Too Old to Die Young - Miniseries on Amazon Prime

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by Juan Matus, May 4, 2021.

  1. Juan Matus

    Juan Matus Reformed Audiophile Thread Starter

    I searched and it seems like there is no dedicated thread for this show. I started watching the other day and so far like it. It's directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, so if you don't like his movies you probably won't like this either since he uses many of the same elements in his directing style. Compared to other shows it moves at a glacial pace, which was odd at first but now I actually enjoy it. Why rush through things, it's nice to have a show take it's time. So far I have only watched the first 2 episodes out of 10. It's a nice change of pace although it is pretty dark thematically speaking. Anyone else watching this show?


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  2. masswriter

    masswriter Minister At Large

    Location:
    New England
    It's fanastic. Long and studied ... it takes patience and appreciation for good cinema to get the most out of it.
     
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  3. What’s the plot?
     
  4. Juan Matus

    Juan Matus Reformed Audiophile Thread Starter

    I've only seen 2 episodes so I had to copy this plot outline:

    In one tragic night, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Martin Jones's life is blown apart, and he is forced into a deadly underground of Cartel soldiers, Yakuza assassins, and mysterious vigilantes. Soon he finds himself lost on a surreal odyssey of murder, mysticism and vengeance, as his past sins close in on him.
     
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  5. slipkid

    slipkid Senior Member

    I loved it!! Very slow pace in spots but explodes in others. Ultraviolent. Incredibly shot. Puzzling & mystical in places. I wish it went on longer (and the last episode is very short). Also wish they would release it on DVD or blu-ray...
     
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  6. RexKramer

    RexKramer Senior Member

    Location:
    Outside of Philly
    I watched the series and enjoyed elements, but at times the pacing was too slow and repetitive for me. I'm a fan of Drive and Only God Forgives but the pregnant pauses got too much at times. And with some startling exceptions, the series sometimes got predictable.

    The influence of Alejandro Jodorowsky is all over this in the characters and themes. There is a nice setup at the end for where the series would have went (assuming it simply wasn't renewed), uniting the two characters I was most intrigued by, so in that sense I was bummed.
     
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  7. shark shaped fin

    shark shaped fin Forum Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    I would have been interested to see where this went should it have been renewed for a second season, but as-is I think it works brilliantly as a standalone limited series.

    I have read thinkpieces praising and, and a couple railing against it as a reason why auteurs sometimes need an editor. I think this is actually an astonishing example of why filmmakers should be given carte blanche to do what they want. I don’t want to see yet another series with a new Big Bad every season or some overarching soapy plotline stretched to the breaking point. What I want is more of this kind of thing: weird, slightly off-putting, working at its own pace, not afraid to offend*, and with off-kilter humor.

    It’s extremely violent and occasionally disturbing, but as weird as it sounds its heart is in the right place. It is not an easy show to forget; the episode with James Urbanism’ soft-spoken black market porn kingpin and his perhaps more twisted brother (portrayed by Brad Hunt) is really something.

    The soundtrack is A+ too.

    (*it’s not offensive in the tedious non-PC way some are, it just pushes the envelope in terms of content and depiction of certain things, all necessary to see a certain kind of evil. This is NOT an easy watch obviously...)
     
  8. slipkid

    slipkid Senior Member

    Great post.

    I rewatched this about a week ago and was blown away by it even more. I LOVE this. Wish it were still on going but acknowledge it wrapped up perfectly as it was.

    The visuals are simply stunning. I found this to be a great lesson for a film study class. Whether you like it or not should be besides the point. What is done with the camera and how it affects your perception is masterful IMO.

    The way that NWR takes his time (some find it slow and boring but I found it to be amazingly interesting way to setup shots/scenes) in opening most of the scenes with a snail's paced wide angle type moving track shot from left to right (or other way 'round) where you don't know what you are looking at at first b4 the camera settles down and focuses in on what is what - like the shots in the desert, especially the one where the cartel guys are about to start playing with their machine guns, it opened real slow left to right, the desert colors were spectacular, you slowly see what looks like two"cowboys" IIRC standing in the shade against a tree but not moving, I couldn't tell if I was watching the camera caress a painting or a real life shot, until finally as the camera continues to pan there is a figure in the bottom right slightly out of focus close to "us" and their hair or clothes are moving in the breeze so you know it is real life...wow...

    Which he turns on its head later when he pans across a PAINTING of some horses in Viggo's house. The way we get introduced to Viggo as he takes his eye out (or puts it back in, I 4get), not sure who he is or what the heck he is doing....

    The amazing jawdropping cinematic achievement of Viggo shooting "us" and everything around him in that trailer park scene that utilize him against a black backdrop in slow motion.

    I could go on and on about the visuals. The ultra-vivid reds matching the ultra-violence. The dream sequence capturing three Magdalenas putting on makeup in front of a mirror b4 her head explodes.

    Damien's death scene.

    Yaritza - everything about Yaritza...the final scene...

    And like you I loved the soundtrack, even the songs I didn't like I dug how they were used. The original music which I think we first hear in the opening scene is really really cool. The use of "popular" music works perfectly (how often do you hear MANDY in a TV show let alone in a scene with two nasty pornographers as they go on a car chase all night). The punk rock song about loving HOMICIDE that everybody is dancing to at Janey's 18th birthday, which is just so, I dunno, wrong. The ridiculous contrast therein in that stuff.

    The awesome use of Judas Priest's Rocka Rolla at the very end after Yaritza kills all those cartel guys, "Rocka Rolla Woman for a Rocka Rolla Man, you can take her if you want her, if you think you can" etc.

    Alec Baldwin's - actual it is William Baldwin but I THOUGHT it was Alec at first - totally insane character (Theo) and his gleeful portrayal of him.

    The WTF moment of Theo showing Martin that film of a TV show pilot (or whatever) that is actually a partial remake of the opening scene which is from Martin's actual life which of course Theo should not know anything about.

    The psychic supernatural element of Diana & her pupils disappearing etc. The aliens (?) who "speak" to her.

    Janey asking "Mom?" to the gangbanger who answers "No" before he kills her.

    David Lynch should watch this. Or maybe not, he might get jealous. Parts of it out-Lynch Lynch.

    I wish they'd release this on DVD or blu-ray and have some director/cinematographer commentary on it explaining some things.
     
  9. proedros

    proedros Forum Resident

    Location:
    Athens , Greece
    visually and sound-wise , this blows every other TV show out of the water (and i have watched almost every peak tv show)

    plot-wise , i was not entirely sold , but this is an Experience nevertheless

    tv with huge ba.lls , imo
     
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  10. Speedmaster

    Speedmaster We’re all walking through this darkness on our own

    Location:
    The Netherlands
    So, no plot points left open with the cancelation after season 1? If so, I might try it
     
  11. slipkid

    slipkid Senior Member

    There are things they could have pursued further but still the way it ended was pretty cool and anything left unsaid is fodder for your imagination to dream about.
     
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  12. shark shaped fin

    shark shaped fin Forum Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    That was James Urbaniak who played the porn dude. I hate autocorrect...
     
  13. slipkid

    slipkid Senior Member

    I know that actor is not one of the porn dudes in the car chase scene, but I loved that scene, the humor that came up with the two guys fighting over the radio, then them leaving the radio playing MANDY, the brother of Urbaniak's character calling the other one a "Julius Caesar looking mother fcker" because of his stupid haircut (that JC actor reminded me of Rod Steiger btw), then of course what happens to them during the chase. Really offbeat stuff a regular TV show would not touch with a ten foot pole (to say nothing of the whole porn angle that got covered).

    Oh, & I found this youtube clip of Viggo's trailer park shoot-em-up which is just fantastic. The images are just incredible. Like the money floating through the air with a flag that you can't make out which then unfurls into...well you have to see it..
     
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  14. leemelone

    leemelone Forum Resident

    Location:
    ATL
    After reading this thread, I decided to give this show a shot. I watched the first episode and thought the cinematography and music were very well done. The problem I have with it is the constant use of "pregnant pauses". It's an effective way of raising the tension but IMO it's completely overused. Every single character pauses 3 to 5 seconds before they deliver their next line. It works for the main character but when everyone does it, it loses it's effectiveness. The first episode was over 130 minutes and could have easily been 60 minutes if everyone spoke in a normal cadence with out pausing so much. Is the whole series like this?
     
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  15. An odd series.
    Things I like:
    Visually stunning
    Much of the story was engaging


    Things I didn’t like:
    The pacing was slower than a receding glacier.
    The last two episodes were particularly disappointing.
    The acting was all over the place -Martin’s somnambulant personality being the hardest to swallow.
    I can’t recommend it in good faith, though I did find it interesting and at times engaging.
     
  16. slipkid

    slipkid Senior Member

    Yes, pretty much. I didn't mind it though, seemed a refreshing change of pace from real life with people talking over each other most of the time. Some people I've tried to turn on to this show find it too slow/boring though, like you mentioned.

    I would love to hear director commentary, or read an interview with NWR (the director) to find out what he was aiming for with this style though. Must be some kind of psychological impact angle for when things heat up (?).
     
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  17. shark shaped fin

    shark shaped fin Forum Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    The second episode is the real test — I think it’s a fairly excellent near-standalone (exclusively focused on cartel business south of the border), but it’s even slower than the first episode. A description I read when the show came out was “Narcos directed by Tarkovsky”, and that seems apt. The pace does pick up after that entry; however, it never becomes a fast-paced show.

    The show does become funnier as it goes on, though it’s an extremely dry and dark sense of humor.
     
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  18. kanakaris

    kanakaris Forum Resident

    Location:
    Belgium
    Just finished this, wow that was one strange but stunning watch. Too bad the last episode was clearly not complete.
     
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  19. jwoverho

    jwoverho Licensed Drug Dealer

    Location:
    Mobile, AL USA
    Thanks for the heads up! Going to dive in now.....
     
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  20. slipkid

    slipkid Senior Member

    I think it was complete. Just intended to be short for some unknown reason and only focused on Yaritza.

    EDIT: Actually I am wrong above. It ended on Yaritza but did have some other (bizarre) stuff going on first IIRC.
     
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  21. Chrome_Head

    Chrome_Head Planetary Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA.
    Glad to have seen the heads up here on this or I'd have totally missed this show--Thanks!!

    I really liked Drive of course, but NWR's stuff since has been pretty hit and miss for me (The Neon Demon I thought was pretty blah and I couldn't even get through Only God Forgives). I think the dude is a stylish director/creator though, so I decided to give this show a chance. Pretty interesting so far, though it has a slow and deliberate pace that reminds me of David Lynch at times. I had to turn off the first episode with a half hour remaining because I started it late at night (and it's an hour and a half episode), but I will likely stick this whole series out to the end.
     
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  22. Brenald79

    Brenald79 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    I fluked out to discover this show when it was first released. Amazon chose to not feature it as a new series in their Prime Video app. It was buried in the archive. I can’t remember the reason why they did this but reviews from when it was released did mention this.
     
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  23. Chrome_Head

    Chrome_Head Planetary Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA.
    Went digging on IMDB and saw that this actually came out in June of 2019?? I never heard a thing about this show coming out.

    Strange that Amazon wouldn't push this at all--it obviously had some money spent on its production.

    This would have been perfect pandemic lockdown watching. Now I'm busy again.
     
    Last edited: Jul 16, 2021
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  24. Brenald79

    Brenald79 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    I’ve never found anywhere that knows the actual reason why Amazon buried the show in the archives and did t promote it. Lots of articles address this but know one knows why.

    Is Too Old To Die Young the year's most divisive show?
     
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  25. proedros

    proedros Forum Resident

    Location:
    Athens , Greece
    in an age when bland/mediocre shows like queen's gambit/kobra kai/casa de papel are deemed 'must watch tv' , R's TOTDY is the very strange ugly duckling in the pond

    I almost feel like this show was made by accident (and i am very happy it did happen)
     
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