Saturday, February 11, 2012

Rant: Is "La Jetée" the inspiration for "12 Monkeys"?

This question is honestly a rhetorical question, prompted by a post on Gizmodo that I have until recently read fairly faithfully, that is, until I read this post entitled: "La Jetée: The Inspiration for 12 Monkeys (and probably the Terminator)[sic]".

Of course, at least for the former, this is true: "12 Monkeys" was inspired by "La Jetée".  But "The Terminator"?  Everyone knows the latter was inspired by the Pro-Life movement, as I have inveighed upon numerous times.

But to make "La Jetée" into merely the inspiration for "12 Monkeys"? That is an insult to "La Jetée"!  And don't get me wrong, I'm not a Chris Marker fanatic. I think the cat graffiti all over Paris is stupid, despite what my wife says. "12 Monkeys" is crap, like everything that Terry Gilliam has done.  In fact, Terry Gilliam is crap.  Crap! I mean, yeah, entertaining stuff.  "Brazil", etc. But really, I'd rather spend time watching "Last Year at Marienbad" or "Metropolis" than anything by Terry Gilliam.  I know that people are crazy about "Time Bandits" and about "Adventures of Baron von Munchhausen", and I admit that I have not seen these films, or only seen parts of them. But honestly, having seen other Gilliam films is enough proof to me that I should be watching pre-Code films or Korean horror, but not anymore Gilliam.  There is simply not enough time.  It's like reading Dan Brown. Yes, it may be entertaining (although it may also be rotting my brain), but there is too much good stuff to be wasting my time on crap.

Crap!

Did I mention: crap!

Of course, I'd be a fool if I didn't give "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" its due.  It is a great film.  But not really to be credited to Gilliam.

I could be wrong about Gilliam.  But I really really think that I'm right.

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