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The "I'm watching/just watched *movie title* thread....

Started by PhantasticSanShiSan, September 26, 2008, 04:58:26 PM

Juan

I would suppose he had a dolly and track.  It's a system still used in which the camera is mounted (sometimes on a crane) atop a dolly - something like a railroad handcar - that's pushed by stage hands along a track like a narrow-gauge railroad track.  It takes great coordination between camera and actors, and when it's done, the shot is usually much shorter than this one. Michael Jackson's Thriller video also makes liberal use of this technique.

Jasmine

Quote from: Sardondi on November 19, 2012, 01:13:09 PM
I've so far passed on watching the restored (is that what it is? Digitized? HD'd? Something new about it) Wizard, which I think was on just yesterday on Turner Broadcasting. Now I want to.

I know I've had my say about the glorious Hitchcock library. I did order the restored and newly BluRay'd Rear Window, and watched it the other night with Mrs. Sardondi. So wonderful. That movie transports me to a time and place like few others. The set reminds me of this Norman Rockwell cover from The Saturday Evening Post from 1945, which depicts a soldier returning from the war to the old neighborhood.





Not so much the precise neighborhood, because the movie is somewhat more upscale than that of the cover. But the cartoon colors of the cover remind me of the movie, particularly the feel of it having been painted/drawn, not filmed.

Excellent visual comparison. I agree about the rich colours and the claustrophobic element present in the film. Hitch was no doubt connecting the audience to Jimmy Stewart's character's wheelchair bound predicament. The audience therefore could empathize with his growing suspicions, fear, and ultimate helplessness.

Grace Kelly as Lisa Fremont in "Rear Window" appeared to me to give a rather affected, stilted performance, that is, until the nearing of the end of the film, when she gets inside Raymond Burr's apartment. At this point, Kelly shines, and gives off a "Nancy Drew" vibe. Perhaps that's what Hitch had in mind re her character - she's a somewhat spoiled, insular Manhattan upper class woman - her every move and gesture is controlled. When the fur flies and she realizes that murder has taken place, she unwittingly abandons her reserve and lets loose.

Quote from: Sardondi on November 19, 2012, 01:13:09 PM
Don't know why it make me think of this - maybe it was nothing more than talking about legends of film - but I've just had a vision of the long single-camera shot opening scene of A Touch Of Evil by Orson Welles. Not the opening scene which studio bosses stuck onto the movie for decades. This is the scene Welles intended and only recently was restored. It's a marvel. One camera which flies and swoops and follows a car and a walking couple for something like 3½ minutes without blinking.

Touch of Evil Opening Shot

Astounding. Welles must have been a real pain to deal with, but there's no doubt he was a true artist.

Have you seen the film, "Russian Ark"? The entire film is one continuous tracking shot. Or perhaps rather a hand-held, but I'm doubtful of that.  Anyway, it is simply amazing. You must see it to believe it.

Here's an example - this is the closing shot of the film.

Russian Ark Closing Scene.mpg

ziznak

Ahhh what was that movie a few years back where it was a screen cut into four blocks each doing its own scene but they were all part of the same story... it was all shot in one take as well.  DAmn it was really good. wtf was it called....?? grr. 

Sardondi

Quote from: Jasmine on November 19, 2012, 04:57:23 PM
....Have you seen the film, "Russian Ark"? The entire film is one continuous tracking shot. Or perhaps rather a hand-held, but I'm doubtful of that.  Anyway, it is simply amazing. You must see it to believe it.

Here's an example - this is the closing shot of the film....

Oh.my.goodness. Would somebody a couple of posts below please look for my jaw? I believe it's down there someplace.

That's just amazing. What a shot. What a scene. I could feel the cold. All those people. 200? 300? More? And the whole movie is one long shot? I've got to see this....


Quote from: Evil Twin Of Zen on December 04, 2012, 02:40:08 AM
H+

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?annotation_id=annotation_21606&feature=iv&list=PL21C609B71E82B243&src_vid=ZedLgAF9aEg

wow....

About H+ The Digital Series New episodes every Wednesday at 12 pm PST.
Check out the official website at http://hplusdigitalseries.com

A new series by Bryan Singer (producer of the X-Men films, House M.D. and Usual Suspects), H+ The Digital Series takes viewers on a journey into an apocalyptic future where technology has spiraled out of control.

Flash Gordon

Eariler I watched an oldie but a goodie..."Student Bodies"

The breather is actually played by Richard Belzer, in the movie he is listed as 'Richard Brando'
It is cheese I know, but I love that movie....The breather rules....heh

"ARGO" ,not too bad,Pretty sphincter grabbing ending.Like Alan Arkin and John Goodman were good supporting

b_dubb

Star Treck - Into Darkness trailer.  looks pretty cool.  not sure who the villain is. 

onan

Quote from: b_dubb on December 07, 2012, 11:56:16 AM
Star Treck - Into Darkness trailer.  looks pretty cool.  not sure who the villain is.

KAHN!!!!!!

Benedict Cumberbatch

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1212722/


Just watched the Blu-ray "The Getaway" with Steve McQueen and Ali McGraw.
Good flick, seems like the Cohen Brothers used a lot of Peckinpah's style in their movies.

Eddie Coyle

Quote from: Mind Flayer Monk on December 10, 2012, 11:05:45 PM
Just watched the Blu-ray "The Getaway" with Steve McQueen and Ali McGraw.
Good flick, seems like the Cohen Brothers used a lot of Peckinpah's style in their movies.
Peckinpah was still in top form when this film was released ('72) and it's a solid film, not quite in league with Wild Bunch or Straw Dogs, but certainly better than much of his post 1973 work.

       The slick '94 remake was okay, a decent time-waster.


Quote from: ziznak on December 11, 2012, 11:05:26 PM
I know we are all just dying to see this one!
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1764647/

Shadow People are only people that have really... really... really low self-esteem.  8)

Nucky Nolan

Quote from: ziznak on December 11, 2012, 11:05:26 PM
I know we are all just dying to see this one!
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1764647/

I can't wait for the sequel, "The Shadow Rodents".

(Not) Haley Joel Osment: "I see shadow people."



LINCOLN


Best performance of the year for lead actor. Daniel Day Lewis WILL win the Academy award. He blows away his performance in "There Will Be Blood"

Jasmine

Quote from: FightTheFuture on December 12, 2012, 10:47:09 AM
LINCOLN


Best performance of the year for lead actor. Daniel Day Lewis WILL win the Academy award. He blows away his performance in "There Will Be Blood"

Agreed. He's a phenomenal actor. I recently again watched "My Left Foot". He was sublime.

"Aside from that, how was the play, Mrs. Lincoln?"

Pragmier

Okay so it's not a movie, but last night I watched Martin Short host SNL. The sketches were the best of the year; I don't think Short knows how not to be funny. Loved him on SCTV too. Speaking of which, they had one of the best cast of comedians ever: Martin Short, John Candy, Andrea Martin, Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Dave Thomas.

Haven't seen Lincoln yet but it's on the docket.

Jasmine

Quote from: Pragmier on December 16, 2012, 08:23:46 PM
Okay so it's not a movie, but last night I watched Martin Short host SNL. The sketches were the best of the year; I don't think Short knows how not to be funny. Loved him on SCTV too. Speaking of which, they had one of the best cast of comedians ever: Martin Short, John Candy, Andrea Martin, Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Dave Thomas.

Haven't seen Lincoln yet but it's on the docket.

Oh, God, I'm a HUGE fan of SCTV. It was far superior to SNL on so many levels. Who could ever forget Edith Prickley, Lola Heatherton, Johnny LaRue, Ed Grimley, Tex and Edna, Count Floyd, Doctor Tongue, and so many others. Farm Film Celebrity Blowup, and Half Wits! LOL! Then of course, everyone knows Canadians are ace at comedy.

Pragmier


Jasmine

Jackie Rogers Jr! LOL! I recall his appearance on The Sammy Maudlin (Eugene Levy) Show.

Short, Candy, Martin, and Levy were priceless as the punk rock band, The Queen Haters.

Juan

I haven't watched SNL in years, but I'm going to have to find that one.

onan

If you haven't seen the Jiminy Glick show you should at your first chance.

BobGrau

Watched the Hobbit at the weekend. My ass is still sore from sitting that long.
Overall a good movie, but if you're a fan of the books you're going to be a little bit annoyed.

MV/Liberace!

Quote from: BobGrau on December 17, 2012, 08:47:44 AM
Watched the Hobbit at the weekend. My ass is still sore from sitting that long.
Overall a good movie, but if you're a fan of the books you're going to be a little bit annoyed.


i drove up to st. louis saturday with my niece to catch the HFR-3D version of the hobbit since we have no HFR (48 frames per second) theaters here in cape girardeau.


first off, the movie is reeeeally slow to get moving.  there were a couple of instances in which i started to nod off.  so did she.  then, just when the action gets moving and you're feeling like this is what you expected, the movie ends.


second, there's little to no character development.  other than bilbo and gandalf, there really are no characters you can appreciate and/or care about.  it's not that they are poor characters.  peter jackson just didn't invest enough time in giving the viewer a reason to care about any of them.  he instead invested a massive pool of time in other areas, and those investments did not pay off.  if one of the dwarves were to die, you wouldn't miss him... and this includes their leader, the heir to the dwarf throne. 


this might be a knock on the theater more than the movie, but the film was BLURRY AS SHIT.  i kept taking off the glasses and putting them back on in an effort to determine if i'm dong something wrong.  we were sitting quite close to the screen, so does anyone know if this causes a blurry image when viewing with polarized 3D glasses?  i kept thinking perhaps we should have moved away from the screen, but i was too lazy to go through the motions of moving just to find the problem persists.


i'm not sure if jackson's decision to film in HFR helps the film in any way or can be relegated to the novelty heap.  when you see a film, it just looks "filmy" and the standard of 24 frames per second is largely why.  48fps seems to give the film a video-like quality that is at times distracting.  it also causes sharp, rapid movements to appear as if they're being played at high speed when in fact they aren't.  without the blur issue, perhaps i could have appreciated it more.


if you're a fan of the LOTR trilogy, then i recommend you see this film, but i don't necessarily think you've been profoundly denied anything if you were to miss it... or, better yet... to just wait and view it at home.


edit:  i did not see george noory at the theater.

Sardondi

My family loves burrowing in on Christmas night and watching dvds. This year we had one hit and one miss IMO. The hit, surprisingly for me, was Super 8, about a group of 14 yo's who in 1979 are making a Super 8 short film to enter a contest, when they fortuitously and ominously film a train wreck that turns out to have allowed the escape of a badly abused and deadly space alien which desperately wants to escape to its home planet. Its a classic Spielberg/Lucas collaboration about a coming of age space story, Stand By Me meets ET...except that it's directed by J.J. Abrams. But it's clearly an homage to Spielberg (damn it makes me feel old to think that Spielberg is now so well established - hell, such a titan of Hollywood - that they make homages to him, like he's Kurosawa, Bergman or Hitchcock.)

Damn, it's 3-frickin'-o'clock in the morning. I gotta go to bed. I'll try this later.

ziznak

ya know what super 8 was a really good movie.  I watched a pretty good version of it when it was still in the movies and liked it... It's got all your Spielberg staples but it doesn't get too sappy.  Special effects, hero kids, stupid adults... good stuff.

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