tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10161060.post6995151191984498359..comments2023-11-05T04:31:48.615-05:00Comments on Elusive Lucidity: Year's EndZChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10211734319629732065noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10161060.post-74608980851493817092011-11-24T04:02:48.167-05:002011-11-24T04:02:48.167-05:00Wow, there is really much useful info here!Wow, there is really much useful info here!www.lamparas.bizhttp://www.lamparas.biznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10161060.post-10657426921502160402009-01-21T20:25:00.000-05:002009-01-21T20:25:00.000-05:00Glad you liked The Frighteners, Zach. I liked the ...Glad you liked The Frighteners, Zach. I liked the casual and even witty way Jackson employed special effects to support and extend his imagery (that 'express tunnel to hell'--doesn't that resemble a large intestine?)--something he wasn't quite able to do in his Hobbit movies.<BR/><BR/>And Leone's film--space and sweep and music and rhythm holding sway over all. Forget politics, that was what America must be like for Leone, and what the film was all about for me.Noel Verahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05904212081036547668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10161060.post-88378957402253298512009-01-02T16:43:00.000-05:002009-01-02T16:43:00.000-05:00I'm not certain whether I find Once Upon a Time in...I'm not certain whether I find Once Upon a Time in America as appealing as the rest of you seem to. For a film that self-consciously places itself as a sort of cinematic equivalent to Tocqueville's Democracy in America, I'm not convinced Leone's political understanding is as deep or convincing as I would like it to be.<BR/><BR/>To my own personal taste, Phil Karlson's The Phenix City Story did what I hoped Once Upon a Time in America would do but didn't.Alexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16615199937354749817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10161060.post-87406805963881064442009-01-02T15:51:00.000-05:002009-01-02T15:51:00.000-05:00Once Upon a Time in America made my day on the 31s...Once Upon a Time in America made my day on the 31st of last year as i became bored from thinking ahead to the next year.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10161060.post-27558876509081664582009-01-02T00:38:00.000-05:002009-01-02T00:38:00.000-05:00This should also be the year in which we finally w...This should also be the year in which we finally write something together, Zach. Perhaps I should start by responding to your last Cassavetes letter, though I suspect that boat has sailed. Certainly your desire to get back into blogging is one I share. At the same time, I also keep thinking of Adrian's assertion, in his launch speech for '¿Qué es el cine moderno?', that it is the "'middle range' of film criticism we must commit to, strongly and passionately and vigorously", at least for the moment, which is one of the reasons my blog atrophied a little this year. (That and, well, I've becoming addicted to seeing my name in print.)<BR/><BR/>Meanwhile and somewhat scarily, Penelope Cruz's performance in <EM>Vicky Christina Barcelona</EM> reminded me of my last girlfriend.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10161060.post-31343773916711685712009-01-01T21:44:00.000-05:002009-01-01T21:44:00.000-05:00not to forget the cake scene, one of the most tend...not to forget the cake scene, one of the most tender moments in american cinema... also, the pic you singled out from the film, the framing, the atmosphere, what it conveys, all reminded me of jean-pierre coursodon's pick for the image issue of rouge. I checked it out again and it was less striking, but that was the first thought that entered my head.<BR/>Happy new year!<BR/>NathanAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10161060.post-64749311179334409912009-01-01T10:58:00.000-05:002009-01-01T10:58:00.000-05:00Peter, I think part of my reluctance to see any vi...Peter, I think part of my reluctance to see any video version of <I>Once Upon...</I> was because I was confused about which cuts were circulating. I think I believed that the cuts were comparable to, say, <I>Brazil</I>--that there were multiple cuts of varying official authority. I didn't know until later that there were just the regular long cut and the bowdlerized US release version.<BR/><BR/>Jake - is film noir a genre or not? I suppose it comes down to the premises--how are we defining "genre"? There's probably an element of reflexivity that comes into question as soon as "film noir" became an accepted and recognized term (hence people could try to produce "film noir" where they hadn't consciously before); depending on these things it could also be a question of stylistic connection across (other) genres--the gangster movie, certain types of romance...<BR/><BR/>Ignatiy - yes, there's something really mesmerizing about this movie, isn't there? A really powerful film, and easily among the small handful of greatest films I saw for the first time this past year. More will follow on EL about it, I think.<BR/><BR/>Alex - thanks for the heads-up. I hope to bring <I>that</I> discussion back up in the next few days. As always you are ahead of me on all points of reading, but I appreciate the challenge.ZChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10211734319629732065noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10161060.post-9701194153030643232008-12-31T16:50:00.000-05:002008-12-31T16:50:00.000-05:00I'm currently reading Anastaplo's Abraham Lincoln:...I'm currently reading Anastaplo's Abraham Lincoln: A Constitutional Biography and it's proving very illuminating on our previous dialogue concerning the prudence of the statesman.Alexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16615199937354749817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10161060.post-61363001144412536522008-12-31T16:45:00.000-05:002008-12-31T16:45:00.000-05:00Happy New Year, Zach.I too saw Once Upon a Time in...Happy New Year, Zach.<BR/><BR/>I too saw <B>Once Upon a Time in America</B> for the first time this month, in a phantasmagoric nighttime viewing of the DVD. I put it on at 2 am with the intention of only watching the first part. 6 am came, the movie ended, and I was unable to go to sleep until the next evening. I haven't quite been able to phrase it. But--the telephone!Ignatiy Vishnevetskyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07877465254612151095noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10161060.post-43039739325545225332008-12-31T14:28:00.000-05:002008-12-31T14:28:00.000-05:00Great list. I have a quick question: is film noir ...Great list. <BR/><BR/>I have a quick question: is film noir is a genre or not? What are it's set of ethos that separate it from other genres or make it not a genre? This question has been bugging me lately. I'm convinced it is a genre, with its own style and content, and yet the definition of noir as it is applied to films seems so loose that you can pretty much label any film with a hint of darkness noir. Somehow I don't think the question is important to understanding the films that are labeled noir.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10161060.post-56339033226452148892008-12-31T14:10:00.000-05:002008-12-31T14:10:00.000-05:00I was glad to see Once Upon a Time in America on D...I was glad to see <B>Once Upon a Time in America</B> on DVD after seeing the butchered version that was given a theatrical run.<BR/><BR/>And I loved John Astin in <B>The Frighteners</B>.<BR/><BR/>Happy New Year, too!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com