[Henke]

I've heard that in the US you are considered to be a more serious movie fan if you watch foreign movies. That's pretty fun to hear for us who live outside the states

I can recommend Veiviseren (I've heard it's called The Patchfinder in english) a really great norweigen movie. I must also recommend Hrafn Gunnlaugsson's movies Hrafninn flýgur ("When the Raven Flies" according to IMDB), Í skugga hrafnsins (In the Shadow of the Raven) and Hv�*ti v�*kingurinn (The White Viking). Great movies which are inspired by Sergio Leone's western movies but set in the viking age. Ondskan (Evil) is really good as Ninja Dodo said.

The irony is that except for Det sjunde inseglet (The Seventh Seal) the best movie made in Sweden came in 1922 (without real color and sound that is). The exact same thing goes for Germany. Compare todays films with for example Das Kabinett des Doktor Caligari and Metropolis. I really recommend everybody to see Körkarlen by Victor Sjöström (I think it's called "The Phantom Chariot" in english) if you have the chance. The famous scene from Stanley Kubriks The Shining is taken from this old masterpiece.

[UPtimist]

Originally Posted by Once A Villain

I would rather just link to it when it's complete. I will update it in the next day or so...

Righty-o, that naturally is a better way...

[Once A Villain]

Originally Posted by Henke

I've heard that in the US you are considered to be a more serious movie fan if you watch foreign movies. That's pretty fun to hear for us who live outside the states

Heh, well it just makes sense. I mean, you aren't a real movie fan if you limit yourself to just films made in your country or language.

Originally Posted by Henke

The irony is that except for Det sjunde inseglet (The Seventh Seal) the best movie made in Sweden came in 1922 (without real color and sound that is). The exact same thing goes for Germany. Compare todays films with for example Das Kabinett des Doktor Caligari and Metropolis.

I agree for the most part. However, I don't necessarily think The Seventh Seal is Ingmar Bergman's best film. He made so many great movies and his greatest is debatable.

[Henke]

Originally Posted by Once A Villain

I agree for the most part. However, I don't necessarily think The Seventh Seal is Ingmar Bergman's best film. He made so many great movies and his greatest is debatable.

It's one of my favourites but I agree that it isn't necessarily his absolute best but more one of many great achievements. But I actually think Körkarlen (The Phantom Chariot) is better then any of Bergman's movies. It really is the best Swedish movie IMO. It's based on a book by Selma Lagerlöf. See it if you can (it's hard to come by).

[Once A Villain]

Originally Posted by Henke

It's one of my favourites but I agree that it isn't necessarily his absolute best but more one of many great achievements. But I actually think Körkarlen (The Phantom Chariot) is better then any of Bergman's movies. It really is the best Swedish movie IMO. It's based on a book by Selma Lagerlöf. See it if you can (it's hard to come by).

I've seen it. It's definitely the greatest Swedish silent film and one of the best films ever made in Sweden, period. I like the director Victor Sjöström quite a bit, and he was excellent as Isak Borg in Bergman's Wild Strawberries. Still, I believe there are Bergman films that are arguably as good or better. Körkarlen being called Sweden's greatest film is by no means insulting to one's intelligence though. Heh.

[Pappapisshu]

Originally Posted by Once A Villain

However, I don't necessarily think The Seventh Seal is Ingmar Bergman's best film. He made so many great movies and his greatest is debatable.

Persona!

[Once A Villain]

Originally Posted by Pappapisshu

Persona!

Yep, that's a film that one could argue is his best. There's also the 5 hour cut of Fanny and Alexander, Cries and Whispers, Wild Strawberries, The Seventh Seal, Autumn Sonata, Winter Light, Shame, Scenes From a Marriage, Smiles of a Summer Night, etc.

Granted, depending on who you ask, some of those are more minor works than others. For instance, I know plenty of people who think Autumn Sonata isn't as good as other Bergman films. Yet, Peter Cowie believes Autumn Sonata is Bergman's best film from the latter part of his career. That statement is crazy in my view, because Bergman's best late film (and possibly greatest, period) is Fanny and Alexander, damn it! Heh. With a filmmaker this talented, maybe it doesn't matter what his best film is. Maybe everyone can just have their own favorite based on how it moved them personally.

EDIT: I think it's clear that I love Fanny and Alexander. See the poster?

Theater Room

[AFGNCAAP]

Originally Posted by Once A Villain

Theater Room

Oh, I love Fanny and Alexander and I love Citizen Kane (both easily on my top twenty if I ever cared to make such list), so I guess you must now tell me from what film the third poster is (other than it's apparently Kurosawa's)!

[Pappapisshu]

Isn't it from Seven Samurai?

[Once A Villain]

Indeed it is Seven Samurai. Other posters in the room that you can't see include Children of Paradise, The Godfather I & II (in one poster frame), and Yojimbo. Outside the theater room is another room where the walls are decorated with some posters as well, including The Seventh Seal, Grand Illusion, Bridge on the River Kwai, Metropolis, etc.

[Once A Villain]

ok I updated a little but it's not a complete update. I got a little bored to be honest... So for the people that wanted this link, here you are...

http://dvdaficionado.com/dvds.html?id=kyuzo

[Ninth]

So, Sanjuro, do you have a big TV to watch your DVDs?

I probably own 10 or so DVD, because I really don't like watching movies outside a movie theater. It just feel too small, and reduces greatly my pleasure. And "difficult movies", like the asian ones or Bergman, become boring instead of fascinating.

[Once A Villain]

Originally Posted by Ninth

So, Sanjuro, do you have a big TV to watch your DVDs?

I probably own 10 or so DVD, because I really don't like watching movies outside a movie theater. It just feel too small, and reduces greatly my pleasure. And "difficult movies", like the asian ones or Bergman, become boring instead of fascinating.

How small are we talking here Ninth? What size is your TV? Honestly, if you want to have a movie experience at your own home you should look into front projection. Plasma screens and fancy flat screen televisions can cost a fortune and they really don't get all that big by comparison. Still, there are two things to look at when it comes to front projection.

1. The size of the room you want to use
2. The cost of the screen and projector

Obviously I don't know what your home or apartment is like, so I don't know if front projection really makes sense for you or not. I know that my friend has an apartment with a wall that was a pretty good size about 10 feet from his living room couch. He got the Infocus X1 projector for under $1,000 and a 64" 16 : 9 screen from Da-Lite for $200. He's been very happy with that.

I invested a bit more money in my "theater room" simply because I'm a huge movie nut and I had an entire room to devote to my hobby. I have a 123" 16 : 9 Stewart Ultramatte 150 screen (9 feet wide, 5 feet tall...big enough?), and I have the Sharp Z10000 projector. So watching movies at home is, for me, like going to a theater. It's still on a smaller scale, but it feels HUGE when you are only sitting 15 feet away from a screen that is 10.25 feet from corner to corner.

I posted some pics in another thread, but they are sort of embarrassing. I took these pictures a few days after I moved into this house, and the room has improved since then. The paint job looks terrible here, and the white electrical outlets have since been painted over. Also I have a different DVD player now, and the one in the pics is covered in dust. Oh well, just take my word for it that the room is cooler now, and here are the pics:

Pic 1

Pic 2

Pic 3

By the way, there's another couch in front of the projector in case you are wondering how the hell this room works, heh. Anyhow, since I know you are a big movie fan Ninth, perhaps this stuff interests you. If you can do front projection, it's really worth it. But you'll need to research it of course. You'll need to figure out how many feet you should have between yourself and the screen for an ideal experience, which differs depending on the screen size. You'll also need to find a good match between projector and screen when it comes to light. Projectors will have a Lumen rating and the screen will have a Gain rating. This determines how much light is actually leaving your projector, and then how much is being reflected back at you.

People who do the research end up with amazing results. Let me put it this way, I'd rather watch a movie at home than at a theater. I didn't feel that way before.