bearcb You’re alone on that one, it’s been widely considered as one of the greatest movie endings of all time. It’s incredible, maybe you’re just lacking some brain cells. Who knows?
Chinatown, the Lights of the city, Casablanca and Les parapluies de Cherbourg are classics, and all the good directors know cinema very very well, but yes indeed, him and Justin Hurwitz are a very good combination and they're just at the beginning of their carrer
Well, the fact that he loves classic cinema doesn't make him a genius. Quite literally every self-respecting director should know these films by heart, it's just that he is more enamored with that style and he chooses to channel them in his work. But those are all really basic films, it's not like he has a particularly acquired taste.
Film: La La Land Song: City of Stars (La La Land) Line: "People love what other people are passionate about." (La La Land) Ending: La La Land Scene: Dream Sequence (La La Land)
Hey Gino, I've seen a lot of movies, but most of my favorites are from one film, too. Film: _Schindler's List_ Song: _Falling Slowly_ (_Schindler's List_ doesn't really have any sings, except for a couple in Yiddish)(_Schindler's List_ does have my favorite score of all time, though) Line: "I could have saved more person, and I didn't." (_Schindler's List_) Ending: _Schindler's List_ Scene: "I could have done more" (_Schindler's List_)(I obsessively have created multiple pieces of art inspired by that scene) I watch a lot of other movies, but it's okay if there's that one that just inspired you in every single way conceivable.
La La Land has gotta be in my Top 10 favorite movies of all time. it was truly revolutionary and while it may not be the “best” it was a work of art, a masterpiece. it made me feel so many emotions in the span of 2 hours. damien, your success is so well deserved. you are a true artist.
Love this guy! all his favorite films are all classics, proving he knows Hollywood better than most! loved "LA LA LAND", can't wait to see what he does next!
Patrick Crossley Well, his next film is "First Man," a film based off of the life of Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon, and it stars Ryan Gosling. Jesus Christ, Damien Chazelle is fantastic I swear.
that's a bit exaggerated ; since the 2010's he's been established as a star and a leading man and therefore is no longer 'an observer but the observed', it's easy to get swept up in less glorious bits of his filmography like Gangster Squad or Crazy, Stupid, Love where he was more or less playing a fictionalized version of his sexualized image, but you fail to acknowledge films like the Believer, Half Nelson, Lars & the Real Girl, Blue Valentine, Drive, or the Big Short (in which he and carell are basically carrying the movie), in which he displays a range that is actually quite wide. I'm not saying that he's THE actor, but in the hands of a good director he can be quite surprising. What worries me is that he was actually playing the same part in La La Land than in the other two not-so glorious movies that I mentioned; Chazelle, probably because he wanted nostalgia to sort blend in his movie, seemed more tempted to establish Gosling/Stone as a form of mythical cinema couple and starstruck his audience than actually draw great performances from his actors (which doesn't mean that Stone wasn't great; but I feel that her part actually allowed her to go beyond the iconic status that was meant to be cemented by the movie, and not his)
500 Days of Crawl Bed He's not even that good in those roles. He always has the same boring expression on his cold face and empty stare. He's one of the most overrated american actor right now. Still waiting for a groundbreaking performance from him...
Lemme try this. Film: The Thin Red Line Song: Miserlou (Pulp Fiction) (Does this count?) Line: Utivich, I think this just might be my masterpiece. (Inglourious Basterds) Ending: A Brighter Summer Day Scene: Michael in Corleone (The Godfather)
Pretty much all of my favorites come from _Schindler's List_. Except for song. But there happen to be a couple of Yiddish songs in the soundtrack, and that movie definitely has my favorite score of all time.
John Hooyer I love the music in Schindler's List, the score is a masterpiece. The opening scene with the candle burning out combined with the beautiful song hits me right in the heart every time, Spielberg is a genius.
Chazelle is a very talented young man, with good taste. These are top choices. Here's hoping that the depth of content of his films catches up to his obvious visual flair.
I have favorites from each genre. Of course my favorite mob crime movie is Goodfellas. My favorite comedy film might be Airplane. Favorite science fiction film might be When Worlds Collide or Metropolis. Favorite action film might be Inception or The Matrix. Favorite biopic probably The Irishman or Lincoln or Schindler's List.
Favorite film: Blade Runner Favorite song in a film: New York, New York (On The Town) Favorite movie line: I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse. (The Godfather) Favorite movie ending: The Empire Strikes Back Favorite movie moment: Ezekiel 25:17 (Pulp Fiction)
@@AK-im1qc Arrival is too often overlooked as one of the best films the 21st century. 2016 was a great year for movies (Arrival, La La Land, Moonlight, Manchester by the Sea, Silence, etc. etc. etc.)
For me, I would say this: Film: Dr. Strangelove Song: The Ry Cooder score from Paris, Texas Line: “All right, Mr. DeMille, I’m ready for my close-up” from Sunset Boulevard Ending: The Searchers Scene: Mandrake and Ripper Scene from Dr. Strangelove
Film: When Harry Met Sally Song: Wise Up (Magnolia) Line: I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of the life to start as soon as possible. (When Harry Met Sally) Ending: All That Jazz Scene: "I love being dead" (Gone Girl)
Film: Almost Famous Song: “Tuesday’s Gone,” Dazed and Confused Quote: “We’ll always have Paris,” Casablanca Ending: The Apartment Scene: Desert Scene, Casino
Ok, i didn't have any respect for the lalaland because i felt the huge umbrellas of cherbourg influence. But seeing this video now completely justifies that influence. Big respect for the director.
I would know most of those right off of the bat. Except for "favorite song." Otherwise, all of my other answers would be related to _Schindler's List_, and I could answer right off the bat.
favorite film: vertigo favorite song: fight the power (do the right thing) favorite line: "you gotta have a little faith in people." (Manhattan) favorite ending: chinatown favorite scene: kohaku river revelation (spirited away)
Film: Midnight Cowboy. Song: Mother Earth, Father Time (Charlotte’s Web). Line: Charlie Chaplin’s entire speech in The Great Dictator. Ending: The Third Man (Anna walks away). Scene: The “Chava sequence”, Fiddler on the Roof.
Lemme try this Film: Rocketman Song: Circle of Life Line: "I think if your clients want to sit on my shoulders and call themselves tall, they have a right try but there's no requirement that I enjoy sitting here listening to people lie. You have part of my attention, you have the minimum amount." (The Social Network) Ending: Bohemian Rhapsody Scene: Opening scene from The Lion King (1994)
Film: the dark knight Song: Another day of sun La La land Line: “no... I am your father” Empire Strikes back Ending: there’s no way I can pick one so I’ll list the best endings I can think of The dark knight La La Land Avengers infinity war Whiplash The social network The Godfather Empire strikes back Shawshank redemption Memento Toy story 3 Indiana Jones and the last crusade Inception Fight club Se7en Return of the Jedi Deathly hallows part 2 Revenge of the Sith Endgame The prestige Halloween Saw Scene: binary sunset Star Wars
Film: Jurassic Park Song: Cat People (Putting Out The Fire) Line: The Force Will Be With You, Always (A New Hope) Ending: Return of the Jedi: The Resistance celebrates their victory against the Empire. Scene: Dunkirk, Farrier shoots down a bomber which lands in the ocean near a large pile of oil that ignites into flames.
Favorite Film: Back to the Future Favorite song in a Movie: Stuck in the Middle with You (Reservoir Dogs) Favorite piece of film score: The Force Theme (Star Wars) Favorite Line: I dont wanna belong to any club that would have someone like me for a member (Annie Hall) Favorite Ending: When Harry Met Sally Favorite Scene: The Beta Band ( High Fidelity) Favorite Opening: La La Land
Film: The Shawshank Redemption Song: Don't Let It Bring You Down from American Beauty Line: "I'm looking for the least possible amount of responsibility." - Lester Burnham (American Beauty) Ending: Fight Club (yeah, I broke the first rule.) Scene: The entire final day sequence from American Beauty
Probably because La La Land is easier to digest than Whiplash. That's not at all a bad thing (both films are of equal merit IMO) but you can tell that the romantic tone of La La Land appeals more to people than the insane adrenaline of Whiplash from the former film's responses (the film is "magical", "an experience", "beautiful", etc.)
While i like whiplash more probably, I wouldn't say La La land is objectively worse. La la land is a beautiful film and both films are top notch. It just boils down to whether you wanna see a hard boiled movie with a lot psychological tension or a romantic musical.
Favorite film: Her Favorite song: Spirited Away Theme Favorite ending: Shutter Island Favorite scene: Ferris Bueller Museum Scene Favorite line: One kind word, one full hug where you burst me to your chest and held me tight, would've been like the sun of my heart for a thousand years (Gladiator)
Great great picks! Favorite film: It’s Such a Beautiful Day Favorite song: Wise Up - Magnolia Favorite ending: In the Mood for Love Favorite scene: Train to Swamp Bottom - Spirited Away Favorite line: So far so good... (La Haine)
Film: Star Wars - A New Hope Song: “Duel of the Fates” - Phantom Menace Line: “I find your lack of faith disturbing.” - Vader; A New Hope Ending: Return of the Jedi Scene: Battle of Heroes - RotS
Film: Solaris (1972) dir. Andrei Tarkovsky Song: Mrs. Robinson (The Graduate) by Simon & Garfunkel Line: O stella, o fedele stella, quando ti deciderai a darmi un appuntamento meno effimero, lontano da tutto, nella tua regione di perenne certezza?; Il Gattopardo (The Leopard) dir. Luchino Visconti End Scene: Once upon a time in America, dir. Sergio Leone; or The Holy Mountain, dir. Alejandro Jodorowsky Scene: The bowl of milk and the strawberries scene in The Seventh Seal, dir. Ingmar Bergman
Film : Chinatown Song : In Dreams (Blue Velvet) Line : Forget it Jake it’s Chinatown (Chinatown) Ending : Trainspotting Scene : Wise Up Scene (Magnolia)
Of course The umbrellas of Cherbourg...La La Land IS the film Jacques Demy would have made had he been alive now...the influence is there right from the first notes of the film...The Umbrelllas is a masterpiece of unbridled joy and passion and real life ...do see it if you liked La La Land
Dude, you got COVID? Did you lose your taste? If I EVER see Chazelle, I will compliment on his great taste for Demys classic, but will demand my money back for that dumpster fire was Lalaland
Favorite movie: Memento Favorite song in movie: Where is my Mind in Fight Club Favorite quote in movie: "You talking to me?!" in Taxi Driver Favorite movie ending: Fight Club
I'm always late, but: Film: Goodfellas Song: Layla (Goodfellas) Line: To tell you the truth, I lie a little (Chinatown) Ending: The Searches (Maybe because of the shot); Some Like It Hot Scene: The Whole Shooting (Taxi Driver)
Best film: Titanic Best song: Misirlou(pulp fiction) and Rock and roll pt II(joker) Fav line: I ate his lover with some favs beans and a nice chianti Ending: pursuit of happyness Scene: whiplash(rushing or dragging)
Film: La La Land Song: “Caravan” from Whiplash Line: Here’s to the fools who dream. (La La Land) Ending: Whiplash Scene: Planetarium scene in La La Land
Film: The Tree of Life Song: Somewhere Over the Rainbow (The Wizard of Oz) Line: ? Ending: Schindler's List Scene: Once Upon a Time in the West (Opening scene)
La La Land (2016) is great, but I don't think even Damien understands how brilliant his sophomoric Whiplash (2014) truly was. It captured the existential sensibilities of an entire generation taking it beyond films like The Social Network and Black Swan (2010). The shotgun loading of a narrative and the sheer visceral gut-punch of an ending elevate that film to the place of a masterpiece. I think, in La La Land, Chazelle is being irreverent and very sincerely so, but it isn't a masterpiece by any means. It feels a lot like The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, even the inclusion of the character trying to "save jazz" seems bizarrely misplaced, and it even drags at times. But Whiplash is the tornado of cinema. It doesn't let up on you. It's visceral, angered, insecure, vulnerable. It's what cinema was always truly meant to be.
Ok Movie: Moonlight Song: City of Stars(La La Land) Line: If you guys were the inventors of Facebook, you’d have invented Facebook(The Social Network) Ending: Birdman Scene: L.B. Mayor’s birthday party(Mank)
I gave Umbrellas of Cherbourg a try. I just couldn’t get into it. If you’re gonna do a musical, even one with a dark subject matter, I want dance numbers and actual songs, not just sung dialogue. Pretty actors and sets and costumes can’t do it enough for me.
I do agree with him that The Umbrellas of Cherbourg is one of the best films of all time. La La Land, however, is not very good. It is a poor attempt at remaking The Umbrellas of Cherbourg.
Marcus Adams Not gonna debate that. But take a look at the fact that a movie about a Gay, Black dude won top honors at the Academy Awards. I know the movie is so much more than that but look at the key words there. *Gay* and *Black*. Not only did this movie beat out a fuckin Hollywood musical, but it broke barriers on how stories can be told in the mainstream. Not just on the independent side of film, but in the very white, heterosexual side of film. I love La La Land as much as anyone who gives a shit about quality storytelling and technicalities in film, but culturally, Moonlight is the better picture.
@Marcus Adams the reason why Moonlight is better is because it doesn't have the same problems like La La Land. La La Land lacks consistency with its world and characters. Mia thinks she can break out in 6 years? The most misinformed and delusional character in a movie ever. Becoming an artist is for the long haul. Her character was unlikable and both characters were narcissistic and cocky. Moonlight is technically better in its cinematography. Each shot and frame were carefully articulated, while La La Land lacked the gravitas to create melancholic, but beautiful scenes. The waltz scene should be emotionally gut wrenching, but it was just flat because the camera didn't do anything special. Take a look at Black Swan. Long takes with choreographed handheld and so you really feel that the camera is dancing with the dancer.
Moonlight won coz of politics. La La land is far better. It will definitely outlive moonlight, there are plenty of mediocre movies which have won the oscar over the years, moonlight is one of them.
Well, duh, really, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg - of course, he wan't alive when that film came out but yes, it's clear in every frame of La La Land, with the only issue being that he's not Jacques Demy and never will be.
@Alex Beamer Whiplash was dog shit. The main lead couldn't act and JK Simmons character wasn't scary. He was laughable at best. The most unrealistic cartoonish antagonist I've ever seen in a movie. It's filled with inaccurate and off sync playing. It is really insulting to musicians. The music is boy band amateur crap and nothing at the level of real Jazz: Charlie Parker, Buddy Rich, Chet Baker, Thelonious Monk, etc. The ending is a complete generic tensionless rip off of Black Swan. The movie as a whole is a rip off of Black Swan. The color grading looks like piss. There's too many handheld, fucking lazy camera work. The writing is really bad. The dialogue does not flow natural with the continuity of the setting or the characters. They all speak like Harvard students, yet none of them ever went to Harvard. Completely unrealistic nihilistic narcissistic film.
Favorite film: Once Upon A Time In Hollywood Favorite piece of music in a film: "Where is my mind" from Fight Club Favorite line in a film: "I think this just might be my masterpiece." from "Inglorious Basterds" Favorite scene in a film: Ending scene of Fight Club
Eric Ryan no it just looks very deliberate, like his publicist or whoever told him to name these movies to fit with the narrative of la la land being a thowback to the golden age?
Funny how he said The Umbrellas of Cherbourg was the primary inspiration for La La Land and something like Moulin Rogue ended being more transparent in the film
The Oscars really blew it. They had a great movie that was really popular but in order to give the finger to Trump they gave the best picture award to Moonlight, a film nobody saw and that will be forgotten in 20 years. Now several years later the Oscars are a joke with plummeting viewership and completely irrelevant. Chances of Top Gun: Maverick getting the Best Picture Oscar this year: zero. Best movie ending? A tie between The Searchers and The Godfather.
having watched thousands of films, including indie and foreign ones I always question someone's tastes in movies if they only cite Casablanca, Charlie Chaplin, Chinatown and other mainstream films
That's their personal opinion :) Nothing to question, mainstream movies like casablanca are great as well, its stupid to question someone's taste, maybe you are too woke
but they are excellent movies, there's a reason why they're considered to be some of the best. Damien probably have seen thousands movies too but in a top movie list you can't choose all of the movies you've watched.
So he admits everything that went before was better, far better, and that all he did was remake the Umbrellas of Cherbourg. HOW do these young guys get funding?
My problem with La La Land is that it didn't introduce anything new to the cinema. It wasn't ground-breaking. It was mediocre musical with pretty visuals. And that's all it was.
Except it didn't. People who hate musicals didn't even go to see it. My friends who actually like musicals disliked it. I like musicals, yet I disliked the movie. Musicals were never gone... Not so long ago we had Les Miserables. So no, it's not like he revived some old, forgotten genre. People who don't like musicals won't go see this. And if they will, it'll be boring to them, and they will most likely never touch another musical again. I recently watched Cabaret and it pains me that Emma Stone got an Oscar. For what? Every actress who ever got an Oscar in a musical was talented, wonderful, whimsical, and whatever the musical needed her to be. Emma Stone in this movie was bland, unlikable, and couldn't even keep a good posture for those few dancing scenes.
Everything you're saying is true but remember almost no film ever has introduced something new to cinema, especially in the last 45 years. That's not the criteria of being an excellent film. Just look at Goodfellas or Pulp Fiction for example.
La La Land is one overrated movie. I'm not denying its quality, but a lot of noise for an efficient tribute yet deja vu musical full of clichés (except the end).
A typical self-absorbed liberal. Guess what, we can't all be making movies and become artists and sing and dance. Some of us are happy being farmers and mechanics and plumbers and that there is dignity in doing those things.
You are a sad little thing that most farmers, mechanics and plumbers laugh at and talk smack about behind your back. Yes those are necessary, respectable and honorable professions. How is Chazelle attacking that fact? What's got your fragile ego so injured? Chazelle is just saying what movies he likes, and what he likes in them. Some people act on the arts further and even make a career out of them. Stating how interested you are in lighter things does not equate to uh "liberalism", or saying others have to, or shaming others.
Just because someone doesn't like La La Land doesn't mean they like dumb movies. I love movies. I adore them. I want to make movies in the future. Yet, La La Land didn't do it for me. And no, that doesn't mean my favourite movies are Transformers or anything by Adam Sandler. I cannot stand those.
I get it if you don't like the movie. But to say that its crappy is a vast hyperbole. A movie does not have as much critical success as La La Land has without being well made. I personally loved the movie, so perhaps my line of thinking is steeped in bias, but it is made perfectly on a technical level. The use of color was beautiful, the editing was genius, the score was just amazing, the costume design was subtle and tells a story in and of itself. Sure, Gosling looked at his feet when he danced, but you would be a fool to think this was done unintentionally. In a film that paid such close attention to detail, something as noticeable as that is not done without reason. It made the characters feel like real people instead of the grandiose caricatures seen in past musicals.
The script was bad. That was my biggest problem. The argument they had that night when Seb made dinner was incredibly forced and didn't feel natural at all. Characters had no depth. In fact, they were quite unlikable. Yes, the whole movie looked pretty, but that wasn't enough for me (and it seems to some other people either) to carry it for two hours. If a movie lasts for two hours, I expect some actual plot. I expect some character development and depth. I expect more than just 20 minutes of music. It had what, five songs, and everything else was variations of them? Not to mention that for a movie about jazz it had almost no jazz in it, which is unforgivable. To say that they were meant to dance and sing the way they did is just lazy. I don't believe for a second all that was intentional. They just wanted big stars to lead the whole thing, that's it. Sometimes, it works (for example, in Chicago it honestly didn't matter that Zeta Jones and Zellweger were not professional singers or dancers because they did an amazing job). In here, it didn't. And it's funny, really, because in Les Miserables everyone was complaining about how horrible everyone sang, yet there one could say it was more intentional than here. There characters were also acting everything out whilst singing on set, so if they sounded stressed or heartbroken and choking on tears, it would make no sense that their singing was flawless. Not to mention the complete lack of side characters. What, we had Simmons in one scene in the restaurant (and appears for a brief moment later towards the end of the movie), we had Seb's sister and her amazing what, five sentences that she uttered, and we have Keith, a real musician whose talent was completely wasted in that movie. John Legend is a professional pianist, and yet, they give him a guitar? Are you serious? We can also talk about the fact that nowhere in the movie it was mentioned how jazz was made thanks to the black people, and how funny it sounds to have a ˝white saviour˝ who will save that genre. Not to mention the whole idea that jazz is dying. Jazz is very much alive and isn't going anywhere. So yes, when someone says La La Land sucked, they're closer to the truth than those who think it was a masterpiece. Oh, and one other thing that bothers me a lot about La La Land... why exactly was it revolutionary? What exactly did it bring to musicals that we haven't seen before? Everything in it was either a homage or a reference to some old musical that Damien Chazelle liked. The ending is not original, the dancing is not original, not even the music is original, if we know what his inspirations were. Honestly, to have almost everyone be so amazed with this subpar musical says a lot about today's world, and it makes me wonder where exactly is the movie industry going...
i understand your views completely when i saw this film i too believed it to be a masterpiece but when i took a step back and analyzed it as film there is nothing really THAT revolutionary about it except it is definitely not a bad film at all, the dinner scene i felt was completely natural and i found emma stone's character extremely likable although ryan goslings was at times pretentious. I also agree that it is not intentional that they lack singing skill but i mean cmon it wasnt horrible singing they did a satisfactory job mediocre perhaps. the dancing i do agree was mediocre i admit. also everyone knows jazz came from the black community so it would have been unecessary to include a history lesson in the film. i have to say though that the white saviour argument is bullshit. He simply just happens to be white and likes jazz thats it.. Chet Baker, Bill Evans, Dave Brubeck where all white jazz musicians are they white saviours because they were white? and also Ryan's character mentions various jazz musicians in the film like Louise armstrong, Thelonius Monk and Count Basie so obviously he is giving credit to jazz where credit is due, he is not appropriating jazz in any way because he is not claiming it to be his own style of music and i do believe you are wrong in saying that jazz is not dying. if you look at the sales jazz records sell worse than classical music today. And to answer your question as to why it was revolutionary is that it wasnt or hasnt yet... although cliche as it sounds the films that are said to be revolutionary are ones that have stood the test of time. this film just came out so it is in no way revolutionary ... (yet or maybe not yet who knows) however it is in a sense unique because it was a bitter sweet romance musical which is extremely uncommon in todays cinema. and i say today because in the past there have been bittersweet ending films like casablanca. however this film did that but added the musical aspect to it which in todays cinema is uncommon like it or not. Overall the the films message was also original the fact that if you have a goal its not always rainbows and sunshine to complete them, there will be compromises you have to make to possibly make new dreams or give up on other dreams you have. although i can bet that this message has already been done before by other films i gaurentee none of those with this message were musicals.
Nel Kan Everyone's experience is different, but I felt the dinner scene was rather realistic. I had arguments exactly like that one before. The characters I feel are likeable even though they have their flaws, but I felt I was able to connect with Emma more. Anyways, I felt like you viewed Seb's connection with jazz too negatively; any race can have a passion for something and want it to thrive, doesn't mean it was "white savior". I mean languages die out all the time, so let's say a Chinese person is informing others of a dying Native American language, are you calling this person a "Asian savior"? there were bad developments in the film, but overall it was enjoyable.
Favourite ending to a film? He made it in Whiplash
It's my favourite film
No way, that ending ruined an otherwise good movie.
@@bearcb I think you have an extra chromosome
@@bearcb yeah that's a dumb comment
bearcb You’re alone on that one, it’s been widely considered as one of the greatest movie endings of all time. It’s incredible, maybe you’re just lacking some brain cells. Who knows?
This guy has clearly not seen Transformers 2
Owais Smith yeepp
Owais Smith fuck, If i had any coffe I would have spilled it all over my imaginary table
Made my day.
I stopped watching Transformers at number 2.... I mean how could they best it ?
i literally Saved this video in a playlist just for this comment
Chazelle you are an absolute genius, it amazes me how well you know the cinema, you will become a legend someday
Jean Paul Morazzani he’s a legend already
He is already a legend . After creating Whiplash which is told one of the best and classic endings in cinema
and La la land
Chinatown, the Lights of the city, Casablanca and Les parapluies de Cherbourg are classics, and all the good directors know cinema very very well, but yes indeed, him and Justin Hurwitz are a very good combination and they're just at the beginning of their carrer
Well, the fact that he loves classic cinema doesn't make him a genius. Quite literally every self-respecting director should know these films by heart, it's just that he is more enamored with that style and he chooses to channel them in his work. But those are all really basic films, it's not like he has a particularly acquired taste.
I like the fact that he is young and has an appreciation for classics and old art.
Film: The Room
Song: anything Tommy Wiseau sings
Line: You’re tearing me apart Lisa!
Ending: The Room
Scene: rooftop scene (The Room)
I did naaaat
Vikas Kundbi oh hi Mark
Vikas Kundbi
Oh! Hi Mark 😆
@@alidvdali she is my future wife
Song: "Chip Chip Chip Chip" by Tommy Wiseau
Film: La La Land
Song: City of Stars (La La Land)
Line: "People love what other people are passionate about." (La La Land)
Ending: La La Land
Scene: Dream Sequence (La La Land)
you haven't seen many movies...
You haven't made many friends.
You haven't heard many comebacks...
Damn, THAT quick?
Hey Gino, I've seen a lot of movies, but most of my favorites are from one film, too.
Film: _Schindler's List_
Song: _Falling Slowly_ (_Schindler's List_ doesn't really have any sings, except for a couple in Yiddish)(_Schindler's List_ does have my favorite score of all time, though)
Line: "I could have saved more person, and I didn't." (_Schindler's List_)
Ending: _Schindler's List_
Scene: "I could have done more" (_Schindler's List_)(I obsessively have created multiple pieces of art inspired by that scene)
I watch a lot of other movies, but it's okay if there's that one that just inspired you in every single way conceivable.
there is nothing more powerful in a movie than silence.
La La Land has gotta be in my Top 10 favorite movies of all time. it was truly revolutionary and while it may not be the “best” it was a work of art, a masterpiece. it made me feel so many emotions in the span of 2 hours. damien, your success is so well deserved. you are a true artist.
Love this guy! all his favorite films are all classics, proving he knows Hollywood better than most! loved "LA LA LAND", can't wait to see what he does next!
Patrick Crossley Well, his next film is "First Man," a film based off of the life of Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon, and it stars Ryan Gosling. Jesus Christ, Damien Chazelle is fantastic I swear.
that's a bit exaggerated ; since the 2010's he's been established as a star and a leading man and therefore is no longer 'an observer but the observed', it's easy to get swept up in less glorious bits of his filmography like Gangster Squad or Crazy, Stupid, Love where he was more or less playing a fictionalized version of his sexualized image, but you fail to acknowledge films like the Believer, Half Nelson, Lars & the Real Girl, Blue Valentine, Drive, or the Big Short (in which he and carell are basically carrying the movie), in which he displays a range that is actually quite wide. I'm not saying that he's THE actor, but in the hands of a good director he can be quite surprising. What worries me is that he was actually playing the same part in La La Land than in the other two not-so glorious movies that I mentioned; Chazelle, probably because he wanted nostalgia to sort blend in his movie, seemed more tempted to establish Gosling/Stone as a form of mythical cinema couple and starstruck his audience than actually draw great performances from his actors (which doesn't mean that Stone wasn't great; but I feel that her part actually allowed her to go beyond the iconic status that was meant to be cemented by the movie, and not his)
I don't know if 'starstruck' was correct, I'm french, sorry x)
500 Days of Crawl Bed He's not even that good in those roles. He always has the same boring expression on his cold face and empty stare. He's one of the most overrated american actor right now. Still waiting for a groundbreaking performance from him...
Tansi You should watch the Nice Guys, he has the charisma of a wild majestic lion in it.
Lemme try this.
Film: The Thin Red Line
Song: Miserlou (Pulp Fiction) (Does this count?)
Line: Utivich, I think this just might be my masterpiece. (Inglourious Basterds)
Ending: A Brighter Summer Day
Scene: Michael in Corleone (The Godfather)
Bet.
Song: Is that an original song for the movie? That was pretty much the question.
Pretty much all of my favorites come from _Schindler's List_. Except for song. But there happen to be a couple of Yiddish songs in the soundtrack, and that movie definitely has my favorite score of all time.
+Benish Ben
I care
John Hooyer I love the music in Schindler's List, the score is a masterpiece. The opening scene with the candle burning out combined with the beautiful song hits me right in the heart every time, Spielberg is a genius.
Chazelle is a very talented young man, with good taste. These are top choices. Here's hoping that the depth of content of his films catches up to his obvious visual flair.
How on earth did he choose the choices so quickly? I have so many faves I wouldn't be able to choose that easily.
TV interviews sometimes rehearse questions beforehand in order to prevent awkward silences. I'm sure Chazelle had some prep time.
I have favorites from each genre. Of course my favorite mob crime movie is Goodfellas. My favorite comedy film might be Airplane. Favorite science fiction film might be When Worlds Collide or Metropolis. Favorite action film might be Inception or The Matrix. Favorite biopic probably The Irishman or Lincoln or Schindler's List.
Editing.
All my music teachers in high school have told me their favorite song is As Time Goes By from Casablanca.
i loved how diversed his choices were!!!
Favorite film: Blade Runner
Favorite song in a film: New York, New York (On The Town)
Favorite movie line: I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse. (The Godfather)
Favorite movie ending: The Empire Strikes Back
Favorite movie moment: Ezekiel 25:17 (Pulp Fiction)
Ooh, that's a great set of answers. But blade runner 2049/arrival would be my fav(not the original blade runner).
@@AK-im1qc Arrival is too often overlooked as one of the best films the 21st century. 2016 was a great year for movies (Arrival, La La Land, Moonlight, Manchester by the Sea, Silence, etc. etc. etc.)
How could he not even mention the critically acclaimed masterpiece, directed by none other than M Night Shyamalan, Avatar the Last Airbender?
Lol, whyyy
That's just your opinion... Man
The movie is an absolute piece of crap but I know you're sarcastic
@@potatotuberdisease3706 he was being sarcastic lol
@@potatotuberdisease3706 yeah...............man
Damien Chazelle should make a movie about Amy Winehouse.
10/10 would pay to see it
Ah Damien, you have excellent taste!
For me, I would say this:
Film: Dr. Strangelove
Song: The Ry Cooder score from Paris, Texas
Line: “All right, Mr. DeMille, I’m ready for my close-up” from Sunset Boulevard
Ending: The Searchers
Scene: Mandrake and Ripper Scene from Dr. Strangelove
Great choices
Totally agree with as time goes by. Casablanca is probably my favorite movie
Film: When Harry Met Sally
Song: Wise Up (Magnolia)
Line: I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of the life to start as soon as possible. (When Harry Met Sally)
Ending: All That Jazz
Scene: "I love being dead" (Gone Girl)
Film: Almost Famous
Song: “Tuesday’s Gone,” Dazed and Confused
Quote: “We’ll always have Paris,” Casablanca
Ending: The Apartment
Scene: Desert Scene, Casino
thank you for the beautiful words
Film: Shawshank redemption
Song: Lose yourself
Ending: The good the bad and the ugly Line: Royale with cheese
Scene: Candyland massacre
Ok, i didn't have any respect for the lalaland because i felt the huge umbrellas of cherbourg influence. But seeing this video now completely justifies that influence. Big respect for the director.
Each of these questions would require me to think for several minutes, I mean favorite scene or line and he instantly knows it?
They probably edited any pauses out
I wouldn't be able to choose even after hours.
I'm guessing they clued him in on the questions beforehand or did some editing though.
Pretty sure he knew ahead of time what they were gonna ask him. Standard for these type of interviews.
I would know most of those right off of the bat. Except for "favorite song." Otherwise, all of my other answers would be related to _Schindler's List_, and I could answer right off the bat.
Filmmakers are often asked these types of questions during press.
favorite film: vertigo
favorite song: fight the power (do the right thing)
favorite line: "you gotta have a little faith in people." (Manhattan)
favorite ending: chinatown
favorite scene: kohaku river revelation (spirited away)
Film: Midnight Cowboy.
Song: Mother Earth, Father Time (Charlotte’s Web).
Line: Charlie Chaplin’s entire speech in The Great Dictator.
Ending: The Third Man (Anna walks away).
Scene: The “Chava sequence”, Fiddler on the Roof.
Lemme try this
Film: Rocketman
Song: Circle of Life
Line: "I think if your clients want to sit on my shoulders and call themselves tall, they have a right try but there's no requirement that I enjoy sitting here listening to people lie. You have part of my attention, you have the minimum amount." (The Social Network)
Ending: Bohemian Rhapsody
Scene: Opening scene from The Lion King (1994)
Film: the dark knight
Song: Another day of sun La La land
Line: “no... I am your father” Empire Strikes back
Ending: there’s no way I can pick one so I’ll list the best endings I can think of
The dark knight
La La Land
Avengers infinity war
Whiplash
The social network
The Godfather
Empire strikes back
Shawshank redemption
Memento
Toy story 3
Indiana Jones and the last crusade
Inception
Fight club
Se7en
Return of the Jedi
Deathly hallows part 2
Revenge of the Sith
Endgame
The prestige
Halloween
Saw
Scene: binary sunset Star Wars
Film: Jurassic Park
Song: Cat People (Putting Out The Fire)
Line: The Force Will Be With You, Always (A New Hope)
Ending: Return of the Jedi: The Resistance celebrates their victory against the Empire.
Scene: Dunkirk, Farrier shoots down a bomber which lands in the ocean near a large pile of oil that ignites into flames.
Favorite Film: Back to the Future
Favorite song in a Movie: Stuck in the Middle with You (Reservoir Dogs)
Favorite piece of film score: The Force Theme (Star Wars)
Favorite Line: I dont wanna belong to any club that would have someone like me for a member (Annie Hall)
Favorite Ending: When Harry Met Sally
Favorite Scene: The Beta Band ( High Fidelity)
Favorite Opening: La La Land
Favorite movie of all time. Umbelishactaku, bejhakctame.
Film: The Shawshank Redemption
Song: Don't Let It Bring You Down from American Beauty
Line: "I'm looking for the least possible amount of responsibility." - Lester Burnham (American Beauty)
Ending: Fight Club (yeah, I broke the first rule.)
Scene: The entire final day sequence from American Beauty
Every choice he made is spectacular.
this guy is the future man . Whiplash, La La Land and First Man are all outstanding and he’s not even 35
I don't understand how Damien became more known for La La Land. Don't get me wrong, I loved the film, but c'mon, Whiplash is a hundred times better.
I loved whiplash more, but La La land is more than a film, it is an experience, and it has appealed to more people
it really isn't. whiplash is more thrilling I'd say but as a movie, la la land is way better.
La la land has this special something though. Theres a magical quality to it that seeps off the screen and into your soul.
Probably because La La Land is easier to digest than Whiplash. That's not at all a bad thing (both films are of equal merit IMO) but you can tell that the romantic tone of La La Land appeals more to people than the insane adrenaline of Whiplash from the former film's responses (the film is "magical", "an experience", "beautiful", etc.)
While i like whiplash more probably, I wouldn't say La La land is objectively worse. La la land is a beautiful film and both films are top notch. It just boils down to whether you wanna see a hard boiled movie with a lot psychological tension or a romantic musical.
I’d have to agree with him on City Lights. That ending’s hard to beat.
Favorite film: Her
Favorite song: Spirited Away Theme
Favorite ending: Shutter Island
Favorite scene: Ferris Bueller Museum Scene
Favorite line: One kind word, one full hug where you burst me to your chest and held me tight, would've been like the sun of my heart for a thousand years (Gladiator)
Great great picks!
Favorite film: It’s Such a Beautiful Day
Favorite song: Wise Up - Magnolia
Favorite ending: In the Mood for Love
Favorite scene: Train to Swamp Bottom - Spirited Away
Favorite line: So far so good... (La Haine)
Film: Star Wars - A New Hope
Song: “Duel of the Fates” - Phantom Menace
Line: “I find your lack of faith disturbing.” - Vader; A New Hope
Ending: Return of the Jedi
Scene: Battle of Heroes - RotS
Film: The Usual Suspects
Song: As Time Goes By
Ending: Cinema Paradiso
Line: "Forget it Jake, its China town"
Scene: The opening to "Up"
Film: Solaris (1972) dir. Andrei Tarkovsky
Song: Mrs. Robinson (The Graduate) by Simon & Garfunkel
Line: O stella, o fedele stella, quando ti deciderai a darmi un appuntamento meno effimero, lontano da tutto, nella tua regione di perenne certezza?; Il Gattopardo (The Leopard) dir. Luchino Visconti
End Scene: Once upon a time in America, dir. Sergio Leone; or The Holy Mountain, dir. Alejandro Jodorowsky
Scene: The bowl of milk and the strawberries scene in The Seventh Seal, dir. Ingmar Bergman
Thanks. If you haven't, watch the other films, which are masterpiece too
Film : Chinatown
Song : In Dreams (Blue Velvet)
Line : Forget it Jake it’s Chinatown (Chinatown)
Ending : Trainspotting
Scene : Wise Up Scene (Magnolia)
Of course The umbrellas of Cherbourg...La La Land IS the film Jacques Demy would have made had he been alive now...the influence is there right from the first notes of the film...The Umbrelllas is a masterpiece of unbridled joy and passion and real life ...do see it if you liked La La Land
Dude, you got COVID? Did you lose your taste?
If I EVER see Chazelle, I will compliment on his great taste for Demys classic, but will demand my money back for that dumpster fire was Lalaland
@@hypernature Thank you!👏🏻
What class choices. Great “lest.”
Favorite movie: Memento
Favorite song in movie: Where is my Mind in Fight Club
Favorite quote in movie: "You talking to me?!" in Taxi Driver
Favorite movie ending: Fight Club
I'm always late, but:
Film: Goodfellas
Song: Layla (Goodfellas)
Line: To tell you the truth, I lie a little (Chinatown)
Ending: The Searches (Maybe because of the shot); Some Like It Hot
Scene: The Whole Shooting (Taxi Driver)
Being late is not as bad as coming back to certain videos to look at comments and talk about movies (what I do). Those are good choices.
I still don't know how Damian Chazelle had the idea of whiplash.
As time goes by ❤️
Best film: Titanic
Best song: Misirlou(pulp fiction) and Rock and roll pt II(joker)
Fav line: I ate his lover with some favs beans and a nice chianti
Ending: pursuit of happyness
Scene: whiplash(rushing or dragging)
Quite a range isn't it...
“A lifelong love affair” If something is lifelong is it really an affair?
Have any of you guys seen guy and Madeline on a park Bench???
it's what la la land would be
Yeah. Chazelles first film. Pretty good
Film: La La Land
Song: “Caravan” from Whiplash
Line: Here’s to the fools who dream. (La La Land)
Ending: Whiplash
Scene: Planetarium scene in La La Land
Film: The Tree of Life
Song: Somewhere Over the Rainbow (The Wizard of Oz)
Line: ?
Ending: Schindler's List
Scene: Once Upon a Time in the West (Opening scene)
Damien Chazelle looks like a cleaned up Ethan Klein
more like matt bellamy
Why did this come up when I looked up Stalker?
La La Land (2016) is great, but I don't think even Damien understands how brilliant his sophomoric Whiplash (2014) truly was. It captured the existential sensibilities of an entire generation taking it beyond films like The Social Network and Black Swan (2010). The shotgun loading of a narrative and the sheer visceral gut-punch of an ending elevate that film to the place of a masterpiece.
I think, in La La Land, Chazelle is being irreverent and very sincerely so, but it isn't a masterpiece by any means. It feels a lot like The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, even the inclusion of the character trying to "save jazz" seems bizarrely misplaced, and it even drags at times.
But Whiplash is the tornado of cinema. It doesn't let up on you. It's visceral, angered, insecure, vulnerable. It's what cinema was always truly meant to be.
Damien Chazelle should make a movie ahbout drum corps
Ok
Movie: Moonlight
Song: City of Stars(La La Land)
Line: If you guys were the inventors of Facebook, you’d have invented Facebook(The Social Network)
Ending: Birdman
Scene: L.B. Mayor’s birthday party(Mank)
A clockwork Orange has the best ending ever.
A wise guy, without anay doubt;
Escolhas espetaculares.
So, they interviewed a film director about his work and showed cropped, mutilated clips from his films. Smart.
I gave Umbrellas of Cherbourg a try. I just couldn’t get into it. If you’re gonna do a musical, even one with a dark subject matter, I want dance numbers and actual songs, not just sung dialogue. Pretty actors and sets and costumes can’t do it enough for me.
Film The Godfather
Ending The Sixth Sense( Initial) and Rashomon
Was this guy born in the 60s?
Who here likes whiplash more than la la land? Me!
The number of haters Chazelle has :D let's hope he makes good films in the future, so these idiots can be more bitter
So i just have the same taste as damian
Credit to Chazelle, it was a fine film for a rookie director. Let's see if he goes on to make more great films.
Hardly a rookie. He's young but he's made 3 films and he wrote 10 Cloverfield Lane. He studied film at Harvard. Wouldn't call him a rookie.
More like a short film and 2 features. Would definitely say he's still a rookie. But he's no chump and time and more films will just make him better.
He also wrote and directed Whiplash 🙂
Rookie director? Does your definition of rookie describe pure creativity?
Whiplash
what’s his kids name???
What about The Emoji Movie tho?
respect his choices but also seems like the type of choices he would make
I do agree with him that The Umbrellas of Cherbourg is one of the best films of all time. La La Land, however, is not very good. It is a poor attempt at remaking The Umbrellas of Cherbourg.
*Moonlight wins instead of La La Land*
imma need you to sign for this L my nigga
It may have lost but we all know La La Land is gonna last forever. So technically it won.
Marcus Adams Not gonna debate that. But take a look at the fact that a movie about a Gay, Black dude won top honors at the Academy Awards. I know the movie is so much more than that but look at the key words there. *Gay* and *Black*. Not only did this movie beat out a fuckin Hollywood musical, but it broke barriers on how stories can be told in the mainstream. Not just on the independent side of film, but in the very white, heterosexual side of film. I love La La Land as much as anyone who gives a shit about quality storytelling and technicalities in film, but culturally, Moonlight is the better picture.
Then that's that. Btw, from one screenwriter to another, good luck.
@Marcus Adams the reason why Moonlight is better is because it doesn't have the same problems like La La Land. La La Land lacks consistency with its world and characters. Mia thinks she can break out in 6 years? The most misinformed and delusional character in a movie ever. Becoming an artist is for the long haul. Her character was unlikable and both characters were narcissistic and cocky. Moonlight is technically better in its cinematography. Each shot and frame were carefully articulated, while La La Land lacked the gravitas to create melancholic, but beautiful scenes. The waltz scene should be emotionally gut wrenching, but it was just flat because the camera didn't do anything special. Take a look at Black Swan. Long takes with choreographed handheld and so you really feel that the camera is dancing with the dancer.
Moonlight won coz of politics. La La land is far better. It will definitely outlive moonlight, there are plenty of mediocre movies which have won the oscar over the years, moonlight is one of them.
Well, duh, really, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg - of course, he wan't alive when that film came out but yes, it's clear in every frame of La La Land, with the only issue being that he's not Jacques Demy and never will be.
I am shocked he didn’t mention citizen Jane but then again he mentioned true era cinema
Whiplash >>> La La Land
Alex Beamer
Apples and Oranges, mah dude
I agree with you on that entirely. I mean La La Land was a good film, but I thought Whiplash was definitely better.
@Alex Beamer Whiplash was dog shit. The main lead couldn't act and JK Simmons character wasn't scary. He was laughable at best. The most unrealistic cartoonish antagonist I've ever seen in a movie. It's filled with inaccurate and off sync playing. It is really insulting to musicians. The music is boy band amateur crap and nothing at the level of real Jazz: Charlie Parker, Buddy Rich, Chet Baker, Thelonious Monk, etc. The ending is a complete generic tensionless rip off of Black Swan. The movie as a whole is a rip off of Black Swan. The color grading looks like piss. There's too many handheld, fucking lazy camera work. The writing is really bad. The dialogue does not flow natural with the continuity of the setting or the characters. They all speak like Harvard students, yet none of them ever went to Harvard. Completely unrealistic nihilistic narcissistic film.
UnbelievabIeMontages haha ok
Favorite film: Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
Favorite piece of music in a film: "Where is my mind" from Fight Club
Favorite line in a film: "I think this just might be my masterpiece." from "Inglorious Basterds"
Favorite scene in a film: Ending scene of Fight Club
they spoiled the finale of Chinatown............
ok bro ok, you're very old school, we get it
Eric Ryan no it just looks very deliberate, like his publicist or whoever told him to name these movies to fit with the narrative of la la land being a thowback to the golden age?
You're a fucking idiot.
nobody does a movie like la la land without really knowing and liking that old hollywood aesthethic.
Well he was inspired by those films, so I don't really see what you want him to say
What did u want him to like Transformers ?... idk what u expected.
💌
0:13
4:00
Funny how he said The Umbrellas of Cherbourg was the primary inspiration for La La Land and something like Moulin Rogue ended being more transparent in the film
Nothing from the last 45 years? What and old soul
The movie is unwatchable
The Oscars really blew it. They had a great movie that was really popular but in order to give the finger to Trump they gave the best picture award to Moonlight, a film nobody saw and that will be forgotten in 20 years. Now several years later the Oscars are a joke with plummeting viewership and completely irrelevant. Chances of Top Gun: Maverick getting the Best Picture Oscar this year: zero.
Best movie ending? A tie between The Searchers and The Godfather.
having watched thousands of films, including indie and foreign ones I always question someone's tastes in movies if they only cite Casablanca, Charlie Chaplin, Chinatown and other mainstream films
That's their personal opinion :) Nothing to question, mainstream movies like casablanca are great as well, its stupid to question someone's taste, maybe you are too woke
but they are excellent movies, there's a reason why they're considered to be some of the best. Damien probably have seen thousands movies too but in a top movie list you can't choose all of the movies you've watched.
Chinatown is pretty awesome
I find it a bit sad, to be able to choose ONE favorite movie EVER. And his pick may be even sadder in its predictability.
I'm happy for Damien Chazelle. He's fifteen-minutes-of-fame-ing harder than anyone in a long time, but he's enjoying it.
So he admits everything that went before was better, far better, and that all he did was remake the Umbrellas of Cherbourg. HOW do these young guys get funding?
My problem with La La Land is that it didn't introduce anything new to the cinema. It wasn't ground-breaking. It was mediocre musical with pretty visuals. And that's all it was.
Nel Kan
Ha!
It reintroduced the concept of musicals to a generation that thought they were silly and unimaginative. That's worth something in my opinion.
Except it didn't. People who hate musicals didn't even go to see it. My friends who actually like musicals disliked it. I like musicals, yet I disliked the movie.
Musicals were never gone... Not so long ago we had Les Miserables. So no, it's not like he revived some old, forgotten genre.
People who don't like musicals won't go see this. And if they will, it'll be boring to them, and they will most likely never touch another musical again.
I recently watched Cabaret and it pains me that Emma Stone got an Oscar. For what? Every actress who ever got an Oscar in a musical was talented, wonderful, whimsical, and whatever the musical needed her to be. Emma Stone in this movie was bland, unlikable, and couldn't even keep a good posture for those few dancing scenes.
Art is subjective
Everything you're saying is true but remember almost no film ever has introduced something new to cinema, especially in the last 45 years. That's not the criteria of being an excellent film. Just look at Goodfellas or Pulp Fiction for example.
this guy totally looks like the snobish director from how to lose friends and alienate people
boom shakalaka because he likes old movies better than the new ones?
Gonçalo Silva "looks" but maybe he is that way too
Whiplash and La La Land are based off parts of his life. I am pretty sure he's destroyed someone's heart before.
Seems like you know him personally
He asked you for your favorite film, not the one you’d “send to aliens”....pretentious choice
It probably is one of his favorite movies considering he used it as the main inspiration for La La Land.
Let me ask something outrageous: what if - bear with me - what if these are really his favourites and he really appreciates them?
La La Land is one overrated movie. I'm not denying its quality, but a lot of noise for an efficient tribute yet deja vu musical full of clichés (except the end).
Just coz you didn't like it doesnt make it overrated. We should get rid of that word
32 is not young
Pretty Flacka It is for a director to make an acclaimed film
32 is extremely young. A literal baby.
A typical self-absorbed liberal. Guess what, we can't all be making movies and become artists and sing and dance. Some of us are happy being farmers and mechanics and plumbers and that there is dignity in doing those things.
sucker.
You are a sad little thing that most farmers, mechanics and plumbers laugh at and talk smack about behind your back. Yes those are necessary, respectable and honorable professions. How is Chazelle attacking that fact? What's got your fragile ego so injured? Chazelle is just saying what movies he likes, and what he likes in them. Some people act on the arts further and even make a career out of them. Stating how interested you are in lighter things does not equate to uh "liberalism", or saying others have to, or shaming others.
Chinatown , overrated
such a crappy film.
Just because someone doesn't like La La Land doesn't mean they like dumb movies. I love movies. I adore them. I want to make movies in the future. Yet, La La Land didn't do it for me. And no, that doesn't mean my favourite movies are Transformers or anything by Adam Sandler. I cannot stand those.
I get it if you don't like the movie. But to say that its crappy is a vast hyperbole. A movie does not have as much critical success as La La Land has without being well made. I personally loved the movie, so perhaps my line of thinking is steeped in bias, but it is made perfectly on a technical level. The use of color was beautiful, the editing was genius, the score was just amazing, the costume design was subtle and tells a story in and of itself. Sure, Gosling looked at his feet when he danced, but you would be a fool to think this was done unintentionally. In a film that paid such close attention to detail, something as noticeable as that is not done without reason. It made the characters feel like real people instead of the grandiose caricatures seen in past musicals.
The script was bad. That was my biggest problem. The argument they had that night when Seb made dinner was incredibly forced and didn't feel natural at all. Characters had no depth. In fact, they were quite unlikable. Yes, the whole movie looked pretty, but that wasn't enough for me (and it seems to some other people either) to carry it for two hours.
If a movie lasts for two hours, I expect some actual plot. I expect some character development and depth. I expect more than just 20 minutes of music. It had what, five songs, and everything else was variations of them? Not to mention that for a movie about jazz it had almost no jazz in it, which is unforgivable.
To say that they were meant to dance and sing the way they did is just lazy. I don't believe for a second all that was intentional. They just wanted big stars to lead the whole thing, that's it. Sometimes, it works (for example, in Chicago it honestly didn't matter that Zeta Jones and Zellweger were not professional singers or dancers because they did an amazing job). In here, it didn't.
And it's funny, really, because in Les Miserables everyone was complaining about how horrible everyone sang, yet there one could say it was more intentional than here. There characters were also acting everything out whilst singing on set, so if they sounded stressed or heartbroken and choking on tears, it would make no sense that their singing was flawless.
Not to mention the complete lack of side characters. What, we had Simmons in one scene in the restaurant (and appears for a brief moment later towards the end of the movie), we had Seb's sister and her amazing what, five sentences that she uttered, and we have Keith, a real musician whose talent was completely wasted in that movie. John Legend is a professional pianist, and yet, they give him a guitar? Are you serious?
We can also talk about the fact that nowhere in the movie it was mentioned how jazz was made thanks to the black people, and how funny it sounds to have a ˝white saviour˝ who will save that genre. Not to mention the whole idea that jazz is dying. Jazz is very much alive and isn't going anywhere.
So yes, when someone says La La Land sucked, they're closer to the truth than those who think it was a masterpiece.
Oh, and one other thing that bothers me a lot about La La Land... why exactly was it revolutionary? What exactly did it bring to musicals that we haven't seen before? Everything in it was either a homage or a reference to some old musical that Damien Chazelle liked. The ending is not original, the dancing is not original, not even the music is original, if we know what his inspirations were.
Honestly, to have almost everyone be so amazed with this subpar musical says a lot about today's world, and it makes me wonder where exactly is the movie industry going...
i understand your views completely when i saw this film i too believed it to be a masterpiece but when i took a step back and analyzed it as film there is nothing really THAT revolutionary about it except it is definitely not a bad film at all, the dinner scene i felt was completely natural and i found emma stone's character extremely likable although ryan goslings was at times pretentious. I also agree that it is not intentional that they lack singing skill but i mean cmon it wasnt horrible singing they did a satisfactory job mediocre perhaps. the dancing i do agree was mediocre i admit. also everyone knows jazz came from the black community so it would have been unecessary to include a history lesson in the film. i have to say though that the white saviour argument is bullshit. He simply just happens to be white and likes jazz thats it.. Chet Baker, Bill Evans, Dave Brubeck where all white jazz musicians are they white saviours because they were white? and also Ryan's character mentions various jazz musicians in the film like Louise armstrong, Thelonius Monk and Count Basie so obviously he is giving credit to jazz where credit is due, he is not appropriating jazz in any way because he is not claiming it to be his own style of music and i do believe you are wrong in saying that jazz is not dying. if you look at the sales jazz records sell worse than classical music today. And to answer your question as to why it was revolutionary is that it wasnt or hasnt yet... although cliche as it sounds the films that are said to be revolutionary are ones that have stood the test of time. this film just came out so it is in no way revolutionary ... (yet or maybe not yet who knows) however it is in a sense unique because it was a bitter sweet romance musical which is extremely uncommon in todays cinema. and i say today because in the past there have been bittersweet ending films like casablanca. however this film did that but added the musical aspect to it which in todays cinema is uncommon like it or not. Overall the the films message was also original the fact that if you have a goal its not always rainbows and sunshine to complete them, there will be compromises you have to make to possibly make new dreams or give up on other dreams you have. although i can bet that this message has already been done before by other films i gaurentee none of those with this message were musicals.
Nel Kan Everyone's experience is different, but I felt the dinner scene was rather realistic. I had arguments exactly like that one before. The characters I feel are likeable even though they have their flaws, but I felt I was able to connect with Emma more. Anyways, I felt like you viewed Seb's connection with jazz too negatively; any race can have a passion for something and want it to thrive, doesn't mean it was "white savior". I mean languages die out all the time, so let's say a Chinese person is informing others of a dying Native American language, are you calling this person a "Asian savior"? there were bad developments in the film, but overall it was enjoyable.