list http://www.spout.com/ Recent community activity around The Argentine 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_Argentine/297556/default.aspx Title: The Argentine
Year: 2008
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Plot: Steven Soderbergh's The Argentine stars Benicio Del Toro as Che Guevara. The film opens with Che as one of the important figures in the growing Cuban rebellion led by Fidel Castro (Demian Bichir). The movie charts how the two successfully built an underground army large enough to successfully overthrow the government of Fulgencio Batista. Soderbergh and Del Toro team up again for a second biopic of Guevara titled Guerrilla, a movie that focuses on his life in the years after the Cuban revolution. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
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SpoutRating: 2
]]>Wed, 30 Apr 2008 15:00:37 GMTThe Argentine2008Steven Soderbergh<a href="/players/P___112040/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Steven Soderbergh</a>'s The Argentine stars <a href="/players/P____18343/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Benicio Del Toro</a> as Che Guevara. The film opens with Che as one of the important figures in the growing Cuban rebellion led by Fidel Castro (Demian Bichir). The movie charts how the two successfully built an underground army large enough to successfully overthrow the government of Fulgencio Batista. Soderbergh and Del Toro team up again for a second biopic of Guevara titled <a href=/films/229883/default.aspx style='text-decoration:underline'>Guerrilla</a>, a movie that focuses on his life in the years after the Cuban revolution. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide12http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/s297556.jpghttp://www.spout.com/films/The_Argentine/297556/default.aspxFilm http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/4/30/28001.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 4/30/2008 11:00:37 AM
Body: It may seem a bit early to write 1700+ words on the greatness of Steven Soderbergh’s two-part Che Guevara epic, especially without having actually seen the films (titled The Argentine and Guerrilla), but that couldn’t stop Jeff Wells from contributing such a piece to The Huffington Post yesterday. At least the guy has read the screenplays, both penned by Peter Buchman, but otherwise it’s all a lot of confident speculation and hopeful anticipation, particularly for Benicio Del Toro’s performance, which Wells is sure will be garner Oscar talk (didn’t the casting alone garner such talk two years back?): With Benicio del Toro, the moody and mesmerizing Marlon Brando-ish actor whose work keeps getting deeper and more fascinating, all but certain to stir Oscar talk for his performance as Ernesto “Che” Guevara, the legendary Argentine/Cuban firebrand. Even if the Che movies turn out to be problematic, Del Toro can’t not whip ass. He’s too strange, too gifted. Guevara is too perfect a role for him. All the stars and planets are aligned. Wells may actually be more excited about these films than anyone has ever been excited about one film (let alone two) and he goes so far as to compare the two films to Lawrence of Arabia. Basically he just likens the Che character arc to that of T.E. Lawrence and so calls the films “Lawrence of Latin America”, though it’s pretty evident that Wells is really thinking Soderbergh’s epic will be as great as David Lean’s. He even suggests that whichever distributor ends up releasing the film do so as “a single, gargantuan Lawrence of Arabia-styled deal with an intermission, running between four or four and a half hours? Initially shown on a reserved-seat basis with a Maurice Jarre-type score with an overture, entre’acte and exit music? You know…for old times’ sake?” Unfortunately for Wells, the films will likely be given separate releases. Although, from the way Wells makes it sound, the films could barely even be picked up for any kind of release, as the distributors aren’t nearly as excited as he is: No U.S. distributor has signed on, in part over concerns about the Spanish-language dialogue (American audiences are notoriously “rural” in their attitudes about subtitles), and in part because it’s been determined by Soderbergh that the films have to be seen as a two-part whole with their release to occur within weeks or possibly days of each other. Given the indisputable fact that we are living in the most dumbed-down era of American moviegoing (certainly in terms of the mass audience) since the invention of the movie camera, how many popcorn-munchers are going to be willing, much less eager, to go four hours plus with Che Guevara? Especially given their reluctance to support even Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodrigeuz’s Grindhouse, a two-part, three-hour popcorn movie about hot women, zombies and car chases? Certainly he’s exaggerating the lack of appeal for these films, just as he’s overreacting in his extreme excitement for them sight unseen. I believe they will be great, and I believe that they’ll be successful, but let’s let the pair of epics premiere at Cannes before we go overboard, shall we? Alright, well, I guess considering yesterday the internet was already all abuzz about Soderbergh’s post-Che project that Wells can be forgiven for jumping the gun. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Wed, 30 Apr 2008 15:00:37 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com4/30/2008 11:00:37 AMIt may seem a bit early to write 1700+ words on the greatness of Steven Soderbergh’s two-part Che Guevara epic, especially without having actually seen the films (titled The Argentine and Guerrilla), but that couldn’t stop Jeff Wells from contributing such a piece to The Huffington Post yesterday. At least the guy has read the screenplays, both penned by Peter Buchman, but otherwise it’s all a lot of confident speculation and hopeful anticipation, particularly for Benicio Del Toro’s performance, which Wells is sure will be garner Oscar talk (didn’t the casting alone garner such talk two years back?): With Benicio del Toro, the moody and mesmerizing Marlon Brando-ish actor whose work keeps getting deeper and more fascinating, all but certain to stir Oscar talk for his performance as Ernesto “Che” Guevara, the legendary Argentine/Cuban firebrand. Even if the Che movies turn out to be problematic, Del Toro can’t not whip ass. He’s too strange, too gifted. Guevara is too perfect a role for him. All the stars and planets are aligned. Wells may actually be more excited about these films than anyone has ever been excited about one film (let alone two) and he goes so far as to compare the two films to Lawrence of Arabia. Basically he just likens the Che character arc to that of T.E. Lawrence and so calls the films “Lawrence of Latin America”, though it’s pretty evident that Wells is really thinking Soderbergh’s epic will be as great as David Lean’s. He even suggests that whichever distributor ends up releasing the film do so as “a single, gargantuan Lawrence of Arabia-styled deal with an intermission, running between four or four and a half hours? Initially shown on a reserved-seat basis with a Maurice Jarre-type score with an overture, entre’acte and exit music? You know…for old times’ sake?” Unfortunately for Wells, the films will likely be given separate releases. Although, from the way Wells makes it sound, the films could barely even be picked up for any kind of release, as the distributors aren’t nearly as excited as he is: No U.S. distributor has signed on, in part over concerns about the Spanish-language dialogue (American audiences are notoriously “rural” in their attitudes about subtitles), and in part because it’s been determined by Soderbergh that the films have to be seen as a two-part whole with their release to occur within weeks or possibly days of each other. Given the indisputable fact that we are living in the most dumbed-down era of American moviegoing (certainly in terms of the mass audience) since the invention of the movie camera, how many popcorn-munchers are going to be willing, much less eager, to go four hours plus with Che Guevara? Especially given their reluctance to support even Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodrigeuz’s Grindhouse, a two-part, three-hour popcorn movie about hot women, zombies and car chases? Certainly he’s exaggerating the lack of appeal for these films, just as he’s overreacting in his extreme excitement for them sight unseen. I believe they will be great, and I believe that they’ll be successful, but let’s let the pair of epics premiere at Cannes before we go overboard, shall we? Alright, well, I guess considering yesterday the internet was already all abuzz about Soderbergh’s post-Che project that Wells can be forgiven for jumping the gun. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog