Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by Bambi B (A) on November 14, 2007 at 07:32:08

In Reply to: RE: Favorite Film? posted by Wendell Narrod on November 12, 2007 at 15:19:55

Wendwell Narrod,

I couldn't say that just one movie is complete in every way, so I'll just mention four that I can see several times: Seven Samurai, Beauty and the Beast (Cocteau), Brazil, The Third Man, Das Boot. I've probably seen all of these at least 5 times each.

It's interesting to me that I can't actually watch any of these often or repeatedly. For me, it's the middle ground interesting movies that I can watch often- I forget parts, but the really great ones are so indelibly memorable, I don't need to see them often. In the old days of the video store, I'd find myself picking up the box, but then staring at it and running the whole movie in my mind- and putting the box back!

If I had to say my first favourite, it would be Seven Samurai. This movie is such a complete world in itself and so amazingly evocative of that remote culture and time- it's a "transporting" movie- so exotic and yet seems so convincingly true. Plus, it's dramatic, funny, and full of action, and says much about struggle, loyalty, friendship, and honour. Plus it has artful rain and wind sequences- and Kurosawa seems to have a good rain in about every movie- think of the opening scene of "Rashomon"!

"Beauty and the Beast", the 1946 Cocteau version I find amazing- it's a truly magical movie as opposed to the 1/8 second edited CG harassments of today. And BatB is wonderful for me as the language is so simple I can see it without subtitles and it adds a sesnse of the exotic.

"The Third Man" is amazing as it's superficially complex (and visually astounding) like Samurai, but fundamentally simple- it's about the loyalty of true friends. And like Samurai again, it's really a kind of Western.

"Das Boot" I like again becasue it just rings so true- life on a WWII German U-Boat just had to be like that. And the submarine is one of those encapsulated worlds- people struggling for survival in a limited place surrounded by a deadly environment- in a sense like a space travel epic, but because the submarine technology is real it's more exciting- the struggle is real.

Cheers,

Bambi B