Kieslowski

Started by SubstanceD, February 18, 2003, 01:44:16 PM

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Mesh

Quote from: Onomatopoeia
You ain't seen nothing yet.  I thought Blue was stunning when I first saw it...

The amazing thing:  Blue is stylistically stunning today, even though it's 10+ years old.

There's nothing like a director with 30 years experience at the top of his game.  See:  Ran.

ono

Oh, I totally agree.  Ran was made in 1985, and I first watched it three or four months ago on a crappy VHS, and the colors were just amazing.  Best.  Cinematography.  Ever.

And now, I've got this limited edition set with Ran, Madadayo, and a documentary on Kurosawa, and I currently have no DVD player to watch them on (long story).  :(

Fernando

Quote from: The Gold TrumpetIs Ebert doing a regular commentary or just an introduction to the movie? The details didn't seem specific to what he was doing. Either way, since I missed out on the first set, this is major news for me because the art of Kieslowski has risen to a major importance for me.

I don't Kubrick wanted to be Kiewslowski. Kubrick was too much the adventuer in showing different worlds and visions along the lines of like Speilberg or Stone, but Kubrick identified that the approach to showing those worlds was in how Kieslowski presented them. Just action, and no underlining.

~rougerum

Regarding the Ebert thing, but first I don't want to sound like anti-ebert but, am I the only one who find this 'bonus' totally irrelevant? Obviously he might make an interesting one but I can think of at least a dozen other people who could introduce the viewer better than him, like Scorsese, Coppola, etc... At least (IMO) I would find a commentary by other director much more interesting since he knows what it takes to make flim.

About Kubrick, also think that he didn't want to be him or direct like him, what apparently he did say to Raphael is if he thought he could do something like Decalogue, and in fact Raphael wrote a series of short stories not necesarilly for SK but thinking of the possibility of him to direct them. I guess he hesitated about it for the long periods that took him to make one film let alone ten.

Here's a foreword that SK wrote to the Decalogue.

'I am always reluctant to single out some particular feature of the work of a major filmmaker because it tends inevitably to simplify and reduce the work. But in this book of screenplays by Krzysztof Kieslowski and his co-author, Krzysztof Piesiewicz, it should not be out of place to observe that they have the very rare ability to dramatize their ideas rather than just talking about them. By making their points through the dramatic action of the story they gain the added power of allowing the audience to discover what's really going on rather than being told. They do this with such dazzling skill, you never see the ideas coming and don't realize until much later how profoundly they have reached your heart.'

Stanley Kubrick
January 1991

Gold Trumpet

Why not have Ebert introduce the movie? He's actually the main guy who has been spearheading the movement for the proper respect given to the movie and has actually taught classes on the film specifically. All that can be brought with the others is a better name recognition for interest among others. They have nothing to show they are better choices than Ebert in relation directly to this project.

Yes, Kubrick did have that idea with Raphael and I knew that. That's just one idea though and Kubrick had many others on the man and the film, but generally, he identified with his approach the most.

~rougerum

Fernando

Quote from: The Gold TrumpetWhy not have Ebert introduce the movie? He's actually the main guy who has been spearheading the movement for the proper respect given to the movie and has actually taught classes on the film specifically. All that can be brought with the others is a better name recognition for interest among others. They have nothing to show they are better choices than Ebert in relation directly to this project.

~rougerum

I wasn't aware of that, then it could be very interesting what he has to say about it.

SoNowThen

This is more a call out to Mac, more than anybody, but anyhoo...

when is Double Life Of Veronique coming to dvd???
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.

MacGuffin

Quote from: SoNowThenwhen is Double Life Of Veronique coming to dvd???

I haven't been able to find any info announcing that a DVD is even in the works.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


Skeleton FilmWorks

SoNowThen

that news is sad sad on one hand ('cause I have to wait to see it)

but okay good on the other hand ('cause I can't afford to buy it anyway)
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.

Gold Trumpet

Well, if this holds any optimism, many criterion followers believe if Kiewslowski ever touches the collection, this will be the film. And Kiewslowski is of major recommendation too.

~rougerum

Ravi

Here's a really funny review of the Three Colors trilogy films and DVD extras.  I don't happen to agree with it, but its entertaining nonetheless.

http://www.dvdfile.com/software/review/dvd-video_7/threecolors.html

some excerpts

The story of Blue can be told in one sentence: When a pretty French girl's husband and child die in a car accident, she gets really sad. That's it; that's the whole movie. There's nothing more to it than that. Oh wait, Kieslowski the filmmaker has a thousand different ways of showing us that she's sad, all of which involve her moping around and looking pouty while the movie's photography is doused in various shades of blue... Get it? Because she's feeling blue. So he makes everything look blue. Get it? Isn't that just so deep? Wow, Kieslowski must have been a genius to discover such revolutionary use of symbolism! And then when she's feeling especially sad, the music on the soundtrack (her husband was a composer and she hears his tune) swells up really loudly, and the picture fades to black, and then it fades right back in on the same shot. Innovative brilliance! Give this man his Oscar!

Perhaps the most interesting feature on this first disc is the Kieslowski student film "Concert of Wishes," a 16-minute black & white story about teens on a camping trip. We can watch Kieslowski develop his command of film language, while recognizing that even here he preferred to deal with stories that were bizarre, nonsensical, and very boring.

Ghostboy

That's an awesome review!

I've never seen The Double Life Of Veronique -- I could rent it, but I have this thing now about waiting for the DVD version. In the meantime, I'm extremely excited about buying The Decalogue.

EL__SCORCHO

The new Decalogue dvds should be awesome. There's a piece about it in the NY Times.

Myxo

I got the chance to see all three of his "Three Colors" films about 3-4 months ago. As soon as I was finished, I returned the trilogy to the friend that loaned it to me, and I promptly ordered my own copy off Amazon. It is 30.00 at their site, with free shipping.

Blue absolutely floored me. God damn that film is good.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000083C5F/qid=1060702194/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_1/104-4540019-8477532?v=glance&s=dvd&n=507846

SoNowThen

Quote from: RaviHere's a really funny review of the Three Colors trilogy films and DVD extras.  I don't happen to agree with it, but its entertaining nonetheless.

http://www.dvdfile.com/software/review/dvd-video_7/threecolors.html

some excerpts

The story of Blue can be told in one sentence: When a pretty French girl's husband and child die in a car accident, she gets really sad. That's it; that's the whole movie. There's nothing more to it than that. Oh wait, Kieslowski the filmmaker has a thousand different ways of showing us that she's sad, all of which involve her moping around and looking pouty while the movie's photography is doused in various shades of blue... Get it? Because she's feeling blue. So he makes everything look blue. Get it? Isn't that just so deep? Wow, Kieslowski must have been a genius to discover such revolutionary use of symbolism! And then when she's feeling especially sad, the music on the soundtrack (her husband was a composer and she hears his tune) swells up really loudly, and the picture fades to black, and then it fades right back in on the same shot. Innovative brilliance! Give this man his Oscar!

Perhaps the most interesting feature on this first disc is the Kieslowski student film "Concert of Wishes," a 16-minute black & white story about teens on a camping trip. We can watch Kieslowski develop his command of film language, while recognizing that even here he preferred to deal with stories that were bizarre, nonsensical, and very boring.

I'm glad a guy who loves films so much would write this review. He's definitely in the right job. He sure has some deep observations.

People who are not moved by the Trilogy have no heart, but a black coal-like rock in its place. A pox on them.
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.

cine

I purchased the Decalogue DVD set about a week ago. Great DVDs and really good extras too. I bought it extremely cheap ($70 CDN) and it was worth every penny. Definitely a must.

Anyone else buy it too? Thoughts?