Roger Ebert's reviews of DKL

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Christian1989
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Roger Ebert's reviews of DKL

Post by Christian1989 »

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Evenreven
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Post by Evenreven »

His review of Blue Velvet is very interesting and he makes some good points. I think he's misguided, but I prefer misguided and interesting to sycophantic. You could easily make the same argument and come to a different conclusion. I think he makes some good points on Wild at Heart too.

The fact that he's turned completely and adores Mulholland dr. and Inland Empire is surprising, but not out of the blue. He seemed like he was really trying to get David Lynch in all his reviews.

I generally like Roger Ebert a lot. I often disagree with his conclusions, but his arguments are interesting.
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Christian1989
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Post by Christian1989 »

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Evenreven
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Post by Evenreven »

Oh, I feel so stupid I didn't notice that. Ebert's name and face are plastered all over the place, so you get the impression that they're all his.
But since he does love Mulholland drive and The Straight Story, I would guess he would like Inland Empire too.

Anyway, the woman-hater tag comes easily with Ebert, even though Blue Velvet is heavily inspired by Hitchcock. If you accuse Blue Velvet of misogyny, then you should take a look at the violence and punishment against women running through as the dominant theme in nearly all of Hitchcock's films. I don't know if he accuses Hitch with the same. The discussion is old, though. Is showing a suffering woman the same as showing empathy or the same as condoning the suffering or punishment? Of course, there is no correct answer. Which is why the question's still valid, and why Ebert in my opinion misses the mark with his Blue Velvet review*.


*I think his point about the dishonesty of having characters speaking in 50s clichés versus the grim reality of other scenes is a much better point than any perceived misogyny.
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Christian1989
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Post by Christian1989 »

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Evenreven
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Post by Evenreven »

I actually watched Beyond the Valley of the Dolls again just two days ago! What a great film. I think Russ Meyer is so far removed from reality that I don't think a label like misogynist even remotely applies. Ebert's actually co-wrote the even more out-there Up and Beneath the Valley of the Ultravixens too, using different pseudonyms.

Hadn't heard of the critique of Lost Highway being used as a selling point. I like that.
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dale
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Woman Hater?

Post by dale »

I wonder if Roger Ebert believes Stephen Speilberg is an anti-semite and a racist because of what happens to Jews and Africans (and African Americans) in Schindler's List, The Color Purple and Amistad?

the Blue Velvet Doc they made pretty much details Rossilini's assertion that a some of the more desperate portrayals of her character were her idea.
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Post by Jerry Horne »

I think Roger got rattled by the movie and overreacted as he does so often. Check out his review of 'Blade Runner' where he likes the special effects and nothing more:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClKc9HNeN1c
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Post by bmiller »

I think Roger got rattled by the movie and overreacted as he does so often. Check out his review of 'Blade Runner' where he likes the special effects and nothing more:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClKc9HNeN1c
Well, you've got to be fair to Ebert on the Blade Runner review. He's reviewing the 1982 Theatrical release which even Ridley Scott would admit was not a great movie primary due to Studio interference and Scott not having "final cut" of the movie. The good news is that Ebert has recanted his previous "heresy" and has now admitted the 2007 Director's Cut of Blade Runner into his canon of Great Movies:

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbc ... 03001/1023

I have a theory of why Ebert disliked Blue Velvet so much. People in this thread have pointed out that he felt the film was misogynistic because Isabella Rossellini's character was brutalized in the film. I think this is exactly right but why did this cause Ebert so much anguish? My theory is that Ebert has always been secretly in love with Ingrid Bergman whom he regards as the greatest actress of all time. I think Blue Velvet really did cause Ebert great emotional pain because he had to witness the filmic degradation of Ingrid Bergman's daughter. This, I believe, is the underlying motivation for Ebert's extremely negative review of Blue Velvet.
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Re: Roger Ebert's reviews of DKL

Post by Hank_Jennings »

I thought Ebert was too over the top in the video review, but I found out that the one I did see was edited, & it made Ebert look even worse. I've seen the full review, & while I do disagree with him, he does make valid points.

His accusation of racism though at the start of Wild At Heart was completely ridiculous. Now, I haven't really read his reviews for either of them, but I have seen all of his video reviews. I love the discussions/arguments he gets with Gene Siskel (my favourite film critic. I really admire him as a critic), so I don't read reviews as much. Ebert has given some good points, but I respect his opinion & disagree. I totally agree with both of them on Lost Highway though, I don't care for that film at all.

I do really wish they saw Fire Walk with Me. I'd definitely would have been interested to hear their reactions (Siskel may have liked it as he did like Blue Velvet & most of Wild At Heart enough to give it a thumbs up), but its unfortunate that they didn't.
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