Most Wanted
Email here for additions & corrections.

Il Grido
(Antonioni, 1957)

The Fortune
(Nichols, 1975)

-30-
(Webb, 1959)

Betrayal
(Jones, 1983)

Play It As It Lays
(Perry, 1972)

The Outfit
(Flynn, 1973)

Alex in Wonderland
(Mazursky, 1969)

The Legend of Lylah Clare
(Aldrich, 1968)

In The Cool of the Day
(Stevens, 1963)

That Cold Day in the Park
(Altman, 1969)

The Fox
(Rydell, 1967)

Thumb Trippin'
(Masters, 1972)

Midas Run
(Kjellin, 1969)

At Long Last Love
(Bogdanovich, 1973)

Brewster McCloud
(Altman, 1972)

Outcast of the Islands
(Reed, 1951)

Mike's Murder
(Bridges, 1984)

Reader Submissions

1930's-1950's
The Moon's Our Home
(Seiter, 1936)
Sh! The Octopus
(McGann, 1937)
The Mating Season
(Leisen, 1951)
Bad for Each Other
(Rapper, 1953)
The Phenix City Story
(Karlson, 1955)
Run of the Arrow
(Fuller, 1956)
House of Secrets
(Green, 1956)
Saint Joan
(Preminger, 1957)
Macabre
(Castle, 1958)
The Fiend Who Walked the West
(G. Douglas, 1958
Five Gates to Hell
(Clavell, 1959)
1960's
Key Witness
(Karlson, 1960)
Summer and Smoke
(Glenville, 1961)
The Chapman Report
(Cukor,1962)
Bachelor Flat
(Tashlin, 1962) [on Hulu]
The L Shaped Room
(Forbes, 1963)
The Chalk Garden
(Neame, 1964)
A Thousand Clowns
(Coe, 1965)
You're a Big Boy Now
(Coppola, 1966)
The Whisperers
(Forbes, 1967)
Dark of the Sun
(Cardiff, 1968)
Skidoo
(Preminger, 1968)
Last Summer
(Perry, 1969)
The Comic
(C. Reiner, 1969)
1970-1974
The Revolutionary
(Williams, 1970)
The Landlord
(Ashby, 1970)
Diary of a Mad Housewife
(Perry, 1970)
Tropic of Cancer
(Strick, 1970)
I Never Sang for My Father
(Cates, 1970)
Sometimes a Great Notion
(Newman, 1971)
Marriage of a Young Stockbroker
(Turman, 1971)
'Doc'
(Perry, 1971)
The Music Lovers
(Russell, 1971)
Drive, He Said
(Nicholson, 1971)
The Steagle
(Sylbert, 1971)
The Last Movie
(Hopper, 1971)
Made For Each Other
(Bean, 1971)
The Day the Clown Cried
(Lewis, 1972)
Hickey & Boggs
(Culp, 1972)
The Carey Treatment
(Edwards, 1972)
Pete 'n' Tillie
(Ritt, 1972)
Slither
(Zieff, 1973)
Love and Pain and the Whole Damn Thing
(Pakula, 1973)
Man on a Swing
(Perry, 1974)
Open Season
(Collinson, 1974)
The Tamarind Seed
(Edwards, 1974)
Law and Disorder
(Passer, 1974)
Homebodies
(Yust, 1974)
Stardust
(Apted, 1974)
Celine and Julie Go Boating
(Rivette, 1974)
1975-1979
Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins
(Richards, 1975
At Long Last Love
(Bogdanovich, 1975)
Hearts of the West
(Zieff, 1975)
Welcome to L.A.
(Rudolph, 1976)
W.C. Fields and Me
(Hiller, 1976)
Citizens Band
(Demme, 1977)
Twilight's Last Gleaming
(Aldrich, 1977)
Looking for Mr. Goodbar
(Brooks, 1977)
Girlfriends
(Weill, 1978)
Movie Movie
(Donen, 1978)
The Medusa Touch
(Gold, 1978)
American Hot Wax
(Mutrux, 1978)
Hot Stuff
(DeLuise, 1979)
Scavenger Hunt
(Schultz , 1979)
Players
(Harvey, 1979)
Rich Kids
(Young, 1979)
Nightwing
(Hiller, 1979)
Screams of a Winter's Night
(Wilson, 1979
When You Comin' Back Red Ryder?
(Katselas, 1979
1980's
Resurrection
(Petrie, 1980)
The Awakening
(Newell, 1980)
Simon
(Brickman, 1980)
God's Angry Man
(Herzog, 1980)
Fast-Walking
(Harris, 1982)
Twice Upon a Time
(Korty & Swenson, 1983)
Trouble in Mind
(Rudolph, 1985)
When the Wind Blows
(Murikami, 1986)
Housekeeping
(Forsyth, 1987)
The Glass Menagerie
(Newman, 1987)
Patty Hearst
(Schrader, 1988)
Running on Empty
(Lumet, 1988)
Drowning by Numbers
(Greenaway, 1988)
Haunted Summer
(Passer, 1988)
The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years
(Spheeris, 1988)
1990's
Men Don't Leave
(Brickman, 1990)
Old Times
(Curtis, 1991)
Prospero's Books
(Greenaway, 1991)
City of Hope
(Sayles, 1991)
The Baby of Macon
(Greenaway, 1993)
King of the Hill
(Soderbergh, 1993)
Dadetown
(Hexter, 1995)
SubUrbia
(Linklater, 1997)

Upcoming

June 11

Tetro

June 12

Call of the Wild 3D

Food, Inc.

Imagine That

Moon

Sex Positive

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3

Youssou N'Dour: I Bring What I Love

June 16

Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg

June 19

$9.99

Dead Snow

The Proposal

Whatever Works

Year One

June 24

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

June 26

Cheri

Fireflies in the Garden

The Hurt Locker

My Sister's Keeper

The Stoning of Soraya M. 

Surveillance 

July 1

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs

Public Enemies

July 3

The Girl from Monaco

I Hate Valentine's Day

July 10

Bruno

I Love You, Beth Cooper

Soul Power

July 15

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

July 17

(500) Days of Summer

All the Boys Love Mandy Lane

July 24

All Good Things

The Answer Man

G-Force

In the Loop

Orphan

The Ugly Truth

July 29

Adam

July 31

The Cove

Funny People

Lorna's Silence

They Came from Upstairs

August 7

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

Julie & Julia

Paper Heart

Shorts

When in Rome

August 14

A Perfect Getaway

Bandslam

District 9

The Goods: The Don Ready Story

I Sell the Dead

Ponyo

Pool Boys

Spread

Taking Woodstock

The Time Traveler's Wife

August 21

Five Minutes of Heaven

Goose on the Loose!

Inglorious Bastards

It Might Get Loud

Post Grad

World's Greatest Dad

August 28

The Boat that Rocked

Final Destination: Death Trip

H2

September 4

All About Steve

Amreeka

Black Dynamite

Carriers

Citizen Game

Extract

Pandorum

Shanghai

September 9

9

September 11

The Red Canvas

Tyler Perrys: I Can Do It All Myself

Whiteout

September 17

The Burning Plain

September 18

Armored

Brand New Day

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Jennifer's Body

Splice

September 25

Fame

The Invention of Lying

Surrogates

October 2

A Serious Man

More Than a Game

Sorority Row

Toy Story/Toy Story 2

Che Is Brilliant

I know I predicted this based on a reading of Peter Buchman's script, but the first half of Steven Soderbergh's 268-minute Che Guevara epic is, for me, incandescent -- a piece of full-on, you-are-there realism about the making of the Cuban revolution that I found utterly believable. Not just "take it to the bank" gripping, but levitational -- for someone like myself it's a kind of perfect dream movie. It's also politically vibrant and searing -- tells the "Che truth," doesn't mince words, doesn't give you any "movie moments" (and God bless it for that).

It's what I'd hoped for all along and more. The tale is the tale, and it's told straight and true. Benicio del Toro's Guevara portrayal is, as expected, a flat-immersion that can't be called a "performance" as much as...I don't know, some kind of knock-down, ass-kick reviving of the dead. Being, not "acting." I loved the lack of sentimentality in this thing, the electric sense that Soderbergh is providing a real semblance of what these two experiences -- the successful Cuban revolution of '57 and '58, and the failed attempt to do the same in Boliva in '67 -- were actually like.

Oh, God...the second half is starting right now. The aspect ratio on the second film is 1.85 to 1, but the first film was in Scope 2.35 to 1.

Che Day<< previous | next >>Guerilla Kills Also

Posted by Jeffrey Wells on May 21, 2008 at 11:46 AM

comment #1

Zimmergirl Author Profile Page says ...

But the question remains, is he better than he was in Things We Lost in the Fire?

Posted by Zimmergirl Author Profile Page at May 21, 2008 12:15 PM

comment #2

JackTorrance Author Profile Page says ...

Just wanted to point out that Che Guevara was a right-wing lunatic masquerading as a leftist hero who murdered and imprisoned countless homosexuals, blacks, liberals, conservatives, artists, and whoever else he deemed unfit to be revolutionary.

Posted by JackTorrance Author Profile Page at May 21, 2008 12:18 PM

comment #3

bdboudreaux Author Profile Page says ...

my big question is how does it look? I'm dying to see what the Red camera looks like when shooting something realistically. In full tech nerediness, that camera is the future.

Posted by bdboudreaux Author Profile Page at May 21, 2008 12:27 PM

comment #4

Santo Author Profile Page says ...

I'm a little confused about the aspect ratio change between the two films. IMDB had them both listed as 2.35. I don't doubt that Soderbergh would change aspect ratios, I'm just curious if it's true or not.

Also, does anyone know if the awards ceremony is being aired in the US? IFC seems to have gone strictly internet this year.

Posted by Santo Author Profile Page at May 21, 2008 12:33 PM

comment #5

Jeffrey Kunze Author Profile Page says ...

Never heard Jeff rave this much about a film in such a short snippet. Wow, must really blow The Good German out of the water.

Posted by Jeffrey Kunze Author Profile Page at May 21, 2008 12:33 PM

comment #6

Geoff Author Profile Page says ...

Wells, be sure to give us something on the Red cam.

What does everyone think of the aspect ratios?

First film, going by Wells' take, is the revolution and pride before the fall. A building up of this powerful man. So scope seems appropriate.

Since the second film is the downfall, and much darker, perhaps a more intimate approach is needed? A grittier, TRAFFIC style thing.

Posted by Geoff Author Profile Page at May 21, 2008 12:36 PM

comment #7

actionman Author Profile Page says ...

Sounds excellent. I am certainly excited to see this but I can't help but be curious about what Malick would have done with this material.

Wells: is there anything Malickian about either of the films? Did any of Malick's work end up in Buchman's final scripts?

Posted by actionman Author Profile Page at May 21, 2008 12:47 PM

comment #8

T. Holly Author Profile Page says ...

Hey, I thought they were making changes back at the post facility last week, how'd they get it there?

Posted by T. Holly Author Profile Page at May 21, 2008 1:02 PM

comment #9

mutinyco Author Profile Page says ...

I would think the look of the RED would be determined by how it's projected -- whether it's 35mm, standard digital 2k, or full 4k...

Posted by mutinyco Author Profile Page at May 21, 2008 1:05 PM

comment #10

T. Holly Author Profile Page says ...

Fortunately, we have some info on that, I'm digging it up.

Posted by T. Holly Author Profile Page at May 21, 2008 1:08 PM

comment #11

T. Holly Author Profile Page says ...

"Both films are being finished at Technicolor," he says. "Tim Stipan of Technicolor Creative Services New York did the DI, and the DCDM for Cannes is being done at Technicolor Creative Services in London. And Technicolor Madrid is doing the filmout and video mastering."

http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/2008/05/correction_on_c.php

Posted by T. Holly Author Profile Page at May 21, 2008 1:15 PM

comment #12

mutinyco Author Profile Page says ...

That's not really an answer with regard to how it's screening at Cannes. DI is color correcting. DCDM is the digital mastering for digital projection. And filmout is transferring the digital image out to film. That piece is just a rundown of all the work being done at Technicolor.

I'll assume Cannes is digital. Hopefully they went a full 4k.

Posted by mutinyco Author Profile Page at May 21, 2008 1:25 PM

comment #13

lazarus Author Profile Page says ...

I can't tell if Jack Torrance's post is a parody of what our resident wingnuts usually write, or if he's just another one of them.

Posted by lazarus Author Profile Page at May 21, 2008 1:27 PM

comment #14

T. Holly Author Profile Page says ...

I'm gonna say they projected prints. Shouldn't you be asking how it was captured, not how it was output?

Posted by T. Holly Author Profile Page at May 21, 2008 1:28 PM

comment #15

Richardson Author Profile Page says ...

"I can't tell if Jack Torrance's post is a parody of what our resident wingnuts usually write, or if he's just another one of them."

if it helps, the typical wingnuts accuse him of all that but say he's left-wing.

Actually, i still can't tell.

Posted by Richardson Author Profile Page at May 21, 2008 1:31 PM

comment #16

mutinyco Author Profile Page says ...

It was captured at 4k on the RED ONE.

If it was projected via 35mm print, then the digital master was output to film.

Posted by mutinyco Author Profile Page at May 21, 2008 1:32 PM

comment #17

T. Holly Author Profile Page says ...

OK, now you're insulting my intelligence. I still think they went print. It's Cannes afterall.

Posted by T. Holly Author Profile Page at May 21, 2008 1:38 PM

comment #18

mutinyco Author Profile Page says ...

Probably. Though from what I've read, 24 City screened digitally. Whatever.

Posted by mutinyco Author Profile Page at May 21, 2008 1:40 PM

comment #19

Mgmax Author Profile Page says ...

Wow, must really blow The Good German out of the water.

God, what didn't?

I think Jack Torrance's post was a parody of the rightwing hatred for Che and the leftwing everything-bad-is-your-side's-fault school of revisionism, at the same time.

Or an unintentional parody of all that...

Posted by Mgmax Author Profile Page at May 21, 2008 1:51 PM

comment #20

T. Holly Author Profile Page says ...

Oh yes, from the Man/A.O. discussion.

Wingnuts, maybe if Che does well, there's a movie in this book that I'd like to see.

http://tiny.cc/7bIZX

Posted by T. Holly Author Profile Page at May 21, 2008 1:53 PM

comment #21

Mgmax Author Profile Page says ...

Actually, what I'd love to see someone make a movie out of is yesterday's New York Times story about the housewife-blogger in New Jersey who's become a leading figure in the Yemeni freedom movement.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/20/world/middleeast/20blogger.html

Posted by Mgmax Author Profile Page at May 21, 2008 2:02 PM

comment #22

corey3rd Author Profile Page says ...

Che wouldn't appreciate you paying $20 to see 2 movies about him with none of the proceeds going to overthrow non-communist countries. Free the cinema!!!

Posted by corey3rd Author Profile Page at May 21, 2008 2:09 PM

comment #23

Wrecktum Author Profile Page says ...

"DI is color correcting"

You are wrong. It's a 35mm negative made from the digital master. I trust nothing you say now.

Posted by Wrecktum Author Profile Page at May 21, 2008 2:21 PM

comment #24

mutinyco Author Profile Page says ...

DI = digital intermediate.

From Wikipedia:

Digital intermediate (often abbreviated as DI) describes the process of digitizing a motion picture and manipulating color and other image characteristics to change the look, and is usually the final creative adjustment to a movie before distribution in theaters.

Posted by mutinyco Author Profile Page at May 21, 2008 2:28 PM

comment #25

George Prager Author Profile Page says ...

But the question remains, is he better than he was in The Fan?

Posted by George Prager Author Profile Page at May 21, 2008 2:29 PM

comment #26

T. Holly Author Profile Page says ...

Wreck, we know what he meant. If it was just making a negative, the DP wouldn't be there, it's the modern equivalent of timing a print. Who loves ya, mutiny?

Mgmax, it's a global planet. She's from New Jersey via Flatbush.

Posted by T. Holly Author Profile Page at May 21, 2008 2:32 PM

comment #27

mutinyco Author Profile Page says ...

Furthermore, DI no longer refers specifically negative film. It's a generic term now for color timing/gradating in a digital space, whether the footage was shot on film or digitally, and whether it's output back to film or digital.

Posted by mutinyco Author Profile Page at May 21, 2008 2:38 PM

comment #28

aussieanywhere Author Profile Page says ...

I was at the screening. Jeff is spot on - the ratios of the two films are different. It also was definitely projected digitally, with no opening or closing credits or even titles.

However i have to say that i don't share Jeff's enthusiasm for the picture. As skilfully crafted at a technical level as it is, the narrative is punishingly uncompromising to the point of boredom. I nodded off several times. And i wasn't the only one.

I would estimate that 20% of the audience didn't return after the intermission - and another 10-20% walked out after the remaining section started.

It will be fascinating to see who takes on the incredible commercial risks of releasing this film.

Posted by aussieanywhere Author Profile Page at May 21, 2008 3:02 PM

comment #29

T. Holly Author Profile Page says ...

Re-cut.

Posted by T. Holly Author Profile Page at May 21, 2008 3:09 PM

comment #30

Josh Massey Author Profile Page says ...

"Or an unintentional parody of all that..."

My vote is for unintentional.

Posted by Josh Massey Author Profile Page at May 21, 2008 3:12 PM

comment #31

BurmaShave Author Profile Page says ...

I can't wait to watch bootlegs of this, communist style. Fuck Che.

Posted by BurmaShave Author Profile Page at May 21, 2008 3:18 PM

comment #32

D.Z. Author Profile Page says ...

Jack: "Just wanted to point out that Che Guevara was a right-wing lunatic masquerading as a leftist hero who murdered and imprisoned countless homosexuals, blacks, liberals, conservatives, artists, and whoever else he deemed unfit to be revolutionary."

And Bush masqueraded as a compassionate conservative while killing one million Iraqis. What's your point?

Posted by D.Z. Author Profile Page at May 21, 2008 3:25 PM

comment #33

MilkMan Author Profile Page says ...

I'd rather see a movie about that lost parrot who gave his home address and directions to a veterinarian.

Posted by MilkMan Author Profile Page at May 21, 2008 4:11 PM

comment #34

Josh Massey Author Profile Page says ...

"And Bush masqueraded as a compassionate conservative while killing one million Iraqis. What's your point?"

And then D.Z. goes and parodies himself! Brilliant!

Posted by Josh Massey Author Profile Page at May 21, 2008 4:21 PM

comment #35

Filipe Author Profile Page says ...

Pretty much every film that got finished at the last minute was shown on digital (Blindness, Two Lovers, 24 City). That said, I have talked to more than one critic that think Cannes has the best digital projection they've seen.

Posted by Filipe Author Profile Page at May 21, 2008 4:24 PM

comment #36

p.Vice Author Profile Page says ...

This snippet from McCarthy's review more or less guarantees another Wells retraction:

Neither half feels remotely like a stand-alone film that would satisfy audiences on its own, while the entirety offers far too many aggravations for the paltry rewards it offers.

Posted by p.Vice Author Profile Page at May 21, 2008 4:43 PM

comment #37

T. Holly Author Profile Page says ...

Like this one better, "far too many aggravations for the paltry rewards it offers. Scattered partisans are likely to step forward, but pic in its current form is a commercial impossibility except on television or DVD."

61 million dollars.

Filipe, thanks, people with odd names come out of nowhere all the time to help me out.

Posted by T. Holly Author Profile Page at May 21, 2008 5:04 PM

comment #38

Walter Sobchak Author Profile Page says ...

Any plans on how the two films will be released, that is, at the same time or spaced apart, a la "Kill Bill"?
(or has this question already been addressed...I'm admittedly a little late to this party)

And dammit, D.Z., for the last time it's been one billion innocent Iraqis killed by BushCo, not a million. That's Billion with a B. And 90 percent of them were babies. Get it right.

Posted by Walter Sobchak Author Profile Page at May 21, 2008 7:16 PM

comment #39

Dave Polands Gut Author Profile Page says ...

Just what the public wants. A 4 hr biopic on a leftist communist. Thank you Hollywood!

Posted by Dave Polands Gut Author Profile Page at May 22, 2008 6:51 AM

comment #40

D.Z. Author Profile Page says ...

"Just what the public wants. A 4 hr biopic on a leftist communist"

You have a point, actually. I wonder if most people who buy the Che merchandise even care about reading about him and/or seeing a movie about him, and don't just do it as a fashion statement.

Posted by D.Z. Author Profile Page at May 22, 2008 9:14 AM

comment #41

siamesecat Author Profile Page says ...

"Just what the public wants. A 4 hr biopic on a leftist communist. Thank you Hollywood!"

As long as it's got Warren Beatty, Diane Keaton, and Gene Hackman in it I'm there!

Posted by siamesecat Author Profile Page at May 22, 2008 1:36 PM

comment #42

Johanna Author Profile Page says ...

Dear Jeffrey:
....and that Che person is so dreamy.....

Posted by Johanna Author Profile Page at August 10, 2008 1:38 PM

comment #43

Johanna Author Profile Page says ...

Dear Jeffrey:
....and that Che person is so dreamy.....

Posted by Johanna Author Profile Page at August 10, 2008 1:39 PM

comment #44

Johanna Author Profile Page says ...

Dear Jeffrey:
....I agree....it's the best movie I've ever seen.

Posted by Johanna Author Profile Page at August 10, 2008 1:40 PM

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