Jaws.

Okay, I'm going there.
 
THE LORD OF THE RINGS.
Complete with Comic Sans goodness.

Moshkito, best response ever. You gave me a list for reading and for viewing.

mcourter
Moshkito, best response ever. You gave me a list for reading and for viewing.

 
Thx. Have done foreign film reviews for 30 years, and these things are always on the table and such ... most of them are actually fairly well known novels, like Kasper Hauser and Tin Drum ... for me, the arts all go together and not separate and this makes for my wording and a lot of musicians not liking what I say, sometimes.
 

Moshkito
- Greenaway's Prospero's Books is an insane version of The Tempest, but unfortunately it is not a film that many of us will want to see, because it is way out there and insane. John Gielgud's readings are beautiful, and rarely will you EVER understand and appreciate words that sound so clear as they do here.

+1 about it being great, but, yes, not everyone's cup of tea, particularly anyone adverse to the sight of genetalia.  The absolutely brilliant score by Michael Nyman alone makes this worth experiencing.  It's criminal that this movie was never released on DVD, but the Nyman score is available on CD.

I like both the traditional and the update versions of Shakespeare, with exceptions. Loved Baz Luhrman's R+J, better than Zeffirelli's.
Haven't read the Last Wave, though. Big fan of Weir's.
I've never seen a film version of Dracula or Frankenstein I liked as well as the novels.
 
Mosh, for whom do you review currently.

TerraSin
Okay, I'm going there.
 
THE LORD OF THE RINGS.

I totally agree...Tolkien had a great idea, but I never felt that the book really completely fulfilled that idea; A vessel into which much more could have been poured. A great opportunity for the movie writers because much of the action was not all that specifically spelled out in the novel. The movies were excellent, and shooting them in quick succession a good move.
 
Jurassic Park, too. Great idea, but the book was poorly written and the movie was so-so, saved only by the really good Dino animation. I don't know which came first - The book or the movie.
 
2001 - I seem to recall that the movie and book were developed simultaneously, and also that Clarke got left behind as film production moved along. I like the movie until the weird LSD-ish stuff starts after HAL gets shut down. I've got to believe that the art for the upside-down walking etc. on the spacecraft/stations was influenced by M C Escher (see "Relativity", "Concave and Convex","House of Stairs", "High and Low")

mcourter
I've never seen a film version of Dracula or Frankenstein I liked as well as the novels.

 
Agreed.
 
There was a version on TV, directed by Dan Curtis (Dark Shadows) that was very nice, I remember, but I have to see it again, as I barely remember any details in it. 
 

mcourter
Mosh, for whom do you review currently.

No one at the moment, and have never had the opportunity to get attached to any one publication. I don't do top ten, and stick specifically with more artistic works, and this is something that most companies would not appreciate. I have had some of my notes used in several Film Festivals, unfortunately, folks like Redford and the IFC and Portland are  more interested in something else than being appreciated for the foreign films they show.
 
So, I say, I write for myself, and if something happens, I'll probably cry and say thank you ... but my inner love for the film/music/art will forever be my own solace in this life. The only woman that never left me!
 
Lord of the Rings:
I like the films, and the casting selections that were made, which were magnificent. That said, the films were very well done, and lovely to watch. I have never read these to compare, mostly because I never heard of these until I came to America and was 16 and did not speak any English. That said, they were not a part of the "literary" library in our house, centered mostly on Portuguese, Spanish and Brazilian literature but with a very large European and Latin contingent, and this set of books was not one of them. While I can appreciate the story, in the end, there are parts that are way too simplistic and "symbolic" for me to appreciate. Being interested in film and theater, if there is one thing I don't care for is to be slapped with the "meaning" and told "this is the meaning", and sometimes, that was the divider of great stuff from the rest. I do not look at Moby Dick or the Old Man and the Sea as a fight against humanity or anything else ... sometimes, it's just an internal battle.  Nice set of books, and I have now read several of them, but in the end, they are not my favorites and if I want "escape" these are not the books I go after ... I disappear into books that are insane and way out there.

dmbaer

Moshkito
- Greenaway's Prospero's Books is an insane version of The Tempest, but unfortunately it is not a film that many of us will want to see, because it is way out there and insane. John Gielgud's readings are beautiful, and rarely will you EVER understand and appreciate words that sound so clear as they do here.

+1 about it being great, but, yes, not everyone's cup of tea, particularly anyone adverse to the sight of genetalia.  The absolutely brilliant score by Michael Nyman alone makes this worth experiencing.  It's criminal that this movie was never released on DVD, but the Nyman score is available on CD.

Greenaway's bit in the "Forever Mozart" film is also nuts and crazy! The nudity doesn't bother me, but the choreography design and concept is crazy ... who the heck can think up things like that? Bapu? Craig? ... Karyn? ... no way! But it is fun to watch because it is so nuts ... and almost always beautifully done. Just imagine if Bob Fosse had seen this ... he would have gone crazy!
 

Hi,
 
A few more off my listing of reviews ... here we go:
 
Last Temptation of Christ//Martin Scorcese from Katzanzakis' novel, which has a very different point of view from the "known" christian book assumed by the vatican as the proper one. The film is actually very good and well done.
 
Zorba, the Greek//Michael Cacoyannis from Kazantzakis novel, but in this case, Anthony Quinn is the one that made this happen, not the book or the direction. Excellent music as well.
 
An Angel at My Table//jane Campion from Janet Frame's diaries. Superb acting.
 
Walkabout//Nicholas Roeg from the E. M. Marshall novel. The book is not as visual as the film, and this makes the book "mental", and the film is better at illustrating this.
 
Where Angels Fear To Tread//Charles Sturridge directing// Magnificent acting showcase, makes the E. M. Forster novel seem boring.
 
Women in Love//Ken Russell//Probably a little fancier and stronger than D. H. Lawrence meant to write, but it ends up clearing up the period and ideas much better than the book ever did!
 
Cyranno de Bergerac//Jean Paul Rappeneau// With his French hugeness at the lead it is hard to not enjoy this film. Makes the poetry play seem down right boring and pathetic! Even Steve Martin's version is more fun to watch! (Roxanne)
 
Carmen//Carlos Saura//Based on the story of Carmen, from which even an opera was taken, but this one had a great twist ... it was a dance film, and it was mostly about the "old dance" against the "new dance" ... and it was incendiary! Beautifully filmed and acted!
 
Being There//Hal Ashby//Written by Jerzy Kosinsky, who also worked the film script. As it turns out, Peter Sellers made this excellent, what would otherwise likely be a boring exercise in Hollywood.
 
The Last of the Mohicans//Michael Mann//Based on the famous novel, with unbelilevable music and cinematography, this becomes one of the prettiest films ever made. Highly recommended, even though it might not be 100% totally faithful, but it is a full story and works the books details and politics very well.
 
I might have more but they are not uploaded to my web site ... and I can not remember them ...from here at work!