NWR: Paths of Glory

I think there are movies which are too epic - whose appeal is too sweeping - that they end up being taken for granted. Spartacus is an example of a movie that has been seen too many times, referenced ad nausium, and becomes shunned for its excellence. It's the Kurosawa effect.
 
originally posted by Joe Perry:
I think there are movies which are too epic - whose appeal is too sweeping - that they end up being taken for granted. Spartacus is an example of a movie that has been seen too many times, referenced ad nausium, and becomes shunned for its excellence. It's the Kurosawa effect.
Click to expand...

The familiarity effect always implies, Joe. And it would be increased by repeated viewings---or in the case of M. Night Shyamalan's work, one viewing. That's why most epics don't hold up so well: once you've been wowed, it's very, very difficult to resurrect that sense of wonder. The movie has to be either extremely well made (Lawrence of Arabia) or has to appeal to some fundamental and highly emotionally laden themes where people want rote repetitiveness(The Ten Commandments).

Once a film is finished (well, except for endless 'Director's Cuts' and such, which are often made simply to squeeze more money out of the cult followers), it's fixed. It's frozen. The only thing that can change from that point on is the audience. After repeated viewings, what impresses you about a film changes, because of how you and your views of things have changed. Plus, of course, with repeated viewing you get more of a sense of the fine details, and if you are very observant, you understand more of the "bones" of the film, the structure, the pacing, etc.

That's why it's so tough for a movie to have broad, sweeping iconic appeal for many years, and many generations.

Contrast that with live theatre---which is a whole different critter. There, you can never tire of the 'great' plays, because each time you see them, they are different, because while the script may remain the same, everything is interpreted through a new set of minds and visions. Curiously, repetitive original films (as opposed to stage plays made into films) usually don't work put to well...but there are other things involved there.
 
originally posted by Ian Fitzsimmons:
Thin Red Line gets my vote for best war movie.
Click to expand...

Malick is a poet.

Apocalypse Now must be recognized (at the very least as deference to one of the greatest movies ever made: Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes).

Second tier honorable mention goes to Three Kings.
 
originally posted by Todd Abrams:
originally posted by Ian Fitzsimmons:
Thin Red Line gets my vote for best war movie.
Click to expand...

Malick is a poet.

Apocalypse Now must be recognized (at the very least as deference to one of the greatest movies ever made: Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes).

Second tier honorable mention goes to Three Kings.
Click to expand...

I'd put forth Grand Illusion as the standard setter. Individual choices will probably depend on which wars left the deepest impression on you.

Mark Lipton
 
As a Commodore's son, I fear naval movies are being ignored. Are there no champions for Das Boot, The African Queen or Hellcats of the Navy?
 
originally posted by Hoke:
The familiarity effect always implies, Joe. And it would be increased by repeated viewings---or in the case of M. Night Shyamalan's work, one viewing.
Click to expand...

Hence Shyamaladenfreude - the delight in the misfortunes of M. Night Shyamalan
 
originally posted by MLipton:
Individual choices will probably depend on which wars left the deepest impression on you.

Mark Lipton
Click to expand...

You're right, of course.

WWII: Stalingrad or Stalag 17? And why is Casablanca so overrated?

Grand Illusion goes into the queue. I adored The Rules of the Game!
 
originally posted by Todd Abrams:

WWII: Stalingrad or Stalag 17? And why is Casablanca so overrated?

Grand Illusion goes into the queue. I adored The Rules of the Game!
Click to expand...

If you think that Casablanca is overrated now, wait until you see Grand Illusion, the source of Casablanca's most famous scene.

For WWII, I find it interesting that, apart from "Thin Red Line," there are few great films told from an American perspective. Probably my top choice for that war would be "Harp of Burma" by Kon Ichikawa, with Honorable Mention going to "Das Boot" and "Bridge on the River Kwai." I suppose that "Le Chagrin et La Piti" should also be classed as a WWII film, so let's add that as well.

Mark Lipton
 
I own the Criterion Collection edition of "Grand Illusion" and apparently that's what offered in the Netflix rental. It has a some great extras, but I can't remember if it's all on the same DVD. I can't find it to check.
Jean Renoir has balls as big as cantaloupes to portray the Germans sympathetically in the late 1930s.
 
originally posted by SteveTimko:
Jean Renoir has balls as big as cantaloupes to portray the Germans sympathetically in the late 1930s.
Click to expand...

What do you know, it was already in there. The peril of having a couple hundred movies waiting to be seen is you forget what's in there. Now it's going to the top of the queue. Thank goodness The Beach Party at the Threshold of Hell has already arrived.
 
originally posted by Chris Coad:
As a Commodore's son, I fear naval movies are being ignored. Are there no champions for Das Boot, The African Queen or Hellcats of the Navy?
Click to expand...

Don't forget Mister Roberts.
 
originally posted by SteveTimko:

Jean Renoir has balls as big as cantaloupes to portray the Germans sympathetically in the late 1930s.
Click to expand...

It helped at that point to be friendly with the PCF, and it was made in the midst of the Popular Front.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top