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Posted by Gunther Gloop on 03/09/06 11:56
Temsonic wrote:
> "Gunther Gloop" <me@privacy.net> wrote in message
> ...And from that subject line there was me thinking it was going to
> be the title of one of your new Michael Winterbottom DVD's ;)
>
:)
He is fast becoming the one to watch for me. There are lots of em and so far
I've only seen 2. ...The Claim is the next one I'll watch -seems to be his
biggest budget movie to date. All of them are so different -and most are
very _cheap_!
:)
> Can you suggest some other _must see_ B&W stuff? I'd rather steer
> clear of silent movies for now, they're a whole different ball game
> and quite an acquired taste, but anything with a level of
> scriptwriting and style that can match up to those two? I think I
> might rather English language films to begin with, but feel free to
> suggest anything with subtitles as well.
The two you mention would be top of most lists -for good reason. But the
other elephant in the room obviously is Citizen Kane.
....If you are getting it, I *insist* you get the one with the Roger Ebert
commentary. I know the Region1 2-disc release has that, but maybe it's also
on an R2 release.
No other commentary (for this movie or any other) has done so much to add
value and depth and point out the overall genius of a movie.
Get it. Watch it once. Then whether you like it or not, watch it again with
the Ebert commentary. Impossible not to appreciate.
I also love Brief Encounter. Maybe I'm an old woman or something, but that
movie cracks me up (in a "tearjerky good way") every time.
....Ermm... I can't think of anything else offhand, but I know there are
lots... er... Sullivan's Travels ain't bad... Watch this, then watch the
Coen's O Brother Where Art Thou. You'll see how that more recent film is
(probably) the movie 'Sullivan' would have made next.
....Oh yeah... just remembered... Sunset Boulevard!
....That's the best "Hollywood" movie made to date. The Player and anything
else don't come close.
Not in black & white, but if you haven't seen all the Michael Powell &
Emmerich Pressburger ("The Archers") movies then you need to check The Red
Shoes (another 'romantic' favourite of mine... maybe it's uncool to say, but
there are so few that I actually like, the ones I do are worth standing-up
for... not really a "romance film" though ...and no, you don't have to be
into ballet... I'm not. Never have been. I swear!)
And The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp... I must watch this one again soon.
Very few movies/stories show an "old oaf" at the start, then proceed to show
the oaf in his prime and tell his story as a young man... great technique.
You've probably seen A Matter of Life and Death (David Niven). Great film.
I wasn't so mad about the one with the nuns for some reason... can't
remember the name... Black Narcisuses or something? ...Anyway, most people
seem to love that one too.
> The other area I want to explore is Studio Ghibli animation. I bought
> the new R2 release of Kiki's Delivery Service last week, and again was
> completely spellbound by it. My 6 year old daughter enjoyed it so
> much she watched the film in its entirety on the three consecutive
> days from when it arrived. I've been reading all the Ghibli reviews
> available on DVD Times and watching the trailers etc to get an idea
> of where to go next.
> To begin with I'd like to get some more that are 'safe' for a 6 year
> old to watch, so the more mature stuff like Spirited Away and
> Princess Mononoke is probably out - some of the imagery in those two
> looks potentially nightmare-inducing for a 6 year old. At the moment,
> my most likely prospective purchases are My Neighbour Totoro, Howl's
> Moving Castle and The Cat Returns. Any comments on the suitability of
> these or any other Ghibli films? Am I misjudging Princess
> Mononoke/Spirited Away etc?
My Neighbour Totoro is definitely the best of the 3 you mention (in my
opinion). Actually I wasn't blown away by it the very first time, but my (at
the time) 2 year old daughter made me watch it 100 more times (thankfully I
_did_ like it a _lot_ more by the 2nd time around). She still watches it
now -at nearly 5.
We have the Region 3 release. The Japanese language and english subtitles
still don't bother her. I'd _hate_ to watch it with an english dub. I
started watching Princess Mononoke that way, but had to turn it off fast.
Why do those dubs always have to 'localise' it? I mean, it's sooo not right
for those characters to be yelling like American teenagers. ...If it was
dubbed with similar type Japanese vocals to what is already there, then I
might be able to watch it.
It's bin a while since I saw other Ghibli ones, but probably Kiki's Delivery
Service would be a good next step.
I can't remember how 'suitable' Princess Mononoke is, but it is more grown
up than the others.
I showed my daughter Spirited Away a few months back and she _was_
frightened, but she enjoyed it. I put it away for another time afterwards
though -possibly a little too traumatic seeing the lead-girl's parents turn
into fat pigs. :)
A lot of other imagery in that movie is perhaps just a _little_ too strange
for very young minds.
You should check it out yourself though to see if it's for your 6 year old.
Great movie either way.
....Again though, I couldn't recommend anything other than the Japanese
language track.
Even Totoro above has a Chinese track as well as the Japanese one... not the
same at all. The Japanese track just has those excellent screams and
exclamations that seem to be non-translateable to any language.
-Kevin.
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