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Post by pretty lisa on Jan 8, 2006 11:59:49 GMT
another one , Cronenberg's early film Crimes of the Future has lots to, er, enjoy - very interesting experimental concrete-style soundtrack, great cinematography and the beginnings of his fascination with institutions, surgery, mutations, fabricated medical conditions,etc. It's on DVD as part of the set with his drag-racing film Fast Company (honest!), and is well worth a watch.
Also, last house, it's been reassembled from the only existing prints and vhs masters , but doesn't exactly look 'cleaned up' at all. The disembowelling scene is restored from vhs, and the step down in quality at that point reallly adds something.
Jamie Gillis , am waiting for Forced Entry to turn up, no doubt will post some reactions!
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Post by scottlaww on Jan 13, 2006 22:56:24 GMT
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Post by drillbitch on Jan 21, 2006 13:18:41 GMT
Has anyone else seen Murder-Set-Pieces? It's an 80's style slasher film in the 'Maniac' vein...minimal plot, most of which makes little sense but the scenes of violent sex and torture more than make up for it...very tasty! Be warned tho' I had 2 copies seized by over-zealous UK customs so don't order it from overseas.
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Post by olsen on Feb 17, 2006 3:39:11 GMT
I would recommend anything by Michael Haneke or Werner Herzog.
Take yr pick.....Fitzcarraldo, Nosferatu, Even Dwarves Started Small for Herzog. Or Time Of the Wolf, Benny's Video, Funny Games or The Piano Teacher for Haneke.
Actually I could imagine Whitehouse getting into Haneke films, especially The Piano Teacher. Very disturbing!
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Post by Skuj on Feb 17, 2006 6:15:38 GMT
I love Fitzcaraldo!
I got lazy and didn't read this whole thread....but Miike from Japan takes the cake! Apologies if he has been mentioned already.
Audition, Ichi The Killer, Gozu, etc....
WH fans: You will love these films!
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adam
Cohort
here, now.
Posts: 16
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Post by adam on Feb 17, 2006 8:54:12 GMT
[quote author=olsen board=talk thread=1132841554 post=1140147551 Actually I could imagine Whitehouse getting into Haneke films, especially The Piano Teacher. Very disturbing![/quote] ditto the piano teacher. i caught it the other week, i haven't been that impressed by a film in a long, long time. reminded me of some of whitehouse's theme's of late, also. and yeah, takashii miike is a lot of fun
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djgyn
Praetorian Guard
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Post by djgyn on Feb 21, 2006 20:30:05 GMT
[quote author=olsen board=talk thread=1132841554 post=1140147551 Actually I could imagine Whitehouse getting into Haneke films, especially The Piano Teacher. Very disturbing! ditto the piano teacher. i caught it the other week, i haven't been that impressed by a film in a long, long time. reminded me of some of whitehouse's theme's of late, also.[/quote] Haneke's stuff always seems to leave me disatisfied overall. I expected much more out of 'The Piano Teacher' considering the subject matter, and 'The Time of the Wolf' lacked anything resembling a resolution. I suppose that might be the point, but post-apocalyptic France or not, I'd have at least liked some fucking character development. Saw 'Funny Games' finally the other week, and found it more worthwhile a film than these other two. Still, the "remote control" scene was a total WTF and really frustrated me. I just had this conversation the other day... mmmm... repeating myself...
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Post by olsen on Feb 21, 2006 21:53:29 GMT
I seriously doubt that Haneke's intentions are to leave his audience 'satisfied' though. And lack of resolution seems to be a constant throughout his work. I think the whole point of The Time Of The Wolf was to place the viewer at random into a scenario that was never properly explained. I found that sense of disorientation that the film brings on was more or less a central theme - a calculated move by Haneke if you ask me.
It's hard to seperate yrself from the characters as you are as 'lost' as they are. Very clever.
BTW also check out 'Hour Of The Wolf' by Ingmar Bergman if you get the chance. It is as big a headspin as anything by Haneke. Leaves me wondering if ii is no mere coincidence that the two film share a similar title.
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Post by luke on Feb 21, 2006 22:47:49 GMT
"The Five Obstructions" is actually a really fine film. Anyone interested in filmmaking would find it worthwhile. It's a documentary about a filmmaker called Jurgen Leth who made a short film in the 60's called "The Perfect Human". This film, which was a major influence to Von Trier (he claims to have watched it about 30 times), inspires him to bring Jurgen Leth out of retirement and challenge him to remake the film 5 times, each time with rules that Von Trier has set to make the film more difficult. For example, for the first film no shot can be longer than 12 seconds frames long (which when seen in its complete form is pretty stunning). Try and see it if you can! From what I've read about The Five Obstructions it seems like a really good documentary and something I would like. Unfortunately I can't find it anywhere here in Sydney where I live. It did 'tour' cinemas here as part of a European Masters showcase with some other films, including Werner Herzog's documentary Grizzly Man, but I missed it. I've seen von Trier's films Dancer In The Dark and Dogville and I recommend those. I probably enjoyed Dancer In The Dark more, but I thought the finale of Dogville (i.e. the conversation in the back of the car, the resulting action and the end credits) was brilliant.
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Post by absolute on Feb 21, 2006 23:20:26 GMT
On the subject of Michael Haneke - the best filmmaker around at the moment, in my opinion - "Hidden" is yet another piquant study of the collapsing human condition. The Piano Teacher is one of the greatest films of the decade, Time Of The Wolf is a worthy attempt and Code Unknown is definitely worth a look at.
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Post by Joe Chip on Feb 22, 2006 14:46:45 GMT
I'm a big fan of Paul Thomas Anderson's stuff - Hard 8, Boogie Nights and especially Magnolia and Punchdrunk Love. A great example of how to work within the mainstream and still use interesting technique and subject matter. Amazing really that he succeeded in making these high profile & money-spinning films but still kept his artistic vision. No doubt his standards will decline like Coppola or Scorcese, though.
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djgyn
Praetorian Guard
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Post by djgyn on Feb 22, 2006 19:32:02 GMT
"The Five Obstructions" is actually a really fine film. Anyone interested in filmmaking would find it worthwhile. It's a documentary about a filmmaker called Jurgen Leth who made a short film in the 60's called "The Perfect Human". This film, which was a major influence to Von Trier (he claims to have watched it about 30 times), inspires him to bring Jurgen Leth out of retirement and challenge him to remake the film 5 times, each time with rules that Von Trier has set to make the film more difficult. For example, for the first film no shot can be longer than 12 seconds frames long (which when seen in its complete form is pretty stunning). Try and see it if you can! From what I've read about The Five Obstructions it seems like a really good documentary and something I would like. Unfortunately I can't find it anywhere here in Sydney where I live. It did 'tour' cinemas here as part of a European Masters showcase with some other films, including Werner Herzog's documentary Grizzly Man, but I missed it. I've seen von Trier's films Dancer In The Dark and Dogville and I recommend those. I probably enjoyed Dancer In The Dark more, but I thought the finale of Dogville (i.e. the conversation in the back of the car, the resulting action and the end credits) was brilliant. It's the only von Trier film I've seen, and I'm happy to actually own a copy. A great documentary on sadism and masochism on a grand scale.
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Post by theotherjohn on Feb 23, 2006 14:39:27 GMT
It's the only von Trier film I've seen, and I'm happy to actually own a copy. A great documentary on sadism and masochism on a grand scale. Especially for the second obstruction, where they film the food scene in India. Brilliant!
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djgyn
Praetorian Guard
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Post by djgyn on Feb 23, 2006 17:31:02 GMT
Especially for the second obstruction, where they film the food scene in India. Brilliant! Oh absolutely. That obstruction really makes the film, because von Trier forces the poor subject into this uncomfortable situation, but not necessarily to highlight the extravagance of the West in contrast to third world poverty. It's the cold sadism that von Trier employs with this "scene" that makes it so potent, offensive in a fictional setting but outrageous in this real life example.
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Post by rankoutsider on Feb 25, 2006 17:38:52 GMT
I can highly recommended a film called Festen (The Celebration in English) by Thomas Vinterberg. I've been watching a lot of Danish films just lately. It's in the same handicam style as the Von Trier stuff.
Also Larry Clarks film "Bully." Definitely underrated story of teen murder.
Really enjoyed "Dead Mans Shoes" as well.
Grizzly Man if you fancy something less challenging, is an excellent documentary about a mentally fragile failed American actor living alongside grizzly bears in a Canadian National Park who of course dies a horrible death.
Watched Cannibal Holocaust the other day as well. Certainly earned it's "Extreme" tag and then some. After about an hour and a half I couldn't really tell what was real and what was acted. Those natives looked genuinely scared and that tortoise was in a bit of a shit state...
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