Sátántangó (Béla Tarr, 1994)

[knives]

One could’ve argued it for his Cassavetes days.

[Red Screamer]

But I don't think realism was ever remotely Tarr's aim.

Right, the shot I mentioned almost seems to say that outright. The combination of artifice like the rain with real locations and amazingly tactile cinematography adds to the dreamy feeling of the film for me. Tarr can emphasize the rain's dampness and weight, like when it's dripping off the villagers' clothes in the back of the truck, or he can turn it into a rhythmic mist, like when Irimiás and Petrina are walking down the road leading to the village. It's both tangibly real in a Bazinian sense and one of the film's abstract audiovisual elements. Now that I think about it, I'm curious about all those flies too...

[Noiretirc]

I watched Part 2 last night.

Fuck, I missed the warnings about the cat scenes. I'm assured that there was some clever fakery going on, but there's no question in my mind that this cat suffers.

There is one long-take that (purposely?) seems to overstay it's welcome: the drunk tango scenes, which we view twice, via different eyes/angles. Perhaps this is the centerpiece of the film. Does Tarr want us to linger with this drunken idiocy well beyond the limits of our patience? (I couldn't help thinking about the character of John Cleese in a particular cheese shop.)

[MichaelB]

Fuck, I missed the warnings about the cat scenes. I'm assured that there was some clever fakery going on, but there's no question in my mind that this cat suffers.

If that had been the case, the BBFC would have been legally obliged to cut the UK releases under the terms of the 1937 Cinematograph Films (Animals) Act. But, to quote them directly:

Sátántangó was only classified uncut after we received detailed assurances from the film-makers regarding how the scenes with the cat were prepared and filmed in such a way as to avoid cruelty to the animal involved. Those assurances were consistent with the onscreen evidence.

Apparently the cat was drugged throughout the whole scene and was pretty much unaware of what was going on - and Tarr later adopted it as a pet (not really relevant, but it's a rather sweet coda).

[denti alligator]

The drunken tango sequence is, for me, the single greatest sequence in the film.

[therewillbeblus]

I might agree, the drunken tango scene is at once hilarious physical comedy and subtly tragic in their collective behavioral blindness that perpetuates the fear-based status of immobility thematically strung through the film

[Noiretirc]

There are moments of film music that stay with me forever. They are imprinted on my brain.

Examples include the sweeping Jarre score for Lawrence Of Arabia, the eerie electronic pulsating music from The Thing, and the classical music used in 2001 A Space Odyssey.

And now this fucking accordion piece from the drunken tango scene. I will never unhear it.

[therewillbeblus]

I adore it, and for some reason I'm triggered to recall the music every time I listen to the raw accordion toned post-chorus riff in Ween's Right to the Ways and the Rules of the World

[Noiretirc]

I should clarify that I adore this film! Some of our favourite films may have parts that are grating and/or hard to watch. I can't wait to dive into Part 3.

[zedz]

There are moments of film music that stay with me forever. They are imprinted on my brain.

Examples include the sweeping Jarre score for Lawrence Of Arabia, the eerie electronic pulsating music from The Thing, and the classical music used in 2001 A Space Odyssey.

And now this fucking accordion piece from the drunken tango scene. I will never unhear it.

I haven’t seen the film since it was first released and can attest that I have never forgotten that tune.

[Thornycroft]

Fuck, I missed the warnings about the cat scenes. I'm assured that there was some clever fakery going on, but there's no question in my mind that this cat suffers.

It's also worth noting (apart from what MichaelB has already mentioned) that the entire soundtrack was created in post-production. It creates an overwhelming impression that the cat in is distress even when the visual image shows something far more ambiguous.

[MichaelB]

Yes, it might be worth watching that footage silent for reassurance.

I can confirm from my own dealings with the BBFC over animal-cruelty issues that they're assiduous about making sure that the actual footage matches the explanation - but if it does, that's usually fine. My most recent instance was over The Stranglers of Bombay, where we furnished them with two pieces of evidence that the mongoose/snake footage had been bought in from elsewhere, and they were satisfied that this was true because in the high-def version the entire quality of the image very obviously changed for just those shots, confirming that it was unlikely to have been shot by Hammer's team on the same set. And it's close to certain that Hammer was taking the 1937 Animals Act into account in the first place - the only mystery is why the BBFC cut it for a video release two or three decades ago, but I suspect the visual differences between the shots were less obvious in standard definition, and the distributor presumably said "oh, all right then" when the request for cuts was made instead of fighting their corner.

[Noiretirc]

Arbelos put together a great release. I appreciated how digressive they left the interview with Mihály Víg, who was thoughtful and fascinating. The real gem of the disc, though, is Kevin B. Lee's video essay. Like David Bordwell, Lee has a knack for concrete formal analysis and can meaningfully tie together form, content, and viewing experience. The essay is truly eye-opening and offers refreshingly unpretentious insights into a film often surrounded by a cloud of hyperbole and generalizations.

Yes, absolutely. Wonderful/insightful extras. Even the Tarr interview is worthwhile, but it seems clear to me that he hates doing such things.

I absolutely love this film, but I can't help wondering if someone out there could make an interesting 90-120min edit. Some of the 150+ takes would have to remain fully intact. But I wonder what a skilled editor could come up with, just for experiment sake.

[Caligula]

I took a deep breath and finally watched it (with my 18-year old son) this weekend. And found that it was a lot easier to watch than I thought it would be (my first and only exposure to Tarr having been Turin Horse, which I watched with the same son - him lamenting the fact that the central characters didn't even have ketchup). He remarked that there were elements in the film that reminded him of the western-genre: the frontier-like setting with harsh environment and weather, the mysterious individuals returning to threaten the status quo.

For myself I hugely enjoyed the film. Found the scene in the bar with the "plodding"-speech hilarious, also the drunken dancing. Beautiful cinematography - the scene where the character stands in the middle of this abandoned house in the doorway with the lantern was something that stood out for me. The video essay was extremely well done (how long did it take him to analyse and put this together?), and enlightening.

A very nice package for a film that I look forward to revisiting.

[Zot!]

I took a deep breath and finally watched it (with my 18-year old son) this weekend. And found that it was a lot easier to watch than I thought it would be

I only saw it once...theatrically, and when people asked aghast how I survived such an ordeal, I remind them that most of us work 8 hour shifts daily. I think this and Turn Horse are probably the best Tarr films, but I don't consider myself a superfan.

[MichaelB]

I bet "people" includes people who'd think nothing about binge-watching a ten-episode TV series in one go.

[FrauBlucher]

So true. It seems daunting but is not really. Especially during Covid time.

[MichaelB]

I read the novel when recovering from Covid in hospital a month ago, and next week there's every possibility that I might finally achieve my ambition of watching it in one go, as my kids will both be back at school/college.

[MichaelB]

Anyone who's in or can get to London on Saturday August 24th may well like to know that the BFI IMAX is hosting a strictly one-off all-night screening, 11pm to 7am (with two twenty-minute breaks).

I've already booked, and can't wait.

[What A Disgrace]

This will apparently be released in a UHD edition as part of a Bela Tarr collection being released by Artificial Eye/Curzon.

[MichaelB]

Given Curzon's spotty UHD track record, and indeed their Blu-ray release of Sátántangó (see posts above) I think I'll wait for authoritative reviews!

[nicolas]

Given Curzon's spotty UHD track record, and indeed their Blu-ray release of Sátántangó (see posts above) I think I'll wait for authoritative reviews!

I’m willing to give them a chance after their last UHD, Memories of Murder and recent BDs like Wim Wenders’ Anselm or their Lars von Trier set turned out well. For Memories of Murder, they switched authoring houses to a much better one and maybe did so after reading the feedback on the forums and social media. I’m more confident than ever that they’ll make this right again.