Quote of the Day
"Do I have to tell you what everything in the picture means? Can't you just experience it?"
--Stanley Kubrick
James Beaton just used this quote in his comment to one of my posts. I couldn't agree more with James' comment. Very well written. Additionally, I adore that Kubrick quote! Moreover, the Kubrick quote, in my mind, is related to a difference of opinion I often have with Chrisy as it relates to films. I'd like to paraphrase the Kubrick quote this way:
"Do I have to tell you what happens in this narrative after the picture ends? Can't you just connect your own dots?"
--Doah Lynd
Usually, when a film is over and the ending just "hangs there," I will tend to love the movie whereas Chrisy tends to be frustrated and feel cheated. She's not wrong; rather, we're just different in that way. I love movies that don't tell me what everything means or how everything turns out. For example, the great John Sayles film LIMBO is one of my many favorites. Many people (not just my wife) had an audible gasp or actually said, "Is that all there is?" when it ended. I loved it! I wanted to applaud. I'm sure you can think of other films that ended that way, they're kind of like the Beatles song, "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" on Abbey Road in that they just seem to "cut-off" abruptly.
Similarly, as it would natrually follow, there are many times I could have enjoyed a film much more if they didn't keep going, and going, spoon feeding me every little detail. There are many examples, but the most obvious for me is the Robert Zemeckis picture, CAST AWAY. I loved that movie, until the last chunk, then I took off 2 stars from it's rating because it had to lay-out everything for me, tie it up with a nice cookie-cutter ending! There's a moment when Hanks is finally on raft and he's asleep and he is awaken by a big ship. Rescued! We know that "rescued" is the implication. That's where I would have rolled credits. That would have been a 5 star film to me.
At any rate, I think Kubrick was a genius filmmaker and I love that quote. It really got me thinking. I love to fill in the canvas in my mind. Movies that allow me to do that are often among my favorites.
--Stanley Kubrick
James Beaton just used this quote in his comment to one of my posts. I couldn't agree more with James' comment. Very well written. Additionally, I adore that Kubrick quote! Moreover, the Kubrick quote, in my mind, is related to a difference of opinion I often have with Chrisy as it relates to films. I'd like to paraphrase the Kubrick quote this way:
"Do I have to tell you what happens in this narrative after the picture ends? Can't you just connect your own dots?"
--Doah Lynd
Usually, when a film is over and the ending just "hangs there," I will tend to love the movie whereas Chrisy tends to be frustrated and feel cheated. She's not wrong; rather, we're just different in that way. I love movies that don't tell me what everything means or how everything turns out. For example, the great John Sayles film LIMBO is one of my many favorites. Many people (not just my wife) had an audible gasp or actually said, "Is that all there is?" when it ended. I loved it! I wanted to applaud. I'm sure you can think of other films that ended that way, they're kind of like the Beatles song, "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" on Abbey Road in that they just seem to "cut-off" abruptly.
Similarly, as it would natrually follow, there are many times I could have enjoyed a film much more if they didn't keep going, and going, spoon feeding me every little detail. There are many examples, but the most obvious for me is the Robert Zemeckis picture, CAST AWAY. I loved that movie, until the last chunk, then I took off 2 stars from it's rating because it had to lay-out everything for me, tie it up with a nice cookie-cutter ending! There's a moment when Hanks is finally on raft and he's asleep and he is awaken by a big ship. Rescued! We know that "rescued" is the implication. That's where I would have rolled credits. That would have been a 5 star film to me.
At any rate, I think Kubrick was a genius filmmaker and I love that quote. It really got me thinking. I love to fill in the canvas in my mind. Movies that allow me to do that are often among my favorites.
posted by Doah at 10:22 AM
1 Comments:
Doah,
I love you and I know that you love me as well. I am glad that you are writing again and that it makes you happy. Love always,
Chrisy
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