Homo. [/b][/quote]YOU! [/b][/quote]No, you!

Is this your first Tarkovsky? I'm not sure what you meant by "among the bunch" - among Tarkovsky's work or films "like" Mirror? If so, it's sort of a bad place to start to get into Tarkovsky because it is such a dense and yet opaque work. Yet I admire that you maintain an interest to explore more. Like you already noted, Mirror is constructed out of different formats (narrative forms) and shifts time and color.

He wasn't interested in constructing a logical and cohesive narrative (he does have that ability albeit episodically in Ivan's Childhood and Andrei Rublev ). Instead like much of his body of work, he invites contemplation to compare and contrast events/images to derive meaning. In fact his Nostalghia is basically an anti-narrative. His Sacrifice is rather linear and classical in construction, but it resists narrative logic at the same time.

I wholeheartedly recommend his Stalker - the quintessential cinematic experience; something that expands one's notion of the boundaries of cinema making it boundless. I think it's his best work and along with Ivan's Childhood it's his most forward-driven plot. [/b][/quote]It was and is my 1st Tarkovsky, I was speaking of other films without much in the way of narrative not other Tarkovskys, and I've been interested in seeing Stalker for a while, mostly due to DVC.

Sorry to be upping old discussions, guys. Just new to the boards and looking back at old discussions.

Mista Mista Tom Hagen, it appears I'm singling you out, but it just so happens what your wrote makes for good discussion so far. I'm also jumping from page to page in no specific order.

Anyway, what you just described as "Bicycle Thief"'s aesthetic is the Italian neo-realist aesthetic. They sought to eradicate artifice and capture reality without embellishment resulting from a dialogue between the filmmakers and the environment.

WWII destroyed Italy's filmmaking physical infrastructure; thus, it was make do with what you got, which wasn't much. As a result, filmmakers shot on location and used non-professional actors and available lighting, which culminates in a rough/amateur look and feel compared to polished filmmaking or the norm. In terms of story, folks like De Sica and Rossellini focused on the poverty and harsh living conditions post-WWII.

The importance of "Bicycle Thief," seems to me, places in historical significance. If you look at the old Sight and Sound polls, it topped the list a few times and remained in the top 5-10 for a while. It has now dropped in evaluation, but not stature.

One of the problems the film's stature causes for it is the expectations it causes and the context. "Bicycle Thief" is nowhere near the wonder (in terms of scale, story, technical qualities) of what you find in most top 20's (the usual suspects: Vertigo, 2001, Citizen Kane, Rules of the Game, Godfathers). A top 20 film is usually associated with innovation, grandiose, wonder, excitement. But, there lies a tiny film in that bunch.

Its story hasn't aged well. Some people find the films' contrivances (seems to be the main criticism of the film)to be at odds with the Italian neorealist aesthetic.

Personally, its value lies in the fact that one doesn't need a $200 million budget to make a movie that has powerful moments.

I no longer like the film as a whole, but some moments remain poignant and the most touching I've encountered thus far.

Marty Scorsese's "My Voyage To Italy" is a personal documentary (on DVD) on his memories of Italian films of his youth especially Italian Neorealism. Nice info and enjoyable piece, but Marty spoils every single movie as he covers the endings and key plot events.

I've noticed you watched quite a bit of Bergman from some of your posts throughout this huge thread (I like this thread, BTW).

Have you been fortunate to catch some supposedly fine early light/comedic/romance Bergman like "Summer Interlude" and "Summer of Monika?"

I recommend Kurosawa's "Yojimbo" if you haven't seen it yet. "Fistful of Dollars" is a remake of Yojimbo.

I recommend Kurosawa's "Yojimbo" if you haven't seen it yet. "Fistful of Dollars" is a remake of Yojimbo. [/b][/quote]I've seen and loved both, though it's been a while since I've seen either. Leone's best western is definitely Once Upon A Time in the West though.

Ah. Anyone who watched Stalker is a-o.k. in my book. Someone who likes it?...even better!

Appreciate the invite. Is that your boards? [/b][/quote]Stalker is my favorite movie of all time. To even attempt to explain the massively profound impact it has had on me is laughably impossible. Once the thought of it enters my mind, I become so overwhelmed by its beauty and intelligence, that I am at a loss for words.

But anyways, it's not my website...it's actually Capo de la Cosa Nostra's. I think you'd like posting there.

I presume you saw the Kino DVD of "Short Film..." Anyway, it is a far superior transfer than "Decalogue 5: Thou Shall Not Kill." As a result, the cinematography stands out even more.

The Decalogue episode is great because it is so concise (any of the Decalogue episodes irregardless of quality are exemplars of tight and compelling storytelling in under 60 minutes).

I think both versions are two of the most powerful works I've encountered.

I recommend Kurosawa's "Yojimbo" if you haven't seen it yet. "Fistful of Dollars" is a remake of Yojimbo. [/b][/quote]I've seen and loved both, though it's been a while since I've seen either. Leone's best western is definitely Once Upon A Time in the West though. [/b][/quote]Lucky for you know decisively what your favorite Leone is. Me, I can't decide between that or The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.

Once Upon a Time in America is my favorite Leone film by a long shot.

For me, the genius of Kieslowski was how he handled the two main characters in Decalogue 5/Short...Killing.

***Spoilers Ahead***

Usually, like in Dead Man Walking, in films dealing with capital punishment, the filmmaker presents the inmate so that we align our sympathies with them. Also, in such movies, the victims are presented as "good" and wrongly convicted.

We get neither from Kieslowski. The killer is not like Sean Penn. We have a hard time sympathizing and empathizing with him as we saw his terrible acts done with coldness, but Kieslowski presents him with a little heart (his love and guilt for his sister). Still, he is hard to accept. This complicates the audience's stance in regards to capital punishment. Does capital punishment become a little more acceptable in regards to a less sympathetic murderer than another?

As for the victim (the taxi cab driver), he is unlike most victims in most movies. The cab driver discriminates among passengers, lies to a couple that he'll give them a ride, etc.

Kieslowski avoids crude good versus bad. He gives us human beings - fallible, the capacity to do both good and bad.


*** End Spoilers ***

That's what I love so much about A Short Film About Killing. Kieslowski puts his complete faith in the audience by refusing to take a side. The entire thing is so inconclusive; there are a million answers and nobody is wrong.

Sadly, it's the only Kieslowski film I've seen so far. I need to see more.

Oooh, I envy your position to experience his other works for the first time.

If I could offer some useful advice.

"Decalogue" is a cut off point stylistically and thematically. Prior to the series, his films were stylistically classical and Neorealist. His work was more political and social as well.

Post-Decalogue. Kieslowski's films turn more to the personal and art cinema aesthetic.

Decalogue is a transition point leaning more towards the films before it.

Stylistically, it really is night and day.

Let me know if I could be of more help.

Jet Li's Fearless ***
(First Viewing)

Not his best movie (Hero) but a very enjoyable way to go out

Just last night I watched Walk The Line, now I've never cared for the music of Johnny Cash, or June Carter. But I will admit having been elected to the song writers HOF, Coutry music HOF, & the Rock N Roll HOF. Johnny Cash is a man to be respected.

I think both Joaquin Phoenix & Reese Witherspoon, did fantastic jobs as Johnny Cash, & June Carter.

And I did learn some things about the life of "The man in black"

The Omen (2006) ** 1/2
(Second Viewing)

I watched most of Dead Man a couple weeks ago. It made me think of a few members here. I'm really mad I didn't get to finish it.. but it wasn't my house, and someone turned it off to play Guitar Hero. Which I proceeded to pwn.

Anyway, what I saw of it I thought was excellent. I'm gonna have to find somewhere around here to rent it from, or better yet buy it. I had no idea Neil Young did the score for it either.. pleasant surprise.

Dead Man is the best black and white film I have ever seen.

Glad you liked what you saw, bogey. It's one of those films where every element comes together perfectly to create something truly mindblowing. Did you see any scenes towards the end of the film?

You were the first one I thought of, actually.. I really didn't see much of the end of the movie... we had to stop it because we had to go satisfy the munchies, and when we got back someone had turned it off. I think we only got a little bit past the part with Iggy Pop in it.

Employee of the Month ***
(First Viewing)

Dane Cook is one of the funniest men alive today! It was also great to see Andy Dick working again

I caught two films in a row yesterday; the first was as good, but no better, as I had anticipated, the second was the best film of 2006...


The Departed
An engaging thriller, both very funny and often quite shocking - Scorsese manipulates the volume so well that the brutal gunshots and splatters of blood inject as much power as possible in otherwise more quieter moments. He has assembled another fine cast, with everybody in just the right place, including a show-stealer from Mark Wahlberg. It is of little visual interest, but is edited with the same pace as Cape Fear, and what begins as a casual, run-of-the-mill remake emerges as a powerful, thrilling, topsy-turvy exploration of masculinity, and, more specifically, rats ratting each other out and not getting away with it. Impressive.

Children of Men
Outstandingly-shot film, full of breathtaking sequences, using long takes and a hand-held, fiercely independent and roaming camera which restricts our view but enhances the immediacy of many incredibly complicated settings. The most impressive of these are the rebel attack on a car full of people, with the camera rotating three-sixty degress inside the car, before alighting and ending up left to observe two dead policemen as the car speeds off; the giving birth of a child in some worn-out, secluded safe house, with the very near threat of war and manic dogs outside; and the descent of a stairwell in a building at the heart of the fierce battle, with the relentless cry of a baby which, by the end of the shot, has silenced the guns and brought calm to a scene of devastation. It's genuinely thrilling, with a believable grittiness rarely seenin sci-fi; ultimately, life-enhancingly powerful.

Capo I presume you have stopped using star system. Or are these no-star movies?

No, I was just lazy in transforming the code. I gave The Departed two stars, Children of Men three. That's "great, highly recommended" and "excellent, essential", respectively.

Layer Cake **
(First Viewing)

What'd you think of that one Irish? I've been meaning to revisit it, one of my favorites from last year.

I'd have to see it again. I wasn't feeling well and lost the storyline about 30-45 minutes into it.

THE DEPARTED (2006) - ****1/2

The Marty is back.

In easily his best effort since CASINO, if not the masterpiece GOODFELLAS, Scorsese returns to the world of mobsters and whackings on the streets, this time in the Irish sphere in Boston.

INFERNAL AFFAIRS(****), the Hong Kong International sensation, was a pretty damn good movie. It took a great premise, and actually rocked the joint with pretty-well execution.

However, Scorsese actually improves upon the concept of INFERNAL AFFAIRS. Perhaps its the elaboration on the beginnings for Damon and DiCaprio, or Scorsese getting a hell of a cast together to kick ass. Hell, I still can't believe I saw Mark Whalberg ownining the joint in his scenes.

Then again, it could be that with THE DEPARTED, its ending, while quite similar to INFERNAL AFFAIRS, is very different in tone and mood. With IA, the ending is very solemn and of sorts, a happy ending that arises from the tragedy that occurs.

With THE DEPARTED, its not an audience pleasing ending, but more appropriate for the fate of certainly the last victim of this universe.

Jack Nicholson is a lock to win the Best Supporting Actor Oscar, and besides the usual technical noms expected for a multi-nom Scorsese movie(Schoonmaker for editing, etc.), I actually think Damon and DiCaprio each make a case for a nomination for Best Actor. Who knows, the Academy might give a mercy fuck to the great Martin fucking Sheen. Hell, they did it to Alan Alda for AVIATOR.

Most of all, of the last few years, this is Scorsese's best chance at winning the Best Director Oscar. This film isn't obvious Oscar baiting, but actually an entertaining drama that doesn't sacrifice its artistic merits to score big at the box-office(with Scorsese's biggest opening weekend in his career).

I hope and pray Marty wins the Oscar next year but I'm not holding my breathe with Clint Eastwood coming out with Flags of Our Fathers and Letters From Iwo Jima