I know I've already raved on to you about Lawrence of Arabia. But I don't mind mentioning it again.
To my uneducated eye, though, movies tend to be like novels in that they rarely work perfectly all the way through. It's easier for me to think of moments or aspects of movies that I find absolutely profoundly beautiful than to think of movies that had that kind of impact for me overall. There are parts of Metropolis that are amazingly beautiful (like that's an original observation) -- and for that matter, the Witch of the West's castle from The Wizard of Oz is a wonderful thing, the dream version of a witch's castle, even though the rest of the movie doesn't have that flavor of impact at all.
There is something so beautiful about technicolor -- The Wizard of Oz, or Errol Flynn's Robin Hood -- that can never be quite captured with other methods. Though I am, and always will be, a sucker for black and white.
To my uneducated eye, though, movies tend to be like novels in that they rarely work perfectly all the way through.
As usual, you've come up with a wonderful analogy. I think size does preclude a certain kind of gem-like perfection. And considering how movies are made -- not just the problems with the modern Hollywood system, but the inherent process of movie-making -- it's really amazing that they produce anything at all, let alone on occasion something good. And the more you study films, the more flaws you see until you become a bitter old movie queen, who with most movies (and nearly all contemporary ones) has the choice between thinking while watching movies and enjoying them. In fact I begin to agree with Lady Bracknell of not approving of anything that tampers with natural ignorance. *g*
Hero has my favorite cinematography ever- I can't get over all the bright colors, every time I watch it. The politics of the movie are less appealing, but god, those colors.
Hero is one of those movies that's been near the top of my netflix's queue forever -- I've wanted to see it ever since I saw the preview and just somehow never have. Because I'm very much down with the pretty in any and all forms. Politics? Who needs politics?
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To my uneducated eye, though, movies tend to be like novels in that they rarely work perfectly all the way through. It's easier for me to think of moments or aspects of movies that I find absolutely profoundly beautiful than to think of movies that had that kind of impact for me overall. There are parts of Metropolis that are amazingly beautiful (like that's an original observation) -- and for that matter, the Witch of the West's castle from The Wizard of Oz is a wonderful thing, the dream version of a witch's castle, even though the rest of the movie doesn't have that flavor of impact at all.
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To my uneducated eye, though, movies tend to be like novels in that they rarely work perfectly all the way through.
As usual, you've come up with a wonderful analogy. I think size does preclude a certain kind of gem-like perfection. And considering how movies are made -- not just the problems with the modern Hollywood system, but the inherent process of movie-making -- it's really amazing that they produce anything at all, let alone on occasion something good. And the more you study films, the more flaws you see until you become a bitter old movie queen, who with most movies (and nearly all contemporary ones) has the choice between thinking while watching movies and enjoying them. In fact I begin to agree with Lady Bracknell of not approving of anything that tampers with natural ignorance. *g*
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