Page 16 • Unpopular opinions on film • Non-Gaming • Film • Eurogamer.net

Deleted user 14 May 2014 17:55:30

bad09 wrote:

kalel wrote:
I think my opinion of The Deer Hunter is probably my most unpopular opinion on film. It has some brilliant performances and some incredibly stunning shots, but otherwise it's an absolute mess of a film, and hideously racist.
I love Deer Hunter but it is a difficult watch that is a bit all over the place.

Racist though? Why?

Because the Vietcong are portrayed appallingly and completely demonised. It's like a propaganda film.

Also I don't mind a film being "difficult" for the right reasons, but this is just badly made.

Deleted user 14 May 2014 18:03:35

Come on, they're portrayed as savages. And not just in the POW bit, but the whole section at the end as well.

It's just a very unbalanced film in that respect - goodies and baddies. Compare with something like Full Metal Jacket which manages to show balance and humanisation, despite also portraying the atrocities.

Fatiguez 14 May 2014 18:29:04 8,930 posts
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Dougs wrote:
Similarly, I've tried to watch The Princess Bride for the first time as an adult, and just can't get into it. I will one day.

Yeah it was so hyped up by the internet-at-large, I just thought it was a bit lame. Doesn't help that I already knew all the 'best' lines (same problem I had when I first watched Airplane, sadly, which is why I prefer Naked Gun).

Just watch Stardust instead it's basically the same film but newer and therefore better. Not even Clare Danes and the wettest leading man in living memory can spoil that film for me.

BreadBinLidHero 14 May 2014 18:31:54 10,804 posts
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Dougs wrote:
Similarly, I've tried to watch The Princess Bride for the first time as an adult, and just can't get into it. I will one day.

I didn't see it for the first time until I was well into my twenties and it's one of my favourite films of all time.

Deleted user 14 May 2014 18:40:15

bad09 wrote:
@kalel

I get you point on Full Metal Jacket, watched that again the other day funnily enough I love that film so much it's just fucking perfect.

I still don't buy racism though, there wasn't a need for any humanisation of the Vietcong as they really play a small part in the film. The ordeal itself isn't much of the film. The end scenes I don't see how it's racist Russian Roulette is a real game that has been played over the decades...Even with Revels

I don't really see why the size of the portrayal is relevant, and besides, considering it's essentially a Vietnam film, I think the portrayal of the Vietcong is significant.

Let's not forget the context here. America invaded Vietnam and fought an incredibly cruel and inhumane campaign there, using chemical warfare and various other now illegal means to kill a much weaker and less sophisticated enemy.

And then just a couple of years later The Deer Hunter is released, portraying them as sadistic, torturous savages, against a bunch of good old American local guys just like you and me. It is again pure propaganda and truly quite an offensive film in this respect.

Deleted user 14 May 2014 19:30:54

I agree thematically that's what the film is about. It doesn't really affect the fact that the portrayal of the Vietcong in the film is pretty offensive.

Mola_Ram 14 May 2014 23:39:21 26,196 posts
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Ed Wood? Batman? A Nightmare Before Christmas? None of those are good?

Edited by Mola_Ram at 23:43:00 14-05-2014

Mola_Ram 14 May 2014 23:43:58 26,196 posts
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jablonski wrote:

Mola_Ram wrote:
Ed Wood? Batman? A Nightmare Before Christmas? No?
(Nightmare before Christmas was Henry Selick)

Ah right. Not sure why I thought it was Burton. But the other two, definitely.

Edited by Mola_Ram at 23:44:51 14-05-2014

Deleted user 14 May 2014 23:44:40

On the subject of directors, I don't rate Joss Whedon. Serenity was alright (didn't care for Firefly itself though), and Cabin In The Woods was quite fun, but I don't think much of anything else he's had a hand in. Avengers was good the first time around as spectacle, but repeated viewings expose all kinds of fallacies and a horribly uneven film--the dialogue, for instance, goes from great to terrible virtually scene-to-scene.

Deleted user 14 May 2014 23:46:34

But I like Tim Burton. Don't think he's done much recently that's that good (seems to have all gone downhill post Mars Attacks), so I'm curious as to how Beetlejuice 2 will turn out (if it's actually happening and not just rumourmill nonsense).

Tom_Servo 14 May 2014 23:48:10 18,079 posts
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Mola_Ram wrote:

jablonski wrote:

Mola_Ram wrote:
Ed Wood? Batman? A Nightmare Before Christmas? No?
(Nightmare before Christmas was Henry Selick)
Ah right. Not sure why I thought it was Burton. But the other two, definitely.

To be fair, he was still fairly heavily involved. He didn't direct it, but it's not entirely inaccurate to discuss it when discussing Burton.

Tom_Servo 14 May 2014 23:48:55 18,079 posts
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Joss Whedon is shite from what I've seen (Cabin aside, and even that was still noticeably flawed). Really don't get the hype.

Deleted user 14 May 2014 23:52:46

The main problem with Tim Burton is that he became a random icon for quasi-geek girls. Jack Skellington's effectively become Hello Kitty for the more gothic crowd.

Doesn't stop Burton's stuff from being good, but depending on your level of hipster it could put you right off.

Unpopular opinions on film • Page 16