Halloween Treats

Psycho is always fun to watch at this time of year. I discovered some interesting new things about it while examining selections in my Music for Film class. For instance, one of Herrmann's themes, a little three-note motive usually called "Madness", is associated in the first part of the film with Marion and her obsession with the money she has stolen. But once she is at the motel, the focus of the film shifts and so does this motive. In fact, as Norman utters the famous line, "everyone goes a little mad sometimes", the motive is given to him, and from that point on it, and the film, belong to him.

Last week Professor D. screened House on Haunted Hill in class. I had never seen this film before, and I found it highly enjoyable. Gimmicky, yes, like all of Castle's films, really, but my main observation is that the more I see digital effects in film, the more I appreciate older films which make use of practical effects, and this film really brought that to the forefront. Nearly all of the special effects in this film were practical, and they were all very effective, especially considering that within the context of the plot most of the effects are, in fact, man-made. It often irritates me to see directors today relying so heavily on digital effects. I have nothing against them, in theory or in practice, really, I just don't understand the mindset which leads many directors into feeling they must use digital no matter what, even if the film would be better served with a practical effect. Just because it "looks better". I think Gilliam's The Brothers Grimm suffered from this acutely. The "fake" witch at the beginning was so obviously digital that it threw me entirely out of the film when they tried to make me believe it was an elaborate set-up with strings. It should've really been an elaborate set-up with strings.

This past weekend I was able to catch Nolan's The Prestige. I rather like Nolan's style as a storyteller, and it gives me warm fuzzies to see that having a big budget only means the film looks better without weakening it. In essence, Nolan is still Nolan, even with a big budget, something which I see very seldom when independent directors get pushed into the mainstream. Nolan still has an edginess to him, and his obsessions are still very evident.

If I am productive enough on Saturday, I may treat myself either to Marie Antoinette or one of the Viva Pedro! films on Sunday. Something to work for, anyway.