it's a movie that is great enough to put him in the directors HOF for me. obv he was responsible for several other classics too but that one is a movie i could watch at any time.
― omar little, Wednesday, 21 February 2018 03:15 (six years ago) link
I think that'll win, yeah, and, as I posted recently, it's a great film. My own vote will go to Body Snatchers, though. Wish I could get a nice clip of the scene where I got the title, but of the two on YouTube, one is a doctored joke, and the volume on the other is too low.
― clemenza, Wednesday, 21 February 2018 03:18 (six years ago) link
great poll idea! I uh somehow haven't seen any of these
― Simon H., Wednesday, 21 February 2018 03:18 (six years ago) link
Haven't seen it since it was released, but I suspect the sexual politics of The Unbearable Lightness of Being may have dated quite badly.
His Invasion of the Body Snatchers remake is a good fun satire of faddish consumerism, but it's not actually as scary or intense as the 50s original.
Voted for The Right Stuff of course, maybe the last great Western.
― Ward Fowler, Wednesday, 21 February 2018 11:09 (six years ago) link
I saw The Unbearable Lightness of Being when it came out but not since. It didn't do much for me, but I'm going to try to watch it again. I think I'd be more receptive to it today--my knowledge of 1968 at the time was pretty much limited to what went on in the States. Never went back to Henry & June, either.
I like the original Body Snatchers fine, and the political context of Siegel's film is more urgent, but just as a horror film, I find Kaufman's more intense--especially, of course, the final shot.
― clemenza, Wednesday, 21 February 2018 12:46 (six years ago) link
Being is a terrific novel that didn't have to be a film, but it's good.
Only seen 5 of his features (the '78-90 run), and of those, Snatchers. Or did i see Northfield Minnesota too? Don't remember.
― ice cream social justice (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 21 February 2018 12:59 (six years ago) link
Rising Sun is such a mess. I liked a few moments--best was Wesley Snipes when the corporate creep beckoned him to park his car: "Wrong fuckin' guy, wrong fuckin' century." Connery seemed to waver back and forth between sly self-parody and plain bad acting; wasn't sure which sometimes. Couldn't follow the plot points around the murder, or just gave up trying.
― clemenza, Saturday, 24 February 2018 16:19 (six years ago) link
Hemingway & Gellhorn is a fucking TERRIBLE movie. I switched it off 3/4 of the way through.
I voted Henry and June.
― akm, Sunday, 25 February 2018 01:27 (six years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.
― System, Tuesday, 27 February 2018 00:01 (six years ago) link
Body Snatchers and The Right Stuff are contenders, but I watched The Unbearable Lightness of Being again last year and didn't cringe from the sexual politics -- a surprise. More epics should be this insouciant.
― morning wood truancy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 27 February 2018 00:02 (six years ago) link
I've only seen Rising Sun and Quills, so I def need to see more by this guy (likely starting with IotBS and TRS).
Is Unbearable Lightness one of those where I should bother to read the book first?
― Dangleballs and the Ballerina (cryptosicko), Tuesday, 27 February 2018 02:52 (six years ago) link
I read the book first; it matters in this case insofar as the text has an intrusive narrator in the manner of an 18th century novel yet the thing remains insouciant.
― morning wood truancy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 27 February 2018 03:08 (six years ago) link
Rising Sun is complete crap. How on earth you could fuck up a Crichton vehicle in 1993 is beyond me, but it's painfully terrible.
Voted The Right Stuff.
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Tuesday, 27 February 2018 06:26 (six years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.
― System, Wednesday, 28 February 2018 00:01 (six years ago) link
Surprised. Thought The Right Stuff would win going away, and didn't think anything other than the top three would get votes.
― clemenza, Wednesday, 28 February 2018 00:45 (six years ago) link
i can't remember a thnk about unbearable lightness, either the film or the book, and I read it and saw the movie at least twice. I remember a bowler hat.
― akm, Wednesday, 28 February 2018 02:43 (six years ago) link