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

[Wojo 2,453]

I zipped it up and put it on some floppies. A lot of floppies. I'll mail it to you. 

[Koray Savas 2,251]

6 hours ago, mrbellamy said:

 

Spielberg isn't usually thought of as an actor's director, but it's interesting to note the famous or acclaimed actors who had early breakout roles in a Spielberg film and it's still considered among their very best work, if not THE best. I count Drew Barrymore, Christian Bale, Whoopi Goldberg, Ralph Fiennes, and Djimon Hounsou.

 

And on a semi-related note, it's kinda fun to remember actors who had "before they were famous" roles in a Spielberg movie before hitting greater heights. Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Vin Diesel, Bryan Cranston, Nathan Fillion, Paul Giamatti, Amy Adams, Elizabeth Banks, Adam Driver.

 

Even Oprah!

Yeah but half of those were just tiny roles in Saving Private Ryan.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

But he saw something in them

 

Remember he cast Samuel L. Jackson before Pulp Fiction made him a star

[Romão 2,274]

I expect Mark Rylance to be a highly sought after actor at the moment. And besides the BFG, he's also doing Dunkirn with Nolan

[Loert 2,515]

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) (1st time)

 

For some reason this film has always escaped me. It is never shown on TV around here, I never see it talked about anywhere. So I really went into this not knowing at all what to expect.

 

But overall, I really enjoyed it. There were a few things which particularly caught my attention in this film, which I'd like to mention:

 

I found it interesting how the audience (or atleast myself) isn't really told what's going on all the time. There were many times in the film where I didn't feel like I had a grasp on what the story is about. But the way in which it was done was fine, because the protagonists themselves don't have a grasp on...well, almost anything. It is quite remarkable how Spielberg managed to make the audience feel a bit lost and mystified, but in an intentional, good way. That was the main "experience" I took away from it. 

 

[Spoilers till the end]

 

I also felt something tragic about Roy's departure. The last time his family saw him was in a "deranged" state, making mountains out of mashed potatoes, lying in the shower, throwing plants into the house. They felt they had to escape from him, just as one would escape from an abusive husband. And it is quite possible that they will never see Roy again. And yet, him peacefully boarding an alien spaceship is an extraordinary moment for humanity. There's something beautifully sublime about it which I cannot quite describe, and in a way it "pays off" the entire film.

 

Now for Williams' score. I was quite surprised by how subdued the score was for the majority of the film. Mostly it only seemed to appear in a march form, or when it accompanied major shots.

 

However, the music in the final mothership scene was truly magnificent. My favourite sound is the "white-key" cluster which plays when we see the ship rotating above the arena. I never heard an orchestra play a cluster like that before, it's unforgettable. I also loved the short musical moment which plays when we see somebody in the control tower gazing at the spinning mothership - it sounds like a bold statement of the 'choir theme' with lots of tinkling piano at the top. It stands out very well in the film, in fact it almost reminded me of what 'alien' music might sound like.

 

But undoubtedly the highlight is the music which plays during the mothership's departure. It just fits the tone of the scene perfectly. One thing however that irked me was the very short march fragment which came in the middle. As I was watching that scene I treated the music as an accompaniment to the picture, not as an end credits track, which that march fragment seemed to suggest (though technically of course it is an end credits track). I would've just skipped that excerpt and kept the tone the same, since I felt that the march themes were more like underscores and didn't really hold their own. But this is more of a music editting quip - I have nothing bad to say about the score itself.

 

[Marian Schedenig 8,206]

What "march" are you talking about?

4 hours ago, Mr. Breathmask said:

Star Wars

 

This film shouldn't work. The acting is wonky,

 

Fisher and Cushing are great though.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Both are very good. Dunno about "great".

[A24 4,344]

The heroes have a disarming enthusiasm and the performances were good enough to make the characters immortal.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Yes! They felt like characters you could actually care for and be interested in.

 

And you could already see that Ford had something special about him.

[Marian Schedenig 8,206]

"Great" in the context of the film. They both don't have the sort of roles that would let them give the sort of great performance that'll be remembered on its own (and I'm not saying they would have, if the roles had allowed it), but they're both spot on for the film, and great fun to watch.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Indeed!

[Koray Savas 2,251]

4 hours ago, Stefancos said:

But he saw something in them

 

Remember he cast Samuel L. Jackson before Pulp Fiction made him a star

He was in a bunch of Spike Lee movies before Jurassic Park.

 

As for the others, I don't think Saving Private Ryan was what made their careers. 

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

No one ever claimed that.

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

39 minutes ago, Koray Savas said:

He was in a bunch of Spike Lee movies before Jurassic Park.

 

He was in Goodfellas as well.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Were any of these the most successful movie of all time?

[mrbellamy 6,287]

3 hours ago, Koray Savas said:

He was in a bunch of Spike Lee movies before Jurassic Park.

 

As for the others, I don't think Saving Private Ryan was what made their careers. 

 

I think you misread my post. That's what I meant, Spielberg movies have a lot of well-known actors who popped up in small roles before they became famous for other things. 

 

I didn't include Samuel L Jackson since I wasn't sure how famous he already was for the Spike Lee movies. I would think more than the ones I listed, but maybe not. JP was definitely pre-superstardom, of course.

 

I wouldn't say Spielberg made their careers, but since you mention it I'm sure there's some kind of correlation there with future stars who made their way into his movies early on. He has his pick of the litter down to the smallest roles so whoever he and his casting directors spot are bound to have potential, plus no doubt it's a professional leg-up to be able to put one of his films on the resume. Especially the younger ones who are just trying to get seen.

[Matt C 454]

8 hours ago, Koray Savas said:

Yeah but half of those were just tiny roles in Saving Private Ryan.

 

True. Doubtful Vin Diesel got his role in The Fast and the Furious because of Ryan, or that Fillion would become a cult favorite with "Firefly" and "Castle".

 

I'd wish Spielberg would work with them in a bigger capacity.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

10 hours ago, Woj said:

I zipped it up and put it on some floppies. A lot of floppies. I'll mail it to you. 

 

From Gene Roddenberry's computer?

[Wojo 2,453]

No. 

[A24 4,344]

The Visit:

 

 

Kubrick never made a found footage horror movie but if he did then The Visit would be the closest to it. 7/10

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

Faaark that movie was gross.

[Quintus 5,399]

Gross in what way? 

 

Back in September I said, "The Visit, M. Knight Shyamalan's "return to form". It wasn't great and it wasn't awful either but somewhere happily in between. At last we have progress. Funny how a piggy bank sized budget can bring out the best in creative sorts."

 

I quite liked it, but saw no Stanley Kubrick in there. The performances weren't anywhere near exhausted enough. It was very much a Shyamalan movie.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

Oh come on, have you seen it? The scenes involving 

Spoiler

Fake grandma's naked scenes and fake grandpa's poopy nappies and rubbing them over the boy's face were revolting!

 

[A24 4,344]

I hear a lot of people have a problem with the funny side of the movie. They wanted it to be dead serious or else it's not creepy. Strange, because the grandma really spooked the bejesus out of me. I even was laughing in the hope I would recover, that's how creepy it was.

 

 

Alex

[Quintus 5,399]

57 minutes ago, Drax said:

Oh come on, have you seen it? The scenes involving 

  Hide contents

Fake grandma's naked scenes and fake grandpa's poopy nappies and rubbing them over the boy's face were revolting!

 

 

Yeah that was quite good, heh. Unusually for a Shyamalan movie there was a distinct lack of earnest, which is probably why I didn't think it was just more rubbish from him. He's quite witty in this, which was new I think. It's all pretty light and throwaway, though. Which is another indication he's improved. 

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

I want to know where that girl bought a consumer grade camcorder that shoots in 2.35:1.

[A24 4,344]

Me too!

 

 

No, we're not brothers! I don't like lizards or The Bold.

 

 

People are gonna want a Canon EOS now.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

I love my Isco CinemaScope lens, but it's cumbersome and you need to dual focus.

[Sweeping Strings 2,363]

The Visit juggled scares, weirdness and chuckles pretty damn well I thought. It's by no means perfect, but it's the first Shymalan in something like a decade that hasn't stunk. 

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

7 hours ago, Quintus said:

 

Yeah that was quite good, heh. Unusually for a Shyamalan movie there was a distinct lack of earnest, which is probably why I didn't think it was just more rubbish from him. He's quite witty in this, which was new I think. It's all pretty light and throwaway, though. Which is another indication he's improved. 

 

I feel like Signs had some sly witty moments. 

[A24 4,344]

Drenched in overt earnestness, making little old me wanting to puke.

[Quintus 5,399]

58 minutes ago, TheGreyPilgrim said:

 

I feel like Signs had some sly witty moments. 

 

It did but they were more incidental. Tonally, the two movies are very different. The Visit is quite a mischievous little picture really. 

[publicist 4,643]

Just watched it. Would have been a hoot if earnestly scored by JNH. Cue the track 'Diaper revelation'. But without a score it just reeks of...Kubrick.

[bollemanneke 3,349]

Pride and Prejudice (2005). LOVED IT. As usual it took me a few moments to get into the 18th-century politics, but other than that everything was perfect. And a great score, too. It's been a long time since I've been so touched by a piano performance.

[Matt C 454]

16 hours ago, Alexcremers said:

Me too!

 

 

No, we're not brothers! I don't like lizards or The Bold.

 

 

People are gonna want a Canon EOS now.

 

My Canon Rebel T3i has amazing picture quality, but nowhere close to EOS Cinema, Arri Alexa, CineAlta or any of the newer Red cameras.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Has Shyamalan's humor really gone over people's heads for this many years?

[nightscape94 965]

He's not the most subtle.

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

We already took some of your friends downtown in a paddy wagon.

[A24 4,344]

The budget of The Visit was only $5 million and it made $97 millions in theatres alone. Conclusion: Don't give directors to much money and they start making better movies again. Remember what I said about Spielberg?

 

 

 

Alex

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Spielberg wouldn't go back to making a film "Jaws" style though. Too successful. Better to be nice and warm in a studio.

[Quintus 5,399]

Spielberg hasn't had a succession of god awful failures to make up for either. Should he? I don't think he should; Bridge of Spies did well and has been nominated for Academy Awards. Spielberg is quite content I think to be Hollywood's elder statesman, and why not. He's more than earned it. 

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Indeed. He's had films that underperformed. But no serious financial disasters and critical laughing stocks. KOCS comes closest I guess. But people blamed Lucas more for that.

 

 

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

KotCS made money and got moderately okay reviews.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Yes. The hate didn't come till later. Geeks egging each other on.

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi

 

It's a tedious one, this film. Compared to the high pace of the other two, this one draaaaaags its feet for ages. It takes only a few risks (I guess filling Jabba's palace with muppets could be commendable) and squanders all the great promise Episode V left us with. There's some redeeming elements to this film, but not enough to make it stand out. I guess I just don't like this one as much as the others.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

I had the same feeling watching it straight after TESB.

 

What happened to Han and Leia in this. So engaging and charismatic in Empire. Dull as ditchwater in this? 

Han has gone from a scoundrel to a insecure jealous prig, and Leia, who used to be sassy and outspoken doesn't actually have any character here at all.

 

 

[Jay 37,370]

Richard Marquand seemingly directed every actor to say almost all there lines in a s l o w and unexcited manner for some reason.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Yep. Just watch the revelation scene between Luke and Leia. The start of it has some horrible line readings. Almost Prequel bad.

[Jay 37,370]

How much better would things be if the creative team of Empire came back to do Jedi themselves without Lucas's involvement?  Would have been one hell of a final chapter, I think.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

But would it have? Not sure about Kasdan's intention to end it with Luke going off all alone, Shane-style.