Excellent Movie Site.

[Smokey]

Just found this move site, and it have so many articles and information related to movies. Whomever running this site is a movie buff, and is definitely a labor of love. And still
[scene] photos to accompany each article and quotes.

Check it out for yourself :)

http://www.filmsite.org/index.html

[PeruvianSkies]

Well, I wouldn't exactly say that this site is superb. I think it's a bit too American-heavy, and you simply cannot have a "Greatest Films" list without mentioning Foreign Films....period.

[Smokey]

One reason I am thinking most movie review sites might be lacking in foreign film reviews other than major hot titles, might be that most of them are obscure and hard to obtain and not seen by general public. Other than art houses and couple of premium channels (such independent movie channel), one doesn’t have any means to watch foreign films.

And alot of people hate to read subtitles :D

Do you know any good foreign film review sites?

[PeruvianSkies]

One reason I am thinking most movie review sites might be lacking in foreign film reviews other than major hot titles, might be that most of them are obscure and hard to obtain and not seen by general public. Other than art houses and couple of premium channels (such independent movie channel), one doesn’t have any means to watch foreign films.

And alot of people hate to read subtitles :D

Do you know any good foreign film review sites?

dvdbeaver.com is a good one, they do comparisons and such for all types of films.

[PeruvianSkies]

I agree that most people find it difficult to watch subtitles and enjoy a film, but I think that people can start somewhere. For example I would begin with a movie like RUN LOLA RUN. It's short, easy to follow, and the DVD contains both a German and English audio track, which makes it accessible for people who are trying to warm up to Foreign films. It's also a very enjoyable film and I think that this would be a great start for most people. Then maybe something like LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL, which again has a Italian and English audio track on the DVD, again making it more accessible. I will say this though...I wanted my mom to see this film so I had her watch it with me and we had the English track on, I had seen the film a few days before in Italian and it wasn't really the same movie per se. It still had the same elements, but it didn't have the same impact. She thought the movie was ..ok, but I told her it was better in Italian...she wasn't convinced though.

I think what is important though is finding out peoples tastes...if you know they like Westerns than maybe they will really enjoy some of Kurosawa's films if they know these are inspirational behind many Westerns. If they like Comedy maybe they will enjoy the works of Fellini or Tati. If they like drama maybe Truffaut, Godard, Tarkovsky, Pasolini. Also, another tip would be watch a Foreign version of an American film, such as the Russion version of Solaris or the French version of The Birdcage. These are great ways to introduce yourself to the world of Foreign cinema. Some Foreign films lend themselves easier to unfamiliar audiences...I wouldn't start someone on an artsy filmmaker like Bunuel, but would start with something more traditional in nature. Rififi is a great caper film that has very little dialogue and is another great film to see at some point. DVD's are also making Foreign films easier to get ahold of and see, especially if they are restored or have English tracks. With Netflix and other similar companies it should be much easier to access these films.

[Smokey]

Thanks for long post.

I checked out the site you mentioned and it does contain alot of information on foreign films, although slightly cumber some to navigate. I wish my local DVD outlet carry more foreign titles as I am not a Netflix member.

Aside from newer titles, I have notice that alot older foreign titles seem to be suffering from picture quality. Not al of them, but some more than the others especially black and white films. Inferior Video quality might turn alot viewers off.

I was watching couple of Italian spaghetti western movie (Trinity series with Terence Hill) and picture quality seem to be like VHS and left alot to be desired. Not to mention sound quality. Bruce Lee movies from Hong Kong (Fist of Fury, Chinese Connection) also seem to suffer from the same fate. I think that might one reason older foreign films are not so popular here in the U.S.

[PeruvianSkies]

Thanks for long post.

I checked out the site you mentioned and it does contain alot of information on foreign films, although slightly cumber some to navigate. I wish my local DVD outlet carry more foreign titles as I am not a Netflix member.

Aside from newer titles, I have notice that alot older foreign titles seem to be suffering from picture quality. Not al of them, but some more than the others especially black and white films. Inferior Video quality might turn alot viewers off.

I was watching couple of Italian spaghetti western movie (Trinity series with Terence Hill) and picture quality seem to be like VHS and left alot to be desired. Not to mention sound quality. Bruce Lee movies from Hong Kong (Fist of Fury, Chinese Connection) also seem to suffer from the same fate. I think that might one reason older foreign films are not so popular here in the U.S.

Well, you have to be careful which studio's are releasing the DVD. The Criterion Collection of DVD's are incredible films with restored prints and are from optimal sources. I would recommend these as a starting point as you can't go wrong with any of their titles and you can assure the best quality with what is available.

[Smokey]

PS,

While we are on the foreign film subject, I wonder if you seen couple of movies from Middle East which was broadcast on Cinemax and IFC. Movies were Osama and Five O’clock in the Afternoon (Afghanistan), Taste of Cherry (Iran) and Turtles Can Fly (Iraq).

Osama was extremely disturbing. I don’t think I can watch that movie again

[PeruvianSkies]

PS,

While we are on the foreign film subject, I wonder if you seen couple of movies from Middle East which was broadcast on Cinemax and IFC. Movies were Osama and Five O’clock in the Afternoon (Afghanistan), Taste of Cherry (Iran) and Turtles Can Fly (Iraq).

Osama was extremely disturbing. I don’t think I can watch that movie again

TASTE OF CHERRY I actually own, it's a Criterion DVD, even though Roger Ebert hated that film. It's decent. OSAMA I also saw and thought was decent. I am curious to see TURTLES CAN FLY and have not heard of the other one. OSAMA is available through MGM on DVD and was actually a fairly popular movie for being Foreign.

[SlumpBuster]

RUN LOLA RUN.

You had me...


LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL

... then you lost me. :D

[Smokey]

TASTE OF CHERRY I actually own, it's a Criterion DVD, even though Roger Ebert hated that film.

What does he know :D

I really liked Taste of Cherry. There is not too much dialog in the movie, and sound of car engine was the soundtrack to that movie. Although the ending was left viewers to figure out, but if one pay close attention to where he let the doctor out of his car and then he go after him in the clinic, that will give you a clue as to the ending.

[PeruvianSkies]

What does he know :D

I really liked Taste of Cherry. There is not too much dialog in the movie, and sound of car engine was the soundtrack to that movie. Although the ending was left viewers to figure out, but if one pay close attention to where he let the doctor out of his car and then he go after him in the clinic, that will give you a clue as to the ending.

I thought of a few more films that would make good candidates for warming people up to the Foreign Market...

THE VANISHING (1988) was remade into an English-speaking film.
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (1946) one of Disney's better adaptations
SEVEN SAMURAI (fans of the Magnificent Seven)
BOB LE FLAMBEUR (for those who have seen the remake THE GOOD THIEF w/ Nick Nolte)
INSOMNIA (1997) remade with Al Pacino and is far inferior to the original as the original keeps the realism and doesn't Americanize the film.

Also EYES WITHOUT A FACE (great French horror film, as well as one of Billy Idol's best songs) BRANDED TO KILL, TOKYO DRIFTER, and YOUTH OF THE BEAST for Tarantino fans.

I sometimes don't really love a particular Foreign film at first, some are more accessible than others. I remember the first time I saw Roman Polanski's KNIFE IN THE WATER on 16mm I was like.....yawn. When does this get good? I mean with a cool title to a film I expected some serious action and yet....it was sloooooow. Then I saw DEAD CALM with Nicole Kidman and Sam Neill and I thought, this reminds me of KNIFE IN THE WATER, and at that moment I strangely became a fan of KNIFE IN THE WATER simply because of the fact that I remember the film being good, even though while watching it I was somewhat bored. I guess it just took some time to really process the entire experience.