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SF Film/Cinema Thread

gdl203

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Repulsion is great. On a related note, why is it that I can never mention Polanski here in the USA without having to go through a lecture on how he is a monster (because of the statutory **** case 30 years ago). Some people seem so blinded by this one event that they cannot appreciate the fact that he is one of the most important filmmaker of the 20th century (Repulsion, Le Locataire, Cul-de-Sac, Rosemary's Baby, Chinatown, Bitter Moon, etc...)? Alright, he's also done his share of ****** films too (the Ninth Gate?...), but who hasn't? I can only think of Kubrick...
 

Ivan Kipling

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why is it that I can never mention Polanski here in the USA without having to go through a lecture on how he is a monster
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Yes, Repulsion is a terrific movie! Re. Roman Polanski, I don't know. I'd rather talk about Rosemary's Baby. One of my all time favorites. Love being inside the Dakota.
untitled-18.jpg
 

Fuuma

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Originally Posted by gdl203
Repulsion is great. On a related note, why is it that I can never mention Polanski here in the USA without having to go through a lecture on how he is a monster (because of the statutory **** case 30 years ago). Some people seem so blinded by this one event that they cannot appreciate the fact that he is one of the most important filmmaker of the 20th century (Repulsion, Le Locataire, Cul-de-Sac, Rosemary's Baby, Chinatown, Bitter Moon, etc...)? Alright, he's also done his share of ****** films too (the Ninth Gate?...), but who hasn't? I can only think of Kubrick...

+1

Repulsion and Chinatown are really really good. In fact I even enjoyed the ninth gate (not a great movie though + the book is infinitely better) and the Pianist was also masterfully directed.
 

JBZ

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Repulsion was a good, creepy thriller (I remember citing it as an example in the "paranoia aesthetic" thread we had going awhile back). I absolutely love Chinatown, and rate amongst my favorites.

I mostly enjoy thrillers and police procedurals. Some of my favorites have been A Touch of Evil, The French Connection, L.A. Confidential, The Maltese Falcon, the aforementioned Chinatown, True Confessions, One False Move, Narc, The Usual Suspects, and Se7en. I'm sure there are many others I'm leaving out.
 

Fuuma

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Originally Posted by JBZ
Repulsion was a good, creepy thriller (I remember citing it as an example in the "paranoia aesthetic" thread we had going awhile back). I absolutely love Chinatown, and rate amongst my favorites.

I mostly enjoy thrillers and police procedurals. Some of my favorites have been A Touch of Evil, The French Connection, L.A. Confidential, The Maltest Falcon, the aforementioned Chinatown, True Confessions, One False Move, Narc, The Usual Suspects, and Se7en. I'm sure there are many others I'm leaving out.


Narc is quite underrated, an excellent modern take on the 70s gritty cop drama.
 

Ivan Kipling

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Seance on a Wet Afternoon. Another, spellbinding thriller. Kim Stanley is masterful as a medium who arranges to abduct a wealthy couple's child, in order to extract money for the girl's 'whereabouts.'
Suffocating creepiness, throughout. Shadowy, atmospheric, black and white images. Set near London. Kim Stanley plays the entire film in a tightly wound, coiled up state of semi-hysteria. Oscar nomination for her performance.
But the real star of the show, is 'the house.' It fairly breathes, ominous portents. Great film.
 

imageWIS

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Originally Posted by Connemara
When it comes to cinematography, I still think Barry Lyndon has top honors in the film world. Revolutionary technology allowed for it to be shot in environments where lighting volume was three candlepower. It's such a lush movie.

Yes, and if they could only make a DVD version worth owning! The "˜best' DVD version isn't even really wide screen, and looks, well pathetic. Hopefully the HD-DVD or BluRay version (whichever format it is by whichever studio owns the film and supported one of the 2 formats...) version will be as perfect as the cinematic version.

Only Stanley Kubrick had the vision to borrow a lens made and owned by NASA to film a movie.

Jon.
 

imageWIS

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Originally Posted by Fuuma
60s
-Leopard, the/Italy/Visconti/1963: The last days of the aristocratic era presented by a communist prince (I'm talking about Visconti here), who, by virtue of his dual nature, conveys the right mix of hope and melancholy


It was so damn long. A good movie, but it was hours of basically the same thing...I saw it when I was younger, maybe I should watch it again.

Jon.
 

imageWIS

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Originally Posted by Fuuma
70s

"¢\tAguirre, the wrath of god/Germany/Herzog/1972: Herzog characters are always on the brink of madness as they vainly grasp at something beyond the reach of Man.


It's always good when both the director and lead actor are always ready to kill each other (literately).

Jon.
 

Manny Calavera

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Originally Posted by gdl203
Alright, he's also done his share of ****** films too (the Ninth Gate?...), but who hasn't? I can only think of Kubrick...
Surely you're speaking exclusively about directors who did most of their work stateside? Edit: Fuuma, would it be stepping on your feet if I put together something similar to your list? I've been trying to tackle this thread wholeheartedly for a week now and I just haven't had time. I have a "Top 100" list, so little comments akin to your's shouldn't be too hard to tack on. Plus, your list seems a lot more canonical than mine (not to say you're unoriginal, you probably just have better taste than I do), so I think it would be a perfect counter-point to your run-through.
 

gdl203

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Originally Posted by jonglover
Surely you're speaking exclusively about directors who did most of their work stateside?

On the top of my head, I cannot think of any other prolific and talented director who has made only great films. All of my favorite directors (including Kusturica, Polanski, Scorsese, the Coen brothers, Lynch...) have made some crappy movies. I can only think of Kubrick as the only great prolific filmmaker with a perfect filmography
 

JBZ

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Originally Posted by gdl203
On the top of my head, I cannot think of any other prolific and talented director who has made only great films. All of my favorite directors (including Kusturica, Polanski, Scorsese, the Coen brothers, Lynch...) have made some crappy movies. I can only think of Kubrick as the only great prolific filmmaker with a perfect filmography

I don't know that I'd call Kubrick's filmography perfect, but it's quite good and I don't think he ever made a truly horrible film (though some debate that Eyes Wide Shut was awful - I don't agree, but I wouldn't place it among his better works).

Kurosawa might be another director with an extremely good, if not perfect, filmography.
 

Manny Calavera

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Originally Posted by gdl203
On the top of my head, I cannot think of any other prolific and talented director who has made only great films. All of my favorite directors (including Kusturica, Polanski, Scorsese, the Coen brothers, Lynch...) have made some crappy movies. I can only think of Kubrick as the only great prolific filmmaker with a perfect filmography

Mizoguchi, Lanzmann and Tati come to mind, but ultimately I think it's all pretty subjective. I do agree Kubrick's quality to output ratio is very impressive.
 

gdl203

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Originally Posted by JBZ
I don't know that I'd call Kubrick's filmography perfect, but it's quite good and I don't think he ever made a truly horrible film (though some debate that Eyes Wide Shut was awful - I don't agree, but I wouldn't place it among his better works).

Kurosawa might be another director with an extremely good, if not perfect, filmography.


I haven't seen as many Kurasawa as I'd want to echo your view but I would say that every single Kubrick movie - at least since Killer's Kiss in '55, I have only a vague recollection of the previous ones - is a masterpiece. JMO of course...
 

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