Between the FYWP/Firefox issue and various political happenings, last weekend’s inaugural Weekend Movie Club kinda got short shrift. Tireless commentors Schroedinger’s Cat and Mnemosyne will be doing a movie review every weekend, posted to SC’s blog and cross-posted here. Here’s your chance to vote for the next review:
… I grew up watching Hindi movies and more importantly listening to Hindi movie numbers. I must have heard and watched many more songs than the movies themselves. Growing up I used to turn up my nose at most of the offerings that came out of the movie industry which is now popularly known as Bollywood. There was a dichotomy between commercial cinema and art cinema and there very few popular Hindi movies that didn’t insult your intelligence or so it seemed to me. For twenty odd years, the new Hindi movies that I must have watched could be counted on the fingers of one hand.
Now that I am at a distance from both my childhood and Bollywood, I think I may have judged those movies harshly. Hollywood can be pretty formulaic too. They have different formulas, that’s all. Since last year I have been rediscovering Indian cinema, particularly Hindi movies, mainly through their music. Through my YouTube meanderings, I have stumbled across many gems. The list of movies that I want to see keeps growing by the day. Either I have become more forgiving or the movies have gotten better. For example, there are many more movies with female protagonists which don’t have a love story as their focus, than the Hindi cinema of yore or even present day Hollywood. Here is a list of three movies with strong female leads…
Clink on the link to watch the trailers and vote for Queen, Neerja, or Jai Gangaajal. (Or, I assume, to suggest other movies for the Two Movie Kittehs to review.)
Trentrunner
I love this. Thanks for bump!
BR
Today’s polls and news have you down? Please sign up to volunteer — takes just 30 seconds to find a local event and sign up.
Mnemosyne
Note that all three movies on the poll are available for streaming through various outlets, including Google Play and iTunes.
I’ve decided on the 3 classic comedies that I’ll propose for my next turn at the wheel, but I’m still open for suggestions on horror movies for Halloween.
debbie
@Mnemosyne:
I suggest the original version of The Haunting. I know it’s not blood and guts and slashing, but forty years later, it still creeps me out.
jl
Queen. I’m in the mood for something light, and am wondering what the Bollywood take is on personal discovery sagas.
Edit: Oh wait, I’m ‘sposed to vote over at the other blog. Sorry, never mind. I’ll go vote over there.
Doug R
About the only Indian movie I’ve seen in its entirety is Chandni Chowk to China. Came out right after Kung Fu Hustle, so I was primed. Trailer here
Cain
As a person who also who grew up watching bollywood movies.. I agree mostly to what you’ve said, but I have found that most of the terrible moves were in the early to late 80s. Just really yucky. There were a few good ones. But really the golden age was in the 70s. I think something happened in the late 70s and a lot of censorship started happening because movies were getting bolder. In the 80s, everything became propaganda films focusing on peace between religions and so forth.
I haven’t watched anything of late, but I think I get the impression that things are much better. My favorite modern movie is Dil Chahta Hai and if I like corny I would like Om Shanti Om which I can probably watch often cuz it is so funny.
Mnemosyne
@debbie:
True story: I knew my then-boyfriend was a keeper because he taped the letterboxed version of “The Haunting” off TCM for me before it was available on DVD (DVD only had the pan & scan at the time). We’ve now been together for 16 years, married for 10 this year.
BruceFromOhio
Hindi cinema with strong female leads is simply too broad of a category for me. I’ll check back for the ‘androids as supporting cast in films over 120 minutes running time with Portuguese subtitles shot in black and white’ film reviews.
eclare
@BR: Replied downthread, signed up to phonebank, but I’m in a safe red state. Want to run up the score, though.
hovercraft
Get on over and vote, ya putzes, when I voted for Queen yesterday there were only 6 votes. Come on it’s practice for 11/08, and you don’t even have to get up.
eclare
@Mnemosyne: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.
schrodinger's cat
@Mnemosyne: Actually only Queen seems to be available for streaming. from multiple outlets including Google Play, iTunes, YouTube. It is also leading the poll right now. Queen was released in 2013. The other 2 were released in 2016. There seems to be a time lag between the release and streaming availability
After Mnem’s classic comedies, I am thinking of doing science fiction movies. Its still early but suggestions are welcome.
Litlebritdifrnt
Don’t Look Now kept me sleeping with my light on for a month.
Corner Stone
Speaking of Queen, HRC speaking to CHCI in an outfit looking like a Queen Bee.
schrodinger's cat
@Cain: Really? That was Amitabh’s Angry Young Man decade. What’s wrong with peace between religions, that’s an eternal theme of Hindi movies right from the pre-independence era.
eclare
@Litlebritdifrnt: Oh, that is a good one, Venice was terrifying.
raven
What about “Fire”.
schrodinger's cat
@raven: That’s a great movie, as anything with Shabana Azmi is. I was going for movies of more recent vintage.
schrodinger's cat
@raven: That’s a great movie, as anything with Shabana Azmi is. I was going for movies of more recent vintage.
raven
@schrodinger’s cat: fair enough
Percysowner
I’m not a big horror fan, but I enjoyed The Legend of Hell House quite a lot. Also, The Night Stalker (original movie with Darren McGavin) was pretty darned good. Of course, the Trilogy of Terror has one boffo scary part and two that are so so scary.
Mnemosyne
@schrodinger’s cat:
It’s low-budget, but I’ve always heard “Primer” was really good. Or maybe “District 9.”
schrodinger's cat
@raven: Shabana Azmi plays Neerja’s mother, she was the best part of the movie say most reviews.
MomSense
@hovercraft:
I voted for Queen, too. Looking forward to seeing what everyone else thinks.
schrodinger's cat
@Mnemosyne: I liked District 9, not seen Primer.
Mnemosyne
@Percysowner:
If I were to go with a trilogy, I’d go with the international cut of Mario Bava’s Black Sabbath, the one that ends with “The Drop of Water.” Good luck sleeping after that!
schrodinger's cat
@Mnemosyne: Exorcist.
raven
@schrodinger’s cat: It’s been a while but I remember having the DVD and they had extras that showed theaters being trashed because of the film.
Jeffro
@BR: I have done three shifts of voter registrations already (since the conventions) and I feel guilty I haven’t done more. This is a bad weekend but by the 19th I am going to try and help out twice a week. If anyone needs any motivation, picture waking up on November 9 with President elect Trump
schrodinger's cat
@raven: Thin skinned Indians are thin skinned. I read about it too.
BR
@Jeffro:
Thank you for volunteering. Yes, I think a good reminder of what we’re talking about with Trump is this tweet and the replies:
Miss Bianca
@Litlebritdifrnt: I suggested “The Wicker Man” yesterday, but “Don’t Look Now” was going to be my second choice.
Mnemosyne
@schrodinger’s cat:
I was a little bored by “The Exorcist” when I finally saw it, but it does have some interesting gender politics.
It didn’t help that I saw the “special edition” that has a VERY misplaced special effects scene of Regan scuttling down the stairs in a physically impossible backbend and hissing at her mother with blood coming out of her mouth. Her mother’s reaction to this behavior is to … take her to the doctor the next day. Uh, lady, I’m thinking this probably merits an emergency room run!
ETA: Updated with clip!
schrodinger's cat
@Mnemosyne: It scared the crap out of me when I was a kidlet, I have never watched all of it.
debbie
@Mnemosyne:
I was totally freaked out until she (or whatever was inhabiting her) hissed, “The sow is mine.” After that, I couldn’t stop laughing.
Mnemosyne
@schrodinger’s cat:
Just the commercials for Night of the Living Dead gave me nightmares for years. In fact, I still have them if I get extremely stressed. I can watch the movie, but those zombies are still lurking in my brain.
I think the original cut of The Exorcist is scarier than the “extended cut.” Friedkin fell in love with his special effects and forgot about what was good for the story.