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Post by Michael West on Jul 5, 2007 11:37:21 GMT -5
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Post by obliv326 on Jul 5, 2007 13:05:28 GMT -5
i have to say that the article didnt bother me that much. obviously, there are different perspectives for what type of cinema you prefer, and the person who wrote this article was clearly enamored with the more intellectually challenging, "art" films that came from europe. it is true...america has never really had a godard, or a bergman, per se...or at least one who broke ground like they did. there is also a reason why europe doesnt have a scorcese...someone with high artistic sensibility who also makes strong narrative driven, exciting genre pictures. the american film industry is largely driven by commerce, which does mean there is less experimental, risk taking films...
and anyway, that article was written as a response to the guardians '1000 films you need to see before you die', whi h was largely dominated by american films. essentially, what you are reacting to is an editorial by someone on the guardian staff. nothing to get upset about, really. its just his opinion, and the guardian is a uk paper, after all, so you can expect some european bias.
i think it may get to some americans who might have that knee jerk reaction, esp if you arent used to hearing the american film industry subject to criticism (and if yo0u want some of that, just go to film school). hey, sometimes i wish there was some state sponsored way for filmmakers to raise funds, like there is in other countries...but then again, that doesnt always result in great filmmaking either.
i really think there are a couple ways to appreciate films...having just seen live free or die hard (after refusing to stand in a line stretching down the back hall of a cinema 45 minutes before a showing of transformers) i can tell you that there is something eciting and iconic about seeing a hero standing on the wing of a jet fioghter that for sheer visceral power overpowers anything that classical european cinema turns out...
and if i dont feel intellectually engaged after a '...die hard', i can come home and throw my copy of 'wild strawberries' into my dvd player, and at the en of the day, have both halves of my film loving self fulfilled. its not one or the other, and you can make a case for both. i, for one, am glad they are both out there.
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