***POSSIBLE SPOILER WITHIN***
Once again I find myself better off withholding my vote. I feel that my reaction to this acknowledged cinematic masterpiece must be too biased for me to vote fairly. I was unable to muster any empathy for the characters: two-bit criminals vying for the affection of a coy, flirtatious and fickle young woman in the top layer of the Paris underworld. What eventually made me give up on watching the film, though, after a little more than an hour of it, was the music, which, no matter how low I turned the volume, grated relentlessly against my nerves. I realize full well that the dance-hall and amateur music is necessary to the story, and I don't want to appear a total curmudgeon, nor do I intend in any way to condemn this film--it just isn't to my taste.
On the positive side, the opening shot, the camera languidly descending literally from the Paris rooftops to street level, with slight, sinuous detours along the way, must be one of the miracles of film. How this sight must have taken away the breath of audiences in 1930 or '31! It still has the power to do so today. Indeed, throughout the film (or the first hour or so that I endured), the photography was exquisite, in some cases unmatched by anything I've ever seen.
Maybe I'll give this one another try on another day. But there are so many films to see...
Once again I find myself better off withholding my vote. I feel that my reaction to this acknowledged cinematic masterpiece must be too biased for me to vote fairly. I was unable to muster any empathy for the characters: two-bit criminals vying for the affection of a coy, flirtatious and fickle young woman in the top layer of the Paris underworld. What eventually made me give up on watching the film, though, after a little more than an hour of it, was the music, which, no matter how low I turned the volume, grated relentlessly against my nerves. I realize full well that the dance-hall and amateur music is necessary to the story, and I don't want to appear a total curmudgeon, nor do I intend in any way to condemn this film--it just isn't to my taste.
On the positive side, the opening shot, the camera languidly descending literally from the Paris rooftops to street level, with slight, sinuous detours along the way, must be one of the miracles of film. How this sight must have taken away the breath of audiences in 1930 or '31! It still has the power to do so today. Indeed, throughout the film (or the first hour or so that I endured), the photography was exquisite, in some cases unmatched by anything I've ever seen.
Maybe I'll give this one another try on another day. But there are so many films to see...