funny... i find Gump very far from just a popcorn flick.. it works for me on many levels.. both entertaining and intellectualy interesting.
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Jaws... I now look at the sea with a sense of dread and swim in it with an intense fear of impending, bloody death.I was wondering, have there been movies in your life which changed the way you look at things?
funny... i find Gump very far from just a popcorn flick.. it works for me on many levels.. both entertaining and intellectualy interesting.
I'm not sure there's a film that has changed my life or my overall mentality but I guess they've pointed things out to me (irritatingly, I can't think of a textbook example now).
I think non-popcorn movies are absolutely necessary. Firstly, because I'd get bored. Secondly, because whilst a particular film might not change an individual, the sum total impacts society. Examples - during war-time the cinema (along with other entertainment venues) is always more popular and can hugely effect morale. In LEDCs, an upcoming film industry can raise the profile of the country.
I guess the sort of effects I'm talking about are more obvious when you look at the media in general and are confused by the life imitates art imitates life debate.
Documentaries can stir up opinion on a specific issue as well. Things like this can be part of a movement.
Hearing a lot of ?documentary = truth? in this topic? which I think may be a bit na?ve. Anyone know the story about the fact that Lemmings don?t actually jump of cliffs, but a Norwegian documentary crew rounded up a load anyway and pushed them over the edge - just to make their doco?
Hmmm? probably an urban myth, but I?m just illustrating a point. Documentaries are quite often as biased as fictional films ? if not more so.
The film that most affected me was Star Wars (A New Hope), and it has consistently driven me to make films since I first saw it, aged 8. Years later, Episode One: The Flatulent Menace made me want to travel to Hollywood and beat George Lucas over the head with a life-size rubber doll of Jar-Jar Binks.
Mamet is an idiot. Films have always been about entertainment, and always will be.
Even with documentaries, I think most people just want to check-out a different scene for an hour or so ? before returning to their regular lives: it?s still a form of recreation. Sure, there are a lot of people who read the Sun
[note to foreigners, the Sun is a UK tabloid with a nekkid ladeey on page 3!]
but there are also people who do the Guardian Cryptic crossword ? for fun!
[The Guardian is for arty types and those with a social conscience].
You can?t dictate what the audience will gain from your picture ? it all depends on the person and the situation from which they view it. It?s all about your story fitting their life ? rather than the other way around.
So you all want revolution? The world is already turning ? it?s a great, inexorable wheel, and we?re all doing our part to push. Help push in the right direction - don?t be the one trying to turn the opposite way?
The best films operate on many levels ? eye candy for the masses and a cryptic, hidden message for those gathered here on this board.
We?re all going on a road-trip through life, and I just wanna be the screen in the back of the seat - that makes the ride less dreary.
If you haven?t seen Casablanca yet?see it?tonight?(before Hollywood remake it)
Yeah, everyone goes on about it, and I thought ? so what, it?s a movie you watch with your Grandparents. Someone gave it to me for Christmas, and I haven?t relocated my jaw yet?
P.S.
Phew! So I think there should be a Bearded Smiley
a) for the longest post award
b) for fans of Steven Spielberg
Oh, hang on ? just noticed Microsoft Word has suggestions for how to spell Spielberg?
And who says there isn?t a super-global corporation that rules the world?? [img]graemlins/devil.gif[/img]
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Love k_wor's idea - Satyr Wars.Originally posted by k_wor:
The films that changed my life in regards to wanting to make movies were, Jaws, Alien, and Satr Wars...
So that's like Krull, right? [img]smile.gif[/img]
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Brilliant!!! Me too!Originally posted by Robin of Loxley:
The Flatulent Menace made me want to travel to Hollywood and beat George Lucas over the head with a life-size rubber doll of Jar-Jar Binks.
I don't think Mamet's an idiot though [img]wink.gif[/img] - drama IS entertainment (thrills are cheap).
<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ May 11, 2004 08:48 AM: Message edited by: Justin M. ]</font>
Satyr Wars. (c) 2004 My Tree Productions.....
Hands off Robin you might give it to the poor....LOL
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">closest Hostboard has, besides a gandalf.gif,..Originally posted by Robin of Loxley:
P.S.
Phew! So I think there should be a Bearded Smiley
a) for the longest post award
b) for fans of Steven Spielberg
<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ May 11, 2004 10:00 AM: Message edited by: reved ]</font>
Films to change the world? How about Michael Moore's lates Fahrenheit 9/11. The US presidential elections take place later this year.
At Cannes yesterday Moore said: "When you see the movie you will see things you have never seen before, you will learn things you have never known before. Half the movie is about Iraq - we were able to get film crews embedded with American troops without them knowing that it was Michael Moore. They are totally fucked."
He said that at the few low-key preview screenings that have already taken place in the midwest "the reactions were overwhelming. People who were on the fence - undecided voters - suddenly weren't on the fence any more."
Moore was unequivocal about his desire to do everything in his power to help oust President George Bush in this November's elections.
"We thought, 'We cannot leave this to the Democrats this time to fuck it up and lose.'" He wants to "inspire people to get up and vote in November."
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