Posted by Temsonic on 03/09/06 10:41

"Gunther Gloop" <me@privacy.net> wrote in message
news:4795prFegi9pU1@individual.net...
> Is it my newsreader or have there been just 7 posts made to uk.media.dvd
> all day (now 8)?
>
> That must be a record.
>
> ...I see Blu-Ray and HD-DVD is coming around April. It's a pity there is
> no obvious one to buy... apart from the LG dual-format player I heard
> about of course.
>
> Here's hoping that'll pick things up around here. ...I'm looking forward
> to Syriana on HD (released same time as the dvd -in May I think). ...Not
> that I'll have a HD player by then I'd guess.
>
> -Kevin.

....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 ;)

Well, if you want to discuss some filums, you could do worse than point me
in the direction of some decent stuff in two areas I want to explore I've
never previously got around to.

The first one is a HUGE category - old black & white films. Believe it or
not, prior to last week I couldn't have named you one pre-60's film I'd
watched in it's entirety. Quite how I managed to get to 31 without having
seen any I'm not sure, but I recently read an article on DVD Times
(http://tinyurl.com/zncpq) that made me realise it's probably about time I
gave it a go.

I started with two obvious choices, Casablanca (because it's such a cultural
reference point, everyone knows parts of the dialogue even if they don't
realise they do) and last night I watched All About Eve, which I picked up
on impulse because I liked the box (shallow, me?) I thought both were mind
blowingly good. The scripts just sparkle, there's no break for an action
sequence or some OTT special effects, it's just dialogue and characters, and
so different to what Hollywood has become today.

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 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?

Richard

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