Dish of the Day
Just some film musings of a more succinct, spontaneous and sometimes seditious nature:
Sunday, June 25, 2023
Recently in our film related chat room (readers are welcome to join here) a member created a post that quoted Oliver Stone, who was reported to have said about the film John Wick: Chapter 4, “I saw John Wick 4 on the plane. Talk about volume. I think the film is disgusting beyond belief. Disgusting .. As a combat veteran, I gotta tell you [that] not one of [the killings] is believable.”
Presuming this to be true, I had a comment of my own:
“Wow. Another filmmaker who's crossed over into film criticisms... (I haven't seen this one having been disappointed in the regurgitation of typical revenge tropes in John Wick 1 & 2 and not remembering if I made it to part 3).”
… to which a member asked:
“Okay, but why should a filmmaker not have opinions on filmmaking? I don't mean everyone needs to agree with that person, but certainly the person could be better versed in that one's own field of labor. Does this make sense to you? I mean, the French New Wave was made up of critics. There is nothing new, here. Guillermo del Toro and Martin Scorsese have lots to say about Hitchcock, as did the French New Wave. Why not Oliver Stone? My own conviction is that he is a competent, intellectual movie director, though we may disagree on some specifics.”
to which I responded:
“I am glad they do. It's just a bit surprising, however, when a filmmaker of his stature becomes so dismissive of another film. He's been around for such a long time, I would have thought we'd have heard from him sooner especially with such a strong view to share. One possible point of contention is in regards to those who feel that filmmakers have a "leg up" when it comes to film criticisms because they make them (films that is). I disagree with that premise. They are two seperate pursuits. To be a capable critic one should watch a great number of films of all kinds, compare qualities and have a vast experience with the medium's past accomplishments, potential and weaknesses and in communicating his/her perspective. Making films is an entirely different endeavour. I am less suspicious of critics who become filmmakers (e.g. the French New Wave group you mentioned, Bogdanovich, Tavernier, Gilliatt, etc) than I am for filmmakers already established who suddenly decide they are qualified critics (Bergman, Tarantino and now Stone) especially when they make such overriding dismissive comments.”
#Edit: I just found the article, which can be read by clicking on the picture below.
All responses are not only welcomed but encouraged in the comments section below.
Hope to see you tomorrow.
A.G.