1022 The Prince of Tides

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Rayon Vert
Green is the Rayest Color
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Re: 1022 The Prince of Tides

#26 Post by Rayon Vert » Mon Dec 16, 2019 11:03 pm

I liked this movie too when it came out, but don't remember anything about it now. Due for a revisit.

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therewillbeblus
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Re: 1022 The Prince of Tides

#27 Post by therewillbeblus » Mon Dec 16, 2019 11:27 pm

I watched it right after the clue came out a couple months ago. I had always put this one off because my mother, also a therapist, found it to be very wrong and even offensive to the profession. I don't totally agree with that, and personally thought was plenty of merit in the film, but it's not one I need to own or see more than maybe once more in my life. There are a lot of classic 90s character dynamics restricted grid-movement and scenes that reveal a person's true character through simplistic means (Jeroen Krabbé at the party, Nolte as football coach/father figure) but they're forgivable because they're fun to experience. As for the actual trauma work and flashbacks, I don't think anyone wants to hear a clinical rundown, but it was a decent enough demonstration especially given the way movies were made and what we knew about mental health in '91. I will say that the most interesting aspect of the film for me was how Nolte's character carried himself in relationships but unfortunately this wasn't delved into nearly as complexly as it could have been. There was a lot of power in the presentation of the good-naturedness of people and although simplified to Southern vs. Northern cultural expressiveness this had a warm effect that helped the film from submerging into a murky depressive space. I agree that people here will probably like it more than they expect to, but I'd be surprised if it came anywhere close to the shortlist for 2020's best discovery.

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soundchaser
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Re: 1022 The Prince of Tides

#28 Post by soundchaser » Mon Dec 16, 2019 11:31 pm

I think you’d like the book, TWBB — I haven’t read it in nearly 10 years, but from what I remember it focuses pretty heavily on the complexity of Nolte’s relationships, especially with his sister. Looking forward to my first watch of the film next year.

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therewillbeblus
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Re: 1022 The Prince of Tides

#29 Post by therewillbeblus » Mon Dec 16, 2019 11:42 pm

Yeah I'd believe that - for what it's worth, I think the movie does a pretty good job at showing and not telling this, in his reactions without his sister present (though a book could really flesh that out better) but I wished there was more regarding how he drives other people (i.e. romantic partners) away as an unconscious result of his trauma. It's still there enough, and I stand by it being the strongest part of a film I like.

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aox
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Re: 1022 The Prince of Tides

#30 Post by aox » Tue Dec 17, 2019 10:09 am

I've never seen it (if Criterion puts it up on their channel I'll give it a spin), but doesn't it deviate from the book fairly noticeably? Similarly to Fried Green Tomatoes (the film completely omits the lesbian plot) which was also a contemporary adaptation?

alacal2
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Re: 1022 The Prince of Tides

#31 Post by alacal2 » Tue Dec 17, 2019 10:34 am

Strange that there's nothing specific at all on Nick Nolte in the extras.

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hearthesilence
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Re: 1022 The Prince of Tides

#32 Post by hearthesilence » Tue Dec 17, 2019 12:01 pm

alacal2 wrote:
Tue Dec 17, 2019 10:34 am
Strange that there's nothing specific at all on Nick Nolte in the extras.
He's the best thing about the film so it is strange - but it could easily be a mundane reason for the exclusion, like being unable to schedule Nolte for a commentary, etc.

swo17 made a crack about this film being far more important than Leave Her to Heaven on the basis of extras, but I'm sure the wealth of bonus material comes down to Streisand wanting to participate and keeping a good deal of material in her archives.

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The Fanciful Norwegian
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Re: 1022 The Prince of Tides

#33 Post by The Fanciful Norwegian » Tue Dec 17, 2019 2:30 pm

If the gag reel is the same one from the laserdisc, it's Nolte-focused, so that kind of counts? I'm guessing all the extras are LD carryovers except the three interviews and whatever changes Streisand made to her commentary. That said, it will be nice to see this stuff without the space-saving method employed for the LD (also used for some other releases, like the 50th anniversary Kane), in which multiple videos would play simultaneously as inset frames and the audio for each would be encoded on different tracks.

flyonthewall2983
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Re: Forthcoming: Prince of Tides

#34 Post by flyonthewall2983 » Thu Dec 19, 2019 10:19 pm

cmeola wrote:
Wed Oct 30, 2019 10:20 am
I am concerned that this will be in delay hell for years like Spinal Tap.
Was it delayed because of the music rights lawsuit?

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bearcuborg
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Re: 1022 The Prince of Tides

#35 Post by bearcuborg » Tue Dec 01, 2020 1:04 pm

I caught up with this again, and found the music incredibly distracting. But it is lovingly photographed and Nolte is terrific. The harrowing aspect of this story still packs a punch. Barbara looks terrific.

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CSM126
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Re: 1022 The Prince of Tides

#36 Post by CSM126 » Sun Mar 07, 2021 5:39 pm

Ah, what a magnificent film this is. The kind that makes ya say “they don’t make ‘em like that anymore”. One of a then-dying breed: the old-fashioned star-studded Hollywood melodrama, a genre that pretty well died once Titanic introduced CGI and special effects bonanza to it. But forget that and just enjoy some good old-fashioned soap with a movie like this. The swelling strings, the heightened emotions, the passionate acting (yes, Nolte is great here), the golden photography. And it’s all done to perfection, so that you ride the roller coaster Wingo finds himself on in perfect harmony with him. The scene where Tom finally allows himself to cry just so happened to be the scene where I found myself tearing up and I thought right then “yup, this is a damn good one”.

All I want from a movie like this is to have my heartstrings tugged and my hankie dampened and maybe to swoon a little at the possibilities of love, and I’ll de damned if The Prince of Tides didn’t deliver on all fronts. It’s like buttah.

Damn nice supplements package too, even if the menu system does feel slightly clunky due to loading times (this might be the rare case where a DVD is more efficient, if only because they always seem to load faster from one screen to another). But the interface is a minor quibble to me; I enjoyed the content and felt like putting all this together must have been a labor of love. This is a great edition for fans by fans. A really nice discovery after many years of curiosity.

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Randall Maysin
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Re: 1022 The Prince of Tides

#37 Post by Randall Maysin » Mon Mar 08, 2021 2:54 am

Hey...maybe Criterion should try to snag Funny Girl, and get a Barbra commentary? Just a thought. The only other Barbra movie that sounds/is any good is The Owl and the Pussycat, and maybe All Night Long, though I'm not sure she agrees about the latter.

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knives
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Re: 1022 The Prince of Tides

#38 Post by knives » Mon Mar 08, 2021 11:08 am

What’s Up Doc?

Jack Kubrick
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Re: 1022 The Prince of Tides

#39 Post by Jack Kubrick » Mon Mar 08, 2021 12:24 pm

Randall Maysin wrote:
Mon Mar 08, 2021 2:54 am
Hey...maybe Criterion should try to snag Funny Girl, and get a Barbra commentary? Just a thought. The only other Barbra movie that sounds/is any good is The Owl and the Pussycat, and maybe All Night Long, though I'm not sure she agrees about the latter.
Did Streisand have difficulty with crew or Hackman on All Night Long? My understanding is she was brought on the picture through her agent, this low-budget drama became a more expensive two-header picture through replacing another actress that I can't remember off the top of my head but didn't have Streisand star power. That led to the budget rising and then the film subsequently flopped at the box office.


Now I have not seen Prince of Tides since my childhood(surely I understand this film...) but it feels wrong that Nick Nolte has yet to win a Oscar. For some reason, maybe because of his personal life that has grabbed the tabloids attention, the man is underrated by the larger community and film geeks. He gives such authentic acting that always make me believe the characters psychological state. Affliction is a powerhouse of a performance and he lose to that Italian clown making that saccharine Holocaust "comedy."

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