The Last Movie You Saw On DVD or VHS or TV.

I watched the French comedy, "8 Women," which came out in France in 2001. Was surprised to see that it was that old.

I remembered enjoying it in American theatrical release despite mixed reviews and I remember some of the tailoring . . . especially one shot over Isabelle Huppert's shoulder. . . but I did not remember the plot in detail, other than there were 8 women in a country house.

This is not a film for everyone. It is a satire of an Agatha Christie murder mystery without a detective. One reviewer said it also added elements of a Douglas Sirk melodrama and a Jacques Demy musical . . . it does both! Rewatching it gave me an appreciation for how much fun the cast had with their roles, especially Catherine Deneuve and Isabelle Huppert whose careers were built on playing troubled women in serious dramas.

My only negative comment is this: the musical is an America genre that translates poorly into French.

WAtched Krzysztof Kieslowski's White, from his Trois Couleurs Trilogy. I saw Red (Rouge) and Blue (Bleu) in theatrical release but never saw White.

Had great performances from the two Polish actors, Zbigniew Zamachowski, who is a comedian in his native country, and Junsz Gajos. Am a fan of Julie Delpy.

Watched Georgia Okeefe and was a little disappointed in the revisionist history that they portray . They move around in her life with Stieglitz and miss the real stuff (They make it seem that Okeefe escaped west because Stieglitz was fondling another woman--and thats pretty much a story implement). Also, She traveled back nd forth fairly regularly, not at 6 year intervals. They didnt much discuss her work process (Unlike the movie Pollock, which was all about his work and habits)

The Singing Revolution-A documentary about the peaceful end of the Soviet occupation of Estonia-1945-1991. Very uplifting

Watched two movies today:
The adorably Geekish animated film Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (though Netflix was being a pain in the ass because my streaming was so damn intermittent).

And the provocative and beautiful and highly underseen New York, I Love You. I loved the first film in the Cities of Love trilogy, Paris, je t'aime. Now I can barely wait for Shanghai, I Love You.

Who says romance is dead? Quelle domage for them being such a bitter souls.

White? It's such a wicked and unexpected revenge flick. Bleu is such a heartrending film to watch. I even got the score on CD but I wish at least the composition of the main plot was fully realized on the soundtrack.

Red is the only film of the three in which I have no memory of seeing.

As for 8 femme? I too had seen it in the movie theaters. I remember glancing and seeing it got some great reviews. But to my ultimate surprise I apparently did a terrible job actually reading those reviews as I was completely caught off guard when the cast started to sing and dance. I had no idea it was supposed to be a musical.

Regardless... it was a rare treat of a film and I usually can't stand musicals as a genre.

I watched the 3 hours of Best of Youth. Thanks ossobucco for the recommendation. So far it's a "better then a kick in the face[!]" It's pretty darn good so far.

watching Millennium Actress, very good anime


The narrative style is complex and interwoven in the style of "play within a play".

The film depicts a director, Genya Tachibana, who is working on a documentary about a famous actress, Chiyoko Fujiwara. In her old age, Chiyoko has withdrawn from public life, but Tachibana slowly draws her out. As he talks to her, the story of her life, from teenage schoolgirl to middle-aged superstar, gradually unfolds, illustrated through flashbacks interspersed with segments from her films. Her life spans the tumultuous period surrounding World War II, while her characters in movies span a time period from the Sengoku period to a futuristic space age.

As a child in the 1930s, at the time of the fascist government, Chiyoko helps a dissident artist escape from the military. She becomes attracted to him; however, the next day he is forced to flee again. She finds that he has left behind a key to his suitcase of art supplies and she becomes an actress to travel to different lands in the hopes of finding him and returning the key. Although she never finds her lost love, she insists on continuing the search. At the end of the film, it is revealed that Chiyoko's love had already been caught and tortured to death by the military. Tachibana knew this, but has never been able to tell Chiyoko. As Chiyoko finishes her story, an earthquake occurs, injuring her. Tachibana takes her to the hospital, where she reveals that "it was chasing after him" that she truly loves. It is implied that she dies at the end of the movie, continuing her quest to find him in the next life.
However, this story is complicated by the fact that most of the stories from Chiyoko's life are illustrated with a scene from one of her films, rather than a true flashback, so that it is difficult to distinguish reality from fiction. In addition, Tachibana and his cameraman appear in films, and actually participate in their events in various guises. Tachibana always casts himself in her memories as her self-sacrificing protector, a role he played in real life during an accident on the set that nearly killed her.

Satoshi Kon is one of my all time favorite directors.

Millennium Actress is such a difficult film to follow. Still worth the roller coaster trip.

this is up next


had them both for ages, but not got around to watching them

Perfect Blue is brilliant!!

Was the O'Keefe film something that had been in theatrical release?

I go back and forth on musicals. There are some that I love (Sundays in the Park with George, Sweeney Todd, Les Miz, My Fair Lady, Showboat) and others that I can't bear.

When my son was in high school, he came home one day and told me that he doesn't get musicals. "I never went into math class, slammed my book on the desk and began singing about algebra."

I believe he's referring to the recent Lifetime made for basic cable network adaptation.

What a deprived life your son leads. I remember that day very well. I was afraid I didn't pass the midterm exam and when I slammed my book down onto the teacher's desk the music started to play and I started to sing!

And was promptly escorted to the nurses office for mental evaluation and immediate suspension from school.

one recent musical that bothers me is Wicked, i loved the book, and had high hopes of a dark tim burton like film, i fear the musical might have killed that, i won't see it, and i don't get how they made into a musical, i never once found myself humming while reading the book

It was and it wasn't a movie. Just watched David Tennet or however he spells it as Hamlet. He may have been the worst Hamlet I ever saw. Thought Patrick Stewart was terrific as Cladius.

Wonder if Netflix has the Richard Burton Hamlet.

It might have something to do with the fact that he can not sing. The only way he can get anything out vocally is to assume a BRitish accent . . . which makes him sound strange.

I never saw Wicked. I did see a terrific production of Into the Woods done by the kids at Newton North High School. Wow!

You have to see the Mystery Science Theater 3000 treatment of a German television production of Hamlet, Prinz von Dänemark (1961) (TV) (dubbed into English). I guarantee it was a much worse version then the one you saw. Of course the Mike Nelson and the gang turn the homework assignment of watching Hamlet into a hysterical breeze.
http://www.mst3kinfo.com/aceg/10/1009/ep1009.html
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0762423/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053888/

Black and white with minimalist staging. And horrible overacting to boot!