tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post5177672352838040167..comments2023-11-03T11:37:13.579-04:00Comments on Something Old, Nothing New: What About Paul Mazursky?Jaime J. Weinmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15128500411119962998noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post-3775074623003850032010-11-11T20:06:43.520-05:002010-11-11T20:06:43.520-05:00Three words about Moon Over Parador": Sammy D...Three words about Moon Over Parador": Sammy Davis Jr.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post-47028240819381460972010-11-06T19:29:30.506-04:002010-11-06T19:29:30.506-04:00Couldn't agree more, with both Jaime and Patri...Couldn't agree more, with both Jaime and Patrick. The problem with Mazursky, perhaps, is that his intentions often seem more honorable than the films themselves. His best movies attempt to be about how people really live their lives, and some of them are wonderful, but too often Mazursky lacked any distinctive cinematic touch, and they often seem dated now. (Though imagine how much better "An Unmarried Woman" would play without that awful Bill Conti score.)<br /><br />I think much of his post-1980 work is more interesting than commonly acknowledged--I love "Tempest" and find "Moon Over Parador" somewhat charming. <br /><br />Also, for what it's worth, I think "Harry And Tonto" is absolutely perfect, tonally--it could be awful in so many ways, but it always feels true.Edward Hegstromhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07664617657765541939noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post-83172347436746779372010-11-06T08:03:34.438-04:002010-11-06T08:03:34.438-04:00I think Mazursky is interesting, too, but the prob...I think Mazursky is interesting, too, but the problem is, the shape of his filmography is not compelling. The first six features are a fairly strong lead, with three acknowledged good films ("Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice," "Harry and Tonto," and "An Unmarried Woman"), two sleepers ("Blume in Love" and "Next Stop, Greenwich Village"), and one oddball ("Alex in Wonderland"). But even in that group, several of the films might be unfairly perceived as "dated." Woody Allen doesn't run into that issue; as a solipsist, his films are only and ever about his own "world," and thus they do not date.<br /><br />Among Mazursky's next nine features, from 1980 to 1996, there is only one acknowledged good film, "Enemies: A Love Story." He closed his career with two television movies and a documentary that I haven't seen.<br /><br />The Eighties killed many promising directorial careers, of course; Alan J. Pakula comes immediately to mind. But the important fact is that Woody Allen and Robert Altman and Martin Scorsese weathered the Eighties, not without difficulty, and did interesting and often underrated work during that era. Directors who are crafty enough to keep their personal voices alive during difficult times are the ones who develop the lasting reputations, and they are probably the ones who deserve to do so.Patrick Murthahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08103905929956454199noreply@blogger.com