Minutes from Thurs, August 5, 2004

Jason Osborne                                              EUROPEAN CINEMA (3160)

 

  1. Rachel highlighted the differences between France’s “Purple Noon” (1960, Rene Clement) and Hollywood’s “Talented Mr. Ripley” (1999, Anthony Minghella) The protagonist of both films is Dickey Greenleaf, a spoiled playboy spending his father’s well earned money by enjoying a lavish life on the Mediterranean (Italy.) Tom is hired by Dickey’s father to track down his son and convince him to return to the U.S. Tom ends up murdering Dickey and assumes his identity while carefully covering his tracks. Main differences in the 2 films are the act of premeditated murder (Clement’s version) vs Hollywood’s interpretation where Tom can almost be seen as a victim of circumstance. In “Purple Noon”, the protagonist had a knife hidden under his legs and is portrayed as more of a callous, cold-blooded murderer as opposed to the American remake, where Matt Damon’s character (although manipulative) has many human and amiable qualities. In the remake, Tom is gay. This is made clear on a few different occasions, notably when Tom and Peter are on the boat and Tom wants to watch the sunset, when Tom asks Dickey if he can climb in bed with him and in the bathtub scene where neither is bothered by what could otherwise be somewhat uncomfortable. In the Hollywood remake, the audience feels sympathetic for Tom who is verbally and emotionally abused by Dickey. In the original, he is portrayed as nothing more than an evil villain.

 

2. “Twelve Monkeys” vs “La Jetee” was an excellent report on 2 even  better films; full of action, adventure, psychological drama and science fiction themes. Jason did a fantastic job of comparing the black and white 1962 French film with the 1995 Terry Gilliam blockbuster remake starring Brad Pitt, Bruce Willis and Madeleine Stowe. At the beginning of the movie, we’re offered a glimpse of the main character as a child which he later realizes is his past self.

Both films contain a similar plot; the earth is destroyed, humanity is forced underground by a group of deranged scientists and the protagonist becomes a guinea pig in order to help the survivors recover and rebuild society. The main differences between the 2 movies (other than the arguably gratuitous shots of Pitt’s and Willis’s backsides) is the camera work. “La Jetée” is made up of a series of still framed, black and white photos producing an eerie, artsy feel (vaguely reminiscent of concentration camp photos or Trent Rezners goth-rock video, “I want to f*** you like an animal.”) The black and white shots of the experiments almost have a bit of a Mengele feel. (For those of us who haven’t studied Nazi history, Dr. Mengele was in charge of the “special treatment” or experimental studies carried out in places like Auschwitz)

Another major difference was the theme of annihilation by an airborne virus instead of global destruction through nuclear war. Hollywood added some additional characters to the film such as Brad Pitt (deranged animal rights activist) and Madeleine Stowe (the protagonists’ psychiatrist). In both movies the lead character is sent back in time and befriends a beautiful female. Through his time travel he eventually winds up at the place where the movie began (Either on the jetty in the original or in the airport with his mother in Gilliam’s interpretation.) The constant theme throughout both films is that an individual cannot escape his or her fate or destiny.  

 

  1. Lisa did a comparison of “La Femme Infidele” (1969, Claude Chabrol) and “Unfaithful” (2002, Adrian Lyne) starring Richard Gere. Each film had a different sense of irony. The original was a classical setting with a modern touch while the remake was a modern setting with a classical touch. One major difference was the portrayal of the husband. In the original he is boring and apathetic while in the remake, the audience feels sympathy for him as he is very affectionate and loving. Therefore the level of irony is stronger in the American film. In the U.S. version both the wife and the husband are much more emotional towards one another whereas in Chabrol’s movie, there are no emotions until after the murder. Both film’s are a morality tale woven around a promiscuous wife and the conflict between her husband and her lover who is eventually murdered due to jealousy and rage.

 

4. Brad contrasted the Brazilan  Hollywood like film “Orfeu” (1999, Carlos Diegues) and the 1959 French film “Black Orpheus” directed by Marcel Camus. Both take place in Brazil and are filmed entirely in Portuguese. They are based on a Greek myth and deal with themes of love, jealousy and violence. The plot revolves around Orpheus, a streetcar conductor, and Eurydice, a shy country girl pursued by a man she believes wants to kill her set in hedonistic Brazilian festival of Carneval. The first difference is that Serefina is helpful and caring in the original while jealous and vengeful in the remake. Secondly, in the 1959 version, the protagonist is killed by stoning just like in the Greek myth. In other words, the fiancé, Mira, throws a stone and he falls off a cliff. In the U.S. produced film, he is speared by Mira. Lastly, the Carneval scene is much more lively and explosive in the remake with rap music, elaborate costume and exaggerated dancing.

 

5. Horacio selected the German classic, Wim Wender’s “Wings of Desire” from 1987 to juxtapose against the 1998 American remake “City of Angels” starring Nicolas Cage and directed by Brad Siberling. Each film presents a rather different interpretation of angels and religious icons. In the American film, the Seth (Nicolas Cage) poses the question “What is it to become human?” whereas the Wim Wender’s version is geared towards a predominately German audience. The vision of humanity portrayed in the remake deals with senses and sensations such as love and fear. The Wender’s version deals with memories and history, in other words, the key to being human is to experience life and to remember it. This is seen when Daniel is in the library with an elderly German gentleman who is remembering his experiences during the War. Throughout the movie, Wender’s emphasizes the quote “Als das Kind, Kind war”, or “When the child was a child.” In “Wings of Desire” the film changes to color after the angels become human. In “City of Angels” the protagonist becomes human and is able to fulfill his desire of having a romantic relationship with Meg Ryan.  

 

6.  Paul contrasted “The Longest Yard” (1974, Robert Aldrich) starring Burt Reynolds with the Guy Ritchie film “Mean Machine” from 2002. The most obvious difference between the two movies is that the “Longest Yard” is a football story while Guy Ritchie’s film (director of “Snatch” and “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels”) focuses on European football or soccer. Both films star a wealthy, testosterone crazed athlete who winds up in jail for drinking and driving in a several thousand dollar automobile. (The British version stars English soccer sensation turned tough guy, Vinnie Jones) 2 obvious differences are the “comfy” treatment of prisoners in the U.K. verses the harsh reality of prison life in the South during the 1970’s. In the opening sequence of the original, the protagonist is a bit more violent and belligerent when the audience sees him beat and slap his wife around after she asks him not to drive her car.