Date: Wed, 31 Jan 2001 16:11:12 -0500
From: hugh bone <hbone-AT-optonline.net>
Subject: Re: too long or too fast?




"Too fast" speech and pictures  may be simply the result of time-is-money
TV/radio advertising, and the newsbites crammed in between the ads.

Children and adults alike get most of their news from pre-recorded tapes.
"Live" is so rare it must be labled.

Jenna worte:

> I agree that with the arrival of the internet culture, attentions spans
are shorter and greedier...more in less time.
>
> That said, I have a question of my own related to tempo.  I just saw "Ran"
for the first time last night.  I noticed that while the film overall moved
at a slower pace, the tempo of individual scenes varied from very, very slow
> to very, very quick.  I get the feeling that this was meant to mimic the
pace of war (wait for battle, then over quickly), which shaped the Samurai
> lives.  Any thoughts?
> Jenna

I certainly agree.  Haven't seen it lately, but it was great.  Did Kurosawa
ever make a mediocre movie?

A week ago, I saw "The Third Man" again. -  Not too long, not too fast,
still excellent.

Another oldie was "Rose Tattoo", which I had not seen before. Shows its age,
but is powerful, great timing, great performances.

Although I understand Rutger's concern expressed below, I don't think movies
at runaway speed will, in the long run, be successful.  All sorts of
experiments can be interesting, and flashy violent films draw a lot of young
viewers, but there is so much talent,lately, particularly from Asian
filmmakers, that its easy to opt out of the trash.

Hugh

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

> ----- Original Message -----


> From: rutger h cornets de groot <cornets-AT-yahoo.com>
> To: <film-theory-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu>
> Sent: Tuesday, January 30, 2001 8:47 PM
> Subject: too long or too fast?
>
>
> > It seems that the worst thing that can be said about a
> > movie nowadays is that it is too long or to slow. For
> > years, I used to object to that notion, simply because
> > there are many excellent movies that are long and
> > slow. Seeing some of these classic movies again for
> > the second or third time, however, I find I have to
> > admit to a certain kind of discomfort. They actually
> > *do* take long! And I am not just talking Bergman or
> > Antonioni here, I'm talking Taxi Driver, The Shining,
> > and many other great movies that had me poised on the
> > edge of my seat when I first saw them. Paradoxically
> > said, I can't keep up with that pace anymore. If you
> > can't believe me, go check for yourself.
> > It's not that these movies are no good anymore, they
> > can still be watched and enjoyed. They're great
> > movies. It's just that you can't make movies like that
> > anymore. There is a need for speed.
> > Last night at the Film Festival in Rotterdam, I've
> > found that this need for speed has brought about a new
> > way of film making altogether. In Miike Takashi's
> > latest, the action packed 'City of Lost Souls',
> > virtually every scene is interrupted, even before we
> > know what's going on. Men approach each other, they
> > take out their guns, start shooting and <CUT!> it's
> > time for another scene again. It's like we don't even
> > want to know anymore.
> > The style of shooting and editing is called Manga and
> > it's very much like Oriental cooking: a lot of
> > preparation and only a few seconds of actual cooking
> > in very hot oil. I will admit that I liked it a lot.
> > It is wild. It's like a drug. But I also regret not
> > being able to appreciate the old tempo anymore. And I
> > am wondering where this is going to end. How fast can
> > we go? Soon, we'll wind up having an essentially empty
> > screen, a blur, a painting. Then, finally, time, that
> > silly factor that cinema is so dependent of, will play
> > no role anymore.
> > Comments?
> >
> > ====> > APROPOS - Rutger H Cornets de Groot, Writer, Translator
> > English-Dutch Freelance Translation Services
> > Essays on Film, Art, Literature, Philosophy
> > a p r o p o s
> > http://sites.netscape.net/aproposr/apropos
> > cornets-AT-xs4all.nl / cornets-AT-yahoo.com
> > "The quality of a good translation can never be captured by the
original".
> >
> > __________________________________________________
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> >
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>
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