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Refn made a 10 episode show for Amazon Prime. It's new territory for a tv show, as far as I can tell. It's more like 10 movies, each episode is feature film length, with overlapping plots and characters branching out in different directions. I also think it's a first in terms of an A-list director directing and writing an entire show. I know Ridley Scott, Scorsese and others have been involved with tv shows but to my knowledge mostly in the role as executive producers directing a few episodes and outsourcing the majority of work to hired guns.

I'm halfway through and pretty ecstatic about it so far. It has the signature Refn aesthetics and LA-noir feeling of Drive with some of the weirdness from Only God Forgives and Valhalla Rising also present. If you didn't like those movies you might not like this either.

Love this show but you're a little off on the precedent. Lynch directed all episodes of Twin Peaks S3 and Refn's show has a lot in common with it in terms of approach to structure and direction. Refn make some very explicit references to it, even cribs a few shots here and there. TOTDY is very obviously Refn's baby, very much in the vein of his last 3 films, but Lynch's influence on it is notable.

There are actually a few other examples of big directors doing entire shows but that's more of a trivia thing, I don't think any of them pushed the envelope or were as uncompromising in their vision as Lynch and Refn are. Neither of their shows makes the slightest effort to concede to general expectations of what a TV show should be like, and that's what makes them amazing.

I actually thought of Lynch quite a few times while watching this. Specifically Baldwin's character, who wouldn't feel out of place in his universe. Same goes for the goofy cops. Though I didn't make the connection to TP3, since I haven't seen it because I don't have the energy to go rewatch S2, which feels like a prerequisite giving how vague my memories of the original series is.

During this afternoons caffeine rush I was reminded of another Dane, Lars von Trier, who made a TV show in the 90's about a haunted hospital, The Kingdom, which would certainly belong in this conversation, though it is comparatively obscure it is every bit as idiosyncratic as TOTDY https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108906/?r ... f_=nv_sr_1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This article in The Guardian touches on this subject, and I'm pretty excited to learn that Park directed an entire mini-series called The Little Drummer Girl based on a Le Carre novel, which had escaped my attention totally - incidentally a third Dane, Susanne Bier, also directed an entire mini-series based on a Le Carre novel, but that probably belongs in the trivia category.

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radi ... ce-too-far" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Is Nicolas Winding Refn's Amazon show an indulgence too far?

The Drive director’s 13-hour LA-set noir Too Old to Die Young has divided critics but the extended format has allowed him to create something undeniably striking

Watched the first episode and liking it thus far!

drizzle wrote:I don't think any of them pushed the envelope or were as uncompromising in their vision as Lynch and Refn are.

Soderbergh's The Knick comes to mind - I love it quite a bit. And didn't Michael Mann direct a series called Luck written by David Milch that got cancelled after a horse fell and broke its back during production? Guess I have to revisit that one...

Comedy Quaddafi wrote:Park directed an entire mini-series called The Little Drummer Girl based on a Le Carre novel

Yeah, it seems like critics didn't love it tho, but I liked a lot. You'll notice Park's direction in basically every frame as it's highly stylized with its 70s art direction and stuff. And Shannon kills it as always... so does Pugh.

ian e wrote:

Comedy Quaddafi wrote:Park directed an entire mini-series called The Little Drummer Girl based on a Le Carre novel

Yeah, it seems like critics didn't love it tho, but I liked a lot. You'll notice Park's direction in basically every frame as it's highly stylized with its 70s art direction and stuff. And Shannon kills it as always... so does Pugh.

Little Drummer Girl was great and def has a place in this conversation since Park seemed more interested in exploring the medium of TV as a director than in the adaptation of the source material. He did a good job with the story, kept the essence of Le Carre intact well enough, but the direction is what stuck with me as well. When I think about the show, I remember the way he used set design and camera angles in composition of certain shots more than what happened to the main characters. It was a very different approach than the classic BBC Le Carre mini series, which are excellent but consummately story oriented and are almost entirely without stylization. That might be why the Brit audiences didn't love Park's take on the material, too far from the established gold standard.

This Ringer article is pretty good, better than the Guardian one imo. It doesn't waste time questioning Refn's self indulgence, just accepts it as one of his traits as a director and presents the show as a take it or leave it proposition. If you fuck with Refn it's for you, if you don't then don't bother. Which I totally agree with.

there are a few mild spoilers here, so maybe don't read until you've seen ep 8.

https://www.theringer.com/tv/2019/6/18/ ... nding-refn" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

After finishing the last episode I did a victory lap in my apartment with my arms raised, feeling like I just did a line of coke after concluding a threesome with Rihanna and Nicki Minaj upon being informed I had won the lottery. It was like being 12 years old again and watching Robocop for the first time.

BTW the NWR documentary is up on Youtube in HD, in case anyone is interested:

Only two episodes in and I’m hooked.

Did you spot this, CQ?

The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh (1970)


Too Old to Die Young (2019)

Also, TOTDY vs. Fury Road?

A lot of reviews are saying there’s a lot of slow parts and dialogue.. a lot of drawn out scenes etc?

True? Or are the reviewers not being fair?

tehgiftofgab wrote:A lot of reviews are saying there’s a lot of slow parts and dialogue.. a lot of drawn out scenes etc?

True? Or are the reviewers not being fair?

no it's very true, especially in the first 2 episodes. there's like 20 mins worth of actual plot in each of them, and they're both 1.5 hrs. all the dialogue is purposefully very stilted, characters take a pause before every line. every pan is painfully slow. that's kinda part of the charm. Refn takes slow cinema extremely literally.

things pick up a bit after that but not by much.

ian I that's a fair bet re: Fury Road. The other desert scenes reminded me of the desert scenes in Breaking Bad too. there are a bunch of references/quoted shots like this, hence the one that Spartan noticed above, and the very very obvious Twin Peaks reference in the scene with the asian gangsters in ep 3 or 4.

Spartan wrote: Did you spot this, CQ?

Yeah and I even thought Magdalena reminded me a lot of 80's Fenech. The shot is actually repeated in ep 9 with different characters but it's a bit of a spoiler so...
There is some great discussion of TOTDY in the podcast on the page drizzle linked to.

Rolling Stone really embarrassed themselves here https://www.rollingstone.com/tv/tv-revi ... ew-848860/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Rolling Stone didn’t. The writer did. You can’t be afraid to trust the opinions of your writers. I appreciate different perspectives and everyone else should too. If you don’t you’re even gayer than this writer!

just finished the series. it was glorious. favorite moments: i would have liked there are a lot of political undertones with the speeches of viggo and diana and the stuff thats playing on the radio and so on... so i've yet to digest all of that.

here's hoping for a blu-ray release.

In the Cannes press conference Refn talks a bit about Trump but it didn't make a lot of sense. I don't get the sense he is very political at all so perhaps he is rather channeling the apocalyptic mood many people are in these days, it's certainly a theme throughout the show. If you look at the drawing board at the police station when they do the passion play it says "LOCK HER UP!" at the top which made me laugh.

I loved the Damian dance as well.



Agree with all the highlights you pointed out but surprised you didn't mention the bad ass Yaritza scenes, the violent ones as well as at the party, not to mention the creepier sexual stuff. Speaking of which, the casting couch scene was so fucking uncomfortable.

Baldwin was another highlight whenever he was on the screen.

dude went out of his way to include several scenes of US police openly embracing and celebrating fascism while using common Trump slogans and leaning into Evangelical ideology, I don't think his point is that hard to parse.

I’ve watched twice, 2nd time even better. Baldwin scenes are insane. Episodes 1, 5, 6, and 9 are my favorites. 1 is a freaking masterpiece. Whole thing can operate as a metaphor, especially concerning gender roles in America and American/Mexican relationship. Scene where they pitch Cartel TV is incredible. Would love to see a 2nd season

Wow. Had been eagerly anticipating this, and it seems to have dropped with very little fanfare over here. Had no idea it was out. Is his stock that low nowadays?

One episode in but I'm already fully on board. So dope. God knows when I'll get through the whole thing - wife has already said there is "No fucking chance" of her watching it with me after reading that Guardian review.

tehgiftofgab wrote:A lot of reviews are saying there’s a lot of slow parts and dialogue.. a lot of drawn out scenes etc?

True? Or are the reviewers not being fair?

Yeah, but you could say that about most of his later stuff. It's good.

Here's a nice interview with Refn on the show. He's a funny dude.

Yeah, he's a funny guy. I saw him do a talk once after a preview of Drive many years ago and he was super engaging. He also had a brief interview on BBC Breakfast TV which went really well.