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Author Topic: Once Upon A Time in Mexico Charles Everett Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1470 From: New Jersey Registered: May 2001 posted 10-05-2003 01:03 PM                     AMC Hamilton, 10/4, 7:40 PM show. Hall #9, attendance ~30-35. Sorry, Brad. This movie makes you WANT to live in Mexico. What is there to not like about this? Tequila . . . mariachi . . . pistoleros . . . the cartel . . . el Presidente . . . bullfights . . . the army . . . a bigshot general . . . CIA . . . FBI . . . a fugitive gringo . . . rumblings of a coup d'etat . . . "The Day of the Dead" . . . lots of blazing gun battles . . . All of this is "Shot, Chopped and Scored by Robert Rodriguez" to near-perfection. Yes, I did notice the incomplete CGI on the flamethrower, but who cares? He also does a good turn for the moviegoer by having all the subtitles in a burnished yellow. That means you don't have to strain your eyes to read them. Presentation: Image filled the scope masking with no overspill. Sound was good in SDDS but defaulted into analog for 1 second at the "lights up" cue. Some dialogue at a reel change also got cut off. At the end I got to see a true rarity for AMC . . . a green band. Yes, there was a green band at the end instead of the rating card.  |  IP: Logged Ian Price Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1714 From: Denver, CO Registered: Jun 99 posted 10-05-2003 02:30 PM                     I had a conversation with Robert Rodriguez at Show East. He states that he makes "Popcorn Movies." He shoots digital for the flexibility and speed it offers him. He isn't interested in overall quality but he likes the options it lends him. He owns all his own equipment so he can shoot where he likes when he likes. This flexibility keeps him out of the hands of the studios. He told a story of shooting a scene with George Clooney in his home for an hour.  |  IP: Logged John Pytlak Film God Posts: 9987 From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922 Registered: Jan 2000 posted 10-06-2003 02:01 PM                        Ian wrote: quote: I had a conversation with Robert Rodriguez at Show East. So did I! (Probably the same one )  |  IP: Logged Paul Linfesty Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1383 From: Bakersfield, CA, USA Registered: Nov 1999 posted 10-13-2003 05:15 PM                     First of all: a confession! I thought the image looked amazingly sharp. The caveat: I saw it on a 22 foot screen in a 99 seat theatre. But I noticed a couple of things in the 35mm presentation. I thought I saw two shots that contained a split second of digital BLOCKS. Can this be possible? I mean, would no one in the post noticed this? I don't think it was CRAP code I saw. ALSO, as the frame was just BARELY raked a little too high, I saw two instances of negative white splices at a shot change. Why would this have occured? I would have assumed the film had been spit back out completely edited from the HD. Unless there was some additional editing done (or maybe only 1000 foot reels are used and they do additional splicing of the digital intermediate?) Anyway, I was disappointed Selma Hayek wasn't used much, except through flashbacks. I thought the movie was well-shot, considering you had a director handle the responsibilities. Having said that, I saw the film just over a week ago, and I can't remember much about what happened. There was a shootout in a church, yes? I can't even remember if the "hero" lives or die at the end. I know it doesn't really matter. At least to Rodriquez. A really totally forgettable movie.  |  IP: Logged Jim Leko Film Handler Posts: 90 From: Redondo Beach, CA, USA Registered: May 2002 posted 10-14-2003 03:47 AM                     I thought it looked sharp too. People say that is edge enhancement, but I don't really know what that is, so I can't comment on how it could have looked better.  |  IP: Logged Christian Appelt Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 505 From: Frankfurt, Germany Registered: Dec 2001 posted 10-14-2003 03:19 PM                     Jim, edge enhancement is about the same as the "sharpen" function in Photoshop or other graphic software. Many video devices (like beamers, VCRs or printers) have a variable sharpness control. The edges within the image are enhanced, so the picture appears sharper. This is OK within limits, but when the EE is overdone, the image will look like on a maladjusted TV receiver. EE is used to make video images look sharper, but of course the process cannot add details or textures that were not there to begin with. A EE-"sharpened" image will never have the fine texture rendering or subtle details that good 35mm (or 65/70mm) cinematography can give you. But with so many really bad 35mm prints around, who would have noticed the video origin of MEXICO if Rodriguez had not bragged about it? Most of the creative argument is big, big BS aimed at journalists. You don`t need HD to do a spontaneous shoot in your home, with modern film stock and a small 35mm camera it takes no more time or fuss. Just plain old lying, and a myriad of know-nothings gobble it up and celebrate the director for being so brave and independent...  |  IP: Logged

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