Saturday, December 29, 2007
Film genres?
It's interesting to think about what film genres I really enjoy the most. I'm starting to enjoy Westerns. I'd have to say that my usual pick would be either Sci-Fi or Film Noir. I suppose that historical stuff has to factor into something.
Today - Pale Rider
I just finished watching Pale Rider, an old Clint Eastwood western. He is the star and the director. I think that I've been on a Western kick partly because of Eastwood. I've seen him in lots of other movies, and I think that watching Unforgiven many years ago, without having seen many of his previous westerns or very many westerns in general, that movie didn't make much sense. I've been working my way through old movies, and lately I've come across a few westerns that were worth watching. It started, I think, with an interest in John Wayne as a cultural icon. Catching a few clips on cable just wasn't enough to understand the draw of that guy. It helped to see True Grit and The Searchers, both of which were good but not fabulous. Or, to my eyes, not fabulous. Not worth the hype. Another key motivator in this interest came from the Akira Kurosowa links. I've been a bit of a pedant, wading through the foreign film section of the local library, and checking out all the titles by famous foreign directors. Most of it was senseless, frustrating, and boring. It's hard to appreciate a movie when you have to stare at the subtitles. You miss a lot of the acting, and a lot of the action. I'm sure that if I spoke German I would like some of the German movies better. But I didn't find any German directors (yet) that I liked. There were a few interesting French movies, and I have a little smattering of French to be able to catch a phrase or two. Melville was interesting, but the real find - for me - was Godard. The guy is a wonderful movie maker in any language.
That brings me to Kurosowa. Many years ago, I found a copy of Dreams. It's a strange and wonderful little movie, told as an interrelated sequence of short stories. That eventually lead me, many years later, to Rashomon, the Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood, Yojimbo, and Sanjuro. All of these were fascinating - or at least entertaining. I suppose it doesn't hurt that I have more than a passing interest in medieval Japanese culture.
When I found out that Sanjuro was re-made as a Clint Eastwood movie, I sought that out. I also really liked the fact that The Magnificent Seven, a movie that I had heard about for years from my father but had never watched myself, was based on the Kurosowa film. The movie makes no secret of that - but I hadn't heard that until I saw it on the credits of the Magnificent Seven.
Anyway, that was a long intro for such a short thing. I've been dipping into movies, mostly, because I've always loved movies but I've never watched movies the way that I read. I watch movies - or I did until recently - for entertainment. I read for edification, aesthetic beauty, and entertainment. I watch any crap that looks good. I read the best books I can find - I want to read and to know the best in print. I can't say that about film. As I suggested, I've been trying to remedy that disparity.
Pale Rider - to finally get back to the title here - feels a little formulaic now. It's about a colony of families panning for gold in California, with an evil, rich boss threatening to drive them off their claim so that he can take it over and rip the gold out. In rides Clint, and he has this spectacular swordfight - with what look like axe handles or shovel handles. Then he follows the wholesome but unthreatening other guy back to the colony, and all the women - including a 14-year-old girl - fall in love with him. He turns them all down, until the end, where he has sex with the woman that is going to marry the good guy who is going to stay behind. And, of course, there's lots of shooting and that kind of stuff.
I suppose there's something enjoyable in this. I suppose it's interesting to see the way that Clint acts like a "real man," and the way that - of course - all the women are going to love him. Even the little ones. It's a little frustrating that he doesn't get hurt - not even nicked - and that he manages to outgun and outthink about twenty people. It's fun to watch this stuff sometimes, but when it gets this improbable, I start to lose interest.
It is what it is, I guess. Maybe I shouldn't expect so much. It's hard to compare this movie to something like Dreams, or even The Seven Samurai. Heck, even the Magnificent Seven lets some of the main characters die, even if it isn't entirely clear how they were killed.
That brings me to Kurosowa. Many years ago, I found a copy of Dreams. It's a strange and wonderful little movie, told as an interrelated sequence of short stories. That eventually lead me, many years later, to Rashomon, the Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood, Yojimbo, and Sanjuro. All of these were fascinating - or at least entertaining. I suppose it doesn't hurt that I have more than a passing interest in medieval Japanese culture.
When I found out that Sanjuro was re-made as a Clint Eastwood movie, I sought that out. I also really liked the fact that The Magnificent Seven, a movie that I had heard about for years from my father but had never watched myself, was based on the Kurosowa film. The movie makes no secret of that - but I hadn't heard that until I saw it on the credits of the Magnificent Seven.
Anyway, that was a long intro for such a short thing. I've been dipping into movies, mostly, because I've always loved movies but I've never watched movies the way that I read. I watch movies - or I did until recently - for entertainment. I read for edification, aesthetic beauty, and entertainment. I watch any crap that looks good. I read the best books I can find - I want to read and to know the best in print. I can't say that about film. As I suggested, I've been trying to remedy that disparity.
Pale Rider - to finally get back to the title here - feels a little formulaic now. It's about a colony of families panning for gold in California, with an evil, rich boss threatening to drive them off their claim so that he can take it over and rip the gold out. In rides Clint, and he has this spectacular swordfight - with what look like axe handles or shovel handles. Then he follows the wholesome but unthreatening other guy back to the colony, and all the women - including a 14-year-old girl - fall in love with him. He turns them all down, until the end, where he has sex with the woman that is going to marry the good guy who is going to stay behind. And, of course, there's lots of shooting and that kind of stuff.
I suppose there's something enjoyable in this. I suppose it's interesting to see the way that Clint acts like a "real man," and the way that - of course - all the women are going to love him. Even the little ones. It's a little frustrating that he doesn't get hurt - not even nicked - and that he manages to outgun and outthink about twenty people. It's fun to watch this stuff sometimes, but when it gets this improbable, I start to lose interest.
It is what it is, I guess. Maybe I shouldn't expect so much. It's hard to compare this movie to something like Dreams, or even The Seven Samurai. Heck, even the Magnificent Seven lets some of the main characters die, even if it isn't entirely clear how they were killed.
Friday, December 28, 2007
Mysteries of Pittsburgh movie?
Here's a link to the film's website:
And here's a link to the IMDB profile of the film, for release next year?
This looks like good timing. I'm loving everything that I read by this guy, and I'm sure that even a bad version of his book as a movie would be entertaining. Let's hope that it doesn't get the same level of angry, frustrated praise that the "gay cowboy" movie - good old, heartbreaking Brokeback - got.
And here's a link to the IMDB profile of the film, for release next year?
This looks like good timing. I'm loving everything that I read by this guy, and I'm sure that even a bad version of his book as a movie would be entertaining. Let's hope that it doesn't get the same level of angry, frustrated praise that the "gay cowboy" movie - good old, heartbreaking Brokeback - got.
Just finished reading Mysteries of Pittsburgh
I really enjoyed this book. It's about a young man who has just finished college, and who isn't sure who he is. He goes through some sexual confusion, and he manages to be confused and excited in interesting, fun-to-read ways. The reviews were strongly positive - managing to make an old story sound interesting and new.
I suppose what makes this book interesting for me is that Chabon makes his characters - and his plots - worth reading about. I want to get to know and understand Phlox, the female love interest. I'm curious about this Arthur character, and I want to know what this guy is going to say. Cleveland is also a very interesting character, and he is worth finding out more about. The ending was also a bit unexpected, though not annoyingly so. It followed from the material provided without being either predictable or completely crazy.
I also really think that Chabon is capable of turning rather apt phrases. He can capture an image with astonishing care. An example would be the way that he describes an Italian restaurant as "darkness and garlic." I'm not reproducing the whole effect, but he manages to evoke - the word that I attach so often to Hemingway, one of my favorites - emotion and image, not merely describe it. He's a crafty writer, and his characters are full and interesting. His dialogue is sharp and interesting. For this kind of book, it was unusually captivating.
I've talked to myself about writing a book on a similar theme. I'm glad that I read this book first. I'm not so sure that I want to write that book anymore. No, I don't suppose I would be writing about a sexual awakening. But the confusion after college was definitely a tempting subject.
I suppose what makes this book interesting for me is that Chabon makes his characters - and his plots - worth reading about. I want to get to know and understand Phlox, the female love interest. I'm curious about this Arthur character, and I want to know what this guy is going to say. Cleveland is also a very interesting character, and he is worth finding out more about. The ending was also a bit unexpected, though not annoyingly so. It followed from the material provided without being either predictable or completely crazy.
I also really think that Chabon is capable of turning rather apt phrases. He can capture an image with astonishing care. An example would be the way that he describes an Italian restaurant as "darkness and garlic." I'm not reproducing the whole effect, but he manages to evoke - the word that I attach so often to Hemingway, one of my favorites - emotion and image, not merely describe it. He's a crafty writer, and his characters are full and interesting. His dialogue is sharp and interesting. For this kind of book, it was unusually captivating.
I've talked to myself about writing a book on a similar theme. I'm glad that I read this book first. I'm not so sure that I want to write that book anymore. No, I don't suppose I would be writing about a sexual awakening. But the confusion after college was definitely a tempting subject.
Hiatus
I've got a new teaching job, and a new resolve to write more about things. I'm going to try to focus on things that concern me, and try not to hash through the mundane details of my mostly mundane life. I'm not that interesting. My best hope for something worth reading is to be observant about my mundanity.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
