Like any Andy Milligan film, this can try the patience at times. As usual much of the film is devoted to the increasingly hysterical conversations of his gossipy characters as they get their crinolines ruffled. Then rampant bloodshed erupts. It's an absurdly weird formula that I can't help be mesmerized by. There is a real commitment to its perverse mix of straight faced period piece and off the rails (and terribly rendered) violence. But unlike the deeply cynical approach of an HG Lewis, who knew what he was making was shit, there always seems to be a completely deluded and painfully earnest approach to how these films are made. A believe in the audience they might find and about the seriousness with which his talent would be considered. And it's an approach that will either infuriate and bore people to death, or transfix them that anyone could be so detached from what anyone else on earth could ever possibly want in their entertainment.
 

Never let Van Morrison cut your hair.

Jinnistan wrote:

Never let Van Morrison cut your hair.

If Andy Milligan wasn't also the appointed hairdresser on all of his films, likely slapping his actors across the face as they object to his vision for a universe where everyone looks and moves exactly as he tells them, I'll eat my shoe.

Jinnistan wrote:

crumbsroom wrote:

If Andy Milligan wasn't also the appointed hairdresser on all of his films, likely slapping his actors across the face as they object to his vision for a universe where everyone looks and moves exactly as he tells them, I'll eat my shoe.

Maybe I've confused my Celts.  Sorry.  It looked like, maybe, Van was trying to chop those rainbow ribbons from her hair.

Van would surely be wearing a belly bulge accentuating bit of Spandex. Would also be doing a very unimpressive high kick while sculpting bangs.

Jinnistan wrote:

crumbsroom wrote:

Van would surely be wearing a belly bulge accentuating bit of Spandex. Would also be doing a very unimpressive high kick while sculpting bangs.

In my defense, the poster only shows the assailant from the ribs up.  (I haven't seen the movie.)

Also, as we've discussed, your tolerance for Andy Milligan has proven to far outlast mine.

My first experience (The Body Beneath) was wretched. My second experience (The Ghastly Ones) wasn't much better. But then because I have a disease, I went back to both, understood them through the lens of being akin to what the Dreamlanders were doing (but only if John Waters didn't have any friends), and the sadness and the sympathy made the stars align.

The more I watch, it's not like they become more exciting, but an actual skill set emerges. The guy had legitimate technique, obviously pulled from old 50's melodramas. There is a dramatic flair to so many of his compositions, through his blocking and staging, even though the action is mostly about them all standing around, looking itchy in his cumbersome costumes, and giving their all to his chewily stupid and bitchy dialogue.

But he's definitely a hard sell.

Did I not mention Phoenix? That was great too. So much to say about it!

Jinnistan wrote:

crumbsroom wrote:

Did I not mention Phoenix? That was great too. So much to say about it!

Did it star Jack Palance, Ray Liotta or Nina Hoss?

Hoss

Jinnistan wrote:

crumbsroom wrote:

Hoss

Ah, good.  I was worried it was the 2006 gay one with actors I don't know. 

Haven't seen it.  I've only seen Transit from Petzold, and it was good.  All right.  A little cold.  But good performances.

It's the only Petzold I've seen. It's great. I actually don't have any words though. I lied.

crumbsroom wrote:

Dune = Good/Great

Seems to fit my 7/5 rating, unless your threshold is a little higher.

Not sure if you read my review on Letterboxd:

Like a lot of these adaptations, the ones that are basically semi-impossible to live up to any kind of comparable legendary standard, my reflex is to bite my lip. "It could have been worse". And that's true. And why not enjoy the sensual immersive experience that Villenueve and crew have immaculately constructed and orchestrated. Really, it's fine work all around. It's fine.

But drab. The absence of color is depressing - the clay palette may work fine for the sand, but even Arrakis is shot in a pale grey-green. A lot of the acting is muted and morose (or worse, Mamoa-bro'd). I understand the need to pull back a bit on Lynch's version of the Harkonnen's, um, voracity, but these Harkonnen are just boring Borg-like shadows. The decision to excise the Spacing Guild Navigators entirely is just stupid (are they waiting to introduce their rather integral role in the sequel?). I definitely prefer Brad Dourif's Piter to the bare entity here. Charlotte Rampling is as ideal for Reverend Mother imaginable, and yet they obscure her ghostly eyes in a veil? In many ways, the ideal version of the classic novel just might still be Jodorowsky's Dune, despite being a documentary. I'd rather see Jodorowsky raping the material. But with love. With love.

Look. I have to quibble. Yes, it's superior to Lynch's version in most, and most important, ways. That doesn't mean I have to appreciate Chalamet's disaffected mumbling any more than I have to.

Last edited by Jinnistan (7/27/2022 5:19 pm)

Ive never read the book, and have never been able to make heads or tails of what is going on in Lynch's movie. So I have always only barely  understood the gyst of what is happening narratively. This one didn't fare much better. But as an extra planetary mood piece, I was more than happy to wade through all the mumbling. In fact, in terms of tone, I liked how oppressive everything felt in this. And I also liked the color palette. Yes, monochromatic, but still an incredible thing. As spectacle I loved it. I loved it's slow pace. I loved it just hinting at the larger narrative that clearly has been truncated. None of that matters to me. While I imagine reading the books would really show the flaws in this adaptation, my ignorance allows it to just flourish in my imagination, and the fact that a giant blockbuster movie could be this ponderously imaginative and beautiful is a special thing.