My first 10/10 film I've seen in the past couple of years - Suna no onna (1964) Discussion

[–] uvulva 14 years ago

I gave it a 9 but I love this film, the concept and the agonising truth behind every meaning portrayed.
Other movies in the same vein for me include 2001: A Space Odyssey and Eraserhead.

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[–] sjl004 14 years ago

It was going to be a 9 then I realised there was so much in this, the sand, the extra character, his capture and ultimately the fact he stays at the end....because of the child.

http://tinyurl.com/privacy-06

Click trailer,watch&vote plz

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[–] thrak61 14 years ago

this is endlessly thought-provoking, beautifully executed on all levels - cinematography, writing, pacing, acting, and above all, emotionally shattering. There's not a wasted scene in it. It's a perfect film.

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[–] Falconeer 13 years ago

Agreed: it is a "Perfect film" as you said. There is so much symbolism, and so much to think about; like why they left the ladder at the films end. At first glance it would appear that they simply forgot, but they knew the man would remain; and they knew why. films like this no longer exist; i'm grateful we can still look back to the classics.

"IMdB; where 14 year olds can act like jaded 40 year old critics...'

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[–] Falconeer 13 years ago

Are you familiar with the Russian war film "Come and See?" That one is a 10 rating IMO. See it if you get the chance.

"IMdB; where 14 year olds can act like jaded 40 year old critics...'

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[–] sjl004 13 years ago

@ Sultan,

Hi, Yes I saw Come and See a number of Years ago, very powerful, I gave it 7/10.

In a similar collection would be:

Hope and Glory
Ivan's Childhood

and to a lesser extent

The Shop on Main Street
The Return
The Cranes are Flying (my fav of the films mentioned)
Ashes and Diamonds
Grave of the Fireflies (my fav - tops Cranes are flying :))

Please watch my shorthttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt1424542/, click trailer (its the film!)

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[–] thrak61 13 years ago

Come and See? No. I'll have to look it up. Thanks for the tip.

I found myself so haunted by Woman In the Dunes that it stayed with me for months. I couldn't get my mind off it. I even devoted most of a lecture at the local zen center to it because the themes in it were so rich, so vast, that I kept finding new textures and allusions that were apt.

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[–] vonstreudal111 13 years ago

This really was an incredible film that I too gave 10/10. Unfortunately I can't say the same for Face of Another which was quite a disappointment by comparison.

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[–] autumnsoliloquy 13 years ago

I agree, it's definitely close to a 10. Another one that I've given a 10 is perhaps Akira Kurosawa's "Ran".

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[–] JellyFish19 11 years ago

Good, but not as good as Teshigahara's "Pitfall" in my opinion.

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[–] deRider84 11 years ago

Great film, but I wish I'd seen the shorter version. 150 minutes really is far too long for the material. My attention started to wane towards the end. I was even beginning to feel a little bored, which prevents me from calling it a masterpiece. It's still a very fine film in so many ways, but I get the feeling I would have liked the original cut a lot more.

I don't understand why they had to extend the running time so drastically in this version. The extra 30 minutes seemed to knock the pacing right out of whack at times, particularly in the movie's interminable second half.

I can only rate it a weak 9 (more like 8.5) out of 10 in this form.

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[–] Grethiwha 8 years ago

I disagree. I didn't realise there was a shorter version, but I'd hate to see it. I just rewatched this movie for the first time in four years, and I didn't look at the running time once – I was shocked to realize when it ended that it'd been 2 and a half hours; it felt like 90 minutes, 100 at most!

After just reading the novel, the movie seemed to be rushing through the events so fast, in fact the only way I think this adaptation could be improved, would be to add a half hour or so! You may feel vindicated to know that the movie did spend a disproportionately large amount of screen-time to the final section of the novel which is only 30 pages (everything after the big escape attempt), but I'd argue that section is crucial to the point of the thing, so if anything they could've extended the earlier sections to better convey how much time was passing.

Anyways, on topic, I agree with all the praise in this thread. One of the greatest movies of all time. :)
Which looks marvellous on the new Criterion blu-ray by the way. The cinematography and music are unreal.

--- grethiwha -------- My Favourite Films:
http://www.imdb.com/list/Bw65XZIpkH8/

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[–] asandaaron 10 years ago

Unwatchable on VHS. Can't see *beep*

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[–] SamoanJoes 8 years ago

I gave Hiroshi Teshigahara other "big" film Tanin no kao, a 10/10. This is great too but I gave it an 8.

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