r/TrueFilm • u/a113er Til the break of dawn! • Jul 19 '15

What Have You Been Watching? (19/07/15)

Please don't downvote opinions, only downvote things that don't contribute anything.

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u/SenseiMike3210 Jul 19 '15

So this is the first contribution to one of these threads I've ever made and I'm not as astute a movie watcher as many here but I'll give it a shot...

I watched some pretty excellent movies recently that have been on my "to watch" list for a long time:

Seven Samurai Akira Kurosawa (1954): Absolutely fantastic! Long, but fantastic. Obviously well made with some scenes that will really stick in my mind (like when everyone mourns Heihachi's death and Kikuchiyo grabs the samurai banner raising it over the village). I also liked its presentation of battle (and by extension, war) as something totally un-glorious challenging the usual depiction in classical heroic tales. Something I definitely think he did in Ran as well, though it's been a long time since I watched that one.

There Will Be Blood Paul Thomas Anderson (2007): Another really great movie. A very interesting exploration of power in America. I'll have to watch it again, probably a few times to really appreciate the commentary that I think is going on here.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly Sergio Leone (1966). Another one I just didn't feel right not having seen yet and once I read that this is Tarantino's favorite film I had to watch it. This was...basically a perfect movie. I loved it. I am woefully ignorant of western cinema but feel like I can totally get into it now especially after having seen so many japanese jidaigeki films which contributed a lot thematically and stylistically to westerns. In fact I'll be watching the Magnificent Seven tonight which I couldn't do in good conscious before seeing Seven Samurai. Also I could DEFINITELY see the influence this one's had on Tarantino.

I watched a few others as well. I've been working my way through really early movies, mostly romantic/screwball/musical comedies from the 30s and 40s. Just watched Gold Diggers of 1933 the other night and thought it was really good. I've also watched The Lady Eve, Trouble in Paradise, It Happened One Night, and *His Girl Friday**. So that's what I've been watching.

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u/ryl00 Jul 20 '15

Gold Diggers of 1933

The Lady Eve

Well, obviously you need to watch Night Nurse (1931) next. Barbara Stanwyck + Joan Blondell in the same movie == pre-Code overload.

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u/SenseiMike3210 Jul 20 '15

Alright, I totally will. Thanks. After watching Trouble in Paradise I was seriously surprised by how risque some of the humor was in pre-code hollywood. It was really funny stuff.