Kill The Bens (Cont'd)
"I don't know how long the new Ben-and-Ben version of At The Movies will last," eFilmCritic's Eric Childress wrote three days ago. "Maybe it's still a work-in-progress that will get smoother each week, but I highly doubt it. Missing Roger and Gene and even what Roeper and Phillips and guest hosts like A.O. Scott brought to the table is only part of it. A large part, but still only part. Those shows, even up to the very end of their run, provoked discussion, encouraged banter and unforced witticism.
"Are we really going to count on Ben & Ben to introduce us to the next One False Move or Hoop Dreams? Are we ever going to see such passion and excitement again on classics like GoodFellas, Schindler's List and Fargo? How about the serious and challenging disagreements offered on Blue Velvet, Barfly or The Silence of the Lambs? Reevaluations of director's cuts like The Abyss and Blade Runner?
"If Gene Siskel could guarantee he wouldn't see better films than Crumb and Fargo so early in the year, then I feel safe in guaranteeing that not one conversation between the Bens will be as interesting as Siskel & Ebert off camera -- a variation if you will on Gene's 'Is the movie that I am watching as interesting as a documentary of the same actors having lunch together?'"
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on September 22, 2008 at 7:55 AM
comment #1
Mark
says ...
Just wait. This week, Ben Lyons will introduce us to the greatness of this year's Schindler's List, i.e., Miracle at St. Anna. Just kiddin. the prominence of his name in those promos guarantee that i won't see it. i'd rather go to a Larry King recommendation.
btw, why has Barfly not been available through Netflix?
Posted by Mark
at September 22, 2008 8:24 AM
comment #2
Howlingman
says ...
Film criticism on TV is dead anyway.
Posted by Howlingman
at September 22, 2008 8:29 AM
comment #3
btwnproductions
says ...
Agreed with Howlingman. This will dwindle away on its own accord. I'm surprised they thought to keep it going at all.
Posted by btwnproductions
at September 22, 2008 9:38 AM
comment #4
MickTravis
says ...
They fucked with the formula, is the problem.
It used to be a series of conversations. No matter how much I disagreed with Roeper, I always enjoyed catching it as I woke up late on Sunday mornings and at least hearing some wisdom from Michael Phillips.
But the new show now has got kind of a high-tech, rapport-free interactive-y feel to it, which makes it no different from the shit they show on Spike and fX and the TV Guide channel.
Mark, it appears "Barfly" is out of print. Amazon says it's available but not currently in stock, but all the used copies are running for big money. Not sure if Netflix pulls a rental once it goes out of print or if renters swipe them, but that would appear to be the problem. Fortunately for me I picked one up when it was first released for $9.99.
Have I mentioned lately that I'd like to see the Full Sail cowboy kid fall down a long flight of marble stairs?
Posted by MickTravis
at September 22, 2008 10:17 AM
comment #5
NotImpressedYet
says ...
re: out of print DVD's. It sucks how expensive some DVD's get once out of print. I wanted to watch Hitchcock's Rebecca a few weeks back, and discovered Criterion no longer has the rights to it, and sellers on ebay are getting anywhere from $60 to $100 (depending on condition, new/used etc.).
You can find a 4GB torrent of the DVD online for free though :) You might want to do a similar check for Barfly.
Posted by NotImpressedYet
at September 22, 2008 10:25 AM
comment #6
NotImpressedYet
says ...
Oh, and before I forget, fuck the two Bens and their show.
Posted by NotImpressedYet
at September 22, 2008 10:26 AM
comment #7
btwnproductions
says ...
REBECCA is returning, singly or as part of a new HItchcock DVD set, on 10/14.
Posted by btwnproductions
at September 22, 2008 10:34 AM
comment #8
DarthCorleone
says ...
I agree with Howlingman too. I loved watching Siskel and Ebert back in the day. My interest waned for the obvious reasons, but it also had to do with the fact that increasingly over the last ten years my information intake on film comes from the internet.
"Are we really going to count on Ben & Ben to introduce us to the next One False Move or Hoop Dreams?"
Nope. I count on folks like Jeffrey Wells to play this role now.
Posted by DarthCorleone
at September 22, 2008 10:40 AM
comment #9
deadre
says ...
Agree with micktravis. the banter hurts your head if you've tuned in for some interesting opinion and conversation. it just smacks you with the pundits added to the show i vote for 'done'....
Posted by deadre
at September 22, 2008 10:41 AM
comment #10
movieirv
says ...
makes me long for the days of rex reed, bill harris and dixie whatley
Posted by movieirv
at September 22, 2008 2:22 PM
comment #11
affiliatesreview
says ...
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