tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8785859730868628316.post4843782122372683772..comments2024-02-10T01:22:29.316-08:00Comments on Hugo Stiglitz Makes Movies: Lazy Blogger Repost: Neo, Cyber, and Postmodern Noir: A Look at Film Noir as an Evolving GenreKevin J. Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275402809912728035noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8785859730868628316.post-47768930557303621842009-08-07T08:47:41.184-07:002009-08-07T08:47:41.184-07:00That much of L.A. is in a drought is a perfect met...<i>That much of L.A. is in a drought is a perfect metaphor in that the powerful are consuming all the resources to stay alive while the insignificant suffer around them.</i><br /><br />Exactly. The film is also incredibly pessimistic, fitting in with the noir sensibilities that Polanski and his screenwriter Robert Towne are lovingly paying homage to. The final line sums up what you're getting at..."forget it Jake, it's Chinatown." It's, dare I say, nihilistic...Chinatown is synonymous with the 'all powerful'-whatever, and how there is nothing you can do to deter these powerful entities from getting what they want. I also like that you talk about how loneliness bleeds into isolation and helplessness. Great observation, Jason.<br /><br />Thanks for your kind words and for stopping by and commenting on this.Kevin J. Olsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17275402809912728035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8785859730868628316.post-74651109305850721532009-08-07T08:42:05.365-07:002009-08-07T08:42:05.365-07:00Sara:
Thanks for stopping by. I look forward to ...Sara:<br /><br />Thanks for stopping by. I look forward to hearing from you in the comments section.Kevin J. Olsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17275402809912728035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8785859730868628316.post-80467809899409822752009-08-07T05:47:55.642-07:002009-08-07T05:47:55.642-07:00Wow, Kevin. Maybe lazy today, but not when you put...Wow, Kevin. Maybe lazy today, but not when you put this together. Nice work. Of the films you wrote about, I'm most familiar with (and most fond of) <i>Chinatown</i>. This is an especially nice passage:<br /><br /><i>Polanski and Alonzo are embracing the widescreen format, unlike earlier noir that was pushed to the side for bigger epics and cinemascope, Chinatown is using the widescreen to comment on the vastness that once was L.A. It creates a landscape that reminds the viewer of something out of Camus, an existential void where Gittes pans across the desert community, from Los Angeles until the Pacific, pondering his loneliness.</i><br /><br />Yes, I think loneliness is a key mood, but also its cousin to isolation: helplessness. Gittes, Evelyn and Hollis Mulwray are too small to be effective, despite their best efforts or their wealth, privilege, intelligence or high character. That much of L.A. is in a drought is a perfect metaphor in that the powerful are consuming all the resources to stay alive while the insignificant suffer around them.Jason Bellamyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18150199580478147196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8785859730868628316.post-27379792245255001722009-08-06T20:07:59.655-07:002009-08-06T20:07:59.655-07:00Thanks Sam! Your praise makes me blush.
I was ...Thanks Sam! Your praise makes me blush. <br /><br />I was never much a fan of <i>Blade Runner</i> when I first saw it in a high school film class, but it has grown into one of my favorite films with each subsequent viewing. There's a lot of depth there that is rare for a science-fiction film. <br /><br />As for your love of quoting <i>Blue Velvet</i>...I couldn't more! Haha. Whenever I'm at a bar I always dryly say: "Budweiser...king of beers." It's definitely one of the most quotable films...especially the great PBR/Heinecken line.<br /><br />I would love to read your thoughts on <i>Touch of Evil</i>...and I remember yours and Jon's claims agianst <i>Chinatown</i>. You never think of these films that many regard as untouchable classics having detractors...but it makes sense, I mean not everyone likes everything in the canon. So I can certainly appreciate your differences with these films that I think are essential neo-noir viewing.<br /><br />As always Sam, thanks for your exceedingly kind words in regards to my writing. I really appreciate it. And thanks in advance for the linkage.Kevin J. Olsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17275402809912728035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8785859730868628316.post-71939269148912839452009-08-06T19:25:28.973-07:002009-08-06T19:25:28.973-07:00This massive consideration of film noir and the fo...This massive consideration of film noir and the four individual films that are exhaustively examined is one of the greatest posts I have even seen by any blogger in the two years I have been involved. If I were to analyze even a fraction of what was posed here I would write a mini-thesis.! LOL!! In any case, your marathon treatment exposes the fact that I am not a fan of either TOUCH OF EVIL nor CHINATOWN, a crime punishable by death. I always thought the former convoluted, and the latter emotionally distancing. Of course the norish elements you ascribe to them. Yes, 'human isolation' is on display in the "neo-noir" CHINATOWN and the stylistic TOUCH OF EVIL, which for me was always comprised by the vwery 'ambiguities' you yourself admit. But you feel this is all part of the film's greatness, which is fair enough. However, I personally wa sprobably turned off by that 'jarring, disruptive' editing you site, and a lack of cohesiveness.<br /><br /> I stated my case gainst CHINATOWN at WitD, and surprisingly a few others, including Jon, has the same issues. But this is an extreme minority position, and you have penned quite a defense here that few could contest, even if not feeling the same way.<br /><br /> I do love BLUE VELVET (which will place very high in the Top 10 in the upcoming 80's poll) and I have warmed up quite a bit over the years to BLADE RUNNER, which I now admire quite a bit. I actually saw the remastered presentation in Manhattan in December with Allan Fish when he visite dus for three weeks. It wa some of the highlights of his moviegoing while he was here. You nail th enoir elements here: (but also in many other places)<br /><br />"In Blade Runner we have a vivid feeling of dark alleys, sinister rooms and chambers, which is essential to old detective stories. These lighting techniques also introduce us to the ambiguous love affair between Deckard and Rachel."<br /><br />Of course the corrosive, disturbing and bizarre BLUE VELVET is mired in darkness. I think you properly classify it as a 'neo-noir' with this brilliant insight:<br /><br />"Why is Blue Velvet considered a great neo-noir? Because it takes some of the classic elements of the genre, just as the other films have, and Lynch makes it his own. In film noir ordinary people find out that evil lurks just beneath the surfaces of their lives; they inevitably get caught up in the shadow worlds, they find themselves capable of committing unspeakable acts."<br /><br />Of course you go on to classify a "proper noir" by comparison.<br /><br />I can't say how many lines in BLUE VELVET I've used in discussion with my family and friends over the years (Heinecken...Fuck that shit! Pabst Blue Ribbon!.......Ben...You are so fuckin suave!....etc.) that it is somewhat ingrained in the culture because of its outlandish perversity. Anyway, I've verring off the road here--suffice to say this piece is a home run.<br /><br />I will now link this piece in the comment section of this week's Monday Morning Diary.Sam Julianonoreply@blogger.com