It looks like you are using IE6. CoTradeCo.com works fine in IE6 but doesn't look as nice. Consider upgrading to IE8, Chrome, Safari, or Firefox.
For more information on why visit BrowseHappy.com.
Creative Endeavors TV and Movies
Watch “The Heart of the World” by Genius Guy Maddin
beingzoe almost 2 years ago
|
1 response
What is the antidote for bloated Hollywood franchise blockbusters slim on plot and big on special effects and product tie-ins?
Short “silent” anachronistic films.
If you are a lover of cinema and aren’t familiar with Guy Maddin, you should be . He is a Canadian filmmaker who brings a level of originality, creativity, and story telling rarely seen since the days of Orson Welles or Fellini.
What these films might lack in mainstream appeal they make up for in quality of story, production, and impact. Using low budget indie film methods and stylistic motifs of the early 20th century, coupled with various original and unique techniques such as using carefully applied Vaseline on the lens of the camera to create soft old-school visuals, Guy Maddin does not make movies, he tells stories.
His style most often draws on the look and feel of films from the 1920’s and 1930’s. IMDB refers to Maddin’s style as referencing and parodying soviet montage cinema of the 1920s, German Expressionism of the 1920s, and silent melodrama film.
Among my favorite movies of all time is The Saddest Music in the World . This is a feature length “talkie” that takes Maddin’s “retro-original” style blending it with some 1950’s style futuristic motifs in a story set during the prohibition era. That alone is genius, but the story, about a legless and wealthy beer baroness in Canada who creates a contest to find the saddest music in the world, because as she put it, people buy more alcohol when they are sad.
The Heart of the World originally produced for the 2000 Toronto International Film Festival, is a nice introduction to the world of Guy Maddin. This silent film is 6 minutes of simplistic visual and storytelling genius. The story of two brothers who love the same woman, a scientist who is researching the center of the earth. The Heart of the World says and conveys more in 6 minutes than many major Hollywood films.
Watch The Heart of the World by Guy Maddin at YouTube
Let me know what you think.
Post your response
Already have a SPOT? SIGN IN to post a response.
Otherwise, enter your info below!
More from Creative Endeavors
- At the Golden Gate
- More Dangerous than you might Think
- John F. King II
- Perpetual motion. Another good theory.
- Starry Night
- Pioneer Cemetery
- Test
- My fonts are embossed AND your fonts are crap!
- You suck at Photoshop #5: Select Color Range (MyDamnChannel)
- You suck at Photoshop #4: Paths and Masks (MyDamnChannel)
View all community blog discussions
Creative Endeavors topics
- »Gibber-gabber
- »News & culture
- »Notices & events
- »Products, gadgets, & gear
- »Projects & adventures
- »Stories & anecdotes
- »Tips, tricks, and advice
- »Want ads & classifieds
- »Whoopee! Just for fun
- Music
- TV and Movies
Find related info on CoTradeCo
Join our mailing list
Exclusive content & product deals for your communities.
Follow us on Twitter!
- CoTradeCo @twitter
Product deals and news for the entire CoTradeCo community. -
Trader Dan @twitter
Trader Dan shares aphorisms, witticisms, and just plain fun stuff.
Also visit our partner community TopSportsBets.com
© 2007-2009 CoTradeCo, Coachella Valley Packaging, & Coachella Valley Trading Company
are part of the Shorebird Corporation
Community content is all rights reserved © by the contibutor of that content granting
CoTradeCo some limited non-exclusive usage rights, see our policies.
almost 2 years ago beingzoe said ...
When I posted this mini-article we didn’t have the ability to embed video so all I could do was link to it. Then even after we could, I questioned whether I should. A man of such genius really deserves to have his work paid for. But then I decided what the heck.
Consider this the trailer for a much larger body of work and check the art houses or pick up some DVDs.