Category Archives: Odds and ends
Sound & Motion Pictures: great duel scenes
As my first entry of 2016 in my Sound & Motion Pictures series I decided to revisit great combination of music with duel/fighting scenes. Sometimes it is the music itself that make all the difference and changes a rather normal fight in something more, other times it just underline the tension of the images or the combination of the two is so perfect that you cannot really tell what makes the scene special. Here’s my list of favorites, hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
1) Colonel Mortimer vs. Indio – La Resa Dei Conti, Ennio Morricone (1965)
There are many great duels in Sergio Leone’s oeuvre but this is my all time favorite. The chime is so haunting and from a device of hideous sport becomes a means of retribution. Ennio Morricone strikes again!
2) The Bride vs. O-ren Ishii – Please Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood, Santa Esmeralda (1977)
This is Tarantino’s version of a Leone’s duel with oriental flavour, on the notes of a very up-beat cover of Please Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood with a flamenco component… just perfect!
3) Neo vs. Morpheus – Leave You Far Behind, Lunatic Calm (1998)
Techno music as soundtrack for a kung fu showdown (even an amicable one) is a radical choice. The Wachowski siblings have changed the way we view things a lot with The Matrix.
4) Sherlock vs. hulking guy – Rocky Road To Dublin, The Dubliners (2006)
Guy Ritchie comes up with a lot of inspired ideas in his movies and this fight is a great example: slow-motion and regular speed to show a bare-knuckle boxing match with an Irish traditional song to keep the blood pumping!
5) Obi Wan & Qui Gon Ginn vs Darth Maul – Duel of the Fates, John Williams (1999)
Although The Phantom Menace is my least favorite movie of the Star Wars saga, this duel is pretty awesome mostly because of Darth Maul, a pretty cool but very underutilised villain. John Williams’s score is effective and stirring.
Filed under Odds and ends, Sound & Motion Pictures
Blind spot series 2016
As cinematic resolution for this year, I’ve decided to join the Blind Spot Series, a pretty nifty blogathon organised by Ryan@TheMatinee. The rules are quite simple: pick 12 films (one for each month) that you haven’t seen before and post a write-up about them. Easy, right?! Well, choosing the movies from my ever-growing to-watch list has been tough but I managed. So, without further ado, here’s my selection:
January: Network (Sidney Lumet, 1976)
February: Steamboy (Katsuhiro Otomo, 2004)
March: El Secreto de sus Ojos (Juan Jose Campanella, 2009)
April: The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (Tony Richardson, 1962)
May: Bande a Part (Jean-Luc Godard, 1964)
June: Deliverance (John Boorman, 1972)
July: Restrepo (Tim Hetherington, Sebastian Junger, 2010)
August: La Regle du Jeu (Jean Renoir, 1939)
September: Primer (Shane Carruth, 2004)
October: Zabriskie Point (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1970)
November: The Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton, 1955)
December: Los Abrazos Rotos (Pedro Almodovar, 2009)
Filed under Odds and ends, Seen at home
New Year’s resolution
Happy New Year to everyone!
Filed under Favorite quotes of the moment, Odds and ends
Ramblings of a cinephile 