MovieChat Forums > Deseret (2014) Discussion > Never ceases to amaze.

Never ceases to amaze.

posted 14 years ago by BwlBoy
9 replies | jump to latest

I find it incredible that whatever film or documentary you look up on imdb at least one person will have scored it 10/10. In the case of Deseret 5 people have. What a barrel of laughs they must be. This documentary, if you can call it that, is 81 minutes of thousands of still and moving images of Utah with a voiceover reading extracts from the New York Times over a period of 100 years and more. I am sorry but there is nothing skilled or inventive about that and I would suggest that virtually anyone could produce something of this nature about the area in which they live. I know I could do it but I would have no expectation that people not of my area would be remotely interested in seeing it. It is exceptionally rare for me to score a film or documentary 1/10 but there is no other score I can give for something of such astonishing mediocrity. My advice....stay well clear of this!

[–] tebor79 13 years ago

I've yet to see this. But am wondering why it is on the 1001 movies to see before you die list?

[–] BwlBoy 13 years ago

Mate, its appearance in that book was my sole motivation for seeing it. I currently have around 170 films left to watch from the book and I can honestly say I would rather have died than watched 50+ of the films I have seen.

[–] joachimt-IMDB 13 years ago

Than explain ... why are you still watching those movies?

[–] BwlBoy 13 years ago

What a stupid question. I am watching every film in this book because I am as big a film buff as you can find and you cannot guess a film's quality without watching it. For every truly terrible film in the book I have also uncovered some real gems. I have 129 films left to see and rate. I have them all and aim to see them by next year so I reckon I will be one of the few people to have seen all 1001 films.

[–] joachimt-IMDB 13 years ago

Sorry if I offended you. Off course you don't know if you will like a movie without watching it, but when I really dislike a movie, I turn it off without finishing it.

I'm also working on the 1001-list, have them all and only have 17 movies left to watch, so I expect to finish it next month. Although not every movie on the list is a favourite of mine, I did see value in every single one (haven't watched Deseret yet, by the way, last found, last to watch). I hope you feel the same.

I just meant, it seems stupid to watch movies only because of someone saying you have to watch it before you die. On the board of "Les vampires" I read a comment of someone saying it was terrible to watch all hours of this series, but he only went on because of the 1001-list he had to complete. Maybe he needs to get a life ...

Good luck with completing the list and hopefully you will enjoy as many as possible.

[–] BwlBoy 13 years ago

jterra, very impressive that you are down to the last 17. I think if the book is taken in its context it is not trying to say the 1001 films are the best 1001 films made but is a selection of among other things innovative, arty and challenging films. I'm afraid I cannot agree that I saw value in every one of the films but accept they are from a wide spectrum. My own argument with Les Vampires was whilst it was very good it is a serial and therefore does not befit the title of film.

[–] joachimt-IMDB 13 years ago

That depends on your definition of 'film'. Some series have a different story for each episode, so it's hard to call it a film. "Dekalog" for example is in the 1001-list, but definitely isn't one film, although there is a connections between the episodes (but I'm glad I discovered it thanks to the list). Other series have one story stretched out over several episodes, like "Les vampires" or "Riget", which also is in the 1001-list. The line between film en series is very thin in those cases. Maybe they are more 'film' than several documentaries, depending on the definition. If "Shoah" is shown on television (don't know if this is ever done), it would be shown in several parts.

You are right about the meaning of the list. It's not its intention to make a 'best 1001'-list, but tries to give a list of important films. The list is criticized often, but I'm glad I discovered some real beauties thanks to it.

If you want a greatest-films-list ... I'm also working on '1000 greatest films' by theyshootpictures.com. Still a lot to watch ...

[–] BwlBoy 13 years ago

Already got the 1000 greatest films list from theyshootpictures but I am some way off completing that. Still 375 to go. Probably won't get that done for another 2 years or more.

[–] joachimt-IMDB 13 years ago

Hey BwlBoy,

I'm happy to tell you I finally saw this movie, which means I completed the 1001-movies-list (the version of the book I own is the 2005-Dutch-edition, still a few to go on all supplementary editions). I took the time to count the theyshootpictures-list. Still 304 to watch on the 2011-edition, so I too have a lot of movies left.

By the way, in my opinion Deseret has some beautiful qualities, but isn't by far a masterpiece, so giving this movie 10/10 (which started this thread) is indeed a bit weird. But I can say I enjoyed it. Maybe I was able to enjoy the movie, because I knew what to expect. I have watched about 10 other Benning-movies before, so I knew what I was getting in to. Try watching Ruhr: it seems boring, but watching an enormous chimney for about 45 minutes can be very powerful...