I've got that Billy Idol song stuck in my head and it's because I saw the classic french horror film by the same title last night at the Castro. Made in the late 50's, it's considered an "elegant" horror hilm. It's pretty gross in some ways, and in others boring. The final scene where the waif mask walks off into the dark forest surrounded by fluttering doves is quite strange. What was the director trying to say with this scene? Tying up loose ends?
What I noticed by far is that movies from earlier times have a lot more silence in them. I like that. Current movies (like 50 first dates, which I saw Sunday) have nonstop action, music, panorama, sex scenes, jokes, suspense, suspense music etc. etc. Rarely is there silence in the movies. That reflects the lack of silence we have in our culture. Traffic, television, the coffee maker, the gentle hum of the sharper image ionic breeze, my laptop, cell phones ringing, noisy etc.
That's why I like to get out into the desert. It's quiet there. A different kind of quiet.
Heather, I'm just catching up with your blog.
I like your comments about the silences in "Eyes Without A Face". It's definitely noticible compared to movies made in Hollywood.
You know, sometimes when people come to visit us we notice they leave the TV on a lot. It makes me and Lorraine jittery. We're not used to it, but for a lot of people it's just one of the noises of the day. They're able to block it out.
BTW, I wrote some thoughts about "Eyes Without A Face" on my website. Pretty bizarre movie. I think with the end Franju was reaching for a kind of fairy tale retribution. The doctor's prisoners are set free, his face is mauled, etc.
Posted by: davis | March 17, 2004 at 12:27 PM