people in high places are in on the killtaker

this may not seem like a hate post, but it is. i think.

i've been so impressed with t(urner)c(lassic)m(ovies) lately. two weeks ago i came home to the passion of joan of arc. this is, without a doubt, the best movie ever made. don't believe me? i have two suggestions for you: (1) watch it or (2) ask anyone who has seen it and i guarantee they'll sing its praises. if you take the former of my suggestions, be prepared: it's the most intense, gut-wrenching movie you'll ever see. dreyer never even gives you a chance to catch your breath. it's like watching the ending of dancer in the dark for an entire movie. and, despite the fact that it's made in 1928, it's visually stunning. the movie consists of almost all extreme closeups. plus, listen to this story:

in the 40's or 50's, all the known copies of the passion of joan of arc were damaged in a fire. dreyer tried to recreate the film from the damaged reels but couldn't. he died thinking his finest movie (and the finest movie ever made) was lost forever. then, in like 1986, someone found an original cut of the movie in the closet of a dutch mental hospital. i think the joan of arc story--angels appearing to a peasant girl telling her to lead the french army and kick england out of france and then actually succeeding--is probably the most incredible story in human history. but this story about the passion of joan of arc might be more incredible. what this story means? god wants you to see the passion of joan of arc.

i already forgot what this post was supposed to be about. oh yeah, silent movies.

so tcm is the best channel on tv. in the last two weeks, they've not only played the passion of joan of arc, they played casablanca (which isn't that impressive, but it's still a great movie), they had a bergman night were they played seventh seal and wild strawberries back to back, they had another night were they showed rashoman and yojimbo back to back and they also screened blow up, dr socrates and ashes and diamonds.

which leads me to sunday night:

gavin and i flipped over to tcm to see what was on. the graduate. that movie is sweet. since i always remember it being sad, i forget how funny it is. like the part where benjamin kisses mrs. robinson after she takes a drag from her cigarette or how benjamin is always running everywhere and he's a college track star. after that, tcm ran this silent film titled sunrise. this movie was fucking sweet. made in 1927, it was jammed-packed with special effects. there was this awesome ghost-like scene where the guy was thinking about his girlfriend and then she appeared holding him thanks to some kind of double exposure. there was this weird split-screen stuff . . . in 1927. there was this crazy montage where his girlfriend was showing why the city is way cooler than the country. after seeing that, i was ready to kill that guys wife if it meant living in the girlfriend's montage of the city. finally, there was this part with this piglet running around that was the funniest animal part in any movie ever. i know i've said a lot of things were the best or near the best in their respective categories in this post, but i'm not overselling. if anything, i'm underselling these movies.

how this is a hate post? (silent) movies like these make me hate nearly every other movie. with the exception of lars von trier, what filmmakers today have the guts to make movies as insanely beautiful as sunrise? hopefully michel gondry, but i won't know for sure until friday.