Mamo returns with a spirited discussion about the insidious influence home video continues to exert on movie and television production. New films are created, TV series are given proper endings, but at what cost? AT WHAT COST?!? Join the Matt’s as they attempt to find out, in another provocative 30 minutes of mirth. It’s Mamo.
SPOILER WARNING: Some aspects of the fifth season of Lost are discussed in this episode.
You say the updated version of Alien is shorter, but did Ridley add new footage as well? I can see where they could have trimmed some stuff to make it leaner and meaner, but I love that film, love the soundscapes it creates.
as for keeping a balance of grain and sharpness, look at Chungking Express on blu-ray, that to me is a perfect example of balancing the two choices, grain where it needs to be, and a kind of neon glow vividness where it needs be also.
For me the blu-ray experience is about amping up colour and I have yet to see a black and white film on blu-ray… how do they compare? CC is bringing out Wages of Fear on blu-ray this year and I own the original, and it is serviceable but I am curious to know what the blu-ray adds to the experience.
I detest the new ‘truncated, but added extra non-essential stuff’ Directors Cut of ALIEN. The joy of that film is its meticulously slow start, which Scott doesn’t trust the modern audience with in the new version by speeding this along.
Lots of this coming up on the Movie Club Podcast though.
Lost spoilers for season 5 in this podcast, be warned!
I just rewatched Alien a couple weeks ago, I bought it as part of one of those cheap three films on one dvd thing, and I am assuming the version I was watching was the original because nothing seemed different. Its under two hours so it doesn’t necessarily drag but I do think it could do with some minor tweaks, and I am eager to check out this other version.
I have not read any literature on Alien, so this may be facile to bring up, but isn’t there a HUGE womb subtext to the story, almost like a horror story about a miscarriage? I never noticed before but this recent viewing I was picking up on a lot of stuff. Aside from the ship being called MOTHER, and the interior of ship wet and uterus like, and the Alien like an impregnating sperm that is in the end shot out of MOTHER (not to mention bishop’s chest), and you have a female lead that would coincide with this MOTHER identity. I haven’t looked into this too deeply but maybe someone knows of an analysis similar to this?
also the white hibernation pods would be like ovulating eggs in the opening sequence…
Hmmm, sounds a lot like the Coen Brothers and the HATS in Millers Crossing. Just throw in as many permutations and references and images and it eventually adds up to a very good mood-image, even it isn’t quite saying anything directly.
Apologies for not warning about the Lost spoiler, I have amended the post. Generally speaking if a Lost episode’s been out in the world for 2 weeks we consider it fair game, but we don’t want to ruin anyone’s fun, especially given the quantity of fans joining the show in mid-course via the very DVDs we are discussing on the show.
@ Rot, yes, the new cut of Alien both takes stuff out and puts new stuff in. It’s a “leaner, meaner” cut in my opinion, and quite excellent.
I would be surprised if the womb imagery was not intentional, but it could be just evocative rather than deeply subtextual.
The Alien is brought into the womb, it impregnates Bishop, creates this monstrosity that then runs havoc in the womb until it is flushed out of the system.
and there is the stark contrast of femininity and masculinity at the end, with the near naked Ripley holding a pussy cat, confronted with the phallic creature.
I’m not sure I agree with you a hundred percent on your police work, there, Rot. It’s Kane (John Hurt’s character), not Bishop who is played by Lance Henrikson in Aliens and Alien3.
right Bishop is the guy made of spunk who tries to kill Ripley by making her felate a rolled magazine.
I rest my case, not sure what it is anymore, but I rest it.
Too funny, the rolled magazine is Ash, also in ALIEN, Bishop, I repeat is in Aliens & Alien3.
At this point, you need a trip to wikipedia or Imdb, sir.
The changes to French Connection are pretty ‘extreme’ indeed, here is an amusing extrapolation of the ‘Friedkinization’ of colour timing on DVD: http://filmfreakcentral.blogspot.com/2009/03/i-am-curious-cmyk.html
That is insane, and even worse I haven’t seen The French Connection yet.