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 Diary
of an Aspiring Film Snob: Vol.
1
by Eric San Juan
A very good film snob I’m not. But I’m
learning. Slowly.
Most people are born to love film,
adoring the art form from an early age, seeing each new movie
as it comes out and enthralled with older films whenever they
were on TV. But I was not enthralled with film when I was
younger. There were “movies” – “film”
was a word for what we watched on clunky old grade school
projectors – and those "movies" were filled
with exploding cars and dashing heroes and plenty of adventure.
Guns were a must (unless there were swords; swords were always
a good gun substitute). Explosions mandatory.
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 Diary
of an Aspiring Film Snob: Vol.
2
by Eric San Juan
DVD changed the way I look at film. Not because
film got better with DVD, or because film was unwatchable
through other media, or any other such reason. None of that.
It was simply a combination of wonderful quality, great convenience,
and impeccable timing.
You see, by the time I was ready to immerse myself in the
world of film, when the longing to explore this world I had
neglected for so long had finally struck – much to late
in many ways – DVD was already in full swing. But I
had not yet adopted the new media.
I had a VHS player, a box of VHS tapes, and that was it.
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 Diary
of an Aspiring Film Snob: Vol.
3
by Eric San Juan
Flash back a few years. About 12 or so. I’m
sitting in a pot-filled apartment waiting for my next beer,
when the potheads around me begin to build themselves up into
a frenzy. Why? It seems The Godfather is going to be on TV
that evening, in its extended “Saga” form. They
gush excitedly, “The Godfather is coming on!”
“Yeah, and?” I ask. (No, at the time I did not
realize it was a ludicrous question).
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 Diary
of an Aspiring Film Snob: Vol.
4
by Eric San Juan
Alfred Hitchcock. If ever there was a man
to inspire auteur-oriented thinking, he is it.
More so than any other director, it was Hitchcock who opened
my eyes to the kind of impact a single man can have on a film,
to the way in which the vision and style of a director can
influence a film – and in turn influence scores of filmmakers
to follow. “Discovering” Hitchcock for me was
like discovering a favorite author when you’re first
developing a love of reading, or deciding for the first time
that you have a favorite band. It’s a shift of gears,
a sudden focus or clarity of sorts. The establishment of a
reference point for future viewing. For me, Hitchcock turned
into that guy.
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 Diary
of an Aspiring Film Snob: Vol.
5
by Eric San Juan
The simple truth of the matter is, you have
no business calling yourself a film snob if you shun subtitles.
If you can’t bear the text and won’t tolerate
a foreign film unless it’s dubbed, you can’t set
upon your shoulders the mantle of film snob. You must –
you simply must - have at least some experience
with foreign, and more specifically non-English, films. It’s
one of the unwritten rules.
I knew this. I knew this well, which left me with something
I had to tackle in order to complete my training. A task I
had to complete in order to take a step closer to the world
of film snobdom.
I had to tackle the foreign market.
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 Diary
of an Aspiring Film Snob: Vol.
6
by Eric San Juan
There is something about a silent film that
makes great demands of your ability to stay focused on the
screen at all times. You can’t wander off into the next
room, listening half-heartedly to the dialogue, folding laundry
or doing chores while you watch. You can’t drift off,
your attention wandering here and there. All you have are
images and title cards. Maybe a score. And so you have to pay attention.
What this means is simple: To the uninitiated, diving into
silent films is no small matter.
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 Diary
of an Aspiring Film Snob: Vol.
7
by Eric San Juan
If I haven’t watched more movies in
just the last few years than I did in the entire decade preceding,
it’s got to at least be close. But even if the raw numbers
don’t total up, a much more important thing went on
in the last few years: I grew to understand and appreciate
film in a way I never before thought possible, gifting myself
with another love. And one I never expected to have.
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 Diary
of an Aspiring Film Snob: Vol.
8
by Eric San Juan
June 30, 2006
If you're going to try to become a film snob
and hence explore the world of film to a greater degree
than you might have otherwise one thing is inevitable.
You're going to have to watch some
war films.
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