montage Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Our Favorite Montages: Ghostbusters
Filed under: Comedy », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Fandom », Trailers and Clips », Scenes We Love »
Our Favorite Montages might be a relatively new feature around these parts, but since we started sharing some of our favorites in the past couple of weeks, I've been thinking about movies that I know back to front with a brand spanking new point of view. Back in 1984, I couldn't have told you what a montage was (and considering I was only 9 at the time, you can hardly blame me) but I did love Ghostbusters ... and I loved that song.
So if you had to place this montage into any category, you would have to go with the 'media montage'. Back in the golden days of cinema, this kind of segment would usually be accompanied with spinning newspapers and the like, but in 1984 it was all about talk radio and tabloid television. In this montage we watch our trio finally making a success of their paranormal extermination business, and with fame knocking at the door, they even get a little saucy 'ghost action'. Plus, if you're of a certain age, you get the added bonus of cameos from media types like Casey Kasem, Roger Grimsby and an obscenely young Larry King.
Now, by '84 I was familiar with the world of music videos and that's what this segment seemed like to my pop-culture saturated little brain. But as I've grown up and educated myself in the language of film I know it's much more than that, and that's why it has earned a spot among my favorites -- and brother, I still love that song.
After the jump: a compilation of 'busting montages from Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II...
Scenes We Love: Flashdance
Filed under: Drama », Fandom », Trailers and Clips »
I saw Flashdance in the theater with my mom when it came out in 1983, and Jennifer Beals rocked my life so hard that I re-enacted the dance scenes from the movie in my room over and over and over again. Rewatching this clip now makes me think, uh, the camera is focused almost entirely on her posterior, and why is there that big Turner and Hooch-style dog watching her work out? And what are the psychological implications for me that I was so obsessed with it when I saw it as an 8-year-old? (Yes, I know it was a stunt double and they were avoiding showing her face, but still. The scene is almost all a whirling, twirling butt.)But the truth is, I always secretly wanted to be a dancer -- the blisters, the sweat, the awesome clothes, the sadistically pointy shoes! And the totally manic energy of this clip can still get me dancing like a maniac on my living room floor even now, as a grown-ass adult, much to the bemusement of my neighbors across the courtyard. That Alex Bowens welded steel! She poured water on herself in a most enticing way for money! She didn't give an eff what any of us those; she just wanted to dance!
Get in touch with your inner maniac after the jump.
Our Favorite Montages: Scarface
Filed under: Drama », Fandom », Trailers and Clips »
There are plenty of different kinds of montages in the language of film, and they can fill you in on everything from the emotional state of your characters to a wacky makeover. So while a good montage sequence will explain everything you need to know in the most economical way possible, one of my favorite kinds is the "Rise to Power" montage -- which brings me to Scarface. I love Brian De Palma's crime opus for so many reasons, but I think when it comes to the art of the montage, I have a soft spot for cheese -- and it doesn't get much more pungent than Giorgio Moroder, the patron saint of 80's movie music.
By the time the power chords of Moroder and Paul Engemann's Push it To The Limit kicks in, we've already been watching Tony Montana work his way up the criminal ladder and this segment occurs after he has killed Frank Lopez (Robert Loggia) and taken over as the head cocaine trafficker in Miami. This montage has it all: bags of money, weddings -- hell, there's even a tiger.
Sure, this montage is a little over the top, and you can see Tony's downfall coming from a mile away. In just over two minutes there are enough ominous glances that you just know things are not going to end well for our cocaine dynasty. So even though this sequence has every crime cliché front and center, remember, it isn't a cliché it you were the one to do it first.
After the jump: the rise of Tony Montana, and another Moroder movie classic...
For those of you who missed the homoerotic awesomeness...
Filed under: Gay & Lesbian », Awards », Politics », Oscar Watch »
If you foolishly skipped the first 10 minutes of the Oscars last night, you missed by far the
best part - the opening with all the former hosts and then Stewart
and Clooney
in bed, combined with the reel of
"real cowboys" set a standard that the rest of the show just couldn't meet. The "real cowboys"
bit featured wildly homoerotic moments from a bunch of old westerns, thus proving once and for all that Brokeback
Mountain is new only in that it doesn't have the production code to drive everything into subtext. I'm sure some people were wildly offended by this "out-of-context" dirtying of the Real Men of Yore, but here's the thing: most of that stuff is just as gay in context. I mean, have you seen Red River? The tension between Montgomery Clift's and John Ireland's characters (they're the two early in the clip where the guy says "Nice. Awful nice." about the gun, while the pretty one adjusts himself.) is so obvious that you wonder how it slipped by the censors. No wonder Monty's so awkward with Joanne Dru. And the stump scene in Shane? Loaded with subtext, more than a little of it gay. It's not Jon Stewart's evil, liberal fault, people - the stuff has been there for 60 years.
[You may need to be a Salon subscriber to use the link - try getting a day pass, it's well worth watching.]
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