FOT Forum
FOT Community => General Discussion => Topic started by: Sarah on July 24, 2007, 06:44:58 AM
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Last night, I finally watched a movie I had recorded back in March and ended up liking it more than many I've seen recently. It's a Hungarian thing called Kontroll, filmed entirely in the Budapest subway system. I enjoyed it a bunch, and this happy experience prompts me to ask all of you, what movies, obscure or otherwise, have you enjoyed a bunch (recently or not) so I can keep an eye out for them on my TV Guide screen?
P.S. I'm now madly in love with Sándor Csányi.
P.P.S. I see that Nimród Antal has made an English-language movie called Vacancy, starring, surprisingly, Kate Beckinsale and Luke Wilson? Anyone seen it? Is it any good?
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Dirty Filthy Love (not pornographic -- different kind of "Dirty")
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Seen it. Liked it. But not as much as Kontroll.
Another question: can anyone remind of the name of a Canadian movie that's set entirely in a complex of buildings connected by walkways, in which the characters never go outside? Kontroll made me think of it, and it's driving me crazy that I can't remember its title.
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At first I thought you were thinking of Cube. http://imdb.com/title/tt0123755/ (http://imdb.com/title/tt0123755/)
But I knew that was wrong.
I believe you are actually referring to Waydowntown. http://imdb.com/title/tt0219405/ (http://imdb.com/title/tt0219405/)
Enjoy!
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Yes, it was Waydowntown. Thank you, Matt.
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(http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/7/78/200px-Holy_Mountain.gif)
Jodorowsky's The Holy Mountain is pretty sweet. Totally insane. This is one you don't want to be having a T.V. Dinner while you watch.
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is that the one with the conquistador lizards?
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Yes! And the Aztec frogs.
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I love Jodorowsky. I couldn't be more happy about the new remastered editions of Holy Mountain and El Topo. My old bootlegs go out the window.
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Jodorowsky also gives Werner Herzog a run for the money in the entertaining dvd commentary sweepstakes. I just listened to his track for this one and he takes credit for predicting everything from the internet to the Shining Path to rock stars wearing black nail polish. He also talks about how George Harrison was supposed to star in Holy Mountain but dropped out because the one thing he didn't want to do was have his anus washed onscreen. "That cost me millions of dollars," he says.
Holy Mountain is also a lot better than El Topo.
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I've only ever seen the obvious Jodorowsky film (El Topo, of course). It ran all the time at the Academy Theatre in New Paltz back in my youth--along with the sickly sweet King of Hearts--and was widely hailed by my peers and elders as the deepest gosh-darn thing they'd ever seen. I poked remorseless fun at it, though I'll admit now that it contained some nifty images. Is The Holy Mountain as pretentious, portentous, and downright silly? If so, I'd probably enjoy it.
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It's gotta be. I never saw El Topo, but Holy Mountain was pretty brilliant and amazing. And certainly pretentious and make-fun-able, although I also felt as if it was at least somewhat aware of its own ridiculous excess.
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I don't know if it's any less silly than El Topo, but I believe it's shorter (close to 90 minutes) and is so packed with religious symbolsim and WTF-ness that it kind of overwhelms you into liking it. It's at least more fun than your average pretentious art movie.
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I remember my friend getting a copy and telling me something along the lines of "you've gotta see this, it's nuts."
It's totally weird and silly, but it's awesome and leaves you with that "who actually thought of this?" feeling
I'd say it's well worth a watch.
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If it ever crosses my TV screen, I'll be sure to tune in. Actually, I would have regardless, if I knew it was Jodorowsky's, out of sheer nostalgia.
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El Topo is like a garbage can of dead mummy meat compared to Holy Mountain, which has a few of the most amazing, terrifying, and hilarious sequences ever (literal alchemal transformation of shit to gold, giant sex computer, revelation of masters of the world, etc.)
It's great, funny, and no where near as stupid as Topo.
Also, I just saw a projection of El Topo at the movies, and I was amazed at how blue the sky was, and dynamic the contrast. As pretty as it was, I liked the video version I'd seen better, which had been murky and dusty. I liked the poor look better for the story, and ended up not liking the "restored" version as much as the crappy one.
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Some of my arthouse faves:
The Mother and The Whore One of just a handful of movies written and directed by Jean Eustache. Stars Jean-Pierre Leaud (Francious Truffaut's alter-ego). I think it clocks in at around 4 hours. People listening to Edith Piaf records or eating meals in real-time. Guys with ascots. Jean-Paul Sartre spottings. In short, a party. Like the early films of Wim Wenders (e.g. Kings of The Road, Alice in the Cities, etc) I'm very much looking forward to this being released on DVD (only available on a double tape, currently). No word yet, unfortunately.
Charles Mingus in Greenwich Village This is a Rhapsody Films re-release of a film-student documentary of Charles Mingus (jazzbo) in his apartment the day of (or before) he was to be evicted. Even if you hate jazz, you will like this documentary. Highlights are his reciting his version of the "Pledge of Allegiance" and shooting a rifle into the ceiling.
WR: Mysteries of the Organism This just got released on DVD after only being available on the bottom shelf of your local, non-virtual, free-tongue-piercing-with-every-rental Downtown Video Store for many years. A documentary of Wilhem Reich -- the psychologist who advocated world peace through better orgasms. Includes footage of a woman making a plaster cast of a banana. Only, its not a banana. The movie has the look-and-feel of that Chief Iron Eyes Cody PSA, "Keep American Beautiful." The DVD is a two-fer that also includes "Sweet Movie." I like that movie, too, but not as much as WR. It includes the ultimate "Street Garbage" scene of a group of shaved-head hippies (I didn't even know that was possible!) running all combos of eat/excrete/procreate in truly revolting ways. Just skip over that part.
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Babys getting anxious, the hours getting late
The night is almost over, she cant wait
Oh, things are complicating, my love is in her hands
And theres no more waiting, she understands
The plasters gettin harder and my love is perfection
A token of my love for her collection, her collection
Plaster caster, grab a hold of me faster
And if you wanna see my love, just ask her
And my love is the plaster
And yeah, shes the collector
She wants me all the time to inject her
The plasters gettin harder and my love is perfection
A token of my love for her collection
Plaster caster, plaster caster
Grab a hold of me faster, plaster, faster
And if you wanna see my love, just ask her, ask her
Go on, ask her
The plasters gettin harder and my love is perfection
A token of my love for her collection, her collection
Plaster caster, plaster caster
Grab a hold of me faster, plaster, faster
If you wanna see my love, just ask her, ask her
Plaster caster, plaster caster
She wants my love to last her, last her, last her
And she calls me by the name of master, master
Plaster caster, plaster caster
Grab a hold of me faster, plaster, faster
If you wanna see my love, just ask her, ask her
Plaster caster, plaster caster
Grab a hold of me faster, plaster, faster
And if you wanna see my love, just ask her, ask her
Plaster caster, plaster caster
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Brand Upon the Brain! directed by Guy Maddin. It came out recently, I saw it in the Montclair movie theater a couple months ago, but when it is available on DVD I highly recommend it. It is black & white/ silent (with an amazing score). It left me speechless--it was beautiful and completely crazy.
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I would like to add I really enjoyed "Once." I'm so grateful they did not go for some crap ending that would have ruined it all.
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Brand Upon the Brain! directed by Guy Maddin. It came out recently, I saw it in the Montclair movie theater a couple months ago, but when it is available on DVD I highly recommend it. It is black & white/ silent (with an amazing score). It left me speechless--it was beautiful and completely crazy.
Maddin's an interesting case; I recently saw Dracula: Pages From a Virgin's Diary, The Saddest Music in the World, and the one I would most recommend, Cowards Bend the Knee. I can't explain why I like it, but it's really interesting stuff. If you don't know his work, everything's done in a visual style that hearkens back to the days of Lillian Gish and silent movies, but generally with sexual, if not salacious themes and content. Fun stuff, but hide the kiddies. This means you, Petey.
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Gummo is a 1997 cult film written and directed by Harmony Korine, better known for his writing contributions to Larry Clark's controversial 1995 film, Kids. The film stars Nick Sutton and Jacob Reynolds. Rather than following a linear plot, the film is presented in a series of seemingly unrelated vignettes.
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Mark Gonzales wrestling a chair.
Gummo is classic.
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The only movie I hate more than Gummo is Kids. Fact.
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Hey, first post!
I have to agree with whoever suggested "The Holy Mountain". Just an mesmerizingly off-the-wall movie - you're going to get a totally inane (or profound, I can't tell anymore) message at the end, but don't worry about it. This is a movie that's all about the journey, so just enjoy the ride.
Also on the inane/profound topic, I'll recommend this documentary directed by the guy who wound up directing "Capote" called "The Cruise". It's about Timothy "Speed" Levitch, who's a tour guide in NYC on some line of double-decker buses. There's no real narrative thread; the entire movie consists of the crew following this guy around the city as he relates his musings on life, architecture, etc. I couldn't decide whether I was watching an unheralded genius or a complete crackpot (as always, the answer is probably a little of both), but I was never once bored or restless watching this movie; it's got laughs, it's got tears, it's got thinkies - what more could you want?
Edit: Actually, most of the movie is on Youtube - just search for "Timothy Levitch".
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Brand Upon the Brain! directed by Guy Maddin. It came out recently, I saw it in the Montclair movie theater a couple months ago, but when it is available on DVD I highly recommend it. It is black & white/ silent (with an amazing score). It left me speechless--it was beautiful and completely crazy.
Maddin's an interesting case; I recently saw Dracula: Pages From a Virgin's Diary, The Saddest Music in the World, and the one I would most recommend, Cowards Bend the Knee. I can't explain why I like it, but it's really interesting stuff. If you don't know his work, everything's done in a visual style that hearkens back to the days of Lillian Gish and silent movies, but generally with sexual, if not salacious themes and content. Fun stuff, but hide the kiddies. This means you, Petey.
Haven't seen Brand Upon the Brain! yet, but I've seen everything else by Maddin, including all his short films, all of which are hilarious, beautiful, sad and twisted. And wonderfully crafted. I love them all, but Dracula: PfaVD, Careful and Tales from the Gimli Hospital are my favourites. The only real dud (in an oeuvre of greatness) is Twilight of the Ice Nymphs. Check them out, people! Almost all of them are available on DVD.
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Gummo is a 1997 cult film written and directed by Harmony Korine, better known for his writing contributions to Larry Clark's controversial 1995 film, Kids. The film stars Nick Sutton and Jacob Reynolds. Rather than following a linear plot, the film is presented in a series of seemingly unrelated vignettes.
What a coincidence! My life is also presented as a series of seemingly unrelated vignettes.
MJC: Ew, boy. Kids was APPALLING. Not for the moral content of it, but for the "THIS HAPPENS!" sensibility of it all the way through. And if you don't believe that that exact same stuff is happening RIGHT NOW DOWN YOUR VERY STREET, you are willfully blind! Blind, my friend, blind!
I've never had a stronger urge to kick everyone involved in a film in the nuts or an equally painful female place.
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I was the exact age of the characters in Kids when that movie came out and I always thought it was pretty hilarious when suburban N.J. people I knew would be like "That does really happen! It's so real!" I was just like, really?? Man, I must be missing out on this huge wippits/date-rape scene that my Manhattanite peers are pioneering. What a drag! The only part of that movie that I related to was when they were watching skateboard videos on weed and laughing a lot. The soundtrack is awesome though. You can't get those Folk Implosion songs on iTunes or nothing. It's criminal. I actually know someone who had a very small role in that movie. Anyway, she's really normal and a nice person. "Telly" used to work at a skate shop at the Willowbrook mall and I saw him there one time playing video games and being boring.
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It was my birthday yesterday. Ingmar Bergman passed away today. Coincidence?
Anyway, if you haven't already, you should look up some Bergman. Start with the lighter stuff if that's your thing - Smiles of a Summer's Night is one of the best rom-coms of all time. Then, if the newly restored print of The Seventh Seal comes by your area (it's currently being screened in London), see it. And of course there's Fanny & Alexander, Persona, Wild Strawberries... He's one of the masters.
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Mark Gonzales wrestling a chair.
Gummo is classic.
Speaking of Mark Gonzales, I recently saw the video for "West Coast" by Coconut Records and it features footage of him skating at this museum in Germany. I thought it was amazing. Plus, I happen to like the song as well.
So, in trying to keep this on-topic for Sarah, I suppose this would be a video find.
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Thanks, SB, but since I don't rent nuttin', it's a matter of seeing if it shows up on the T. of V.
So Ingmar Berman is dead, eh? I spent many a happy hour down in the dank basement where our television resided when I was 12/13, watching Ingmar Bergman movies on, I think, channel 9 (NY), where Judith Crist (!) hosted a Bergman film every Friday (or Saturday) at 9 (or 10 or 11) p.m. They were dubbed but uncut, I believe. I especially liked The Virgin Spring and The Seventh Seal.
Ah, youth.
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Happy birthday Martin!
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I think I've seen 12 Bergman films so far (including the recent Saraband, which was also great), spreading out viewings so that the well doesn't run dry anytime soon. As far as I'm concerned, he's maybe the greatest director of them all. Just an uncompromising, devastating, transcendent body of work. Agree w/ Crimestick that Smiles of a Summer Night is a good place to start to anyone who's been bamboozled by the limiting "depressing" rep. No one should deny themselves the pleasure of at least seeing Fanny and Alexander, the full six-hour version.
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Thanks, SB, but since I don't rent nuttin', it's a matter of seeing if it shows up on the T. of V.
Sarah, (just to clarify) when i said "video find," I meant that as in music video find. So, it still might show up across your TV screen.
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Mark Gonzales wrestling a chair.
Gummo is classic.
Speaking of Mark Gonzales, I recently saw the video for "West Coast" by Coconut Records and it features footage of him skating at this museum in Germany. I thought it was amazing. Plus, I happen to like the song as well.
That footage was all from this Cheryl Dunn movie: http://www.cheryldunn.net/films/back_worlds_for_words.html (http://www.cheryldunn.net/films/back_worlds_for_words.html)
and yeah, it's pretty great
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(Thanks, Josh!)
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Hey, Antonioni just died, too.
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Hey, Antonioni just died, too.
Freaky.
Joel Schumacher, watch your back.
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Arthouse Apocalypse!
Gonna watch me some L'Avventura over the weekend, I think.
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Gonna listen to some L'Avventura this weekend. Oh Dean. Oh Britta. They're a dreampop power couple!
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Gonna listen to some L'Avventura this weekend. Oh Dean. Oh Britta. They're a dreampop power couple!
I bought an amplifier from Britta once and she was pretty dreamy. I had to refrain from saying that the deal she gave me was truly outrageous.
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Gonna listen to some L'Avventura this weekend. Oh Dean. Oh Britta. They're a dreampop power couple!
I bought an amplifier from Britta once and she was pretty dreamy. I had to refrain from saying that the deal she gave me was truly outrageous.
When I was a little girl, I had the Jem! board game and also a Jem!-branded KEYTAR. It was awesome. I might have had other toys, but those two stand out.
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a Jem!-branded KEYTAR
Now THAT is truly outrageous.
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That's a good-looking woman. Even though she's married to that guy, if I met her I'd have to break out my new "Hot Rockin' Ronnie" come-on technique, which is basically just saying, "So... what's your story?"
I believe he uses this on Therese, Terre T, and every other woman who worked the marathon shows in the early 2000s.
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That's a good-looking woman. Even though she's married to that guy, if I met her I'd have to break out my new "Hot Rockin' Ronnie" come-on technique, which is basically just saying, "So... what's your story?"
I believe he uses this on Therese, Terre T, and every other woman who worked the marathon shows in the early 2000s.
I stick to the Gorch's "You and me - NOW!" They love it!
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That's a good-looking woman. Even though she's married to that guy, if I met her I'd have to break out my new "Hot Rockin' Ronnie" come-on technique, which is basically just saying, "So... what's your story?"
I believe he uses this on Therese, Terre T, and every other woman who worked the marathon shows in the early 2000s.
I stick to the Gorch's "You and me - NOW!" They love it!
SHE: "Hey, Gorch, buy me some perfume."
GORCH: "YOU GET OVER HERE!"
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I saw some people use that technique in Vegas and it seemed to be working better than one might think.
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El Topo is like a garbage can of dead mummy meat compared to Holy Mountain, which has a few of the most amazing, terrifying, and hilarious sequences ever (literal alchemal transformation of shit to gold, giant sex computer, revelation of masters of the world, etc.)
It's great, funny, and no where near as stupid as Topo.
Also, I just saw a projection of El Topo at the movies, and I was amazed at how blue the sky was, and dynamic the contrast. As pretty as it was, I liked the video version I'd seen better, which had been murky and dusty. I liked the poor look better for the story, and ended up not liking the "restored" version as much as the crappy one.
Grim, I loved your description of El Topo being like a garbage can of dead mummy meat (awesome!) - it made me go out and rent both El Topo and Holy Mountain this past weekend.
I'd seen both before on the big screen and had rented the bootleg VHS of Holy Mountain to watch at home. "Bootleg" because, as you may know, legitimate distribution of these films was obstructed by an angry Allen Klein due to the fact that Jodorowsky backed out of the making of The Story Of O back in the seventies. I was pleasantly surprised to find that they have just come out this year as digitally restored versions complete with extras and commentary. For people interested in these two great movies I recommend watching once through just to experience the surface beauty and intensity of the images and then a second time with the commentary to get a depth appreciation of these masterpieces. I usually watch dvds with headphones on and having Jodorowsky whisper his thoughts about philosophy, spiritualism, movie making and a multitude of other things into my ear in Spanish with the English subtitles on was quite an experience.
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IFC center in nyc was playing both El Topo and The Holy Mountain at midnight a few months ago. it's so mindblowing to see them in the theater in the middle of the night. to anyone who likes Jodorowsky i really recommend trying to see his films on the big screen.
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Yes, I totally agree, Colin. First time viewing should definitely be experienced on the big screen.
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At someone's recommendation, I am watching Little Murders. ummmmmmnotsogood. Arkin has yet to appear, however, so I will give it some more time to weave its magic.
Anybody listen to the strange commentary? I think Pfeiffer and Gould must have done it separately and some haphazard hack cut it together very badly. Are those two not allowed in the same room at the same time?
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(http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/7/78/200px-Holy_Mountain.gif)
Jodorowsky's The Holy Mountain is pretty sweet. Totally insane. This is one you don't want to be having a T.V. Dinner while you watch.
OMG, FOTs AND Jodoworsky fans? I've found my one true home. Holy Mountain is an amazing movie, though I winced a bit at the gratutious cruelty to animals. Once I saw it I realized where Matthew Barney was stealing all of his ideas.
If there are any Herzog fans here, my friend and I are doing a 10-minute unathorized vaudeville adaptation of My Best Fiend, and it's free, from Sept. 11-15. This is not a joke - it;s part of this "One Million Forgotten Moments" public art thing. All the info is at http://omfm.org.
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Once I saw it I realized where Matthew Barney was stealing all of his ideas.
Yeah dude, no shit!
It was like I found the Rosetta Stone of Barney weirdness. Now I just need the Rosetta Stone of Jodorowsky weirdness.
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Once I saw it I realized where Matthew Barney was stealing all of his ideas.
Yeah dude, no shit!
It was like I found the Rosetta Stone of Barney weirdness. Now I just need the Rosetta Stone of Jodorowsky weirdness.
Yeah, though I'd be afraid that it would be disappointing new-age stuff. I think it's all based on the tarot and astrology, but I find the movie so much more enjoyable without really knowing. Has anyone read any of his comics? I paged through INCAL, his collaboration with Moebius, last night.
I'm actually trying to have coffee with the woman who translated Holy Mountain into English, whom I sort of know via a theater translation listserv. This marks my second meaningless, peripheral name-drop on the FOT boards. Many more to come!
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Yeah, though I'd be afraid that it would be disappointing new-age stuff. I think it's all based on the tarot and astrology, but I find the movie so much more enjoyable without really knowing.
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Jasongrote, if you're referring to the Jodorowsky commentary on the DVD, it's totally not new-agey or pretentious. Jodorowsky is down-to-earth and hilarious. He recounts all kinds of anecdotes about film making on a shoe string and a lot of other background stuff. He sheds light on each image that he used and you realize what a brilliant person he is. It's actually quite thrilling to listen to him talk.
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Jasongrote, if you're referring to the Jodorowsky commentary on the DVD, it's totally not new-agey or pretentious. Jodorowsky is down-to-earth and hilarious. He recounts all kinds of anecdotes about film making on a shoe string and a lot of other background stuff. He sheds light on each image that he used and you realize what a brilliant person he is. It's actually quite thrilling to listen to him talk.
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Mea culpa - I was unclear. I'm actually not 100% sure what his sources were, and are afraid they'd be less intersting that the film itself, but really I don't know. The few minutes of commentary I've listened to were indeed great.
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Jasongrote, if you're referring to the Jodorowsky commentary on the DVD, it's totally not new-agey or pretentious. Jodorowsky is down-to-earth and hilarious. He recounts all kinds of anecdotes about film making on a shoe string and a lot of other background stuff. He sheds light on each image that he used and you realize what a brilliant person he is. It's actually quite thrilling to listen to him talk.
Mea culpa - I was unclear. I'm actually not 100% sure what his sources were, and are afraid they'd be less intersting that the film itself, but really I don't know. The few minutes of commentary I've listened to were indeed great.
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he's got a really great sense of humor about everything too. not pretentious at all.
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he's got a really great sense of humor about everything too. not pretentious at all.
Yeah, you can tell that from the film itself - I mean, the five-foot-high toilet? Another reason why he rules and Barney rots.
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he's got a really great sense of humor about everything too. not pretentious at all.
Yeah, you can tell that from the film itself - I mean, the five-foot-high toilet? Another reason why he rules and Barney rots.
his sense of humor is very obvious in the holy mountain. the collection of a thousand testicles, guns for hippies and the religious. just brilliant!
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I just watch Twilight Samurai and thought it was top notch.
Kontroll was an unexpected hit when it made its way to the front of my queue, I forgot adding it or why i had in the first place.
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Full circle. Nice.
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I'm on a big Cassavetes kick at the moment. Thank God the video store nearby had Love Streams, even on a particularly ancient VHS.
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-z0OtAZUY1s[/youtube]