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Saturday, July 10, 2004


"Joe Versus the Volcano"

After I had completed my work goals for the day today, I sat down and popped the early Tom Hanks film, "Joe Versus the Volcano", into the VCR. Oddly, I've never seen this gem yet. It's from Scott's sizable collection of movies (many of which I haven't seen), and now that he's moved in, I decided to give this one a shot.

At first the film struck me as odd. I was expecting something a little more realistic I suppose. But, knowing that Tom Hanks has never turned out a bad film performance, I stuck around and slowly came to enjoy it. I still don't know how best to review it personally, but having read a few reviews on IMDB.com, this one seemed to help explain the film the best....

"A lot of people didn't like this movie because they misunderstood what it was. This movie is a modernization of early French and German expressionist films.

Unless you've studied film history, this movie will likely go way over your head. But what John Patrick Shanley has done is truly unique. He has created a modern motion picture in the style of Cinema's early years. This movie was basically made asking the question, "What would the early filmmakers do if they made movies today?".

The beginning of this film is done as German expressionism, specifically referencing Fritz Lang's "Metropolis". If you've seen the first five minutes of "Metropolis", you'll recognize it instantly. Once they get out on the ocean, you start to get wisps of George Melies' storybook films (moons were really big with him). This trend continues until the famous, hauntingly beautiful moonrise scene, which would make Melies himself very proud.

The early stylings rub off on other parts as well, specifically it's use of unreal lighting. Various colored lights are used throughout the movie, giving them a very artistic look. Another early style mimicked here is film tinting. This happens in one scene in particular. When Joe and Patricia are on the deck of the boat before the typhoon hits, the entire image is tinted green. Early filmmakers in the silent era did this all the time to give specific scenes a certain feel before color film existed.

I have to give credit to George Delerue for giving this movie one of the most beautiful, exquisite, and awesome musical scores I have ever heard on a movie. I always watch this movie LOUD because I love the music so much.

Joe Versus the Volcano is a modern classic and one of my all-time favorite films. 10/10. Perfect."


- Tyler Norman (IMDB film review)
I'll be honest, this is a great film (now that I've seen it personally). I don't know if I'd rate it a perfect ten... maybe an eight, but still, if you enjoy Tom Hanks, you'll enjoy this film. It's well done, and achieves something unique in it's artistry -- something that is often not found to the same degree in modern cinema. But then again, you know me, I'm a sucker for good artistry. So, give it a watch sometime. I'd love to hear your opinion.

Have a blessed weekend all! Until next time,

Your happily blogging friend,
-Jon

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Jon Baas

Blogging Since 2002!
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