Tuesday, 5 December 2006
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The Mighty Boosh
TV or Religion?
Great Film! Laura's Choice
Go Rodriguez!
This is your leader in her former band
Happy eh? Why am i the only one looking forward?!? If you haven't Guessed, i'm the Girl!!
6 comments:
Labyrinth is a 1986 fantasy film directed by Jim Henson and designed through the art of Brian Froud and Henson, with screenwriting by Henson, children's author Dennis Lee, and Monty Python alum Terry Jones. A novelization was written by A. C. H. Smith. The human leads are David Bowie as Jareth the Goblin King, and a teenage Jennifer Connelly as Sarah. The plot revolves around Sarah's quest in a strange fantasy maze. Most of the other significant roles are played by puppets or by a combination of puppetry and human performance. It was shot on location in New York and at Elstree Studios in the UK.
SYNOPSIS:- Sarah is a dreamer, a young woman obsessed with fantasy and playing dress-up who is stuck babysitting her brother after a fight with her step-mother. Even worse, he has her treasured bear Lancelot. Sarah tries to quiet his screaming by telling him the story from her favorite book (also called Labyrinth), of a young woman granted special powers by the king of the goblins. It tells of how the girl could no longer stand her life and wishes for goblins to take away her screaming baby brother. As she ends the story and turns out the light, she says, "I wish the goblins would come and take you away...right now." Toby's crying suddenly stops. Worried, Sarah enters his room to find he has vanished.
An owl flutters through the opened window and transforms into the goblin king Jareth (David Bowie) and tells her he has taken the baby as a gift to her. Appalled at the realization of what she had done, she begs for the return of her brother. He gives her 13 hours to find Toby before he is turned into a goblin. Now she must find her way to the center of a fantastic labyrinth and bring him back.
It turns out the Labyrinth is not a simple maze as much as its own world, riddled with logic puzzles and tests. She first meets Hoggle, a small dwarf-like man spraying fairies with pesticide outside the entrance. She pays him with jewelery to lead her through the maze. He later turns out to be a half-hearted spy for Jareth, though he eventually sides with Sarah. Her other companions are Sir Didymus (a chivalrous fox who rides a sheepdog called Ambrocious, lives in The Bog of Eternal Stench and guards a bridge to uphold a meaningless sacred oath) and Ludo (a gentle beast she rescues from some of the King's men). After a variety of adventures, including an encounter with detachable-limbed revelers who try to steal Sarah's head, a detour through the Bog of Eternal Stench, a junkyard recreation of her own bedroom (where she realizes that all of her childish toys are "junk"), and a drug-like hallucination engineered by Jareth, Sarah makes her way into the castle at the center of its squalid city.
The film climaxes in Jareth's multi-dimensional M. C. Escher-inspired castle where he tries to confuse and frighten Sarah, making a final appeal for her to abandon her quest and stay with him as his queen. She instead rejects him at the last moment, echoing the very lines she originally couldn't remember when trying to rehearse for the play Labyrinth: "You have no power over me". The room crumbles away and Sarah finds herself in her front hall at home with the clock striking midnight and an owl flying away; presumably Jareth.
In her room, she collects some of her toys, returning to Toby's room to give him back Lancelot. While clearing her dresser off and clearly confused on whether this is the turning point in her life between being a grown-up or remaining a young girl, Hoggle appears along with Ludo and Sir Didymus, as images in the mirror. They seem to be bidding her good-bye as she leaves behind the fantasies of childhood, but remind her that they will still be available "should you need us." Sarah, however, insists that even as she grows up, she will still need them, and the film closes as the Labyrinth creatures celebrate Sarah's refusal to give up her imagination. Outside, the Jareth owl flies away into the night.
INTERPRETATION: - Although primarily seen as a children's film, Labyrinth may also be interpreted as a symbolic tale of a young girl's (non-)acceptance of her maturity and sexuality. Jareth does everything Sarah asks him to do (such as take her brother away) and in that sense his role can be interpreted as a mentor for Sarah to discover herself as a mature, young woman. The ballroom scene is an example of the sexual power Jareth holds over Sarah, and symbolic of the way in which Sarah is confused and reluctant to accept her new role as a young woman vs. an immature girl. Scenes at the beginning and end of the film reveal that most of the characters which Sarah encounters echo toys, posters etc. from her bedroom—e.g. a Hoggle-like wooden bookend, a board game designed as a maze, a musical doll wearing the gown from the ballroom scene. Most significantly, newspaper clippings on Sarah's actress mother show that she has or had a relationship with her stage partner; Bowie's image is used for these photos. This implies the possibility that the world of the labyrinth is forged from Sarah's vivid imagination.
Sarah's prioritizing of possessions over people is a strong undercurrent of the film. The film begins with her costume role playing with only her dog for a friend. She is shown to have a poor relationship with her family. Her room is cluttered with things collected from her childhood. Her initial anger at her baby brother Toby is triggered by finding her teddy bear in Toby's room. The Goblin King's first attempt at dissuading her from rescuing Toby is to offer her a gift, which she refuses. Her relationship with Hoggle pivots on trading trinkets. She gives up her ring to The Hat. After she escapes the ballroom she is almost trapped by the Junk Ladies. She sits in a facsimile of her room as a Junk Lady weaves a spell. The Junk Lady heaps all Sarah's favorite possessions around Sarah, who hugs them tight. Sarah throws off her possessions from her shoulders and back with the declaration "I have to save Toby!" After she returns to her home, she gives her teddy bear from the beginning of the film to Toby permanently. In the last scene of the film she is then seen packing away all her toys and memorabilia. At the end of the film Sarah has learned that people are more important than possessions yet that fantasy and playing is still something she needs.
CREDITS:- Director: Jim Henson
Screenplay: Terry Jones, from a story by Jim Henson and Dennis Lee
Original Music: Trevor Jones
Original Music (songs): David Bowie
Choreography: Cheryl McFadden
CAST:-David Bowie - Jareth, the Goblin king
Jennifer Connelly - Sarah
Toby Froud - Toby
Shelley Thompson - Stepmother
Christopher Malcolm - Father
Brian Henson - Hoggle (voice)
Ron Mueck - Ludo (voice)
David Shaughnessy - Sir Didymus (voice)
Percy Edwards - Ambrosius (voice)
Timothy Bateson - The Worm (voice)
Frank Oz - Wiseman
Dave Goelz - Wiseman's Bird Hat (voice)
Karen Prell - Junk Lady (voice)
Steve Whitmire, Kevin Clash, Anthony Asbury, & Dave Goelz - The Four Guards (voices)
Robert Beatty - Right Door Knocker (voice)
Dave Goelz - Left Door Knocker (voice)
Kevin Clash, Danny John-Jules, Karen Prell, Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire & Anthony Asbury - Fireies (voices)
Michael Moschen - (David Bowie's arms when manipulating crystal balls)
Thats why I like it
thanks for that Mrs Rabbi... not very appreciative of the name, but i like your views :)
seeing as i know you, and i know your wierd sence of humour, i'll let the name go...
cheers, and hope you ,ail back soon x
Kwaidan- Masaki Koboyasha (1965)
hope i don't bore you too much :)
This film is notably a very visual production, as from the opening credits, flowing blacks, reds and blues form indistinct Japanese calligraphy. The backgrounds, having been painted by the director himself, I feel helped to achieve the specific mood required for each story. Also I feel that this aspect of the film is similar to that of animation, as everything that you see is put there manually, so in the outside scenes, there are no accidentals, everything is there for a reason, and so should be seen as such; so appreciated for their importance.
The first Short story is entitled “The Black Hair”. This story is of a husband who cruelly leaves his wife in a life of poverty, to achieve his dreams of fortune and greatness. However, once he has left and is ‘welcomed’ into the home of a spoilt, lazy woman (his new wife), he realises just how badly he has treated his former wife, and returns to her.
The Husband’s white robe against the dingy house creates the juxtaposed effect of dark and light, dirty and clean, good and evil. However, which one is evil is debatable. This is due to his wife aging her husband beyond his years. His face turns ghostly white and her hair is transferred to him for a moment, showing her haunting his mentally and physically.
All in all I feel that this short story is of a bizarre horror style, which is not quite to my liking, I respect the effort that has gone into the cinematography, however, I feel that the build up was too long and drawn out, and I was not as enthralled as this story’s successor.
The second story is entitled “The Snow Woman”, which is my personal favourite, as the narrative is far more absorbing, and has more artistic qualities within the mise en scene.
This story starts with a young boy and his Father in a barn on a particularly cold night. The father exits the barn and sees the “Snow Woman”, and is killed. However, she takes pity on the young boy, as long as he never tells anyone that he saw her.
The boy grew up to marry the ‘perfect’ wife and was very happy for many years. After a while, the people in their village make notes on how she doesn’t appear to age, and not soon after, the husband recognises a glint in his eye resembling that of the “Snow Woman”, in a moment of absent mindedness, he tells her of what happened that night, and she takes on the form of the Snow Woman. She once again leaves him, but makes him promise to look after their children properly.
The bright, unreal colours emphasise her unusualness, and also, blue filters of the lights are used to heighten the sense of coldness around her. Also, she exits the world via an eye which is ever present, so proving her threat to be correct; that she is always watching him with her children. I truly feel that this story was not to scare, but to put across a moral message of caution.
The most trying of the four, in my opinion, is the third, which is also the longest and most complex. “Hoichi, the Earless" begins with an elaborately staged historical tale of the samurai sea conflict between the Heike and Genji clans. Paintings form amazing backgrounds for the battles, performed in stylized manner and highlighted with the suicide act of the Heike, as they fall with dignity into the blood red ocean when all hope is lost, to avoid being ruled by the Genji Clan.
Hoichi (Katsuo Nakamura) is a young blind monk in preparation, who plays the biwa (a four stringed lute) and sings the traditional songs about the epic samurai sea battle better than even his History Tutors. He mysteriously knows the secret and sacred songs associated with the legend, so he becomes a desired channel to the spirit world from the unfulfilled Heike clan. Soon a contest begins between these spirits and Buddhist knowledge, photographed imaginatively with some imaginative camera effects that use layers and transparencies to great effect.
The final story, "In a Cup of Tea," is rather inane compared to the preceding three. A defending samurai sees a former samurai in his cup of tea, having drunk it; he is consequently haunted by the soul. It’s portrayal of spirits driving a protecting samurai to insanity is a light relief from the excess in complexity of the other stories; however, I feel this simplicity derives from the artistic nature of the film as a whole.
Overall, I do not feel like I could watch the entirety of this film again through my own want, but I could certainly watch one story and be quite happy with what I had seen. I respect the artistry involved, and I respect the ambiguity of the atmospheric music. This is an accomplishment for artistic cinema, but I feel that the artistry of the film has overshadowed the more important aspects of the narrative and characters.
Kwaidan- Masaki Koboyasha (1965)
i hope i don't bore you too much
This film is notably a very visual production, as from the opening credits, flowing blacks, reds and blues form indistinct Japanese calligraphy. The backgrounds, having been painted by the director himself, I feel helped to achieve the specific mood required for each story. Also I feel that this aspect of the film is similar to that of animation, as everything that you see is put there manually, so in the outside scenes, there are no accidentals, everything is there for a reason, and so should be seen as such; so appreciated for their importance.
The first Short story is entitled “The Black Hair”. This story is of a husband who cruelly leaves his wife in a life of poverty, to achieve his dreams of fortune and greatness. However, once he has left and is ‘welcomed’ into the home of a spoilt, lazy woman (his new wife), he realises just how badly he has treated his former wife, and returns to her.
The Husband’s white robe against the dingy house creates the juxtaposed effect of dark and light, dirty and clean, good and evil. However, which one is evil is debatable. This is due to his wife aging her husband beyond his years. His face turns ghostly white and her hair is transferred to him for a moment, showing her haunting his mentally and physically.
All in all I feel that this short story is of a bizarre horror style, which is not quite to my liking, I respect the effort that has gone into the cinematography, however, I feel that the build up was too long and drawn out, and I was not as enthralled as this story’s successor.
The second story is entitled “The Snow Woman”, which is my personal favourite, as the narrative is far more absorbing, and has more artistic qualities within the mise en scene.
This story starts with a young boy and his Father in a barn on a particularly cold night. The father exits the barn and sees the “Snow Woman”, and is killed. However, she takes pity on the young boy, as long as he never tells anyone that he saw her.
The boy grew up to marry the ‘perfect’ wife and was very happy for many years. After a while, the people in their village make notes on how she doesn’t appear to age, and not soon after, the husband recognises a glint in his eye resembling that of the “Snow Woman”, in a moment of absent mindedness, he tells her of what happened that night, and she takes on the form of the Snow Woman. She once again leaves him, but makes him promise to look after their children properly.
The bright, unreal colours emphasise her unusualness, and also, blue filters of the lights are used to heighten the sense of coldness around her. Also, she exits the world via an eye which is ever present, so proving her threat to be correct; that she is always watching him with her children. I truly feel that this story was not to scare, but to put across a moral message of caution.
The most trying of the four, in my opinion, is the third, which is also the longest and most complex. “Hoichi, the Earless" begins with an elaborately staged historical tale of the samurai sea conflict between the Heike and Genji clans. Paintings form amazing backgrounds for the battles, performed in stylized manner and highlighted with the suicide act of the Heike, as they fall with dignity into the blood red ocean when all hope is lost, to avoid being ruled by the Genji Clan.
Hoichi (Katsuo Nakamura) is a young blind monk in preparation, who plays the biwa (a four stringed lute) and sings the traditional songs about the epic samurai sea battle better than even his History Tutors. He mysteriously knows the secret and sacred songs associated with the legend, so he becomes a desired channel to the spirit world from the unfulfilled Heike clan. Soon a contest begins between these spirits and Buddhist knowledge, photographed imaginatively with some imaginative camera effects that use layers and transparencies to great effect.
The final story, "In a Cup of Tea," is rather inane compared to the preceding three. A defending samurai sees a former samurai in his cup of tea, having drunk it; he is consequently haunted by the soul. It’s portrayal of spirits driving a protecting samurai to insanity is a light relief from the excess in complexity of the other stories; however, I feel this simplicity derives from the artistic nature of the film as a whole.
Overall, I do not feel like I could watch the entirety of this film again through my own want, but I could certainly watch one story and be quite happy with what I had seen. I respect the artistry involved, and I respect the ambiguity of the atmospheric music. This is an accomplishment for artistic cinema, but I feel that the artistry of the film has overshadowed the more important aspects of the narrative and characters.
sorry for publishing twice. floppy made me lose my bearings lol x
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