Rushmore
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Franz Ferdinand
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- Location: Calgary, Alberta
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Great review, Sabin! I've always loved Rushmore as a funny and charming movie, though I too admit it took several viewings to truly appreciate it as the work of late-90s art that it is. It's incredible to think it was only Anderson's second movie! When I saw "The Royal Tenenbaums" in the theaters I immediately liked it much better, but over time I find Rushmore is making a strong case for my favorite Anderson movie (and hence in my top 10 of all time, I can't claim much grandiosity). Even "Bottle Rocket", which I've only seen for the first time last year, is making an impression, and is an example of the unbridled talent Anderson had off the bat for characterization and comedic drama. The first three Anderson movies are peerless for me.
BTW, it is Mark Mothersbaugh, not Max. Since Devo, he has always made incredible music.
BTW, it is Mark Mothersbaugh, not Max. Since Devo, he has always made incredible music.
Ten years ago, I saw Rushmore in theaters and didn't know what to make of it. Already I'd established myself as some form of filmic authority at BCP, and when asked what I thought of Rushmore, my comment was "I don't know but you MUST see it so we can talk about it." A lot of people did and they had far more a concrete opinion of the film than I did for certain. I think there's probably some web archival page out there of me damning the film with the faintest praise on the planet. More impacting was the soundtrack which, coupled with the Wonder Boys soundtrack, is largely responsible for my musical development.
Then some months later when the film came to Blockbuster shelves, I rented it again and found myself absolutely dwarfed by the majesty of the now-stock-trade tracking shot by the end recalling all the film's characters allowing them humanist closure. Like nothing I had ever seen before, I found myself on the verge of tears. How many filmmakers would do this? There is nothing in the text of Rushmore that separates it from something as satiric as Election nor populist as American Pie, but in the hands of Wes Anderson every single character to traipse onto the screen and off is treated like a welcome guest. I learned about cinematography from Rushmore, how the slightest push in or ramp of speeds can convey a world of emotion. Notice how when Max walks on stage after his school's production of "Serpico" that he is in the foreground so much taller than everybody else, how the sound emphasizes applause so much louder than would be possible, how Anderson ramps from 24 to 48 fps when his cast begins to clap for him and THEN he walks out. This emphasizes the theatrics of the experience. Scorsese would start off behind Max's head and show his OTS (ish) POV but Wes Anderson emphasizes the theater of the experience of being Max Fisher. The film is always in his head and backstage in the play he is producing.
I don't believe I've ever quite seen a mixing of original score and pop song quite as deftly as in Rushmore, where Max Mothersbaugh's adorably regal compositions so perfectly match the distinctly nostalgic score. Max's production of Apocalypse Now misunderestimates Coppola's vision as every vision of non-Malick or Russell war ranging form Spielberg to Watchmen but there is something organic to Anderson's utilization of pop song as extension of collective unconscious that Max taps into that is no less idealized. Of it's time, it's certainly the most influential pop film since Pulp Fiction in that it trades pop song bad ass for melancholy. Like Pulp Fiction, it has seen its share of imitators as well. And player haters. Unlike Pulp Fiction, Rushmore comes from a very organic place though no less inspired from the works of Nichols, Ashby, and Malle. Rushmore feels lived whereas Pulp Fiction feels watched.
When asked what the best movie I've ever seen is, I usually debate whether or not to answer Rushmore or L'Atalante. There's no question in my mind that the bisexual eroticism and cinematic playfulness of L'Atalante will undoubtably survive longer and serve as worthier Grail to those who seek it out. I don't think there's ever been a film that has served as oasis wellspring like Rushmore in my life. It is quite simply there with its cardinal truth as one is bound to find out sooner or later: it does not matter what story you tell but rather how you tell it. That, to me, is Rushmore.
Then some months later when the film came to Blockbuster shelves, I rented it again and found myself absolutely dwarfed by the majesty of the now-stock-trade tracking shot by the end recalling all the film's characters allowing them humanist closure. Like nothing I had ever seen before, I found myself on the verge of tears. How many filmmakers would do this? There is nothing in the text of Rushmore that separates it from something as satiric as Election nor populist as American Pie, but in the hands of Wes Anderson every single character to traipse onto the screen and off is treated like a welcome guest. I learned about cinematography from Rushmore, how the slightest push in or ramp of speeds can convey a world of emotion. Notice how when Max walks on stage after his school's production of "Serpico" that he is in the foreground so much taller than everybody else, how the sound emphasizes applause so much louder than would be possible, how Anderson ramps from 24 to 48 fps when his cast begins to clap for him and THEN he walks out. This emphasizes the theatrics of the experience. Scorsese would start off behind Max's head and show his OTS (ish) POV but Wes Anderson emphasizes the theater of the experience of being Max Fisher. The film is always in his head and backstage in the play he is producing.
I don't believe I've ever quite seen a mixing of original score and pop song quite as deftly as in Rushmore, where Max Mothersbaugh's adorably regal compositions so perfectly match the distinctly nostalgic score. Max's production of Apocalypse Now misunderestimates Coppola's vision as every vision of non-Malick or Russell war ranging form Spielberg to Watchmen but there is something organic to Anderson's utilization of pop song as extension of collective unconscious that Max taps into that is no less idealized. Of it's time, it's certainly the most influential pop film since Pulp Fiction in that it trades pop song bad ass for melancholy. Like Pulp Fiction, it has seen its share of imitators as well. And player haters. Unlike Pulp Fiction, Rushmore comes from a very organic place though no less inspired from the works of Nichols, Ashby, and Malle. Rushmore feels lived whereas Pulp Fiction feels watched.
When asked what the best movie I've ever seen is, I usually debate whether or not to answer Rushmore or L'Atalante. There's no question in my mind that the bisexual eroticism and cinematic playfulness of L'Atalante will undoubtably survive longer and serve as worthier Grail to those who seek it out. I don't think there's ever been a film that has served as oasis wellspring like Rushmore in my life. It is quite simply there with its cardinal truth as one is bound to find out sooner or later: it does not matter what story you tell but rather how you tell it. That, to me, is Rushmore.
"How's the despair?"