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Old 05-17-2004, 11:01 PM   #3 (permalink)
Lex M
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Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Los Angeles
Re: Attack of the NON-auteurs

Quote:
Originally Posted by Marq
...and prior to that did a pointless American remake of BREATHLESS.
Pointless? Maybe, but not entirely without merit, at least in my opinion. From what little I know about McBride, he was something of an experimental/avant garde filmmaker prior to BREATHLESS, which I think does a decent job of presenting its two shallow leads against a backdrop of hazy, vaccuous Los Angeles. Again, it's not entirely successful, but I think he had something in mind beyond a more accessible remake of Godard's classic for dim-witted American audiences. And in his use of American junk-culture signifiers -- Jerry Lee Lewis, Silver Surfer comics, Gere's insane '50s greaser/flash performance -- I think the film DOES in some ways connect to the sexy, rock n roll Americana of GREAT BALLS OF FIRE and even BIG EASY, with which it shares a sexiness and funkiness that suggested McBride might have gone on to be a more interesting feature filmmaker.
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