The check-in--add your thoughts!

[Brown Eyes]

Heya Jenny!

It's so fun to see you around on the boards!  I agree with the distinct split between BetterMost days and Imdb days-gone-by.  I never post in imdb anymore (except for on extremely rare occasions).  But, lately I've been refering back to lots of discussions that happened back then.  I feel like we hashed out some of the most complex aspects of the film and came up with some of the more difficult aspects of interpretation (the classical allusions, symbols of various kinds,  relationships to Chinese philosophy/mythology, etc.) back on the old boards.  It's difficult sometimes to re-visit and re-energize old subjects.  Although, I have to say recently there have been a lot of great threads discussing the film in-depth again.  So, I feel like I've been posting a lot in the last few weeks.  I do miss a lot of the old people from the imdb days.  I know lots of them are registered here, but many seem to never or only rarely check in.  It will be interesting to see how these forums and discussions evolve after several months go by.  Once we've all seen the movie a million times and have had all of these discussions, keeping things fresh might become a challenge.  It's certainly possible, but I'm sure things will evolve. 

I'm guessing that unveiling those amazing archives will make a huge contribution to discussions down the road.
 

I love the idea of a big trek out to Calgary.  I still think something as simple as a screening of BBM for BetterMost-types only would be phenomenal. 

[JCinNYC2006]

Hi Jenny,

Funny to post to you after having met you.  I didn't mention in the brunch thread that you have the most infectious laugh! 

Whenever I read about what this group was like on TOB it's with a twinge of jealousy that so many of you made this connection both because of and beyond BBM.  I didn't really know anyone personally who had a similar reaction to the movie.  Friends of mine usually loved it as a movie, but I never really had a chance to really admit how deeply it affected me.  So I was very glad to come across Bettermost, and than this wild group who called themselves Tremblayans and felt like maybe this could be a place to connect. 

I can relate to a lot of what you're saying about not being able to post as much as before.  I feel like I'm still figuring out how I fit in on this board, how I want to make changes in my life.  I'm not very good at opening up about myself but i do find this is a pretty open and accepting place. 

One other thing I relate to not watching the DVD.  I kind of dread the idea of watching it by myself.  I enjoyed that catharsis of seeing it with an audience, but it's gonna be hard to watch alone.  The bonuses were alright though.

Juan

[Brown Eyes]

One other thing I relate to not watching the DVD.  I kind of dread the idea of watching it by myself.  I enjoyed that catharsis of seeing it with an audience, but it's gonna be hard to watch alone.  The bonuses were alright though.
Juan

Hi Juan,
Well, I just finished watching the DVD all the way through (only re-watching the reunion kiss once)!  I tell you, the movie on DVD really is a different experience from the theater experience.  Someone here once admitted that it took them 4 hours to watch it all the way through the first time they put it in their machine.  This is oh so true.  I got the DVD right when it came out (with a slight delay waiting for amazon to actually deliver) and have watched it an embarassing number of times since then.  And, I saw it 5 times in the theater way back when.  I'll guarantee you that it doesn't lose it's emotional impact.  I'm sitting here with wet eyes (having just turned the TV off).  My problem lately is that I honestly haven't been able to handle watching the second half of the film.  In the past few weeks I've been turning it off right after the motel scene.  So, tonight was a triumph of will power to watch straight through.  And, the more you know about this film the more the flashback scene and the Lightning Flat scene knock the wind out of you.  I swear...
 

On the subject of the DVD special features... my favorite thing is Ang Lee's brief and brilliant description of his understanding of the relationship between Jack and Ennis.  He says it's "something precious and private and they cannot articulate..."  I LOVE THAT!

I also enjoy watching Jake chase the sheep around in their pen.  Funny.

[serious crayons]

Hey Jenny and everybody!

A long time ago, I thought that we'd have dispersed by now. For that matter, back then I was reluctant to get too close to this group because I thought I'd WANT to have dispersed by now, and figured making friends would just complicate matters. The problem is, I'm not ready to a) disperse or b) quit y'all, now that I've gotten to know you.

I don't yet own the DVD, partly because I don't own any DVDs and partly because time the last time I saw it in a theater I'd already seen it so many times I was afraid I'd get desensitized to its magic. I wasn't, still loved it. I probably could have watched it a bunch more times on the big screen. But now I'm holding off so that, when I finally do see it again, it's like a whole new experience. Unlike Juan, I don't mind watching it alone. All but one of the times I watched it in the theater I was alone, and I prefer it that way.

Unfortunately, this withdrawal from actual viewing has not done much to diminish my obsession. If anything, I'm even MORE eager, now that I'm not seeing it every week, to discuss every imaginable detail, every nuance, every emotional reaction, every cute face, every sexy moment, every ambiguous motivation, every symbol or metaphor, every everything. I still think about the movie practically evey waking minute. Sometimes I fear we've already discussed everything there is to discuss, and it makes me really really sad. Then there'll come a day when people will suddenly launch a whole bunch of new interesting threads and I'll think, thank god! It's not over.

I rarely check in at imdb anymore. But when someone calls my attention to a thread, I find there are some very impressive discussions going on there -- some involving issues and metaphors that we haven't even considered here. Hard to believe, but there is still more to say.

I'm glad to stick around and keep saying it. Long as we can ride it.

Love to everybody,

Katherine

PS Amanda, I just read your post and it made me want to go onto Amazon THIS SECOND and buy the DVD. I'm still holding off. But I know what you mean about finding it hard to watch the second half -- often, I felt like walking out of the actual theater halfway through. (I only WISH I could have gotten the projectionist to run the reunion kiss more than once!) And one more thing: "something precious and private and they cannot articulate..." is pretty much exactly the way I interpret their relationship, and is such a wonderful way of putting it!

[Brown Eyes]

Hi Katherine
(It's fun to use your real name once in a while  )

I'm very fascinated by this trend of devoted BBM aficionados putting off watching the DVD.  I can certainly appreciate wanting it to feel new again.  Now that I do have the DVD it's hard to not watch it all the time.  Everything else on the shelf and certainly on TV seems very lack-luster in comparison.  This being said, I'm extremely impressed by your level of analysis throughout all these threads even without seeing the movie for a while.  So, I'm encouraging you to go buy it so that we can all read your interpretations once you have been able to replay scenes, etc.

By the way, as far as I can tell, the only way to get through the movie without replaying scenes is to put the remote control across the room or in another room.  It's a sad state of affairs. 
 

And, I'll admit this (it should go in that thread here about silly stuff we've felt compelled to do because of BBM)... I went out and bought a better TV in honor of this movie.  My old TV was really old and needed to be replaced anyway.  But, acquiring this film was the best motivation.

cheers
Amanda

[Chanterais]

By the way, as far as I can tell, the only way to get through the movie without replaying scenes is to put the remote control across the room or in another room.  It's a sad state of affairs. 
 

And, I'll admit this (it should go in that thread here about silly stuff we've felt compelled to do because of BBM)... I went out and bought a better TV in honor of this movie.  My old TV was really old and needed to be replaced anyway.  But, acquiring this film was the best motivation.

Ain't you the cutest.

[serious crayons]

LOL, Amanda -- another reason I've put off the DVD is that I don't have a TV set worthy of watching it on! If that's not an excuse to buy a new set, I don't know what is.

Thanks for the nice words. If you see me start forgetting sequences of events or misquoting dialogue or making other silly mistakes, let me know, and I'll know that then it's time FOR SURE to run out and get the DVD. Meanwhile, after all this withdrawal I am really looking forward to seeing it when I eventually do (though to be absolutely honest, it's not like I haven't set eyes on a frame of it for a month -- YouTube has been invaluable in the meantime! And by the time I finally get the DVD, I won't be quite as compelled to hit the rewind for those 4 nights in 20 years as I will for some of the scenes I haven't seen in a while).

[kirkmusic]

I have to confess, I've gotten a little tired of the movie. *GASP*

But I have not gotten tired of talking about it and I have certainly not gotten tired of you fine people.  I have been trying to get current on CT threads and have so far only gotten as current as page four, so I'm a little behind the times and reluctant to stop to post very often.  Plus I haven't even started getting to know the rest of the Bettermost site.

I don't think this community is in any danger of breaking up, especially if we keep scheduling gatherings now and then.  I know we in the Bay Area are having one more get together for a DVD screening at SFU.  Or SF State.  I forget which.  And when I move in August I'll get to meet the LA folks that I unfortunately missed at the Aero (more on that news as it becomes known to me).

Chin up love.  We're not going anywhere. 

[silkncense]

I have a friend who also loves Brokeback (not a member here) who also has not watched his DVD yet.  Is afraid it will not have the same impact.

I am definitely in the minority!  Not only have I not tired of it in any way, I have watched the DVD every week.  And although I still feel the sadness & still wake sometimes the next morining just as Ennis did in the short story,  I usually feel comforted somehow. 

I have watched other favorite DVD's now (had minor surgery so off work for a bit) so the obsession is less but, other than the Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, have not watched another film in the theater.

Looking forward to Calgary.  It is truly a beautiful place.

[serious crayons]

I have not seen the movie since late March. I have a big deadline on Thursday, and I'm thinking that on Friday I may celebrate by watching the DVD. But even then, I probably will rent it. I'm scared to see it too many times. I'm also thinking how great it will be if I ever go a REALLY long time -- six months, a year; you would think that eventually in my life this will be possible -- and it has started to fade in my mind and then I see it again and it will be so fresh it will feel like I'm seeing it for only the third or fourth time!!! (Never my first, though, and I wouldn't WANT it to feel like that, because I missed way too much of the meaning the first couple of times.)

Meanwhile, as for this place, I am sad whenever I think about the built-in obsolesence here. Kirk, I had just been wondering where you'd been lately. And I recall other names I used to see around who now rarely or never show up. I have come to think of you guys as genuine friends, even if my knowledge of you in many cases lacks important components -- appearance, profession, age, even gender -- that I have of my "real life" friends. In fact, it's partly those missing elements that make this such an interesting experience.

So if I lose touch with you guys I will miss you a lot. It's one reason I remain so addicted to these boards, even when I'm not seeing the movie frequently.