The Makioka Sisters (1983) vs. Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962)

[Brotherdeacon]

x1983 Two very good films, both at almost polar opposites of the narrative range of drama. Rod Sterling's screenplay is deservedly the stuff of TV legend, but I think Ichikawa's Sisters was something only a great director could have pulled-off from a 500 plus page novel--certainly one of the greatest novels of Japan's twentieth century--though using a necessarily chopped, clipped and truncated enactment for theatrical release, it still vibrates clearly along delicate notes of cinematic grandeur and truth, tradition and a 1000 year-old epilogue of that tradition.

[Lencho of the Apes]

x1983

I have to go with the Tapioca Sisters for this one, even with the postcard sunsets and the mushy montages. Requiem was one of those self-consciously 'realistic' early 60s joints, like The Pawnbroker or A Hatful Of Rain ('57), that get a little on my nerves for their earnest heavyhandedness.

On the other hand, even with 'realistic' performances,' everything in Makioka had an emblematic significance, relating to the characters' position within the trad. Imperial culture or to how quickly/how thoroughly they would come to adapt to modern postwar conditions; image-clusters relating to expensive kimonos, fetishized Japans landscape iconography, architecture etc... mapped out the contours (and the fixed, unpassable boundaries) of the traditional culture that was fading away and leaving the girls adrift.

[ItsUhhMee]

Requiem was one of those self-consciously 'realistic' early 60s joints, like The Pawnbroker or A Hatful Of Rain ('57), that get a little on my nerves for their earnest heavyhandedness.

I get this feeling you are going to HATE my first choice for 1965. We shall see shortly, I suppose. I guess it's just those types of films that I feel the most gravitated toward.

[Lencho of the Apes]

my first choice for 1965.

Up toward 1965, you start seeing that kind of ""realism" applied to crassly genre-based (and even "exploito") narratives. Those are kinda lovable.

[Curtis, baby]

Voting closed! Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962) wins!

[karl]

Darn, forgot to vote! We were half an hour from the end of Makioka Sisters when the missus just got too sleepy (it's a long movie from a long book), so we put off the end for today, and now vote's over. Anyway it's one of the rare late Ichikawa films I really enjoyed. Took awhile to warm to it, cos like the book it just sorta throws you into the middle of the Makioka world and it takes awhile to figure out who's who, and, as in American films of the same period, the actors aren't really believable as historical figures - something about the look and movements about people raised on television. Would've been a tough call, especially since I'm quite fond of Anthony Quinn and his movie.

[thecinephile]

i sent you the password so i hope you have it now (same as the old password)

Could you also send me the password for the resources folder.

[sally]

should probably post a bit more before requesting things like this?

[thecinephile]

should probably post a bit more before requesting things like this?

Yeah sorry