M (erciless) Night Shyamalan

yea, a little when the evil tree monkeys come down and the Eagle flys in. But Giammati, can any actor you know do more without saying anything?
 
HorseFilms said:
I finally saw The Village last night. Wow, that was a steaming pile. Some of the worst direction I've ever seen. Solid actors like Sigourney Weaver and William Hurt were reduced to amateur status under his watch. It was basically an hour and a half of awkward silence and poorly delivered lines. I'll have to watch more of his stuff, because we had so much fun turning it into MST3K: The Home Game.
Click to expand...

I thought the acting was great in that movie....especially William Hurt.
And how exactly was the direction bad?

Its one of my favorite movies....if not my favorite.
 
Last edited:
Direction: sit here and look at your corn cob.... and ill just film it....
Hurt: is there a symbol for this corn how should I eat.
Direction: I dunno just eat like a white person might eat it.
Hurt: ok...
Direction: and action.

15 min take of them eating corn.

Hurt: was that good?
Direction: Huh, I dunno you're eating ****ing corn like it matters wait till we get to the pointless twist of the story now thats when we'll reallyget into the story.
 
spidey said:
Direction: sit here and look at your corn cob.... and ill just film it....
Hurt: is there a symbol for this corn how should I eat.
Direction: I dunno just eat like a white person might eat it.
Hurt: ok...
Direction: and action.

15 min take of them eating corn.

Hurt: was that good?
Direction: Huh, I dunno you're eating poo pooing corn like it matters wait till we get to the pointless twist of the story now thats when we'll reallyget into the story.
Click to expand...

Yeah that might be funny...but I dont see how its actual criticism to the movie...as there are no extended corn eating sequences.
 
the idea in "the Village" that Hurt's character would allow his blind daughter to go off to get help was laughable. Stumbling around the woods blind like little red riding hood.

Having read Bambergers book, "The Man Who Heard Voices," Night's fatal flaw is hubris. When you feel you are divining some higher power in your art, you lose objectivity. He is continually enabled by executives looking at box office creating a group think of crap.
 
the idea in "the Village" that Hurt's character would allow his blind daughter to go off to get help was laughable. Stumbling around the woods blind like little red riding hood.
Click to expand...

She had two escorts sent with her. It wasnt expected that they would abandon her. When she was alone she did indeed stumble about. Was there anything unrealistic about what she did out there?

I agree with you that Night seems to think a bit too much of himself, but I dont let that make me think any differently about a film.
 
i just thought it was boring and predictable i told my mom in the theater 15 mins into the movie that they were probli on some resort or isolated somewhere thought to be the past. when it was over with i was shocked how predictable and bland it was it was his wealest story till this one.
 
Well its understandable you might have that opinion. I think the movie is an enjoyable watch even if you know what the twist is....as Ive watched it more than a few times. Stylistically its something that appeals to me.....the long takes, nice cinematography, great score, mood and setting, etc. But thats just me.
 
being that i actually know night and the team at blinding edge, let me share my perspective on him. what most people have mistaken for ego or pride is actually just a strong dedication to his story ideas and confidence in he way he tells them. hubris, or arrogance, or a sense of superiority is a completely inaccurate description for his personality. i've known him to be courteous, amiable, and sociable. definitely much more touchy-feely than most people, i'd say. i can't count the number of hugs he gives in a day.
 
Hey are you the one that did the documentary on the lady in the water DVD? I saw your name at the end i think...and it sounded very familiar.
 
I was not saying Night is a bad person or inconsiderate of others. The account in the book actually shows him to be a very nice guy. These qualities are not necessarily mutually exclusive of someone who also believes that he has somehow been touched by the hand of God, given an intuition, that makes his filmaking brilliant and successful. The problem is that if you believe that, you shut yourself down to criticism from those around you (as e did with Lady) and maybe don't question your choices as much. Read Bamberger's book and hubris is the only word for it.

As for the blind girl going into the forest with escorts, still ridiculous that she would go on that journey.
 
bosindy said:
I was not saying Night is a bad person or inconsiderate of others. The account in the book actually shows him to be a very nice guy. These qualities are not necessarily mutually exclusive of someone who also believes that he has somehow been touched by the hand of God, given an intuition, that makes his filmaking brilliant and successful. The problem is that if you believe that, you shut yourself down to criticism from those around you (as e did with Lady) and maybe don't question your choices as much. Read Bamberger's book and hubris is the only word for it.

As for the blind girl going into the forest with escorts, still ridiculous that she would go on that journey.
Click to expand...
i don't need to read bamberger's book. i was on set 10x longer than he was. i can say without question that night doesn't believe he's been touched by god. but what may have been misinterpreted, is his belief in the authors of art and literature to be a catalyst for change. the direct inspiration for the character he played in Lady was harriet beecher stowe and the influence of uncle tom's cabin.
Weston said:
Hey are you the one that did the documentary on the lady in the water DVD? I saw your name at the end i think...and it sounded very familiar.
Click to expand...
vlcsnap4238274fi.jpg
 
Last edited:
Hey cool...

I thought it was very well done. I was paying more attention to the credits because I just got done making a documentary myself. Quite lower in stature ...as it was just for a highschool play...but its opened my eyes to the documentary making process.....so I have alot more respect for that kind of work now.

Anyway...i really enjoyed it....especially the chris doyle interview segments. The stuff he said about film really made sense to me. And the moments you chose to include the score from the film seemed right on with the emotion of what was going on in the documentary.

Great job altogether....
 
Weston said:
Hey cool...

I thought it was very well done. I was paying more attention to the credits because I just got done making a documentary myself. Quite lower in stature ...as it was just for a highschool play...but its opened my eyes to the documentary making process.....so I have alot more respect for that kind of work now.

Anyway...i really enjoyed it....especially the chris doyle interview segments. The stuff he said about film really made sense to me. And the moments you chose to include the score from the film seemed right on with the emotion of what was going on in the documentary.

Great job altogether....
Click to expand...
well, i'l tell you the Chris Doyle section was intended as a bit of a "love letter" to his beliefs and ideas on the purpose of collaborative filmmaking.

i wish the longer cut was out there. the doyle section was original twice as long. he had a lot of beautiful things to say about cinema. and at the end, his final words just before the credits, he's genuinely crying. he feels that strongly about it.
 
Zak Forsman said:
well, i'l tell you the Chris Doyle section was intended as a bit of a "love letter" to his beliefs and ideas on the purpose of collaborative filmmaking.

i wish the longer cut was out there. the doyle section was original twice as long. he had a lot of beautiful things to say about cinema. and at the end, his final words just before the credits, he's genuinely crying. he feels that strongly about it.
Click to expand...

Hmm...i definately would have enjoyed seeing that.

I just want him to stop attempting to be an actor; cause he cant
Click to expand...

agreed....the bits in lady where he's trying to joke around with his sister are pretty painful.
 
I haven't seen Lady In The Water yet, but I think the rest of his movies (including Unbreakable) are profoundly underrated. I can only hope that one day I can tell stories half as good as his.
 
bosindy said:
As for the blind girl going into the forest with escorts, still ridiculous that she would go on that journey.
Click to expand...

See, now, the problem is that that's what the movie was about.

Actually, the whole film was about what the film was about.

It's one thing to say the story/premise is not to your liking. It's another to say it was badly done.

It wasn't badly done.

Maybe "quieter" than some people would prefer, but...

For me, it was quite a bit more believable than a film about someone being bitten by a radioactive spider and waking up with superpowers, rather than a spider bite.

Just not as fun.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top