list http://www.spout.com/ Recent community activity around The Notorious Bettie Page on Spout Copyright 2005-9 Spout, LLC Spout RSS http://www.spout.com/images/SpoutLogoRSS.jpg http://www.spout.com/ 136 30 http://www.spout.com/films/The_Notorious_Bettie_Page/245405/default.aspx Title: The Notorious Bettie Page
Year: 2006
Director: Mary Harron
Plot: Celebrated and vilified in equal measure, the pinup goddess Bettie Page inspired a legion of followers -- and an indecency scandal -- by appearing in a series of nude, sado-masochistic, and/or revealing magazine spreads in the 1950s. An era later, writer/director Mary Harron casts a knowing eye upon the woman who indirectly gave birth to modern pornography in the biopic The Notorious Bettie Page. As a teen, Page (Gretchen Mol) is a smart, plucky girl with ambitions beyond her Tennessee roots. Suffering varying degrees of abuse from her father, her first husband, and suitors of dubious virtue, Page makes her way to New York City, where an amateur photographer discovers her lounging on the beach. It isn't long before images of the shapely brunette reach Irving and Paula Klaw (Chris Bauer and Lili Taylor), brother-and-sister entrepreneurs who publish illicit magazines dedicated primarily to men's fetishes. The casual nudist Page eventually finds herself acquiescing to their requests to don thigh-high boots, whips, and chains, which raise the ire of the smut-fearing senator Estes Kefauver (David Strathairn). The Notorious Bettie Page had its North American premiere at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
Times Tagged: 21
Number of Lists: 14
Number of blog posts: 6
Number of discussion threads: 5
SpoutRating: 3
]]>Sat, 13 Dec 2008 12:45:56 GMTThe Notorious Bettie Page2006Mary HarronCelebrated and vilified in equal measure, the pinup goddess Bettie Page inspired a legion of followers -- and an indecency scandal -- by appearing in a series of nude, sado-masochistic, and/or revealing magazine spreads in the 1950s. An era later, writer/director <a href="/players/P___201982/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Mary Harron</a> casts a knowing eye upon the woman who indirectly gave birth to modern pornography in the biopic The Notorious Bettie Page. As a teen, Page (<a href="/players/P___223418/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Gretchen Mol</a>) is a smart, plucky girl with ambitions beyond her Tennessee roots. Suffering varying degrees of abuse from her father, her first husband, and suitors of dubious virtue, Page makes her way to New York City, where an amateur photographer discovers her lounging on the beach. It isn't long before images of the shapely brunette reach Irving and Paula Klaw (Chris Bauer and <a href="/players/P____70063/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Lili Taylor</a>), brother-and-sister entrepreneurs who publish illicit magazines dedicated primarily to men's fetishes. The casual nudist Page eventually finds herself acquiescing to their requests to don thigh-high boots, whips, and chains, which raise the ire of the smut-fearing senator Estes Kefauver (<a href="/players/P____68638/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>David Strathairn</a>). The Notorious Bettie Page had its North American premiere at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide21Tag Target (>10)14653http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/t82571cwbbh.jpghttp://www.spout.com/films/The_Notorious_Bettie_Page/245405/default.aspxFilm http://www.spout.com/blogs/expatpaul/archive/2008/12/13/38344.aspx Post By: ExpatPaul
Post To: Savage Popcorn
Post Date: 12/13/2008 7:45:56 AM
Body: In telling the story of pin-up icon, Bettie Page, The Notorious bettie page necessarily skips over much bit does a great job of capturing both Bettie's exhuberance and her sense of fun. Gretchen Mol is perfectly cast in the lead role and really dos bring her character to life, so much so that many of the scenes manage to raise a warm smile and a feeling of genuine fondness for the chararcters. The film focusses primarily on the perfiod of Bettie's modelling career and, inevitably, the senate investigation that brought it to an end. The coverage of this investigation is both accurate and really does bring home the venal idiocy of those behind it. Bettie Page is still an icon today and the revealing portrait of the paranoia that can be whipped up over a collection of photos is still relevant today.
]]>Sat, 13 Dec 2008 12:45:56 GMTExpatPaulSavage Popcorn12/13/2008 7:45:56 AMIn telling the story of pin-up icon, Bettie Page, The Notorious bettie page necessarily skips over much bit does a great job of capturing both Bettie's exhuberance and her sense of fun. Gretchen Mol is perfectly cast in the lead role and really dos bring her character to life, so much so that many of the scenes manage to raise a warm smile and a feeling of genuine fondness for the chararcters. The film focusses primarily on the perfiod of Bettie's modelling career and, inevitably, the senate investigation that brought it to an end. The coverage of this investigation is both accurate and really does bring home the venal idiocy of those behind it. Bettie Page is still an icon today and the revealing portrait of the paranoia that can be whipped up over a collection of photos is still relevant today. http://www.spout.com/blogs/kowalski76/archive/2008/10/11/36204.aspx Post By: Kowalski76
Post To: Rebellious Celluloid
Post Date: 10/11/2008 6:20:34 PM
Body: Although Gretchen Mol puts in a pretty decent and believable performance in the title role, the film itself is a drab and unsatisfying portrait of a life that could definitely not be accused of being either.
]]>Sat, 11 Oct 2008 22:20:34 GMTKowalski76Rebellious Celluloid10/11/2008 6:20:34 PMAlthough Gretchen Mol puts in a pretty decent and believable performance in the title role, the film itself is a drab and unsatisfying portrait of a life that could definitely not be accused of being either. http://www.spout.com/groups/HORROR_MOVIES_101/Re_Uwe_Boll/222/27057/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: mercurial
Post To: HORROR MOVIES 101
Post Date: 4/7/2008 8:08:37 PM
Body: [quote user="FroggyBaBe15876"] I was just reading on the SpoutBlog (here's the link to the article) about director Uwe Boll. If you haven't heard of him, he's the guy who directed such gems as House of the Dead and Bloodrayne. Apparently, there is a petition out to stop Boll from making any more movies. But, Boll said that it would take a million signatures to get him to stop filmmaking. The petition now has about 60,000 blog signatures.Okay. The SpoutBlog makes a good point that if you aren't going to see the movies anyway, why should you bother saying they suck in the first place? Well, here's a good reason: if you've seen House of the Dead, you know that it sucks. Really. Really. Hard. It sucks SO much, that when I, personally, heard that Boll directed Bloodrayne, I crossed it off my "to see" list. He also directed Alone in the Dark which, wasn't necessarily horrible, but it weren't good neither. All the movies he makes, by the way, are usually based on video games, in case you didn't catch that. I have a friend who absolutely HATES Uwe Boll. I'm not a hating kind of person. But, I must say, he does suck. I like the picture of him giving the finger, though. That earned him a couple points in my book. Anyway, what do yous all think? Should Boll stop directing? Or should everyone stop whining and bitching and just go see Postal? And Far Cry? And Bloodrayne 3?[/quote]I think it's a rather moot point. There are always going to be "good" directors and "bad" directors, "good" screenplays and "bad" screenplays, et. al. It may not be any kind of majority, but some people do like his films and I think he serves a purpose (however inane it may be).Personally, I had wanted to see Bloodrayne when I found out that Guinevere Turner was scripting it (I liked Go Fish and The Notorious Bettie Page and loved American Pyscho) and was completely horrified when I had seen the final product. Interestingly, I was able to talk with Guinevere in L.A. through a friend of mine that was friends with her friends or some weird six degrees of separation like that. Anyways, I wanted to talk to her about Bloodrayne and when I barely finished speaking the word she rolled her eyes and made a look of disgust on her face that pretty much explained everything. She briefly mentioned fighting with Boll and his people over the script and how most of it was taken out of her hands because he had final approval and by the end she decided to not take her name off the film because she was getting a decent paycheck out of it.Hearing all that was a big wakeup call for me about the real Hollywood and the practices that go on and so on. It also shed some light on why his films seem so singular: because he's a Nazi with every aspect of production of the them.
]]>Tue, 08 Apr 2008 00:08:37 GMTmercurialHORROR MOVIES 1014/7/2008 8:08:37 PM[quote user="FroggyBaBe15876"] I was just reading on the SpoutBlog (here&#39;s the link to the article) about director Uwe Boll. If you haven&#39;t heard of him, he&#39;s the guy who directed such gems as House of the Dead and Bloodrayne. Apparently, there is a petition out to stop Boll from making any more movies. But, Boll said that it would take a million signatures to get him to stop filmmaking. The petition now has about 60,000 blog signatures.Okay. The SpoutBlog makes a good point that if you aren&#39;t going to see the movies anyway, why should you bother saying they suck in the first place? Well, here&#39;s a good reason: if you&#39;ve seen House of the Dead, you know that it sucks. Really. Really. Hard. It sucks SO much, that when I, personally, heard that Boll directed Bloodrayne, I crossed it off my "to see" list. He also directed Alone in the Dark which, wasn&#39;t necessarily horrible, but it weren&#39;t good neither. All the movies he makes, by the way, are usually based on video games, in case you didn&#39;t catch that. I have a friend who absolutely HATES Uwe Boll. I&#39;m not a hating kind of person. But, I must say, he does suck. I like the picture of him giving the finger, though. That earned him a couple points in my book. Anyway, what do yous all think? Should Boll stop directing? Or should everyone stop whining and bitching and just go see Postal? And Far Cry? And Bloodrayne 3?[/quote]I think it&#39;s a rather moot point. There are always going to be "good" directors and "bad" directors, "good" screenplays and "bad" screenplays, et. al. It may not be any kind of majority, but some people do like his films and I think he serves a purpose (however inane it may be).Personally, I had wanted to see Bloodrayne when I found out that Guinevere Turner was scripting it (I liked Go Fish and The Notorious Bettie Page and loved American Pyscho) and was completely horrified when I had seen the final product. Interestingly, I was able to talk with Guinevere in L.A. through a friend of mine that was friends with her friends or some weird six degrees of separation like that. Anyways, I wanted to talk to her about Bloodrayne and when I barely finished speaking the word she rolled her eyes and made a look of disgust on her face that pretty much explained everything. She briefly mentioned fighting with Boll and his people over the script and how most of it was taken out of her hands because he had final approval and by the end she decided to not take her name off the film because she was getting a decent paycheck out of it.Hearing all that was a big wakeup call for me about the real Hollywood and the practices that go on and so on. It also shed some light on why his films seem so singular: because he&#39;s a Nazi with every aspect of production of the them. http://www.spout.com/blogs/moviebabe/archive/2007/7/18/15260.aspx Post By: MovieBabe
Post To: MovieBabe Blog
Post Date: 7/18/2007 7:32:00 PM
Body: By Tricia Olszewski It all started, really, with a rather innocent suggestion: “You know, I could take this little old bathing-suit top off if you like.” At least that’s how it goes in The Notorious Bettie Page, a film that will no doubt teach a few one-handed typers what real breasts look like. The iconic ’50s pinup is played by Gretchen Mol, and the movie falls solely on her frequently naked shoulders—and boobs and ass and the “something” that sometimes peeks out but that Page is always asked to hide due to obscenity laws. With all the skin and objectification, it’s notable that the film was created by women. Director Mary Harron and co-writer Guinevere Turner—the pair last collaborated on 2000’s American Psycho, another project one might assume would be taken on by men—don’t exactly turn Page’s happenstance path from impromptu beach model to professional bondage queen into a feminist fairy tale, as some have suggested. The focus is on the God-fearing Page’s good-natured attitude regarding her career, with all the naughtiness pushed to the perimeter. When a photographer asks her what she believes Jesus would think of what she’s doing, Page replies, “God gave me this talent to pose for pictures, and they seem to make people happy”—therefore it can’t be wrong. That defense, by the way, comes right after an S&M ball is removed from Page’s mouth, a scene that illustrates what Mol has called “this kind of non-judgmental spirit. People were always able to look at Bettie Page and see what they needed her to be.” The filmmakers, in fact, are counting on that. The Nashville-born model’s relationships, from the implied-abusive one she had with her father to the definitely abusive one she had with her first husband, Billy Neal (37-year-old Norman Reedus, fooling no one as a pomaded youngster), are summed up in no more than a few scenes. Ditto her victimization in a gang rape. Harron and Turner instead frame the story with the 1955 trial of siblings Irving and Paula Klaw (Chris Bauer and Lili Taylor), the money-grubbing fetish-porn producers responsible for turning Page from a fun-in-the-sun cutie into a corseted, high-heeled dominatrix/submissive in both photos and short movies. (The Klaws were charged not only for distributing obscenity via U.S. mail but also for contributing to a boy’s death because he’d purportedly emulated activities portrayed in their works—crimes pronounced more dangerous to the country than Communism.) Mostly though, we get Bettie, Bettie, Bettie—and Mol, affecting an aw-shucks Southern accent and with those post–Vanity Fair days in the wilderness behind her, is more than ready for her close-up. With a black, banged wig, altered eyebrows, and an impressive body, Mol should placate fanboys and -girls who cried that someone with more edge—Angelina Jolie, say, or Rose McGowan—should have gotten the part. There’s no question that Mol seems an out-of-nowhere choice, but the casting ended up being just right: The actress bears a physical resemblance to Page, sure, but more important, she has the model’s cutie-pie demeanor and cheery—even goofy—smiles down cold. In the film, even her “strict” S&M expressions smack of playfulness. It’s this attitude of dress-up fun that seems to be what Harron and Turner want us to take away from their subject’s haphazard life. The filmmakers don’t bother delving into the whys of Page’s choices but simply follow her from pretty schoolgirl to foxy pinup to lovely born-again Christian—the last transformation cued by a contemplative walk along the shore. Filled with bouncy jazz and ’50s pop and often funny, The Notorious Bettie Page is essentially lighthearted entertainment. Sure, when Page’s boyfriend, Marvin (Jonathan Woodward), finally sees her fetishistic photos, he pronounces them “disgusting.” But when a panting autograph-seeker shows up to ask Page if she’s sickened by her fans—and therefore wants to punish him—it’s comical, not sinister. What the movie lacks in depth, however, it makes up for with style. Shot mostly in black and white but splashed here and there with color, The Notorious Bettie Page captures grainy old New York as well as it evokes Technicolorized old Florida, where Page posed for model-turned-photographer Bunny Yeager (Sarah Paulson). There’s also a nice montage of bright magazine covers, with a little living Page posing on them Harry Potter–style. As good-natured as its subject’s smiles, The Notorious Bettie Page isn’t exactly a film of substance. But if it makes people happy, Harron and Turner seem to be implying, who’s to say it’s wrong? Friends With Money, by contrast, leaves no unpleasantry unturned. Writer-director Nicole Holofcener, who also made 1996’s Walking and Talking and 2001’s Lovely and Amazing, continues to toy with dysfunction here, portraying three wealthy married couples and their poor single friend. Holofcener’s messages are realistically mixed: If money doesn’t buy happiness, living paycheck to paycheck doesn’t, either. And dating may be hell, but as for long-term companionship, well, there’s a reason the divorce rate is so high. The film opens on Olivia (Jennifer Aniston), a former teacher who’s now a maid because she doesn’t know what else to do. She’s not above shuffling through clients’ drawers—or even using a stranger’s vibrator—and she carries a torch for a now-married ex, constantly calling his house and hanging up like a high schooler. Olivia is also, according to her friends, a pothead—and she never bothers to work out. But when it comes time to set her up, as her meddling friend Franny (Joan Cusack) tries to do, Olivia is sooo great! Perhaps Franny realizes that even if Olivia isn’t a model citizen, she’s no more screwed up than the rest of them. The friends are first shown together at a dinner, where couples Christine and David (Catherine Keener and Jason Isaacs) and Jane and Aaron (Frances McDormand and Simon McBurney) bicker among themselves. Franny, wife of Matt (Greg Germann), announces that they’re donating $2 million to their daughter’s school, and the immediately disgusted Jane suggests that Franny also donate some dough to Olivia, who’s naturally mortified. When Aaron leaves the table after mentioning that there’s a designer-sample sale the next day, Christine says, “He’s so gay.” We then follow the friends as they gossip about one another and deal with their issues at home. Christine and David are screenwriting partners who clash while working and are passive-aggressive toward each other the rest of the time. Olivia, of course, is the most sympathetic one, alternating, as Aniston adroitly shows, between self-flagellation and can’t-help-it-ness regarding her work and sorry love life. McDormand is given the showiest role as the constantly furious Jane, a typical road-rager and service-complainer whose behavior goes from funny to disturbingly out of control. (Effeminate Aaron, meanwhile, not only has his inner circle questioning his sexuality but also gets hit on by guys.) As in her previous movies, Holofcener proves to be a most attentive observer of human behavior, relationships in particular. (Though the focus, as always, is on the women.) No one’s problems are overwhelming here; instead, they’re small, ever-mounting conflicts that can sneakily add up to big-time unhappiness. Nothing’s tidied up by the end: It’s suggested that some issues are going to be resolved happily, some will end in sorrow, and some will remain as they are. At a mere 88 minutes, Friends With Money comes to an abrupt nonconclusion. But in a film about everyday trials, open-endedness is more realistic than problematic.
]]>Wed, 18 Jul 2007 23:32:00 GMTMovieBabeMovieBabe Blog7/18/2007 7:32:00 PM By Tricia Olszewski It all started, really, with a rather innocent suggestion: &ldquo;You know, I could take this little old bathing-suit top off if you like.&rdquo; At least that&rsquo;s how it goes in The Notorious Bettie Page, a film that will no doubt teach a few one-handed typers what real breasts look like. The iconic &rsquo;50s pinup is played by Gretchen Mol, and the movie falls solely on her frequently naked shoulders&mdash;and boobs and ass and the &ldquo;something&rdquo; that sometimes peeks out but that Page is always asked to hide due to obscenity laws. With all the skin and objectification, it&rsquo;s notable that the film was created by women. Director Mary Harron and co-writer Guinevere Turner&mdash;the pair last collaborated on 2000&rsquo;s American Psycho, another project one might assume would be taken on by men&mdash;don&rsquo;t exactly turn Page&rsquo;s happenstance path from impromptu beach model to professional bondage queen into a feminist fairy tale, as some have suggested. The focus is on the God-fearing Page&rsquo;s good-natured attitude regarding her career, with all the naughtiness pushed to the perimeter. When a photographer asks her what she believes Jesus would think of what she&rsquo;s doing, Page replies, &ldquo;God gave me this talent to pose for pictures, and they seem to make people happy&rdquo;&mdash;therefore it can&rsquo;t be wrong. That defense, by the way, comes right after an S&amp;M ball is removed from Page&rsquo;s mouth, a scene that illustrates what Mol has called &ldquo;this kind of non-judgmental spirit. People were always able to look at Bettie Page and see what they needed her to be.&rdquo; The filmmakers, in fact, are counting on that. The Nashville-born model&rsquo;s relationships, from the implied-abusive one she had with her father to the definitely abusive one she had with her first husband, Billy Neal (37-year-old Norman Reedus, fooling no one as a pomaded youngster), are summed up in no more than a few scenes. Ditto her victimization in a gang rape. Harron and Turner instead frame the story with the 1955 trial of siblings Irving and Paula Klaw (Chris Bauer and Lili Taylor), the money-grubbing fetish-porn producers responsible for turning Page from a fun-in-the-sun cutie into a corseted, high-heeled dominatrix/submissive in both photos and short movies. (The Klaws were charged not only for distributing obscenity via U.S. mail but also for contributing to a boy&rsquo;s death because he&rsquo;d purportedly emulated activities portrayed in their works&mdash;crimes pronounced more dangerous to the country than Communism.) Mostly though, we get Bettie, Bettie, Bettie&mdash;and Mol, affecting an aw-shucks Southern accent and with those post&ndash;Vanity Fair days in the wilderness behind her, is more than ready for her close-up. With a black, banged wig, altered eyebrows, and an impressive body, Mol should placate fanboys and -girls who cried that someone with more edge&mdash;Angelina Jolie, say, or Rose McGowan&mdash;should have gotten the part. There&rsquo;s no question that Mol seems an out-of-nowhere choice, but the casting ended up being just right: The actress bears a physical resemblance to Page, sure, but more important, she has the model&rsquo;s cutie-pie demeanor and cheery&mdash;even goofy&mdash;smiles down cold. In the film, even her &ldquo;strict&rdquo; S&amp;M expressions smack of playfulness. It&rsquo;s this attitude of dress-up fun that seems to be what Harron and Turner want us to take away from their subject&rsquo;s haphazard life. The filmmakers don&rsquo;t bother delving into the whys of Page&rsquo;s choices but simply follow her from pretty schoolgirl to foxy pinup to lovely born-again Christian&mdash;the last transformation cued by a contemplative walk along the shore. Filled with bouncy jazz and &rsquo;50s pop and often funny, The Notorious Bettie Page is essentially lighthearted entertainment. Sure, when Page&rsquo;s boyfriend, Marvin (Jonathan Woodward), finally sees her fetishistic photos, he pronounces them &ldquo;disgusting.&rdquo; But when a panting autograph-seeker shows up to ask Page if she&rsquo;s sickened by her fans&mdash;and therefore wants to punish him&mdash;it&rsquo;s comical, not sinister. What the movie lacks in depth, however, it makes up for with style. Shot mostly in black and white but splashed here and there with color, The Notorious Bettie Page captures grainy old New York as well as it evokes Technicolorized old Florida, where Page posed for model-turned-photographer Bunny Yeager (Sarah Paulson). There&rsquo;s also a nice montage of bright magazine covers, with a little living Page posing on them Harry Potter&ndash;style. As good-natured as its subject&rsquo;s smiles, The Notorious Bettie Page isn&rsquo;t exactly a film of substance. But if it makes people happy, Harron and Turner seem to be implying, who&rsquo;s to say it&rsquo;s wrong? Friends With Money, by contrast, leaves no unpleasantry unturned. Writer-director Nicole Holofcener, who also made 1996&rsquo;s Walking and Talking and 2001&rsquo;s Lovely and Amazing, continues to toy with dysfunction here, portraying three wealthy married couples and their poor single friend. Holofcener&rsquo;s messages are realistically mixed: If money doesn&rsquo;t buy happiness, living paycheck to paycheck doesn&rsquo;t, either. And dating may be hell, but as for long-term companionship, well, there&rsquo;s a reason the divorce rate is so high. The film opens on Olivia (Jennifer Aniston), a former teacher who&rsquo;s now a maid because she doesn&rsquo;t know what else to do. She&rsquo;s not above shuffling through clients&rsquo; drawers&mdash;or even using a stranger&rsquo;s vibrator&mdash;and she carries a torch for a now-married ex, constantly calling his house and hanging up like a high schooler. Olivia is also, according to her friends, a pothead&mdash;and she never bothers to work out. But when it comes time to set her up, as her meddling friend Franny (Joan Cusack) tries to do, Olivia is sooo great! Perhaps Franny realizes that even if Olivia isn&rsquo;t a model citizen, she&rsquo;s no more screwed up than the rest of them. The friends are first shown together at a dinner, where couples Christine and David (Catherine Keener and Jason Isaacs) and Jane and Aaron (Frances McDormand and Simon McBurney) bicker among themselves. Franny, wife of Matt (Greg Germann), announces that they&rsquo;re donating $2 million to their daughter&rsquo;s school, and the immediately disgusted Jane suggests that Franny also donate some dough to Olivia, who&rsquo;s naturally mortified. When Aaron leaves the table after mentioning that there&rsquo;s a designer-sample sale the next day, Christine says, &ldquo;He&rsquo;s so gay.&rdquo; We then follow the friends as they gossip about one another and deal with their issues at home. Christine and David are screenwriting partners who clash while working and are passive-aggressive toward each other the rest of the time. Olivia, of course, is the most sympathetic one, alternating, as Aniston adroitly shows, between self-flagellation and can&rsquo;t-help-it-ness regarding her work and sorry love life. McDormand is given the showiest role as the constantly furious Jane, a typical road-rager and service-complainer whose behavior goes from funny to disturbingly out of control. (Effeminate Aaron, meanwhile, not only has his inner circle questioning his sexuality but also gets hit on by guys.) As in her previous movies, Holofcener proves to be a most attentive observer of human behavior, relationships in particular. (Though the focus, as always, is on the women.) No one&rsquo;s problems are overwhelming here; instead, they&rsquo;re small, ever-mounting conflicts that can sneakily add up to big-time unhappiness. Nothing&rsquo;s tidied up by the end: It&rsquo;s suggested that some issues are going to be resolved happily, some will end in sorrow, and some will remain as they are. At a mere 88 minutes, Friends With Money comes to an abrupt nonconclusion. But in a film about everyday trials, open-endedness is more realistic than problematic. http://www.spout.com/groups/Top_5/Re_Top_5_black_and_white_movies_made_after_1970/190/6030/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: Risselada
Post To: Top 5
Post Date: 3/4/2007 11:20:33 PM
Body: [quote user="BigJeffLebowski"]5. Lenny[/quote]Huh, I've never seen the movie Lenny. I'd heard of it but never even realized it was in black and white. Would you recommend really listening to some recordings of Lenny Bruce before actually seeing the movie to get prepared?[quote user="BigJeffLebowski"]No one really brings this up when they mention the film, but I think the monetary restraints on the original Clerks (black and white, stationary camera) give the film a certain security-camera feel that really helps the juxtaposition of the mundane and the outlandish, and is part of the reason Clerks is able to assimilate the two so well.[/quote]You say this is never brought up, but I thought I actually heard Smith himself claim that was the effect in mind even when he was shooting it. I could be mistaken though. I've definitely heard that security camera type of angle discussed before though.[quote user="BigJeffLebowski"]And shouldn't we have special mention for films that either spot-color or switch between black and white and color for more than simply flashbacks? For instance: Rumble Fish, American History X, Pleasantville, Memento, Wings of Desire, Zelig, The Notorious Bettie Page?[/quote]The movie If.... also switchs between color and black and white, and although it was commended by critics as some kind of artistic choice, it turns out it was merely due to their budget forcing them to swtich to black and white stock at a certain point in the shoot.
]]>Mon, 05 Mar 2007 04:20:33 GMTRisseladaTop 53/4/2007 11:20:33 PM[quote user="BigJeffLebowski"]5. Lenny[/quote]Huh, I&#39;ve never seen the movie Lenny. I&#39;d heard of it but never even realized it was in black and white. Would you recommend really listening to some recordings of Lenny Bruce before actually seeing the movie to get prepared?[quote user="BigJeffLebowski"]No one really brings this up when they mention the film, but I think the monetary restraints on the original Clerks (black and white, stationary camera) give the film a certain security-camera feel that really helps the juxtaposition of the mundane and the outlandish, and is part of the reason Clerks is able to assimilate the two so well.[/quote]You say this is never brought up, but I thought I actually heard Smith himself claim that was the effect in mind even when he was shooting it. I could be mistaken though. I&#39;ve definitely heard that security camera type of angle discussed before though.[quote user="BigJeffLebowski"]And shouldn&#39;t we have special mention for films that either spot-color or switch between black and white and color for more than simply flashbacks? For instance: Rumble Fish, American History X, Pleasantville, Memento, Wings of Desire, Zelig, The Notorious Bettie Page?[/quote]The movie If.... also switchs between color and black and white, and although it was commended by critics as some kind of artistic choice, it turns out it was merely due to their budget forcing them to swtich to black and white stock at a certain point in the shoot. http://www.spout.com/groups/Top_5/Re_Top_5_black_and_white_movies_made_after_1970/190/6017/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: BigJeffLebowski
Post To: Top 5
Post Date: 3/4/2007 1:35:04 PM
Body: Manhattan's my favorite film, so that's obviously going to have to be my number one. Beyond that, though, the question must be raised: how much can the mere aesthetics of the film affect our selections? There are some black and white films which are beautifully shot, but are not as good as a Jarmusch or Clerks. Trying to focus on the film itself, I'm going to have to say:1. Manhattan (and also Stardust Memories and Broadway Danny Rose by Allen)2.The Last Picture Show3. Raging Bull4. Pi5. LennyThese are all films which I think are superb upon their own merits, but the fact that they are in black and white adds a new dimension.No one really brings this up when they mention the film, but I think the monetary restraints on the original Clerks (black and white, stationary camera) give the film a certain security-camera feel that really helps the juxtaposition of the mundane and the outlandish, and is part of the reason Clerks is able to assimilate the two so well.I really agree with everyone who said Man Bites Dog, Ed Wood, Good Night and Good Luck, The Man Who Wasn't There, and the David Lynch films, but we are limited to five...And shouldn't we have special mention for films that either spot-color or switch between black and white and color for more than simply flashbacks? For instance: Rumble Fish, American History X, Pleasantville, Memento, Wings of Desire, Zelig, The Notorious Bettie Page?
]]>Sun, 04 Mar 2007 18:35:04 GMTBigJeffLebowskiTop 53/4/2007 1:35:04 PMManhattan&#39;s my favorite film, so that&#39;s obviously going to have to be my number one. Beyond that, though, the question must be raised: how much can the mere aesthetics of the film affect our selections? There are some black and white films which are beautifully shot, but are not as good as a Jarmusch or Clerks. Trying to focus on the film itself, I&#39;m going to have to say:1. Manhattan (and also Stardust Memories and Broadway Danny Rose by Allen)2.The Last Picture Show3. Raging Bull4. Pi5. LennyThese are all films which I think are superb upon their own merits, but the fact that they are in black and white adds a new dimension.No one really brings this up when they mention the film, but I think the monetary restraints on the original Clerks (black and white, stationary camera) give the film a certain security-camera feel that really helps the juxtaposition of the mundane and the outlandish, and is part of the reason Clerks is able to assimilate the two so well.I really agree with everyone who said Man Bites Dog, Ed Wood, Good Night and Good Luck, The Man Who Wasn&#39;t There, and the David Lynch films, but we are limited to five...And shouldn&#39;t we have special mention for films that either spot-color or switch between black and white and color for more than simply flashbacks? For instance: Rumble Fish, American History X, Pleasantville, Memento, Wings of Desire, Zelig, The Notorious Bettie Page? http://www.spout.com/blogs/jimbell/archive/2007/2/22/5705.aspx Post By: JimBell
Post To: JimBell Blog
Post Date: 2/22/2007 8:21:00 PM
Body: The Notorious Betty Page (2006) is the bio-pic of the 1950s “Pin-up Queen of the Universe.” Besides tracing her path from attending church in Tennessee to posing for bondage photographs in New York, the film also painstakingly recreates the mid-1950s. The cinematography is the strength of the film. Black and white stock footage of Times Square, issues of men’s magazines such as Wink, and, when Betty goes to wonderful Florida, a garish Technicolor which involved putting banks of lights on the sunny beach to get just the right look. The weakness of the movie is that the women writing, directing, and producing the movie do not get a handle on what makes Betty tick. A devout Christian joyfully doing bondage shoots and not seeing the dark side to it? A smart woman who seems blissfully ignorant? I think it was the director who said that Betty went through life with an invisible bubble around her so that people and events did not get close to her or have full impact on her. I can’t help but think that the movie would have been stronger if it had delved deeper into Betty’s complex character. The women making this film give a partial explanation: men. All of the men in film are rotten in some way—abusive father, brutal young guys, kinky lawyers, narrow-minded judges, weak boyfriends, and so on. The chubby fellow running the porno business is the only one who comes off as a fairly good guy—and the two preachers who appear in one scene each. But Betty’s peculiar take on life comes from something deeper than a world full of bad men. Gretchen Mol, a journeywoman NY actress for the last ten years, not only looks amazingly like the real Betty Page, but she does an incredible acting job. But a great performance and excellent cinematography cannot save a movie which does not answer the question all viewers are asking: Why is she like that?Jim Bell
]]>Fri, 23 Feb 2007 01:21:00 GMTJimBellJimBell Blog2/22/2007 8:21:00 PM The Notorious Betty Page (2006) is the bio-pic of the 1950s &ldquo;Pin-up Queen of the Universe.&rdquo; Besides tracing her path from attending church in Tennessee to posing for bondage photographs in New York, the film also painstakingly recreates the mid-1950s. The cinematography is the strength of the film. Black and white stock footage of Times Square, issues of men&rsquo;s magazines such as Wink, and, when Betty goes to wonderful Florida, a garish Technicolor which involved putting banks of lights on the sunny beach to get just the right look. The weakness of the movie is that the women writing, directing, and producing the movie do not get a handle on what makes Betty tick. A devout Christian joyfully doing bondage shoots and not seeing the dark side to it? A smart woman who seems blissfully ignorant? I think it was the director who said that Betty went through life with an invisible bubble around her so that people and events did not get close to her or have full impact on her. I can&rsquo;t help but think that the movie would have been stronger if it had delved deeper into Betty&rsquo;s complex character. The women making this film give a partial explanation: men. All of the men in film are rotten in some way&mdash;abusive father, brutal young guys, kinky lawyers, narrow-minded judges, weak boyfriends, and so on. The chubby fellow running the porno business is the only one who comes off as a fairly good guy&mdash;and the two preachers who appear in one scene each. But Betty&rsquo;s peculiar take on life comes from something deeper than a world full of bad men. Gretchen Mol, a journeywoman NY actress for the last ten years, not only looks amazingly like the real Betty Page, but she does an incredible acting job. But a great performance and excellent cinematography cannot save a movie which does not answer the question all viewers are asking: Why is she like that?Jim Bell http://www.spout.com/blogs/wonga/archive/2007/1/2/4939.aspx Post By: wonga
Post To: wonga's filmblog
Post Date: 1/2/2007 3:21:00 PM
Body: i saw 97 movies last year and it was hard to narrow them down but these are my favorites from 2006 for whatever reasons (i tried for 10 but just couldn't make it)! some are from 2005 and were seen later. i hope 2007 is half as good...TOP 15 LIST FOR 2006 MOVIES Sweet Land The Departed Paradise Now Three Burials Of Melquiades Estrada Neil Young: Heart Of Gold The Heart Of The Game Little Miss Sunshine Shopgirl Quinceanara Transamerica Shut Up And Sing The Prestige The Illusionist The History Boys Charlotte’s WebHONORABLE MENTIONBabel Casino Royale Cave Of The Yellow Dog Deja Vu Half Nelson Hollywoodland Kinky Boots Running With Scissors Stranger Than Fiction The Devil Wears Prada The Namesake The Notorious Bettie Page The Queen Who Loves The Sun Wordplay
]]>Tue, 02 Jan 2007 20:21:00 GMTwongawonga's filmblog1/2/2007 3:21:00 PMi saw 97 movies last year and it was hard to narrow them down but these are my favorites from 2006 for whatever reasons (i tried for 10 but just couldn&#39;t make it)! some are from 2005 and were seen later. i hope 2007 is half as good...TOP 15 LIST FOR 2006 MOVIES Sweet Land The Departed Paradise Now Three Burials Of Melquiades Estrada Neil Young: Heart Of Gold The Heart Of The Game Little Miss Sunshine Shopgirl Quinceanara Transamerica Shut Up And Sing The Prestige The Illusionist The History Boys Charlotte&rsquo;s WebHONORABLE MENTIONBabel Casino Royale Cave Of The Yellow Dog Deja Vu Half Nelson Hollywoodland Kinky Boots Running With Scissors Stranger Than Fiction The Devil Wears Prada The Namesake The Notorious Bettie Page The Queen Who Loves The Sun Wordplay http://www.spout.com/blogs/patches/archive/2006/6/20/1541.aspx Post By: patches
Post To: Litter Box blog
Post Date: 6/20/2006 2:55:00 PM
Body: The Notorious Bettie Page In telling the life of famous pin-up girl Bettie Page, director/co-writer Mary Harron (American Psycho, I Shot Andy Warhol) takes us on a provocative exploration of sexuality, religion and pop culture in the 1950s. Gretchen Mol stars as Bettie, who grew up in a conservative religious family in Tennessee and became a photo model sensation in New York. Bettie's legendary fetish poses made her the target of a Senate investigation into pornography, and transformed her into an erotic icon who continues to enthrall fans to this day. "It's a joy to see so many cheerful and contented characters on screen, especially on a screen that looks this good." – Chicago Tribune - Allison Benedikt Website: http://www.thenotoriousbettiepage.com/ Opens July 14 – Showtimes Forthcoming http://www.uica.org/film.html
]]>Tue, 20 Jun 2006 18:55:00 GMTpatchesLitter Box blog6/20/2006 2:55:00 PMThe Notorious Bettie Page In telling the life of famous pin-up girl Bettie Page, director/co-writer Mary Harron (American Psycho, I Shot Andy Warhol) takes us on a provocative exploration of sexuality, religion and pop culture in the 1950s. Gretchen Mol stars as Bettie, who grew up in a conservative religious family in Tennessee and became a photo model sensation in New York. Bettie's legendary fetish poses made her the target of a Senate investigation into pornography, and transformed her into an erotic icon who continues to enthrall fans to this day. "It's a joy to see so many cheerful and contented characters on screen, especially on a screen that looks this good." – Chicago Tribune - Allison Benedikt Website: http://www.thenotoriousbettiepage.com/ Opens July 14 – Showtimes Forthcoming http://www.uica.org/film.html http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/sex/MemberTagFilms.aspxsex
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