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Hulu's Next Big Score: Whit Stillman's METROPOLITAN
Beaks here...
Harry called me the other night to a) [redacted], b) apologize, and c) marvel at the nifty selection of feature films available for online viewing at Hulu.com. I'm very close to a purist when it comes to screening movies (i.e. first time around, I prefer to see everything projected), but I also realize that we're passing into a new era where most of y'all are quite comfortable with watching movies on small-ish screens. Obviously, some films demand the big-screen presentation (e.g. LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, 2001, ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST), but I'm beginning to think it may not be a violation of American motherhood to get acquainted with an intimate and witty masterpiece along the lines of Whit Stillman's METROPOLITAN on a service like Hulu.
(Digression: One of the talk backers assaulted me today with a survey through which he hoped to ascertain... whether or not I knew the first thing about cinema, I guess. This made me realize that a lot of you either missed or cheerfully ignored my initial stint at AICN. Frankly, this is a relief; the De Palma thing is always such a fucking hurdle. Still, I'd like to connect with you. And I'd like to begin by asking you to watch METROPOLITAN via Hulu. When you get a chance. No rush or nothin'.)
Stillman's debut picture, shot on an ultra low budget back in 1989 (and completed thanks to partial financing from PBS' AMERICAN PLAYHOUSE), is a class-conscious comedy set within the world of Manhattan dubutante parties, and it's proof positive that, when it comes to indie filmmaking, wit and ingenuity will out. Stillman didn't have the budget to shoot take after take with his young, inexperienced actors, and he had to catch exteriors on the fly, but the dialogue and situations more than make up for the rough edges. It's an irresistible melding of Jane Austen, P.G. Wodehouse and Woody Allen. And if you're wondering why Gen X-ers get all excited every time Chris Eigeman turns up in some random independent movie, the legend begins with METROPOLITAN.
I was going to reprint a portion of a DVD review I wrote for Collider.com a couple of years ago, but it's MIA. Actually, it's probably better if you just fire up METROPOLITAN knowing as little as possible. This is the kind of movie that works best when it sneaks up on you. It may not be be to everyone's liking, but for a certain segment of our readership, I'm quite confident this is one of those movies you'll be quoting ceaselessly as you finish out high school and head into college.
So here's what I consider one of the Top Ten Films of the 1990s. For free. (Psst! The Criterion Collection DVD is indispensable! And be sure to read this just-posted interview with Stillman at IFC.com!)
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What's director Whit Stillman been up to these days? We haven't heard anything from him since his last flick, The Last Days of Disco.
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But younger and more literate. Also, no Hud-cam.
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Check out the link before the video. IFC's got a really good interview with him. He's been prepping some Jamaican-set movie for a couple of years now.
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I like the guy. Frankly, he should have gotten more attention throughout the 1990s. He and his films come across as more down-to-earth and nice than most of the young guy directors who first made a name for themselves in the indie scene in the 1990s.
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hello.
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...thanks for actually (and actively) participating in your posts. Whey cool.
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The whole 90s indie "Guys/Gals-Sitting-Around-Talking" genre never got any better than METROPOLITAN. And there was never a better standard-bearer than Chris Eigeman. Not to all tastes, perhaps, but a perfect independent film as far as I'm concerned.
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Just watched Barcelona (Stillman's follow up to Metropolitan) a couple days ago. It's also worth checking out, not only for another great Eigeman performance but for Mira Sorvino sporting a spanish accent.
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They're both pretty good films though. As for whatever happened to Stillman, I like to think he passed the torch on to Noah Baumbach (whose underrated KICKING AND SCREAMING borrowed more from Stillman's films than just actor Chris Eigeman).
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...if a new Region 1 DVD of THE LAST DAYS OF DISCO is in the works? I really want to check it out but am having trouble tracking down the old DVD (which I believe is out of print). Any ideas? Other than dusting off the old VCR?
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..perhaps while they're at it Criterion can license Barcelona from WB. Can't let Wes Anderson be the only director whose entire oeuvre gets the Criterion treatment (unless I'm forgetting somebody)!
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If so, I need to pick it up ASAP.
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Just the thing to wash down a delicious SoyJoy bar.
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I thought the characters were spoiled, pretentious and obnoxious. Then some of them started to let their guard down, and I could relate to them (at least enough to enjoy what transpired in the second half). Loved Barcelona, though.
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is my favorite movie of all time. I met Chris Eigeman once and he signed an autograph for me as Nick Smith.
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Man, the ego on some of the writers here...all of them, actually.
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... is Jeff Anderson's Randal Graves from CLERKS. Different sides of the same 90's 20-something coin.
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...and hulu, as a service, i can't rally comment on. but for pure online video player experience, as one cineaste to another(s), the best of the best has to be the move network's player, currently used by abc.com, espn, etc. criterion should use it for online bergman &c. -- it's that good.
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They had a good run. Now it's sort of depressing, and this site is slowly getting better.
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is one of my all time favorite films. It took a long time, but I was finally able to get a DVD copy from Ebay. It definitely deserves the Criterion treatment. Chris Eigeman has so many outstanding quotes in LDOD. He cracks me up everytime he speaks. "I have a gay mouth?" There are also great performances by Chloe Seveigny(?) and Kate Beckinsale. The soundtrack is also top notch. I remember Studio 54 (w/Meyers) came out at the same time and I kept thinking what trash it was compared to the unseen LDOD. I think I am going to have to put this one on tonight.
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It's very funny in a sly way (not Stallone, btw)...
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Am I the *only* Gen Xer who hated Metropolitan and every other Stillman excretion?! Characters with zero personality, no passion or interests, and dislikeable to boot. Teeth-gratingly bad to watch, pretentiously written and acted, in other words like every other Stillman "masterpiece". And no plot--nothing ever happens.
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