Movie Talk (New Films, Old Films... doesn't matter) (189 Viewers)
- Thread starter Elvin
- Start date
First time? 
Please share your experience.
Please share your experience.
It was...different.
I don't have much experience with German Expressionism, except for some theoratical knowledge from school, and had no idea what the movie was about beforehand except for it being one of the oldest and influential sci-fi movies.
For me, the movie is just brilliant artistically, and manages to create a rather unique atmosphere - of course some tropes or visuals seem cliché now, but as I understand most of them actually originated from this very movie, so it was actually quite interesting to see the birthplace of these now all-to-familiar elements, and how little some of them have changed over time.
Visually, the scene with the Moloch-machine stood out to me in particular.
The plot and its "message", if there is one, seemed a little weird to me at times. I feel there are two general possible interpretations of it, one based on the religous symbology, with Freder clearly exhibiting parallels to Jesus and the place in Catacacombs beneath the city where Maria holds her masses possibly referencing the early churches of christianity (not to speak of the obvious Babel-analogy or satanistic/pagan symbology at Rotwangs house), and the other based on the social conflicts portrayed in the story.
With the latter, the whole content seems rather cynical to me - it's not the exploitation of the workers suffering for the elites living in luxury that is primarily portrayed as wrong, but the uprising of the workers against this injustice. Especially the ending, with the repetition of the slogan from the beginning of the movie, reinforces this idea. There is no suggestion that the living or working conditions of the workers will in any way improve, the only thing that has changed is Freders now acting as a "Mittler" to keep the poor from any real resistance or revolution.
But these are just problems I personally have with the political aesop, from a cinematographical viewpoint, it is undoubtedly a masterpiece.
*Applause*
That's a real nice interpretation that i dare not to add or take anything away from.
I'll just add a curiosity: Lang had a face-to-face meeting with Goebbels and was offered the position of head of the main German movie studio. Not forgetting he had a Jewish-heritage, he flew Germany that very day. Hitler was a big fan of his work and especifically, Metropolis.
That's a real nice interpretation that i dare not to add or take anything away from.
I'll just add a curiosity: Lang had a face-to-face meeting with Goebbels and was offered the position of head of the main German movie studio. Not forgetting he had a Jewish-heritage, he flew Germany that very day. Hitler was a big fan of his work and especifically, Metropolis.
http://thepiratebay.se/torrent/9058344/Solaris.1972.Criterion.Collection.1080p.BluRay.x264.anoXmous
Here's a bluray rip of the criterion Solaris with english subs.
Most films can be found on Pirate Bay or Kickass torrents, and in general have details that tell you what you're downloading and comments to verify.
Here's a bluray rip of the criterion Solaris with english subs.
Most films can be found on Pirate Bay or Kickass torrents, and in general have details that tell you what you're downloading and comments to verify.
The one PostIronic has linked to should be fine. I'm pretty sure I used the same one some months ago.
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And then you don't think Stalker was philosophical?
Anyways, Waking Life fits your description perfectly. It's basically a bunch of non-connected philosophical discussions accompanied by surrealistic animation. I'm not a big fan, but it's definitely worth checking out. Blade Runner also fits the bill. You should also really, really check out some Malick films. I think The Thin Red Line is a great place to start. It's a fucking masterpiece. Trust me, Dule. Do it!
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And then you don't think Stalker was philosophical?
Anyways, Waking Life fits your description perfectly. It's basically a bunch of non-connected philosophical discussions accompanied by surrealistic animation. I'm not a big fan, but it's definitely worth checking out. Blade Runner also fits the bill. You should also really, really check out some Malick films. I think The Thin Red Line is a great place to start. It's a fucking masterpiece. Trust me, Dule. Do it!
Does anyone else subscribe to Mubi? ? I've been introduced to so many interesting films by that site. Each day a new film pops up and remains watchable for 30 days. Silent films, indie films, cult classics, b-movies, foreign films, obscure masterpieces, docs, a wide assortment. And a lot of films that are impossible to find on the internet. Not all. But certainly some of them. I think it costs about $5 a month.
If there is a good HD transfer of the film available MUBI shows it in HD. Some films have different resolutions available that one can choose. But many are just on there in the quality of the transfer available. Mostly 720 or 1080, and often HD.
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I thought it was odd at first too, the 30 movies at any given time. It's a curated online cinema. Kind of like those interesting little cinematheques that still exist in bigger cities and show a variety of films from around the world and all eras.
I've come to kind of like that only 30 are available at a given time. If the entire 200,000 film catalogue was available, I'm sure I'd gravitate mostly towards directors and films I had some familiarity with. With it curated and hand-picked in a sense, it forces me to see films I probably never would come across otherwise in browsing the catalogue.
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I thought it was odd at first too, the 30 movies at any given time. It's a curated online cinema. Kind of like those interesting little cinematheques that still exist in bigger cities and show a variety of films from around the world and all eras.
I've come to kind of like that only 30 are available at a given time. If the entire 200,000 film catalogue was available, I'm sure I'd gravitate mostly towards directors and films I had some familiarity with. With it curated and hand-picked in a sense, it forces me to see films I probably never would come across otherwise in browsing the catalogue.