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Questions Which Don't Warrant A thread - 7/9/2007 5:31:05 AM

hozay

Posts: 3333
Joined: 13/10/2005
From: the long,dark teatime of the soul

Does what it says on the label.If you have a quick question for the learned regulars on this forum that doesn't really need a whole thread ask it here.

I'm after any opinions or info about the early films of the Indian director Satyajit Ray,particularly the following three films:
Pather Panchali 1955
Apur Sansar 1959
Aparajito 1956

The reason I ask is because Akira Kurosawa considered Ray and these three films as being highly influential on his own movie making and I'd like to see them.The thing is they are really expensive on all the dvd sites I've looked on ($AU119.00) and I don't want to spend all that cash without checking under the hood and kicking the tyres,so to speak and I trust the opinions of
many on here.
So,any advice would be appreciated.

Post #: 1

RE: Questions Which Don't Warrant A thread - 7/9/2007 10:21:55 AM

Captain Black

Posts: 6330
Joined: 30/9/2005

I believe you were asking about this one being stickied hozay, so I will do for the time being and we'll see how it goes.

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Post #: 2

RE: Questions Which Don't Warrant A thread - 7/9/2007 4:50:52 PM

Harry Lime

Posts: 5106
Joined: 30/9/2005

quote:

ORIGINAL: hozay

Does what it says on the label.If you have a quick question for the learned regulars on this forum that doesn't really need a whole thread ask it here.

I'm after any opinions or info about the early films of the Indian director Satyajit Ray,particularly the following three films:
Pather Panchali 1955
Apur Sansar 1959
Aparajito 1956

The reason I ask is because Akira Kurosawa considered Ray and these three films as being highly influential on his own movie making and I'd like to see them.The thing is they are really expensive on all the dvd sites I've looked on ($AU119.00) and I don't want to spend all that cash without checking under the hood and kicking the tyres,so to speak and I trust the opinions of
many on here.
So,any advice would be appreciated.

You might want to try HERE my friend.

I know they do free UK delivery (and I'm not entirely sure if they'll deliver to Australia or, if so, the cost to do so) but the company is in administration and selling off everything pretty cheap. I've actually seen it in my local store for �15!!!

It's a long shot but it's worth mentioning.

As for the films themeselves, I still rate them as the greatest trilogy ever made. You might also wanna check out Ray's Jalsaghar (The Music Room) too.

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Post #: 3

RE: Questions Which Don't Warrant A thread - 7/9/2007 7:15:09 PM

TheManWithNoShame

Posts: 6767
Joined: 1/8/2006

The Apu Trilogy is one of the most wonderful achievements of cinema. Lyrical, moving, raw and at times poetic, once its over you get the feeling youve seen a whole epoch of a family pass before your eyes. Each film is a masterpiece, but as a whole it is one of the most brilliant experiences I have ever had with a film.

Another Ray film checking out is Charulata, which is about a couple whose marriage is threatened by an affair. Its just as good as an episode of the Apu trilogy and ends on one of the most stunning freeze-frames, up there with The 400 Blows.

So from what Ive seen of him, Ray is certainly a master.

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Post #: 4

RE: Questions Which Don't Warrant A thread - 9/9/2007 2:41:56 AM

hozay

Posts: 3333
Joined: 13/10/2005
From: the long,dark teatime of the soul

Wow,glowing praise indeed.To be honest I'd never heard of Ray until recently seeing an old interview with Kurosawa.It was in Japanese so I only understood half of what he was saying but he was so obviously enamoured and passionate about Ray's work I decided to track these films down.A good move it seems.
Thanks Harry and The Man for the advice and link I'll hopefully have all three films in my eager hands by month's end.

Thanks also Captain Black,I hope it proves useful.

< Message edited by hozay -- 9/9/2007 2:48:02 AM >

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Post #: 5

RE: Questions Which Don't Warrant A thread - 9/9/2007 2:56:39 AM

TheManWithNoShame

Posts: 6767
Joined: 1/8/2006

Yes, Kurosawa is a massive fan. I do love his quote on Pather Panchali when he said it 'flows with serenity and the nobility of a big river' which sums it up rather well. Interestingly Kurosawa reckoned that Abbas Kiarostami, the Iranian film director, was Ray's natural successor in terms of style and content so it would be interesting to check him out too. Im trying to get hold of some of his films for the same reason

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Post #: 6

RE: Questions Which Don't Warrant A thread - 27/10/2007 4:50:48 PM

jamesbondguy

Posts: 6238
Joined: 6/1/2007
From: The Village Green

Just wondering what people thought about Kurosawa's Kagemusha. I'm interested in seeing it, but opinions seem quite mixed as to the film. Some people rank it high in his work, others seem to think it a failure. It seems to be one of his most dividing films. What do you guys think about it?

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Post #: 7

RE: Questions Which Don't Warrant A thread - 27/10/2007 6:41:08 PM

curtain twitcher

Posts: 4816
Joined: 9/4/2007
From: The Hotel California

quote:

ORIGINAL: jamesbondguy

Just wondering what people thought about Kurosawa's Kagemusha. I'm interested in seeing it, but opinions seem quite mixed as to the film. Some people rank it high in his work, others seem to think it a failure. It seems to be one of his most dividing films. What do you guys think about it?

I thought it was a very good film, i would in no way say it was a failure, it is a fantastic film with sublime cinematography and the characterisation is superb, but it is no way near his best piece of work and i would not personally rank it as one of his very best to be honest. But overall still a very intriguing piece of cinema which has some extremely potent scenes featuring in it as expected from a cinema giant like Kurosawa.

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Post #: 8

RE: Questions Which Don't Warrant A thread - 27/10/2007 6:54:16 PM

Jasiri

Posts: 2497
Joined: 23/10/2005

I think it's a great film probably just outside my top 10 of Kurosawa's films,I could understand if someone didn't like it,that's a matter of taste but to describe it as a failure is stupidity.It's biggest problem seems to me that because of surface similarities it's very often negatively compared with Ran despite them being very different films.Even looking at it along side Ran personally I think it stands up,Ran is far more stylised and spectacular and it may be stronger in certain areas but I actually like Kagemusha a lot more and find it a far more interesting story although I seem to be pretty much alone on this.

Kagemusha had troubled shoot which if anything makes it all the more remarkable,among other things Japan's finest cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa had to pull out and Kurosawa originally cast Shintaro Katsu of Zatoichi fame as the lead which presumably would have made for a very different film but he and Kurosawa fell out on set and Tatsuya Nakadai was drafted in to take his place.Some people are quite critical of Nakadai's performance but while he's maybe not consistently great in it,he's never less than convincing and at times he really shines.

If you are going to pick it up I'd really recommend coughing up the extra money for the Criterion edition simply because it's the only subtitled release of the complete film,R2 releases are the shortened 'International Cut',a fair bit of what's trimmed makes for shorter scenes but some things are cut completely,for instance Takashi Shimura is removed from the film entirely.

< Message edited by Jasiri -- 27/10/2007 7:07:53 PM >

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Post #: 9

RE: Questions Which Don't Warrant A thread - 30/10/2007 12:06:25 PM

hozay

Posts: 3333
Joined: 13/10/2005
From: the long,dark teatime of the soul

^I also wouldn't have Kagemusha in my top 10 Kurosawa films (or Ran for that matter) but it is worth a look,eventually.Take your time,watch 'em all.

I have a question that I'm tempted to start a thread for in Foreign Films but I'll try here first.
Last night I watched this.......

Kill (aka Kiru) 1968.dir: Kihachi Okamoto.
A spaghetti western inspired black comedy Samurai flick.
I loved this film so much that I've made it my life's mission to track down any similar films and maybe check out other works by Okamoto.So if you've seen this and know of any other films like it or if you are familiar with other Okamoto films please let me know,I would be truly grateful.

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Post #: 10

RE: Questions Which Don't Warrant A thread - 30/10/2007 7:13:13 PM

Jasiri

Posts: 2497
Joined: 23/10/2005

I don't think I've seen anything quite like Kill! sadly.Obviously it's based on the same source material as Sanjuro and for me it's a much better film than Kurosawa's,although it would have been intersting to see what he would have done with it if he hadn't been pushed by Toho into changing it into a Yojimbo sequel.There's a recent thread in the WC forum about samurai films and I mention the few Kihachi Okamoto films I've seen there.

http://www.empireonline.com/forum/tm.asp?m=1632030

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Post #: 11

RE: Questions Which Don't Warrant A thread - 30/10/2007 11:45:15 PM

hozay

Posts: 3333
Joined: 13/10/2005
From: the long,dark teatime of the soul

Thanks for that Jasiri that's a great help.A friend suggested yesterday that I also look into some of the Yakuza black comedies of the 60's but unfortunately couldn't name any titles for me.I'll have to do some research.I have Branded To Kill and may grab some more Suzuki films soon but that Rebel Samurai collection from Criterion looks the go for the xmas wish list .Cheers!

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Post #: 12

RE: Questions Which Don't Warrant A thread - 22/12/2007 11:35:49 PM

G.O.B

Posts: 2347
Joined: 9/3/2006
From: Ireland

Haven't seen Robert Mitchum in much (In fact,i've only seen him in Scrooged

) so i was just wondering,in which film did Mitchum say "Baby,i don't care"?

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Post #: 13

RE: Questions Which Don't Warrant A thread - 23/12/2007 12:10:59 AM

TheManWithNoShame

Posts: 6767
Joined: 1/8/2006

Twas the magnificent Out of the Past. You cannot be officially cool until you have seen it, so do it right away!

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Post #: 14

RE: Questions Which Don't Warrant A thread - 23/12/2007 12:13:46 AM

G.O.B

Posts: 2347
Joined: 9/3/2006
From: Ireland

quote:

ORIGINAL: TheManWithNoShame

Twas the magnificent Out of the Past. You cannot be officially cool until you have seen it, so do it right away!

Thanks MWNS,i've been meaning to buy the film noir boxset with Out of the Past in it since it came out and i can live with not being part of the cool crowd so

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Post #: 15

RE: Questions Which Don't Warrant A thread - 2/4/2008 6:00:14 AM

siegfried

Posts: 13274
Joined: 16/12/2007
From: Long ago and far away

Over the years I've read a great deal about Robert Siodmak's 1945 film The Spiral Staircase.
Majority opinion seems to be very favourable. It's one of those films which has passed me by, even though it starred one of my favourite actresses, the lovely Dorothy McGuire.
I'd be very interested to read some opinions of it from Forum members.

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Post #: 16

RE: Questions Which Don't Warrant A thread - 12/5/2008 1:31:27 AM

paul_ie86

Posts: 11207
Joined: 4/1/2007
From: Chelsea Hotel #2

Apart from Citizen Kane, what Orson Welles films should I check out?

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Post #: 17

RE: Questions Which Don't Warrant A thread - 1/6/2008 1:05:56 PM

jamesbondguy

Posts: 6238
Joined: 6/1/2007
From: The Village Green

quote:

ORIGINAL: paul_ie86

Apart from Citizen Kane, what Orson Welles films should I check out?

I'm a huge Orson Welles fan- he's one of my overall favourite directors. I would recommend Touch of Evil (brilliant), The Lady From Shanghai (a very compelling film noir), The Magnificent Ambersons (very much underrated) and The Trial (Orson Welles making a film of a Kafka book- how can you not love that?).

I've wanted to see F for Fake for ages- it's supposed to be quite wonderful, and one of Welles' most complex and engaging films.

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Post #: 18

RE: Questions Which Don't Warrant A thread - 6/9/2008 12:05:06 AM

elab49

Posts: 51610
Joined: 1/10/2005

quote:

ORIGINAL: siegfried

Over the years I've read a great deal about Robert Siodmak's 1945 film The Spiral Staircase.
Majority opinion seems to be very favourable. It's one of those films which has passed me by, even though it starred one of my favourite actresses, the lovely Dorothy McGuire.
I'd be very interested to read some opinions of it from Forum members.

I'd certainly go with majority opinion. It is a beautifully shot piece of gothic horror that skilfully ratchets up the tension with Siodmak and the great Nicholas Musuraca (unfortunately, I think, their only pairing) using every trick in the book. THe latter helped set the tone of the expressionist style in classic noir and Siodmak's noirs were more expressionistic than most - they made a perfect team. Odd angles, shadows, the use of multiple distorted mirror images (including an effective one where Maguire seems to lose her mouth) and even a dream sequence. Tagged on to that is one of Siodmak's favourite psychological theories for crime - he repeated them in his films (you'll find almost the same speech in Phantom Lady and Cornered).

The women come out better than the men performance wise. Maguire - whom I also like - is a little overwrought at times but Lanchester and particularly Barrymore (her bit at the end is superb - although there is a bit I saw summat nasty in the woodshed at times!) are wonderful. Fleming is at her most stunning and manages her small role very well.

It seemed an odd choice though - he was in the middle of a series of extremely good film noirs and sidetracked into this almost Hitchcockian horror.

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Post #: 19

RE: Questions Which Don't Warrant A thread - 6/9/2008 4:56:38 AM

siegfried

Posts: 13274
Joined: 16/12/2007
From: Long ago and far away

quote:

ORIGINAL: elab49

quote:

ORIGINAL: siegfried

Over the years I've read a great deal about Robert Siodmak's 1945 film The Spiral Staircase.
Majority opinion seems to be very favourable. It's one of those films which has passed me by, even though it starred one of my favourite actresses, the lovely Dorothy McGuire.
I'd be very interested to read some opinions of it from Forum members.

I'd certainly go with majority opinion. It is a beautifully shot piece of gothic horror that skilfully ratchets up the tension with Siodmak and the great Nicholas Musuraca (unfortunately, I think, their only pairing) using every trick in the book. THe latter helped set the tone of the expressionist style in classic noir and Siodmak's noirs were more expressionistic than most - they made a perfect team. Odd angles, shadows, the use of multiple distorted mirror images (including an effective one where Maguire seems to lose her mouth) and even a dream sequence. Tagged on to that is one of Siodmak's favourite psychological theories for crime - he repeated them in his films (you'll find almost the same speech in Phantom Lady and Cornered).

The women come out better than the men performance wise. Maguire - whom I also like - is a little overwrought at times but Lanchester and particularly Barrymore (her bit at the end is superb - although there is a bit I saw summat nasty in the woodshed at times!) are wonderful. Fleming is at her most stunning and manages her small role very well.

It seemed an odd choice though - he was in the middle of a series of extremely good film noirs and sidetracked into this almost Hitchcockian horror.

Thanks very much for your comments.
Fortunately a friend of mine lent me a copy of the film a couple of days ago. I haven't gotten around to watching it yet, but your comments make me all the more keen to do so at the earliest opportunity.

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Marriage is one of those things that is best gotten over with in youth - like chicken pox.

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Post #: 20

CITIZEN KANE - 25/10/2008 9:09:53 AM

dhowdy

Posts: 967
Joined: 29/8/2008
From: London

At the very start of Citizen Kane, I couldn't help notice that there was nobody else present when Charles Foster Kane utters his last dying word 'Rosebud'. I just wanted to know how it was that the whole investigation into the meaning of said word could have started if nobody else was present to hear it?

As far as I understood it, a nurse entered the room after the snowstorm thingy dropped to the floor so could not have heard it.

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Post #: 21

RE: CITIZEN KANE - 25/10/2008 7:09:47 PM

Mikey C

Posts: 5436
Joined: 1/10/2005
From: The internet

quote:

ORIGINAL: dhowd

At the very start of Citizen Kane, I couldn't help notice that there was nobody else present when Charles Foster Kane utters his last dying word 'Rosebud'. I just wanted to know how it was that the whole investigation into the meaning of said word could have started if nobody else was present to hear it?

As far as I understood it, a nurse entered the room after the snowstorm thingy dropped to the floor so could not have heard it.

You must never tell this to anyone.

Actually, imdb says:
Incorrectly regarded as goofs: In the opening scene, where Charles Kane whispers "Rosebud", it appears he is on his own in the room, while a nurse enters a couple of seconds after he dies. Many often suggest that no one could have heard him whisper the word, as the room appears to be occupied by only Kane himself. However, in the opening scene, the bedroom is only shown in fragments and closeups (this may have been intentional on Welles' part to withhold information) - the room in its entirety is never shown, and thus it is not entirely possible to ascertain that Kane was alone. Indeed, later in the film, Raymond, Kane's butler, informs Thompson the reporter that he was indeed in the room at the time of Kane's demise and heard the word "Rosebud" spoken.

< Message edited by Mikey C -- 25/10/2008 7:11:19 PM >

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Post #: 22

RE: CITIZEN KANE - 25/10/2008 7:15:28 PM

Rhubarb

Posts: 24398
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: No Direction Home

Presumably he wouldn't have said it if there was no-one to say it to. Unless he did.

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Post #: 23

RE: CITIZEN KANE - 26/10/2008 2:35:39 PM

dhowdy

Posts: 967
Joined: 29/8/2008
From: London

Here is what Welles said on the matter which was kindly posted on the Citizen Kane thread recently:

"When asked by friends how Kane's last words would be known when he died alone, Orson Welles reportedly stared for a long time before saying, "Don't you ever tell anyone of this."

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Post #: 24

RE: CITIZEN KANE - 27/2/2009 1:12:39 PM

TheManWithLessShame

Posts: 24
Joined: 24/2/2009

-Is it worth buying the Powell & Pressbuger collection for �17.99
-What can i epect from their movies/what sorts of things/areas do they specialise in.
-How would you rate the films in the collection
1. �A Matter of Life and Death�
2. �The Red Shoes�
3. �The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp�
4. �A Canterbury Tale�
5. �I Know Where I'm Going�
6. �49th Parallel�
7. �Battle of the River Plate�
8. �I�ll Met by Moonlight�
9. �They're a Weird Mob�
10. �The Tales of Hoffman�
11. �Black Narcissus�

-Is it worth buying the Billy Wilder for �14.98
-Is there a better collection that includes the likes of The Apartment/Some like it hot/Sunset Boulevard
-How would you rate the films in the collection
1. Apartment
2. The Seven Year Itch
3. Witness For The Prosecution
4. The Fortune Cookie
5. The Private Life Of Sherlock Holmes

-How good is the Seventh Seal
-What can you expect
-Is it Bergman's best

-How good is the three colours trilogy
- Is it pretensious/boring
- What can you expect

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Post #: 25

RE: CITIZEN KANE - 27/2/2009 1:17:08 PM

elab49

Posts: 51610
Joined: 1/10/2005

Yes

4, 3, 5, 1, 11, 7, 2, 10, 6, 8, 9

Yes

1, 4, 3, 5, ,,,2

Awful film

No it isn't. And it depends what bores you.

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Post #: 26

RE: CITIZEN KANE - 27/2/2009 1:45:07 PM

TheManWithLessShame

Posts: 24
Joined: 24/2/2009

How do i put a moving avatar in my box. I have some and it says its too big a file when i put it in even though its not.
elab49 you are quite rude btw, is it true you are female?

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Post #: 27

RE: CITIZEN KANE - 27/2/2009 2:13:09 PM

homersimpson_esq

Posts: 19969
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: Springfield

quote:

ORIGINAL: TheManWithLessShame

How do i put a moving avatar in my box. I have some and it says its too big a file when i put it in even though its not.
elab49 you are quite rude btw, is it true you are female?

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Post #: 28

RE: CITIZEN KANE - 27/2/2009 2:13:36 PM

elab49

Posts: 51610
Joined: 1/10/2005

I'd try the Knowledge Base forum, they seem to be the experts there.

Question asked, question answered. Fail to see how any attitude could be discerned.

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Post #: 29

RE: CITIZEN KANE - 27/2/2009 2:24:31 PM

rick_7

Posts: 5708
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: The internet

quote:

ORIGINAL: elab49

Question asked, question answered. Fail to see how any attitude could be discerned.

You've got an attitude problem.

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Post #: 30