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Post by Michael on Dec 2, 2006 16:25:04 GMT
What don't you like about him, if you don't mind explaining?
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Capo
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Post by Capo on Dec 2, 2006 18:47:16 GMT
You've knocked some of his ratings, down, Wet Dog. Without reasons, I'll take a hammer to your face... Just part of my general revisions. I've pared back my rating system. I think I'm being quite generous with Godard, pending some rewatches. Jerk.
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Capo
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Post by Capo on Dec 21, 2006 0:16:00 GMT
After a regular check-up, I must say Wet Dog, you weren't kidding with the "too generous" comment, were you? Dear me.
I'm dying to know what you thought of Sympathy for the Devil.
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Capo
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Post by Capo on Dec 21, 2006 21:09:29 GMT
I've come to accept that rating as quite a positive one from Wet Dog, as I hope everyone does with a one-star rating from me.
But that does not ignore the fact that I'd love to hear elaborated thoughts on Godard's work in general, and the possible disappointments that come with it for Wet Dog; and Sympathy for the Devil in particular.
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Post by Michael on Jan 2, 2007 21:16:42 GMT
Wetdog is really showing his maturity by not complaining about Godard's picture being at the top of the web page. Props to you, wetdog! You're a real sport.
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Capo
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Post by Capo on Jan 2, 2007 21:28:39 GMT
Actually, I was going to design a new logo. Same kind of thing, though.
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Post by Michael on Jan 2, 2007 21:36:10 GMT
Actually, I was going to design a new logo. Same kind of thing, though. Do a picture of Tarkovsky. He's loved by EVERYBODY.
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Capo
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Post by Capo on Jan 2, 2007 21:41:47 GMT
I was thinking Herzog or Bergman. I don't know.
By the way, is that picture in your sig really necessary?
They'd love you over at the enemy base. :-p
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RNL
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Post by RNL on Jan 3, 2007 0:08:58 GMT
Wetdog is really showing his maturity by not complaining about Godard's picture being at the top of the web page. Props to you, wetdog! You're a real sport. I do recognise his status and his influence. His work just doesn't mean much to me. I kind of have two reactions to it, a general "meh" to most of the New Wave stuff, I like it to a point but feel it's no great shakes. Then there's a combination of extreme irritation and almost physically painful eye-rolling in response to a lot of his later work (he does have his moments, though). As for Sympathy for the Devil: definitely the latter. It's just bland and seemingly arbitrarily selected documentary footage (though I accept that what I watched was cut by ABKCO and not Godard) of the Rolling Stones writing their song, intercut with drawn-out scenes of characters reading aloud from political texts while others act out ludicrous allegorical 'skits'--like Monty Python routines sans humour--around them (the scene in the porn shop is dumbfoundingly bad). As for those moments he has: I loved the final shot, and I liked the two cameras facing oneanother in the forest scene (but despised the dialogue).
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Post by waltzingmatilda on Feb 14, 2007 16:27:57 GMT
Pierrot Le Fou is my favorite Godard film by far. After that its probably Contempt, My Life to Live, Breathless, then A Woman is a Woman. I have watched many French New Wave films, but no one comes close to Godard's level. I am surprised no one has mentioned Anna Karina yet.
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Capo
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Post by Capo on Feb 14, 2007 16:38:55 GMT
I think I mentioned her in my review of 2 or 3 Things..., saying her absence was a great miss.
Welcome to the site.
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Post by Michael on Feb 14, 2007 18:30:27 GMT
The ending of Pierrot Le Fou is amazing.
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Post by waltzingmatilda on Feb 14, 2007 18:45:35 GMT
He has a tendency to kill people off at the end. Which I find endearing.
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Post by Michael on Feb 14, 2007 18:54:08 GMT
Are they ever really alive though?
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Post by waltzingmatilda on Feb 14, 2007 19:57:24 GMT
are you being existensial or is that a serious question?
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Post by Michael on Feb 14, 2007 22:07:00 GMT
To me, it doesn't seem like Godard's characters exist as human beings, but rather as his pawns. It's not the fact that Nana gets killed at the end of Vivre sa Vie that upsets me, it's the manner in which it's filmed that's devastating. That probably doesn't make any sense, but it's hard to put into words. I just love the way Godard uses the idea of "character" in an almost purely cinematic way.
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Post by Michael on Jun 5, 2007 6:47:07 GMT
PIERROT LE FOU!!!
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Capo
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Post by Capo on Jun 8, 2007 12:35:28 GMT
I've seen Pierrot only once, and that and La Chinoise are probably the ones I'll revisit next. I've not seen a Godard film in so long. When I do, I usually go through his entire catalogue and revise opinion accordingly. Still, Pierrot is crammed with ideas - even more than Weekend - colours, and pairs together my two favourite New Wave performers, Belmondo and Karina. Glad you enjoyed it.
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Post by Michael on Jun 8, 2007 17:55:29 GMT
It's very much crammed with ideas, and they're constantly shifting too. One thing I've admired about Godard since I was first introduced to his films is his ability to drop one idea and pick up another, not only without taking away anything from the total picture, but actually adding to the film's greatness. Very few (any?) filmmakers can pull that off with such forcefulness and conviction as Godard, and because it's done with such conviction, how could anyone possibly criticize it? I've said this before, but Godard can do more in one scene than most filmmakers are able to do in their entire careers.
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Post by Michael on Jun 8, 2007 17:59:17 GMT
I love the scene where Ferdinand and Marriane don't pay for their gas, and instead of becoming angry and calling the cops or taking down their license plate number, the gas station attendant has a conversation with Marriane asking her why she doesn't get a job. Then Marriane tricks him into looking at the sky, and punches him about as hard as a 2-year old can punch, and he falls to the ground and doesn't get up again. ;D
Another great example of how Godard uses his characters as pawns.
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