Filmbrain's Screen Capture Quiz: Round 16, Week 16

Had I used a shot of Jef Costello in his signature fedora, there would have no doubt been hundreds of correct responses. Yet a scene of Alain's wife Nathalie Delon (along with the profile of François Périer) from Melville's sublime Le Samourai apparently didn't ring a bell for many of you.

With borrowed elements from the classic American gangster film synthesized into a work that manages to be something entirely new while remaining reverent to the genre, Melville's film is a postmodern thriller extraordinaire, and one in which not a whole heck of a lot happens. Congratulations to those that got it.

I've not yet seen The Dark Knight (am I the last in America?) but will do so later tonight in all its IMAX glory. I'm honestly a bit freaked out that it is already the #1 movie on the IMDB top 250. Top that off with the profanity-ridden insanity that ensues when anybody dares to speak a bad word about the film, and I begin to wonder if there isn't something sinister going on once the lights go down. Subliminal messages and/or mass hypnosis perhaps? I cannot recall a level of vitriol that even comes close to what is being ejaculated on blogs all over the net. Do people truly love it that much, or is just the result of an incredibly effective (and particularly viral) marketing campaign? Can the opinion of another truly result in that much unrest? Crikey!

This week: Ok...this is a difficult one as it's not a particularly good film (though I'm admittedly quite fond of it) nor is it one that is terribly well known, yet it is more relevant today than ever. I will say that it's not Jean Luc-Godard's Numéro deux, which I admit this screen shot resembles. Part of the film's title is in the image, if that helps. Name the film. Submit your answers to this address. Good luck!

Comments

[General Urko]

You're not the last to see Dark Knight, because I haven't seen it yet either. And like you, I'm a little unsettled and skeptical about the unanimous praise that's been lavished on it so far. It reminds me of something a coworker told me after he saw There Will Be Blood. He said that it's obviously a great movie but that he didn't like it that much. When I asked him why then he would consider it great if he didn't enjoy it he said simply, "Because all the reviews say it's great."

[Campaspe]

I haven't seen The Dark Knight either, and can up your anxiety by noting that certain right-wing film sites are ardently claiming Batman as a pro-Bush allegory. That aside, I would be astonished if I liked the thing. John McElwee over at Greenbriar Picture Shows just did a review that was wonderful to read because he was just about the only one who placed it in the historic Batman continuum. He also nailed most of the things about superhero movies that drive me, you should excuse the expression, batty.

And no. 1 on the IMDB Top 250? Words fail me.

[HarryTuttle]

If I was the publicist I would have said using a 9/11 imagery on the Dark Knight poster was very bad taste. But apparently it wasn't a bad idea. It didn't keep people at bay...

[Steve]

First off, I'd say it's more of an anti-Bush allegory. Batman using listening devices on the citizens of Gotham, for instance, is strongly condemned in the film.

And I would say it is a great film, but you have to understand that when what you're used to from "comic book films" is either embarrassingly made attempts at nostalgia and kitsch or solid, entertaining actioners, to get the kind of heft dramatically that TDK offers does make it feel as though someone decided "comic book movies" could be deathly serious affairs. I'm pretty goddam picky, and I can easily say it will make my list at the end of the year.

[Glenn Kenny]

I dunno, Brain, there are certain circles in which the film from which you grab, not to mention its all-important subtext, is highly known.

[mike]

FB, I have no desire to see The Dark Knight. Might wind up netflixing it, but maybe not. Not a big fan of comic book movies. I'd rather be watching Alberto Luttuardo's Mafioso over and over again. Now THAT is a movie about a criminal.

[jake]

*Possible spoilers*

First off, I'd say it's more of an anti-Bush allegory. Batman using listening devices on the citizens of Gotham, for instance, is strongly condemned in the film.

Condemned by the character Fox, who calls it unethical and too much power for one person -- even though Batman is not shown abusing the technology at all and uses it to subdue the Joker, his gang, and an entire SWAT team. I don't think the inclusion of such a device in the movie says anything really, and all this pro-Bush/anti-Bush allusions mean nothing.

My guess as to why right-wingers have applauded this film is because Batman and Gordon cover up truths for the "good of Gotham" in order to reward their faith in symbolic hope or some such. So you see, the Bush administration is lying for our own safety and to make us feel better - like your mom telling you you're pretty when you're actually ugly. I don't know really, as it's just a guess and I haven't read what they wrote about the film.

I too am disturbed by the unanimous praise and violent silencing of any dissent, but we've already got Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Hellboy II, and now The Dark Knight. Let the comic book fans have their summer like they always do.