tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post5833138526815945483..comments2024-03-15T04:08:16.172-04:00Comments on Only the Cinema: Foolish WivesEd Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18014222247676090467noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-62000628118706513562012-03-30T19:57:26.633-04:002012-03-30T19:57:26.633-04:00Thanks, PCF. Pretty obvious that any director who ...Thanks, PCF. Pretty obvious that any director who routinely turned in such lengthy films wasn't thinking about accessibility at all.<br /><br />Gene, the twisty complications of Stroheim directing himself playing a weird version of himself are really rich indeed. And I'd say that, though Stroheim's films are set squarely in the upper class, they represent a middle-class fantasy of Ed Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18014222247676090467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-68628521832943367172012-03-30T14:38:26.103-04:002012-03-30T14:38:26.103-04:00Excellent review and analysis, one of the better o...Excellent review and analysis, one of the better ones I've read. Erich von Stroheim was, to put it mildly, complex. Sybil would be too banal a comparison. Stroheim created this being, this "Erich von Stroheim," as a means to survive and then advance in life, and he simply grew into it, and it continued to grow, and most (though not all) believed it for many years after his death.Gene Zonarichhttp://violdam6.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-2490183763003736382012-03-30T10:20:23.808-04:002012-03-30T10:20:23.808-04:00Nice review! Foolish Wives is probably the most ac...Nice review! Foolish Wives is probably the most accessible Erich Von Stroheim, but accessibility really wasn't his bag.<br /><br />I love the grand folly that is his trademark, and Foolish Wives ranks among the favs!Pretty Clever Filmshttp://www.prettycleverfilms.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-64207536281270995182012-03-29T16:05:35.576-04:002012-03-29T16:05:35.576-04:00You cite some great moments there, Sam, of which t...You cite some great moments there, Sam, of which there are no shortage in this fine movie. It's the only von Stroheim I've seen so far, but I definitely need to get to <i>Greed</i> and the others sometime soon. Good news about the NYC festival, too.Ed Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18014222247676090467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-46264614525721612632012-03-29T14:59:39.391-04:002012-03-29T14:59:39.391-04:00Indeed the frenzied climax is perhaps the most cel...Indeed the frenzied climax is perhaps the most celebrated set piece, but some unforgettable ones would include the encounter with the armless war veteran at the villa gates, (a point you note here) the count and the American wife in the cabin, the count wiping his lips in aristocratic disdain after kissing the ugly maid, the fire, and the count's body being tossed in the sewer. I completely Sam Julianonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-7639135880474067352012-03-29T09:33:56.971-04:002012-03-29T09:33:56.971-04:00"the American middle-class's libido run a..."the American middle-class's libido run amok."<br /><br />Totally on target. Such a fantastically bizarre film.Ed Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18014222247676090467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-22048692981058441852012-03-29T09:26:41.101-04:002012-03-29T09:26:41.101-04:00One of the great mad follies of the silent era, Fo...One of the great mad follies of the silent era, <i>Foolish Wives</i> (what a divine title!) is the American middle-class's libido run amok.DavidEhrensteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11016905507543736049noreply@blogger.com