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the night watchman
Studio Exec
Joined: 27 Jun 2003
Posts: 1373
Location: Dark, run-down shack by the graveyard.
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 Posted: 07.21.2004 10:41 pm Post subject: One Spooky Night (Shyamalan) |
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Did anyone catch the psuedo-doc The Buried Secrets of M. Night Shyamalan last Sunday (7/18 ) on Sci-fi Channel? It's either Shyamalan straight-facedly poking fun at his self-created mystique or some kind of strange manifesto in which Shyamalan reveals his intentions as a filmmaker. Or, most likely, a three-hour commercial for The Village. Or all three. Whatever the case, it's the most peculiar vanity project I've ever seen. In it, a documentarian is commissioned to film a "making of" of The Village, and slowly discovers that Shyamalan's movies aren't fiction but -- gasp! -- autobiographical!
Yes, very silly stuff, indeed, but the show is at least watchable and, from time to time, manages to evoke a genuine sense of spookiness. In fact, for connoisseurs of frisson, one scene involving an uncanny encounter with a black car makes the entire program worth sitting through. A cameo by none other than Johnny Depp, who, deadpan, relates his weird interview with M. Night for a role in Signs, brought a smile to my face and confirms my belief in Mr. Depp's acting prowess.
It'll probably turn up as a extra on the eventual Village DVD release; I'd like to hear what other peope made of it. Frankly, as far as two hour commercials for movies go, I'll stick with Curse of the Blair Witch. 
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HoRRoRFaN
Cinematographer
Joined: 06 Jul 2004
Posts: 128
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| Posted: 07.21.2004 11:40 pm Post subject: |
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| After the filmmaker met the kids and especially after the first interview with Night when he got annoyed and mad at the last question, I had to shut it off, it was pretty awful. It was really a plug for THE VILLAGE and nothing more, really laughable in the parts I sat through. I am looking forward to THE VILLAGE, although I'm not a huge fan of Night. His films make interesting impressions the first time, but as most say, they don't have very good replay value (maybe SIGNS does) and I didn't like UNBREAKABLE. |
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Danny Baldwin
Studio Exec
Joined: 26 Jun 2003
Posts: 1354
Location: San Diego, CA
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| Posted: 07.22.2004 12:19 am Post subject: |
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I am told M. Night Shyalaman was behind the entire thing, but then decided to quit half-way through. I have not seen it.
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Danny Baldwin
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beltmann
Studio Exec
Joined: 26 Jun 2003
Posts: 2341
Location: West Bend, WI
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| Posted: 07.22.2004 12:35 am Post subject: Re: One Spooky Night (Shyamalan) |
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| the night watchman wrote: | | Frankly, as far as two hour commercials for movies go, I'll stick with Curse of the Blair Witch. |
Funny, the Blair Witch "doc" is exactly what I thought of when I first saw this new special being advertised. I just assumed it was part of the marketing scheme for The Village.
I wasn't too interested in the special--I didn't watch--but I am fascinated that it was directed by the same man who directed My Architect: A Son's Journey.
Eric
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Danny Baldwin
Studio Exec
Joined: 26 Jun 2003
Posts: 1354
Location: San Diego, CA
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| Posted: 07.22.2004 12:37 am Post subject: Re: One Spooky Night (Shyamalan) |
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| beltmann wrote: | | I wasn't too interested in the special--I didn't watch--but I am fascinated that it was directed by the same man who directed My Architect: A Son's Journey. |
Seeing that that's in my top ten for this year so far, maybe I should've watched.
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HoRRoRFaN
Cinematographer
Joined: 06 Jul 2004
Posts: 128
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| Posted: 07.23.2004 1:47 pm Post subject: |
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| The whole thing is kinda funny. And I wish I had the URL, but I heard that CNN posted an article about how the Sci-Fi Channel apologizes for their lying about it, by presenting and promoting it to be real. I heard that a Sci-Fi representative stated that it was originally a serious doc on Night, but Night didn't like the questions very much, so he walked away from the project altogether. So with all of the material that they already had, Sci-Fi decided to fill up the rest of the time with a mockumentary of sorts that combined all of the footage that they already had. |
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beltmann
Studio Exec
Joined: 26 Jun 2003
Posts: 2341
Location: West Bend, WI
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| Posted: 07.23.2004 2:44 pm Post subject: |
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| HoRRoRFaN wrote: | | His films make interesting impressions the first time, but as most say, they don't have very good replay value |
While I think most strong pictures have good replay value, I don't think that's always a necessary trait, especially for those movies that depend upon revelations and twists. Some movies benefit from repeated viewings, but some movies equally benefit from virgin eyes. To my mind, that's not automatically a failing--it's merely a different kind of experience. For me, Shyamalan's narratives have not held up during second helpings, but I still think there's a great deal to gain--the beautiful, economical cinematography; the colors; the impressive ASL; the jigsaw scripts--from revisits. (I'm still waiting for him to concoct a truly significant picture, though.)
Eric
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"When I was in Barcelona they showed pornography on regular television. I'm assuming it's the same way in Mexico since they also speak Spanish." - IMDb user comment |
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HoRRoRFaN
Cinematographer
Joined: 06 Jul 2004
Posts: 128
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| Posted: 07.23.2004 3:56 pm Post subject: |
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| beltmann wrote: | While I think most strong pictures have good replay value, I don't think that's always a necessary trait, especially for those movies that depend upon revelations and twists. Some movies benefit from repeated viewings, but some movies equally benefit from virgin eyes. To my mind, that's not automatically a failing--it's merely a different kind of experience. For me, Shyamalan's narratives have not held up during second helpings, but I still think there's a great deal to gain--the beautiful, economical cinematography; the colors; the impressive ASL; the jigsaw scripts--from revisits. (I'm still waiting for him to concoct a truly significant picture, though.)
Eric |
You're absolutely right about this, and even if I didn't think of it to be a great movie, I think that SIGNS is his most enjoyable and can be fun with another viewing or two. I don't think that this movie particularly relies on a twist to work because it's really straightforward stuff. For me anyway, because of the twist, THE SIXTH SENSE didn't work for me very well a second time, but that still doesn't mean that since I was aware of the twist before watching, I didn't enjoy the important details and work put into it. I can't speak for UNBREAKABLE, though. I'm not a fan of it and only saw it the one time and that of course didn't make a good impression on me. More on twists, I think different movies with a certain type of twist are different than other movies that will have a twist at the end b/c when you watch a movie like MEMENTO (just off the top of my head, as there's a bunch of movies that are worth mentioning I bet), I think that with this type of twist, it's only necessary to watch it again and again even if you didn't like it very much the first time around. It benefits greatly from the repeated viewings, but then again, other "twist" movies would not have the same effect. |
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