The Criterion Collection

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by iScottie

I would like to see that one, too.

When it comes to sci fi, I reccomend 2 films:
1) 2001
2) A Space Oddysey.

Great double feature there mate.

[RandyK]

If you have not bought The Devils Backbone yet, go do it. Absolutely fantastic release all around.

[ravenus]

Originally Posted by COLD_COBRA_

Yesterday I spent $40 on something I didn't need, and now regret it. On the way home I kept thinking that could have been been 2 more Criterions on the shelf,

You don't NEED Criterions either, you just crave them, and who knows if someday you won't regret getting some of the stuff you did just because it had a C-logo on it

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by SammyJankis

It's the same film.

Just the original, and much better, title. That American title.. ick.

Guess who feels stupid?

[The Great Owl]

My brain is going to hurt after this, but here goes...



Krzysztof Kieslowski's 1991 film, The Double Life of Veronique, could be viewed as a prototype test run for his Three Colors Trilogy that would soon follow, but I prefer to think of this film in its own terms as a game changer of art house cinema. Films like Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction and Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Amelie quite possibly followed cues of character nuance, color saturation, and skewed image perspective found in this Kieslowski film to achieve their own influential end results.

The Double Life of Veronique can be frustrating for a first-time viewer who is accustomed to conventional films where all of the pieces fit together into a house of cards, and opinions of this movie will vary across the board depending on how one responds to this story that focuses more on specific feelings instead of specific plot points. At its worst, The Double Life of Veronique could be perceived as a diversion that is just offbeat enough to graze artistic appreciation sensibilities without disturbing or unsettling the recipient, almost like one of those ambient electronic CDs that one might find at the checkout counter of a Starbucks Coffee shop. At its best, however, The Double Life of Veronique challenges us with strange cinematography that compels us to see the world in a different way, and a concept of doppelganger character existences that turns our focus inward so that we second guess our own place in the world.

After my first couple of viewings of The Double Life of Veronique, via my old Criterion DVD edition, I gave up on trying to fit any puzzle pieces together, and, instead, pondered the film's examination of narcissism and of how we view our own places in the world. In her dual roles as the Polish Weronika and the French Veronique, the beautiful Irene Jacobs smiles in the raindrops instead of moving to shelter, looks at the world through odd glass reflections, moves through the streets often unaffected by surroundings (political protests, an unpleasant encounter with an old man on the street, etc.), and follows a series of puppeteer clues under the assumption that these clues cater only to her and that they could not possibly cater to any other person. We all arrive at epiphanies in our lives when we realize that the world does not revolve around us, and we accept the notion that we are simple parts of a whole in the grand scheme of nature. Veronique flees from a cafe when she realizes that someone else's elaborate plan may have been intended for any woman and not specifically her, and later cries when viewing a photo that could indicate to her that she may not be as unique or significant as she fancied.

Others may interpret The Double Life of Veronique in an entirely different way, and that was actually Kieslowski's plan all along, since he originally intended for different versions of the film to be shown at each theater screening. This Criterion title even provides an alternate U.S. ending that is pleasing, but non-revelatory.

Regardless of how one decides to view The Double Life of Veronique, the joy of simply viewing the film is undeniable. Like Audrey Tautou's Amelie character, Irene Jacob's dual roles are presented in a way that to look at them is to fall in love with them, because the film does not readily offer any other option. This movie also has some of the most creative use of color tinting and camera perspective that I have ever seen, and this collage of images comes together better than ever in high definition on this Criterion Blu-ray. A handful of helpful supplements serve to shed light on certain clues and interactions in the movie without trying to lead us through the maze.

[Abdrewes]

^^^
Really? Pulp Fiction did not employ similar lenses as Double Life. It doesn't look similar at all! And as for the characters....

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

^^^
Really? Pulp Fiction did not employ similar lenses as Double Life. It doesn't look similar at all! And as for the characters....

Tarantino reportedly wanted to cast Irene Jacob in Pulp Fiction as the boxer's wife, but she was busy with the third Colors film. He was quite stricken with her after seeing The Double Life of Veronique. Both films use make use of creative tinting, although I'm not sure how directly Pulp Fiction was influenced by this film. Character nuances, for sure, because I can imagine Irene Jacob in that particular Pulp Fiction role. Strange narrative techniques? Check.

Amelie seems to be more directly similar to The Double Life of Veronique, of course.

[RandyK]

I'm probably the only one who DIDN'T like the tinting in Veronique. The greenish-yellow was just a little too much.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Tarantino reportedly wanted to cast Irene Jacob in Pulp Fiction as the boxer's wife, but she was busy with the third Colors film. He was quite stricken with her after seeing The Double Life of Veronique. Both films use make use of creative tinting, although I'm not sure how directly Pulp Fiction was influenced by this film. Character nuances, for sure, because I can imagine Irene Jacob in that particular Pulp Fiction role. Strange narrative techniques? Check.

Umm...again, no crazy yellow filters in PF. Try referencing Wong Kar Wai instead

I'm sorry but at best you can force a parallel with Butch's girl...but even that doesn't work: she's cute, a bit homely, whereas Irene is the personification of sensuality and sensitivity.

And narratively, Pulp Fiction is more indebted to Godard, and of course, pulp fiction, graphic novels.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by Randyman94

I'm probably the only one who DIDN'T like the tinting in Veronique. The greenish-yellow was just a little too much.

I'm sure you'll back me up when I say that Pilp Fiction looks NOTHING like Double Life. It's like equating The Dardennes with Vincente Minnelli, or Wong Kar Wai with Ridley Scott.

[jw007]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

When it comes to sci fi, I reccomend 2 films:
1) 2001
2) A Space Oddysey.

Great double feature there mate.

I agree wholeheartedly.

Although sometimes I even make it a triple feature with:

1) 2001
2) A Space Odyssey
3) 2010: The Year We Make Contact

[Abdrewes]

Are you seriously going to watch 2010 and The Year we Make Contact at the same time? Consider splitting it into a quadruple feature.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Umm...again, no crazy yellow filters in PF. Try referencing Wong Kar Wai instead

I'm sorry but at best you can force a parallel with Butch's girl...but even that doesn't work: she's cute, a bit homely, whereas Irene is the personification of sensuality and sensitivity.

And narratively, Pulp Fiction is more indebted to Godard, and of course, pulp fiction, graphic novels.

I've never seen a Wong Kar Wai film, so it would not have been practical for me to draw a parallel in my review.

Here is my sentence...

"Films like Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction and Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Amelie effectively followed cues of character nuance, color saturation, and skewed image perspective found in this Kieslowski film to achieve their own influential end results."

I never said that Pulp Fiction was not more influenced by Godard or that Pulp Fiction has the same yellow filters. It's a safe bet, though, that Tarantino's viewing of The Double Life Of Veronique, if it made enough of an impression on him to write the role of Fabienne with Irene Jacob in mind, was another addition to Tarantino's mental database when he was deciding how to make his film. Look at the tinting in the bar scene with Butch and Marsellus Wallace. It may not have been a direct influence, but I can see similar cues.


EDIT: I'll change...
"Films like Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction and Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Amelie effectively followed cues of character nuance, color saturation, and skewed image perspective found in this Kieslowski film to achieve their own influential end results."
to...
"Films like Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction and Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Amelie quite possibly followed cues of character nuance, color saturation, and skewed image perspective found in this Kieslowski film to achieve their own influential end results."

Just in case I have to testify on this matter in a serious court case or something.

[pro-bassoonist]

Veteran French actress Bernadette Lafont passed away Thursday morning after being hospitalized earlier this week. She was 74. Lafont, who made her first feature in 1958, acted in more than 120 films and was set to appear in the upcoming sequel Les Vacances Du Petit Nicolas. She was part of the New Wave, working for such directors as François Truffaut (Les Mistons) and Claude Chabrol (Le Beau Serge). One of her most famous roles was in Jean Eustache’s seminal 1973 love triangle The Mother And The W h o r e. She won a Best Supporting Actress César for Claude Miller’s 1986 film L’Effrontée (An Impudent Girl) and received an Honorary César in 2003.

Pro-B

[RandyK]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

I'm sure you'll back me up when I say that Pilp Fiction looks NOTHING like Double Life. It's like equating The Dardennes with Vincente Minnelli, or Wong Kar Wai with Ridley Scott.

Yeah, I don't see any similarities.

[jw007]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Are you seriously going to watch 2010 and The Year we Make Contact at the same time? Consider splitting it into a quadruple feature.

Oh, you went one step further than me. Gosh, I could never imagine a quadruple feature with 2 feature films. It's just....impossible!

My god, its full of .... Blu-rays.

[SammyJankis]

I understand where you're coming from, Owl. I've heard Tarantino state on several occasions that he wanted Jacob for Pulp Fiction, but she turned it down to work with Kieslowski again. Hell, he thought he was going to lose the Palm d'Or after he saw Three Colors: Red (and he should have .)

Glad you enjoyed it. It's not my favorite Kieslowski, but that doesn't matter much. He crafted his own distinct voice and managed to consistently put out something wonderful (from the mid-80s on, that is; haven't seen his earlier work.) A shame he died so early, but he went out with the best swan song imaginable..

[Abdrewes]

Owl, the way the color was produced in that scene is much different. They used Red overhead lights, the reds in Kiesloski's films are BROUGHT OUT by filters.

See the films of Wong Kar Wai, they definitely look sinilar.

I'm sure Dr. Svet can give us some good 80's, 90's examples of highly saturated cinematography achieved by filters.

[SammyJankis]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I've never seen a Wong Kar Wai film, so it would not have been practical for me to draw a parallel in my review.

And my god, man, fix this!

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by jw007

Oh, you went one step further than me. Gosh, I could never imagine a quadruple feature with 2 feature films. It's just....impossible!

My god, its full of .... Blu-rays.

Come on back Scott, we are done teasing you