 
|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
|
|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
207.81.84.149
In Reply to: Re: Whoops! My bad on the Pulitzer! posted by Gee LP on July 18, 2005 at 19:02:21:
Maybe I should not say the most noteworthy - basically should have said most popular and recognized. The only one to win the Pulitzer.He said his favorite critic was Pauline Kael.
I don't even agree with him most of the time and he's not my favorite -- though he is the one who's writing style I typically remember or "go to" first if I'm debating on whether to see a suspect film.
My degree is in English literature, which you'd never guess by my grammar. One thing I learned about getting my degree in English is that the subject reduces one's own thinking to series of he said she said papers. I much preferred Philosophy and psychology buthad to select teachable subjects for the teaching degree.
I am a movie-goer not a film student or film art house person who particularly wants to analyze a film to death. I sure don't want to sit in a class to watch Ebert break down every frame of Citizen Kane.
I want my movie to work on movie going intent level. Dawn of the Dead is a gory horror movie that works on that level and movies MUST work on this level for me to enjoy it. For me music is similar. bob Dylan may have the best lyrics in the hostory of Rock musci but until he learns to eununciate I will never know what it is he is trying to say. I refuse to read liner notes -- learn to sing if you're a singer or give the song to someone who can.
I have read so many articles on Citizen Kane and have went back and seen it two more times. It's a solid film -- best ever -- well it's not in my top 100 and 1the made for TV 1985's Death of a Salesman IS. I think I have made my case for why -- but film criticism is obviously going to allude me because I refuse to fall all over myself for this film.
I will read some of the names you suggest assuming I don;t have to pay anything to read them. And hey no one has mentioned Leonard Maltin :-) At least his books get to the point :-)
Follow Ups:
Re: books by the critics, you should be able to find them in the musty shelves of your university or local library. Heck, even Bossier City has Kecrauer's "From Caligari to Hitler" and Haskell's "From Reverance to Rape"! Start with Bazin and Sarris (but you can never read too much Kael: "I Lost It at the Movies," "Reeling," and "When the Lights Go Down"). Good hunting!While I enjoy analyzing films frame by frame and sequence by sequence, I also enjoy just sitting down and watching a movie. You might be surprised at how sheerly enjoyable "Kane" is when you are a little older. Odd how a 25-year-old man's first film is basically a memory piece (the Mankiewicz script, I suppose), but like Proust, the viewer's age adds a little resonance to the work.
BTW, you're all wrong on Dylan :^). No liner notes needed to understand what he is saying in "Ballad of a Thin Man." Now, what it MEANS may be another thing....! I don't think he has a serious problem with enunciation until after the Christian phase (what was the album with "Jokerman" on it?). Too much touring and too many cigarettes? For a more relaxed Dylan singing style, check out "Basement Tapes", "John Wesley Harding" and "Nashville Skyline"; although every word of "Blood on the Tracks" is burned in my heart...no lyric sheet needed here!
An English lit major, eh? You know I am a middle-aged Secondary Education/English and Social Studies student in Louisiana! Long term goal is to be an English or Social Studies professor, but teaching high school kids about "Romeo and Juliet" and "A Separate Peace" for four or so years should not be too bad.
And if you are looking for a Leonard Maltin recommendation, I gotcha one right here! "The Great Comedy Teams" was published in 1970 or 71 in paperback by Maltin when he was just 17 or 18...his first book. Great essays on the great film comedy teams of the 20s through 50s. Best writing is on Laurel and Hardy, and Martin and Lewis, but wait til you read about (was it Clark and Johnson's, or Johnson and Clark's:) "Hellzapoppin'"! Long out of print, but if you can score a copy, I highly recommend it!
Enjoy the search! And if the reading gets a little too academic or long-winded (it won't with Bazin or Truffaut, I promise!), my advice is: See another movie!
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
Top of Page ]
[ Contact Us ]
[ Support/Wish List ]
[ Copyright © 2024, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]
