The Big Shave

A bloody good short!

There Will Be Blood.

It may have been envisioned as a metaphor for the Vietnam War, but it works as a metaphor for any "if it ain't broken don't fix it, and at the very least don't continue trying to fix it long after it stops being necessary" type of situation.

Interesting look at the Vietnam War and the beginning of an incredibly talented film director's career. Watch here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7g5Y_RUDUE0

Scorsese pretty effectively looks at the Vietnam War and in this weird, uncomfortable short of an attractive young man willfully mutilating himself says what we're all now thinking: "Look at what the fuck is going on. What the fuck are we doing here??" Or, basically transpose this to any negative human endeavor, we dedicate ourselves so stupidly to it and can't seem to stop till there's blood everywhere.

Esse é um material poderoso, Scorsese faz uma analogia a guerra do Vietnam de forma perfeita! Mais do que recomendável...

There are things you can't fix because it's already done, so if you try , you get the opposite.

Not as bad as Cutting Moments.

Disturbingly effective, though its not something that can really be enjoyed outside of that. Some odd editing choices.

Early Scorsese magic.

Not only the goriest film by gore-master Scorsese, but the goriest film ever made -- I almost passed out and threw up all over myself first time I saw this, no joke. Certainly doesn't help me with my fear of razors and shavers (luckily, even in my post-pubescent years, I can't grow a beard for crap).

Starts off mundane and then suddenly hits you with a surprise. I don't think it works as a metaphor and I don't particularly like the visceral aspect of it, but it gets points genuinely surprising me.

Viewed May 22, 2021.

The sleepy jazz number set against this backdrop is pretty creepy.

Simple idea, fine execution. The gore can get pretty funny.

Graphic early short of Scorsese about an American case of self-mutilation with references to the Vietnam War and eh, Herman Melville? The context is rather blunt and ephemeral but also creates a lingering uncomfortable feeling.

The concept's kind of simplistic, and there are a couple of triple repeating shots that don't work for me (see: the man taking his shirt off), but Scorsese's brilliant flair for visuals and violence are apparent even this early in his career.

weird.

Beautiful violence.

"I know writers who use subtext, and they're all cowards." Scorsese's talents are already apparent here.

The kind of perfect simplicity that makes a great short, and proves the strength of a director working within severe (even if self-imposed) creative boundaries.

You'd have to be psychic to guess that the director of this pretentious and thoroughly unpleasant movie would one day be regarded as one of America's best

Pretty good bloody results for a man simply shaving. You can tell it’s made by Scorsese.

I don't know how well the Vietnam war allegory works out or holds up, but I do know that the thought of cutting myself with a razor makes me cringe every time and that this is a very well made and interesting short.

Framing and rhythm and color and humor and sex and blood and probably anti-war and as Tarkovsky might put it: poetic cinema!

that's just gross. seriously morbid. enormously impressive early work but not sure if i really enjoyed it much.

The Lumiere brothers meet Scorsese.

22 Agustos 07

Disturbing.

There's not much here beyond a man shaving until he's bloody, though it can be seen as a metaphor for several things. I will say it effectively made me feel uneasy - though the wounds are not realistic, the blood definitely is. Good jazz in the background.

The Big Shave works best if viewed not as specifically allegorical but as an open metaphor meditating on the danger of inertia, of how easily any thoughtless routine can veer unnoticed into catastrophe.

Vietwhat?

Impressive as an early work.

blah

Disturbing short, pretty cool.

Ouch !