Plus the movie has one of the most stunning opening shots of a movie and one of the most stunning closing ones as well.
Buffy: He ran away, right? Giles: Sort of, more. turned and swept out majestically, I suppose. Said I didn't concern him. Buffy: So a mythic triumph over a completely indifferent foe? Giles: Well, I'm not dead or unconscious, so I say bravo for me.
'Same Time, Same Place'
Buffista Movies 5: Development Hell
A place to talk about movies--old and new, good and bad, high art and high cheese. It's the place to place your kittens on the award winners, gossip about upcoming fims and discuss DVD releases and extras. Spoiler policy: White font all plot-related discussion until a movie's been in wide release two weeks, and keep the major HSQ in white font until two weeks after the video/DVD release.
Frankenbuddha - Jun 19, 2007 10:40:30 am PDT #9260 of 10001
"We are the Goon Squad and we're coming to town...Beep! Beep!" - David Bowie, "Fashion"
DavidS - Jun 19, 2007 10:42:16 am PDT #9261 of 10001
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
is one of the great end scenes in cinema.
Very striking image.
Narratively I think my favorite might be the end of French Connection II.
Though the end of Vertigo (which I saw in its theatrical re-release) made me yell something like, "No way!"
Frankenbuddha - Jun 19, 2007 10:42:22 am PDT #9262 of 10001
"We are the Goon Squad and we're coming to town...Beep! Beep!" - David Bowie, "Fashion"
x-post, natch. Yeah that ending is what I was thinking of, but the shot of the line of the expedition winding it's way up (down?) the mountain as far as the eye can see at the beginning is pretty frelling amazing too.
bon bon - Jun 19, 2007 10:44:39 am PDT #9263 of 10001
It's five thousand for kissing, ten thousand for snuggling... End of list.
Both scenes are featured in My Best Fiend, so maybe I don't have to see it! Frank's report on Fitzcarraldo is about what I guessed.
Frankenbuddha - Jun 19, 2007 10:44:51 am PDT #9264 of 10001
"We are the Goon Squad and we're coming to town...Beep! Beep!" - David Bowie, "Fashion"
Though the end of Vertigo (which I saw in its theatrical re-release) made me yell something like, "No way!"
And, of course, that's one of the great "suspended / what next" scenes of all time because if it went on for a moment longer it looks pretty clear that Jimmy Stewart's going to go jumping off the roof too.
Sean K - Jun 19, 2007 10:47:12 am PDT #9265 of 10001
You can't leave me to my own devices; my devices are Nap and Eat. -Zenkitty
at the beginning is pretty frelling amazing too.
Oh yes. I was a little uninterested in it when my roommate at the time rented it. But between that first shot, quickly followed by the sequence where one of the cannons they were humping over the peaks of the Andes was too heavy for the ground beneath it, and the cannon (and crew, I think) plunged thousands of feet into the jungle below, I was hooked.
Though the end of Vertigo (which I saw in its theatrical re-release) made me yell something like, "No way!"
I've forgotten the exact ending, but I remember being very dissatisfied with Vertigo, as I had watched it after several other Hitchcock films, and thinking it much weaker than the other films I'd seen.
bon bon - Jun 19, 2007 10:49:53 am PDT #9266 of 10001
It's five thousand for kissing, ten thousand for snuggling... End of list.
Wikipedia agrees that Vertigo ends on the bell tower, but I thought it ended in some kind of hearing room, like the wrap-up in Psycho. Maybe I am mixing up my Vertigo scenes.
DavidS - Jun 19, 2007 10:49:56 am PDT #9267 of 10001
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
I've forgotten the exact ending, but I remember being very dissatisfied with Vertigo, as I had watched it after several other Hitchcock films, and thinking it much weaker than the other films I'd seen.
Pfft. This is a silly opinion.
Of course Vertigo is a very weird movie that makes very little sense. But it is all about the dream logic and Hitch leaving all his creepy obsessions up on the screen.
Naturally, it is my favorite Hitchcock movie, though I'm also very partial to Strangers on a Train, Shadow of a Doubt, and Rear Window.
bon bon - Jun 19, 2007 10:51:44 am PDT #9268 of 10001
It's five thousand for kissing, ten thousand for snuggling... End of list.
Vertigo is one of my top five, but I think its pace makes it not for everyone (see also Eyes Wide Shut).
Sean K - Jun 19, 2007 10:52:02 am PDT #9269 of 10001
You can't leave me to my own devices; my devices are Nap and Eat. -Zenkitty
Pfft. This is a silly opinion.
In my own defense, I think I was about seventeen at the time, so there are many subtleties in lots of art that I missed at the time (see: Kurt Vonnegut).
Of course Vertigo is a very weird movie that makes very little sense. But it is all about the dream logic and Hitch leaving all his creepy obsessions up on the screen.
I shall have to watch it again and see how my opinion of the film changes.