No.331158
Just saw Scaramouche (1952). An 18th century revenge tale about a man who plays a clown in a theater troupe by day as he plots to kill a heartless aristocrat by night to avenge the death of his best friend and foster brother.
The film feels very ahead of its time both visually and in terms of writing. This is probably because it blends elements of several different genres, which seems to have confused the critics of its day. It's essentially a swashbuckler but with a lot of time dedicated to political drama and comedy. It's also very risque for its time. As incongruent as this sounds, it actually balances these aspects rather well. The biggest weakness in the story is the ending, which feels somewhat underwhelming after everything building up to it and the final plot twist is more than a little hard to swallow. That being said, I don't think it detracts from the film too much.
The characters, even the side ones, are fairly strong and memorable and the acting is quite good as well. A few of the actors even act more like French actors than American ones. The villain is especially great. The only one of the main cast who feels like a typical Hollywood actor from the 50's is Janet Leigh but she's still adequate in her role.
The visuals, like I said, are ahead of their time. Only by a about a decade or so though; it certainly doesn't look modern. The most famous thing about this movie is the 5-minute long swordfight at the end. Despite its length, that fight scene is able to maintain a high level of excitement and tension throughout which is quite a feat since you know the hero is going to win in the end. There are many other swordfights in the movie too and they're all used pretty intelligently to serve the plot. What's nice about the fight scenes is that there's very little music in them and the silence helps tremendously.
Overall, I give Scaramouche an 8/10.
No.331179
>>331177That's another one that looks ahead of its time.
No.331180
>>331177I should have known Narcissus was a reference to a Greek God and not an original gimmick in the WWF.
Film looks amazing btw.
No.331474
>>331177You made it look way cooler than it is. Its some chick romance novel thing.
No.331475
>>331466As much as I wish I could be a filmfag, and of course it's a hat I can wear from time to time, I just have to add to the discourse in a more realistic way. I haven't seen his entire filmography (Gene Hackman), but it seems like a theme in his career to star in movies involving surveillance. He might be typecast but in a different way. I think actors are chosen for works based on their ability to attract certain demographic audiences. When it comes to brainwashing people, there is always an underlying element at work in a film, and the thing in this film that they would get people to accept is that they are being monitored. This subconscious constant understanding shapes behaviors arguably for the worst. Even if someone isn't scheming maliciously, they are less likely to be their genuine self if they are being observed. The ending is sort of a trick since he plays the sax in defeat and acceptance that he's lost and will never find all the bugs.
No.331525
>>331475There's also the underlying implication that Gene Hackman's fear of having other people know anything about him causes him to push everyone away which in turn makes him miserable. The last scene of the movie, I think, is meant to symbolize how he has destroyed his life in his efforts not to be spied on.
No.331657
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>>331474My description was accurate, what did you expect from a 1940's movie about nuns. That movie is on several top 100 film lists and still mentioned to this day as an inspiration for a good reason, Jack Cardiff was probably the best person in the world available to make that movie considering his background in India.
No.331948
Finally watched pic related after making this thread
>>331557It actually is a good movie and isn't propaganda at all. Modern leftists just make it out to be some kind of "milestone for LGBTQ+ representation" simply because it has a gay and a bisexual character. If it makes any comment on gays and trannies at all (and it really doesn't,) it portrays them in a negative light. It's suggested that Pacino's character only began his relationship with the gay guy because his stopped caring about him. The gay guy/tranny is obviously very, very mentally ill and the only reason he wants the sex change is because some psychiatrist told him it would help his inner turmoil. Not only that, it shows how abusive gay relationships are.
But like I said, it doesn't really make a comment on gays one way or the other, at least not consciously. The gay stuff seems more like a joke than anything else. The entire thing is a comedy, except for the very end where it turns into a bit of a tragedy. The best way I can think of to describe the movie is like a really long episode of Seinfeld where Kramer tries to rob a bank and is also a bisexual.
Really good movie and definitely better than Serpico.
No.332010
Midnight Run is a good movie that could have very easily been a great one. As far as buddy comedy movies go, it's one of the best and the ending is especially strong. But everything about feels just slightly off. The actors (even Deniro) don't feel quite as natural as they should, the plot isn't as tight as it should be, the action feels just a little too underwhelming, the visuals just a little too lackluster, the dialog just a bit too ham-fisted and, most of all, the energy is never quite as high it needed to be for a film like this. Midnight Run reminds me a lot of It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World but it never comes close to achieving the chaos and frantic pace that film had.
Like I said, it's a good movie, just not a great one.
No.332064
>>332010Midnight Run is definitely a good watch and it's one of those films that gets better on the second. Not ashamed to admit I've watched it several times since you can never go wrong with buddy films from the era, a lot have hold up over the years. You're right about something being off and that is that the main character was miscasted. De Niro is not an energetic person which you can feel throughout the film that the character was written to be such. I think the writers had someone like Eddie Murphy in Beverly Hills cop in mind, De Niro could have played the other freelancer which funny enough was played by josh Ashton who was in Beverly Hills cop
No.332132
>>332010I always find it funny how old movie posters like that don't even try pretending like any of the actors are playing characters in the synopses. He's not really playing anybody, he's just "Robert De Niro" lol
No.332134
>>332038I changed my mind. The aliens were actually kino, it just only hits you the next day. I'm unironically considering giving it an 8/10, now.
No.332350
>>332349>It almost feels like a Greek mythWasn't based on a Greek myth but an ancient Greek account of mercenaries fighting their way back home from Persia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anabasis_(Xenophon)#Fiction No.332383
>>332350>an ancient Greek accountso a Greek myth
No.333837
>>333827I didn't think much of it until i rewatched it later, have seen it 3 times more and the pilot sub-plot stands out along with the final resolutions of the glasses man, both the actual ending and the one when he was in the tunnel.
It's obvious the chinamen in Hong Kong were heavily influenced by Melville because we can see the glaring "real" brotherhood themes with the pilot plot, and i think that market was one of the few in which the movie was shown.
>it's not like the pilot is the second most significant character in the movieKinda is, he had the complete journey along with the glasses guy unlike the other guys. For example The Mask started as a kid in terms of behavior but suddenly was a rough hitman next time we see him, The Bison was always tough and the woman had her development behind scenes.
What i note about the movie is how it exactly portrays the french resistance, as a bunch of savvy saboteurs in a functioning society rather than freedom fighting guerrillas in urban warfare like the americans imply.
No.333841
>>333454The four sequels by the same director
Hiroshima Deathmatch, Proxy Wars, Police Tactics, and The Final Episode are all absolute fucking kino. Sort of. Like I said in another thread about the Outrage trilogy, if you like this kind of brutal gangster movie, you'll love them. If you don't, there ain't a lot there for you. But. If you like the first, you'll almost undoubtably like the four that come after, they're just variations on the same theme with just enough changed to make it interesting but without trying to like, re-invent the wheel or make them into like romantic comedies or whatever.
No.333852
>Barbie
It was shit, Armond was right again. It's one of those films where everything wrong with it is very obvious. Easiest, fastest improve would be removing the last 10 minutes since they are meaningless.
No.333949
>>333827It's good but Melville's Alain Delon trilogy are better: Le samourai, Le cercle rouge, and Un flic. Also Le deuxieme souffle and Le doulos
No.333950
>>332349My nitpick with it would be that all the racially homogenous groups are the villains, whereas the heroes are the diverse group. Also the comic book frame transitions in the director's cut version are unnecessary.
>>331158He should have stayed with Eleanor Parker, but Janet Leigh is gorgeous
>>331177Jean Simmons is hot asf
No.333962
>>333950>My nitpick with it would be that all the racially homogenous groups are the villains, whereas the heroes are the diverse group.Some of the villains are mixed as well, like the guys dressed like rednecks or the lesbians.
>Also the comic book frame transitions in the director's cut version are unnecessary.I heard about these. Thankfully, I watched the original cut. It sounds like a dumb idea.
No.333966
>>333950>Also the comic book frame transitions in the director's cut version are unnecessary.They look completely retarded and clash with the rest of the movie.
>>333950>Jean Simmons is hot asfWhat do you think of Paul Stanley? :^)
No.334055
>>334053Heat real big
Sleep real big
Combo real big
Let me tell you how it is
No.334092
>>334065Con tic tacs
Of coursseeee
No.334130
>>334053>The Big Heat is kino. Better than The Big SleepAgreed.
No.334152
>>334092I don't get it. Probably because I've never eaten that "tic tacs" shit.
No.334161
>>334152If you know, you know
No.334162
>>334152Tictacs in USA are 1.5 calories each. In EU, they are 2. Eu tictacs are fluffier as they dissolve almost like a hard marshmallow. USA ones dissolve into a shitty rock, and they do so quickly.
No.334163
>>334162So it's about circumcision. I knew it had something to do with penises.
No.334165
>>334162Tictacs are goyslop. Like most "breath fresheners," they're sweetened with aspartame.
No.334166
>>334165No shit, but USA gets the shit end of the goyslop even.
No.334190
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netflix's city hunter
it was fun, mostly just feels like a long episode of the show
No.334192
>>334190You convinced me to actually watch something from Netflix, bravo.
No.334337
>>334190I got as far as them crashing a drag show with constant zoom in on homo asses, not that the scene where he's stripping wasn't bad enough already. Clearly Netflix wanted to turn this into some gay thing because a perverted straight detective is not allowed in troonworld.