M. Night Shyamalan's The Village is terrific; I like all his movies. There's a deconstructive element at work in them (I know, that word)--an emphasis on social subtexts and relationships to other films that takes them out of the simple O. Henry/Twilight Zone realm. Unbreakable focuses on the warped power fantasies of the invisible comic book fan who ultimately drives the superhero script; Signs presents another kind of script, the near-impossible chain of coincidences required for a lapsed believer to regain faith.
The Shyamster (as one smartass critic called him) is a master of the subjective POV, showing you only what he wants to show you and keeping you in a state of nervous tunnel vision throughout. Inexplicable imagery or behavior is explained eventually, sometimes immediately. This is highly manipulative but so what? I like the way gradually-introduced information from outside the frame changes the meaning of what's perceived, all within the filmic atom of "the shot."
Rather than give away The Village's plot, let's just say there's a constellation of supernatural or "artificial" works about America's small town past into which the movie could be inserted: The Crucible, The Lottery, Dogtown, A Boy and His Dog, Our Town, Signs. (And of course, Children of the Corn--just kidding.) There's a love story, and a larger enveloping story that is quite creepy and melancholy and gives you something to think about after the movie's over. Oh, and the lead actress is good--I found out afterward she's Ron Howard's daughter. Another surreal, small town connection: Mayberry RFD.
I did not like the movie, guessed the ending from the previews and pretty much think that the man's work has been steadily declining since the near-perfect "Sixth Sense". As for Ron Howard's daughter, I thought she has wonderful screen presence but her "blind" impediment was extrodinarily inconsistent. I've described the pitch for "Signs" as being "War of the Worlds" meets "Field of Dreams". The present movie would be "The Crucible" meets "The Blair Witch Project".
That all being said, here's an interesting little piece from IMDB. I wonder how it will play out and if there will be a twist ending.
"Disney and Shyamalan Face Plagiarism Lawsuit
Writer-director M. Night Shyamalan and The Walt Disney Co. are bracing themselves for legal action, after a children's author declared similarities between her book and new movie The Village. The Village, the latest thriller by Shyamalan, stars Joaquin Phoenix, Sigourney Weaver and Adrien Brody and has proved to be a hit at the American office. But now that much-needed success - Disney has endured a string of flops this year - has been marred by publisher Simon & Schuster Inc's announcement it is reviewing its legal options against the company and Shyamalan. Last week, reports circulated that The Village's plot and surprise ending were parallel to Margaret Peterson Haddix's first book Running Out Of Time, published in 1995. Haddix says she heard about the similarities last week when fans - and then journalists - began calling and emailing her and her publisher to ask if she had sold the book to Shyamalan. She claims she has never spoken to Shyamalan or to Disney, adding, "It's certainly an interesting situation. I'm just examining what my options are." A joint statement from Disney and Shyamalan's Blinding Edge Pictures says: "(We) believe these claims to be meritless". Simon & Schuster spokeswoman Tracy Van Straaten adds, "This is a children's book that sold more than half a million copies and won prizes, so it's not an obscure book for us." Shyamalan has previously battled a copyright lawsuit brought by a Pennsylvania screenwriter who claimed the plot from his 2002 film Signs mirrored his unpublished script Lord Of The Barrens."
Nothing like a hit movie to bring starving writers out of the woodwork. Sorry to be so flip, but the story's about 1/10th of what makes a movie magic. I'd say I hope they demolish that writer in court--except the objective of such a lawsuit is usually to bleed the beast by taking a handy settlement (and in the case of the publisher, to reap some unanticipated dividends from the book). As you know, I disagree about Shyamalan's trajectory; I have a harder time finding the intellectual subtext in the Sixth Sense that I find so enjoyable in the other three. I am glad to hear this one's doing well at the box office, which means this "Spielberg with a brain" will get to make more movies. (But why does he keep casting himself as an asshole in his cameos?)
Not to be too reliant on IMDB, I present something I read in Monday's news that argues against your perception of the film doing well at the box office.
"Disney's 'The Village' Burns
Observing that mid-week ticket sales of The Village had been lower than expected, some analysts last week presented a worst-case scenario of the movie dropping 60 percent in its second weekend. It would still, they said, have a good chance of grossing $150 million for Disney, thereby becoming a moneymaker for the studio. As things turned out, the film plummeted 67 percent to just $16.6 million over the weekend, bringing its gross to $85.8 million. The results "gave Disney a good scare," commented Daily Variety."
And whereas I disagree with you in regards to the importance of "Story" to a movies success, I do feel this movies stongest point is its cinematography. Really beautiful shots, particularly the opening. The dialogue, however, was the clunkiest I've heard this side of "Flintstones, Viva Rock Vegas".
And the cameo/non-cameo, pretentious and shameless. (And in the "Sixth Sense" he played a non-asshole, albeit "whipped".)
SPOILER: I appreciated the artificial dialogue as part of the delusional structure behind the whole settlement. It is my nighmare of how we'd have to talk and act with the fundamentalist Christians in charge. And the idea of running from a fearful world by creating an atmosphere of continuous dread is truly perverse, and not unlike what we have with our own Department of Homeland Security. I think you're selling the (latter three) movie(s) short.
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M. Night Shyamalan's The Village is terrific; I like all his movies. There's a deconstructive element at work in them (I know, that word)--an emphasis on social subtexts and relationships to other films that takes them out of the simple O. Henry/Twilight Zone realm. Unbreakable focuses on the warped power fantasies of the invisible comic book fan who ultimately drives the superhero script; Signs presents another kind of script, the near-impossible chain of coincidences required for a lapsed believer to regain faith.
The Shyamster (as one smartass critic called him) is a master of the subjective POV, showing you only what he wants to show you and keeping you in a state of nervous tunnel vision throughout. Inexplicable imagery or behavior is explained eventually, sometimes immediately. This is highly manipulative but so what? I like the way gradually-introduced information from outside the frame changes the meaning of what's perceived, all within the filmic atom of "the shot."
Rather than give away The Village's plot, let's just say there's a constellation of supernatural or "artificial" works about America's small town past into which the movie could be inserted: The Crucible, The Lottery, Dogtown, A Boy and His Dog, Our Town, Signs. (And of course, Children of the Corn--just kidding.) There's a love story, and a larger enveloping story that is quite creepy and melancholy and gives you something to think about after the movie's over. Oh, and the lead actress is good--I found out afterward she's Ron Howard's daughter. Another surreal, small town connection: Mayberry RFD.
- tom moody 8-11-2004 7:55 pm
I did not like the movie, guessed the ending from the previews and pretty much think that the man's work has been steadily declining since the near-perfect "Sixth Sense". As for Ron Howard's daughter, I thought she has wonderful screen presence but her "blind" impediment was extrodinarily inconsistent. I've described the pitch for "Signs" as being "War of the Worlds" meets "Field of Dreams". The present movie would be "The Crucible" meets "The Blair Witch Project".
That all being said, here's an interesting little piece from IMDB. I wonder how it will play out and if there will be a twist ending.
"Disney and Shyamalan Face Plagiarism Lawsuit
Writer-director M. Night Shyamalan and The Walt Disney Co. are bracing themselves for legal action, after a children's author declared similarities between her book and new movie The Village. The Village, the latest thriller by Shyamalan, stars Joaquin Phoenix, Sigourney Weaver and Adrien Brody and has proved to be a hit at the American office. But now that much-needed success - Disney has endured a string of flops this year - has been marred by publisher Simon & Schuster Inc's announcement it is reviewing its legal options against the company and Shyamalan. Last week, reports circulated that The Village's plot and surprise ending were parallel to Margaret Peterson Haddix's first book Running Out Of Time, published in 1995. Haddix says she heard about the similarities last week when fans - and then journalists - began calling and emailing her and her publisher to ask if she had sold the book to Shyamalan. She claims she has never spoken to Shyamalan or to Disney, adding, "It's certainly an interesting situation. I'm just examining what my options are." A joint statement from Disney and Shyamalan's Blinding Edge Pictures says: "(We) believe these claims to be meritless". Simon & Schuster spokeswoman Tracy Van Straaten adds, "This is a children's book that sold more than half a million copies and won prizes, so it's not an obscure book for us." Shyamalan has previously battled a copyright lawsuit brought by a Pennsylvania screenwriter who claimed the plot from his 2002 film Signs mirrored his unpublished script Lord Of The Barrens."
- Kevin (guest) 8-12-2004 3:15 am
Nothing like a hit movie to bring starving writers out of the woodwork. Sorry to be so flip, but the story's about 1/10th of what makes a movie magic. I'd say I hope they demolish that writer in court--except the objective of such a lawsuit is usually to bleed the beast by taking a handy settlement (and in the case of the publisher, to reap some unanticipated dividends from the book). As you know, I disagree about Shyamalan's trajectory; I have a harder time finding the intellectual subtext in the Sixth Sense that I find so enjoyable in the other three. I am glad to hear this one's doing well at the box office, which means this "Spielberg with a brain" will get to make more movies. (But why does he keep casting himself as an asshole in his cameos?)
- tom moody 8-12-2004 3:28 am
Not to be too reliant on IMDB, I present something I read in Monday's news that argues against your perception of the film doing well at the box office.
"Disney's 'The Village' Burns
Observing that mid-week ticket sales of The Village had been lower than expected, some analysts last week presented a worst-case scenario of the movie dropping 60 percent in its second weekend. It would still, they said, have a good chance of grossing $150 million for Disney, thereby becoming a moneymaker for the studio. As things turned out, the film plummeted 67 percent to just $16.6 million over the weekend, bringing its gross to $85.8 million. The results "gave Disney a good scare," commented Daily Variety."
And whereas I disagree with you in regards to the importance of "Story" to a movies success, I do feel this movies stongest point is its cinematography. Really beautiful shots, particularly the opening. The dialogue, however, was the clunkiest I've heard this side of "Flintstones, Viva Rock Vegas".
And the cameo/non-cameo, pretentious and shameless. (And in the "Sixth Sense" he played a non-asshole, albeit "whipped".)
- Kevin (guest) 8-12-2004 3:44 am
SPOILER: I appreciated the artificial dialogue as part of the delusional structure behind the whole settlement. It is my nighmare of how we'd have to talk and act with the fundamentalist Christians in charge. And the idea of running from a fearful world by creating an atmosphere of continuous dread is truly perverse, and not unlike what we have with our own Department of Homeland Security. I think you're selling the (latter three) movie(s) short.
- tom moody 8-12-2004 3:53 am