Been waiting for someone else to draw this comparison as I thought it was just me looking at the two side by side. But, since you started... I find it interesting that (what I consider to be) the two best films this year are both inherently about art and the creative process. In Black Swan, we have the creative process analyzed through the perspective of the artist and what goes in to that creative drive. And with Inception, we have a gigantic metaphor for the way the artist uses their art to implant ideas and emotions into the viewer. In the end, I had to give the winning edge to Black Swan, solely because it was a bit more visceral and, as someone who strives to create works of beauty, I could empathize a bit more. But these are easily the two films that I will remember 2010 for and I am sure that these are two films that I will watch repeatedly in the years to come. And, I hope the buzz around them helps usher in more intelligent (i.e. pretentious and artsy-fartsy) films.
have only seen Inception (which was very, very good) but i'm anticipating Black Swan will be higher on my list
Cant vote yet but they finally have Black Swan in my city starting this weekend so I plan on checking it out- cant wait
I didn't love Inception, but I'm willing to give it another go. All the buzz surrounding it Kindof put me off, much like The Dark Knight, but once the hype died down I was able to take a better look at it and appreciate it more. Going to see Black Swan this weekend though, and I'm actually rather excited. ~Matt
I haven't seen either of them yet, but I'm more excited about Black Swan. Very interesting role for Natalie Portman, it seems!
Inception was a really awesome and cool film, but I can't put it up there with Black Swan...they're so different. But when it comes to which movie I thorougly enjoyed and was blown away by, I have to give it to Black Swan. I adore that film. It's a beautiful film that really got to me and I really could relate to Nina (when it comes to pressure of being perfect for a performance, I can relate, as I'm in the theatre arts)
Just saw Black Swan- Inception was pretty good but Black Swan was a much more engaging and well made film
Inception was my favorite movie of the year, Black Swan just cracked my Top 20. I was one of the few that just wasn't blown away by Swan. It was a very well made movie, and Portman was amazing in it, but I also found it boring and repetitive at times, and I expected a horror movie and it really isn't at all. Swan's a good movie that I will probably enjoy more on repeated viewings, especially now that I know what type of a movie it is, but it doesn't compare to Inception in my opinion.
I guess I kind of see it as psychological horror film. In the same vein as Jacobs Ladder, The Machinist, the Tenant, Bug, Chasing Sleep etc.
I remember Jacob's Ladder having a lot more horrific images. Comparisons to The Machinist and The Tenant sound about right though.
Inception for me. I enjoyed Black Swan. But it strikes me as more of riff on Polanski than a truly unique vision.
Inception by a long shot. More interesting plot and a better script. It could have used some of Black Swan's great character development though.
While I enjoyed both I give the edge to INCEPTION.Good as it was I always knew where BLACK SWAN was going,INCEPTION a bit less so.
Yeah that's how I felt after watching it. It seemed like a pale imitation of a Polanski movie. Again, it sounds like I didn't like this film when I really did, but I thought it was trying to be a Polanski film, but nowhere near as good. I actually enjoyed Polanski's Ghost Writer, a film that is very underrated in my opinion, a lot more last year.
Inception!!! Black Swan was too predictable to me. Plus a bit too artsy fartsy with the whole ballet thing, etc. Lesbian scene with Natalie isn´t enough to grab me either Darren Aronofsky´s "The Wrestler", WAY better.
Inception all the way. Black Swan was an artsy fartsy ballet dark fantasy version of Showgirls without the tits and beaver.