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SCREENING LOG
-3/1-3/7, 2004
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Two-Lane Blacktop (1971, Monte Hellmann)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067893/
yes
The Letter (1940, William Wyler) second viewing
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032701/
yes
Mrs. Miniver (1942, William Wyler) second viewing
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0035093/
yes
Jezebel (1938, William Wyler) second viewing
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0030287/
yes
After revisiting three films from around the same period
of Wyler's career, my opinion is more or less fixed that he
is a virtuoso but not an auteur -- he knows how to play the
notes just right, accentuating the drama found inherently
in a solid script through judicious employment of deep-focus
cinematography, carefully placed music for dramatic accentuation,
and pitch-perfect performances. All he's missing is personal
investment in the story. Other than the technique-oriented
elements listed above, what is there that's thematically developed
over the course of these three films, except perhaps an intriguing
fixation on the various facets of strong women characters,
whether tempetuous (JEZEBEL), mysterious (THE LETTER) or virtuous
(MRS. MINIVER)? That and a certain penchant for the sing-song
rhythms of quasi-theatrical dialogues, which by the time we
get to MRS. MINIVER he has mastered to give the illusion of
everyday conversation among admirable British citizens. After
all, it was good enough to fool such a diehard advocate of
realism as Andre Bazin.
The Saddest Music in the World (2003, Guy Maddin)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0366996/
yes
Angels with Dirty Faces (1938, Michael Curtiz)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029870/
yes (interesting how it resonates in some ways with Carne/Prevert's
JOUR SE LEVE)
The Passion of the Christ (2004, Mel Gibson)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0335345/
yes: http://www.imdb.com/board/bd0000010/thread/6730905?d=6859927#6859927
The Green Snake (1993, Tsui Hark)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106559/
YES
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948, John Huston)
second viewing
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040897/
yes bordering on YES (the moral strikes me as rather simple
and the way Bogart's companions react when his psychosis becomes
plainly evident seems inapproprately underplayed... but for
sheer watchability it's wonderfully handled by Huston, with
a carefully cultivated ruggedness that creates an endearing
mystique about itself)
The School of Rock (2003, Richard Linklater) second
viewing
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0332379/
yes (a film plagued with suspension of disbelief problems
and, more importantly, rife with ideological contradictions
-- some rather disturbing -- about what it means to try to
teach anti-establishment values to children in today's social
environtment, that I don't think Linklater or writer Mike
White fully confront. But the scenes where Jack Black is organizing
his class is a fascinating and convincingly authentic glimpse
into the creative collaborative process; in those interactions
Black could well be a stand-in for the director.
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