tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718363357363343340.post301883803716552460..comments2022-05-09T09:20:48.004-07:00Comments on Film of the Month Club: I'm trying to not get hypnotized by Dr. MabuseChris Caglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11896423565458620046noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718363357363343340.post-20075925765109755832009-04-19T20:21:00.000-07:002009-04-19T20:21:00.000-07:00I'm feeling the same way about Lang now, and Germa...I'm feeling the same way about Lang now, and German silent cinema in general. I also need to get my hands on the better version of "Dr. Mabuse". I saw the screen captures on DVDBEAVER and it is significant.Peter Rinaldihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08665020900615475757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718363357363343340.post-25606113387645274462009-04-19T16:00:00.000-07:002009-04-19T16:00:00.000-07:00Thanks. It IS an overwhelming film - the length is...Thanks. It IS an overwhelming film - the length is bad enough, but there's so much going on inside it.... I had something of the same reaction when I saw it first - even being prepared for it by class: it takes a good deal of effort just to follow what's happening - add in the fact that it's not just a silent film, but one from a transitional period - it seems to jump back and forth between the older, "tableau" style cinema Bordwell writes about, and newer styles - it takes a while to get used to the pacing, and the alternation... (Watch it next to Nosferatu, say - Murnau looks completely modern...) I also saw only the first half in class - coherent enough, but then we started reading about it, and talking about it.... and the more I read about it the more fascinating it became. Finding time to watch the second half was a challenge - the Film of the Month Club provided a handy excuse! And the two together are even more overwhelming...<br /><br />Anyway - if I had to do it again, I'd probably pick something a bit less daunting - maybe TESTAMENT OF DOCTOR MABUSE - that's a bit more manageable, and pretty amazing in its own right... (Kalat's commentary on that is quite good, as well. And he leans heavily on Tom Gunning, I think, whose book on Lang is as good as it gets.) I am absolutely convinced that I have to track down as much Lang as I possibly can now - I've always loved M and Metropolis, and liked the American films I'd seen by him, but never dug into him like into Capra or Hitchcock...weepingsamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11885871104310819374noreply@blogger.com