tryavna wrote: The impression that I get is that the difference in lifestyle boils down to this: the British simply know how to have more fun because they don't take themselves so seriously (like the Head of State taking part in a nonsense song).
Yes, that's definitely the message; to put it bluntly: the British are embracing life and fun, the Germans seriousness and 'death' (and they also want to bring it to the rest of the world).
I also have to rewatch "The Volunteer", but as far as I remember, the humour doesn't come from regional dialects there. I just felt that the more 'comical' parts there were intended to lighten the general serious message, but that they were not as integral to the whole meaning of the film as in, say, "Canterbury Tale".
They never seemed to run this movie on TV in my area back when I was a kid, and they never would now. When it comes to old-school fantasy, it's mostly the Harryhausen flicks that they run over and over.
So this is my first time with this movie.
What a giddy, exuberant and visually jaw-dropping film this is. I think when the sultan got on his toy horse and took it for a ride around the air, I knew that this was going to be one of those films I'd keep watching over and over despite its flaws (much like North by Northwest, my only other "watch it a zillion times" film up to now). I can't speak for any other previous release, but the Criterion version certainly looks super-great to me colour-wise.
What I like most about this film's handling of fantasy is that at the heart of it, it basically says that fantasy is REALLY, REALLY COOL. You really get the feeling that playing with 3 wishes, a flying carpet and a mechanical flying horse are all things that seem REALLY FUN TO DO. You watch any of the abundant fantasy films of today, and you never get the feeling that the characters are really having any fun. In Harry Potter for instance, he has a cloak of invisibility but he never seems to be having any fun with it--he only uses it for "important" purposes. You get the feeling that if Abu had one he would be stealing things left and right, playing pranks on people, etc,.
And what makes Sabu's performance so great is he really sells it to the audience.
Sure, the film is basically just one great set piece after another but that's why the film is never less than engaging even in its "lulls". There's almost always something going on in every frame so that it's hard to really get bored.
As for the commentaries, I have to admit for all the complaining about Coppola, he did make me laugh. Yeah, he drools at the sight of any kind of food and he often makes redundant remarks but there is a sort of entertainment value to listening to him. I think if the track were separated from Scorsese's it would get old fast so it might be a good thing that they lumped them together, if they had to get one from him in it.
Just an off-hand comment: I really wish they'd get Scorsese to do a commentary by himself on a film that's not his own. His P&P knowledge is vast, and the commentary on The Life and Death of Col. Blimp is great, but I'd love to hear his speed-talking uninterrupted (though being interrupted by Michael Powell is certainly not a bad thing!) for the runtime of a film.
TCM ran an HD master of this a few weeks ago with the Criterion and Janus logos. I wonder if it will hit Criterion Blu? I’d love to sell off my UK DVD. Wonder what’s keeping Criterion?
It doesn’t look like a new master, and it’s been on the Criterion Channel and HBO Max for a long while. If we haven’t gotten a Criterion BD by now, there probably won’t be one until there’s a new Red Shoes-style restoration.
