Films

What would you call a good film then?

Give us a top 5 list.

It must have a car chase in it at least - there was no car chase in this movie!

Not sure what my top 5 is.. Taxi and Matrix Reloaded are somewhere up there.

^ I like him :)

£100 alias?

It must have a car chase in it at least - there was no car chase in this movie!

Not sure what my top 5 is.. Taxi and Matrix Reloaded are somewhere up there.

Have you seen Blade Runner?

watched 127 hours, not so great.

Scrip, dialogue and even narrative are overrated in movies Oliver. Films are a visual media and can excite move and inspire through mise en scene.

I disagree, David. That's like saying that theatre is a stage medium and it excites through watching the actors on stage. I'm as interested in the visual side as you. I said somewhere further up that I think Ridley Scott is a very good visual director. I'll happily watch 'Blade Runner' as a visually accomplished film. I'll happily watch many a visually stunning film with a trashy screenplay (e.g., 'Metropolis'--even though that is of course miles ahead of most stuff produced today).

None of that leads me to conclude that the script (or, to give it its proper name, 'screenplay') is in any way less important than the visuals. It is merely a different component, with a different role. I think that there is great scarcity of good screenplays, and there are undoubtedly more visually good directors around than good screenplays. It seems more the case that screenplays are underrated, as no-one, from the producers to the punters (although I have sat in many a film theatre and I am firmly convinced that most people sense the absence or presence of a good story very strongly), seems to give them sufficient attention to make them count.

Why limit your interest to only a few aspects of a film? That's the thing with multimedia--in a song, you might say that it's only the music that's important, but then, couldn't you just have the music without the words? Well, no, because then it wouldn't be a song any more, and at any rate, you would miss the human voice singing. Ah, but, never mind whether it's a song, then couldn't the voice just go 'lalalala' all the time? Conceivably, yes, but why? Why not take the risk and try to sing something meaningful and moving? I don't mean to over-analyse art in which several aspects come together to create a whole, as they are obviously intended to be enjoyed together, without breaking them down into their components too much. But I simply don't see why screenplays should be fit to be ignored or rated less in films.

In the specific case of 'Alien', well-directed though it may be, I simply don't rate the work of H R Giger. At all. I find his drawings intensely boring. I find the entire artwork for 'Alien' an attention-seeking nothing. There is simply no reason for me to watch it--unlike 'Blade Runner' or 'Metropolis', I feel no need to see the artwork moving. Also, in this day and age, you get a lot of spoilers, of course.

My film heroes, (Lynch, R.Scott, Kubrick, Cronenburg, Bigelow, Greenaway, Argento) rely little on words and loads on visual power and audio atmosphere to thrill and excite.

What else can they do if they don't have decent screenplays to work from? Ridley Scott got lucky at least once, with 'Thelma and Louise', which is an excellent screenplay. The combination of that and his skill as a director, plus some very good acting, produced a unique and outstanding film. You can achieve a combination of different qualities.

I too read the scrip for alien (and Blade Runner for that matter) . Those scripts do not do justice to the beauty and terror portrayed in those films.

Please explain what you mean by 'do justice to the beauty and terror portrayed in those films'?

All I'm really saying is: Don't give up on demanding to be told a good story.

some good points there herr schick - can only provide anecdotal evidence however i remember first watching alien when i was about 10 on a ropey imported betamax (cultural embargoes meant a lot of movies were only available as pirated copies) who my mates brother had gotten offa some bloke at the back of a pub. it shit me up for the next 8 years. that and the episode of star trek with the woman that turned into some hairy monster who sucked the salt out of your body.

/still sleeps with bedside light on.

Oliver, you rule out Alien and its ilk on the grounds that the script is sparse and 'vacant'. Surely it's plain to see that (or not, if you haven't seen it) Aien is all about tension and atmosphere? If it had reams of dialogue it'd be blown completely.

In fact, for such a film, saying you've not seen the film but have read the script is like saying you've not listened to 'Brown Sugar' by The Rolling Stones but you have analysed the arrangement. In other words, perhaps you've missed the point?

alien is a great filum

Oliver, you rule out Alien and its ilk on the grounds that the script is sparse and 'vacant'. Surely it's plain to see that (or not, if you haven't seen it) Aien is all about tension and atmosphere? If it had reams of Tarantino or Allen (or whoever) dialogue it'd be blown completely.

He cant multi-quote it

Urgh... Forum joke fail.

It must have a car chase in it at least - there was no car chase in this movie!

Not sure what my top 5 is.. Taxi and Matrix Reloaded are somewhere up there.

You've GOT to be a troll.

Taxi? The series or the 1998 Italian movie?

And Matrix Reloaded??? Top 5???

I equate films with tastes.

Some films are like quality wines, or a fine meal lovingly prepared by a great chef.

The sort of films you obviously like are the gastronomic equivalent of a mouthful of cock dipped in space dust.

You make me do a funny

^ i think he means specifically the car chases not the movies. taxi (french movie i think) does has an awesome chase in it.

Anyone here seen taxidermia? Awesome film.

^dark

Car chases begin and end with Bullitt. Only The French Connection comes close.

and the blues brothers

is it offensive to girls Clara? dont want to go for a date movie and and up having a moody one when I could be watching 'babe' at home instead

Not offensive just creepy

Taxi is and awesome film - and FRENCH!

You've GOT to be a troll.

Taxi? The series or the 1998 Italian movie?

And Matrix Reloaded??? Top 5???

I equate films with tastes.

Some films are like quality wines, or a fine meal lovingly prepared by a great chef.

The sort of films you obviously like are the gastronomic equivalent of a mouthful of cock dipped in space dust.

Taxi is and awesome film - and FRENCH!

Amazingly its true.. who said it was Italian?

Matrix 2 is awesome for the highway scene alone but its attempted analysis of the true nature of human volition makes it unique it also has a very good french character in it.

Saw Neds last night. Not for the faint hearted.

Ronin is also an awesome film with a few great car chases.

Best chase sequence ever is in The Wrong Trousers. In fact I'd go so far to say that half hour film is cinematic perfection.

Oh and Luci - Taxi is french, and awesome. Luc Besson, and Gotan Project soundtrack. If you haven't seen it I'll happily send you my copy.

Best chase sequence ever is in The Wrong Trousers. In fact I'd go so far to say that half hour film is cinematic perfection.

I agree. but that's a model train/roller skate chase, and we did specify cars.....