tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9000858.post1725926759694036081..comments2023-01-27T13:00:06.764-05:00Comments on Eclectic Indulgence... classic literature reviews: Movie Madness | 160 TitlesEclectic Indulgencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09773640906287038956noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9000858.post-88569732925591555052008-04-07T19:41:00.000-04:002008-04-07T19:41:00.000-04:00I assume you're referring to Dreyer's "The Passion...I assume you're referring to Dreyer's "The Passion of Joan of Arc". Seeing that movie literally changed how I watch film. Often, movies from the silent era have to be taken with a grain of salt -- most of them certainly weren't made with "art" in mind. Those that were had the challenge of working in a new medium with no technical schools and even technical knowledge was reserved to just a few individuals. It often requires a certain kind of empathy to appreciate.<BR/><BR/>Dreyer's Joan of Arc though doesn't suffer in the least from it. To the contrary, I want to say that after a life of viewing movies as more or less whole works and more or less looking at them for some kind of mental or emotional stimulation, it really opened up a new world to my eyes. I'd never seen the metaphors and ideas embedded in film before it. Afterwards, I went on a long, long journey through noir, the French New Wave, Italian neo-realism, etc etc. It was very much like reading nothing but novels your whole life, and then being shown one of Shakespeare's sonnets.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com