>
> > "But actually, in the subtle camera movements and complex relationships
> > between areas of color in 'Some Came Running' and 'Home From the Hil'"
> > can be found the profoundest commentary on bourgeois American life this
> > side of Douglas Sirk...".
>
> Well if they understand what you mean by "this side of Douglas Sirk"
> in the first place
> maybe you're case won't be that hard to make....
Who wrote the line you quote?
Sirk is considered by some people who don't know his work and prefer to
regurgitate clichés from others who don't know his work to the effect
that Sirk was making commentary on bourgeois American l life --
specifically, they mean acidic commentary, since (as we know) it's
difficult to think of any American filmmaker who has not made commentary
on bourgeois American life. If you see Todd Haynes's Far from Heaven
you can see a vomitosious parody of Sirk that is, in fact, exactly the
sort of commentary on bourgeois American life that Sirk never did and
which regurgitators have decreed as though it were a truism to be the
essence of Sirk himself.
There's a certain type of critic who finds "profound" and
"anti-bourgeois" to be indistinguishable.
I have a query that will indicate that I'm somewhat out of touch with current film books. Let's say I wanted to know how an "auteurist" director is generally ...
John Wakeman, ed. "World Film Directors" (vol. 1: 1890-1945. vol. 2: -1985). New York: H.W.Wilson, 1987. Each volume is nearly 1300 pages, double-columned....
... David Thomason: Dictionary of Film [Directors]. ... nearly ... is ... ask me who wrote which sentences. Make a little list. For one thing some of the...
Actually there isn't. If "Film Comment" is anythign to go byfew people are seriously concerned with film history -- and even less with the history of film...
... I couldn't recommend this work... I've read portions of it and it comes off to me as full of the mad ramblings of a hateful little man, who has lost any...
Sorry about the e. Am VERY embarrassed! Isn't anonymity inconsistent with auteurism? The implication is that both of you agree with everything the other says....
... says. ... about movies (and mostly directors) they are not likely to disagree a lot about the movies and directors they are going to discuss. A book by two...
I'm not sure what you're asking, Fred. A book about Ford by one author won't tell you how Ford is thought of generally, nor would a collection like the one...
hotlove666 wrote: .... But why are you interested in finding out how specific auteurs are generally evaluated today? If I understood the question better I...
... are generally evaluated today? If I understood the question better I might have a more useful answer.... ... Hollywood ... auteur, ... if The question is,...
... True, but you also don't seem to consider him a great filmmaker who has major statements to make, the auteur of flat-out masterpieces, etc. That's what I...
... What intro? What are you talking about????? For whatever it's worth here's what I wrote about Minnelli (I forgot to include my own encyclopediette of...
... Who wrote the line you quote? Sirk is considered by some people who don't know his work and prefer to regurgitate clichés from others who don't know his...
... "Far From Heaven" is NOT a parody of Sirk.It's a revisiting of his themes combined with a revisiting of aspects of Ophuls' American works -- particularly...
... I wondered if Far From Heaven was responding to The Deep End as well, in that it restored the character of the maid (excised from Deep End) and even gave...
... prefer to ... effect ... commentary ... True. But let's not forget that Sirk himself has encouraged misreadings of his films, notably in the famous (or...
... American ... For what it's worth, I have always had a huge problem viewing Sirk both subversive (in the sense of smuggling a messege into the text) and as...
I love The Reckless Moment. Been proclaiming it for forty years (to universal indifference). Even made a video about it. But, pray, in what sense do you feel...
I think it's Ophuls greatest American film. It looks right ata number of issues dealing with class, sex,race and criminality in a way very few films have ever...
... For what it's worth, there's a sort of brief history of Minnelli criticism in the first chapter of Naremore's (1993) book on Minnelli. I checked Michael...
I love Halliday's book. But it should be noted that: a) Sirk wouldn't allow him to tape, so every word attributed to Sirk is from notes Halliday wrote down...
... Sirk is ... So that Halliday could put pretty much whatever words in Sirk's mouth he wanted. ... damning), ... pretty ... subscribe ... for ... Sirk's ... ...
... I have a review of it here: http://neumu.net/continuity_error/2002/2002-00001_continuity.shtml Kevin [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]...
Having problems with message search?
Fill out this form to ensure your group is one of the first to be migrated to the new message search system.
Offline 
Send Email