RockRanger has this to say:
If you were a film expert, what would your expertise be in (currently)?
Example:
Hong Kong Action, French New Wave, etc.
Using your newly acquired status, recommend 2 or more films that will lure us into the genre, or blow our minds.
Top Comments
The Funk Mistress comments:
I guess it would be German films, specifically expressionist films / Weimar era films (around the 1920s). I took a class on it and had to do a very lengthy presentation on it.
I would probably recommend F.W. Murnau's “Faust” (1926), stunning because of its use of chairoscuro lighting and the way in which the mood reflects the feelings of hopelessness while the ending (not giving anything away at all) reveals a desire for a “happy ending.”
I know, the movie is based on a 15th (?) century play which is based on an even older legend; but the changes from the source material reflect the trends of the time (BlindPanzer has heard my lengthy speech on this subject before).
The other film I could recommend would be “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” (1920). The warped and distorted sets reflect the discord of the era in much the same way the dark mood of “Faust” does. The film itself, through both plot and visual effect, reflects the descent into chaos that Germany was heading for at the time.
I know most people would recommend “Metropolis” (1927), and I would too. It's a great film, one of the best really. But I wanted to highlight two films that often get overlooked by modern viewers.
More recently, I've gotten pretty familiar with a few South American historical films (some historical fiction and some historical recreations). I could recommend some of those, but I know so little about South American history that I would probably just embarrass myself.
“Fitzcarraldo” (1982) is great if for no other reason than because Klaus Kinski is a great actor, though completely freakin' crazy.
“Red Dawn” (1984) is another great one - and very well acted. If you don't know any Spanish and have to watch a film without subtitles or dubbing and you STILL know exactly what's going on simply because of the passion with which the actors portray their parts, you know someone did something right. And in any language the ending will haunt you for days.
DJ Benvenuto the Raccoon II (With the Funny Hat) comments:
Bad movies that make me laugh.
“Samurai Cop” (1991). Worst movie I've ever seen. Yet, one of my favorites.
It's tough to pick a number two, but I'll just say “Breakin'” (1984). There's some great stuff there. Bad acting, bad lines, great facial expressions, Jean-Claude Van Damme dancing, bad clothes, great music, and some dude with a big bulge.
RockRanger comments:
I would call myself an expressionist expert. And recommend “Faust” (I own 3 versions), as it is a visual journey through the genius mind of F.W. Murnau. I can't say enough for the film, it blew my mind how imaginative it was the first time, and continues to impress me with each subsequent viewing.
Second film is another Murnau film, it's “The Last Laugh”(1924). When a door man loses his job, he loses everything in his life. It's a downward spiral into madness. Better yet, is the fact that it has no intertitles, it's all silent, and all images. Great achievement! I'm sure The Funk Mistress would appreciate this a lot, and I'm willing to lend it to you. Only thing is that it's Region 2, so you'd have to watch it on your PC.
The Funk Mistress responds:
I'm totally down for borrowing it. I never actually saw it and it was never covered in that German film class that I took, but I remember it being mentioned and I THINK the textbook we used in class had a few shots from it and I remember thinking it looked pretty cool. “Destiny” (1921) was another one that I never saw but wanted to after I heard about it and saw still shots.
Anyway, after my first post I got to thinking and remembered a few other good ones:
“Jud Suss” (1940) is a pretty good film. It was pretty much a thinly veiled Nazi anti-Jewish propaganda film, but it's still good viewing.
“Der Student von Prag” (1930) is just crazy, but in a good way.
And OF COURSE we always forget to mention our favorites... “Der Blaue Engel” (1930). I loved it so much that I named my dog after the main character, Lola Lola.
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I don't know if I can claim to know more about any particular genre than you guys. I guess maybe BATMAN FILMS and WONG KAR-WAI films?
For Batman films:
“Batman Begins” (2005)
“Batman: Mask of the Phantasm” (1993)
For Wong Kar-wai films:
“Days of Being Wild” (1990)
“In the Mood for Love” (2000)
DJ Benvenuto the Raccoon II (With the Funny Hat) comments:
Yeah, yeah. Okay, art kids. Go make your films about monochrome clowns riding horses wearing tuxedos. The real question on everybody's minds is: how come everybody had on black underwear in “Samurai Cop”? And when the cop guy, Frank, was told he would have his “black gift” cut off, did they mean his underwear?
RockRanger responds:
You don't have to be an expert. The whole point of this thread is to maybe get someone to see a movie that will get them into the genre. Unfortunately (or fortunately) we've already seen “Samurai Cop” and “Batman Begins”, so maybe you guys can pick another movie of the genre that will blow our minds and make us watch more of that, like the Wong Kar-wai films.
C'mon DJ Benvenuto, I know you can do better....
DJ Benvenuto the Raccoon II (With the Funny Hat) responds back:
Fine. Go watch “Breakin'”.
RockRanger comments:
We've all seen it. So tell us a movie we haven't seen or haven't heard about.
DJ Benvenuto the Raccoon II (With the Funny Hat) responds:
You're telling me you've seen it?
RockRanger responds back:
I've seen parts... and it didn't exactly blow my mind. Are you honestly telling me that if I sit down and try to take it all in, that it will?
DJ Benvenuto the Raccoon II (With the Funny Hat) comments:
Remember what happened the last time you tried to sit down and take it all in?
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