The Ghost Writer
 

Saw this last night and recommend it highly.

A superbly crafted old-school type mystery/thriller. No endless explosions. No animation. Just a great story beautifully directed and filmed. And quite possibly true! (I won't spoil it for you.)

Great cast too. Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Tom Wilkinson, Tim Hutton, James Belushi. Even Kim Cattrall—and she looks great.

You want to see a great director at the peak of his game—this would be the film.

I kept thinking 'Orson Welles' as I was watching it. Great stuff.

Maybe its the European in me, but I would love to see more emphasis on serious craftsmanship in cinema—strong screenplay, direction, camera work and acting—and a step back from the currently popular comic book genre that relies on endless gimmicks and computer animation. Good luck with that—I know.

what is worse, being a prisoner at gitmo, or a child in roman polanski's hot tub?

Robert Harris is an exceptional writer -- I'm glad to hear that the movie worked out well.

Jon Belushi? I assume it was a non-speaking part?



Roger Ebert had much the same thoughts re craft, pacing and editing of the film, although he thought it more Hitchcock than Welles.

I'm looking forward to seeing it.




Tim

Belushi's part is brief—but he plays it up. It's also a nice role for Cattrall—who I only know from Sex and the City. And Ewan McGregor nails the main role.

There's a lovely "not-quite-noir" feel to the film that does remind of Hitchcock. Very deftly done.

The Coen Brothers would have taken this over the top—and you come away thinking that a lot of restraint was exercised in the making of the film, and that it's all to good effect.

C'mon Varmint that's your cue. I'm never going to feed you a better line than that...

John Belushi you say?

Apparently so. I presume Polanski addded an exquisitely lighted toga party.





Tim

james belushi..the living one.

Will not watch a Polanski film.

Scumbag.

polanski has been at the top of his game since the beginning. looking forward to this

jim jarmusch makes crafted artistic films as does sofia coppola

Jarmush? He squandered my good will with "Coffee & Cigarettes". You'd have to drag me kicking and screaming to anything else after that.

Sofia Coppola is a chip off the old block. She'll go very far as a director.

Double post in error.

loved coffee & cigarettes because of the iggy pop & tom waits scene....his films are an unusual and meditative experience and not for everybody. he's the first to admit that

but polanski is right up there with kubrik....if you ever get a chance, watch the special features on the Shining DVD which shows the making of the film and you can see a genius at work....as well, the special features on Rosemary's Baby

Agreed.

A guy that died too soon was Fassbinder. He would have been up there with Polanski and Kubrik had he lived...IMO.

i suspect we are the only ones on this board who like Fassbinder....

Werner Herzog is another at the top and still active...Woody Allen has lost his touch with reality lately but still a favorite

Not the only ones. I saw all 15 hours of Berlin Alexanderplatz over two days in its initial release in US theatres, and it remains one of the most memorable films I've ever experienced.



Even though it had no John Belushi.





Tim

Fassbinder was brilliant. Woody Allen is brilliant. Werner Herzog is not in the same league as either IMO.

Ghost Writer is next on my list. I just saw North Face. Quite well done, except for the addition of the female interst into the story.

Ditto for "Berlin Alexanderplatz". Imagine the balls it took to get a 15 hour feature film made and into distribution! And it was good.

(My bad on the Belushi. It was of course James Belushi.)