The MoFo Top 100 of the 2000s Countdown

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A couple of nice interviews with Guillermo del Toro, regarding Pan's Labyrinth...



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Did you know that...
[list][*] Doug Jones was the only one on set that didn't speak Spanish?
What I like about this bit of trivia, is that Doug Jones was given the option to just move his mouth and mime as best as he could, and they could maybe touch up with CGI afterward.
Jones refused though, and learned the lines properly, studying Spanish with help from the cast and crew, so that his mouth would match what was being said, and then spoke them himself on set.
Afterward they dubbed him with another actor so that the pronunciations were better, but Jones' hard work made it believable because his mouth was moving correctly.

Another bit of trivia though... and this goes back to something I said about that incident with Baldwin.
Almost all of the guns on set were fake.
Fake as in, none of them even fired blanks.
The main part of this was safety, and also the fact that they were filming in a national protected forest... which means muzzle flashes, loud bangs, and placing squibs everywhere, was simply not allowed in the area...
They CGI'd the muzzle flashes and the bullet holes in the trees and stuff... and the actors mimed the kick of the gun, with a little help with CGI to enhance the kick. Basically on the day, they were running around silently clicking plastic guns at each other.



I forgot the opening line.
Well, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and Pan's Labyrinth are fine enough movies, but I voted for neither. I pretty much said all I had to say about the former when Two Towers showed up. I think I've seen Return of the King once in it's entirety - but I've caught bits and pieces since then. I'm just not a fantasy film kind of person - though I can see the film's greatness. I tended not to vote for foreign language films after the last countdown, but In the Mood for Love was certainly worth it, along with The Secret in Their Eyes and The Death of Mr. Lazarescu. The Lives of Others would have been in with a shot if I'd seen it in time. I should be glad my upper-tier films haven't appeared yet - and I'm really hoping one of them will claim top spot over the most popular Rings trilogy blockbuster.

As for those on my list that surely aren't going to show up, I'll take my cue from others and start revealing. My #11 was Broken Flowers - my favourite Jim Jarmusch film featuring another superb performance from Bill Murray as a Don Juan type character who receives an anonymous letter from a former lover telling him he has a kid. This prompts a trip to visit all the former lovers he can think of, with all the resultant fall-out you'd expect for such a character. Jarmusch always seems to get the most out of Murray, and the film as a whole has a perfect balance of humour and pathos. It also serves as something of a mystery film, with various clues as to who this mystery letter-writer might be, and who Murray's offspring really is. I've always enjoyed watching Broken Flowers down through the years, and it's longevity is what led me to include it in this list of my favourite films of the decade.

Seen : 81/94
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OH!
I forgot another funny bit of trivia... I watched the movie with Del Toro's commentary.
He said this movie is the reason he will never work with horses ever again.

The scene where they chase Mercedes up the hill, they used a stunt woman.
Maribel Verdú runs toward camera, with the horses behind her, and as she passes the camera, they spin the camera around and watch a stunt woman dressed as Mercedes from behind running up the hill while the horses close in.
The reason they sneakily cut to s stunt woman, was once the horses got close, they wouldn't stop, meaning whoever was in front of them would simply get trampled because the horses they had to use were almost completely uncontrollable.

The horses on Pan's Labyrinth were apparently the nastiest, meanest and most dangerous animals he'd ever worked with and he absolutely hated every minute of it.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
I saw Pan's Labyrinth many years ago, but I don't remember much about it except that I don't think I understood it. I don't really have any desire to rewatch it, but I might someday if the opportunity presents itself.
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You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
Obviously people love Pan's Labyrinth, so congrats on making the list so high.

Myself I wasn't a fan, which I guess proves just how differently my movie taste is from most everyone else's...which is fine with me

I know how you feel. I think my taste is even more different from everyone else's than yours. I think of all the countdowns that I've participated in, this is the least amount of movies from my list to make the countdown. I've only had three movies from my list make the countdown so far, and only one more coming up.



What I like about this bit of trivia, is that Doug Jones was given the option to just move his mouth and mime as best as he could, and they could maybe touch up with CGI afterward.
Jones refused though, and learned the lines properly, studying Spanish with help from the cast and crew, so that his mouth would match what was being said, and then spoke them himself on set.
Afterward they dubbed him with another actor so that the pronunciations were better, but Jones' hard work made it believable because his mouth was moving correctly.

Another bit of trivia though... and this goes back to something I said about that incident with Baldwin.
Almost all of the guns on set were fake.
Fake as in, none of them even fired blanks.
The main part of this was safety, and also the fact that they were filming in a national protected forest... which means muzzle flashes, loud bangs, and placing squibs everywhere, was simply not allowed in the area...
They CGI'd the muzzle flashes and the bullet holes in the trees and stuff... and the actors mimed the kick of the gun, with a little help with CGI to enhance the kick. Basically on the day, they were running around silently clicking plastic guns at each other.
OH!
I forgot another funny bit of trivia... I watched the movie with Del Toro's commentary.
He said this movie is the reason he will never work with horses ever again.

The scene where they chase Mercedes up the hill, they used a stunt woman.
Maribel Verdú runs toward camera, with the horses behind her, and as she passes the camera, they spin the camera around and watch a stunt woman dressed as Mercedes from behind running up the hill while the horses close in.
The reason they sneakily cut to s stunt woman, was once the horses got close, they wouldn't stop, meaning whoever was in front of them would simply get trampled because the horses they had to use were almost completely uncontrollable.

The horses on Pan's Labyrinth were apparently the nastiest, meanest and most dangerous animals he'd ever worked with and he absolutely hated every minute of it.
Love it! Thanks for sharing



Shoot your guesses for tomorrow, people. See you tomorrow morning.



8. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (417 points) - Just don't get the love for these films.

7. Pan's Labyrinth (423 points) - I can see why people like this film, it is very well made, and piggybacks on the likes of Erice's masterpiece 'Spirit of the Beehive'. But not my favourite del Toro.

No votes.



What the hey, No Country For Old Men...
Yeah he said “shoot” No Country confirmed.
You guys are obsessed



Here's another game courtesy of Sporcle (I swear I'm not getting dividends. I just love the site!), this time about Pan's Labyrinth!

Can you pick the events of Pan's Labyrinth from start to finish?



And two great articles and interviews about Pan's Labyrinth...

‘Pan’s Labyrinth’: A Richly Imagined, Dreamlike Voyage of Self-Discovery and Character Formation

"I follow a principle that I got from studying theatrical design: each set has to make one statement. If you go to the pit and the Faun in Pan’s Labyrinth, the whole statement of that set is the circular pit with one monolith in the center. If you go to the Pale Man, the statement is the chimney and the table. Sometimes the point of a set is complexity, but each set has to have a hero angle and make the statement quickly."
Pan's Labyrinth: The Real Meaning Of Guillermo Del Toro's Dark Fairytale

"Del Toro has stated that the themes of Pan Labyrinth can be traced throughout the narrative due to the symbolic repetition, a common trait of fairytales. The faun gives Ofelia three tasks to complete in order to help her return to her place as queen of the underworld, but she often disobeys instructions and makes choices based on her own conscience."



A system of cells interlinked
Guessing Mulholland Drive for today!
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A system of cells interlinked
Pan's Labyrinth was my #16. I find a scene or two in this to be almost unwatchable in their brutality, and I remember sitting stunned during my first viewing. I also found the end to be extremely moving, and I needed to collect myself for a few minutes when the film was finished. Easily Del Toro's best film, IMO.






439 points, 29 lists
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Director

Michel Gondry, 2004

Starring

Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo

#6