tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30665218.post3314300440249649367..comments2024-03-27T12:51:34.347-04:00Comments on Benefit of the Doubt: The Hunger: 80's Lost Boy Blade Running vampire sexJesse Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06628842413174084374noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30665218.post-52753715215179307072008-07-29T02:20:00.000-04:002008-07-29T02:20:00.000-04:00Thanks for the suggestions -- I've added a few to ...Thanks for the suggestions -- I've added a few to my NetFlix queue, which is getting intimidatingly long. I saw a Herzog film recently... entitled Stroszek. It was surreal and disturbing and very good, and it was made even better by reading some critical literature on the themes in the film. I've also seen Herzog's recent film Grizzly Man, which was really amazing.<BR/><BR/>The only ones on this list I've actually seen are Repoman (you're right, a bizarre and amazing film) and Eternal Sunshine, of which which I was a huge fan, as well. It's hard for a movie to gets its sentimentalism just right, and it's especially hard when it's up to Jim Carrey to execute it. I think Eternal Sunshine did surpassingly well in this regard.Jesse Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06628842413174084374noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30665218.post-58540688445529210052008-07-28T22:38:00.000-04:002008-07-28T22:38:00.000-04:00Jesse,As teen/young adult of the 80s, I'll commend...Jesse,<BR/><BR/>As teen/young adult of the 80s, I'll commend you on your viewing of The Hunger. 'Was a time in the 80s, after my first film class, that I went out and rented Nosferatu (if you've not seen it, add that to your "silent classics", like "M" and "Metropolis") and The Hunger. Of course, Max Schreck's portrayal and the masterful makeup gave me nightmares for weeks, but it wasn't until I saw The Hunger, and then Coppala's version,that I was able to break out of my childhood B-movie fascination (thank you Universal studios and Bela) to see just how overtly sexual is this story. The Hunger pushed the story in another direction for me, and while I had originally rented it because, as you said, "it's freakin' Bowie" (and hey! you forgot to mention the etherial Catherine Deneuve), I stuck around because I learned just what a horror it is to be undead: cold, empty,insatiable ("oh the ennui!") feeding off the lives of others to fill the abyss of immortality with at least the echo of a life and meaningful experience.<BR/><BR/>As for other movies to check out, you've probably heard me mention them during the "Poetry Guerillas" days, but I've got a weird soft spot for ponderous German films. Here are a few I recall:<BR/><BR/>Herzog:<BR/><BR/>1) Even Dwarfs Started Small--If you can find this, I'll be stunned, and somewhat ashamed. But I saw it once in a film class and then rented it from TLA video just to show someone else that the film actually existed. There's a scene where a male dwarf is trying to get up into a standard sized bed whereupon his paramour is lounging...it's just painful to watch. Oh, and this is a Herzog film, so on to the next one...<BR/><BR/>2) Aguirre: The Wrath of God--Herzog, the Amazon, and Freaking Klaus Kinski (yeah, Natassia is his daughter). Herzog's madness, Kinski's madness, and monkies! <BR/><BR/>3) Fitzcaraldo: Herzog again. Kinski again. Talk about a "vanity film." Actually, this might be something more along the lines of a force-of-will film.<BR/><BR/>4) Heart of Glass: Guess who? No Kinski here, but almost all of the actors performed while under hypnosis. If only for that you should see it.<BR/><BR/>Ok, so on to Wim Wenders:<BR/><BR/>1) Paris, Texas: Harry Dean Stanton and Natassja Kinski (Oh! A Kinski again?)<BR/><BR/>2) Wings of Desire: I'm sure you know this one, but I'll just say this...Columbo!<BR/><BR/>3) Until the End of the World: Don't remember this one much, but I think I liked it. U2 does the theme song.<BR/><BR/>Speaking of Harry Dean Staton, I sure help you've seen the cult classic produced by former Monkee and heir to the Liquid Paper fortune, Michael Nesmith--Repoman. Also stars Emilio Estavez and is possessed of a classic punk/skate-punk soundtrack (Circle Jerks, Suicidal Tendencies, Johnathan Richman, Iggy Pop<BR/><BR/><BR/>Fassbinder:<BR/><BR/>1) In a Year of Thirteen Moons: Difficult film about sexual identity.<BR/><BR/>Others:<BR/><BR/>1 True Stories: This film, by Daivd Byrne of Talking Heads fame, was/is phenomenally prescient and quite humorous in it's banality.<BR/><BR/>2) Film version of Jean Genet's "The Balcony": Stars Leonard Nimoy, Shelly Winters, and. . . wait for it. . . Columbo!!! (Peter Falk).<BR/><BR/>3)Lawrence of Arabia: (Even better after you've read Seven Pillars of Wisdom)<BR/><BR/>4)Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: I've watched it at least 6 times. Never done that with any other film. Recommendation--watch it while listening to the sound on headphones. I'm not sure how much you know about memory and how the brain works, but knowing something makes this a richer experience.<BR/><BR/>5) The Counterfeiters (Die Falscher): Saw this in the spring. A marvelous rumination on truth, falsehood, and performance and identity.<BR/><BR/>7) Dead Poets Society: Oh Jesus! Just because.<BR/><BR/>More...oh so many more.Garrethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16094759803063892673noreply@blogger.com