TV/Movies Megathread

[Josephus]

Ironically, though I'm not a huge Kevin Spacey fan, I liked American Beauty.

[Queequeg]

You ever seen Night of the Hunter, Celed?

Yeah, like it a lot.

It's one of my all-time favorites.  Laughton used Expressionism as a big influence.  Completely unlike anything from the 50s, big influence on Lynch and the Coen brothers.  Love it. 

[Sheilbh]

I'm worried that people will start ironically appreciating it, like what happened with American Beauty. 

I enjoyed American Beauty a lot more after reading Hans's review

[celedhring]

You ever seen Night of the Hunter, Celed?

Yeah, like it a lot.

It's one of my all-time favorites.  Laughton used Expressionism as a big influence.  Completely unlike anything from the 50s, big influence on Lynch and the Coen brothers.  Love it.

Well, that's because Night of the Hunter is a horror film, where Robert Mitchum is the monster. There was a big influence from Expressionism in horror films, through a lot of German film people (which included a lot of set designers and DOPs) that fled the nazis.

Incidentally, the film was widely rejected by critics and audiences at the time, so Laughton never made another film

[Capetan Mihali]

And film noir.

[celedhring]

And film noir.

Yeah, most German directors (Lang, Wilder, Siodmak) started up doing noir upon their arrival. That said, noir's style is mostly derived from being cheap; WB was a poorly funded studio back then and using natural locations with little lightning saved money, plus it lent a naturalistic feel to the picture that fit the "true crime!" pulpish feel.

Incidentally, heightened melodrama was another byproduct of German influence, through - amongst others - the one and only Douglas Sirk (nee Hans Sierck).

One thing Hollywood's always been truly great at, is phagocyting, taming and adapting stylistic innovations from the ROTW.

[CountDeMoney]

Vertigo: overrated.  Not even in my Hitchcock Top 5.
Casablanca: not overrated.

[Queequeg]

Vertigo: overrated.  Not even in my Hitchcock Top 5.
Casablanca: not overrated.

I think there is a real argument to be made that Hermann's Vertigo soundtrack is the greatest of all time.

[Queequeg]

And film noir.

Yeah, most German directors (Lang, Wilder, Siodmak) started up doing noir upon their arrival. That said, noir's style is mostly derived from being cheap; WB was a poorly funded studio back then and using natural locations with little lightning saved money, plus it lent a naturalistic feel to the picture that fit the "true crime!" pulpish feel.

Incidentally, heightened melodrama was another byproduct of German influence, through - amongst others - the one and only Douglas Sirk (nee Hans Sierck).

One thing Hollywood's always been truly great at, is phagocyting, taming and adapting stylistic innovations from the ROTW.

IDK if that's even accurate.  Night of the Hunter is as American as apple pie, and it had a colossal influence on a lot of future American film, but its director was English.  Billy Wilder was as German Jewish as anyone.  Hollywood has always been wonderfully international. 

[Capetan Mihali]

Incidentally, heightened melodrama was another byproduct of German influence, through the one and only Douglas Sirk (nee Hans Sierck).

Then back to Germany in the form of Fassbinder.  Then back to America in the form of Todd Haynes.

I love Sirk, though.  I think it amused him that he became such an inspiration and a critical darling later on, while his classics were regarded as puffed-up "women's pictures" at the time.  He had a great quote in a 70s or 80s interview I read where he said he would have made "Imitation of Life" on the basis of the title alone.

Nick Ray, I think, was the closest home-grown American genius in that field of over-the-top expressionist melodrama.

[celedhring]

And film noir.

Yeah, most German directors (Lang, Wilder, Siodmak) started up doing noir upon their arrival. That said, noir's style is mostly derived from being cheap; WB was a poorly funded studio back then and using natural locations with little lightning saved money, plus it lent a naturalistic feel to the picture that fit the "true crime!" pulpish feel.

Incidentally, heightened melodrama was another byproduct of German influence, through - amongst others - the one and only Douglas Sirk (nee Hans Sierck).

One thing Hollywood's always been truly great at, is phagocyting, taming and adapting stylistic innovations from the ROTW.

IDK if that's even accurate.  Night of the Hunter is as American as apple pie, and it had a colossal influence on a lot of future American film, but its director was English.  Billy Wilder was as German Jewish as anyone.  Hollywood has always been wonderfully international.

How does that make what I said inaccurate? The way Hollywood did it was by attracting professionals from the ROTW. They see something that interests them, they show a wad of dollars to the guy that did it and set him up with a bungalow in LA. It's not a criticism - one doesn't get to be the top dog during so long unless it does quite a few things right.

[Eddie Teach]

The more Spellus posts in this thread, the more I question myself for liking Hannibal.

[Admiral Yi]

Why the dislike for American Beauty?

I think you're allowed to like.  You just can't like it ironically.  Whatever the fuck that means.

[garbon]

I confused as to why phagocyte was the word chosen for this conversation.

[Capetan Mihali]

I've met people who liked American Beauty because it was good and people who disliked American Beauty because it was bad, but never anybody who liked American Beauty because it was bad.  Which is what I take ironic liking to mean in this context.  Unlike, say, The Room...