Comments | moose_noise: The Wrong Man

moose_noise

The Wrong Man

Jan 02, 2009 16:09

Talking of Robert Mitchum, BBC4 is showing the superb film noir Out of the Past tonight at 00.35, although the BBC is still, 60+ years on, calling it by its 'British title', Build My Gallows High. I'm not quite sure it ever needed a 'British title', but you'd think we could just ditch it now. There may well be legal reasons I'm unaware of, though, ( Read more... )

Comments 3

chasinthetone January 2 2009, 16:25:23 UTC

I think that is the one BBC channel I can get. Can't get 1 or 2 and I get one of 3 or 4. Of course I could switch my tv on now and check, but I suspect I do as I think it is the one that shows old docs about classical peeps that I have occasionally caught.

In which case, I shall watch it.

I watched "The Night of the Hunter" yesterday evening. I was really taken by the camera angles, light/dark lighting and all that intensity of camera work. Very effective. I'm probably right in thinking that both David Lynch and the Coen Bros are a fan of that film as I could see elements of both their work having some roots in this one.

Gish's performance was excellent as well and Mitchum, well, damn scary! Was that the origin of the love/hate knuckle thing do you know?

Thanks again :-)

moose_noise January 2 2009, 20:26:44 UTC

I can find no fault with The Night of the Hunter, apart from a slight hammishness about Mitchum chasing the kids as they run out of the cellar to escape him.
I would guess that's right about the tattoos. This slightly off-putting page just says they were made famous by TNOTH, but I don't think it's in any way definitive, anyway.

chasinthetone January 2 2009, 23:53:43 UTC

His character is really quite scary. I didn't know how it ended so found it very tense! I recognised the setting and time complete with the confederate painting above the family bed but as the books of that period I have read can go one of either way, I wasn't sure how it was going to end.

Film noir is something I need to pay some more vision time to once I am out of my German cinema period. Although, actually the cinematorgaphy of the film did remind me a bit of those classics of early european cinema.

I watched Carrie very late last night at Ken's and I wa thinking how both films rely a lot on acting and how lower budget independent films still will go for longer shots, it is so rare in the bigger blockbusters. Which is why I have no time for the Batman et al films of modern times. The cuts are too fast, the effects unnecessary, nothing is left to the imagination to subconsciously fill and the whole experience of watching such things feels like a rather empty participation in consumerism.