Kiss me deadly/1931

Watched KISS ME DEADLY a few days ago, and it was just awesome! A totally insane film noir, right from its upside down opening credits (complete with female orgasmic panting) to its shocking and brilliant sci-fi/horror ending. I love that Aldrich and Bezzerides took the sleaziest of material and just blew it up into something outrageous. It's the perfect macho nightmare.

I had always heard that the ending was crazy, and I was pretty stunned when it happened (The best box opening scene I've ever witnessed, along with Raiders of the Lost Ark). I think as soon as Mike finds the box and opens it slightly, you realize how freaky the stakes have gotten and you know you're in for a pretty wicked ending. It doesn't disappoint.

----

Brandon- How do you find all these film blogs? If you wouldn't mind, please send me a list of all the best ones to read and I'll add them to my bookmarks.

I wasn't really interested in seeing Miike’s 13 ASSASSINS until you gave such a glowing review. Are you a fan of Miike? I watched five minutes of ICHI THE KILLER and shut it off. I've seen brief clips of AUDITION (I believe on Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments), but I would never never watch the whole thing. Too much torture for me man.

Have you heard of A SERBIAN FILM? What do you think about films like this that try to shock and up the ante in terms of disgust and depravity? Do you think they are just a part of a tradition in the horror genre to push the limits of what is acceptable to be depicted or do they deserve the pejorative title of torture porn? Just curious to hear you opinion on this (anyone else who wants to weigh, please do).

This is great what you said: "Intellectuals are supposed to be lovers of knowledge but instead seem more like lovers of bourgeois culture." Spot on. I encounter these BU types all the time. They remind me why I prefer to be alone.

This too: "Does this mean that most violent cinema is revenge cinema?" I'd say so. When you think about it, most violence in cinema does have a retributive quality. This is gonna make our top 10 revenge films lists a bitch. I'd say only choose films that have revenge as a central focus/crisis of the narrative. I've compiled a bunch of revenge films I like. Now I just gotta figure out how to rank em. I'm hoping you'll post yours first.

---------

Here's my preliminary top 10 list for 1931. I'll add to it as needed.

1. City Lights (Chaplin)
2. M. (Lang)
3. Le Million (Clair)
4. The Public Enemy (Wellman)
5. Frankenstein (Whale)
6. Monkey Business (McLeod)
7. À Nous la liberté (Clair)
8. Little Caesar (LeRoy)
9. The Threepenny Opera (Pabst)
10. Dracula (Browning)

I'd like to post my 1938 list, which is done, but I should watch TRADE WINDS before doing so. It's a pretty solid 10 so there's a chance it might not make the cut, but still I'll watch all I can.