Final Cut: Hölgyeim és uraim

One of the most original films I've ever seen is composed entirely of scenes stolen from other films. Hungarian director György Pálfi has made a universal romantic drama, skillfully and humorously combining clips from several hundred films, so black and white and color scenes, different genres and shooting techniques, actors, locations and epochs, rapidly alternate before our eyes, all followed by nicely blended music, also borrowed from other films and series. Clips were reportedly downloaded from torrent sites and, in order to avoid copyright lawsuits, the film was published as educational material by the Hungarian University of Film and Theater. It may seem confusing and even unwatchable at first, but do not let it deter you, because you will get used to it very quickly and after a few minutes you will no longer need extra concentration. The idea is ingenious, a realization hypnotizing, and I am afraid to even speculate how extensive his knowledge of world cinema is, as well as how much time and patience it took to assemble and edit this madness. Even if we disregard all the other qualities, the effort itself deserves a maximum rating. Bravo!

10/10

When I went to see this movie I was full of doubts and without any idea how can a film like this look like. But from the very first moment it grabbed me, took me out of the real world and for one hour and a half I was just sitting with an open mouth or because I had to laugh or because I was that amazed. The creativity that comes from this film is inspiring. The two main character change their face and body in every 10 seconds from blonde to black, from older lady to a cartoon figure, it doesn't matter, the action and the movements are still hold together. However, the audience gets distracted by some cuts when you actually have to use your own imagination, to find the right place for that scene in the movie, which makes the whole experience even more exciting. Meanwhile you watch a beautiful Hollywood love story through the eyes of more than 400 actors and actresses, you still can have the "aha" experience by recognizing historical movies from only 5 seconds.

From director Gyorgy Palfi ("Taxidermia"), this is a weird concept: An entire movie made by editing hundreds of movies from all times and all genres, from early silents to the latest sci-fi's (and including his own "Texidermia" at one point). All of them are spliced to tell a story.

For a film buff like myself, it's hard not to keep busy recognizing the movies all the time (I think I recognize at least 50% of them). Also, at times it feels as if, when the director wants to show a scene, he takes all the relevant scenes from previous movies and splice them together without really needing to do that (like the "supercut" clips on YouTube).

The concept is pretty interesting, half-original half-not ("Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982)", for example). It's good for a short movie, not for a full-length film. At times it feels like a clip from the Oscars, but an endless one.

According to IMDb's trivia, the movie uses scenes from 450 different movies and TV series. I think there are a lot more. While the movie was playing, I found it more interesting to recognize the films and add the missing ones to IMDb's Movie Connections. I added more than 30 of them.

At the end, in the "special thanks" credits, they are listing IMDb.com and... isohunt.com

Saw this tonight at the Sydney Cockatoo Island Film Festival.

An interesting work. Really tests the limits by telling a story without a main actor, without a script, without a location. Achieves a certain level of film making bordering on genius or dilettante. What has been done here deserves notice by anyone who has interest in any aspect of film and creative process.

Its a fantastic experience and very much worth watching. Personally I found it interesting that the melange of actors/actresses/scenes spanning almost every conceivable situation, did not include such luminaries as, for example; Michael Caine and Christopher Walken, while still including multiple shots of actors such as Ethan Hawke.

Regardless, I thoroughly enjoyed the premier viewing and relished every minute of what was produced by the writer and director in this instance.