Day 2: Chaplin, Kubrick, and Tarantino

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

DAY 2, MOVIE 1:

City Lights (1931), directed by Charles Chaplin. This has been one of my favorite movies ever since I saw it about five years ago. It is simply a great story told through unforgettable scenes with the aid of a wonderful music score. Chaplin did a brave thing by keeping his film silent at the dawn of the talkie era. But I do believe City Lights was a success, and proved that great storytelling can beat new technology. The amount of great scenes in this movie is vast, everything works. It amazes me how even early on in the film medium’s lifetime directors were able to perfectly blend comedy and drama into one story. The two scenes that have resonated with me throughout the years are, of course, the boxing scene, which is a work of comedic genius. From when Chaplin begins by hiding behind the referee to when the bell rope gets caught around his neck, I think it’s safe to say it’s impossible not to love that scene. The other scene I love is the ending, which is something I think should always be brought up whenever someone talks about City Lights. It is a perfect ending, pulling off a rare feat that I think was most recently accomplished by Christopher Nolan’s Inception. The story itself is wrapped up, but at the same time the ending lets each audience member have their own interpretation of what happens after the screen goes to black.

DAY 2, MOVIE 2:

Full Metal Jacket (1987), directed by Stanley Kubrick. By one of my all-time favorite directors, Full Metal Jacket is a movie that I have seen countless times. I’ve watched it numerous times since I was first introduced to it in the 8th grade. I never get tired of it. I think this is one of Kubrick’s more underrated movies. Although the first half has been referenced and spoofed by other movies and TV shows hundreds of times, I feel the second half goes unappreciated. While everyone is quick to quote the first 45 minutes of the film, in which the Marines are going through basic training, they forget that the second half has just as much (if not more) to offer. It’s the second half that gave us the scene with the Vietnamese prostitute, set to the song “These Boots Are Made For Walkin.’” It’s the second half that gave us the short discussion of the duality of man (my personal favorite part of the film), sparked by a helmet sporting both the phrase “born to kill” and a peace symbol. The character Animal Mother is introduced in a back-and-forth conversation with Private Joker, a scene that deserves to be referenced as much as the basic training scenes. There’s also the tense showdown with an unseen sniper that takes up the last 20 or 30 minutes of the film. And finally, there is closing scene in which the Marines chant the Mickey Mouse Club March. I actually enjoy all of these scenes much more than the basic training part of the film. While I do appreciate the first half for its depiction of the toughness experienced in basic training, and how it separates Full Metal Jacket from other Vietnam films, I feel everything after that is where Kubrick said what he wanted to say with this movie. Basic training shows how these men became killers; the second half shows what they do when they’re released into war. Like I said, the immense variety of sequences from second half have gone completely unappreciated over the years.

DAY 2, MOVIE 3:

Pulp Fiction (1994), directed by Quentin Tarantino. Another movie that I’ve seen countless times over the years, Pulp Fiction is one of those films that have probably had every single scene, line, and shot talked about to death at this point. I don’t know if there’s anything left to say about Pulp Fiction that hasn’t already been said by someone else. This is one of the greatest films ever made, and it did change the way movies (especially independent films) are made forever. The only thing I can talk about is whichever scene jumps out at me whenever I watch it. This time it was Christopher Walken’s performance. Not necessarily the dialogue he recited, but the way he delivered it. Although he was only onscreen for a couple of minutes, he really gave this role his all. He really sounds like someone who went into battle during the Vietnam War, and is still haunted by the things he saw. When he pauses during his story to look at that gold watch for just a few seconds, you can see in his eyes the horrors his character had gone through. I absolutely love those little character moments that seem like nothing big, but add great depth.