Welcome to page two of my favourite films! This page will focus on live-action films, whereas the first page focuses on animated films.
I love watching horror movies, so be warned! Some films here will not be appropriate for younger and/or sensitive audiences. Let's start off with a family friendly movie.
TRON (1982)
"Tron" is a 1982 science fiction movie directed and created by Steven Lisberger and Bonnie MacBird, and produced by Disney (and is likely the only Disney movie you'll see me swearing by liking.)
Another film on this list that is key in the development of CGI, Tron combined live action with CGI elements in a visually stunning production.
Tron follows Kevin Flynn: engineer, arcade owner, previous employee of the tech giant Encom, and hacker. In his search for proof that Encom has stolen his own games he's created, he gets transferred into the digital realm of Encom's computer system, controlled by the MCP (Master Control Program). Kevin has to fight his way out of the hostile system by cooperating with its resident Programs- including Tron, a security program, and Ram, an actuary program.
Tron is a movie that I initially had mixed feelings on. I really wanted to like it, but sometimes I can't get past trying to understand how the world-building could possibly connect to real-life computer systems. (This happened when I watched ReBoot too, but that's another thing, hehe.)
Even so, I've seen this movie multiple times, and I ended up liking it and its sequels (especially the show "Tron: Uprising"). It's incredibly stylish in a way that has never really been replicated. The world is so intriguing to me, and I love the characters and their acting. Even if I wish I could understand the mechanics of the world more, the movie itself is very fun and enjoyable. ::-)
Content Warnings
• Flashing imagery throughout
• "Cartoon" violence and death throughout
Links
TETSUO: THE IRON MAN (1989)
"Tetsuo: The Iron Man" (鉄男 "Tetsuo") is an experimental body horror film directed and otherwise created by Shinya Tsukamoto (who also plays in it). At 67 minutes long, this is a surreal black-and-white film with emphasis on gore and erotic imagery, and it has really interesting practical effects (including stop-motion, yay!).
Being surreal and somewhat non-linear, some of the viewing experience comes from picking apart the plot. Tetsuo follows a nameless Salaryman who has been experiencing strange things ever since he and his girlfriend experienced a sort of "incident" together. His life becomes more nightmarish as more of his experiences revolve around metal, and his body slowly turns into scrap.
I think this film has more of a surreal horror angle at first and suddenly gains a tokusatsu vibe towards the end, which is a bit jarring.
I'm not kidding when I say this film is deeply uncomfortable. I didn't even like watching it very much, and I forwarded past some parts- and yet it has really stuck in my mind since then. (I think that lasting impression is also due to the fact that I had been listening to the soundtrack a lot after watching it.) I can really appreciate this film a lot more after reading about it and its creator; it's one of those films that isn't pleasant to watch, but fun to think back on.
Content Warnings
• Graphic gore, (especially in an initial scene, but also throughout), violence, and blood
• Sexual assault (in one scene) & sexual imagery
• Flashing lights
• Body horror
Links
• Wikipedia page
• IMDb page (look how the poster is coloured like the lesbian flag ::-))
• Tetuo soundtrack on YouTube, by Chu Ishikawa and uploaded by Cult Soundtracks (volume warning!!!)
ROPE (1948)
"Rope" is a crime thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and based on the 1929 play "Rope" (a.k.a. "Rope's End") by Patrick Hamilton. It follows two friends, Brandon Shaw and Phillip Morgan, who have just killed a former friend in an effort to commit a perfect untraceable crime as a work of art. They throw a dinner party after the act, as a part of their work, believing they'll never be found out.
Finding out this is based on a play makes a lot of sense after watching the movie: the entire action takes place in one apartment. The cinematography of this movie focuses on fluid camera movements using as few cuts as possible, which is quite a pleasant stylistic choice! Reading behind-the-scenes stories, however, reveals that this was an incredibly arduous feat to pull off.
A main highlight of this movie is the strained relationship of the main characters. I can imagine it going under my radar in my younger days when I wasn't very aware of the LGBT+ community, but there is a lot of gay characteriziation in their relationship. Apparently the characters are explicitly gay in the play, and a few of the cast and crew for this movie were also MLM, including the actors playing the two leads.
Content Warnings
• Scene of strangulation
• Brief gun violence
• Themes of eugenics
Links
• "Rope (film)" on Wikipedia
• Full movie on Archive.org (as I type this, there are actually quite a few uploads on there)
Credits
Background from Texture Station (and modified by me). Navigation bar background from The Treasure Planet. The rest of the graphics come from their respective films.
No copyright infringement intended!