TV/Movies Megathread

[celedhring]

That would have made it more like your run of the mill TV biopic. It was more interesting that way.

[Eddie Teach]

It would have been more interesting focusing on the politics more.

[crazy canuck]

That would have made it more like your run of the mill TV biopic. It was more interesting that way.

It was dramatic, not interesting.

[Savonarola]

Leaves out of the Book of Satan (1920)

After seeing DW Griffith's "Intolerance" Carl Theodore Dreyer decided to make his on four part epic.  This one deals with Satan who is forced to wander through the world and tempt mankind; for every man who falls to his temptation 100 years is added to Satan's punishment, for every one who resists 1000 years will be taken off.  The movie covers four vignettes; the betrayal of Christ, the Inquisition, the French Revolution and the (then current) Finnish Civil War. 

He doesn't use Griffith's structure where the individual stories run concurrently; this, I think, is the film's major weak point.  Instead of a complete movie it's more like four episodes of a television show.  Everything else in the film is strong; the grand sets and gorgeous cinematography are used to good effect.  The mood throughout is complex; gloomy, sensuous, religious, and meditative all at once.  "The Passion of Joan of Arc" and "Vampyr" are better movies but this is still an early masterpiece of a great director.

[Admiral Yi]

That incentive scheme is totally bass ackward.

[The Brain]

Leaves out of the Book of Satan (1920)

After seeing DW Griffith's "Intolerance" Carl Theodore Dreyer decided to make his on four part epic.  This one deals with Satan who is forced to wander through the world and tempt mankind; for every man who falls to his temptation 100 years is added to Satan's punishment, for every one who resists 1000 years will be taken off.  The movie covers four vignettes; the betrayal of Christ, the Inquisition, the French Revolution and the (then current) Finnish Civil War. 

He doesn't use Griffith's structure where the individual stories run concurrently; this, I think, is the film's major weak point.  Instead of a complete movie it's more like four episodes of a television show.  Everything else in the film is strong; the grand sets and gorgeous cinematography are used to good effect.  The mood throughout is complex; gloomy, sensuous, religious, and meditative all at once.  "The Passion of Joan of Arc" and "Vampyr" are better movies but this is still an early masterpiece of a great director.

Elaborate on the Finnish Civil War episode.

[Eddie Teach]

That incentive scheme is totally bass ackward.

Unless the devil's a masochist.

[Savonarola]

Elaborate on the Finnish Civil War episode.

Satan is a red monk.  He uses the schoolhouse to deliver red lectures to workers.  One of his converts lusts after the wife of a white communication officer.  One of the older men he ordered executed has a daughter who joins the white army.  The red convert rats out the white communication officer.  The red irregulars seize the white officer's house.  Red convert tries to rape white officer's wife, but Satan stops him, for the time being.  The reds order the communication officer to send a telegraph that would lead his comrades into a trap.  He refuses.  They order the wife to do the same, threatening to kill her husband.  She refuses.  They drag him outside to be shot.  Satan says that if she doesn't cooperate he'll have her children executed.  She prays for strength to resist temptation, and, in the lull as they wait for the firing squad to return, she stealthily grabs a knife and stabs herself in the heart.  Just as her husband is about to be executed the white daughter shows up and threatens to hand grenade the red firing squad unless they surrender.  They surrender and the white army shows up.  They and the husband go back to the home, capture the reds but find it was too late to save the wife.  Long live Finland!

[celedhring]

That would have made it more like your run of the mill TV biopic. It was more interesting that way.

It was dramatic, not interesting.

I liked it, it wasn't the movie I expected, and in a good way. I already know of Thatcher's time and politics, I appreciated that it didn't try to be a history lesson. Film is a terrible medium for history lessons.

[crazy canuck]

That would have made it more like your run of the mill TV biopic. It was more interesting that way.

It was dramatic, not interesting.

I liked it, it wasn't the movie I expected, and in a good way. I already know of Thatcher's time and politics

You do rememeber that my point was that this movie could really only be enjoyed by people that already knew those things right?

[Admiral Yi]

The best part of that movie was the sexy bucktoothed young Maggie.

[celedhring]

That would have made it more like your run of the mill TV biopic. It was more interesting that way.

It was dramatic, not interesting.

I liked it, it wasn't the movie I expected, and in a good way. I already know of Thatcher's time and politics

You do rememeber that my point was that this movie could really only be enjoyed by people that already knew those things right?

No, because that isn't what the movie is about. As you say, the politics and history stuff take backseat in favor of personal stuff; her mental and physical twilight, how her career affected the relationship with her family. What's there for the Iron Lady once she's no longer the Iron Lady.

So instead of finding a movie telling me something I already knew, I found a movie looking at the character from a different light. As said, a pleasant surprise.

[crazy canuck]

That would have made it more like your run of the mill TV biopic. It was more interesting that way.

It was dramatic, not interesting.

I liked it, it wasn't the movie I expected, and in a good way. I already know of Thatcher's time and politics

You do rememeber that my point was that this movie could really only be enjoyed by people that already knew those things right?

No, because that isn't what the movie is about. As you say, the politics and history stuff take backseat in favor of personal stuff; her mental and physical twilight, how her career affected the relationship with her family. What's there for the Iron Lady once she's no longer the Iron Lady.

So instead of finding a movie telling me something I already knew, I found a movie looking at the character from a different light. As said, a pleasant surprise.

But you can only appreciate that character study because you already know the background story.  It assumes the viewer can make sense of the various vignettes of her career because they already know what is going on.  Without that background knowledge the movie would make little sense.

[The Brain]

Elaborate on the Finnish Civil War episode.

Satan is a red monk.  He uses the schoolhouse to deliver red lectures to workers.  One of his converts lusts after the wife of a white communication officer.  One of the older men he ordered executed has a daughter who joins the white army.  The red convert rats out the white communication officer.  The red irregulars seize the white officer's house.  Red convert tries to rape white officer's wife, but Satan stops him, for the time being.  The reds order the communication officer to send a telegraph that would lead his comrades into a trap.  He refuses.  They order the wife to do the same, threatening to kill her husband.  She refuses.  They drag him outside to be shot.  Satan says that if she doesn't cooperate he'll have her children executed.  She prays for strength to resist temptation, and, in the lull as they wait for the firing squad to return, she stealthily grabs a knife and stabs herself in the heart.  Just as her husband is about to be executed the white daughter shows up and threatens to hand grenade the red firing squad unless they surrender.  They surrender and the white army shows up.  They and the husband go back to the home, capture the reds but find it was too late to save the wife.  Long live Finland!

Civil war is not nice.

FCW hijack.

[celedhring]

That would have made it more like your run of the mill TV biopic. It was more interesting that way.

It was dramatic, not interesting.

I liked it, it wasn't the movie I expected, and in a good way. I already know of Thatcher's time and politics

You do rememeber that my point was that this movie could really only be enjoyed by people that already knew those things right?

No, because that isn't what the movie is about. As you say, the politics and history stuff take backseat in favor of personal stuff; her mental and physical twilight, how her career affected the relationship with her family. What's there for the Iron Lady once she's no longer the Iron Lady.

So instead of finding a movie telling me something I already knew, I found a movie looking at the character from a different light. As said, a pleasant surprise.

But you can only appreciate that character study because you already know the background story.  It assumes the viewer can make sense of the various vignettes of her career because they already know what is going on.  Without that background knowledge the movie would make little sense.

You have a point there, but I think it is germane from the filmmakers to expect that somebody who might be interested in a character study of Margaret Thatcher would be familiar with his public life and achievements.

Mind, it isn't a perfect film by any means and possibly a better balance could've been struck, but I liked what they tried to do and I believe it resulted in a better film than if they focused on chronicling his political struggles and achievements. There's probably lots of great documentaries that already do that.