Sad that most filmgoers will never see this masterpiece, instead they just want to watch "Steamed Hams but it's Star Wars" while shoving popcorn in their faces.
It's really poorly done. There's only one actual edit and I could probably do it better with 2 months of photoshop experience. They just took the French clip and put a B&W filter.
@@yvonetubla7682 right, for it's "poetic faithfulness" - the essence of the subtitles being equivalent to that of the dialog (or how Monsieur Scuynère put with regard to burgers vs. clams) in comparison to the unfathomable vastness of the universe 🍷🥖
@@Edwing77 French isn't real anyway. France doesn't exist. It's a hollywood myth invented to have an exotic location to visit. Source: I've been to france and it wasn't there.
- You call hamburgers steamed hams. - Yes, it’s a Parisian dialect. - Uh-huh. Which bank ? - Uh, Rive Droite - Really. Well, I’m from Le Marais and I never heard anyone use the phrase, “steamed hams.” - Oh, not in Le Marais, no; it’s an Montmartre expression. - I see.
@@paftaf If that's some sort of mnemonic device it wouldn't hold any water because the Seine has a bunch of curves and bends in it, and more importantly the Seine spills into the English channel which is arguably not the Atlantic ocean proper.
Ah yes, I liked the critique of modern american economy, of Skinner running in front of the Simpsons' house, as it displays the absurdity that Skinner, a single man living with his mother, has a smaller, older house than that of the Simpsons, a family of five with a single breadwinner. Our tortured protagonist is in a hurry, while the cozy bourgeois stand still and relax. Truly a masterpiece. Let us not forget the ending, where Skinner has a choice to make: he either keeps this charade going, or he accepts the moral high ground by revealing his lie to Chalmers.The best part is the ambiguity of it, to have the audience guess Skinner's choice according to the hints previously given in this short film. Beautiful.
excellent deconstruction! I'd also like to point out the films mockery of the bourgeois' so called superior taste, as when Chalmers (a clear stand in for the upper class) is confronted with the spread laid out by Seymour, although he asks some questions at first, he ultimately accepts Seymours lies and accepts the meal as worthy of his approval (and hence the approval of his echelon) , only cementing the fact that the taste of the upper classes is a total facade!
According to the popular opinion, the "Aurora borealis" can be considered as a "MacGuffin" which has no concrete meaning but functions as a plot device. However, I think Truffaut did something more subtle here. Imagine such a transcendental natural phenomenon happens in such a mondane circumstance and all its purpose is to cover up a horrific disaster caused by human error, hence in the last zoomed shot we see the struggling and hesitation on Skinner's face, he'd rather believe the existence of the Northern Lights than accept the death of his mother done by his own hand. Despite the already known fact that it's going to be an unresolved tragedy for Skinner, the film ended as if there was alternative and possibility for hope, Truffaut showed us his humanistic concern by not showing us the answer.
I've heard people demand the final scene be recut so that Skinner gives a definitive answer to Chalmers. Philistines. The ambiguity is the point, it encapsulates all the themes of the film while at the same time subverting them.
Thank you. This is why all the fan theories about whether Skinner said yes or no completely miss the point. Its completely up to the interpretation of the viewer.
Clearly Truffaut wanted us to ponder the true meaning of the aurora borealis and what the acceptance or refusal of Skinner would mean for his relationship with Chalmers going forward. The entire point of the film is the study of the reflection of the self within other. If Skinner were to give an answer, it would mess the entire thesis!
Oh, how ignorant some people can be! You couldn't be further from the truth you absolute troglodytes. The intention is clear. Skinner doesn't answer because it isn't on him to answer that. If Chalmers has really been captivated by the presence of aurora borealis and he truly wants to see it at that time of year, at that time of day, in France, completely localised within Skinner's kitchen, he needs to break with his conceptions of this inscrutable and fully unknowable universe. And only with the regained ignorance of an infant he can truly see aurora borealis where there is none. That was the unavoidable path of his character during the film. He starts depressed by the meaninglessness of the world and gets exposed to Skinner's absurdist philosophy, finding a more filling way to live by choosing to believe that truth isn't true, and falling in love with Skinner. For Skinner, the refusal to answer is filled with surprise, since that's the first moment he realises Chalmers wasn't humouring him and he was actually falling for how he was. He doesn't answer because he's just realised what Chalmers wants, and there's nothing at that point anyone can do to avoid it. It's a classic story of a middle-class worker trapped in the socioeconomic whirlpool having a philosophical awakening and falling for the person who helped them escape. The 1986 murals and the bande dessinée expand the story a bit and refine the essence of the original film.
This isn't French New Wave. This scene has a discrete beginning, middle, and end with a logical sequence of events all the way through. In order for this to be French New Wave it will need to be edited with large chunks of the plot missing and some shots placed out of order to make the audience constantly feel like they've missed some vital piece of information. The dialogue will also need to randomly change direction throughout the scene. This can be accomplished by taking the scripts from three different movies and shuffling the pages like a deck of cards. Also, you will need to violate the 180-degree rule several times for no discernible reason.
I loved the special features they added on the Blu-Ray! The documentary about the Albany School was interesting as I had never heard of their form of philosophy, or their conflict with the Utica Realists. The video essay from Tony Zhou on how Mathieu de Groening based his shot composition on American television of the time was really eye-opening, as was the DVD commentary by film scholar Matthew Patrick. All in all, a great package. They even had the long-lost deleted musical number!
With South Park, I think the Simpsons sound so much better in french than in English. But I might be biased because I was raised with these voices haha
They actually translated the jokes really well. They're still called Steamed Hams, as it was supposed to be steamed Salmon (Salmon and Ham sound very similar).
This new 4K transfer is in excellent condition, looks like it was shot yesterday. Hopefully the original short film this was based on gets included on the Blu Ray.
Jenifer Joseph I actually liked the American remake a great deal, it breathed new life in to the source material while still respecting its core themes. It's style was inventive in its own way, but the original just has far more replay value for me.
I think the decision to add back the scenes taken out after early screenings is a mistake. The sound restoration is impressive - the footage was originally found in a disused nunnery in Mexico - but the director removed those scenes for a reason. It just destroys the pacing.
i think there is something to say about the scene where Chalmers finds Seymour in the kitchen. Seymour says he is trying to prolong his feeble existence, and Chalmers completely ignores this to ask about the oven. Seymour is only in this situation to attempt to impress Chalmers, and Chalmers, being a man of higher status, ignores the "lesser mans" direct call to his plight, in order to point out a symptom of said plight. Chalmers could make a lot of Seymours problems go away. Seymour only has a lot of these problems due to his need to impress Chalmers, and when the idea of a less then satisfying life is presented to Chalmers, he merely turns and points out one of the things lowering its quality. The take away here is that "the higher parts of society don't care that you suffer, the most they will do is make you more aware of your suffering"
I feel the fact that he asks "Why" contradicts that, in asking the question "why" he attempts to peer into Skinners soul and discover what torments him so, only to be rebuffed by Skinner maintaining his charade thus elaborating deeper that even if the Elite are willing to help or at least understand, the lower parts of society too, are entrapped in the multifaceted patterns of deception making understanding impossible but a Further uncovering would show that Chalmers immediately left after he was rebuffed thus placing the original question into doubt once again. The films ambiguous ending asks the ultimate question of whether this charade can continue indefinitely no matter how flimsy the lie we call society becomes or if it's face will truly be uncovered when it's consequences burn around us. Steamed Hams remains a cinematic masterpiece to this day for it's insights into the human soul
Someone needs to do a Jacques Tati version where the farce is conveyed in subtle mime and small comedic moments timed to perfection. I may be the only person on the internet to want this...
Howlin' Dog Can you imagine the mise en scene? We would probably be able to see Skinner going to Krusty Burguer, buying the sandwiches and coming back right from the dinner room!
I love how the director at 1:28 represents through Skinner's slowly running the desperation suffering of the human condition in a constant search of fixes for past mistakes. Genius
A beautiful and transcendent piece of work, worthy of singular acclaim amongst the true greats of world cinema. A tragedy then that the vastly inferior American remake three decades later would tarnish the legacy of "Steamed Hams".
I attended the premiere for this film at the Cannes film festival, days before it won the Palme. I knew very little french back then but this really inspired me to make an effort to learn. Truffaut´s best film no matter what anyone says
@@CornyBum I know, I loved it so much I caught its world premiere at TIFF and attended the Oscar ceremony where it won Best Foreign Language Film over other contenders like Germany´s ´Steamed Hams but it´s a german expressionist film´
-Old family recipe... -For steamed clams? -What is the point in signs which cannot adequately describe their subjects? -Why speak if you do not intend to convey meaning? -Um.. I should- Excuse me one moment.
"Vous appelez "jambon-vapeur" les hamburgers vous ? - Oui, c'est un dialecte régional. - Hum hum hum. De quelle région ? - De Haute-Savoie. - Vraiment ? Je viens d'Annecy et je n'ai jamais entendu employée l'expression "jambon-vapeur". - Ah, mais pas à Annecy, ça vient de la région de Thonon-les-Bains. - Moui, je vois."
This is heavily referencing L'Orphee, which is an incredible movie. Director Jean Cocteau deployed some unique fx that still hold up very well today. It's a worthy watch. "A glass of water lights up the world."
This is my favorite movie, behind Citizen Kane of course. So good to see Jambons Cuits a la Vapeur in the original French - it’s faithful to the initial intent of the auteur
I remember Jean-Luc Godard would later helm his take on this but in the end Skinner shot Chalmers and ran off to join Springfield's local revolutionary movement.
Leave it to france to make something as utterly simple as a man's feeble attempt to impress his immediate superior into existentialisme cinematique, fantastique and vive le france, Monsieur Bonecutteur.
you forgot to include 6 different scenes of a cafe, and 8 scenes of our main character walking down the side walk in a fur coat while having a will-they-wont-they girlfriend wax philosophical about going to Italia to them
3:06 Legend has it that to this day, Skinner remains contemplating whether to run away to the ocean or to burn alive with his mother. _Bordel de _*_quatre cent_*_ mille millions de mille sabords de tonnerre de Brest! Quelle aventure!_
