Weekly Collection of Random Film Thoughts

Saturday 5 March 2011

I must watch more short films, can anyone recommend any particularly great ones?

Has any one else seen Louis Malle's 1960 film "Zazie Dans Le Metro" AKA "Zazie"? , I first heard of it from Forgotten Classics of Yesteryear and when I watched it I loved it. I would even say it's better than the most famous French film to be released that year, A Bout De Souffle, by Godard. Yes, I think Louis Malle is a better director than Jean-Luc Godard. And I can't wait to see more of his films, I also loved his first film, Ascenseur Vers L'Echafaud, it was one of the most thrilling thrillers I've ever seen! Anyway, Zazie is highly recommended, a wonderful film, it's a perfect surreal comedy.

I recently watched Gates Of Heaven and enjoyed it, it wasn't as good as I had expected but still a very good film, I suppose my expectations were too high. Anyway, it definitely got me interested in Errol Morris and his work, so I'll be watching The Thin Blue Line and The Fog Of War sometime soon.

One of the reasons I saw Gates Of Heaven is because Werner Herzog promised to eat his shoe if the film was ever finished, the film was finished and Herzog ate his shoe, you can see it here in this amusing little film by Les Blank (who is also a talented documentary maker, having made Burden of Dreams): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rd6rUo7Htso

I can't believe they remade Brighton Rock (1947), it really is one of the best British Film Noirs of all time and although this may seem rather narrow minded of me, I refuse to see the remake. What will they be remaking next? Actually here's a pretty frightening list. I know it's been the 80's revival for the past few years, and a pretty mediocre revival it has been, The A Team, The Expendable, Karate kid, the upcoming The Thing prequel, the 4th Indian Jones, and many more... And that doesn't bother me much as the 80's were a pretty lacklustre decade for Hollywood anyway, but if they move back to the 70's I will be furious, imagine a remake of Taxi Driver, of any more of Peckinpah's films (actually a Straw Dogs remake will be released soon), of any of Coppola's, Nichols, Lumet's...

I've come to find that being a film buff means you can only share your knowledge and passion for the medium with other film buffs, any attempts to discuss films seriously with those not familiar with them or who only watch the latest Blockbusters for entertainment and rate films based on the quality and quantity of action scenes and the special effects, will be failures for they will not have the vocabulary or the knowledge to converse with you (not that I want to sound superior or anything, this is just a fact). How can you explain that a film they enjoyed was badly edited and terribly acted if they can't even tell the difference between good acting and bad acting and have no knowledge of the process of making a film and thus even if they watch films regularly they still are just as ignorant of the true art in film as if they never watched any.

I have also noticed the idea several people my age have, that of living in ones time. Of course I mention this in a film context but it also applies to all other aspects of culture. They will not watch films that are not of their time, I find this utterly confounding. If you only watch films made during your lifetime, which the majority of young people do, with the exceptions of a few classics, then you will never develop a true film culture. For if you go back in time you will come to realise that the films that are made today have been done before in one way or another many times before. Thus my friends are surprised when I can accurately predict the twists and turns of some films I've never seen before, but it's only because I'm familiar with similar films that have come before it. This kind of voluntary ignorance mystifies me, not only are the people of my age ignorant but they are so by choice.