Reviews

The frights in this film may be contrary to what we are use to today, but I'm sure the audiences back then got a chill with the authentic and Gothic world of Nosferatu. While this film may not be considered very scary for our time, this film does experiment with techniques that would go on to influence the horror genre. Also the uses of black and white as well as lighting added not to just a horror atmosphere but a noir one as well. The use of contrasting black and white palettes and the use of shadows are early signs of the noir genre. Dracula could be seen as the murder in a noir gangster film. He even wears a dark jacket like those in dark gangster or other noir films. I also appreciated the metaphor of Dracula as death, referring to the German people's feeling about World War I. Dracula represents the death to the countries young and innocent. This film also managed to stay entertaining through all ninety four minutes of silent cinema. The dark settings were excellent set pieces for the dark terror. They created this Gothic reality the audience nor the characters could escape. However, the sets also give a certain real feel with the town locations. While many of the performances are whimsical and a little over the top, Max Schreck delivers a chilling and creepy performance as Dracula. Overall I believe this is a well done, entertaining old school silent film. A film that belongs to cinema art for its influences and ideas to horror and noir filmmakers and films alike. The story is faithful to the idea of Dracula, and the acting overall is reasonable for a silent film. The cinematography is this films strong suit, which is where other films have drawn most of their inspirations. A film forever remembered by cinema.

This is definitely not the Nashville I know. This film may have a deep message at the end, but after a hundred and fifty-nine minutes of almost continuous singing, I think I could live without it. I agree this film has some underlying and at times dark messages about government and the straining process of politics. Not exactly my cup of tea, but this film does present a rather interesting political landscape. However, it is hard to see past the music, I almost felt like I should have been singing as well, like a sort of sing along picture. Now, the performances here are all well rounded, and I will give the actors credit for their singing talents. As well some of the actors wrote their own songs, which is also not any less impressive. The ending I suppose was meant to be a take it or leave it, throw it at the audiences face, scenario. I personally am not impressed by this move possibly seen as creativity. I felt no sense of shock or awe from the conclusion. The film does shine in its ability to create an entire other world without filming in odd locations or sets. It creates a politically harsh world full of those corrupting and those being corrupted. The style in which the film was shot was rather unique. The camera angles provided this raw sense of reality once again adding to this surreal vibe. This film definitely suffers from being to long as well in the long run somewhat repetitive in its musical displays and its ever recurring theme. Overall this film is bold in its attempt to create not just a political message but a whole new political world. However it seems to me to drag out this message way too long and use its creativeness against itself.

I really did not know what to expect out of this one. American trailers make it look like some sort of action comedy film full of stylistic editing. Now while the film does boast some relatively familiar stylistic Hong Kong action with a few seconds of slow motion gunplay, this film is no action film. However, in a way I was pleasantly surprised by this. Now I am not necessarily a big lover of the romantic comedy film genre, but this film is something more. It is a sort of romantic comedy but the distance the characters keep among another yet retain a sense of chemistry is a whole other style of romantic comedy. The editing in the film is nicely done with its already mentioned stylistic creative manner. The well done cinematography through the alive downtown city setting also contributes to this well blended editing to film process. The acting here is very well done, once again, the chemistry among the actors is undeniable once their characters accept one another. I also enjoyed the unique idea of showing two narratives happening in the city, you almost get two films set in the same location. Also both stories are contrasted enough for each to add its part to the film yet both keep a sense of familiarity in the values its portraying. Now where this film really thrives beyond its creative relationship scenarios is its ability to deliver light hearted comedy at the right moments. The comic relief in this film is perfectly paced amongst the film's emotions. This is a romantic comedy at heart but is in a league of its own. Overall this film's films better than sub par acting help push its boundaries with its romantic yet surreal style of storytelling. A real unique gem from Hong Kong's Wong Kar-wai.