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Fitzcarraldo (1982)

It's incredibly difficult for me to write about this film, cause I got such a love-hate reaction to it.

First of all, if you're making a film about a man who loves Caruso and opera with a soundtrack filled with gems of the classical repertoire, that's already enough for me to give it a positive review. And if you include Klaus Kinski going insane, it doesn't hurt either.

However, I really didn't like the style of Herzog's filmmaking. It was the first film I ever watched by him and I was intending to eventually watch it, but it's way too rough for me.
Ultimately, this is a film about ambition and what someone is willing to do to achieve his dream, and the fact that Herzog's actually pulled a real steamboat up a hill makes the film as ambitious as the feats being narrated, and that deserves some respect.
But I enjoyed it less for lack to connection with Fitz, especially. Firstly because these kind of characters, who dream way too high for their own competence usually turn me off, and secondly because this was film in a way that highlights Fitz' insanity more than his love for opera. In that regard, Kinski is the perfect choice for what I think Herzog enviosioned, as he delivers an haunting perfomance. Even in his eyes you can see that crazy ambition who won't stop at nothing.

I'm glad I finally watched this, as I had it in my computer for a long time just waiting for an excuse.

Thanks @cricket?

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That was my nomination for you. The opera connection was the main reason I chose it, though it sounds like that aspect ended up working against the movie. I personally think Fitzcarraldo is one of the most impressive, ambitious, awe-inspiring films ever made. Art mirroring reality, Herzog attempting the impossible. A shame you didn't think more of it (in fairness, your disconnect seems to stem more from what you wanted/expected of the movie versus what the movie actually sets out do, since it is indeed all about madness -- both in front of the camera and behind it -- and the opera is just a conduit for that madness).

I'm very surprised that this was your introduction to Herzog. He's a top-ten director for me, and that's just on the strength of his feature films as I've barely made a dent in his documentaries. Interestingly, Aguirre was my first encounter with him, and I think I only rated it two stars at the time. The movie was so far removed from what I expected that I didn't connect with it at all. The "roughness" you spoke of might've had something to do with it. Yet I couldn't stop thinking about the movie for months on end. I gave it another chance and rated it a rare five stars. There's a get-your-hands dirty level of naturalism to his approach to cinema that is unrivaled, but in addition to the realism there's a strange poetic mysticism to his films as well. He's one of a kind. Fitzcarraldo, Aguirre, the Wrath of God, Nosferatu the Vampyre and Stroszek are essential cinema.

Happy to see that you thought so highly of Rio Bravo. That's another all-time favorite for me.
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The trick is not minding
I’ve enjoyed Herzog so far if what I’ve seen. Which isn’t much.
Fitzcarraldo, Aguirre, and Nosferatu remake I believe is all I’ve seen.



The trick is not minding
Perfect Blue

Perfect Blue is a film that blends reality with fantasy. We see an actress fragile mind weave through psychosis to the point it gets a little hard to understand what’s real in the film, and what in Her mind. That’s the point of course. We’re meant to be kept guessing, and I honestly didn’t know who was behind it all until just before the reveal (literally minutes before when the culprit said something odd that made me go “hmmmm. Did she just say....?”)
The film concerns a pop idol who has left the group that made her famous to become a movie star. It seems it wasn’t entirely her decision. Her management see bigger things for her future. Namely $$.
We experience the pressures et upon her until her mind unravels and time seems to skip forward from scene to scene. One moment a truck is barreling down on her and the next she’s waking up in bed.
At the same time someone has been posing as her on a blog, and a stalker becomes apparent early on (there’s an eerie early scene where she is dancing and singing her final performance And he has his hand cupped just below her, making it appear as if she is dancing in his hand). People involved in her new career end up dead, mirroring the movie she has been cast in.
All of this makes for an interesting psychological mystery thriller. But it’s what Kon has to say about celebrity obsession and it’s culture. He seems to be saying that the women are used as nothing more then sexual objects to be used as desired in Japan’s cinema. This is shown when her manager has no qualms about the erotic nature of her scenes. He even books more explicit scenes for her next movie. All of these pressures and demands and her shedding of her “innocent” image strains her to the point she wonder herald what is real? She eventually wonders if she is real. Indeed, the breakdown is interesting to watch.
It’s a good film here, but it’s gets so muddled before the end it’s hard to pin down just what is happening. Perhaps that was the point.



ride the pink horse

extremely cool movie. turns the border into this weird purgatorial space where robert montgomery must get his revenge with the help of a wonderfully strange cast of characters, most notably his unlikely new friend pancho in an oscar-nominated performance by thomas gomez. the merry-go-round alluded to in the film's title is the perfect metaphor, moving in circles around the same space for what might as well be eternity, as the film itself feels as if it exists outside of any particular time or place. exactly my type of noir because it doesn't have any convoluted mystery to follow. it's the film itself that's mysterious, simply by withholding certain context and sustaining a disconcerting atmosphere throughout. montgomery proves to be perfectly enigmatic as both a lead actor and a director, i should really watch lady in the lake soon.

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seen A Clockwork Orange. In all honesty, the movie was weird and silly
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Women will be your undoing, Pépé
ride the pink horse

extremely cool movie. turns the border into this weird purgatorial space where robert montgomery must get his revenge with the help of a wonderfully strange cast of characters, most notably his unlikely new friend pancho in an oscar-nominated performance by thomas gomez. the merry-go-round alluded to in the film's title is the perfect metaphor, moving in circles around the same space for what might as well be eternity, as the film itself feels as if it exists outside of any particular time or place. exactly my type of noir because it doesn't have any convoluted mystery to follow. it's the film itself that's mysterious, simply by withholding certain context and sustaining a disconcerting atmosphere throughout. montgomery proves to be perfectly enigmatic as both a lead actor and a director, i should really watch lady in the lake soon.

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Ride the Pink Horse is awesome
Ride the Pink Horse was not my nom for you, but I freakin' love that film...it's so different. I like what you wrote to, you described the film perfectly.


raul had nominated it for the second 40s HoF and when I saw you hadn't seen it, it just clicked for an ideal nomination for you, frightened. Very glad it worked for you.

I felt the same way about the secondary story when I watched it. For most noirs, the secondary characters, those that the leading character runs into, rarely expand into nothing more than filler.
Not so, here. There is far more detail and, dare I say, love, for the secondary characters. The townsfolk, and of course, Pancho and Pila. Who has depth and I found myself enjoying every nuance and conversation shared between them and Gagin as the movie continued.
It is these scenes that I found the most joy. Pila's eventually opening and Pancho's wisdom regarding life were the moments that really stuck with me. I really connected with them and looked forward to when the story came back around to them.
__________________
What I actually said to win MovieGal's heart:
- I might not be a real King of Kinkiness, but I make good pancakes
~Mr Minio



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
Perfect Blue

Perfect Blue is a film that blends reality with fantasy. We see an actress fragile mind weave through psychosis to the point it gets a little hard to understand what’s real in the film, and what in Her mind. That’s the point of course. We’re meant to be kept guessing, and I honestly didn’t know who was behind it all until just before the reveal (literally minutes before when the culprit said something odd that made me go “hmmmm. Did she just say....?”)
The film concerns a pop idol who has left the group that made her famous to become a movie star. It seems it wasn’t entirely her decision. Her management see bigger things for her future. Namely $$.
We experience the pressures et upon her until her mind unravels and time seems to skip forward from scene to scene. One moment a truck is barreling down on her and the next she’s waking up in bed.
At the same time someone has been posing as her on a blog, and a stalker becomes apparent early on (there’s an eerie early scene where she is dancing and singing her final performance And he has his hand cupped just below her, making it appear as if she is dancing in his hand). People involved in her new career end up dead, mirroring the movie she has been cast in.
All of this makes for an interesting psychological mystery thriller. But it’s what Kon has to say about celebrity obsession and it’s culture. He seems to be saying that the women are used as nothing more then sexual objects to be used as desired in Japan’s cinema. This is shown when her manager has no qualms about the erotic nature of her scenes. He even books more explicit scenes for her next movie. All of these pressures and demands and her shedding of her “innocent” image strains her to the point she wonder herald what is real? She eventually wonders if she is real. Indeed, the breakdown is interesting to watch.
It’s a good film here, but it’s gets so muddled before the end it’s hard to pin down just what is happening. Perhaps that was the point.
I've seen this film about four or five times throughout the years and it has stayed confusing for me. But, man, what an excellent film!



Perfect Blue

A mind teaser of a movie, this has been around the fourth or fifth time I have seen this movie and while I am not as utterly confused as I was on my very first watch I am, like Mima, unsure of what it is, and what is imagined; what is filmed on set, and what is real, or some relation thereof.
I was talking with my brother yesterday and found myself unable to explain this film beyond that it is a psychological thriller. Which, perhaps is the highest recommendation I can give for it.

What happened?
No idea.
Cool!


We are not simply witnesses to our leading lady's mental spiral, but we plummet within the twirling Rabbit's Hole from behind her eyes and inside her unstable mind. Unable to decipher reality, imagination, or gauge our perceptions of . . . well, everything.

Which is Perfect Blue's both Strong point, and on varying levels, it's weakness.
Depending on your own personal appreciation/apprehension for riding full tilt sans seat belt, safety net, or pondering if even there is a vehicle of any kind propelling you, and if not, what or who.

Of course, the animation and imagery is beautiful and compelling and is a must when speaking of this film.

Will there be more revisits to this film?
Of course.
Whether they are imagined or not, I don't know, but there will be revisits to this film.



The trick is not minding
I've seen this film about four or five times throughout the years and it has stayed confusing for me. But, man, what an excellent film!
Pretty much agreed with what you wrote. I forgot to mention the animation. Very well done for it’s time. Was it hand drawn?



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
Pretty much agreed with what you wrote. I forgot to mention the animation. Very well done for it’s time. Was it hand drawn?
I honestly don't know and I would hate to take the wrong guess. In '99 a lot of anime was getting mixed between Computer and hand-painted, so perhaps a mix?



When people talk about Perfect Blue, I touch myself.

Have any of you seen the live-action version?



I have it on DVD, and I've heard it's closer to the book than the anime.



I hated the anime version of Perfect Blue, so I don't think I'll be seeking out the live action version anytime soon.
What? Really? You hated the anime version? Why?

The anime, Perfect Blue, is... one of my favorite things in life. It makes me sad to hear you hate it. But I'd like to know why. Why do you hate the anime, Perfect Blue?

I haven’t seen the live action, but I found myself wondering how the two compare as I was watching this
Would you? Watch the live action version and let us know what you think?



The trick is not minding
Would you? Watch the live action version and let us know what you think?
I’ll try and hunt it down, yeah, but it may take awhile.
How much does it differ from the anime I wonder? It was such an intriguing anime, and definitely is one that bears rewatching.



What? Really? You hated the anime version? Why?

The anime, Perfect Blue, is... one of my favorite things in life. It makes me sad to hear you hate it. But I'd like to know why. Why do you hate the anime, Perfect Blue?

Would you? Watch the live action version and let us know what you think?
I'm not saying it's a bad movie, it might be great, but it wasn't suited to my taste.

Here's what I wrote in the 18th HoF

Perfect Blue (1997)
*spoilers*

I was enjoying the first half of the movie with it's introspective look at the life of a young second-level pop star, turned aspiring actress. Her initial identity crisis as she shed her old persona of the girly pop star for her new grown up one, was something I hadn't seen represented in a movie before. That first part was well done and interesting.

The mystery of someone stalking her worked OK too, though I didn't really need that in the story as Mima's soul searching journey was more than enough for me. But when the second half started going into her unwinding psyche, the film starting loosing some of my interest, but I was still onboard at that point.

But damn I got so annoyed at the overuse of that silly scene of her apparently loosing her mind...being presented like it was really happening...only to find out seconds later that was her on the set of the movie she was making. OK once was a clever trick, maybe even twice that scene worked, but when they went to that trick 4 or 5 times it really started pissing me off. I hate it when films through in mind f*** stuff trying to look deep, Annihilation did that too, and to me that means the film makers didn't have anything deeper to say.

A lot of what I seen in the last 30 minutes was so convoluted and nonsensical that I got bored and must have checked the remaining time a dozen times. I'm still not sure how her female manager could be appearing as Mima the pop idol to her, unless the actress was nuts too. Oh well at least I liked the Neon Tetras.



The imagery is what makes the anime Perfect Blue so great. The images provided for the live action version look like absolute garbage. I hope that's not actually representative of the film, not that I've any intention of watching it.



The trick is not minding
The imagery is what makes the anime Perfect Blue so great. The images provided for the live action version look like absolute garbage. I hope that's not actually representative of the film, not that I've any intention of watching it.
Ed and I were talking about the animation, do you know if it was hand drawn?