criterionforum.org

ryannichols7 wrote: Thu Sep 22, 2022 10:00 pm I know nothing about Pialat so I'm also curious if anyone has anything to say further - I'm a huge Van Gogh fan so that sort of seems like a must in itself. pass it up

ianthemovie wrote: Thu Sep 22, 2022 10:23 pm

ryannichols7 wrote: Thu Sep 22, 2022 10:00 pm I know nothing about Pialat so I'm also curious if anyone has anything to say further - I'm a huge Van Gogh fan so that sort of seems like a must in itself. pass it up

Well, I think Van Gogh is a wonderful film but for reasons that don't have much to do with its subject. It is not a bio-pic in any conventional sense (which is to its credit) and as I recall it's more an attempt at capturing the rhythms of daily life among a small community of people in rural France in the late 1800s, one of whom happens to be Van Gogh, than it is about Van Gogh's career or his singularity as an artist. As I recall it is quite leisurely paced, intimate, and sensuous, with some lovely scenes between Van Gogh and a young woman with whom he develops a closeness. I'm not sure whether that makes it more or less appealing but hopefully it's helpful!

FrauBlucher wrote: Thu Sep 22, 2022 10:26 pm I don’t see Cassavetes. I definitely see Bresson and a little Rivette as a better comparison. L’Enfance-nue is a good place to start. I’m also a big fan of his Van Gogh.

Edit- ianthemovie is exactly right on about Van Gogh. Not a biopic, which I feel it makes it all the more interesting and wonderful

domino harvey wrote: Fri Sep 23, 2022 10:48 pm I like that KLSC’s system tells you if you’ve already purchased a title when you add it to your cart — I almost bought Blindfold again!

Coming Soon!
2K Restoration!

Strangers in the House (1942)
• Screenplay by Henri-Georges Clouzot (The Wages of Fear, Diabolique)
• Based on a Novel by Georges Simenon (Inspector Maigret)
• Directed by Henri Decoin (Razzia sur la Chnouf)
• Shot by Jules Kruger (Pépé le Moko)

yoloswegmaster wrote: Sun Sep 25, 2022 3:07 pm The original Death Wish is the next title to receive a 4K UHD.

Coming Soon on 4KUHD!
Brand New HDR/Dolby Vision Master – From a 4K Scan of the Original Camera Negative

Death Wish (1974) Starring Charles Bronson – Shot by Arthur J. Ornitz (Serpico) – Music by Herbie Hancock (A Soldier’s Story) – Directed by Michael Winner (The Mechanic).

domino harvey wrote: Sat Sep 24, 2022 9:59 pm I watched that recently, it’s awful

FrauBlucher wrote: Sun Sep 25, 2022 3:16 pm
Strangers in the House.....

domino harvey wrote: Sat Sep 24, 2022 9:59 pm I watched that recently, it’s awful

The majority of that other forum reaches orgasm for just about every release by Kino. For me many of their announcements leave me cold. I think many of their deals with the studios are for very average films.

ryannichols7 wrote: Thu Sep 22, 2022 10:00 pm who is Breaking In licensed from? wikipedia shows Goldwyn Company but KL has released it over here. Bill Forsyth seems like a no brainer for the UK labels (particularly BFI and Indicator) so I'd be curious to see where that ends up over there, if it does.

I know nothing about Pialat so I'm also curious if anyone has anything to say further - I'm a huge Van Gogh fan so that sort of seems like a must in itself. Kent Jones' essay had me stop at "the French Cassavetes" because I'm not a Cassavetes fan at all...and then this BFI piece compares him to Bresson, who I'm also not keen on! this seems like a good deal though so I may not want to pass it up

domino harvey wrote: Sun Sep 25, 2022 6:57 pm It's apparent to me that Kino staff have no real idea of the value/quality of much of what they release

domino harvey wrote: Sun Sep 25, 2022 6:57 pm It's apparent to me that Kino staff have no real idea of the value/quality of much of what they release, especially if its falls out of their wheelhouse of films starring Charles Bronson.

Calvin wrote: Sun Sep 25, 2022 7:33 pmI'm also tempted to get Godard's For Ever Mozart - I don't remember reading anything positive about it but at $8.99 I might take the risk.

therewillbeblus wrote: Mon Feb 24, 2020 5:48 pmFor Ever Mozart: Has Godard ever made a horror film? His films don’t exactly succumb to any genre but I’d make a case that his philosophies teeter on the edge of a cliff between empowerment of the hope of discovery within the confines of time and space, and the despair at the oppressive forces, physical and metaphysical, that threaten this discovery and freedom. This is a film many call one of his worst but I still find myself drawn to because of how it is both his most disturbing and horrific film as well as maybe the clearest of his late works at championing the dynamic possibilities of agency through an acceptance of limitations. The way Godard captures violence here is exactly as he intends to: in a rejection of documentary to signify disturbances without glorifying them he manipulates the image and sound off screen to create a jarring emotional response (or Godard’s version of the real, actual truth) from the audience, an authentic piercing through the most artificial means because it defies oppressive cultural formalism of complacent expected consumption. So the image here becomes oppressive in ways that spark freedom to discover new awareness to actual horrors without any coat of sugar, and this unexpected sobriety, even for Godard, with the violence perpetrated against our characters without narrative beats to lead us there almost serve as the same kind of shaking that Dumont’s Twentynine Palms did, except the intrusion happens out of frame with less sickening violence (perhaps a bad example, but the assault through presenting unanticipated action, seen or not, is what melds the two into any venn diagram). But while I didn’t like that film, this one’s blissful moods and intimate meditations on the living balance out the horrors. I don’t think this film could be seen as horror, but after watching it a few months ago and sitting with some disgust it was worth a revisit to judge along those lines.

I want to watch Helas Pour Moi again considering its plot could be read as one of heavenly force upon the corporeal only to run into problems in the limitations of agency vs existential possibility, with another teetering on the cliff of mindset and perspective, though this one is far more successful and one of my favorite late period Godards. I could probably argue it on the possession piece alone, but I also don’t think Godard is particularly pessimistic (or imbalanced enough in that direction) in either of these films and the spirited images make me feel more empowered and encouraged to participate in life rather than give up, so neither really works along the lines of philosophical horror.