Watching With No Expectations
I have recently gotten into the habit of watching films without reserching them deeply first(I got this idea from a french documentary about Henri Langlois.He used to show three films a night at the Cineamatheque. He show them without description and often times in other languages without subtitles to explain what was going on to the audeince.). I have found that if I expect nothing out of a film and don't read up on the plot then it is ultimately the film's job to impress me(Alot of times when viewing a film that I've read up about I know too much or expect far too much from certain scene's/Character's.Leading me to maybe overate or underrate the film without putting emphasis on how enjoyable it was to me).It offers alot to the imagination when I haven't read up on other's impressions on the film and it reaches you on more of a personal level than a cultural influenced level.
Now,the results have been mixed on how this has worked out for me. For example I absolutly loved The Life and Death Of Colonel Blimp because I didn't know what was coming and knew next to nothing of the characters.But,for more obscure pictures I've seen recently it has left me very confused(Most of The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligiri was confusing to me at first and I honestly didn't quite understand the picture until I read up on it.).Still it has been more of an adventure when I'd usually give up on a picture after watching it confused. However,when it comes to Surrealists pictures that I've seen recently(Un Chien Andalou,L'age D'or,etc.) it has really helped me to derive my own meanings from them and really has helped me to enjoy these types of films. What are your opinions on going into a film cold turkey? |
Re: Watching With No Expectations
If a movie is amazing - it will be better the viewings after the first : if it isn't - it won't.
Hearing about what happens in the movie is sort of a small version of this process. |
Re: Watching With No Expectations
Originally Posted by Mr.Nobody (Post 404782)
What are your opinions on going into a film cold turkey?
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Re: Watching With No Expectations
I agree, going into a movie knowing as little as possible about the story is usually the best way to see it.
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Re: Watching With No Expectations
If I feel a particular film is going to be an important one, then I do my best to at least see it the weekend it opens. Unfortunately this takes a discipline I've not had lately, but I believe in it no less. Sometimes I'll even wait too long and consider my experience tainted. Hype is such an awful thing.
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Re: Watching With No Expectations
I agree entirely. If only I had a dollar for every good film I saw that I had already spoiled for myself by reading up on it...
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Re: Watching With No Expectations
It seems fairly impossible to go into many current movies "cold turkey", but I agree, if you know too much or hear too much of the hype it often ends up being a disappointment (r more of one then it should be) because you expect more from the film. I have gotten fairly good at tempering my expectations on films even when they are hyped up a lot, just because I have seen people miss good films because they were expecting it to be great (or the trailer made it look completely different), and it didn't match up to their unreal/incorrect expectations.
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Re: Watching With No Expectations
I'm sure Yoda would agree with all of us here on this one, although he's got a dilemma in running a movie site and almost *needing* to know some stuff in advance.
But I have been to enough movies with him over the years where he knew much more than I did going in (sometimes even the ending, like The Sixth Sense and The Village!), and I almost uniformly come out praising the film much more highly than he does. I purposely STOP watching trailers and commercials for movies beyond the initial ones because I know it changes how I view a movie. For instance, I wish I hadn't known about the creatures in I Am Legend before going in. I might have actually liked the movie a lot more had that been more of a surprise. I've been known to put my fingers in my ears and do the "la-la-la" thing when a movie commercial comes on the TV if it's a movie I want to keep unspoiled. TOO many trailers/commercials nowadays tell TOO much of the story. Doesn't the word "teaser" mean anything anymore? :D |
Re: Watching With No Expectations
I should have mentioned that there have been a few films that went over my head the first time around, or were so chock-full of subtleties and visual splendor that I found it too much to properly absorb in one sitting. Happens a lot when I sit too close to the screen. :p
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Re: Watching With No Expectations
Originally Posted by Mr.Nobody (Post 404782)
What are your opinions on going into a film cold turkey?
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Re: Watching With No Expectations
Eisenstein's theory of montage: check it out and see how it applies to this topic. If you're cinema'techie you should enjoy it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergei_Eisenstein If you hear or read about a movie before hand, it's gonna' effect you're opinion, whether you like it or not. This could be a good thing or a bad thing. Sometimes its necessary to get info before, sometimes its damaging. I'm trying to think of a term..... Mesi Scene Misi Scene It has to do with "what's on screen." Someone help me, please? |
Re: Watching With No Expectations
Mis-en-scene?
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Re: Watching With No Expectations
Originally Posted by PimpDaShizzle V2.0 (Post 405228)
It has to do with "what's on screen." Someone help me, please?
No, wait. You mean something else entirely. Sorry. ;) |
Re: Watching With No Expectations
I think it's spelled mise-en-scene.
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Re: Watching With No Expectations
Originally Posted by Mr.Nobody (Post 404782)
What are your opinions on going into a film cold turkey? I was reading about I Am Legend months before it came out and I still enjoyed it quite a bit. Do I have bad taste? Probably. I also don't place a lot of expectations on those types of films either. So I have an easier time enjoying them more than some I suppose. |
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I just put American Dreamz on my Netflix list on top, all I know it that it is a satire with Mandy Moore. I'll tell you if I experiance it any different
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Re: Watching With No Expectations
I wrote this in the Movie Tab thread, but it should go in here too. Further validates my feelings (and a lot of yours) about watching a movie without knowing much about the story beforehand.
The Apartment
http://www.movieforums.com/community...pcorn/5box.gif This was my first time seeing The Apartment and it was such an experience. Not at all what I was expecting. I've somehow managed to make it through these last couple years of being a wannabe cinephile without ever finding out what the movie was about. On tv they only show the comedic clips of Jack Lemmon acting like a goofball so I went in thinking the movie was about an apartment building full of quirky likable characters and there was one apartment in specific in which some of them would often congregate. Jeez. But my lack of absolutely any knowledge of the film going in made for such a brilliant time! Someone just started a thread about that didn't they? Coincidence? I was shocked at how bitter sweet the movie was. Wilder did a fantastic job of mixing the comedy with the drama and I really love the way he worked the camera in some scenes. Just as much credit for this film's success is due also to Jack Lemmon who delivered an outstanding performance as the nice guy much in need of a spine. There were points in the movie I actually thought his character was being too nice and understanding, but then I realized I know people like that. Shirley MacLaine also did an excellent job in convincing us that Lemmon's character could actually fall for Kubelik despite her flaws. It didn't hurt that I thought she was a knockout. Short hair rocks!! And I got to mention Fred MacMurray who played his role as a downright acidic sleezeball to perfection. Oh how I wanted to punch him. Thank God for public libraries and their surprisingly impressive DVD selection. |
Re: Watching With No Expectations
Ooh! A Billy Wilder film. I love his work(Double Indemnity is such a great film and the perfect film noir.) and haven't seen The Apartment yet, But I will when the oppurtunity presents itself. I also have managed to make it this long without knowing too much about that film. All I know is it's about an Apartment and Lemmon's in it.
Also,that Sergei Einstein link was very interesting and I've been meaning to see Battleship Potemkn for the longest while I just haven't gotten to it yet. |
Re: Watching With No Expectations
I'm pretty sure you just misspelled it, but just in case: the dude's name is Sergei Eisenstein*. Not Einstein.
And Double Indemnity is definitely an example of film noir perfection. I wish I could light matches the way Neff did. |
Re: Watching With No Expectations
Originally Posted by ImNotGibson (Post 405330)
And Double Indemnity is definitely an example of film noir perfection. I wish I could light matches the way Neff did.
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