14 replies to this topic

[hollywood]

Saw this in 3D which I thought made sense in a couple of train sequences. As a movie about movies, this was really good. Somewhere here, I think Sneak dubbed this the greatest ever. Not sure if I'd go that far, but it's better than The Artist. Kingsley is good, the kids are fine, maybe a little too much Sacha Baron Cohen for my taste, but he's relatively under control. Christopher Lee is cool. You get Paris in the 30s, mystery, magic, film history, romance, a Dickensian flavor in the mix.

[Sneakeater]

I just said Top Ten.

[hollywood]

I just said Top Ten.

Whatever the ranking, definitely worth seeing on the big screen.

[Rail Paul]

It's a very lyrical movie. The music is an element of the flow, there are lots of inside games (like people watching people in a theater watching an 1890s crowd flee an "oncoming" train in the theater). It seems like Scorcese had a lot of fun putting it together.

I agree that a 3-D viewing would be great for a few of the head on train and aerial shots

[Sneakeater]

No, 3D is great for ALL of it. Big surprise: Scorcese really understands 3D. There are all these scenes where you can see motes of dust falling around the characters, giving the scene depth without calling attention to the process.

[hollywood]

No, 3D is great for ALL of it. Big surprise: Scorcese really understands 3D. There are all these scenes where you can see motes of dust falling around the characters, giving the scene depth without calling attention to the process.

I thought the mote stuff was a little weird at first. Was it snowing? Indoors? But I got used to it.

[hollywood]

It's a very lyrical movie. The music is an element of the flow, there are lots of inside games (like people watching people in a theater watching an 1890s crowd flee an "oncoming" train in the theater). It seems like Scorcese had a lot of fun putting it together.

I thought the art imitating art "Safety Last" sequence was pretty neat.
And the dream within a dream bit was sweet.

[Rail Paul]

No, 3D is great for ALL of it. Big surprise: Scorcese really understands 3D. There are all these scenes where you can see motes of dust falling around the characters, giving the scene depth without calling attention to the process.

There's a fascinating NYT interview with the director about his views on 3-D, how he had to adapt himself to the different dynamic of 3-D direction. The photographer Brigitte Lacombe provided a library of photos taken on set.

NYT photo series

Interview

[Stone]

And no one finds it odd that all of the inhabitants of inter-war Paris, including the German station agent, speak with a British accent?

The stuff at the end about Millies was sweet and nostalgic.
The stuff in the beginning with the kids was sappy and somewhat dry. Her fake British/French accent was just too pretentious.

very good production, although a few too many long "here's what I can do with special effects" scenes. I wish I saw it in the theater with 3D (although I've never particularly enjoyed 3D movie effects).

Interesting to try to decide which underachieving film deserved the Best Picture. Neither this nor The Artist were great movies, but this certainly had more greatness to it.

[Wilfrid]

And no one finds it odd that all of the inhabitants of inter-war Paris, including the German station agent, speak with a British accent?

Presumably they're all villains?

[yvonne johnson]

What do mechanics and cinema have to do with each other?

That's what I didn't get.

[Sneakeater]

And no one finds it odd that all of the inhabitants of inter-war Paris, including the German station agent, speak with a British accent?

No, this is a Hollywood movie. If they speak with British accents, that's how you know they're foreign.

[Sneakeater]

What do mechanics and cinema have to do with each other?

That's what I didn't get.

In the early 20th Century, they had everything to do with each other. The guys who invented cinema were also inventing the equipment. The American equivalent of Melies and the Lumiere brothers was Thomas Edison. (The French guys just turned out be better artists.)

Melies actually did make an automaton.

[yvonne johnson]

What do mechanics and cinema have to do with each other?

That's what I didn't get.

In the early 20th Century, they had everything to do with each other. The guys who invented cinema were also inventing the equipment. The American equivalent of Melies and the Lumiere brothers was Thomas Edison. (The French guys just turned out be better artists.)

Melies actually did make an automaton.

OK. I'm a Luddite.

[Wilfrid]

Just seen it.  Very nice.