Seen any good films lately? [2]

Eldorion wrote:It came out in 2006 so you should be able to find it as a DVD, assuming you still have places that sell or rent DVDs in Norway.

ofcourse we have

halfwise wrote:

Norc wrote:this might be at help  it has the notes at least  
[video]
the first line on the top line is a B (b minor i think it is in english, we say H but when there s b and yeah, B-minor).

B - A - G - D (then three of those) and then C - A(this one sounds off though.. might be something wrong here) - G - D and etc.

I can't read that bass-key (that one who looks like a C, but just look at the piano  might be an A

It's called B flat, not B minor.  'H' is used in Germany as well.  But the actual key is g minor, the relative minor to B flat major.  Though the melody is rather androgynous with respect to minor/major the G in the Bass gives it away as most definitely g minor.

thanx. if everyone had used the proper system this would've been a lot easier!

Norc wrote:ofcourse we have

Enjoy them while you can; the last DVD rental place near me closed down almost two years ago.

There's still a few places around that specialize in obscure offerings you can't find on Netflix. My "saved titles" list (those that Netflix knows about but doesn't carry) is up to 15. I know a place I can find them in Takoma Park, but haven't found the equivalent in NYC yet.

I would have assumed NYC of all places would have a lot more specialty movie shops than Maryland.  My main alternative to Netflix these days in Amazon Instant, which has much a larger library of movies since you have to pay to buy or rent them, as opposed to paying a flat subscription rate.  (Though I think it might be different if you have Amazon Prime; I'm not sure.) But the fee is not much more than what I recall Blockbuster Video charging so it's not a big deal to me.

Out of curiosity, what the is the place in Takoma Park called?

Eldorion wrote:

Norc wrote:ofcourse we have

Enjoy them while you can; the last DVD rental place near me closed down almost two years ago.

so saad.. so saaad... it's a sad, sad situatioooon...

Eldorion wrote:I would have assumed NYC of all places would have a lot more specialty movie shops than Maryland.  My main alternative to Netflix these days in Amazon Instant, which has much a larger library of movies since you have to pay to buy or rent them, as opposed to paying a flat subscription rate.  (Though I think it might be different if you have Amazon Prime; I'm not sure.)  But the fee is not much more than what I recall Blockbuster Video charging so it's not a big deal to me.

Out of curiosity, what the is the place in Takoma Park called?

The problem with NYC is the profusion of specialty shops. You have to shop just to find the right shop.
The place in Takoma Park is Video Americain, which I now remember also has an outpost in Baltimore. Worth visiting.

Thanks Halfwise. I'd never heard of them but I'll make a point of going to check them out sometime. It's not quite as convenient as having a store right down the street from me, but it will be nice to visit a video store again at all.

Oh gosh I didn't realize there was a movie thread on this site!  
I don't have a terribly varied experience and am definitely more familiar with films from the last twenty years or so, but I like few things in life better than a good solid movie discussion.

This is an obvious one, but have many people seen Gravity (2013) yet? I really enjoy the way that Alfonso Cuaron sometimes hides the main action just off-camera--letting it build and build-- until he allows said action back on the screen just in time for the climax.

The best examples of that Cuaron technique I can think of are its usage in the car-ambush scene from Children of Men (2006) (where the crazies drop a tree across the road) as well as, of course, the scene from Gravity where Sandra Bullock's character does not at first see the debris hurtling past her as she is focused on some technical work in front of her.

In the first example I really liked how the camera caught the reactions of the people in the car for most of the ambush while only showing bits of what went on outside. This is a less-is-more approach to action, I think.
And in the second, of course, it's the perfect follow-up to the text at the start of the film that mentions how there is no sound in the vacuum of space. Hence, you could have, say, a meteor heading towards you and unless you were looking at it, you would die without ever even knowing what killed you.

It was moments like that from Gravity, the ones that led you gradually into reorienting yourself and rethinking what it means to be on Earth (rather than drifting through space) that really worked for me and, I think, contributed something new to cinema.

Are there any Herzog fans out there? Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010) was pretty nifty. This piece of music in particular really worked for me. It's a bit different, and a bit complex, and the experience of actually watching the film along with the score works far better, but the vocals are just great I think (hang in there until 1:20):


But then I'm a sucker for those female vocalists in soundtracks that really tingle your spine, so to speak.  
I enjoyed the The Three Colours Trilogy (Blue (1993), White (1994), Red (1994)) and thought it was great that a piece by the composer Zbigniew Preisner made it into Tree of Life (2011) (The Lacrimosa is awesome!):


Speaking of Terence Malick, I've always loved his usage of Wagner's Vorspiel to Das Rheingold in The New World (2005). If any of you are Wagner buffs, or even cultured in that way, I'm sure it reminds you more or LotR's distant uncle, the Ring Tetralogy (or whatever the heck it's called) but for me it's always been an accompaniment to the ships of the Jamestown settlers sailing up the river. In fact, the same theme is used a couple different places in the film. The New World also has one of the most refreshing credit sequences I've seen. Instead of music over the end titles we hear what the forests around Jamestown may have sounded like when the settlers arrived (minus the Natives). There is birdsong, trees in the breeze, animal calls. We're also shown images of archaic maps of the Jamestown area. For the faults the film has, I love the soundtrack.



Here's the actual sequence from The New World*:    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFkyAD9gS6g
*The sound editing is to die for.

In fact, that same Wagner piece is also heard in Werner Herzog's 1979 Nosferatu the Vampyre. In one scene the protagonist (played by a younger Bruno Ganz) is hiking into the mountains of Transylvania. Anyway, the sun is low in the sky and this huge cloud is rolling across this mountain as that music plays. It's not the best quality image by current standards, but it's a powerful one nonetheless.
Well that's enough for now!

P.S.
Speaking of powerful images from Herzog's Nosferatu, how about the opening sequence? It's chilling and disturbing in a way that is just so human. Like a memento mori, you can't refuse to be affected by saying, "This is a film, this is horror" because what we see is both fantastical and real. Also, the image of the bat is pretty cool.

That is far too much to read. Can you bullet point it?

(Ill look properly later)

I really liked the The Colours Trilogy, Cave of Forgotten Deams I hadnt heard of before, but shall now keep an eye out for it.
I didnt know there was a 1979 Nosferatu, Im a big fan of the original however so Im intrigued at the thought of a remake.

Pettytyrant101 wrote:I really liked the The Colours Trilogy, Cave of Forgotten Deams I hadnt heard of before, but shall now keep an eye out for it.
I didnt know there was a 1979 Nosferatu, Im a big fan of the original however so Im intrigued at the thought of a remake.

It's a tribute film in many respects--some shots are presented almost exactly the same (think, the vampyre rising from his coffin)--but there are enough concrete changes for the film to stand on its own, so to speak. Visually it's nice to have an updated Nosferatu, and the inclusion of dialogue additionally help to make the experience more immersive. I should warn that there is both an International and a German version of the film. These versions were shot separately, so that in one the actors speak German, and the other, English. Some scenes also have different camera angles, although most of the acting is fairly similar. I really can't commend one over the other (as I've only seen the German), just be aware that they exist.
Some elements of the 1979 are distinctly Herzogian surrealist, if that's the correct phrase. But I would still suggest watching it sometime, it's good.

Edit: I almost forgot. Over the commentary (my disc had a commentary), Herzog talks about film inspiration, and how maturing as a film-maker in post-Nazi Germany left him with a sort of creative void, as nearly all of the work produced by the Nazis was simply meaningless for him in its propaganda. To find any kind of cultural inheritance, he had to look further back to the pre-Nazi German Expressionists as a source. It's really a neat conversation. I found it especially interesting as I wrote a paper for a Film class a few years back on the subject of German Expressionist Film and had seen The Closet of Dr. Caligari, Nosferatu and Metropolis and read some, not a whole lot, but some about the subject. The paper wasn't very developed, being mostly about visual themes in Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow but it prepared me to contrast the original Nosferatu with Herzog's version when I saw it later.
Not, of course, that I can recall much to the point about the differences. Perhaps I should rent them again...
Ah well!


By the by, has anyone seen the Russian The Edge?

I havent seen The Edge. I have seen the classics you mentioned though of course, Metropolis being one of those films in particular that needs to be ticked off any serious film buffs chart.

Have you ever seen the original (directors cut ideally) of the Wicker Man? On balance probably my favourite film of all time.

Lancebloke wrote:That is far too much to read. Can you bullet point it?

I hoped the youtube videos would serve that function.
Sorry about the length, it is what it is.

I know... was just messing.

Pettytyrant101 wrote:I havent seen The Edge. I have seen the classics you mentioned though of course, Metropolis being one of those films in particular that needs to be ticked off any serious film buffs chart.

Have you ever seen the original (directors cut ideally) of the Wicker Man? On balance probably my favourite film of all time.

I have not. Christopher Lee plays the villain, I believe? I'm going to go look that up now.

My advice is find out nothing at all about it, I mean nothing- just get the film and watch it in ignorance (make sure its the directors cut- the studio never understood the film and butchered it for theatrical release taking huge important chunks out of it).
Sadly the original full cut no longer exists and the directors cut is made up of various sources, so there are dips in picture quality here and there, but by far its still the preferred version.

Christopher Lee rates it as one of the best films he ever made, and he has been in a few things! He h as been one of the films greatest advocates and one of the biggest critics of the studios treatment of the film.

ps dont watch the Nicholas Cage remake, its a travesty and just ruins the original in every possible way. So make sure you get the 1970's original.

Pettytyrant101 wrote:My advice is find out nothing at all about it, I mean nothing- just get the film and watch it in ignorance (make sure its the directors cut- the studio never understood the film and butchered it for theatrical release taking huge important chunks out of it).
Sadly the original full cut no longer exists and the directors cut is made up of various sources, so there are dips in picture quality here and there, but by far its still the preferred version.

Christopher Lee rates it as one of the best films he ever made, and he has been in a few things! He h as been one of the films greatest advocates and one of the biggest critics of the studios treatment of the film.

ps dont watch the Nicholas Cage remake, its a travesty and just ruins the original in every possible way. So make sure you get the 1970's original.

I have added it to my Netflix queue. I did read a bit about the different versions, and caught sight of the acclaim the film has garnered, but worst of all, I actually have seen parts of the Nicholas Cage remake. I believe it was in a Youtube montage of his various breakdowns in his movies over the years.

Bugger- I really, really hope it did not contain spoilers as Wicker Man is a film whose effect is largely based on not knowing whats coming next.

The best version to get is the wicker man- the final cut- as its the most restored.

Pettytyrant101 wrote:Bugger- I really, really hope it did not contain spoilers as Wicker Man is a film whose effect is largely based on not knowing whats coming next.

I don't think they could possibly have much in common, apart from both originating in the U.K., but have you seen the 2006 The Descent?
It is far less subtle in its horror, but I found the psychology of it pretty darn compelling. That is to say, it scared me silly.

I think that's the copy I queued, by the way.  

Yeah I saw Descent, its a good watch, nicely tense. Characters are a bit thin but then its not really a character piece.

So long as you didnt order the theatrical cut alls good- you'll get better picture quality with the final cut as its restored, but as far as I can tell its otherwise the same as the directors edition.
But the theatrical cut is to be avoided, it really was butchered (its set over three days, each day and its events is hugely important to the whole and the theatrical cut took an entire day out  )

ps- worth after you see it looking up some interviews with Lee talking about it- both just for the sheer passion he has for the film and secondly to see just how really scary he can be when he is genuinely angry (at the studio for butchering it)

I'm putting both versions of Nosferutu in my Netflix queue. I know every image I've seen of the original has been creepy and sticks in the memory more than recent horror. And Herzog is a deep and thoughtful director. I'd like to rewatch Cave of Forgotten Dreams in the 3D version, but doubt if I'll ever have the chance...missed it when it first came around.

Add Wicker Man the Final Cut too Halfy