Last Movie You Watched

[Lilas Pastia]

He does not appear in this version of the cast (below). Gance, though, is listed as Louis Saint-Just, 17th from the bottom.

The cast list above is probably incomplete in that it lists only the actors whose character ends up on sreen. It lists some 56 players, this Wiki article has 79, plus 8 others added in shots that were included in the 1934 version, so that's 31 additional characters...

The part doesn't appear in Conrad Veidt's own list of film credits. That would probably the case if it ended up on the cutting floor - along with all the others who seem to have disappeared from the final cast list.

Maybe the Brownlow version has it ?

[karlhenning]

Maybe the Brownlow version has it ?

A follow up to this?

[Brian]

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" is on TV right now and I just got sucked in ... oh boy

[Lilas Pastia]

A follow up to this?

That's a low blow, Master Karl. Hopefully it will not stick to you 

[Lilas Pastia]

Oops, just saw this. I didn't make any comment because I'm not sure I "got" it at all. I'll have to watch it again some time.

Gertrud is the kind of film that can prompt endless comments (it has). Thought-provoking works of art are infinitely more valuable than those that give it to you cooked, chopped and pre-digested. Sometimes insatisfaction after viewing a film (or listening to a piece of music)  is the sign that the mind hasn't connected all the dots and an opinion refuses to form. It's frustrating and that's how I felt the first time I saw it some 30 years ago.

A few more comments: the main subject is the eternal incompatibility of men and women to understand each other's deepest needs. Gertrud has come to the conclusion that even those men that truly loved her (or professed to) were unable to put her first in their lives. Work, carreer, professional concerns,  personal ambition will always take precedence when it comes to making a choice. She will simply not bow to fashion or tradition. To her, love is all (Amor Omnia). This is so absolute that no compromise is possible.

This is Dreyer's take on the 'incommunicability' theme dear to existentialist writers. Consider Antonioni's early 60s films. They're all about that subject. And I find them insufferably navel-centered - but that's just me, many think they are profound masterpieces.

Take the shot where a character stands in the door frame. There are two portraits on each side. On the left is a man looking to the left. On the right is a woman looking to the right (or vice versa). A man and a woman looking in opposite directions. Subtle or pretentious? It depends if it communicates the idea and it registers with you (the viewer).

Throughout the film, from first shot to last, characters speak to each other. It's a series of dialogues. NOT ONCE do they look at each other. Gertrud stares in the distance when one of her men speaks to her. Or she turns her head away when she is looked at. Gazes never meet. Profound or ridiculous?  

Two things stand out in Gertrud: the acting and the art direction. This is the most 'acted out' of Dreyer's films since Jeanne d'Arc. And a lot of the acting is, on the contrary, not acted at all. Deep sorrow, despair even, is expressed with no gesture, and no face muscle can be seen twitching. Costumes, sets and lighting have as much importance - if not more - than in Ordet. Listen to the frou frou of Gertrud's dresses when she moves. Apart from the voices, it's about the only 'noise' you hear.  Every little visual detail is set against a pure, nakedly abstract set. And yet, taken as a whole, every one of the film's shots is visually rich, perfect in all its details. The lighting contributes enormously to that visual richness. The cinematography is perfection itself (Henning Bendtsen, who also filmed Ordet).

I found these comments on Rotten Tomatoes:

A morose, utterly passionless film.

And:

I would imagine that many would find it unwatchable, or would incorrectly deem it uncinematic, but it understands the language of cinema better than nearly any film that I've seen. Every cut, every pan, every zoom matters.

.

One last thing: I wish someone would tell me who sings in the film. This is one of the richest, purest mezzo voices I've heard. When one watches Nina Pens Rode sing, there is no indication whatsoever of lip-synching.

[karlhenning]

The Avengers, "The Return of the Cybernauts"

[Brian]

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" is on TV right now and I just got sucked in ... oh boy

Wow, that was a TERRIBLE movie. The only redeeming value was the gloriously awful lines the bad guys had to utter, and the imbecilic basketball coach forgetting what sport he's supposed to be coaching.

[Tapkaara]

I have the Carl Th. Dreyer collection of films on Criterion, though it has been a long time since I took in Gertrud. A difficult film, I though. I need to revisit it.

[Drasko]

I'd love to see what would have Sternberg done with Wedekind's story, and with Louise Brooks too. Pabst is too much of a non entity.

[SonicMan46]

Yes Man (2008) w/ Jim Carrey; a Netflix rental (fortunately!) - just don't understand why a talented actor-comedian (as least once upon a time?) cannot appear in a film vehicle that highlights his talents; the story line here is dull & the film boring - I can't tell you the ending (even if you cared) because I turned it off - sorry.  Mediocre ratings on Amazon & Netflix (gave the picture a 2*/5* only myself there); and only 43% on Rotten Tomatoes.  At least a 'cheap' rental for me!

What Doesn't Kill You (2008) w/ Ethan Hawke & Mark Ruffalo; another rental from Netflix and a completely different story about 2 friends growing up in South Boston who basically become involved in petty street crime - this film did not hold my interest either although better for its type than the Carrey flick above.  Similar rating on Amazon and Netflix where I went for another 2*; just could not pick a 3* rating which for me means I liked the flick; better ratings on Rotten Tomatoes, i.e. 66%.  Neither of these will be purchases for me, but the latter film is a tentative recommendation if you like the actors and the story? 


 

[offbeat]

I'd love to see what would have Sternberg done with Wedekind's story, and with Louise Brooks too. Pabst is too much of a non entity.

to be honest did not take too much notice of Pabst's direction - louise brooks had a kind of magical sex appeal which is relevant today as was in 1929 - pity she did not make too many films after that

[DavidRoss]

Excellent.

[fixed img tags - Maciek]

[Brian]

Excellent.

[Drasko]

to be honest did not take too much notice of Pabst's direction

Exactly.

louise brooks had a kind of magical sex appeal which is relevant today as was in 1929 - pity she did not make too many films after that

Agreed.

[CD]

Pabst is too much of a non entity.

I enjoyed many of his films, but I think I have to agree that his direction is fairly workmanlike. I wouldn't call any of them masterpieces.

Watched:

Wooden Crosses (1930) Dir. Raymond Bernard




Shock Corridor (1965) Dir. Sam Fuller

[Harry]

This film is really remarkably good in every sense. It kept me spellbound for 121 minutes.

[Tapkaara]

I watched Dreyer's GERTRUD again last night. It had been several years since I'd last seen it. I will admit I liked it a whole lot more this time than I did before.

The film is austere in every way; that is, it is minimal on plot, acting, set design, camera work and direction. Dreyer creates a strange world where everyone walks about like zombies and people often talk to each other by staring off into space.

It's a good film, perhaps great, but it would be hard to watch with a lot of frequency. It's a rather depressing story, actually, where everyone's hope for love gets ruined in one way or another by one of the characters. And in her old age, Gertrud seem to look forward to death which gives one the feeling that the life she lived was so lonely and uneventful that death is to be welcomed.

Fascinating film, to be sure.

[Lilas Pastia]

The last scene in Gertrud is actually one about life rather than death. While mentioning she had just been out to choose her graveyard in a very nice location (!!), she says her only epitaph will be two words: Amor Omnia (Love is everything). This is how she has chosen to live, and how she wants to go.

In a previous scene, she is singing a song whose verses about the sadness, disappointment or bitterness of love - but all verses end with the line 'but I have loved' - this is repeated 4-5 times before she collapses to the ground. In a sense, Gertrud is truer to herself - emotionally stronger - than all her men put together.

[Harpo]

A satisfying, ultimately feel-good post-apartheid South African comedy/romance/drama. Not primarily political, although racial tensions are always present in the lives of the characters, both black and white. Critics compared it to "Crash" or Robert Altman "hyperlink" films in which many lives intersect.

[Drasko]

Fresh, unpretentious and funny



and Miss Papadopoulou is drop dead gorgeous (for larger picture open image).