 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I don't think it's a question of "having the stones" or "not getting it" or whatever. The premise of this thread was to talk about "classic" (I also loathe this word, by the way) films that "you just can't bring yourself to like." I don't get why anyone thinks that someone should provide some other film for comparison - what are you lot asking for, someone to prove their cred by naming some films you can agree on?
I started out just wanting to be snarky, but I'm honestly confused why it matters. Critics, smart people, heck, all people can disagree about the merits of just about anything that some people think is the very bees knees. So effing what?
Oh, and by the way William, I've got no problem with someone not liking Silence of the Lambs because Hannibal Lecter is creepy - that's as good a reason not to like a film as any. (Which in my view is a genuine "classic" if we have to use that word, though sadly also with pernicious influence in pop culture, but enough on that subject for one day).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I started out just wanting to be snarky, but I'm honestly confused why it matters. Critics, smart people, heck, all people can disagree about the merits of just about anything that some people think is the very bees knees. So effing what?
Oh, and by the way William, I've got no problem with someone not liking Silence of the Lambs because Hannibal Lecter is creepy - that's as good a reason not to like a film as any. (Which in my view is a genuine "classic" if we have to use that word, though sadly also with pernicious influence in pop culture, but enough on that subject for one day).
You're saying it's 'legitimate' to dislike a film, as though legitimacy meant something in this context.
Films we 'enjoy' because of our various complexes and experiences etc. can't be judged (unless we're into serial killers or some madness) but there are criteria re what is 'good' in terms of universal meaning, ethics, message, artistry, craftsmanship, construction, evocativeness, place in history, originality, etc.. Yes, there are those who are basically snobs who love lists of 'critics' 20 best', and who always peep over their shoulders at how they may be being perceived, but great films are great for a reason. When you cross the line from 'I like' to 'this is no good' without defining why, you lose out.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Of course it is legitimate in this context - the context being classics you can't bring yourself to like. The problems some are having in this thread is whether or not this is a legitimate subject for a thread. Negative human responses to a "great" work is a perfectly legitimate topic, just not one that is typically going to generate a lot of keen critical assessment. (My comments excepted, of course.  )
For me, it's the idea that someone has a duty to admire or value or venerate (or whatever the hell the right word would be) any given "classic" that is illegitimate. And for the simplest and most universal of reasons - because it means telling someone to think like someone else, which no one has the right to do. At least not where I live.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
For me, it's the idea that someone has a duty to admire or value or venerate (or whatever the hell the right word would be) any given "classic" that is illegitimate. And for the simplest and most universal of reasons - because it means telling someone to think like someone else, which no one has the right to do. At least not where I live.
There are different aspects to people.
The part that says 'I like' is subjective. The deeper part has a 'duty' to be fair. The duty is not to follow some conformist canon, but to be fair. That might mean trying to be as objective as one can. If millions say a film is universally good, you would hope that was a result of that film's inherent merits, exposed to everyone's FAIRNESS.
But even with the subjective part, there's a personal responsibility to examine our own preferences to see whence they originate.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Conan. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I should love this movie and I just don't. I've tried. But I like it better than Legend.
Annie Hall. Never mind my grudge about Best Picture.
Taxi Driver. Have I ever liked a Scorsese film? (Ok, I liked Color of Money.) See also Goodfellas.
Honorable mention: Vertigo. This is an edge case. I like the movie. But I don't love it 1/10 as much as North by Northwest.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Honorable mention: Vertigo. This is an edge case. I like the movie. But I don't love it 1/10 as much as North by Northwest.
Mr. OT, I'm not going to start a "how can you not love this" thing, but I do have a question - have you seen Vertigo in the theater?
I saw it in the theater twice, in the 80's and 90's. And though I too enjoy N by NW more, I think of Vertigo as Hitch's best late movie, and maybe his best ever. And I think it's because I've seen it in the theater, where my attention was fully and completely on the film, and I was carried away by it in a way I don't think I could have been on first watch at home.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
