Citizen Rules...Cinemaesque Chat-n-Review

The original version had a making of feature that showed how they cast and made the movie. There are a few actors, but they really do their own singing and playing. Most of the other cast are musicians who are spoon fed their lines from scene to scene. There are two cd's that were released with the music from the movie. Alan Parker knows how to make movies about music. The Wall, Evita, etc.

Oh wow, he made The Wall and Evita...I didn't even know that and I've seen both. Thanks

I agree. The same for Lost Highway. You have to be familiar with the whole story until you get an idea where the different pieces fit. The story itself is a mystery to solve. Lynch gives you everything you need, but it is a process.

He also directed the original Fame in 1980.

Not sure if I've seen Fame.

Fame is great. You should definitely check it out, if you haven't seen it.

Glad you liked The Commitments though...didn't you watch it during our musical hall of fame last year? That's when I watched it and I'm pretty sure you were part of that.

Thanks Allaby. So many movies! Gosh I sometimes wish I could watch more but usually I can see one per day.

Yes, that is when I seen it. There were sure a lot of great films in that HoF.

He also made Angel Heart, Midnight Express, and Mississippi Burning.

I seen Angel Heart and Mississippi Burning. I liked that later and should see it again.

I saw The Commitments mentioned.
I remember almost nothing about it, except it being about a band (was it in Ireland?), but I do remember liking it quite a lot.
I only saw it on VHS and I remember recognizing Colm Meany in it - and saying, "Hey, it's Chief O'Brien!" as, at the time, I'd never seen him in anything else.

Technically & artistically a near perfect movie. I appreciated it and it was a good choice for me to watch. Classic Japanese films like, Late Autumn, 24 Eyes & The Naked Island are my favorite type of personal stories. Those are the kind of intimate story telling I like the most. I would still rate Sansho the Bailiff highly, but for me my reaction to the sad tale was one more of appreciation for the great sets and customs and one rather dismal realization about the history of humankind....

While I was watching Sansho the Bailiff I started to ponder one very deep and truly sad thought... Almost all of mankind's time on Earth during recorded history has been built on the back of slaves. I hadn't realized that in Japan's past they too had built wealth & power out of the bondage of other humans and that historical realization brought to the screen via film is another strong reason to watch this film.

The quietness of the very end scene with it's setting in a little hut near the water set the emotion of the finish of the film. Nicely done too!

Chief O'Brien, damn I must have missed him as I don't remember seeing Colm Meaney and he is kinda of unique looking too. Did he have a bigger role?

I think it was a small role, like someone's father or something.
IMDB says he played "Mr. Rabbitte"

__________________
It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
My IMDb page

I liked A Man Escaped OK, but to be honest I found it a bit stoic and lacking in emotion. Or maybe I was just too tired and maybe the poor video quality affected my enjoyment of it. I should really see this again and with a nice sharp copy. I can say that I was never bored and it did seem well made, but it was sure plodding. I'm guessing that slowness was deliberate as to impart a feeling of time nearly standing still. Well it worked I guess.

As I was watching it I asked myself if I felt anything or any emotion...and the answer was no. I didn't feel or care for the man in prison. I didn't really care if he managed to escape or not. And I think the reason I didn't have any visceral reaction was that the prison and the Nazi's didn't have that omnipresent & oppressive feeling about them. That's because of the way it was shot, with mostly close ups and mid range shots. We never see that many establishing shots or wide shots that would make this prison seem real at least in my mind. To me it felt like a tiny studio set, hence I didn't feel any desperation from the story and you know a prison break from the Nazi's should be all about desperation!

I also couldn't help compare this to the excellent French prison film Le Trou (1960) which also was about a prison break, but was much more dynamic.

Cool (and thanks Mark too).

Of all the different Star Trek characters I always felt a kinship to Chief O'Brien. Then again there's other ST characters I could say the same for, that's probably why I love the different series so much.

That one is a straight up for me.

__________________
IMDb
Letterboxd

I enjoyed that one, but it's been some time since I've seen it, so another viewing is long overdue.