tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2531345904528580427.post5139188276422823597..comments2024-03-24T20:01:47.103-07:00Comments on Hell On Frisco Bay: The Grandmaster (2013)Brian Darrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17693169310367670898noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2531345904528580427.post-5433476624655934302013-09-10T15:39:02.091-07:002013-09-10T15:39:02.091-07:00Thanks for the alert, Dan. I attended the Mill Val...Thanks for the alert, Dan. I attended the Mill Valley press conference this morning, and it was a more pleasant experience after having perused the schedule online. The SVJFF reveal slipped past my attention as well. I too am looking forward (with some trepidation as an Ozu fan) to Yamada's film. I've been told it will screen in 35mm. (I didn't realize the Lark or the Sequoia still retained this capability).<br /><br />Zannennagara, I meant to make a comment about the version of <b><i>The Grandmaster</i></b> showing; I'd called the theatre ahead of time so I knew what I was getting into, but I am curious about longer cuts and whether they might make the film feel more satisfying than a "small but delicious meal" as you succinctly put it. I doubt that watching a region-free DVD or even Blu-Ray at home would be as purely pleasurable as the moment-to-moment experience of seeing the 35mm frames move through the projector gate, but perhaps that would be more than made up for by a more epic overall feel to the storyline.Brian Darrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17693169310367670898noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2531345904528580427.post-1256856849947650022013-09-09T14:00:31.744-07:002013-09-09T14:00:31.744-07:00For your sidebar, Mill Valley Film Festival and Si...For your sidebar, <a href="http://www.mvff.com" rel="nofollow">Mill Valley Film Festival</a> and <a href="http://www.svjff.org" rel="nofollow">Silicon Valley Jewish Film Festival</a> film schedules have been posted. <br /><br /><b><i>Bends</i></b> is screening at MVFF too.<br /><br />After 15 minutes of perusing MVFF's schedule, Yoji Yamada's <b><i>Tokyo Family</i></b> (a remake of Ozu's <b><i>Tokyo Story</i></b>) is the highlight.Danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04964422940043243338noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2531345904528580427.post-59025197608757031972013-09-09T02:09:09.515-07:002013-09-09T02:09:09.515-07:00It should be noted that, contrary to their website...It should be noted that, contrary to their website, the 35mm print at the 4-Star (the one I saw as well), while visually beautiful, represents the most cut version of the film, at 108 minutes, as opposed to the original Chinese of 130 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Grandmaster_%28film%29#Versions). I too felt there was an emptiness to it, though I enjoyed the suggestive feel of its sparseness, and came out of the theater with the rare sensation of simultaneous satisfaction and hunger for more, as if having eaten a small but delicious meal.<br /><br />What I'm curious about are the screenings of this film at AMC Theaters, as their website lists a runtime of 123 minutes, implying that they are using the festival version (which is almost as long as the Chinese domestic cut). However, the Weinstein Company owns the US distribution rights, so its 108-minute version - the one showing at 4-Star - seems likely to be the one showing at every theater in the States.<br /><br />At least one reviewer (http://www.film.com/movies/wong-kar-wai-the-grandmaster-ruined-by-american-cut) thinks this substantial reduction for American audiences sacrifices much of the film's quality and resonance along with its runtime - it seemed obvious from the explanatory titles at the get-go that there had been some dumbing-down of the narrative, and apparently there's a much greater historical element to the fuller version, which I'd certainly love to see.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com