lust for life is about vincent van gogh. it's amazing how much kirk douglas looked like him once he had the haircut and colour. gave a pretty amazing performance. production was a little too "mgm in the 50's & 60's" for my tastes...they should have it to someone like raoul walsh or john ford. a western director, someone who wouldn't ham up the character development, but i guess it's based off a real dude. anthony quin was good but not as amazing as everyone makes his performance out to be. they made the transfer from a theatrical print, not the negative, which is a shame given how much was written up at the time about how brilliant the colours were. the film stock they used was notorious for losing colour vibrancy faded significantly over time. as i watch more and more early films i come to understand the true value of film preservation. it's depressing to think that 50% of the films made before 1960 are completely lost, either lack of negative/distribution print or faded to red.
then i watched barry lyndon. what a film. i'd never had the balls to sit down and absorb it all in one sitting but man, it's worth it. cannot WAIT for a restoration of that baddie (dvd is from a theatrical print) on dvd and blu-ray. it'll knock the socks off everything (except perhaps baraka). some of the scenes are just masterworks in every possible way. and shot on 65mm...i'll be watching it again a few times over the next couple of weeks, for sure. with every new kubrick film i see (i've only got paths of glory and the killing to go) i feel like i've seen 10 from any other director. i think spielberg said that once actually and i couldn't agree more. watch dr. strangelove and as soon as it's finished, you will want to watch it again. seriously itching for that barry lyndon restoration. pheeyoo.
finally i watched the hunted. i should have saved barry lyndon for last cause the hunted was average. i wish you could edit dvds cause i'd cut the film down to the chasing and the knife fights, both of which were great and the only thing worth watching about it all. benicio del toro is so totally underwhelming you're shocked he won an oscar previous to this film. tommy lee jones could read the phone book and i'd be stoked so i enjoyed him, as always. there's just something about him. william friedken has really gone downhill...turning into just an action d00d. rules of engagement was OKAY but not great. he hasn't made a solid goodie in a while, and for a new hollywood director that's saddening.
my feet are freezing. we got formally invited to play south by south west in austin, texas next march. that's going to be pretty flipping rad.
until tomorrow, bye.
No comments:
Post a Comment