tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post3534898574342193821..comments2024-03-18T00:41:13.588-07:00Comments on Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule: THE SLIFR-TLRHB OSCAR CLUB: Marty vs. ClintDennis Cozzaliohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954848938471883431noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-10622189402067365822007-02-23T14:55:00.000-08:002007-02-23T14:55:00.000-08:00Thanks. I don't dislike Iwo Jima at all. I just wo...Thanks. I don't dislike Iwo Jima at all. I just woudn't pickit over The Departed.The 'Stachehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03426658288145524160noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-3732275702454520492007-02-20T07:39:00.000-08:002007-02-20T07:39:00.000-08:00Dennis, I'm glad you mentioned Smith's blurb, whic...Dennis, I'm glad you mentioned Smith's blurb, which I'd seen in shortened form in the newspaper ad for "Babel" weeks before I caught up with the film. So, first off, I don't think it's *primarily* a late gambit to influence Oscar voters (although it is that, in some sense) but has been used in the "Babel" ad for some time now, even before Golden Globe nominations were announced, I think.<BR/><BR/>Anyway, what I had posted about that quote elsewhere was how I agreed with its bottom line in regard to "Babel," but was extremely uncomfortable in so doing. Why? Because my reactions to the other three films Smith mentions run from "it was clever, but I don't care if ever see it again" ("Shakespeare in Love") to "I despised it" (both "American Beauty" and "Million Dollar Baby," although the latter is superior to the former). <BR/><BR/>So, in this instance, I reluctantly count Smith as a "Babel" co-belligerent, embracing the idea that even a stopped watch is right twice a day. Something like that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-84776027485122303532007-02-19T20:12:00.000-08:002007-02-19T20:12:00.000-08:00Sorry for coming in late. Filthy, hungry children ...Sorry for coming in late. Filthy, hungry children just won't wait...!<BR/><BR/>Personally, other than the fact that the three filmmakers are from the same country and are friends, I think a bit too much is being made of the Three Amigos scenario, at least in terms of what one movie does to illuminate the other. It's great that the spotlight is being thrown on a national film industry that hasn't traditionally drawn much respect, or even awareness, from the American film market. But I tend to think that a vote for <I>Babel</I> is a vote for <I>Babel</I>. I do think, as TLRHB suggests, that the other two movies will have opportunities to be rewarded, and I actually think each will be. <BR/><BR/>I wanted to chuck in my two cents vis-a-vis <I>The Black Dahlia</I> too. In addition to each being Brian De Palma films, what do <I>Phantom of the Paradise, Dressed to Kill, Blow Out, Raising Cain, Carlito's Way</I> and <I>Mission to Mars</I> have in common? Well, they are all Brian De Palma films that I was either lukewarm to or out-and-out misunderstood upon the first viewing, only to have the second viewing (theatrically or on DVD) reveal somthing new or shocking to me that made me reassess my feelings about it. The most radical example of the bunch would have to be <I>Dressed to Kill</I>, which I dismissed as a callow Hitchcock knock-off in 1980. It only took one more screening to convince me I must have been extremely cranky the night I saw it. And now, in 2007, I consider it an unqualified masterpiece. Now, <I>Obsession, The Fury, Home Movies, The Bonfire of the Vanities</I> and most emphatically <I>Scarface</I> are all De Palma movies that have not improved for me, no matter how many times I've seen them. So who knows how <I>The Black Dahlia</I> will go a little further down the track? One thing's for sure: With De Palma, it's always going to be fun finding out.<BR/><BR/>One last thing: Have either of you seen the new newspaper ads for <I>Babel</I>? Christian, as an admirer of the film, do these ads in any way reflect your experience with the movie? I'm not only talking about the ubiquitous "No Film Moved You More" statement-- if I was moved, I need to be reminded of it? I'm talking more about this new ad running the long quote from <I>Newsweek</I>'s Sean Smith. It goes a little something like this:<BR/><BR/>"Every year I have a moment, sitting in a screening, when <B>I REALIZE I'M WATCHING THE MOVIE THAT'S GOING TO WIN THE OSCAR FOR BEST PICTURE.</B> I then spend the ensuing months second-guessing myself as critics enumerate the film's flaws, and pundits elaborate on why it can't possibly win. Even if the film becomes the front-runner, I talk myself out of my initial reaction. And then, almost always, it wins. The reason I think <I>Babel</I> will win Best Picture has nothing to do with what I think about it at all. It's because watching <I>Babel</I>, I felt the same rush I had watching <I>American Beauty, Shakespeare In Love</I> and <I>Million Dollar Baby</I>. I can't rationalize it. I can't quantify it. I can barely explain it. All I can tell you is that, as sappy as it sounds, those films-- and <B>THIS FILM-- MADE ME FEEL AS IF MY HEART HAD EXPANDED.</B>"<BR/><BR/>(Bold and caps are not, incredibly, mine, but exactly as they appear in the ad.)<BR/><BR/>Maybe this is only running in L.A., where Paramount Classics figures this might actually translate into something-- what, at this late hour, when the voting is over, I don't know. But aside from what this blurb tells us about how Mr. Smith bobs on the waves of public and critical opinion, or about his skills as a prognosticator (nobody I know of has ever claimed they <I>knew</I> that <I>Shakespeare In Love</I> was going to win Best Picture, especially after having just seen it), does anyone smell a whiff of desperation about this? How about reaction against a last-minute <I>Babel</I> backlash? How about just flat-out embarrassment?Dennis Cozzaliohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01954848938471883431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-48086580116552941512007-02-19T19:19:00.000-08:002007-02-19T19:19:00.000-08:00A vote for Babel is somehow a vote for the other t...A vote for Babel is somehow a vote for the other two filmmakers? Possible. It doesn't sound likely to me, though. There are opportunities to reward Pan's Labyrinth and Children of Men in other Oscar categories. Maybe Dennis has some thoughts on that...The 'Stachehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03426658288145524160noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-53813581923008117612007-02-19T18:40:00.000-08:002007-02-19T18:40:00.000-08:00You're a bigger man than I, TLRHB! Thanks for the ...You're a bigger man than I, TLRHB! Thanks for the gracious response, and for exposing the fact that, following the De Palma blogathon, I haven't kept up with your blog. My bad. I have bookmarked Dennis' site, and Matt Zoller Seitz's site, and of course, I ought to bookmark yours as well, so I won't spout off like a nutcase. <BR/><BR/>It's great to hear that someone who knows so much about De Palma's work would see "Dahlia" as worthy of re-examination. I'm encouraged anew that my own second viewing experience isn't determinative, and that "Dahlia" is a film I'll need to come back to.<BR/><BR/>Now if I could just get and you ad Dennis to see "Babel" for the amazing accomplishment it is. :)<BR/><BR/>Seriously, I find myself frustrated by the repeated comparisons I keep reading between "Babel," a film of huge ambition and scale, to "Crash," which despite a few interesting ideas and performances, is the dud that every film writer I admire says it is. <BR/><BR/>But dangit, until I see "Babel" a second time, I can't justify my own reaction, which was one of being emotionally overwhelmed. And in that, I felt not manipulated, not cheated, not insulted. No, I felt ... grateful. The film was an emotional workout, but it felt earned, it felt honest, it felt real. <BR/><BR/>One thing that hasn't been much discussed about "Babel" is how it benefits from the "Three Amigos" scenario. "Pan's Labyrinth," arguably a superior film to "Babel," didn't get a Best Picture nod, nor did the widely admired "Children of Men" (about which I was a little less enthusiastic). All three films are major achievements in different ways, and I think a vote for "Babel" may, at least in some cases, be a vote for this trio of films. These Mexican filmmakers are *the* film story of 2006, and "Babel" is the biggest beneficiary of the building love for these guys.<BR/><BR/>Am I wrong?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-35929903803640749602007-02-19T17:57:00.000-08:002007-02-19T17:57:00.000-08:00Christian — in the immortal words of Humphrey Boga...Christian — in the immortal words of Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca: "I was misinformed." Here's what happened: A while back on my blog, I admitted that a second viewing of Dahlia on DVD made the film much better for me, mostly as a visual experience. It still wasn't perfect, but I saw how it fit into the De Palma continuum and I enjoyed it more. What can I say? I reserve the right to change my mind. I also noted that I might need to see some films twice before trashing them. Can't make any promises on that one, though.The 'Stachehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03426658288145524160noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-60041415925053921672007-02-19T17:49:00.000-08:002007-02-19T17:49:00.000-08:00That was a nasty little comment, wasn't it? If I s...That was a nasty little comment, wasn't it? If I sound like a frustrated "Dahlia" partisan (in the "pro" camp) who senses the slightest inkling of reconsideratin on your part, well, that's what I am, and what I'm hoping for. <BR/><BR/>I have to admit that, watching the film for a second time last week, this time on a 27-inch TV screen, I didn't have nearly the experience with the film that I had when I was immersed by Zsigmond's brilliant visuals on a huge movie screen. So maybe it's not you, but *me*, who's reconsidering ... except I'm not, really. I still like the film. But I'm more open to its weaknesses on second viewing, even while hoping that the things I like about it -- and there are many -- keep me returning to it. <BR/><BR/>Ten years from now, who knows what I'll think of the film?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-24477765162755687782007-02-19T17:44:00.000-08:002007-02-19T17:44:00.000-08:00TLRHB: We might be talking about "The Black Dahlia...TLRHB: We might be talking about "The Black Dahlia" 10 years from now? Mightn't we?<BR/><BR/>I thought I recalled you replying to Dennis' snub of De Palma's film here on this blog with a hearty "Oh, thank God!" <BR/><BR/>So what gives? Why do you think "we" might talking about a movie that you and Dennis both dimissed as overripe and lacking in focus, a botched attempt a supposedly easy commercial "winner" for De Palma, who you concluded (didn't you?) had blown it big time by never getting a handle on the source material?<BR/><BR/>Maybe you meant we'd be talking about how great a failure "Dahlia" was in 10 years' time?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com