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December 1992

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Film and TV Studies Discussion List <[log in to unmask]>
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Tue, 8 Dec 1992 01:31:42 EST
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>
> Movies about movies?  "Singin' in the Rain", "Purple Rose of Cairo,"
> "The Stunt Man."
> Eric
>
> Eric Rabkin                [log in to unmask]
> Department of English      [log in to unmask]
> University of Michigan     office    : 313-764-2553
> Ann Arbor MI 48109-1045    dept      : 313-764-6330
>                                voice msgs: 313-763-3128
>
Ah... "Purple Rose of Cairo" -- Perhaps one of the finest movies ever made
about movies.  It's amazing:  every time I see it, there's a new twist in the
dialogue that makes me rethink the whole movie... On the surface, it's great
entertainment -- effortless escapist fantasy, in the best tradition of the
movies. And then there's the ending, of course, which turns the whole movie
upside down and forces the viewer to think about why he or she is even in the
theater to begin with.  Like all great ART, "Purple Rose" makes the viewer
react to it -- there's just no choice not to. And like rare great art, it makes
the viewer think about the art form itself -- what is it in his or her life
that creates such an emotional response to this MOVIE, this mere projection
on the screen.  It's an amazing, subtle stroke of genius on the part of Allen
and all those involved -- Farrow and Daniels are in perfect, thirties-escapist
form (Farrow has never been better)-- and the movie was virtually overlooked
in awards when released in 1985, and will most likely be remembered as one of
the finest films of the past twenty years.
--Mike Hastings

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