tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610074516299275060.post3931492404617848577..comments2024-01-21T11:18:54.087-05:00Comments on Lost in the Movies: The Red BalloonJoel Bockohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11238338958380683893noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610074516299275060.post-32436066694294319162009-03-05T20:19:00.000-05:002009-03-05T20:19:00.000-05:00Movie Man:THE RED BALLOON was available on laserdi...Movie Man:<BR/><BR/>THE RED BALLOON was available on laserdisc from Criterion since about 1990. I owned it! LOL! And the quality was nearly as gorgeous as the present DVD. It was of course also available on VHS since the late 80's, so the disclaimer you read is in serious error. Perhaps they should have said "DVD for the first time." You did not borrow a bootie, but a legit VHS.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610074516299275060.post-1330226430390480192009-03-05T11:07:00.000-05:002009-03-05T11:07:00.000-05:00Sam & bazarov, yes the direction was rather li...Sam & bazarov, yes the direction was rather limp. Also, the CGI of the kite-flying scenes bothered me a little bit. Truthfully, even more powerful than the childhood scene was the stoning sequence - at the screening I was at, someone walked out because they found it too hard to take.<BR/><BR/>And now we're thinking about negotiating with/backing off from the Taliban? (Isn't it bad enough that we're already in bed with the Saudi scum?) But I digress...<BR/><BR/>Sam,<BR/><BR/>Glad the post touched a chord with you. The DVD I now own says that The Red Balloon was never available on video before, but I distinctly remember borrowing a copy from my town library. Perhaps it was a bootleg.Joel Bockohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238338958380683893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610074516299275060.post-52686855400444740372009-03-03T16:45:00.000-05:002009-03-03T16:45:00.000-05:00I found The Kite Runner weak after the kids grow u...I found The Kite Runner weak after the kids grow up, but the scenes of the kids with the kites lyrical and exciting.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610074516299275060.post-89971048587527362712009-03-03T15:40:00.000-05:002009-03-03T15:40:00.000-05:00I agree with you Movie Man on THE KITE RUNNER....p...I agree with you Movie Man on THE KITE RUNNER....pretty weak film despite some strong individual moments.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610074516299275060.post-52910801279559386922009-03-03T14:54:00.000-05:002009-03-03T14:54:00.000-05:00Wow Movie Man, you are just a toddler! Tony and I...Wow Movie Man, you are just a toddler! Tony and I have passed our 50th and are moving foward. (or shall I say backward?) <BR/><BR/>Well I first saw this film in my first undergraduate film course in 1975, and it's an incomparable experience that immediately launched an obsessive love for this film to this very day. In fact I show the film before Easter every year for my middle-schoolers, perhaps to provide a point of reference for its celebrated 'resurrection' subtext, but I have shown it to my own five kids on a number of occasions. The ravishing color (particularly rouge) the location cinematography by Edmond Sechan and of course Maurice La Roux's gorgeous score elevate this short to a cinematic epiphany--perfect fusion of image and sound, and a statement of euphoria that's never been equalled on the screen.<BR/><BR/>Your review here and your personal revelations?<BR/><BR/>Magnificent. I salute you. Of many excellent passages, I cite this:<BR/><BR/>"The demise of the red balloon remains one of the great tragic moments in children's cinema, certainly up there with Bambi's mother. Taken to a Menilmontant Golgotha, stoned by the heathens who can't share in the innocent joy of our pint-size protagonist, the balloon is killed slowly and painfully. My memory contained the image of a popping red burst, a cruel but mercifully quick execution. I was wrong. Instead we see a rock graze the red balloon, and then the soundtrack gets quiet and we watch, thinking with relief that the little bully missed his target. Then, slowly, we start to realize that it's getting smaller that wrinkles are emerging on its surface. It sinks, swirling helplessly, with increasing languor until it fully descends, a parched little lumpy ball shivering on the grass. Only then does a little cretin's shoe stomp on it, finishing the job when the agony is almost complete. Aside from all else, this can stand beside Sonny Corleone, Bonnie and Clyde, and Gibson's Jesus as the most painfully drawn-out execution in the movies."<BR/><BR/>You are a gifted fellow, Movie Man. And today you've made me smile with a stellar assessment of one of the true joys of my moviegoing life.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610074516299275060.post-38502502827448971912009-03-03T11:28:00.000-05:002009-03-03T11:28:00.000-05:00I suggest you rectify that problem, Jon. With extr...I suggest you rectify that problem, Jon. With extreme prejudice.<BR/><BR/>I couldn't remember exactly how the revenge unfolds. Was it as I described it?Joel Bockohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238338958380683893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610074516299275060.post-9777705952351646362009-03-03T11:26:00.000-05:002009-03-03T11:26:00.000-05:00Hey Movieman:I'm a "The Critic" devotee (got the d...Hey Movieman:<BR/><BR/>I'm a "The Critic" devotee (got the dvd set 'round here somewheres) and the "Red Balloon" sequel might be the most brilliant three minutes the show ever produced (the segments with Orson Welles selling fish sticks come pretty close). The quotes from my last comment were from "The Critic".<BR/><BR/>Strange, youtube has a lot of clips but not that one...Joseph "Jon" Lanthierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00826623899121215596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610074516299275060.post-56866146563908717722009-03-03T11:17:00.000-05:002009-03-03T11:17:00.000-05:00Jon,I think you'd like "The Critic" piece...wish I...Jon,<BR/><BR/>I think you'd like "The Critic" piece...wish I could find it online.<BR/><BR/>Tony,<BR/><BR/>What did you think of the film (I didn't read the book)? I found it largely mediocre but with some powerful sequences.Joel Bockohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238338958380683893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610074516299275060.post-71633186242634734022009-03-03T02:39:00.000-05:002009-03-03T02:39:00.000-05:00Oops... The Kite RunnerOops... The Kite RunnerAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610074516299275060.post-77079957761555011702009-03-02T16:09:00.000-05:002009-03-02T16:09:00.000-05:00A wistful heart-felt piece.I am reminded of The Ki...A wistful heart-felt piece.<BR/><BR/>I am reminded of The Kite Flyer, where the imagery of the soaring majestic kite is perhaps a more active celebration of the child's unftettered engagement with reality.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610074516299275060.post-80152264026559441922009-03-02T15:07:00.000-05:002009-03-02T15:07:00.000-05:00This is a beautifully rendered piece, expertly jux...This is a beautifully rendered piece, expertly juxtaposing the measured innocence of the film with your own childhood experience (interesting how some films are able to tap into that frozen well of memory so hauntingly, isn't it?).<BR/><BR/>All I can say is... "The red balloon is about to become the DEAD balloon..."<BR/><BR/><BR/>"...I could not have foreseen that."Joseph "Jon" Lanthierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00826623899121215596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610074516299275060.post-14829874803431022312009-03-02T14:53:00.000-05:002009-03-02T14:53:00.000-05:00By "sequel" do you mean The Critic clip (which, un...By "sequel" do you mean The Critic clip (which, unfortunately, is not available on You Tube) or "The Flight of the Red Balloon"? I haven't seen the latter, but while it's on many critics' (and bloggers') top ten lists, my folks saw it and despised it, for whatever that's worth (they thought it was extremely boring and found the main character despicable).Joel Bockohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238338958380683893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610074516299275060.post-19614497290437009052009-03-02T13:58:00.000-05:002009-03-02T13:58:00.000-05:00I love your last line, and wow, I really need to s...I love your last line, and wow, I really need to see this AND the recent "sequel"(?) - would you recommend it?Danielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05222052132452709301noreply@blogger.com