Buffalo 66

children with angels · March 05, 2003, 07:19:44 PM

One of the greatest films ever made? Opinions...

Okay: that's kind of strong, I'll admit, but - oh man - how much do I love that movie. One of my friends recently told me they thought it was just Gallo essentially masturbating for an hour and a half, which I can see to an extent, but - hey - any art is essentially that, right? And there's way more to it than just self-loathing/loving... Anyway: what does anyone think...?

Ghostboy · March 05, 2003, 07:24:02 PM

This IS one of the greatest movies ever made!

At least for me. It's just beautiful. I can also see why people think Gallo is glorifying himself...and anyone who's read any interviews with him knows what an ego problem he has. But this movie is too perfect. I remember seeing it when it first opened, and I was so scared that the movie was going to end after he shoots himself. When it didn't, I just started crying, I was so happy.

One of the first questions I ask other filmmakers/film buffs when I meet them is whether or not they liked this movie. It's a tell-tale question.

children with angels · March 05, 2003, 07:51:28 PM

Totally: the moment when you think it's going to end the first time you see it then it suddenly twists - that for me sums up so much of what I think is wonderful about film in general. You're thinking as you see him die, "this is a hard edged, depressing 'realistic' independent movie ending" and then it goes against that, rebelling against the rebellion, and gives you a happy ending - which is so much more daring than ending it any other way. You know? It's absurd, ridiculous, contrived - and yet somehow it feels beautiful and true.
What do you think the answer to whether or not people like this movie means...?

Ernie · March 05, 2003, 07:52:55 PM

This is a fucking great film, definitely one of my favorites. Definitely one of the funniest ever too. I think Vincent Gallo is so funny in this, I always try to mention his preformance here when naming my favorites, he's such an asshole but still charming and cool...and the guy who plays his dad...fucking hilarious. There are some scenes where I'm laughing literally from the beginning to the end of them. Like the scene where he keeps repeating "motherfuck"...I laughed so hard I cried. There are many others but that's the only one I can think of right now, I've only seen it once...I've been wanting to watch it again for quite awhile. I'll do that this weekend. I forgot to mention some of the great more dramatic parts too, there's some really poignant stuff with just Vincent and Christina. Then there's those really cool musical numbers...like Christina's tapdancing thing...those are pretty cool too. There's a lot to love with this movie. I too love the ending...totally didn't expect the twist. It wasn't a Shymalan style twist either, where everything you've seen makes sense now that the twist has taken place...it was more spontaneous and realistic. Twists in real life usually don't have any explanation.

MacGuffin · March 05, 2003, 08:01:23 PM

When I first saw this in theaters, I was mezmerized. The cinematography is wonderful, especially the composition; gritty. And I think it was the first time I saw the use of the what is now commonly known as 'bullet time' shots (even before the Gap ads), making me wonder, "How'd they do that?" Perfect casting for sympathetic characters. Very funny.

Victor · March 05, 2003, 08:17:47 PM

its great, i fucking love it. im gotta go rent that motherfucker again right now.

Gold Trumpet · March 05, 2003, 08:20:12 PM

I saw the film after the buzz (wasn't into movies when it was released) upon the request of someone who had seen it over a hundred times. When I saw it, I wondered what the big deal about it even was. The relationship of Gallo and Ricci went into unbelievability with Ricci being not just affectionate to Gallo, but wanting a relationship with him when it was out of a kidnapping situation. Then, if I remember correctly, the film descended into weirdness that I only figured as weirdness than anything that important.

~rougerum

Rudie Obias · March 05, 2003, 09:31:26 PM

i really liked this film. i recently bought it on dvd. i agree with the pure ego gallo has for himself and this picture but most great artist have such an ego. i remember first seeing the trailer for this film and think how this was the best trailer i have ever seen. so much so that it's number one on my favorite trailers top 5 list. also i think BUFFALO 66 has one of the best endings i have ever seen in a movie. this is truely an artsy/art lover's film.

Bud_Clay · March 05, 2003, 10:39:12 PM

Absolutely amazing film. I also love his album "When"...great enjoyable stuff.

I am a little put off by Gallo supposedly being a very racist, ignorant republican. Sometimes he seems too outrageous that I am not sure if the joke is on me for having taken him seriously. I'd like to hope that's the case.

Pedro · March 06, 2003, 04:18:56 PM

Quote from: Bill Maplewood

I am a little put off by Gallo supposedly being a very racist, ignorant republican. Sometimes he seems too outrageous that I am not sure if the joke is on me for having taken him seriously. I'd like to hope that's the case.

OH SHIT! Another Polanski Person/artist debate...

lamas · March 10, 2003, 01:16:41 AM

Probably my favorite film of all-time. I remember when I first saw it: I was flipping through the channels one last time before I went to bed at about 3am one summer night. I caught the part where Billy Brown is walking around looking for a place to go to the bathroom. The humor and look of the film just caught me and I was hooked. I stayed up till 5 totally captivated. Billy Brown's behavior, his family, and his mindstate were remarkably similar to my own. The next day I became obsessed with finding out the name of the film. I've been a huge Gallo fan since.

Sal · May 19, 2003, 04:55:05 AM

Quote from: lamasProbably my favorite film of all-time. I remember when I first saw it: I was flipping through the channels one last time before I went to bed at about 3am one summer night. I caught the part where Billy Brown is walking around looking for a place to go to the bathroom. The humor and look of the film just caught me and I was hooked. I stayed up till 5 totally captivated. Billy Brown's behavior, his family, and his mindstate were remarkably similar to my own. The next day I became obsessed with finding out the name of the film. I've been a huge Gallo fan since.

Sort of a similar situation here. I just watched Buffalo '66 on HBO for the first time. I was flipping through channels, ready for bed. Then it caught me. And I can say that literally. There was something about the film that captivated me, so I just grabbed a blanket and sat down on the floor. I came in at the part where they were eating dinner, so I'm not sure how much I missed. I'll watch it again sometime. But after watching it, I was so relieved. The ending was fantastic. I felt the film was a bit masturbatory, but I think Gallo was just being very urgent about the film. There came a point during that dinner scene where I started grinding my teeth. It was so awkward, the lighting was so harsh and plain and the performances so raw, it was at that moment I knew Gallo had something special. Was this shot on 35mm stock, or 16?

children with angels · May 19, 2003, 06:58:55 AM

It was 35mm, but it was shot on a special kind of stock called reversal film which Gallo demanded because he wanted the exact look of the first film he ever saw in the cinema: Superbowl III. They needed to build a special machine that was no longer made any more in order to proccess the film...!

Ahhh, Vinnie, Vinnie, Vinne...

RegularKarate · May 19, 2003, 10:26:58 AM

Quote from: children with angelsIt was 35mm, but it was shot on a special kind of stock called reversal film ... They needed to build a special machine that was no longer made any more in order to proccess the film...!

Reversal is a very common stock. This must have been a certain type of reversal because if it were standard issue, they wouldn't need to build a special machine...

That brings up something though... does anybody ever shoot on reversal and NOT cross process anymore?

Rudie Obias · May 19, 2003, 11:46:59 AM

Quote from: Ghostboy
One of the first questions I ask other filmmakers/film buffs when I meet them is whether or not they liked this movie. It's a tell-tale question.

i truely am a film geek and i should consider myself worthy cuz i love this film!

actually, a friend of mine borrowed the dvd from me and he said at first he didn't like it but then after sleeping on it he realized that he really loved it. go figure!