MovieChat Forums > In Bruges (2008) Discussion > Unintentional masterpiece

Unintentional masterpiece

posted 8 years ago by lebob
9 replies | jump to latest

Since the director/writer did not produce much before (or after - but irrelevant here) the film, I am not sure they intended In Bruges to turn out so good. But the movie is absolutely brilliant. The actors are fantastic. The silence, the looks, the facial expressions, so many subtleties that makes this movie one of a kind. From the story you wouldn't expect it to be that great but it is.

Can you think of another movie where the producers probably did not anticipate the level of genius the final film would turn out to be? An obvious example I have in mind would be The Big Lebowski.

[–] 8 years ago

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[–] maximumcomedy 8 years ago

Well this weren't really unintended to be good because the director and writer (Martin mcdonagh) ha didn't various plays before he went into doing movies and got a lot of experience doing them. He had plays that lasted ages at the theatre and then before he went straight into film he did an Oscar-winning short film. So yeah it was his intention to make a great film and it weren't an accident.

Also your other example the big lebowski? No aswell the coen brothers directed a lot before then so they were already on there way to being world-renowned by the time it came out.

If I had to give an example id say the closest I can get would be reservoir dogs. I mean the film had a very small budget some non- famous actors and a first time director (who directed only 2 shorts before) yet still became a masterpiece.

[–] lebob 8 years ago

That's interesting, I wasn't aware of the theatrical success before hand.

Regarding The Big Lebowski, I disagree with you. Just because the Cohen brothers were famous and very successful before hand, didn't guarantee them to deliver the masterpiece they did with The Big Lebowski. The chances they were looking at the scenes they shot in the editing room and went "Jeez this is even better than what we could have ever imagined" are pretty high. And to some degree, I believe something similar must have happened after Martin finished In Bruges.

As for Reservoir Dogs, it may have been that I have seen the movie too many times, but the "small budget" effect has worn off, and I don't think the movie deserves the success it's getting now. And believe me, I very much enjoy Tarantino movies, Pulp Fiction is to me the greatest movie of all time, but I am pretty sure had he not directed anything after Reservoir Dogs, people would not have acclaimed the movie that much.

The exact same thing is true with Duel from Steven Spielberg. The movie is completely overrated (not to say absolute crap) and being praised just because it now has the name Spielberg on it.

[–] 8 years ago

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[–] MoviemanCin 7 years ago

I disagree with your premise, but whatever.

And to answer your question, I read the book "The Making of the Wizard of Oz", and they had no idea they were creating a timeless classic.

Schrodinger's cat walks into a bar and doesn't.

[–] MrBullo 7 years ago

Although it spawned an excess of sequels, for different reasons "Rocky" was an unintended and unexpected success for the unknown Sylvester Stallone. I disagree with the previous statements about "Duel" as it was rated highly when it was first released and Speilberg was a nobody at the time. A movie with almost zero dialogue that can sustain interest for 90 minutes is something special.

[–] MoviemanCin 7 years ago

Hear, hear, MrBullo! I thought Duel was excellent.

Schrodinger's cat walks into a bar and doesn't.

[–] dmariat55 7 years ago

I had to watch Duel recently for my film class. As it rolls on I was so so. Then the hunted David Mann stops in a roadside café for a respite. I urge you to run not walk to view the scene. It crackles with the energy of a brilliant filmmaker.

[–] MovieManCin2 (26342) 7 years ago

Whether it was intentional or not is a moot point. It is a masterpiece!

And I loved visiting Bruges when I was in Belgium in 2014. A truly magical place, and I got to see the dog sleeping in the window, and the Belfort!