Criterion
Five Favorite Films
Five Least Favorite Films
At least under the parameters of the above list(s) (stuff that I watched on my own, specifically on the Criterion Collection disc), the least favorites are fairly comprehensive, while the favorites list could easily be five times as long. Libraries tend to buy far more Criterion stock than just about anything else, I'd wager, which means that so far Criterion and their tastemaking have been big influences on me.
I've made this list only because I was recently very disappointed by Charade. My distaste for The Leopard has a lot to do with my boredom at many movies focusing on the decline of the aristocracy, though a major exception to that rule would be The Ruling Class. I saw Alphaville before I knew much of anything about Godard, which was a big mistake. W.C. Fields (The Bank Dick) does not make me laugh, but I'm guessing that's largely generational. I found A Nous la Liberte difficult because of what seemed to me a bizarre use of sound, perhaps not surprising given that Rene Clair directed (see Entr'acte)and it came out in 1931.
Charade, however, just seemed pointless. The supplemental materials were scant, and I noticed the commentary was by the filmmakers and not anyone else, although I'm sure someone out there probably thinks this is a great film. I was stunned to find out how tedious it was for a suspense film, given that it stars Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, and Walter Matthau. Matthau seems totally under- and misused, Hepburn's character is precious and cloying and seems at least a decade older than she actually was, and Grant is probably past his prime as a romantic lead, though it's only four years after North by Northwest. But then, Hitchcock/Grant was one of the greatest director/actor combinations in history. I've seen almost nothing else Donen directed (except Singin' in the Rain at a party), but given such great actors and a script that's supposed to be pretty good, I don't know whom else to fault. I found most of the plot twists to be not at all compelling, more like they were thrown in as a futile attempt to engage the viewer. Little to nothing is made of the city of Paris, which I would guess has to do with limited time/budget for on-location shooting, perhaps none at all, but the movie could have been made so much more of its setting. I'd be curious to know exactly who decided that Criterion needed to release this.
Also, in the category of misassessments, All Movie Guide's critic bizarrely dismissed Last Days (a terrifically understated mediation on the ills of stardom, etc., more or less based around the story of Kurt Cobain's demise) because it's not as good as listening to Nirvana. I don't really understand the criticism. This cross-media comparison made even less sense to me than, say, Bosley Crowther's blithe dismissal, from 1944, in the New York Times of Howard Hawks' terrific To Have and Have Not because it was too much like Casablanca.
Five Least Favorite Films
At least under the parameters of the above list(s) (stuff that I watched on my own, specifically on the Criterion Collection disc), the least favorites are fairly comprehensive, while the favorites list could easily be five times as long. Libraries tend to buy far more Criterion stock than just about anything else, I'd wager, which means that so far Criterion and their tastemaking have been big influences on me.
I've made this list only because I was recently very disappointed by Charade. My distaste for The Leopard has a lot to do with my boredom at many movies focusing on the decline of the aristocracy, though a major exception to that rule would be The Ruling Class. I saw Alphaville before I knew much of anything about Godard, which was a big mistake. W.C. Fields (The Bank Dick) does not make me laugh, but I'm guessing that's largely generational. I found A Nous la Liberte difficult because of what seemed to me a bizarre use of sound, perhaps not surprising given that Rene Clair directed (see Entr'acte)and it came out in 1931.
Charade, however, just seemed pointless. The supplemental materials were scant, and I noticed the commentary was by the filmmakers and not anyone else, although I'm sure someone out there probably thinks this is a great film. I was stunned to find out how tedious it was for a suspense film, given that it stars Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, and Walter Matthau. Matthau seems totally under- and misused, Hepburn's character is precious and cloying and seems at least a decade older than she actually was, and Grant is probably past his prime as a romantic lead, though it's only four years after North by Northwest. But then, Hitchcock/Grant was one of the greatest director/actor combinations in history. I've seen almost nothing else Donen directed (except Singin' in the Rain at a party), but given such great actors and a script that's supposed to be pretty good, I don't know whom else to fault. I found most of the plot twists to be not at all compelling, more like they were thrown in as a futile attempt to engage the viewer. Little to nothing is made of the city of Paris, which I would guess has to do with limited time/budget for on-location shooting, perhaps none at all, but the movie could have been made so much more of its setting. I'd be curious to know exactly who decided that Criterion needed to release this.
Also, in the category of misassessments, All Movie Guide's critic bizarrely dismissed Last Days (a terrifically understated mediation on the ills of stardom, etc., more or less based around the story of Kurt Cobain's demise) because it's not as good as listening to Nirvana. I don't really understand the criticism. This cross-media comparison made even less sense to me than, say, Bosley Crowther's blithe dismissal, from 1944, in the New York Times of Howard Hawks' terrific To Have and Have Not because it was too much like Casablanca.
Posted on Wednesday, July 12, 2006
1 Comment(s):
Speaking of ridiculous all-everything posts, Stephen Thomas Erlewine follows up his Bright Eyes diss with this takedown of Sufjan Stevens: http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=61::67KP
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