[Once A Villain]

Originally Posted by RLacey

I saw most of 2001: A Space Odyssey a couple of days ago.

Now THAT was a disappointment.

I'm going to get flamed now, aren't I?

Holy f***ing shit yes you are! That's one of the greatest films ever made (#8 for me personally). Period.

[RLacey]

Horses for courses .

[Melanie68]

I don't think I've ever seen 2001. I have seen Dr. Strangelove and I would like to see A Clockwork Orange (I've heard that's fantastic too).

[Talas]

Originally Posted by RLacey

I saw most of 2001: A Space Odyssey a couple of days ago.

Now THAT was a disappointment.

I'm going to get flamed now, aren't I?

You had to watch it stoned to understand it

[Catbert]

In the last few days I watched Taxi Driver, 28 Days Later, The Manchurian Candidate (the new one), the Family Guy movie and the League of Gentlemen Live at Drury Lane. Liked them all, especially LoG

[squarejawhero]

I still haven't seen 2001, or I have and I don't remember it.


Anyhow, just finished watching Adrian Brody in The Jacket. I say watching, I was working, but it sucked me in by having good performances and a naked Keira Knightley. Always a bonus. The film actually really suprised me, being another one of those darker films a lá The Mothman Prophecies that slips under everyones radar and ends up being far better than expected. Certainly better than weirdfest The Machinist, anyhow, which suffered from being completely readable no matter how many twists they threw at you. The Jacket does have a convoluted, if contrived, plot, but it reaches natural conclusions and dare I say it, actually suprised me by the end. And not in the way you think it might.

Spoiler:

It was happy!

It's closer to Abre Los Ojos, but has moments of Vanilla Sky in it too, in the sense that it shares some of the sun of the remake and a lot of the dark of the original, plus has the same kind of frustrating, ethereal feel that only a movie which deals with primordial fears and surreal concepts can. If you've ever seen any of these films, or enjoyed Jacobs Ladder (another film it shares a lot with), then you'll like it a lot. It also has the same heartache you can often end up feeling these movies - they're dark, but human. The desperation of the protagonist makes you hope for them and identify with them, and the love they often feel for the female characters is tinged with sadness...

Actually, I've noticed that often with this kind of film, the love interest is beautiful, but somehow unobtainable. Interesting, almost as if there's a whole genre there. Thoughts?

[omloflump]

Holy f***ing shit yes you are! That's one of the greatest films ever made (#8 for me personally). Period.

I agree — though it slots in at #1 for me. No film, in my opinion, has used the medium more effectively. Oh and out of curiousity, what's #1 for you?

[Sage]

Originally Posted by Melanie68

I don't think I've ever seen 2001.

It's a film that everyone should see once. The images are stunning, the photography is outstanding, and the special effects set a standard that has rarely been matched even 35 years after it's release. However, the storyline devolves into pointless psychedelia towards the end. Talas is correct- Watching it stoned greatly enhances one's appreciation for the film.

I have seen Dr. Strangelove and I would like to see A Clockwork Orange (I've heard that's fantastic too).

A Clockwork Orange is excellent as well, but it raises ugliness and violence to an art form. Many of it's images will be burned into your brain for a long, long time after you view the film, for better or worse.

ScottMate

[omloflump]

However, the storyline devolves into pointless psychedelia towards the end.

I wouldn't say it's pointless, seeing as it was actually explained in the novel and the narrated original cut. Kubrick evidently preferred a more abstract approach. Personally, I think it works terrifically. I don't think it would be as powerful if it was neatly explained in the end — the subject matter doesn't lend itself to definitive conclusions.

[Melanie68]

Originally Posted by Thrift Store Scott

It's a film that everyone should see once. The images are stunning, the photography is outstanding, and the special effects set a standard that has rarely been matched even 35 years after it's release. However, the storyline devolves into pointless psychedelia towards the end. Talas is correct- Watching it stoned greatly enhances one's appreciation for the film.

A Clockwork Orange is excellent as well, but it raises ugliness and violence to an art form. Many of it's images will be burned into your brain for a long, long time after you view the film, for better or worse.

ScottMate

I remember going to a Halloween party about 5 years ago and the guy dressed up as Malcolm McDowell's character but I didn't know who he was supposed to be. He was horrified - oops!

I probably will see both movies. Now I just need to pick the appropriate pharmaceutical agent .

[Once A Villain]

Originally Posted by Thrift Store Scott

However, the storyline devolves into pointless psychedelia towards the end.

Not...true...damn...it....

[Sage]

Originally Posted by Once A Villain

Not...true...damn...it....

Hey, I tried to be fair and balanced in my assessment of the movie. It has many brilliant points, but even seeing the movie as a wee child of three when it was first released I thought "Oh, come on now!" when it started getting bizarre towards the end. I watched it again not too many years ago, expecting thirty-some-odd years to have changed my perspective, but my reaction remained much the same.
I never said it wasn't a great movie; It is, without a doubt. But for me personally,

Spoiler:

the whole tunnel of light, the old man on the bed, and the other self-consciously absurd images at the end of the movie

are just Stanley Kubrick masturbating on 70mm celluloid. Obviously, other people have differing opinions.
You know what they say about opinions...

ScottMate

[Once A Villain]

Originally Posted by omloflump

I agree — though it slots in at #1 for me. No film, in my opinion, has used the medium more effectively. Oh and out of curiousity, what's #1 for you?

I'm not quite sure. I looked at my list that I began in 1998, and I realized that some of it has shifted even since my last update (I'm working at updating it again).

[Once A Villain]

Originally Posted by Thrift Store Scott

Hey, I tried to be fair and balanced in my assessment of the movie. It has many brilliant points, but even seeing the movie as a wee child of three when it was first released I thought "Oh, come on now!" when it started getting bizarre towards the end. I watched it again not too many years ago, expecting thirty-some-odd years to have changed my perspective, but my reaction remained much the same.
I never said it wasn't a great movie; It is, without a doubt. But for me personally,

Spoiler:

the whole tunnel of light, the old man on the bed, and the other self-consciously absurd images at the end of the movie

are just Stanley Kubrick masturbating on 70mm celluloid. Obviously, other people have differing opinions.
You know what they say about opinions...

ScottMate

Some of the greatest parts of the film...

[Sage]

Originally Posted by Once A Villain

Some of the greatest parts of the film...

I can't tell you how flattered I am that you respect my opinion enough to be bothered by the fact that we disagree about a fair portion of one of your favorite films.
Shall I list one of my favorite films of all time that I'm sure you'll have no trouble tearing to shreds on any number of levels? I saw it at about the same time I saw "2001: A Space Odyssey" and at the same theatre, but from the right side of the first balcony instead of from the center of the floor. Yes, both films impressed me to the point that 35 years later I can still remember both the theatre and the specific seats I saw them in.

ScottMate

[Fairygdmther]

Originally Posted by Thrift Store Scott

I can't tell you how flattered I am that you respect my opinion enough to be bothered by the fact that we disagree about a fair portion of one of your favorite films.
Shall I list one of my favorite films of all time that I'm sure you'll have no trouble tearing to shreds on any number of levels? I saw it at about the same time I saw "2001: A Space Odyssey" and at the same theatre, but from the right side of the first balcony instead of from the center of the floor. Yes, both films impressed me to the point that 35 years later I can still remember both the theatre and the specific seats I saw them in.

ScottMate

Let me guess - Bambi?

Lynsie

[Once A Villain]

Originally Posted by Thrift Store Scott

I can't tell you how flattered I am that you respect my opinion enough to be bothered by the fact that we disagree about a fair portion of one of your favorite films.
Shall I list one of my favorite films of all time that I'm sure you'll have no trouble tearing to shreds on any number of levels? I saw it at about the same time I saw "2001: A Space Odyssey" and at the same theatre, but from the right side of the first balcony instead of from the center of the floor. Yes, both films impressed me to the point that 35 years later I can still remember both the theatre and the specific seats I saw them in.

ScottMate

I'm not bothered at all. 2001: A Space Odyssey is a masterpiece that can't be harmed by something as trivial as "opinion". I just wish that everyone could see its brilliance as clearly as it deserves to be seen.

Scott, really...I'm just giving you a hard time.

[Sage]

Originally Posted by Fairygdmther

Let me guess - Bambi?

Nope.
I'll give you a clue or two: It stars Vincent Price, and the original movie soundtrack features Judy Garland singing "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" in a crucial scene, but this song has been replaced in the video release of the film.

ScottMate

[Once A Villain]

Originally Posted by Thrift Store Scott

Nope.
I'll give you a clue or two: It stars Vincent Price, and the original movie soundtrack features Judy Garland singing "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" in a crucial scene, but this song has been replaced in the video release of the film.

ScottMate

Dr. Phibes?

[Sage]

Originally Posted by Once A Villain

Dr. Phibes?

That's "The Abominable Dr. Phibes", and yes, you are correct.
Damn, you're good!

ScottMate