May 6, 2007
America was not ready for medium cool
Medium cool was not a total flop, but it would have done a lot better if it was made in europe. There was a lot going on asthetically and metaphorically with this film. The shots were often long and gave the viewer a clear notion that the director had mis en sen in mind when setting up his shots. The editing of the film, and the way that scenes were presented chronologically was done well, but it was also a little off beat. Not to say that america hadn't seen films that did that already. Easy rider definately gave america a new understanding for how films could be constructed in the editing room, but it also was specifically was made for a counter culture, about crazy drugged out hippies drifters. When a movie is made about counter culture for the counter culture audiences the film is given a lot more leeway. Plus, medium cool came out during the same year as easy rider. So most of america hadn't even seen such unconventional film making on a big level by american filmmakers yet. Europe would've put this film in a category as one of the greats if resnais, godard, antonioni, or fellini had made it. But the fact that an american cinematographer/documentarian turned director made this film, well it didn't appeal to europe or america.
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3 comments:
I'm not sure the film was made for a counter-culture. I felt that a counter-culture was just used as a setting in a film directed at filmmakers and media makers in general about the ethics and responsibilities they have to their audience, and more importantly, their subjects.
I agree that perhaps America was uncomfortable with Medium Cool, not just because of the subject matter, but because of the style of the film. In the past, when a film dared to touch upon such subjects, it was done melodramatically in a typical Hollywood fashion, most likely with a "comfortable" ending. Not so with Medium Cool.
I don't thnk it was the editing that made Easy Rider such a phenomenal film. What made it a remarkable film is that it was a start of the counter coulture and the film just happened to be the first of many films to come. I still fall asleep in the middle of the film because it just sucks. Why it is always being talked about is because it was a film that started a trend and not because t was a great film. Now with Medium Cool being successful in Europe, it wasn't. It has been released in Europe and it actually did better in the states.
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