Setting the table (movie-wise)

With a list of books, movies, albums, shows, and games awaiting my attempt at rapid-fire consumption over the next year, it occurred to me to do a lead-up run of movies featuring a smattering of pre-70s films. It's not lost on me that with all of the media types I listed above I wasn't planning on doing the same for books, movies, shows, or games. At the end of the day, I suppose, movies are the one for me.

Some of these have been on my "to-see-list" for ages, and some I found while browsing some decade-by-decade lists. I guess I could have spread the wealth around countries more robustly but, c'est la vie. I watched these over a weekend.

****

Intolerance (1916)

Certainly a "check the box" viewing here; it's just one of those movies that I know much about from reading but hadn't sat down to watch it. I was most impressed by the battle sequences and the fun effects and some crazy stunts. The four stories were unevenly interesting, which seems fair because they weren't all given equal focus within the movie itself, and the tenuous connections between them sometimes felt like critical comparison essays I used to write in high school where the only real link between them was the text using the words "intolerance" and "intolerant" as often as possible.

Can't imagine I'd need to watch it again, but it felt appropriate to give it its due.

****

Safety Last (1923)

I was surprised by the opening sequence's sight gag with the noose, because no matter how many times I'm given evidence that everything old is new again, I am always taken aback by older movies using stuff that I'd expect to find in a ZAZ film. I actually liked the little things along the way (sneaking into work, hiding from the landlady, and especially pretending to be a manager) as much or more than the extended building-climbing sequence - although I loved and respected that it was soooo long.

****

The General (1926)

Nothing at all like what I expected. I was prepared for stunts, gags, and hijinks, but not a sympathetic (and apparently quite accurate) retelling of a U.S. Civil War's Southern army adventure. In short: the stuntwork was there - and it was clever and entertaining - but viewing this purely as an adventure/love story rather than as a historical timepiece suddenly throws it into my list of massively influential films for comedy, adventure, and action genres. 

****

Modern Times (1936)

Again, this was an unexpected experience because I didn't know anything about this one before going. I didn't pick this intentionally because it was Chaplin's final film as The Tramp, nor because it was a landmark mish-mash of silent film and "talkie" - that was just a lucky stroke that led me to this perfect inclusion in this kind of fest.

It's funny, it's poignant, and its mixture of silence and sound was fascinating. Goddard was terrific, and rather carried the picture at times - though, obviously, what are you watching this picture for if not to see Chaplin roll out some of his greatest tricks. 

****

The Rules of the Game (1939)

The design of this was fascinating; most locations as they were filmed gave an "extended stage set" kind of feeling. Inside these sets, the actors were all terrific, the satire was comedic without going for comedy bits, and the whole thing just felt so sad watching these people ruin lives all around them.

Much love for the burly and forlorn French Willem Dafoe in the middle of the picture above.

Also: so, so many animals were harmed in the making of this movie.

****

Rashomon (1950)

I appreciated the runtime here: it was lean, constantly pushing forward, and therefore leaving very little time for pondering what one version of the truth meant before I had to consider the next. Performances were fantastic across the board with different energy and purpose for everyone - Shimura was the standout for me; not because anyone dropped the ball but because he was so intriguing to watch. 

I suppose when I say the pace didn't leave any time for questions I was thinking specifically about how I was instinctively hesitant to buy into a medium's testimony as a plausible construct but - no time to think about that! Gotta move on! 

It's an incredible work to provide options with no answers, ostensibly because the truth of the story is not really the point here. This isn't a whodunit but more a whydunit, and even that's left to grapple with by the end. 

****

Tokyo Story (1953)

My goodness. This wasn't even on my list of "movies to see" from over the years, and it's safe to say that without deciding to start the project in this way I might never have found my way to it. Instead, as I browsed lists to look for the most often revered movies by decade, I luckily picked this and was rewarded with a singularly mesmerizing viewing experience. 

The patience of this film is incredible. Shots linger on a location for several moments after a scene has rightfully "ended" and even sometimes after characters have exited and left the area empty. There is almost no singular shot that I remember: the camera doesn't move, zoom, pan, track, or in any other way distract from the moment. Characters aren't talking straight to the camera - I don't think? If they aren't, they're looking as close as they can to it without actually directly addressing it. Music is minimal. Sound is sparse. 

In short: there's nothing going on here except the slow revealing of relationships and that's more than enough. In fact, as the final 45 minutes accelerates the story, relatively speaking, it's still at a speed that only feels breakneck because of how patient everything has been leading up to it. 

I'll be revisiting this one.

****

The Seventh Seal (1957)

In all honesty, I've meant to watch this ever since I became aware that the beloved Brewmeister Smith/Ming the Merciless of my youth was, in fact, a very big deal. 

Actually, everyone in this movie is a very big deal. Probably the most beautiful collection of people I've seen in a movie, and all of them threatening to steal scenes from one another at every turn. It's hopeful and full of despair and exactly what I expected and would want from a movie about Death. 

To think that it's also finally setting me up properly for the Death sequence in Monty Python's "The Meaning of Life" - not to mention Bill and Ted battling Death in a game of Battleship... 

And I feel a little ashamed that I've seen "The Seventh Sign" twice as many times in my life as I've now seen this. 

Ultimately, of all the movies this weekend, this might be the most important building block that I've now added to my foundation.

****

Il Posto (1961)

Chosen because ... it was on my PVR, it checked off the 1960s, and it wasn't too long of a runtime as I was nearing the end of the weekend. Hardly an eloquent decision-making process, but I'm so glad I chose it. 

This has all the awful qualities of youth: uncertainty mixed with occasional bombast, culminating in the terrible achieving of a goal that immediately becomes heavy and maybe even undesirable. It's funny at nice intervals and has some effective moments of heartache as it winds its way patiently along its uncertain plot. Basically: it's those growing pains at work, no matter what country or decade you're watching it in. 

****

What a beautiful time watching movies. You may have noticed that I skipped the 40s altogether; this is because it became obvious right away that I've seen more movies from that decade than any other - not counting those after I was born. So, no need to pay tribute to those years right now.

Bring on the 70s!