# I'm out of movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 13, 2007, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-out-of-movies/419037 "2007-09-13T05:40:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Rachael\_Rage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71c47a/32.png) [@Rachael\_Rage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachael_Rage)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2007, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-out-of-movies/419037/61 "2007-09-14T07:17:58Z")
_Manic_, a modest DV movie which preceded _Mysterious Skin_ on the Joseph Gordon-Levitt timeline from TV kid-star to everyone’s favorite indie actor (I presume you’ve seen MS and probably _Brick_ too). A stunning cast for such an obscure film, including Don Cheadle and Zoe Deschanel. I only saw it once when it first came out, but I remember it being good, not great, but with some great performances. And of course Joe was excellent! 🙂 (he’s a pal) ---
**Author:** ![Panurge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/fbc32d/32.png) [@Panurge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Panurge)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2007, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-out-of-movies/419037/62 "2007-09-14T08:44:03Z")
How about some Bengali films? The Bengal school is sort of the art-house cinema of India, I suppose, and have churned out some mighty fine films: Satyajit Ray (You must have seen some of his): _The Apu Trilogy_, \*Days and Nights in the Forest \*and many more. Kurosawa mentions Ray as one of his favorite directors, btw, and he did make some really moving, beautiful films. Buddhadev Dasgupta (new Bengali cinema): _Tale of a Naughty Girl_, _The Wrestlers_ I guess that you already know John Cassavetes - _Faces, Shadows,_ etc. And then one of my favorite directors, Jørgen Leth: Among his best (of the ones I’ve seen) are: _The Perfect Human_ - recently re-issued as extra material on _The Five Obstructions_ - a collaborate effort with Lars von Trier. _Haiti. Untitled._ - heart-braking images of Haiti. Beautiful. _A Sunday in Hell_ - about the Paris-Roubaix classic cycling race. _66 scenes from America_ - with the famous Andy-Warhol-eating-a-cheeseburger scene. And the sequel _New scenes from America_. He has made many more, but these should get you started. The Danish Film Institute have just begun the publishing all of his films. The first box, containing his “anthropological films” is already out - I am eagerly awaiting the “travel” and the “sports” box. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2007, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-out-of-movies/419037/63 "2007-09-14T11:37:39Z")
I’ll second Wendell Wagner with 7 Beauties. I thought that film was great. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2007, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-out-of-movies/419037/64 "2007-09-14T13:14:42Z")
Go outside! ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2007, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-out-of-movies/419037/65 "2007-09-14T14:25:16Z")
O.K., that’s three out of the twenty that you haven’t seen. Those were the twenty least well known from a list of my one hundred favorite films. I’ll try to come up with some more obscure films that I like in a day or so when I get a chance. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2007, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-out-of-movies/419037/66 "2007-09-14T14:50:14Z")
[QUOTE=Cervaise] Re Theo Angelopoulos, **avoid** _Ulysses’ Gaze._ Three or four absolutely stunning images embedded like raisins in what feels like ten hours of unapologetically indulgent “look at me I’m a genius” nonsense. [/QUOTE] Angelopoulos is a touch nut, I’ll admit, and I’m not necessarily going to defend _UG_, but since I know lissener likes Tarkovsky, I thought I’d include him. All of Theo’s films (or at least all the ones I’ve seen) tend more towards the meditative side–really long takes, little “plot” per se, actions and compositions that are deceptively “static” but often informed by rich subtlety. But they’re definitely not everyone’s cup of tea. _The Travelling Players_ is in my Desert Island 100, and at 4 hours, there are probably fewer than 100 shots in the film (an average 2-hour film from that period would probably have around 1000-1200). But it’s extremely touching, unexpectedly surreal, unapologetically opinionated, and, for me, quite unforgettable. This is another area where seeing something like Angelopoulos on video simply loses something in translation, however. It’s an immersive experience, and one that demands patience and commitment (without the sweet temptation of a pause button, absorbing 4 filmic hours over the course of a weekend) on his own terms. That’s true for all films, really, IMHO, but though he loves landscapes, his movies tend to be more emotional than visual epics–ones that allow historical incident and individual action to resonate into something deeper–and that can often be diminished by home viewing as well. It’s a tough call, because while I recommend his films, I’ve never seen any on video without first seeing it on the big screen, so I’m naturally coming from a very different orientation than most viewers (as eager as they might be) find possible. Personally, I find Bela Tarr much more frustrating and problematic (though still remarkable at times), so if you like his films, the Angelopoulos films I mentioned should go down pretty easily (w/_Landscape_ being the most accessible). ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2007, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-out-of-movies/419037/67 "2007-09-14T15:18:42Z")
[QUOTE=ArchiveGuy] This is another area where seeing something like Angelopoulos on video simply loses something in translation, however. [/QUOTE] That’s fair; I would agree with that observation, certainly. The man definitely knows how to put an arresting image on screen. That said, I did see _Ulysses’ Gaze_ in the cinema, not on video. While the three or four jaw-dropping shots in the movie will stay with me for the rest of my life (e.g. Lenin on the barge), I cannot in good conscience recommend the film as a whole, in any setting. (And I don’t mind “slow,” either. Note my suggestion of _Goodbye Dragon Inn_ earlier in the thread. _Ulysses’ Gaze_ is worse than slow: it’s **boring.** ) ---
**Author:** ![TheMerchandise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b487fb/32.png) [@TheMerchandise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheMerchandise)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2007, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-out-of-movies/419037/68 "2007-09-14T17:21:25Z")
Anything you can find my Mikio Naruse. He was a Japanese director in the ‘30s through the ‘60s. Every film critic worth his salt LOVES this guy, but until recently, he’s been unreleased in the United States. His best are _Late Chrysanthemums_ and _When a Woman Ascends the Stairs_. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2007, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-out-of-movies/419037/69 "2007-09-14T17:28:26Z")
[QUOTE=lissener] Korean revenge porn [/QUOTE] Would that include stuff like [Oldboy](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0364569/)? ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2007, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-out-of-movies/419037/70 "2007-09-14T18:07:33Z")
Seriously, Why don’t you write a book about movies? ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2007, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-out-of-movies/419037/71 "2007-09-14T22:35:30Z")
[QUOTE=Interrobang!?] Have you seen all the Edward Yang you could get your hands on? **Yi-Yi** is the easy one, of course, but **Confucian Confusion** , **Mahjong** , **Brighter Summer Day** … [/QUOTE] Seen YiYi. Will look for the others. [QUOTE=Interrobang!?] What about Edgar Reitz’s **Heimat**? [/QUOTE] Hmm. Looks like a big bite to start chewing. It’s, what, 16 discs? Maybe at some point . . . [QUOTE=Interrobang!?] And you’ve probably seen it, but **The Wire** is America’s TV masterpiece, so if you haven’t seen it, do so. [/QUOTE] Tried it. Sorry, just not a fan. May return some day. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2007, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-out-of-movies/419037/72 "2007-09-14T22:37:24Z")
[QUOTE=Darth Vader’s Little Pal] _Manic_, a modest DV movie which preceded _Mysterious Skin_ on the Joseph Gordon-Levitt timeline from TV kid-star to everyone’s favorite indie actor (I presume you’ve seen MS and probably _Brick_ too). A stunning cast for such an obscure film, including Don Cheadle and Zoe Deschanel. I only saw it once when it first came out, but I remember it being good, not great, but with some great performances. And of course Joe was excellent! 🙂 (he’s a pal) [/QUOTE] Missed that one. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2007, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-out-of-movies/419037/73 "2007-09-14T22:38:45Z")
[QUOTE=Panurge] How about some Bengali films? The Bengal school is sort of the art-house cinema of India, I suppose, and have churned out some mighty fine films: Satyajit Ray (You must have seen some of his): _The Apu Trilogy_, \*Days and Nights in the Forest \*and many more. Kurosawa mentions Ray as one of his favorite directors, btw, and he did make some really moving, beautiful films. Buddhadev Dasgupta (new Bengali cinema): _Tale of a Naughty Girl_, _The Wrestlers_ [/QUOTE] Seen all the Ray I can. [QUOTE=Panurge] I guess that you already know John Cassavetes - _Faces, Shadows,_ etc. [/QUOTE] Yes; completist. [QUOTE=Panurge] And then one of my favorite directors, Jørgen Leth: Among his best (of the ones I’ve seen) are: _The Perfect Human_ - recently re-issued as extra material on _The Five Obstructions_ - a collaborate effort with Lars von Trier. _Haiti. Untitled._ - heart-braking images of Haiti. Beautiful. _A Sunday in Hell_ - about the Paris-Roubaix classic cycling race. _66 scenes from America_ - with the famous Andy-Warhol-eating-a-cheeseburger scene. And the sequel _New scenes from America_. He has made many more, but these should get you started. The Danish Film Institute have just begun the publishing all of his films. The first box, containing his “anthropological films” is already out - I am eagerly awaiting the “travel” and the “sports” box. [/QUOTE] Seen a couple. Will seek out the rest. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2007, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-out-of-movies/419037/74 "2007-09-14T22:51:42Z")
[QUOTE=KneadToKnow] Would that include stuff like [Oldboy](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0364569/)? [/QUOTE] Zackly. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2007, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-out-of-movies/419037/75 "2007-09-14T22:53:03Z")
[QUOTE=Zebra] Seriously, Why don’t you write a book about movies? [/QUOTE] Because that would entail _writing a book._ ---
**Author:** ![Panurge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/fbc32d/32.png) [@Panurge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Panurge)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2007, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-out-of-movies/419037/76 "2007-09-14T22:54:13Z")
Just thought about this: Do you know [ubuweb](http://www.ubu.com/). It’s a sort of art repository. You can stream (and download) a _lot_ of art/avant garde films, sound clips, interviews with artists etc. Some of the stuff might seem a bit esoteric, but there is lot of good work, too. One of my all-time favorite sites. Also: Matthew Barney’s _Cremaster cycle_ is really mind blowing. Only a small excerpt is out on DVD, so you will have to catch the whole thing in an art house cinema or a museum. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2007, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-out-of-movies/419037/77 "2007-09-14T22:55:58Z")
[QUOTE=TheMerchandise] Anything you can find my Mikio Naruse. He was a Japanese director in the ‘30s through the ‘60s. Every film critic worth his salt LOVES this guy, but until recently, he’s been unreleased in the United States. His best are _Late Chrysanthemums_ and _When a Woman Ascends the Stairs_. [/QUOTE] Yes, I meant to come back last night and follow up on my reply to Archiveguy, who first mentioned Naruse above. I knew he sounded familiar. \*A Woman Ascends the Stairs \*was Criterioned this year. Brilliant. I hope there’s more coming. ---
**Author:** ![fessie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@fessie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fessie)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2007, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-out-of-movies/419037/78 "2007-09-14T23:02:12Z")
[Silly](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRW40gtcp2I) [Songs](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJmkpSOMyUA&mode=related&search=)[With](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZsltdm97vE&mode=related&search=)[Larry](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39JhknN12K4) (after 10 or 20 viewings those Veggie Tales kinda grow on you) ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2007, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-out-of-movies/419037/79 "2007-09-14T23:10:30Z")
[QUOTE=ArchiveGuy] Angelopoulos is a touch nut, I’ll admit, and I’m not necessarily going to defend _UG_, but since I know lissener likes Tarkovsky, I thought I’d include him. All of Theo’s films (or at least all the ones I’ve seen) tend more towards the meditative side–really long takes, little “plot” per se, actions and compositions that are deceptively “static” but often informed by rich subtlety. But they’re definitely not everyone’s cup of tea. _The Travelling Players_ is in my Desert Island 100, and at 4 hours, there are probably fewer than 100 shots in the film (an average 2-hour film from that period would probably have around 1000-1200). But it’s extremely touching, unexpectedly surreal, unapologetically opinionated, and, for me, quite unforgettable. This is another area where seeing something like Angelopoulos on video simply loses something in translation, however. It’s an immersive experience, and one that demands patience and commitment (without the sweet temptation of a pause button, absorbing 4 filmic hours over the course of a weekend) on his own terms. That’s true for all films, really, IMHO, but though he loves landscapes, his movies tend to be more emotional than visual epics–ones that allow historical incident and individual action to resonate into something deeper–and that can often be diminished by home viewing as well. It’s a tough call, because while I recommend his films, I’ve never seen any on video without first seeing it on the big screen, so I’m naturally coming from a very different orientation than most viewers (as eager as they might be) find possible. Personally, I find Bela Tarr much more frustrating and problematic (though still remarkable at times), so if you like his films, the Angelopoulos films I mentioned should go down pretty easily (w/_Landscape_ being the most accessible). [/QUOTE] Well, Dreyer, Tarkovsky, Mizoguchi, and Renoir are among my top ten favorite directors, and each one likes his shots longer than the other. (Although Hot Fuzz, with its 6,200 cuts, is in my top ten for this year. Go figure.) One of my favorite moments in all of cinema is the opening of _Solyaris_, where Chris is simply looking around him at the earth, the water, the grass, absorbing all he can of Earth before he has to leave it. So maybe I’ll give Angelopoulos another go. ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2007, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-out-of-movies/419037/80 "2007-09-15T03:13:37Z")
I was considering suggesting the short subjects of Robert Benchley, but it appears that many of his best short subjects are not available in collected form. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-out-of-movies/419037.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-out-of-movies/419037.md?page=5)