Hey folks, Harry here with Mastidon's final report from Venice. If all goes well, we'll be hearing from him again in Berlin and Cannes this coming year. He's done an excellent job of keeping us up on what's going on - as well as giving us some snaps from it all as well. That said - I'm dying to see REDACTED, which took the top awards. Here's his wrap-up!
Hey guys,
I'm writing this to you while I sit in a hotel room in London. Just arrived from Venice and I thought it would be good to wrap up my experiences there for you and share my final thoughts. I'm still in awe from the events of the past week.
Let me begin by saying that, if you had any doubts as to why you should attend Venice, here is a list of stars I remember seeing in person during my time there: Michael Caine, Jude Law, Kenneth Branagh, Brian de Palma, George Clooney, Ridley Scott, Edward James Olmos, Daryl Hannah, Rutger Hauer, Woody Allen, Spike Lee, Ewan McGregor, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Casey Affleck , Richard Gere, Terrance Howard, Tim Burton, and Johnny Depp. Short of going to the Oscars or the Globes, I don't think it would be possible to see all of these people in such a short period of time. Its so easy to attend and and get tickets, there's no reason not to go! And if you do go, my advice is spend the extra cash for screenings in Sala Grande (where all the premiers are) and only see a few screenings in the circus tent (Sala Biennale) to get the opinions of the local Italians.
Since Venice has become the launching point for Oscar season, I thought I would give you my best of awards from the films I saw. Please keep in mind that there are several great films I missed such as "Atonement" and "Far North". Anyway, my rankings are as follows:
Best Actor - Michael Caine in Sleuth
Best Actress - Cate Blanchett in I'm Not There
Best Screenplay - The Darjeeling Limited
Best Cinematography - The Darjeeling Limited
Best Director - Brian de Palma for Redacted
Best Picture - Redacted
In case you missed a review, here are the links to each of the articles I wrote from the films I screened at the festival:
Sleuth - 4 1/2 Stars - Click Here
Redacted - 5 Stars - Click Here
Michael Clayton - 2 stars - Click Here
Blade Runner - The Final Cut - Click Here
Valley of Elah - 3 1/2 stars - Click Here
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford - 2 1/2 stars - Click Here
Hotel Chevalier and The Darjeeling Limited - 4 stars - Click Here
The Hunting Party - 4 stars - Click Here
I'm Not There - 3 1/2 stars - Click Here
Lou Reed's Berlin - Click Here
Tim Burton Tribute with Sweeney Todd Preview & Nightmare Before Christmas in Digital 3D - Click Here
Agree with me or not, your choice. Either way, nobody can argue that the Venice Film Festival is clearly not to be missed by any hardcore fan of the cinema. And I can not stress enough how easy it is to get tickets and to get close to the stars. I knew it would be a great experience that first night when I used the restroom (which was downstairs) before the start of Sleuth. I headed up to the to the cinema and right as I hit the top step, there's Michael Caine standing in front of me face to face with Kenneth next to him. Clearly not my every day experience.
I leave you with a quote from Tim Burton, "Venice is not about the industry but about the movies".
Ciao,
-Mastidon
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