Why are Rebellion and The Castle included but not:
After Liverpool (1974)
Three Paths to the Lake (1976)
Lemminge (1979)
Variation (1983)
Who Was Edgar Allan (1984)
Fraulein (1986)
Nachruf für einen Mörder (1991)
Così fan tutte (2013)
Did anybody else feel like this is the thematic follow-up of Varda's Le Bonheur? Aside from the clearly similar, but now joyless situation, notice the almost identical color coded fade outs, only here, in a different order.
A good, but in certain ways remarkably lazy film. The "score" could hardly be more cliche, and frequently strangles the atmosphere. The book within the film is harsh, but feels pulp (Michael Shannon is amazing however), while the overall plot is quite thin. A surprisingly good ending, but more should have been done building up to it.
(The opening was spectacular, gave me too high hopes of what was to come. This is far from A Single Man)
I just finished watching this film at the cinema, where I went in with high expectations. These were quickly crushed by perhaps the most pathetic sound picture I have ever heard. It actually had repeated English language background chatter, including the very clear phrase "Get your ass over here" repeated about every 20 seconds - and it occurred in at least 3 scenes. And there were far more issues than this. Without this extreme flaws I would easily have enjoyed it far, far more, but as it stands it was a shocking disappointment.
Such contrived and weak plotting. It was barely hanging together. If someone told me half the film was lost I could easily have believed them, but that's not the case. There are some great scenes spread out in the mix, but it was just so poorly done that nothing could save it. Easily Von Sternberg's worst.
I know you guys have been working hard on it, and I hate to be negative + I know I'll get used to it eventually, but: The current design is not showing it's age, and it is far better than your future lay out. The simplicity is what's great with this site - the new lay out is messy. Everything is there at once! Also: If the IMDb link is gone, damn, that's one short cut I always use so that I can rate a film after I've checked it. Your new product is inferior, but at least you made some improvements based on the feedback from the forum. I know you'll go ahead with it anyway, and as I said I will continue to use the site, I just don't understand why you'd unnecessarily complicate and completely change a beloved product. At least many members seem positive, so maybe I'm the minority.
Some amazing visuals and great usages of style. The story was definitely a set-back however, and it frequently suffered in the few scenes that were more dialog based. I'd also agree with others that the ending was an extreme let-down.
It's greatest quality was how strip down and bare bones it was. It really took it's time to tell the story, and ignored many of the narrative conventions of our time. It's simplicity and raw emotions makes it very effective, and though many of the plot points aren't exactly new, it still manages to seem fresh. 8/10.
Aside from clearly having an agenda, and being quite over-the-top in parts, there were too many great aspects here - including quality filmmaking by Dieterle. I particularly loved the degree of respect offered to homosexuality, though this is obviously not the first film on the subject (just a larger side-note here) from Germany. Also: The ending really surprised me.
Tons of stars, several of which I love, yet the acting was weak, melodramatic in the wost sense of the term and rarely believable. Gish and Strasberg (in a tiny role) were the only ones that stood out.
A unique experience. At one point I had to pause because my heart was beating too fast. It was the very effective visual of people struggling with the same thing on screen, had never thought a film could affect me like this. Almost wanted to throw up in parts, and just because of the sound and bizarre visuals, rather than gore.
It's not just a horror movie, it's an experiment into film-within-film with audience members watching a movie at a theater about an insane killer and his mother collecting eyes - with the way it's made disturbing and upsetting many of them - and then the events in the main movie switches to the theater as well - and the claustrophobia and mental states of "the real audience" starts going wild. I can only imagine how insane it would have been watching this in a movie theater as intended. It lost some of it's power when it got more plot driven towards the very end - but it stayed incredible throughout.
Though more of a lightweight compared to Blier's best I do not think it deserves it's bad rap. Far from it! It has his great and classic touch all over. Same stylized world as we loved so many times before, with the three leads fitting in quite well - and I must say that I really loved the ending. A big, and very pleasant surprise.
I was very surprised at how sensual this movie felt. As a very early giallo , it relies in no way on blood or gore, and in the very few instances it does it's only seen for seconds. Instead it builds up a slow-burning atmosphere, and creates a rather mellow and soft feel - coupled with the horror music we came to associate with the genre, and some very fascinating sequences mixing past and present in a sense of delirium. A forgotten gem. 8/10.
Was very excited for this, and it had some great portions, but the huge portions that were purposefully out of synch just felt grating, and the close-ups of women smooching became tiring. It's biggest strenght is the occasional fabulous visual piece, but these portions were not enough to save it. 5/10.
No subs, but there are only around 30 intertitles and should be easy to understand.
Simplified plot summary to help you along:
The film follows a father and a son, isolated in a lighthouse with constant bad weather. The son is gradually driven more and more insane. Most of the dialog is about the two counting the days, the father asking if the son is ok/if they should send for help, and the son spouting mad/paranoid lines - wondering if they'll die, complaining about thirst, etc. All of this ties back to a dog with rabies, a story we get a less covered subplot of on land. The people on land also start noticing something is wrong with the lighthouse.
My thougts: The films almost semi-surrealistic / experimental nature, and really trippy score makes this one heck of an intense ride. Highly recommended!
Comments 1 - 25 of 397
Movie comment on Tout rien
St. Gloede
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AayDt79SxUYMovie comment on Thèmes et variations
St. Gloede
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1PLANdmNXIToplist comment on Michael Haneke's Filmography
St. Gloede
Why are Rebellion and The Castle included but not:After Liverpool (1974)
Three Paths to the Lake (1976)
Lemminge (1979)
Variation (1983)
Who Was Edgar Allan (1984)
Fraulein (1986)
Nachruf für einen Mörder (1991)
Così fan tutte (2013)
Blog comment on Four new official lists
St. Gloede
Chile is an interesting cinematic country I have seen far too little from. Very happy to see a focused list.Movie comment on La femme qui pleure
St. Gloede
Did anybody else feel like this is the thematic follow-up of Varda's Le Bonheur? Aside from the clearly similar, but now joyless situation, notice the almost identical color coded fade outs, only here, in a different order.Movie comment on Nocturnal Animals
St. Gloede
A good, but in certain ways remarkably lazy film. The "score" could hardly be more cliche, and frequently strangles the atmosphere. The book within the film is harsh, but feels pulp (Michael Shannon is amazing however), while the overall plot is quite thin. A surprisingly good ending, but more should have been done building up to it.(The opening was spectacular, gave me too high hopes of what was to come. This is far from A Single Man)
Movie comment on Prestuplenie i nakazanie
St. Gloede
I just finished watching this film at the cinema, where I went in with high expectations. These were quickly crushed by perhaps the most pathetic sound picture I have ever heard. It actually had repeated English language background chatter, including the very clear phrase "Get your ass over here" repeated about every 20 seconds - and it occurred in at least 3 scenes. And there were far more issues than this. Without this extreme flaws I would easily have enjoyed it far, far more, but as it stands it was a shocking disappointment.Blog comment on The Departed
St. Gloede
Thank you for all the work you've put into the site! Your creation is among the best film related sites out there.Movie comment on Oi voskoi
St. Gloede
Felt like a Pasolini film. Ridiculous, loud, vulgar, spiteful drama with no likeable characters. Stylized, cold, frantic. Absolutely loved it.Movie comment on Blonde Venus
St. Gloede
Such contrived and weak plotting. It was barely hanging together. If someone told me half the film was lost I could easily have believed them, but that's not the case. There are some great scenes spread out in the mix, but it was just so poorly done that nothing could save it. Easily Von Sternberg's worst.Blog comment on Se7en
St. Gloede
Was expecting the Norwegian list, bit of a disappointment there, but nice to see new lists. :)Movie comment on Under Siege 2: Dark Territory
St. Gloede
One of the most unintentionally hilarious endings of all time. :DBlog comment on Men at Work
St. Gloede
I know you guys have been working hard on it, and I hate to be negative + I know I'll get used to it eventually, but: The current design is not showing it's age, and it is far better than your future lay out. The simplicity is what's great with this site - the new lay out is messy. Everything is there at once! Also: If the IMDb link is gone, damn, that's one short cut I always use so that I can rate a film after I've checked it. Your new product is inferior, but at least you made some improvements based on the feedback from the forum. I know you'll go ahead with it anyway, and as I said I will continue to use the site, I just don't understand why you'd unnecessarily complicate and completely change a beloved product. At least many members seem positive, so maybe I'm the minority.Movie comment on Beyond the Black Rainbow
St. Gloede
Some amazing visuals and great usages of style. The story was definitely a set-back however, and it frequently suffered in the few scenes that were more dialog based. I'd also agree with others that the ending was an extreme let-down.Movie comment on Out of the Furnace
St. Gloede
It's greatest quality was how strip down and bare bones it was. It really took it's time to tell the story, and ignored many of the narrative conventions of our time. It's simplicity and raw emotions makes it very effective, and though many of the plot points aren't exactly new, it still manages to seem fresh. 8/10.Movie comment on Riley the Cop
St. Gloede
http://my.mail.ru/video/mail/sofia.58/_myvideo/38.html#video=/mail/sofia.58/_myvideo/38Movie comment on Geschlecht in Fesseln
St. Gloede
Aside from clearly having an agenda, and being quite over-the-top in parts, there were too many great aspects here - including quality filmmaking by Dieterle. I particularly loved the degree of respect offered to homosexuality, though this is obviously not the first film on the subject (just a larger side-note here) from Germany. Also: The ending really surprised me.Movie comment on Zaza
St. Gloede
Where can you find this film?Movie comment on Kean
St. Gloede
The 141 min restoration is the only way you get the full enjoyment and appreciation of the great filmmaking that went into this film.Movie comment on The Cobweb
St. Gloede
Tons of stars, several of which I love, yet the acting was weak, melodramatic in the wost sense of the term and rarely believable. Gish and Strasberg (in a tiny role) were the only ones that stood out.Movie comment on Angustia
St. Gloede
A unique experience. At one point I had to pause because my heart was beating too fast. It was the very effective visual of people struggling with the same thing on screen, had never thought a film could affect me like this. Almost wanted to throw up in parts, and just because of the sound and bizarre visuals, rather than gore.It's not just a horror movie, it's an experiment into film-within-film with audience members watching a movie at a theater about an insane killer and his mother collecting eyes - with the way it's made disturbing and upsetting many of them - and then the events in the main movie switches to the theater as well - and the claustrophobia and mental states of "the real audience" starts going wild. I can only imagine how insane it would have been watching this in a movie theater as intended. It lost some of it's power when it got more plot driven towards the very end - but it stayed incredible throughout.
Movie comment on La femme de mon pote
St. Gloede
Though more of a lightweight compared to Blier's best I do not think it deserves it's bad rap. Far from it! It has his great and classic touch all over. Same stylized world as we loved so many times before, with the three leads fitting in quite well - and I must say that I really loved the ending. A big, and very pleasant surprise.Movie comment on La donna del lago
St. Gloede
I was very surprised at how sensual this movie felt. As a very early giallo , it relies in no way on blood or gore, and in the very few instances it does it's only seen for seconds. Instead it builds up a slow-burning atmosphere, and creates a rather mellow and soft feel - coupled with the horror music we came to associate with the genre, and some very fascinating sequences mixing past and present in a sense of delirium. A forgotten gem. 8/10.Movie comment on Der Tod der Maria Malibran
St. Gloede
Was very excited for this, and it had some great portions, but the huge portions that were purposefully out of synch just felt grating, and the close-ups of women smooching became tiring. It's biggest strenght is the occasional fabulous visual piece, but these portions were not enough to save it. 5/10.Movie comment on Gardiens de phare
St. Gloede
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muxchyT2u7ENo subs, but there are only around 30 intertitles and should be easy to understand.
Simplified plot summary to help you along:
The film follows a father and a son, isolated in a lighthouse with constant bad weather. The son is gradually driven more and more insane. Most of the dialog is about the two counting the days, the father asking if the son is ok/if they should send for help, and the son spouting mad/paranoid lines - wondering if they'll die, complaining about thirst, etc. All of this ties back to a dog with rabies, a story we get a less covered subplot of on land. The people on land also start noticing something is wrong with the lighthouse.
My thougts: The films almost semi-surrealistic / experimental nature, and really trippy score makes this one heck of an intense ride. Highly recommended!
Showing items 1 – 25 of 397