The best psychological thrillers?

Collapse

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • #16
    Re: The best psychological thrillers?

    I think I heard something about that too.
    One must be fearless and tenacious when pursuing their dreams. If you don't, regret will be your reward.

    The Fiction Story Room

    Comment


    • #17
      Re: The best psychological thrillers?

      Originally posted by SundownInRetreat View Post
      I think the opposite. Because you don't know the language, you only have the acting iself to go on - the expressions, the reactions, the tonality in the voice. Just like a blind man who finds his other senses heightened, when understanding of language is removed, all other aspects of the actors' performances are elevated to greater prominence.
      You are reading subtitles when you watch a film in foreign language. Which does not heighten your ability to read the physical performance, it distracts it (Still better than dubbing, thought). I've read subtitled TV and movies every day for closer to 25 years now, so I'm as fluent in it as anyone. Subtitles affect the way you read a physical performance.

      Judging tonality of voice is very hard if you don't know the language and the culture. It's not just the words you don't understand - It's also the tone. My own native Finnish language is tonally completely different than English. Only Finnish-speaking people in the Finnish culture can accurately judge whether slight variations in tone ring true or false. Others simply don't have the ear for it. Same goes for example to many Asian countries - The voice register is completely different than what Westerners are used to.

      About physicality: In different cultures people use their body and face in different ways. Moreover, the cultural context of the scene affects the performance. The way Americans carry themselves and socialize with each other is very different from Finnish people. A scene in a Finnish movie with American behavior would easily read false to Finnish people, but an American viewer would buy it easily.

      While basic human behavior is universal, the finer details are not. Expressions, reactions, tonality in the voice, etc, often vary greatly in different cultures.

      Moreover, you can't judge dialogue if you don't know the language. Dialogue affects the performance. Often subtitles misrepresent the finer details of the dialogue - and they also misrepresent the emotion the actor is trying to convey.

      Of course you can recognize bad, good or a great performance in a foreign film. But it's harder. And it's easier to miss the false notes, because you are not tuned into the finer details of that particular language and culture.
      Last edited by tuukka; 03-11-2012, 11:08 AM.

      Comment


      • #18
        Re: The best psychological thrillers?

        Originally posted by ATB View Post
        Aren't they remaking this? I remember seeing De Niro attached to an American adaptation of Tell No One.
        Wasn't it Ben Affleck to both direct and rewrite the Kurtzman & Orci script?


        As for the acting: it's pretty good. French acting in general has a very different tone than American acting, but that doesn't make it less adequate. I'm not fluent but know enough French to ignore the subtitles long enough to judge.

        Tell No One is an amazing film all around. The French just have this ability to make commercial films without dumbing them down, like they actually respect the audience.

        Comment


        • #19
          Re: The best psychological thrillers?

          I was not impressed with Tell No One. It seemed like an anti-thriller...a thriller without thrills. Just ordinary execution for what could have been a pretty captivating story. I actually prefer the script for the remake.

          Here are some I did enjoy:

          Black Swan
          The Sixth Sense
          Vertigo
          Rear Window
          A History of Violence
          Hard Candy
          Exam
          Session 9
          Frailty
          Buried
          The Game

          Comment


          • #20
            Re: The best psychological thrillers?

            Originally posted by ATB View Post
            Aren't they remaking this? I remember seeing De Niro attached to an American adaptation of Tell No One.
            Yes they are. As TNO was lauded and a success, it's ripe for a remake.


            Originally posted by Dr. Vergerus View Post
            Tell No One is an amazing film all around. The French just have this ability to make commercial films without dumbing them down, like they actually respect the audience.
            100% yes!
            M.A.G.A.

            Comment


            • #21
              Re: The best psychological thrillers?

              Actually a lot of mainstream French films are really dumb, they just never cross the ocean so Americans are fortunate enough not to see them

              I would add NOTORIOUS and of course PSYCHO to Bio's list.

              Comment


              • #22
                Re: The best psychological thrillers?

                Originally posted by Rantanplan View Post
                I would add NOTORIOUS and of course PSYCHO to Bio's list.
                Originally posted by Biohazard View Post
                Here are some I did enjoy:

                Black Swan
                The Sixth Sense
                Vertigo
                Rear Window
                A History of Violence
                Hard Candy
                Exam
                Session 9
                Frailty
                Buried
                The Game
                I'll vote for this ^

                Have not seen them all but it looks like a great list. Loved A History of Violence and the Hitchcock picks. Sixth Sense too, and Buried... I heard Black Swan was worth seeing but haven't seen it yet...

                Think I would add Sleuth to this list... stellar cast, one of the special plays that was also a fine film.
                Last edited by tucsonray; 03-12-2012, 03:31 AM.
                Seven years dungeon --- no trials!

                Comment


                • #23
                  Re: The best psychological thrillers?

                  Originally posted by Biohazard View Post
                  I was not impressed with Tell No One. It seemed like an anti-thriller...a thriller without thrills. Just ordinary execution for what could have been a pretty captivating story. I actually prefer the script for the remake.

                  Here are some I did enjoy:

                  Black Swan
                  The Sixth Sense
                  Vertigo
                  Rear Window
                  A History of Violence
                  Hard Candy
                  Exam
                  Session 9
                  Frailty
                  Buried
                  The Game
                  I'll cosign everything on this list except Frailty (which I haven't seen) and Black Swan... definitely wasn't a fan of that film, but it's obviously psychological I just wasn't all that thrilled.

                  Was Frailty pretty original or different from most films that's out? Not sure how I missed this one.
                  One must be fearless and tenacious when pursuing their dreams. If you don't, regret will be your reward.

                  The Fiction Story Room

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    Re: The best psychological thrillers?

                    Originally posted by Rantanplan View Post
                    Actually a lot of mainstream French films are really dumb, they just never cross the ocean so Americans are fortunate enough not to see them
                    Could you give some examples? Not that I'm challenging your statement; I'm just curious. Thanks!

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      Re: The best psychological thrillers?

                      "The French just have this ability to make commercial films without dumbing them down, like they actually respect the audience" ..

                      "Actually a lot of mainstream French films are really dumb, they just never cross the ocean so Americans are fortunate enough not to see them"

                      "Could you give some examples? Not that I'm challenging your statement; I'm just curious. Thanks!"

                      I present you the answer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXq-Z65dAd0

                      Mac
                      New blogposts:
                      *Followup - Seeking Investors in all the wrong places
                      *Preselling your film - Learning from the Experts
                      *Getting your indie film onto iTunes
                      *Case Study - Estimating Film profits

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        Re: The best psychological thrillers?

                        Actually, that film is pretty faithful to the comics. Bad dubbing doesn't help, though. And then you have the fact that humor doesn't always travel well, even if it's comic book humor like in this case. I loved Asterix comics when I was a kid, but never cared much for the movies; the older animated films were much better.

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          Re: The best psychological thrillers?

                          American movies suck balls. Here's my evidence:

                          http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVdD0ZxPq_g

                          HH

                          Comment


                          • #28
                            Re: The best psychological thrillers?

                            Originally posted by Juno Styles View Post
                            I'll cosign everything on this list except Frailty (which I haven't seen) and Black Swan... definitely wasn't a fan of that film, but it's obviously psychological I just wasn't all that thrilled.

                            Was Frailty pretty original or different from most films that's out? Not sure how I missed this one.
                            Great list, though I'd add memento and deduct Exam. IMHO that film was littered with clunky dialogue, a weak twist and god awful stereotypes that continue to saturate British films. All it needed was Danny Dyer, teenage pregnancy and Noel Clarke thrown into the mix and it'd ticked every box...

                            Comment


                            • #29
                              Re: The best psychological thrillers?

                              Oh I didn't even notice Exam...yeah that felt like a long short film you see on youtube. Too smart for its own good.
                              One must be fearless and tenacious when pursuing their dreams. If you don't, regret will be your reward.

                              The Fiction Story Room

                              Comment


                              • #30
                                Re: The best psychological thrillers?

                                Some of my favorites have already been listed, but here's more:

                                Chasing Sleep (I think it's on Netflix now)

                                Old Boy

                                Repulsion

                                Perfect Blue (Japanese animation film)

                                Misery
                                -chris

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X