I commented years ago but I still think this version's message of "Beauty needs to be less shallow" makes a little lesser to Disney's message of, "The Beast needs to learn to not be such a monster." It's simply more powerful for the *greater* wrong to be striven towards correction. The Beast may not be "such a jerk" in this version, but he IS still holding her prisoner. The other film, in putting the burden on Beast and not Belle to change, puts this precarious situation SHE is in at the forefront, not as an uncomfortable background trifle that barely gets acknowledgement as in this version, where it is much more about HIS pain, and his trials. As I mentioned three years ago, I love this film to death. It's beautiful. You nail why. But it does have problems. The decision for example to create the trio of female villagers and confining them to a smaller role in place of Belle's sisters who take up so much screentime in this one keeps the focus where it should be. Sometimes, this film feels more like Cinderella than Beauty and the Beast at times. I cannot emphasize enough I compare it only unfavorably to a film I love so much. This version is better than most films.
The characterization for Brendan honestly sucks. Instead of long, melodramatic conversations with Emily or the dramatic pauses, we should have had something about what makes Brendan so hard boiled at such a young age, he has his whole life ahead of him before the 2008 global finance meltdown, he has a clean record, he's intelligent, he could do nearly anything, pre-med, pre-law, Air Force/Navy/Coast Guard. Poverty? Domestic violence? Drug addicted parents? Foster care? Why is Emily the only thing Brendan loves? Why is Brain so loyal to Brendan? How does Brendan make the connection that Laura was so close to the Pin that she was there in that house with the Pin? How does Laura find herself in the contrived situation of having to store the brick in her locker at one point?
I remember with great fondness the dance scene from Babe; it's an incredible scene that without context might seem like a strange and silly moment, but when you add in the strong subtext of the movie, it becomes one of the best scenes in cinema history, in my opinion. Thanks for this video, Babe its one of my favorite films ever!!!
Essential Films has long been my favorite series of videos on movies. As a Christian I'm always saddened to see someone leave the church but I'm equally appalled that you'd receive negativity from strangers for it. I hope people understand that that attitude is not by any means representative of all Christians nor is it Christ-like. It's wonderful when people can have different opinions and still get along. Hope you're doing well and enjoying what you do! I do miss your old videos that haven't been re-uploaded!
Interesting question about Tarkovsky: Under the old Soviet system, he was largely persona non grata. But under the current Russian system, led by Putin and in official thrall to the Russian Orthodox Church, he is acclaimed - Tarkovsky's sculpture greets entrants in the lobby of the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography and film awards are named after him. Tarkovsky undoubtedly understood the deep corruption of the Soviet era, but how would he have reacted to Russia under Putin, a Russia that is even more corrupt to the point that that the Patriarchs of the Church give official support, assent and blessing to Putin's lies? How would Tarkovsky have responded?
This video is part of my attempt to remake those of my old videos where I feel like I had something of value to say. I think "Andrei Rublev" was one of my most popular video essays and it was one that I was most proud of. This re-write focuses on the original insights I believe I have about the film. This re-upload felt necessary because I have changed so much since making it; this also made it emotionally difficult to return to. When I first made the video, I was Eastern Orthodox. Since then, profound spiritual experiences have caused me to change religions multiple times, though at the moment I would describe myself as Unitarian Universalist. My original video drew some Orthodox people and Russians to my channel; this is the part of my audience which seemed to leave the most negative comments when I realized I was a woman, left the church, and struggled to keep up with channel as a result of leaving college and starting to navigate adult life. I have a deep love for Russia's art and history; otherwise I would not have made this video. But what Russia has become in recent years breaks my heart. As a queer person, I am horrified at the oppression queer people face in Russia. I am also horrified at Russia's unjustified invasion of Ukraine. I hold both realities, the love and the sadness, at once. But if you are for the hate against queer people or the war against Ukraine, do not make the mistake of thinking I am on your side. All that being said, I find it interesting that, after having been very critical of Christianity, I am returning with a video that focuses on what I admire about it, and I hope to continue to use art to explore a wide variety of religious ideas.
I lived in the US for 20yrs and was always amazed at some American friends tendency to compare great art to mere entertainment. What I mean Is Chaplin and the Stooges, Shakespeare and TV soaps, The Pietà and Bob's Big Boy Statue, Homer and Troy are not on the same level. If you feel otherwise and say it Is a matter of taste I agree, either you have It or you don't. There Is a story about a big producer of the King of Kings saying : "Could we remove this Judas character? Too negative "
Have you totally abandoned making the film? The music is giving me nostalgic vibes from track 1. Would have loved a dramatic reading of your script along with your album playing in the background!
Really excellent music for your first album. I was listening to the album while floating around in space in a video game and it was the perfect vibe. The song "Ant Parade" came on while I was using my angle grinder to cut large wing-like solar panels off an abandoned space station and I felt like a little worker ant cutting the wings off a cicada, it made me contemplate how technology changes the style of our lives but the fundamental actions we take as organisms remain the same. the universe is in a process of building itself up and tearing itself apart and mixing itself together and we are all caught up in it like one endless ant parade.
Enjoyed this album and glad to see u back. I guess you could say falling is to be thrown downwards. And there's also not much desire in falling, not much agency
Athena, I want to show you this My favorite Disney golden age movies 1. Dumbo (1941) 2. Bambi (1942) 3. Pinocchio (1940) 4. Snow White (1937) 5. Fantasia (1940)
It is definitely the kind of movie that makes you laugh even of things you normaly wouldn't, although so many jokes got lost in time and context, I've read reference to some of them like the wife thinking her husband never drinks coffee twince at home refering to a tv commercial of the time or the radar microwave but there is one I haven't figure out and is driving me crazy... the horse in Mrs. Ouvert bed... somebody help?
Am I the only person that thinks he is just messed up from having his creepy older looking cousin seduce him, was he not hesitant because it was his cousin????
I must thank you! I did not connect with this film at all, so went looking for reviews to see what I missed. Seeing you cite Mandy and You Were Never Really Here as your other favourites, two films I also didn't connect with, just confirmed in my mind that there's some wavelength differences between me and these kinds of movies, and that that's ok.
I was not expecting your review to be so in-depth! I saw Babe when it was released on video, and immediately fell in love with it. Hopefully, my daughter will love it just as much as I did. This movie is impossibly charming and beautiful. Thank you for this amazing review.
I actually prefer Gaston over Avenant because of how he is loved by everyone in the town and how they never question him. It’s a great commentary on how celebrities or politicians are often treated like royalty no matter how horrible of a person they are. Gaston expects everything to go his way because the townspeople make everything go his way. They believe everything he tells them because they are blind fanatics of him.
The opening paragraph made me realize that, as much as I love Bambi, I would never suggest it as the best Disney movie ever made because....it just gets so overlooked that even I forget about it sometimes and names the films from the Renaissance Era that my peers would typically expect. And any of the Renaissance films are great examples, but there's something really special about Bambi that I think I haven't been able to articulate to my skeptical friends, lol. I actually watch Bambi and the whole director's audio once a year around the fall or winter; something about the experience just grabs me and tells me to listen. I wish the people I knew weren't so quick to label it "boring" or "out-dated" just because it doesn't have a snappy plot and deep lore or whatever. Art shouldn't have to entertain 100% of the time. Sometimes it can just be authentic and cathartic and beautiful. That has meaning too!
The Author missed the point about the necessity of the right casting. And this cast was perfect. Leslie Nielsen, Robert Stack, Lloyd Bridges, Peter Graves. All well known as serious drama actors, playing it straight but saying the most stupid things. Great how Leslie Nielsen who was basically a B movie actor went on to have a new career as a comedy star.
