What Is The Last Film You Watched? (Older Films)

[Schilkeman 964]

Watched Brazil this morning. I hate to say It, but didn't care for it. It reminded me a lot of what little I've seen from Black Mirror, which I also didn't like. There's a fine line between metaphor and allegory, and they're both a bit too much of the latter for my taste. I like the more abstract THX 1138 for this sort of thing.

 

The production design and the score were both notable, though, and the design was clearly an influence on Burton's Batman.

[filmmusic 1,837]

 

One of the greatest achievements in film history!

The greatest film director ever meets the greatest film composer ever, and together they make a masterpiece of a movie, a thrilling ride, a visual and aural feast that impresses the senses!

While I was watching, I was thinking of The Fabelmans, and how this man started (Spielberg).. The man had seriously a star!

Can't wait tomorrow night to watch Temple of doom, one of my favorite films and soundtracks ever!

[A24 4,345]

11 hours ago, Schilkeman said:

Watched Brazil this morning. I hate to say It, but didn't care for it. 

 

I'm one of the few people in this world who doesn't like it either. Same for 12 Monkeys or any other Terry Gilliam movie, except Tideland.

[Schilkeman 964]

6 minutes ago, AC1 said:

 

I'm one of the few people in this world who doesn't like it either. Same for 12 Monkeys or any other Terry Gilliam movie, except Tideland.

It's the first one I've seen. I understand what it's trying to do, it's just not my taste. I felt like I was being shouted at the whole time, "DO YOU GET THE POINT?!" Like, yes, yes I do. Please calm down.

[A24 4,345]

15 minutes ago, Schilkeman said:

It's the first one I've seen. I understand what it's trying to do, it's just not my taste. I felt like I was being shouted at the whole time, "DO YOU GET THE POINT?!" Like, yes, yes I do. Please calm down.

 

Personally I can't put my finger on what it is exactly that bugs me about Gilliam but I suspect it has to do with his storytelling style/tone.

[Schilkeman 964]

[JTN 2,034]

Sooner or later evey thread becomes a Star Trek thread. Oh wait… That’s not right… 

[Sweeping Strings 2,363]

Mission Impossible : Fallout - enter Henry Cavill as a bad guy, and the series ups the ante yet again with action/stunts including a dizzying HALO jump over Paris, a hell-for-leather foot-chase across London at both ground and rooftop level and a climactic 'copter chase with Tom Cruise again going further than any other star in stuntwork participation than I can remember (with the exception of Jackie Chan).

[JNHFan2000 2,966]

I'm currently watching Gone With The Wind for the first time.

 

I'm found out this week that I have over a hundred scores in my collection from a film I've never seen. So I thought, I would watch them all and I wanted to start at the beginning.

I've had King Kong & The Adventures Of Robin Hood already. Both I enjoyed immensly.

 

I know this is regarded one of the greatest films ever made  and in some aspects I can truly agree with that statement.

But is it just me, or is Vivien Leigh's Scarlett O'Hara a deeply annoying character.

I know she has a very hard life and all  but she is rude and manipulative in my eyes.

 

And the film is way too long. I started yesterday and watched just under 2 hours. I was able to watch about and hour and I still have an hour to go and I feel it's quite a chore.

[filmmusic 1,837]

8 minutes ago, JNHFan2000 said:

But is it just me, or is Vivien Leigh's Scarlett O'Hara a deeply annoying character.

I know she has a very hard life and all  but she is rude and manipulative in my eyes.

I'm sure that was the point. (?)

[JNHFan2000 2,966]

Well, to me, it's very enjoyable to watch someone like that for almost 4 hours

[Naïve Old Fart 9,551]

52 minutes ago, JNHFan2000 said:

...she has a very hard life and all  but she is rude and manipulative...

 

52 minutes ago, JNHFan2000 said:

...a deeply annoying character.

 

One man's "deeply annoying", is another man's "resourceful".

Yes, Scarlett is rude and manipulative, but that is what helps her to survive. It's the fact that she has had absolutely everything taken away from her, that makes her a survivor. She's among the greatest female characters in cinema history.

[Marian Schedenig 8,207]

2 hours ago, JNHFan2000 said:

I'm currently watching Gone With The Wind for the first time.

 

I know this is regarded one of the greatest films ever made  and in some aspects I can truly agree with that statement.

But is it just me, or is Vivien Leigh's Scarlett O'Hara a deeply annoying character.

I know she has a very hard life and all  but she is rude and manipulative in my eyes.

 

And the film is way too long. I started yesterday and watched just under 2 hours. I was able to watch about and hour and I still have an hour to go and I feel it's quite a chore.

 

I've only seen it once, but that was just a few years ago. It does have some redeeming qualities (generally good performances, Olivia de Havilland, and of course the score), but overall I found it not very good even for what it is. And what it is is a film that seems like its depiction of race issues and its stance on the civil war must surely have been at least dubious even at the time it was released. From what I recall, even giving it the benefit of doubt, the protagonist's attitudes seemed "problematic" far beyond what was apparently intended to me a character fault.

 

The score is good, of course, but I've never actually had much use for the full thing. The standard concert suite is usually enough for me. (But that probably goes for a lot of Steiner scores)

[Tallguy 3,401]

Gotta say, I didn't "get" Gone With the Wind until I saw it on the screen. It's still not my favorite film, but I can certainly appreciate the achievement.

 

26 minutes ago, Marian Schedenig said:

And what it is is a film that seems like its depiction of race issues and its stance on the civil war must surely have been at least dubious even at the time it was released.

 

We're currently farther from the Second Wold War than Gone With the Wind was from the American Civil War. That blows my mind.

 

I need to watch The Adventures of Robin Hood again. I haven't seen it in decades.

[filmmusic 1,837]

46 minutes ago, Tallguy said:

I need to watch The Adventures of Robin Hood again. I haven't seen it in decades.

Me too. And I remember how I liked it!

I haven't bought the blu-ray because I'm waiting for a possible restoration in a 4K release, but I don't see it coming... 

[Marian Schedenig 8,207]

I'm still waiting for Captain Blood and Scaramouche in any kind of high-def format…

[JNHFan2000 2,966]

Robin Hood was sooo much fun!! It's surprised me quite a bit.

 

Errol Flynn was great. Excited to see some of his other films

[Bespin 8,484]

On 12/07/2023 at 6:46 PM, Bespin said:

I fell for this beauty on Amazon. #StarTrek.

 

 

You know what's really funny? I bought a 4K movie without owning a 4K disc player.

[Holko 9,529]

Duel - okay, got to this one too. It's really fun and you can already totally tell it's Spielberg.

 

George Harrison: Living in the Material World - I wasn't feeling this one, I felt it was too generally Beatle-focused, it skipped over a lot of what George was thinking/feeling about things, who he was... and then I realised it's a 2-parter! And that second part really caught up on all that thankfully, really good overall. Some of the best moments like Ringo recalling the last words he heard him say were less impactful because I've seen them in youtube clips multiple times before, and I thought maybe there was too little of his music, how he expressed all that he felt he was in it, I think I got to know more about that from this subjective discography ranking video.

 

Fantastic Mr. Fox - Only second watch, finally got the Criterion blu. Gorgeous, fun, these 90 minutes absolutely flew by. I adore traditional (2D and stopmotion) animation and feel that mainstream animation has been in a real fucking sorry state for a good while, so I'm very happy that passionate visionary gems like this, Isle of Dogs, del Toro's Pinocchio etc. do fall through the cracks of bureaucratic unimaginative kiddie-pleasing slop.

 

Raiders of the Lost Ark - watched it because of the Dial of Destiny hype (or anti-hype) and the '81 Dick Cavett interview with Spielberg that someone posted. Pretty dang good, innit? This time what jumped out to me the most was just how much of an absolutely fantastic driving force the score is allowed to be, sounding great and very high in the mix.

[filmmusic 1,837]

 

One of my 10 favorite movies ever probably, and one of my 10 favorite Williams scores!

Relentless action that doesn't give you time to breathe!

Also, one of my favorite openings ever for a film! The Williams arrangement of the "Anything Goes" is top notch and I love it that it comes in contrast with the rest of the film. You think you will watch a musical.

[Brónach 1,302]

oh that's a great, colourful poster. perhaps the sidekicks on the side are the weakest point.

 

for a movie where Spielberg didn't care much for and where some of the participants seemed later unhappy with several story elements; the show of skill by several of the people involved is incredible.

 

it's less a story and more several setpieces stitched together. this is technically a weakness for some but it also goes to show that you can in fact do that and it can work. once you realize the shangai stuff, the raft, and perhaps the mine car chase is stuff discarded from Raiders, this script starts to make some sense.

 

It's unusual for a kid that young, who has never acted before, who has such a unexpectedly large role, who has to show comedic timing and to act with some of the most charismatic actors i've ever seen, to just get the thing done to this complete perfection without making you blink or think about it. At not point through the entire thing i think "please get rid of the kid", in fact it seems to me over time that the entire ridiculous character depends entirely on Ke Huy Quan. This is risky.

 

it was always dumb to have Kali as the bad entity and to have the British as helpful. nothing is perfect. I wish it had stuff from the novelization like Indy being actually wtf about the food or the dark humour bit of Mola Ram waking up from being mindcontrolled.

 

best score of the three imo

[Naïve Old Fart 9,551]

28 minutes ago, Brónach said:

oh that's a great, colourful poster.

 

I prefer Bruce Wolfe's original.

 

 

28 minutes ago, Brónach said:

for a movie where Spielberg didn't care much for and where some of the participants seemed later unhappy with several story elements; the show of skill by several of the people involved is incredible.

 

Agreed. The Temple of Doom sacrifice sequence, really shows off Dougie Slocombe's wonderfully nuanced cinematography.

[Brónach 1,302]

9 minutes ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

 

I prefer Bruce Wolfe's original.

 

it's even cooler

[Naïve Old Fart 9,551]

What's cooler? Struzan, or Wolfe?

[JNHFan2000 2,966]

The Sea Hawk

 

This was great!! Count me a fan of Errol Flynn!!! He's a wonderful action star.

 

I was surprised by the change to spehia during the jungle scenes, but I actually thought it worked.

My favorite scenes were those with Queen Elizabeth, that actress was great!!

 

And I noticed the actress Una O'Connor has been in 3 of the films I watched last week. It's fun to see her. I think she's very funny

[Brónach 1,302]

6 hours ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

What's cooler? Struzan, or Wolfe?

 

Wolfe, because it reveals nothing, and you don't know why he has the sword

[Jurassic Shark 12,080]

3 minutes ago, JNHFan2000 said:

The Sea Hawk

 

This was great!! Count me a fan of Errol Flynn!!! He's a wonderful action star.

 

I was surprised by the change to spehia during the jungle scenes, but I actually thought it worked.

My favorite scenes were those with Queen Elizabeth, that actress was great!!

 

And I noticed the actress Una O'Connor has been in 3 of the films I watched last week. It's fun to see her. I think she's very funny

 

You didn't mention the score.

[JNHFan2000 2,966]

44 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

 

You didn't mention the score.

Oh. I mentioned earlier in the thread that I am watching films I'd never seen of scores I own and listen to a lot.

 

I love the score. That main theme and love theme are fantastic!!

[filmmusic 1,837]

 

I think this is my least favorite film (and score) of the original trilogy, but a great film again nonetheless.

I have the 4 film blu-ray collection, but I will pass on Crystal skull. I wish the trilogy had stopped here.

[Jurassic Shark 12,080]

I bought the individual releases of the first three.

[filmmusic 1,837]

13 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

I bought the individual releases of the first three.

I hear you. I hate to have in my collection Blu-rays of films I won't be probably be seeing again. (like Crystal skull and 1941)

[A24 4,345]

30 minutes ago, filmmusic said:

 

 

I think this is my least favorite film

 

Not enough screaming and hysteria, huh?

 

[filmmusic 1,837]

1 minute ago, AC1 said:

Not enough sceaming and hysteria, huh?

I don't understand everyone's problem with the Willie character.

[Brónach 1,302]

I like her actually

[A24 4,345]

 

You don't hear a lot from Tarsem Singh anymore. 5/10

[filmmusic 1,837]

33 minutes ago, AC1 said:

 

You don't hear a lot from Tarsem Singh anymore. 5/10

This is one of a few films in my life that I had started watching and stopped.

[filmmusic 1,837]

So, after the original Indiana Jones trilogy, I've moved on to some Disney classics that I bought recently and I just got in the mail.

 

[A24 4,345]

15 hours ago, filmmusic said:

This is one of a few films in my life that I had started watching and stopped.

 

I give it points for the locations.

 

[Naïve Old Fart 9,551]

Hmm. Very SHELTERING SKY.

[A24 4,345]

The Sheltering Sky is the better movie. Better score too. 

[Tallguy 3,401]

On 15/07/2023 at 7:52 AM, Brónach said:

It's unusual for a kid that young, who has never acted before, who has such a unexpectedly large role, who has to show comedic timing and to act with some of the most charismatic actors i've ever seen, to just get the thing done to this complete perfection without making you blink or think about it. At not point through the entire thing i think "please get rid of the kid", in fact it seems to me over time that the entire ridiculous character depends entirely on Ke Huy Quan. This is risky.

 

I never thought about it, but for a movie with as many complaints as Temple of Doom gets (varied and usually justified) I've never heard ANYONE complain about Short Round. The "plucky comic relief side kick kid" character of all things. Didn't hear it then, don't hear it now.

 

He must have been really good!

[JoeinAR 1,949]

Temple of Doom is the best of the Indiana Jones and... films.  Its not even close.

[Brónach 1,302]

Raiders has a superior ending.

 

although... they did cut down the climatic cue... at the worst possible point... it drives me nuts.

[JTN 2,034]

Brutal film. 
The score works but it’s not something I would ever want to listen to on its own.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,551]

4 hours ago, AC1 said:

The Sheltering Sky is the better movie. Better score too. 

Since I've not seen THE FALL, I will bow to your superior knowledge, on that one.

 

 

 

 

 

1 hour ago, Brónach said:

Raiders has a superior ending.

 

although... they did cut down the climatic cue... at the worst possible point... it drives me nuts.

Apart from the superimposed flames over Belloq's face, what else was cut?

[Marian Schedenig 8,207]

On 16/07/2023 at 5:07 PM, AC1 said:

 

I like it, and find it impressive in a way. I'm not sure if the story-within-a-story stuff makes any sense, but the visuals and Catinca Untaru certainly make an impact. Also the Beethoven 7 in the opening.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,551]

Beethoven's 7th?

Oi! They nicked that from ZARDOZ 

[JNHFan2000 2,966]

The Adventures of Don Juan

 

This was so much fun!! Might be my favorite of the Golden Age films I've seen in the last week. It's fast paced, has incresible production design, great action scenes, a great hero, quite a strong villain and a female lead who gets to do more than cry and fall in love.

I really liked it.

 

This also might be Steiner's most fun score. His Don Juan theme is suler catchy and the love theme is truly gorgeous.

 

I'm having a lot of fun exploring these scores in my collection after seeing the film. It always adds an extra layer to tge score that was somehow missing for me without having seen the film.

 

Next up....

Sunset Boulevard

[Naïve Old Fart 9,551]

Hey, @JNHFan2000! Didn't you used to be big?

[Bellosh 3,419]

The Big Short (2015)

 

This movie has the best 'breaking the 4th wall' moments of all time.  Although maybe that list is very short.

 

It's free on YouTube and I still find it exciting to watch.

 

Spotlight won best picture that year, in an absolutely jam packed best picture category.  But I honestly think The Big Short deserved it more from a technical stand point. And I loved the fuck out of Mad Max.