The Pinnacle of Human Achievement is "American Beauty"

[JohnnyHumongous]

Discuss.

[NLSoldier]

[ QUOTE ]
Discuss.

[/ QUOTE ]

No.

[private joker]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v229/theglenlivet/thumbsdown.jpg

[Macdaddy Warsaw]

Calling anything the greatest anything is generally a bad idea. Also, if you like American Beauty, I hope you've seen Risky Business. Different, but similar.

[lucas9000]

the album or the movie?

[Eurotrash]

stealing my thunder with that pic response, you are. /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[kenberman]

Sugar Mags is always better live than on CD.

[Boris]

American Beauty and Risky Business are similiar movies? Please explain.

[Boris]

You are probably correct.

[jakethebake]

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Discuss.

[/ QUOTE ]

Such idiocy is not worthy of discussion.

[B Dids]

Over.

Rated.

[Dr. Strangelove]

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Discuss.

[/ QUOTE ]

One word: BASEketball

[slickpoppa]

One of my favorite movies of all time, but let's be reasonable here.

[colgin]

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Discuss.

[/ QUOTE ]

If you are referring to the film, then "American Beauty" is the pinnacle of things for me to poop on. (With apologies to Triumph).

Seriously, this film is pretentious crap.

And more seriously, even if you were referring to one of the truly great films of all time then I am not sure I want to list any such artwork as the pinnacle of humam achievement when compared to all of the other worthy categorical competitors for such an honor.

[ChoicestHops]

Gladiator and American Beauty are two of my favorite movies.

[ilya]

It's watchable, but it's no "Anna Karenina."

[colgin]

[ QUOTE ]
Gladiator and American Beauty are two of my favorite movies.

[/ QUOTE ]

Not to pick on you as many people like these movies. But based on some of the responses I see in the various movie threads in OOT people in general on this board need to expand their viewing horizons a little.

Here is a what I would consider a pretty reasonable list of the best foreign films (not my personal list but one comiled by another that seems pretty reasonable to me). Pick and watch any ten at random and then see if you still feel the same way about "Gladiator" and "American Beauty".

"The 100 Best Foreign Films

by Michael Atkinson, Stephen Rebello, David Thomson

The 100 Best Foreign Films, 1-10
L'Age d'Or/Un Chien Andalou
Aguirre, Wrath of God
The American Friend
A Nous la LibertŽ
Ashes and Diamonds
L'Atalante
L'Avventura
Belle de Jour
La Belle et la B?te
The Bicycle Thief
The 100 Best Foreign Films, 11-20
The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant
The Blue Angel
Le Boucher
Boudu Saved From Drowning
Breathless
The Burmese Harp
Celine and Julie Go Boating
La Chienne
Children of Paradise
The Conformist
The 100 Best Foreign Films, 21-30
Contempt
Cria!
The Decalogue
Les Diaboliques
Diary of a Country Priest
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie
Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler
La Dolce Vita
The Double Life of Veronique
The Earrings of Madame de...
The 100 Best Foreign Films, 31-40
Earth
L'Eclisse
8 1/2
Europa '51
Eyes Without a Face
Fanny and Alexander
Floating Weeds
Forbidden Games
The Four Hundred Blows
Gertrud
The 100 Best Foreign Films, 41-50
The Golden Coach
The Gospel According to St. Matthew
Ikiru
Le Jour Se L?ve
Jules and Jim
The Kingdom
Lamerica
Landscape in the Mist
Last Year at Marienbad
Lola
The 100 Best Foreign Films, 51-60
Lola Montes
M
Masculin-Feminin
Metropolis
Le Million
Murmur of the Heart
NapolŽon
Night and Fog
The Night of the Shooting Stars
1900
The 100 Best Foreign Films, 61-70
Nosferatu
La Notte
Pandora's Box
The Passion of Joan of Arc
Persona
Pierrot le Fou
Playtime
Raise the Red Lantern
Ran
Rashomon
The 100 Best Foreign Films, 71-80
The Red and the White
Red Desert
Repulsion
Rocco and His Brothers
La Roue
The Rules of the Game
Sansho Dayu
Senso
Seven Samurai
Shadows of Our Forgotten Ancestors
The 100 Best Foreign Films, 81-90
Shame
Shoah
Smiles of a Summer Night
Solaris
The Spider's Stratagem
The Spirit of the Beehive
Strike
Throne of Blood
Through a Glass Darkly
Tokyo Story
The 100 Best Foreign Films, 91-100
Tristana
Two English Girls
Ugetsu Monogatari
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
Vampyr
Vridiana
Weekend
Wings of Desire
The World of Apu
ZŽro de Conduite"

[jakethebake]

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"The 100 Best Foreign Films

[/ QUOTE ]

Why does anyone watch foreign movies? There's an occasional good one. Rarely is one worth reading subtitles for. 99% of foreign movies are not as good as 99% of American movies. Plus there's the added negative of sitting between two gay couples who are making out because that's the neighborhood where all the theaters are that show foreign movies.

[istewart]

Well said, jake.

[colgin]

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Why does anyone watch foreign movies?

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Because people who speak languages other than English and live in countries other than America can be great artists who have something worthwhile to say.

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There's an occasional good one.

[/ QUOTE ]

There's more than the occassional good one. In fact, I just listed 100 very good ones and could come up with hundreds more.

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99% of foreign movies are not as good as 99% of American movies.

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I wonder what your basis is for this statement. Putting that aside, about 99% of American movies today are crap. And we have to sift through all them to find the good ones. Perhaps 99% of foreign films in a given year are crap also, but the preponderance of the ones that do make it to our shores tend to be, in fact, quite good. Makes it a lot easier to be selective.

[ QUOTE ]
Plus there's the added negative of sitting between two gay couples who are making out because that's the neighborhood where all the theaters are that show foreign movies.

[/ QUOTE ]

Some of us like that sort of stuff. /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Anyway, my initial point was not really about foreign versus American films. I could have entered a list of the great American films and many on these boards would likely be unfamiliar with the majority of them. I just think it is worthwhile for people to expand their horizons a bit.

[Dominic]

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[ QUOTE ]
"The 100 Best Foreign Films

[/ QUOTE ]

Why does anyone watch foreign movies? There's an occasional good one. Rarely is one worth reading subtitles for. 99% of foreign movies are not as good as 99% of American movies. Plus there's the added negative of sitting between two gay couples who are making out because that's the neighborhood where all the theaters are that show foreign movies.

[/ QUOTE ]


Better to remain silent, and have others think you a fool, then to open your mouth and remove all doubt.

[jakethebake]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Why does anyone watch foreign movies?

[/ QUOTE ] Because people who speak languages other than English and live in countries other than America can be great artists who have something worthwhile to say.

[/ QUOTE ]
Having to read the damn movie still ruins it, especially since the translation is usually bad.

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[ QUOTE ]
There's an occasional good one.

[/ QUOTE ]
There's more than the occassional good one. In fact, I just listed 100 very good ones and could come up with hundreds more.

[/ QUOTE ]
99% of those are not as good as 99% of American movies.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
99% of foreign movies are not as good as 99% of American movies.

[/ QUOTE ]
I wonder what your basis is for this statement. Putting that aside, about 99% of American movies today are crap. And we have to sift through all them to find the good ones. Perhaps 99% of foreign films in a given year are crap also, but the preponderance of the ones that do make it to our shores tend to be, in fact, quite good. Makes it a lot easier to be selective.

[/ QUOTE ]
The basis is mostly the size of the industry and amount of resources put into our movie industry versus others.

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Plus there's the added negative of sitting between two gay couples who are making out because that's the neighborhood where all the theaters are that show foreign movies.

[/ QUOTE ]
Some of us like that sort of stuff. /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[/ QUOTE ]
Niiiice one!

[Prof. Chaos]

Foreign films blow. We do things best here in the U.S.

[jakethebake]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
"The 100 Best Foreign Films

[/ QUOTE ]
Why does anyone watch foreign movies? There's an occasional good one. Rarely is one worth reading subtitles for. 99% of foreign movies are not as good as 99% of American movies. Plus there's the added negative of sitting between two gay couples who are making out because that's the neighborhood where all the theaters are that show foreign movies.

[/ QUOTE ]
Better to remain silent, and have others think you a fool, then to open your mouth and remove all doubt.

[/ QUOTE ]

o.k. o.k. I'm sure there's some great foreign girl-on-girl porn out there... /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[tolbiny]

"Foreign films blow. We do things best here in the U.S."

Hell yes!!!
Best literature, philosophy and technology aswell!!!

US- love it or get the F out-
Last week i had to tell some jackass driving a honda (or some other POS forgien car) to go F himself when he offered me a jump.
Ain't no way in hell i am letting him restart my Dodge.

[colgin]

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o.k. o.k. I'm sure there's some great foreign girl-on-girl porn out there... /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, I think we can all at least agree on that. /images/graemlins/cool.gif

[jakethebake]

[ QUOTE ]
"Foreign films blow. We do things best here in the U.S."

Hell yes!!!
Best literature, philosophy and technology aswell!!!

US- love it or get the F out-
Last week i had to tell some jackass driving a honda (or some other POS forgien car) to go F himself when he offered me a jump.
Ain't no way in hell i am letting him restart my Dodge.

[/ QUOTE ]

I wasn't being the ugly American here. I'm just saying I like to be able to watch a movie and not miss things because I'm busy reading the dialog at the bottom. and it's simply a fact that our movie industry has bigger budgets and spends a lot more to make better movies. o.k. my last comment was tongue in cheek (or wherever else they were putting their tongues) but i'm just not an arthouse movie guy.

[Macdaddy Warsaw]

American Beauty is a little more artsy, but I think they both have to do with freedom, have some illicit things going on, etc.

I said they were different, but I think Risky Business has some influence on Beauty.

[MicroBob]

From that list I have seen:


Bicycle Thief
Blue Angel
Breathless
Les Diaboliques
8 1/2
400 Blows
Ikiru
Jules et Jim
Lola
M
Metropolis
Murmur of the Heart
Nosferatu
Passion of Joan of Arc (parts of)
Wings of Desire


Das boot wasn't included which surprised me...
Vivre se Vie or "my life to live" wasn't included on the list but is a very good film.
Hiroshima also wasn't on the list....nor were the French films Red, White and Blue (haven't seen White...have seen the two others).


I wasn't as big a fan of Wings of Desire as a lot of people I know. but Peter Falk is in it which ROCKS (as does Nick Cave).


I have been told that nosferatu is MUCH better on acid (or ANYTHING). I can see it...but since I'm not a drug-doer I have never had the experience first hand.
Assuming that Blue Angel, Metropolis and M also qualify as "this film would ROCK if we were on something"


Breathless remains one of my faves....as does Vivre se Vie (by same director...Goddard).


I prefer Shoot the Piano player to the other Truffaut films on the list (400 Blows and Jules et Jim) but the one's listed are the 'obvious' selections and are pretty much on EVERY list of foreign films.


There are some on the list that I have seen that I can't really comment on because I only saw them once and it was 15 or so years ago on zero sleep (working overnights AND going to classes).
I KNOW I've seen them...but can't remember much about them.


Life is Beautiful and the Postman were very popular foreign-films in the 1990's that received recognition at the Oscars (including a Best Actor for Benigni in Life is Beautiful).


More recently - Motorcycle Diaries was very good (but not quite great imo).
Looking forward to eventually seeing Maria full of grace.


Most movie-goers on this forum will not appreciate the foregin films too terribly much of course.


In fact, I know that even I don't even appreciate many of them as much as I would like either as I've been programmed to have a tougher time enjoying older B&W films.




not a foreign film - but Birth of a Nation makes for interesting viewing as well.



to the original topic.
I thought American Beauty was a great movie (not just good...but great). Pinnacle of human blah blah blah is just stupid of course. But it is a really terrific film.

[jakethebake]

[ QUOTE ]
Das boot wasn't included which surprised me...

[/ QUOTE ]
Agreed. Very good. And along those same lines was that tank movie. I think it was The Beast.

[ QUOTE ]
Life is Beautiful and the Postman were very popular foreign-films in the 1990's that received recognition at the Oscars (including a Best Actor for Benigni in Life is Beautiful).

[/ QUOTE ]
I thought this was highly overrated.

[ QUOTE ]
More recently - Motorcycle Diaries was very good (but not quite great imo).

[/ QUOTE ]
meh.

[BadBoyBenny]

No "y tu mama tambien" ?

[WillMagic]

You may be overstating the case slightly.

Will

[WillMagic]

You are either massively ignorant or a brilliant satirist.

Will

[MicroBob]

I've actually gone back and forth in my head on Motorcycle Diaries. At first thinking it was decent...then reflecting on it and thinking it was quite a bit better than decent....and then going back. blah blah blah.
I don't blame anyone who thinks it wasn't terribly fantastic.


Watched this with my GF who is from Peru (although she grew up in Lima...not in the jungle where the leper colonies are...and she has never been to Machu Pichu). She was more deeply moved by it as one would expect.

Evidently the main actor (forget his name) was already pretty famous and seems to be kind of the Brad Pitt or George Clooney of South America.


I liked Life is Beautiful a lot.

Haven't made up my mind of Das Boot....I was just saying I was surprised that THEY didn't put it in the top 100 since it's so famous and highly acclaimed.
But the more I think about it the more I think that I would put in there also.



I forgot about the Tin Drum which is highly regarded also and may be the single most annoying movie I have ever seen so I'm glad that wasn't on the list.

[Dominic]

[ QUOTE ]
Foreign films blow. We do things best here in the U.S.

[/ QUOTE ]

Jut to point out how ridiculously stupid this comment is:

Le Femme Nikita - French
Point of No Return - US

Which is better, hmmmmmm?

[jakethebake]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Foreign films blow. We do things best here in the U.S.

[/ QUOTE ]

Jut to point out how ridiculously stupid this comment is:

Le Femme Nikita - French
Point of No Return - US

Which is better, hmmmmmm?

[/ QUOTE ]

And why wasn't it on the list. Great movie! But I don't know if I'd compare remakes and originals to make the point.

[bd8802]

[ QUOTE ]
the album or the movie?

[/ QUOTE ]

Exactly what I was thinking when i read the thread's title.

The lack of conversation surrounding the Grateful Dead album on the other posts answered the question though.

/bd

[The Yugoslavian]

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http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v229/theglenlivet/thumbsdown.jpg

[/ QUOTE ]

You and everyone else using this picture do realize that this means 'don't kill him, let him live' don't you?

So, by posting this you're essentially agreeing with the OP rather than dissenting and asking others to spare his/her post.

Yugoslav
Who hates the misuse of thumbs up/down in the context of gladiator fights...

[jakethebake]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v229/theglenlivet/thumbsdown.jpg

[/ QUOTE ]

You and everyone else using this picture do realize that this means 'don't kill him, let him live' don't you?

So, by posting this you're essentially agreeing with the OP rather than dissenting and asking others to spare his/her post.

Yugoslav
Who hates the misuse of thumbs up/down in the context of gladiator fights...

[/ QUOTE ]

That's...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v638/pwarcham/OOTtub.jpg

[granny50]

I'll take Penicillin for $500 Alex.

[The Yugoslavian]

But true...

Although I have to say you made my post inifinitely better due to it leading to your mockery of it.

/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Yugoslav

[astroglide]

[ QUOTE ]
You and everyone else using this picture do realize that this means 'don't kill him, let him live' don't you?

[/ QUOTE ]

i seriously hope you get hit by a bus today