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jt wrote:Also, this probably belongs in the nitpicking thread but did anyone else find that 2 minute scene of the kid repeatedly getting ink on his book and ripping the page out again and again and AGAIN the most grating in the history of cinema?

Uhh... no

jt wrote:Also, this probably belongs in the nitpicking thread but did anyone else find that 2 minute scene of the kid repeatedly getting ink on his book and ripping the page out again and again and AGAIN the most grating in the history of cinema..?

Then you haven't heard the kid's piercing singing in The Cook, The Thief, His Wife And Her Lover - it is so annoying you rejoice when he is brutally beaten!

I'm sure Greenaway and Nyman would love your response to that boy soprano!

jt wrote:Also, this probably belongs in the nitpicking thread but did anyone else find that 2 minute scene of the kid repeatedly getting ink on his book and ripping the page out again and again and AGAIN the most grating in the history of cinema..?

Did anyone else find this post the most hyperbolic in the history of the internet..?

mteller wrote:

jt wrote:Also, this probably belongs in the nitpicking thread but did anyone else find that 2 minute scene of the kid repeatedly getting ink on his book and ripping the page out again and again and AGAIN the most grating in the history of cinema..?

Did anyone else find this post the most hyperbolic in the history of the internet..?

Wow, so I say I find that scene the most annoying in any film I can think of (which I absolutely do) and rather than point out some deeper meaning in the scene I might have missed or suggest other scenes from other films that may put this one in perspective, you choose to troll, while implying you can see into my head and have decided i'm exaggerating.
Well done! You win the internet!
And a general comment for noobs; if you're going to post trolling comments before you've got enough posts for anyone here to know who you even are, try and make them funny, ok? Otherwise you're just wasting everyone's time.

jt wrote: And a general comment for noobs; if you're going to post trolling comments before you've got enough posts for anyone here to know who you even are

It's this particular sentiment that's more obnoxious than what either of you were posting.

domino harvey wrote:

jt wrote: And a general comment for noobs; if you're going to post trolling comments before you've got enough posts for anyone here to know who you even are

It's this particular sentiment that's more obnoxious than what either of you were posting.

How so? If people like you, HerrSchreck, MichaelB, davidhare etc etc post a comment that chides another user, everyone knows where you're coming from as your sheer number of posts as well as the quality of their content means people know a bit about you.
I wouldn't have the nerve to charge into someone else's thread and call them out, as I'm a relative unknown on this forum and i don't expect people to do it to me either, especially people I've never chatted to/ bantered with/ debated threads with. mteller wasn't making an effort to be funny, helpful, ironic, interesting etc, he was just trolling me.

I like the ink/book scene, it's a nice moment, and people I have watched the film with liked it too. I also like that 'the kid' (Richard Kanayan) appears as an adult, almost unnoticed, in the closing moments of Love on the Run.

Matango wrote:I like the ink/book scene, it's a nice moment, and people I have watched the film with liked it too. I also like that 'the kid' (Richard Kanayan) appears as an adult, almost unnoticed, in the closing moments of Love on the Run.

I genuinely dont get that scene. Did you find it funny? Or does it have a meaning I missed? I enjoyed the film but that scene just pulled me out of it.

No especially funny, just a nice little classroom aside...the kind of mess one got into at school at that age, in the time of inkwells, before ballpoint pens. I certainly don't see how it spoils the film in any way.

Matango wrote:No especially funny, just a nice little classroom aside...the kind of mess one got into at school at that age, in the time of inkwells, before ballpoint pens. I certainly don't see how it spoils the film in any way.

Fair enough, it looks like I'm being over-sensitive. I just didn't see it as someone accidentally messing their book, but rather a child actor told to deliberately get ink on a page, rip out the page and then do it again six or seven more times as quickly as possible. Especially jarring as the rest of the film is so naturalistic. Anyway, I'll stop complaining about it now, it's really not that big a deal is it..?

I am writing a paper on the The 400 Blows and its relation with the New Wave and French culture on a whole. Was wondering if anyone had any specific books to start looking at to get some general thoughts and ideas going. While I prefer Shoot the Piano Player, it doesnt seem to connect with French culture the way the 400 Blows, The Rules of the Game or Vivre sa Vie do.

I also was asked this question in class today, "Why in French literature and film is there so many affairs or mistresses compared to other countries." I somewhat have to agree having seen it in so many great French movies, The Rules of the Game, Murmur of the Heart, The Lovers, the 400 Blows to some extent, Diabolique, Jules and Jim, Elevator to the Gallows, Belle de Jour, Hiroshima mom amour.... and so on. I really dont think there is an answer, maybe its just deeply tied into French society, tough question to answer. Anyways, any help with a starting point for books would be greatly appreciated.

-Ryan

I don't believe for a minute that there are more "affairs or mistresses" in French literature and film when put next to other countries.

kaujot wrote:I don't believe for a minute that there are more "affairs or mistresses" in French literature and film when put next to other countries.

I may have to agree. It just seems like it because the French are such an easy target.

As to literature on The 400 Blows, just hit up Worldcat for titles. Or try the bibliography for Serge Toubiana's Truffaut bio.

psufootball07 wrote:I also was asked this question in class today, "Why in French literature and film is there so many affairs or mistresses compared to other countries." I somewhat have to agree having seen it in so many great French movies, The Rules of the Game, Murmur of the Heart, The Lovers, the 400 Blows to some extent, Diabolique, Jules and Jim, Elevator to the Gallows, Belle de Jour, Hiroshima mom amour ...

There's "Unfaithful," "sex, lies, and videotape," "Manhattan," "Election," "Fatal Attraction," "The Ice Storm," "Your Friends & Neighbors," "The Unbearable Lightness of Being," "The Seven-Year Itch," "Double Indemnity," "Faces," etc., just to name a few from America. Granted, they're not all great ("Unfaithful"), but they have plenty of affairs and mistresses between them.

Unfaithful is a remake of Chabrol's La Femme infidèle, a French film...

Ha! I did not know that. Well, strike it from the list, I suppose.

I think psufootball is referring to the fact that in French (and possibly Italian?) society, infidelity is certainly less shocking than it is in the UK or the US. Of course there have been many films about extra-marital affairs in all countries but whereas in the US this may be the cause of a breakup or murder plot, in French films the attitude is often more casual and as often as not the marriage will continue after the wife shrugs the affair off as something she just has to put up with.

I don't pretend to be able to eloquently explain the cultural and historical reasons behind this but I find it hard to believe that anyone here disagrees that the French have a much more relaxed attitude to infidelity. Can you imagine an American running for office (and winning) while his wife was on holiday with another man? Or fathering illegitimate children whilst holding the presidential office? Clinton got crucified for getting a blowjob while the French looked on and shrugged at the whole thing...

Easy, they don't have this man

Coming to blu-ray on march 24th 2009.

Will they use the same transfer?

From the re-release from 2003, they used "New digital transfer of The 400 Blows, enhanced for widescreen televisions". Not mentioned anywhere that this is a high-def. transfer, which they normally do, i.e. Seven Samurai, Lady Vanishes, Beauty and the Beast and more.

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My guess is that, unless they simultaneously release a new SD version along with the Blu-ray (as has been promised for Seventh Seal), the Blu-ray release will use the same transfer as the existing SD version. However, it is also my understanding that they have to go back and do restoration work all over again with the HD release in mind, so the Blu-ray release can still in theory look better than the existing SD one in more ways than just being in hi-def.

That being said, I'm not sure what to make of the fact that their website doesn't specifically mention an HD transfer...

An HD master is made which is the source of the DVD, down-rezzed. Criterion, a company with limited resources, will most likely use this master for a subsequent Blu-ray. Unless, of course, there is something wrong with it -- studios have found that many HD masters they made in the 90s are not suitable now for hi-def DVD (though this was the plan), some technical problem I have no specifics for.

So the jist I am getting from reading the previous posts is that Love on the Run should be avoided at all costs. I watched both Bed and Board as well as Stolen Kisses today and thought they were enjoyable. Overall this boxset is a nice addition to my collection, but other than the 400 Blows and maybe Stolen Kisses, I'm not sure these will be films I would watch again.

I appreciated Bed and Board even more the second time I watched it. A very fun film.

You should watch Love on the Run. It's not a great film, but parts of it are quite interesting. Sure, it's the first example of a clip-show that I can think of, but the sequences that aren't clips from older films, there's something to be seen.

I am glad to have watched Love on the Run, only to see the Doinel series close. It did have some very interesting parts, such as bringing back Antoine's mothers lover. I will have to look over the extras on this boxset but overall I have enjoyed this boxset, not quite as much as the Bergman trilogy or Malle box.