Thursday, 11 March 2010

A Great Moment From Spanish film 'Princesas'

"There's a day, you'll see. One awesome day. On that day everything is good. You see the people you want to see, eat your favorite food, and everything that happens is what you want to happen.

If you turn on the radio, your favorite song is playing. If you go on a TV game show, you win everything. Money, trips... everything. Mark my words... everything.

It happens once in a lifetime, so you have to be ready. Or you'll miss it. It's like a detour. Like when you're on a road and come to a detour but you're talking on your cell or arguing or thinking about something and don't realize, and you miss it. And you're screwed because you can't turn back.

Well, that day is the same thing: a detour. And you can choose how things will be from that day on. Either you take the new route, or you don't. That's why we have to be ready, Zule. There are too few good things in life. And if you miss them because you're thinking about something else, that would suck. That would really suck."

(This was all subtitled - it's probably even better in Spanish..)

It's a great film that I definitely recommend checking out. Don't be put off by the tagline; "Set in Spain, the story is about friendship and love in the world of prostitution" - what could have so easily been graphic and exploitative is instead a subtle, riveting, and compelling piece of cinema from writer/director Fernando León de Aranoa, with a stand out performance from Micaela Nevárez (this was her first film). I hope we get to see a lot more from her in the future.

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Tuesday, 9 March 2010

Giuseppe Tornatore And Ennio Morricone - One Of The Best Collaborations In Film.

I saw 'La sconosciuta' (The Other Woman) for the first time today. It's written and directed by Giuseppe Tornatore and the music is composed by Ennio Morricone. Their previous collaborations, which include 'Cinema Paradiso', 'Malena' and 'The Star Maker' are amongst my favorite films (in fact, Cinema Paradiso is my favorite film). I don't think there is any better Director/Composer pairing than these two. Their styles compliment each others perfectly; and elevate good work to truly great.

Here is the final scene from 'The Other Woman' which I've just uploaded. I could give some back story; but it's nice as it is; the look on the character's faces and the music tell their own story. It's a subtle, simple scene - I love the music -- it's a great way to end the film.



For those of you in London, Ennio Morricone will be performing at the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday April the 10th. At 81 years old, it's hard to say how many more opportunities we'll get to see this master at work. I hope I see you there.. tickets can be bought here.

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Subtitles Paranoia.

The character on screen says..

J'ai le fla blah blah, le une blah blah, Yei Ablahblah, une ich tod flai nor kor ba ba ba ba da da une deux oui blah blah inz frechen la miel blando eli le flabtalia man yah che nee ka ka ka ka ka pordo me putos fla taliah na che condinia blah blah blah blah blah, blah. Blah, de fredo ba ba.

The subtitles say.

Yes, I will buy a whole Turkey.

And that's IT!

Is the lazy subtitler person laughing at me? Are they making things up? Am I getting half the story?

I am always convinced I am being cheated out of the full story! They can't be bothered!

It's like that scene in Lost In Translation!

BILL MURRAY
Is that everything?
I mean, it seemed like he said
quite a bit more than that.

WOMAN
Like an old friend,
and into the camera.



Am I paranoid? Or are they laughing at me?

Subtitle Paranoia can really make a man go insane. I mean, look what happened to Billy Murray:

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Oscar Speeches From Years Gone By

Check out this wonderful post by Kate Gabrielle over at Silents And Talkies - some great video clips!

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Monday, 8 March 2010

Actors Who Turn Up For The Razzie Awards.

I think it's great that Sandra Bullock turned up to accept her 'Worst Actress' award at the Razzies for 'All About Steve.' It's great when actors have a sense of humour about these things, and are able to admit that not all their films are masterpieces, and not all of their roles are deep, meaningful things which teach us all about life.



And here's Halle Berry accepting hers from a few years back, great stuff.

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