Monday, October 31, 2011

1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die!


Yesterday, this blog was read by many people in the world,especially in the English speaking countries.I appreciate your time to read my blog.so, I have made this English summary version as well here.

The movie-related books have been published in the market often.
When it comes to the best movies, the best 100 movies or 200 movies can be found easily.
In that sense, this book with 1000 movies title is outstanding.
I picked up this book at a bookstore, I felt it was heavy to hold in my hands.
so it would be better for me to buy it online(LOL).
Thinking of its volume, it might list some poor works.
Checking its price, the English original is about half the price of its Japanese version.
Taking a look at it, it seems the English reviews are worth reading.
I am sure that 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die will help improve my English writing ability on movies

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Your one click motivates me to continue writing this blog!!
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Sunday, October 30, 2011

1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die(死ぬまでに観たい映画1001本)とは何というタイトルの映画本!

1001 Movies You Must See Before You Dieというタイトルの映画本。出版されているベスト映画本は、ベスト100、ベスト200程度だが、この本はその数をはるかに凌駕している。書店で手に取ってみたが、ずしりと重い。そういうことでネット購入向き(笑い)の一冊だ。おそらく、1001本とくれば、駄作もリストされているかも。アマゾンで値段をチェックする、英語の原本は翻訳版の半分の価格だ。原書をチラリ見したが、なかなかレベルの高そうな英語。私の英語学習目的にはピッタリ一致する。購入するしかないだろう。

Thursday, October 27, 2011

やはりヒッチコックは最高、北北西に進路を取れ(North by Northwest)


“North By Northwest” contains some three or four breathtaking scenes, which have become classics in film history. There's the spectacular crop-dusting sequence in which Thornhill is terrorized by an aerial menace, a deadly airplane that pursues him in the open cornfields, leading to a crash from which he barely escapes. Alternating complete silence with ominous sound, and long shots with close-ups, the scene serves as a textbook for Hitchcock's elaborately detailed, gloriously deliberate mise-en-scene.
Also noteworthy is the last reel, with a chase across the face of Mount Rushmore, a cliff-hanging episode in which Thornhill and Kendall cling to the rocks of Mount Rushmore, framed by the huge faces of the presidents (carved b John Gutzon Borglum). It's here that Grant wisecracks: “I don't like the way Roosevelt is looking at me.”
One of my favorite scenes–and also one of the film’s funniest and most outrageous ones—is early on, in the hotel’s elevator, when Roger Thornhill’s mother remarks to the two men (who had kidnapped her son the night before and do intend to kill him), “You gentlemen aren’t really trying to kill my son, are you?” The whole elevator, the mother, the villains, and the other passengers burst out laughing hysterically, while Thornhill stands helplessly in their midst.
The title of the picture is borrowed from Shakespeare's “Hamlet”: “I am but mad north-northwest; when the wind is southerly I know a hawk from a handsaw.”
“North By Northwest” employs many of Hitchcock's visual and thematic motifs. Take, for instance, the drunk-driving sequence, with Grant shown in mega close-ups, which recalls a similar drunk-driving scene in “Notorious,” (which co-starred Grant), with Ingrid Bergman as the driver, and Janet Leigh in “Psycho.”

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

孤高の映画少女ムシェット(Mouchette、French film)



Mouchette offers evidence of misery and cruelty. She is found everywhere: wars, concentration camps, tortures, assassinations.” - Robert Bresson

Fans of Bresson’s work will find him at his finest here. Mouchette is as pure as any film to come out of the 60′s.The young girl, who as all Bresson characters are not professionals, does an amazing job just being who she is: an innocent young girl.
This movie is sad to the max, specially since the victim is this disprotected young person. We can identify with her all the time, with her isolation, her giving herself for the good of others. Her sacrifice. Her solitude. She's almost a Christlike figure. Bresson admitted during the shooting of this film that he certainly was a believer to the question of whether it was a religious film.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

スペイン映画オールアバウトマイマザー(all about my mother)

Spanish film All about my mother
Review: What I like most about Almodovar's films, this one in particular, is the way he will grab you and pull you into a world you would not normally know and then, confront you with people's lives, emotions, and relationships. The film is a deep drama, studying carefully the female universe with strength and realism, and also explaining the importance of a mother.Pedro Almodovar's moving and funny tribute to woman in a film that was universally acclaimed as the Best Foreign film of 1999! Manuela (Cecilia Roth) carefully hid the identity of her son's father, but when the boy is killed she searches for her former lover! This story is basically about the friendships she makes along the way.One interesting thing about this film is the concept of gender. Almodovar is a director who typically works with strong actresses and writes well for women, and this film, dedicated to actresses and mothers, is particularly interesting as an exploration of female relationships. In "An Intimate Conversation with Pedro Almodovar", a 24-minute dvd feature, he states that one of the ideas he wants to examine is the "natural solidarity(連帯、結束) of women" -- not your typical take on female relations, at least in the US. These are women who are lost or experiencing loss, and they bring strength to each other and build friendships even in their grief. There are few men in the film, and though they are pivotal(中枢) to the action they are only tangentially(脇にそれている)present -- one dies, two are transvestites(服装倒錯者) and one has advanced Alzheimer's.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Awesome movie!!Robert Bressons 「a man escaped」

Short review: What is the lesson from this film? Was it just the true story about how "a man escaped" from a Nazi prison? No, it is a film about human endurance in the face of great adversity.It shows how one man's determination can surmount seemingly impossible odds. Bresson depicts this in a minimalistic (最小主義)manner that uses small events to heighten the dramatic tension. As all of his movies, this one will linger, long after seeing it, in your memory. Robert Bressons unique way of using sound in this film, helps making it one of the most suspenseful films I've ever seen. I can recommend it to anyone who wants something more than "just another film". お金をかけず(!?)とも、これだけの作品が作れるのだ!!

Monday, October 17, 2011

映画監督Robert Bresson(ロベール・ブレッソン)の世界、ラルジャン

Review: There is a spoiler(ネタバレの記載あり!) Robert Bresson creates a harrowing(悲惨な), caustic(辛辣な) and socially relevant indictment(起訴、非難) of materialism and amorality(超道徳性) in his final masterpiece, L'Argent. The protagonist, Yvon, is first introduced through a shot of his hands as he connects the fuel supply line. As in Pickpocket, the image suggests a figurative (比喩)fracture(ばらばらな様) between the body and the soul. However, in L'Argent, the body is not a biological entity, but rather, a representation of a material one: the universal mechanism of money - created, utilized, circulated. In the impersonal (人間味のない、冷たい)detachment (孤立)of contemporary society, money serves as the surrogate for human emotion - love, guilt, shame, devotion, trust - are frivolously(軽率、軽薄) expressed through its casual exchange. But money also exihibits a biological behavior in its virulence(毒々しさ) - the forged banknotes, in essence, contaminate everyone who comes into contact with them. Norbert is punished for his childish prank. The photographer's reprehensible act escalates to perjury(偽証). Lucien's deception (策略)eventually leads to theft. Yvon resorts to a life of crime and brutal murder. Inevitably, the pursuit of money serves as a symbolic means for the destruction of the soul. As the counterfeit note serves as an imitation of money, so too does money, in turn, represent an artificiality - a false soul

映画監督Robert Bresson(ロベール・ブレッソン)の世界、バルタザールどこへ行く

Good review: In order to fully appreciate Au Hasard Balthazar one must understand the thematic construction (テーマの構成)of the film. By being literally a passive, dumb beast who is being passed from owner to owner and being mistreated and shown (little) love throughout his life, Bresson uses Balthazar as a witness and reflection -- or both a window and mirror, if you will -- of human nature in all its facets. There are also the clear parallels (類似点)Bresson establishes between Balthazar and his owners, especially his first owner, Marie. The purpose of such a thematical tool is for the audience to regard Balthazar as another facet of the human condition, but only in the spiritual sense (Bresson takes extreme care in not anthromorphologize (人間のような形態)the donkey). So, with Balthazar and these group of characters, the film shows the entire spectrum of humanity: purity (Balthazar), good (Jacques), evil (Gérard), weakness (Arnold), selfishness (Merchant), arrogance (Marie's father) and self-pity (Marie). In one or several of these characters, we can see ourselves since they encapsulate the different ways human beings deal with their existence. Now this is the most important thing to comprehend about the film: Balthazar is an ignorant, unknowing beast who has no choice but to accept everything that happens to him in his life due to his condition, that of being a donkey, a creature who has no intelligence and who has no free will. He simply lives life the way he knows: he is used as an animal of burden, and he does so. He is mistreated by his owners, he accepts the mistreatment. He is shown love and compassion by Marie, he accepts it. He even shares his state of being with other animals (in times of captivity during his stay in the circus ). If you think about it, within the oportunities (or lack thereof) he has been given, and the circumstances (good and bad) he's gone through, Balthazar has achieved to live life to the fullest . Us human beings have a different condition to Balthazar. Human beings have intelligence, reasoning and have the free will to make choices. Yet with all those gifts and advantages, humans have no peace of mind and keep having an attitude towards life and making choices that more often than not, lead to a life of misery and suffering, destroying ourselves and the lives of others in the process. The simple yet profound question the film basically begs us to ask to ourselves is: "if Balthazar could live life to the fullest, why can't we?". When we realize this reflection on Balthazar's life and reflect it on our own, a sudden feeling of enlightenment, trascendence and spirituality undeniably invades us. Throughout this meaningful revelation, we emerge with a moral clarity (especially concerning the characters in the film) and with a newfound sense of spirituality, hope and a strong will to transform ourselves. I personally can't think of something more inspiring and life-affirming than that. Au Hasard Balthazar very well might change your life. This is one of the most noble, humane and beautiful works of art, of any medium.

Saturday, October 15, 2011

孤高の映画監督Robert Bressonの世界

Pickpocket
The movie is provocative in the sense that it presents hopelessness and despair as the norm and not the exception. This is one of the early examples, with multitudes to follow, of French films consisting of conflicted characters doomed to misery and suffering. Inspite of the dark mood, I enjoyed this film, but mainly due to the technical aspects of pickpocketing, the astounding cinematography and the historical significance of this movie in French filmmaking. Besides the aspect of criminality and its effects on society as a whole, another aspect of the film that fascinated me was the elegance and nearly choreographed movements of Michel and his two fellow pickpockets. The scene of the train station was absolutely amazing. An enjoyable film overall, Pickpocket is a good and short introduction to Bresson's films. I will definitely watch more in the near future.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

原色が美しいスペイン映画Volver(帰郷)!



Brief introduction:
Two sisters learn that the bonds of family don't always end after death in this gentle observational comedy drama that marks celebrated Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodvar's 16th feature. The story explores the interactions between three generations of women in a Spanish family. Raimunda (Pen (C)lope Cruz) was born and raised in the apocryphal village of Alcanfor de las Infantas, in La Mancha, Spain. However, she now resides in Madrid, where she works as a janitor. She is married to Paco (Antonio de la Torre), an unemployed layabout, and looks after her daughter, Paula (Yohana Cobo). Raimunda's mother, Irene (Carmen Maura), died several years back (along with her father) in a house fire. Raimunda's younger sister, Sole (Lola Dueas), also lives in Madrid and works as a hair stylist, while their aunt Paula (Chus Lampreave) still makes her home in La Mancha, with occasional help from neighbor Agustina (Blanca Portillo). The story takes an unusual and mystical twist when Agustina mentions that Irene has begun reappearing in ghostly form -- a fact questioned by Raimunda and Sole. After a murder and an unexpected family tragedy, Paula's story is indeed corroborated by the appearance of Irene's spirit (who has come to comfort her family), and Sole must decide how to respond to the long-dead mother's strange, enchanting presence. 
 Views:
The cast is superb with the only possible drawback being that all the actresses in the film look like normal everyday women with the exception of Penelope Cruz, playing the lead role of Raimunda. Cruz's beauty is breath-taking, reminding me of rare beauty of Elizabeth Taylor in the 1950s. I loved the plot, full of wierd twists and coincidences. I loved the women, living in the special world of empathy, love, wisdom, and emotional support that women are able to create. Almodovar pays a tribute to the feminine in his films for he understands the vast and endless possibilities of the female heart. Another Pedro Almodovar masterpiece! It was moving, strong, beautiful. He weaves a woman's story so well Volver is the story of two sisters whose dead mother returns from the crave to reconnect with them. What happened to her and how she died are revealed bit by bit and the outcome is nothing you expected! But Volver is not just that. Volver is the tale of every woman out there, of all sisters, all mothers. It's the tale of the mother-daughter relationship, of family bonds and the hard fight you give to keep them even if they give you little pleasure. It is also the story of women, brave strong, latin American women, who live in poverty and male domination but have discovered through the hardships of their lives that the strength inside of them is all it takes to face death, poverty and violence.

Sunday, October 9, 2011

the movie Inception is the greatest movie of 2010?!映画「インセプション」は2010年度ベスト映画!?

Very short introduction:
Visionary filmmaker Christopher Nolan (Memento, The Dark Knight) writes and directs this psychological sci-fi action film about a thief who possesses the power to enter into the dreams of others. Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) doesn't steal things, he steals ideas. By projecting himself deep into the subconscious of his targets, he can glean (gather,collect)information that even the best computer hackers can't get to. In the world of corporate espionage, Cobb is the ultimate weapon.

 Various views:
 I liked this movie because it was not like anything I have seen before. I thought it was exciting and engaging, the story really pulled me in, and held me tight, never letting go until the credits rolled. Lots of good action and effects, but the STORY and the acting is what separates this movie from other, lesser flicks(movies). The performances were fantastic, I am not a huge DiCaprio fan, but he has done some great work here. I have always been amazed about the human ability to dream. I have always wonder if anyone could truly capture that topic. And I believe Inception did a wonderful job of making the dream world a reality, at least as far as movies go. It is one movie that kept me on the edge of my seat, with mouth wide open wondering what was going to happen next. And at the end, everyone is still left wondering. That is the mark of a good movie when everyone still must speak about it after it is over. At a micro level, the visuals are effective and there's enough action to make the movie reasonably entertaining. The acting is also generally good enough. However, on the macro level, the nested dreams concept just seemed complicated for the sake of being complicated, and it wasn't done in a way that generated much intrigue for me. In fact, I found it almost boringly tedious. And even more broadly, this movie doesn't seem to have any point, any serious reflections on the human condition. Yes, it does obviously raise the question of how we can distinguish dreams from reality, but there's nothing new there, and other movies have done a much better job with this theme. Moreover, the notion that people would go to all this trouble for the sake of business espionage strikes me as being silly and bordering on cartoonish(not real).

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

映画という芸術に対する姿勢が問われる、wowowのロゴ表示!!

今回、映画「ラルジャン」「スリ」などを楽しみにwowowを見ようと思っていたが、3チャンネル放送になった画面を見て驚いた。画面右上には濃い緑色地にwowowのロゴマークが何と常時表示されているではないか。しかも、あのモノクロ名作「ローマの休日」の画面右上に、この醜くしかもでかいマークが付いて、台無しにしてしまった。ロゴマーク製作者のセンスはもとより、この会社経営陣の映画に対する思いのなさが露呈してしまった。即刻元に戻すべきである。 下のバナーをクリックしていただければ、有り難いです。このブログを続ける励みになります!
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Monday, October 3, 2011

フランソワ・ロラン・トリュフォー(François Roland Truffaut)が監督した大人は判ってくれない(The 400 blows)!

Plot summary
Antoine Doinel is a boy growing up in France during the early 1950s. The movie opens to a group of Antoine’s classmates passing around a picture of a half-naked woman while writing their papers. When the picture comes to Antoine he defaces it and attempts to pass it forward when he is caught by his teacher who makes him stand in a corner the rest of the lesson and deprives him of recess. While alone he writes an angry poem about his teacher (whom he calls Sourpuss) on one of the classroom walls. One of the children tells and the teacher yells at him to clean up his mess only to yell at him later when it is not clean enough. At home he acts as his mother's servant and maid, fetching her slippers and setting the table for supper. When she arrives home from work, she sends Antoine to the store for flour. On the way home he overhears a woman talking about her daughter’s difficult birth which makes him cringe(to shrink in fear or servility). He catches up with his father on the way home who shows him a fog light he bought for the races he plans to attend that Saturday. Despite his cheery attitude, his mother appears cold and annoyed with his jokes and sense of optimism. When his mother tells his father she would prefer to stay at home on Sunday rather than go to the races he accuses her of having an affair. His mother sends Antoine to take out the trash and go to bed (which is a folding cot in the hallway with no bed-sheets, only his sleeping bag).The next morning Antoine wakes up late for school and realizes that he didn’t do the extra assignment the teacher gave him for defacing the classroom walls. As he hurries to school, he runs into his best friend, Rene, who convinces him to skip school since it will be much easier than trying to sneak in. On their way back from the arcade, Antoine catches his mother kissing another man on a street corner. He doesn’t say a word and moves on, even though his mother saw him. After they collect their bags, Antoine realizes he’ll need a note tomorrow explaining his absence. Rene gives him an old note he never used for Antoine to copy in his mother’s handwriting. When he comes home, his father tells him his mother called to say her boss needed her for year-end inventory and wouldn’t be home until later. While cooking dinner he encourages Antoine to buy his mother a birthday present and tells him she doesn’t mean to be so hard on him and that she's just stressed working part-time and taking care of the house. Later that night, when he can’t find his Michelin Guide, Antoine’s father snaps at him and accuses him of stealing it. After Antoine is in bed, his mother arrives home. Antoine overhears her explaining to her husband that her boss dropped her off, setting off more accusations of her affair and more fighting about his poor behavior.
Views
The film provides a snapshot of Paris in the late 50s. Shot in black and white and told from Antoine's viewpoint, we often see exactly what he sees through the choice of camera angles. His perspective also shows us that he thinks of himself in very different ways from the way in which he is viewed by others. We can empathize with his situation completely. The film demonstrates how frightening, daunting(tending to overwhelm or intimidate) and impossible life can seem when you're growing up. It is said that this film is heavily autobiographical and that the child actor Jean-Pierre Leaud was chosen because of his physical resemblance to Truffaut as a child. This is unsurprising given the sympathetic and almost paternal way in which Truffaut treats his protagonist. He is what many of the adults around him would see as a troublesome little brat(an ill-mannered immature person). However in reality he is just a child who feels alienated from his surroundings. With a lack of love and attention both at home and at school, he feels a longing to escape to something else, even at this young age. This film is a masterpiece, in that the images last a lifetime In many ways, Antonie Doinel is not only the cinematic embodiment of Truffaut, but also the French New Wave as a whole. Consider the scene when Doinel cites Balzak in a homework assignment. He pays homage(pay respect) like the New Wave directors would, but he is shot down for plagiarism(to commit literary theft:present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source) 下のバナーをクリックしていただければ、有り難いです。このブログを続ける励みになります!
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