Two Words, One Answer.
hospital corridors
 Shock Corridor - Criterion Collection $29.95 I checked this movie out of my local public library simply because it was so highly recommended by various professional film reviewers. Ho boy! -- was I disappointed! Movies like this, for me, fall into the same category as -- This Sporting Life -- Saturday Night, Sunday Morning -- The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, etc. No doubt Sam Fuller and company had high-minded intentions in making this film, but I just don't get it. The acting was primitive, poorly staged and ... annoying. It's rare that I stop watching a movie that otherwise comes so highly recommended. The scenes where the inmates of the ko-ko bin go berserk is about on the par of some of the more notable food fights I recall from high school. "GO BANANAS!" I suppose, is what Sam Fuller told his actors ... and so they did. But is that acting? There is also a really annoying recurring "special effect" whereby Peter Breck's wife appears to him in a dream as an image superimposed on the screen. This is about as effective as Tinkerbell prancing around Peter Pan's head & shoulders, sprinking fairy dust. I have a theory why people like movies like this. ... "Regular" movies, specially in the past 20 years, are made by actors and filmmakers who live in an insulated world where what they know, what they experience, what they believe in, and what they values has just about NOTHING in common with the felt-lives of millions of so-called average people. Because of this, the average moviegoer *hungers* for realism in a movie. This is no doubt why documentaries are so popular. They're about "real life." So here come these movies that are like documentaries but are not really about reality -- they're still movies. And it seems that the more "primitive" they are, the more "on the fly" the shooting technique, the more raw and rough-edged the acting -- the more they appeal to people who instinctively know that the average movie is *over-manipulating* reality for them. What they want is a more immediate representation of reality. So that what's important is not dressing a set a certain way (mise en scene) but rather simply going to where the scene is supposed to be, or else primitively constructing such a set, and then shooting "au natural." Another example of this kind of movie would be Henry Hathaway's "House on 92nd Street." But that kind of filmmaking is akin to moviemakers who love to encourage their actors to ad lib. As one writer-director recently said: "If I can't write better than an actor can ad lib, then I might as well give up writing." I watched Sam Fuller's "Big Red One" all the way through. I thought it was ok, interesting. It was a movie, not an attempt to portray soldiers in World War II in a pseudo-documentary style. Which is how I would classify "Shock Corridor." ... Either make a documentary or else make a movie. And if you make a movie, what should pass as communication between the film and the audience shouldn't be spontaneity for spontaneity's sake, or realism for realism's sake, or primitivism for primitivism's sake. Yet another example being Werner Herzog's "Aquirre: The Wrath of God." If we all know that "it's ultimately just a movie," then the quais-documentary flavor of the movie ... well, it's just lost on me. I'll opt for a Barbara Kopple movie or some other tightly-thought-out documentary.  The Elusive Truth-Hospital Corridor by Damien Hirst 27.50X39.00. Art Poster Print The Elusive Truth-Hospital Corridor by Damien HirstTotal Size: 27.50 inches width by 39.00 inches height.Original exhibition poster by Damien Hirst for ¡ÈNew Paintings¡É presented at Gagosian Gallery in New York City in 2006. . A: Mint. Edition: 1000. These items are rare, usually increase in value and investment over time  Fish-Eye of Hallway's Horizon in Empty Hospital Corridor Photographic Poster Print, 40x30 $70.00 Art.com is the world's largest retailer of art prints, posters, photographs, and framed artwork. With our huge selection of over 400,000 prints, you'll easily find the perfect piece for your home, office, or classroom. Our art is printed on quality paper. When you order framed artwork, the piece is built by our team of in-house professionals. Visit our Amazon store today at www.amazon.com/artdotcom to find Special Offers and search for products based on 'Artist Name' and 'Subject Categories' such as Movie, Music, Vintage, TV, Children, Travel, Kitchen, Museum Art, Animals, Floral, Motivational, and Sports. Art.com is dedicated to providing you with high quality products and service by offering you 100% satisfaction guaranteed. We ship internationally to over 80 countries. Decorate your home today with your favorite pictures that express and celebrate your distinct tastes. |
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