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I enjoyed it. Not the way you enjoy truly great films, and this one doesn't pretend to be it, but I certainly did not want my two hours back.There was plenty of interest - not just what was on screen, but also what it created in your mind - in each story... should I spell it "thought provoking"? OK, I just did.
clark was right - the Chinese Cultural Revolution scenes were chilling and oh-so-true, and Bam was right too - it was disjointed, but still, nice entertainment.
Follow Ups:
Hi Victor,
You post short reviews so often here that I find myself curious about something. Would you please list 5 or so of your favorite films and briefly explain what it is you like about them? It would help establish context for your other evaluations, I think.They don't have to be your "top five" or anything, just really good movies that come to mind while you're writing...
Elliot
I am really short on time now, and the movies I like have been discussed here so often by myself and others, you can find plenty of what I said about each of them, so how about just a short list for now - as the lady is waiting.Paths of Glory
My Fair Lady
Barry Lyndon
Forbidden Games
Il Posto
La Strada
Nights of Cabiria
Bicycle Thief
The Return
Beau Travail
Andrey RublevThere are many more, of course. In general those are films about people.
Victor,Since "the Red Violin" came up, I had a chance to see parts again. I had last seen it in the original release.
And I have to say, I enjoyed it quite a bit more than the first viewing. I suppose knowing the sequence of vignettes in advnace helped it hold together a bit better. Really, the several period atmospheres were well depicted and despite the melodrama, there are some effective scenes. And yes, Clark is right about the Chinese Revolution scenes- the best, most real period piece.
I've had difficulty with music related movies as most involve a real historical figure, and the history is almost always distorted to suit some theme. Mozart was made a drooling buffoon under the thumb of Salieri in "Amadeus" and while I enjoyed the play- with Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker!) it was the kind of supsension of disbelief that theatres offer that made it palatable. I enjoyed Formans' treamtne as entertainment, But I had to pretend the clown jumping around was not Mozart, but a "generic" 18th C. composer. "Too many notes!"
The Ken Russell treatments like "Lisztomania" are actually easier to take in some ways as they are so over the top, you can treat them as surreal and not biography. If you haven't seen Russell's short movie about Bruckner -focussing on his counting compulsion -it's probably his best. His Elgar and "The Secret life of Arnold Bax" are also in the same, quiet mode.
Other musical niceties: I liked very much "Tout les Matins du Monde" about old Marin Marais and his gamba. and that's in spite of Depardieu, who for some reason I've always disliked- and I don't exactly why.
Also, "32 Short Films about Glenn Gould" . This is intentionally episodic, but rings very true. I had read Friedrich's biography of Gould and followed his career a long time and "32" works well for me. Colm Feore is amazingly good. The eccentric humour matches the subject very well.
And for pure entertainment, Rex Harrison in "Unfaithfully Yours" is a lot of fun- the music driving his fantasy life and feeding back to make great conducting.
Never saw "Hilary and Jackie" about poor J. DuPre. I don't think I could face that tragedy in motion- and I so loath the real Barenboim I can't watch a depiction of him either.
Do you have any favourtites in this genre?
Cheers,Bam
Does Diva count?
What about Run Lola Run?I saw Russell' Aria, but it was a bit dense, surreal, perhaps. I will have to try it again.
I have always liked "The Cotton Club" despite its drubbing by the critics.
Dave-A,Yes, certainly "Diva" counts as the whole thing centres around the pirated tape and the main character's obsession with the singer.
And very nicely done too.
I liked the detail of the museum of crashed luxury cars in the fellow's loft as a foil for the refined world of opera.
Cheers,
Sure... the Music Teacher is a fine movie and easily all time favorite, and one day clark presented me with a copy of Mozart Brothers - also great!Il Quartetto Basileus is among them, and who would forget Fellini's Prova d'Orchestra?
There have been others, they are just escaping me now.
s
Victor,I'm a big fan of "The Music Teacher" too.
As I thought about the subject, there ceme a flood of musically related movies, and I began to think this is a much more common genre than it appears. The only rival would have to be movies concerning the theft of nuclear weapons. There's also the whole world of rockumentaries, Beatles' movies, "Spinal Tap", and jazz movies. I haven't seen "Coltrane"- but there it is. So many movies, so many movies.
I've been waiting patiently, but for too long for the movie of the life of J.J. Froberger and can't understand why it hasn't been done already!
Cheers,
Hillary & Jackie was very reminiscent of the sixties and seventies and Baremboim did not make a good figure in it. The playing was wonderful, the film? so la-la. But not really bad.
Abel Gance with his Beethoven and Baur as the maestro is quite good.
A propos your comment on " Tout les matins..." and Depardieu I fully feel it this way too.
But not in Sturges film who was a big disapointment recently, but we spoke already about.
My Fair Lady.
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