SHERDOG MOVIE CLUB: Week 101 Discussion - The Grand Budapest Hotel

[MusterX]

I think in some cases it's more than just "a sense of loss." Not every age is equal. I think that some of our "advancements" have actually served to decrease our quality of life.

For sure. I don't think anyone can argue that the internet, which seemingly has brought the world closer together, is actually in many cases making individuals more secluded.

 

[Guestx]

For sure. I don't think anyone can argue that the internet, which seemingly has brought the world closer together, is actually in many cases making individuals more secluded.

Yes, the Internet, with its ability to provide a kind of social life via forums and the like, really enables people who aren't social butterflies to just stay home and not interact much with people in the physical world. Their social needs are met through their relationships they've developed with people online.

But if that outlet wasn't available, most of those people would no doubt make more of an effort to connect with people in person. Because it's either that or go crazy.

I think the Internet has caused a lot of problems. That's just one of them.

 

[the muntjac]

Mustafa says that all he has to remember Agatha and Gustave by is this old hotel, which causes him great sadness. Maybe Anderson's message is that by immortalizing these events through stories, Mustafa maybe do not have to be alone after all, that the good days live on inside us forever, and so Mustafa's love for Agatha/Gustave lives on... or something

Yes. Now his love story becomes an everlasting story since it was documented and now shared via a book for all of the readers to get swept up in the magic of the story as Mustafa/Zero once was. The Grand Budapest Hotel seems like a celebration for storytelling. Even though some stories might have sad parts and darker moments, if you tell them just right, they can appear still very lovely. Good grief, I sound like a sap.

Goddamn, I love the Naked Gun movies. Truly some of the funniest media ever made.

 

[FyrFytr998]

I liked this film a lot. Getting my oldest to appreciate Wes Anderson now.

 

[minute bull]

 

[TheRuthlessOne]

Thought this was cool
aspect ratio comparison

 

[chickenluver]

Napoleon (1927) is like this Holy Grail of cinema, both in it's legendary status, and it's difficulty in actually acquiring.

 

[Guestx]

Thought this was cool
aspect ratio comparison

Never realized that any film was shot in a 4:1 ratio or that there was even film to do that.

Also didn't realize that JP is only 16:9. That surprises me. I would've thought that Spielberg would've wanted to go with something wider to make it feel more epic in scope.

 

[chickenluver]

Never realized that any film was shot in a 4:1 ratio or that there was even film to do that.

Polyvision is the name that French film critic Émile Vuillermoz gave to a specialised widescreen film format devised exclusively for the filming and projection of Gance's Napoléon.[10] It involves the simultaneous projection of three reels of silent film arrayed in a horizontal row, making for a total aspect ratio of 4.00:1 (3× 1.33:1).[11] Director Abel Gance was worried that the film's finale would not have the proper impact by being confined to a small screen. Gance thought of expanding the frame by using three cameras next to each other. This is probably the most famous of the film's several innovative techniques.[12] Though American filmmakers began experimenting with 70mm widescreen (such as Fox Grandeur) in 1929, widescreen did not take off until CinemaScope was introduced in 1953.

Polyvision was only used for the final reel of Napoleon, to create a climactic finale. Filming the whole story in Polyvision was logistically difficult as Gance wished for a number of innovative shots, each requiring greater flexibility than was allowed by three interlocked cameras. When the film was greatly trimmed by the distributors early on during exhibition, the new version only retained the centre strip to allow projection in standard single-projector cinemas. Gance was unable to eliminate the problem of the two seams dividing the three panels of film as shown on screen, so he avoided the problem by putting three completely different shots together in some of the Polyvision scenes. When Gance viewed Cinerama for the first time in 1955, he noticed that the widescreen image was still not seamless, that the problem was not entirely fixed.[13]

 

[Guestx]

Polyvision is the name that French film critic Émile Vuillermoz gave to a specialised widescreen film format devised exclusively for the filming and projection of Gance's Napoléon.[10] It involves the simultaneous projection of three reels of silent film arrayed in a horizontal row, making for a total aspect ratio of 4.00:1 (3× 1.33:1).[11] Director Abel Gance was worried that the film's finale would not have the proper impact by being confined to a small screen. Gance thought of expanding the frame by using three cameras next to each other. This is probably the most famous of the film's several innovative techniques.[12] Though American filmmakers began experimenting with 70mm widescreen (such as Fox Grandeur) in 1929, widescreen did not take off until CinemaScope was introduced in 1953.

Polyvision was only used for the final reel of Napoleon, to create a climactic finale. Filming the whole story in Polyvision was logistically difficult as Gance wished for a number of innovative shots, each requiring greater flexibility than was allowed by three interlocked cameras. When the film was greatly trimmed by the distributors early on during exhibition, the new version only retained the centre strip to allow projection in standard single-projector cinemas. Gance was unable to eliminate the problem of the two seams dividing the three panels of film as shown on screen, so he avoided the problem by putting three completely different shots together in some of the Polyvision scenes. When Gance viewed Cinerama for the first time in 1955, he noticed that the widescreen image was still not seamless, that the problem was not entirely fixed.[13]

That's pretty interesting.

So it was filmed in 4:1 but then, I presume, projected onto standard 1:33:1 screens? So basically people sat in the theater and watched a film with the worst case of black bars of all time?

 

[chickenluver]

Never realized that any film was shot in a 4:1 ratio or that there was even film to do that.

Just looking at that picture I can't even wrap my head around it.

 

[minute bull]

If you guys are looking for another film -- might I suggest a recently released on blu-ray:

Just looking at that picture I can't even wrap my head around it.

At four times the width, I think it's supposed to wrap around your head not the other way around.