Cartoons vs Hitchcock

[GKarsEye]

This is a silly post.

On this Friday night, I leave it up to my two closest friends (that live around me, at least) to decide what to do. Their brilliant idea- see the movie Captain Nemo.

Gees, if they didn't want to hang out with me, why bother calling me?

So f--- 'em. While they watch a freakin' cartoon, I'm ordering Chinese food and watching one of my favorite films of all time that I just got in the mail:

Notorious, directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Cary Grant and the love of my life that fate shall never let me have due to this messed up timeline of me being born like 60 years after her, Ingrid Bergman.

Have a nice weekend, all.

 

[Mike G]

Notorious, directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Cary Grant and the love of my life that fate shall never let me have due to this messed up timeline of me being born like 60 years after her, Ingrid Bergman.

North by North West?

*Demands Pictures*

 

[GKarsEye]

What? Dude, I said I was watching Notorious. Ingrid Bergman isn't in NbNW.

Even pictures don't do her justice, because in movies like Notorious she's all sexy and sweet and vulnerable with her adorable little Swedish accent.

 

[Jade Jaguar]

As long as this is a silly post, I'll admit that I like Ingrid much better than Ingmar. Yes, notorious is a fine film, one of Hitch's very best, much better than something so commercial like The Birds. I once saw a documentary of him expounding on his ideas on crafting a suspense story, and the importance of having a "mcguffin." The sand in the bottles in Notorious is the example he used.

So, GKE, have you gotten around to watching Juliet of the Spirits yet? If so, what did you think? Some other Criterion DVDs you might want to check out are the Samurai Trilogy, starring Toshiro Mifune:
http://www.criterionco.com/asp/release.asp?id=14
is the first of the three, they have II and III as well. They don't have the depth of Kurosawa (what does?) but they are a quite entertaining rendition of a classic Japanese tale.

 

[Mike G]

Dude, I said I was watching Notorious.

Oops. Heh. I guess I'm just having a "dumb" day.

Nice Pics.

 

[GKarsEye]

I have the Samurai trilogy. I love the scene where he's fleeing from and fighting like 80 dudes in the mud. It's a good story- a very classic, straight-ahead tale.

I haven't seen Juliette of the Spirits yet. Something keeps coming up from preventing me from watching it. I hope to get to it within the next couple of days.

 

[PillowRock]

Their brilliant idea- see the movie Captain Nemo.

Minor point: the title of that movie is "Finding Nemo".
I saw that yesterday at a matinee with 3 friends and the 10 and 12 year old kids of a couple of the friends. I was kinda ... Eh. Not bad, not particularly good.

It had a Hitch (specifically Psycho) reference in the soundtrack that I doubt many of the kids would really get. That's OK, the Psycho "Wheeee, wheeee, wheeee" has gotten to where to don't have to be familiar with the original source to recognize the intent. Besides, the reason that that sound track became such a cliche is that it works so well at conveying the desired idea / emotion.


After I went home I watched the DVD of Narc, which I had rented the day before. That's pretty good. If you haven't seen it, you might want to check it out.

 

[GKarsEye]

Narc is that movie with Ray Liotta, right? I heard good things. I've been meaning to check it out.

Totally unrelated: the other day I saw a DVD at Blockbuster that looked rather interesting- a movie called Rabbit Proof Fence, starring Kenneth "best Hamlet ever" Brannagh, one of my favorite actors, with score by Peter Gabriel, one of my favorite musicians (who also did the gorgeous scores for Birdy and The Last Temptation of Christ- so good, that they're the only "soundtracks" I own).

I saw Gabriel in concert this weekend. The man's still got it.

 

[PillowRock]

Narc is that movie with Ray Liotta, right?

Yeah, Ray Liotta plays Oak; Jason Patrick plays Tellis; Toronto plays Detroit (well, I guess 1 of their 28 shooting days was in Detroit).

Definitely not for people who can't stand how much swearing there is in modern movies (the "f***" count has got to be up there with Scarface). Nor is it for people who are really squeamish about violence / blood (although they didn't have the budget for any serious gore). However, for all of that it is, at its core, really a character study.

 

[GKarsEye]

*gasp* Oh no, violence and swearing. I can't watch that!

 

[PillowRock]

*gasp* Oh no, violence and swearing. I can't watch that!

Yeah, yeah, I know. I should have known better than to worry about such warnings in a discusion primarily with the Mighty GKE.

But I do know people to whom I periodically find myself saying things like:

That's a great movie, but you should definitely avoid seeing it.

 

[GKarsEye]

I know, I do the same thing (yes, the mighty GKarsEye can be sensitive... sorta). I was just busting your balls.

Jade, I watched Juliet of the Spirits last night.

Overall, I'll have to rank this at the bottom of the Fellinis I've seen. It seemed over-ambitious and sprawling to achieve any closure or catharsis.

The biggest problem I had is that, in all of his other films, the characters can be identified with or just likeable- imperfect and weak as they may be. In 8 1/2, you can't but help but root for the director despite his adolescent mentality and innate misogyny. Juliet was played by the wonderful actress who was Cabiria, another deeply flawed character that the audience falls in love with. But even her charm couldn't connect me with the film.

When taken as a series of images, it's an interesting watch, and when I accepted that half-way through the film, I was able to enjoy it more. The collage-like style and extreme color contrasts are jarring. Fortunately, in Amarcord, he got it streamlined to a point where it all serves a narrative or emotional purpose.

I think this film is a case of "art for art's sake" and I could never really love these types of films.

 

[Jade Jaguar]

Well, GKE, I can't say I am suprised by your reaction to Juliet of the Spirits. Still, I think it is Fellini's best. It is a stream of consciousness/collage of images, a surreal view of her internal life. I had no trouble identifying with her feeling of disconnect, being set adrift in a world of fascinating happenings where nothing really seems right for her. She does reach an uneasy understanding with herself, and the world, but it is far from a real conclusion. It is also his most feminine, and least macho film. Even Cabiria, though a vulnerable woman, had lots of macho bravado. It's on my short list of best films of all time. I did think you might have trouble identifying with her, and therefore have less appreciation of the film. I don't mean that as a criticism. It's just a difference in our personal tastes and perspectives. Let me know what you think if you ever see Satyricon!
This Friday, I will borrow The Human Condition, Part 1: No Greater Love, by Kobayashi. It is a 200 minute film about a Japanese conscientious objector in WW2, made in 1959, and much acclaimed. All three parts total 9.5 hours. I've wanted to see it for years.

 

[GKarsEye]

If I couldn't identify with her character, it's because I felt the focus was lost. It's one of those films that seems like more was being attempted then they could fit.

I plan on getting ...And the Ship Sails On next.