Recent Reviews for Funny Games
-
MCT:October 8, 2008It's ok. The American Remake is EXACTLY the same - scene for scene. It is kind of nice to see the 2 antagonists mentally fuck with the family.
-
MCT:October 8, 2008Georg: Why are you doing this to us?
Paul: Why not?
Watching this film is like being tortured. It's intense, painful to watch and looks extremely realistic, until he picks up that remote control that is.
7 October 2008 -
MCT:October 1, 20081997 - very different and extrem. Today - well, today we have "Ireversible". This movie shall not be compared with "Hostel" and other junk-films. It´s in the vien of Ireversible and Shining. FG is a good film.
-
MCT:September 17, 2008Molto più che un semolplice film. Ma un saggio quasi filosofico sull'intreccio tra cinema e violenza. Senza pietà per il pubblico. Perché comanda il regista.
-
MCT:September 16, 2008
Really intense, awesome actors, pointless cruelty. It's a hard film to watch, it's slow, long minutes without dialogue, but that helps to increase the tension atmosphere... so I don't know what to think about this one, not bad, not awesome... 3 stars. Don't watch it if you're easily offended.
-
i actually don't know what to make of this film. i do think that it is an amazing film and i very much appreciate the efforts and intentions of the directors. but unfortunately, if i'm being very honest, it did not work with me. i am a person who loves violence especially senseless ones in movies so im thinking i probably belong to haneke's target audience here but it was a very confusing experience for me. sometimes i root for the family but then sometimes i root for the two guys. the good thing is it did stay with me after. not in a scary sort of way but it still makes me think up until now, so that's good.
-
MCT:September 15, 2008It's a very hard film for anyone and one that is pretty much pointless. For all it's technical expertise and lampooning at the so-called 'horrible' media, it is hardly something to go out on.
-
MCT:September 8, 2008
A finger-wagging exercise of moral hypocrisy, drawing its audience through the sensational elements it allegedly condemns. It's like a nun showing you images of Playboy centerfolds and then whipping your genitals with a ruler.
-
MCT:August 31, 2008This film was not easy to watch. By that I mean, it had no motivation for the viewer to keep watching.
-
MCT:August 25, 2008
I know I'm going to be virtually bitch slapped by those that detested this film and they have every right to since I initially labeled it as an abomination. Hear me out, though: it may be extremely manipulative and offensive, but I discovered some weeks after watching it that that was the point. "Funny Games," an inescapable protest on the obsession of violence, is a well-layered and incredibly professional bitchy complaint.
First of all, the quality of the film is remarkable. There's top-notch acting and Haneke's spurts of violence (Contradictory, to some extent, in this film) are creepy. Second of all, the content: nearly everything in this film has a purpose. The horror allegory that I noticed on the first watch is actually backed up with more complex layers. Lastly (As I mentioned before), you're SUPPOSED to hate "Funny Games" and I most certainly DO (Its rating has nothing to do with whether I liked it or not).
As much of a Haneke worshipper that I've made myself sound like, I assure you it's only because I give credit to his moralistic ways. I don't advocate any of the anti-horror messages (Being a horror fan), but what this film sets out to do it accomplishes. I AM obsessed with violence (On screen!!!) So what, Haneke?
Bring on the bitch slap messages, fellow Flixsters. *ducks* -
MCT:August 24, 2008Extremely sadistic and as a fellow film-buff said "a lot of people will either love or hate this film".Charming,for the two opposite sides actually apply to what Funny Games intented from the beggining.Get our utmost attention and make us discuss a very controversial subject,that of violence and unneccessary anarchy.
-
MCT:August 24, 2008
Director:Michael Haneke Released: 1997
Stars:Susanne Lothar, Ulrich Muhe, Arno Frisch and Frank Giering
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: Austria
Two psychotic young men take a mother, father, and son hostage in their vacation cabin and force them to play sadistic "games" with one another for their own amusement.
Funny Games is another one of those films everybody bare me has seen. Finally I found it in my supermarket this afternoon and just finished watching it. I have to admit that it toally blew me away. Funny Games is far more than a Horror, it's also a depiction of just how often Media violence is in our society and how much we take it for granted and almost let ourselved be entertained by this. Pure genuis!
The film opens up with a helicopter shot of the family arriving at their holiday home on the motorway. While watching this we are shown just how close the family, setting us up for one hell of a ride. This voyeristic technique makes us wonder why we are sitting here watching this and almost feel slightly instrusive on the family. That's the genuis of Haneke. I must admit that I didn't go too much on Hidden but this is abosolutly amazing. I can see some similarities in the two films there.
I know a lot of people will either love or hate this film I can see why but there are many different menaings to this film. For instance as I said beofre why, as a viewer you are sitting down to watch this and also questioning the viewing public as a whole. It also shows us parts which you might not fully be shown in an American film and almost plays upon that. Haneke uses emotions of the family almost as bait. The two men constantly play upon why the couple are crying and feeling this way and twisting it for their own amusement. There's no manipulation here as you might often find in a US film, you are given the opotunity to switch off, as one character says and question just how much violence you can take. Which I think is why this film is NOT pointless as some people have written here.
The characterisation in Funny Games is brilliant and key to the viewers understanding of the film. Both of the two main leads; Anna and Georg Snr are a middle class couple and very likeable indeed. As a viewer you can instantly releate to them and their son Georg. The film's path is not what you would expect as you really do warm to the characters. Oddly the representation of the two men: Paul and Peter are ones of such charm and sophistication that you don't feel that they're the villian on some stages. I'm going to admit that I did find the character of Paul very attractive indeed and didn't for a second think anything less-but that's another story entirely! Incidently Peter is also a man full of charm but is presented as less intelligent and an odd character.-we see this when Peter continuously calls him "fatty" which he hates.
Funny Games is also intelligently written and well paced. 1 hr and 40 mins flew by and left me utterly speechless afterwards, which of course is genuis on Haneke's part. Funny Games cleverly plays with the conventions of filmaking and asks the audience:
We're not up to feature film length yet. You want a real ending with plausible plot development".
Also has Paul looking at the camear and talking to the audience, which also gives the character as sense of arrogance to him and almost tells the audiene that he's in charge. What was the most clever thing about this film was the re-wind scene which did leave me slightly disturbed at what I had just watched.
Funny Games is one of the most disturbing films that I have seen and so cleverly written and filmed it's unbelievable. It'll leave you feeling horrified at what you've just watched and leave you wondering the why you watch violence in the media. Funny Games is a clever film and one which I highly recomend. -
MCT:August 21, 2008
Better than its remake by a sliver. Slower (hard for that to be possible) than its tightened remake, and at times does feel a little more clunkily directed in this static shot style (as in the director didn't have 10 years to plan every single shot). All the acting is better to me. The actor playing the mom is more convincing and these kids are genuine fully developed psychos whereas the remake kids feel like little pricks without any psychological depth. I watched these in reverse order, the remake first. I regret that because it makes it difficult for me to like again the same shots I liked from the first version I saw (most notable is when the wife ventures into the road at night to hail a car for help). The differences are very minute between this and the remake in terms of dialogue and shot composition. The lack of gore is the same, but the shotgun shell to Paul's chest looks more natural as it was not CGIed. It's too similar to its remake to really warrant a thorough breakdown. I'll say that I'm artificially more inclined to take Haneke's message in this movie more seriously because it is in another spoken language
(I have a strong anti-Hollywood bias). The main thing is the two bad rich kids; this version of them is just way more intimidating. I feel like they are an embodiment of mindless middle class cravings for violence, whereas the actors in the remake look like they'd be down and out after one lame punch because that's how flaccid they are as a representation of sadism. -
MCT:August 10, 2008A very unpleasant movie. While there's not nearly as much blood or boobs as "Hostel", it operates on the same assumption; specifically, that hurting people is a barrel of laughs. If you don't feel disposed towards watching ninety minutes of home invaders inflicting physical and psychological trauma upon their victims, then skip this film.
-
MCT:August 9, 2008Maybe this isn´t my type of movie, I men this movie start so slow and it´s not brutal and bloody like other people say.
Funny Games is pretentious and try to impress but not, it doesn´t. The movie has one of two cruel scenes but that´s all.
The best thing in whole the movie is the story and how it makes you a witness of the cruelty. -
MCT:August 1, 2008
check this german film before you check out the american remake, a tense thriller, drama, where home intuders force there way onto a couple and there kid, quite shocking in sence that, it doesent follow any hollywood book, no charactor gets off likely, and i mean, no charactor, at least the good guys, the two guys who invade house are chilling, but playing gentlemen, but also chillingly scary, what words can do to scare people, o course with a bit of violence, is scary to watch, as we watch these two guys mess with family throughout night, we get pointed towards motives of men, and also movies playing part, hats a bold statement to make in a film, no hollywood outcome here, and shocking events throughout film, especially anything involving kids, golf clubs, and dogs, its interseting to learn, u.s remake with tim roth and niomi watts is remade by this director, michael haneke, a shot for shot remake, lets hope he also sticks to shocking events, as this is a must see european film
-
MCT:July 30, 2008
i watched it after the remake, but this one's better because of its "b" atmosphere. And of course the fact that it is the original.
-
MCT:July 28, 2008
if there's ever a film that leaves you sick to the stomach after viewing( I mean that in a good way) then Funny games is it. Really makes you reevaluate your thoughts on society and media's take on violence. I still can't stop thinking about it, really messed up, the director likes playing with the audience.
-
MCT:July 19, 2008
i did not like this movie. there were parts with a long pause of no dialouge and nothing happening. just a three minute scene of a woman sitting in a chair.
-
MCT:July 13, 2008
A psychological thriller classic... there isn't much blood in this movie (at least not as much as you've expected), but still it frightens you so badly that you think your heart is going to stop beating.
-
MCT:July 13, 2008
A masterpiece. One of the craziest film I've ever seen. If you think that "Last house on the left" was hard to watch, don't even try Funny Games. As comfortable as having someone jump on your balls... Arno Frisch was even better than in Benny's video. Sick. Sick. Sick.
-
MCT:July 9, 2008
Funny Games (1997)
director: Michael Haneke
starring: Ulrich Mühe, Susanne Lothar, Arno Frisch, Frank Giering, Stefan Clapczynski
After a few months, I've finally come back to review this film. I'll be honest, it wasn't the easiest film to watch or the easiest film to understand at first, but after reading about this film and watching it two more times, I think I finally understand what the point of this film is. This film wasn't made with intentions of generating a fan base or hitting it big at the box office, it was made in order for director Michael Haneke to show us how disgusting we, the viewing public, are.
Haneke shatters film conventions and presents us with material that we normally would not see in a movie. Violence is used, but we don't see it on the screen. People are shot, killed and tortured, but we never see it happen. We hear it, we see the aftermath and we resonate as the characters do over what just happened. It's so real and comprehending why something so vividly disturbing is in a film makes us want the scene to be over with. Haneke uses techniques such as breaking the fourth wall, the real-time method and, most famously, a reverse effect to contest our regular film experiences. What we expect to come from this film is not what we get. I don't mean there is a twist ending or some surprising character reveal, but we get exactly what we don't expect: reality. People die in this film. There isn't a dramatic rescue scene and the protagonists do not win in an epic finale. This film is brave and it lets its audience see the opposite side of formulaic thrillers.
This film is not hypocritical. Many have accused this film of being hypocritical in its depiction of violence, but it's exactly the opposite. This film is ultimately a criticism on the use of violence in contemporary culture and media. Why the violence in the film then? The "violence" in Funny Games is used to satirize all other films that exploit their characters and their situations by showing blood, guts and nakedness. This film is like a kick in the face in terms of its bravura, it's saying "Watch this!" to its American counterparts and shows everything that we usually don't see, but cuts out everything we normally do see. We are shown the raw emotional impact that is thrust upon the victims in this film. We don't need to see the gruesome deaths when such emotion lets us know how bad the situation is. The actors in Funny Games (most notably Ulrich Mühe and Susanne Lothar) omit such painful emotions and this is Haneke's way of countering the exploitative violence from other films of this nature. We are shown a side we normally wouldn't see and this shocks us, angers us and, for a select few, pleases us.
Haneke presents situations in this film that normally would result in a bloodbath or nudity, but holds back when given the chance to show such content. One scene in particular, perhaps the most famous scene, involves a shotgun and a remote control. The violence isn't shown, it's out of the frame, but the result we do see. One of the antagonists has been blown away by the shotgun. But this isn't supposed to happen in this film, the antagonists aren't supposed to win or even be granted a speck of hope. The remaining antagonist picks up the remote control from the table and quickly rewinds the film to right before the incident occurs and prevents it from happening. Now everything is back on course and the hope for relief is diminished.
One of the antagonists in this film constantly breaks the fourth wall (the fourth wall being when a character from the film gestures or talks to the audience). This brings us, the audience, into the film even more to experience the torture and pain this family is going through. At one point, Paul addresses the audience saying, "We're not up to feature film length yet" and we know we're still in for more torture.
This film was made to shock us, torture us and make us realize who we are and what we have grown to expect from a film. When Schorschi is killed, we do not see it on screen. The viewers probably sighed for they don't get to see any blood in this movie. When Paul makes Anna take her clothes off, we don't see it on screen. The viewers probably sighed again, for they don't get to see any nudity in this movie either. As a film-going audience, we have grown to expect certain things from films. If someone is going to be shot, we expect to see it. If someone is going to have sex, we expect to see it. With Funny Games, Michael Haneke literally laughs at us because with this film, filled with violent happenings, we don't see anything violent on the screen, but only the emotional lapse that follows.
People can either view this film as a pointless exercise in attacking violence in films or a masterpiece that has shattered conventions, played with our minds and presented something brave and new to the cinematic table. I agree with the latter statement and I know I am not alone, but I also know how many people despise this film. It's a shame that Funny Games isn't widely appraised, because I do think that this revolutionary approach is not only audacious, but artistic, too. I have only good things to say about this film and Michael Haneke. He has presented something to us that everyone else fears to. He is a fantastic director and doesn't have to rely on formula to make a film work. He has stepped up to new extremes and his originality and bluster has made him very well respected by myself. I highly recommend this film, even though I know many of you will not like it. However, I do believe that everyone should watch this film and experience the masterpiece that is called Funny Games. -
MCT:July 8, 2008
Unsettling film about a couple of sociopaths who hold a family hostage. Although most of the violence occurs off-screen, it still makes the experience difficult to watch. Compelling and gut-wrenching all at once.
-
MCT:July 7, 2008
"Why don't you just kill us?"
"You have to consider entertainment-value."
Bertolt Brecht(And possibly Andrei Tarkovsky) would be happy, he really would. I love the horror genre, and I love art-movies. The best thing is an art-horror movie. I really think it's one of the best places to try to experiment with form. Just look at Psycho or Persona or Hour of the Wolf. This one is no different.
It is filmed wonderfully, with absolutely great, tense cinematography and beautifully unnerving editing. All the actors are splendid, Ulriche Muhe for one doing an awesome job, and the plot, although follows some drab conventions of horror, it does so in a light that really forgives it of this flaw, and is otherwise engrossing and clever...
---SORTA METAFICTIONAL SPOILERS-- This really does address some interesting points, artistically, too. The two boys-- Tom/Jerry, or Peter/Paul, or Beavis/Butthead-- represent the audience. Why are you at this movie? Are you REALLY rooting for the family? They know as well as you do how things work and how to play to their advantage (They even make a great use of the reverse-deus-ex-machina thing in horror movies I hate so much). The set and costume also implies this-- they're in clean white, blank, you can make them anything. The homes in the movie also repeatedly features white. The family have entered the Boys' stage, and now they play. In a way it's like that old Candid Camera show-- except good. There's a lot more to say, but this is something you shouldn't read until watching the movie anyway, so let's talk later, shall we?---END OF KINDA METAFICTIONAL SPOILERS---
This film really is a truly haunting experience. What's more, in addition to being a wonderful work of art, it is also fairly accessible. I can't think of anything else to say but "great"; one thing's for sure, though, I'm not letting anyone in my house to borrow eggs...
"Ciao Bella!" -
MCT:July 3, 2008
A psychological assault on the viewer, which means that fainter souls should steer clear. The techniques are somewhat familar, from theatrical tradition more than cinematic. More John Zorn than the remake.
