It came home to me when I looked at the soup line, those men dressed as if they were going to church or the office, very touching. Now I see men in church with hats on.
Thakns for your note. I had the feeling that arty or artsy had something to do with a lot of technical tricks as well as juxtapositions created by unexpected cuts and so on. Does it mean pretentious? Maybe a reference to the intellectual ambitions of the director? Everybody knows Scorcese has a point of view. The director of "Rocky" was dismissed not only as a "workhorse" but as Midwestern. Dear me. A friend who taught at UCLA told me that the faculty there was divided into workhorses and showhorses. I guess the same is true in Hollywood, and maybe that's where UCLA got the idea.
Yes. You're probably right: those critiques mean to convey "pretentious." I would expect film buffs to discriminate between pretentious and effective artsy. I'm a fan of Hal Hartley and Wim Wenders, who are both immensely artsy. . . so I missed the artsy = pretentious formula. Out of the two, I think Raging Bull does strike me as more self-consciously artsy than Rocky, but it's the artsiness of Rocky that makes me like it.
Thank you for this wonderful review and analysis. I have always enjoyed Rocky and now look forward to watching Cinderella Man.
Thanks, Janice! If you see the DVD, you will the extras first-rate.
Thank you Allen for another fascinating read. I was struck by the contrast of the public view of masculinity then and now. What a mess we are in.
It came home to me when I looked at the soup line, those men dressed as if they were going to church or the office, very touching. Now I see men in church with hats on.
Yes, I was touched by that as well. Also when he paid back all of the support that had been given to him. That would be unheard of in today's world.
I always saw Rocky as an artsy film. So I don't follow that line of critique. I'm a fan of all those films. So it was fun reading your reviews here.
Thakns for your note. I had the feeling that arty or artsy had something to do with a lot of technical tricks as well as juxtapositions created by unexpected cuts and so on. Does it mean pretentious? Maybe a reference to the intellectual ambitions of the director? Everybody knows Scorcese has a point of view. The director of "Rocky" was dismissed not only as a "workhorse" but as Midwestern. Dear me. A friend who taught at UCLA told me that the faculty there was divided into workhorses and showhorses. I guess the same is true in Hollywood, and maybe that's where UCLA got the idea.
Yes. You're probably right: those critiques mean to convey "pretentious." I would expect film buffs to discriminate between pretentious and effective artsy. I'm a fan of Hal Hartley and Wim Wenders, who are both immensely artsy. . . so I missed the artsy = pretentious formula. Out of the two, I think Raging Bull does strike me as more self-consciously artsy than Rocky, but it's the artsiness of Rocky that makes me like it.