Purpulan

@ Sabatino: just a little joke... to say that Welles made a bit of a misstep in Italy too ; )

@ Lux: Closer, like many works that don't compromise too much with the needs of the audience, can also be incongruous with individual tastes. The story of suicide only attests to the sincerity of the message (not its shareability... and, as far as I'm concerned, the tendency to mythologize the deceased doesn't belong to me), as for the "concepts" that are ends in themselves, I don't think they can be accused of rhetoric, at most of solipsism... but it is still an album that lives on "absolutes." I digested "Unknown Pleasures" much better than "Closer" at first, but then, it was precisely the punk drift that infused some tracks, making them more immediate, which became, in my opinion, the weak link of that work (still, just a tad, derivative) (de gustibus, anyway!).

And the result is the perfect, and unmatched, sound commentary of a depressive state reached what the psychopathologists would define as "the 3rd and final stage," a sort of ultimate and extreme epiphany of the real... fluff, in short (after all, with that nickname, one wouldn't exactly expect Joy Division to be able to "darken" you ;)

Among the "pop" groups, they are the ones that capture attention the most; the fact that there are so many comparisons being made (even Coldplay, according to some, huh!) means that, deep down, they do have a certain personality. Of course, they might not be innovators, but there's not a single track of theirs that I find awful (perhaps "Well Worn Hand" is quite skippable). I saw them live about a year and a half ago, and they managed to captivate the audience with a more than decent performance. They didn't play "All Sparks"? I remember that had the same reception as "Munich"!

Come on, these were good, yes, but they were born 20 years late compared to the rest of the world’s need for lysergicity... the Pakistani guy around the corner sells me stuff that’s just as outdated (but no less functional, you know)!... But I prefer to take my "trips" with Martinon (who has also departed)!

Saw it tonight...with CONDITIONAL OBLIGATION...now I'm listening to "Black One" by Sunn O))) to see if I missed something...but I believe that much of its little, Dario has definitely lost...me?!...7.5 Euros, undeniably!!!

Few mental circuits!!!...Here there's a use of the camera that is completely "Off Hollywood" (excellent long takes, played exclusively on the length of the optical zoom)...then, theoretically speaking, it is not the masterpiece that many fear...but, since cinema "has to die" due to Americanism, let’s hold on to it tightly. @ Sabatino: the demagoguery of the Pasolinian comment in "La Ricotta" is perhaps the lowest point ever reached by Welles (in my eyes). P.S.: the preventive defenses are not quite congruent for me, but I should specify that I am a proud supporter of the Eurocentric axiom...that is: the American relevance (intentionally lowercase) in the field of MAKING TRUE CINEMA has a significance value of no more than 10% (being generous)! I’d give it a 5 for historiographical reasons, but if I had to idealize one of those usual value rankings, I doubt I would give much space to this work (though it does have its merit, and that is enough for most).

Rome?! 1989?! I hope that the departure of Cesare l'Emiliano didn't influence the judgment of the attendees... "Ladri di biciclette" wasn't on the list, right?! After all, if it were, you wouldn't have proposed such a contest, would you, Supersoul?! (It would please Poletti too much ;)

...the creeping chaos...(mind you, not the song by Verdena)...

A Bergman so polymorphic and relatively "lightened" (precisely thanks to the variability of his expressive register) will not be seen again. A year of immense productive efforts for the Swede (3 feature films in one summer). It's obvious that, when compared to the exhausting rigor of "Persona," it may seem out of focus... but it's precisely from this antithesis that it draws the marks of its greatness. Victor Sjöström cannot be overlooked in the review, dear little marquis, as the work is 40% attributable to him. The main characters (almost homonymous) from "Smultronstället" and (almost contemporary) "Det sjunde inseglet" are intricately linked in forming the most intense (apparent) antinomy of Bergman's filmography and theory.