giant piece of crap - Shadows (1960) Discussion

[–] alkaline213 17 years ago

Then you go ahead and do that, and leave your bland exaggeratory analogies adt the door. If you've nothing intelligent to contribute to a conversation, then it is often best to stay out of it...

These are my guns, Sir. -The Salton Sea

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[–] boowallace 17 years ago

so hating a film is not welcomed, then why have a forum? Anyways, I thought this film was pointless. I couldn't connect with any of the characters at all like I would with a great cinema classic, so I obviously didn't care about them. None of the scenes made sense to me and I had no clue how any of the little "go to black and begin the next segment" correlated with the previous segment or any of the segments for that matter. Everything has a purpose in cinema, well this is a classic example of the opposite of that statement. If the character is watching a movie then he/she is just watching a movie and there is not a meaning to it. This to me was just a home video you can tape at the comfort of your home, and is not cinema.

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[–] 17 years ago

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[–] CitrusWithFuschiaTrim 14 years ago

I never understood why people don't like the movies because they couldn't connect with the characters. Or maybe different people mean different things when they say it. Do you mean you could not relate to any of the characters? Or that you did not understand any of the characters? For example I couldn't "relate" to any of the characters in L'argent by Bresson but I thought it was a great movie and definitely in my top 100. I don't feel I need to relate to the characters all the time.

^ A zillion times this. IMDB sometimes feels like a big support group for people alarmed by their inability to find those fabled 'likeable' characters to 'connect' or 'relate' to. Where on earth did this deep-seated need come from? And why is that so many rush to point out the film-maker's supposed incompetence instead of stopping to ask that question of themselves?
_____
I suppose on a clear day you can see the class struggle from here.

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[–] Borowczyk76 15 years ago

Mouahahah! This coming from a man who thinks HOOK is good cinema!

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[–] Pvt_Joker 17 years ago

Only movie i've ever walked out of. I'd rather watch a swarm of mosquitos feed off my blood.

Well, that's like your opinion man...

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[–] ollie_clixby 17 years ago

'boowallace', you say "everything in cinema has a purpose" and judging by your argument it would seem your talking largely about conventional cinema where you do have a beginning, middle and end (whereby everything is tied up nicely for you). Unfortunatly this just isn't one of those films so would be best to stay away from more art-house stuff. Opinions are good and was nice to see someone backing it up :)

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[–] boowallace 17 years ago

no problem. i hate it when people say I hate or like something like the original poster without backing up his opinion. Anyways, I have taken many film classes at my college where they talk highly about Cassavettes(sp?) and I decided to give one of his well known movies "Shadows" a try. I appreciate your advice for me to avoid more art-house stuff since I enjoy more conventional cinema. :-)

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[–] YellowManReanimated 17 years ago

"Conventional cinema" why do people always try to dress cinema in conventions. Those that successfully break conventions are the true artists and Cassavetes certainly did that.

She wore bluuuuuuue vel-vet....

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[–] boowallace 17 years ago

really. so Hitchcock then isn't an artist b/c he plans every last detail out

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[–] 17 years ago

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[–] richard-III 15 years ago

"really. so Hitchcock then isn't an artist b/c he plans every last detail out"

Oh, during the decennia Alfred Hitchcock was active, he broke quite a few film conventions alright - though not in the same way John Cassavetes did.

"When there is no more room in the Oven,
the Bread will walk the Earth."

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[–] Xcalat3 17 years ago

I disagree with you, I think this is a good movie but your title made me laugh

I Worship The Goddess Amber Tamblyn

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[–] Hammeranvil 17 years ago

Okay, in my experience people who make comments like this usual have other reasons for hating a film (or anything else for that matter) ... and it's generally a personal reason. But since they don't want to expose the personal reason why they dislike a film (and, perhaps, subsequently exposing the type of person they are) they'll just childishly say something like "It's a giant piece of crap!" and go on their way.

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[–] freudified_n_funkified 17 years ago

I think Cassavetes himself would have been dismayed if EVERYONE thought this movie was brilliant, so cut the haters some slack, they're essential components to the critical footnotes of John's body of work. If everyone got it, if it appealed to the general public, and it meant the same thing to each viewer, it wouldn't quite be art - now would it?

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[–] sxylelats 16 years ago

No it's not, its real good! So there.

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[–] impatbateman 15 years ago

I don't think this movie deserves this argument. Keep in mind this was a director's first film. It is bound to be flawed and it is. This film definitily was monumental, but not necessarily for its content. The movie itself was jagged, even a bit confusing because of the odd dialogue that came as a result of the improvisation. But the execution, the rawness of it all, was something relatively unexplored in film.

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[–] entej 15 years ago

Keep in mind this was a director's first film.

so that's a good excuse for a hideous script huh?
Btw, because of the movies like this our generation has built this pop-culture with the name of "love". It was SO easy for characters to say "i love you" without any chemistry between them, without the slightest IDEA of what they're saying - that made me sick.

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[–] sarahew239 15 years ago

As much as I dislike the OP's original post, (I don't like it when dissenting comments don't even try to back up what they're saying) I completely understand. I do like the film now, but I had to watch it five times before I actually really enjoyed it. I used to think that this was one of the worst of Cassavetes' films. I still think that it definitely is not one of his best, but I can appreciate it for what it is, a debut of an incredible director who still had a lot to learn.

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[–] Thrift_Store_Junkie05 14 years ago

It's hard not to fall in love this films ambition (this was the work of a complete visionary), unprecedented grittiness and raw emotion, the Charles Mingus/Shafi Hadi jazz-infused score, on-location NYC shooting, and realistic depiction of life during the cool beat generation. If you had difficulties relating to the characters (which an aforementioned poster claimed), then Shadows should also work as a remarkable time-capsule to a time all but gone and rarely portrayed this accurately.

"I hope I never get so old I get religious." Ingmar Bergman

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[–] Clemencedane 12 years ago

When I was 19 I had an older boyfriend who told me he really wanted us to go to this Cassavetes film festival (in Berkeley, CA) and he bought tickets for five nights in a row, two films each. I had never heard of Cassavetes, but I went along with him and saw 10 films in a week and was completely overwhelmed, my mind spinning. At the time I wasn't sure how I felt about these films. Over the years bits and pieces of them keep coming back to me so vividly that once in a while one particular film will come pressing into my mind and compel me to go back and watch it. Seeing them again this way, much older now, has let me experience their rich detail and fully appreciate a kind of spiritual/emotional arc they transcribe.

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[–] liscarkat (16759) 6 years ago

What? You are supposed to dig this movie. You are required to!

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