396 Ace in the Hole

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aox
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#101 Post by aox » Tue Aug 05, 2008 11:53 pm

reno dakota wrote:
aox wrote:Sorry to bring this up, but are the audio skips/blips during the credits universal, or do I have a defective disc? I can't tell if they are digital or not.
I just checked my disc and found no audio problems in the spots you mention (not sure what the $20*0 is, though). Have you tried playing the disc in a different player, or on a computer?
Thanks so much for the response. The "20*0" was to indicate the blip at 4:50 as the voice uttered "$200". It happened during the word where the * was. "Two Hun*ed"

I appreciate your reply. Honestly, I think my HDMI cable went bad. The rest of the film isn't bad as all, but I had the same problem with Mishima's "Patriotism". My copy popped so I rented it last week and the same "pops" occurred.

The only other option I have right now is my laptop. I am sure I have an equipment problem.

Again, Thank you for checking the source.

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ArchCarrier
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Re: 396 Ace in the Hole

#102 Post by ArchCarrier » Thu Sep 09, 2010 9:13 am

Last edited by ArchCarrier on Thu Sep 09, 2010 10:22 am, edited 1 time in total.

HarryLong
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Re: 396 Ace in the Hole

#103 Post by HarryLong » Thu Sep 09, 2010 10:18 am

Once it reaches them, the diameter of the rescue borehole will be very narrow. so each miner will have to ensure they have a waistline of no more than 90 cm (35 in) to escape.
And at the top of the page... an ad for Tummy Tuck jeans...

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willoneill
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Re: 396 Ace in the Hole

#104 Post by willoneill » Thu Sep 09, 2010 10:35 am

And to top it off, the miners have to do some digging and rock moving on their end, and they're not getting paid while they're down there. They could probably sue when they get rescued, but the company has no money, and you can't get blood from a stone.

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dad1153
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Re: 396 Ace in the Hole

#105 Post by dad1153 » Thu Sep 09, 2010 1:53 pm

^^^ They'll have plenty of dough to go around when they sell their movie/book rights to the highest bidder (you know its coming). Even better, they'll be breathing! :roll:

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aox
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Re: 396 Ace in the Hole

#106 Post by aox » Thu Sep 09, 2010 2:05 pm

dad1153 wrote:^^^ They'll have plenty of dough to go around when they sell their movie/book rights to the highest bidder (you know its coming). Even better, they'll be breathing! :roll:
I doubt anyone will care, and if they live, they won't get a dime.

jojo
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Re: 396 Ace in the Hole

#107 Post by jojo » Thu Sep 09, 2010 2:22 pm

Heh, actually this movie was the first thing that came to my mind when I first heard of this story back in August.

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dad1153
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Re: 396 Ace in the Hole

#108 Post by dad1153 » Thu Sep 09, 2010 3:44 pm

^^^ So did I. Even if they all live and get out, just the drama of being stuck several hundred feet underground with other human beings in cramped spaces (without the certitude that things won't go wrong at any moment) without them knowing (or knowing) it will be MONTHS before they see daylight and their loved one's again (plus the whole 'world is watching' angle which includes the Pope praying for them and the constant communication with the surface by electronic devices) is practically screaming to be turned into a TV mini-series or good movie. When they showed video of the miners down there waving to the camera and telling their families they were OK I was shocked and riveted, and nine times out of ten I don't care to follow mining accidents beyond the usual 'glad that's not how I make a living' reaction. In most mining accidents there's an explosion/avalanche and POOF, dozens/hundreds of miners die, the media shows up to cover the grieving familes/outraged politicians/shocked communities and to stare at mountains of rubble and equipment for a few days, then the press moves on to the next car crash/hurricane/Earthquake/etc. Why does this always happen? No video or contact with the trapped miners. Without A/V of them trapped or dead miners are just an abstract figure of speech, a hypothetical 'what if' while there's still oxygen/hope for rescue that, after a few days of (often false) hope, becomes a creepy exhumation of dead bodies for proper burial. Imagine what an Oliver Stone (not the one from "Wall Street 2" but the one from "World Trade Center"), Sodenbergh or Fincher could do if given proper resources with this unfolding real-life scenario. More than likely we'll end up getting an "Alive"-type human endurance-type movie, but just as an establishing core to the narrative these trapped miners are gold mines of first-hand observation that could feed a really well-made screenplay (i.e. consultant fees).

So, any chance we'll get "Ace in the Hole" on Blu anytime soon? :wink: :roll:

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ArchCarrier
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Re: 396 Ace in the Hole

#109 Post by ArchCarrier » Thu Sep 09, 2010 3:53 pm

dad1153 wrote:Oliver Stone (not the one from "Wall Street 2" but the one from "World Trade Center")
Curious what you mean by this. Is Wall Street really that bad? :x

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aox
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Re: 396 Ace in the Hole

#110 Post by aox » Thu Sep 09, 2010 4:01 pm

and more importantly, was World Trade Center really that good?

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ArchCarrier
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Re: 396 Ace in the Hole

#111 Post by ArchCarrier » Thu Sep 09, 2010 4:11 pm

That's what I mean :D

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dad1153
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Re: 396 Ace in the Hole

#112 Post by dad1153 » Thu Sep 09, 2010 4:45 pm

Well, a portion of "WTC" has NYC firefighters (Cage and what's-his-name) trapped underneath the rubble of the first tower that collapsed. We knew these guys lived in the end but Stone, using the guys' memories (including that moment where one of them imagines Jesus is pulling him from the rubble) and a conventional docu-drama template, managed to make what could have been boring and generic trapped-by-rubble time-waster scenes into something dramatic and compelling (IMHO of course). "WTC" was proof, to me, that Stone could do a decent non-political dramatization of real-life events which is why I threw him in with the Masters as a potential candidate for a 'trapped miners' movie (his recent lovefest with South American politics would actually be a plus for the inevitable scenes of media/world population following these miners' fates). At least a good no-BS documentary... :-#

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CSM126
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Re: 396 Ace in the Hole

#113 Post by CSM126 » Thu Sep 09, 2010 5:11 pm

aox wrote:and more importantly, was World Trade Center really that good?
No.

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dad1153
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Re: 396 Ace in the Hole

#114 Post by dad1153 » Thu Sep 09, 2010 7:22 pm

Yes. (ducks)


jojo
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Re: 396 Ace in the Hole

#116 Post by jojo » Thu Oct 14, 2010 3:07 pm

The article ended just when they were getting to the relevant part of the film... :?

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domino harvey
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Re: 396 Ace in the Hole

#117 Post by domino harvey » Fri Feb 14, 2014 10:48 pm

Blu-ray upgrade coming May 6th

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Re: 396 Ace in the Hole

#118 Post by flyonthewall2983 » Fri Feb 14, 2014 11:21 pm

Awesome, maybe we'll get blu's of Downhill Racer and Friends Of Eddie Coyle from Paramount soon too.

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EddieLarkin
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Re: 396 Ace in the Hole

#119 Post by EddieLarkin » Sat Apr 12, 2014 3:37 pm


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Drucker
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Re: 396 Ace in the Hole

#120 Post by Drucker » Thu Apr 17, 2014 1:58 pm

DVD Beaver compares the MOC and Criterion.

I've said from the outset I'd get the MOC for continuity, since they did such a great job with Lost Weekend and Double Indemnity, and I see no reason not to. Though the only place it seems the Criterion might really be "too dark" (based on the caps) is in that 6th set of caps. Look at the side of Douglas's face.

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tenia
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Re: 396 Ace in the Hole

#121 Post by tenia » Thu Apr 17, 2014 3:38 pm

And he hastily states that the Criterion has a 2.35 AR in the specs.
Ah, Gary. One day, you'll learn to proof-read twice rather than rushing to upload your reviews.
Drucker wrote:Though the only place it seems the Criterion might really be "too dark" (based on the caps) is in that 6th set of caps. Look at the side of Douglas's face.
I'm more concerned by the 3rd set of caps, which are of a low-lit shot, and where some hair get lost in the darkness. But I'm quite sure it's not really bothering in movement.

I'll get both releases anyway.

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cdnchris
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Re: 396 Ace in the Hole

#122 Post by cdnchris » Wed May 07, 2014 10:53 am

For those that haven't gone Blu-ray yet and are annoyed by the window-boxing of the old DVD only release, you may want to know that the DVD transfers on the dual-format edition are no longer window-boxed, other than very faint black lines at the top and bottom. The discs are the same in every other respect, but it's obvious this got a new encode.

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Mr Sausage
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Ace in the Hole (Billy Wilder, 1951)

#123 Post by Mr Sausage » Mon May 11, 2020 6:17 am

DISCUSSION ENDS MONDAY, May 25th.

Members have a two week period in which to discuss the film before it's moved to its dedicated thread in The Criterion Collection subforum. Please read the Rules and Procedures.

This thread is not spoiler free. This is a discussion thread; you should expect plot points of the individual films under discussion to be discussed openly. See: spoiler rules.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

I encourage members to submit questions, either those designed to elicit discussion and point out interesting things to keep an eye on, or just something you want answered. This will be extremely helpful in getting discussion started. Starting is always the hardest part, all the more so if it's unguided. Questions can be submitted to me via PM.

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therewillbeblus
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Re: Ace in the Hole (Billy Wilder, 1951)

#124 Post by therewillbeblus » Sat May 16, 2020 9:14 pm

Too bad Irma la Douce got overtaken for a film that everyone loves but nobody wants to talk about! RV and I did a bit of back-and-forth discussion in the Wilder thread, but I guess I'll post my writeup and ask questions:
therewillbeblus wrote:
Thu Apr 30, 2020 4:28 pm
Ace in the Hole
My favorite tonally-distinct ‘serious’ Wilder, though he's still up to his usual playful tricks. This is a morality play that begins like a fable, with Douglas coincidentally finding himself in a new place, stars aligning to shake up a narrative, like if the Devil from Faust dropped into a demented Alice in Wonderland in place of Alice. He presents as a man with a cynical outlook entering a magical land that is jovial and doesn’t support that view, only to go searching for avenues to exploit that very perspective for self-gratification. However, he's no cookie-cutter character, for here the 'evil' is personified and given the starring role, and we find out that he isn’t a metaphor at all but a fallible complex human being with a fragile ego who projects his bitter cynicism onto the world around him, thus forcing his worldview to come true. And while Douglas certainly does uncover the selfish side of even the expected humility in rural society, he is the independent variable that infects the milieu he steps foot in with poisonous attitude and intrusive control, which begs the question: is this exposition actually the 'truth' about people, or only an aspect that’s been manipulated and motivated by a deep-rooted conviction run rampant? Probably a bit of both.

If there's any issue here it's that Wilder’s interest in exploring moral compromise is a bit on-the-nose, but Douglas is perfectly cast as the noirish existential antihero whose only quest is to ascend back to the position he once had and thinks he deserves. All the pieces of noir are here, including a particularly cold femme fatale, though everyone plays their parts with an authenticity blended with the fantasy- the central acidic pairing are movie-star confident and yet transparently pathetic all the same. Douglas may spell it all out for us time and time again, but the overexplaining only cements how thin a veil he wears in the insecurity of his own vision of society and human nature. He needs to be loud, rigid, aloof, and fight for it constantly to make it true. Doesn't that say something about the invisibly pervasive good in humanity contesting his position from intangible space? That half of Newton's law might be hidden here, but Wilder knows it's there, just as he knows how people insert their wills with aggression to make tangible what is so uncomfortably unavailable.

The human psychology dissected in news reporting is ahead of its time and treating people as commodities is maybe as dark as Wilder has ever ventured. This also hits on the familiar theme of hollow facades of meaning, where even Leo is excited by the notion of fame in getting in the newspaper, but neither this publicity nor Douglas’ will give the men satisfaction or substance worth anything outside of a vacuum. I used to believe this film exposed the Hobbesian nature of people across sociopolitical lines, but now I gravitate more toward a fairy-tale angle of one man’s core beliefs externalized, and hitting on the vulnerabilities we all have to bend at the knee in favor of inherent selfish interest; less cynical-as-ideology and more of a magnifying glass on moral relativism. This is a glass half-full or half-empty pick-em, with humanity possessing both empathetic and selfish traits, and sensitive enough to be swayed in this social world. If the film is cynical it’s not about human nature being innately cold, but the possibly more terrifying truth that people’s commitment to morality is more delicate in its construction than we’d like to believe.

And yet there is growth, a conscience infiltrating Douglas and exploding his own facade of cynicism. Just because it's "too late" doesn't mean the sun has burnt out. To Wilder's credit, his film has a lot more depth than the simplified, dirty superficial surface we assess at face value. The problem is that the the action functions like its lead - brash and raw with intent, so we have to propel ourselves to independently dig in order to discover the more interesting side of the coin that is absent from our discernible peripheries, which may be more rope than some are willing to give this deceptively percipient film.

Do other people notice a subtle approach of "fairy tales" infiltrating our reality in Wilder's work? (I was surprised to see this mentioned in the booklet of The Apartment after basically finding this pattern in all my writeups for his work this go-round; since I hadn't heard it, or personally felt it, as a connective thread before this project. I had certainly never viewed this film from that angle)

Do you read this film as being primarily an indictment on the inevitable 'nature' of our humanity and culture (media as exploitative tool, selfish-defaults to exploit others for greed and acknowledgement, etc.) or a very accurate reading of the 'possibilities' in a swarm of wills coexisting as western cultures move towards distancing communication innovations and heightened pushes for individualism, as we separate from ideological connectors?

Personally I always saw it as the former until my last watch, but I don't think it's as nihilistic anymore. It's hard to decipher the differences, and there's no clearcut obvious right answer, but I appreciate the film as more of a warning for us to continue to fight our natural selfish sides rather than a 'final verdict' or pronouncement on the hopelessness of socialization.

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FrauBlucher
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Re: Ace in the Hole (Billy Wilder, 1951)

#125 Post by FrauBlucher » Sat May 16, 2020 10:02 pm

For me this is brilliantly over the top. Every aspect of it, the narrative, the characters (even the minor ones, like the family with the camper) and the acting, Douglas couldn't be better IMHO. The only character in it that is played straight is Leo's father. I had so much empathy for him to be trapped in this bizarre/bazaar world. It just oozes satire. Probably Wilder's most satirical. Much in the vain of Lumet's Network. Is it possible Paddy Chayefsky and Lumet had their eyes on Ace in the Hole when they were creating Network.

I don't really see a fairy tale angle. There is nothing magical, mystical or even a child like naivety that I would associate with a fairy tale that I could latch on to. For me this hits you over the head. There is no subtleness here. It's as driving and angry as the those huge pistons pounding into the cliffs.
Definitely my favorite Wilder.

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