Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by RGA (A) on January 16, 2006 at 18:14:06

In Reply to: Re: Evidently You Think That....... posted by AudioHead on January 16, 2006 at 06:59:05:

I think we're in agreement. And catharsis a bit of an open term for me it is a term for profound lasting life changing art. Certainly horror and Comedy and certainly science ficition can have this - though interestingly it can often be in dramatic sequences.

E.T. to use your example is first and foremost a human dramatic story -- IMV all great films tend to place the human drama at the forefront no matter what the genre. We care about Elliot, Girty(sp?) and the rest of the family and that is why that film resonates. It is Spielberg's Casablanca (and I like it better than Casblanca) because it is also darn well sweet.

The Exorcist? We can identify with the mother's frustration and her plight. I'm not religious in the least bit and it resonated with me as one of the most powerful films I've seen - even if much of the power is through sensory shock.

Some films like 2001: A Space Odyssy is less human drama -- so there are exceptions -- though one could argue that that movie was human race human drama.