Part of the theorized appeal of Netflix is to catch up on classic movies you've never seen. Right now, I have Bonnie and Clyde at my apartment. I am psyched.
Last weekend I said "D, we need to set aside some time to watch Spartacus. That movie is long. Over three hours. Epic."
We decided to watch it on Monday night.
We didn't finish it.
Why?
Because it is boring as hell.
Boring!
Political intrigue, millions of extras, and adorable Tony Curtis aside, I don't see the appeal. I just didn't care. At all. Kirk Douglas is annoying. Spartacus isn't at all sympathetic or interesting. He's a drip. The love scenes are unbearable. D said the love scenes were "Episode-3-esque."
We tried to finish it on Wednesday, but I fell asleep again! D finished it, and when I asked "Was it worth it?" he didn't have an answer.
I am going to try to finish it this weekend. Wish me luck!
So here's my question for you - what am I missing? People love this movie. I don't think this is a question of era-based aesthetics, which I think could explain why I hated West Side Story so much.
I feel like these classics shouldn't involve so much labor on the part of the viewer.
We have Lawrence of Arabia and Casablanca in the queue and I am already skeptical.
So please - if you know why Spartacus is good (yes, I agree, its visually amazing and there's some really good acting, but these things are not enough to sustain a three hour film), please let me know so that I can watch it this weekend without feeling bitter.
Thanks, and have fabulous weekends.
Friday, September 23, 2005
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3 comments:
Dude, the exact same thing happened to me and A when we rented Lawrence of Arabia. Sooooo long and slow. We simply did not get the appeal. I am still not sure I understood the plot because it was so boring I couldn't pay attention. I mean, yeah, the cinematography was huge and ground-breaking and there were a ridiculous number of extras in the scenes or something, but cinematography cannot hold my attention fo four hours.
I really liked Lawrence of Arabia. Didn't care for Casablanca at all though.
i think watching these sorts of films is all about getting into the groove of the slow pace which has very much fallen out of style.
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