You were reasonably complimentary of Emma Thompson's interpretation of Lady Marchmain, but - and I have to put my hand up to prejudice, having watched the TV adaptation over and over again - the performance by Claire Bloom was so much more subtle, and thereby more sinister. By contrast Thompson reminded me a little too much of Nanny McPhee. There was also something quite strange about the scene where, during a lavish party at Brideshead, Sebastian was taken into a side room by his mother as if for some religious ritual. If you haven't seen the TV series, try watching it with the book open on your lap. It's amazing!
Really great review and some concise and well discussed commentary. I'm doing some deep dives into crafting some potential Soul Reaver visual content so i'm glad this popped up! Will binge your other Legacy of Kain videos!
Sorry but I dont think this is a good review. You completly forget how is life on different cultures and Almodovar is someone who really reflects female spanish women and culture, and I am not spanish but I understand this film is not working on normalized stablished instincts that american cinema works. And thar is something you totally didnt understand about the film. So, you cant make a good review of something you didnt even try to understand. I dont know if is a cultural wall or just you are not good on reviews
One of the reasons why initially the film didn't do that well in Germany is the way it was financed. In order to get what was then an enormous budget by west german standards, they teamed up with a public broadcasting corporation. That's why there is a TV series version. And part of the deal was that the TV version was to be aired first. So a lot of potential viewers had already seen it on the telly, and didn't bother to watch the theatrical release in the cinema. And the music reminding you of The Neverending Story is to be expected, Klaus Doldinger did both scores.
The TV series is glorious. I regularly play it as I’m falling asleep to lull me to this beautiful place I wouldn’t dream of seeing the film. One thing I don’t understand about the story is why Julia can’t marry Charles. When she married Rex it was in a Protestant church, same for a Charles. Thus the RC. Church would not recognize them as having been married before. Also, at 3:56 you mention that the intimacy between Sebastien and Charles is never specified, I seem to remember while in the halcyon days of summer, in narration Charles said that they had been engaging in actions quite high on the sins list. I paraphrase of course but it was an acknowledgment of their physical relationship in my opinion. Thanks for the good review
Ah the guy sitting in the right side is just nagging about the film from the beginning of the video… what a pity. Go watch spongebob then, if you can’t go beyond what appears to the eyes.
So much fun that you really liked the Journalist guy. He went on to become the biggest selling music artist in Germany after the movie. And his music is known for being poetic, political at times and fun. He is a great guy, Herbert Grönemeyer.
They (the film-makers) had planned to open up the set and film from the outside, but found in the process that it destroyed the claustrophobic feel they were after. Cramming the cameraman in with the actors put the audience there, too. I think they also helped pioneer steadycam.
Indeed! The chief camera man, Jost Vacano, mounted the camera on a gyroscope that he'd buildt himself. This kind of dynamic steadicam was nicknamed "Josticam" in Hollywood in tribute to its creator. He also worked on a lot of Paul Verhoeven's Hollywood blockbusters (and flops LOL) during the 80s and 90s.
oh wow i never thunked of the movie like dis durrrr... dis wooks so cool! you guys are really smart durrrrr i cant wait to watch dis movie i will feel like a yoo (smart) when i dew.
Great review ! Can someone tell me the meaning of the final scene where the protagonist returns home and looks intently at the two ladies at his home . The camera zooms into their clothing but what does that signify ? Is it to show that the grandmother's sacrifice was pointless because there are two new mouths to feed ?
For pure perfection listen to Jeremy irons reading btideshead revisited all 11 hours of it and listen to his being all the different characters- you believe and revel in them all.
Thank you for an intelligent discussion that actually learned a few new things from. I'm trying to research more about the use of German actors and the dubbing later. I find it difficult think that any funding for Bela Tarr would require actors with "star power," although Hannah Schygulla's presence was great to see. And also thank you very much for not actually showing the pivotal moment which when I first saw it just overwhelmed me. It's on my list of the greatest and most moving moments in cinema (at least what I've seen - and I've seen a lot). Regarding Werkmeister, he developed the method of tuning a keyboard instrument so that instead of perfectly equal distance between each pitch on the keyboard, a tempering was required so that music in different keys could be played without all but one of the keys actually sounding weird. Bach immortalized this in his work, the Well-tempered Clavier, where he wrote a different prelude and fugue for each possible key to show that this tuning method was effective. I didn't know about Werkmeister myself until I discovered this movie. An important but unknown guy in music history.
Superb as is ask a policeman and where’s that fire moore Marriott in my view is every bit as good as will hay gone and forgotten and no grave marker either just fabulous
There's a reason why this is a cult classic.The reason the reverend and everyone is there at the end is because they all want the $20,000 reward. One note: The credits at the end run from the top to the bottom instead of the usual bottom to top.
I have recently watched a video essay on how to write character exemplified by "The Big Country". Granted, that movie's screenplay is incomparable to a novel by a major XX century author. Still, I believe it's a lame excuse for a film story to be underbaked and poorly developed for the sole reason of "source material being too rich and nuanced to fit into 120 minutes of run time". Can't work with a shorter format, yet do the book justice? - don't make this film at all, then.
12 monkeys is so typically Gilliam- that manic nature of his comes out where Brad Pitt lets rip in the lunatic asylum - its one my favourites of his next to Brazil and what a cast as well, its a well-known fact that he hates working with studios after his experience with the Brazil happy cut. Life of Brian is a comic masterpiece - if you're a Python fan you'll really appreciate this one. Goldeneye is the best Pierce Bosnan Bond outing. My favourite Cronenberg's are The Dead Zone, Videodrome and Existenz. Verhoeven was so clever with Starship Troopers there's that and the brilliant Robocop.
