not too long ago i bought Godard's My Life to Live on DVD. it was only 9 or so bucks. i was really pleasantly surprised. so, i also figured i would check out some Truffaut. (so far i've only seen 400 Blows and Day for Night). i believe eBeaman recommend STPP before......and it was only 9 bucks, so i got it.
i don't know. at this point i'm kinda disappointed. i'm going to wait to say anything else hoping someone else has some comments first.
I've seen it twice and each time thought it was totally blah. lots of our favorite directors seem to love it for the camerawork, but I find everything else in the film highly overrated...
It's a fun play on the film noir genre conventions. I enjoyed it, it's a fast 90 minutes. It doesn't have the emotion of The 400 Blows but it is probably one of the funnest french new wave films.
And it has one of the funniest most stupid gags ever put on film...
SPOILER:
... when some guy says something like "may my mom drop dead right now, if I'm lying" and then we get a quick cut and see a woman walking around in a house and then dropping dead, just like that. Funny, funny shit.
I think it's naive and light (as truffaut wanted it to be) and considering I saw for the first time some weeks before PDL, it was funny to compare some semelhances - the scene of holdind hands as an exemple- except i liked PTAs version more.
But no movie can beat his Jules et Jim ...
what great camera work? could you give me examples?
it seemed to be shot/edited very boringly to me. compared to what Raoul Coutard did with My Life to Live, etc around that time......it's not funny to me either......the cut to the mom was funny and unexpected though.
(i guess i'm ruined by My Life to Live because i was blown away by it in every aspect.......my first sight of Anna Karina, great camerawork, inventive editing, etc......maybe i need to start a thread on it sometime)........but put your thoughts back to STPP.....
Quote from: bigideasit seemed to be shot/edited very boringly to me. compared to what Raoul Coutard did with My Life to Live, etc around that time.......
Its a shame try to compare Truffaut and Godard -mainly this two movies...(it's not even fair to truffaut in my opinion)...STPP is a simple film...cute...just that...vivre sa vie is a masterpiece.
Quote from: AKBut no movie can beat his Jules et Jim ...
Actually, I love the editing and camerawork and the pace of the movie. I think it's an amazing film. However, I have a soft spot for his "Une Belle Fille Comme Moi", a noir comedy that I find absolutely delicious. Simple shots, simple editing, not that great production values... a very very good movie.
Quote from: AKQuote from: bigideasit seemed to be shot/edited very boringly to me. compared to what Raoul Coutard did with My Life to Live, etc around that time.......
Its a shame try to compare Truffaut and Godard -mainly this two movies...(it's not even fair to truffaut in my opinion)...STPP is a simple film...cute...just that...vivre sa vie is a masterpiece.
Exactamundo.
However, Bigideas: Scorsese loves the editing in Shoot...., as in that cut to the dead mom. Also, in every Marty movie he uses this 3 shot pattern, usually for establishing shots. Wide, Medium Wide, Close, basically jump cuts, getting closer. He turned this on its head in Gangs, when he introduced Bill, and went closer, then wider, then closer again. He says he got that cutting pattern from Shoot. Also, when PTA says on the deleted scene in Boogie, where Dirk fishes in his drawer to get drugs to go save Becky, that its very "Scorsese", he also uses this kind of cut to go close on the coke vial, and essentially do a double take (or was it triple, I can't remember?).
Also, Truffaut favored dolly shots and freeze frames, also much pinched by Marty, most famously in Goodfellas. Which, in turn, was pinched for Boogie Nights, as well as the shots previously mentioned that PTA direct referenced in PDL.
...whew.
Quote from: bigideas
i don't know. at this point i'm kinda disappointed. i'm going to wait to say anything else hoping someone else has some comments first.
i agree. This was probably my least favorite of his films.
When the brothers are chasing Barry in PDL, isn't that shot/edited the same as the opening of Shoot the Piano Player?
yep
it doesn't remind me of the chase sequence in PDL, except that they're both chase sequences........when someone said he ripped the shot, i was always assuming that he ripped the whole "shadow on the wall thing" off from that
I guess I'm the only one who really likes this movie. I do love Jules and Jim more, but I think this one was funny and sad and interesting, etc. I could explain myself better, but I haven't seen it in a while. I just remember really enjoying it.
I usually don't have a problem keeping up with subtitles, but I remember the ones from this movie move by quickly and I miss a lot of what was said. I don't know if anyone else had this problem.
I loved this movie, i've been doing a project on the French New Wave for media class and having never seen any New Wave films before i was having some trouble getting into them, i didn't like Breathless, and i was so so on Alphaville, and then i watched Shoot The Piano Player, and it was a revelation, i am totally obssessed with Truffaut now, having seen three other of his films (haven't been able to track down 400 Blows yet) but this is still my favourite of his. The comedy, the characters, the camera work, loved it.
Quote from: anakin_eI loved this movie, i've been doing a project on the French New Wave for media class and having never seen any New Wave films before i was having some trouble getting into them, i didn't like Breathless, and i was so so on Alphaville, and then i watched Shoot The Piano Player, and it was a revelation, i am totally obssessed with Truffaut now, having seen three other of his films (haven't been able to track down 400 Blows yet) but this is still my favourite of his. The comedy, the characters, the camera work, loved it.
400 Blows is my favorite.
ok. i watched this again tonight and my opinion has totally changed. i guess i still haven't learned my lesson with New Wave: You've got to see them at least twice before making a decision on them!
<<big time spoilers>>
some things i liked about it:
-the tri-split screen of the boss selling Edward and Lena out.
-the little brother is also in the 400 Blows, i believe
--i think one of the gangsters must also be in another New Wave film
(maybe Godard) because he looks so familiar
-the funny song in the bar after the bad guys come after Chico
-when Lena is shot and slides down the ice
-aforementioned mom shot
i- saw more strong possible influences on PDL
-the middle section that is actually a prequel
-when Edward goes to Lena's apartment and they kiss and this is overlapped(is this the right term) with the camera spinning around the room (this made me think of the Vertigo kiss)
to So Now Then,
can you give me an example of the cutting style you meant?
i was thinking "this is what you might have meant" when Edward goes to reach for the buzzer at Lars Schmeels office
Last week I saw for the first time The 400 Blows, and my god was I blown away, having seen in december Jules et Jim also for the first time and not liking it too much (I'll give it a second chance of course) I didn't know what to expect, I wish I could find the proper words to praise this film, sadly I can't elaborate as many here can, I just know that I loved every second of it and the camera work was superb and so was the cinematgraphy, perfomances, etc. This film deseves every bit of praising that has ever received, I'll be moving forward to see the entire Doinel collection.
BTW, the transfer made by criterion was flawless, great work as usual.
Quote from: RoyalTenenbaumAnd it has one of the funniest most stupid gags ever put on film when some guy says something like "may my mom drop dead right now, if I'm lying" and then we get a quick cut and see a woman walking around in a house and then dropping dead, just like that. Funny, funny shit.
haha, yeah that was the best part! it was pretty light, and totally american crime drama, but i enjoyed it a lot actually. it was weird how the film was widescreen at the top of the frame so the subtitles could fit underneath without obscuring the picture. it was actually pretty cool, why dont more dvds do that? (or does anamorphic totally ruin the whole thing?)