I brought this up on a different subreddit, but I tried requesting this comedy film series from Criterion. I know they donβt respond to requests, but I was curious how many people are familiar with it and how much of a hidden comedic gem it is? Does anyone think Criterion would ever consider releasing these and is there anyone else that wanted to help request it?
Iβm sorry if this is the wrong place for this, but Iβm trying to request a release of the classic, but seemingly forgotten Blondie film series from as many of boutique companies as I can in hopes that someone would be interested in it. Can anyone recommend who to request from or are there any of you out there that want to help me in requesting this as well? These films have some of the best comedy in them and could stand up against a lot of the classics with its laugh out loud shenanigans.
With World War Two looming uncomfortably around the corner, French director Abel Gance created a semi-remake of his own 1919 silent war film of the same name, Jβaccuse.
The revised plot follows a doomed platoon in the trenches on the final day of World War One. The protagonist, Jean, and his comrades are sent out on what everybody knows is essentially a pointless suicide mission. As expected, the men are quickly assaulted by the Germans but, as the youngest of the platoon cries out for help, dying, alone in the mud, the trumpets ring out signalling the end of the war. It is too late for him and the rest of the platoon however. Tragically, Jean is the only survivor and vows to them that there will never be another war, so as to make their deaths not in vain.
As we all know, tensions were continuously rising throughout Europe in the 1930s and Jean, mirroring Abel Ganceβs stern antiwar feelings, turns towards creativity to counteract the immienent conflict but when his efforts fail he grows increasingly desperate, mad, and furious. Eventually, for the filmβs infamous climax, Jean calls upon the ghosts of World War One to rise from their graves to judge the living and remind them of the horrors of war.
Jβaccuse is a curious film. Many elements of the film work quite well and are interesting, yet in other places it is shockingly off the mark. The film can be split into three sections; The WW1 scenes, Jeanβs return to civilian life and attempts at inventing a plan for world peace, and the madness and shift to horror for the filmβs third act. It is that middle section that drags the film as a whole down and likely prevents it from being as revered or discussed as readily as it otherwise could or should be. Jeanβs wanderings, while peppered with moments of sorrow and reflection, are heavily bogged down in uninspired static filmmaking, melodramatic scenarios, and a troublesome long-winded love triangle between Jean, his old lover and said loverβs daughter who he has known since a very young girl. Yikes. I neglected to mention any of this is the synopsis above, because honestly it adds nothing to the story, his main motivations, the anti-war themes. If anything, it only detracts.
The WW1 section does a fantastic job of highlighting the bleakness, pointlessness and insanity of war. In remarkably unsubtle but crystal clear fashion, the film opens with a white dove - a universal symbol of peace - bleeding out into a dirty fountain. Next to it a statue of J
... keep reading on reddit β‘I was rewatching The Human Beast (1938) and after the stunning, visceral opening scene of the Jean Gabin in the train with the POV shots, I thought the film was really boring and cinematographically ugly. Loads of shots that didn't flow at all, cutting too soon and too often. There's a scene where Renoir decides not to show a murder happening that I thought was one of the worst directorial decisions ever made by an acclaimed director.
But then after the murder scene, literally every shot was beautifully composed and the drama kept me glued to the screen. There are some images that will stay with me for the rest of my life: like the Renoir character's yells as he's dragged to prison in one static frame, or the shot of Gabin walking down the tracks as the camera is moving ahead of him. The image of Gabin about to hit the husband and then failing is one of my favourite shots in all of cinema.
When the movie finished I realized I felt this way about every Renoir film, they are all kind of unatractive and boring for the first third and then phenomenal for the rest of the duration
I just watched it this weekend and I have to say it was one of the best mystery films Iβve ever seen. No spoilers. It was a totally unique story. You would think that something this good would have been reused over the years, leaving the original completely predictable to todayβs audience. But I was kept guessing the entire time. And even after EIGHTY years, the jokes are STILL FUNNY! I canβt recommend this enough. Itβs free on Amazon Prime. Do yourself a favor. Make some popcorn and watch it today.
Looking for recommendation for films released between 1938-42. Thanks!
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