Superb Films

[Tarantella]

I was talking about the Coens on another thread and also "The Sea Inside" and thought about other fabulous films, if people want to nominate theirs and their reasons. (I'm only going to mention comparatively recent films here and not a whole range of pre-1970 films which I consider masterpieces.)

This clip is the closing segment from "Cinema Paradiso" by Guiseppe Tornatore. The actor in the closing scene (..be still, my beating heart) feels the same way about film as I do:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEFugVbzsSo

[Scott Good]

Love that movie - beautifully made.

I'll throw out a rather unconventional movie, but one that affected me deeply - Baraka.

For me, this movie gets to the roots of cinematic potential - the invasive all seeing eye of the camera. There is no conventional plot, nor any dialogue - it is simply a sequence of images in motion, showing the deep interconnectedness of humans to nature, and how culture realities to natural surroundings through aesthetics. That profundity can transcend narrative, or language.

A musical movie, like a symphony.

This director, Ron Fricke's first success in this regard was Koyaanisqatsi where he was cinematographer.

Fricke writes about his work:

I feel that my work has evolved through Koyaanisqatsi, Chronos and Baraka. Both technically and philosophically I am ready to delve even deeper into my favorite theme: humanity's relationship to the eternal.

Here is the opening scene

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Olia...eature=related

[Tarantella]

I had a look at that link you provided and the first thing I thought was 'KUBRICK'!! It has that pensive quality that you get in the opening sequence of 2001 - the relationship between life and the surroundings - as well as the 'real time' shot construction that you also got with Kubrick in the same film. Minimal editing and the result is that the sequences are drawn-out, languid, atmospheric and 'choreographed'. Thanks for sharing.

[Scott Good]

Originally Posted by Tarantella

I had a look at that link you provided and the first thing I thought was 'KUBRICK'!! It has that pensive quality that you get in the opening sequence of 2001 - the relationship between life and the surroundings - as well as the 'real time' shot construction that you also got with Kubrick in the same film. Minimal editing and the result is that the sequences are drawn-out, languid, atmospheric and 'choreographed'. Thanks for sharing.

Yes - so very choreographed - it is the essence of this movie - how it is edited and flowing with the music. There are a few panning sequences that are incredibly beautiful - it is a cinematic masterpiece.

I'm not sure that the music will to be everyone's cup of tea, but I really like it. Please, please give a watch! The entire experience is very powerful, without using dialogue. One scene in particular comes to mind - there is about 40 seconds of footage watching from above a flock of birds (can't remember which kind) in formation, and suddenly, they all turn at rapid pace, and resume formation at lightning speed in another direction. Some are a bit slower than others, but this is usually due to a crowding issue - the consequence of the turn, a mathematical sloughing - but very quickly fixed - incredible redistribution of forces, pulling quickly into new synchronicity.

Then he cuts to a shot of what I think is New York, looking straight down onto an intersection. You cannot see any lights, so the effect is simultaneous movement, highly coordinated, without any visible cue as to how it is happening. The effect, when I saw it, was sublime - it's all in the perspective - reality. The slight twist of angle showed a very clear connection to the regular movements of nature, and human behavior. This is done all throughout.

I think one of my all time favorite movies.

And if this appeals - a no dialog movie - then I also highly recommend Microcosmos. Filming of the little world - insects, beetles, ants, bees, snails - really really well made film - very entertaining, and engaging.

Note: Both must be watched as large screen and as high def as possible! Maybe a rep theater will play them, if you have a local.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76R2EKEnoJQ

[Tarantella]

Thank you for sharing those films. That "Microcosmos" (where's Bartok when you need him?!) looks excellent. It's simply amazing what can be achieved with images these days - extreme close-ups and microscopic detail. And the work those ants seem to be doing - all the heavy-lifting!!

I'm going to include another film in my list of 'greats' - this one belongs in the top 10 of all time. I only have a link to a 'restoration demonstration' of the opening credits (music by Joseph Kosma). The film is "Les Enfants du Paradis" and made in 1943 by Marcel Carne under extremely difficult conditions during Vichy France. The film is made in 2 huge sections because, under law, it was forbidden to have film longer than a certain number of feet!! Remember, the war was on and rationing was severe - it's a miracle the film was made at all, let alone becoming one of the greatest masterpieces in the history of film:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfiTG...eature=related

Production design: Alexandre Trauner
Script: Jacques Prevert (a very 'modern' script with substantial highly stylized and theatrical elements, and extremely 'existential')
Direction: Marcel Carne
Studio: Pathe
Conductor: Charles Munch
Cast: Jean-Louis Barrault, Arletty, Pierre Brasseur (I've seen his grave at Pere Lachaise Cemetery, France)

The closing segment is dynamite: one of the great endings in film of all time. The music consists of two contrasting themes - one of a carnival playing in the streets and another of the love theme - juxtaposed over the top of each other. The carnival gives an even more tragic sense because everyone is singing and dancing but the lead character is just dying inside! FABULOUS, and I've found the last few minutes of the film - it's right here: (and the restoration is superb compared to my DVD of the film)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfFV0...eature=related

Anyone on these boards; you simply must experience this film in your lifetime. Criterion has the film released on DVD, but apparently there is now a restoration available.

[Balthazar]

Definitely have to see this one again. This is a very meta kind of project, where lines are always getting blurred between fact and fiction. The cast of a Vietnam War film find themselves in real danger in the real Vietnam, but of course they have to "act" their way out. Robert Downey Jr. plays an Australian actor who's way into his character of an African-American soldier; at one point he has to disguise himself as an Asian peasant woman, but he's playing it as an African-American disguising himself as an Asian. Yeah, lots of layers.

The level of hypocrisy and self-congratulation in Hollywood gets mentioned, oh, a few times:



The only downside of the movie was the fact that I had to give Tom Cruise credit for making me laugh for once in his misbegotten career.