tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481298417819219839.post7791976382690710386..comments2024-03-28T19:15:34.746+00:00Comments on A K Haart: Seen a good film lately?A K Haarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05897490979828603179noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481298417819219839.post-72500073454767196472012-05-16T18:25:34.255+01:002012-05-16T18:25:34.255+01:00In my view films have never quite worked. The medi...In my view films have never quite worked. The medium doesn’t really deliver - which is why so many of us still read books and now blogs. At times a film seems to offer some kind of promise, but usually it fades into pap. Intense, loud, emotional, lavish, action-packed - but still pap. <br /><br />With few exceptions, once you’ve seen a few films then you’ve seen all there is to be seen. There are only a limited number of plots and guess what? You've seen them all.<br /><br />You're quite right. Leaving aside your Huxley fetish [ :) ], books generally allow more freedom.James Highamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14525082702330365464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481298417819219839.post-90816481667082099322012-05-11T10:20:15.619+01:002012-05-11T10:20:15.619+01:00Speilberg will certainly fade away, as will the so...Speilberg will certainly fade away, as will the sort of "stars" whose emotions range only from A to B.<br /><br />There is, however, a bit more to cinema than thrillers and the Hollywood "A" list.Weekend Yachtsmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04262853091154005651noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481298417819219839.post-69536810504406235972012-05-10T16:28:03.189+01:002012-05-10T16:28:03.189+01:00David – I thought someone would disagree vehementl...David – I thought someone would disagree vehemently!A K Haarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05897490979828603179noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481298417819219839.post-45580772901901549262012-05-10T12:34:22.579+01:002012-05-10T12:34:22.579+01:00I disagree vehemently - and I do 'vehemently&#...I disagree vehemently - and I do 'vehemently' really well!<br /><br />I could watch 'Gigi' and 'Caberet' over and over and still find new details in them. Recently 'Tinker, Tailor' achieved the almost impossible in shrinking le Carre's plot to two hours without losing the subtlety and the poignancy. And 'The Artist' was a superb 'artistic' creation beautifully performed and filmed. And Spielberg is a genius. His 'ET' is a childhood (and adult) classic, and the first 30 minutes of 'Saving Private Ryan' changed war films for ever. <br /><br />I could go on and on but that's enough 'vehemency' for today!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481298417819219839.post-35124798566797980632012-05-09T21:22:28.001+01:002012-05-09T21:22:28.001+01:00Mac - I certainly am enjoying it. Not exactly Wilk...Mac - I certainly am enjoying it. Not exactly Wilkie Collins is it! <br /><br />Maybe there is too great a distance between the writer and the final film. I don't think actors help - too keen on promoting themselves as far as I can see.A K Haarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05897490979828603179noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481298417819219839.post-40219609066887538472012-05-09T21:08:03.056+01:002012-05-09T21:08:03.056+01:00Glad you're enjoying it!
I wonder if it makes...Glad you're enjoying it!<br /><br />I wonder if it makes a difference watching films in colour.<br /><br />My pet hate is adaptations that mess about with classics - especially the ones that add female characters to the cast (39 Steps and King Solomon's Mines to mane but 2). I deeply resent the implication that the audience is incapable of enoying the story without some injected romantic interest.Macheathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04451439759398780345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481298417819219839.post-87161104767544274962012-05-09T16:00:18.674+01:002012-05-09T16:00:18.674+01:00Roger - I agree with Sam - 'somewhere between ...Roger - I agree with Sam - 'somewhere between 'great art' and the circus' is superb and 100:1 about right.<br /><br />Sam - yes, I find the impact of some films to be very personal very infrequently.<br /><br />Interested in your comment about "Love Film". I've wondered about it but haven't tried it, mainly because I suspect, that like you I don't really like films.<br /><br />As a contrast, I'm still reading Zola's "Nana" quoted in the post. I'm looking forward to reading a few more chapters this evening over a glass of wine. I never feel like that about films.A K Haarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05897490979828603179noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481298417819219839.post-76627387773276256352012-05-09T10:32:11.033+01:002012-05-09T10:32:11.033+01:00Roger's point about film being 'twixt grea...Roger's point about film being 'twixt great art and the circus is brilliant- one to remember!<br /><br />I have seen some very good films, but the best seem to resonate in a purely personal and idiosyncratic way. I am conscious that others will not appreciate them in the same way, and that re-watching is invariably a disappointment. I think the main limitation is the inability to convey subtlety and the interior sensibility without some intrusive "voice-over". Films of Henry James novels give the game away most poignantly. He would take pages to qualify and particularise a feeling, and then some team in Hollywood reduce it to a thumping great cliche.<br /><br />A few months ago we started subscribing to "Love Film", but I have to conclude that I actually don't. I "Like Film".Sam Vegahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05978971199859845931noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481298417819219839.post-29893067456082292352012-05-09T08:13:21.681+01:002012-05-09T08:13:21.681+01:00Well, I enjoyed 'Best Marigold Hotel' and...Well, I enjoyed 'Best Marigold Hotel' and 'The Artist', but I don't expect to go again till after Christmas. Put bluntly the old are not worth making films for, the key market is 10 year old kids who do appear to go regularly - and buy popcorn.<br /><br />To my mind film sits somewhere between 'great art' and the circus, it is a means of making a living for actors etc and so potboilers are needed to fund the occasional decent film. The ratio - about 100:1. Shakespeare is certainly well regarded, but not for his current box office receipts.<br /><br />I like the one about taking a whore to culture.......Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com