tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8545661733980837263.post2831043332593913041..comments2023-03-30T16:56:53.692-07:00Comments on Icebox Movies: Edvard Munch (1974)Adam Zanziehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14524618281515322239noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8545661733980837263.post-13515434749677319482010-06-24T04:43:08.077-07:002010-06-24T04:43:08.077-07:00Peter Watkins is the most important filmmaker of t...Peter Watkins is the most important filmmaker of the second half of the twentieth century.<br /><br />In this film, and throughout his work, Watkins not only challenges the viewer but also other filmmakers to escape the restrictions of accepted cinematic processes:<br /><br /><a href="http://bit.ly/bGLvVj" rel="nofollow">http://bit.ly/bGLvVj</a>Brett Gerryhttp://www.brettgerry.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8545661733980837263.post-18869101919510123452009-12-31T23:36:08.219-08:002009-12-31T23:36:08.219-08:00Ed,
I know exactly what you mean about that whole...Ed,<br /><br />I know exactly what you mean about that whole stream of consciousness thing that Watkins has going on with the film. That technique definately makes it little more than your average, conventional biopic; those past images of the young Munch bleeding at the mouth really got to me. <br /><br />I'm sadly unfamiliar with Watkins' other films. I don't know why I chose to see <i>Edvard Munch</i> first- logically, I should have began with <i>Punishment Park</i>, but for some reason I didn't. But I've fallen in love with Watkins' faux-documentary style and I'm actually craving to see another one of his films right about now. <br /><br />And yes, you are correct about Leigh: his leftist politics are similar, but he's definately not as <i>militant</i>, I guess you could say, as Watkins is. You could perhaps argue that Watkins and Leigh are to British filmmaking what Godard and Truffaut were to France. One filmmaker uses crazy experimental techniques, the other is more concerned with emotion.<br /><br />On a side note, I'd give anything to see <i>La Commune</i>, since I'm putting the finishing touches on my Best of the Decade list and I would love to have a Watkins film on there (it's the only film he made this whole decade). Unfortunately, I can't find the film anywhere.Adam Zanziehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14524618281515322239noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8545661733980837263.post-3806556361521155252009-12-30T11:55:08.599-08:002009-12-30T11:55:08.599-08:00This is an absolutely amazing film, one of my abso...This is an absolutely amazing film, one of my absolute favorites and arguably Watkins' finest work in a career filled with great films. What I love most about it is its fragmentary editing style, which examines Munch's life through the lens of nostalgia and memory, where certain events and incidents (a childhood illness, deaths of family members, a fleeting but passionate affair) come to define the life as a whole, and to take on retrospective power through repetition and prolonged contemplation. It's a powerful expression of the way a life is thought of subjectively by the person who lived it, as a collection of moments linked together not chronologically, but by the free association of memory.<br /><br />Also notable is the way that Watkins, always a profoundly political filmmaker, positions Munch in his social and artistic context, not only through references to other artists and thinkers, but through the faux-documentary interviews with "typical" lower-class families of the era, who speak about living conditions and such.<br /><br />Mike Leigh shares Watkins' radical political/social committment, and his interest in class, but Watkins is the more aesthetically radical filmmaker, and his pseudo-documentary style, especially here and in the equally stunning, harrowing <i>Punishment Park</i>, is perfectly suited to both chronicling these untold stories and drawing attention to the conventional media's failure to talk about class and oppression in the same way.Ed Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18014222247676090467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8545661733980837263.post-3254190892397829692009-10-19T21:00:55.385-07:002009-10-19T21:00:55.385-07:00Man! Guess I'll have to go on some wild goose ...Man! Guess I'll have to go on some wild goose chase...Adam Zanziehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14524618281515322239noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8545661733980837263.post-26078879612576085702009-10-19T20:42:27.340-07:002009-10-19T20:42:27.340-07:00I rented La Commune from Kim's Video (RIP) bac...I rented La Commune from Kim's Video (RIP) back when they had a branch near my apartment. I remember Amy Taubin writing about it - which got me interested in it. It may be available via Netflix & is certainly on DVD - though that Kim's copy was likely an import of some sort.ckoh71https://www.blogger.com/profile/10563402142923766923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8545661733980837263.post-91594545162310887792009-10-19T15:50:12.463-07:002009-10-19T15:50:12.463-07:00Oh dear... I must have missed that Munch retrospec...Oh dear... I must have missed that Munch retrospective! Last year I did visit the Chicago Art Museum, but none of his stuff was there. They told us that all of his paintings are in Spain. I live in St. Louis, and I doubt we'll ever be seeing a Munch painting here since we only book paintings that are considered "priceless". And none of Munch's paintings could be appropriately decribed as that.<br /><br />How did you see <i>La Commune</i>? Were you able to rent it? I'm just beginning with Watkins' films but I would love to know more about him.Adam Zanziehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14524618281515322239noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8545661733980837263.post-75650620599537493132009-10-19T07:44:04.077-07:002009-10-19T07:44:04.077-07:00I've only seen La Commune which I found challe...I've only seen La Commune which I found challenging but fascinating. I've never heard of this Munch film, but I shall seek it out. Did you see the Munch retrospective a few years back that toured? It was at MOMA & I didn't realize that Munch had done stage design for Ibsen (and maybe Strindberg too).ckoh71https://www.blogger.com/profile/10563402142923766923noreply@blogger.com