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L_CELINE
Reviews
The Red House (1947)
A sadly unknown film....
I first heard of this film when Scorcesse mentioned it on his documentary, "A Journey Through American Cinema"...always wanting to see something new, I found a copy of it at work and took it home....WOW!!! This is one of the greatest low budget thriller/melodramas I have ever seen...definately up there with Jacque Tourner's "Cat People" and Edgar Ulmer's "Detour"...Daves conjures up a moltov cocktail of sexual frustration, psychological S&M, and pubescent curiosity that seems primed to explode at any minute, and the volatility of it all is what keeps you in suspense. Even if you do figure out the secret of the red house half way through (I did), the performances of everybody involved (especially Edward G Robinson) keeps your eyes glued to the screen from beginning all the way to the bitter and somewhat ironic end....if you ever run across it, please check it out....sadly, the prints that are available are a bit scratchy at best (which is what happens when a film is forgotten), but the film is an experience everybody should see for themselves.....
Straight to Hell (1987)
fun fun FUN!!!!
OK, Joe Strummer plays a hit-man, the Pogues are Banditos, Elvis Costello's their butler, and Courtney Love dies a violent death....what more could you ask for?
La cité des enfants perdus (1995)
Close....REALLY close...but.....
When one watches "City Of Lost Children", one is compelled to call it a masterpiece....the visuals are striking.....the actors are amazing.....when I see a masterpiece, I'm compelled to own it....I wasn't sure whether it really was a work of genius like, say, "Citizen Kane", "The 400 Blows", or the teams very first effort, "Delicatessen", yet I went ahead and spent $25 to get it....after watching it a couple times, I realized why I was so apprehensive.....the plotline (if you can call it that) seems to exist solely to propell another really cool visual (and brilliant those visuals are)....this has been the same reason why I think David Lynch is an Over-rated Fellini wanna-be, why I think Hal Hartley's films (other than "Amateur") are over-rated pieces-of-doodoo, and why Ken Araki's films should have the negatives burned....one watches these films and thinks of those whiny pretensious f**$s that go to college and major in Theatre and Art and think they're better and more important that everybody else in the whole world because they read Samuel Beckett or can quote Shakespeare without understanding what either one were trying to say in the first place....though my vitriol is nowhere NEAR extreme with Jeunet and Caro, sadly, I have to say for "City", for all it's sheen veneer, I felt like I just ate a big chocolate bar ....it might've seemed like a good idea at the time, but I felt empty afterwards....
Fitzcarraldo (1982)
obsessive/compulsive
"Fitzcarraldo" is basically the story of how one man's dreams turn into an obsession he'll do anything and everything in his power to make come into fruition....that's about it.....what makes it interesting is how the movie pulls you into the madness of it's protagonist while being aloof from the actions at the same time....I give this movie 4 stars....but there's a documentary by Les Blank ("Burden Of Dreams") which I give five stars, because as great as this movie is, it pales compared to the reality of what happened behind the scenes....I suggest watching both in a row....
L'amour en fuite (1979)
An Underrated achievement....
The problem with sequels is that they usually don't have the same impact as the original (can anybody tell me that ANY of the "Indiana Jones" movies after "Raiders" was worth a darn?). Truffaut took a big chance with the Antoine Doniel character and made 5 movies with Leaud playing him in all of them....instead of losing my interest, I found each installment compelling and wonderful in their own little ways...."Love On The Run", the final installment of the series, shows us a much older Antoine who's still confused as to what exactly love is....unlike "The 400 Blows", the impact can't be likened to a punch to the jaw, but is more subtle and infectious. Truffaut's ode to love, to Jean-Pierre Leaud, and to Antoine Doniel, does this cinematic sleight of hand with flashbacks to the other 4 movies, with re-introducing a lot of the characters (his ex-wife, Collette, and even the man he caught kissing his mom in the first movie), and paints a more complete picture of a man who finally stops running (no pun intended) from his wretched childhood, and who finally learns that love requires trust and sacrifice....a magnificent last chapter to one of cinema's most beloved characters. You might not realize it while watching it, but you'll still be seeing scenes from the movie running in your head for days afterwards.....
Army of Darkness (1992)
check out the original....
I'm guessing that if you're reading this, you've already seen it....but have you seen the original? Originally called "Captain Supermarket-The Hero You Already Know", everything's the same except the ending (which, although I won't give it away, makes way for another "Army Of Darkness" film, and is way too bleak to fit into the rest of the film)....the bad news-The only way I saw the original ending was on a japanese laserdisk that has a $400 deposit at Scarecrow Video...the good news-Anchor Bay's re-releasing it!!! It should be out mid-october....apparently, there are some other scenes that were deleted from "CS", too, so it should be fun!!! Klatuu Veradha Nikto, baby!!!
Der Himmel über Berlin (1987)
The most moving piece of poetry.....
When I was younger, I only saw movies as a form of escapism....a cheap thrill...nothing too engaging....then I saw "Wings" and my whole perspective changed....even today, after watching it hundreds of times (going through 12 copies of it in the process), I still find myself at a loss of words....it's touched me that deeply and powerfully...not only did my perspective of movies experience a shift, but my view of life....Wenders has created, for me, the most powerful and magnificent poem/ode to the human condition ever to grace the screen....in fact, the only thing (art, life, etc) that's touched me even more so was reading Louis-Ferdinand Celine's "Journey To The End Of The Night", which, despite being so utterly and humerously nihilistic and cruel, captures not only the extreme harshness of life, but also its wondrous beauty and seductiveness.....I'm rambling...I can't say anything else...I'm too in love with this film....thank you Mr Wenders for showing me how to create something beautiful onscreen.....
Barry Lyndon (1975)
What changed my mind.....
I'll be honest..."2001" bored me....I didn't think think "Clockwork Orange" was THAT shocking....Kubrick was over-rated, in my book, for the longest time....then I watched "Dr Strangelove" and "Barry Lyndon" in the same sitting, and I realized how naive I really was....I started realizing the subtle nuances Kubrick put into all of his works (or, at least, the ones I'd seen 'til then), and started thinking more about why he put them in, and how does it make the story move, and HOW do the characters feel and think when put into these situations, and I realized, HEY...I'm actually THINKING....from then on I became a die-hard fan.....as I said, "Strangelove" hooked me, but "Lyndon"s what reeled me in....