Originally Posted by Patrick_Bateman
I am your friend for life!!
Strange that this masterpiece is so little known outside Britain. Maybe the cynicism and humour are too British?
Strange that this masterpiece is so little known outside Britain. Maybe the cynicism and humour are too British?
Here's a critique of a film in which Clifford Odets attacks yet another facet of US society with a razor sharp script and an over the top but riveting performance by the two main protagonists.
Just take a look at that brilliant black and white photography as well as listening to the dialogue.
http://youtu.be/sZk_cgltj2A
"L'art de la statistique est de tirer des conclusions erronèes a partir de chiffres exacts." Napoléon Bonaparte.
"Je crois que beaucoup de gens sont dans cet état d’esprit: au fond, ils ne sentent pas concernés par l’Histoire. Mais pourtant, de temps à autre, l’Histoire pose sa main sur eux." Michel Houellebecq.
"Right you f***er, I'm going to do the washing up!"
Strange that this masterpiece is so little known outside Britain. Maybe the cynicism and humour are too British?
Come on! That's funny in any language or culture
But yes sir I am also perplexed by the fact this film is only destined for 'cult' status.
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I do think that film has certain characteristics which make it distinctly British: the love of weird, eccentric, almost grotesque characters; the class distinctions and tensions; the bleakness of the ending. But the central message of the film (life's a ***** and not worth it, but keep laughing anyway) gets to the essence of the British national character (if such a thing exists). Add into the mix an upper class homosexual and a central character who is a raging alcoholic, plus the grey skies and drizzle, and you have Britain in a nutshell!"Right you f***er, I'm going to do the washing up!"
Come on! That's funny in any language or culture
But yes sir I am also perplexed by the fact this film is only destined for 'cult' status.
Oh, and it ends with him quoting Shakespeare!
The film The Lion in Winter has outstanding dialogue, the best I've ever seen in a movie. It was based on a Broadway play and starred Peter O'toole and Katherine Hepburn. The acting is also top notch.
Surprised The Princess Bride hasn't been mentioned yet.
You must be the change you wish to see in the world. -- Mahatma Gandhi
Woody Allen of course I also love 'The legend of 1900' it is based on a book I haven't found in English but the movie is simply beautiful and wonderful and sad.... I love it, and it stars Tim Roth and he is always great!
Edit: just checked on Amazon and it was translated in 2011! Finally!!
Last edited by Helga; 01-15-2012 at 05:31 AM.
I hope death is joyful, and I hope I'll never return -Frida Khalo
If I seem insensitive to what you are going through, understand it's the way I am- Mr. Spock
Personally, I think that the unique and supreme delight lies in the certainty of doing 'evil'–and men and women know from birth that all pleasure lies in evil. - Baudelaire
I am also going to vote for Woody Allen and the Coen Brothers (Fargo!)..
but I would also put on the list most Charlie Kaufman films (Adaptation, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Synecdoche, New York etc)
And also added to the list, American Beauty
"All gods are homemade, and it is we who pull their strings, and so, give them the power to pull ours." -Aldous Huxley
"Sooner murder an infant in its cradle than nurse unacted desires." -William Blake
Films based on plays tend to be a good bet. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is a brilliant example and also a landmark in the history of film censorship. As someone previously said, The Lion in Winter is also good. Pretty much any adaptation of a Tennessee Williams play is also going to contain some great dialogue. And for literate musical films, you can't go far wrong with My Fair Lady.
Perhaps this is a controversial choice but Disney's version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame is pretty well scripted for a kids film.
I tend to agree, because most of the donkey work has already been done and it's much more difficult to cobble together a script from a novel for example.
One of the best examples of this is Francis Ford Coppola's script for the 1974 version of The Great Gatsby in which whole chunks of the original dialogue were incorporated in to the screenplay.
Last edited by Emil Miller; 01-15-2012 at 07:51 AM.
"L'art de la statistique est de tirer des conclusions erronèes a partir de chiffres exacts." Napoléon Bonaparte.
"Je crois que beaucoup de gens sont dans cet état d’esprit: au fond, ils ne sentent pas concernés par l’Histoire. Mais pourtant, de temps à autre, l’Histoire pose sa main sur eux." Michel Houellebecq.
Yes, it wasn't that good of a movie, it portrayed Gatsby much differently than in the book- hence the problem with classic books turned into movies. Though some of them are good. I have not seen the movies based on the Jane Austen books, I plan on reading Pride and Prejudice first.
One movie I loved was Call of the Wild, by Jack London. The narration was taken exactly from the book, and I thought it was well done, although the subject matter was brutal, I love his writing.
Yes! Legend of 1900 is one of my favourites, and I'm definitely going to check out the book.
I wrote a poem on a leaf and it blew away...
Der Himmel über Berlin (Wings of Desire) written by Peter Handke should also be mentioned.
There is hope, but not for us.
Gatsby was directed by Jack Clayton who had spent all of his working life in cinema and had a distinguished career in British films before landing the plum job of Scott Fitzgerald's novel. The production values were exceptional and the period feel couldn't be faulted, but you are right, Robert Redford was at odds with the part as was Mia Farrow with hers. Bruce Dearn was the only major character who fitted the bill as Tom, and Wilson and Myrtle Wilson were also spot on. The scenes in Wilson's garage are exactly as described in the book but Clayton was handed a poisoned chalice because the book is really unfilmable on account of Fitzgerald's highly developed prose style. That's why all extant versions have failed but, having seen the others, I would say that Clayton's comes nearest as a cinematic portrayal of one of America's greatest novels.
I haven't seen Call of the Wild but I remember reading it as a boy on the recommendation of a school teacher.
Last edited by Emil Miller; 01-16-2012 at 09:43 AM.
"L'art de la statistique est de tirer des conclusions erronèes a partir de chiffres exacts." Napoléon Bonaparte.
"Je crois que beaucoup de gens sont dans cet état d’esprit: au fond, ils ne sentent pas concernés par l’Histoire. Mais pourtant, de temps à autre, l’Histoire pose sa main sur eux." Michel Houellebecq.
I thought that while Redford's Gatsby didn't work extremely well, the pairing of him and Waterston was excellent.
Despite my lack of faith in the director I am getting my hopes up for de Caprio as Gatsby.
I wrote a poem on a leaf and it blew away...
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