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Messages - Novecento
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47
« on: September 28, 2022, 01:35:00 PM »
Kill!/ Kiru (1968) - 5/10. Kihachi Okamoto tries his hand at a remake of Sanjuro, but, despite great photography and editing, it doesn't come off. Too many characters, no one to root for. Nakadai plays the lead, but it's impossible to know if he has a plan or if he's just making things up as he goes along. After a while, I just stopped caring.
Is the title a pun? Means ?cut? but sounds like ?kill? when pronounced with a Japanese accent.
48
« on: September 18, 2022, 07:46:03 AM »
?Twas awesome.
Mrs Novecento enjoyed it as well. Always a good thing.
Sooo much tension? so many closeups ? sooo good ?.
49
« on: September 18, 2022, 07:44:22 AM »
McCabe and Mrs Miller (Altman, 1971) - 7.5/10
Second viewing. Rarely (never?) have I felt so strongly I was seing how a real life saloon was. The flaw of this movie is its main character, who isn't well defined and who is actually quite superficial.
The Long Goodbye (Altman, 1973) - 8.5/10
Second viewing too. I really really liked the whole thing.
Zsigmond doing some of his finest work
50
« on: September 16, 2022, 09:13:40 AM »
Can?t wait to see it. I was hoping the American Film Institute branch near me would show the Ennio documentary, but I had to import the Blu-ray from the UK instead. So I?d don?t have much hope for a theatrical release of this Leone documentary either. But I will certainly watch it as soon as I can.
On a separate note, I?m off to the AFI tomorrow to watch Samurai Rebellion in 35mm. DJ, you should be very jealous.
51
« on: September 13, 2022, 06:23:14 AM »
Also something for Roland Joff? fans coming from Imprint: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJ4OF53fTJc?Fat man and little boy? is not without flaws, but still grossly underrated. The title can?t have helped. Reminds me of Friedkin?s ?Sorcerer?. The marketing departments must have been insane in both cases. ?City of Joy? has some cringeworthy moments, but is touching. ?The Mission? and ?The Killing Fields? speak for themselves. Incidentally, Morricone scored all but ?The Killing Fields?.
52
« on: September 11, 2022, 07:44:35 PM »
53
« on: September 08, 2022, 07:25:02 AM »
It would be great if Imprint could release the Japanese version of Convoy and also Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid. I actually emailed them about Convoy but received no response.
They seem to have knack for securing rights to things other companies haven?t released. Good idea for a niche label. I recently pre-ordered Kurosawa?s Dersu Uzala from them. Hoping for a nice transfer.
54
« on: September 07, 2022, 06:53:11 AM »
Will need to pick up a copy: 
55
« on: September 05, 2022, 06:06:58 AM »
Wasn't that bar fight toward the begining? I seem to remeber it was, and the idea is that the movie slowly transitions from "almost a regular action flick where the individual is almighty" to some kafkaesque dysptopia where individuals no matter who they are get crushed by the system. That doesn't mean there isn't a tone issue, especially since the movie starts with highly stylized, semi cryptic scenes that make the big action sequence feel kinda outa place anyway. But to me that's still the chore idea behind the curtains.
Yes it was, so it?s more jarring in retrospect when you think back about the movie you just watched. But, as you say, there is a certain tone from the outset. This scene just doesn?t fit.
56
« on: September 04, 2022, 03:37:18 PM »
Hmm, one of the Heat haters eh ? it?s a modern classic for a reason ya know
57
« on: September 04, 2022, 03:35:16 PM »
The Parallax View (1974) - 7/10. The story is totally bananas. The idea that emerges--that there is a conspiracy so vast that, not only can it never be entirely exposed, it can never be entirely understood--is so goofy that it's amazing this film was ever made. I'd like to see a sequel where the middle managers and higher ups in Parallax admit that even they don't know what is going on. Keeping the action all on Beatty was an effective way to promote a sense of paranoia, however. He never knows more than we know, so we're all in this together. Anyway, the film's style perfectly lends itself to such cryptic storytelling, with lots of long shots and close-ups and nothing in between, with anamorphic frames that are alternately spare and cluttered, and of course with that great Gordon Willis dark lighting. The almost casual way in which characters get bumped off is also refreshing. People are praising the new Criterion blu and no doubt it is a huge improvement over what's been available but I found some problems with it (for example, at the beginning, characters in low light often have orange skin tones). Some of the extras with the people who collaborated on the film made me appreciate the filmmaking more, although maybe this material is already well known.
I had never seen this until last night. I really enjoyed it, but one scene drove me nuts. I was glad to hear Gordon Willis say the same thing in the interview with him on the Criterion disc. Why on earth was that stupid bar fight even in a picture like this one? No wonder Willis was loathe to shoot it. Suddenly this cryptic weirdness became a run-of-the mill action film that jolted me right out of the mood.
58
« on: August 31, 2022, 07:03:48 PM »
So ?Heat 2? was a great read, albeit a little too graphic in places for my taste. It will make a nice movie when he gets around to it.
59
« on: August 27, 2022, 04:50:41 AM »
Last night I watched a nice 35mm print of Samurai Assassin.
The somber tone was very Sword of Doom-like and the snowy setting with the very un-Hollywood storyline was very Great Silence-like. Some great editing and cinematography made for a visual treat with a nice plot. My only real criticism is that it was too wordy in places. It should have taken more after Sword of Doom in that regard.
Where is my nice Blu ray disc? This deserves one!
60
« on: August 18, 2022, 01:38:48 PM »
Never seen any of this Ben Affleck stuff.
Convoy is no masterpiece by any stretch, but it is entertaining. I would love to see the extended Japanese cut. Still upset I missed out on that one ... Maybe one of the Studio Canal distributors in another territory will release it.
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