'Rediculous' Customer & Critic Reviews

[domino harvey]

Sorry, should have saved WTF for when I really needed it:

I had the same reaction when I was a teacher. My students would say, Oh no not faded color.
That is what they thought happened that the color faded from the picture. This was their first reaction until I explained. I agree with all that you have said. I'm over 50 and I have never liked black and white films when I could see them in color because I am a detail person and I look at the architecture, clothes, and furniture. All these become more prominent when viewed in color and who ever can relate to black grass or black or grey trees. How do you relate to a grey sunset????

[swo17]

How do you relate to an artificially colorized sunset?

[domino harvey]

God, fuck this shit

[triodelover]

Sorry, should have saved WTF for when I really needed it:

I had the same reaction when I was a teacher. My students would say, Oh no not faded color.
That is what they thought happened that the color faded from the picture. This was their first reaction until I explained. I agree with all that you have said. I'm over 50 and I have never liked black and white films when I could see them in color because I am a detail person and I look at the architecture, clothes, and furniture. All these become more prominent when viewed in color and who ever can relate to black grass or black or grey trees. How do you relate to a grey sunset????

So extrapolating for my aging compatriot here, there's no discernible detail in the photography of Eisenstädt, Man Ray, Brassaï, or Weston, not to mention all those crappy Ansel Adams photographs. Glad to get that cleared up.

[tenia]

You know, it's funny, the more I come here, the more I look at links to topics that just make me want to throw myself by the window.

Moreover, the French website I'm always reading just publish a nice article on how our French networks will crop the movies they show on TV...

Such a wrong time...

[gyorgys]

(...) I'm over 50 and I have never liked black and white films when I could see them in color because I am a detail person and I look at the architecture, clothes, and furniture (...)

Non sequitur. [-X

[Brian C]

"Filmmaker's intentions" was a claim made up by the anti-colorization movement of the 80s. As Ray Harryhausen has said on many occasions, most old B&W movies were made that way because IT WAS CHEAPER (period). Very, very, very few were intentionally made that way. "Filmmaker's intentions" was a buzzphrase that meant "if we had anything to do with a film at all (no matter how large or small) and you colorize it and increase its sales, we will object unless you pay us another royalty for the same picture". It was all about money...

"Filmmaker's Intention" is a boogeyman made up by directors who wanted to make their films on the cheap. #-o

Stop being a HATER, because you know that the same is OBVIOUSLY TRUE of widescreen movies. Can there be any doubt that filmmakers would have shot their movies in the SAME SHAPE as a TV screen if they had the chance? I mean, think about it. Obviously they knew from the time that TV was invented that their movies would be shown on TV, so why would they shoot in widescreen?

I'm just glad that no studios have tried to force a widescreen Gone With the Wind on me. At least some studios have respect for THEIR REAL FANS, who are after all the ones that give the studios ALL THEIR MONEY. All those other widescreen dweebs are just probably a hundred or so people who only watch foreign films anyway and make NO DIFFERENCE to their bottom lines.

[tenia]

Can there be any doubt that filmmakers would have shot their movies in the SAME SHAPE as a TV screen if they had the chance? I mean, think about it. Obviously they knew from the time that TV was invented that their movies would be shown on TV, so why would they shoot in widescreen?

I hope it's a joke post.

[swo17]

I'm glad there's only one Criterion Movie in their vast collection I don't like, but surrounded by classic movies like Rushmore, Life Aquatic, Fear and Loathing, Brazil, Benjamin Button, Man Bites Dog, Kurosawa movies like Yojimbo, Seven Samurai, Ran, even Chasing Amy. I can accept that there were reasons, I just have a hard time swallowing them, that's all.

[domino harvey]

What's the over/under on that guy having seen more than twenty Criterions?

[Cash Flagg]

The internet certainly gives people a ridiculously inflated sense of self-importance. Does this Button-loving nobody actually think anyone cares whether he 'swallows' Criterion's reasons or not?

[CSM126]

It really is hard to understand why Criterion would want to release a popular film and make lots of money. I mean...it makes no sense and it's only made their journey to go bankrupt and sink into history as a calamitous failure longer and more difficult than necessary.

Douchebag.

[tojoed]

What's the over/under on that guy having seen more than twenty Criterions?

He's probably seen about 20 films in total.

[Brian C]

I'll check the IMDb but I don't remember Chasing Amy being directed by Kurosawa. Maybe it was like an A.I. sort of thing?

[Jeff]

I'll check the IMDb but I don't remember Chasing Amy being directed by Kurosawa. Maybe it was like an A.I. sort of thing?

Yes, it was Kurosawa's dream project. Originally scheduled to be called Chasing Yuki, it was to star Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura, and Noriko Sengoku. Though he first started developing it in the early 1950s, Kurosawa was never able to getting funding and schedules to coincide, and the project never got off the ground. He often said that his one regret was never making the film "about the comic book guys and the lesbian chick," and his dying wish was that "the douchebag who made Mallrats" would bring it to fruition for him.

[Napier]

Jeff, after that post...you'll be receiving my vote for member of the year! =D>

[domino harvey]

I'll check the IMDb but I don't remember Chasing Amy being directed by Kurosawa. Maybe it was like an A.I. sort of thing?

Yes, it was Kurosawa's dream project. Originally scheduled to be called Chasing Yuki, it was to star Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura, and Noriko Sengoku. Though he first started developing it in the early 1950s, Kurosawa was never able to getting funding and schedules to coincide, and the project never got off the ground. He often said that his one regret was never making the film "about the comic book guys and the lesbian chick," and his dying wish was that "the douchebag who made Mallrats" would bring it to fruition for him.

...and Michael Kerpan just added Chasing Amy to his Netflix queue

[Napier]

Chasing Yuki sounds much more intriguing!

[HistoryProf]

Prepare the walls, banging a coming. Only up to

Spoiler

White Dog

, but yeesh.

Holy crap. That is the biggest list of FAIL I've ever seen. He put Bulworth on it too....obviously critical thinking skills escaped the poor guy.

looking over this it's pissing me off more and more. Sixteen Fucking Candles is "racist"?!??!?! Gung Ho? Does this asshat not understand the concept of humor? Jesus christ....that list sums up just about everything that's wrong with PC bullshit. Apparently acknowledging differences and daring to actually laugh at them is now bigotry.

And the dipshit didn't even put Birth of A Nation on it

[HistoryProf]

All you anti-colorizers obviously have never had a screening go as successfully as this one:

If you are a fan of the film, I Remember Mama, you will be happy to know that it has been colorized. I ordered it and called up a few friends to view it. They all applauded at the end of the film. Everyone had many complimentary comments. One in particular was that many of the facial expressions of the actors could be more clearly seen when in color. And that is a big part of acting is what the actor conveys with his or her face.

I'm sure there are plenty more golden nuggets dispersed throughout that thread, but I couldn't be bothered to read most of it--all of their words are in black and white!

Holy Shit. Just fucking wow. How can someone that stupid survive long enough to be so wrong?

[Michael Kerpan]

I haven't ever seen Chasing Amy -- maybe I need to check whether my library has this available. I suspect No Regrets for Our Youth has to stand as AK's closest approach to Chasing Amy. ;~}

[Napoleon]

It's not as though Ozu was above a bit of 'crude' humour from time to time. At least not by the standards of the years in which he was active. I don't think that he have minded Chasing Amy too much. Though he probably would have quite liked to punch Kevin Smith in the face.

He was only human after all.

[Gregory]

http://best.complex.com/lists/The-50-Most-Racist-Movies
Holy crap. That is the biggest list of FAIL I've ever seen. He put Bulworth on it too....obviously critical thinking skills escaped the poor guy.
looking over this it's pissing me off more and more. Sixteen Fucking Candles is "racist"?!??!?! Gung Ho? Does this asshat not understand the concept of humor? Jesus christ....that list sums up just about everything that's wrong with PC bullshit. Apparently acknowledging differences and daring to actually laugh at them is now bigotry.
And the dipshit didn't even put Birth of A Nation on it

Great to see a "HistoryProf" treat with such sensitivity and insight issues of racial stereotypes that have remained difficult and complex for decades and are attached to painful memories for a lot of people. Crying "PC" won't change the fact that for huge numbers of Asian-Americans, Gedde from Sixteen Candles and other roles was their Stepin Fetchit of the late twentieth century. As for "the concept of humor," when someone is ridiculed on a regular basis, it may not seem particularly funny to them to watch things that had such a widespread influence in reinforcing the stereotypes of which they are (or were) on the receiving end. It's easier for the rest of us to laugh it up and tell other people not to care how their culture is endlessly joked about in popular culture. This feels like such an obvious matter of perspective, but I guess most people who are always irate about whatever they label as "political correctness" will never get it.
I'm not defending the article, by the way. Some of the entries I read didn't exactly show penetrating cultural perception. They seemed to latch onto movies with the most obvious and exaggerated stereotypes and simply run with that.

[triodelover]

It's easier for the rest of us to laugh it up and tell other people not to care how their culture is endlessly joked about in popular culture. This feels like such an obvious matter of perspective, but I guess most people who are always irate about whatever they label as "political correctness" will never get it.

I'm always amazed how the suggestion that you might want to consider the other guy's feelings always brings howls of "PC" (usually accompanied by misinterpretations of the 1st Amendment). The textbook example is, of course, the endless flap over the Confederate battle flag.

Good rule of thumb: Ask a member of the group being characterized if the characterization is offensive. If he says yes, it is.

[HistoryProf]

http://best.complex.com/lists/The-50-Most-Racist-Movies
Holy crap. That is the biggest list of FAIL I've ever seen. He put Bulworth on it too....obviously critical thinking skills escaped the poor guy.
looking over this it's pissing me off more and more. Sixteen Fucking Candles is "racist"?!??!?! Gung Ho? Does this asshat not understand the concept of humor? Jesus christ....that list sums up just about everything that's wrong with PC bullshit. Apparently acknowledging differences and daring to actually laugh at them is now bigotry.
And the dipshit didn't even put Birth of A Nation on it

Great to see a "HistoryProf" treat with such sensitivity and insight issues of racial stereotypes that have remained difficult and complex for decades and are attached to painful memories for a lot of people. Crying "PC" won't change the fact that for huge numbers of Asian-Americans, Gedde from Sixteen Candles and other roles was their Stepin Fetchit of the late twentieth century. As for "the concept of humor," when someone is ridiculed on a regular basis, it may not seem particularly funny to them to watch things that had such a widespread influence in reinforcing the stereotypes of which they are (or were) on the receiving end. It's easier for the rest of us to laugh it up and tell other people not to care how their culture is endlessly joked about in popular culture. This feels like such an obvious matter of perspective, but I guess most people who are always irate about whatever they label as "political correctness" will never get it.
I'm not defending the article, by the way. Some of the entries I read didn't exactly show penetrating cultural perception. They seemed to latch onto movies with the most obvious and exaggerated stereotypes and simply run with that.

Your last sentence is all i was trying to point out. I don't mean to suggest that non-whites in America can't be offended by portrayals like the token Asian in Sixteen Candles, but I think it's a stretch to call it the 5th most racist film in history. "Racist" is such an incredibly misunderstood term, and it gets tossed around quite a bit these days - it's a bit too easy sometimes to simply dismiss things as racist. "exaggerated stereotypes" is a perfect description of what I was trying to say....which are far too simplistic to attack as racist imo.

Perhaps SC was a bad example, but I just find that entire list so offensive in its own right - or perhaps so riddled with ignorance is a better way to put it. I, of course, can't imagine what it is/was like for Asian-Americans to deal with such cartoonish portrayals and perhaps I was unfair in being so dismissive myself. But in the end, we also DO need to be able to laugh at our differences too, and I just hate how sensitive our modern society has become, where simply acknowledging difference is labeled racist. I freely acknowledge that my background as a historian has rendered me a bit cynical - which often does not translate well in emotive typed responses on internet forums. Please don't think that I'm not sensitive to the plights of "others" in American society...believe me I am, and I have expressed much anger in my life for all the wrongs that have been committed in the name of "progress." Christ, my area of expertise is American Indian History! I teach in a part of America that is 95% white, and I try my damnedest to open their eyes to people and places beyond their limited worldviews...and I get tired of simple-minded easy bake oven takes on what constitutes racism in America.

That list is just so damned ignorant it pissed me off. There are dozens upon dozens of films that could and should be labeled racist...but he barely deigns to look beyond the 1980s for them! Do I sense a topic for a new list?