The Cineaste
FYI: What follows is an extract from a piece of writing that was printed in @ 1994; it's still applicable and functional, and introduces to you one of my passions (besides books and writing). In case you're mystified by the cinema names, they're in Vancouver, BC - where I live until I discover where I'm going to settle ....if I do.... You can also read my rantings in the Letterboxing forum....anyway:
Lest you go scurrying for a dictionary, I'll save you the trouble. Cinéaste means Lover Of Film.
By nature, Cinéastes watch a lot of film. They also know the names of the filmmakers, usually attending a favourite's works frequently, and exploring the work of other nations and unknowns.
I attended The Ridge and The Hollywood to find the great and the unusual. The films not on film I'd find on video.
The joy of foreign cinema is access to another culture, to see the world through a different set of eyes. While I'm sad to say that I've not travelled much, I've been around the world on tape. "Salaam Bombay" took me to the poorest streets in India. "The Icicle Thief" took me to Italy and two time periods: the post-war period when there was no work, and modern times.
For a long time I've wondered why Python humour doesn't work in Canada, and why so much of it is lost on the Americans. What I've worked out is that the humour carries an implied understanding of the culture it's making fun of. In Britain and Europe, everything is much more compressed and more entrenched. Here, it's all spread out, people aren't as obligated by culture as they are abroad.
Carried culture is what makes foreign films work so well. The American <The Man With One Red Shoe> isn't funny, while the French <The Tall Blonde Man With One Red Shoe> that it's based on is hysterical. The same holds true for <Three Men And A Cradle>, the original French <Three Men And A Baby>. In this case, the whole point of the story was changed to make the characters likeable for Americans. <Point Of No Return>, the American version of <Le Femme Nikita> is yet another one (I was asked by a chap I used to work with, why wouldn't I see Point when it came out. I said I'd seen Le Femme Nikita, and why should I see a pale imitation when the original was there and so much better?).
The reason, according to the makers of Point is that, like it or not, there are people out there that will not watch subtitled films. Five years ago, I could've seen that. The titles were usually white typing on white backgrounds, impossible to read. Today, they're usually yellow, or in the case of Laserdiscs, the film is letter-boxed and the titles are in the band below the image so both are clearly visible and neither interferes with the other.
Latest Messages
| Messages left for this Researcher | Posted |
|---|---|
| Hi Fruitbat! | Feb 29, 2004 |
| Still about? | Feb 23, 2003 |
| Pale imitations | Jun 12, 2001 |
| Party invitation | May 30, 2001 |
| Hi Eric! | May 18, 2001 |
Conversations
| Conversation Title | Latest Post | Latest Reply |
|---|---|---|
| making money from web-sites | Oct 29, 1999 | Dec 14, 2017 |
| Jesus Christ | Sep 30, 1999 | Nov 22, 2012 |
| Thursday 20 October 2011: Bug Fixing Update: you have your names back. | No Posting | Dec 21, 2011 |
| Announcements | No Posting | Dec 11, 2011 |
| Friday 30 September, 2011: H2G2 Moves to its New Home | No Posting | Oct 21, 2011 |
Fruitbat (Eric the)
Researcher U37208
Entries
Most Recent Edited Entries
Entries
Disclaimer
h2g2 is created by h2g2's users, who are members of the public. The views expressed are theirs and unless specifically stated are not those of Not Panicking Ltd. If you consider any Entry to be in breach of the site's House Rules, please register a complaint. For any other comments, please visit the Feedback page.
Write an Entry
"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a wholly remarkable book. It has been compiled and recompiled many times and under many different editorships. It contains contributions from countless numbers of travellers and researchers."