Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Dialogue Can Be Overrated


Werner Herzog's got a new film coming (hopefully) in 2007, called Rescue Dawn, starring Christian Bale & Steve Zahn, about downed pilots (I believe they're in Vietnam). Looks good, I'm just glad to see more of Herzog's work.

One of the coolest, creepiest, screwiest films I've seen is "Aguirre, The Wrath Of God," starring his favorite whipping boy, Klaus Kinski. Simply mesmerizing. A stunner. Some if its pacing is like watching a snail race, but the end result will stay with you. Same goes for his fucked-up (that's a compliment) version of Nosferatu from the 70s. Great stuff.

He certainly doesn't rely much on dialogue, but more on the image. It got me thinking about how certain scenes can really blow the viewer away with little or no dialogue. I always fall back on the amazing Apocalypse Now. One of my favorite scenes of all time is when Robert Duvall is talking to Martin Sheen on the beach. It's not when he gives his classic "I love the smell...." line, but what comes after. He says, "You know, some day this war's gonna end......" and that's it. He has no words. He can't even think about that day. Good stuff.

They don't make 'em like they used to!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

The first time I saw the film it was being projected and I felt like I’d just spent two years in the jungle and needed a shower to get the filth off.

The sheer beauty at the beginning of the men dragging their supplies up the mountains and the last scene where he talks to a monkey (which I believe was improvised on the spot) is a near perfect way to start and end a portrait of a man’s journey into hell.

Enzio Pesta said...

I've been on haitus. Ok, so it was more like an extended stay at the sanitorium. If you got a sec, come by for a visit.