Sonicpharmacist
Well-Known Member
Dang, that’s awesome. But I certainly hope they didn’t expose you to In the Realm of the Senses
Criterion Club
- Thread starter Dash
- Start date
I said they were hippies, not bonkers.Dang, that’s awesome. But I certainly hope they didn’t expose you to In the Realm of the Senses
Mitchell?
Member
Might have to split it into two sittings, but I've been meaning to check it out as well, so this is as good an incentive as I'm bound to find.
Bull Shannon
Well-Known Member
I very specifically remember watching this on my computer with headphones on when I was like 18. It was a bit lost on me. Very excited to return to it!
Ponman2003
Well-Known Member
The directing, cinematography, and acting are wonderful in Ran. The characters lack a lot of the complexity that made Rashomon and Ikuru so compelling, but that’s a bit on the source material. Kurosawa’s most striking visuals, certainly. Often aggressively saturated but always encouraging the interactions rather than dwarfing them.
Definitely a lesson on how NOT to pass down your copy of Tabakin.
Definitely a lesson on how NOT to pass down your copy of Tabakin.
@whoisbeck, you're up. Also, we're at the end of our current list. Any volunteers?
I’m up then!
This is some old shit, but we were super stoked about the Love Witch and watched it before it was on criterion.
We (my wife and I) were hoping for something feminist but found it retrograde and kind of the opposite of that. Just tons of traditional gender norms going on. Probably the most disappointed I’ve been in a movie in quite some time.
whoisbeck
Active Member
Pick #4 for the Criterion Club is a phenomenal display of intimate and intricate filmmaking prowess by one of the greatest filmmakers working today:
White Material by Claire Denis
From Criterion:
In White Material, the great contemporary French filmmaker Claire Denis, known for her restless, intimate dramas, introduces an unforgettably crazed character. Played by a ferocious Isabelle Huppert, Maria is an entitled white woman living in Africa, desperately unwilling to give up her family’s crumbling coffee plantation despite the civil war closing in on her. Created with Denis’ signature full-throttle visual style, which places the viewer at the center of the maelstrom, White Material is a gripping evocation of the death throes of European colonialism and a fascinating look at a woman lost in her own mind.
This movie is a perfect introduction to the work of Denis. To me, it captures everything that she does best, without throwing the viewer into the deep end. She is a master, and I wish I could see her work for the first time again. And the performance from Huppert is one of the greatest ever committed to film.
Enjoy!
White Material by Claire Denis
From Criterion:
In White Material, the great contemporary French filmmaker Claire Denis, known for her restless, intimate dramas, introduces an unforgettably crazed character. Played by a ferocious Isabelle Huppert, Maria is an entitled white woman living in Africa, desperately unwilling to give up her family’s crumbling coffee plantation despite the civil war closing in on her. Created with Denis’ signature full-throttle visual style, which places the viewer at the center of the maelstrom, White Material is a gripping evocation of the death throes of European colonialism and a fascinating look at a woman lost in her own mind.
This movie is a perfect introduction to the work of Denis. To me, it captures everything that she does best, without throwing the viewer into the deep end. She is a master, and I wish I could see her work for the first time again. And the performance from Huppert is one of the greatest ever committed to film.
Enjoy!
Mitchell?
Member
Yea, I don't know that going in expecting it to be a highly feminist take is necessarily the right way to go about it. I think, at best, it's just fine in that regard. For me, I just really enjoyed the tone of the movie. But I also saw it last October while I was watching a lot of horror stuff, so I found the silliness refreshing compared to everything else I was watching, and I think that really helped.
Great pick! It's probably Claire Denis' best film, along with Beau Travail, in my opinion. I agree that it's one of the greatest performances by Isabelle Huppert in a career full of them. The score by Stuart Staples is also great as usual. I've already seen it a couple of times and own it on Blu-ray, so I'll try to check the extras this week. It will also give me a chance to catch up with the last two weeks, I've had the flu and haven't been able to watch anything even semi-complicated.
chris_d_cole
Member
Took me all week, but finally watching this today.
You're up!
Oh man. This one was brutal. War is hell.
Crap! The one I was going to pick isn't on the online channel! (I was gonna pick Beyond the Valley of the Dolls so we could discuss what the world would be like if our movies were full of sex and nudity instead of violence and action)
Instead I'll pick something that is in line with the forum:
Pick #5: The Man Who Fell to Earth by Nicolas Roeg
I think this was a great add for the criterion channel as the criterion copies of this movie (and even the regular ones) are out of print and extremely expensive on Ebay. This is also David Bowie's most prominent role as an actor, and I could not think of a role he was more suited to than a lost and confused alien in an almost psychedelic art film. Also you get to see David Bowie's dick.
Fun trivia: The cover art from both "Low" and "Station to Station" come from this movie, try to spot them!
whoisbeck
Active Member
Super intense film. Especially for essentially being a character piece, it says so much about the world around her.
Turns out you still picked a movie where that's true. The more I think about this one, the more I like it. Good science fiction with a strong point of view. Easily justifies itself as a classic. Bowie is so great.