Superficial Aspects of Cinema Aesthetics

[Gordon]

On the other hand, no one looks at one another in Gertrude, and I love that movie.

And Herzog's, Heart of Glass. Such instances never, or rarely happen, in real life simply due to that fact that it is extemely rare for anyone to utter a genuinely profound statement. I think that cause of it would be that the speaker was in the grip of profundity, transfixed in thought, articulating unconsciously, like a great musician improvising a startling piece of music.

[Gordon]

My petty pet peeve is people in movies or TV shows talking while eating. Everytime someone start yapping with their mouths full I want to punch 'em in the throat. Argh! It is minor but annoying as hell.

And employed intentionally by Ken Russell in Altered States, much to the chagrin of Paddy Chayefsky and perplexity of audiences; luckily, the nutty visuals drew enough in.

[Gordon]

My pet peeve: People going to the bathroom in a film. I hate watching a character take a piss in a toilet with the amplified sound of their urine hitting the toilet water. Bothers me every time.

But what about the scene in The Naked Gun?

Yes! And even earlier - 1970 - Martin Balsam taking a shit in Catch-22?! Brilliant. That scene is apparently based on something that Louis B. Mayer did to the 12-year-old Elizabeth Taylor among others, according to Mike Nichols who was told this by Liz herself! Fucking outrageous. And the weird thing is that the scene is between Balsam and Perkins and Psycho was the first film to feature a shot of a toilet flushing. I love Buck Henry and Nichols' Catch-22, primarily for its craftsmanship and audacious, ingenious cinematics. Iconoclastic cinematography David Watkin would only shot the exteriors between 2pm-3pm with the sun always following the camera lens and every scene in the film has amazing lighting. Long, uninterrupted and inappreciably complex scenes were played out over and over again, with formations of planes in the sky, the camera tracking with the actors who are talking over each others witty lines. The film features minimal extras in the background - especially the base camp - and I love that, as I HATE seeing extras in movies, it's fucking pointless to have some cunt in the background just standing there or pretending to speak or drink. Sometimes it is wholly necessary, as in battle scenes, crowd scenes, etc, but generally speaking, you don't need extras in a scene so why clutter things up? The film also has no original score no music is used (bar Strauss', Also Sprach Zarathustra is used for comical effect) and that it something very, very rare in American/British Cinema and something I love to see - One of Our Aircraft Is Missing might have the first to do it, but The Birds is a notable early example and The China Syndrome does it very well. Becker's Le Trou also maintains suspense without prompting music.

[tryavna]

One of my pet peeves is when an actor or actress pretends to play a musical instrument (especially a piano) and doesn't bother to mimic the proper hand movements. Maybe I'm more sensitive to this than others, since I play piano, but it strikes me as incredibly lazy for an actor not to move his hands in some sort of rhythm to the soundtrack. Michael Lonsdale's intro in the James Bond movie Moonraker has got to be the absolute worst example of this -- he manages to play a trill without moving a single finger! On the other hand, I watched The Beast with Five Fingers yesterday and was pleased with Victor Francen's "performance" (as well as with that of his disembodied hand).

[miless]

On the other hand, I watched The Beast with Five Fingers yesterday and was pleased with Victor Francen's "performance" (as well as with that of his disembodied hand).

I often wonder how the film would have turned out had Buñuel directed it, as he was attached, then detached due to the black-list... and for being Spanish (as there was no help for Spanish immigrants in America because the USA supported Franco over those dirty Commies and Anarchists)

[zedz]

One of my pet peeves is when an actor or actress pretends to play a musical instrument (especially a piano) and doesn't bother to mimic the proper hand movements. Maybe I'm more sensitive to this than others, since I play piano, but it strikes me as incredibly lazy for an actor not to move his hands in some sort of rhythm to the soundtrack.

Now that's an excellent niggle. If you haven't seen it, Straub / Huillet's Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach is the perfect antidote: it's all about authentic performance.

[Gordon]

Vincent Price in the two Dr Phibes films can be forgiven, but yes, bad musical instrument mimicry in films can be atrocious at times. Tim Roth in The Legend of 1900 is marvelous, as is the geezer who played Jelly Roll Morton - their contest scene is one of the finest moments of 90s Cinema, I feel.

[Alonzo the Armless]

One of my pet peeves is when an actor or actress pretends to play a musical instrument (especially a piano) and doesn't bother to mimic the proper hand movements.

I don't play any instruments but watching Sam just moving his hands left to right on the piano keys in CASABLANCA has also always bugged me, despite my love for the movie.

[Mr Sausage]

Perhaps one of the problems is the music is not being played on set, making it very difficult for the actor to know when and where to place his hands, and with what rhythm to move them.

[Dylan]

Tim Roth in The Legend of 1900 is marvelous, as is the geezer who played Jelly Roll Morton - their contest scene is one of the finest moments of 90s Cinema, I feel.

You saw the European cut, right? The American cut (which is as big of a travesty a re-edit as there ever has been) deletes a lot of footage, including at least two minutes or more from that piano duel. But yes, I agree with you, Tim Roth is magnificent...and he spent months and months mastering the piano just to be precise when mimicing those pieces. On top of that it's just a very beautiful performance, sadly overlooked.

[marty]

I recently saw Antonioni's The Passenger which is an excellent film and one of Jack Nicholson's finest performance. The final seven minute tracking shot is amazing.

However, I noticed that after one scene where he was chased and then the car broke down in the desert, going through all the sand and dirt, his khaki-coloured pants were spotless and clean without a speck of dirt on it or even creased, I don't know why I noticed it but I just did.

I guess my pet peeve is when characters's clothes and hair don't seem to be affected by the dirt and grime they go through especially when being chased. This tends to happen more in older film than newer ones, I guess.

[Gordon]

Tim Roth in The Legend of 1900 is marvelous, as is the geezer who played Jelly Roll Morton - their contest scene is one of the finest moments of 90s Cinema, I feel.

You saw the European cut, right?

Oh, my yes! I have the Italian 2-disc DVD from Medusa. It's a wonderful piece of movie magic - the likes of which I thought were no longer made. I'll never go near the U.S. edit. One thing that strikes me as odd about the film is the peppering of "fucks" in the dialogue, as otherwise, the film could have been a PG. Indeed, I agree that as a film - all 160 minutes of it - The Legend of the Pianist on the Ocean is practically unknown. A new DVD is sorely needed in the USA and UK.

[flyonthewall2983]

I love that film too, the music especially.

[Cinesimilitude]

You saw the European cut, right? The American cut (which is as big of a travesty a re-edit as there ever has been) deletes a lot of footage, including at least two minutes or more from that piano duel.

I've only seen the Image entertainment disc of Legend of 1900, which I assume is the American cut, And I loved it. what would be the best way for me to see the european cut?

[Dylan]

You're in great need to see the European cut if you loved the American cut (as did I before seeing the Euro cut). Your eyes will fall out at all the new material and the entirely different (and infinitely superior) pacing/editing. The difference between the two, for me, is night and day.

Hmm, I just checked Xploited Cinema and they're out of stock. Anybody know where a copy can be purchased?

It's a wonderful piece of movie magic - the likes of which I thought were no longer made.

There's simply nobody else like Tornatore. He has this incredibly beautiful Italian sentimentality and sense of visual/musical language that's very specific and unique to his work, and his ideas all seem brilliant to me, like the piano "dancing" with the ocean.

[Gordon]

The Italian DVD is listed HERE, but it won't be in stock until the 8th of the November.
If you're interested, you might as well order it.

[Cinesimilitude]

You're in great need to see the European cut if you loved the American cut (as did I before seeing the Euro cut). Your eyes will fall out at all the new material and the entirely different (and infinitely superior) pacing/editing. The difference between the two, for me, is night and day.

There's simply nobody else like Tornatore. He has this incredibly beautiful Italian sentimentality and sense of visual/musical language that's very specific and unique to his work, and his ideas all seem brilliant to me, like the piano "dancing" with the ocean.

And how cinema paradiso is a love story between a man and the movies, and not a girl. I absolutely adore every Tornatore film so far, with the only exception being the 3 hour cut of cinema paradiso, which ruins the film for me. I'll definitely do some searching for the european cut of legend of 1900. It sounds like something I need to see.