L'Atalante

Started by SoNowThen, December 03, 2003, 12:40:12 PM

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SoNowThen

December 03, 2003, 12:40:12 PM
saw this appear on almost every "best of all time" list, and I hadn't even heard of it.

just watched it last night. a very nice, very sweet little film. I'd say it's worth a watch


but I don't understand why it's considered such a classic of world cinema. what makes it have this status?
anybody know?
is it just because Vigo died soon after making it?
Those who say that the totalitarian state of the Soviet Union was not "real" Marxism also cannot admit that one simple feature of Marxism makes totalitarianism necessary:  the rejection of civil society. Since civil society is the sphere of private activity, its abolition and replacement by political society means that nothing private remains. That is already the essence of totalitarianism; and the moralistic practice of the trendy Left, which regards everything as political and sometimes reveals its hostility to free speech, does nothing to contradict this implication.

When those who hated capital and consumption (and Jews) in the 20th century murdered some hundred million people, and the poster children for the struggle against international capitalism and America are now fanatical Islamic terrorists, this puts recent enthusiasts in an awkward position. Most of them are too dense and shameless to appreciate it, and far too many are taken in by the moralistic and paternalistic rhetoric of the Left.

classical gas

#1
December 03, 2003, 03:19:51 PM
I just saw this recently.  I really liked it; it's a nice, litle poetic film.  I can't really say why it's so high on many lists though.  I could be wrong but maybe for when it came out, it was different in that not much happened and it was simply a story of these two people in love.  I could be way off, but that's really the only explanation I can find.  It had nothing to drive it except for the characters.  No politics, murder, etc., etc.  it's just a nice little slice of life.  that's all i can figure.

godardian

#2
December 04, 2003, 02:49:22 PM
It is a wonderful film. It is probably rated so high because it's the only manifestation of Vigo's unique talent, which probably would have led to a massive ouevre if he had been able to make more movies.

I have my own copy. It's a gem.
""Money doesn't come into it. It never has. I do what I do because it's all that I am." - Morrissey

"Lacan stressed more and more in his work the power and organizing principle of the symbolic, understood as the networks, social, cultural, and linguistic, into which a child is born. These precede the birth of a child, which is why Lacan can say that language is there from before the actual moment of birth. It is there in the social structures which are at play in the family and, of course, in the ideals, goals, and histories of the parents. This world of language can hardly be grasped by the newborn and yet it will act on the whole of the child's existence."

Stay informed on protecting your freedom of speech and civil rights.

sensational brunette

#3
December 06, 2003, 01:04:38 PM
I've seen "L'Atalante" once, but I don't think the mood was right.  A second viewing will probably take place soon.  However, I remember one magical sequence in which the heroine is underwater, no doubt aided by previously making a documentary on swimmer Jean Taris.  Despite Vigo's early death, his virtuosity is clear in all four films he released.  I'm reminded of this feeling when I watch "Perfect Eyes" by Chris Steele, which also features a girl in a shimmering, almost holy, white dress.

Gold Trumpet

#4
December 06, 2003, 01:15:04 PM
I think a DVD of this is coming next year, but not Criterion. Some smaller company. New Yorker, maybe?

I've never seen the film, but of course have heard everything about it. Didn't Vigo make one other film like ten years later or so? Zero Conduit? (sp?) I'm too lazy to even look that up. Maybe if I join high society in a bigger city next year I'lll get around to seeing it. I'm just extending myself right now to see films like Red Desert and The Son now instead. So many films, so little time and money.

sensational brunette

#5
December 06, 2003, 01:26:32 PM
"Zero De Conduite" was finished a year prior to "L'Atalante".  That one's very surreal too, with a midget playing a headmaster.

Gold Trumpet

#6
December 06, 2003, 01:29:42 PM
Quote from: sensational brunette"Zero De Conduite" was finished a year prior to "L'Atalante".  That one's very surreal too, with a midget playing a headmaster.

OK, but in a book of 1940s film reviews, I have an official review of the film popping up there in the late 40s. Maybe just took an extended period of time to get over to the United States.

sensational brunette

#7
December 06, 2003, 01:34:30 PM
It's been re-cut a few times, but the original was released in 1934.  Check out his others - "A Propos de Nice" and "Taris: La Champion de la Natation".

cine

#8
December 06, 2003, 03:20:50 PM
Quote from: The Gold TrumpetI think a DVD of this is coming next year, but not Criterion. Some smaller company. New Yorker, maybe?

godardian

#9
December 06, 2003, 10:03:04 PM
Yes, the DVD Cinephile posted- that came out within the past few months, and that's the one I have. It's very nicely done. If you have a DTS/digital sound system, though, it helps to turn the sound to regular stereo.
""Money doesn't come into it. It never has. I do what I do because it's all that I am." - Morrissey

"Lacan stressed more and more in his work the power and organizing principle of the symbolic, understood as the networks, social, cultural, and linguistic, into which a child is born. These precede the birth of a child, which is why Lacan can say that language is there from before the actual moment of birth. It is there in the social structures which are at play in the family and, of course, in the ideals, goals, and histories of the parents. This world of language can hardly be grasped by the newborn and yet it will act on the whole of the child's existence."

Stay informed on protecting your freedom of speech and civil rights.

godardian

#10
December 06, 2003, 10:08:33 PM
Quote from: The Gold TrumpetI think a DVD of this is coming next year, but not Criterion. Some smaller company. New Yorker, maybe?

I've never seen the film, but of course have heard everything about it. Didn't Vigo make one other film like ten years later or so? Zero Conduit? (sp?) I'm too lazy to even look that up. Maybe if I join high society in a bigger city next year I'lll get around to seeing it. I'm just extending myself right now to see films like Red Desert and The Son now instead. So many films, so little time and money.

Oh, Red Desert is remarkable. I think you'll like it. If you do, you'll also have to see Todd Haynes's Safe, which is a remarkable film in its own right, my favorite film of Haynes's (and of the nineties), and it has similarities to both Red Desert and 2001.
""Money doesn't come into it. It never has. I do what I do because it's all that I am." - Morrissey

"Lacan stressed more and more in his work the power and organizing principle of the symbolic, understood as the networks, social, cultural, and linguistic, into which a child is born. These precede the birth of a child, which is why Lacan can say that language is there from before the actual moment of birth. It is there in the social structures which are at play in the family and, of course, in the ideals, goals, and histories of the parents. This world of language can hardly be grasped by the newborn and yet it will act on the whole of the child's existence."

Stay informed on protecting your freedom of speech and civil rights.
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