smudge

Finally, after all these years, Kubrick's 2001 - and I made it to the end as well!

For such a long time, various people have managed to put me off this film, but again as a result into our recent acquistion of HD I decided to buy it, sit down and give it a go.

What a strange film it is. It seems to me to be very 'compartmentalised' into neat little sections (perhaps in Stanley Kubrick's boxes??) and very much a showcase for the genius of special effects. It did enlighten me as to how much modern sci-fi still owes to Kubrick and his team in that respect.

So was it about evolution, extra-terrestial visitations, madness and death, or the great creator? All of these theories washed through my brain as I watched the closing 'compartment', but I'm still none the wiser.

Must say I respect the film much more than I expected to, given what people had said of it in the past, and I shall definitely watch it again sometime soon.

It was quite a trip....

Smudge

Welcome to my house. Enter freely, and of your own will...

dpgmel

Revisited my childhood by watching several episodes of the Yorkshire Television series " Follyfoot ".

Still entertaining and relatively hard hitting for a childrens tv programme.

Excellent stuff

Steve Crook

1914 - 1918
The 1996 BBC series about WWI narrated by Judi Dench which they're re-showing on BBC4

Great documentary series

Steve

torinfan

Night of the Living Dead, the original version.

That scene in the cellar where the little girl murders her mother with the trowel still gives me nightmares.

Tell me your troubles and doubts
Giving me everything inside and out .

ollie

You want to try watching it along with one of those jazz cigarette's now that's trippy

It's like all these types of films, open to your own interpretation it looks fantastic and motives aside i love the the pure experience of watching it ,must dig it out soon

cheers Ollie

"Bullseye !!"

smudge

You know me mate, I never touch the ordinary baccy, let alone the wacky stuff!!

Mind you, might chill with a snifter or two whilst watching it again in the Xmas hols, methinks....

Smudge

Welcome to my house. Enter freely, and of your own will...

Chevyman

Cleared a recording of The Avengers..Slow Slow Quick Death.

Good to see Maurice Kaufmann. The tattoo artist with the garlic sausage.........that was ahead of its time

A Happy and Healthy New Year to all

"Don't tread on Greta Garbo, as you walk down the boulevard?"

Lord Lionheart

I've been laid up with a horrible flu all week that my 5 year old was nice enough to pass onto me. The good news is that I've been taking the time to revisit some old classics ( as well as a lot of football). The last 2 days I re-watched ;

The life and death of Colonel Blimp - Roger Livesey, Anton Wollbrook & Debra Kerr in this masterpiece. The only thing was I thought it ironic that contrary to the anti-Nazi propoganda film central theme, and therefore embodyment of all things good in the world that such an 'English gentleman' had no qualms about shooting large ( and now endangered) animals for trophies. Of course this would hardly have crossed my mind over 25 years ago when I first watched it, much less when it was made in 1943 no doubt. Still a great watch.

This Sporting Life - Watched the Critereon Collection version which weighs in at 2 hours and 15 minutes. The 60's kitchen sinkers are probably my most favorite British movie genre, but this is by far the darkest and most depressing. Rachel Roberts is brilliantly restrained, not a great beauty but there's something about her. As was usual I like to look up the cast and director on IMDB for those little trivia and history nuggets. Rachel Roberts had a sad and untimely death just up the road. The parallels from her personal demise obviously add to her performance in the movie. I've never been a huge fan of Richard Harris, I have nothing against him, more ambivalent bout his performances than anything else. I get the impression that someone had seen ' A streetcar named desire' and said "Hey, let's make a British equivalent". Harris is practically made-up to be a British Brando I was unsure about his true intentions and the lines between his ambition and sensitivity with Mrs. Hammond and towards her children. A very thought provoking movie and adds to the phrase that it is or was grim up North.

Mark O

I'm sure it was Smudge!.........I've sat through 2001 uninterrupted several times (including the Cinema, and seeing 'the trip' on big screen really is an experience!), it's always been a fave of mine and never tire of it, love the eerie Kachaturian and Strauss music too!

Mark

smudge

Yes Mark, think I'd like to see it 'full scale' too. but at least I've finally seen it anyhow - better late than never...

Just watched Jacques Tati's MON ONCLE. Quite enjoyed it, but nowhere near as much as Mr. HULOT'S HOLIDAY. I know he's meant to be incongrous with the high-tech, status obsessed world of his brother-in-law, but for me Hulot was a little too out of place and the film could have been edited more tightly. As it was, it was a little overlong I thought...

Smudge

Welcome to my house. Enter freely, and of your own will...

Steve Crook

That's one of the reasons why they are now so endangered, because gentlemen (and ladies) from England and other countries would go on a tour of somewhere like Africa and blast away at everything they saw.

Is it really contrary to the anti-Nazi message?

Steve

Lord Lionheart

I'm well aware that it would have been in vogue to go 'big game hunting' at the height of the British empire, which was exactly why that stuck out for me when viewing the movie in 2008. I did note it probably wouldn't have caused a blink of an eyelid when I first saw the movie over 25 years ago.
I'd say that indiscriminantly killing large, beautiful animals such as tigers, lions and elephants would be viewed as being closer to evil in today's society, rather than the personification of good and fair which Candy's character embodied. Apart from the animal hunting, the lines between British good, fighting fair, gentlemanly behavior, giving his true love, befreinding a beaten enemy and Nazi(axis) bad, gassing, surprise attacks were drawn in black and white. The defection of Wallbrooks character supported this in the latter scenes.
I'd be willing to wager that if the movie was re-made today a character embodying old world goodness whilst big game hunting would be seen as contradictory and re-written. I'm sure the Nazi's would be the big game hunters in a 2008 version

Steve Crook

Yes, it's always worth remembering when films were made, and when they are set. Standards of acceptable behaviour do change over the years.

As you say, when the film was made, very few people in the audience would regard the big game hunting as a bad thing

Steve

Lord Lionheart

Exactly my point. A great movie and still a joy to watch

dpgmel

.....more Follyfoot followed by a couple of episodes of The Wild Wild West ( hokum but fun )