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f13.net  |  f13.net General Forums  |  The Gaming Graveyard  |  Archived: We distort. We decide.  |  Topic: Dawn of the Dead 2004/Eternal Sunshine 0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
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Author Topic: Dawn of the Dead 2004/Eternal Sunshine  (Read 3490 times)
schild
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on: March 21, 2004, 10:47:41 PM

Tonight at 7:30 PM I saw Dawn of the Dead. At 10:30 PM I saw Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. It was the greatest cinematic experience I've ever had. It may be possible to recreate this experience with many pairs of movies, but it works extremely well with these two.

Dawn of the Dead has no narrative, character development, or innovations in cinematography to speak of - it is simply one long vignette. It is art. A new kind of art, something that Takashi Miike has been doing recently in Japan - but hasn't quite perfectly grasped. Instead of trying to add substance to the movie - it's just pure style. It takes itself VERY seriously. This could be an evolution in the way films are made. They aren't even trying to make the audience think, there's a good chance someone with literally half a brain could enjoy this movie. The theater was packed and it seems as though every single person had a good time watching - but I'm pretty goddamn sure not a single intellectual conversation could have come up after the credits roll.

I'll be the first to go on the record and say I have rejuvenated faith in the way Holllywood constructs its movies. They've come close before but I think they struck gold when they happened upon Dawn of the Dead. If they can keep this up - I would say they have created a new genre. Unfortunately this genre has no name because there's nothing to speak of in the film - it just is. I don't think there's any other way to describe it. I'm sure that there are people who will disagree with me and try to apply the same political statement the original movie made, tacking it onto the remake - unfortunately you'd be lying to yourself.

After you see this movie, in all of it's wonderful empty glory, you can complete the experience by seeing a beautifully structured narrative. Like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - the new flick from screenwriter genius, Charlie Kaufman.

This movie is all about the story and the way it's told. Easily one of the most brilliant pieces of storytelling I can remember, easily ranking with Lost in Translations as a sign Hollywood is getting back on it's feet - even if it came from a 'smallish' studio.

More importantly, it is the polar oppisite of Dawn of the Dead. This is a movie, which by all accounts would be nothing without the character development and narrative - which at first seems like Adaption. It doens't break down nearly as bad however, though Kaufman can't keep tight reins on a script all the way through. Koboshi mentioned to me this sort of thing could become a cult phenomenon - where you watch two films, one with a narrative and one without, in a row. You walk out of the theater completely satisfied.

If you don't have the $18 bucks to blow at once, you would be completely content seeing either one of these. However, I suggest you see them one after another in the reverse I saw them (read: see Dawn of the Dead AFTER Eternal Sunshine). It's more fun to see narrative breakdown than buildup.

Since they're rather new, let's try not to be too explicit with the spoilers.
Hellfire
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Reply #1 on: March 22, 2004, 06:56:40 PM

Like a tard I expect my remakes not to suck.

Dawn of the Dead was a classic - cult or otherwise. Dead-04 was a waste of a perfectly usable afternoon.

The movie started, had stuff, "fuck me harder, Steve", more stuff, and then the credits. Oh, a couple quick titties there too for good measure.

I love stupid, pointless summer movies but this was a mockery of one of the cornerstones of cinematic horror. That sort of thing just shouldn't be allowed. It would be like being so desperate as to put both Freddy AND Jason in the same movie fighting or having Marky Mark lampoon Charlton Heston.
Hanzii
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Reply #2 on: March 23, 2004, 01:05:42 AM

Sorry if I haven't quite grasped what this place is about yet - that was supposed to be a review of two movies or what?
If there's some other point of that "article" that somehow eludes me, feel free to enlighten me.
Untill then I'll just stick to Hellfires review, which, allthough on the short side, makes perfect sense.

Does anybody know if there's a Special Edition out of the original triology?

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I would like to discuss this more with you, but I'm not allowed to post in Politics anymore.

Bruce
schild
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Reply #3 on: March 23, 2004, 01:56:18 AM

Quote from: Hanzii
Sorry if I haven't quite grasped what this place is about yet - that was supposed to be a review of two movies or what?


I didn't want to ruin a weekend old movie(s). They are both worth seeing.

Quote from: Hellfire
Dead-04 was a waste of a perfectly usable afternoon.


This movie was far superior to the original. It knows it has no content/story/narrative and it's ok with that. Given what you wrote it seems you had already made a judgement before walking into a theater. You went in not wanting to like it because the original is a 'cult classic.' That's absolutely fine - but realize the movie didn't have a problem, you had the problem.
Cyberpilgrim
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Reply #4 on: March 23, 2004, 02:18:23 PM

I think the main problem with DotD 04 was its title.
If you had it named something different very few horror fans would have a problem with it, but naming it as they did, it automatically got 2 thumbs down before the diehard horror community actually viewed it.
 I mean "How dare they remake DotD?" howls have been heard for months on various boards.

I personally thought it was great but I didnt go into it expecting it to be a remake;
I just expected it to be a decent Zombie movie,
and it was that and more.
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