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hilary-54
Reviews
Zabriskie Point (1970)
A film of the times
It was not long after the release of Zabriskie Point that the 'counterculture' of the late 1960s died out, for many reasons, too long to visit in this review. Zabriskie Point is highly symbolic and Antonioni had some premonition of the shape of things to come. It was a time of free love (in some circles), a hope for positive change, an awakening to the degradation of the environment, an awareness of the dismissal of history and local culture, transforming all into a decultured, materialistic mainstream. It also is reminiscent of the films "If
", and "The Ruling Class", a comment of the British class society, not dissimilar their basic conceptual foundations.
The film was not perfect by all means, after all, how did Mark know how to fly. There are other non-sequiturs, but then, the film is rooted in the imagination, but with a reference to Cinéma vérité. We should appreciate Zabriskie Point as a sign of those times, and is still highly relevant in its ideas, despite its hopeful romanticism.
It is beautifully shot in the desert landscape, and contrasts well with the smog filled atmosphere of sprawling LA.
I saw this film in the 70s and admit to only partially understanding it at the time, though its images have always stayed with me. Today, on playing the Rockstar game GTA V (Grand Theft Auto V), virtually travelling through those landscapes made me wish to revisit the film which I was able to view on YouTube once more. GTA takes us into the desert once more, and also looks at the same issues that underpin Zabriskie Point and is even more iconoclastic in its approach to today's problems. No doubt the creators of GTA V take their much of their inspiration from this unusual film.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
Not all that good
The Hobbit is a really good story, but what is it about a director who cannot even get the rhetoric of storytelling right, when the material is there already in the book. This is a real pity. Most of the story takes place on the road, but it felt more as if battles took up the bulk of it.
The worst thing about this film, was battle scene after battle scene, with audio so deafening, that despite the fact I blocked my ears with my hands through most of the film, my ears were ringing all that evening. I felt like suing the cinema and film company for aural damage.
All the battle scenes were the same intensity. In the book, a little altercation with Orcs became a major scene, and these were reworked ad infinitum. So many things were missing from the actual story, for instance, the spiders lair. The Golem scenes were good, but there should have been subtitles for the riddle sequence, as sometimes the speech was so indistinct with all the hissing and spluttering.
The scenes looked much more artificial than in the Lord of the Rings series, and the matte painting of Rivendell really looked flat. I noted that there was no expense spared in the making of this film. How much more difficult would it have been (and perhaps even cheaper) to go for less of the effects and more of the atmosphere the original story conveyed.
The music was top notch, and the theme was lovely, including the folkish song which was really ingenuous. Also excellent, was the dwarfs plainchant in the beginning. Well done composers, choristers and musicians.
The Dictator (2012)
Very poor in comparison to Borat and Brüno
I had to force myself to watch this movie to the end (download). I found some of the humour, if you could call it that, absolutely sickening (and I am not referring to the scatological and sexual references). Torture is not funny, overt racism and stereotyping is not funny.
There were one or two amusing instances. Not enough though. The dialogue was poor. 90% of this movie filled me with disgust. It was racist, meaningless, with had very little to recommend it. Something has happened to Sascha. He used to take risks in all the other movies he made. This movie is studio material and not really made as a documentary. Does he think he is being dangerous by insulting everything and everyone? I don't think so.
SBC. get your act together. I wish I had read some of the more thoughtful reviews before watching. So glad I did not actually buy this movie (I bought Borat), and still find it a killer.
The Dictator theme had great potential, but it died in about the first five minutes of dialogue.
Narrow Boat Afloat (2006)
I just loved this
As a narrowboat fanatic myself, I just loved this series. We live in Australia, and own our own narrowboat. We made most of that journey from Birmingham to London on our six months stint from mid March to Mid September, so I was able to feel I was there with him.
I loved the way he stopped and visited places where people were still doing traditional work, such as milling, paper making etc. The historical aspect was excellent, and lovely to see all those old boats and learn more about their history (we were there for the 2012 Braunston Historic Boat Show as well).
This series was just about perfect. I only have two criticisms and one observation. The observation is about the journey itself. Often there is a back tracking which does not tie in with the route. Only one who knows the journey would be aware of this. Forgivable as it is 'editing license'. Perhaps the thing that bothered me most was that most of the indoor scenes were not white balance corrected. As this is a professional production, I would expect better work with the colour editing and exposure. The only thing I found slightly at odds with the whole program was the Aston Martin section. It went on a little too long for my liking, and it just seemed a bit too contemporary compared with the rest of the restoration activities.
The Devils (1971)
Horrifyingly brilliant: an exposé of the conflict between church, state, superstition and rationality
I saw this film in 1971 (London) when it first came out. I was in my impressionable 20s then, and was quite horrified by the explicitly graphic scenes of debauchery and torture, but I certainly thought it a brilliant and powerful film and a great piece of art with a message. Watching it on the big screen was certainly a bit too much for me at the time, and I had to close my eyes during some of the ending scenes.
I will not tell the story of this film in my comments as there are many comments that do just this, but would like to bring out some of the major themes about these events.
Bishop Grandier is the voice of rationality, contrasting with the superstitious behaviour of many of the townspeople. He is also fallible, with a penchant for women, and initially does not have any conscience in that regard. This is what eventually would lead to his persecution and inquisition. It is the breach that Richleu, who could not get permission from the King to tear down the walls of Loudon, eventually lead the church to charge Grandier for being in league with the devil.
As the film develops, we see all the forces at work that eventually bring the end of the independence of the town of Loudon. The struggle for lands and power by the Catholic Church and the persecution of Protestants by Richleau. The King is materialistic and lascivious, interested in his own pleasures, but he is shown to be pragmatic, and ridicules the idea of possession by devils. He proves that the so-called possession of the nuns is all in the mind, when opening a reliquary which is supposedly filled with the blood of Christ , shows it to be empty.
The film is deeply philosophical, yet has all the shock value of many of the films made during the early seventies.
Fortunately, I was lent an uncut version by a colleague and watched it on my computer. Being a little older, and watching the washed out video quality on my computer, the horror was somewhat lessened, not that the subject matter was any less nasty. It was just easier to look at, in daylight on a smaller screen.
The music is very interesting. There is period music by the great musician David Munrow, whose life's work was in producing and playing medieval and renaissance music. It was brilliant to see the dancing throughout the film and the music played on authentic instruments. No-one has mentioned this, but it is most important. To contrast this, the mood music is played by the Fires of London, who specialise in the contemporary avant- Gard genre.
The scenes and sets are surrealistic, and most dramatic is the court scene of the inquisition. The Devils (unlike the Exorcist) is a serious film, and questions humanities worst excesses in power play and superstition.
Bikur Ha-Tizmoret (2007)
A very touching and human film
I loved this low key film, which played on human emotions, misunderstandings and kindness. It was different and quite unexpected in many ways. The band members were quite charming with their idiosyncratic mannerism, not knowing how to conduct (pun not intended) themselves in unexpected situations. All the characters were very well portrayed. There was a natural and down to earth atmosphere of this visually simple yet complex film that was very true to life. There was also very little evidence of the Arab-Israeli conflict present, but there were certainly cultural tensions and the fear of boundaries being transgressed.
There is only one thing that I would have liked and is my only criticism, and that was to hear and seen more of the band's performance.
If.... (1968)
40 years later, I watch it again
I first saw this film when I was living in Cambridge, England in the heady days of the late 1960s when it first came out and I was absolutely bowled over by it. I considered myself a member of the counter-culture then, and identified wholeheartedly with most of its sentiments, albeit somewhat troubled by the last scene. In other words, we ask, what will be the next oppressive regime, and I believe that violence begets violence. That part of the film tells that story in itself, and I do not believe it advocates revolution, but states that oppression will always lead to rebellion and violence.
If.. is a very accurate description of Public School Life as it was then in England. The term public school in England would refer to exclusive private schools in other parts of the world. I assume also that the title If... also hearkens to the eponymous poem of Rudyard Kipling, the arch British colonialist poet. My father used to keep a framed copy of it on his desk!
I myself went to a girls' private school (in the 1960s) in the colonies. Though not in any manner that oppressive, I found many similarities in the attitudes of students, and the hierarchical system of prefects, school monitors, competitive houses along with the emphasis on school sports as being of prime importance.
The dialogue, acting and cinematography is excellent. I was so impressed with this film that I bought a book of the screenplay, but on reading it, it was clear that without the visual content and real actors, it could only convey a glimpse of the potential of this masterwork. I could watch it many times over.
Carnival of Souls (1962)
A very scary film
Having a rather lively imagination as a child, I was very careful of films that I watched. I had heard about Polanski's Repulsion, but I decided not to see it as I knew it would give me nightmares, even though I was very curious about it and would be interested to watch it now. However, today I find most horror films amusing. This one I found very scary, and very effective indeed. Even now, after becoming inured to such things, I watched it very cautiously.
What makes it so frightening?
The derelict and everydayness of the locations. The filming in black and white adds to the darkness portrayed. The interminable tacky organ music which varied between saccharine low grade church music and a fairground steam organ, becoming more discordant as the tension builds. The dissociation of the subject. It is if the viewer participates in Mary's despair and what may be her drift into insanity. It is a film about survivors guilt.
It is like watching a nightmare, rather than a straight horror film. It is the cinematography that gives this film the edge, the darkness, the timing and intervals where nothing much seems to happen.
I congratulate the makers of this strange film for its subtlety and effectiveness. Don't watch this film with the lights out!