Tuesday, February 14, 2006
2 great films finally on DVD
I was browsing through Netflix and discovered that two of my all-time favorite films, "Metropolitan" (1990) and "Raise the Red Lantern," (1991) are both (finally) coming to DVD today.
While I wouldn't have considered these films similar, writing this makes me realize that both deal with an outsider who is suddenly living within a new social class (Manhattan in the 1980s v. China in the 1920s).
"Metropolitan" is probably the more accessible of the two, mainly because it is in Engligh. The writing is clever and the performances, especially Chris Eigeman's, are great. This film was nominated for the Best Original Screenplay in 1991. Ultimately, it lost out to that timeless and classic screenplay for... "Ghost" (I know, I still can't believe that either). Stillman did pick up Best First Feature from the Independent Spirit Awards and Best New Director from the New York Film Critics Circle.
"Raise the Red Lantern" is a much more visual film. The cinematography is fantasic (although I'm sure that shooting Gong Li makes it easier). Of the half dozen or so times that I have seen it, I have sometimes found myself forgetting to read the subtitles in favor of admiring the images. Although it didn't win an Oscar, Zhao Fei's cinematography was recognized by the L.A. Film Critics Association and the National Society of Film Critics.
I was browsing through Netflix and discovered that two of my all-time favorite films, "Metropolitan" (1990) and "Raise the Red Lantern," (1991) are both (finally) coming to DVD today.
While I wouldn't have considered these films similar, writing this makes me realize that both deal with an outsider who is suddenly living within a new social class (Manhattan in the 1980s v. China in the 1920s).
"Metropolitan" is probably the more accessible of the two, mainly because it is in Engligh. The writing is clever and the performances, especially Chris Eigeman's, are great. This film was nominated for the Best Original Screenplay in 1991. Ultimately, it lost out to that timeless and classic screenplay for... "Ghost" (I know, I still can't believe that either). Stillman did pick up Best First Feature from the Independent Spirit Awards and Best New Director from the New York Film Critics Circle.
"Raise the Red Lantern" is a much more visual film. The cinematography is fantasic (although I'm sure that shooting Gong Li makes it easier). Of the half dozen or so times that I have seen it, I have sometimes found myself forgetting to read the subtitles in favor of admiring the images. Although it didn't win an Oscar, Zhao Fei's cinematography was recognized by the L.A. Film Critics Association and the National Society of Film Critics.
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¶ 6:27 AM 
About Shawn Morton
Married father of 4, social media strategist at Nationwide, consumer electronics enthusiast, hair metal aficionado.
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