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so due to this thread i watched blood into wine and valhalla rising.

 

blood into wine was awesome and unexpectedly quite humorous.

 

diedan, mmp i know you're going to be sad but i think i'm going to have to agree with mini here and say that you might have built valhalla rising up a bit much. i feel like if i'd just randomly watched it off the instant queue with no one telling me it was awesomesauce i would have enjoyed it more, i kept waiting for the awesomer thing that was never going to happen. although i'm now moderately obsessed with mads mikkelsen and feel like seeing every other movie he's ever been in ever. i do recommend everyone watching it, though, just don't set any expectations.

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It's also just an incredibly alienating movie, both in that it's kind of love it/hate it, but also the film, itself, tends to alienate the viewer into a silent parade through various wastelands. You're in his head, but you have no idea what's going on. To me, it felt like a modern take on Aguirre: The Wrath of God (which I haven't seen in years...), which is maybe why I was so psyched about it. I love the Herzog.

 

Plus, it's so beautiful in it's ugliness that it just kept me ensnared the entire time I watched it.

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visually it was incredible, i almost felt like with the power they had in the visuals they used they should have done something more with it. they could have done so much with symbolism and a lot more with the story just by taking the crazy good atmosphere they were creating and manipulating it more. or maybe that's just the awesomesauce expectation i had talking, because honestly it's gorgeous just as it is but i wanted more.

 

It has the most matter-of-fact disemboweling ever

and this. that was actually pretty rockstar.

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It has the most matter-of-fact disemboweling ever

and this. that was actually pretty rockstar.

This is so true. One Eye was one of the most badass characters ever.

 

visually it was incredible, i almost felt like with the power they had in the visuals they used they should have done something more with it. they could have done so much with symbolism and a lot more with the story just by taking the crazy good atmosphere they were creating and manipulating it more. or maybe that's just the awesomesauce expectation i had talking, because honestly it's gorgeous just as it is but i wanted more.

 

I think that's fair. For me...

 

 

I couldn't help but to read into the character of One Eye as being a symbol of Odin and all things old world and so I thought the ending of them finding the New World and him willingly sacrificing himself to be fascinating. But, who knows? That's not really a well-thought out interpretation. I also started the movie at 2am, so that may have something to do with my interpretation.

 

 

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You know, I almost thought that...

 

 

 

 

once they got to 'The New World' or wherever, that he would go totally apeshit on them and you would find out that HE IS A DEMON FROM HELL. But nothing happened... and it was way more creepier that way. The entire movie I was afraid for that little kid. I just kept thinking something TERRIBLE was going to happen to him (especially after the buttrape) but then it didn't and I was like AWWWWW SO SWEET

 

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ok i can...

 

see what both of you are getting at. diedan i'm going to have to maybe disagree with you because of the christianity stuff thrown in there. i feel like that muddles that theory, but i may have to watch it again to see if i totally disagree with you or not. they really did almost go anti-climactic at the ending. i think part of my disappointment is that i feel like they were trying to do something with the whole movie and especially how it ended and maybe left it more open ended than they intended so it just left a strange feeling overall.

 

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You know, I almost thought that...

 

 

 

I thought he was much more frightening as a silent figure. I mean, he can see the future and yet refuses to tell anyone about it. I see him as a figure of destiny, one who realizes that his time and his era are coming to a close, which is why he willfully travels with the Christians, why he (possibly, somehow) steers them to the New World, and why he willfully allows himself to die. I'm really not sure where that kid fits in, but he seems to me to be a figure that can transcend the differences between the two eras as he's the only one who was kind to One Eye in the first place. He potentially sees the child as hope for the next era?

 

This is a total ramble and I'm supposed to be working! Nevertheless, I think this movie garners some great conversation points. This is a fun thread.

 

 

 

Edit: I wrote this before you wrote your response, slithy toves. Yeah, the Odin theory perhaps doesn't work, but I still like the idea of this being about old world vs. new world, etc. Now I need to watch it again...

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There aren't as many reviews of it out there as I thought there would be but I keep seeing

 

 

people say that they end up in North America. Was that supposed to be North America? How the fuck long were they on that boat? Why would they think that?

 

 

Yeah...

 

 

...I don't think they're in America, but it's definitely a sense of New World, which can easily be attributed to America, so I understand how that comparison is made. I don't think it needs to be anywhere specific; from the characters' standpoint, they're in Hell. Hell is the New World and foreign landscapes. Hell is nature and Hell is other people. Basically, everything is going to Hell.

 

God, I realize none of my thoughts make any sense and keep contradicting each other. STOP DISTRACTING ME FROM WORK! :P

 

 

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oh yeah, that bit

 

with the dress of the people and landscape it was definitely somewhere in north america. i was assuming somewhere greenland-ish, as that would have been the shortest boat ride, but i agree that part was more muddled than it needed to be. my first thought was shenanigans as they didn't have enough room for fresh water and food on that boat to sustain that many people for that long, but if they were supposed to be going from the UK (i think?) to the middle east for the holy wars then it would have been a boat ride of similar length. i think they were using the fog as a disorientation device for the audience as well as the characters in the movie

 

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Okay, okay, one more post. Here's an interview with Nicolas Winding Refn about Valhalla Rising. I watched it a while ago, but he talks a bit about the Nature vs. Humanity themes, which, I think (besides the whole aesthetic) is why I made the Herzog comparison in the first place.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/features/valhalla_rising_interview

 

I think regardless of his intent, by keeping the movie so silent, it's available to so many different interpretations, which, among other reasons, is why I was so impressed with it.

 

Also, one of his other films, Bronson, is on Netflix. I didn't like it nearly as much, but that may be because I don't really care for biopics. But you can see some of that crazy aesthetic he employees in VR. I'm still upset they pulled the first two Pusher films. I really wanted to watch those.

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Completely unrelated to Valhalla Rising...

 

Withnail & I was just added to Instant. I haven't seen this movie in years, but I remember it being incredibly weird and entertaining. I think Criterion released a version of it in 2001, but before that it was frustratingly hard to get a hold of, but totally worth the effort.

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Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Undead was also recently added. Haven't seen that either, but, again, possibly great? I mean, conceptually it's a winner; don't know about the execution though.

 

I saw it, and I cannot remember a time that I laughed so hard. I doubt it's for everyone, but I though it was an impressive blend of high brow, low brow, and absurdist humor. It also helps if you've been involved in the theater.

 

In regards to documentaries, I'd recommend "Cropsey." It's one of those shows that's probably better that you don't know what to expect when going in.

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Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Undead was also recently added. Haven't seen that either, but, again, possibly great? I mean, conceptually it's a winner; don't know about the execution though.

 

I saw it, and I cannot remember a time that I laughed so hard. I doubt it's for everyone, but I though it was an impressive blend of high brow, low brow, and absurdist humor. It also helps if you've been involved in the theater.

Oooh! Good to hear. It's so hard to tell from trailers, sometimes.

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  • 2 weeks later...

TONS of stuff was added recently. The IT Crowd Series 4 is up there now, Spartacus Blood and Sand is back, and a ton of movies:

 

SubUrbia (which one of my favorite Linklater movie, and you still can't get it on DVD!)

 

I haven't seen any of these, but plan on watching

Shutter Island

Naked Lunch

An Education

The Science of Sleep

Mean Streets

I'm Still Here

 

Oh, also, ALL OF KIDS IN THE HALL! I love that show so much. :bun-YES:

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