Topic: There are films. And then there are films. - page 3. (Read 9726 times)

waaaa? Sounds like my kinda movie. Ill have to hit up netflix

So I watched Manji last night. The 1964 film's plot is rather intricate and deals with more than the two beautiful Japanese women becoming infatuated with each others' bodies and the sexual relationship between them which follows.

Manji: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-5XRJYsOlc

I'm loving this one trailer and one clip. I want to see these two films now really badly now.

Wong Kar-Wai (director):
Ashes of Time Redux (trailer): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saHxm_md60c

Akira Kurosawa (director):
Ikiru (clip): http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=nr2d6PsRpsc

There is a game called S.T.A.L.K.E.R. There is a very famous film called Stalker, directed by the very famous Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky. He also directed The Mirror, Ivan's Childhood, and others. These three films are present on various lists I have created in this thread. I am not familiar with a film called S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Please clarify.

Regarding the other three films you have mentioned above, they all appear weird. That is not a bad thing at all. I am vaguely aware of the titles, but otherwise know little or nothing about them. Stalker could certainly be considered to be a weird film. I have mentioned some rather strange films in the thread, among them House and Woman in the Dunes, and perhaps even Jigoku. But aside from your mention of Spirited Away, weird films make up the majority of films you have mentioned. How critically acclaimed are they? I guess my point is, given all that you've said, and all that is obviously missing from your post, what range of film watching experience do you count as contributing to your opinion of films?


Spirited Away is on my list of films to watch, and most any other animated film from the same director. These animated films hit my radar the same way almost all the other films on my list have hit my radar. What I mean by this is by applying the proper filters and following various links, a net is cast which captures the films of note.


Life is too short to watch countless bad movies. Repeated watching of bad movies only leads one to become skeptical of the film watching experience. But there are so many fine movies, each with their own merits. As I just mentioned above, application of the proper film discovery methods leads to many fine gems.


One can enjoy many different film genres simultaneously. Appreciating fine films on their own merits is key. I would never apply the same metric when watching a Yasujiro Ozu film of the '50s vs. a Marvel Studios film of the last ten years. Iron Man delivers polished action and fun. Tokyo Twilight (Ozu) delivers powerful observations of strife within family relationships which will have you crying. I recommend both. I'm sure you've seen Iron Man. I can be fairly confident you haven't seen Tokyo Twilight.


Start with a set of keywords. They will lead you to good places. In general I won't mention obvious keywords, directors, films, etc. For example, everyone knows about Star Wars, The Avengers, etc. Most people have heard of Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, and yet it's surprising how many people haven't seen the film, let alone have seen it properly, so it must be referenced, one way or another.

Some keywords:
- Criterion (publisher of critically acclaimed films, and lesser known arthouse films)
- Japanese New Wave
- French New Wave
- Asian cinema
- MUBI (social networking - see what people are discussing)

53 films to watch right now:

Tokyo Twilight: This is an exceptional film from director Yasujiro Ozu. It will leave you in tears. More info: http://www.criterion.com/films/771-tokyo-twilight

In the Mood for Love: This film is pretty much considered to be Wong Kar-Wai's masterpiece. However, watch his other films as well. In the Mood for Love is actually the second in a very loose trilogy, comprised of Days of Being Wild, In the Mood for Love, and 2046. More info and trailer for the film: http://www.criterion.com/films/198-in-the-mood-for-love

Let Me In: This film is very underrated. The problem is further compounded by those who watched the Swedish version first, and can't accept the fact that Let Me In is actually an astounding film. Why? It has an extraordinarily beautiful soundtrack, superb acting, beautiful lighting, metaphors within the cinematography and lyrics, and the story is simultaneously tragic and beautiful. A clip from the film: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F62GjsKAfNs&feature=relmfu

2001: A Space Odyssey: Maybe you've seen this. But if you haven't seen it properly, then you need to watch it again. It is generally considered the greatest science fiction film ever made, is pretty much considered one of the greatest films ever made (consistently in the top ten - Sight & Sound's Directors Poll rates it at #2), and is generally one of the most discussed films ever, and will continue to be for the next 100 years. Watch every minute of this film with rapt attention. It is simultaneously very slow (sometimes boring), and yet also the most incredible trip anyone will ever go on: I defy you to watch the following clip and tell me it isn't art of the highest form. And remember this film was produced 46 years ago. Yes - 46 years ago, as production began in 1966. A clip from the film: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpvOUnz4T7Q

The Innkeepers: Horror done right. It's not about blood. It's about what forces lie down the hallway when you're alone at night. More info: http://mubi.com/films/the-innkeepers

Pale Flower (subtitled): I truly love this film. It's a beautiful example of the Japanese New Wave of the sixties. It's a noir with the deepest blacks and whites that almost seem blue. It's a morality tale (or would that be an immorality tale?). Whatever the case, you should watch it. The original trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOOr4nuWFqU

Hunger: This film will take you to the grave. Fassbender's performance is dedicated, to say the least, and McQueen's direction is fantastic. The trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9IiUbBV4zc&feature=relmfu

The Face of Another (subtitled): This is another film from the Japanese New Wave. However, it's also a film from Hiroshi Teshigahara. That means a lot. Please do not consider passing this one by. Tell me, how many films have you watched which belong to the category of avant-garde existentialism? I thought so. This film will stay in your mind. Trust me. The trailer just doesn't do the film justice. The trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rK5Rz6txcDU

Yi Yi (subtitled): How can I convey what a beautiful film this is? So poignant, powerful, touching, sad, and wonderful. It's long, but worthy of several viewings. The trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8F6tSorwYqw

Never Let Me Go: Carey Mulligan and Izzy Meikle-Small's performance are beyond measure. The cinematography is beautiful. The story just stabs you in the heart. The trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXiRZhDEo8A

2046 (subtitled): Are you prepared to watch what many consider to be one of the most beautifully filmed movies ever? Until you've watched a Wong Kar-Wai film, you're not yet complete. There are films, and then there are Wong Kar-Wai films. Words to describe his works? Dreamy. Sublime. Swooning. Meditative. Sumptuous. Beautiful. He is the master of love found and lost across the hallway corridor, and his films are a visual and auditory experience that just sings to the soul. The trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8OAxS9L7es

Here's an example of Wong Kar-Wai's film grammar (and Zhang Ziyi's incredible performance). In this clip from 2046 (only this scene is in black and white), Zhang's character realizes she's just fallen in love. The clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRfPF3tLIGQ

Mystery Train: I don't know how to describe this one. All I can say is, it provides fond memories after having watched it. The trailer: http://www.criterion.com/films/2057-mystery-train?q=autocomplete

Woman in the Dunes (subtitled): This is pretty much the most famous film from Hiroshi Teshigahara. And it's actually a very famous film, period. It's another film that belongs in the category of avant-garde existentialism. It's a deep probing film about identity, freedom, and life. It will not go away when it's over. More information and a trailer: http://mubi.com/films/woman-in-the-dunes

Inglourious Basterds: This movie has grown on me. On the second and subsequent viewings, I have come to really enjoy this film. More info: http://mubi.com/films/inglourious-basterds

Chungking Express: Wong Kar-Wai banged out this movie because he and his actors needed a break while filming Ashes of Time. Despite the quick production, it's a beautiful and fun movie to watch. Faye Wong, one of the stars in the film, also covers a song by the Cranberries, in Cantonese! More info: http://mubi.com/films/chungking-express

Barry Lyndon: This is a Stanley Kubrick film. He actually used special lenses from NASA to film many of the scenes lit only by candlelight. More info: http://mubi.com/films/barry-lyndon

An Education: Carey Mulligan shines in this modern film about a student in 1960's London coming of age. More info: http://mubi.com/films/an-education

Three Colors: Blue: Juliet Binoche stars in this in this beautiful french film about surviving tragedy. More info: http://mubi.com/films/three-colors-blue

No Country for Old Men: Who doesn't like this movie? One of the Coen Brothers' best. More info: http://mubi.com/films/no-country-for-old-men

Lost in Translation: Sofia Coppola says she was most inspired by Wong Kar-Wai's film In the Mood for Love (see further above) when she directed this film starring Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson. More info: http://mubi.com/films/lost-in-translation

Secret Sunshine (subtitled): This film features a devastating performance by the lead. It asks some tough questions. Midway through might put the viewer in a position to judge, but nothing is cut and dried in this film: The trailer: http://www.criterion.com/films/27750-secret-sunshine?q=autocomplete

True Grit: I love this film by the Coen Brothers. Hailee Steinfeld steals the show. More info: http://mubi.com/films/true-grit--2

The Makioka Sisters: This film might not be for everyone. But if you give it a chance, you'll be drawn into the lives of these four Japanese sisters. More info: http://mubi.com/films/the-makioka-sisters

Jane Eyre: The cinematography in this film is excellent and the dialogue between Jane and Mr. Blackthorne is top notch. Some of the shots look like Rembrandt paintings. More info: http://mubi.com/films/jane-eyre--2

The Thin Red Line: A surreal existentialist piece by Terrence Malick. More info: http://mubi.com/films/the-thin-red-line

The asterisk next to the following movies indicate that I actually have not yet seen the following films, but they are so highly critically acclaimed or loved by many, and on my soon to watch list, that they bear mentioning.

*Raise the Red Lantern: More info: http://mubi.com/films/raise-the-red-lantern

*Cyclo: More info: http://mubi.com/films/cyclo

*The Human Condition: More info: http://mubi.com/films/the-human-condition

*Seven Samurai: Without a doubt Akira Kurosawa's most famous film. More info: http://mubi.com/films/seven-samurai

*The Cranes are Flying: Russian film. More info: http://mubi.com/films/the-cranes-are-flying

*The Spirit of the Beehive: Spanish film. More info: http://mubi.com/films/the-spirit-of-the-beehive

*Tokyo Story: Yasijuro's most famous film and voted the greatest film of all time. More info: http://mubi.com/films/tokyo-story

*Raging Bull: A Martin Scorsese film. More info: http://mubi.com/films/raging-bull

*Lust, Caution: More info: http://mubi.com/films/lust-caution

*Fallen Angels: A Wong Kar-Wai film. More info: http://mubi.com/films/fallen-angels

*Oldboy: More info: http://mubi.com/films/oldboy

*The Mirror: One of Andrei Tarkovsky's most famous films. More info: http://mubi.com/films/the-mirror

*Woman of the Lake: More info: http://mubi.com/films/woman-of-the-lake

*Twenty-four Eyes: A Japanese film very much loved film by the Japanese. More info: http://mubi.com/films/twenty-four-eyes

*Vengeance is Mine: More info (trailer contains nudity): http://mubi.com/films/vengeance-is-mine

*Ashes of Time Redux: A Wong Kar-Wai film. More info: http://mubi.com/films/ashes-of-time

*The Insect Woman: More info: http://mubi.com/films/the-insect-woman

*Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring: More info: http://mubi.com/films/spring-summer-fall-winter-and-spring

*Adaptation: More info: http://mubi.com/films/adaptation

*Poetry: More info: http://mubi.com/films/poetry

*Farewell my Concubine: More info: http://mubi.com/films/farewell-my-concubine

*Intentions of Murder: More info: http://mubi.com/films/intentions-of-murder

*Sansho the Bailiff: More info: http://mubi.com/films/sansho-the-bailiff

*Rashomon: More info: http://mubi.com/films/rashomon

*Ivan's Childhood: One of Andre Tarkovsky's most famous films. Actually, does Tarkovsky have any films that are not famous? More info: http://mubi.com/films/ivans-childhood

*When a Woman Ascends the Stairs: More info: http://mubi.com/films/when-a-woman-ascends-the-stairs

*Yojimbo: An Akira Kurosawa film. More info: http://mubi.com/films/yojimbo

*Harakiri: More info: http://mubi.com/films/harakiri

*Cafe Lumiere: More info: http://mubi.com/films/cafe-lumiere

*Ugetsu: Considered to be one of the greatest films of all time. More info: http://mubi.com/films/ugetsu

*Street of Shame: More info: http://mubi.com/films/street-of-shame

Some directors:
- Yasujiro Ozu
- Wong Kar-Wai
- Wes Anderson
- Akira Kurosawa
- Edward Yang
- Tran Anh Hung
- Kon Ichikawa
- Ti West
- Stanley Kubrick
- Masahiro Shinoda
- Hiroshi Teshigahara
- Lee Chang-dong
- Hou Hsaio-hsien
- Yoshishige Yoshida
- Kenji Mizoguchi
- Jean-Luc-Godard
- Ko Nakahira
- Louis Malle
- Koreyoshi Kurahara
- Keisuke Kinohita
- Shohei Imamura
- Nagasi Oshima
- Satyajit Ray
- Ang Lee
- Mikio Naruse
- Masaki Kobayashi
- Philip Kaufman
- Hirokazu Kore-ada
- Zhang Yimou
- Sejun Suzuki
- Werner Herzog
- Andrei Tarkovsky
- Lars von Trier
- Brad Bird
- Michael Mann
- Danny Boyle
- Joe Wright
- Coen Brothers
- David Fincher
- Jim Jamusch
- Krzysztof Kieślowski
- David Cronenberg
- Steve McQueen
- Terrence Malick
- Quentin Tarantino
- Sofia Coppola
- Jean-Pierre Melville
- Martin Scorsese
- Hayao Miyazaki

With movies (like any other entertainment medium) there's the good, the bad, and the downright ugly. While I do have some quirky and odd films lying around and waiting to be watched (S.T.A.L.K.E.R., Fantastic Planet, The Holy Mountain, Beyond the Black Rainbow), there's very little purpose in me watching them in the first place. 'Twas never all that interested in sitting down for hours watching a strewn sequence of events take place, even though there were a few popular/unknown movies that struck my fancy when I saw them with friends.

From my experience watching Spirited Away a handful of times over the years, I'd have to vouch for Studio Ghibli as being one of the best animated movie producers out there. The artwork is absolutely stunning for what it is, especially when considering that it isn't your run-of-the-mill CGI and the animations are downright fluid for hours on end. How can you not adore those signature characters on the screen: Totoro, Chihiro, etc.?

But as aforementioned, there's always a horrendous disasterpiece to counterbalance the successes of certain films and film producers/directors. If you've ever heard about or seen any Tommy Wiseau work, you can understand where I'm going with this. If you can or have watched through The Room without cracking a smile, busting out in laughter, or breaking down at the incredibly ludicrous acting... props to you! His whole catalogue of films is a slurred chronology of bad and what not to do while directing, producing, or acting in a film; Hell, it's a pain even bringing the petty fool up for discussion!

Yeah, I know that these snippets don't cut it in comparison to the preceding reviews... My experience with film and cinema remains very limited at this point in time (something I hope to change in the near future). But this thread looks to be a very promising goldmine of quality cinematic ventures; I'll be more than happy to take a gander at some of these works at a later date!

The 50 second tribute to Lulu...

Some people don't really like Wong Kar-Wai's 2046, but most do. But almost everybody agrees that its melding of music with imagery is amazing. The story meanders, but in a beautiful way. It's hard to describe. Consider the short clip linked to below. Lulu's story comes to a close, and then, and here's one of many examples of why the film is so magical, we get a little 50 second tribute to Lulu. The quality of the Youtube clip is crap and is too dark, but you'll get the idea. In the context of watching the film, these little segments are just sublime.

The clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=WOAS0k30ksU#t=28s

The mind blowing nightclub shot...

Watch the choreography in the following shot. It's all in some pseudo stylized slow motion as we watch one woman enter, another exit, and then a third giving the bald guy a smack on his head as she exits.

The clip: www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=G0XoGNy-4_c#t=510s

After watching Ozu's powerful Tokyo Twilight two nights ago, I watched Ozu's Equinox Flower last night. Equinox Flower was very enjoyable, but Tokyo Twilight definitely wins with regard to emotional power. Screening at my residence tonight is Ozu's Late Autumn.

Earlier this week I watched Ozu's Early Spring, which starred both Ryô Ikebe anid Keiko Kishi. Ryô Ikebe, of course, also starred in Shinoda's Pale Flower, a must watch for readers of this thread. Watch the mouthwatering trailer of Pale Flower here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOOr4nuWFqU . Keiko Kishi starred in Ichikawa's The Makioka Sisters about 35 years after appearing in Ozu's Early Spring. I really liked The Makioka Sisters. Watch the trailer here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1zeU16TuI4  

Interestingly, both Equinox Flower and The Makioka Sisters feature a daughter named Yukiko who is stubborn to marry.

The Zeitgeist Documentary series is the most influential and profound documentary trilogy that I've ever seen.

www.zeitgeistmovie.com

Godfather 1,2,3
Shawshank redemption

Welcome! Please participate.


I've seen Glengarry Glen Ross. It is a very interesting film, and never dull.

I've been watching Yasujiro Ozu's films this week. Tokyo Twilight was my most recent. Very powerful. Here is a summary of recent recommendations I made in this very thread. Watch these if you haven't already: https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/m.1224410

Glad I found this thread.

I have to first echo an earlier poster's adulation for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. A beautiful, wistful, mesmerizing masterpiece. But let me focus on the soundtrack by Nick Cave (who also wrote the film) and his bandmate Warren Ellis. I like to think my musical knowledge is of a pretty wide scope, yet, I can't help but award the soundtrack album as probably my all time favorite album. Dreamy, evocative, and masterfully crafted. I listen to it many times a week:
All Thing's Beautiful: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DlYX2eKDvI
Mary's Song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cB9_9_TpdPo

But this level of genius is to be expected of Nick Cave (and Warren Ellis). Check out The Proposition , also written by Cave, which itself features incredible music and sweeping views of the unforgiving Australian desert.
The preferred trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcmXPkzJyks

And lastly on this Nick Cave theme, his first collaboration with director John Hillcoat:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwSETqqhhgo
Ghosts of the Civil Dead is a violent work depicting an increasingly oppressive prison atmosphere as it slowly reaches boiling point.

And as for my other favorite movies apart from Nick Cave, I look to Glengarry Glen Ross by David Mamet. Very much an adaption from the original theater work, it certainly conveys a stage atmosphere with minimal cinematography and scene variety, but with the A-list cast, I don't think you'll mind at all. Al Pacino, Alec Baldwin, Jack Lemmon, Kevin Spacey, Ed Harris, Alan Arkin...all in career performances. The lines read like fuckin' poetry.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgAU2RJHfvE

If you list City of God, why not list Tropa de Elite and Tropa de Elite 2 as well 

*Tropa de Elite
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjY62OrSIAo&hd=1

*Tropa de Elite 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfKRvqTvTuo&hd=1

I watched Yasujiro Ozu's Tokyo Twilight last night. Wow.

http://www.criterion.com/films/771-tokyo-twilight

After all of us took a much deserved two day vacation from this thread, it's high time all four or five of us get back to work and continue the discussion on movies. Such endless possibilities! And that means you.

Criterion films on Hulu: http://www.hulu.com/movies/criterion

A few notes:

- Note that each section is actually a gateway to a whole list of films.
- Only some Criterion films are available on Hulu.
- Some Criterion films which are not currently a DVD or Blu-ray are on Hulu
- In re to above, for example: With Beauty and Sorrow (With Beauty and Sadness): http://www.hulu.com/watch/406759

With Beauty and Sorrow is one of many on my 'list' of films to watch. It was directed by Masahiro Shinoda, who also directed Pale Flower. Mariko Kaga is in it. I found this film within the bottom section on the Hulu page. Scan that section, as it features a huge number of movies, many of which are not yet officially in the Criterion disc collection, and it makes me wonder if these films will soon be in the Criterion disc collection.

Perfect! I'll watch this next chance I get. I've been super busy lately.

I actually thought it was pretty good. A little silly, but certainly entertaining. I do have one quibble. I'm normally pretty good about suspending my disbelief for the purposes of enjoying a movie, but there was one thing about this movie that made that almost impossible.  The future mobsters pay the assassins (who are 30 years in the past) by sending silver or gold back with the targets. Wouldn't that be prohibitively expensive?  Why not send millions of dollars worth of fiat back? That would cost the mobsters almost nothing while still representing some real purchasing power back in the past.  At least they didn't pay by sending Bitcoin private keys back. That would have been REALLY unrealistic.

Indeed.

Without commenting on Ink specifically, as I know virtually nothing of it, the notion of creative direction and creative camera work and creative editing can mean many things. But sometimes I think people misjudge. I actually think the camera work in the first half of Melancholia (as an example, if you've seen it) was terrible. And they didn't exactly have a low budget or unskilled camera operators. They were using Arri Alexas, which are about as good as it gets. So the only thing one can assume is the terrible camera work was an attempt at being creative. But it was just awful. By awful, I mean blown highlights and hunting for focus. Shit that didn't make it a better movie.

Then there's fast cuts. They have their place, but they're unfortunately used sometimes to mask bad filmmaking. The Jason Bourne series utilized fast cuts well in fights, but for every good use of them, there are ten poor uses of fast cuts. If the camera guy is thinking that fast cuts are the way to mask bad camera work or poorly conceived cinematography, well then, he's just bad at his craft. Yes, fast cuts can turn shitty camera work into a rhythmic montage of images, which is better than nothing, but it's not great filmmaking.

To me, great filmmaking is understood when it's seen. It typically features slow choreographed camera work, powerful acting which shows emotion, lighting which is mesmerizing, and art direction that gives clues to plot and character through the visual placement of reflections and props which are telling secondary stories or metaphors, all accompanied by a soundtrack which fuses eloquently with the story.

For a digicam no budget movie it had the most creative direction, camera work, and editing I'd seen at any budget. Films like that almost make me want to get back into video... almost.