--- William Ahearn <
williamahearn@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Oh, please.
******************************************************* Let's
knock off these dismissive openers. It makes me want to
respond sarcastically. And we know where that can lead!
****************************************************** First
off, Tony Richardson and Lindsay
> Anderson and just about every other Kitchen
Sink
> creator took more from the Italian Neo-Realists
than
> film noir. (Even if Visconti's Osseione did kick
off
> the neo-realist movement.)
****************************************************** Fine,
but you're not saying Saturday Night & Sunday Morning and
Lonliness of a Longdistance Runner, or This Sporting Life
aren't noir stories, are you? They may not be so closely
related to the American school of film that the French
identified as "noir." But by our common definition these are
definitely noir stories and they certainly influenced noir
films that followed them.
****************************************************** Blow
Up may not be subtle
> to you but then maybe the subtleness escaped
you.
> Antonioni isn't known for brash Wellesian
flourishes
> (if that's what you said) and maybe that's what
got
> you down, bunkie.
****************************************************** I'm
not down on Blow Up. I love Blow Up. I've seen it numerous
times. But in my estimation, Blow Up is not noir, it's a
spoof on noir. Hemmings captures something on film and when
he finally analyzes it he realizes he's witnessed a murder.
But his actions lead to nothing. The killer is never brought
to justice. And by the end Hemming's imagination has become
so cynical and uncertain, he can't even be induced to
cooperate in a game. This is Chandler dropping the ball.
Though the film is not heavy handed in a Wellsian way, it's
heavy handed in its own way. The understated audiio, scenes
that build but don't climax are as self conscious as Wells
long pans and strange camara angles. But Blow Up is a
fabulous film and very thought provoking. Woody Allen's very
unsubtle Crimes
& Misdemeanors owes a lot to it philosophically if not
technically.
Patrick King
____________________________________________________________________________________
Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo!
Mobile. Try it now.
http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : 10 Dec 2007 EST