tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4025264318423694875.post1271250031533572310..comments2024-02-05T10:41:31.777-05:00Comments on I Saw Lightning Fall: Offending When We FrightenLoren Eatonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12488412683340389286noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4025264318423694875.post-16833438881958269272012-06-29T10:09:41.464-04:002012-06-29T10:09:41.464-04:00I might have to check out Pan's Labyrinth afte...I might have to check out <i>Pan's Labyrinth</i> after all.<br /><br />By the way, if you like del Toro you should really check out <i>The Devil's Backbone</i>, particularly since it's <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDKHdquEtP8&feature=mv_sr" rel="nofollow">available for free on YouTube</a>.Loren Eatonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12488412683340389286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4025264318423694875.post-38218564954216098592012-06-28T18:19:37.388-04:002012-06-28T18:19:37.388-04:00The thing about Del Toro--from what I've seen-...The thing about Del Toro--from what I've seen--is that he is very precise in his effects. If he wants something to look creepy and spooky and rarely be seen, he'll do it. If he wants a monster that gives you nightmares by its very movements, he'll do that. And if he wants to make a comic-book movie where violence is cartoonish yet death (even of villains) is elegiac and memorable...he'll do that, as well. <br /><br />But I haven't seen much. To wit: Hellboy, Hellboy 2, Pan's Labyrinth, and interviews.<br /><br />(And even Pan's Labyrinth, one realizes when watching the second time, shows much less gore and violence than you'd think. Once it achieves its effect, it cuts away--it's more interested in telling a whole story than belaboring a single point.)Chestertonian Ramblerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01550643992523840950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4025264318423694875.post-11256758542013328092012-06-28T12:36:14.575-04:002012-06-28T12:36:14.575-04:00Interesting examples, CR, and I'd agree as far...Interesting examples, CR, and I'd agree as far as <i>Saving Private Ryan</i> is concerned. That movie showed a very careful directorial touch. I haven't seen <i>Pan's Labyrinth</i>, but I did watch <i>The Devil's Backbone</i>, another del Toro film. That one's notable because it used just the kind of restraint I like to see in a horror film.Loren Eatonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12488412683340389286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4025264318423694875.post-19239312612500478112012-06-26T22:39:39.685-04:002012-06-26T22:39:39.685-04:00I dunno. A bit of gristle can make a good point--t...I dunno. A bit of gristle can make a good point--though the point it makes is rarely terror. I think dramatic uses of graphic violence make more sense in war movies like Saving Private Ryan or politically-charged anti-violence works like Pan's Labyrinth. <br /><br />Graphic violence makes the viewer recoil with distaste, while unseen potential violence makes the viewer squirm on the edge of his or her seat. Both have their place. <br /><br />In short, I don't want to just be scared of the General in Pan's Labyrinth--I want to be horrified and morally outraged at his actions. That happens nicely when he bashes in a guy's face with a flashlight and I am forced to watch. If the violence happened offstage, I would be more scared, maybe--but less outraged.Chestertonian Ramblerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01550643992523840950noreply@blogger.com