20. An Error of Comedies (+Q&A)
Added 2024-02-20 13:30:01 +0000 UTC0:00 Harold Bloom and the impact of teaching/A discussion on Maestro and American Fiction
19:05 Genreless style/Large discussion on comedy
44:16 Q&A (How we learned/Jacques Rivette/OpenAI/The importance of creating/Godard + more)
Thank you, everybody, for your questions. Enjoy the episode.
Comments
This is, of course, subject to change weekly lol
Jason
2024-02-22 03:33:56 +0000 UTCMy picks of each decade would have to be : 20s - The Passion of Joan of arc 30s - M 40s - Citizen Kane (for cinematography) 50s - The Seventh Seal 60s - 2001: A Space Odyssey 70s - Mirror 80s - wings of desire 90s - Breaking the Waves 00s - There Will Be Blood 10s - Melancholia 2020s - Another Round
Jason
2024-02-22 03:30:59 +0000 UTCDespite David Lynch himself saying he sees The Return as a film, I agree that acknowledging The Return as film kills the discussion on how it elevates the television medium. I've always resonated with cinema that deeply explores pathos. I think filmmakers like Tarkovsky and Lynch understood art can go a long way when the narrative is purely constructed by the emotions of the artists or audience. I guess its high time I get around to watching Bresson and Bunuel's films. I've been keeping up with the technological advancements of AI pretty closely as well. In the right hands, the potential flexibility of this tech can be incorporated into daily life in a manner that doesn't cripple our engagement with reality, art, and ourselves. As long as we provide each other the space to make art and keep the discourse alive, there will always be a place for it in the future. Lewis and Luiza's motivational speaker bit should get animated :)
Eric Drozda
2024-02-21 08:13:28 +0000 UTCFor someone who is "half qualified" I’d say this is pretty great. Hell, there’s still some I haven’t seen like Woman in the Dunes and Gone With the Wind. I’d say I *mostly* agree with you in how contemporary cinema basically has little that can be considered part of the great canon right now. I always laugh when I see top 10 best of or most anticipated lists from most mainstream critics, content creators and articles. When Dune PART ONE gets so many video essays being called a "masterclass in filmmaking" that’s comedy gold right there. However, I think there are some films from the past 15 years that I would at least recommend. Mainly Tree of Life, Amour, Princess Kaguya, Godland, and The Zone of Interest. You and me both on classical music. In general, when that technically includes everything from the early 20th century back to the medieval period you could spend your whole life listening to that music. I have listened to it all of my life and there’s hundreds that I have yet to experience for the first time. Mahler was only a recent obsession as of 2022. And I really want to listen to more Lully, Monteverdi and the Boulanger sisters. God, 'Faust and Helen' by Lili Boulanger is one of the most powerful pieces of music I have ever heard.
Esteban Rodriguez
2024-02-21 01:06:27 +0000 UTCE obrigado por responder minha pergunta!
J George
2024-02-21 00:34:28 +0000 UTCI haven't seen a Rivette film so thank you for the mention! I will write more soon. :)
Sophia Lambton
2024-02-21 00:29:19 +0000 UTC"This machine will, will not communicate These thoughts and the strain I am under Be a world child, form a circle Before we all go under" From "Street Spirit (Fade Out)", by Radiohead.
J George
2024-02-21 00:14:18 +0000 UTCYou guys are so on point about BC, and I can envisage him being top of his class in acting school for exactly the reasons you state. I've struggled to understand the hype. I loved hearing about the chicken scene in Mirror. It always felt like an anomaly to me so I'm relieved to know that wasn't just my squeamishness. And I would love to hear Lewis' stand-up! If it's anything like George Carlin's I'm here for it. :) Given what I've heard from you, it sounds like you might like the comedian Tim Dillon. I recommend you check out his channel: the humour is pretty dark. As a fellow millennial I am here to be the exception in your demographic data. I empathise with your reluctance to critique new cinema: this is the reason I have always been a very, very freelance classical music critic despite most of the works being performed being over a hundred years old. Production has degenerated omnipresently. "The infantilisation of the human imagination." I couldn't have put it better myself. You two are the original Renaissance man and woman. I don't think 99.9% of your viewers considers you fascists. :) Thank you for answering my question! I agree but I feel like their YouTube channel tends to dumb it down a bit for the larger part of their demographic. It's pretty basic commentary compared to what we know *he* knows. This is why we all gravitate to you and away from the mainstream buffs. Esteban's challenge made me think, and I am only half-qualified here: 1930s: Gone with the Wind 1940s: Casablanca 1950s: N/A This decade hasn't brought me much (sorry). 1960s: Woman in the Dunes 1970s: Death in Venice 1980s: Paris, Texas 1990s: The Virgin Suicides 2000s: Television becomes better than cinema, so I go with The Sopranos 2010s: Art is pretty much dead so from here on there's nothing. I relate to your genreless art. That's the only way to go. The work dictates the aesthetic. I am also looking forward to seeing your work! Vive la résistance!
Sophia Lambton
2024-02-21 00:11:46 +0000 UTCThank you very much for responding to my questions, I completely agree with you about always having focus and keeping minimality omnipresent in ones mind. I also understand and feel the same about choosing everything judiciously for each piece. I personally have no restrictive ideology or singular constraining style I want to make films with, but am instead following my instincts and continually trying to stay sincere to myself and what I want to express. As for Rivette, I do partly agree but I'm also still working out what I think of his work, I've only seen 6 of his films, and whilst I definitely love his visual flair and some of the performances in his films, I am still unsure of him. I like Rivette more than the majority of the Nouvelle Vague, except from Truffaut, but he doesn't inspire me to the extent and depth of Bergman or Antonioni for example. I'm greatly looking forward to seeing your films and other artworks one day but no pressure and no rush of course! You are truly appreciated - James
James Herbert
2024-02-20 21:42:27 +0000 UTCHello, I would love to hear what you two think about Godard’s filmography. To be honest, I don’t think you’re alone in believing that his work is overrated. I feel as if I hear that more often than not, online anyways. However, I do fall into the camp of people that enjoy his work. Although, I haven’t seen all of his films, I have seen most of his work from the 60’s. There is, I admit, an empty, vapid quality to his themes, and a lot of his films feel as if they were improvised, despite Anna Karina stating it was all scripted. As a low budget filmmaker myself, I admire the inventive techniques he imploys to his style. Technique’s which I find useful when working on a tight budget, with limited time. The use of voiceover and long takes, just to name a couple. Also, I don’t agree with his politics a majority of the time, though I can’t help but feel that there’s a punk rock quality to his approach to filmmaking. Godard believes that films should lean into the artifice of the artform, for it will reveal a deeper truth. It’s an interesting notion, but the result’s are usually distracting. Wes Anderson is a director that I feel suffers from this idea as well, the artifice could be too impenetrable at times. “Breathless” and “Contempt” are his most overrated films, though I do like aspects of “Breathless”. The jump cuts in the film that he often gets praised for, turned out to just be an accident. Since Godard was relatively inexperienced, he shot too much and his scenes went on too long. The jump cuts were necessary to get the run time down. A happy accident? The films of his that I do like are “Vivre Sa Vie”, “Band of Outsiders”, “Perrot Le Fou”, and “Masculin Feminin”. There’s much more I could say about Godard, but this is going on a bit long, so I’ll just leave it there.
Bryan A. Gonzalez
2024-02-20 21:14:26 +0000 UTCMan I wish I had thought of a question to ask in time. I’d love to hear you guys’ thoughts overall on the topic of horror as y’all briefly alluded to at one point in the episode. It’s a genre I’ve historically avoided but I’m becoming a lot more interested in recently. Great episode as always Bonds!
Tyler Craig
2024-02-20 19:06:39 +0000 UTCAbsolutely. What a nuanced and light-hearted screenplay, right. Mike Leigh has a new film coming out and I'm quite curious, I think his work is fantastic. - Luiza
The Cinema Cartography
2024-02-20 18:25:54 +0000 UTCThis is a fantastic list of films, it's close to my own... I'm also a big Fantasia fan. My favourite from the 20s is also probably Joan of Arc, what a brilliant film. Please do let us know what you think of Moby Dick, we are both hyper-fans of the book hahaha Dante too, of course. Send us the link for your upcoming project here, Esteban, we want to check it out - Luiza
The Cinema Cartography
2024-02-20 18:23:49 +0000 UTCYes, it's a perfect excerpt and I quote it to everyone who asks me about AI now... the conversation can get so draining, right I think you have it right there. I'm also keeping myself literate with AI because to fight something, we first need to understand it. - Luiza
The Cinema Cartography
2024-02-20 18:21:59 +0000 UTCOh I was not expecting my chat room question to pop up! Love that you brought it here, though, this feels like a real discourse ;) I’ve also been following this closely. It’s a horrible situation, the artist in me is going boycott boycott boycott!!! However, my survival instinct is screaming at me to become literate with these tools asap. In my day job I work as a freelance assistant editor on studio feature films. I work on a lot of soulless films but I love what I do and couldn’t imagine doing anything else for money. Seeing the power of AI tools has set off a panicked burning sensation inside of me that I must be an assistant that can offer AI solutions to my editor or I won’t be an assistant at all. The speed at which it has come has made it a race. It’s rough because obviously you can’t expect your day job to completely align with your values, but on the other hand I am facilitating the creative industry and therefore feeding the beast. I’ve just been unemployed for four months due to the SAG strike. The reality of unemployment because of AI is so real. This year I will, essentially, be trying to find the right balance of using it to facilitate my human experience without damaging my human experience. I think it’s possible. In a perfect world this technology could bring magic but unfortunately are societal system is so bad. Places in the world without access will be making much better art at the end of the day, shall we all move there? What a perfect excerpt from paradise lost, I will be holding onto that one. Also my dyslexic housemate thought is was actually called Soma and we were SCREAMING at the blatancy. Then I realised his mistake but still funny 😆
Rebecca Orton
2024-02-20 18:17:01 +0000 UTCI have been on a Harold Bloom mood lately with watching a lot of his interviews and just hearing his knowledge and ideology for me has been quite eye opening. Even when I’m not too versed into literature, his words can easily be applied for any art and just of life. 'Standards' and 'Eclecticism' has really been on my mind lately as the two aspects I have tried to enforce in my own life. Making sure that I aim for more maturity in my own art as well as critique and the eclectic taste I want to have as it absolutely feels the most free to me. I actually rented out some books because of all of this. I hope to read Dante’s Divine Comedy and Meville’s Moby Dick very soon. Also, hope you enjoy Journey in Classic Era! A new episode is actually going to come out this week! PS: My picks for my favorite films from each decade. (1920s - 2020s, So far) 1920s - The Passion of Joan of Arc 1930s - City Lights 1940s - Fantasia 1950s - Ordet (The Word) 1960s - 2001: A Space Odyssey or Teorema (It’s such a tie between these two at this point.) 1970s - Mirror or Barry Lyndon (It’s such a tie between these two at this point. AGAIN) 1980s - Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters 1990s - Eternity and a Day 2000s - Spirited Away 2010s - The Tree of Life 2020s - The Zone of Interest
Esteban Rodriguez
2024-02-20 18:08:43 +0000 UTCGood shout on American Fiction. It didn't hit the mark in various ways and lacked focus. They struggled to keep it punchy through its runtime. But some of the themes and observations they explored quite well. The comedy, the core, was fresh and memorable. I wonder how much fighting the writer had to go through with the studio/funders.... I can't help but feel they would want something a bit more hammy to bash over the audience's head.... the nuance was appreciated. American Fiction doesn't deserve a Best Picture nomination, but at least that nomination might push the film to a wider audience... because audiences really deserve a bit of nuance. Nice touch on acting style... especially in reference to Tarkovsky. Just brought to mind some recent Q+As I have been watching with Mike Leigh and all of his movies. His approach to character building and story writing I was really intrigued by [check out The Garden Cinema on YouTube for those - he's SUCH a grumpy bastard especially when receiving inane and uninformed questions by the audience - I feel for him AND them] The touch on comedy and mime, especially Laurel and Hardy, reminded me of the episodes I watch on YoutTube of The Good Old Days. I always fall into that 'I was born in the wrong era' trap when I watch it. The level of skill and talent and dedication on stage is breath-taking. Their skills require such a level of dedication and discipline. It inspired me to source the book, The Northern Music Hall. It's magical. I am looking to engage more in the history of music hall in Britain. Somehow! It's a bit niche! Anyway, thanks for the thoughts this week! Passion, purpose, fire! It's infectious!
hyperballadbrad
2024-02-20 14:59:31 +0000 UTC
