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Again, and again, and again ...


CHAPEL END CHARLIE
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I have heard about deliverance but that is the first time I have actually seen it. One thing that clip doesn't explain is why is the piggy man wearing a nappy? Also something that is not clear, why are tits now banned from the muppet show but bumming videos are ok in the arts section? Is it cause it is art and therefore not porn? The rules are never clear on this forum therefore we all walk the infraction tight rope.

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Fargo - always a good yarn

 

Not all Coen Brothers movies have the stuff of greatness about them perhaps, but they have never made a bad film in my opinion - from the almost forgotten 'Blood Simple' all the way to the massively successful 'No Country for Old Men'.

 

But 'Fargo' is perhaps the pinnacle of their creative output thus far. A audacious piece of film making that has gained a (well deserved) cult status among movie fans because in more than a century of film production there is nothing else quite like it.

 

And yes I am 'kinda funny lookin' before anyone asks ...

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Not all Coen Brothers movies have the stuff of greatness about them perhaps, but they have never made a bad film in my opinion - from the almost forgotten 'Blood Simple' all the way to the massively successful 'No Country for Old Men'.

 

But 'Fargo' is perhaps the pinnacle of their creative output thus far. A audacious piece of film making that has gained a (well deserved) cult status among movie fans because in more than a century of film production there is nothing else quite like it.

 

And yes I am 'kinda funny lookin' before anyone asks ...

 

Did you spot all the product placements in Fargo? And have you tried 'A Simple Man'?

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I've got some serious gaps in my Coen brothers knowledge.

 

Fargo is excellent, and I'd have a rare measure of agreement with Chapel End Charlie on there being nothing else quite like it. I've seen true life movies before and I've seen black humour. I've not seen much of that in the same film. Frances McDormand's character sums it up neatly at the end, when she reflects on the details of the investigation and remarks upon what a waste it all was, and all for a bit of money. It's not my favourite Coen brothers film, but has a compelling message about the lust for status leading to the destruction of everything important.

 

The Big Lebowski is probably one of my favourite films of all time. It's notoriously difficult to get on with on the first watch, but it truly is a fine wine of movies. Walter, the man represented in my avatar, is a superb character. Complete arsehole, pulls a gun to settle a bowling dispute, goes off the rails several times, can't help relating everything to Vietnam, gets tons of stuff wrong for major comic effect.

 

You watch that movie a few times, and you realise he nails all the big calls.

 

Fantastic movie, endlessly rewatchable.

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Did you spot all the product placements in Fargo? And have you tried 'A Simple Man'?

 

Well no doubt the sells of tan Oldsmobile Cutlass's took off after this fine movie was released, but please tell more because I just love movie trivia in all it many forms. I must admit to not having read the book either, but judging my some of the reviews available on the net, I probably should!

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Not all Coen Brothers movies have the stuff of greatness about them perhaps, but they have never made a bad film in my opinion - from the almost forgotten 'Blood Simple' all the way to the massively successful 'No Country for Old Men'.

 

But 'Fargo' is perhaps the pinnacle of their creative output thus far. A audacious piece of film making that has gained a (well deserved) cult status among movie fans because in more than a century of film production there is nothing else quite like it.

 

And yes I am 'kinda funny lookin' before anyone asks ...

 

Tis good....Ja :p

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Whats wrong with you lot !!!!....I cant believe that no one has mentioned Star Wars !!!

 

I too was watching Room 101, during which, Mrs Mars turned to me and said "haven't you seen Star Wars about 18 times?"

 

"Yeah, in one weekend!"

 

I'm 36, I reckon I have watched Star Wars AT LEAST a couple of hundred times. I spent every waking hour watching star wars from about the age of 6 to 12/13.

 

I used to know the whole script off by heart.:blush:

 

God, how did I manged to find a female to marry me!!!

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Here's another that I left off the list.

 

Just watched for the 20th time at least, always seems to be on a movie channel somewhere.

 

Robocop.

 

Wooden acting from unknowns, script you see coming a week away, 100,000 bullets fired at him and not one hits his face...

 

But it is STILL a damned good film.

 

There is one I believe many of you will eventually watch again and again.

 

To be honest when I told him what we were gonna watch the other night, had to drag son-in-law screaming back into the room....

 

He simply did not believe it could be funny instead of gross and have jokes in a storyline but he watched...

 

and headed off through the airport today listening to Aladeen muvvafvker on his Iphone still laughing...

 

"I'm pregnant". "Oh good are you having a boy or an abortion?"

 

Yeah The Dictator has joined the elite special movies wallet alongside Kelly's Heroes

 

Edited by dubai_phil
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Whats wrong with you lot !!!!....I cant believe that no one has mentioned Star Wars !!!

 

I too was watching Room 101, during which, Mrs Mars turned to me and said "haven't you seen Star Wars about 18 times?"

 

"Yeah, in one weekend!"

 

I'm 36, I reckon I have watched Star Wars AT LEAST a couple of hundred times. I spent every waking hour watching star wars from about the age of 6 to 12/13.

 

I used to know the whole script off by heart.:blush:

 

God, how did I manged to find a female to marry me!!!

 

It's a mystery.

 

But you're quite right, every time ITV show Star Wars on the telly I'll happily sit down and watch it all over again. I'll even watch the much derided Episodes 1, 2, and 3 - Ja Ja bloody Binks and all!

 

The kids are much the same with Harry Potter ... I must admit I leave them to get on with that on their own.

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It's a mystery.

 

But you're quite right, every time ITV show Star Wars on the telly I'll happily sit down and watch it all over again. I'll even watch the much derided Episodes 1, 2, and 3 - Ja Ja bloody Binks and all!

 

The kids are much the same with Harry Potter ... I must admit I leave them to get on with that on their own.

 

Rightfully derided Episodes 1, 2 & 3.

 

http://redlettermedia.com

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Miller's Crossing.

 

That's about the only film that I will make a point of watching again and again and again (is that tautology or just redundant repetition? Sorry CHAPEL END CHARLIE!)

 

As with books, I usually like to walk away with my memories, and over time fill in the blanks from my subconscious first view. The more questions I'm left with, the more I have to use my imagination, the better the book/film.

 

Reading/watching something twice usually means that I arrive with preconceptions and the 'meaning' ends up being self-fulfilling.

 

I actually find it easier to watch 'pulpy' stuff more than once. I've probably seen Pretty in Pink more than any other film because I loved the sound track when I was younger, and now my wife and daughter regularly watch it.

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Walter, the man represented in my avatar, is a superb character. Complete arsehole, pulls a gun to settle a bowling dispute, goes off the rails several times, can't help relating everything to Vietnam, gets tons of stuff wrong for major comic effect.

 

You watch that movie a few times, and you realise he nails all the big calls.

 

 

But the ringer was the beginning of the end and the descent into madness?

Agree Walter is brilliant - cant think of a more entertainingly pious character: "you're killing your father larry".

 

The Man Who Wasn't There and Raising Arizona are also great Coen Brothers film.

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Films I've watched so many times I know all the words (most of which already mentioned on this thread):

 

The Big Lebowski

E.T.

Withnail & I

Vanishing Point

Star Wars (original trilogy)

The Princess Bride

The Hudsucker Proxy (y'know, for kids)

 

Actually, I don't think I've seen anyone mention Withnail & I yet, and that's definitely the one I've seen most, running easily into the hundreds of times in my youth. Endlessly, tediously quotable. Whenever anyone complains about an artist 'selling out', something not being as good now it's popular, I'll trot out "They're selling hippy wigs in Woolworths, man..." I absolutely love showing it to people who've never seen it before, but then hate having to sit quietly and not quote every line just a fraction of a second before it's delivered on screen. Maybe the best ever British comedy?

 

Monty you terrible ****!

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Did you spot all the product placements in Fargo? And have you tried 'A Simple Man'?

 

If you are referring to Coen Brothers films, do you not mean 'A Serious Man'? Wonderfully underrated film IMO.

 

Walter, the man represented in my avatar, is a superb character. Complete arsehole, pulls a gun to settle a bowling dispute, goes off the rails several times, can't help relating everything to Vietnam, gets tons of stuff wrong for major comic effect.

 

You watch that movie a few times, and you realise he nails all the big calls.

 

Walter: Am I wrong?

Dude: No Walter you're not wrong, you're just an asshole!

 

Brilliant stuff. You are right about it being a hard one to get to grips with first time round. I watched it on recommendation from a friend of mine and have to admit I was less than impressed with it - I guess I just hadn't tuned in to the Coens' sense of humour yet because it has now become one of my favourite films as well.

 

But coming back to the point of this thread, and this was my first thought before anybody else mentioned any of the Coen brothers' work, the one film I can happily watch over and over and never tire of is O Brother Where Art Thou? The atmosphere they captured when shooting this just does something to me at such a fundamental level, and I love the fact that anybody could dream up the idea of making a wacky, off-the-wall comedy based on Homer's The Odyssey.

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... But coming back to the point of this thread, and this was my first thought before anybody else mentioned any of the Coen brothers' work, the one film I can happily watch over and over and never tire of is O Brother Where Art Thou? The atmosphere they captured when shooting this just does something to me at such a fundamental level, and I love the fact that anybody could dream up the idea of making a wacky, off-the-wall comedy based on Homer's The Odyssey.

 

From all their varied and wonderful body of work, O Brother and Fargo are certainly my favorite Coen Bothers movies. If I could only take one of them to my own 'Desert Island' then god knows how I'd choose between them - steam would probably start to pour from my ears and I'd then explode muttering "does not compute" like one of those megalomaniac computers on Star Trek TOS.

 

If you really love this marvelous movie then it follows, I would have thought, that you must also love the old music that is such a key element of the film. In which case I will take the liberty of directing you here:

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/O-Brother-Where-Art-Thou/dp/B002JDWIU6/ref=sr_shvl_album_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1360953871&sr=301-1

 

If there is anybody out there who has never heard the Peasall Sisters sing 'In the Highways' then I reckon there is something very wrong with their musical education :D

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Not all Coen Brothers movies have the stuff of greatness about them perhaps, but they have never made a bad film in my opinion - from the almost forgotten 'Blood Simple' all the way to the massively successful 'No Country for Old Men'.

 

But 'Fargo' is perhaps the pinnacle of their creative output thus far. A audacious piece of film making that has gained a (well deserved) cult status among movie fans because in more than a century of film production there is nothing else quite like it.

 

And yes I am 'kinda funny lookin' before anyone asks ...

 

 

The remake of The Ladykillers was awful!! But then, how could they improve on perfection?!

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The remake of The Ladykillers was awful!! But then, how could they improve on perfection?!

 

Yep, fair comment.

 

I too love the Alec Guinness version - the very definition of 'Black Comedy' and what a wonderfully macabre old thing it still is to watch. However I wouldn't go so far as to describe the Coen Brothers 2004 remake as 'awful', however it's certainly not one of their better efforts. I must say that 'Intolerable Cruelty' didn't do all that much for me either in truth.

 

But we must remember that precious few film director(s) - even the great ones - have a entirely unblemished record. Steven Spielberg made Jaws and Schindler's List, but he also made forgettable guff like 'Always' and a expensive mess out of '1941'. For that matter I bet ace director James Cameron probably still has nightmares over 'Piranha II'. Even the greatest film maker who ever lived - Sir Alfred Hitchcock - has serious disappointments such as 'Topaz' or 'Frenzy' among his otherwise distinguished filmography.

 

So let's forgive the Coen's for the odd slip-up now and then. Because when they're at the top of their game ... well they're bloody brilliant in my opinion.

Edited by CHAPEL END CHARLIE
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If you really love this marvelous movie then it follows, I would have thought, that you must also love the old music that is such a key element of the film.

 

Oh indeed. It's probably the music that really makes it for me. From the opening sequence featuring Big Rock Candy Mountain, to Man of Constant Sorrow, to the blues song about death sung by the grave-diggers towards the end. It is the most perfect musical accompaniment to any film I could imagine.

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