tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21995284.post115230121116599776..comments2023-10-25T12:49:50.074+01:00Comments on The Old Socialist Unity Blog - we have moved: Favourite leftie filmsANhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05901425044840795347noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21995284.post-1152611501866142792006-07-11T10:51:00.000+01:002006-07-11T10:51:00.000+01:00Battleship Potemkin is a must, even if you've alre...Battleship Potemkin is a must, even if you've already seen it, and Viva Zapata likewise.<BR/>Love on the Dole is another golden oldie. <BR/>The Polish film "A Generation", made by Andrze Wajda first of a trilogy ending in the better known Ashes and Diamonds.<BR/>Italian film "The Organiser", early industrial struggle in Turin, starring Marcello Maistriani, very poignant. Made in 1964.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03706356192920588519noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21995284.post-1152571986778772972006-07-10T23:53:00.000+01:002006-07-10T23:53:00.000+01:00No one had mentioned matewan, darren, good call.In...No one had mentioned matewan, darren, good call.<BR/><BR/>Inspired by your sugestion I have just checked Play for Today, but mostly they don't seem avilable on DVD or Video. Although I won't give up, as it would be good to get you to come over from new York.<BR/><BR/>Just showed Goodbey lenin tonight, and i was suprised how moving and personal it was.ANhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901425044840795347noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21995284.post-1152550062674134542006-07-10T17:47:00.000+01:002006-07-10T17:47:00.000+01:00Have I missed it but no one seems to have mentione...Have I missed it but no one seems to have mentioned 'Matewan'. Brilliant film that I saw again just the other night on TV.<BR/><BR/>Peter Watkins 'Commune' is a classic film. Granted it's a six hour film, but if you can't sit through a six hour committee meeting for this or that version of the 'Generals Without Armies' in days gone past, then I'm sure you can sit through 'Commune'. I was really impressed by it.<BR/><BR/>I think you should try and dig out some lost classics that no bugger has seen:<BR/>1) 'Praise Marx and Pass the Ammunition'which stars a young John Thaw as a Marxist-Leninist. Always wanted to see that.<BR/>2) Mike Leigh's 'High Hopes', which for some strange reason has never been released on DVD but I'm sure a pirate edition can be blagged.<BR/>3) 'Bulworth' which I always thought was overrated but Beatty uses the S word. <BR/>4) 'The Big Fix' - a late seventies thriller that stars Richard Dreyfus as a sixties radical turned detective.<BR/>5)'Steal This Movie' - cheesy as fuck biopic of Abbie Hoffman, with Vincent D'Onofrio playing the bloke in the dollar bill suit.<BR/><BR/>And if you were able to ever get a hold of any Jim Allen/Ken Loach play for today dramas from the seventies, I think I would make the effort myself to attend. And that would be an effort, what with me living in Brooklyn.Imposs1904https://www.blogger.com/profile/04043116442576404667noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21995284.post-1152527396544427872006-07-10T11:29:00.000+01:002006-07-10T11:29:00.000+01:00Any one up for John Sayles films? i thiought "Brot...Any one up for John Sayles films? i thiought "Brother from Another Planet" was amazingly funny in parts. "White folks sure are getting weirder".ANhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901425044840795347noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21995284.post-1152485304111562642006-07-09T23:48:00.000+01:002006-07-09T23:48:00.000+01:00Reads was mainly just much much to long. It could ...Reads was mainly just much much to long. It could have been edited to make two other goood fiolms, one about the russian events, and one about the early years of the competing CPs in the USA.ANhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901425044840795347noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21995284.post-1152462006696402562006-07-09T17:20:00.000+01:002006-07-09T17:20:00.000+01:00Yeah, I agree Modern Times is a great film but dun...Yeah, I agree Modern Times is a great film but dunno about Reds though.Louisefeministahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08279991897445225597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21995284.post-1152460026904461592006-07-09T16:47:00.000+01:002006-07-09T16:47:00.000+01:00I second Renegades choice of... Salt of the Eartha...I second Renegades choice of... Salt of the Earth<BR/>also<BR/>Modern Times<BR/>and Reds<BR/>All great films.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21995284.post-1152405695997760682006-07-09T01:41:00.000+01:002006-07-09T01:41:00.000+01:00h and Derek - we had shown the docu about the coup...h and Derek - we had shown the docu about the coup against Chvez (the revolution will not be televised), but in addition i wuld recommend the short documentaries that Global Womens Strike make. the one "Enter the Oil Workers" is very interesting.ANhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901425044840795347noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21995284.post-1152404748185398452006-07-09T01:25:00.000+01:002006-07-09T01:25:00.000+01:00I would sooooh like that to be true Liam, and woul...I would sooooh like that to be true Liam, and would that mean that the Sci fi remake (also with robaert Vaughan) "Battle Beyond the Stars" was a metaphor for a Posadist party?ANhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901425044840795347noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21995284.post-1152394282496137202006-07-08T22:31:00.000+01:002006-07-08T22:31:00.000+01:00I'm convinced that The Magnificent Seven is a meta...I'm convinced that The Magnificent Seven is a metaphor for the revolutionary party.Liamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13081564039331261787noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21995284.post-1152393209375710572006-07-08T22:13:00.000+01:002006-07-08T22:13:00.000+01:00I just mentioned it in passing and you did ask: Go...I just mentioned it in passing and you did ask: Good films on trotsky?<BR/><BR/>And yes, I agree, they sound like laugh a minute films and probably cause the audience to run screaming..... Or show some Tarkvosky... even better... mass break out of snoozingLouisefeministahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08279991897445225597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21995284.post-1152391884841460942006-07-08T21:51:00.000+01:002006-07-08T21:51:00.000+01:00They don't sound a laugh riot, and anyway we are a...They don't sound a laugh riot, and anyway we are a "socialist unity" group (or "socialist Allinace" if you prefer) - why wuld we want to show a documentary about trostky?ANhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901425044840795347noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21995284.post-1152391506820826272006-07-08T21:45:00.000+01:002006-07-08T21:45:00.000+01:00The film is "Che"There seems to be one short Mexic...The film is "Che"<BR/><BR/>There seems to be one short Mexican doc about Trotsky and one made in Russia early 90s.Louisefeministahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08279991897445225597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21995284.post-1152390359962630192006-07-08T21:25:00.000+01:002006-07-08T21:25:00.000+01:00Good films on trotsky? I am not talking Richard Bu...Good films on trotsky? I am not talking Richard Burton hamming it up, intercut with scenes of a dying bull here.<BR/><BR/>wasn't there a film where Jack Palance (brilliant in Shane : "Weren't you with Robert E Lee, and his rebel trash") played Castro, and Omar Sharrif was Che. Sadly haven't seen it.ANhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901425044840795347noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21995284.post-1152389254365491942006-07-08T21:07:00.000+01:002006-07-08T21:07:00.000+01:00Any good films about Marx: NadaMore on Trotsky tho...Any good films about Marx: Nada<BR/><BR/>More on Trotsky though. <BR/><BR/>Derek does have a good point of turning the Wheen biog into a film. Could be "Carry on Karl.." or something similarLouisefeministahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08279991897445225597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21995284.post-1152388138028713122006-07-08T20:48:00.000+01:002006-07-08T20:48:00.000+01:00As a film buff - Do you know any good films about ...As a film buff - Do you know any good films about Marx, Louise, in answer to Derek's point?ANhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901425044840795347noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21995284.post-1152387984440640012006-07-08T20:46:00.000+01:002006-07-08T20:46:00.000+01:00yeah, agree (am a film buff though...). Riff Raff ...yeah, agree (am a film buff though...). Riff Raff would be a good film to show though.Louisefeministahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08279991897445225597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21995284.post-1152387794919390602006-07-08T20:43:00.000+01:002006-07-08T20:43:00.000+01:00Nothing wrong with artistic merit, but when organi...Nothing wrong with artistic merit, but when organisig a social event it is better that the film is accessible and entertaining first!<BR/><BR/>For film buuffs it might be different, but these are primarily political events.ANhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901425044840795347noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21995284.post-1152386148624460242006-07-08T20:15:00.000+01:002006-07-08T20:15:00.000+01:00Ok, Riff Raff by Loach as it is political and has ...Ok, Riff Raff by Loach as it is political and has humour as well.<BR/><BR/>What is wrong with artistic merit..?Louisefeministahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08279991897445225597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21995284.post-1152385603093130202006-07-08T20:06:00.000+01:002006-07-08T20:06:00.000+01:00yes but then it isn't really political enough, and...yes but then it isn't really political enough, and really sort of, well tooo film buff night.<BR/>Whereas we really need a balance - ideally films that are <BR/>i) entertaining<BR/>ii) left wing or green,<BR/>iii) some artistic merit<BR/><BR/>of the three criteria, sadly no 3 is the one I woudl dispense with first!!!ANhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901425044840795347noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21995284.post-1152384796102902782006-07-08T19:53:00.000+01:002006-07-08T19:53:00.000+01:00Light hearted?Marx Brothers? and Groucho did have ...Light hearted?<BR/><BR/>Marx Brothers? and Groucho did have leftie credentials as well.<BR/><BR/>Duck Soup would be excellent...Louisefeministahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08279991897445225597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21995284.post-1152384129777763242006-07-08T19:42:00.000+01:002006-07-08T19:42:00.000+01:00And any one got any suggestin for films that are, ...And any one got any suggestin for films that are, well you know, light hearted?ANhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901425044840795347noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21995284.post-1152384104408794832006-07-08T19:41:00.000+01:002006-07-08T19:41:00.000+01:00Good films about Marx, Derek? I don't know of any....Good films about Marx, Derek? I don't know of any. But open to suggestions.<BR/><BR/>We missed trrick on "Missing" coos one of our film evenings fealls n 11th September this year, and Missing would have therefore been ideal, to remind people about the hand the USA played in the "other" 9/11.<BR/><BR/>On the subject of Costa Garvas, I quite liked "Music Box" thoiugh a bit too courtroom drama. During the war against Serbia I spoke at a demosntaration In Budapest, mainly made up of a few hundred Serb refugees and the Hungarian Humanist party - and I realised only afterwards that the spot I spoke at was the exact same spot where the film portrayed the Jews as being thrown into the Danube. I felt a bit odd about it when the penny dropped.ANhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901425044840795347noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21995284.post-1152360669323753542006-07-08T13:11:00.000+01:002006-07-08T13:11:00.000+01:00Actually can I really really recommend the documen...Actually can I really really recommend the documentary, "Titicut Follies"(1967) directed Frederick Wiseman. <BR/><BR/>This doc was banned by the Supreme court in Massachusetts for "invasion of privacy". It is one the most hardhitting, disturbing, powerful and shocking docs I have seen. It was shown as part of the "Reel Madness" film festival in 2003. It takes place in an institution for the "criminally insane". <BR/><BR/>I remember the cinema was packed with about 100 or so people. My friend was a documentary film maker who remembered seeing the film in '67 before it was banned and she said there were protests at the way these incarcerated men were treated hence the ban (if people don't see the film then nobody can protest).<BR/><BR/>The doc shows scenes of graphic cruelty and abuse yet Wiseman was allowed complete access. <BR/><BR/>I think the doc is much more prevalent and relevant now with the horrors of Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo and that places like Bridgewater were places to practice institutionalised abuse and violence against powerless people. <BR/><BR/>When the film finished and lights came up nobody said a word as I think we were just numb and utterly shocked by what we saw. Some people were crying. <BR/><BR/>The ban has been taken off and the rights are in Wiseman's hands but he won't sell as a DVD or video. I think you come get access to a copy but probably through the States.<BR/><BR/>Can I also say Salvador (Oliver Stone), Missing (Costa Gavras)and <BR/><BR/>Camille Claudel as a fine example of women artists during the late 19th C. being excluded and overlooked and trampled on by the male sexist dominated art world (also the film help change french mental health legislation for the positive)<BR/><BR/>apols for long comment.Louisefeministahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08279991897445225597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21995284.post-1152359077303993602006-07-08T12:44:00.000+01:002006-07-08T12:44:00.000+01:00I remember watching film showings at the 4th Inter...I remember watching film showings at the 4th International Youth Summer Camps (ahhh those were the days)Unfortunately, most of us watching them would ultimately nod off as we were all usually pissed from the night before (or had just got pissed)<BR/><BR/>Think I saw Battle of Algiers and Battle Potemkin there but unfortunately a blur as booze addled brain.<BR/><BR/>Oh and do remember excited SWPers all bounding around shouting, "Skeggie here we come"!<BR/>And now it all seems rather slick and organised (Marxism) and even the agenda and timetable is on glossy paper and not usual rough cheap paper which can be mistaken for cheap toilet paper.<BR/><BR/>And they have usual fair re: films and documentaries s this year as well. Disappointed.Louisefeministahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08279991897445225597noreply@blogger.com