Thoughts: The Cranes Are Flying

So plans actually worked out and we did indeed watch this movie tonight. Now I'm really tired though and I'm not sure how much I'll be able to write or how coherent it will all be. But I'll try.

I first saw this movie a few semesters ago in a Russian Cinema course I took. It was one of my favorites from that class. I really enjoy Kalatozov, his movies are beautiful. He works with the same cinematographer on this one as he does on I Am Cuba, another excellent film. The cinematography is amazing. One of my favorite sequences is the part in the woods with Boris where the trees are spinning and then the spinning shot of the stairs is super-imposed and the whole dream sequence. I found it to be really moving and sad. The spinning did the whole showing the world out of control thing and the dream was really poignant.

I feel so bad for Veronica. Her character goes through so much. I want to cry for her at least four times during the movie. So much is out of her control and there is so little she can do. But she never gives up hope that Boris will come back to her and even though everyone believes she has betrayed him, she never does.

The ending is so Soviet it's wonderful. Hehe. That whole speach and her reaction. Your personal suffering doesn't matter, it's all for the greater good and war is bad. The first time I saw it, the end kind of threw me off but when you think about the social context of the film it makes sense. And as far as Soviet propaganda in Russian Cinema goes, you're hard pressed to find a movie from that time period without it.

I think it's a really interesting, extremely well done film. It is Russian so expect something depressing, but that probably went without saying. I love this stuff.

Thoughts: Deep Red

We didn't actually finish it tonight, but I've seen it before and I'm not sure if we're going to get to finish it tomorrow or not. So I figured I would write a couple of things tonight. If I actually finish it tomorrow I may write a little more then.

Anyways, on with the writing.

I really like Dario Argento, who directed this movie. I've honestly only seen two of his movies, this one and Suspiria. But I loved both of them. He's definitely an auteur and I really like his style. I really enjoy the colors he uses. Both the movies were decently gory, but it's very stylized. The blood looks like red paint, which could come off as being bad effects and cheesy but I don't think it does, I think he makes it work well.

I actually like this movie a bit better than Suspiria. While Suspiria is definitely more with the horror, this one is a bit more of a murder/mystery type deal, I think this one has a better story maybe? I'm having a hard time finding a way to explain exactly why I like this one better. David Hemmings is in it and I really like him, so that helps a little. But it's more than that. I feel like this one is more intelligent, story wise. It's very complex and I love how it all comes together. I didn't find the ending to be obvious at all, and I think that's very impressive with this sort of movie. The clues are there enough that when you look back on it, you can go "oh yeah! I get it now!" but they were more subtle than most movies make them. I appreciate subtlety.

One thing I like about Argento is what he does with color. His reds are always very red, the blues very blue. I think he uses it very well without going overboard. Again with the being subtle and stylish. Plus the cinematography is in my opinion excellent. Not perfect, but very well done. There are a lot of shots that I really dig. And the atmosphere is always good. He knows how to do creepiness. Another difference between this one and Suspiria is that there is more humor in it. Which is cool, it breaks the tension but it's not overdone. Good stuff.

If you like Argento but haven't seen this one I recommend it. I know some people really don't get into him because his movies tend to be a bit slower, but I don't mind that. From what I've heard this is definitely an Argento that needs to be seen. I also really want to see Opera, I was told that it's even better. That excites me because I really thought that Deep Red was great.

Oh, also, make sure you get an uncut version. Anchor Bay has one out in R 1. They cut over 20 minutes out of the cut ones and it's just not the same. Definitely go Anchor Bay if you can, not only is it uncut, the quality is really, really good. It's a huge improvement over some cheaper DVDs that I've seen.

Thoughts: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the The King Part III

All right for viewing number 3! It's a good thing I like this movie so much. I think I would have shot myself by now if I didn't. Of course, I probably wouldn't have gone so many times in the first place if I didn't like it.

I had a few more things I wanted to say. Let's see if I can remember them all. I really enjoyed the fact that when I told my friends after the movie that the part in the battle at Minis Tirith with the Oliphants (I haven't gotten to them in the book and have no idea how to spell it. Is it different then Elephant? I'm assuming so.) really reminded me of the battle on Hoth in Empire Strikes back. Especially when Eowyn rides under one of them with Merry and cuts it down. Anyways, when I told them that, my own friend started laughing and said she had thought the same thing. I'm glad I wasn't alone with my geekiness on that one. And I'm sorry if my grammar right there was just really bad.

Sam really excites me in this movie. He's so wonderful. I think I mentioned this before, but I really am kind of partial to the hobbits and he was just so fantastic in this one. I just really liked how the first one was big in character development and introductions, the second showed them on their journey, and the third was where they had to really overcome everything and stand on their own. Sam did this, he was the hero and was able to stand by Frodo and then at the end he became his own Hobbit. As Frodo said, he had to stop being split in half and he really did. And with Merry and Pippin, they were seperated for the first time in any of the movies and they had to learn to survive without the other one. Aragorn had to come to terms with who he was and become the king. And so on. I thought all of that was really well done and acted and believable and I really enjoyed it.

There were two things that kind of stuck out and bothered me this time. The first was one line that Gandalf says about the Nazgul Witch King. His wording is "It is said..." and I just think it would have made a later part much better if the wording had been something to the effect of "It was forseen...." The other part was with Denithor. In the book he has a Palanthia and they leave that out of the movie. And while things still make sense, he could have known everything from rumors and been insane because of grief, all of that would have made a lot more sense if he had had one of the seeing stones. Maybe it was cut and they'll put it on the DVD. I also would have liked a little more with Eowyn and Faramir.

So those are my new thoughts. I just really enjoyed this movie and I can't believe how much I've come to care for all of the characters over the course of the three movies. It's pretty awesome.

Thoughts: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Amazingly enough one of my friends had never seen any of the LOTR movies before last night. And since the plan is to go see Return of the King tonight (yes, I'm going AGAIN) we had to change that. So yeah, we sat down and watched the first two movies. The extended versions. And honestly, I couldn't make it. I passed out during Two Towers at the part where Merry and Pippin meet Treebeard. Last thing I remember is the orc getting squished. And I was trying so hard to stay awake to see the extra scene with the Ent Draft. Oh well, I'll have to try again sometime when we're not starting it at 2 am. Not the best plan with a movie of that length.

Anyways, Fellowship. I really, really liked this one. I know a lot of people who actually pick this one as their favorite but I have a really hard time picking one movie over another, I really like them all. But I do agree that this one was a little better when it came to character development. Which makes sense. And Gandalf had a funner personality. Which also makes sense, especially if you've read the books. And speaking of books this is the only one that I've actually read all the way through so I have fun the entire time comparing the book to the movie. I think Peter Jackson did a really good job so the comparing doesn't make it any less enjoyable for me.

And it just has some really badass parts. Like the battle with Uruk-hai at the end. Aragorn kicks so much ass, as does Legolas. Plus the part with Boromir is so well done. Between that and the part right after where Sam follows Frodo I was definitely teary the first time I saw this. And earlier parts. Rivendell is so cool. I really think the set designs were amazing through all three movies. Rivendell, the Shire, Rhohan, and especially Minis Tirith in the third movie where all fantastic. And I love the Elves. Galadrial is so great, another wonderful casting choice I think. I really like that they extended the part where she gives them all their gifts. That was cool.

I could really keep going on about this movie for a really long time. It's not perfect but that's fine. It's amazing for what it is and I think they did a really good job on the entire trilogy. I'm pretty sure I'll be watching this again in the future so I'll save some comments for then.

Oh, and I also really dig the music. Ok, I'm done now.