Now, some of you haven't turned any posts in yet. It would likely behoove you to do these blogs. And/or if you've missed any movies from past countries we've watched, writing about these films would be a great way to make up those missing points.
ALSO, remember: you need to comment on at least three blogs from other students, so if you haven't done that yet, it'd be a good time to start!
Cool beans. Now, my international film watching friends, for extra credit this week answer the following questions:
We watched The Umbrellas of Cherbourg - a musical of shorts... but a different kind of one. Nobody breaks out into a dance number, there are no grandiose set, and, in a way, because everyone is always singing, it is almost as if it is the way people talk in that universe, so breaking out into song isn't out of the ordinary (think about how crazy it would be if people just busted out into song in real life!).- Did you like Umbrellas, why or why not?
- What was different about how the French handled this musical from what you typically see in America?
Next, we watched EYES WITHOUT A FACE!
A full on French New Wave horror film from the '50s!
- What'd you think? Did you like it? Why or why not?
- Was it scary to you (when it came out, it terrified people out of their wits!), or do you consider it tame by today's standards?
And, then we watched another horror film, one that inspired Hitchcock's classic Psycho. Diabolique (which translated means devilish!) came out before so many of the horror movies like it today. Unprecedented with its narrative twists and terrifying images, this film left an impression in the horror genre for generations to come.
- Did you like this movie? Why or why not?
- Can you see how it has influenced the horror genre today? What specific elements did you notice that have inspired horror films since this film's release?
-- The Umbrellas of Cherbourg --
ReplyDeleteI loved this film. Very simplistic story; Man and woman in love, man goes to war and comes back heartbroken, and the man moves on. I was a bit hesitant when I heard that this film’s dialogue was entirely composed of singing, but surprisingly enough, it was really enjoyable and entertaining. Everyone’s singing voices were really pleasant and the score complimented the voices nicely.
I noticed that the French aren’t afraid to show a simple, yet intriguing story, without sacrificing the flow of the film with out of place sequences in favor of making the film more entertaining. Simple human emotions that are portrayed very well through the means of song. Also very mundane situations in this film are still portrayed through song, just to keep up a consistent theme. American musicals usually have dialogue scenes stuck in between songs, which breaks the atmosphere.
-- Eyes Without a Face --
I loved this movie. So much. Such a great psychological piece of horror that slowly builds tension and then doesn’t hold back when showing the more grotesque scenes. This film had the courage to try something different and it worked out well. Great characters played by great actors who clearly got a kick out of their roles. The girl was played with a very reserved and introverted vibe and it make the atmosphere even thicker with dread and confusion.
The entire concept is new and fresh, and it had some very unnerving sequences that were impressive for the 50’s, a time where cheesy monster flicks ruled the land.
This film isn’t necessarily scary, simply because the oversaturation of violent horror films that flood the market during Halloween that depict disgusting and pointless sequences of gore for shock value. I think that if you hadn’t seen any of the more recent horror films, and then you watched this, you would be shaken beyond belief. If I were a teenager during the 50’s and I saw this movie, I probably would be up all night.
-- Dibolique --
Again, a great horror film that has the restraint and respect to slowly unfold the story’s pages as the audience gets sucked in, and then bust out the big guns with a great twist. Slow, calculated, but also tense and unnerving all at once. It makes you feel safe and paranoid at the same time, creating an interesting merge of emotions while you watch the characters endure the exact same spectrum of fear.
I definitely can see the inspiration derived from this in films like Psycho, Peeping Tom, or Repulsion.
All very mysterious and disturbing tales that have you on the edge of your seat, but also make you comfortable being there. It’s like these films invite you inside for a nice meal, spark up a nice conversation, and then reveal the food was poisoned the entire time.
And that final realization at the end, the thought that everything that was perceived as normal and safe has been an elaborate scheme in order to serve an ulterior motive, is absolutely terrifying.
taylor I completely agree and love what you wrote man its good and detailed. But, I didn't like the movie at all I don't think it effected movies to this day. the storyline was good but the whole movie was ridicules it didn't interest me at all.
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ReplyDeleteEyes without a face
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this film. Aside from it being a horror movie I really liked the concept and while I may have seen other films with a similar idea, this seemed very original and knowing it was from the 50's it was probably one of the first to express this story.
By today's standards its relatively tame, but I might not be the best judge to decide weather this film was scary or not because i'm not easily scared, especially by films.
Also, I really liked the girls character.
Diabolique
I absolutely loved this film. It seemed pretty slow going for a long while but i kept with it knowing that's just the style of filming in France and I'm so glad I did because the ending was amazing. (While stereotypical now, I didn't expect it from an older movie).
An obvious answer to this question could be simply the mistress who helps the man get out of his relationship. But i love the way they used it as a horror element rather than a drama. The 'chase' scene at the end i feel like might have inspired some other filmmakers. Just the way it was set up, how she would walk into a room and no one is there but the lights are on and something of significance is on a table (for example), thinking she's chasing a ghost.
This film was weird.. In a good way! I did not expect the ending!! the ending shocked me i'm like "NO WAY HIS ALIVE!!!" ha well the movie was really good compared to a lot of old movies! If i would have to rate this movie from 1-10 i would give it a 8!
ReplyDeleteThis film was weird.. In a good way! I did not expect the ending!! the ending shocked me i'm like "NO WAY HIS ALIVE!!!" ha well the movie was really good compared to a lot of old movies! If i would have to rate this movie from 1-10 i would give it a 8!
ReplyDeleteI thought Umbrellas was quite alright. Nothing too spectacular in my eyes; it’s just not my cup of tea. I thought it was tragic, and a good representation of how people break promises. It was a good representation of an unhealthy relationship too. It was really sad how the man had sex with the woman knowing that he could get her pregnant; and the woman had sex with the man knowing that she could get pregnant. Then the man told her not to go out with any other guys for TWO YEARS, also he might die and she wouldn’t know. It’s just bad manners to propose to somebody before leaving them alone for that long. On top of this, the poor girl who was four years younger than him was mindlessly in love. He could have told her to jump off a bridge with him and she probably would have. I honestly think it was a happy because they separated. The rich guy is like the nicest, least judgemental person in the whole movie; but its portrayed (at least the way I saw it) as if he’s tearing lovers apart. Maybe I just saw the misses and not the hits, but I thought this movie was depressing through and through, and I did not enjoy it as much as most movies I watch. It was definitely different from American movies because it had no happy ending; there was no real resolution. It left me with a life-goes-on vibe.
ReplyDeleteI really liked Eyes Without a Face. It was creepy and intense, with an interesting plot. The chick with the mask was truly frightening, and I found that it was easy to get lost in it. I didn’t find it scary, but I think a lot of things in that movie would have given me nightmares if I were a few years younger. It was pretty tame by today’s standards. It didn’t have any jump-scares (which I thought was nice, as jump scares feel like an effortless, predictable, and blunt way to get a reaction out of an audience) and gave us a lot of insight as to the motives and justification of the antagonist.
Diabolique was my favorite of the French movies we watched. It’s probably my favorite horror movie of all time too. I can totally see how it influenced horror today, but I like it a lot better than most of the horror I see today. I honestly didn’t see the ending coming at all, and I loved that. It had la huge element of mystery surrounding the man, and it really kept me guessing. On top of all of this, strong female character! She (blonde lady, I forget her name) was a bad***. She took control of basically everything in the movie, and she was clever about it too. This is one that I would recommend to anybody that likes horror movies.
Umbrellas
ReplyDeleteUmbrellas is such a hard movie for me to watch. I love it and hate it at the same time. It’s really beautiful and the singing of all the lines is so unique. it makes me so just arrrrgggghhhh. like real words cannot describe what it makes me feel.
i feel like musicals in america are more out of place where this was a little more like natural.
EYES WITHOUT A FACE!
I liked it. It showed a lot that you wouldn’t exactly expect from them at the time. They were really creative with what they were doing at it was awesome.
I thought it was really… something. i had to look away at points if i'm being honest. i found it scary. And i can’t imagine how scary it was to the people of that time.
I liked Umbrellas a lot. What's different about French musicals and American musicals is that American musicals usually have dance choreography too and some musicals here don't sing the entire time either. I also liked that they just sang what they would say in a casual conversation they weren't trying to force rhymes or anything. I thought it was a cute movie and the ending made me sad but it was still very good. I liked Eyes Without a Face too. It was so much more different than any other horror films I have seen. I didn't find it scary but I can see why people did. There were creepy parts but I get more scared from paranormal movies and such. I really liked Diabolique. The twist ending was bigger than anything I've ever seen and I didn't see it coming at all. I thought the husband had come back to haunt her or something but I assumed wrong! I loved all these movies very much.
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