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auraloffalwaffle

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Join date
23-Jun-2006
Last activity
6-May-2011
Posts
766

Post History

Post
#308958
Topic
"Harry Palmer" Films (The Thinking Man's James Bond)
Time
Well, I've seen 'The Ipcress File' and 'Funeral In Berlin' but none of the other titles you listed. I own TIF on VHS and I absolutely love it. FIB I've only seen on TV once, so I won't comment on that one.

TIF is a superb spy thriller which benefits from being as un-"Bond" as possible. The spies work from shabby, nondescript offices and dress cheaply. They spend their time twiddling their thumbs on stakeouts, following up leads and doing paperwork. This humdrum way of life is punctuated, however, by kidnappings and murders and by sudden leaps forward in their investigations. TIF is a very refreshing change to Bond, which was taking off as a franchise at that time ('Thunderball' was out the same year).

You could imagine that Harry Palmer was stuck in London doing this while the more dashing, talented, higher ranked and downright dangerous James Bond was off in the Caribbean making love to beautiful women and saving the world from peril. The pay-off is that Palmer is such a great character in his own right, played to perfection by Michael Caine, and that the possible consequenses of failure could be equally world-threatening.

What I, personally, love about TIF is that it is so quintessentially English. The spies and their masters are all ex-army, the officers being thoroughly upper class. There are some absolutely brilliant scenes of dialogue between Nigel Green (Palmer's new boss) and Guy Doleman (Palmer's ex-boss (or is he??!!!!)) where they talk about lunching at their club and so on but the subtext of suspicion and danger can be felt in every word and gesture.

I love the way it's shot, with lots of key people and events seen at extreme angles and through glass or narrow gaps which very much ties in with how the plot works itself out. All the performances are good and the script is cracking, with plenty of wit and pace. The theme and music are provided by the great John Barry and the theme for this film is one of my favourite ever pieces of film music.

In short, FanFiltration: watch it! You will not regret it!!
Post
#307654
Topic
Blade Runner 2, 4, and 5-disc sets in December
Time
I got the 5 disc set the other day and so far I've watched the workprint and US theatrical cuts. Next up is the international theatrical cut, then the '92 "Director's" cut (the version I've had on VHS for the last goodness-knows-how-long) and then I'm going to watch the "Final" cut. I've watched a couple of the extras so far too.

One of the most powerful reactions I've had so far is the overwhelming urge to hold it in front of a bound & gagged Luca$h's face while screaming in his ear: "THIS IS HOW TO TREAT YOUR FANS" over and over and over and over again. Now, admittedly, this would probably not change his attitude to his "vision" but it sure would make me feel a whole lot better.
Post
#289362
Topic
What about the slaves?
Time
Originally posted by: cap
Why? If Bail Organa had remarried, she could have understood the question to be referring to her mother as opposed to her stepmother.
Ah yes, but you would have to concede that if this was what the script was trying to express, it doesn't do it.

I feel that the implication of the dialogue is clearly that Leia was adopted but remembered her birth mother (and without any of that Force-Vision bullshit that PT aplogists try to peddle). This is influenced by the dialogue between Luke and Obi-Wan before he leaves to rejoin the fleet.

It is also influenced by the fact that ROTJ has the least interesting script of the OT.

EDIT: Just my opinions, you understand...
Post
#289259
Topic
What did the Prequel Trilogy need?
Time
My intention was not anything like the undead army from LOTR. I have no interest in pretending that the spirits can suddenly turn up and have a lightsaber fight with the Sith. That would indeed be, as has been pointed out, shit.

I don't really have a clear idea of how it would play out at all. It's just a vague idea at the moment. But I would like to see the Jedi defeat the Sith by non-violent means. Or at least without some kind of stupid superhero fight, like in Luca$h's PT. I wanted to see something inspirational. Something that turned conventional fantasy adventures on their head. Sadly, Luca$h didn't want to bother with anything so difficult to do.
Post
#289125
Topic
What did the Prequel Trilogy need?
Time
Originally posted by: Marvolo
Also, can the Jedi be returned to their mystical warrior selves and away from the super heroes they are in the PT? Jedi should not need a ligtsaber as they become more powerful withe force, because they become more passive and defensive and less aggressive and offensive.
I'm with you 100% on this! That's what made the Emperor so much more dangerous than Vader at the end of ROTJ. He could floor Luke without going anywhere near him and he hardly broke a sweat!

I'd like to extend the saga to 9 episodes, so that Palpatine is not defeated in ROTJ and lasts until episode 9. Over the final three episodes I would like to see Luke seek out the last few Jedi in the galaxy and found a new secret temple to start rebuilding the Jedi order. Episode 9 would see the showdown between Palpatine and the last of the Sith and the new Jedi Order. Bail Organa is vindicated, as the Jedi are the decisive factor in overthrowing Palpatine and his regime.

I had an idea that the spirits of past Jedi (I don't hold with it being something that started only a few years ago with Qui-Gon, as Luca$h's PT has it) join with the new Jedi Order in defeating the Sith. The way I imagine it, the spirits are something the Sith don't know about and this unforseen power tips the balance against the Sith.
Post
#289072
Topic
What did the Prequel Trilogy need?
Time
Thanks, Marvolo!

I was struck when reading ADF's Star Wars novelisation that characters like Red Leader and Gold Five (okay, so the colours and numbers are different in the book) are clearly veteran pilots and mainstays of the Alliance's teams of fighter pilots. I would love to see more of them. Biggs and Wedge could be introduced in earlier episodes and characters like Mon Mothma, General Nadine, Admiral Ackbar and General Rieekan could all crop up. Also Bail Organa could be seen and Episode III could see him giving his young daughter her first assignment for the Alliance!

As I've said previously, I like the idea of Leia stepping into her father's shoes as one of the leaders of the Alliance following his death on Alderaan and BY. I imagine the other leaders being concerned by her youth and inexperience and send her to Hoth with Rieekan to see how she does. This leads to her desperation to impress with her leadership skills and her bitter disappointment when the base is discovered, attacked & lost. I think this is why Leia is so angry in ESB. It doesn't help that she's stuck on a small freighter on the run from the Imperial Starfleet with a wookie, a camp, shrill droid and a scoundrel that she finds irresistable, despite herself.

It occurs to me that it may be Bail Organa who is most convinced that the Return Of The Jedi is necessary to the Alliance's cause. He could be the one who tries to trace the last remnants of the order and discovers that his old ally, Obi-Wan Kenobi is holed up on Tatooine. Maybe the rest of the Alliance's leaders are less convinced that (a) there are any Jedi left anyway and (b) they would be any great help. Maybe they think Bail is obsessing over something peripheral when there are greater tasks to be addressed.

Little do any of them know that Obi-Wan is watching over a very special farm-boy on Tatooine who just happens to be the son of the legendary Anakin Skywalker....
Post
#288939
Topic
Was ricarlette a racist?
Time
Originally posted by: ZigFried
I love asian people (especially their women) very much... And that's why you're banned from Laos...
Originally postedby: ZigFried
... and I refuse to be on a forum with someone who's a racist, especially against asian people.
What races would you be less worried about?Originally posted by: ZigFried
I tried PMing him to find out if he really was a racist...
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

You are such a fanny...
Post
#288806
Topic
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Time
Alarm bells rang for me when the line: "Why is all but the rum gone?" was uttered.

Pirates 3 referencing Pirates 1. Plus the line is awkward to say (as the actor clearly discovered).

Pirates 3 has self-parody replacing the really great archetypes of Pirates 1. The reveal of The Bloomster at the helm of The Flying Dutchman was one of the most gloriously cheesy things I've seen in a while but it lacked the zestiness and mischeviousness of Pirates 1, I think. It felt overdone.

I also think Jack Sparrow went from being a fascinating, quixotic epicentre to a Jar-Jar-like annoyance in this one. They pulled his teeth. He wasn't dangerous. The double-dealing fell flat for me because it seemed a forgone conclusion that the good guys were going to be vindicated in the end.

When you make pirates safe they lose their excitement and romantic appeal.

I enjoyed the spectacle of it but I thought it was overlong. The battle on the maelstrom goes on so long that I lost any sense of tension, as the peril they were in seemed in no hurry to realise itself.

Knightly's "rousing" speech lacked guts and made me squirm.

Nighy's splendid (and beautifully realised) Davy Jones and his "Dead Man's Chest" (TM) were consigned to the status of a MacGuffin.

The "fearsome" Calypso let some water out of the plughole and then pissed off down the pub, apparently.

This one also lacked the feel of the period that Pirates 1 maintained. This one is very much cast adrift in a "fantasy" milieu, whereas Pirates 1 had a definite feel of place and time.

All in all, I feel that Pirates 2 & 3 constitute a missed opportunity. Pirates 1 is the work of enduring appeal.
Post
#288802
Topic
What did the Prequel Trilogy need?
Time
Maybe the PT could follow much more recent events. The struggles of the Rebellion against the Empire. Nothing from the pre-Empire period. Forget about it being a backstory of Anakin or Obi-Wan or Luke. It would work really well with Star Wars '77 if episode IV is still the first time we meet Luke, Ben, Owen, Beru, etc.

Hey, I think this idea is a goer! Up until now, I was playing with 30 year gaps between the trilogies but what if the 9 episodes play out over a much shorter time span? Throw out the trilogy of trilogies? Nine episodes following the Rebel Alliance up until the overthrow of Palpatine. Leave the Clone Wars, the Old Republic, the Jedi all glorious mysteries, as they were in 1977!
Post
#288566
Topic
Happy 30th Anniversary, Star Wars!
Time
So. 30 years. Happy Birthday, Star Wars!

I bought issues of Empire and Total Film yesterday which both have Star Wars themed issues this month.

Total Film comes with a booklet of photos from the studio shoot in the UK. The very first photo is (blatantly) of Red Leader. Total Film think it's Mark Hamill. Sums it up, I think...

Empire have done a rather good series of 30 different character covers. Guess which one I bought?

Where's our beautiful, deluxe, extras-laden, retrospective original theatrical cut release of Star Wars? THAT'S the question that...

...no-one apart from us seems to be asking.

I dunno... I still refuse to buy the GOUT. I'll back-up my VHS tapes to DVD before I'll buy the GOUT. But why hasn't there been some kind of commemorative release this year? I felt certain that there'd be some massive boxed set of the whole "saga" coming out. Stands to reason, I thought.

As Darth Chaltab so rightly pointed out, we got...

...stamps!

Fuckin' STAMPS?!!!

I'm finding it very hard to keep the faith here...

British new kid cuddling 3 VHS tapes... and weeping for what could have been...