The thing about "Citizen Kane" is that you've got to look at it in the context of when it was made. Many of the techniques it used have been copied throughout the film industry and are now commonplace, but at the time they were completely fresh and innovative.

Something I always do with film and music too.

I just get the impression it is to mainly do with the narrative, although I can fully understand why early films using new or ground breaking techniques are held in high regard. I'm sure I will come across this as I start my journey through early Japanese, Italian, French, German, British and American cinema.

With Kane, a lot of it is down to the visual style. Wells came from a theatre/radio background, and had no preconceptions regarding the accepted (and expected) visual language of cinema. As a result he came to movies completely fresh and invented a whole raft of new visuals and special effects.

I made a point of watching the classic Orson Welles movies - the one i have returned to several times is Touch of Evil.

It's on my list of films to buy. I'll be picking up the 'Masters of Cinema' blu-ray release when the price drop a bit or I get a deal. It sounds very promising from the brief synopsis accompanying the blu-ray.

"Touch of Evil begins with one of the most brilliant sequences in the history of cinema; and ends with one of the most brilliant final scenes ever committed to celluloid. In between unfurls a picture whose moral, sexual, racial, and aesthetic attitudes remain so radical as to cross borders established not only in 1958, but in the present age also."

From the same era, but from the UK, the work of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger is also visually superb and technically innovative.

Kings of the summer

http://viooz.co/movies/21840-t...-of-summer-2013.html

I was hoping this was gonna be another "Stand by me"

It wasn't

In fact i can't work out what it was meant to be, or why it was made.

It neatly fits into those movies that leave you scratching your head as to everyone's motivation.

Weird movie - pointless really.

EC, if you haven't already seen it, try F W Murnau's Sunrise (1927). Murnau was one of the greatest of the German silent cinema and went to America where he was given a larger budget and made Sunrise. I think it is the best silent film ever made. It was awarded an Oscar for "Unique and Artistic Picture", the only time that award has ever been given. It is available from Masters of Cinema on Blu-ray and DVD and has the catalogue number of 1. Tragically he was killed in a car accident 4 years later.

Cold Sweat, I too am a great fan of Powell and Pressburger. Powell was a genius.

Hi El (do I call you El)?

I have Sunrise on my list of MoC films to buy. Just waiting for the price to drop a shade. This week I purchased La Planète Sauvage and Make Way for Tomorrow and I will probably buy Une Femme Mariée.

But yes, Sunrise is definitely going to be purchased and watched 

EC, El's fine.

You can get Sunrise from Amazon for just over £10:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sunris...8&qid=1386873054

My son went to see 'Saving Mr Banks' yesterday ..said it's the best film he's seen in ages. Think I'd quite like to see it.

I periodically check Amazon for prices or offers on Moc and BFI titles. That is a good price because it 1p outside my target price 

Time to check my credit card expenditure (which has been big the month)!

I bought the Hitchcock item below in their Black Friday sale.

Has anyone seen the new Carrie movie?

nah-but i dont s'pose it will match the original

i watched insidious chapter 2 last night & it was v.scary indeed..i screamed i did

I noticed Tyrannosaur was on the TV recently, unfortunately I could not watch it. Anyone seen and what do you think - it looks to be quite gritty and dark.

Just watching The Hangover. I laughed a fair bit. Bette than I thought it would be. Kinda enjoyed it. Whether the other films will be as funny I don't know.

Edit: Heather Graham, such a versatile actress!

Anchorman 2. Loved it. The entire cinema was in fits. The best sequel I've seen since Godfather II. I'm a mega Will Ferrell fan so he doesn't have to do much to please me 

It is! Very good though.

I just realised that I have bought a limited edition DVD box-set and book of WarpFilms10 which has the film in the collection! So yay I can now see it. Just wish it was on blu-ray but it will not put me off.

Check out the set, very nice piece of work (scroll down for pictures).

https://bleep.com/merch/663-wa...films10-book-dvd-set

Kings of Summer gets 4/5 on Rotten Tomatoes

I thought it was terrible - another pointless movie.

I was wondering why the heck they made it.

Couple of kids build a house in the forest, erm . . . that's it

So there was no intricate narrative?

No complex coming of age story?

Sounds like Kevin McLeod would love it 

Oh they say it has all the "coming of age" stuff.

It doesn't - its boring - nothing happens you aint seen better elsewhere.

The Impossible with Ewan McGregor and Noomi Watts

This is very well done, heart-wrenching, scary - epic.

Acting is amazing, especially from child actors.

More of the effect upon the local inhabitants would have balanced the story.

Otherwise a very well made, disturbing, uplifting tale of tsunami survival.

The Graduate.

Submarine.

Juno.

Are probably a few of my favourites.

THIS IS 40

Loved this movie - love this quick-fire dialogue and funny relationship between the lead characters.

Love Lesley Mann - talented, funny, warm

 . . . and on top of all that i bought it on Blu Ray for £1.50 from my old friend, BlockBusters

 great deal. You beat me on my cheapest blu-ray bargain by 49p. 

I got a Big Brother Uncut 3

This is 40

Will & Grace

Atonement

Sherlock Holmes 1 & 2

The Darkest Hour

The Bling Ring

 . . . all at BlockBusters

I watched Crimson Tide this weekend for the first time in many years.

Just a quick request.

Has anyone seen the Johnny Depp film "Dark Shadows"? HMV have it on offer for £4.99 on blu-ray and I was going to take a flyer on it.

EC, I haven't seen it, but the reviews seem mixed, some people thinks it's great, some think it's dreadful. Doesn't seem to be as good as Edward Scissorhands or Sleepy Hollow. IMDB rating 6.3.

Thanks.

I did not really like Edward S H, but enjoyed Sleepy Hollow. I like Depp films more than I dislike them as a rule. Really enjoyed Rum Diary.

I buy a lot of films and I really should be more discerning with my blind buys, which is kinda why I raised the quetion. I think if people had gone "oh it's a good film, good laughs, fun characters" I may have picked it up without thinking.

Let's see if anyone else come on who has seen it and comments. 

Ta 

Leslie Mann and Paul Rudd together are brilliant!  I love Paul Rudd.

I have only just watch the Bourne films.  I don't know why I had never watched them at the time they were out but anyway, I've watched the first 3 now. 

They aren't great, are they?  I don't think there was much to them but the 3rd, for me, has been the best so far.

I've not yet seen the forth Bourne installment. But I understand it a different lead character.

i watched dark skies the other night-that was good

It didn't feel like a Bourne film at all.  Most of the characters were different and it was directly linked to Bourne other than someone had the same job as him.  It wasn't as bad as some of the Bourne films though.

I re watched The History Boys last night ........I love that film.

I read earlier that The Breakfast Club was filmed exactly 30 years ago (Spring '84) and found that quite a scary statistic!

Always my favourite John Hughes movie...

Yes, it's pretty good although from what I recall, doesn't stray too far from the first one.  I think the ending was slightly tweaked but overall mostly scene for scene (I think).  It's been ages since the original film was on TV, so I think it benefits from the original not being fresh in the memory nor probably in the memory at all of its target audience.  The acting is fine for the genre and the lead sympathetic. 

Because the original is so horribly dated (as you'd expect from teen themed films of that era)  a new version with better special effects is no bad thing.