So did I, @marquac. So did I.
https://data.whicdn.com/images/233124366/original.gif
(this gif is from Crossroad, an ad directed by Makoto Shinkai, which seems like a “prototype” of Your Name in some ways)
Ok, I will submit a nomination. Perhaps my favorite movie of all time (I’ve seen it about 10 times, I think).
And yes, it’s never going to be selected, being black and white and silent and European and Catholic, but whatever. It’s better seen in a big screen anyways :P. This is beyond a grandpa movie. Probably a great-grandpa movie.
Being silent makes the choice of a soundtrack tricky (too may options).
I’d vote for it!
That’s one that’s been sitting on my “films to see” list forever, but never been quite able to get myself to sit still and watch.
I convinced my girlfriend to watch it last weekend and she loved it too!
Yeah, I have many silent classics I’ve yet to see because they demand a lot of mindshare to properly enjoy. I find this one and some of the more humane Murnau perhaps the easiest to watch since they tend more towards naturalism vs the very common artifice of a lof of other silent stuff (I understand why Metropolis, Trip to the moon and Caligari are important, but I find them unwatchable from a “getting into the movie and actually enjoying” perspective).
I love Kurosawa, but I am also a Kobayashi man as well. I get torn. Ozu’s work is timeless of course, but I find him visually less interesting, @charmtrap. Not uninteresting, mind you just less interesting than those other two masters.
Wow, take an hour nap and this thread lights up like a Christmas tree.
I think we can all agree, there are some fantastic films made by all. It’s a bit like choosing your favorite flavor of ice cream. Mostly, there’s no wrong answer.
Also @Juan_Raigada your pick reminds me, next time I may have to nominate Metropolis for similar reasons. If only to force me to make the effort (I watched the first 20, then got sidetracked and never finished)
Talk about an overrated film. It would generate good discussion, though.
Fine with me. Everybody comes away from art with something different.
I find that I tend be more interested in performance and theme than visuals…which isn’t to say that I can’t have my head turned by something overtly cinematic (see: Wong Kar Wai), just that I tend to watch actors and search for a story I can identify with first and only notice photography and visual style on second viewing.
UPDATED POST
So as of 1730 EST Tuesday, 02 OCT 2018, the nominations are:
Oh, and Chupacabra Terror.…from a troll.
If you want to posit a film for Movie Club, get your nominations in! Nominations cease and voting begins on THU 04 October 2018.
Your favorite movie is a silent film? Wow. It must be something else.
Just curious, I’ve only seen Luc Besson’s Joan of Arc movie. How does that one compare? (It got poor reviews, but I really enjoyed it, because I didn’t know the story of Joan of Arc before I saw Besson’s film).
Speaking of Murnau, Sunrise should absolutely be part of a movie club. I saw it on a big screen in a film class many years ago and it kind of blew me away. I haven’t seen it since, though, and there’s a lot to discuss there.
OMG I remember you playing some of that at Shoot Club.
Sunrise is a remarkable film for sure. It has among other things the characteristic of many great silent films, that it feels like a dream.
Luc Besson’s movie is a (bad) adventure film. It tells an interesting story, but it does not really explore the character. Too fantastical. But I think some of the negativism came from the inevitable comparison between two very,very different works.
Dreyer tells the story of Joan’s trial (and just the trial) from a mostly naturalistic standpoint (the movie stood out at the time for not using makeup). Of course there’s still a lot of stylization being a black and white silent film, but the feel of it is naturalistic and somewhat ambiguous. It’s also recreated from the historical inquisition records of the trial, I think.
It has no action. It’s a film based on dialog. A silent film based on dialogs.
The movie is 90% closeups of people against white backgrounds,
It sounds nuts, doesn’t it?
At the end of the day it’s just a powerful story about spirituality, faith and, perhaps, madness. Delivered with so little it feels experimental yet humane. It just hits me so hard, to see that suffering (spiritual, not physical) on screen. And I am pretty much an agnostic.
Falconetti’s performance is just mind blowing. It is still good, and when you think of the acting standard at the time, it’s unbeliavable.
I don’t think many will love it as much as I do, but it is riveting and definitely unique.
Sunrise, Nosferatu and The Last Laugh makes Murnau my favorite silent film director, by far. The last Laugh is interesting. Very small story compared to the other two (and perhaps a lesser movie) but moving nonetheless, despite the age. Perhaps more so than the others.
Ha, I like Besson’s film. :) I wanted to like Preminger’s but it is flawed in places for me.
My favorite film about a saint is by Rossellini:
I don’t know if you are joking, but I meant Besson, not Bresson. It’s probably pronounced the same anyway :P
I have not seen Bresson’s version, though. I’m adding it to my to-watch list now (the guy knew how to make films, so I’m guessing I’ll enjoy that one).
FYI: Dunno where you’re located but if you’re in the Bay Area, the Pacific Film Archive is doing a whole Italian neorealism/French poetic realism program right now. I think Rosselini is done, but they’re screening a whole passel of Visconti and Vigo and Duvivier films.
No I saw your typo and then typo-ed myself in a different way. :) I even thought “Juan misspelled that”. :p Edited…
I am in Palm Beach, FL. I try to get to the West Coast every year, but I am rehabbing from a health issue. Hopefully I’ll be travelling on a huge west coast swing next year. We can go see something arty and have lunch, and the next day I’ll play a Burma wargame with @Rod_Humble and then go to Burma Superstar. :)
I used to have as my excuse visiting my BiL and his family in the Tenderloin, but now that my marriage has ended, I think that would be frowned upon. :)
I miss it. One of the best times in my life (professionally, academically and life wise) was the two times I lived in Monterey. Of course Uncle Sugar was picking up the tab for my rent at the time, so, that made it a bit easier on the pocketbook.