Codification: Editorial Department of Yiren Cinema
God, too, will grow old!
The great god Al Pacino is actually 80 years old, and he does not feel that he has crossed the ancient rarity to the age of old age.
To warmly celebrate the "god of acting" Al Pacino safely crossed the 80th birthday under the ravages of the epidemic. On May 9, 2020, the Yiren Cinema Viewing Conference held the third online video theme sharing meeting, and I wish you a good luck!
The theme of this issue revolves around Al Pacino's Oscar-winning film "Smelling a Woman", and the discussion of Al Pacino's person and his film is summarized below.
(By the way, more friends are welcome to join the movie viewing party.) ）
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" >, fairly evaluate Al Pacino's acting skills and status</h1>
Al Pacino is recognized as the "god of acting", as a representative figure of the "Method school", which makes the younger generations look up to him, needless to say. Al Pacino, who made an outstanding contribution to the flourishing of the "New Hollywood Film", had only one Oscar, which was clearly not enough to prove what he had achieved.
But then again, the winner of the "New Hollywood Movie" was not just Al Pacino, but four. In addition to Al Pacino, there are Robert De Niro, Jack Nicholson, Dustin Hoffman, and the "Four Kings" of the broad "New Hollywood Movie."
Compared with other actors, any one of the "Four Heavenly Kings" is enough to defy the crowd. But if you compare it among the big four, it has to be said that Al Pacino is the worst.
In terms of Oscar recognition, Jack Nicholson's achievement is the highest, winning a total of three performance awards for two masters and one match, namely the film emperor in 1976 for "Flying Over the Madhouse", the best supporting actor in 1984 for "Mother-daughter Love", and the film emperor in 1998 for "Perfect Perfection".
Secondly, dustin Hoffman won two film emperors, namely in 1980 for "Kramer and his wife" and in 1989 for "Rain Man".
Secondly, robert de Niro won two performance awards for one master and one match, namely best supporting actor in 1975 for "The Godfather 2" and "Angry Bull" in 1981.
The most important was Al Pacino, who only won an Oscar. Moreover, the other three first prizes were won in the 1970s or early 1980s, and only Pacino did not win the film emperor until 1993 with "Smelling Women", when he was 53 years old and had passed the golden acting career. The Oscars have always had a tradition of respecting the old, and in that year, Pacino competed with Robert Downey Jr. ("Chaplin"), Clint Eastwood ("Unforgivable"), Stephen Ray ("The Crying Game"), Denzel Washington ("Malcolm-X"), which was an evenly matched Oscar, and everyone contributed the best performance of their careers. It is not a surprise that anyone wins. Moreover, in terms of the success of the movie, "Smelling The Woman" is also the worst compared to several other films. Therefore, Al Pacino's victory this time is not convincing enough, at least not significantly superior to others.
For Al Pacino, who finally got his wish to get an Oscar, he slackened off. After that, there was no Oscar recognition for many years, and it was not until 2019's "The Irishman" that it was once again nominated for an Oscar. Such a performance is somewhat disappointing for the audience who likes Pacino.
In terms of acting, Al Pacino was originally a stage actor, and his line skills were particularly good, so his roaring explosive power was particularly penetrating on the screen, and he could always perform well in speech scenes. For example, the speech in "Smelling the Fragrant Woman" is that he fully demonstrates his line skills, and his performance is particularly good, which is the best speech shot in the history of film. Moreover, there are also early "Hot Day Afternoon" and "Challenge Sunday", in which the speech scenes are also particularly good, all of which are film and television classics, which fully demonstrate the acting characteristics of Pacino.
In addition, Al Pacino has also been a director several times, and it is clear that it is all a stage adaptation, which also proves that stage play is a familiar field for Pacino and can show his characteristics. This also causes that, in addition to the explosive scenes, if you need to play that kind of reclusive role, or a more restrained role, Pacino's control over the role is often insufficient. At this point, he doesn't have the complex diversity of the characters that Jack Nicholson has, nor does Dustin Hoffman have the ability to show the personalities of the little people in a subtle way.
Al Pacino is a god, but we still have to look at his achievements and shortcomings objectively, so that we can be more objective and fair. (Shared by: Li Xiaotian, Peter Petro Pavlovsk)
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > two, what is the theme and the most delicate and moving part of "Smelling Women"</h1>
Smell the Woman is an award-winning film for which Al Pacino was nominated for seven Oscars.
This was significant for Al Pacino, who had a long trough in his acting career before filming, and his career took him to another level after winning the film. Such an iconic film, if you like Hollywood movies, it is difficult to miss.
"Smell the Fragrance of Women" is called "The Scent of a woman" in English, which means the smell of women, and when I saw the name of the movie, I thought it was a perfume movie.
As a result, just because Al Pacino played a blind lieutenant colonel, Sfaran, the loss of vision made the sense of smell unusually sensitive. Or it can be understood that although his vision is missing, he is still very good. In this way, the theme of the film is highlighted. (Shared by: Edmund)
Similar to "Mind Catcher" and "Death Poetry Society", "Smelling Women" is also the kind of film that was born out of the theme of the campus.
Moreover, the plot is very exquisite, the painting style is fresh and simple, the male protagonist is in a period of confusion and confusion to a certain extent, at this time there is a life mentor, in the process of getting along with this mentor, his three views began to change fundamentally, and finally completed a transformation of life.
The difference is that in the two films of "Mind Catcher" and "Death Poetry Society", the influence of the mentor on the male protagonist is almost a covering effect, rather than in this film, the personalities of the mentor lieutenant colonel and the male protagonist Charlie penetrate each other and promote each other, and they both finally complete their reconciliation with themselves and reach a certain state of balance.
There is also a big difference, that is, the story of this film is more close to death, whenever I think of the lieutenant colonel's dashing and wonderful life and confident and calm look is the last afterglow of life, it will be very sad, but jumping out of the story, I have to admire the screenwriter's juxtaposition of this very life-rich life with death will be very clever, life is about the same, often always wait until death comes, only to find the beauty of life. (Shared by Joker)
"Smell the Fragrance and Recognize the Woman", the title of the film is about "woman", but with the addition of a "knowledge", it is still a man, an old and a young two lovely men.
AlPacino's acting skills have been widely acclaimed around the world and have countless fans.
In the play, he is a blind man, perhaps it is for this reason that he can identify the perfume smell of each woman, and can also clearly distinguish the meaning of this smell, I have to say that he is indeed very powerful, there is an ability that ordinary people do not have.
The most classic tango dance in the film that impressed me. People can't forget for a long time, two strangers have never seen but can dance such a dance, it can be said that there is a tacit understanding.
There are also racing parts and speeches at school.
Al Pacino is a blind man in the film, a blind man driving, how ridiculous it sounds, but Farran does it, crazy to enjoy the last hustle and bustle before death comes, and Charlie rents a red Ferrari sports car, but is not satisfied with being only in the co-pilot's seat, since the smell of smelling women, the car is not to mention, the car and the woman are what men want most.
In the movie, he once said that "he loves women more than anything, and far less than women, in second place, is Ferrari." "With skillful driving skills and a strong sense of direction, it is easy to walk through the streets and alleys. A normal person may not be as good as he is a blind man, and these flashes are enough to make Charlie exclaim, and also begin to infiltrate invisibly and imperceptibly.
When St. Farran wanted to die, the little male protagonist stopped him, St. Farran said to give me a reason, did not expect the little male protagonist to give two, he said you can dance and drive, and both perform so well, St. Farran also has a soft place in his heart, instantly melted, and slowly put down his gun.
Born into a poor family, Charlie's family is not as well-off as his classmates, so he works harder than others, so he chooses to take care of part-time on weekends or work in the library, and his classmate grew up with a golden key, a child who only drilled into his father's arms when he did something wrong, compared to Charlie is indeed a sparkling treasure boy. In just a few days together, Farran and Charlie slowly fit together and achieved each other, and Farran gradually got rid of the shackles of the heart demon.
Finally, talking about the speech part, I was passionate about watching it, and I thought it would be nice if someone could help me in this way, and The impassioned and wonderful speech that Stefland gave at the school assembly finally saved Charlie from punishment, and also taught a lesson to all the students present, and the ending was happy, and they were reborn in mutual encouragement.
"Smelling The Woman" teaches us that in the face of all the difficulties and fatal blows in life, we may be like Farland for a hundred years, and finally rejoice; when faced with a major choice, we may be as confused and troubled as Charlie, but never stop the pace of exploration, do not forget the meaning of the afterlife, to be like a sprout in the cracks, always longing for light and hope. (Shared by: Gao Meinan)
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > three, two memorable two clips from Smelling a Woman</h1>
I'm going to talk about the first scene in "Smelling a Woman" in which the lieutenant colonel appears. The first is Al Pacino's acting skills. From the beginning of the film to the present day, it is not clear that the lieutenant colonel is blind. Therefore, the primary purpose of this appearance is to let the audience know and accept that the lieutenant colonel is blind, if according to the traditional method, or blindfold the lieutenant colonel at the beginning, and directly use the picture to show it. Either let the lieutenant colonel make a mistake, such as overturning a wine glass or the like, so that you can show the fact that you are blind in a dynamic way, or you can use the problem to play and show the lieutenant colonel's temper. But apparently Al Pacino despised these traditional techniques. He used an elegant and unembarranged approach.
The mid-correction sat precariously, his face showing fatigue. Both eyes are always looking in one direction. Although the lieutenant colonel's gaze in the space is in the direction of the protagonist, the director gives the audience enough hints through the processing of the lens screen. The lieutenant colonel's gaze is always facing the left on the screen, and when playing the close-up of the protagonist, the protagonist is always on the left side of the picture, because the two are standing face to face, we can easily be implanted in the impression that the lieutenant colonel does not look directly at the protagonist. In the midst of constant hints, it was finally revealed that Al Pacino was blindly pouring wine. In this way, the impression that the lieutenant colonel was a blind man was passed on to the audience gracefully and without embarrassment, and the image of grumpy temper and majesty was expressed by Pacino in large lines. This is easy for the old drama bone.
The biggest surprise of this scene comes from the photography, or rather, the treatment of light and shadow. The sunlight outside the window was just right to hide the lieutenant colonel in the shadows. I thought this was the effect of a lombrand light during the 30s silent films, designed to produce a high-contrast effect by hitting the lieutenant colonel's face with light, while the protagonist Charlie's face was always flat. But after revisiting it, I found that it was not, the light source came from outside the window, it was static. The lieutenant colonel needs to accommodate the light source by moving his body, and you can imagine how difficult this will be for the actor's operation. This reminds me of the great artist Caravaggio's The Arrest of Jesus (1602) and David with Goliath's Head in Hand (1609).
The second clip is the famous tango. "Por una Cabeza" (Por una Cabeza) as a tango song, appears in "Schindler's List" and "True Lies". The song was composed in Argentina in 1935 and appeared in Schindler's List. This dance is one of the well-known dances in the history of film, in fact, the main performance is growth, and the focus is on the heroine.
Gabrielle Anwar is a dancer by birth, and her dance skills are speechless, and this performance is mainly acting, from the confusion, fear, and trepidation when she first appeared on the stage. From the very beginning, he pressed his wrist against the Lieutenant Colonel's hand (without letting him wrap his arms around his waist), (here is a detail, the Lieutenant Colonel understands this, after gracefully leading the lady's hand to his shoulder, the opening scene does not directly wrap his palm around the woman's waist, but gently touches the back of his hand.) It's worthy of being an old hooligan. A smile of joy at the first big move in the back, and a joy and confidence in the back of the circle. By the end of the dance, the previously uneasy persona was completely replaced by a strong person full of confidence and pleasure. In just a few minutes of dance, it was hard to shoot a period of growth that gradually entered the better state. This is one of the four major movie dance scenes in my mind. (The remaining three are the duo dance in Pulp Fiction, the wheelchair dance of Fa Ge and Honggu in "Across the Seas", and the ballet at the beginning of "Leaping over the Soviet Union.") ）
To be honest, "Smell the Woman" is just an ordinary commercial film. It is precisely because of this that old drama bones like Al Pacino can calm the scene and dominate the whole work. It will not be reduced to a tool of expression like those literary and artistic films with the director's artistic pursuit as the first purpose. Another similar work is Simone (also translated as Virtual Idol). Of course, both are pure commercial films, and the artistry of "Smelling Women" is much higher. I think the theme of Al Pacino's work is very appropriate. (Shared by: Peter Pavlovsk)
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > four, "Smell the Fragrance of Women" gives people the three biggest touches</h1>
One is a chance encounter. "The world is so big, it is a miracle to meet anyone", the lieutenant colonel met a strange beauty in a restaurant, and then left the classic tango, this life creates a beautiful and pleasing to the eye. The same is true of all the people who meet in the Yiren Film Group, and it is also a miracle that we can meet and meet in the vast world, and I hope that we can also create more stories and leave a beautiful mark on our lives.
The second is meaning. In "Smelling the Woman", the blind lieutenant colonel commits suicide after completing his bucket list, because he is blind, so he has to be trapped at home; because of his personality, he is not welcomed by his brother's family; because he has lost the meaning of life, he cannot find a reason to live.
However, Charlie, a middle school student, gave him a reason to live, he could drive or dance, he was needed by others in this world, and he had the value of his existence. Therefore, the lieutenant colonel living in the dark has the meaning of living.
I have recommended "Fear of Death: The Driving Force of Human Behavior" many times, this book is mainly about realizing that "people will eventually die" is the sadness of human beings, in order to cope with the fear of death, human beings have invented various cultural values, and individuals find self-esteem in their own cultural values, and they will find their own meaning and have the strength to live.
I think "Fear of Death: The Driving Force of Human Behavior" can be used to explain why the lieutenant colonel wants to live.
The third is whistle-blowing. Whistleblowing is a main line of "Smelling Women", and Charlie has been cheered by his classmates for insisting on not informing. In our daily lives, we see students informing teachers and group friends to report the behavior of WeChat groups, and we also scoff at them.
But simply viewing whistleblowing as a derogatory term is also unrealistic. I often encounter reports in my work, because article 148 of the Food Safety Law stipulates that if the food is unqualified, the fake one is refunded and the loss is ten, less than one thousand according to the thousand, the interests are moving, so it has spawned the industry of professional counterfeiters.
If a professional counterfeiter reports that the sweetener aspartame does not indicate the content of phenylalanine in the label of a certain food, and reports it on the label in violation of national standards, and then profits from it, is this report supported?
Should! If a person with phenylketonuria mistakenly eats this food, it will aggravate their condition, and the warning marked on the label that "patients with phenylketonuria should not be used" is the proper meaning, and such a report should be supported.
You see, the same is all whistleblowing, in different environments, it is sometimes a positive word, sometimes a derogatory word, how to pinch it? This is a question we should be thinking about. (Shared by: Wang Xiaodong)
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" >5, about suicide, you need to know inside and outside the film</h1>
The film focuses on young and old, and the protagonist Sfaranga supporting role Charlie.
We are from the eyes of the supporting actor Charlie, observing the blind Lieutenant Colonel Sfaran's life for a few days.
Stellane is vicious, moody, and not likable at all. He has always had the desire to commit suicide, but he wants to enjoy the prosperity of the world and then commit suicide. Because of his mobility, he needs a guide, so the male student Charlie has the opportunity to enter the life of the rich. Fly first class, dance tango with beautiful women, stay in upscale hotels, fly Ferraris, and eat lavish meals.
The audience will feel like Charlie has a dream, and after waking up, Charlie has to face his own real problems - how to deal with the school hearing.
Lieutenant Colonel Stefland helped the people to the end, attending the hearing and using an impassioned speech to keep Charlie in the school without any punishment.
On the surface, Charlie and Sfarane were helping each other. But in reality, Farran is Charlie's guide or even a "mentor" in such a role.
Stellan's life, which helped him travel, also dissuaded him from suicide. Sfaran also allowed Charlie to enjoy the glory and wealth of the world, and also solved his own troubles.
But if you think about it, suicide would have required great courage, and a proud person like Sfaran, once decided, would never change, let alone listen to the advice of a hairy boy.
Perhaps, this is Charlie's coming-of-age ceremony. Charlie needs such a person to appear, to take him to experience high life, and to help him solve practical difficulties. Charlie traveled thousands of miles to attend the aristocratic high school in the field, read with a group of rich boys, and was sneered at by them.
For what? Nothing more than for their own American dream. The American Dream is concretized in the film, the material enjoyment and the respect of classmates. After waking up from the dream, you have to slowly earn part-time income and slowly struggle to realize your dreams.
This is also the crux of the lack of speculation in this movie, you will think that this movie is very good, fragrant car beauty, tango speech, and the core value of the so-called "no whistleblowing",
But it's just a good movie in a literary film. Al Pacino's moody character made the film so that you would focus on his performance and not be able to walk your eyes off.
Regarding suicide, Japan has a rich layer of suicide culture, the most famous theory is "because life has no value." The same is true of Sfaran's psychology, but it is obscured by vanity and prosperity and does not unfold. Many famous Japanese writers like to commit suicide, such as Yasunari Kawabata, author of "Snow Country", and Osamu Dazai, author of "Human Disqualification".
As for the excellent films, there is The Taste of Cherries by Abbas of Iran, which has a deeper exploration of the theme of suicide. Through the movie, you can see the living conditions of ordinary people in Iran, as well as the views on faith, war, and life, and this movie won the Cannes Palme d'Or. The Palme d'Or sometimes doesn't need the grand epic of "Farewell to the King", and a middle-class person can talk about the grand prize with a few small people driving a land rover. (Shared by: Edmund)
< h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > six, "Smell the Woman" is a film with an inflated score? </h1>
In fact, I have never seen the movie "Smelling Women" before, and I have always thought that this is a blind man's movie, and I am not interested in Al Pacino playing with women, I prefer Pacino and De Niro's man play.
Al Pacino has starred in too many double-male configuration movies, such as "Hot Day Afternoon", "Scarecrow", "Devil's Spokesperson", "Loyal Traitor", "Shocking Insider", "Line of Fire", etc., all of which are great acting skills and sparks.
After watching it, I learned that this is still a movie with two male protagonists. The film stars the blind lieutenant colonel played by Al Pacino and the high school student played by Chris O'Donna, who has lost hope in life and wants to commit suicide after being addicted; high school students face the life problem of whether to betray the perpetrators of the pranks at school. In a short weekend together, the two people influenced each other, helped each other, and solved their own life difficulties.
This work, as the only male protagonist of Al Pacino to win an Oscar, is all about this blind lieutenant colonel. It's a character with a complex personality who can take you to the best hotel in New York after laughing at you sarcastically; he can casually give you nicknames and punch and kick because others call him; he can help you take your sister, dancing the sexiest tango, but he loses the courage to live after the affair. On the one hand, he is a tyrant with a strong desire for control, and on the other hand, like a teacher and a father, he is pointing out the mysteries of life, but he cannot see through the fog in front of him.
Another focus of the film is the conundrum faced by high school students, either by revealing to the principal who had spoofed the principal so that he could get his ticket to Harvard, or by gritting his teeth and not letting up, he was punished by expulsion. The film gives such a choice, in fact, it is not wise, because the answer is obvious, too easy to make an answer, not a life dilemma. First of all, it is because the reason for the expulsion given by the principal is untenable, of course, he has this power, but this is completely unprincipled behavior, and he cannot find out the mastermind behind it, so he will take the witness to the knife, which is simply nonsense. The last moot court scene is even more incomprehensible. What is the logic of two witnesses, one of whom can continue to study at the school because his father is a patron of the school, and the other who is expelled because he has not charged others? All of this is actually to pave the way for Al Pacino's final defense, but the triumph of good over evil always seems a bit bland.
In contrast, Al Pacino's character setting is more exciting and much more reasonable. He blew himself blind while training to throw grenades, could not continue to serve, lost his glory and light, and in the presence of his relatives he preferred to be an uninteresting wicked man than to be comforted and pitied by them without temperature. What's there to be nostalgic about? So eating, living, wearing, playing should be the best and most expensive, in order to test drive Ferrari, give 2000 benefits fee is not heartache, a purpose, is to want a cool to death.
There is also a stunned young man around, well, take him to see it, let him know that there are so many good things in this world waiting for him to experience and try, and then teach a few tricks of bubble girl skills, and also live up to the hard service of these days, and there is no regret after death. Under normal circumstances, after attempting suicide, people will no longer think about dying, and often will live. The high school student stopped the lieutenant colonel's suicidal behavior, and also opened another life for the blind lieutenant colonel, with his sensitive sense of smell and excellent eloquence, the next beautiful relationship is coming.
Although it won the Oscar with "Smelling the Fragrant Woman", but it is actually just a reasonable film, the Douban score of 9.1 is really a bit high, the main point of view is Al Pacino's acting skills, the storyline is not wonderful, even if the final defense scene, it only maintains the values of justice, and there is no reversal of the wonderful, and the following year's starring "The Dawn of the Lover" is a grade behind. And it was this award that opened up Al Pacino's rise again. (Shared by: Du Yiwu)
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > concluding remarks</h1>
In fact, everyone talked more at the meeting, the content was more exciting, and the minutes of the meeting could not be fully recorded, which is a pity.
Next, we will change the format of the conference, the theme of the theme is: "Hollywood jianghu: alternative perspectives on the history of film gangs", sharing time is 5.23 evening.
(Image from the Internet, copyright belongs to the original author)