tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2274987097756433491.post6614528074210498606..comments2024-03-05T11:26:21.204-06:00Comments on All the World's Our Page: Spielberg and Melodrama -a love storyUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2274987097756433491.post-45411031471458380382019-04-29T09:07:39.253-05:002019-04-29T09:07:39.253-05:00Was looking for Spielberg and melodrama just after...Was looking for Spielberg and melodrama just after being bombarded with tons of it by EndgameVatoviqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03370523821771927585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2274987097756433491.post-89833151840296323852011-01-26T18:56:11.448-06:002011-01-26T18:56:11.448-06:00I can't believe you mentioned Ghost! That'...I can't believe you mentioned Ghost! That's exactly the movie I was thinking of the entire time I was writing my comment. Though I still think I preferred it to Titanic... One person's sweet is another's saccharine, I guess [g]Deniz Bevanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17134553551048836979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2274987097756433491.post-43790499578025064982011-01-26T13:50:16.187-06:002011-01-26T13:50:16.187-06:00Hey Deniz - I think you're right, it wouldn...Hey Deniz - I think you're right, it wouldn't work without the framework that is already in place. That's why I think Spielberg is more working right up to the line of melodrama. Melodrama in the spirit of manipulating the audience into an emotion by really playing certain things up, as opposed to telling the story in a more straightforward manner and letting the audience feel for themselves. But is that wrong? I don't think so. It works so no harm no foul. OTOH, yeah, I agree, true melodrama makes me gag and want to laugh. Some might kill me for this but the end of Ghost was totally melodramatic for me. The whole "ditto" thing had me rolling my eyes. At the same time Ghost was a huge hit. So again, is it wrong? <br /><br />Heh, my professor was pissy about a lot of directors (usually those how had a lot of commercial success -God, to have him get started on Titanic!), but he LOVED Ingmar Bergman. Figures. (g)Kristen Callihanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01448274676402616525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2274987097756433491.post-81596131329044928922011-01-25T21:43:52.797-06:002011-01-25T21:43:52.797-06:00I wonder... I wonder if the emotional, musical man...I wonder... I wonder if the emotional, musical manipulation (if that's what we call it) would work without all the other elements? That is, if the stories you cite didn't already feature compelling characters, twisty plots, and so on, would the music or the sometimes sappy twists be enough to start us bawling? When I think of melodrama, I think of stuff that's so over the top it starts making you laugh instead of cry. Any other directors your professor had a beef about? [g]<br />(The one scene that gets *me* in Jaws is the one where the little baby boy is playing by himself near the water - what kind of parent lets their kid do that??)<br />(And if I can be snarky... what bothered me about Saving Private Ryan was the crowd in the theatre. Melodrama or not, it was a movie about the Second World War. It was emotional, it was... Anyway, to come out of the theatre and start babbling right away about the shopping you want to do or the humdrum gossip from your own life... I just wanted to ask everyone 'what did you come to see this movie for??'<br />(Also, why does Google Chrome spellcheck keep underlining movie?)Deniz Bevanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17134553551048836979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2274987097756433491.post-91254444958515838072011-01-24T23:36:07.844-06:002011-01-24T23:36:07.844-06:00Hah, I was musing over the "whatever works, w...Hah, I was musing over the "whatever works, works and things are never black and white" question just last night. <br /><br />The book I'm reading has an opening chapter that is almost completely divorced from the rest of the story's plot. The first chapter deals with an eighteenth century naval battle between the French and the English, whereas the rest of the story revolves around a murder and the London opera scene. It's kinda like one of those prologues we're told to never write. (g) And yet, it works ... because there is one tiny, tiny, thread that links that battle to the murder investigation, and this is enough to make me keep reading to find out the greater connection between the two stories. So yeah, whatever works ...<br /><br />Great post!Rachel Walshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15406943046329566026noreply@blogger.com