Watched October 2-8, 2006
Moved on to Out 1, parts 3-4. Jean-Pierre Léaud is a hoot as a pan handler who extorts donations from cafe patrons by means of very obnoxious harmonica assaults. Juliet Berto (Celine and Julie) is also charming -- as another sort of schemer.
El ángel exterminador (Luis Buñuel, 1962)
The new UK DVD stupidly excises LB's deliberate re-showing of the arrival of guests early on -- under the misapprehension that he made an editing goof that needed "correcting" (apparently following routine British practice). Otherwise, though, this looks vastly better than the prior VHS version.
Céline et Julie vont en bateau (Jacques Rivette, 1974)
I liked this more than ever on this revisitation. ;~}
Tian ruo you qing III feng huo jia ren / Moment of Romance III (Johnnie To, 1996)
A wonderful romance set in WW2 China -- with Andy Lau as a scion of a wealthy family serving as a pilot (somewhat to the chagrin of his wealthy mother) who makes an emergency landing near a rural village and rescued (and nursed back to health) by Jacqueline Wu (an orphan -- who is loved by the son of the village chief). He eventually returns to town -- and turns down a promotion to a desk job (which his mother has engineered -- to keep him safe). Our heroine, meanwhile, decides to go to town to find him -- arriving just as townspeople are being warned of the need to evacuate soon (as the Japanese forces are getting perilously close). As usual with To's films -- one is kept guessing until the last moment whether there will be a happy or sad ending. ;~}
El ángel exterminador (Luis Buñuel, 1962)
The new UK DVD stupidly excises LB's deliberate re-showing of the arrival of guests early on -- under the misapprehension that he made an editing goof that needed "correcting" (apparently following routine British practice). Otherwise, though, this looks vastly better than the prior VHS version.
Céline et Julie vont en bateau (Jacques Rivette, 1974)
I liked this more than ever on this revisitation. ;~}
Tian ruo you qing III feng huo jia ren / Moment of Romance III (Johnnie To, 1996)
A wonderful romance set in WW2 China -- with Andy Lau as a scion of a wealthy family serving as a pilot (somewhat to the chagrin of his wealthy mother) who makes an emergency landing near a rural village and rescued (and nursed back to health) by Jacqueline Wu (an orphan -- who is loved by the son of the village chief). He eventually returns to town -- and turns down a promotion to a desk job (which his mother has engineered -- to keep him safe). Our heroine, meanwhile, decides to go to town to find him -- arriving just as townspeople are being warned of the need to evacuate soon (as the Japanese forces are getting perilously close). As usual with To's films -- one is kept guessing until the last moment whether there will be a happy or sad ending. ;~}
Comments