tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573438243257723411.comments2024-01-20T03:22:00.102-05:00Criterion ReflectionsDavid Blakesleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12167200509158903679noreply@blogger.comBlogger557125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573438243257723411.post-52958466895260124072023-11-03T07:31:20.690-04:002023-11-03T07:31:20.690-04:00Thanks a lot for this article. I really liked a lo...Thanks a lot for this article. I really liked a lot this analysis on 8 1/2 and Fellini too:)<br />https://youtu.be/0WJwnkKuQZ4Theohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13248175566719550971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573438243257723411.post-85907429585990282162023-10-15T09:10:34.865-04:002023-10-15T09:10:34.865-04:00I started watching this quite some time back, but ...I started watching this quite some time back, but about 45 minutes in, I realized that I was a little too preoccupied or drowsy (or both) to fully appreciate it. Last night, I was alert, saw it in "My stuff" and started it up. Holy moley! I may have to go on a Jean Gabin binge for a week or two to get him out of my system, not to mention to see the same guy play very different, but equally compelling characters. I do have a small quibble with your review - I'm pretty sure that if Pepe robbed me, I wouldn't be "happily cheering him along to meet his inevitable demise." Hell, if he'd take me, I'd join his gang! Thanks for this review.Geoff Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17117921607237662932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573438243257723411.post-37336528948452334232023-04-14T03:18:45.879-04:002023-04-14T03:18:45.879-04:00You're a sick puppy David. Mouchette is based ...You're a sick puppy David. Mouchette is based on the Georges Bernanos novel of the same title. The estate of Bernanos approached Bresson and asked him to make the film. The film is faithful to the book. If you watch the 'making of' doco on Mouchette you'll sense that Nadine Nortier is fine, as you will also sense if you see the photographs made on set and elsewhere with her and Bresson. Your analysis brings to mind a scene from Bunuel's American film 'The Young One', where a pre-pubescent girl is shot from a low angle with a skirt on while standing on the end of a jetty...the shot lingers enough to make us feel uncomfortable, only to have the girl turn and skip away innocently from us...a reminder of the viewers complicity in the character and the image...for better or worse... johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02735485326881178820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573438243257723411.post-14980252863508566452023-01-10T03:49:15.338-05:002023-01-10T03:49:15.338-05:00Diamond painting involves using colored resin “dia...<a href="https://alldiamondpainting.nl/" rel="nofollow">Diamond painting</a> involves using colored resin “diamonds” that are adhered to canvas using special tools. You can find many kits available online or in stores with pre-printed designs or templates that you simply need to fill in with the diamondsChandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09943106188499094422noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573438243257723411.post-54594232194084083622022-01-22T03:30:33.811-05:002022-01-22T03:30:33.811-05:00please help me, i really need to know the tone of ...please help me, i really need to know the tone of this film documentary<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16899472039934892464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573438243257723411.post-27331744165341703522022-01-22T00:31:15.431-05:002022-01-22T00:31:15.431-05:00hye can i know the tone of this film documentary a...hye can i know the tone of this film documentary and also the subject matter ?<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16899472039934892464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573438243257723411.post-83701864556340439912022-01-21T09:27:33.024-05:002022-01-21T09:27:33.024-05:00Fascinating review! You definitely understood the ...Fascinating review! You definitely understood the film and put so eloquently. Suyog Sonarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16774786961388144767noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573438243257723411.post-27631981806352370392021-12-06T22:03:01.094-05:002021-12-06T22:03:01.094-05:00I’ve seen this film several times now. I lived in ...I’ve seen this film several times now. I lived in Rome in the late 1970s and spoke in my poor Italian with some old pensioners about what it was like during the war. I think your take on the context is as good as anyone else’s.<br />What strikes me most of all about the film is the obvious scene which Truffaut lifted for “400 Blows” yet I’ve never seen it commented on. Truffaut loved doing things like this, and over the decades I’ve delighted in seeing how many homages I missed when I was young, because Truffaut was my first favorite director after Leo McCarey I suppose. I thought Truffaut so terribly original in my youthful days. (Who can blame me though really?)<br />Even though I know what’s coming in “Watching” I weep my way through many tissues. Tonight I had the good sense to fire up Criterion and follow it with “Withnail and I” to help myself recover. Polly Vinylhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00059662643642918798noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573438243257723411.post-90787295175306943172021-09-22T08:42:26.894-04:002021-09-22T08:42:26.894-04:00A real man will always get what a woman wants. Of ...A real man will always get what a woman wants. Of course this is beautifully put, but movies <a href="https://xmovies8-hd.net" rel="nofollow"> https://xmovies8-hd.net </a> need to be analyzed. <br />JackMasonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12845580233434343533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573438243257723411.post-46647973902367896892021-09-19T18:55:32.689-04:002021-09-19T18:55:32.689-04:00Dennis Hopper at a screening?Dennis Hopper at a screening?Alex Finhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18218779222903218117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573438243257723411.post-47565151540215418012021-06-08T04:30:56.866-04:002021-06-08T04:30:56.866-04:00Hi David. Having trouble getting a message throug...Hi David. Having trouble getting a message through to you - can't message on tiktok because you don't follow me, I don't have an email address for you, I'm not confident you look at your twitter that often, etc... Anyway I just wanted to give some feedback on your latest episode, both on The Last Movie and on Criterion Reflections going forward. I can't overestimate how important I think the work you have put in over the years is. It represents a vast repository of information and insight into important cinematography for all new viewers long after we are gone. Importantly, its disinterested commentary that people can trust. So thanks for all the hard work and more power to you going forward. As for making your reflections more accessable I think it a mistake to chase after accessability at the cost the kind of depth and unflinching discussion you engage in. I think you realise you are not trying to win a popularity contest but trying for something more important and seeking for yourself something more significant. Don't lose sight of that. Your thoughts in this cast had me reflecting on the diminished role that text is having in the world too. I think your blogspots are great and will remain valuable, perhaps more so than a lot of the podcasts. There's something about the discipline of putting thought into text that differs from vocalising thought. Its a different kind of filter and I think both are worthy but can have a different effect. I still think that writing something down first helps clarify your thinking and allows you to talk about something with more confidence. In fact I have long felt that the process of writing is a form of thought and pondering in itself. So I'm really hoping you don't get lost in the tiktok-land of instant gratification, that you pull back and continue to think long and hard as you plan for your next reflections episode. BTW if you don't remember me I'm the Australia who offered some comments about Alphaville about a year ago - that's still an episode I'd like to join the discussion on. If that offer to look at your spreadsheet still stands I'd be a willing participant - a chance to give something back. You can contact me at graeme.robinson@graenet.com or on letterboxd at burningbeard - I have some other socials but participate sparingly - email is my main comms tool on the interwebs.<br /><br />Oh, I haven't said anything about The Last Movie. I loved this film and need very much to watch it again. I enjoyed your commentary and could have listened to a lot more about it as I'm more curious than ever. I do think it is highly underrated. It has failings but it succeeds for me on so many levels that the conventional criticisms seem at best, churlish and narrow. I met Dennis Hopper at a screening in Sydney in the late 1990's of Out of the Blue, a film which was mentioned in your podcast. This film blew me away too. Den-Den didn't make the movie from scratch, he took it over when the director walked away, but clearly he put his imprint on a film that had already been laid out for him. A agree with your co-commentator that Hoppers directorial career was ruined by the corporate reception of The Last Movie - a great pity.Graeme Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13707318269519852310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573438243257723411.post-86253856394196107822021-04-29T14:57:15.103-04:002021-04-29T14:57:15.103-04:00Le Trou continues to cast a long shadow over jail-...Le Trou continues to cast a long shadow over jail-break flix. The recent miniseries, Escape from Dannemora borrows a number of Becker's techniques in its account of another true series of events surrounding an upstate New York jail break. apaulinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16865550599689483208noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573438243257723411.post-68245534317756719162020-12-23T17:05:09.534-05:002020-12-23T17:05:09.534-05:00This was written more along the lines of a blog po...This was written more along the lines of a blog post (drafted and published in one sitting) rather than a formal review, so I guess the text hasn't aged so well. If I ever corral all these essays into a book format, I will edit out this kind of ephemera. Thanks for the feedback!David Blakesleehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12167200509158903679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573438243257723411.post-73585800523017387162020-12-22T17:28:43.486-05:002020-12-22T17:28:43.486-05:00Don't see the point of the first paragraph or ...Don't see the point of the first paragraph or the beginning of the second, totally undermines the reviewPhillip Wandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03221899171310272212noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573438243257723411.post-71483716156841644052020-12-07T16:30:26.428-05:002020-12-07T16:30:26.428-05:00It is a wonderful film. The relationship between t...It is a wonderful film. The relationship between the man and the boy is one of the most beautifully realised in the whole of English cinema.British Free Corpshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14801090786353667379noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573438243257723411.post-62966037383000384152020-11-18T13:01:34.748-05:002020-11-18T13:01:34.748-05:00Why have the irish given up their lyrical language...Why have the irish given up their lyrical language, just to replace it with the stupid american tv accent? Present day Tv talkers have no feeling, no emotion, no meaning beyond ridicule. Perhaps they become unaware of their own pain , with no language to express it.j banhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11593313350345803730noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573438243257723411.post-30092225862817419742020-11-03T22:31:29.528-05:002020-11-03T22:31:29.528-05:00A good, low-brow hit man movie though not as well-...A good, low-brow hit man movie though not as well-written and acted as Murder By Contract. A similar gritty look is at the crux of Strangers in The City, the plight of Puerto Ricans living in a slum.Elliot Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17964519903027517480noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573438243257723411.post-84585279591056009212020-10-07T02:44:05.390-04:002020-10-07T02:44:05.390-04:00i enjoy coming across anything regarding this fun ...i enjoy coming across anything regarding this fun and as you say nerdy movie. its actually two movies in one, a solo survival drama that abruptly turns into a pulp sci fi adventure. one correction, the planned sequel was to be called robinson crusoe in the invisible galaxy, but it was never made because this one bombed. also, intriguingly: <br /><br />After this film was released, screenwriter Ib Melchior and Victor Lundin collaborated on a script called "Columbus of the Stars". which they presented to Paramount. It was similar to Star Trek: The Original Series (1966), complete with illustrations similar to the Enterprise. Some time later, "Star Trek" went into production. Lundin does not claim that his ideas were borrowed by Paramount.meesalikeuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08113426277871372128noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573438243257723411.post-40470017029583969942020-08-19T08:20:51.491-04:002020-08-19T08:20:51.491-04:00Graeme, you can contact me directly at blakeslee@g...Graeme, you can contact me directly at blakeslee@gmail.com - I can send you a link to the spreadsheet (hosted on Google Sheets) via email after I hear back from you. I am definitely willing to explore the possibilities of having you on my podcast despite the time zone differences! David Blakesleehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12167200509158903679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573438243257723411.post-4414316265808641202020-08-19T03:40:24.362-04:002020-08-19T03:40:24.362-04:00Thanks for the followup David. I was wondering wh...Thanks for the followup David. I was wondering where your 'spreadsheet' is so I could maybe sign myself up for an episode. Looking forward to listening to your commentary on L'Eclisse upcoming - just arrived I think. Its one of my all time favourites, right up there with Contempt! I would like to give back at some point though I don't know how feasible this would be with me in an Australian timezone. Sorry to be asking this via blogspot - I don't know how best to contact you otherwise - I don't do facebook or any social media really.Graeme Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13707318269519852310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573438243257723411.post-50819459492994399932020-06-13T22:16:35.355-04:002020-06-13T22:16:35.355-04:00 JOIN THE GREAT ILLUMINATI TODAY TO RECEIVE ALL YO... JOIN THE GREAT ILLUMINATI TODAY TO RECEIVE ALL YOUR BENEFITS SUCH AS A CASH SUM OF $2,000,000.00 USD AND CAR OF YOUR CHOICE ALSO OWN A HOUSE IN ANY AREA OF YOUR CHOICE WITH MANY OTHER BENEFITS.<br />JOIN TODAY IF YOU WANT TO BECOME RICH AND FAMOUS. ARE YOU LOOKING FOR WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE? ARE YOU A BUSINESS MAN / WOMAN, PASTOR(CLERGY), POLITICIAN, MUSICIAN, DOCTOR, FOOTBALLER, STUDENT ETC? 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Hope to see more good posts in the future.<br /><a href="https://hushcat.com.pk/shoes/sandal.html" rel="nofollow">sandal</a><br />ahmadali4545https://www.blogger.com/profile/13506533821029234800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573438243257723411.post-14419492157973326022020-05-03T19:47:26.514-04:002020-05-03T19:47:26.514-04:00Godard, Perhaps you’ve read other film reviews by ...Godard, Perhaps you’ve read other film reviews by Mr. Blakeslee. If this is the case, then you should be conversant with the nature of his writing. IMHO, he is one of the best film writers around, and has taken on an admirable mission in reviewing all the titles in the Criterion Collection. His writing style is thoughtful, fairly concise, and conveys a warmth and obvious love of film. Qualities not seen in many self-appointed “critics” who come across as both facile and pretentious. Like a person who drops a snarky comment which brings nothing to the table. Sort of like a guy that calls himself Godard. Mister Green Beanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17381087577309909403noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573438243257723411.post-24716794705122630132020-03-07T17:43:52.775-05:002020-03-07T17:43:52.775-05:00godard - it's been quite a few years since I w...godard - it's been quite a few years since I wrote that... I think what I was trying to say was that I didn't have a strong frame of reference that would allow me to recognize what made this film important and influential in comparison with earlier Italian films. That's probably a redundant observation but that's what flew off my fingertips as I composed this little essay. As I acknowledge right at the beginning of the review, this is not one of the deeper or more thoroughly considered posts that I've made here over the years! Finally, to answer your question, I wrote about it because that's the project I've been engaged with since 2009 - watching Criterion Collection films and then writing (or more recently, podcasting) about them... No more, no less! :) Thanks for asking the question.David Blakesleehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12167200509158903679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573438243257723411.post-46123143008430161172020-03-07T17:38:24.956-05:002020-03-07T17:38:24.956-05:00Graeme, thanks for the feedback! I don't get t...Graeme, thanks for the feedback! I don't get too many comments here these days but I always enjoy it when I do, at least when they have something substantial to say and aren't some random spammer. :) I have not recorded a podcast on Alphaville - I'm open to doing that, just need to find the right opportunity. Your insights into the film run deeper than mine, I'm sure, so thanks for spelling out your thoughts on the impact of the story's conclusion. I definitely had no intention of reducing the film down to a simple meta-commentary of what was going on between Jean-Luc and Anna at the time!<br /><br />As for a searchable index... check out the third box down on the right-hand side bar. That's a link to a page called The Index, which is basically a long list of links to the various Criterion films that I've covered. I haven't done a good job in keeping it up to date, and at this point it's a very long scroll (listed in spine order, with Eclipse and other miscellaneous titles tacked on at the end). That's about the best that I can do, but I will ask some acquaintances who are better at web design than I am to see if I can offer a better way to sort through the titles that I've covered in my various blogs and podcasts over the years. Thanks for the friendly prompt!David Blakesleehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12167200509158903679noreply@blogger.com