The Syndicate

Our book club thread is going amazingly, so why not start a cinema club too?

Each session, get ahold of the DVD of whichever film has been chosen and watch it at your leisure. Then come back to the thread to weigh in on your opinion, analyze and synthesize the film, answer the discussion questions and talk about the film's significance in the cinematic zeitgeist.

The first selection is the German expressionist film from the 1920s, The Golem (in light of the Sherlock game). You are in for a mad treat. The Golem is available for borrowing from many public libraries. It is available on DVD from Netflix, and you can stream if for free if you are an Amazon Prime member.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0011237/combined

Watch the film and head on back here next weekend so we can discuss this cinematic gem. Happy huntin'!

Edited: To delete an Oxford comma. AP Style ftw.

Mongoose wrote: Edited: To delete an Oxford comma. AP Style ftw.

I am strongly opposed to the Oxford Comma, so well done.

The Oxford comma is important in some contexts...

nutella wrote:The Oxford comma is important in some contexts...

Nope.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_comma there are some great examples on both sides. It reduces ambiguity in some contexts (in some it keeps some ambiguity).

My favorite is "highlights of his global tour include encounters with Nelson Mandela, an 800-year-old demigod and a dildo collector"

Use the serial comma whenever it clarifies your clause.

I have spoken.

Is it supposed to be tinted?

On a scale of 1 to scary how much of a horror film is this?

I love that we are starting with German expressionism, although not sure how much 1920s German I'll understand. Also, a pre-WWII German movie with a Jewish Rabbi saving Jews from persecution? I cannot wait to watch this one.

No need for libraries, yo.

and uhm, scary? 1. It's 1920.

timmer wrote:
and uhm, scary? 1. It's 1920.

I'm a wuss k.

Granted when I laughed through most of King Kong, my mother was not amused. Apparently, it was a scary movie back in the day. However, Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) is still creepy as all get out to me.

Hedgeowl wrote:
I'm a wuss k.

Granted when I laughed through most of King Kong, my mother was not amused. Apparently, it was a scary movie back in the day. However, Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) is still creepy as all get out to me.

It IS creepy! Even though their primary special effects is soap sud bubbles frothing, it's still a disturbing movie!

As for my opinion of The Golem, I'm more of a fan academically than i am on any emotional level. Like, historically speaking, this is Important. It's an early example of what Germany was about to accomplish in silent films, creepy, a bit off-kilter, occasionally unsettling. But, compared to what comes later, it's only "interesting". And Paul Wegener was a competent director but he lacked the ability to make his films transcend the media the way Lang did, or Murnau.

I have a silly problem with it, too. the Golen himself bears an amazing resemblance to Bob from that '70s Show, and once I realized that, it was all over for me, lol.

^

Well I watched it again in a drug-fueled haze so just try that sometime. I once saw Enter the Void while on Nightquil and it was cracktacular.

Also, Timmer, I might hate you a little after that comparison has now been seared into my head forever.

I watched 15 movies this weekend



Edited: I lied, I actually like you a lot and think we have lots of great cinematic-themed convos ahead of us.

I should get back to watching movies again. I think I should buy another monitor so I could watch them while doing computer stuff.

Vompatti wrote:I should get back to watching movies again. I think I should buy another monitor so I could watch them while doing computer stuff.

I think you should too. Last week in the library someone watched Paranormal Activity: Tokyo Nights all the way through.

You are going to watch The Golem right?

Mongoose wrote:

Vompatti wrote:I should get back to watching movies again. I think I should buy another monitor so I could watch them while doing computer stuff.

I think you should too. Last week in the library someone watched Paranormal Activity: Tokyo Nights all the way through.

You are going to watch The Golem right?

I watched about half an hour and quite liked what I saw but then I got distracted so I should watch the end again k

Vompatti wrote:

Mongoose wrote:

Vompatti wrote:I should get back to watching movies again. I think I should buy another monitor so I could watch them while doing computer stuff.

I think you should too. Last week in the library someone watched Paranormal Activity: Tokyo Nights all the way through.

You are going to watch The Golem right?

I watched about half an hour and quite liked what I saw but then I got distracted so I should watch the end again k

I am watching Sergio Leone's entire spaghetti western trilogy today: A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, and the Good the Bad and the Ugly, all on Netflix.It is a great day. You should all join me, especially since Fistful expires tomorrow.

Can we have a poll and votes on movies and stuff? Like a movie a week or month or something? That would be awesome!!

See what I can do!