Altered States, Strictly Ballroom, Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (2005)

When I met with Dan a few weeks ago he mentioned that one sequence reminded him of the beginning of Altered States. So I rented it and ended up watching the whole thing. I don't know about Paddy Chayesvsky. He has such a big reputation but I can't say I've really liked anything I've seen by him. Marty may be number one on my list of movies that I hate. I mean really, really hate. I think it's the way the film takes on the plight of the ugly as if it were some kind of cause, like saving the whales. Its message seems to be that ugly people are humans too. Anyway, the premise of Altered States was interesting and it was fun to see the nascent composited images. I found one of the scenes at the end curious. Blair Brown, having just witnessed a huge space-time vortex carries on about how William Hurt's character never really loved her. It's a well-performed, emotional scene. But a scientist sees a vortex and is primarily concerned about what it means for her love life? Leave it to a woman.

I watched Strictly Ballroom because Ben liked the concept of the sexy ugly girl and the plot point where the story turns to the woman's family. I didn't find Tara Morice very sexy. She came across to me as the well-adjusted ugly girl. You know, like Natalie on the Facts of Life was the well-adjusted fat girl. The theatricality of the film was interesting. Also, one really bad camera move where the camera moves from the second floor down to the first floor and then into the room. When the camera moves into the room, it shakes jarringly. But you know, isn't that the message of the film? Spirit and heart are more important than technical perfection. Yes, I'm a jerk. A very Romantic movie.

Of the three stylized b/w films shot on miniDV I saw recently—Able Edwards, Call of Cthulu, and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (2005), I was expecting Caligari to be the worst. Somehow I thought it was going to be present day actors interacting with the original actors sort of like a Roger Rabbit in b/w thing. In fact, the whole project was a remake. The only elements of the original used were the story and the backgrounds. New actors performing with new dialogue were composited into the original restored backgrounds along with some new props and elements. The compositing was really good, especially amazing since they shot miniDV. Caligari was well-written and performed at a heightened theatrical pitch. For me, the film transcended its gimmick and was a worthwhile, if tiring watch. Beautiful dvx100 b/w footage. If I remember correctly, it was shot by one of James Cameron's fx cinematographers. Also, apparently they did a lot of the lighting and shadow effects in post.