Kolya on 14/7/2010 at 19:34
I just watched Georges Franju's "(
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053459/) Eyes Without a Face" (1960) which was okay but I wasn't too impressed.
The acting is very wooden, especially by the main villain who takes up most of the film. And they try to show much more gruesome effects than necessary instead of relying on suspense.
The idea with the mask is good and in the hands of a more skilful camera man it could have been grand.
The only music is one of these "carnival of horror" tunes that gets repeated several times throughout the film without ever fitting. And the way the police gets onto his case is a major plot hole....
"Yeah, I see you were called by your dead girlfriend but I've got better things to do, like this case for example, let me just read it to you...Oh you incidentally know something about this?"However this reminded me of another mask-movie, namely (
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067277/) Johnny got his gun (1971)
Inline Image:
http://www.popmatters.com/images/film_art/j/johnnygun-in3.jpgIt's about a WWI soldier who loses everything but his life to a mortar round. Waking up in a hospital he can't see, speak, hear or move. He's locked in his own body and his face is covered by a white mask. He's conscious though and drifts between reality and memories of his past before the war (which are shown in color).
The film got some extended publicity as Metallica included clips of it in their video for "(
http://www.youtube.com/watch?hl=en&v=EzgGTTtR0kc&gl=UShttp://www.youtube.com/watch?hl=en&v=EzgGTTtR0kc&gl=US) One". It's quite a spoiler though, better watch the film instead.
Oh and definitely planning on watching Stalker as well as Solaris.
Sulphur on 14/7/2010 at 19:50
Solaris is good, but I hope you're used to Tarkovsky's method of long, slow takes and his tendency to meditatively linger on scenes, as it's bound to bore the impatient to tears. It takes a good while to even get to the space station, but it's a slow build from there. It's hard to describe, and sometimes off-putting (for me at least) but there is an irresistible, ineffable element to his method that's compelling nonetheless. Stalker, on the other hand, while it's still pure Tarkovsky, suffers less from glacial pacing as it has intrigue in spades.
Muzman on 14/7/2010 at 21:18
You can watch Takovsky films on the net now for zippo.
(
http://www.openculture.com/2010/07/tarkovksy.html)
There's a little bit of Stalker there that'll show you what you're in for (Anyone, this is). If you don't like it the first time you watch that clip, watch it again and listen more until you zone out, as it were. That's what it's all about.
june gloom on 14/7/2010 at 21:19
re: Johnny Got His Gun:
Metallica didn't just include clips. They bought the rights to the movie outright to avoid having to pay royalties every time the music video played.
demagogue on 14/7/2010 at 23:34
One thing that put Solaris on my good side early on (but prob not for other people) was when he's driving out to the shuttle ... He's just driving and driving and driving on this highway in a big city, maybe for 10+ minutes straight with no dialog, and it suddenly starts looking a little familiar, so I strain to look at one of the street signs and realize why. It's Tokyo! ...Where I lived for a little bit. I wasn't expecting that, but it made it more fun to watch that scene looking for familiar landmarks. Of course it's when he gets to the station that the movie shows its heart. Fortunately I knew to watch the movie in the right mood before starting it, and what to expect.
Kolya on 15/7/2010 at 13:05
Well I haven't seen it yet, as I said, but check the user reviews on the imdb link.
Tocky on 16/7/2010 at 04:18
I haven't seen The Innocents in a coons age but I recall how into the part the governess was and it was indeed creepy. Very atmospheric. Creepy kids too.
As for Carnival of Souls, it was damned odd. I recall the organ music being particularly grating and though the supposed juxtposition of life verses death scenes were meant to be arty metaphor they were instead just damned strange and captivating on that score alone. Poor acting and editing but much as with Phantasm it made no difference and if anything enhanced the oddness.
It kills me I can't think of anything good to add. Pretty Poison with Tuesday Weld wasn't a horror but it had aspects of it and I think it was black and white. Fun to watch the degeneration of a situation due to the slow revelation of diabolical insanity. She was great in I Walk the Line too. Besides, Solaris wasn't a horror or black and white.
Definitly going to check out some of these mentioned.
henke on 22/7/2010 at 13:35
I watched Cat People based on what I read in this thread and I must say that it was booooring. And what's up with the ending? She opens the cage and gets killed by the wildcat? imo it would've been much better if they never showed that scene, that way it wouldn't be clear whether the woman really did turn into a cat in the "office at night"-scene or if she somehow just released the wildcat from the zoo and somehow got it into the office.
They built the suspense very well for the first half of the movie but for the ending it just seemed like they had no idea how to wrap it all up. It might well be a landmark in using subtle horror but I can't say that it's a good movie on it's own. FUCK THE CATPEOPLE
