Those people that know their classical Hollywood cinema probably realise that the above title refers to the movie "The Treasure of Sierra Madre". At least this was the first time I saw Bogart with facial hair.
The movie is about 3 prospectors in the 1920s Mexico and their fortunes and misfortunes in search of gold. Although the story is quite predictable it is the solid acting which holds this movie together. Bogart plays Dobbs, the more cynical and suspicious of the three, accompanied by Howard (Walter Houston), the experienced one, and the pure-hearted Curtin (Tim Holt).
The most interesting character is probably the one portrayed by Bogart, because of his inner conflicts and ambiguity. He gives a very solid performance quite different from the typical macho Bogart, and also reminds me of his performance in "In A Lonely Place" .
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Leni X 2
This week I finally came around to watching "The Triumph of Will" and "Olympia" by Leni Riefenstahl. These are classic documentaries made in the 30s in Nazi-Germany. This will probably put most people of, but if you can see beyond the Nazi propaganda these are in fact magnificent movies.
"The Triumph of Will" depicts the sixth Part Congress of the NSDAP and also follows Hitler around at various events such as Workers Inspection and a memorial for Hindenburg. I found myself getting really drawn into this movie, and I think it's very much thanks to the cinematic techniques used by Riefenstahl. She really manages to convey the grandness of the nazi-vision of one people, one reich and one leader. It's actually quite scary and really shows how easily it must have been to be seduced by the ideas of the Third Reich at the time. Another interesting historical aspect of the movie is that it was shot just after the SA (Sturmabteilung) were starting to fall out of favour with Hitler. Their leader had just been executed for treason a couple of months before the movie was shot. I personally think this movie should be seen for two reasons: firstly for its historical importance as a document from within Nazi-germany, and not an outside view which is the one we usually are offered. Secondly, it should be seen for its cinematography, which has influenced they documentaries ever since.
"Olympia" has much less of a propaganda feel to it and is more like retrospective of the 1936 Olympics held in Berlin. This is not to say that it hasn't got any artistic qualities, for example the opening sequence is a beautiful depiction of how the olympic torch travels from Greece to Athens. The opening ceremony is more interesting from a historical perspective, because we get to see which nations greet Hitler with a Nazi-greeting. No surprise Italy is among them, but I was more surprised to see the french do the same. The rest of the movie is basically devoted to showing all the separate events and results. It's slightly different from modern "highlights" TV-shows in that it has a more artistic feel to it, with a lot of beautiful slow-motion shots. The movie is actually in two parts, where the first focuses on the athletics and the other on the events taking place outside the Olympic Stadium. Of the those events I think modern pentathlon was my favourite, mainly because they were all military officers in uniforms competing, quite bizarre.
"The Triumph of Will" depicts the sixth Part Congress of the NSDAP and also follows Hitler around at various events such as Workers Inspection and a memorial for Hindenburg. I found myself getting really drawn into this movie, and I think it's very much thanks to the cinematic techniques used by Riefenstahl. She really manages to convey the grandness of the nazi-vision of one people, one reich and one leader. It's actually quite scary and really shows how easily it must have been to be seduced by the ideas of the Third Reich at the time. Another interesting historical aspect of the movie is that it was shot just after the SA (Sturmabteilung) were starting to fall out of favour with Hitler. Their leader had just been executed for treason a couple of months before the movie was shot. I personally think this movie should be seen for two reasons: firstly for its historical importance as a document from within Nazi-germany, and not an outside view which is the one we usually are offered. Secondly, it should be seen for its cinematography, which has influenced they documentaries ever since.
"Olympia" has much less of a propaganda feel to it and is more like retrospective of the 1936 Olympics held in Berlin. This is not to say that it hasn't got any artistic qualities, for example the opening sequence is a beautiful depiction of how the olympic torch travels from Greece to Athens. The opening ceremony is more interesting from a historical perspective, because we get to see which nations greet Hitler with a Nazi-greeting. No surprise Italy is among them, but I was more surprised to see the french do the same. The rest of the movie is basically devoted to showing all the separate events and results. It's slightly different from modern "highlights" TV-shows in that it has a more artistic feel to it, with a lot of beautiful slow-motion shots. The movie is actually in two parts, where the first focuses on the athletics and the other on the events taking place outside the Olympic Stadium. Of the those events I think modern pentathlon was my favourite, mainly because they were all military officers in uniforms competing, quite bizarre.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)