Risselada
Posts 2068
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10/26/2006 4:18 PM
posted awhile ago
Mr. Smith Goes To Washington
I just saw Mr. Smith Goes To Washington a few days ago. Honestly I'd never seen a Capra movie before. I've seen parts of It's A Wonderful Life on TV, but never really got the whole story or absorbed it all.
I always had imagined that Capra's movies were probably manipulative and sentimental, words I usually use with pejorative connotations when talking about film. And I did find Mr. Smith manipulative and sentimental, but in the best way. The montage sequences seemed to get pretty out of hand, but Capra seems to have the most effective knack for what seems like a truthful but otherwise overly simplified use of sentimentality.
99% of filmmakers can't be sentimental without being trite or forceful. I find it phoney and pretentious. Capra seems to have been able to accomplish the most difficult feat. If Mr. Smith is any indication of the rest of his work, from what I've seen it seems like so many Hollywood filmmakers since have tried to emulate something that was beyond them. In which case it goes totally wrong.
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Windbreaker
Posts 20
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3/9/2007 8:18 PM
posted awhile ago
Re: Mr. Smith Goes To Washington
 Risselada:
Whoa! I realize this a Mr. Smith thread, but I'm stuck on this comment! You don't have to wait for Christmas to watch It's a Wonderful Life -- it's a perfect movie. And I say that in all seriousness. Now I have to admit that I've never seen Mr. Smith. :)
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Risselada
Posts 2068
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3/12/2007 12:18 PM
posted awhile ago
Re: Mr. Smith Goes To Washington
I actually did end up seeing It's A Wonderful Life at Christmas. Sentimental as can be, it was still so wonderfully done and life affirming. I LOVE IT!
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divinemsjunebug
Posts 627
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5/23/2007 2:15 AM
posted awhile ago
Re: Mr. Smith Goes To Washington
Oh, those are two of my favorite Classic movies. Jimmy Stewart was just so wonderful. I love that old sappy sentimental stuff. lol. My dad was majorly into politics so he made me watch it when I was in high school but I ended up really liking it. I did learn a few things but I don't know how much was the old Hollywood embellishments. Anyway, my heart just broke for him when he could barely talk and then you think it's all over for him and then BAM - happy ending. sigh... those were the days...
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Risselada
Posts 2068
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5/23/2007 1:34 PM
posted awhile ago
Re: Mr. Smith Goes To Washington
That kind of positive outlook and sentimentalism against all odds seems either lost or fake in movies these days in general.
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divinemsjunebug
Posts 627
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5/25/2007 2:02 AM
posted awhile ago
Re: Mr. Smith Goes To Washington
Yeah, I know I am very corny at times but I do like a happy ending. There are some movies that are excellent but the endings are so dark and you leave the movie feeling REALLY down. It's like movies like Seven, American Beauty, The Descent, Pan's Labrynth, etc. etc. etc. - they were all great movies but really depressing endings (of course you could interpret a couple of them as sad and happy endings). Anyway, even when people did die in movies back then, they still kind of left you with a little hope, but usually it was happy. Look at the old (SPOILER FOR WUTHERING HEIGHTS) Wuthering Heights, even though the main characters die (I hope this isn't a spoiler for some people since it's such a Classic) but at least their ghosts are reunited at the end and you know that they will be at their castle forever on the moors...sigh... To Kill a Mockingbird, even though they did have a very sad death scene in it (it was there for a purpose so people could see the injustice of bigotry and racism) but it still had a very happy ending. I have to say that I do miss that. Okay, I could go on and on and on, I know there are still movies out there with happy endings, like When Harry Met Sally, Kung Fu Hustle, but it's mostly the CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED movies that have the sad, depressing endings. Okay I could just keep going so I'll shut up now. :0)
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Risselada
Posts 2068
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5/25/2007 12:08 PM
posted awhile ago
Re: Mr. Smith Goes To Washington
divinemsjunebug: Anyway, even when people did die in movies back then, they still kind of left you with a little hope, but usually it was happy. Look at the old (SPOILER FOR WUTHERING HEIGHTS) Wuthering Heights, even though the main characters die (I hope this isn't a spoiler for some people since it's such a Classic) but at least their ghosts are reunited at the end and you know that they will be at their castle forever on the moors...sigh...
You didn't spoil anything for me regarding Wuthering Heights. I have read the book, been involved in a play, and seen three versions of the movie.
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Risselada
Posts 2068
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5/25/2007 12:08 PM
posted awhile ago
Re: Mr. Smith Goes To Washington
divinemsjunebug: Anyway, even when people did die in movies back then, they still kind of left you with a little hope, but usually it was happy. Look at the old (SPOILER FOR WUTHERING HEIGHTS) Wuthering Heights, even though the main characters die (I hope this isn't a spoiler for some people since it's such a Classic) but at least their ghosts are reunited at the end and you know that they will be at their castle forever on the moors...sigh...
You didn't spoil anything for me regarding Wuthering Heights. I have read the book, been involved in a play, and seen three versions of the movie.
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slipofthetongue
Posts 28
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5/27/2007 12:35 AM
posted awhile ago
Re: Mr. Smith Goes To Washington
First of all thanks for inviting me to this group Risselada. I think you're onto something with your comments about Mister Smith Goes to Washington (which is a movie I love). Sentimentality in the movies is something I think should be examined more thoughtfully in film schools because imo so many of us tend to look down on anything life affirming or emotionally ebulant in film. These broad strokes just don't seem representative of the kind of nuance or restraint commonly associated with great art. But we have to be careful not to become cynical or defensive when it comes to letting a movie wash over us either. Perhaps mediocre filmmakers are just not good enough to penetrate the psychological defenses we put up against sentiment. (What is sentimentality anyway? I think the word automatically connotes something negative and maybe that should be re-examined or broadened in its meaning).
Anyway, it's an interesting subject and I think I know what you mean by "sentimental in the best way". It means that some sentimental fare is good, and you probably have to be a gifted filmmaker to do it well (like Capra) without nausiating the audience. Most sentimental fare is probably garbage and I admit that freely too!
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joem18b
Posts 689
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5/27/2007 12:32 PM
posted awhile ago
Re: Mr. Smith Goes To Washington
Risselada: That kind of positive outlook and sentimentalism against all odds seems either lost or fake in movies these days in general.
I googled "capraesque" just for fun. The first titles I saw were The Terminal, The Majestic, and The Astronaut Farmer.
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