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Author Topic: Pan's Labyrinth Stephen Furley Film God Posts: 3059 From: Coulsdon, Croydon, England Registered: May 2002 posted 02-09-2007 03:25 PM                     quote: Mark Lensenmayer Frank, the violence is necessary and important in this film. It is not overdone or gratuitous. I agree, but it is quite strong in places. There was a point where I felt somewhat nauseas; I didn't have to go out, but I had to look away, and take a deep breath; then I was ok. quote: Frank Angel So how does it stack up against the benchmark of gratuitous violence, THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST? Or as we can now quantify it, thanks to Mr. Gibson, the SPM reading (scourges per minute)? There's far less violence than in 'The Passion of the Christ', but it's not a simple matter of quantity; you can't measure violence with a metre rule, or a pair of scales, or even a stopwatch. It's also a question of the 'quality' of the violence, if I can use such a term. The violence was very realistic, and while brief was something of a 'short sharp shock', when it came. Also, the juxtaposition of the fantasy of the fairy-tale scenes with the very real violence of the Fascists, and their opponents, adds to the shock of the violence when it comes. There may well be more violence in a typical Hollywood action film, but it would be in an unrealistic situation for most people. As a rather extreme example, there can be a lot of violence in a 'Tom and Jerry' cartoon, but it's not at all shocking, it's comical; not all violence is created equal. I do think that parts of 'Pan's Labyrinth' were quite shocking, and I'm not that easily shocked. The scenes of the crucifixion in 'The Passion of the Christ' may have been an accurate representation of what a crucifixion would have been like, I don't actually know since, thankfully, I've never seen a real one, but for most people today such a thing would be so far removed from the experience of their everyday lives that it wouldn't actually seem realistic. I just found the whole thing rather unpleasant, but not really shocking. I think it would have been a better film with much of this removed. Frank, it's a good film, do see it. There are only brief scenes of real violence; just close your eyes for a few seconds if you find it's too much for you. Edit: Iv'e just checked tonight's BAFTA results; it's won two awards, for 'Best film not in the English language' and 'Costume design'. Slightly disappointing, it received about eight nominations, and I thought it might have done better. [ 02-11-2007, 03:58 PM: Message edited by: Stephen Furley ]  |  IP: Logged Paul Burt Film Handler Posts: 46 From: San Francisco, CA, United States Registered: Apr 2006 posted 02-13-2007 03:22 PM                     Finally saw this last night. A brilliant film, imho. Del Toro is a true visionary, and is one of the few directors able to translate his ideas clearly to the screen (unlike, say, The Fountain's director). The violence is shocking, but in the context of the story, fully necessary. What amazes me is the seamless integration of the fantasy elements with the external Spanish civil War story. Technically, it was excellent. Folks in the audience were commenting on the extraordinary sound mix.  |  IP: Logged Sam Graham AKA: "The Evil Sam Graham". Wackiness ensues. Posts: 1431 From: Waukee, IA Registered: Dec 2004 posted 03-17-2007 04:54 PM                        CINEMA: AMC Oak View 24, Omaha, NE AUDITORIUM: 10 PRESENTATION: 35mm/Mystery Meat Digital PRESENTATION PROBLEMS: None RATING: One and one half star (out of four) It's a boring war movie with a ridiculous fairy tale subplot and a big gross toad, who gets about sixty seconds of screen time. The half star was for the toad. It was a nice sound mix, though.  |  IP: Logged

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