list http://www.spout.com/ Recent community activity around M 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/M/65288/default.aspx Title: M
Year: 1931
Director: Fritz Lang
Plot: Fritz Lang's classic early talkie crime melodrama is set in 1931 Berlin. The police are anxious to capture an elusive child murderer (Peter Lorre), and they begin rounding up every criminal in town. The underworld leaders decide to take the heat off their activities by catching the child killer themselves. Once the killer is fingered, he is marked with the letter "M" chalked on his back. He is tracked down and captured by the combined forces of the Berlin criminal community, who put him on trial for his life in a kangaroo court. The killer pleads for mercy, whining that he can't control his homicidal instincts. The police close in and rescue the killer from the underworld so that he can stand trial again in "respectable" circumstances. Some prints of the film end with a caution to the audience to watch after their children more carefully. Filmed in Germany, M was the film that solidified Fritz Lang's reputation with American audiences, and it also made a star out of Peter Lorre (previously a specialist in comedy roles!). M was remade by Hollywood in 1951, with David Wayne giving a serviceable performance as the killer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Times Tagged: 19
Number of Lists: 51
Number of blog posts: 6
Number of discussion threads: 12
SpoutRating: 4
]]>Wed, 29 Jul 2009 03:41:22 GMTM1931Fritz Lang<a href="/players/P____98675/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Fritz Lang</a>'s classic early talkie crime melodrama is set in 1931 Berlin. The police are anxious to capture an elusive child murderer (<a href="/players/P___100174/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Peter Lorre</a>), and they begin rounding up every criminal in town. The underworld leaders decide to take the heat off their activities by catching the child killer themselves. Once the killer is fingered, he is marked with the letter "M" chalked on his back. He is tracked down and captured by the combined forces of the Berlin criminal community, who put him on trial for his life in a kangaroo court. The killer pleads for mercy, whining that he can't control his homicidal instincts. The police close in and rescue the killer from the underworld so that he can stand trial again in "respectable" circumstances. Some prints of the film end with a caution to the audience to watch after their children more carefully. Filmed in Germany, M was the film that solidified <a href="/players/P____98675/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Fritz Lang</a>'s reputation with American audiences, and it also made a star out of <a href="/players/P___100174/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Peter Lorre</a> (previously a specialist in comedy roles!). M was remade by Hollywood in 1951, with <a href="/players/P____75090/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>David Wayne</a> giving a serviceable performance as the killer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide19Tag Target (>10)516124http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/t51414xnvfy.jpghttp://www.spout.com/films/M/65288/default.aspxFilm http://www.spout.com/groups/Weekly_Theme/Re_Weekly_Theme_for_May_4_Express_Yourself/625/42230/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: Risselada
Post To: Weekly Theme
Post Date: 5/11/2009 12:58:19 PM
Body: [quote user="Risselada"] You guys have mentioned Fritz Lang's M and Metropolis, but no one has yet mentioned Der letzte Mann, presented in the United States as "The Last Laugh" but the actual translation is "The Last Man". I think this film may be even more expressionistic than the other two, and possibly even better from my standpoint. Also largely because I find Emil Jannings to be one of the greatest silent film actors. The film actually presents several distored point of view shots explicitly stating that this is how the character is seeing the world emotionally. Although sometimes he is drunk, so we know that can have some effect on your perceptions as well. Coincidentally I actually have Lang's Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler right at the top of my Netflix queue. I assume this will have some expressionistic tendancies in it as well, so maybe I'll pop back in once I've viewed that. [/quote] Guys, I fucked up here! The Last Laugh was definitely by Murnau, not Lang! The two luminaries of German cinema at the time. I'm sorry I got their works confused! Anyways I finished watching Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler this weekend, and it's largely a realistic movie with certain great expressionistic effects when people are under hypnosis. This movie is actually more appropriate for the 3+ Hours discussion I discovered. I'll go post something over there right now!
]]>Mon, 11 May 2009 16:58:19 GMTRisseladaWeekly Theme5/11/2009 12:58:19 PM[quote user="Risselada"] You guys have mentioned Fritz Lang's M and Metropolis, but no one has yet mentioned Der letzte Mann, presented in the United States as "The Last Laugh" but the actual translation is "The Last Man". I think this film may be even more expressionistic than the other two, and possibly even better from my standpoint. Also largely because I find Emil Jannings to be one of the greatest silent film actors. The film actually presents several distored point of view shots explicitly stating that this is how the character is seeing the world emotionally. Although sometimes he is drunk, so we know that can have some effect on your perceptions as well. Coincidentally I actually have Lang's Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler right at the top of my Netflix queue. I assume this will have some expressionistic tendancies in it as well, so maybe I'll pop back in once I've viewed that. [/quote] Guys, I fucked up here! The Last Laugh was definitely by Murnau, not Lang! The two luminaries of German cinema at the time. I'm sorry I got their works confused! Anyways I finished watching Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler this weekend, and it's largely a realistic movie with certain great expressionistic effects when people are under hypnosis. This movie is actually more appropriate for the 3+ Hours discussion I discovered. I'll go post something over there right now! http://www.spout.com/groups/Weekly_Theme/Re_Weekly_Theme_for_May_4_Express_Yourself/625/42069/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: Risselada
Post To: Weekly Theme
Post Date: 5/6/2009 4:05:39 PM
Body: You guys have mentioned Fritz Lang's M and Metropolis, but no one has yet mentioned Der letzte Mann, presented in the United States as "The Last Laugh" but the actual translation is "The Last Man". I think this film may be even more expressionistic than the other two, and possibly even better from my standpoint. Also largely because I find Emil Jannings to be one of the greatest silent film actors. The film actually presents several distored point of view shots explicitly stating that this is how the character is seeing the world emotionally. Although sometimes he is drunk, so we know that can have some effect on your perceptions as well. Coincidentally I actually have Lang's Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler right at the top of my Netflix queue. I assume this will have some expressionistic tendancies in it as well, so maybe I'll pop back in once I've viewed that.
]]>Wed, 06 May 2009 20:05:39 GMTRisseladaWeekly Theme5/6/2009 4:05:39 PMYou guys have mentioned Fritz Lang's M and Metropolis, but no one has yet mentioned Der letzte Mann, presented in the United States as "The Last Laugh" but the actual translation is "The Last Man". I think this film may be even more expressionistic than the other two, and possibly even better from my standpoint. Also largely because I find Emil Jannings to be one of the greatest silent film actors. The film actually presents several distored point of view shots explicitly stating that this is how the character is seeing the world emotionally. Although sometimes he is drunk, so we know that can have some effect on your perceptions as well. Coincidentally I actually have Lang's Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler right at the top of my Netflix queue. I assume this will have some expressionistic tendancies in it as well, so maybe I'll pop back in once I've viewed that. http://www.spout.com/groups/Weekly_Theme/Re_Weekly_Theme_for_May_4_Express_Yourself/625/42047/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: leeroy711
Post To: Weekly Theme
Post Date: 5/5/2009 7:01:50 PM
Body: [quote user="mercurial"] M is probably the film that stands out as one of the great Expressionist films made. It's such a creative, thrilling film; something which surprised me when I first saw it years ago as I hadn't seen too many films pre-1950 and those that I had I couldn't really get a feeling for. Hitchcock utilized Expressionist techniques in pretty much all of his films: Psycho and Vertigo being my favorite. Aside from Batman and Batman Returns, which I LOVE, Dark City is another recent film that tried to recapture the overall feeling of an authentic German Expressionist film. [/quote] Yes yes! M is probably in my top 5 all time favorite films. I had never really thought about Hitchcock as an expressionist but now that you mention it, the house on the top of the hill in Psycho is absolutely a great example... Scary huh?! Dark City is the one I was hoping someone would mention. This is another one of my favorite films and its kind of a throwback to Metropolis. I haven't gotten a chance to see the director's cut yet but I'm looking forward to it. I don't listen to a lot of audio commentaries but on the disc that I had, Roger Ebert provides a commentary that is incredible. He goes into the artwork of the set and costume a lot in relationship to German Expressionism and specifically its similarities to Metropolis. Also, Alex Proyas' earlier film The Crow was heavily steeped in this week's theme.
]]>Tue, 05 May 2009 23:01:50 GMTleeroy711Weekly Theme5/5/2009 7:01:50 PM[quote user="mercurial"] M is probably the film that stands out as one of the great Expressionist films made. It's such a creative, thrilling film; something which surprised me when I first saw it years ago as I hadn't seen too many films pre-1950 and those that I had I couldn't really get a feeling for. Hitchcock utilized Expressionist techniques in pretty much all of his films: Psycho and Vertigo being my favorite. Aside from Batman and Batman Returns, which I LOVE, Dark City is another recent film that tried to recapture the overall feeling of an authentic German Expressionist film. [/quote] Yes yes! M is probably in my top 5 all time favorite films. I had never really thought about Hitchcock as an expressionist but now that you mention it, the house on the top of the hill in Psycho is absolutely a great example... Scary huh?! Dark City is the one I was hoping someone would mention. This is another one of my favorite films and its kind of a throwback to Metropolis. I haven't gotten a chance to see the director's cut yet but I'm looking forward to it. I don't listen to a lot of audio commentaries but on the disc that I had, Roger Ebert provides a commentary that is incredible. He goes into the artwork of the set and costume a lot in relationship to German Expressionism and specifically its similarities to Metropolis. Also, Alex Proyas' earlier film The Crow was heavily steeped in this week's theme. http://www.spout.com/groups/Weekly_Theme/Re_Weekly_Theme_for_May_4_Express_Yourself/625/42043/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: mercurial
Post To: Weekly Theme
Post Date: 5/5/2009 4:33:09 PM
Body: M is probably the film that stands out as one of the great Expressionist films made. It's such a creative, thrilling film; something which surprised me when I first saw it years ago as I hadn't seen too many films pre-1950 and those that I had I couldn't really get a feeling for. Some of the noir films that I have loved and which embrace a certain amount of Expressionistic ideas are The Big Sleep, The Maltese Falcon, Gilda and Sunset Boulevard. Hitchcock utilized Expressionist techniques in pretty much all of his films: Psycho and Vertigo being my favorite. Aside from Batman and Batman Returns, which I LOVE, Dark City is another recent film that tried to recapture the overall feeling of an authentic German Expressionist film. Saving the best for last: Nosferatu. I just can't get enough of this movie and it gives me the willies every time I watch it. As I'm sure everyone who watches it describes it, it is hauntingly beautiful. Like M, the filmmaker combined such startling techniques with an interesting story and their power has not diminished in the decades since their initial release.
]]>Tue, 05 May 2009 20:33:09 GMTmercurialWeekly Theme5/5/2009 4:33:09 PMM is probably the film that stands out as one of the great Expressionist films made. It's such a creative, thrilling film; something which surprised me when I first saw it years ago as I hadn't seen too many films pre-1950 and those that I had I couldn't really get a feeling for. Some of the noir films that I have loved and which embrace a certain amount of Expressionistic ideas are The Big Sleep, The Maltese Falcon, Gilda and Sunset Boulevard. Hitchcock utilized Expressionist techniques in pretty much all of his films: Psycho and Vertigo being my favorite. Aside from Batman and Batman Returns, which I LOVE, Dark City is another recent film that tried to recapture the overall feeling of an authentic German Expressionist film. Saving the best for last: Nosferatu. I just can't get enough of this movie and it gives me the willies every time I watch it. As I'm sure everyone who watches it describes it, it is hauntingly beautiful. Like M, the filmmaker combined such startling techniques with an interesting story and their power has not diminished in the decades since their initial release. http://www.spout.com/groups/Movie_Polls/Re_Which_of_these_film_movments_have_produced_film/657/40557/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: Risselada
Post To: Movie Polls
Post Date: 2/19/2009 3:15:26 PM
Body: [quote user="pippin06"] This is out of my league too. I consider myself an average to above average filmgoer/viewer but am not sure if I've seen anything in any category (maybe I have and I didn't know it...but maybe not). Like I said, I saw a lot of French films in college, but who knows if they fall under New Wave or something like that... ...but maybe we could somehow start a discussion somewhere where people schooled in these film schools could make recommendations for beginners. That would be cool, right? Or, maybe it's already somewhere...anyone know? [/quote] Ok, well I'll try to give some insight on what I know about them and any recommendations I may have. Czechoslovakian New Wave may be one of the lesser movements listed here. It kind of started in the 60s. A discription from wikipedia says "Trademarks of the movement contain long unscripted dialogues, dark and absurd humour, and the casting of nonactors." I don't know if I've actually seen any, but some of the more popular ones are available from the Criterion Collection like The Shop on Main Street (which people have mentioned on Spout before), Closely Watched Trains, and lots of Milos Forman's (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, The Man on the Moon, Amadeus) early work like Loves of a Blonde and The Fireman's Ball. Dogme 95 was an official movement started by Lars Von Trier and a few other Danish filmmakers that had specific rules about it. You could actually submit your film to them to be labeled as an official Dogma 95 film. You can probably find the rules online somewhere, but it involved using only digital film and found locations, props, and costumes. You aren't supposed to add any special effects. The full rules are of course available at good old wikipedia. The most famous of the films would probably The Celebration, The Idiots, and my favorite, Julien Donkey-Boy. The French New Wave is a pretty broad movement usually referring to the iconoclastic filmmakers from France. I think the tail end of the 50s is really when this started to get into full swing. Like Tennenbaums mentioned earlier, Jean Luc-Godard and François Truffaut are often the most identifiable filmmakers with the movement, although there are probably dozens if not more who have been lumped into this movement. SkyPilot mentioned Jean-Pierre Melville's Bob le Flambeur. I have seen that one and was disappointed. I've also seen Godard's Breathless and Truffaut's Jules and Jim both of which I did not enjoy. Truffaut's The 400 Blows I appreciated a bit more, but still not a favorite. Some people throw Éric Rohmer into this category as well, although some argue his style is considerably different and stems from somewhere other than many other of the French New Wave filmmakers. I have enjoyed what little I've seen of his work. Expressionism was a movement in Europe in the early 20th century. It stressed intense emotion conveyed through exaggerated and distorted style and forms. The Germans took this movement and put it in film. I'm sure you recognize famous directors like F. W. Murnau and Fritz Lang. Some of these films had extremely expressionistic and highly unrealistic visuals like The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Some like The Last Laugh were just more more distorted versions of reality. With all the Dracula talk that has happend on Spout at times I'm guessing you've also heard of Nosferatu. Some of Lang's works that came a bit later that are well known might also count like M and Metropolis. When I looked into it, I can't really define Iranian New Wave any better than just saying it's basically films that were made in Iran. I guess the most popular filmmaker is Abbas Kiarostami. Look him up and you may recognize a lot of his films. Maybe not. I have seen two films from Majid Majidi and would recommend The Color of Paradise. It's kind of recent though so I don't really know if it's a good representation of the first wave of the Iranian New Wave. Italian neorealism is what it probably sounds like. Italian films that stressed trying to give a realistic depiction of every day working class people. They did this by shootings things on location and often with non-actors. And a lot of the the "boring" action of normal life that might not find it's way into other films is here. Although I sure don't find it boring. The time frame we are looking at is the later forties. The most famous example is Vittorio De Sica's The Bicycle Thief which I would highly recommend, although De Sica's Shoeshine and Umberto D are also amazing. Other big name directors are Luchino Visconti and Roberto Rossellini. The Japanese New Wave like the French New Wave were a bunch of iconoclastic filmmakers that started with works being released around the end of the 50s through the 70s. You could put Seijun Suzuki in this category who is one of my favorite directors. Tokyo Drifter, Fighting Elegy, Branded to Kill, and Youth of the Beast are all fims of his that I love and are available on the Criterion Collection. Hiroshi Teshigahara also has some of his movies released through Criterion, one of which, Woman in the Dunes, I just saw recently and is amazing. Shohei Imamura also has some of his movies available through Criterion (this is basically just a big Criterion ad). Nagisa Oshima is probably the biggest name from this moment in my mind and I'm rather embarassed to say I still haven't seen any of his films. Mumblecore core is the newest term on this list and has gotten a lot of press on Spout, so maybe you've heard of it. I don't know if I've really seen any movies that would fit this category hardcore, but you probably recognize the trend in independent cinema. I think it has a lot to do with young adults living in big cities. Very low budget. Lots of slang and hip music and culture references with a realistic style. Correct me if I'm wrong on this. Joe Swanberg had a short film series on Spout for a while I think. New French Extremity is the other really new term here. I just came across the name recently to refer to a recent wave of confrontational French films ove the past decade or so. You know how we had a group here on spout called "extreme films"? Well a lot of these would probably fit in nice there. They show you the extreme fifth, cruelty, and violence of humanity often in graphic detail. You may recognize a lot of these names. Gaspar Noé's Irreversible is one of the most well known state side I think. It's the one that runs backwards. I've seen his I Stand Alone and let me say it's pretty striking and depression, very confrontational to the dark and depressing side of the human condition. Other examples are some of Claire Denis' and Leos Carax's recent work, Bruno Dumont (The Life of Jesus, Humanité), Catherine Breillat (Fat Girl). Maybe you have also heard of the infamous Baise-moi (Fuck Me). If you listen to a lot of the horror fans we have on the site too you may hear them rave about many of the violent horror films comming out of France recently. These could probably fit in well too. The most well known now being High Tension. As for New German Cinema, you've heard of Werner Herzog right?? He's one of my favorites (check out The Mystery of Kaspar Hauser, Aguirre: The Wrath of God, Stroszek, Fitzcarraldo). Well he and some other German folks such as R. W. Fassbinder (Ali: Fear Eats the Soul, The Marriage of Maria Braun, The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant (the guy made well over fourty films in a span of sixteen years including the fifteen hour long Berlin Alexanderplatz)), Wim Wenders (Wings of Desire, Paris, Texas), Volker Schlöndorff (The Tin Drum) and several others started making the first original movies starting in the late 60s since before the rise of the Nazis (Werner Herzog even made a remake of the classic German film Nosferatu). Finally Germany was a force in the world of Cinema making original and revolutionary films again. Anyone have anything to add?
]]>Thu, 19 Feb 2009 20:15:26 GMTRisseladaMovie Polls2/19/2009 3:15:26 PM[quote user="pippin06"] This is out of my league too. I consider myself an average to above average filmgoer/viewer but am not sure if I've seen anything in any category (maybe I have and I didn't know it...but maybe not). Like I said, I saw a lot of French films in college, but who knows if they fall under New Wave or something like that... ...but maybe we could somehow start a discussion somewhere where people schooled in these film schools could make recommendations for beginners. That would be cool, right? Or, maybe it's already somewhere...anyone know? [/quote] Ok, well I'll try to give some insight on what I know about them and any recommendations I may have. Czechoslovakian New Wave may be one of the lesser movements listed here. It kind of started in the 60s. A discription from wikipedia says "Trademarks of the movement contain long unscripted dialogues, dark and absurd humour, and the casting of nonactors." I don't know if I've actually seen any, but some of the more popular ones are available from the Criterion Collection like The Shop on Main Street (which people have mentioned on Spout before), Closely Watched Trains, and lots of Milos Forman's (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, The Man on the Moon, Amadeus) early work like Loves of a Blonde and The Fireman's Ball. Dogme 95 was an official movement started by Lars Von Trier and a few other Danish filmmakers that had specific rules about it. You could actually submit your film to them to be labeled as an official Dogma 95 film. You can probably find the rules online somewhere, but it involved using only digital film and found locations, props, and costumes. You aren't supposed to add any special effects. The full rules are of course available at good old wikipedia. The most famous of the films would probably The Celebration, The Idiots, and my favorite, Julien Donkey-Boy. The French New Wave is a pretty broad movement usually referring to the iconoclastic filmmakers from France. I think the tail end of the 50s is really when this started to get into full swing. Like Tennenbaums mentioned earlier, Jean Luc-Godard and Fran&ccedil;ois Truffaut are often the most identifiable filmmakers with the movement, although there are probably dozens if not more who have been lumped into this movement. SkyPilot mentioned Jean-Pierre Melville's Bob le Flambeur. I have seen that one and was disappointed. I've also seen Godard's Breathless and Truffaut's Jules and Jim both of which I did not enjoy. Truffaut's The 400 Blows I appreciated a bit more, but still not a favorite. Some people throw &Eacute;ric Rohmer into this category as well, although some argue his style is considerably different and stems from somewhere other than many other of the French New Wave filmmakers. I have enjoyed what little I've seen of his work. Expressionism was a movement in Europe in the early 20th century. It stressed intense emotion conveyed through exaggerated and distorted style and forms. The Germans took this movement and put it in film. I'm sure you recognize famous directors like F. W. Murnau and Fritz Lang. Some of these films had extremely expressionistic and highly unrealistic visuals like The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Some like The Last Laugh were just more more distorted versions of reality. With all the Dracula talk that has happend on Spout at times I'm guessing you've also heard of Nosferatu. Some of Lang's works that came a bit later that are well known might also count like M and Metropolis. When I looked into it, I can't really define Iranian New Wave any better than just saying it's basically films that were made in Iran. I guess the most popular filmmaker is Abbas Kiarostami. Look him up and you may recognize a lot of his films. Maybe not. I have seen two films from Majid Majidi and would recommend The Color of Paradise. It's kind of recent though so I don't really know if it's a good representation of the first wave of the Iranian New Wave. Italian neorealism is what it probably sounds like. Italian films that stressed trying to give a realistic depiction of every day working class people. They did this by shootings things on location and often with non-actors. And a lot of the the "boring" action of normal life that might not find it's way into other films is here. Although I sure don't find it boring. The time frame we are looking at is the later forties. The most famous example is Vittorio De Sica's The Bicycle Thief which I would highly recommend, although De Sica's Shoeshine and Umberto D are also amazing. Other big name directors are Luchino Visconti and Roberto Rossellini. The Japanese New Wave like the French New Wave were a bunch of iconoclastic filmmakers that started with works being released around the end of the 50s through the 70s. You could put Seijun Suzuki in this category who is one of my favorite directors. Tokyo Drifter, Fighting Elegy, Branded to Kill, and Youth of the Beast are all fims of his that I love and are available on the Criterion Collection. Hiroshi Teshigahara also has some of his movies released through Criterion, one of which, Woman in the Dunes, I just saw recently and is amazing. Shohei Imamura also has some of his movies available through Criterion (this is basically just a big Criterion ad). Nagisa Oshima is probably the biggest name from this moment in my mind and I'm rather embarassed to say I still haven't seen any of his films. Mumblecore core is the newest term on this list and has gotten a lot of press on Spout, so maybe you've heard of it. I don't know if I've really seen any movies that would fit this category hardcore, but you probably recognize the trend in independent cinema. I think it has a lot to do with young adults living in big cities. Very low budget. Lots of slang and hip music and culture references with a realistic style. Correct me if I'm wrong on this. Joe Swanberg had a short film series on Spout for a while I think. New French Extremity is the other really new term here. I just came across the name recently to refer to a recent wave of confrontational French films ove the past decade or so. You know how we had a group here on spout called "extreme films"? Well a lot of these would probably fit in nice there. They show you the extreme fifth, cruelty, and violence of humanity often in graphic detail. You may recognize a lot of these names. Gaspar No&eacute;'s Irreversible is one of the most well known state side I think. It's the one that runs backwards. I've seen his I Stand Alone and let me say it's pretty striking and depression, very confrontational to the dark and depressing side of the human condition. Other examples are some of Claire Denis' and Leos Carax's recent work, Bruno Dumont (The Life of Jesus, Humanit&eacute;), Catherine Breillat (Fat Girl). Maybe you have also heard of the infamous Baise-moi (Fuck Me). If you listen to a lot of the horror fans we have on the site too you may hear them rave about many of the violent horror films comming out of France recently. These could probably fit in well too. The most well known now being High Tension. As for New German Cinema, you've heard of Werner Herzog right?? He's one of my favorites (check out The Mystery of Kaspar Hauser, Aguirre: The Wrath of God, Stroszek, Fitzcarraldo). Well he and some other German folks such as R. W. Fassbinder (Ali: Fear Eats the Soul, The Marriage of Maria Braun, The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant (the guy made well over fourty films in a span of sixteen years including the fifteen hour long Berlin Alexanderplatz)), Wim Wenders (Wings of Desire, Paris, Texas), Volker Schl&ouml;ndorff (The Tin Drum) and several others started making the first original movies starting in the late 60s since before the rise of the Nazis (Werner Herzog even made a remake of the classic German film Nosferatu). Finally Germany was a force in the world of Cinema making original and revolutionary films again. Anyone have anything to add? http://www.spout.com/blogs/risselada/archive/2009/1/29/40062.aspx Post By: Risselada
Post To: Risselada Blog
Post Date: 1/29/2009 12:18:14 PM
Body: This blog entry is part of my "movie year countdown round #2". Read more about that here. Z You have to love these one letter titles. I think one test for the quality of a movie database search engine is to look up the title of this movie or maybe Fritz Lang's M and see how well it handles that. Spout actually fails in this area, but I think most people here are aware that even though they have a large database of titles, the search engine still has some shortcomings. I had to look up the names of the directors in order to find these titles. Anyways Z was a movie that I had a somewhat difficult time following at first. All of the information coming at me. I had a difficult time at first recognizing the political context of the world I was entering. I didn't know who was on what side, and how they were related, and what they stood for. I didn't realize that Z was based on a novel that was based on real events. After a while it picked up as I started to put things together. By the end of the film I was totally taken with it, and excited to watch it over again with commentary (although I would have watched it again without) to see everything over again from the beginning with a better understanding of the context. When it first begins it seems like it may be a very culturally specific story, but you soon realize this is a universal tail of political power and corruption. The struggle for power, manipulation, propaganda, repression, assassinations, all of it seems very familiar and is going on and has gone on in every government and society in the world. You even start to realize that many of the people in the film don't even have names, but are just referred to as The Deputy or The General or The Journalist hinting even more at its universality. I can't find the exact record but keep running across various claims that this was the highest worldwide grossing non-English speaking film at some point or something along those lines. The point is, you can see why this had such a universal appeal. The movie has a style all it's own. The pacing felt unusual to me, but satisfying. There are sometimes many quick cuts, including quick cut flashbacks. These are flashbacks without any dissolve or lingering. They give you the basic flashback information just as long as is needed and then cut back to the action. I can't think of many times this kind of flashback is used, other than maybe on Family Guy for a quick joke. You think at the end of the movie there will be some kind of final satisfaction or justice. You get it for a moment, only to have it complete reversed again before the credits role. But then of course there is another kind of satisfaction in having a movie that presents what is really more of the truth. Rating: 9/10
]]>Thu, 29 Jan 2009 17:18:14 GMTRisseladaRisselada Blog1/29/2009 12:18:14 PMThis blog entry is part of my "movie year countdown round #2". Read more about that here. Z You have to love these one letter titles. I think one test for the quality of a movie database search engine is to look up the title of this movie or maybe Fritz Lang's M and see how well it handles that. Spout actually fails in this area, but I think most people here are aware that even though they have a large database of titles, the search engine still has some shortcomings. I had to look up the names of the directors in order to find these titles. Anyways Z was a movie that I had a somewhat difficult time following at first. All of the information coming at me. I had a difficult time at first recognizing the political context of the world I was entering. I didn't know who was on what side, and how they were related, and what they stood for. I didn't realize that Z was based on a novel that was based on real events. After a while it picked up as I started to put things together. By the end of the film I was totally taken with it, and excited to watch it over again with commentary (although I would have watched it again without) to see everything over again from the beginning with a better understanding of the context. When it first begins it seems like it may be a very culturally specific story, but you soon realize this is a universal tail of political power and corruption. The struggle for power, manipulation, propaganda, repression, assassinations, all of it seems very familiar and is going on and has gone on in every government and society in the world. You even start to realize that many of the people in the film don't even have names, but are just referred to as The Deputy or The General or The Journalist hinting even more at its universality. I can't find the exact record but keep running across various claims that this was the highest worldwide grossing non-English speaking film at some point or something along those lines. The point is, you can see why this had such a universal appeal. The movie has a style all it's own. The pacing felt unusual to me, but satisfying. There are sometimes many quick cuts, including quick cut flashbacks. These are flashbacks without any dissolve or lingering. They give you the basic flashback information just as long as is needed and then cut back to the action. I can't think of many times this kind of flashback is used, other than maybe on Family Guy for a quick joke. You think at the end of the movie there will be some kind of final satisfaction or justice. You get it for a moment, only to have it complete reversed again before the credits role. But then of course there is another kind of satisfaction in having a movie that presents what is really more of the truth. Rating: 9/10 http://www.spout.com/groups/Weekly_Theme/Re_Weekly_Theme_for_July_14_The_Angry_Mob/625/32645/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: leeroy711
Post To: Weekly Theme
Post Date: 7/16/2008 6:35:45 PM
Body: [quote user="mercurial"] Aside from some of my favorites that were already mentioned (M, Edward Scissorhands) I have to say one of the best angry mobs is in Xala. A group of disenfranchised disfigured and destitute storm the home of a wealthy politician, strip him down and proceed to take turns spitting their disease ridden mucus all over him. Fun times. [/quote] Allright Xala just made it to my must see list. I have NO idea what the hell it is, but I just keep hearing about it from you spout ppl.
]]>Wed, 16 Jul 2008 22:35:45 GMTleeroy711Weekly Theme7/16/2008 6:35:45 PM[quote user="mercurial"] Aside from some of my favorites that were already mentioned (M, Edward Scissorhands) I have to say one of the best angry mobs is in Xala. A group of disenfranchised disfigured and destitute storm the home of a wealthy politician, strip him down and proceed to take turns spitting their disease ridden mucus all over him. Fun times. [/quote] Allright Xala just made it to my must see list. I have NO idea what the hell it is, but I just keep hearing about it from you spout ppl. http://www.spout.com/groups/Weekly_Theme/Re_Weekly_Theme_for_July_14_The_Angry_Mob/625/32556/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: mercurial
Post To: Weekly Theme
Post Date: 7/14/2008 8:42:12 PM
Body: Aside from some of my favorites that were already mentioned (M, Edward Scissorhands) I have to say one of the best angry mobs is in Xala. A group of disenfranchised disfigured and destitute storm the home of a wealthy politician, strip him down and proceed to take turns spitting their disease ridden mucus all over him. Fun times. Without straying too far from the topic (the rebellions of films like Battleship Potempkin, Mutiny on the Bounty, Cutthroat Island, Pirates of the Caribbean, etc.) some of the mob scenes that stick out in my mind are: Citizen Ruth - Loaded with mobs of crazy anti-abortionists. The Dreamers - At the end of the film when the mob of students storm through the streets. The Night of the Hunter Elvira, Mistress of the Dark - Hilariously bad movie with a great mob of prudish townsfolk. A Nightmare on Elm Street - Brief but essential. Dogville - I know this is bending what exactly constitutes an "angry mob" but the conspiratorial townspeople are just completely fucked up and mob-like in this movie so I had to add it.
]]>Tue, 15 Jul 2008 00:42:12 GMTmercurialWeekly Theme7/14/2008 8:42:12 PMAside from some of my favorites that were already mentioned (M, Edward Scissorhands) I have to say one of the best angry mobs is in Xala. A group of disenfranchised disfigured and destitute storm the home of a wealthy politician, strip him down and proceed to take turns spitting their disease ridden mucus all over him. Fun times. Without straying too far from the topic (the rebellions of films like Battleship Potempkin, Mutiny on the Bounty, Cutthroat Island, Pirates of the Caribbean, etc.) some of the mob scenes that stick out in my mind are: Citizen Ruth - Loaded with mobs of crazy anti-abortionists. The Dreamers - At the end of the film when the mob of students storm through the streets. The Night of the Hunter Elvira, Mistress of the Dark - Hilariously bad movie with a great mob of prudish townsfolk. A Nightmare on Elm Street - Brief but essential. Dogville - I know this is bending what exactly constitutes an "angry mob" but the conspiratorial townspeople are just completely fucked up and mob-like in this movie so I had to add it. http://www.spout.com/groups/Weekly_Theme/Weekly_Theme_for_July_14_The_Angry_Mob/625/32506/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: leeroy711
Post To: Weekly Theme
Post Date: 7/13/2008 10:14:12 PM
Body: I really love this theme. You have all seen these scenes from time to time in various films. Sometimes it's silly and comical such as the angry mob chasing Homer and family in The Simpsons Movie. Other times it is used to argue deeper philisophical positions like in The Ox-Bow Incident. (Henry Fonda and William Wellman got together again to make the similarly themed and much more popular 12 Angry Men) German director, Fritz Lang was familiar with this theme as well. The last 15 minutes or so of his silent film, Metropolis is almost completly an angry mob chase scene. Later, he would make M, (one of my all time favorites) in which the angry mob and their vigilante justice makes up the complete theme of the film. Then there was Fury, his first American film, a clear indictment of lynch mob mentality. So, there you have it. What do you think? What are some of your favorite scenes? What about the political and philisophical positions portrayed by this theme? Have fun. Emery
]]>Mon, 14 Jul 2008 02:14:12 GMTleeroy711Weekly Theme7/13/2008 10:14:12 PMI really love this theme. You have all seen these scenes from time to time in various films. Sometimes it's silly and comical such as the angry mob chasing Homer and family in The Simpsons Movie. Other times it is used to argue deeper philisophical positions like in The Ox-Bow Incident. (Henry Fonda and William Wellman got together again to make the similarly themed and much more popular 12 Angry Men) German director, Fritz Lang was familiar with this theme as well. The last 15 minutes or so of his silent film, Metropolis is almost completly an angry mob chase scene. Later, he would make M, (one of my all time favorites) in which the angry mob and their vigilante justice makes up the complete theme of the film. Then there was Fury, his first American film, a clear indictment of lynch mob mentality. So, there you have it. What do you think? What are some of your favorite scenes? What about the political and philisophical positions portrayed by this theme? Have fun. Emery http://www.spout.com/groups/Filmgaming/Re_Recasting_RAIDERS_OF_THE_LOST_ARK_1981/563/29309/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: mercurial
Post To: Filmgaming
Post Date: 5/16/2008 6:51:55 PM
Body: Laurence Harvey - Indiana Jones Katherine Hepburn - Marion Ravenwood Basil Rathbone - Dr. Rene Belloq Peter Lorre - Major Arnold Toht Orson Welles - Sallah Buster Keaton - Dr. Marcus Brody Frank Puglia - Satipo Rudolph Valentino - Colonel Dietrich Ernest Borgnine - Major Eaton Circa 1950, this could actually have been made with everyone at an appropriate age to fill their roles except for Rudolph Valentino (The Sheik) who would be spot on as Colonel Dietrich except for the fact that he had already died. Laurence Harvey (The Manchurian Candidate) and Katherine Hepburn (Christopher Strong) would have that undeniably flirtatious tension between them. And what would be more fun than having Peter Lorre's (M) face being melted? Orson Welles (Citizen Kane), Basil Rathbone (The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes) and Buster Keaton (The General) were masters of the craft and could play any role. Frank Puglia (Now, Voyager) would play the bumbling local native perfectly. Lastly, Ernest Borgnine (From Here to Eternity) really needs no explanation.
]]>Fri, 16 May 2008 22:51:55 GMTmercurialFilmgaming5/16/2008 6:51:55 PM Laurence Harvey - Indiana Jones Katherine Hepburn - Marion Ravenwood Basil Rathbone - Dr. Rene Belloq Peter Lorre - Major Arnold Toht Orson Welles - Sallah Buster Keaton - Dr. Marcus Brody Frank Puglia - Satipo Rudolph Valentino - Colonel Dietrich Ernest Borgnine - Major Eaton Circa 1950, this could actually have been made with everyone at an appropriate age to fill their roles except for Rudolph Valentino (The Sheik) who would be spot on as Colonel Dietrich except for the fact that he had already died. Laurence Harvey (The Manchurian Candidate) and Katherine Hepburn (Christopher Strong) would have that undeniably flirtatious tension between them. And what would be more fun than having Peter Lorre's (M) face being melted? Orson Welles (Citizen Kane), Basil Rathbone (The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes) and Buster Keaton (The General) were masters of the craft and could play any role. Frank Puglia (Now, Voyager) would play the bumbling local native perfectly. Lastly, Ernest Borgnine (From Here to Eternity) really needs no explanation. http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/Classic/MemberTagFilms.aspxClassic
Number of films tagged: 816

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