Bunuel

[Baht Simpson]

1 hour ago, LaosLover said:

If you ever go to Vientiane, they have a lot of art film dvd's in the Talat, including a ton of old Japanese stuff. I found Drunken Angel there, last seen in 1974 (as a midnight show in Greenwich Village).

 

Mountain of the Dead is another epic one I got for a buck. It's also called The Ballard of Naryama.

 

Do you know the Hong Kong film called The Boat People (about The Boat People)?

Yes, I've seen both the 1958 version of The Ballard of Naryama and the 1983 remake. Quite a disturbing story.  I like Kurosawa, and Seven Samurai is a masterpiece but he's  not in my list of top ten favourite Japanese directors. 

 

I've not seen any Ann Hui films yet.  My favourite Asian film is probably Yi-Mou Zhang's Huozhe - To Live. I recently re-watched Farewell My Concubine which I was a bit ho-hum about before but I now think it's stunning. There are so many good Asian films.

Edited August 12, 2023 by Baht Simpson

[LaosLover]

Everything you mention is something I envy people watching for the first time.

 

Do-Des Ka -Dan, Kurosawa's first color film, should also be on the list. The 5 1/2 hour 7 Samurai -have you endured it? I'm going to call that an 8 pee-break film.

 

And for the super-patient: Tokyo Story.

 

On Youtube for free:

 

-Will def watch. It's been years since I saw a 5* Asian movie.

 

Also patience-testing (but in vibrant color and a collection of short stories:

 

 

 

Edited August 12, 2023 by LaosLover

[jerrymahoney]

my favorite during my years living on west 57th street midtown Manhattan

https://cinematreasures.org/theaters/6011

[LaosLover]

1 hour ago, jerrymahoney said:

my favorite during my years living on west 57th street midtown Manhattan

https://cinematreasures.org/theaters/6011

I worked there. They also owned The Bleecker Street Cinema downtown. So it was Virdiana uptown and Putney Swope downtown.

 

They ran it like a film studio with the hits underwriting the losers- the hits being, in order (circa '76):

 

Story of O/Emmanuelle

2001

It's A Wonderful Life (at Christmas time).

 

Meanwhile, Jules and Jim/The 400 Blows might draw 20 tickets on a rainy Wednesday night.

 

And: Let us look back to a wonderful time when you could take your straight arrow, pre-feminist girlfriend out on a Saturday night to sit through Story of O. Those days are gone for good.

 

 

[jerrymahoney]

They also had a big Wurlitzer theater organ for silent movies the one I remember was von Stroheim's Greed.

 

Carnegie Hall Cinema (c.1959-1997)
► II/5 "Style 150" Wurlitzer, Op. 2095 (1931)

Edited August 13, 2023 by jerrymahoney

[Baht Simpson]

On 8/12/2023 at 6:36 PM, LaosLover said:

Everything you mention is something I envy people watching for the first time.

 

Do-Des Ka -Dan, Kurosawa's first color film, should also be on the list. The 5 1/2 hour 7 Samurai -have you endured it? I'm going to call that an 8 pee-break film.

 

And for the super-patient: Tokyo Story.

 

On Youtube for free:

 

-Will def watch. It's been years since I saw a 5* Asian movie.

 

Also patience-testing (but in vibrant color and a collection of short stories:

 

 

 

I didn't care for Dodesukaden and it was a critical failure in Japan. I have the DVD in a box somewhere. I might dig it out again. 

 

Dreams was o.k. in parts.

 

To Live is a masterpiece imo.

 

Tokyo Story is on many critics top five list and rightly so. Yasujiro Ozu is my favourite Japanese director. Ozu, Naruse and Mizoguchi are the acknowledged big three.

 

There isn't a 5 1/2 hour version of Seven Samurai as far as I am aware. The Criterion Collection version at 207 minutes is the longest I know of.  I thought The Magnificent Seven was a decent western remake for once.

 

Enjoy your viewing.