Criterion Club
- Thread starter Dash
- Start date
Sounds much more up my alley than the previous pick. May watch tonight!
Holy shit that was wild.
I’ll let other people watch it, but if you’re into fairy tales you 100% need to watch this. One of the more creative moves I’ve seen in a while. It made me feel like I was high.
teefer
Well-Known Member
Don't worry about it, I just got around to watching it...I always do everything at the last minute. I don't really have much to add to the conversation, but I loved it and Billy Wilder's writing and directing is great as usual. I think any writer would kill for a single one of the endless quotable lines in most of his films. Kirk Douglas is in peak form (acting-wise and physically) and can really pull off the high-waisted and belted pant look!
On to Donkey Skin! I can't wait to watch it!
whoisbeck
Active Member
Maybe I’ve just seen some weird shit, but to me Donkey Skin really wasn’t that weird...
All in all, it wasn’t my favorite story-wise, but the production design and wonderful use of color was incredibly immersive. Does anyone know if this was drawn from the same fairytale that Cinderella was? Or did this inspire Cinderella?
The helicopter showing up at the end was the only thing that felt really out of place and through me off. Like everything else made sense within itself, it all followed the same fantasy logic, but the helicopter was strange. The battery joke was funny since fairies know everything, she obviously knew that batteries would be a thing, so maybe she has something to do with the helicopter? BUT EVERYONE WAS SO COOL ABOUT IT SO THAT CONFUSES ME MORE.
All in all, it wasn’t my favorite story-wise, but the production design and wonderful use of color was incredibly immersive. Does anyone know if this was drawn from the same fairytale that Cinderella was? Or did this inspire Cinderella?
Mitchell?
Member
So I just finished this, and I feel like what makes this one so weird is that for the most part, everything here is played pretty straight. BUT, every now and then (especially in the last scene) there are these glimpses of odd self-awareness with how bizarre the movie is.
As for inspiration, I think it's just chock full of fairy tale tropes. The whole lost princess in a cottage in the woods baking a cake totally reminds me of Sleeping Beauty. The "Once Upon A Dream" sequence where the prince and princess meet in the woods in Disney's adaptation is one of my favorite scenes in a movie, and they kind of did that here too (albeit much stranger).
But it looks like this fairytale came well after versions of Cinderella (or older variations of that story).
I know it was brought up before, but if people dig of this one, you gotta check out The Love Witch. It's got such a similar vibe, visually and tonally. It's modern though, so it's DEFINITELY self-aware of what it's doing.
whoisbeck
Active Member
Yeah it was incredibly self-aware which I really enjoyed. There are some things, like that final scene, that just seem like they are in there for the sake of being in there. I don’t know if I enjoy that or not, but I respect the creative choice.
Dash
Member
Huh.
Dash
Member
Ok to elaborate on this now that I've had some time to think...
I didn't like this. This might be the first Criterion film I've seen that I didn't like. It wasn't horrible, but I think it just wasn't my cup of tea.
I thought the story was a little too silly and a lot of what happens is brushed off. And it seemed super cheaply made (which isn't always terrible, but it was super obvious in this). They must have used one stage setup for about 70 percent of the film.
That said, I loved the colors of the film. I kept laughing at every man painted red or blue and felt a little sad at the animals painted colors. I wish they had a lot more of Donkey Skin's life as a handmaiden. I also loved the old special effects. And the cooking scene! Also, I think I'm in love with 1970 Catherine Deneuve.
OH! And I adored the music.
So I didn't hate it. There was a lot to love. But I wasn't crazy about it either.
ayayrawn
Well-Known Member
Would y'all be down if I picked a relatively long movie?
teefer
Well-Known Member
That depends if you mean 3 hours long or something like 9 hours...but' I'm pretty much up for anything personally.
Sonicpharmacist
Well-Known Member
Now it’ll be something like Krzysztof Kieslowski’s Dekalog
ayayrawn
Well-Known Member
Imma just go for it. My next pick for our Criterion Club (even tho I suck and have yet to watch one yet lol) is Akira Kurosawa's late career King Lear adaptation RAN (1985).
It's 2hr 45min long, but I've heard nothing but incredible things, and feel like it would be super worth it.
It's 2hr 45min long, but I've heard nothing but incredible things, and feel like it would be super worth it.
Sonicpharmacist
Well-Known Member
This was my first Kurosawa film, haven’t seen it in 30 years, but I do remember it was just amazing. Now I just need to carve 3 hrs out of my day....
teefer
Well-Known Member
That seems like a reasonable length and great pick. I think I remember seeing it when I was like 10 so I need a refresh.
Sonicpharmacist
Well-Known Member
A ten year old watching Ran? WTF? I think I was 18 or so.
teefer
Well-Known Member
My parents were hippies and nearly all my close family works in film so I got exposed to a lot of crazy stuff very young. The first movie I remember watching is Blade Runner.