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In Reply to: Re: Steve or anyone. Those anti-establishment films. Which are great? posted by TG on July 11, 2000 at 00:09:58:
Thanks. I remember reading something about "The Trip". I was in the Army in Germany at the time and missed it. I just looked up the "Strawberry Statement". Students taking over a college. Boring, according to Halliwell. Halliwell's been wrong a few times. Was the Strawberry Statement that bad?
No, it wasn't bad, but it took itself very seriously so it's not surprising that a staid publication like Halliwell reviews it as boring. Anyone with personal memories of those times would probably see it as a more or less accurate (but melodramatic) reflection of the attitudes of many 1960s college students.In general, Halliwell is my bible for films produced by the major Hollywood studios from the 1930s to 1950s. He had a good feel for the studio films of that golden era, however his coverage of silents is very sketchy, and after 1960 he just loses the plot altogether (except for big budget films). I don't think he ever liked or "got" modern films, especially independent productions, and that bias still continues.
What reveiwer would you suggest as an alternative for those later films?
My favourite critic/reviewer is David Stratten, but if you are not an Australian you will probably never have heard of him. He has been reviewing films on one of our public TV stations for years and gives regular college & adult education courses. Unfortunately I don't think he has ever compiled his reviews into a book. Barry Norman, formerly with the BBC as their resident critic, would probably be my second favourite reviewer (his "100 best movies" is a very good read). Danny Peary is a very good reviewer of all things weird & wonderful. I avoid most other critics.In terms of guides, I like the "Time Out Film Guide" published by Penguin Books as a companion to the Halliwell guide. It has a much more international scope then Halliwell, which is very Anglo-American. It also has a more cynical and sophisticated attitude, and assumes the reader will not be put off by a "difficult" film (instead of just rating it poorly or describing it as tedious which Halliwell does all too frequently). Between these two compact guides, mainstream movies around the world from the 20s to the current day are reasonably well covered.
My particular interests are silents, science-fiction, horror, film-noir and cult films. In these areas a specific reference text is needed. The Aurum Encyclopaedia of Science Fiction and Encyclopaedia of Horror are unsurpassed, but sadly about 10 years out of date now. Danny Peary's Cult Movie Guides (several titles) are the benchmark references in that genre, and there are several good works about film noir, but no one book that stands out.
In the topic area of this thread (anti-establishment), Danny Peary's "Cult Movies" could be a good place to start looking - I'm not at home at the moment so I can't check :^)
Hope that's of interest.
TG
It's Danny Peary, for sure and I'll be on the lookout for the others. Thanks. I'm with you on all but the silents and horror. I'll watch them occasionally, but not top interest.
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