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matt header
Studio Exec
Joined: 26 Jun 2003
Posts: 623
Location: Milwaukee, WI
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 Posted: 02.20.2004 5:50 am Post subject: |
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I don't see it as making light of the Holocaust; it is a film that uses Guido's irrepressible lunacy to heighten the dread of the Holocaust, and to provide a bittersweet example of the human spirit persevering through something as horrendous as genocide. Indeed, whenever anyone's called it depressing or gloomy, I disagree; I think it's quite an optimistic movie. Sure, Guido sacrificed himself, but it (rather unrealistically) hypothesizes that because of his father, Giosue could survive the trauma rather unscathed.
While I usually don't like Benigni's films, and I too find his offscreen personality abrasively self-congratulatory, I did find his pratfalling charming in Life is Beautiful. Of course his gags can't much Buster Keaton, Lauren & Hardy, etc., but they do echo the flavor of silent comedy, which is something impressive nowadays. I suppose where you found countless "[exercises] in self-indulgence," I found genuinely creative ideas. And while there is certainly evidence that he takes limitless pride in his own comedy, there is also a definite humanity to them; if they do contain annoying self-indulgence, I think they contain at least as much sweetness and joy. |
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the night watchman
Studio Exec
Joined: 27 Jun 2003
Posts: 1373
Location: Dark, run-down shack by the graveyard.
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| Posted: 02.20.2004 7:11 am Post subject: |
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| Rob Vaux wrote: | | [Benigni] cleverly disguises the fact that his ego is just enormous. Monstrous. Grotesque. This is a man who thought he could replace Peter Sellers in the Pink Panther films. This is a man who thought he could play Pinocchio at age 50. His cringe-worthy display at the Oscars only compounded what was already a fatal case of narcissism. |
No real comment on Life is Beautiful or Benigni, but to quote GimmickAccount, "I lolled."
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i pwn j00
Grip
Joined: 25 Feb 2004
Posts: 19
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| Posted: 02.25.2004 1:41 am Post subject: |
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"but mine goes to 11 "
Anyway, i personally enjoy perversion and vulgarities in my humor, im not sure why, but I really don't enjoy thinking that much if I'm watching a comedy.
Robin Hood: Men in Tights
American Pie series
Just Married
Hear no Evil, See no Evil
HEAVY DUTY (director being Eric Beltmann) |
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beltmann
Studio Exec
Joined: 26 Jun 2003
Posts: 2341
Location: West Bend, WI
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| Posted: 02.25.2004 2:21 am Post subject: |
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| i pwn j00 wrote: | "but mine goes to 11 "
Anyway, i personally enjoy perversion and vulgarities in my humor, im not sure why, but I really don't enjoy thinking that much if I'm watching a comedy.
Robin Hood: Men in Tights
American Pie series
Just Married
Hear no Evil, See no Evil
HEAVY DUTY (director being Eric Beltmann) |
Looks like we have another West Bender among us. Welcome i pwn j00! (We're going to have to replace that unwieldy moniker with a smoother nickname, though. And until you hit 500, you own nuthin', buddy.)
Some of the best comedies demand the brain be turned off, but sometimes the most resonant, gut-busting stuff requires you to pay attention. (I'm thinking of Rushmore, or The Player.) I'm not sure I have a preference, as long as I'm laughing. By the way, This Is Spinal Tap functions on both levels, and ranks as one of my favorite comedies. Nice choice.
Eric
Last edited by beltmann on 02.25.2004 2:36 am; edited 1 time in total |
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beltmann
Studio Exec
Joined: 26 Jun 2003
Posts: 2341
Location: West Bend, WI
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| Posted: 02.25.2004 2:23 am Post subject: |
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| i pwn j00 wrote: | | Anyway, i personally enjoy perversion and vulgarities in my humor, im not sure why, but I really don't enjoy thinking that much if I'm watching a comedy. |
But surely the most perverse, truly subversive fare requires a quick wit? Crude is easy, but satirical bad taste is an art form. (Even Shakespeare embraced a good low-brow jibe.)
Eric |
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beltmann
Studio Exec
Joined: 26 Jun 2003
Posts: 2341
Location: West Bend, WI
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| Posted: 02.25.2004 2:46 am Post subject: |
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| i pwn j00 wrote: | | HEAVY DUTY (director being Eric Beltmann) |
You know, that was the second in a series called The Custodial Trilogy. I like that one quite a bit, but the follow-up is weaker, perhaps because it stars me. I actively suppress it. Few have seen it since its local "premiere" a few years back, although there are numerous copies floating around that I can't control. But if you ask nicely...
Eric |
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i pwn j00
Grip
Joined: 25 Feb 2004
Posts: 19
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| Posted: 02.25.2004 3:01 am Post subject: |
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Well, I imagaine I will hit 500 pretty speedily as I'm often bored and looking for places to write stuff.
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Dr Giggles
Camera Operator
Joined: 09 Oct 2003
Posts: 84
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| Posted: 02.27.2004 4:00 am Post subject: |
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The Big Lebowski
Office Space
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
Deuce Bigalow
The Party
Lampoons Vacation
High Fidelity
Renvege of the nerds
I could on and on...
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walking on air, up from the wheelchair,
I'll find the suicide, that I deserve. |
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beltmann
Studio Exec
Joined: 26 Jun 2003
Posts: 2341
Location: West Bend, WI
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| Posted: 02.27.2004 4:28 am Post subject: |
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| i pwn j00 wrote: | | Well, I imagaine I will hit 500 pretty speedily as I'm often bored |
Bored? Perhaps I'm too easy on you guys? That can be remedied...
(And don't you have a novel to read?) 
Eric |
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Danny Baldwin
Studio Exec
Joined: 26 Jun 2003
Posts: 1354
Location: San Diego, CA
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| Posted: 02.27.2004 4:51 am Post subject: |
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| beltmann wrote: | | i pwn j00 wrote: | | Well, I imagaine I will hit 500 pretty speedily as I'm often bored |
Bored? Perhaps I'm too easy on you guys? That can be remedied...
(And don't you have a novel to read?)
Eric |
This is so entertaining I almost can't even stand it.
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Danny Baldwin
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i pwn j00
Grip
Joined: 25 Feb 2004
Posts: 19
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| Posted: 02.27.2004 5:48 am Post subject: |
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Just cause I'm bored, doesn't mean I'm done with my work. Work is boring and tedious, mainly cause its so repetitive. Also, it seems to me that alot of us are questioning how its gonna help us at all. And that whole novel thing, do you really think I'd pick a book I've never read? I do as little as possible if I can help it.
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^for all j00 binary people. |
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Danny Baldwin
Studio Exec
Joined: 26 Jun 2003
Posts: 1354
Location: San Diego, CA
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| Posted: 02.27.2004 3:01 pm Post subject: |
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Advice: be un-bored so you have an excuse not to work.
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Danny Baldwin
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Al_Bundy_007
Key Grip
Joined: 28 Feb 2004
Posts: 33
Location: GA
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| Posted: 02.28.2004 5:56 am Post subject: |
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Some of my favorites...
Chasing Amy
The Big Lebowski
Dumb and Dumber
Lost in Translation
Clerks
Dazed and Confused |
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Fred C. Dobbs
Director
Joined: 11 Mar 2004
Posts: 201
Location: New York
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| Posted: 03.12.2004 1:59 pm Post subject: |
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In no order, just to name a few:
Horse Feathers
Modern Times
The Circus
Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein
Sherlock, Jr.
Champagne for Caesar
Punch-Drunk Love
Road to Utopia
Road to Singapore
Monkey Business
A Night at the Opera
Go West
The Jerk
Coming to America
The Big Lebowski
Office Space
Barbershop
Who Done It?
The Ghost Breakers
The Music Box
Sons of the Desert
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"Pino, fuck you, fuck your fuckin' pizza, and fuck Frank Sinatra." |
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beltmann
Studio Exec
Joined: 26 Jun 2003
Posts: 2341
Location: West Bend, WI
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| Posted: 03.12.2004 10:44 pm Post subject: |
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Sherlock, Jr. is one of my desert-island movies. I'm showing The General to my classes soon; we'll discuss how it displays certain Romantic notions of war and heroism, and how it contrasts with "Red Badge of Courage." Nearly everything by Keaton ought to be listed in this thread. I consider him one of the most gifted American geniuses to have worked in cinema.
Eric |
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