[TheDom]

Just saw WEEK END in a theatre. I was so excited. Finally some Godard in an actual theatre. Took some friends to see it & there was a lot of opinions split. So many people walked out. I thought it was a great film, but the ending through me off quite a bit. I wish they had another showing of it.

[Genteel Death]

 

5/10

[keep poppin pimples]

Originally Posted by TheDom

Just saw WEEK END in a theatre. I was so excited. Finally some Godard in an actual theatre. Took some friends to see it & there was a lot of opinions split. So many people walked out. I thought it was a great film, but the ending through me off quite a bit. I wish they had another showing of it.

i saw vivre sa vie in theater and i liked the experience, i would go see weekend no doubt!

Originally Posted by Pookie

Just watched this over two nights on Film4. It was worth the film being made if only to see incensed right wing Americans have coronaries over it.

Personally I think the film was faultless. I can't think of anything bad to say about it.

i thought it was great myself. i read soderbergh went to great efforts to find a city that looks like santa clara, and i think he succeeded fabulously

 

pretty cool giallo, good visuals and a morriconne soundtrack

[TheDom]

They played Film: Socialisme too, but it only had one showing & I had to work There were two parts in Week End that I was not very happy with. 1. The animal killings & 2. The part about modern "serious" music. Godard just looked like a cunt during these two parts.

Finally got around to watching MULHOLLAND DR & I have to say, I understood Week End a lot more than this one.

[ilduclo]

Originally Posted by stu666

 

What did you think of Kill List, Stu? Wife and I loved Down Terrace, but after she heard about the hammer scene in KL, I couldn't get her to attend....

[stu666]

Originally Posted by ilduclo

What did you think of Kill List, Stu? Wife and I loved Down Terrace, but after she heard about the hammer scene in KL, I couldn't get her to attend....

It's not a nice film (obviously!). I mean, it is well filmed, good acting etc... the end is a bit strange but I have my own theories as to why it's like that but I don't want to spoil if for you if you do watch it. Its quite disturbing and I don't really want to see it again. If you like true horror films then you should probably check it out...

[Count Mecha]

 

House of the Devil was extremely interesting, but only in a visual sense. It really nailed that whole look of those slow burn 70's horror pictures, like Race With The Devil. The cinematography, unnecessary closeups or zoom ins/outs, those tripod tracking shots, they got that on the head. Though unfortunately, they also nailed the shitty narrative most of those movies have too. If you even half way know what these movies are like, you know every beat that's going to come up through the film as you watch it. Oh, this person is going to die here, she's going to do this, she's going to get drugged here, there's going to be a chased through the woods sequence here, amazingly predictable. But like I said, the visuals, are really interesting, so there's that.

[demonrail666]

Originally Posted by Murmer99

that sounds awesome. All of Godard's films seem to have that effect on people. They alienate the viewer... and require multiple viewings to get a grasp of the entire thing. I love the long shot of the traffic jam, albeit I found it absurd to sit through it the first time I saw the film. I wish I could see some of his work in a theatre.

His films always seem a bit too much like intellectual exercises for me and I'm always put off by what I think is a certain coldness at the heart of all of them. I won't deny his status as an innovator but I've never really enjoyed anything he's done - Le Mepris aside, perhaps because that's one of his least typical.

[demonrail666]

Originally Posted by Count Mecha

 

House of the Devil was extremely interesting, but only in a visual sense. It really nailed that whole look of those slow burn 70's horror pictures, like Race With The Devil. The cinematography, unnecessary closeups or zoom ins/outs, those tripod tracking shots, they got that on the head. Though unfortunately, they also nailed the shitty narrative most of those movies have too. If you even half way know what these movies are like, you know every beat that's going to come up through the film as you watch it. Oh, this person is going to die here, she's going to do this, she's going to get drugged here, there's going to be a chased through the woods sequence here, amazingly predictable. But like I said, the visuals, are really interesting, so there's that.

I've not seen that film but I totally agree about the problem new directors have trying to replicate those low budget 70s horror given how utterly predictable they typically were, albeit in a way that ended up becoming a strange part of their cultish charm. But where I think contemporary audiences are likely to get off on the cheesy zoom ins, I'm not sure they want the leaden paced tedium that often came with it. I've shown friends some what I'd consider classics who've initially enjoyed the cheap look but soon started complaining when the plot wound down to it's standard snail's pace predictability. Whatever the intention, a 70s exploitation film that's non stop thrills and surprises is almost a contradiction in terms.

[TheDom]

Originally Posted by demonrail666

His films always seem a bit too much like intellectual exercises for me and I'm always put off by what I think is a certain coldness at the heart of all of them. I won't deny his status as an innovator but I've never really enjoyed anything he's done - Le Mepris aside, perhaps because that's one of his least typical.

I have been put off by some of his films because of this (2 or 3 things I know about her, helas pour moi & a lot of film: socialsme). Some of them are very hard to sit through. He is a very cynical man & that brushes off in almost all of his work. Still he is very, very compelling & his best work has a lot of heart in it. Godard, despite his many flaws, has blown me away much more than any other filmmaker has. It's a shame you don't get enjoyment out of him, but that's the way he is. You love him or hate him.

[Dr. Eugene Felikson]

Godard is great. My favorite work of his is still Alphaville. I don't think anything will ever top that for me. Later efforts like Hail Mary, King Lear, or Every Man For Himself are especially interesting to me. There's that really neat Dick Cavett interview with him on YouTube from that era - it's missing Part 3 but is def. worth a watch nonetheless.

His 60's flicks are well-worth the hype. His use of foreground and extras is astonishing, especially considering how long ago most of those flicks were conceived. I also find it really cool when he'll leave the camera on only one member of a conversation, showcasing their reactions to what is being said, rather than the expression of who is saying it. Oh, and the random montages with all the philosophical mojo... those are really neat too. And the giant fonts.

That flick Socialisme, that he just made was REALLY NEAT. Fucker's lost his mind. My fav. part was when he's shooting ext. scenes on the ship, and he actually leaves in all the static/clipping/whatever of the wind hitting the mic. IT'S BRILLIANT I TELL YA, BRILLIANT!!!

I still haven't seen Week End though. I don't know what the hell is wrong with me.

Originally Posted by demonrail666

I've not seen that film but I totally agree about the problem new directors have trying to replicate those low budget 70s horror given how utterly predictable they typically were, albeit in a way that ended up becoming a strange part of their cultish charm. But where I think contemporary audiences are likely to get off on the cheesy zoom ins, I'm not sure they want the leaden paced tedium that often came with it. I've shown friends some what I'd consider classics who've initially enjoyed the cheap look but soon started complaining when the plot wound down to it's standard snail's pace predictability. Whatever the intention, a 70s exploitation film that's non stop thrills and surprises is almost a contradiction in terms.

Demonrail, you MUST SEE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL. Ti West nails the aesthetics. Completely. It is absolutely breathtaking. The story could use a little more oomph, Count Mecha is right.... but damn... it is a stylistic masterpiece.

[Dr. Eugene Felikson]

It's really hard to get people to check that one out too. The trailer is awful

[Dr. Eugene Felikson]

That quote is fantastic. I've never had too hard a time watching Godard's stuff. His stuff is abrasive, but it's just so damn clever and spontaneous feeling.

Guys like Herzog I find to be a much more difficult sword to swallow. Stroszek was pretty cool, Even Dwarves Started Small is outstanding (my personal fav) and I personally loved his Bad Lieutenant, starring Nic Cage. But goddamnit, it must have taken me 3 tries to sit through Herz Aus Glas in it's entirety.

Godard keeps me guessing, I think that's why I find him so compelling.

[evollove]

Godard bores me silly and I've never learned anything from his films, nor have I had too many moments of aesthetic bliss while watching them.

With so many flicks, though, there are some exceptions. I do enjoy, say, 5 of his movies.

Sorry to be nasty. I just feel some embarassment at my younger self for actually taking this crap seriously.

Now, this is a fucking great movie:

 

Bobcat Goldthwait kicks the shit out of Godard.

[demonrail666]

Originally Posted by Dr. Eugene Felikson

Demonrail, you MUST SEE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL. Ti West nails the aesthetics. Completely. It is absolutely breathtaking. The story could use a little more oomph, Count Mecha is right.... but damn... it is a stylistic masterpiece.

I just finished watching it. At first I wasn't sure about the whole retro thing and I do sort of think that (while brilliantly done) it slightly cheapened what I ultimately thought was a great horror film in its own right and, if anything, a far creepier one than a lot of the films it's obviously paying tribute to. Thanks for the recommendation!

[demonrail666]

 

House of Whipcord

I can't recommend this enough to any fans of quite brutal downer horror. Don't be put off by the cheesy poster. It's not a sexploitation film at all. Just unbelievably bleak and one of my favourite British horror movies of the 70s.

[Pookie]

 

For those of you who haven't seen this film: imagine Jeff Bridges as The Dude but in a really shit film and being grinned at by Maggie Gyllenhaal.

[sonic sphere]

 

[Torn Curtain]

 

6.5/10

 

8/10

[fugazifan]

i love tati. i should see playtime again, i have only seen it once and it hasn't been for years.