Rapsodia satanica (1917)

Marvelous Italian hand-painted silent about an aging countess who makes a deal with the devil to regain her youth. I wasn't completely clear that one condition of her newfound youth -- aside from losing her soul -- was that she could never fall in love. Her eternal life must be one of loneliness, so is it even worth it?
The film frequently operates on a poetic level. It's notably a mechanism for lead actress Lyda Borelli to take on a series of expressive moods while surrounded by immaculate fashion and decor. Borelli's theatricality is as effective as any silent actress I've seen, and her performance is a major prototype for what became the film diva.
I want to continue exploring Italian silents, as I've overlooked them to this point. I'll be watching Cabiria next.

Last night I saw 2015's Latin Lover, its a comfy italian comedy, I liked that they spoke french and spanish It felt like a very good early 2000's tragicomedy and I really liked the "protagonist". Kind of pandering at times
Also I saw Giant with Elizabeth Taylor and the best part about it was James Dean, I guess I just didnt get it. Its almost too long but it looks beautiful, its a good film to watch when youre going thru a flu on the edge of death but youre surrounded by comfy pillows and soup

The Exterminating Angel (1962)

It's a black and white spanish film about snobs having a party. It was more bizarre than expected, but i don't think it was the intention, despite supernatural involvement.

>>61
Did you like it? I wasn't expecting the story to go that way either, but I was very impressed with the film. I think I watched the wrong Buñuel films at first. I knew his surrealist stuff was interesting but none of his later films excited me until I saw The Exterminating Angel.

>>64
I haven't seen any other Buñuel's films. Despite this something was allowing me to have somewhat high expectations from it and I wasn't disappointed one bit.

We the Living was an unauthorized adaptation of Ayn Rand's first novel, produced in fascist Italy. Although Rand's book was ostensibly anti-Soviet, scenes in the film attacking collectivism crossed the line with the fascist authorities. They banned the film soon after its release and sought to destroy all copies.
The film was lost for decades until Rand's representatives located a surviving negative. Scenes were edited to remove lines that contradicted Rand's free-market viewpoint and the film was re-released with the author's (post-humus) approval in 1986.
Despite the tumultuous history of We the Living, with many different forces making an impact, the film we have today is actually quite good. Alida Valli is the determined female anti-communist aspiring to build gleaming steel bridges, instantly recognizable as a character based on Rand herself. Alida falls in love with Fosco Giachetti, a young man from the aristocracy who has struggled to survive under the new Bolshevik system that scorns his kind. The third and strongest character is played by Rossano Brazzi, a Soviet secret police officer whose moral compass gradually leads him to question his political philosophy and his occupation.
The climax of the film is central to the film's political troubles. One character gives an impassioned denunciation of collectivism, stressing that collectivism goes against man's natural urge to look out for himself. While I'm sympathetic to this viewpoint, I only oppose forced collectivism. Voluntary collectivism (e.g. family, community, religious & civic groups) is wonderful and essential to survival. Rand's apparent preference to go-it-alone seems an unnecessary overreaction.

>>5
Rapsodia satanica is really good, one of the films you wholeheartedly enjoy.
>>61
I still wish my dear Luis went full pro-unemplyoment.
>>69
>(post-humus) approval
haha

Anyway, I watched all blu-ray films with de funes, all pre-1989 pierre richard ones and some with other known figures of french comedy. Of those I watched, I liked Le Jouet the most. I'm tired due to weather, so I'll say just that it's good piece about slavery. It's directed by Veber who also made one of the few good modern comedies, namely Le placard and Richard/Depardieu trilogy. It's maybe too dumb but enjoyable nevertheless. If anybody knows some light-hearted comedies, recommend me some.
Later on I'll maybe share my thoughts on Feu Mathias Pascal featuring lovable and incredibly charming Mosjoukin.

The only movie that ever made me smile for how sweet and innocent it is. Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy go on a mission to save their new friend from a horny pirate interspliced with some live action scenes from their owner Marcella who received the doll as a birthday present. There were too many musical numbers, plot was uneventful, and the titular stars don't advance their characters much making it a pretty boring movie but on the bright side the voice actors for both are excellent and by 70s standard the animation is good and better than anything digital that's ever come out.

>>69
>Rand's apparent preference to go-it-alone
This statement has bothered me since I wrote it. I admit I'm no expert on Ayn Rand but I made a basic error. While she promoted individualism and selfishness, it does not follow that she necessarily preferred to "go-it-alone".

Furthermore, it's incorrect to imply she opposed all forms collectivism. My understanding is that she favored collectivism as a means to advance self-interest. For example, a friendship can be beneficial to you. However, I still see a difference between Rand's views and the sort of voluntary collectivism (like a community group) that seeks to advance the "greater good".

Symphonie pour un massacre (Jacques Deray, 1963)

I know Deray from La piscine and The Outside Man, but this film surpasses both of those due to Jose Giovanni's clever screenplay. Giovanni had an interesting personal history -- he went from criminal to convict to successful screenwriter of many of France's best crime films. In this film he also has a small acting role.
The story is an engaging slow burn at first. You observe a character who moves with intention, but it takes a while for you to understand what you are witnessing. Thankfully I didn't read the imdb synopsis which spoils much of the plot.
I like black and white views of city storefronts in films from this time period. Everything is bright and clean and new and modern.
I recognized Billy Kearns from Plein soleil where he also plays a token American who murders the French language.

Just saw Hampow93: My Brother, Which I Care For
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sK9XfgDse4E
It's a documentary about a pair of twins who live in South Carolina and film emergency vehicles.
I went into it ready to laugh at losers but it was sort of beautiful. Like a dark real life Beavis and Butthead.

>>203
Thats an Adrew Ruse prod. right? I think there's also a Goth King Cobra documentary.
I havent seen neither but I regularly watch KingCobras livestreams because his worldview is so weird and fun. He makes costum wands and says the green tea Monster is the best one. And Hampow uploads every week, dunno why im still subbed cause I never watch his vids lol

>>209
It's trappped, not sure if he's Ruse but yeah the same one as the Gothic King Cobra doc. KS is hilarious.

>>218
KC*

Watched A Man Called Sledge (1970). I have been getting into a Spaghetti Western kick, but not like this. I was surprised that they managed to break into prison then cause a riot within minutes, so much for the movie framing the prison as some "maximum security" joint. The only message I get from this is never trust a jew. They escape with the gold from the prison, then lose all their money to the jew by card games. Then Sledge, the bandit leader, wins back the money and becomes a jew himself by ditching his posse to keep the gold himself. I get the message is "gold kills", it is the theme song, but it feels like they had to artificially add the posse turning on each other because otherwise the bandits would kill the jew and go on their merry way.

Sladké hry minulého léta AKA Sweet Games of Last Summer (Juraj Herz, 1970)

Immediately following his horror classic Spalovac mrtvol, Herz took a drastically different stylistic direction with this lighthearted summer romp produced for Slovak television. The hourlong film is based on a short story by Guy de Maupassant about a group of friends, Mouchette and her five orbiters, who spend the summer gleefully boating down the Danube and lounging around an artist's shack. The film takes visual inspiration from impressionist painters, with picnics and parasols that channel Monet and Renoir. The editing tends to be impressionistic as well, arranging images and colors that create a carefree mood rather than advance a story. But as the characters' joyous temperament transcends every pitfall they encounter, you start to wonder if there's something very wrong with them.

Foreign Parts (2010) is a documentary about the salvage yard and auto parts shops of Willets Point, Queens. This small blighted neighborhood sits behind Citi Field, the glistening new home of the New York Mets. Michael Bloomberg has big plans to redevelop the area, which would effectively wipe away the existing community.
In recent years Harvard's Sensory Ethnography Lab has been responsible for an innovative new direction in documentary filmmaking, with the dizzying, immersive Leviathan as the best known example. Foreign Parts is more straightforward and accessible than I expected from SEL, as Willets Point locals regularly address the camera and co-director Véréna Paravel even appears onscreen. However, this film goes beyond mere observation by putting special emphasis on cataloging the unique environmental sounds -- a steering column dragging across asphalt, shoes plopping through puddles, the roar of forklifts and barrage of power tools, etc -- sounds that often drown out the people themselves.

>>244
epitome of /film/

The found footage trailblazer Ghostwatch was my (pre)Halloween horror viewing. I like the minimalist scares, fleeting glimpses that cause you to lean forward. They did a pretty good job synthesizing many different strands into a coherent production. Maybe there's too much filler at times, but ultimately it's quite a compelling experience. Now I'm interested to learn details about how Ghostwatch was made.

A surprisingly underseen horror from occupied France. Perhaps one reason it's overlooked is the bland English title "Carnival of Sinners" dubiously replaced the superior literal translation "The Hand of the Devil". The story follows a failed painter who purchases a talisman -- a left hand in a box. The talisman changes the painter's fortune, immediately granting him personal and professional success. But it's a Faustian arrangement that gradually pulls him down, and he might fight to break free.
Maurice Tourneur's style of horror is very similar to that of his son Jacques: regular 1940s people encounter dark supernatural forces that send their lives into disarray. These films are like paranormal noirs, shot in black and white with expressive lighting and hard shadows.
As with Clouzot's Le corbeau, La main du diable is a Nazi-funded French production with a subtext of resistance. Here the film's malevolent force is a short, unassuming old man -- an easy stand-in for a Vichy bureaucrat managing the occupation.

Peter Hutton's At Sea (2007) chronicles the birth, life and death of an enormous container ship. The film has no sound, a bold choice by the director, and the camera rarely moves. Under these circumstances the primary artistic consideration is toward carefully framed and composed image aesthetics.

I don't know Hutton's motivation, but my assumption is that he wanted to create "moving photographs" in the purest sense. Contrast Hutton to James Benning, a director who uses a similar visual form. Since Benning's frames have sound, they're easier to place in the real world. Hutton's silent frames are naturally more enigmatic.

I have a favorite shot from each of the three sections of At Sea. First, the colorful streamers floating in the wind in front of the finished ship at its christening. Second the bright white moonlight reflecting off of the inky black ocean as the ship hauls freight. These images are a payoff of the sequences preceding them. The last shot that sticks in my head is a man repeatedly swinging a sledge hammer into the base of the giant hull, as the rusty ship is beached and being salvaged by hand. The shot is memorable not because of aesthetics, but because the man's effort seems utterly futile.

Because i don't trust the old place rebranding, courtesy of the U.S. gov, might as well start posting here.

Going back to the Yugoslavian mainstream scene, here's 1982's Tesna Koža or Tight Spot, directed by Mića Milošević, shot by the moody Aleksandar Petković and starring Nikola Simić as "junior clerk" regular guy Pantić, this one is the usual situational comedy about a somewhat idealistic salaryman close to the boiling point working his last years in a dilapidated state-owned office, gradually going mad due to the post-Tito financial meltdown landscape tormenting the country around those years, along with his family (and the state-appointed freeloading tenant).

The movie looks on all angles as the typical crass comedy exploiting singular themes, but once again i'm surprised at the firm hold the Belgrade Theater/Dramatic Arts faculty had around the mainstream movies of this era, while they lacked some of the visual flair and ruthlessness the Black Wave had, this balances out with the quality acting and scene construction; In this project i expected vulgar stuff with a madman and got a well-layered humble pie that boils down to a couple of scenes showcasing the effects of massive devaluation and a head of organization isolated from any supervisor and free from doing any supervising (the most dangerous game)
Pantić is going gradually mad at the problems and his family members, all representing some point of neutral to smart sanity, nag the hell out of this poor salaryman for their everyday problems, but the appeal of the plot here is the development of how the Clerk was born in that world, molded by it, yet unmoving in his stance in trying to be decent as possible despite his near-mental breakdown demeanor. The antagonists here, a personal one in the form of the office's almost-illiterate corrupt leader, and a family one in the form of the perfectionist japanophile english teacher of the youngest son serve as ideological counterpoints, both having their own small arcs showcasing passive and active power systems with the latter having an interesting, benevolent conclusion. 80 minutes pass to see how the man's family (and characters) degrade into an angry mob repeating the same verses, proving his only sanity compass broken.

As in many cases around those years, the movie is made more around the concept of teletheater instead of a conventional movie (as in dynamic camera movement with moderate editing) the cinematography's only point of mention is the, by now distinctive for me, use of cheap film and obscured, cold omnipresent environments i mentioned earlier in a Balkan Spy post (goes very meta in its critique isn't it). Majority of scenes seem to be made for theater: well-made with a defined opening, development, twist/climax, false ending and ending, they certainly don't waste a lot of film nor run time and most actors have a spot to perform well no matter how little time they get. Pretty sturdy for a comedy movie, this puppy turned to be quite successful and spawned 3 sequels, which seems outstanding considering the only thing i saw with more than 2 in that country were crass sex comedies or are they really?

/k/ giving crash courses on the country's history also shines a light in the actual depth of the scripts here, in particular Balkan Spy, which i should need to take back my comment on its plot's simplicity: That one actually is chuck full of detail about the inner ideological justification of the country's existence and the hangover between its parties that is not even funny.
This film era is all about the acting and somewhat acid situations, with Tight Spot being another one of its pretty decent trademark products. Although i have to mention it's not as dense as it sounds, even features the usual musical acts normal in movies made for the masses, but works with incisive actions good enough to strike the point correctly. A worthwhile place to invest a little time into, even for the kick of it before things get a little more intense a few years later in their decade-long war.

After a mainstream comedy it's time for a rough gem, but this one just ruffles you up a bit too much.

Enter the world of misery with Amakusa Shirō Tokisada or The Rebel in its western nickname, directed by Nagisa Ôshima, shot by Shintarô Kawasaki and starring Hashizô Ôkawa as the titular Shirō Tokisada, the Samurai of God *not of the missionaries* living and appealing to his christian brethren about the completely miserable serfdom under the anti-christian Tokugawa Shogunate.

The film, considered under the Chanbara genre, moves more around the pure era drama than arm chopping ventures and while that might seem obvious due to the peaceful nature of our man here, things get really awry in the development of the peasants' mood as the laws, taxes and special treatment by the Shogun's men start to ramp up. The miserable conditions aggravate further for the protag as he is forced to take immediate action due to the people not hearing his patience pleads *and secret plans to siege the region's castle to stop the lord's antics* and the farmers mess time and time and time again, further fueled by men breaking and talking under massive torture schemes by the honorable samurai in the castle and ronin trying to get a piece of the action; One of the most only satisfactory moments, narratively speaking, is when Shorou finally calls out the men for harshly acting before time *only to be ditched out by the serfs in fearful realization of their impending doom*

In terms of style and cinematography the movie starts as a calm piece with very strong use of shadows in backlit scenarios and slow shifting ensemble shots, but sooner or later goes into man on man exchanges, big textured battles in the night and reaches a climax with Ôshima, by now in his 7th film in 3 years, picking a very interesting dynamic of focusing subjects in empty, void backgrounds (either black for night or white for an overblown overcast day) sharing ideas or extreme feelings directly to the camera.
A little pet peeve for me was the extended periods of the movie in which we can hear a dramatic, subdued but constant score of strings reminding us of the dread, but i felt this effect went on and on, endlessly and rarely changing tone, that ended giving us a monotonous suffering feel that might've been the point, especially with such an extremely cutthroat ending text at the end of the piece that just spices the poignantry *or secret predicament rejoice* of our hero's actions, which honestly could already be felt and heard since the events started to unravel an hour before.

Nagisa was sort of a transgressor due to the topics picked and the unapologetic portrayal of those, in this case the squashing of the Christians in Japan by the Samurai class, at this point venerated in cinema, and the believers' internal in-fighting regarding the interpretation of God's word and his actions (sort of a schism between clearcut catholic subjugation, last-stand orthodox self-defense and missionaries shooting cannonballs at you from a Lord's castle) although i will defend old Nag any day due to him actually managing to make entertainment out of it, even if sometimes a little campy.
A decent era piece from a seasoned master, who slowed down after this release to do even more kink-incisive topics, although i think perhaps a viewing should be considered only for the subject's uniqueness in the genre and/or to review the director's work.

>>484
I never knew Oshima made a samurai movie. It's interesting to hear about the Christianity angle. I haven't seen Christianity in too many Japanese films, much less films taking place in past centuries. Once in a while Christian symbols appear in films that are set in modern times to indicate (negative) Western influence on their society.

>>485 I also see christian symbols constantly in japanese movies to denote a character's wickedness, either as hypocrites, morally ambiguous or downright degenerates. The most interesting thing for me with Shirou Tokisada is trying to see one of the root causes for the sentiment, but i am left wondering if it is a consensus based on writings or Nag trying to bring light/narrative to a different angle. O Tokisada is interpreted as a humble, patient and overall wise character that spirals into a reluctant warlord, still trying to act decently as possible, because he didn't want to leave his town all alone against the shogun's men in their desperate rebellion, as Shorou still identified himself as a skilled ronin capable of turning a couple of tides. The trick here is that Tokisada in general jap culture is still majorly seen as a villain, often portrayed as a demon ravaging opponents and kids (even when his entire warfare campaign was defending a siege and supporting an attack on a purely military base once). So reading further i don't know if the movie is a frontal critique at the inaction and cowardice of the catholics, a subtly one at the horribly-applied philosophy of the missionaries who turned the masses into subservience (more so in feudal Japan, ironically) due to only showing half the teachings also betraying the followers and siding with whoever bought their merchandise, in this case the Edo lords or at Shiro Tokisada for going all out in his warfare movements when push came to shove. As a standalone product it's pretty ok, but further seeing into it makes me feel it tried to play heavily with people's preconceptions at the time, which is classic Ôshima. Even up into the Takashi Miike/Kiyoshi Kurosawa/Takeshi Kitano days the Christian Cross appears around the attire of homosexual hitmen, promiscuous young ladies, gunrunners, "conservative" drug vendors and sex shop staff members. The Portuguese certainly did a number on them back in the day, up to the point that 300 years later even jewish scientists on the enemy side pleaded with Truman to drop the bombs at the christian stronghold cities instead of actual military targets!

Branded (2012, Russian–American, 1h 46min) An unusual movie by today standards i think - a serious socioeconomic commentary wrapped inside a comedy (Wikipedia says that its a dark fantasy science fiction though), if you liked Idiocracy you might also like this.

>>487 >I also see christian symbols constantly in japanese movies to denote a character's wickedness, either as hypocrites, morally ambiguous or downright degenerates Ôshima's friend from Shochiku, Yoshishige Yoshida, used some Christian symbols in Eros + Massacre. However I don't remember enough specifics to assess their use. A simplistic explanation is that the cross is a symbol of restrictive morality at odds with the free-love mentality of left-anarchist Ōsugi Sakae, one of the film's primary characters. I'd need to watch it again before endorsing that view. Ōsugi was briefly a Christian himself, although I don't think the film covers that part of his life. Ultimately he rejected the church because of its nationalistic stance on the Russo-Japanese War. I remember Love Exposure has a big white cross in it ... maybe it's time to finally watch that one.

Ride the High Country with this western film, folks! The first "true" movie by the drunken master Sam Peckinpah, shot in 1962 mostly on location around Inyo Forest and Bronson Canyon by the great Lucien Ballard and starring in their last film Joel McCrea and Randolph Scott as the protagonists, two hard-boiled ex-lawmen who meet again by chance in a small town where the former is tasked to transport raw gold back from a mine uphill to make an honest living. Things don't go so well as usual, in this case by the sub-plot of the side-characters interpreted by Ron Starr and the good-looking Mariette Hartley, nothing like old-timey standards of beauty but a bit mannish at times due to nord genes. Also Warren Oates appearing as himself. Considered a "revisionist" western by critics (a term just as bad as spaguetti western) due to Peckinpah's notion of portraying things raw like they should, it actually is a bridge point as the movie plays with the usual situations that always go around in the old west such as bar fights, squashing modernization of the west by the fed, bandit gangs, family feuds and good old drunkness, but Pah makes the central point of the project the relationship between both long-time ex-lawmen gunfighter friends who reflect on past events, kids these days, their lives and somewhat a glimpse of their moral points of view regarding living and work, with the main drama coming from the opposing views life has instilled in them over the years not to mention the crooked one is about to cross his righteous friend with the help of some dude. About that, the sub-plot is some cocky recruited dude that is introduced as tough, but it's just some horny fellow who wants to live grand, in the journey our escort team find Hartley's character, a decent but very naive christian girl from a ranch that runs away to marry the only other guy she knows in the mine uphill where our team heads; Drama ensues when our horny guy picks the wrong moves, gets scolded for almost ruining the plan to steal dem gold bags and boils down when said fiance fella turns out to be a real sleazo from a questionable family of tanner/miner/brewer brothers. The movie begins very standard, not bad at all and even reminds me a hell of a lot like a The Westerner episode (which is good) but surprisingly bends a little towards the middle with the complete degeneracy of the mine town and moral ambiguites of the cast, who have a tasteful and not really forced character development, especially in the form of our young fellow who discovers self-respect and decency when he sees our maiden get almost corrupted. Pah was a good detail-polisher and "even" at this point we can see that the use of certain sound queues, character quirks, C I N E M A S C O P E and weaponry give texture to the movie (mexican semi-auto rifle in a gold mine is exotic but historically correct) although the gun battles are not really action-packed, if anything a bit bland there is no blood, i know we are talking about Sam here they work well as narrative/moral watersheds and somewhat of a terror aspect, hence Sam being considered a "genre innovator" (a couple of years before the italians that's for sure). A good little piece of conservative film media with an ending memorable enough to retire both protagonists actors. If you like Pah, Ride this Pony™. >>497 >Eros+Massacre1969 That's either a very direct reference or it was common for the shoguns to double-crucifix couples. Guess they were really buddies to praise their work so frontally, even years after (Shiro is 1962 IIRC). I've heard the title of the movie repeatedly, now i have no excuses to ignore it further.

>>584 I watched Ride the High Country and The Wild Bunch back-to-back and saw some similarities. From what I recall, the central conflict of the first film is between characters who live according to a strong moral code and characters who are rowdy and depraved. The Wild Bunch seems to set up a similar situation, but you soon discover that depravity has almost totally displaced morality.

>>601 Yes, compared to RTHC Wild Bunch is a descend into madness that concludes with the infamous ending sequence, which is tame by today's standards but back then (or for someone who wasn't expecting it) it was a butcher shop. I have to confess i'm a little ignorant regarding Peckinpah, only seeing 3 movies of his by now, but i will see them all soon due to a particular knack of mine regarding his interesting casting choices and projects. Also i'm planning to post ITT 2 or 3 times a week with a certain thematic to have some activity, but i'm wondering if posting these text walls is actually annoying inconnus or just bothering overall. I usually chop a ton of text because i go with the flow and get into details that might not even be included in a review, much less a general "comment". Am i writing too much for our own good? it's just a comment after all

>>602 I think the length of your review is fine as it stands. It also has me interested enough to go watch Ride the High Country for myself.

>>602 I'd say post as much as you want. The sitewide character limit was raised from 4k to 32k, so your last comment only used 11% if its allotment.

I just finished watching Paul Morrissey's pseudo-trilogy from the late 60s and early 70s. The films worked particularly well in conjunction with interviews and statements by Morrissey. His traditionalist perspective elevated the films from the rest of the sleaze and exploitative stuff from the era because he really anticipated and observed the direction people were taking into a more self-interested, narcissistic worldview. The characters, even with their immense flaws, are easy to empathize with and it keeps the films from ever trying too hard to make a statement or proclamation, instead allowing action and motives to speak for themselves. If anyone knows of similar stuff I'd appreciate suggestions.

>>601 >The Wild Bunch seems to set up a similar situation, but you soon discover that depravity has almost totally displaced morality. And then in Bring me the Head of Alfredo Garcia we experience the fallout

>>611 certainly

Man let's hope i don't unroll that much next time. With your blessing let's start with one of the fixtures that might be recurrent to bump the board a little, this one very a bit partizan due to heavy bias for my region, which is quite obscure, and also to fling manure at the insectoid fools down under in the south and capital, because if i don't i won't feel at ease when asked. I apologize in advance. While the comments need to be focused on the movie with some general info of the director, a common trend that needs to be pointed out in Mexico's cinema is the mostly communist/socialist-friendly cast members (activists) and a rampant amount of them from the capital city after the 60's; i have my theories for the former (highly divided investment groups/producing houses) but nothing concrete, yet these leak into many portrayals and script changes with a couple of times coming in deep contrast with the subject and/or local culture at hand. I will use this to gauge the fling-o-meter at the end, although many can be just pointed to bad/insufficient acting; I will be too critical about it so i also apologize for it. That said here we have 1991's El Patrullero aka The Highway Patrolman, directed by the crazed and surprisingly settled down Alex Cox from Repo Man, Sid & Nancy and Walker fame, film shot on location in the north/northwestern region by Miguel Garzón (Rojo Amanecer, fucking Llamenme Mike) starring the scarred manlet Roberto Sosa as the titular, Bruno Bichir (they are 3 brothers from capital city, this is the manlet one) Zaide Gutiérrez as a northern rich girl and Pedro Armendariz Jr. on a small supporting role. The movie goes about a freshly graduated and idealistic federal highway patrolman being assigned to "a hell spot", an usual normal town in the northern region, and the subsequent path to dehumanizing himself (more so) and face the bribe life. He works as an honest guy but the idyosincratic nature of the community (who despise cops, foreigners and civil servants overall) makes his work hard, coupled with the national sickness of government risk jobs being the lower paid ones and highly nepotistic attitudes from above our boy here succumbs to the pressure, but as the narrative goes on we are clearly told bad stuff happens to bad people. In the end our director jumps in the realm of surrealism like in Walker and things end up working for the lawman. The project starts with a quick rundown of our characters, Officer Rojas and Officer Anibal, 2 southern fellas who display all the archetypical flaws of a person from down there (southern-centric zealotry, extreme suspiciousness/douchebaggery towards americans/europeans, backhanded behaviour, religious yet insidious) but usually these are bitterly displayed in cinema as good things, seen as intellgent and patriotic displays. But out of nowhere our protag marries the rich girl in the small town after she goes directly to his pants, then starts working as a sincere do-gooder, which builds the atmosphere simply into a power wet dream from someone not from around, this might've spooked tons of viewers (perhaps also reason why it has a poor reputation locally and why i downloaded it), but half an hour in things start getting interesting: Both cops are seen as overly corrupt, the romance ended up being a one-sided convenience marriage to pay for her ranch's tools via bribe/contraband money, man also cheats all the time, also gets in the thin line with weed smugglers. These actions make the pseudo-man recapacitate his actions which leads to the (even more) fantasy-realm second part of the movie, which jumps into the detective/moral trip genre along with the surrealist world of Alex Cox A fed, i mean a federal officer, starts doing his job as a cop due to grief, becomes clean, avenges his partner by catching bad guys and lives a happy marriage ever after while supporting his trusted ex-prostitue lady friend. Also implicitly turns into a drug runner in the very end? A very Hollywoodesque/Chilango turn of events, at the start it was supposed to be like that until you get into the real thing but sadly it degrades again to please someone, not the public because Cox is a well known maverick. Originally this was going to be an american movie but Alex got blacklisted for being a socialist but also the kind of the ones who whine about the top 1% and also name names, hence why the patrolman attire, weaponry and range of activities in the movie is actually american-fashioned, to avoid vexing the local government the production even invented the patrolman company image and academy but also some ironic billboards which come as anti-tax. The project in its 3 phases never loses sign of the decadence and vices of the police corporation and their ill-interactions with the enviroment so it should be commended for degeneracy consistency. It's a decent but quite off film about just that, a Highway Patrolman, at least the clean cinematography perfectly portrays the harsh light in the arid region which isn't seen much (exposure value has to be tuned down a step or 2 due to direct light all over the place, which gives place to well-lit environments but shiny reflections and overly strong shadows) also the protagonist did a great job; i do have a dislike on the subtitles when i was peeking at them, all trace of ethnic slurs towards the cops and mentions of drug cartels (mentioned as contrabandists instead) were cleaned giving a much more tame atmosphere for a non-speako-spanish viewer, along with most drug runners being portrayed as american (which is as ridiculous as the rich ranch girl marrying a southern civil servant), still Alex Cox and the peruvian scriptwriter gave a lot of texture with local jokes like the antagonist's truck having Sinaloa plates (along with the directors' audio commentaries about how cops hated the thing and ticketed/asked the staff for bribes in the middle of filming also much of the casting being commies due Cox watching mexican commie movies) but these details quickly fade with the very poor work on accents by most of the main cast that were/should've been assigned one (Armendariz and Zaide are the only ones who pull it out). Can't blame an englishman and a peruvian for this as the casting crew were an insidious capital city philosophy student and another peruvian... you know what i think i can. 3 oil sweaty tacos with cold lettuce and homemade sauce out of 5 because the camera work, the setting and the main protagonist with 2 small supporting roles are quite up to goodness, but the lack of the other 2 tacos, namely the bizarre script phases and character consistency, bogged this down by quite a lot. I wrote a heap ton too because i'm on the edge that i don't think those 3 aspects are worth revisiting this movie so might as well give all the details after hearing the audio commentary to settle it, although i'm very curious about the movie being produced solely by the japanese... now that's a better story.

>>615 Interesting, I didn't know about the Walker controversy or his effective blacklisting from Hollywood. I've seen some of Alex Cox's later projects and thought it was strange that he'd make stuff like an Emmanuelle documentary (which wasn't very good) but I suppose his options were limited.

L'amica geniale, a joint production by RAI and HBO from a very popular book that tells the story of two Neapolitan girls that grow up in a poor post-war neighborhood, I started watching it with my grandma just to keep her company and it got my attention. It's very well made (that's hbo+Rai I guess) and I haven't read the books but people have said it is very faithful to the source when it comes to the emotions and twists and such. I would recommend this if you have nothing to watch, or if you find yourself with a fever on a Saturday afternoon, in that, it's very comfy and the character development is very good as well. My favourite part is the young actors which sometimes surprised me how emotional they are while still feeling realistic. That's the word for his miniseries, realistic. They sometimes speak in a Neapolitan dialect and i just realized that it's probably hard to find English subs so sorry about that. The entire series (so far) can be found here, I wouldn't know if it's region locked but all you need is a Google account to login https://www.raiplay.it/programmi/lamicageniale Maybe it's on hbo with subs?

I watched Downey's Pound. It's not very good, but there are some interesting camera maneuvers and a few scenes with funny dialogue. It only vaguely stimulated my interest in the rest of his filmography.

>>651 I remember the Pound soundtrack was rare and desired but I forgot who directed the movie. Is there anything better to watch than a TV rip? For whatever reason Criterion declined to include it in their Downey box set.

>>652 Not sure of who holds the rights. I do know that through at least the 80s or 90s Downey didn't even have a copy of the film itself. The film was never released in any official format. It doesn't surprise me that people wanted to find the ost and I had no idea it was released.

>>645 Since you're in southern Italy I was wondering if you had insight into the joke here. This scene is making fun of Sicily, showing all the locals to be very short (and unsophisticated). Is this a stereotype about Sicilians? I never knew their height was an issue, but I was wondering if Italians would understand this as a regional joke.

>>692 Sorry for meddling, not the disco man but i used to hang/live in an italian-centric neighborhood and the whole "terrone/i terroni" joke/cultural slur seems to be an actual thing. Most of the hood were mountain fellas (Lombardi, Emilia) and were harsh towards the swarthy southerners who were honestly a bunch of thugs that transformed into highly-skilled cooks when old. Both groups had their share of omerta shenanigans so take this as a grain of salt, probably a distorted vision of them.

>>693 Thanks, terrorne explains it more or less. I know the North makes fun of the South, but the height joke was oddly specific. Despite watching a lot of Italian films I don't think I've seen it elsewhere. Are there other films that caricature southern Italians, not so much as dimwitted hotheads, but as provincial (and short)? That clip is from Mario Monicelli's Casanova 70 btw.

>>694 Previous fella perfectly explained it, that's the Terroni vs Polentoni affair (Northeners eat alot of rice "polenta") http://www.apuntadipenna.it/2017/05/13/ilrompipallemiiiiiinchia-il-cinema-italiano-e-gli-stereotipi-sui-meridionali/ If you know your way around google chrome you can translate any webpage in its home url, this blog pretty much sums up the history of cinema with the terroni, apparently the origin of the stereotype comes from "In the Name of the Law" by Pietro Germi One of the earliest and most amusing stereotypes in film I've seen is this short made by Lucio Fulci, the two characters compliment perfectly when sizing up each other with their prejudices, its pretty fun. if you dont understand I could make a subtitle for you. (Maybe you can find it online already subbed) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDq2lYMIKiQ

>>696 Let me know if you cant find subtitles, another good example of Sicilians and their quirks and strangeisms can be found in Commisario Montalbano which is a pretty comfy "cop show" based in a fictional town in Sicily, new episodes (the last season) are rolling out in the coming months, imo its one of the best modern series, cant remember more examples right now

>>696 Wow, thanks. It looks like both of those films have subtitles are aren't too hard to find. Great historical information on that page too. I got a laugh from the translation saying Spike Lee is "the pissed-off black director who produces and directs films based on fomenting the guilt of Wasps overseas." I've seen the first three cop movies mentioned in the article but not so many of the comedies, which probably make the stereotypes more obvious. With crime movies it's easier for me to overlook subtle regional cues about the characters.

>>694 Pietro Germi strikes me as one who liked to joke about it, and no wonder as >>696 said he was one of the early examples, i saw it in either Name of the Law or Bandit of Tacca del Lupo, it was a movie about backstage criminal activities in a rural area. Saw that in a cinema channel long time ago. I think he also pulled some comments in his comedy years in/after Divorzio. I only recall Man of Iron in close memory, sorry if i'm being ambiguous about him. Also i don't know if it translates from italian due to my limited knowledge of it, but in latin america i think the terroni connotation has a sharper first strike phonetically, the word seems to derive from terra (land) like in spanish but in this language that translation also serves as dirt, so for someone who doesn't know the "real" meaning (like me some days ago according to web search research) it might sound like someone calling someone else a "dirt" man, a peasant, a dirty uncivilized fellow. These projections come from Tierrudo and Tierroso ("of dirt" or "dirt dweller") which are also common broadcast-friendly insults, because Tierrx/Terrx are so phonetically entrenched around land/soil/dirt meanings with its strong R i think it is not uncommon for someone to think terroni was about calling swarthy uneducated people "dirty ass peasants". Not saying they are, just saying the word sounds like it, although in secret i remember my dear bionda italian teacher, who was a local but lived many years in certain parts of Italy, recalled that northerners (i think in Parma) constantly joked about her napolitan husband being a very educated and functional for a southern guy (adomesticato was the word i think, "domesticated"). Loved her, she was very polite yet tender but she certainly didn't help with this stereotyping as she also recalled her ex-husband being somewhat rude and implying he was hitter... oh yeah it seems italians overall have the fame and tendency of hitting their women more often than usual even for latin american macho man standards. Their comedias sexy alla italiana certainly explore this perk in unique and refreshing ways. >making fun of Sicily, showing the locals to be very short I didn't think much of this but now that you mention it, i do remember italians being often portrayed as short but this happens around the same time they are portrayed as well dressed thugs who always have knifes hidden somewhere and like to speak in indirect politics/instructions. It also doesn't help at all that some of its most rampant examples in Hollywood, hence continentally, go around the same loop (Pesci, DeVito, Dunk) and even foreign ones go around the same steps if somewhat converted to local sensitivities (Lino Ventura and his slurred pronunciation, JP Belmondo and his street urchin antics). Doesn't help to their cause either that all of these guys had their descendants traced to southern Italy. Although it is no joke to say italians once ruled cinema as they were omnipresent in many productions of note. Also football.

Diary of a Mad Housewife (1970) I watched this VHSrip about a month ago, terrible timing because the film was just added to Amazon Prime in high-def. This story explores the marital strife of a young New York family in a similar tone to The Stepford Wives. Both films were adapted from popular novels of the time, and they indicate how the traditional family structure had become passé following the sexual revolution of the 1960s. Since there are already a couple great Frank Perry films unreleased on DVD, I had high hopes for this one. Sadly it's a dud. The characters lack the quiet humanist charm found in Perry's best works. Instead the people this film are driven by selfishness and shallow desires. It's hard for me to care about them or their soap opera exploits. The lone standout was Richard Benjamin, who plays up his role as a demanding, status-obsessed louse to the point where his character becomes humorously endearing. But overall I felt the film was right where it should be -- languishing in obscurity on VHS.

>>717 This was just added to SC a couple days ago. Thanks for sparing me the viewing. >Instead the people this film are driven by selfishness and shallow desires. A surefire way to ruin audience engagement is to make unsympathetic faggots as the main characters. It's not the trait of selfishness, it's how the creator presents it.

>>718 I'm probably being more judgemental than the average viewer; either way it's nothing special. I wish Last Summer and Play It As It Lays had been restored instead. I really like both of them. Last Summer is particularly elusive. The original cut seems to be lost. Warner Archive attempted to release it several years ago but nothing happened.

>>692 I had the file on my PC but I lost it, there is a scene in gattopardo where the blue eyed Burt Lancaster is arranging the wedding between his nephew and Claudia Cardinale with her father, who is a very short and humble man and evokes the "village people" vibe. They reach a deal and Lancaster picks him up from the floor by his armpits and kisses him, I thought of your post as soon as I saw it

>>722 Ah yes, that man certainly fits the part. He's the mayor of the town who is ascendant under the new democratic order. Rewatching this scene I noticed that Burt slightly grimaces at the man's smell after kissing him.

A satire that perfectly balances humor and pathos, Tot samyy Myunkhgauzen (1979) serves as an epilogue to the well-known adventures of Baron Munchausen. After his return home, the baron's extravagant stories and lifestyle begin to annoy some of the local townsfolk. Ultimately he's challenged by the authorities to renounce the tales which form the essence of his identity. This creates a very interesting dynamic where the Baron is forced to defend himself against a sort of show trial. At what point does a man conform to society, especially when he holds completely eccentric beliefs? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWB4k-YXJUM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tw0VrqbKe7U

>>720 Truely beautiful Loli

>>736 >>723