M - Fritz Lang - brilliantly constructed crime drama.

oh - and a Kurosawa I managed to overlook: Throne of Blood. This is a remake of Macbeth. (Have to stick with the theme )

Do these have to be foreign language or can I suggest 1 or 2 Irish made movies?

Absolutely. Suggest anything. Feel free to jump in with some reviews even, if you want. And that goes out to everybody.

deathhawk...

I actually have M on my queue already. I've seen it before, but it was such a long time ago that my memory of it is fuzzy to say the least.

Throne of Blood is on there.

Well In that case I'd suggest the best Irish comedy ever made (at least thats the commonly held belief) "The Snapper".

It's based on a book by Roddy Doyle and is a very good example of a movie that is completely raw in the way it presents itself. i.e. it doesn't even attempt to tone down the Irsh elements that may confuse foreign viewers. Its very sarcastic and biting but an absolute riot with a constantly high level of dialogue quality........and a lot of the F word.

It was directed by "High Fidelitys" Steven Frears and stars Com Meaney in the lead role.

If you want to see true Irish Dublin culture this movie is a great way to see it (forget the tourist nonsense or the Hollywood take)

Plot Summery (from imdb)
Set in Ireland, Sharon Curley is a 20 year old living with her parents and many brothers and sisters. When she gets herself pregnant and refuses to name the father, she becomes the talk of the town.

Let's see...if english language is ok:

We have some Australian films:

Walkabout - you can tell this was made by someone who was originally a cinematographer, but a fascinating study of cultures among other things, but mainly a visual journey.
Picnic at Hanging Rock - another visually interesting film - loses steam a bit in the second half, but still fasciniting. Like the former film, it also hinges on the clash between victorian and modern mores.

Then there is
Don't Look Now - this may not quite qualify, though it is technically Italian/UK. It stars Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland. It's an oddball gothic horror piece that sticks with me for a couple of images.

Finally - the english The Ruling Class. This is not a great movie, unless you like Peter O'Toole - in which case it is great.

Oh oh! And Wenders stuff too. Wings of Desire and Until the End of the World, heh.

This thread is like the opening the flood gates. Can't tell if its a bad or good idea.

Can't wait to hear about the first batch!

Today's recommendations, continuing with Japanese Cinema:

Kwaidan - This is one of my alltime favorite films. It tends to be classified as horror, but at best it's gothic. What it is is a set of four vignettes whose only unifying theme is that all four stories involve a ghost of some sort. The film has great visuals, and also is told in more of a japanese stage style instead of western cinema conventions, so its a good access point to japanese style story telling. Did I mention the visuals?

Ugetsu Monagatari - One of Mizoguchi's best, this film is a fine illustration of the themes that interest that director (a sympathetic view towards his female characters and a decidely unsympathetic view towards the male, especially samurai). Another film with great visuals.

Tokyo Story - This would be your best introduction to Ozu, and his favorite theme - the breakdown of the family in modern life.

Before leaving Japan for other fields - two questions for makeshift.

1) Are you simply looking for non-american films that are enjoyable to watch, or is part of your mission to also see films that are part of the cinematic vernacular, regardless of how enjoyable they are? (And yes, I have 4 specific ones in mind if the latter)
2) As far as Japanese cinema goes - are you interested in anime recommendations? I don't simply mean Miyazaki here, there are some others which woould suit either of your possible purposes, but if Anime doesn't grab you...

Sounds like your list is mighty full, but if you haven't, I'd recommend adding some Francois Truffaut films to the list. The 400 Blows, Day For Night and (it's a crapshoot) either Jules et Jim or Shoot The Piano Player. The former is more acclaimed and well-known, but the latter is more fun. I personally prefer Shoot the Piano Player.

Here is a Russian movie that is well worth catching.

Come and See

Synopsis from Play
Elem Klimov's powerful, mesmerising and dynamic award winning feature has been deservedly hailed as one of the greatest war films ever produced.

Set in Soviet Belarus during the Second World War, the story follows Florya, a newly enlisted and innocent partisan, as he staggers dazed and petrified through the merciless horror of the struggle against a cruel German aggressor. Essentially the film is a rite of passage and Florya's face physically ages during the progression of the film as he is subjected to ever increasing brutal warfare and maniacal ethnic cleansing, routinely committed by the German forces.



My personal opinion is this is easily the most brutal and raw World War 2 movie ever made. The full horror of the Russian front is realised in this picture and there isn't a hint of movie gloss in sight.

A tough movie to watch but worth it.

I got 8 1/2, La Dolce Vita, and Nights today. I'll try and watch one of them (probably 8 1/2) tonight.

Interestingly enough, of those three 8 1/2 is my least favorite. And thats saying something. It resonates emotionally with me the least, but it contributed more to cinamtography and new viewing convention.

I can't wait to here oodles of your thoughts on all three!

Good to hear. I look forward to seeing thoughts on Dolce Vita, as its the only of those three I've seen. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

Haven't got around to any yet.

I've had a busy 'effin weekend.

I started 8 1/2 tonight, but got interrupted about five minutes in.

Tomorrow night. Nothing can stop me now.

Just finished 8 1/2.

I'm a little overwhelmed by it right now. I'm not quite sure how I feel. It's a stunningly beautiful film. I've never really seen anything like it. Was Fellini a painter before he was a filmmaker? His compositions exhibit a complete disregard for the constrictions of a camera lens. He directs like he's working with a never-ending canvas. It's stunning. And is it just me or is every woman in this film gorgeous (and there are a lot of them)? I couldn't believe it.

Honestly, I would have loved to have seen this film dubbed in english. I know that's a sort of sacrilegious thing to say, but I felt the subtitles were distracting more than anything else. I wanted to fully absorb the beauty of every frame, but that's nearly impossible when you're dealing with subtitles. I'm going to watch it again with the subtitles turned off, for sure.

A couple of things that bothered me about the film...

It feels a bit too bloated. I think it runs at just a little over two hours, and the middle section really kind of drags in certain areas.

I feel like Fellini's neurosis poors into every frame of every seqeunce a bit too much here. I'm all for a highly personal film, but this felt too self indulgent in places for my tastes. Almost like he was making the film exclusively for his enjoyment and his catharsis alone. I can see why directors love this film so much now.

Like I said above, I'm planning on watching it again before I sent it back. I feel like I missed a lot of things the first time through as I was scrambling to digest everything - the images, the subtitles, the non-linear story, the ridiculous amounts of charatcers - it can all become pretty overwhelming pretty quickly. So I'll hold off on any type of grade until I can see it again. I did enjoy it overall, though. A tad disappointed, sure, but I think a lot of my misgivings will fade away with subsequent viewings.

Oh, and before I forget - I was surprised at how funny this film was. I really wasn't expecting to laugh much, but I found myself belting out some genuine belly laughs at several moments.

No. He apparently worked radio (don't quote me on this). But he was always drawn to circus and theatre, theatrical style, if that helps.



Well, that's 50's and 60's Italian stars for you. Just wait until you meet Anita in LDV.



Its intentional. The length is drawn out in "false endings" which Fellini is notorious for. He likes to play with one's expectations of a crescendo and grande finale, by always having a "morning after" shot. In the case of 8 1/2 that next shot is always when the viewer first realizes the entire past sequence has been a fantasy. He was the first to do it. So when you see those trick endings now, blame/credit him.



It is self-indulgent. Its semi-autobiographical. Marcello is pretty much Fellini in it, and it was all about how Fellini couldn't think of what his next movie should be, so made a movie about a director who couldn't figure out what his next movie would be. 8 1/2 comes from the fact that Fellini had made 8 movies and one short prior to this release.



The bordello scene is famous for its comedy. Fellini needs to be watched multiple times. Just ask Lennier, heh. Take a breather from 8 1/2, watch the other ones, and then return to it. I do consider Cabiria/LDV to be his peak before he starts descending into what you called self-indulgence. He always aimed to have 100% control of a film. Wanted to film entirely in studio so that he could control everything right down to the background actor's arm position and the color of the sky. The closer he got to that control, the dryer I personally feel he got. I like his earlier grittier stuff that he filmed more on the street and less on the backlot of Cinecitta because of that. By the time you get to Satyricon, its really measured and controlled space. Less emotionally gratifying to me, and more about the cinematography and visual experience.

Can't wait to hear what you thought of the other two as well. Chris has Cabiria on the way, so maybe we can watch it this weekend and I'll take my break from studying to watch it with you guys. :-)

Interesting. The circus influence is obvious (actors with exaggerated features, the music, the whole freakin' final scene), but I could swear just by watching the film and knowing nothing more that he was a painter. It's like he's using the camera to look at this huge canvas he has completed - the way the camera moves throughout a crowd (or scene in general), and how it centers each characters face for just a moment.



Seriously, I can't get over the women in this film. Luisa and Claudia...



Heh, I noticed this. I had heard people talk about how they got lost watching the film because they didn't know when the fantasy sequences ended and began. I thought it was pretty much spelled out, though.



I had read a bit about the film before I watched it, so I knew that it would extremely self-indulgent and autobiographical. I normally enjoy films like that, actually *cough*New World*cough*. There was just something about this one, though... it felt too exclusive to one person.



That bordello scene is fantastic. I loved the moment were one of the girls broke the fourth wall. Completely unexpected, and it worked perfectly.

Yeah, I can tell this is one I'm going to need to stew on for awhile and go back to later. I'll probably watch LDV tomorrow night, Cabiria sometime over the weekend (whenever you guys can), and then go back to 8 1/2 hopefully over the weekend again.

I've sent for Cabria. I intend on keeping my promise and watching it, probably Saturday morning.

Hope the studying is going well, Galia. The French crisis is just... horrible. Absolutely a terrible mess. I'm having similar pains with a much easier language I've been studying for years. I'm a bit bogged down as of late, dunno about the rest of the students here. Senior year is... a challenge for me. Finally (sorry for the off topic discussion but I'm eager to share my excitement) I just placed a down payment on a trip with five friends to Europe... London, Paris, Florence, Assisi, Rome... ten days (too short!!)... you have no idea how psyched I am for June to come. And I am making a personal promise to take a picture (with a stuffed kitten) at Trevi Fountain.

1 are you looking for classic foreign? or do 90s and on count too?
2 skip cries and whispers. you'll be crying a whispering for it to end.
3 i dunno about tokyo STRY, but definitely check out Tokyo Drifter.

other than that, you have plenty plenty to keep you busy, and i cant recommend much else (sepping little individual things here and there if you really wanted more).
if you make it through the whole list, well, that'd be great.

If you still keep watching foreign films, makeshift, make sure you see Infernal Affairs and Infernal Affairs II.

Tokyo Drifter is indeed a fantastic film. Also Alphaville.

Honestly, you can't fucking go wrong with Criterion Collection.

The Grand Illusion should be high on your list too.

I saw a 2001 Indian Bollywood film called Lagaan last night, it was pretty decent, all of the Indians at work recommended I see this as a good example of Bollywood. I think it was nominated for BFF in 2002.