Chris 'numero uno' wisely observed after complimenting Sr. Connelly:

I think both Hartley and Allen are far, far superior to anything mainstream. However, Hartley is a fledgling while Allen has proven himself to be, in my opinion, one of the greatest film-makers America has. I would put his Husbands and Wives as well as Todd Haynes' Safe ahead of Scorcese's GoodFellas in the best American films of the decade. As far as the humor goes, Hartley is more overbearing than Woody Allen because he makes his actors pause too much at the 'punchlines' [snip]

The nail... the hammer... the conclusion is practically pre-ordained. Monsieur McQuain has it exactly right - Hartley has a problem with his confidence and it shows in his timing. If he realized that he wasn't *too* obscure or beyond comprehension, he'd direct his scripts better. In fact, I'm certain that he would direct someone else's script brilliantly because he wouldn't be afraid of someone 'missing an important intellectual point' or 'humorous bit'. There's a bleeding edge that a lot of artists face with cryptism and walking that line is difficult. It's easy to understand his vulnerable feelings as an artist, but his degree of experience should warrant better response - and perhaps it can be said that he has made better strides in his recent efforts. One of the other irksome elements in his films is a sometimes gratutitous amount of quirkiness, beyond what is merited with the script. I acknowledge that it is important to brand oneself as an 'indie' director, but some of the scenes come off slightly as art school efforts, intentionally drenching the camera with a sort of visual non-sequitors. I'm certain that most of these sidebars aren't necessary to character or plot development - only occasionally do they offer visuals that justify their tangents. It's a minor distraction, but after seeing 'Chien Andalou' (sp?) and others of that genre, one would think that a modernist sense of consistency would prevail...

However, that being said, I haven't seen even half of Hartley's [snip] make me want to see more.

I'm in the same boat. Excellent, so far - clever. It's rare to find a director you take a liking too (wenders, jarmusch, coen bros, etc.), so I'm eager to soak in his view of the world.

I can get one person to watch Husbands & Wives, then it's all worthwhile...

I love Woody Allen and I've seen most of his films. Since I haven't seen Husbands & Wives, you've gotten your one targeted bullseye... ;) Señor Droolcup <- not as Incandescent as DFWallace's Hal - * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * - the Rescuers - next gig on 6/25 fri, 9pm - brainwash http://www.therescuers.net help@therescuers.net "3 out of 4 dentists recommend us to reduce plaque." - * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * - +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the reborn Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list mail "sinister@majordomo.net". To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to "majordomo@majordomo.net". WWW: http://www.majordomo.net/sinister +-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "tech-heads and students" +-+ +-+ "the cardie wearing biscuit nibbling belle & sebastian list" +-+ +-+ "jelly-filled danishes" +-+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+