"The Deuce" - HBO Series with James Franco and Maggie Gyllenhaal

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by Tone, Jul 17, 2017.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. jjhunsecker

    jjhunsecker Senior Member

    Location:
    New York city
    Times Square was a very..."interesting"... place back then. I saw things there in the 1980s I will NEVER forget.

    I kind of think a big city needs EVERYTHING to be truly fascinating. When I walk in Times Square today, I can see the ghosts of what used to be there...and you think "could that all have really happened ?"
     
  2. vince

    vince Stan Ricker's son-in-law

    Unlike "Vinyl", the 'porno-movie industry' will be easier to 'move around' in....
    unless, of course, there's a version of The Steve Hoffman Forum for '70's porn'!
     
  3. inaptitude

    inaptitude Forum Resident

    I thought the first episode was fantastic and really set the stage for an amazing series. You have to keep in mind that Simon isn't a typical writer where he has straight forward plots. As in the first episode of the Deuce, he sets up all the pieces, introduces the spaces and characters, then lets the plot be driven more by personality. Treme is a GREAT example of this as for the most part it wasn't plot driven but environment and character driven. What keeps you coming back isn't necessarily to see how certain plot lines get tied up into a nice bow, but to actually watch the characters interact with each other and the environment they are in. The Deuce introduced a lot of fascinating characters and the way they weave in and out of each other's storylines is fascinating.

    I'm probably not explaining myself well, but that's the beauty of the work Simon does. It's hard to explain. I have a lot of friends who hated Treme with a passion but I actually thought it was a modern masterpiece in storytelling. Not sure if the Deuce will reach its heights, but I'm excited to find out.
     
    snowman872, lschwart, Mazzy and 3 others like this.
  4. vince

    vince Stan Ricker's son-in-law

    Sure, you are!
    Like roots of a tree;
    In future episodes, we're gonna see how each of the characters will meet up.
    But first, we need to see them separately, to get 'into-their-heads' a little.
     
    inaptitude likes this.
  5. Daryl M

    Daryl M Senior Member

    Location:
    London, Ontario
    That was a fast hour-and-a-half. Loving it so far.
     
  6. Deuce66

    Deuce66 Senior Member

    Location:
    Canada
    it's not a light hearted comedy that's for sure....
     
    chacha likes this.
  7. 93curr

    93curr Senior Member

    Absolutely. Definitely, Indubitably. Much more.



    They made porn in New York back in the 70's, though? I thought the whole industry was all LA; now and forevermore.
     
    chacha likes this.
  8. jjhunsecker

    jjhunsecker Senior Member

    Location:
    New York city
    There was a considerable amount of filming done in NY, and a lot of the stars of that era lived here : Sue Nero, Georgina Spelvin, Annie Sprinkle. I went to High School in Brooklyn with Jamie Gillis's daughter
     
    trumpet sounds likes this.
  9. Chazro

    Chazro Forum Resident

    Location:
    West Palm Bch, Fl.
    OK, although I'm enjoying the show, IMO I don't think it's got a snowballs chance in hell of being renewed. It's a shame really as there's so much talent involved in this show. Besides David Simon and Dennis Lehane (Mystic River), I see Richard Price wrote last night's episode. He wrote the book Clockers which was made into a movie by Spike Lee. The subject matter of the show is simply too hard core, I don't/can't see people LOVING this show like they did the Sopranos and the Wire. It's too bad this exact same crew of creators wasn't given a shot at Vinyl!;) Anyone that saw Simon's Treme knows that the man knows how to make music a living breathing character!
     
    lschwart and Brenald79 like this.
  10. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    Early eighties was not for the squeamish. So many cinemas and like, and no Walt Disney. :)
     
  11. agentalbert

    agentalbert Senior Member

    Location:
    San Antonio, TX
    Can someone explain to me what was going on where the cops had the hookers line up and show some document and then they let some go and arrested others? Are the hookers getting some sort of monthly permit to loiter or something, and they were arresting ones with expired permits?
     
  12. jjhunsecker

    jjhunsecker Senior Member

    Location:
    New York city
    I watched it on demand , and there's an extra bit where they go into that specific episode. Apparently at that time, there was some sort of rule that the hookers (not sure if this applied to other crimes- they were probably arrested for loitering )- could not be arrested twice in a two day period. Hence they were showing what I assume were their summonses which would show the last time they were picked up .
     
  13. sberger

    sberger Dream Baby Dream

    If the ratings are there it will be renewed. This is HBO. They show hard core stuff, and that's why people watch. And lots of people like hard core. I think if the show continues to turn in excellent writing and performance, it will be back. They will find their viewers. The Wire was as hard core as it gets, and slow moving and extremely detailed, and yet it found it's audience. And that was several years ago. Deadwood, too, found it's audience. This will too, given half a chance.
     
    marcb and trumpet sounds like this.
  14. agentalbert

    agentalbert Senior Member

    Location:
    San Antonio, TX
    Thanks, I'll go back and check that out. Maybe watch with a nice bowl of Campbell's Potato Soup! ;)
     
  15. Chazro

    Chazro Forum Resident

    Location:
    West Palm Bch, Fl.
    In crime drama, IMO it's essential to have characters the viewers can 'bond' with. Regardless of whether the character's a good guy or a bad guy. In the Deuce, who are we supposed to be 'bonding' with? Certainly not Gylenhall's prostitute so I suppose that leaves Franco's twins. Franco's a good actor but....here's a few actors that won me over from the very 1st episode; Gandolfini/Sopranos, Ian McShane/Deadwood, Dominic West/The Wire, John Goodman/Treme. So far, the only character that seems sympathetic in the Deuce is the black cop!
     
  16. agentalbert

    agentalbert Senior Member

    Location:
    San Antonio, TX
    Why not? You don't have to be a prostitute to bond or pull for her, do you? If so, I guess I should question my career choices.
     
    trumpet sounds, ralphb and mikeyt like this.
  17. dgstrat

    dgstrat Senior Member

    Location:
    West Islip, NY
  18. beccabear67

    beccabear67 Musical omnivore.

    Location:
    Victoria, Canada
    It kept me watching for over an hour. I think I 'got' most of the details and references in this ugly, seedy stew, some of the stuff the pimps were talking was fun in a grim Tarantionesque way. Was kind of sweet they had that shot of the towers going up. Amazing buildings really even if they sat part empty forever, who wouldn't want them back? I like this kind of trash and this seems to be done well enough that I'd watch more, plus I think it'll lighten up in some ways. Never saw Vinyl but heard enough about it to decide I wouldn't enjoy it (same decision I made on the Stoned movie and wished I'd made on Backbeat).
     
  19. Chazro

    Chazro Forum Resident

    Location:
    West Palm Bch, Fl.
    I don't know, I won't be able to get the image of her getting squirted in the face (what'd they say it was, soup or mayo...?) outta my head. Hardly a 'bonding' moment!;)
     
  20. marazico

    marazico Too Busy Staying Alive!

    Location:
    Perth, WA
    For me The Wire is probably the greatest TV show of all time so had to watch this as its a David Simon creation.
    Enjoying it so far but the 1st episode was slightly better than the 2nd. Hopefully the Mafia element will come more into it.
     
    snowman872 and JorgeGvb like this.
  21. rjp

    rjp Senior Member

    Location:
    Ohio
    vegas, now, not L.a. anymore.
     
  22. David Egan

    David Egan Forum Resident

    Location:
    Oakland CA
    Back then filming was done in New York and the SF Bay Area. The law was on to them in LA and it wasn't worth it. NY had that great street vibe but also a lot of fourth floor walk-ups or pitifully chintzy sets. California had way better locations and generally prettier people. That blazing Bird With The Crystal Plumage marquee was very alluring but the TVs remind me that the time travel would not be worth it. 2nd episode wasn't as lavish but didn't lose any steam.
     
    trumpet sounds likes this.
  23. I'm enjoying the series but I'm finding a good deal of the dialogue unintelligible. I watched episode 2 last night and I struggled to follow what was being said. It's partially the accents but I think that it was more that the characters were not enunciating. I had similar difficulties when watching 'The Wire'.
     
  24. Brenald79

    Brenald79 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    I think there've been 4 actors from The Wire show up so far.
     
    alexpop likes this.
  25. Scotian

    Scotian Amnesia Hazed

    It's nice to see some faces from The Wire pop up that haven't been in much since. Maybe we'll see Bunk Moreland reworking his classic one word scene in a totally different way.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine