You actually should try and peep this album, almost sounds like a modern spiritual successor to Aquemini at times.

Big Rube was feeling it

@Elric

Can’t lie b, night of the hunter had horrendous storytelling despite the fantastic camera work

Lmao it's doing alot and is alot on first watch i know. It congeals on revisits. Glad you are least enjoyed one aspect.

There’s certainly a lot of ideas the film tackles from societal manipulation via religion and the law and the nature of the world itself but I find the execution to be way too perfect and matter of fact. Like you got the lady saying s*** like “it’s a hard world for little things” or even her last line to really drive the messages into the audience. It’s got a lot on its mind but what angers me about is how matter of fact the writing is. Like it’s so sure of itself

Disagree but I love the raw honesty that only Mr Yeezy can bring to the game

Ironically it was the only film Laughton ever made and he was the opposite of sure of himself lol questioned himself every step of the way. I always found it to be opposite of perfect, trying to do so many things at once but I always love movies that are ambitious enough to stretch themselves across multiple genres and themes like that. Wouldn't be half as fascinating if it stayed in one lane as a borderline horror noir, a childlike fairytale or a scathing rebuke of religious fervor etc.

I don't think your criticism that it's all too black and white makes sense considering the last scene has young John going into defense mode for the preacher at the end when he's getting arrested. Even after all the murder attempts and trauma, the kid still yearns for a father figure. Wouldn't testify against him either. I can understand feeling like it's overracted and jarring in tone (cause it is) but like I said it all feels like it makes sense on revisit. Its like something Lynch would have made if he was around back then, intentional jarring tones to throw you off kilter.

Don't think we had seen many villains with as complex a psychological profile as preacher Harry Powell up to that point, or many after even. Truly diabolical. And Lillian Gish and her proclamations that erk you at the end feel earned to me idk. Old mother Hubbard knows her worth

It seemed very much sure of itself in its answers that it provided though (society is hypocritical in their religious values, men are evil, it’s inherently in our nature to oppress things or others weaker than us, etc) to the point where characters literally state it. And sure there’s “greyness” to the men are evil claim but only because it blames some women for falling for their lies, which if anything even accentuates that claim further.

As for that scene of John going to the preacher at the end, I moreso saw it as a “sins of the father” moment that the sin of hiding money from his father had weighed so hard on him that he wanted to hand it away next to the most sinful person in the movie. Idk if I really got the idea that John even missed his parents tbh or the notion that losing them had any impact on him. To me, I felt it was moreso the fact that having to carry on the legacy of his criminal father was bearing hard on him with needing to hide money and protect Pearl as well from this sin. I felt like him refusing to testify signaled more of the fact that John had finally found a family that allowed him to be a child again and he was tired of having to be a grown up (which I feel is also captured and stated matter of factly by his new mom in the film)

Definite greyness about men being evil considering ol Icey didn't just fall for preachers lies but served the kids up to him without a second thought, gossiped like a henhouse and incited the mob rule at the end. Old Walt spoon (and lesser degree Uncle Bertie) were level headed, trustworthy and appropriately suspicious. Coming for religion in any way in the mid 50s was pretty controversial (and deserved) and indeed it did get banned in places and criticised by the church. John gifting Mrs Cooper an apple at Christmas kinda brought the sins of Adam and Eve talk earlier back around in a way theat feels it wasn't completely anti-religion. Also all the Jesus/Moses parables she tells.

John's arc definitely was the sins of the father thing too, you right. I'm sure he missed his family but the trauma of getting betrayed by his mother and pursued like that had him full in full flight response. more than happy to find another zone where he felt loved. 1.5/5 is crazy lol.

I'm not great at articulating this s*** and would like to hear your take beyond just LOL too @Fella

I wanna finally peep Lone Star, had that joint d/l’ed for what feels like years

Damn can't believe you haven't seen it, definitely some Koalacore. Kris plays one of the baddest bad mons ever depicted lol.

Yeah I mean the old man was suspicious but they never vilify the elderly or the children in these movies when they target men as bad. Even with John and the old man, it’s essentially implied they are good because there’s women around to whip em into shape (also related to when John finally decides to turn in the money only after he finds his all female family). It’s very much an anti man story and any woman that is bad or problematic in the story is because they like men. I see that as a deeply harmful message but I digress.

I think beyond the messages my rating is mostly in the execution. It is just very matter of fact in how it conveys its themes with its constant need to over act to deliver an “answer” to its dilemmas and to resolve every character arc in this perfect way that aligns with its messages. I feel like the Clint Eastwoods, Coens and Lynch’s of the world took a work like this and gave the subtext the proper nuance and maturity it deserved.

not just them

have to rewatch it. been a while

after Furiosa of course

probably my favorite discovery of the year. Not Metal. Just a beautiful Instrumental.

I watched Night of the Hunter during my drunken era and I remember absolutely nothing

I also watched Mirror like 3 times and all I remember is a burning house and the ceiling exploding water all over the main chick

And the sad donkey movie. F*** that s***

We got a bottle of wine to watch our first Fellini back in the day and I've never struggled harder to stay awake for a movie and I still don't really like La Dolce Vita (but love most the rest of Fellini). Booze and artsy films couldn't go together worse imo.

Last movie I would ever recommend even if the donkey didn't get abused and die. Slow French art films something you have to willingly force upon yourself.

raise confirmed that the got a temporary ban on LB

they basically remade it recently and I watched t with my mom she did not enjoy

I was hanging out with donkeys and mules on the western set I just painted mules are f***ing massive