Kylie Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 I thought I'd start a thread where we can ask for opinions about particular movies we'd like to see, or ask for ideas for genres etc. I've become interested in some directors recently, but I'm having trouble knowing where to start (or continue) because there's an extensive body of work between them. I watched a documentary on Woody Allen recently, which was excellent. I've seen Annie Hall and Manhattan, and I found out that he did a dystopian movie called Sleeper, which I'll be buying any day now. What do you think of these movies, and what others would you recommend? Also, I've never seen anything by Fellini before. Any ideas where to start? I'm thinking La Dolce Vita, and 8 1/2. Lastly, I recently watched the Marx Brothers in Duck Soup and absolutely loved it. What other Marx Brothers movies would you recommend? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted July 4, 2012 Author Share Posted July 4, 2012 And now for some specific movies. Has anyone seen: The old silent movie called Metropolis, directed by Fritz Lang. The 1950s and 1980s versions of Nineteen Eighty-Four, directed by Michael Anderson and Michael Radford, respectively. Battle Royale (2000), directed by Kinji Fukasaku. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 I love all the Marx Brothers films I've seen, so I would recommend going with A Night At The Opera or A Day At The Races next. With regards to everything else - I personally don't get on with Woody Allen, and Hannah and Her Sisters was one of only three films I've walked out of the cinema part way through the film, so I can't help with him. The only one of the other films you've asked about that I've seen is the 1984 version of Nineteen Eighty-Four because we had to read the book and watch the film for Sociology as school, and I hated both, so again, I'm not much help there either! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nika Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 (edited) I love Allen so I won't be very objective here. I believe I have seen all the movies he made maybe except last two or three....I don't realy like the "new" Allen. Manhattan Murder Mystery, Husbands and Wives, Crimes and Misdemeanors are my favourite titles. Allen has it's own " flavour" as I call it and once you taste you either love it or will never try again.I love Allen the actor too, so any film he starred in is a treat. He is also quite a skilled musician...I saw him play live and it was very enjoyable. And of course his books....have you read any? Fellini? Definitely La Dolce Vita with amazing Anita Ekberg taking a splash in di Trevi. and I would recommend La Strada with Gulietta Masina.....what a performance! Edited July 4, 2012 by Nika Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 And now for some specific movies. Has anyone seen: The old silent movie called Metropolis, directed by Fritz Lang. The 1950s and 1980s versions of Nineteen Eighty-Four, directed by Michael Anderson and Michael Radford, respectively. Battle Royale (2000), directed by Kinji Fukasaku. Hi Kylie, I have seen Sleeper and found it quite funny. He makes a few serious points in it about human relationships but in general it is lighthearted.Seen Metropolis a long time ago. Way ahead of its time, worth watching.Seen Battle Royale . Not bad. Seen the 1950's BBC version of 1984 with Peter Cushing. Is that the one you mean? It was great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 Great idea for a thread! Battle Royale (2000), directed by Kinji Fukasaku. I watched this many years ago (which sounds odd because 'it was released on 2000, just a few years ago!', but then again, it's 2012 already, where does time fly?!), so I don't remember all that much about it apart from the basic idea, but I would recommend it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontalba Posted July 5, 2012 Share Posted July 5, 2012 Also, I've never seen anything by Fellini before. Any ideas where to start? I'm thinking La Dolce Vita, and 8 1/2. Def La Dolce Vita. Also, I'd recommend 2046, or In the Mood for Love, both by Wong Kar Wai. The original The Day the Earth Stood Still 1951 with Michael Rennie is fantastic, and let me emphasize nothing, I repeat, nothing like the latest incarnation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hanananah Posted July 5, 2012 Share Posted July 5, 2012 Battle Royale (2000), directed by Kinji Fukasaku. Once I've finished reading The Saga of Darren Shan (very close to finishing now). I'm planning on reading Battle Royale, I've heard great things about the book and the film has been highly regarded by critics so I'll be giving it a watch after reading the book Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian. Posted July 5, 2012 Share Posted July 5, 2012 Battle Royale (2000), directed by Kinji Fukasaku. It's a fantastic movie, one of my favourites of all time, they made a sequel which isn't a patch on the first. I really like a lot of foreign movies both modern and old. Seven Samurai is a great movie and there is a Korean movie called Oldboy which I also really enjoyed. As for horror, I don't think many people do it better than the Japanese, check out the original Ring and Dark Water. The South American's also make some pretty good movies, Carandiru, Amores Perros & City of God being favourites of mine. Lets not forget some of the European movies like La Haine and 2 guilty pleasures of mine Amelie and Cinema Paradiso. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peacefield Posted July 5, 2012 Share Posted July 5, 2012 I'm not a huge Woody Allen fan either, but I will say that I absolutely LOVED his movie from last year with Owen Wilson, Midnight in Paris. I just bought my own copy yesterday because honestly I could watch it over and over. If anyone here hasn't seen it, run out and do it now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roland Butter Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 If you enjoyed Duck Soup Kylie, then as Claire said A Night at the Opera and A Day at the Races are the next best Marx Brothers films, I'd say. In a similar vein, the 1941 film Hellzapoppin' is great as well - full of surreal visual and verbal gags and fantastic dance scenes too. You don't see it around a lot these days, but it's well worth looking out for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Napsack Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 The 1950s and 1980s versions of Nineteen Eighty-Four, directed by Michael Anderson and Michael Radford, respectively. Battle Royale (2000), directed by Kinji Fukasaku. I've seen the 1980s version of Nineteen Eighty-Four. Was pretty good from what I remember, but it was quite a few years ago. Battle Royale I enjoyed. I love the book to bits and so was a bit wary about going into the film. But it was surprisingly faithful to the book, whilst also doing its own thing. Was good to see it was trying to do different things with the story. Still got nothing on the book, but it was an enjoyable film. Now the manga... yeah, stay away from that! One director I absolutely adore is Terry Gilliam. I love Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which I can expect many people have seen, but there's a lot you may not have seen. Of these we have The Adventures of Baron Muchausen, a film I'm beginning to suspect I've only seen because I've not met anyone who has seen it, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, which I must admit many have seen but still seems to be in a grey area of obscurity amongst my friends, and Tideland, which I really enjoyed, though it was a tad too artsy at times and I can defnitely see a lot of people not liking. I'm also quite a fan of Video Nasties. Though I might not like some of them, I still enjoy them as a piece of British cinema history. Not that many, if any, of these were made in Britain. No, it's that they were banned in the UK. I am attempting to own them all, but a lot are very hard to come by, and some are still banned over here. Just wondering if anyone's seen these ones: Axe! (Awful) Don't Look in the Basement (Not as awful) The Driller Killer (Mostly bad due to annoying punks. Could otherwise be good) The Evil Dead (Love it) Also own I Spit On Your Grave and A Bay of Blood, but haven't got round to watching them yet. Some kind of obscure stuff, but I'd love to hear if people have seen any of those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted July 8, 2012 Author Share Posted July 8, 2012 I love all the Marx Brothers films I've seen, so I would recommend going with A Night At The Opera or A Day At The Races next. With regards to everything else - I personally don't get on with Woody Allen, and Hannah and Her Sisters was one of only three films I've walked out of the cinema part way through the film, so I can't help with him. The only one of the other films you've asked about that I've seen is the 1984 version of Nineteen Eighty-Four because we had to read the book and watch the film for Sociology as school, and I hated both, so again, I'm not much help there either! Thanks Chesil and Roland for the two Marx brothers recommendations. I think my Dad also nominated A Day at the Races. I've seen a few DVD sets around of the Marx brothers around, and each set has around 4 movies, but there are always overlapping movies. I wish they'd release a definitive set of all of their movies! Duck Soup was such a wonderful comedy, but too short! It takes a lot for me to laugh out loud, but I chuckled all the way through it. Hehe. I think Allen is definitely not for everyone, but I like his quirkiness. Maybe I'll leave Hannah and Her Sisters until last (goodness knows there are enough others I can watch first!) It's a shame you didn't get on with the book or the movie of 1984. I was wondering to myself earlier why there hasn't been a remake of 1984, given how prophetic it is, and even given the popularity of the Big Brother TV show (I know that's completely different, but you'd think movie studios would stoop to cashing in on the association). I did come to a conclusion, but now I don't agree with myself! I hope someone will do a remake soon, if only to bring the story to more people. I love Allen so I won't be very objective here. I believe I have seen all the movies he made maybe except last two or three....I don't realy like the "new" Allen. Manhattan Murder Mystery, Husbands and Wives, Crimes and Misdemeanors are my favourite titles. Allen has it's own " flavour" as I call it and once you taste you either love it or will never try again.I love Allen the actor too, so any film he starred in is a treat. He is also quite a skilled musician...I saw him play live and it was very enjoyable. And of course his books....have you read any? Fellini? Definitely La Dolce Vita with amazing Anita Ekberg taking a splash in di Trevi. and I would recommend La Strada with Gulietta Masina.....what a performance! Ah, but the more of Allen's movies you've seen, the better, because you'd know all about the lesser-known movies. I remember thinking Crimes and Misdemeanors looked good, and I'll look into the others as well. Thanks! I didn't know he was a musician (jazz, I think?) until I saw the documentary. How awesome it must have been to see him play live! Wow. I haven't read any of his books yet. Would you recommend them? I want to read his autobiography first, I think. Thanks for the Fellini recommendations too. I haven't heard of La Strada, but I'll look into it after (if ever) I get to see La Dolce Vita. Hi Kylie, I have seen Sleeper and found it quite funny. He makes a few serious points in it about human relationships but in general it is lighthearted.Seen Metropolis a long time ago. Way ahead of its time, worth watching.Seen Battle Royale . Not bad. Seen the 1950's BBC version of 1984 with Peter Cushing. Is that the one you mean? It was great. Great, thanks, VF! It's great knowing you've enjoyed them all. I want to see them even more now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted July 14, 2012 Author Share Posted July 14, 2012 I watched this many years ago (which sounds odd because 'it was released on 2000, just a few years ago!', but then again, it's 2012 already, where does time fly?!), so I don't remember all that much about it apart from the basic idea, but I would recommend it Once I've finished reading The Saga of Darren Shan (very close to finishing now). I'm planning on reading Battle Royale, I've heard great things about the book and the film has been highly regarded by critics so I'll be giving it a watch after reading the book Thanks Frankie. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Hanananah, I look forward to your thoughts on both the book and the movie. Def La Dolce Vita. Also, I'd recommend 2046, or In the Mood for Love, both by Wong Kar Wai. The original The Day the Earth Stood Still 1951 with Michael Rennie is fantastic, and let me emphasize nothing, I repeat, nothing like the latest incarnation. Thanks Pontalba. The original The Day the Earth Stood Still is one of my favourite movies. I was warned against watching the remake but I watched it anyway because I had to see for myself. I didn't make it to the end. It's a fantastic movie, one of my favourites of all time, they made a sequel which isn't a patch on the first. I really like a lot of foreign movies both modern and old. Seven Samurai is a great movie and there is a Korean movie called Oldboy which I also really enjoyed. As for horror, I don't think many people do it better than the Japanese, check out the original Ring and Dark Water. The South American's also make some pretty good movies, Carandiru, Amores Perros & City of God being favourites of mine. Lets not forget some of the European movies like La Haine and 2 guilty pleasures of mine Amelie and Cinema Paradiso. Thanks Brian. I'm not generally big on horror, but I think I watched the Japanese version of Ring once (if that's the one where people receive a phone call after watching a video?) I'm interested in Battle Royale because it's a book on my dystopian TBR pile. Is the movie pretty violent? I've never gotten around to watching Amelie, but I'm sure I recorded it once. I'll have to go searching for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted July 14, 2012 Author Share Posted July 14, 2012 I'm not a huge Woody Allen fan either, but I will say that I absolutely LOVED his movie from last year with Owen Wilson, Midnight in Paris. I just bought my own copy yesterday because honestly I could watch it over and over. If anyone here hasn't seen it, run out and do it now! Ah yes, I remember you speaking highly of this. I plan on buying it once it drops in price a little. I was very lucky tonight. A local TV network showed Allen's Play It Again, Sam. I thought it was terrific. He's such a funny guy. Oh, and they'll be showing Sleeper next week. I can't wait!! If you enjoyed Duck Soup Kylie, then as Claire said A Night at the Opera and A Day at the Races are the next best Marx Brothers films, I'd say. In a similar vein, the 1941 film Hellzapoppin' is great as well - full of surreal visual and verbal gags and fantastic dance scenes too. You don't see it around a lot these days, but it's well worth looking out for. Thanks for the recommendations! I hadn't heard of Hellzapoppin' before, so I looked it up and it sounds right up my alley. One director I absolutely adore is Terry Gilliam. I love Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which I can expect many people have seen, but there's a lot you may not have seen. Of these we have The Adventures of Baron Muchausen, a film I'm beginning to suspect I've only seen because I've not met anyone who has seen it, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, which I must admit many have seen but still seems to be in a grey area of obscurity amongst my friends, and Tideland, which I really enjoyed, though it was a tad too artsy at times and I can defnitely see a lot of people not liking. Thanks for your thought m'lord. I love Monty Python and Fear and Loathing, so I'll try and watch the others when I get a chance. I haven't heard, much less seen, the more obscure films you mentioned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hanananah Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 Hanananah, I look forward to your thoughts on both the book and the movie. I finished it a while ago, I'll be putting up a review for it on my blog and reading log soon (maybe tonight if I get round to it). Still need to watch the film but I've heard good things Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 I've never gotten around to watching Amelie, but I'm sure I recorded it once. I'll have to go searching for it. Oh I think you will love Amelie! It's one of my favorites Has anyone seen Barton Fink? I think Peacefield at least may have, it's a Coen brothers movie. It's on TV tonight and I was wondering if it was worth a watch. Edit: Never mind! John Mahoney is in it, I'm sooo going to watch it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian. Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 Thanks Brian. I'm not generally big on horror, but I think I watched the Japanese version of Ring once (if that's the one where people receive a phone call after watching a video?) I'm interested in Battle Royale because it's a book on my dystopian TBR pile. Is the movie pretty violent? I've never gotten around to watching Amelie, but I'm sure I recorded it once. I'll have to go searching for it. The violence in Battle Royale is very...... how do I put it? Very Asian cinema, it's more over the top than realistic and from what I can recall (it's been a good few years since Ive watched it) there isn't a huge amount of it. As for Amelie you just have to watch it. I don't do romance movies etc but Audrey Tatou is adorable in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 I would echo what Brian said about Battle Royale not too violent. I wouldn't even say the message of the film is violent really. Amelie is a very pleasant feel-good movie with a gentle mystery. I don't go a bundle on Audrey Tatou but she fits the part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted July 20, 2012 Author Share Posted July 20, 2012 Thanks everyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted August 2, 2012 Author Share Posted August 2, 2012 Woody Allan's Sleeper and Zelig aired here in the last couple of weeks. I loved them both. Sleeper was very funny and Zelig was quite clever—it's shot as a fake documentary, with Allan playing a human chameleon who takes on the characteristics of people around him. It places Allan in historic film sequences (standing behind Hitler etc). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted October 13, 2012 Author Share Posted October 13, 2012 There are two series I've never seen but would really like to: The Twilight Zone and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. I love Hitchcock so I'm pretty sure I'll love his series. Has anyone seen either series? Have either of the shows dated over time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissy Posted October 13, 2012 Share Posted October 13, 2012 I seen many bits of both, and love them both. Some 'episodes' are slightly more dated then others, but I find that part of their continued charm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted October 13, 2012 Author Share Posted October 13, 2012 Thanks Chrissy. I guess the only thing to do then is dive in and get one series of each! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted October 13, 2012 Share Posted October 13, 2012 (edited) There were also a couple of 'revivals' of The Twilight Zone, one back in the 80s and the other about ten years ago. Neither was as good as the original, imo. It's dated, of course, but it's still brilliant You can watch the full first episode here Edited October 13, 2012 by Karsa Orlong Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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