Film Discussion / Now Watching

[James Thompson]

the BFI Southbank did a season of movies they used to show at the Scala, so we got to see Pink Flamingos and the ultimate cut of Caligula (as a surprise film) over the past week. obviously pink flamingos is an all-time classic, but i want to strongly recommend the new cut of Caligula - it's amazing, so nasty and excessive at every moment, a real masterpiece.

[Tribe Tapes]

but i want to strongly recommend the new cut of Caligula - it's amazing, so nasty and excessive at every moment, a real masterpiece.

Wasn't aware of this being a thing, but now I'm intrigued. The original film is already a masterpiece in excess -- can hardly imagine what pleasures / horrors await in the "ultimate cut!"

[Tribe Tapes]

Emanuelle In America
A higher profile '70s porn film starring Laura Gemser as the black Emanuelle. For the first half or so I was surprised that this was softcore only but then came the first penis of the film... and it was an erect horse cock being massaged by a lady. A lot of human male nudity and hardcore followed. The plot kinda didn't make much sense, Emanuelle just traveled from one situation to the next. There was also some "snuff" footage they were watching in one scene and it was actually pretty gruesome sexual violation. That should have been the main film! Laura Gemser has a pretty face and everything but a physique of a corpse, not my cup of tea.

I have always failed to understand the praise for this movie. Ordered the Blu-Ray on a whim and ended up selling it after my first viewing. While Caligula offers plenty of beautiful set pieces and "so-bad-it's-good" dialogue to balance out its meandering story and excess, Emanuelle In America is just *boring*, horse-fucking be damned. Black Emmanuelle simply wanders from situation to situation, and the sex scenes are never titillating or interestingly shot. I assume the "snuff" sections are where this film has earned its cult status, but they come way too late in the picture to save it from banality.

[James Thompson]

Wasn't aware of this being a thing, but now I'm intrigued. The original film is already a masterpiece in excess -- can hardly imagine what pleasures / horrors await in the "ultimate cut!"

strongly recommend to seek it out if you get the chance - i get the sense it genuinely transforms it from entertaining & iconic incoherence to a well-delivered exploration of power and excess in a decaying empire. i really liked it!

[murmur]

I rewatched The Ipcress File last night. Really good movie, Michael Caine is great in it as an insolent English spy, and the day-to-day, almost mundane details and grey look of everything are balanced beautifully with really crazy cinematography and very funny script. Plus there’s some fun tape manipulation/radiophonic workshop-type scenes. Super fun watch, and it seems under-seen? Recommended.

[Scream & Writhe]

January / February highlights:

I Am Afraid (Damiani, 1977)
3 Women (Altman, 1977)
Max and the Junkmen (Sautet, 1971)
For a Few Dollars More (Leone, 1965)
My Name Is Nobody (Valerii, 1973)
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Leone, 1966)
The Great Ecstasy of Woodcarver Steiner (Herzog, 1974)
The Zone of Interest (Glazer, 2023)
They Do Not Exist (Ali, 1974)
Gummo (Korine, 1997)
The Terminator (Cameron, 1984)
Bijou (Poole, 1972)

[SS1535]

January / February highlights:

I Am Afraid (Damiani, 1977)
3 Women (Altman, 1977)
Max and the Junkmen (Sautet, 1971)
For a Few Dollars More (Leone, 1965)
My Name Is Nobody (Valerii, 1973)
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Leone, 1966)
The Great Ecstasy of Woodcarver Steiner (Herzog, 1974)
The Zone of Interest (Glazer, 2023)
They Do Not Exist (Ali, 1974)
Gummo (Korine, 1997)
The Terminator (Cameron, 1984)
Bijou (Poole, 1972)

I wish my past month with film was this exciting. Many good movies here.

[Scream & Writhe]

January / February highlights:

I Am Afraid (Damiani, 1977)
3 Women (Altman, 1977)
Max and the Junkmen (Sautet, 1971)
For a Few Dollars More (Leone, 1965)
My Name Is Nobody (Valerii, 1973)
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Leone, 1966)
The Great Ecstasy of Woodcarver Steiner (Herzog, 1974)
The Zone of Interest (Glazer, 2023)
They Do Not Exist (Ali, 1974)
Gummo (Korine, 1997)
The Terminator (Cameron, 1984)
Bijou (Poole, 1972)

I wish my past month with film was this exciting. Many good movies here.

Several great nights at the cinema. Past couple months have been slow going for me when it comes to film watching. This year started off far too busy with the distro and related activities to do much else, but getting back in the groove now.

[SS1535]

January / February highlights:

I Am Afraid (Damiani, 1977)
3 Women (Altman, 1977)
Max and the Junkmen (Sautet, 1971)
For a Few Dollars More (Leone, 1965)
My Name Is Nobody (Valerii, 1973)
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Leone, 1966)
The Great Ecstasy of Woodcarver Steiner (Herzog, 1974)
The Zone of Interest (Glazer, 2023)
They Do Not Exist (Ali, 1974)
Gummo (Korine, 1997)
The Terminator (Cameron, 1984)
Bijou (Poole, 1972)

I wish my past month with film was this exciting. Many good movies here.

Several great nights at the cinema. Past couple months have been slow going for me when it comes to film watching. This year started off far too busy with the distro and related activities to do much else, but getting back in the groove now.

Did you catch all of these in a theater?

[James Thompson]

caught Zone of Interest last night. blown back into my seat by the waves of fucking evil emanating off it. an incredible achievement.

for the purpose of this forum, it's worth talking about the sound design. i really appreciate that it sort of starts off with an overture - just black screen and music for a few minutes - to really cement that this is a movie you have to listen to in order to understand.

also shoutout to the people next to me who decided to get a massive bucket of popcorn and loudly rustle around in it the whole movie. don't know how anyone keeps their appetite watching that honestly.

[Scream & Writhe]

I wish my past month with film was this exciting. Many good movies here.

Several great nights at the cinema. Past couple months have been slow going for me when it comes to film watching. This year started off far too busy with the distro and related activities to do much else, but getting back in the groove now.

Did you catch all of these in a theater?

Just the spaghetti westerns, The Zone of Interest and Bijou.

[Scream & Writhe]

caught Zone of Interest last night. blown back into my seat by the waves of fucking evil emanating off it. an incredible achievement.

for the purpose of this forum, it's worth talking about the sound design. i really appreciate that it sort of starts off with an overture - just black screen and music for a few minutes - to really cement that this is a movie you have to listen to in order to understand.

This one really deserves to be seen in a good theatre. I feel like a lot of the sound design is going to be lost with home-viewing and perhaps lessen the film's overall impact.

[SS1535]

Several great nights at the cinema. Past couple months have been slow going for me when it comes to film watching. This year started off far too busy with the distro and related activities to do much else, but getting back in the groove now.

Did you catch all of these in a theater?

Just the spaghetti westerns, The Zone of Interest and Bijou.

The Zone of Interest is the only Oscar nominee that I am actually interested in this year. I need to see it ASAP.

[James Thompson]

caught Zone of Interest last night. blown back into my seat by the waves of fucking evil emanating off it. an incredible achievement.

for the purpose of this forum, it's worth talking about the sound design. i really appreciate that it sort of starts off with an overture - just black screen and music for a few minutes - to really cement that this is a movie you have to listen to in order to understand.

This one really deserves to be seen in a good theatre. I feel like a lot of the sound design is going to be lost with home-viewing and perhaps lessen the film's overall impact.

most definitely. interestingly i have heard (although am yet to confirm) that the entire diagetic soundtrack is mastered in mono, as an intentional artistic choice - all the sounds are treated as coming from one source, flattened into undifferentiated monstrosity, which (if true) feels really effective. when you hear a baby crying, is it here, or there?

[Scream & Writhe]

March highlights:

The Hunger (Scott, 1983)
In the Name of the Father (Sheridan, 1993)
Man on the Roof (Widerberg, 1976)
Behind Convent Walls (Borowcyzk, 1978)
Roma (Fellini, 1972)
The Fugitive Kind (Lumet, 1960)
Touchez Pas au Grisbi (Becker, 1954)
Tetsuo: The Iron Man (Tsukamoto, 1989)
All the Colors of the Dark (Martino, 1972)
Once Upon a Time in the West (Leone, 1968)

[housepig]

Touchez Pas au Grisbi (Becker, 1954)

Saw that as part of a blind movie marathon at my favorite theater, had never heard of it and was completely blown away. so good.
(other films included "The Seven Ups" [which I had seen but not for a long time], and Ozu's "Good Morning", which was a hoot.)

[killhippies]

March highlights:

The Hunger (Scott, 1983)
In the Name of the Father (Sheridan, 1993)
Man on the Roof (Widerberg, 1976)
Behind Convent Walls (Borowcyzk, 1978)
Roma (Fellini, 1972)
The Fugitive Kind (Lumet, 1960)
Touchez Pas au Grisbi (Becker, 1954)
Tetsuo: The Iron Man (Tsukamoto, 1989)
All the Colors of the Dark (Martino, 1972)
Once Upon a Time in the West (Leone, 1968)

I’ve seen about half of these and love them. Definitely some more for me to check out here