The Seventh Seal's Recent Activity - Spout

Film:The Seventh Seal

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 01:10:46 GMT

Title: The Seventh Seal
Year: 1957
Director: Ingmar Bergman
Plot: Endlessly imitated and parodied, Ingmar Bergman's landmark art movie The Seventh Seal (Det Sjunde Inseglet) retains its ability to hold an audience spellbound. Bergman regular Max von Sydow stars as a 14th-century knight, wearily heading home after ten years' worth of combat. Disillusioned by unending war, plague, and misery Von Sydow has concluded that God does not exist. As he trudges across the wilderness, Von Sydow is visited by Death (Bengt Ekrot), garbed in the traditional black robe. Unwilling to give up the ghost, Von Sydow challenges Death to a game of chess. If he wins, he lives--if not, he'll allow Death to claim him. As they play, the knight and the Grim Reaper get into a spirited discussion over whether or not God exists. To recount all that happens next would diminish the impact of the film itself; we can observe that The Seventh Seal ends with one of the most indelible of all of Bergman's cinematic images: the near-silhouette Dance of Death. Considered by some as the apotheosis of all Ingmar Bergman films (other likely candidates for that honor include Wild Strawberries and Persona), and certainly one of the most influential European art movies, The Seventh Seal won a multitude of awards, including the Cannes Film Festival prize. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Times Tagged: 21
Number of Lists: 58
Number of blog posts: 9
Number of discussion threads: 24
SpoutRating: 4

Spout Post: Re:Weekly Theme for September 28: The Infinite Sadness

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 17:35:33 GMT

Post By: Risselada
Post To: Weekly Theme
Post Date: 10/5/2009 1:35:33 PM
Body: [quote user="mercurial"] Sorry for the delay but I've been in a Six Feet Under k-hole for the past week and haven't been doing much of else. The final episode of the series had me crying like almost never before and it got me thinking about how much I enjoy a good cry. The raw emotion, the circling thoughts of this or that that keep the tears streaming down your face, the feeling of suffocating in your throat: not too much in this life compares to it. [/quote] A good cry is something that can be a cap on a really great movie for me as well. I find myself crying for lots of different reasons in films though. [quote user="mercurial"] And probably the best cry I've ever had in a movie is The Shawshank Redemption. Gets me crying like a baby every time I watch it. [/quote] Dude, there's something about it. I don't know what it is. But even if it's ALL I see, whenever the very last couple minutes of The Shawshank Redemption start playing, the tears just start welling up. Although the one film moment that might get the tears going even stronger and more reliably would be the final big breakdown from Lee J. Cobb's character. I get goosebumps and almost start crying just reading a transcript of it! I think it may be the most perfect moment in cinema for me. I've also had tears of happiness well up in my eyes for strange kind of happy moments too. When the new Star Wars movies came out, I would almost start crying just as the opening theme started playing and the familiar logo and text scroll started running. Sometimes it's a perfect blend of what just seems like overpowering truth. Humor, sadness, reality, absurdity, all perfectly portrayed. The end of Dr. Strangelove for instance. Tears come to my eyes here too. Most of the film of The Seventh Seal hits me too because of the truth of every character's struggle. Oh and I just remembered, what might be the best rival for that monologue in 12 Angry Men would be the monologue in Fargo by Margie in the cop car hauling away Gaear Grimsrud. So that was Mrs. Lundegaard on the floor in there. And I guess that was your accomplice in the wood chipper. And those three people in Brainerd. And for what? For a little bit of money. There's more to life than a little money, you know. Don'tcha know that? And here ya are, and it's a beautiful day. Well. I just don't understand it. Ah! That sums it up so perfectly! You just have to shed a tear for everything it says. Then of course there are times when I really HATE a movie for making me cry. Because it's total manipulation. In other words, it throws up certain images and sounds and music that we already have some emotional attachment to outside of the film and edits them together in a way that makes you cry. But if the actual story of the film is total bullshit, then that's manipulation. The cry doesn't flow freely from the complete work of the film. It's just a psychological trick. One of the biggest examples here would be I Am Sam. People naturally have an immediate strong reaction to cute, innocent and defenseless people being taken advantage of. Who is more stereotypically innocent and defenseless than mentally retarded people and children? And when you throw in a vague oppresive authority system and one dementional villains, the only final blow you really need is Beatles music, the most loved pop music in the world. The tears flow, but not because of any context of the film, because of outside contexts. Paul Haggis pulls this same kind of crap with Million Dollar Baby and Crash.

Spout Post: Weekly Theme for June 22: The Plague

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 18:12:54 GMT

Post By: leeroy711
Post To: Weekly Theme
Post Date: 6/22/2009 2:12:54 PM
Body: Hey Y'all... Let's talk about plague movies. Everyone remembers Charlton and Yul in Celil B. DeMille's epic, The Ten Commandments or Bergman's The Seventh Seal which takes place during the bubonic plague of the 14th century. How about some more modern examples? 28 Days Later comes to mind. Plague of rage infested running zombies. Or how about Doomsday?.... I'm not sure what the hell that movie was all about but it was a hellova good time. Also, if you can find it, La Peste is a solid film that takes place during an outbreak of bubonic plague in some South American city... William Hurt & Robert Duvall are in it. I saw it on IFC a few years ago & missed the beginning, netflix doesn't seem to have it.

Spout Post: movie year countdown - round #2 - #24 - 1960-1 - Jungfrukällan (The Virgin Spring)

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 21:53:07 GMT

Post By: Risselada
Post To: Risselada Blog
Post Date: 3/11/2009 5:53:07 PM
Body: This blog entry is part of my "movie year countdown round #2". Read more about that here. Jungfrukällan (The Virgin Spring) (I'm skipping #23, The Intruder right now since it took a long time for Netflix to send it to me, but I'll get to that soon (as if anyone cared what order I post these things)) Bergman's The Seventh Seal is one of my all time favorite films. Knowing that The Virgin Spring was another Bergman picture set within the later Medieval period and featuring a couple of the same actors were many things that made me interested in seeing it. It also had religious themes (but which of Bergman's films don't?). The film mixes brutality with forgiveness. Anger with God and with total dependence and worship of Him. Contrasts and themes that appear in many of Bergman's works, but the kind of simplicity of story and complexity of themes here is one of the most extreme contrasts. Although from what I've read Bergman went from thinking this one of his greatest films to one of his worst films later in life, immediately after watching it I would rate it amongst his best. Maybe like him I will dislike it more in my older years after I have seen many more of his films, but it's hard to imagine such a think happening right now. Rating: 9/10

Spout Post: Re:The Last House on the Left (2009)

Thu, 29 Jan 2009 22:52:45 GMT

Post By: mercurial
Post To: HORROR MOVIES 101
Post Date: 1/29/2009 5:52:45 PM
Body: [quote user="Risselada"] Well I'm a big fan of Ingmar Bergman even though the six films I've seen of his now are still only a small percentage of his prolific output. I was looking fowards to this movie because it was from a similar era as my favorite The Seventh Seal, also taking place in what looks like a middle ages time period and dealing with spiritual matters. Now that I've seen it I can guess, even though I still haven't seen Last House on the Left, that this movie is probably a lot less graphically disturbing than that film, at least in a matter of fact way. But it certainly is quite emotionally disturbing, and maybe at least cinematically visually disturbing without being explicit. Gor, I know that you have a broad definition of what "horror" is, but even in a narrower definition I wouldn't be too hesitant to say there are some pretty horrific elements to this. Some redemptive qualities too I'd say though. [/quote] I just got a chance to watch The Virgin Spring on IFC this morning and it was incredibly obvious that Wes Craven took a great amount of 'inspiration' from the film when he made Last House on the Left. Aside from the time it is set, the age of the attackers, and the method of revenge employed by the parents, it's the exact same story-line. Nice call on the connection Risselada.

Spout Post: Re:The Last House on the Left (2009)

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 21:41:23 GMT

Post By: Risselada
Post To: HORROR MOVIES 101
Post Date: 1/27/2009 4:41:23 PM
Body: [quote user="Dr_Gor"] [quote user="Risselada"] Coincidentally, Bergman's Virgin Spring just came to my house from Netlix after making it's way to the top of my queue. Now I've heard that The Last House on the Left was essentially a remake of sorts of this movie. I did not realize that there was also a remake of that movie coming out soon as well! But maybe I'll come back and discuss after I watch Virgin Spring, which I may do tonight. [/quote] I've read about this movie, Virgin Spring , and that it was possibly one of Craven's inspirations for Last House... You must let me know what you think of it, Rizzo! < GOR > [/quote] Well I'm a big fan of Ingmar Bergman even though the six films I've seen of his now are still only a small percentage of his prolific output. I was looking fowards to this movie because it was from a similar era as my favorite The Seventh Seal, also taking place in what looks like a middle ages time period and dealing with spiritual matters. Now that I've seen it I can guess, even though I still haven't seen Last House on the Left, that this movie is probably a lot less graphically disturbing than that film, at least in a matter of fact way. But it certainly is quite emotionally disturbing, and maybe at least cinematically visually disturbing without being explicit. Gor, I know that you have a broad definition of what "horror" is, but even in a narrower definition I wouldn't be too hesitant to say there are some pretty horrific elements to this. Some redemptive qualities too I'd say though.

Spout Post: Re:The Best Fantasy

Sat, 27 Dec 2008 02:31:00 GMT

Post By: pippin06
Post To: The Imagination of Fantasy
Post Date: 12/26/2008 9:31:00 PM
Body: [quote user="Risselada"] I had to check your list to see how broadly you classified a movie as being fantasy. I see you put Groundhog Day on there which really doesn't have a lot of fantastical elements other than one basic anomaly that causes him to keep reliving the same day over and over. Other than that, each day is actually pretty normal without any magic or strange creatures or fantastical geography. So it's kind of hard for me to determine in my mind which movies that have some fantastical element are fantastic enough to be considered "fantasy" Here are a few good ones though: Ugetsu Monogatari - although ghosts aren't that uncommon in East Asian storytelling. I think more people have historically considered them a part of reality more than in the west. The Devil and Daniel Webster - again, how real this is may depend on your belief in the spritual world, but mostly it's an alegory. Groundhog Day / It's a Wonderful Life - Groundhog Day is a great movie, and if we are going to include that, I think we should inclued It's a Wonderful Life too. The Seventh Seal - I guess it looks like most of my absolute favorites feature spiritual or ghostly elements. Here we have Death personified. Star Wars - the whole first trilogy of course! No Such Thing - kind of an exploration of fantasy and monsters and why the human race needs or no longer needs these characters Who Framed Roger Rabbit All of Miyazaki's movies Stalker - Stunning! Sleepy Hollow / Beetlejuice - some of my favorite Tim Burton fantasy Shoot, I'm going over 10. Let me list a couple more: Alice in Wonderland, The Sword in the Stone, Pete's Dragon, The Green Mile, Time Bandits, Hellboy, The Thief of Bagdad [/quote] Ah, but see in our Fantasy group, it's not all about dragons and magic and elves and unicorns and things. If you'll notice, the other lists include topics like "What If?" movies because, basically, if you're imagining an answer to a "what if?" that could take on many shapes and sizes, you're engaging in fantasy. Case in point: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, just released, imagines a what if scenario asking the question "what if a person is born old and grows young?" Maybe that's too obvious, though. Groundhog Day imagines, "What if you were stuck in the same day over and over again, what would happen or what would you do." Similarly, It's a Wonderful Life imagines, "What if you were never born?" Those are all questions that involve flights of imagination, and fantasy. Note dictionary.com's uber-available definition (noun form only): fan⋅ta⋅sy /ˈfæntəsi, -zi/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [fan-tuh-see, -zee] Show IPA Pronunciation noun, plural -sies, verb, -sied, -sy⋅ing. –noun 1. imagination, esp. when extravagant and unrestrained. 2. the forming of mental images, esp. wondrous or strange fancies; imaginative conceptualizing. 3. a mental image, esp. when unreal or fantastic; vision: a nightmare fantasy. 4. Psychology. an imagined or conjured up sequence fulfilling a psychological need; daydream. 5. a hallucination. 6. a supposition based on no solid foundation; visionary idea; illusion: dreams of Utopias and similar fantasies. 7. caprice; whim. 8. an ingenious or fanciful thought, design, or invention. 9. Also, fantasia. Literature. an imaginative or fanciful work, esp. one dealing with supernatural or unnatural events or characters: The stories of Poe are fantasies of horror. Besides, the AFI validates Groundhog Day and It's a Wonderful Life on these fronts, if you have any truck with them: http://www.afi.com/10top10/fantasy.html So, yes, this is a long-winded way of saying let's include them, we like it all here, but you did go over 10. Can you limit your list and pick the absolute 10 best fantasy films from your nominations? I know it'll be a challenge, but I'm going to hold myself to that too! If you can't, that's ok, but there's a method to the madness...:-)

Spout Post: Re:The Best Fantasy

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 18:01:46 GMT

Post By: Risselada
Post To: The Imagination of Fantasy
Post Date: 12/24/2008 1:01:46 PM
Body: [quote user="pippin06"] Hi fantasy lovers! You may have noticed if you joined the group that there is a list, currently locked, called "The Best Fantasy." I created that list when I created the group, mostly because it was an excuse for a list I could create, but most of the entries are what I think are the best. I locked it because I realized - I think we need a compiled list from the membership. Something a la some of these other groups I belong to...something like a poll, or a Top 5, or a list of collaborative recommendations (and credit to all from whom I am, uh, tweaking the idea). Therefore, it's time for you to weigh in! Pick your favorite fantasy movies. No fewer than one, no more than ten. Tell us why you think they are the best! With enough responses, we can compile our very own Best Fantasy list, and then, perhaps, we can Spout it for all of Spout to hear! Mwa ha! After all, who better to make this list than us? I'll let you get the ball rolling, since I already made that list...give us a start. I'll contribute my faves asap! [/quote] I had to check your list to see how broadly you classified a movie as being fantasy. I see you put Groundhog Day on there which really doesn't have a lot of fantastical elements other than one basic anomaly that causes him to keep reliving the same day over and over. Other than that, each day is actually pretty normal without any magic or strange creatures or fantastical geography. So it's kind of hard for me to determine in my mind which movies that have some fantastical element are fantastic enough to be considered "fantasy" Here are a few good ones though: Ugetsu Monogatari - although ghosts aren't that uncommon in East Asian storytelling. I think more people have historically considered them a part of reality more than in the west. The Devil and Daniel Webster - again, how real this is may depend on your belief in the spritual world, but mostly it's an alegory. Groundhog Day / It's a Wonderful Life - Groundhog Day is a great movie, and if we are going to include that, I think we should inclued It's a Wonderful Life too. The Seventh Seal - I guess it looks like most of my absolute favorites feature spiritual or ghostly elements. Here we have Death personified. Star Wars - the whole first trilogy of course! No Such Thing - kind of an exploration of fantasy and monsters and why the human race needs or no longer needs these characters Who Framed Roger Rabbit All of Miyazaki's movies Stalker - Stunning! Sleepy Hollow / Beetlejuice - some of my favorite Tim Burton fantasy Shoot, I'm going over 10. Let me list a couple more: Alice in Wonderland, The Sword in the Stone, Pete's Dragon, The Green Mile, Time Bandits, Hellboy, The Thief of Bagdad

Spout Post: Fallout Movie: The Dream Cast

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 17:01:18 GMT

Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 9/23/2008 1:01:18 PM
Body: On October 28 the world will plunge into an irradiated nightmare, littered with the wreckage of civilization, overrun by savage super mutants. Or, my world will be, anyway. Next month is when the hotly anticipated new video game Fallout 3 will be released. It’s been over a decade since the first Fallout, a now classic post-apocalyptic role-playing game. How has the franchise maintained such a devoted fan base? Simple: great story, great characters, great setting, and killer cinematics. The games have always been deeply indebted to post-apocalyptic cinema. The opening sequence of the first game is almost identical to the one in The Road Warrior, and the similarities don’t end there. As the Max Payne movie is (hopefully) about to prove, there is an elegant solution to the problem of videogame movies sucking: make movies about games that are already steeped in cinematic influence. In other words, a Fallout movie would kick serious ass. It would have a similar feel to classics like The Road Warrior, but Fallout has its own brand of dark humor and retro-futurism. For the purpose of assembling a dream cast for such a film, I’m going to stick to characters from the first game, where it all began. The game follows The Vault Dweller, a young person raised in the safety of a large underground vault. The vault community intended on riding out the nuclear storm for 200 years, but their water purification chip broke, so our hero must go and seek another. The Vault Dweller The badass wanderer of the wastes could be almost anyone, as Fallout gave the player the option of creating an entirely original protagonist. The game also provided three pre-made heroes, any of which could translate well to the screen. Albert – Leonardo DiCaprio The option to play Albert lets the player capitalize on charisma, while still doing a fair amount of damage with small arms and unarmed combat. Albert’s strength is talking his way out of tough situations, but some situations require action when words fail. DiCaprio has a great way of wearing frustration on his face, which is perfect, as I imagine that killing ghouls while fighting an addiction to radiation-resisting drugs would be quite frustrating. Max Stone – Ron Perlman Max Stone is set up in the game to be a big dumb bruiser, but Perlman could give the character depth beyond that stereotype. This choice is obviously informed by Perlman’s work in Sin City and the Hellyboy movies. Also, Perlman had to be on the list somewhere, given his involvement in the games. He provided the voice-over narration for the openings of Fallout 1 and 2, and provided character voices. Natalia – Carrie-Anne Moss While we can all agree that the Marix trilogy went downhill, that shouldn’t ruin things for Ms. Moss. She has a lot of potential as an action star, and the role of Natalie, a thief/assassin daughter of KGB spies would serve her nicely. The other Vault Dweller option: use all three as a team! It would break from the lone-wanderer feel, but it would be pretty cool. Other Characters In the spirit of all great role-playing games, Fallout let the player wander around at his or her own pace, exploring, doing quests, making friends and making enemies. It wouldn’t make sense to include all the characters in the film, but here are some essentials: The Overseer – Brian Cox The Overseer is the leader of Vault 13, the hero’s home up until this point. He sends the Vault Dweller on a mission to save the vault by finding a replacement water purification chip before it’s too late. The Overseer starts out as a kindly father figure, offering advice and encouragement. But in the final scene of the game, he betrays the Vault Dweller in a way that’s so maddening, the game designers actually included a rare alternate ending in which the Vault Dweller blows the Overseer’s head off. Cox is really good at being both fatherly and a total dick, example: The Bourne Supremacy. Harold – Harry Dean Stanton Whole regions of the scarred world of Fallout are populated by ghouls, most of them mindless flesh-eaters. The Vault Dweller encounters one ghoul who’s different, who provides him with some key information. Harold was once a vault dweller like our hero, but was infected by a virus that both killed him and kept his consciousness alive in his animated corpse. That pretty much explains the choice to cast Harry Dean Stanton. Morpheus – Michael Palin Morpheus is the leader of The Children of the Cathedral, a sick cult that worships The Master (see below). Michael Palin is the natural choice, because he seems like a nice and funny guy whose religion you’d join, until you find out that he’s completely nuts. He pulls off this double role in Terry Gilliam’s dystopian masterpiece, Brazil. Also, there are only two people that could pull off that mustache, Michael Palin and Salvador Dali, and Dali is dead. General Maxson - Max von Sydow General Maxson is the leader of the Brotherhood of Steel, a league of soldiers with incredibly high-tech weapons and armor. With luck and a fair bit of skill, the Vault Dweller joins their ranks and gears up for the final confrontation. Max von Sydow is one of those actors who can bring the clout he carried in The Seventh Seal to a movie like Judge Dredd. Perfect. The Master – James Earl Jones and Angelia Jolie The Master is a pulsating mass of human flesh and machinery with the ability to capture and incorporate intruders into its body. It speaks with multiple voices, representing the unlucky souls who are now a part of its writhing conglomeration of body parts. The Master would have to be CG of course, but what better voices than Jones and Jolie for that perfect mix of ominous and seductive? Originally posted on:SpoutBlog

Spout Post: The Rarely Recognized Art of the Profile Shot

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 18:21:02 GMT

Post By: Smooth_J
Post To: Smooth_J Blog
Post Date: 7/28/2008 2:21:02 PM
Body: The idea for this analysis came to mind when I recently saw Bergman's The Seventh Seal. While I was not quite as blown away by the film as most accolades of the film would suggest, I still found it to be an excellent movie, and could see very clearly the influence it has had on so many films that have come after it. The one scene that I especially noticed a direct legacy in later films was a short, almost gimmicky little snippet during the medieval religious cult scene in the town--where the drums are beating loudly, people are screaming in agony as whips crack, and monks and other repenters are carrying enormous crosses on their backs. There is a short string of profile shots: Antonius, Jons, and "The Girl" (the only specific name I could find for her anywhere on the internet). The cuts between the faces are done with the beats of the drums; they are perfectly centered, with mist or smoke rising in the backgrounds, adding to each image's raw, black-and-white imagery; and each face perfectly describes what each character is feeling in the specific scene. Antonius stares onward at the happenings, in the middle of an intense existential dilemma, scrutinizing the scene and attempting to sort out what it all could mean. Jons observes with amused (yet somewhat disturbed) contempt for not only the people of the scene, but for all of humanity. And The Girl stares ahead in fear, the only one of them who truly realizes the oncoming apocalypse at such an early stage. At first glance, it seems like an empty trick thrown in for effect by Bergman. But such use of tone and the profile shot have been used countless times, seemingly originated by Bergman and his equals at this time of cinematic experimentation. For example, this technique of switching profiles to the beat of something is used pretty much verbatum in the film I'm Not There, where Todd Haynes switches between all the faces of Bob Dylan to the sound of gunshots--all in misty black-and-white photography. What makes a profile shot so effective is that (sorry for this cliche...) every face tells a story, and it only takes a skilled actor, a good director, and a camera with the right film to turn it into a work of art. But I mean, portraits and sculpture dating back to prehistoric times make use of the nuances of the human face, from Egyptian sculptures of pharaohs, the stone heads of Easter Island, and technically even Native American tikis. Different societies and different mediums of art have used the face for various forms of expression, and it is probably one of the most common depictions in art. Look at the Mona Lisa--it's one of the most famous works of art ever created, and it is a painting of a woman's face. It's the mystery behind her expressions, her features, her true identity that makes the work so timeless and so debatable. However, there's something about seeing the human face framed in a camera--especially on a black-and-white one--that is so beautiful and so perfect. In my mind, who cares about Joe Wright's five minute tracking shot. Hundreds of extras, thousands of dollars, all to capture a vast expanse of imagery without any empathy involved. For a well-done profile shot, all one needs an actor, a director, and a camera--nothing else. I'm not necessarily saying that a tracking shot would not be a work of art, since it is one in itself, but I feel as though such broadness cannot capture the undeniable intimacy of human emotion that is shown on any person's face. Even one's eyes, shifting crazily during a "trip" through time and space (2001: A Space Odyssey) have the ability to captivate a viewer, and give them a glimpse into a character's psyche. Last night, while running through this topic in my head, I came up with several movies and genres that utilize the human profile extensively. The first that came to mind was the film-noir genre, with its fims' personal, close feel. Who can forget the faces of the tortured heroes of these films, driving around puffing on their ever-present cigarettes? While my knowledge of this genre is pretty limited, I know enough to recognize the faces of the classic noir heroes. Neo-noir and crime films have taken up these techniques, especially films like Pulp Fiction (and other Tarantino) and Chinatown (which is pretty much classic noir). Another film that really sticks out in my mind is The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, with its infamous final shoot-out of only profile shots and guns. Leone had a gift for the small touches of the human face, as he also demonstrates his penchant for this in Once Upon a Time in the West. He perfectly illustrates the dirtiness and inherent wickedness in a lot of his characters through perfectly staged shots of their sweaty, grizzled faces. Kubrick was an auteur in many ways, and one that I have especially noticed is his perfect use of a framed, still camera shot. One of my favorites occurs in Dr. Strangelove, with the shot of General Jack Ripper during one of his monologues, where the camera is beneath his face and it basically looking right up his nose at a crooked angle. Just the staging of this shot gives the viewer a perfect sense of how unhinged the man really is. It's hilarity through just good direction. Now, I hate to stray off of my established topic, but I feel as though I can't discuss the profile shot without talking about its cinematic opposite, the subjective shot. While not nearly as popular, in the right hands, it can be nearly as effective as the human profile. David Lynch has pretty much mastered this craft, and he uses it flawlessly to create almost unbearable terror in Inland Empire. One of the most terrifying experiences I've every had while watching a movie happened when I watched Mulholland Dr. for the first time, when the man in the restaraunt is walking to face the monster in the alley--Lynch uses the man's point of view to emphasize the horror being faced. I pretty much shit my pants. Did that aspect of the film really serve much of a purpose? No, not really. But it has an undeniable finesse and effectiveness that makes it essential to the overall tone of the movie. Another film that uses the subjective point of view to enhance horror is one that I watched recently, Dreyer's Vampyr. It is a short scene in which it is used, but creates a great sense of claustrophic fear. A couple of films that go hand-in-hand in terms of use of POV are Being John Malkovich and Diving Bell and the Butterfly. BJM flawlessly portrays being inside the head of someone else, from the sound effects to the imagery. You ARE walking around in someone else's shoes, and it's amazing. DB&tB also uses this technique of seeing the world through someone else's eyes. Schnabel meticulously recreates the feeling of being confined within one's mind, with no escape and no possible sense of escape. It is a beautiful technique used in an absolutely beautiful film, and it heightens the unending and unavoidable sadness of the film. In a convoluted way, the film also makes great use of the profile shot--from the eyes of Bauby. The lighting and camera effects used illustrate the beauty of his nurse's faces unlike anything I have ever seen, framing them in his one eye with the foggy edges. The camera examines their features as though you are Bauby, longing to reach out and touch them, but you can't and it is near torture. For the most part, it is foreign directors that use these sort of simple shots to greatest effect--I feel as though they typically can emphasize beauty better than any American director ever could, not only through profile and POV but also through beauty of landscapes. Now, I know I must address that nearly every movie uses these sorts of methods, and my film repertoire may not permit me to do a full elucidation on such topics. However, I have always been taken aback by the immense possibilities of film-making. As I have dreams of becoming a film-maker, I can't help but analyze such things when I watch movies, and take them to mind when imagining camera angles and writing ideas. And the things that I have always marveled at are the simple things that can be done by anyone with an idea, a camera, and subject. That's where the true beauty of film-making lies, in its simplest artistry.

Spout Post: Re:TOP 5 MOVIES TO TEACH AN ALIEN ABOUT EARTH: WE HAVE A WINNER

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 18:20:55 GMT

Post By: Risselada
Post To: Filmgaming
Post Date: 7/7/2008 2:20:55 PM
Body: [quote user="SkyPilot"] bavmotors1, you are hereby declared humanity's ambassador. Your films are the sole cargo of the unmanned spacecraft Image1, which launches this morning. Your proposal: Documentaries are right out because that makes the list no fun. [/quote] Ok, stop right there! Seriously? This is the first sentance from the proposal that won? Why do documentaries not make the list any fun? To me documentaries are probably the most appropriate for this kind of list. And what's not fun about documentaries? If you are implying that documentaries themselves just can't be fun, then sadly maybe you do represent more of the majority of life on earth and your list would be most appropriate to send to the aliens. [quote user="SkyPilot"] And benthams_head made me want to see Gates of Heaven [/quote] If our government or the governments of the world had to pick one person to be in charge of making this list who do you think they would pick? Is Roger Ebert the currently living most recognized film lover and scholar? If he was picked I wonder if you'd get this movie, because I think it may be his favorite movie of all time from what I've heard. [quote user="SkyPilot"]A few movies were mentioned more than once, and the two most-selected are Forrest Gump (4 votes) and The Seventh Seal (3). What do you guys think about that? Has democracy spoken -- are these the two films that best represent human experience? [/quote] You know how I feel about Forrest Gump being on this list. See my previous post on the matter. (Did you get mocked at all when this movie came out Adam? Did people call you Adam Forrest Gump?) As for the Seventh Seal, I don't know if unfamiliarity of the religious stories and icons of medival Christianity would keep this movie from being of any interest, but I think all of the different personalities of the characters towards life and faith would come through.

Spout Tag:love

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 06:48:35 GMT

love
Number of films tagged: 12478

Number of people who tagged: 338

Number of times used: 1479

Spout Tag:Classic

Sun, 23 Aug 2009 22:54:36 GMT

Classic
Number of films tagged: 816

Number of people who tagged: 312

Number of times used: 1453

Spout Tag:death

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:27:13 GMT

death
Number of films tagged: 4306

Number of people who tagged: 140

Number of times used: 526

Spout Tag:religion

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 03:31:00 GMT

religion
Number of films tagged: 1123

Number of people who tagged: 67

Number of times used: 176

Spout Tag:rape

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 01:36:01 GMT

rape
Number of films tagged: 1050

Number of people who tagged: 54

Number of times used: 124

Spout Tag:journey

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 13:02:52 GMT

journey
Number of films tagged: 1175

Number of people who tagged: 50

Number of times used: 124

Spout Tag:witch

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 08:33:01 GMT

witch
Number of films tagged: 399

Number of people who tagged: 40

Number of times used: 66

Spout Tag:faith

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:02:48 GMT

faith
Number of films tagged: 628

Number of people who tagged: 35

Number of times used: 72

Spout Tag:girl

Sat, 12 Sep 2009 00:38:02 GMT

girl
Number of films tagged: 1805

Number of people who tagged: 33

Number of times used: 64

Spout Tag:fear

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:28:42 GMT

fear
Number of films tagged: 461

Number of people who tagged: 31

Number of times used: 90

Spout Tag:rescue

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 18:39:36 GMT

rescue
Number of films tagged: 4080

Number of people who tagged: 31

Number of times used: 142

Spout Tag:foreign

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:41:30 GMT

foreign
Number of films tagged: 491

Number of people who tagged: 30

Number of times used: 421

Spout Tag:actor

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 19:12:17 GMT

actor
Number of films tagged: 2328

Number of people who tagged: 25

Number of times used: 55

Spout Tag:conflict

Fri, 13 Mar 2009 13:01:49 GMT

conflict
Number of films tagged: 1686

Number of people who tagged: 20

Number of times used: 41

Spout Tag:knight

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 23:01:32 GMT

knight
Number of films tagged: 159

Number of people who tagged: 20

Number of times used: 27