therealfuster Posted June 27, 2005 Share Posted June 27, 2005 is it your cup of tea, or do you like your brew a bit stronger with dialogue and other accoutrements to liven it up? The concept of pure cinema, can be a topic of high faluting grandeur or just one of a neophyte's appreciation of a great scene in a Hitchcock film, depending on the person with whom you discuss it. Recently I watched the film, "El" by Bunuel and was struck by the fact that if I watched it without reading the subtitles, I still seemed to have a total grasp of the concept of the film regardless. Pure cinema can mean different things to different people, and Jean-Luc Godard might even disagree with some of his original statements on this attitude of the filmmaker, in those revolutionary days of the French New Wave with other proponents like Truffaut and Bresson. Though I am a great admirer of films with intelligent and well written scripts, like "All About Eve" or "Sunset Boulevard" I must admit to admiring immensely films which sort of wash over one, with the viewer not having to use any mental powers to enjoy, but just be the passive participant who is observing the spectacle unfolding before him or her in a darkened theatre. Voyeuristic it may seem, but still...all one need do is look at the screen and observe to participate. Some films seem all of a piece of pure cinema, and others may just have a part which would qualify. Do you have any films or sections of film, which impress you as fulfilling the requirements of pure cinema, which can exist without dialogue or other explanatory devices? I shall pick Laughton's "The Night of the Hunter" as it seems to exist in its own world, which is totally communicable through images onscreen of an amazingly archetypical nature which resound in the psyche. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhryun Posted June 27, 2005 Share Posted June 27, 2005 Believe it or not -- but a film that I saw and bought was a Japanese film called Rashomon. It is an epic film. I had to read subtitles but the film, although the version that I have is an old VHS version, to me, was one that I was able to follow without reading the subs. I felt this was a great film. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
therealfuster Posted June 27, 2005 Author Share Posted June 27, 2005 that is an excellent choice! You might be interested, if you have not seen it yet, that the American remake of the Kurosawa film "Rashomon" is playing on TCM in July and it is called "The Outrage". Now I've seen it, and not only is it a pale imitation of the original, seeing Newman as a Mexican bandit is not my idea of enjoyment, but since comparisons are odious, it still is an interesting adjunct to "Rashomon". Here's when it plays if you are interested: Outrage, The / 1964 CAST: Paul Newman, Claire Bloom, Edward G. Robinson. A Mexican bandit's crimes receive wildly different interpretations from four witnesses. BW 96m. LBX CC Western. D: Martin Ritt. PLAYING ON TCM: 07/30/2005 10:00 AM ??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhryun Posted June 27, 2005 Share Posted June 27, 2005 I don't know if I want to see that but maybe I will. Nothing can compare to the original. I have a problem with a lot of the remakes. There have only been a couple of movies (of which at this moment I can't remember), that have lived up to the original, so that's why I tend to be a little skeptical. But I'll give it a try. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
therealfuster Posted June 29, 2005 Author Share Posted June 29, 2005 watching this remake, will really make you appreciate Kurosawa's original film! I can promise you that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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