| | | | Links | | |
E D I T O R I A L
Wednesday, March 7: Great Expectations
A few weeks back, I wrote about the disappointment I experienced upon watching John Woo's A Better Tomorrow II as well as Jackie Chan's Project A-II ("Hong Kong Sequel Blues"). It's not fair and rather foolish, of course, to dismiss all sequels as just-for-cash hack jobs -- Once Upon a Time in China II springs to mind immediately as a sequel that, in some ways, surpasses the original. Earlier, I wrote: "Perhaps the key is to avoid seeing a film multiple times until you see the sequel." I watched both A Better Tomorrow and Project A several times (with unalloyed pleasure) before seeing their respective sequels. So maybe it was that my expectations were unreasonably high.
The same great expectations may have affected Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. For Hong Kong film fans accustomed to supercharged wirework masterpieces, CTHD moved in slow motion and seemed to present little new. All the proclamations by the mainstream press that this was the 'best Chinese movie' ever raised expectations sky high for something spectacular. I've only seen it once. It impressed me as a very good film, but not one of 'the best ever.' Perhaps repeated viewings will convince me otherwise; I'm still looking forward to seeing it once or twice more before it leaves theaters for DVD on June 5. Mainstream movie fans have been amazed by fight scenes that HK film fans almost take for granted. In all likelihood, mainstream fans had lowered expectations for a movie they had to "read" (because of the subtitles) and so the film surpassed their expectations. Perhaps some had distant memories of poorly dubbed (and probably mercilessly edited) chop-socky films presented on Saturday afternoon television in the 1970's.
Expectations affect all of us with every film we see. For example, I had read that The Master was a horrible piece of dreck, the worst Jet Li and/or Tsui Hark film ever, etc. With no expectation of enjoyment, I rented it -- and thoroughly enjoyed the dumb humor and wireless Jet Li. No doubt the film's being set in Los Angeles (my hometown) increased my enjoyment, but I think it was mainly because I didn't expect much and it exceeded my expectations.
On the other hand, I had read extensively about Drunken Master II and longed to see it. I bought it on VCD, which was nearly unwatchable and a terrible disappointment. I enjoyed it on the big screen with English dubbing and musical rescoring, despite a theater sound system that played the film too softly. Finally I obtained the Thakral DVD with an incorrect aspect ratio, vastly imperfect source print, and other flaws -- and was still floored.
Last thought on expectations: Because of its English-language title, Expect the Unexpected invites raised expectations (which I believe it merits); the only problem I have is that the title can cause the audience to be distracted due to trying to guess what it means and how it will be fulfilled. In much the same way, The Sixth Sense, a fine suspense story, distracted audiences trying to figure out its big "twist" instead of being lured along by the story itself. Sometimes filmmakers (and marketers) can be too clever for their own good.
As usual, feedback, whether positive or negative, is always welcome.
Current Editorial | Current Index
In the Mood for Change (2/26/01)
Bronchitis on the Brain (2/12/01)
Hong Kong Sequel Blues (2/5/01)
Better or Best? (1/29/01)
To Dub or Not to Dub (1/22/01)
Scenes From a Fractured Skull (1/15/01)
Year-End Round-Up (1/7/01)
Briefly noted (12/31/00)
Wuxia Fantasies and the Black-and-White Western (12/24/00)
Raiders of the lost heart (12/17/00)
The movie week in review (12/10/00)
Redesigning A Better Tomorrow (12/3/00)
The fantasy begins again (11/26/00)
A return and a shortened work week, hurrah! (11/20/00)
That blasted job! (11/12/00)
Hollywood, Jet, Jackie, Fred, and Gene (11/6/00)
Did you want blood with that? (10/30/00)
Do you like cold pizza? (10/24/00)
Preparing for the Legend (10/16/00)
The pauper must pay (10/10/00)
A visit to Five Star Laser (10/05/00)
A brief vacation (9/25/00)
The editor's plea (8/20/00)
| | | | Links | | |
corrections? broken links? criticism? praise? please e-mail webmaster
this site is a non-commercial resource for region 1
original content copyright 2001 peter a. martin all rights reserved
