Now this is the kind of thing I was glad to subscribe to The Reveal for!
I’m with you Keith on the whole “feeling like a poseur” thing. I’ve seen six Ozu films (and have the five Criterion blu’s on my shelf) and consider him to be one of the great directors, but then I think about how few I’ve really seen in the grand scheme of things.
Unfortunately can’t really comment on End of Summer, but I don’t think there’s a better director at establishing the homelife and culture of his country for his audiences than Ozu. I always think of An Autumn Afternoon and how it tackles the influence of Western culture on Japan after World War II.
This is the kind of thing that Yukio Mishima obsessed over and eventually killed himself to protest, but Ozu just kind of presents it as a fact of life that and the way that different generations might view this Westernization. It’s like every movie he makes is a gentle, modern version of The Leopard.
Great piece, Keith. It also makes me think of something I've been thinking about... a lot, lately! Which is, how the hell does one decide, in this era of Everything Always, on what to watch at any given moment? I'd be curious to hear other folks' perspectives on how they navigate this dilemma. Every time I log onto the Criterion Channel, I basically have a nervous breakdown contemplating the infinite number of masterpieces (and also interesting minor films) that I have to choose from.
One thing I've been thinking about doing is basically proceeding from the start of Criterion's chronological release history and filling in the gaps that way. I've also used random number generators for certain lists (like TSPDT's, on Letterboxd), and I've proceeded chronologically through directors' ooooooo-voirs. (Ooo-vruhs?) It's hard! The tyranny of choice! Etc!
I've made a conscious effort over the last few years to break my systematic movie brain and try to watch things in a more intuitive manner and not worry about what I'm NOT watching. While I think it does limit what I watch and I get stuck in director/star/genre ruts, I also think it's freed me of a completionist streak that I think was ultimately limiting my appreciation of cinema. I got into "serious" movie watching when I was very young, collecting Criterion DVDs when I was in middle school having a top 1000 list by the time I was a junior in high school. This obnoxious precociousness hasn't really paid off; I watched a lot of films in binges in order to check them off a list. I ultimately kind of burned out by my mid-20s and can barely remember a lot of these great films aside from the fact that I did, in fact, watch them. I found I was able to really reconnect with my love of movies over the last couple years by giving up the expectation that I could ever see everything, or even strive to see everything. Incorporating films around the contours of my actual life greatly increases my ability to process or analyze or be entertained by them.
Yeah I know I still need some kind of systematic approach but I don't feel held at gunpoint to watch exactly in order or to choke down some film that is an absolute bore to me just because it's on an arbitrary list.
But watching the Criterions in order has exposed me to a ton I don't think I would have naturally come across so I do still value this method.
I did something similar to Keith at the beginning of the year. I went through the Sight & Sound list on Letterboxd and added some gaps to a spreadsheet (stuff I've been meaning to see, along with some stuff I've never had a big interest in). Then once a week I used an RNG to pick a row. Sometimes a classic turns out to be a classic. Sometimes I've confirmed why I never had interest in a film. And sometimes I've been pleasantly surprised. If nothing else, it was probably the only way I would have ever convinced myself to watch Satantango (which ended up a pleasant surprise).
I eventually stopped doing it weekly, but it's been a good solution when I sit down to watch something but catch myself in a browsing loop. I also added more mainstream gaps to the list in order to dilute the arthouse concentration.
I know the feeling. I’ve been steadily watching films on TSPDT’s list, as well as the 1001 Films To See Before You Die book. I’ve got so many holes left to fill that starting with these “classics” is how I dip my toes into stuff. Then I just read descriptions of stuff that’s leaving my various streaming services and watch what interests me. Letterboxd has been the best way for me to discover films, and I watch what’s interesting to me.
Great idea, my version of this is to hit random play in my Plex library when I'm not working my way through the Letterboxd Top 250. It's too hard to choose these days.
I went through all the Ozu my library had many years ago (during the Dissolve days, so at least 6 years ago). I have to admit that the similar themes, actors, and characters make them somewhat indistinguishable in my memory (except for Tokyo Story, which was the first one I watched). That isn't to say that each film, while I watched it, didn't emotionally destroy me in a quiet and subtle way. I remember thinking the colour films in particular were so visually masterful in how restrained they used colour in small splashes. Kurosawa went all wild technicolor, whereas Ozu seemed to take a "less is more" approach.
I do this same random selection thing with my Letterboxd watchlist, using their shuffle function. It's a really good way to get to that 3,5 hour epic you otherwise would never have actually sat down for - when fate decides it's time, it's time. And when fate decides you get to watch an 80 minute exploitation movie, it feels like hitting the jackpot. So it's win/win, really.
A slightly less hardcore variation is to do the same shuffle and then take your pick from the top 5/10/etc., allowing for some more consideration of time and mood.
Now this is the kind of thing I was glad to subscribe to The Reveal for!
I’m with you Keith on the whole “feeling like a poseur” thing. I’ve seen six Ozu films (and have the five Criterion blu’s on my shelf) and consider him to be one of the great directors, but then I think about how few I’ve really seen in the grand scheme of things.
Unfortunately can’t really comment on End of Summer, but I don’t think there’s a better director at establishing the homelife and culture of his country for his audiences than Ozu. I always think of An Autumn Afternoon and how it tackles the influence of Western culture on Japan after World War II.
This is the kind of thing that Yukio Mishima obsessed over and eventually killed himself to protest, but Ozu just kind of presents it as a fact of life that and the way that different generations might view this Westernization. It’s like every movie he makes is a gentle, modern version of The Leopard.
Great piece, Keith. It also makes me think of something I've been thinking about... a lot, lately! Which is, how the hell does one decide, in this era of Everything Always, on what to watch at any given moment? I'd be curious to hear other folks' perspectives on how they navigate this dilemma. Every time I log onto the Criterion Channel, I basically have a nervous breakdown contemplating the infinite number of masterpieces (and also interesting minor films) that I have to choose from.
One thing I've been thinking about doing is basically proceeding from the start of Criterion's chronological release history and filling in the gaps that way. I've also used random number generators for certain lists (like TSPDT's, on Letterboxd), and I've proceeded chronologically through directors' ooooooo-voirs. (Ooo-vruhs?) It's hard! The tyranny of choice! Etc!
My decision making is as follows:
1.) if I’m in the mood for anything specific. If not, then:
2.) see what’s leaving Criterion Channel at the end of the month. If nothing jumps out, then:
3.) sort my JustWatch watchlist by random and either do the first movie or scroll until something sounds good
I have three Letterboxd lists to help me narrow it down:
1. All the Criterion releases in order of spine number (Just cracked #100!)
2. One of those Criterion Challenges that you fill in with a big variety of films
3. A third self made list for non-Criterion stuff that is usually bouncing between two directors' work at any one time
I've made a conscious effort over the last few years to break my systematic movie brain and try to watch things in a more intuitive manner and not worry about what I'm NOT watching. While I think it does limit what I watch and I get stuck in director/star/genre ruts, I also think it's freed me of a completionist streak that I think was ultimately limiting my appreciation of cinema. I got into "serious" movie watching when I was very young, collecting Criterion DVDs when I was in middle school having a top 1000 list by the time I was a junior in high school. This obnoxious precociousness hasn't really paid off; I watched a lot of films in binges in order to check them off a list. I ultimately kind of burned out by my mid-20s and can barely remember a lot of these great films aside from the fact that I did, in fact, watch them. I found I was able to really reconnect with my love of movies over the last couple years by giving up the expectation that I could ever see everything, or even strive to see everything. Incorporating films around the contours of my actual life greatly increases my ability to process or analyze or be entertained by them.
couldn't agree more!
Yeah I know I still need some kind of systematic approach but I don't feel held at gunpoint to watch exactly in order or to choke down some film that is an absolute bore to me just because it's on an arbitrary list.
But watching the Criterions in order has exposed me to a ton I don't think I would have naturally come across so I do still value this method.
I did something similar to Keith at the beginning of the year. I went through the Sight & Sound list on Letterboxd and added some gaps to a spreadsheet (stuff I've been meaning to see, along with some stuff I've never had a big interest in). Then once a week I used an RNG to pick a row. Sometimes a classic turns out to be a classic. Sometimes I've confirmed why I never had interest in a film. And sometimes I've been pleasantly surprised. If nothing else, it was probably the only way I would have ever convinced myself to watch Satantango (which ended up a pleasant surprise).
I eventually stopped doing it weekly, but it's been a good solution when I sit down to watch something but catch myself in a browsing loop. I also added more mainstream gaps to the list in order to dilute the arthouse concentration.
I know the feeling. I’ve been steadily watching films on TSPDT’s list, as well as the 1001 Films To See Before You Die book. I’ve got so many holes left to fill that starting with these “classics” is how I dip my toes into stuff. Then I just read descriptions of stuff that’s leaving my various streaming services and watch what interests me. Letterboxd has been the best way for me to discover films, and I watch what’s interesting to me.
What a great idea for a column! Great piece.
(by the way what is the name of that app that you use?)
It's called MyMovies: https://www.mymovies.dk/ It has its quirks, but it's pretty reliable and easy to use.
Great idea, my version of this is to hit random play in my Plex library when I'm not working my way through the Letterboxd Top 250. It's too hard to choose these days.
I went through all the Ozu my library had many years ago (during the Dissolve days, so at least 6 years ago). I have to admit that the similar themes, actors, and characters make them somewhat indistinguishable in my memory (except for Tokyo Story, which was the first one I watched). That isn't to say that each film, while I watched it, didn't emotionally destroy me in a quiet and subtle way. I remember thinking the colour films in particular were so visually masterful in how restrained they used colour in small splashes. Kurosawa went all wild technicolor, whereas Ozu seemed to take a "less is more" approach.
Great article!!
I do this same random selection thing with my Letterboxd watchlist, using their shuffle function. It's a really good way to get to that 3,5 hour epic you otherwise would never have actually sat down for - when fate decides it's time, it's time. And when fate decides you get to watch an 80 minute exploitation movie, it feels like hitting the jackpot. So it's win/win, really.
A slightly less hardcore variation is to do the same shuffle and then take your pick from the top 5/10/etc., allowing for some more consideration of time and mood.