Sunday 8 August 2010

(500) Films of Empire - Day 327

398 - Killer of Sheep - 2 stars
With a pseudo-documentary feel, the camera seems to follow the characters rather than driving the action, it paints a portrait of life in a black community in the Southern US.
Whilst it is an interesting slice of life, I struggle to see its merits of a place on the list. The list required people to list their top ten films and I fail to see how this film could have had such an effect on people that it would rank so highly for them. But then what do I know? There are people out there that probably consider Epic Movie to be the greatest film of all time!

300 - Sawdust And Tinsel - 2 stars
Bergman looks at the effects on infidelity and disatisfaction at one's lot in life against the back drop of the circus, and that the smiley facade of a clown can mask a wave of bitterness and resentment.
The acting seemed overly theatrical to me and the characters themselves were unpleasant so I didn't care about their plight. There was also a lack of resolution at the end of the tale.

There is an issue about films set within a circus, because they automatically make me think of two things: Pennywise from Stephen King's IT and Papa Lazarou from League Of Gentlemen.

Pennywise (played with such malice by Tim Curry) is the number one reason why people of my generation are scared of clowns. It was a regular visitor to the late Friday night slot on BBC1 during the early nineties and silly kids like me would stay up late to be terrified that we'd "all float down" with the clown.

Days remaining - 38 Films remaining - 38

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