Attached is yet another ‘experiment’, one I’m hoping will become a regular feature of mine over the next several months: a video review. However, I’m attempting a different approach to the whole concept, and I would appreciate any and all feedback (please let me know if this is something you consider worthwhile).
A few points concerning the attached video:
1. This is my first attempt at putting anything like this together, and as such, there are definite imperfections (such as tone shifts in my narration and fluctuations in volume). I promise I will continually work on these, and will hopefully improve with each new edition.
2. This is, in no way, intended to be a ‘complete’ examination of Spike Lee’s 25th Hour. I address only a handful of points, thus leaving many aspects of this excellent film unexplored (including, but not limited to, one or two key characters and events). I trust you will be able to look past any exclusions, and judge the video on what does appear, not what doesn’t.
With that said, I hope you enjoy the following video. Again, any and all feedback is welcome.
I like the idea but the execution as a little… rough.
a few suggestions, try to use fewer edits. that will force you to choose your shots more selectively. Also keep a fixed aspect ratio. It’s jarring to jump from full frame to scope to narrow.
It sounds like you recorded this on your laptop mike or something. There’s too much noise.
The reason I’m being so critical is because I think with a few tweaks this could be really solid.
Another few suggestions – try and edit out the mouseclicking, it makes it sound extremely unprofessional, and shouldn’t be too hard to get rid of. Also, the signoff makes it seem like you’re on TV making a prerecorded report from Iraq or Darfur or something.
I also enjoy the idea, and hopefully it will only get better. The content on this seemed to be synopsis-scene with ground zero in background-the end. I myself have a soft spot for any sort of review that has the balls to skip the synopsis, films should be allowed to present themselves.
Nice job! I like the format. If I had any input, I’d suggest you stay as close to 3 minutes as you can. It’s that short-attention-span-internet thing. I loved 25th Hour, and this review was a treat, thanks!
Can we bump Spike Lee into the pantheon of auteurs worshipped here? He’s got my vote.
I agree with Henrik, less synopsis and more personal commentary. I want to hear what about the film is worth me seeing it because you Dave like it. Maybe it is just me, or maybe it is a sign of the times, but it feels like I am inspired to see films not because of generic reviews but because those whose opinions I trust recommend them. If there is any benefit to the blogosphere it is that we can encounter so many personalities each with their own special take on film, and it is a matter of recognizing those opinions you trust.
Keep it up.
I enjoy Spike Lee as well. I wasn’t a big fan of 25th Hour, Norton left me uninterested and Barry Pepper is garbage personified, but I should probably see it again to try and read all the 9/11 stuff into it. I enjoy He Got Game quite a bit, especially the dialogue scene between Ray Allen and Rosario Dawson (who I think is amazing) on the bench. Malcolm X was alright, but I haven’t seen that in ages, so maybe it would be better on 2nd viewing.
Spike Lee
1) Do The Right Thing
2) When The Levees Broke
3) 25th Hour
4) Crooklyn
5) Malcolm X
@ “Can we bump Spike Lee into the pantheon of auteurs worshipped here? He’s got my vote.”
interesting idea Rot. But surely an “official” row three pantheon is something to be hashed out in some long arduous thread.
By the way, does anyone disagree that Do The Right Thing is Spike Lee’s best movie?
Do The Right thing is unquestionably the best Lee film. I’d put 25th Hour pretty close (I’ve been an apologist and defender of the film since its ho-hum original release).
Haven’t seen Levees yet.
I also dig Clockers and thing Summer of Sam is pretty underrated and undeserving of ire.
Girl 6 is probably his worst film (at least of all those I’ve seen in his filmography). There are some serious holes there. I’ve never sat down with Malcolm X, He Got Game, or Bamboozled.
I like me Spike Lee Joints however.
He Got Game is good. Fast forward the Milla Jovovich crap which takes up about 6-9 minutes and does nothing to make the film better, and it’s great.
Inside Man I forgot to mention. Fucking fantastic movie.
Thanks to everyone for the feedback, and the suggestions.
The technical side (the background noise, etc) is an area I hope to improve immediately. I will also strongly consider all other suggestions for my next entry. Again, thanks for posting them.
As for Spike Lee, he’s always been one of those directors whose films I make it a point to watch. For me, the top-5 would be:
1. Do The Right Thing
2. 25th Hour
3. Malcolm X
4. He Got Game
5. Crooklyn
Inside Man is also excellent, as is Crooklyn. I have yet to see When the Levees Broke.
@Rusty, no these sorts of things are appointed, Kurt already established canon.
Ok I definately have to catch He Got Game, one of the few Lee joints I have not seen. Levees is a masterpiece, pure and simple. and Kurt you really should seek out Bamboozled, I almost gave it the number 5 spot on my list… again another fascinating movie club candidate.
Feel free to hash out ‘row three canon’ in any thread. That is why the site is here to get folks talking. Debating the merit and filmographies of auteur subjects on a case-by-case basis is always a worthy conversation.
If you haven’t seen Malcolm X you really need to – it’s really required viewing in terms of understanding Spike Lee. Also, 3 Little Girls is a documentary that doesn’t get talked about – made around ’97, in the middle of a sort of rough period for Lee (which he seems to have come out of with 25th Hour and Inside Man). It’s a great doc – deserves more attention/discussion.
I have heard a lot of good things about 3 Girls, will definately check it out. Spike is one of the few people I could listen to for four hours and not get bored. I listened to his four commentary to Levees and it is great.
Yeah, but the movie’s is definitely called “4 Little Girls”. You forgot 25% of the girls!
Rot, have you noticed you douse your comments in religious dogmatism? “worship”?, “cannon”?
I was going to point out that no one ever said there was any kind of “official” RT list of great directors, let alone one appointed by dictator for life Kurt. But Kurt beat me too it.
Anyways, I’m not gonna impose a auteur showdown on this thread. I just thought it was an interesting idea.
The Good The Bad and The Ugly theme is playing, the camera wants to zoom on squinting eyes as tumbleweeds blow by.
Auteur Showdown
Antonioni vs. Wilder
ah-ah-ah-ah.
I haven’t seen anything by Antonioni but I like both Some Like It Hot and Double Indemnity. I’d like to see Sunset Boulevard.
I tend to douse my comments in religious dogmatism when I am being facetious… or did you actually think I considered Kurt a tyrant? Actually I was playing off of Henrik’s previous up-in-arms protest to Kurt’s mere suggestion that there was a list of auteurs highly esteemed on Row Three… perhaps I shouldn’t cross-pollinate threads, I can see the confusion.
Funny you mention Antonioni vs. Wilder, Kurt, I take it you have looked into the Cinematheque Ontario summer schedule? I don’t think I have seen anything by Billie Wilder, but plan to see Lost Weekend there (unless the lecture series is out of my price range).
a better match up is
Lean vs. Shyamalan
that should get the shit hitting the fan.
All I have seen of Lean is Lawrence of Arabia. Lawrence of Arabia left me cold and without emotion, but the print I saw it in must have been brand new, it was at the 70MM film festival, and it was absolutely extraordinary to see. It’s a pretty bad movie though.
Shyamalan, well… Since after The 6th Sense he has been making amazing movies, any of which are more worthy of your time than Lawrence of Arabia.
Antonioni: L’Avventura and Blow Up are amazing, as is La Notte (notable for the teaming of Jeanne Moreau and Marcello Mastroianni). Aside from these three, I’ve not seen much else of Antonioni’s work.
Wilder: A lot of great movies: The Lost Weekend, Sunset Boulevard, Witness for the Prosecution, Stalag 17, Some Like it Hot, Sabrina, The Spirit of St. Louis, The Apartment, etc., etc. A few years back, I treated myself to a Billy Wilder marathon, during which I saw about a dozen of his films (However, I do have a confession to make: I have yet to see Double Indemnity!)
Henrik: I, too, am an M. Night Shyamalan fan (I just recently watched Unbreakable again, a movie that’s more impressive with each viewing), but I really don’t think you help the cause much when you go declaring his films to be better than Lawrence of Arabia (if that’s your opinion, then so be it, but I strongly disagree).
I have seen L’Avventura! I fell asleep for awhile, I was very tired at the point I saw it, but I definitely didn’t feel like I was missing much. I prefer Pierrot Le Fou.
Lawrence of Arabia, I fail to see any sort of greatness other than in imagery. No profoundness, no historical impact, no personal relevance or anything. I was saddened that there were no impressive battle scenes, because the spectacle was the reason I saw it (and to be fair, it is spectacle that David Lean is most well known for, and this movie is his most well-known I would say), and even though it was quite spectacular, it could have used a good battle scene. Peter O’Toole was great, very enjoyable to watch and listen to, but his character I never felt to become truly relevant to me, I never got under the skin of him. It reminded me alot of The Man Who Would Be King which has the exact same strengths and weaknesses for me. I definitely think that Shyamalan post 6th sense has Lawrence beat in terms of character, story, innovation and relevance to real life.
As for helping the cause, I certainly have no cause! All I do is present facts (the facts being what my opinions are) and you can respond however you want, or not at all as the case may be. I am not out to convert anybody, I feel that laying out the strengths of the films may persuade people to watch them, and at that point the strength of my argument will hopefully become clear.
It’s a shame you fell asleep during L’Avventura…you missed a great film.
It seemed to me that it was too slow for its own good, in effect turning off anybody who hadn’t made a concsious decision to not allow themselves to be turned off from it. I will not argue that there may be a good experience to be had, but I think I will choose not to give Antonioni the benefit of the doubt untill I have already had at least one great experience with his films. I admit to not having seeked on out yet, but I’m still young.
I confuse titles all the time. Must’ve been thinking of 3 Women.
If we’re really going to do this we need some kind of bracketing system and elimination process.
There is a lot of visual information in L’Avventura even when (ostensibly) nothing is happening on screen. Antonioni has always had the ability to have the landscape tell as much of the story as the characters. The characters placement in the frame and geography is doing the brunt of the narrative work (see also Picnic at Hanging Rock and to some extent Days of Heaven).
Also, like Gerry or Last Days or Elephant, L’Avventura weaves a trance that yields its own set of rewards. I find the film hypnotic and encaptivating from start to finish, but I think I’m predisposed to like that kind of filmmaking.
Speaking of Peter O’Toole has anybody else seen The Ruling Class? I picked it up only because I am trying to be a completist with the Criterion Collection and I was enitrely unprepared for what I saw. I do not even have the words to explain it… I mean the word ‘batshit’ comes to mind. Mix “…If” with “Rocky Horror” with “A Clockwork Orange” and I guess that is a start. the general plot is that the heir of a family fortune dies (a death unlike any other!) and Peter O’Toole becomes the next in line but he has a bit of a problem, he believes he is God Almighty… that is until he becomes Jack the Ripper. Think of the most insane over-the-top performance and times it by ten.
Oi! Rot, that movie sounds just up my alley. Like Duck You Sucker or The Hudsucker Proxy or Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, — I like my batshit crazy
You would probably like it Kurt… strong “…If” vibe from it, may have even been done by the same director. It has that same air of normalacy prevading by the blackest of humour… for example early in the film there is a scene where the clergyman is giving a sermon, and it sounds like a sermon would sound and you realize you are zoning out a bit, but then words pop up that seem odd, and none of the metaphors sound like things you have heard before, and then you realize its all nonsense. The death scene is classic in this respect, one would think Samuel Beckett wrote the screenplay. and it is continually deliberately offensive, it is unrelentless and bonkers. I have not seen Duck you Sucker, but the other two you mentioned have absolutely nothing on this film… its like insanity bubbling up from underneath the prim and proper british mentality, at first you don’t notice it and then it crescendos like nothing I have seen before.
If you want things that are new then definately check it out.
@rot, another batshit crazy movie is the sequel to “If…” – called O, Lucky Man! that movie is simply nuts in parts. And it’s a pretty solid film too.
I’m definately in for The Ruling Class. Now go and complete Lindsay Anderson’s Mick Travis Trilogy!
if they are part of the CC list I will get to them in time