The Film Thread

[Tulpa]

I don't want to derail this thread from the Halloween films (I haven't seen them yet), so please do continue the discussion regardless of this post; I just wanted to ask if anyone is planning to watch Blonde (2022), directed by Andrew Dominik, tonight? It premieres on Netflix today. I'm excited about it, partially because of its subject, partially because of its director, and partially because of the NC-17 rating and the controversies surrounding it.

Booked tickets to see it but had to miss the screening. Watching a 70mm “de-restoration” of the original 2001: A Space Odyssey negative prints tonight.

Might try again for Blonde tomorrow. Dominik’s work on Nick Cave documentaries have been outstanding and Cave/Ellis have done the score for Blonde so that’s exciting. However, the director’s comments during interviews for the film have me very apprehensive he’s the right person to do this story justice.

 

[Cappy]

I've never been particularly interested in Marilyn Monroe, but I feel like I should be, as she is sort of part of Twin Peaks' conceptual DNA, via that unfilmed script Frost & Lynch wrote in the 80's.

 

[Ickles]

Speaking of Monroe, stumbled upon this from a biography of her and had to chuckle. You might almost say the night was...unrecorded.

 

[Mr. Reindeer]

Speaking of Monroe, stumbled upon this from a biography of her and had to chuckle. You might almost say the night was...unrecorded.

Hey, that’s from the ‘Goddess’ book that Frost and Lynch were going to adapt in the 1980s, isn’t it?

 

[Ickles]

Hey, that’s from the ‘Goddess’ book that Frost and Lynch were going to adapt in the 1980s, isn’t it?

Yes, probably should have mentioned that. Buried the lede a little! It is from Goddess.

 

[Dom]

I thought this might interest a few people on here. A scene from the 1927 film Metropolis, in colour. Done quite tastefully IMO.

I'm still blown away by some of the visuals in this film. Especially for its time, it was incredibly well made.

Yes, the Metropolis clip shows some potential for restoration of old films. The stabilisation has become very good now, although 60fps is way to high for this: it makes it a mix of the soap opera effect and a cut scene in a computer game!

What would be useful for some of these old films is to interpolate missing frames and, in some cases - such as early films using 18fps - to increase the frame rate to 24fps while maintaining the correct overall visual speed. Nosferatu, for example, could be smoothed out here and there where frames were clearly lost in order to avoid the unintended jump cuts (as opposed to intended ones!)

Growing up watching silent films, which were still common on British TV in the late 20th century, the broadcast frame rate made me think all old movies were run at high speed, when in fact the broadcasters were often showing the films sped up to 25fps from 18!

So, it's an interesting video - in fact the YouTube channel has several amazing Lumiere Brothers films on there. Actually, the 60fps works best on the verité material. The snowball fight is incredible as it really brings the people of the pre-war world into ours. The world wars very much separate us psychologically from the past... and then we see this...

 

[Cappy]

I did really like Ana de Armas in Knives Out and the recent Blade Runner, so maybe Blonde will be worth checking out.

 

[Stavrogyn]

The release dates for Lars von Trier's Riget have been revealed: ‘The Kingdom Exodus’ Trailer: Lars von Trier Is Up to His Old Tricks Again

 

[AXX°N N.]

I've never been particularly interested in Marilyn Monroe, but I feel like I should be, as she is sort of part of Twin Peaks' conceptual DNA, via that unfilmed script Frost & Lynch wrote in the 80's.

Neither was I until I read this short sort of eulogy by Thomas Pynchon: The World is at Fault

As with a lot of things relating to Monroe, it feels as if it resonates with TP.

I then proceeded to read the writing she did before her death (they were letters or a diary), and they deeply upset me in a similar way as Diary of a Young Girl.

 

[Cappy]

Finally caught Don't Worry Darling this weekend... Overall I enjoyed it, although it did really drag for me around the halfway mark. Beautiful sets and costumes though, with creepy sound design.

 

[Dom]

The release dates for Lars von Trier's Riget have been revealed: ‘The Kingdom Exodus’ Trailer: Lars von Trier Is Up to His Old Tricks Again

That looks soooooo good! I stopped watching the trailer part way through in order not to spoil it. It's a day one Blu-ray order for me! Fortunately MUBI still allows Blu-ray releases (Benedetta and Suspiria, for example). I hope the original Kingdom episodes have been given an HD overhaul from the source negatives too, given the 'interesting' way they were originally edited. With modern colour grading technology, they could look great and achieve a similar look to the originals in full resolution.

 

[Stavrogyn]

That looks soooooo good! I stopped watching the trailer part way through in order not to spoil it.

I haven't seen it at all because of the very same reason! I'm really looking forward to this series. Hopefully, Riget will make me feel nostalgic for the end of 2022 just like Twin Peaks did in regard to the summer of 2017.

 

[Cappy]

Finally watched 28 Weeks Later this week. The story was a bit uneven and unfocused at times, but I did find it to be emotionally and aesthetically enganging in nearly the same way as the original. It was impossible to watch the early scenes where the authorities manage the outbreak without thinking of recent events...

 

[Stavrogyn]

I rewatched Moulin Rouge! (2001, Baz Luhrmann) at a theater yesterday evening as a part of a cycle dedicated to David Bowie. Still the best film ever.

 

[Tulpa]

I rewatched Moulin Rouge! (2001, Baz Luhrmann) at a theater yesterday evening as a part of a cycle dedicated to David Bowie. Still the best film ever.

Did you see Elvis?

 

[Stavrogyn]

Did you see Elvis?

Not yet; it's the only Baz Luhrmann film that I haven't seen. I'm looking forward to it, I'll probably watch it next week.

You've seen it? Did you like it?

 

[Tulpa]

Not yet; it's the only Baz Luhrmann film that I haven't seen. I'm looking forward to it, I'll probably watch it next week.

You've seen it? Did you like it?

Not a fan of Luhrmann at all but he was born to make Elvis. I loved it.

 

[Stavrogyn]

Not a fan of Luhrmann at all but he was born to make Elvis. I loved it.

Elvis spoilers ahead:

Austin Butler is great as Elvis Presley; I wouldn't be surprised if he got nominated for an Academy Award. And Baz Luhrmann was, indeed, a great choice for directing this material: I enjoyed the film's editing, pace, music...

However, Tom Hanks ruined it for me. He's horrible - his character's like a caricature - and the whole frame that sets him as the film's narrator is redundant. It's also odd for the antagonist to narrate such a film.

I think the film would have been much better if it focused less on Colonel Tom Parker and if another actor had been chosen for the role. And this comes from someone who likes Tom Hanks and often watches films only because he's in them.

 

[secretlettermkr]

AGREE 99%
The only thing I dont agree, is that I Dont like Tom Hanks AT ALL

 

[Mr. Reindeer]

What absolutely baffles me about Hanks is that Hollywood keeps casting him as really iconic well-known public figures when he has seemingly no ability to play any persona besides “Tom Hanks.” Not to say that he’s a bad actor, I think he’s really good, but he’s one of those guys like Pacino, or even Bogart, who has a very distinctive voice and mannerisms (not that I think he’s as good as those guys!). We all know how Walt Disney and Fred Rogers and, to a lesser extent, Tom Parker sounded and looked and moved, and to have a super-well-known celebrity play those roles essentially as himself doing a thin impersonation is such a distractingly weird choice.