructed and executed. I've never felt the same affinity with the handful of De Palma films I've seen since; The pleasant but unremarkable The Untouchables, Carlito's Way didn't exactly inspire me to watch more of his work and Mission: Impossible just didn't do it for me, in fact I just hated it.De Palma's Scarface is a remake of Howard Hawks 1932 gangster film of the same n
Read more: Watching
, Greatest
, Films
A Ray of Sunshine
2008-04-21 11:33:05
There are a number of directors that on hearing they've made a new film you will give your right arm to see it as soon as it gets to the cinema. Auteurs of unflinching style, unwilling to compromise to mass market appeal who always present you with a film with a unique world view, that even if that film fails it will do so in spectacular style.Mike Leigh has been a bastion of the British cinema scene now for over 35 years and with each new film he crafts worlds, characters and dialogue that is so unlike anything else in modern day cinema. Famous for developing his story and characters on reading through the rough outline with his assembled cast, Leigh has carved out a niche that identifies him as one of the last true mavericks.Leigh presents characters of such extremes that detractors of
Night of the Demon - Watching the 1000 Greatest Films
2008-04-21 10:50:28
No. 181 - Night
of the Demon (a.k.a Curse of the Demon) (Jacques Tourneur, 1957)'It's in the trees! It's coming! - (Professor Harrington)Part of the appeal of watching the films on this list was the vast array of cinema that I never thought I'd get around to seeing. Night of the Demon never entered the frame to be honest, it was a film that I had heard referenced and said in passing but it didn't leave an imprint on my mind. Is it wrong to admit that the name Jacques Tourneur didn't ring any bells originally? That was until I did some research and realised that he was behind a lot of celebrated work. It's almost shameful to admit such a thing but that's the whole point of taking up this challenge, I wanted to learn more about cinema's rich history and with each film my knowledge gro
Read more: Watching
, Greatest
, Films
Take 2
2008-04-21 10:41:53
Ah yes, the remake. That fabled shoe-in guaranteed success for the Hollywood producer. Can't think of any new ideas? Don't fret my little producing chum, sit down and watch this. You like it? You do, that's marvellous, so why not remake it? We can do it in ultra-super-sonic surround sound with super-duper special effects and with massive superstars, it'll be better than the original! We can make it better! We must! So what is it with the remakes? Of course like any other film fan I have pondered in the past, 'what film would I like to see remade?' but when it comes down to it I don't want any of my favourites touched. What lead Gus Van Sant to remake the classic Psycho is beyond me, surely he should've known better than to even go near it and to do it shot-by-shot as well AND wit
The Big Sleep - Watching the 1000 Greatest Films
2008-04-15 12:24:51
No. 186 - The Big Sleep
(Howard Hawks, 1946)What's the matter? Haven't you ever seen a gun before? What do you want me to do, count three like they do in the movies? - (Philip Marlowe)Another one of those films that I really should have seen before now. I own a Humphrey Bogart collection box-set, given to me some Christmases ago, whilst I've watched The Maltese Falcon, Casablanca and Key Largo I never got around to The Big Sleep. So that's another reason to be grateful to this list by They Shoot Horses, Don't They? as I'm finally getting to see those films I would have otherwise put aside for some other day.The list of collaborators behind this film sound like a who's who of some of the most influential artists in contemporary America; William Faulkner, Raymond Chandler, Leigh Brackett,
Read more: Watching
, Greatest
, Films
L'Avventura - Watching the 1000 Greatest Films
2008-04-15 07:18:07
No. 180 - L'Avventura (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1960)'Who needs beautiful things nowadays Claudia. How long will they last?' (Sandro)Again I come to a film having never previously seen the film-makers work and once again I can't believe it's taken me so long to do so. In this case I actually owned a copy of Blow-Up for 18 months, well I say owned, I had actually borrowed it from a friend at work and, well you know how these things turn out, there it sat, gathering dust, looking at me as if to say 'put me in the video you illiterate bum, take out that worn out copy of Betty Blue and give me a whirl'. There it remained, taunting me daily, reminding me of the weekly clap-trap I would put on instead and then gladly I gave it back to my mate declaring it to be one of the greatest films I've
Read more: Watching
, Greatest
, Films
That's not Henry Fonda!!
2008-04-12 18:59:09
So said my Nan, to my Dad, after she had witnessed her hero, Henry
Fonda
, playing the eponymous villain Frank in Sergio Leone's masterpiece 'Once Upon a Time in the West', kill and maim one innocent bystander after another. It was at the point when he killed the kid that she walked out of the cinema, marched into a pub, ordered up a double vodka to steady her nerves and vowed never to watch the end of that bloody film. She forgave Henry, eventually but the relationship was never the same. My Nan's hollering 'That's not Henry Fonda' had me thinking about the notion of typecasting and those actors/actresses that have tried to shake an ingrained persona in the hope of not being labeled as a one trick pony.A seriously nasty Henry Fonda in 'Once Upon a Time in the West'So, in no particular ord
Jules Dassin (1911 - 2008)
2008-04-10 17:25:14
About three years back a friend recommended a film that he said 'you've just got to watch!' This is the same friend that watches bad films for fun, as much as he's taught me in the appreciation of a truly bad movie I some how can't share his passion to hunt out the worst of the worst. However he does tend to come up with the occasional gem now and then and I considered it rude if I didn't take up his recommendation, it was Rififi (1955) that my esteemed chum was indeed talking about and I am ever glad that I took him on his word and watched it.Considered by Traffaut as the greatest thriller ever made, Rififi is the quintessential heist movie with probably the finest robbery sequence in cinematic history (care to debate that one?), I watched spellbound as the entire operation is profession
Read more: Jules
War! Huh! What is it good for?
2008-04-10 17:24:52
I've never really felt that enamored by the war movie genre, whilst my friends were watching their pirated versions of Platoon, Rambo Part II and Hamburger Hill I was being introduced to the madness of Monty Python, Carl Reiner/Steve Martin films and reveling in films more my age bracket. Blood and guts always used to make me heave and for many a year I was of the belief that all war films were of the macho posturing type, sweaty muscled men running through a barrage of bullets whilst firing off two machine guns at the same time without even earning a scratch for their heroics. It goes without saying that you won't see me in the queue for Rambo (4?), is it me or is Sly Stallone looking more like his mother with every passing year?Sly (Jackie?) in RamboA couple of days back, sitting in m
Nothing quite like a love-in
2008-04-10 17:23:31
Never one to ignore a call from a fellow brother-in-arms, I'm moved to contribute to FinalGirl's worthy post about the wave of cynical reactions to her love, our love, of movies. We probably differ in many ways, in taste of movies perhaps (although the championing of little Brit darling Neil Marshall is way up my street, The Descent is one of those gems that most people will never see), maybe we differ in how we watch, talk and think about film but we are united in one thing; a true and wondrous love for film. So in order to celebrate this day (and I wonder if this could be an annual thing from now on) I lay my soul out to bare and praise the joy of cinema.How to explain my love for film? I feels like my love has been with me since birth but as I delve into my past I can see patterns
Read more: Nothing
Guilty Pleasures
2008-04-10 17:22:21
No. 1 - The Teenage MovieAll film fans have guilty pleasures, we can't all watch Seven Samurai or La Grande Illusion whilst praising the editing of Sergei Eisenstein or marvel at the cinematography of Tarkovsky. We have to have a rest now and then, we're not machines you know. So what do we do when we're not watching the best our art has to offer? When all we want to do is sit around the house in our pants eating popcorn out of bowl that's balanced precariously on our bellies? Why we indulge ourselves of course, we turn off our brains and watch crap, pure unadulterated crap. Ahhh, isn't it better just to admit to it and say it out loud?The teenage movie to me is indulgence at it's greatest as you get to revel in all those films that you identified with and loved so much as a kid. T
Read more: Guilty
, Guilty Pleasures
I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship
2008-04-10 17:18:52
A life through film. Hmm, yep, that just about sums me up.As a kid I couldn't get enough of film, I would wait by the front door for my dad to get home from work where, in his backpack, would be the latest grainy copied VHS tape, what would it be today? E.T? The Karate Kid? The Wizard of Oz? Every week or so he'd bring home a classic old movie for my mum and despite not knowing what was really going on in those films I'd snuggle up in her arms and watch Fred Astaire and Ginger Rodger glide, James Cagney wince and Cary Grant swoon on to our screen. The images, the score, the lighting, the acting, everything enraptured me about those films and still hold a power over me today.In my early teenage years my dad would tape films for me late at night (on some occasions even wake me up when
Read more: think
Take your stinking paws of me, you damn dirty ape!
2008-04-07 16:47:27
The Planet of the Apes, man did that film ever rule!As a kid, I must have been around 8 or 9 when I first saw it, my imagination run wild watching this film, maybe it was the costumes or the fact that monkeys were talking, whatever the reason I couldn't get that film out of my head. The Planet of Apes has stayed with me all through my life, through the difficult geeky teenage years, into University - where a score of my friends would drop 'Get your stinking paws off me' at the drop of a whim and always to universal laughter - and even today I can be found watching it in pure admiration.Heston was obviously a great allure to the whole mythology, he carried the plight of the human race in those withering sad eyes. No wonder Zira and Cornelius wanted to help him, one look from those puppy d
Read more: dirty
The Lady Eve - Watching the 1000 Greatest Films
2008-04-06 19:29:29
No 185 - The Lady Eve (Preston Sturges, 1941)'I need him like the axe needs the turkey' - Jean HarringtonI had long heard of Preston Sturges' influence on the Coen Brothers hilarious 'Oh Brother Where Art Thou?' and once caught a couple of minutes of 'Sullivan's Travels' when I was getting ready to go out. It was hysterical and since that moment I've desperately wanted to see one of his films. Anyone that's read my posts will realise by now that I'm coming to most of these directors for the first time, so far of all the films I've reviewed on this list John Ford is the only director whose work I had seen previously. So it's with Sturges that I now have my initiation, I thought I would start with what is dubbed as his finest work, and what I sees, I like very much indeed.I'm already a f
Read more: Watching
, Greatest
, Films
Cannes 2008 - Opening Night
2008-05-15 07:50:33
Yesterday saw the opening of the 61st Cannes
Film Festival, which proudly maintains its position as the largest film event in the world. Opening proceedings this year went to Blindness directed by Fernando Meirelles (City of God and The Constant Gardener) which by and large has been praised by critics; most of who have been concerned whether this years art house offerings can outshine Steven Spie
Read more: Night
|
Recommend Site To A Friend
