The very dark themes in the film are interesting (
rape committed by a crooked politician and blackmail
), but other than that the movie isn't very good. It's very slow moving and stagey, and the end of the film leaves a lot of questions open and doesn't feel a logical conclusion for the story.
This is a technically impressive WWI submarine film. In most cases when there's footage of the submarine or ships in the film, it's a real submarine and real ships, not just miniatures. the cinematography is also very good. The film is not however all about submarine action but equally much about the relatives and loved ones of the people waiting news from the crew of the submarine. And while there are some interesting scenes among these and well (especially those of the old lady who has lost several of his sons to the war), it's also very obvious that this is meant to be a propaganda piece for the Nazi government newly risen to power when the film was released. So, we get a movie that has some nice dark dramatic anti war scenes about war but then in the end forgets all that for the sake of propaganda. And in the end it doesn't work very well as either.
Also, I found some of the film's plot to be either technically inaccurate, or at least just not explained well.
How did the men escape from the sunken submarine using the diver packs? I googled into it and there are indeed exists that type of equipment (google "Davis Submerged Escape Apparatus") but I found no proof that they have been used before WWII. Also you can't just open a hatch in a sunken submarine and escape to the surface. You can let water in and then open the hatch, but at least you could have shown the method of escape instead of just clipping to men on the surface.
All in all, very interesting and worth to watch, if not entirely successful as a whole.
Suffers from an uneven script. The first part of the film is pretty good melodrama that parallels the lives of people from different social classes, and it feels like it should end in a scene in which all the major characters end up in the same cafe in the title at the same time. But after that it just keeps going, forgetting about some of the characters in the film altogether. Also, the final reel is missing so we only get a text description of the somewhat unsatisfactory ending
that ends in pretty much exactly the same way as the fist part of the film, making the latter part feel even more redundant
This is rather an atypical noir and a great one too. I would even call it a masterpiece. The depiction of being stuck in a toxic relationship is spot on and really makes you sympathize for the protagonist, even after the things he does. Of course, it's a pushing it a little bit far to suggest that every one of us would be able to do the things he does in the same situation, as the film does, but I think it's nonetheless a valuable and valid point to make and works as a means to make us think about it more deeply. I was afraid the ending would be a let down as it's very often the case with noirs, thanks to the censor policies of the time, but it's actually pretty great and fitting for the theme as well.
It's a collection of scenes in Jesus's life in which it is not thoroughly explained apart from the short title what is happening, so you are expected to know your bible. Apart from two instances of camera panning the scenes are all static shots. But what makes this good are the high production values: the sets and clothes are beautiful as are the picture compositions. There are also a few instances of nice double exposure effects with Angels appearing to the screen and so on. About as good as you could possible hope for a film about Jesus made in 1906.
Nice use of the location and weather. The protagonist's choices in dealing with the situation don't always make much sense though, but the finale is really exciting stuff,
especially the fist fight between the protagonist and the villain, which is unusually violent and brutal
. Vidor would later achieve much greater things, but this is still very much worth watching.
A really fun script in this one, though I'm sure not without plot holes. On first viewing I couldn't pick up any huge ones though. I especially enjoyed the TV show inside the movie aspect of it and how well it is made. Also, look out for the silly (but funny) sequence obviously shot with 3D in mind in which all kinds of stuff is rushed towards the camera.
This movie is so weird it's amazing to exist. If I didn't know better what I was watching I imagine I might have guessed this to be a modern movie that imitates silent film style but adding modern touches and all around intentional arthouse weirdness, maybe directed by by someone like Guy Maddin. But nope, it's the real thing. It's extremely slow moving, but unlike many films of the time, it seems it's stylistically and intentionally that. So I found even that working in its advantage. Highly recommended.
I really loved this one. It's more like an over the top melodrama than a typical noir. Pretty much all of the main characters are intensely dislikable, and even when they seem to be good people they end up saying or doing awfully cruel things to each other, so It's easy to see why it didn't do well at the box office. But it's for exactly these reasons I found the film highly entertaining.
Be sure to watch I Wake Up Screaming first, since this second screen adaptation of the book is inferior in almost every way. Some of the performances are fine and could be even argued to be better so there's that, but the biggest turnoff for me is that the cinematography is way worse here. Gone is the noir lighting with beautiful dark shadows for the most part.
This is indeed one of those cases of fantastic stuff with an awful ending. Sure leaves a bad taste in one's mouth, but it's still very much worth seeing. It's just too bad it's not the great movie it could have been. One can always hope for a miracle that one of those four other endings that were apparently shot resurfaces one day (and that it's better than what we have here, which wouldn't take much to be honest).
Wow, the way that earthquake scene was filmed looks really dangerous. Serious risk for several injury or even death there for the actors. The female lead gets a chandelier on her face, but just before what looks like a real heavy piece of rubble almost hits her head on full force but instead just knocks her hat off.
A word on the cinematography of this film, which is quite unusual, as it looks like it was photographed in a way many black in white films, and even more accurately film noir type films at the time were made - with heavy contrast and lots of darkness with only chosen bits of the image lighted. It's very striking, and I'm not surprised the academy award for best cinematography award given to it.
It's obviously very heavy in propaganda, and for being made for kids it's even more disturbing. But if you can stomach the propaganda, there are plenty of things that make the film worth watching. The animation is often quite impressive and it's historically very interesting as well. Recommended.
The screenplay is quite horrible, sometimes in an amusing 'so bad it's good' type of way, but mostly not. But what makes the film worth the watch is the fact that the movie was made just before CGI became the norm, and the creature effects are most of the time pretty good, sometimes quite impressive even.
The story itself might be pretty much your basic family movie affair, but damn, this film sure has one of the best man-in-a-suit effects in cinema, ever.
Comments 1 - 21 of 21
Movie comment on The Woman in Black
Harmonica
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Movie comment on The Woman in Black
Harmonica
The very dark themes in the film are interesting (Movie comment on Morgenrot
Harmonica
This is a technically impressive WWI submarine film. In most cases when there's footage of the submarine or ships in the film, it's a real submarine and real ships, not just miniatures. the cinematography is also very good. The film is not however all about submarine action but equally much about the relatives and loved ones of the people waiting news from the crew of the submarine. And while there are some interesting scenes among these and well (especially those of the old lady who has lost several of his sons to the war), it's also very obvious that this is meant to be a propaganda piece for the Nazi government newly risen to power when the film was released. So, we get a movie that has some nice dark dramatic anti war scenes about war but then in the end forgets all that for the sake of propaganda. And in the end it doesn't work very well as either.Also, I found some of the film's plot to be either technically inaccurate, or at least just not explained well.
All in all, very interesting and worth to watch, if not entirely successful as a whole.
Movie comment on Café Elektric
Harmonica
Suffers from an uneven script. The first part of the film is pretty good melodrama that parallels the lives of people from different social classes, and it feels like it should end in a scene in which all the major characters end up in the same cafe in the title at the same time. But after that it just keeps going, forgetting about some of the characters in the film altogether. Also, the final reel is missing so we only get a text description of the somewhat unsatisfactory endingMovie comment on The Suspect
Harmonica
This is rather an atypical noir and a great one too. I would even call it a masterpiece. The depiction of being stuck in a toxic relationship is spot on and really makes you sympathize for the protagonist, even after the things he does. Of course, it's a pushing it a little bit far to suggest that every one of us would be able to do the things he does in the same situation, as the film does, but I think it's nonetheless a valuable and valid point to make and works as a means to make us think about it more deeply. I was afraid the ending would be a let down as it's very often the case with noirs, thanks to the censor policies of the time, but it's actually pretty great and fitting for the theme as well.Movie comment on La vie du Christ
Harmonica
It's a collection of scenes in Jesus's life in which it is not thoroughly explained apart from the short title what is happening, so you are expected to know your bible. Apart from two instances of camera panning the scenes are all static shots. But what makes this good are the high production values: the sets and clothes are beautiful as are the picture compositions. There are also a few instances of nice double exposure effects with Angels appearing to the screen and so on. About as good as you could possible hope for a film about Jesus made in 1906.Movie comment on Wild Oranges
Harmonica
Nice use of the location and weather. The protagonist's choices in dealing with the situation don't always make much sense though, but the finale is really exciting stuff,Movie comment on The Glass Web
Harmonica
A really fun script in this one, though I'm sure not without plot holes. On first viewing I couldn't pick up any huge ones though. I especially enjoyed the TV show inside the movie aspect of it and how well it is made. Also, look out for the silly (but funny) sequence obviously shot with 3D in mind in which all kinds of stuff is rushed towards the camera.Movie comment on Salomé
Harmonica
This movie is so weird it's amazing to exist. If I didn't know better what I was watching I imagine I might have guessed this to be a modern movie that imitates silent film style but adding modern touches and all around intentional arthouse weirdness, maybe directed by by someone like Guy Maddin. But nope, it's the real thing. It's extremely slow moving, but unlike many films of the time, it seems it's stylistically and intentionally that. So I found even that working in its advantage. Highly recommended.Movie comment on Born to Kill
Harmonica
I really loved this one. It's more like an over the top melodrama than a typical noir. Pretty much all of the main characters are intensely dislikable, and even when they seem to be good people they end up saying or doing awfully cruel things to each other, so It's easy to see why it didn't do well at the box office. But it's for exactly these reasons I found the film highly entertaining.Movie comment on Vicki
Harmonica
Be sure to watch I Wake Up Screaming first, since this second screen adaptation of the book is inferior in almost every way. Some of the performances are fine and could be even argued to be better so there's that, but the biggest turnoff for me is that the cinematography is way worse here. Gone is the noir lighting with beautiful dark shadows for the most part.Movie comment on The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry
Harmonica
This is indeed one of those cases of fantastic stuff with an awful ending. Sure leaves a bad taste in one's mouth, but it's still very much worth seeing. It's just too bad it's not the great movie it could have been. One can always hope for a miracle that one of those four other endings that were apparently shot resurfaces one day (and that it's better than what we have here, which wouldn't take much to be honest).Movie comment on When the Earth Trembled
Harmonica
Wow, the way that earthquake scene was filmed looks really dangerous. Serious risk for several injury or even death there for the actors. The female lead gets a chandelier on her face, but just before what looks like a real heavy piece of rubble almost hits her head on full force but instead just knocks her hat off.Movie comment on Konflikt
Harmonica
Oh my. An amazing piece of cinema using only matchsticks as props. A masterpiece, an instant favorite, and highly recommended.Movie comment on Monster from Green Hell
Harmonica
It's a movie mostly about walking in line.Movie comment on The Black Swan
Harmonica
A word on the cinematography of this film, which is quite unusual, as it looks like it was photographed in a way many black in white films, and even more accurately film noir type films at the time were made - with heavy contrast and lots of darkness with only chosen bits of the image lighted. It's very striking, and I'm not surprised the academy award for best cinematography award given to it.Movie comment on Momotarô: Umi no shinpei
Harmonica
It's obviously very heavy in propaganda, and for being made for kids it's even more disturbing. But if you can stomach the propaganda, there are plenty of things that make the film worth watching. The animation is often quite impressive and it's historically very interesting as well. Recommended.Movie comment on Hong hai xing dong
Harmonica
It's like watching a Call of Duty game made into a movie. Whether that's a good or a bad thing I'll leave for you to decide.Movie comment on Stavitel chrámu
Harmonica
Moral of the story:Movie comment on Ticks
Harmonica
The screenplay is quite horrible, sometimes in an amusing 'so bad it's good' type of way, but mostly not. But what makes the film worth the watch is the fact that the movie was made just before CGI became the norm, and the creature effects are most of the time pretty good, sometimes quite impressive even.Movie comment on Harry and the Hendersons
Harmonica
The story itself might be pretty much your basic family movie affair, but damn, this film sure has one of the best man-in-a-suit effects in cinema, ever.