I think the success of The Usual Suspects (which was a film I enjoyed the first few times I've watched it but I'm momentarily suspending aesthetic judgment for the moment) could have something to do with the post-Pulp Fiction rise of what we may call gangster chic films (what some other critics call neo-noir). The Usual Suspects came in the midst of this craze, and I think this was also around the start of the so-called mainstreaming of the independent film, a point which supposedly reached its apex during the Academy Awards ceremony which saw Oscars for The English Patient, Shine, etc. Of course, these films are strictly not as independent as they are (were) purported to be, but that's another debate, I think. Andrew > Subject: Re: Unreliable narrator & other _Mortal Thoughts_ > Date: Fri, 28 Aug 1998 23:06:14 -0700 > From: "Edward R. O'Neill" <[log in to unmask]> > > SNIP! > But then what should one make of the relative success of the > latter film over the former? > > Sincerely, > Edward R. O'Neill > UCLA > General Education Program ---- To sign off SCREEN-L, e-mail [log in to unmask] and put SIGNOFF SCREEN-L in the message. Problems? Contact [log in to unmask]