tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8871549895931317151.post5071725761388115479..comments2023-11-28T15:20:59.369-05:00Comments on Cinema Viewfinder: American Movie(s)Tony Dayoubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04632329277519635858noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8871549895931317151.post-33139877278016879322011-12-18T19:14:01.885-05:002011-12-18T19:14:01.885-05:00Thanks for your insights, Joel. You're probabl...Thanks for your insights, Joel. You're probably safe from spoilers in reading about DRIVE, HE SAID and A SAFE PLACE. But I would avoid reading about THE KING OF MARVIN GARDENS until after you see the film.Tony Dayoubhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04632329277519635858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8871549895931317151.post-44253754388645203862011-12-18T18:51:35.684-05:002011-12-18T18:51:35.684-05:00I think Nicholson is probably the key figure in re...I think Nicholson is probably the key figure in recognizing the impact and originality of New Hollywood: here's somebody who really doesn't fit into the more traditional Hollywood mould, who works on the margins in B films and in the counterculture, and yet would become the ARCHETYPAL "movie star" in audience's minds by the 1980s. <br /><br />It's one thing I love about this era - how it took the goalposts and moved them back, until this became the new standard. Sure, there was a turnaround after 10 years - the films were not as provocative or adventurous, the content was often safer, there was less of a mix of the gritty & larger-than-life (hastening the ever-widening divide between indie & blockbuster), but New Hollywood changed the landscape permanently.<br /><br />As for Fonda's and Hopper's comment, it doesn't really hold; he definitely crafted a persona and held on to it for a good 20-30 years (at least since the late 80s), but in the 70s he was something of a chameleon - occasional grin aside, does Jake Gittes have anything in common with Randall MacMurphy a year later? And George Hanson, with the accent and mild-mannered eccentricity, is really quite different from any character I've seen Nicholson play down the line - like Hoffman's role in The Graduate (or, arguably, Pacino in The Godfather) it's a breakthrough that is NOT really a harbinger of things to come.<br /><br />Enjoyed your insights here on Head, Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces & Last Picture Show; I avoided reading the other three for the moment because, while I've owned the BBS set for a year, I haven't watched them yet. Hoping to finally do so within a week or two.Joel Bockohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238338958380683893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8871549895931317151.post-16963333804012678602011-12-13T10:31:13.695-05:002011-12-13T10:31:13.695-05:00A belated thanks for your comments and insight, Mr...A belated thanks for your comments and insight, MrJeffery and Sam.Tony Dayoubhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04632329277519635858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8871549895931317151.post-71343181775398925982011-12-09T10:00:40.034-05:002011-12-09T10:00:40.034-05:00THE LAST PICTURE SHOW is the masterpiece in this s...THE LAST PICTURE SHOW is the masterpiece in this set. It's my favorite film of the 1970's from any country, and a film I count among the greatest ever made. I agree with you that it is elegiac, and it benefits greatest from the pristive transfer in the blu-ray set that brings its wind-swept atmospherics to profound emotional effect. I agree that the set's components do count for much more than the total, as each film contributes a different perspective on the sociological and cinematic landscape.Sam Julianonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8871549895931317151.post-46278131014495240772011-12-07T21:33:18.934-05:002011-12-07T21:33:18.934-05:00great post. i need to get this. some favorites of ...great post. i need to get this. some favorites of mine are in it plus some i haven't seen yet.MrJefferyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04657422824565425948noreply@blogger.com