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kmayer
Reviews
Ludwig - Requiem für einen jungfräulichen König (1972)
Out of this world, but not for everyone
I gave this a 9 because I acknowledge that not everyone will appreciate Syberberg's cutting-edge techniques and also because I haven't seen this film in almost 10 years (it's very hard to find), and I stumbled upon this site in a quest for it.
For anyone who is interested in film, this is a must see. You can see that Verhooven (The Nasty Girl) and Lars van Trier (Zentropa, Breaking the Waves) must be intimately familiar with this film: the montages, the backgrounds, the different textures. The sound effects. This film may require patience and some background in German history to be completely enjoyed, but even without an iota of either it's still a wild ride.
Le mépris (1963)
Excellent, but not easy
This is an imaginative work about filmmaking, art, tradition, and the Odyssey. I have assigned this film for my courses in Classical Mythology for 3 years and I find that it repays repeated viewings. My students are initially stunned and hostile: it's not an easy view for hollywood-trained minds. But when given guidance and encouraged to think about film and about meanings beneath the surface, many of them come to appreciate it. At the end of the semester, several of my students write that they are particularly grateful that they got the chance to see this film (as opposed to the others shown in the class).