movies

[ellen_datlow]

Over the weekend I watched the South Korean movie Oldboy (finally--after three damaged DVDs from Netflix). Pretty harrowing and very effective. A man his kidnapped and kept prisoner for 15 years, with no idea as to who imprisoned him or why. When he gets out he's led through a cat and mouse game by his torturer.

Next up, Glengarry Glen Ross with a terrific ensemble cast: Jack Lemon, Alec Baldwin, Al Pacino, Kevin Spacey, Ed Harris, Alan Arkin, and Jonathan Pryce. The lives of cutthroat real estate guys in Chicago selling investments in Arizona and Florida land and not caring who they destroy to get on top. I saw the 2005 revival on Broadway with Liev Schreiber, who won a Tony. Not a great play or movie but it's made by its cast every time.

The Seventh Victim produced by Val Lewton and directed by Mark Robson. Someone recommended it and it was pretty lame. Young woman leaves school when her only living relative (who is supporting her)--her older sister-disappears. Satanic cult, blah blah blah. Very choppy the last fifteen minutes. There was a short about Lewton afterwards (maybe that's why the whole thing was recommended) but I just didn't care.

First two hours of the first season of Deadwood. Initially, the cursing put me off (surprising since I my self curse quite a bit in everyday life) but I found it off-putting at first. Got used to it though and enjoyed the episodes.

Comments

[vee-ecks.livejournal.com]

"Not a great play or movie but it's made by its cast every time. "

I love the movie more, I think, but yeah, it's all about the cast. I especially love how closely the career arcs of the major players fit the actors' careers.

I watched Seventh Victim a decade or so ago after similar "gotta see it" promptings, and...same reaction as you. It's sort of interesting for being a movie about a secret Satanic cult, long before that legend entered mainstream fiction and movies and then exploded into real life, to miserable result.

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the movie cast is brilliant. They all have their amazing riffs (which is why I think it kind of sucks as a play but is great for actors)...

The cult doesn't DO anything and we're never told why they need to kill seven people and what they expect to get out of it (or else I missed it). And then the protags just kind of lecture them about being bad people (they KILLED six people)....

[nick-kaufmann.livejournal.com]

I thought Deadwood was amazing.

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

I certainly enjoyed the first two episodes (even though too many of the men look similar to each other).

[stephen-dedman.livejournal.com]

I certainly don't think 'The Seventh Victim' works as a horror film - unusually for a Lewton movie, it's at best mildly intriguing and with none of the unnerving atmosphere of 'Cat People' - and yet, the final scene gets me every time.

I've now watched all of Season 1 of Deadwood, was enormously impressed, and started on Season 2. I find that knowing some of the history adds to my appreciation of it, even if it meant that I was expecting some of the deaths.

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

Yes. The final scene is very good--but it didn't need a narration.

[markdeniz.livejournal.com]

Love Oldboy, although Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance is my fave of the trilogy.

Love Glengarry Glen Ross for the same reasons as yourself!

Adore Deadwood, one of THE best shows ever!

(Not seen The Seventh Victim but on our wavelength vibes here maybe I shouldn't...)

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

Turns out I have both the other two in my queue already....so someone recced them to me.

[justinhowe.livejournal.com]

The Seventh Victim is a favorite of mine - but I'll be the first to admit I'm a geeky movie dork.

If you can track down the Korean movie The Foul King about a bank clerk who moonlights as a masked wrestler.

Deadwood is great, I need to watch the third season.

[mroctober.livejournal.com]

I recommend you rent and watch the Korean flick No Regrets.

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

Just checked and it's call No Regret--looks interesting.

[scottedelman.livejournal.com]

I loved Deadwood, and think that it only gets better as it goes on.

As for Oldboy, I have the DVD, which has been recommended to me by many, many people. But since they've also told me something of its plot and tone, I've also been waiting for the right mood. I don't know what that mood is, though.

Maybe while I'm eating sushi ...

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

Perhaps not...Watch when you're in a good mood. I never watch depressing movies when I'm depressed or in a bad mood.

[nick-kaufmann.livejournal.com]

Definitely not while eating sushi, as there is a rather disturbing scene at a sushi bar.

[bev-vincent.livejournal.com]

Everyone in our marketing group at work has been watching Glengarry Glen Ross lately to gain a better appreciation of our sales force. It's all about lead generation. Apparently all of our sales guys have the movies installed on their laptops and they can quote from it at length. A few of my coworkers were shellshocked after watching it. The vulgarity and animosity among the characters is pervasive (though perhaps lame by Deadwood standards. The cast referred to the movie as Death of a Fucking Salesman while they were working on it.

Alec Baldwin's scene is astounding (his part was written specifically for the film and did not appear in the original stage play).

It was interesting listening to the cast discuss the shooting process. Alan Arkin said that they had a script supervisor who made sure they got the dialog exactly correct, right down to the number of uhs in a stammer. If he did two and the script called for three, he had to redo it.

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

Bev,
This is fascinating. Thanks for the info.

[vee-ecks.livejournal.com]

"Alec Baldwin's scene is astounding (his part was written specifically for the film and did not appear in the original stage play)."

Yep, and it is just great. I yell "PUT. THE. FUCKING. COFFEE. DOWN." and "COFFEE IS FOR CLOSERS" at people at work all the time. (Likeminded people who aren't going to assume I'm saying that seriously, I mean.)

BTW, in a similar vein, this is a pretty swell anthology in general, and one I've to a few salespeople I know who also read for pleasure, over the years:

http://www.amazon.com/Closers-Great-American-Writers-Selling/dp/product-description/0312180683

Unfortunately OOP, but you can get copies from Amazon used book affiliates for a song. Very much worth it.

[maggiedr.livejournal.com]

The cursing in Deadwood becomes brilliant as the series progresses, so hang in there. Eventually, you hardly notice it, it's just part of their harsh reality.

I'm going to put "Oldboy" on my netflix now, along with "Glengarry Glen Ross". I've avoided the depressing subject matter of GGR for years and years now, but the cast is too hard to resist any longer.

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

Oldboy is kind of depressing. Glengarry Glen Ross isn't really a bummer--it's exhilarating, as an actor's dream.

[satyrblade.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I had a brief stumble over the level of profanity myself - not because I thought it was "nasty," just unrealistically excessive. Then I watched the DVD mini-doc about the creator's use of language, got the point, and quickly reconsidered. Now, Deadwood numbers among my top-10 favorite TV shows ever.

[cinriter.livejournal.com]

I could never get past three episodes of DEADWOOD. It tried waaaay too hard and as a result felt inauthentic and very Hollywood-ish.

OLDBOY, on the other hand, is pretty great. I'm a big fan of director Park Chan-wook, although my personal favorite of his is probably SYMPATHY FOR LADY VENGEANCE. You'd probably really dig his last film, I'M A CYBORG BUT THAT'S OKAY, which was a strange and very entertaining mix of romantic comedy and science fiction (set in a mental institution!).

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

I'll see how I feel about DEADWOOD--So far I'm not addicted but do have the next batch coming.

I think I'll add the CYBORG one--sounds interesting...

Glengarry Glen Ross

[(Anonymous)]

An old theatrical truism back before drama critics became all powerful was that it didn't matter if the critics liked your plays as long as the actors liked them. Mamet certainly has had critical acclaim. But plays like American Buffalo and GGR have gotten multiple Broadway revivals because the actors love them as they love no other contemporary American playwright.

Rick Bowes

Re: Glengarry Glen Ross

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

I agree. I think he (and David Rabe) are among the most overrated American playwrights I know.

[al-zorra.livejournal.com]

I'm going through Deadwood for the second time.

We used to go to Deadwood on summer vacations in the Black Hills. Toured the mines, walked the plank 'sidewalks,' visited Boot Hill, etc.

All this is part of the history we grew up with in that part of the world where I was born and brought up.

Love, C.

[foresthouse.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen Deadwood myself, but I know one of my LJ friends has a bit part in it. :)

On another note, I was in a book store today (they do a lot of comics and I was looking for some of those) and I noticed that your Del Rey anthology was up there on the shelf display in the front. :)

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

Ooh thanks. That's good news.