Didn't 😁Tarantino basically shout "without politics!" right at the start of the festival?
... I mean, I’m pretty sure Tilda Swinton kept him up all night before the awards ceremony even started.
... I honestly have this nagging feeling that they're going to go back to Capitol Hill and try to rename "French fries"😁, and who knows, maybe they'll go after French salad, French kisses, or even French keys next... 😁
I honestly can't help but feel like those old-school historical flicks starring Steve Reeves just had a certain level of authenticity they totally lack today: 😁
rapidstag74 said:Of course they had to sweeten the deal at the end, so we get that little escape with Andromache, the baby, Helen, Paris, and Bris. Honestly, I feel like Hollywood would have just spontaneously combusted if the movie had wrapped up with Hector's child being left as nothing more than a stain on the walls of Troy.
That sounds like it could definitely work for a sequel. The Aeneid: a true story.
Honestly, my absolute favorite scene in the movie has to be that intense moment when Odysseus goes to find Achilles. There’s this incredible final shot where you see Achilles and Patroclus standing there, with Odysseus right behind them, and then the camera does this super fast, dramatic zoom straight onto Odysseus as he delivers that powerful line about how this war is going to be remembered forever. It just hits so hard.
Did you catch that? 😁 I guess that’s probably meant to be a little homage to the classics. Sword & Sandals I’ve always had a soft spot for those old episodes, especially the ones that feel a bit cheesy, like the ones starring Steve Reeves.
Even Fahrenheit 9/11 spent about ten whole days sitting on the editing table right before its screening. And honestly, who knows? It might just head right back there once the dust settles after Cannes. 😁
You wouldn't believe the energy at the festival yesterday, but Michael Moore's latest documentary, Fahrenheit 9/11, actually received an incredible 15-minute standing ovation AT The Cannes film festival yesterday. It’s quite the heavy hitter, too—the film, which is currently aiming for the Palm D'Or AT The glitzy French event, dives deep into the connections between President George W. Bush and The bin Laden family, while also tackling the sensitive issue regarding The mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners of War by American servicemen. Even though things got a little heated because of the drama surrounding Disney's refusal to pick it up, the crowd—which featured everyone from Kill Bill beauty Darryl Hannah to the legendary rocker Mick Jagger—showed exactly how they felt by shouting "Bravo" and keeping the applause going for more than fifteen minutes straight. Even Harvey Weinstein, the head of Miramax who is looking into ways for Disney and distribute IT via another company - enthuses, saying, "It was the longest standing ovation I've seen in over 25 years."
Roger Ebert or Emir Kusturica: Picture a celebration that carries on through the entire night, where a local band follows you everywhere, playing this constant, rhythmic oom-pah-pah beat for the crowd. Suddenly, conflict erupts—a soccer superstar is captured, his family retaliates by taking an enemy woman hostage, then his father ends up falling for her, and I actually overheard someone in the shadows asking, "Wait, is the actual theme of this film just alcoholism?"
briskjackal5 said:It’s not just about simple hand-to-hand combat; there’s always some Ares or Aphrodite swooping in from the sidelines to bail out their favorite fighter. Even looking at the original mythology, you see these circles forming around the major warriors. It was basically because the gods wouldn't let mortals ruin their big plans right when things were getting interesting.
Did you actually see any gods show up in the movie?
I didn't catch any, mostly because the film was scrubbed completely clean of them. Petersen mentioned they toyed with the idea of including them, but they felt it would have looked pretty ridiculous.
That’s really the core issue with Troy. They just modernized it too much.
Steven Ruiz said:I totally forgot to mention that Saffron Burrows is actually my neighbor (she's that actress who plays Hector's wife) and she's a lesbian. She lives with that other actress, Fiona Shaw... who, if I'm being honest, isn't really my type visually...
Oof, well, that certainly sheds a whole new light on the entire movie. 😬 Now I'm wondering if I should go back and watch it all over again?
Robert Wood2 said:p.s. what they're doing there with Antonioni is more than just unacceptable, it's downright shameful... if Spielberg and all those other sellouts run after money and "improve" their own movies, that's no excuse for producers to disrespect cinematic classics—it's honestly insulting.
So, what exactly are they doing? Please, enlighten me.
Actually, on second thought, don't bother.
... You know, Robert, even the greatest cinematic works tend to lose a bit of their luster after a while. In the case of Blow-Up, we're talking about thirty-eight years—so you can probably imagine how much that quality might have slipped. But thanks to modern technology, and the sheer dedication and skill of the specialists who handle film restoration, we can actually sit back and enjoy the full splendor of the movie just like audiences did way back in 1966. I realize that for a true cinephile like you, the idea of anyone "interfering" with world cinematic treasures is absolutely nauseating, but honestly, I'd suggest you try to make peace with it.
Just as I'd suggest that next time you decide to drop a "profound" post, maybe take a moment to look up a few facts first or at least seek out some expert advice. 🙄
silentpilot6 said:I’m honestly not quite sure how LOTR fits into my whole perspective on things, but I suppose it really is that one damn exception that proves the rule. It isn't just some typical Hollywood spectacle—it feels more like an Australian production through and through, especially since Jackson is Australian himself, which probably explains why he managed to turn that absolute mess of a project into something truly stellar.
Whatever you do, don't go calling a New Zealander an Australian! 😉
... Just to be clear, I don't have anything to say. I really don't hold any particular grudge against those big Hollywood spectacles.
I have I’ve always felt this deep-seated, almost irrational frustration whenever I find myself sitting through a movie that just feels completely hollow—you know, those films that lack any real soul or spark, whether they’re trying to be some massive, sweeping Hollywood blockbuster or a pretentious little indie darling. It’s such a letdown when you go in expecting to feel something, only to realize you're watching something totally lifeless and uninspired.
... It just doesn't exist. I honestly feel like I’m just being dragged through the mud here. When it comes to movies.
The very first thing that popped into my head the second I walked out of the theater was: "Peter Jackson is God!!!!"
Honestly, anyone who had the nerve to grumble that anyone could whip up a historical or fantasy super-spectacle given the massive tech, budget, and crew available should go watch Troy. See, Petersen had three times the budget, way better technology (unlike that New Zealander who apparently had to sell off his entire flock of sheep just to afford some computers 😁), he had A-list stars, and a massive army of film crews spread across several continents. His only real problem was that he had absolutely no clue what to actually do with them.
I’m pretty sure most of the "historical" research for Troy basically boiled down to watching the LOTR trilogy. I mean, there isn't a single thing in this movie that hasn't been swiped or borrowed from Jackson's films. What Petersen is so obviously missing—and what he just couldn't replicate from LOTR—is vision, risk, and actual passion.
Look, folks, Troy is a movie with top-tier acting, top-tier production, and third-rate writing. The first thing that hits you is the catastrophic dialogue—and when I say catastrophic, I mean K-A-T-A-S-T-R-O-P-H-I-C!!! Good grief, who wrote this? R. A. Salvatore? Robert Jordan? Danielle Steel? It feels like it was penned by some ambitious but painfully untalented fantasy writer who has spent their entire life reading nothing but R. A. Salvatore, Robert Jordan, and Danielle Steel. I was honestly just waiting for Paris to turn to Helen and drop a baby line.
But alright, fine. Some people claim that dialogue is the least important factor in a Hollywood super-spectacle. Well, how about the battles? They look like the soggy fever dream of any aspiring fan of American gladiators. Still, I can't say I didn't walk away with a few history lessons. Thanks to this movie, I learned that in the ancient world, two armies of fifty thousand men would charge at each other, kill a few people, then just stop and circle around some incredibly important mano-a-mano showdown: Hector vs. Ajax, or Hector vs. Patroclus (though I honestly thought he was Achilles—I mean, they both clearly go to the same barber 😁). To make a long story short, the battles are just like the rest of the film—lifeless and boring.
When the characters were talking, I was counting the minutes until the action started, and once the action finally kicked in, I was counting the minutes until they started talking again.
… And maybe none of this would be such a headache if the cast hadn't almost entirely flopped (that's Brian Cox, Brendan Gleeson, and Eric Bana 🙂).
I say "almost entirely" because we have Peter O'Toole there, who carries the whole thing on his back for a mere five hundred spears. Apparently, you need sixty years of acting experience just to deliver this garbage dialogue in a way that sounds phenomenal.
The absolute worst part, though, is Brad Pitt. Don't get me wrong, I like him as an actor and he's got talent, but what on earth possessed him to portray Achilles as some kind of narcissistic, douchey quarterback prima donna? When he was charging toward Apollo's temple at the beginning, I seriously thought he was going to attempt a touchdown. Not to mention he has this silly you-have-to-see-it-to-believe-it Dragon Ball Z special move where he charges, jumps, and stabs with his sword.
The only thing I couldn't figure out was whether that "what-is-this-even-supposed-to-be" look in his eyes belonged to Achilles or to Pitt himself.
… Anyway, to wrap this up... as I already said:
Don't watch Troy. Take those two and a half hours and do something much better and more noble: work in your garden, flip some pancakes, walk the dog, or head to the barber...
All I really remember about the Iliad is how incredibly bloody it was—just endless, graphic descriptions of wounds, people getting impaled, and total carnage...
Honestly, the whole thing felt more like some kind of forensic epic than anything else.