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[AlDim]

Ми за да завърша университета ми трябваше ми някой-друг летен курс за пълнеж, та за разнообразие се записах на World Cinema. Първата му половина беше за 3rd Cinema (т.е. Африканско, Южноамериканско и т.н. кино), а втората беше за дървената философия на някакъв философ-киноман (Gilles Deleuze).
Филмът с Джон Уейн беше The Searchers и не мисля че се връзваше много с идеята на курса, но го гледахме защото Deleuze беше дрънкал много за творенията на Форд в разсъжденията си за "the action-image". Доста ми хареса всъщност, но 6-страничния анализ на реализма на "milieu"-то му ми дойде в повече.

[Amos Trask]

Ясно. Тоя филм е много любим на всякакви кинокритици и киносноби. Не ми е съвсем ясно защо, ама щом ги влече...

[AlDim]

Всъщност точно това беше темата на есето - защо киноснобите са прави, а останалите не осъзнават разтърсващото му величие. (макар че много повече щеше да ме зарадва тема "защо киноснобите (и литераторите) са задръстени педерасти, които само се чудят с какво да си чешат езиците").
Btw ако искаш да разбереш защо се прехласват мога да постна есето.

[Amos Trask]

Ще се радвам да му хвърля едно око.

[AlDim]

What did Gilles Deleuze See in The Searchers that Stephen Metcalf did not?

By Alexander Dimitrov

The Searchers is a film, which has been regarded by many as an important landmark in the history of cinema. However, a recent article by Slate magazine's Stephen Metcalf attempted to debunk its status as a classic by arguing that it is “The Worst Best Movie”. He believes that The Searchers is enjoyable solely to a limited group of film student "nerds" who have been taught to think of it a masterpiece for reasons which he cannot comprehend. He is baffled by the fact that very influential film-makers like Godard, Scorsese or Schrader appreciate this seemingly simple, unrefined, and "boring" movie about cowboys and Indians.

While I agree with Metcalf that The Searchers has many faults in its pacing, storytelling, and acting, the film is not considered an important part of film canon by accident. It may be a rough gem, but the portrayal of the all-encompassing setting of Monument Valley (which fascinated John Ford and was used by him in many of his other movies such as Stagecoach, My Darling Clementine, Fort Apache, and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon) and the role of the characters in it give the film a value beyond the immediately apparent and make it an exceptional example of Deleuze's thoughts on the action-image.

As critical as he is, even Metcalf cannot deny the beauty of the Ford’s “signature backdrop”. However, he does not understand its connection to the characters and that the most important aspect of Westerns is what Deleuze calls "the milieu" (145). These are films which depend entirely on the premise of their space-time - the constant struggle with the environment (the "encompasser") and its inhabitants that the white men settled in it have had to endure. In the case of The Searchers, the encompasser is the harsh desert which determines the lives of the characters and gives credibility to the story and, in its turn, is encompassed by the vast sky. It is this setting and its influence on his community that gives Ethan Edwards the power to perform rise up to the milieu's challenges and perform heroic deeds (146).

Deleuze states that the main original characteristic of Ford's films is that the milieu becomes "the melting pot of minorities... what brings them together, what reveals their correspondences even when they appear to be opposed, what already shows the fusion between them necessary for the birth of the nation" (146). These qualities are all present in The Searchers. The desert is home to both the white settlers and Indian tribes. While the Comanche are direct adversaries of the hero, we gradually find that he has more similarities with their leader than he has differences. Both of them seek murderous revenge for the destruction of their loved ones. Scar has had "two sons killed by white men", while Ethan has had his wife (when Debbie runs to the gravestones, the inscription she hides under reads: "Here lies Mary Jane Edwards; Killed by comanches; May 12, 1852") and his only relatives killed by Indians. Moreover, in his journeys Ethan has also become a part of the desert. He knows better than anybody how to survive in it and is familiar with both Indian language and customs. We see him shoot a dead Comanche in the eyes so he cannot enter the Spirit Land and then do the same to Scar. In the end he feels he is a stranger to the world of his people. While his fight has helped in the building of the country, only the next generation is ready for the future. That is exemplified by the character of Marty and his relationship with Laurie. He is of mixed heritage (eighth Cherokee) and, while he also fights for his people, he is more tender-hearted than Ethan and is ready to become a link to the birth of the nation together with Laurie. That is why Ethan can do nothing but look at them, as if separated by a great distance, and then turn back and walk away back into the desert where "his peace of mind he knows he'll find".

Deleuze's analysis shows a particular fascination with the way in which Ford's milieu organizes the effect of the forces within it and incurves itself around them. The best example of this is the appearance of the Indians. Most of the time they have an invisible presence, blending in with the desert when they wish to. There are many examples of this. For instance, their attack on the Edwards' ranch is only signified by a short flash in the distance. Later in the film, while Ethan's company is making its way through a swamp at night, he remarks that "Sure, they was here. And now they're out there, waiting to jump us." Shortly after that, the men hear the sounds of a "bird", which immediately make the invisible presence of the Indians apparent. The next day the Indians finally show themselves and become menacing silhouettes, which, as described by Deleuze (151), move at the horizon, where the sky and the desert meet and slowly approach the rangers who ride in the valley. Situational changes are also accompanied by visually beautiful transformations of the sky. As the Comanche are about to attack the ranch, its red color creates an uncomfortable feeling of an approaching disaster. Then darkness comes and as Scar finally appears, blowing his horn, we realize that all is lost.

Another vital aspect of the film as a part of the action-image is that the script is always eager to inform the audience about any changes in the time when events take place. The very first frame of the film carries the message "Texas 1868". This immediately determines a realistic historical setting in which the action is about to take place and brings any associations related to it to the forefront - namely the harshness of the environment and the settlers' struggle to overcome its brutal challenges. Throughout the film, the dialogue of the characters is consistently used as a device to keep track of individual events in Ethan and Marty's journey through the desert. A good example of this is their stay at the Jorgensen ranch. Upon meeting with Ethan, Lars Jorgensen establishes the relative time that has passed since the previous sequence of events by clarifying when he has received a letter about the demise of his son, Brad: "Just about this time a year ago." Then, when he remembers about an important clue in the search for Debbie, he says that "the letter... came for you last winter." Finally, Laurie reveals Ethan's sudden departure to Marty with the words "Ethan rode on an hour ago", again following the same basic framework.

While The Searchers' pacing and storytelling are often clumsy, the film is a classic example of Deleuze's Situation-Action-Situation formula. Scar's Comanches, who are an epitome of the harsh nature of the desert and its threat to the white people who dare to settle in it, create the initial situation by killing Ethan's and Marty's closest relatives. The heroes respond to this by engaging in a long hunt for the last survivor captured by the Indians, Debbie. With this action they try to modify the unfavorable situation and restore normality. In the end Debbie is rescued from the Comanches and returned to the settlers. However, while she has come back to her origins, she has been irreversibly changed by her stay with her captors and normality cannot be the same as before. Instead there is a new situation, which is directly linked to the initial one, but is not a copy of it. Ethan's development follows the same pattern. His silent arrival at the Jorgensens' ranch repeats that from the first scene of the film, but it is modified by his decision to walk away. This happens because "in Ford, the hero is not content to re-establish the episodically threatened order. The organization of the film... is a spiral where the situation of arrival differs from the situation of departure" (147).

One of the main problems that Metcalf has with the film is that it reflects Ford's and Wayne's own misguided racism and machismo, citing their active support for the war in Vietnam. He finds the idea about a time "when men were men, and women were hysterics" to be an unwanted anachronism, which is wrong simply because it does not conform to "contemporary sensibility". However, while the action image is about Realism, it does not necessarily have to be real and there can easily be notions of heroism and melodrama as long as they belong to the milieu of the film (141). Most of the characters in The Searchers are stereotypical (for example the village idiot, the reverend, the Mexicans etc.), emotions are often exaggerated (for example Mrs. Jorgensen's reactions to such events as her daughter's wedding and Debbie's return or the extreme madness of the white women captured by Indians), and there is a typical interpersonal conflict between Ethan and Scar. While these characteristics are disappointing to Metcalf, they do not compromise the film's own reality and thus do not hurt its impact. The racist bipolar politics of The Searchers can be defended in the same way - they do not have to be moderate because they identify with the intolerant ideals of the historical era in which the action takes place. Moreover, as Deleuze argues, such self-imposed illusions are necessary for the existence of a healthy community. Even if their values and sense of justice are questionable, a consensus has to be reached in order to facilitate the birth of the American nation. Of course Metcalf is right that these illusions are an anachronism, but their use was actually an inherent characteristic of the period immediately following World War II, when the American Dream was about to collapse and films like Ford's desperately attempted to shelter it, thus bringing it to its most fertile form (158). "One cannot criticize the American dream for being only a dream: this is what it wants to be, drawing all its power from the fact that it is a dream" (148).

Another important element in The Searchers is that of the duel. The transition from situation to action and then to another situation is accomplished through a series of duels, some of which are external and some - internal (142). Ethan and his companions face the Comanche several times throughout the film, but at the same time he seems to be in a struggle with himself regarding Debbie's fate. Metcalf sees a particular problem in the latter. He does not believe that there is a good reason why Ethan would want to kill her and scorns the "interpretation factory" which has continuously pondered about the meaning of his actions. While there are no clear answers regarding this issue, Ethan's inner fight is foreshadowed many times throughout the film. Even relatively early on, Marty anticipates that something wrong could happen: "That's what I am afraid of, Laurie. Him finding her." That feeling of danger is only heightened when Ethan sees the pitiful women captured by the Comanches. We come to understand why, if the same happened to his niece, he would go as far as kill her - that would be his only way to save her from being an abomination in his eyes. However, when the time comes, he finds himself doing the exact opposite of his initial intention. In a powerful moment he lifts Debbie high and then embraces her and brings her home, finally having come to terms with himself. In fact one may wonder whether the real fight which leads to the final situation is that against Scar, or if it is Ethan's ultimate decision not to kill Debbie. As Deleuze's writes: "it is difficult to mark out [the duel's] boundaries in the final instance" (153).

The Searchers can be an easy prey for critics like Stephen Metcalf who cannot understand its driving concepts, but a deeper analysis reveals that there is much hidden beneath the surface. Deleuze shows that a film of this kind does not have to be ashamed of its lack of political moderation. Instead it should rejoice in the realistic milieu its characters inhabit in and the illusions which drive their actions.

Works Cited:

Deleuze, Gilles. Cinema 1: The Movement-Image. Trans. High Tomlison and Barbara Habberjam. Minneapolis : University of Minnesota Press, 1986.

Metcalf, Stephen. “The Worst Best Movie: Why on Earth did The Searchers get Canonized?” Slate. 6 July 2006.
<http://www.slate.com/id/2145142>

The Searchers. Dir. John Ford. Perf. Perf. John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter, Vera Miles, Ward Bond, and Natalie Wood. Warner Bros., 1956.

Туй писано в една тежка влажна 30-градусова канадска нощ.

[Amos Trask]

Добре си го написал - вероятно преподавателя ще е доволен. Колкото до самия Джон Форд (според това, което съм чувал за него) - той би напсувал Меткалф и би се присмял на Делюз.

"It's no use talking to me about art, I make pictures to pay the rent"
- John Ford

[Xellos]

Хех аз най-сетне си доизточих и окомплектовах Soul Music пратческия филм с прилично качество. Просто гаврите с парчетата рулллллз. А тва на арфата "Шоно Бод Да" просто е едно от най красивите неща дет съм чувал за тоя инструмен.

[herairness]

а?филми по пратчет??искаааааааааааааааам:)дай линк преди да съм се олигавила съвсем:П

[Xellos]

Wyrd Sisters
Soul music

Еми те са двата всъщност, но тия на линкоса са с мизерно качество. То и без тва анимацията е малко crappy, но гласовете са ок. Особено тия на Смърт и Мрачният Пискун.



Иначе в емулето ги има от там ги свалих, ма няма де да ги кача. А и издирвам по-читава версия на "музиката" че тая мноо кофти звук.

малко кепчъри
http://store3.data.bg/xellos/soul_music/

[zhivik]

Случайно попаднах този уикенд на нещо, което ми привлече интереса, въпреки че на практика е телевизионна продукция със сравнително нисък бюджет. През цялото време ми приличаше на адаптация на научнофантастичен разказ или роман, и след като проверих се оказа не друго, ами "The Lathe of Heaven" ("Грънчарското колело на рая") по Урсула Ле Гуин. Не съм чел книгата (но си изтеглих оригинала и ще поправя скоро този пропуск), така че трудно мога да преценя дали адаптацията е добра, но не изглеждаше съвсем зле. Все пак, тъй като се оказва, че това е втората адаптация, май първата е била по-добре. още повече че Урсула Ле Гуин е учавствала в изработването на сценария.

Както и да е, интересно ми е дали някой друг е гледал втората адаптация, тези дни я излъчват по АXN, с участието на Джеймс Каан, Лукас Хаас и Лиза Боне.

Spoiler: show

Доколкото схванах, една цяла сюжетна линия е отрязана, по-точно тази с извънземните. Ще мога да кажа повече, когато прочета книгата. В тази връзка, подозирам че извънземният ще се окаже Мани, партньорът по шах на главния герой, но предпочитам да не ми се казва.

[Demandred]

Не съм гледал по-новата адаптация, защото според повечето мнения е голяма боза, силно и ненужно отклоняваща се от литературния първоизточник, а обичам твърде много книгата "The Lathe of Heaven". Но съм гледал първата адаптация, даже и тема бях пуснал за нея тук.
viewtopic.php?t=1269

В старата ми тема има и линк към фима в бг пиъринга.

[herairness]

добрия стар емюл;)бтв в исохънта има двд рип на wyrd sisters,moje da e po chitav ot tvoq;)

[Xellos]

къф е линка на тва изохънт. Уф най добре двд-тата акоги добараме. А едно време държах вещиците в ръчички диска. Как не си го отмъкнах едно време от проксима .


Точим са ей тва да го видя.
Мъртва Зона
http://imdb.com/title/tt0281432/

[herairness]

http://isohunt.com/torrents.php?ihq=wyrd+sisters

първото дето е 4.36 гб,а за музиката нз отде другаде би могло да има двд рип:(((

[Yan]

Siworae a.k.a Il Mare
Разкошен филм.