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Originally Posted by demonrail666
I don't think there's anything particularly personal behind the ending, besides Lucas likely having had schoolfriends who graduated and then went straight off to Vietnam. In that sense I took it as one of those 'end of innocence' stories, and was maybe the key film in ushering in a kind of teen nostalgia (people like Corman had always focused on contemporary youth cults). It seemed to solidify a kind of cult-of-innocence around that whole early RnR era, that obviously inspired later films like Grease, Peggy Sue Got Married, Porky's and the first Back to the Future or TV shows like Happy Days and The Wonder Years.
It also gets a lot of credit for its innovative approach to soundtracks, using nothing but pre-recorded pop music. That was apparently a big influence on Scorsese (although Scorsese argues it was Kenneth Anger's Scorpio Rising), as well as the way scenes were kind of synchronised to the music, without the film being a bona fide musical. (Again, Scorpio Rising did it first but more people obviously saw American Graffiti.)
I think AG is a massive film on so many levels: ushering in an entire 50s nostalgia industry that still remains; translating previously 'underground' ideas into viable mainstream ones; etc.
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About the ending - Oh. I guess that makes sense. I still don't really like that part though. It was off-putting and distracted me from the feelings the narration was supposed to provide.
Either way, I loved the film in a big, bad way. It was one of those rides where I felt like EVERYONE must be able to enjoy this. Sorta like The Breakfast Club, or A Christmas Story.
I was mainly surprised by just how modern the film felt. I think that's why I kept drawing the big Linklater comparison. (Am I alone on that one?) The use of pop music helped, I didn't even really think about that, I've grown so accustomed. Funny theory about Scorsese; Anger is much hipper to reference than Lucas, after all.
Still have to watch THX 1138. Maybe tonight or tomorrow. That looks astonishing. I wsh Lucas would step out of his shell and try something fresh again for a change. He's super-talented behind the scenes.
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Originally Posted by Murmer99
it's also kind of cool how your favorite filmmaker of all time apparently is John Waters... and mine is David Lynch. The story is that Eraserhead received a larger audience when John Waters persistently told people to go see it, instead of promoting his own film at the time. Great guy, even if at times he makes me want to puke.
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Ha! I'd never heard that before. That's pretty neat. Eraserhead's great - easily my favorite from Lynch. One of my favorite films of all time, actually. I don't think he'll ever be able to top it.
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Originally Posted by !@#$%!
but anyway, hm, the problem i think you have relating is that the world where marcello ends is the world where you begin-- the world of kim kardashian and jerry springer and nihilism. fellini saw this era coming on and his vision turned out pretty prophetic, but looking back with no reference to a world that had meaning you might not get a sense of anything lost and therefore not see the tragedy.
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Yeah, I must've missed the boat on that one. I'm definitely one who embraces pop culture though. Maybe not so much - modern pop culture - but I still don't think the message of this film is for me. I'm materialistic as fuck, and I like it that way. Your wording with that post was serene, though.
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Originally Posted by demonrail666
Don't worry about it. Have you seen Chris Morris' Nathan Barley? There's a scene in it where the hero, a journalist for a style mag, finally sees this empty self congratulating hipster world that he's a part of, for what it is. He then announces that 'the idiots are winning' and has a kind of nervous breakdown. You think he's gonna rebel against it all but he ultimately just joins them. That's pretty much La Dolce Vita's message.
And in a way, that's why La Dolce Vita, more than almost any other art movie I can think of, has endured so well. Marcello Mastroianni's character remains a kind of contemporary archetype: relateable to anyone who's ever found themselves in a scene they think is drowning their true potential but who lacks the drive or sense of purpose to move beyond it. It's two and a half hours of someone on SYG announcing that this place is a waste of time and that they're leaving, only to come back a week later feeling a little bit disgusted with themselves. Read el symbols response again and apply it to this place. Almost uncanny. But where's the girl on the beach?
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Maybe I'll give this one another shot with new eyes. Thanks guys.