tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-644541939534301073.post8660025000559335408..comments2023-08-17T00:49:16.284-07:00Comments on The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of...: Vertigo vs. Basic InstinctTheClaudhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09658904647427839196noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-644541939534301073.post-86224172352041094012021-10-13T14:25:29.174-07:002021-10-13T14:25:29.174-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Gilles Havikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04659151465812157896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-644541939534301073.post-36991401138142900932021-10-13T14:23:47.283-07:002021-10-13T14:23:47.283-07:00Many more similarities:
- the spiralling stairs
- ...Many more similarities:<br />- the spiralling stairs<br />- the ominous repetions. In Basic instinct: the winding road, the fact that he replaces her in the iconic subject's chair. In Vertigo: the double life of Kim Novak, the lines in the trees, representing the repetition of time. The same (?) winding road.<br />- And a specific form of repetition: the recreation of actual events in some sort of real life theatre play.<br />- The constructed personas. <br />- The question who is who?<br />- The blonde wig <br />- Nothing gets resolved<br />- Someone has to die.<br />- Sex drive equals death drive.<br /><br />Thanks for the article! I specifically Googled for this.Gilles Havikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04659151465812157896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-644541939534301073.post-14427613579153983642021-05-29T12:41:40.437-07:002021-05-29T12:41:40.437-07:00I just watched Basic Instinct for the first time, ...I just watched Basic Instinct for the first time, and I also thought of Hitchcock. Not Vertigo, but Psycho. The stabbing scenes, right down to the shrieking music, were nearly identical to the shower scene and the final mother scene in Psycho.Hoosierdaddyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12115203209009011411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-644541939534301073.post-847997858099241442018-06-10T18:03:46.117-07:002018-06-10T18:03:46.117-07:00wihh nice info
kunjung balik, di web kami banyak p...wihh nice info<br />kunjung balik, di web kami banyak penawaran dan tips tentang kesehatan<br />Ada artikel menarik tentang obat tradisional yang mampu menyembuhkan penyakit berat, cek yuk<br /><a href="http://goldengamat.biz/obat-tradisional-vertigo/" rel="nofollow">Obat tradisional Vertigo</a>Essen Aquatichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07969465673695599571noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-644541939534301073.post-58596066875699667382017-05-11T03:57:54.448-07:002017-05-11T03:57:54.448-07:00Faye Dunaway and Grace Kelly also had this classic...Faye Dunaway and Grace Kelly also had this classic blonde lookFrancoisehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05227193820747714086noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-644541939534301073.post-5382192898860162442013-02-02T01:22:02.696-08:002013-02-02T01:22:02.696-08:00Hi Clara! No I'm afraid Im not familiar with V...Hi Clara! No I'm afraid Im not familiar with Verhoeven's other work. To be fair the fact that they both end up together in the end and we see a shot of the ice pick under the bed is very clever. But I did feel that the film would have been better with a few scenes cut - they just slowed the second half down to the point where I, personally, lost interest in it. Maybe on a second watch I would enjoy it more. Thank you for commenting though! Glad I'm not the only one who likes noticing a hommage to a past actress/character in film :)TheClaudhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09658904647427839196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-644541939534301073.post-32769332690049457392013-02-02T00:10:37.762-08:002013-02-02T00:10:37.762-08:00Well spotted, Claud! It is indeed fascinating to f...Well spotted, Claud! It is indeed fascinating to find this type of similarities between characters and appearances in different eras.<br /><br />One personal note: I understand that you felt the second half of Basic instinct turned out to be unrealistic and even boring, but I think it looks that way when you analize it just as a film noir movie. When the fact is I don't really think this is a film noir product: the point of the film is not finding out who the killers is following the police investigation, that's just the excuse. This is Paul Verhoeven movie, I don't know if you're familiarized with his work. He's touched so many genres during his career (sci-fi, thriller, action, epic, war, fantasy, erotic) yet he always does it without really bending to the conventions of each genre, cause what he really wants is talking about his own themes: the obsessions of the human flesh, especially sex and violence. That's what drives "Basic instinct", not the mystery of the murders or the manipulation of the characters. That's why I think the ending is what gives the film its meaning. If Catherine Trammel died at the end, like so many classic femmes fatales, or if she run away with a lot of money to live free of male influence, like modern femmes fatales, the movie would not offer anything new apart from a very neat approach to the sexual part. It's the fact that both the murderous femme fatale and the manipulated detective decide they rather stay together than follow their "career opportunities", that gives the film a whole new perspective. <br /><br />PS: Have you seen "The vierde man" (The fourth man)? It's from Paul Verhoeven too, 1983, psycho thriller, and I think it has more similarities with "Vertigo" than "Basic instinct" does.Clara Darkohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05850536442227240404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-644541939534301073.post-35117299308272480552013-01-16T13:40:40.910-08:002013-01-16T13:40:40.910-08:00I think it started brilliantly, the first hour was...I think it started brilliantly, the first hour was fast-paced, you couldn't really tell who the killer was, and Sharon Stone was really cool. But after that there were way too many scenes - most of which were short and meaningless. I honestly think a good 45minutes could have been cut from it. Shame really. Starts well, but runs out of steam halfway through. Yes the blonde motif is strong, as is the detectives both having a weakness of a past event that the woman can manipulate (even if Novak wasn't intentionally). Stone sure makes the cigarette look glamorous, but then so do most actors - something about cigarettes in film that is timeless - perhaps it's because it's so related to film and movie stars, particularly of the classic era. Really happy you enjoyed my post Steph, thanks for commenting and sharing your views! xxxTheClaudhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09658904647427839196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-644541939534301073.post-87988685687101536892013-01-16T09:40:41.454-08:002013-01-16T09:40:41.454-08:00Great to see you back Claudia and interesting pick...Great to see you back Claudia and interesting pick too! I finally saw Basic Instinct in September and despite how heavy-handed the film was, I found it ridiculously excellent. It's a very ironic film that self-consciously plays with your expectations and with the erotic thriller clichés with great style, an achievement that hasn't been matched by subsequent or previous erotic thrillers. I would like to point out another reference to Vertigo that was striking too : the hero torn between two women, a blond and a brunette. The brunette represents stability, a more realistic and accessible and self-sacrificing side of love that both men torture and manipulate (the strange raw sex scene with Jeanne Tripplehorn and Kim Novak as a brunette with a cheaper look) and the mysterious blond, whose strong sexuality or life or her own fascinates the male protagonists. Both men also share a traumatic event : Stewart with his fear of heights and the accidental death of his colleague and Michael Douglas' own issues in a previous case.<br />When watching the film, I was struck by how much the film borrowed a lot to film noir in terms of the messages conveyed in the film. With AIDS emerging in the 80s and the extreme popularity of the erotic thriler genre, sexuality depicted in these movies was portrayed as a cause to violent death, so these women appeared as deathly and these films contituted some sort of puritanical warning, despite graphic sexual content. That film is also amazing to see for whole other reasons : the way the motif of cigarettes were used to create an iconic character whose headstrong, rebellious and defiant (Stone's interrogation scene where she challenges interrogators to stop her from lighting the cigarette and Douglas reproducing that scene later on). Eszterhas later said that cigarette sales exploded thanks to the film's gigantic success and a special line was directly created based upon Catherine Tramell. However, he only confessed he had made a huge mistake promoting cigarettes after having cancer himself and realising the huge impact cigarettes could have back then on viewers. <br />Love your article Claudia and can't wait to read them! I'll get the book Daisy recommended! Tons of love! xoxoFoulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01884465869755720069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-644541939534301073.post-39590940378603438082013-01-09T04:02:34.702-08:002013-01-09T04:02:34.702-08:00Hi Daisy! Yes absolutely, their personalities are ...Hi Daisy! Yes absolutely, their personalities are very different. Catherine is very strong and sexually aware, whilst Madeleine comes across as quite weak (still love her though). What is interesting is how similar they look but how different they are, and yet they both have a detective obsessed with them. But that's very interesting that you read Eszterhas's books - the physical similarities make more sense now. I will have to check out that Hollywood book of his. I love it when films allude to the classics, and it would seem that many like to allude to the femme fatale and screen goddesses of that time. So glad you enjoyed this post! Thanks! xxxTheClaudhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09658904647427839196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-644541939534301073.post-59142144003307355422013-01-09T03:57:30.210-08:002013-01-09T03:57:30.210-08:00I loved this post firstly as I'm a huge Vertig...I loved this post firstly as I'm a huge Vertigo fan, secondly I've been reading books by Joe Eszterhas the screenwriter of Basic and (they're great btw, esp the one about Hollywood)thirdly I like your writing! Eszterhas was very film influenced by classic cinemas' sexy ladies, particularly those that smoked. I totally see the styling & clothing reference - well done - the white coat and hairdo my gosh! But I don't see their personalities as being that similar, some common traits but I think it's more that they wanted to allude to our memories of femme fatales in knife-edge thrillers. Great work! xxxxdaisynationhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12067449030237206472noreply@blogger.com