407 Mala Noche
- LightBulbFilm
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- Mr Pixies
- Joined: Sat Nov 06, 2004 10:03 pm
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- Mr Pixies
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Tim Streeter
Too bad the actor who played "Walt" never seemed to do anything later. It really was a charismatic, fearless performance.
- knives
- Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2008 6:49 pm
Re: 407 Mala Noche
Just watched this and while I think Van Sant has greatly improved as a director since I don't think his material has managed to fit him so well. The way it plays out with Walt being a douche was kind of surprising. I thought this would be like a Capra romance Van Sanitized, but instead it almost feels like a cautionary tale. Maybe cautionary is the wrong word, but I can't think of the right one. Just the character of Johnny, or was it just Juan, was pretty interesting since for most of the movie he seemed to genuinely hate Walt, antagonizing him to all hell, yet trusting him in ways maybe he shouldn't have. I also found the empty happiness Walt achieved with Pepper as a real interesting aspect. He almost seemed blissful in that wax misery he built up. All in all this is definitely a film that should be the bar for this sort. Really a worthwhile experience.
- Michael
- Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 12:09 pm
Re: 407 Mala Noche
Not sure what you mean by Walt being a douche. He has no gay baggage, no coming-out struggles, no poor-me, he's completely comfortable in his own skin. And the film was made in 1985, in Reagan's America, in the middle of the AIDS paranoia. That makes Walt/Gus a hero and the film a total revelation for me.knives wrote:Just watched this and while I think Van Sant has greatly improved as a director since I don't think his material has managed to fit him so well. The way it plays out with Walt being a douche was kind of surprising. I thought this would be like a Capra romance Van Sanitized, but instead it almost feels like a cautionary tale. Maybe cautionary is the wrong word, but I can't think of the right one. Just the character of Johnny, or was it just Juan, was pretty interesting since for most of the movie he seemed to genuinely hate Walt, antagonizing him to all hell, yet trusting him in ways maybe he shouldn't have. I also found the empty happiness Walt achieved with Pepper as a real interesting aspect. He almost seemed blissful in that wax misery he built up. All in all this is definitely a film that should be the bar for this sort. Really a worthwhile experience.
Cautionary tale? What caution? Having seen Mala Noche many times, I never sensed Johnny's hatred for Walt. He genuinely loved him but not in the way Walt desired from him. In the finale Walt drifting away in his car, a shot of Johnny from the back of Walt's car, there is a very strong come-back-to-me pull coming from Johnny as he looks after the car, like a lost pup.
And I never saw the happiness Walt had with Pepper as empty even though Pepper wasn't Johnny, Walt's main crush.
Last edited by Michael on Sat Feb 28, 2009 10:24 am, edited 1 time in total.
- knives
- Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2008 6:49 pm
Re: 407 Mala Noche
I definitely phrased things wrong. Walt being a douche was really more his anti-hero status with him being dumb racist and a jerk at times. He also had a not cluelessness, but blunt innocence with John. Like I said cautionary is the wrong word since it has certain stigma. I meant more of the lust vs. love is it worth screwing yourself or making an ass out of yourself themes, that were handled very well by the way, were done in a way you usually don't see in film. As for the Pepper thing I just see Walt as seeing their relationship how he wants a relationship. Maybe even being a tad site filled toward himself, but still happy in his own way.
The film has carried very well since last night though.
I still don't like how I phrased things, especially the Pepper stuff, but I hope you get the gist. Probably why I've never considered becoming a critic.
The film has carried very well since last night though.
I still don't like how I phrased things, especially the Pepper stuff, but I hope you get the gist. Probably why I've never considered becoming a critic.
- Dadapass
- Joined: Thu Oct 09, 2008 6:57 pm
Re: 407 Mala Noche
I just received my Mala Noche DVD from Amazon and it was a copy with the color shots in b/w. Does this mean that they have sold so few DVDs of this title that they haven't run out of the fucked up version?
- MoonlitKnight
- Joined: Thu Mar 19, 2009 10:44 pm
Re: 407 Mala Noche
I think 20 minutes would've sufficed for that Plympton doc; it's rather one-note after a while. How much juvenile poetry do we need to hear?
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- Joined: Tue Nov 16, 2010 11:19 pm
Re: 407 Mala Noche
I have just finished watching Mala Noche and noticed one very unusual thing that no one else has noticed. In the end credits, they mention that Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was in the movie. I never heard it though. Oddly enough, when Pepper puts a record onto the player, it clearly has the Beatles Apple logo in the middle yet a classical piece is played instead. Am I just going crazy or can someone help explain this?
- Roger Ryan
- Joined: Wed Apr 28, 2010 12:04 pm
- Location: A Midland town spread and darkened into a city
Re: 407 Mala Noche
It appears that the music rights were pulled for the Beatles track so the filmmakers had to substitute a different piece of music for the scene. Given that the song is listed in the credits, it's possible that the Beatles song did appear in the film during it's initial theatrical release. However, DVD or home video releases fall under different rights clearance issues which require producers to pay additional royalties for use of a song or they may be denied its use altogether. A number of films and TV shows (FREAKS AND GEEKS comes to mind) had their DVD releases held up because of difficulty clearing music rights to the same tracks heard in the initial broadcast or release. Often, producers will not bother dealing with the issue at all and simply substitute a different song for the scene in question for the home video release. The TV show JOAN OF ARCADIA used popular songs in almost every episode when originally broadcast; the DVD release replaced these songs with generic stock music. I assume the same thing happened with MALA NOCHE.tanders1 wrote:I have just finished watching Mala Noche and noticed one very unusual thing that no one else has noticed. In the end credits, they mention that Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was in the movie. I never heard it though. Oddly enough, when Pepper puts a record onto the player, it clearly has the Beatles Apple logo in the middle yet a classical piece is played instead. Am I just going crazy or can someone help explain this?
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- Joined: Tue Nov 16, 2010 11:19 pm
Re: 407 Mala Noche
I think it is interesting that Criterion does not mention this anywhere. I wonder if this is the first Criterion release to have had to alter its music?
- zedz
- Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2004 7:24 pm
Re: 407 Mala Noche
Oh wow, acid flashback: I now vaguely remember being surprised at hearing the Beatles on the soundtrack when I saw this twenty years ago or so, but I have no idea where in the film it was (one of the 'home movie' montages?). Or this could all be the power of suggestion.