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Flirting with Disaster

2005-09-30T12:14:00.000-07:00

I’m back home in Houston again, safe and sound. I was one of those unfortunate souls that got caught in the massive gridlock when fleeing Hurricane Rita. Very long story short, it took 31 hours (!) for me to drive to my destination---normally a 5-hour trip. Despite the personal misery, I realize that I’m very fortunate in that I am safe and no damage occurred to my home. Others, either victims of Rita or Katrina, are still suffering. Again, I urge you to DONATE either money, needed items, or your time to help rebuild the lives of those living in the Gulf Coast.

My first brush with a hurricane got me to thinking about the Disaster Film genre. Disaster films have been around since the birth of cinema, but reached the height of their popularity in the 1970s with such flicks as TOWERING INFERNO (1974), AIRPORT (1970), or THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE (1972). This site gives a brief history of the genre and has a comprehensive list of films should you want to throw your own disaster film festival!

Hurricane Rita

2005-09-21T17:32:00.000-07:00

First Katrina, now Rita. I will have to stop blogging for awhile, as I'm getting ready to flee Houston in anticipation of the massive storm. Hopefully, I won't be away too long.....

Everyone stay safe.

LLP

Films Set in New Orleans, Part II

2005-09-13T11:54:00.000-07:00

As an addendum to yesterday's post, this article from the NY Times questions whether Louisiana's once-thriving film industry can survive Katrina's destruction. The piece takes a look at films shooting in the area when the hurricane hit, highlights efforts to keep marketing the area to Hollywood executives, and touches on the sometimes thorny issue of tax incentives offered to out-of-state film companies.

You can read the entire article here.

Films Set in New Orleans

2005-09-12T11:47:00.000-07:00

For the past two weeks, horrific scenes of devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina have seared our collective consciousness. Here in Houston, the epic proportions of the tragedy are all too real as our city tends to thousands fleeing the wreckage. As for myself, the past week was spent gathering clothing for the survivors and much-needed supplies for our local SPCA. I hope to start volunteering at the Houston FOOD BANK soon. As a nation, we’re in this for the long haul. If you haven’t yet, I urge you to DONATE either money, needed items, or your time to help rebuild the lives of those living in the Gulf Coast.

On a lighter note, here is a nice list of classic films set in and around New Orleans from the folks at the Classic Movies website. For a more tongue-in-cheek list, the Metrobloggers of New Orleans has a list of cheesy and bad films set in their fair city. I take minor exception with them for listing THE BIG EASY (1987) as a bad film. I like The Big Easy, or should I say, I like Dennis Quaid in The Big Easy!

On Invisibility

2005-08-28T13:05:00.000-07:00

By sheer coincidence, I recently rented two wildly different films that both explore the theme of invisibility. By “invisibility”, I’m not meaning the stock-in-trade of science fiction or comedy, but rather people who are under-appreciated or overlooked by the dominant society, whether through isolation or marginalization.

The first film I rented was A DAY WITHOUT A MEXICAN (2004), a barbed satire by filmmakers Sergio Arau and Yareli Arizmendi. A strange fog descends over California, and in an instant, all the Latinos disappear. Chaos ensues. In several interconnected stories we see the Golden State fall apart due to their absence: black market fruit and vegetables (no migrants to pick the crops); dilapidated homes (no one to cook, clean or do maintenance); closed schools (no teachers); lost jobs and so on. The lone Mexican who did not vanish—a TV news anchor (Arizmendi)—becomes a specimen displayed on 24-hour reality TV in hopes of finding an answer to this mystery. While I think the film lacks somewhat in execution—needing stronger acting and tighter storytelling—it is a film of ideas, and it gets its message across strongly.

Later, I watched IN THE REALMS OF THE UNREAL (2004), a documentary on the reclusive “outsider” artist Henry Darger. Darger (1892-1973) was a lowly janitor at a Catholic school in the Chicago area. With no family or friends, Darger spent his days at work, returning home each evening to a sparse apartment lacking such amenities as a telephone or TV to connect him to the outside world. No one really knew who Henry Darger was, even the employers, landlords, and the handful of neighbors he encountered throughout the course of his existence. He was, as director Jessica Yu states, “truly invisible in life.”

[Can you imagine coming home to no loved ones, no television, no telephone, no computer? What would you do in that silence? How would you entertain yourself? What would you think? What would you create?]

Just prior to his death, Darger became ill and was placed in an institution. Knowing he would never come back, the landlords began cleaning out the apartment of their hermit-like tenant. To their amazement, they found a 15,000-page novel detailing the fantastical adventures of The Vivian Girls, seven angelic sisters who lead a rebellion against child-enslaving men. Along with the novel were thousands of illustrations and other ephemera—such as battle songs—that support the Vivian Girls story, as well as an autobiography and a daily journal that documented the weather. Since then, Darger’s work has been exhibited and collected worldwide, and has served as the inspiration for numerous artistic works in mediums ranging from music, dance, opera and poetry. Some viewers have said that they’ve wished for more information, and the filmmaker’s decision to use computer animation on Darger’s art is a bone of contention among art purists. I think this doc is very engaging and a good introduction for those who are unaware of the Darger story. To get a better sense of Darger and his work, check out his wikipedia page here.

Near the end of A Day Without a Mexican, a news anchor asks, “How do you make the invisible visible? You make them disappear.” Both of these films, through satire and documentary, explore a world left behind by certain individuals—either an entire group of people or one reclusive janitor. What a difference these people make in life, left unacknowledged until disappearance or death. Or perhaps more to the point: what a difference we all make during our brief time on earth.

R.I.P. Brock Peters

2005-08-24T08:27:00.000-07:00

Award-winning stage and screen actor Brock Peters passed away yesterday at the age of 78 from pancreatic cancer. Peters had a long and distinguished career, with such film credits as CARMEN JONES (1954) and PORGY & BESS (1959), as well as theatrical roles in Shakespeare's OTHELLO (1963) and CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY (1969-1971). He is best known, however, for his heartbreaking perfomance as Tom Robinson, a black man wrongfully accused of rape in a deeply segregated South, in TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (1962).

You can read Peters' obituary here.

Creating Better Theaters

2005-08-17T13:06:00.000-07:00

Numerous articles focusing on the decline of movie theater attendance have appeared throughout the summer. An article in today’s NEW YORK TIMES looks at one solution being carried out in venues around the U.S.: creating a better theatergoing experience. With high-end concessions, bars, concierge service, and other amenities, theater owners are fashioning an upscale environment that, as one owner explains, “gives people a reason to leave the house.” All of this costs money—well above the standard $10 movie ticket price—but it seems that some are willing to pay for the extra luxuries.

The ultimate luxury, it seems, is an environment without kids or teenagers. These special amenities are adult amenities, with some places barring those under 21 from certain screenings. At a time when more and more Hollywood films are geared mainly to teenaged audiences (Dukes of Hazard, anyone?), these theater owners are certainly going against the tide. Now if only studios will follow suit and make more films for adult sensibilities……

You can read the New York Times article here.

Are the Movies Dying?

2005-07-05T08:22:00.000-07:00

Recently, much hand-wringing has occurred over declining box office returns. Ty Burr's article, Are the Movies Dying? looks at film-going in the 21st century, and questions whether the slump is just a trend or if a larger cultural shift is afoot. The article quotes liberally from a recent AOL survey covered in one of my previous entries, Movies at Home vs. The Theater. Burr, too, touches briefly on the communal aspects of theater attendance--he calls it "communal dreaming", a phrase I like quite a bit!

For a different take on "the slump", Patrick Goldstein's article, Nothing's New in Hollywood, lays blame on the rampant trend of remaking older films and tv shows. True, we are currently awash in remakes, and as my friend Tim said, "Do we really need another version of ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING?" Originality, it seems, has taken a long vacation....

African American "Race Movies" of the 1930s-1950s

2005-06-23T12:58:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, waking up early on a Saturday morning can be a good thing. Restless and unable to sleep, I flipped around the channels looking for something—anything—worth watching. TONY BROWN’S JOURNAL, a 30-minute public affairs program exploring the African American experience was airing on my local PBS affiliate. The topic of this particular episode was “The Legacy of Race Movies”. I was immediately intrigued.

Race Movies were the product of a deeply segregated American society. Made from the 1930s up to the mid 1950s, Race Movies were written, directed, and produced by African Americans to be shown in the more than 1,200 segregated movie theaters across the U.S. With no studio support and little in the way of equipment, these films were extremely low budget and mostly shot on location.

The wonder of these films is that they were made completely outside of the Hollywood system—African Americans telling their stories for black audiences. The films portray the lifestyle of the people at the time with a sense of dignity; they are free of the stereotypes and gross caricatures that permeated Hollywood films. A prominent storyline for feature films revolved around black migration from the South northward to find a better life; for example, a pretty Southern girl goes north and tries to be good in the face of temptation in the form of “juke joints” or a “number’s man.” Not all Race Movies were feature-length films. Short films captured prominent entertainers and vaudeville acts of the era. Newsreels, titled “By-Lines”, with African American reporters covering issues of the day were in demand. All told, over 400 films were made during this period.

In their heyday, Race Movies were extremely popular. Should a town not have a separate theater for African Americans, white owners would open up their theaters late at night, after business hours, for black audiences. These “Midnight Jamborees”, as they were called, were the progenitors of the contemporary phenomenon of midnight screenings of popular or cult films such as THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (1975). With the rise of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s, audiences dropped dramatically. Many African Americans believed Race Movies were an anachronism, and instead sought inclusion and positive representation in mainstream films. By the mid to late 1950s, Race Movies died out altogether.

Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, houses one of the largest collections of Race Movies in their G. Williams Jones Film and Video Archive. Titled THE TYLER TEXAS BLACK FILM COLLECTION, these films have undergone a meticulous preservation process and are now digitally restored, thus insuring the films’ legacy for future generations. The research archive offers a comprehensive DVD boxed set of Race Movies for sale to the public.

Mr. Tinsley Silcox, director of the G. Williams Jones Film and Video Archive, was the guest on “Tony Brown’s Journal”. I had a couple of questions after viewing the show, so I e-mailed him in hopes of finding some answers. Mr. Silcox generously took the time to respond to my queries. With my particular interest in Pre-Code Hollywood Films, I wondered, since these films were made entirely outside of the Hollywood system, were they subject to the rigid Hayes Production Code? Here is Mr. Silcox’s reply:

As best we can determine in our research, Race Movies were not subject to PCA [Production Code] control because small, struggling outfits like Sacks, Toddy, etc. [African American production companies] were not members of the MPPDA [Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America] anyway. There is, for example much more body exposure from dancers in some of the shorts, or in the (added later) nightclub scene of MARCHING ON/WHERE’S MY MAN TONIGHT? than would have been allowed in a Hollywood productions of circa 1943.

To see more information about Race Movies and the preservation work done by SMU, please visit their website at www.smu.edu/blackfilms/

Some Sunday Reading

2005-06-19T08:37:00.000-07:00

Here are a few film articles from various papers around the country:

Hayao Miyazaki is a visonary Japanese filmmaker whose animated works include PRINCESS MONONOKE (1997), SPIRITED AWAY, the 2003 Oscar winner for best animated feature, HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE, currently in theaters. This article provides a great introduction for those unfamiliar with his work and contains a link to a very thorough Miyazaki fan site.

Miranda July is a multi-talented artist/writer/filmmaker whose first feature film ME AND YOU AND EVERYONE WE KNOW has won awards at the most recent Sundance and Cannes Film Festivals. This article provides a nice biography of the artist.

Snoop Dogg stars in THE L.A. RIOT SPECTACULAR, a new film by Marc Klasfeld that parodies the 1992 L.A. riots following the Rodney King beating verdict. This article explores the question: has enough time passed for audiences to accept the riots played for laughs?

Movies at Home vs. The Theater

2005-06-17T12:35:00.000-07:00

A recent Associated Press/America Online poll shows that a majority of individuals prefer watching movies at home, with only a paltry 22% saying they would rather see films at a theater. Most cited personal circumstances for lack of theater attendence: money issues, child care, and such. Others noted that the quality of films coming out of Hollywood are lacking, and even the stars and their off-screen behavior leave something to be desired. Interestingly enough, an oft-cited reason for the decline in movie theater attendance was found to be lacking. Many believe the rise of DVD technology and cable are keeping people at home, but, "the poll found that people who use DVD, watch pay-per-view on cable, download movies from the internet, and play computer games actually go to the movies in theaters more than people at the same societal levels who don't use those technologies. That suggests the technology may be complementing rather than competing with theatergoing."

You can read the full results of the AP/AOL poll here.

I personally watch A LOT of movies at home, but I do enjoy the commual--even ritualistic--aspects of seeing a film in a theater. For those who make a study of ritual, I'm sure filmgoing is a rich subject area. I had hoped to find some article on this subject, but have yet to find one. If you happen to know of a great article that explores the connection between filmgoing and ritual, please let me know. I'm sure one exists somewhere! I will leave this post with a quote on "Cultural Productions" I found in Dean MacCannell's book THE TOURIST: A NEW THEORY OF THE LEISURE CLASS (1989 ed.) that I find apropos to the filmgoing experience:

Cultural productions are also rituals. They are rituals in the sense that they are based on formulae or models and in the sense that they carry individuals beyond themselves and the restrictions of everyday experience. Participation in a cultural production, even at the level of being influenced by it, can carry the individual to the frontiers of his being where his emotions may enter into communion with the emotions of others "under the influence." (pg. 26)

R.I.P. Anne Bancroft

2005-06-08T09:16:00.000-07:00

And here's to you, Mrs. Robinson....

Anne Bancroft, gifted stage and screen actress, passed away Monday after a bout with cancer. You can read her obituary here.

The Wilhelm Scream

2005-06-01T14:36:00.000-07:00

After a long break, I’m back posting again. While some of my time away was due to the interruptions of everyday life, I mainly used the break to write an article covering a festival of contemporary Mexican films for a local publication. It was my first journalistic piece—with interviews, too! It was a wonderful experience, and one that I hope will lead to future assignments.

Recently, a new friend sent me a link to an interesting article on The Wilhelm Scream. The “scream” was a sound effect made for the 1951 Warner Bros. film DISTANT DRUMS. The very distinctive sound, originally recorded for a scene showing a man being eaten alive by an alligator, has made its way into numerous films over the past decades, including the STAR WARS and INDIANA JONES series, Tarantino’s RESERVOIR DOGS and KILL BILL, VOL. 1, as well as PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN and the recent animated release MADAGASCAR. The article covers the history of the ubiquitous scream, and speculates on the actor who originated the sound effect.

All About Region Codes

2005-04-28T08:53:00.000-07:00

Recently, I received my first magazine writing assignment; my task being to write about an upcoming showcase of contemporary Mexican films at my local museum. In preparation for my article, I received dvd "screeners" of the films included in the showcase. Unfortunately, most of the dvds came from Mexico and were coded as "Region 4"--and unplayable on my dvd player.

I only knew the vagaries of region coding, basically, that dvds from other countries cannot play on my "Region 1" dvd player. After a quick search, I found this informative article that explains region coding and why the system is in place, as well as details who benefits (movie studios) and who gets screwed (consumers) by this arrangement. You can read the full article here.

Cannes Lineup

2005-04-20T14:50:00.000-07:00

The New York Times > Movies > Critic's Notebook: Cannes Selection Full of Favorites

Today, the organizers of the Cannes International Film Festival announced the official lineup. The above article provides an overview of this year's competition along with the list of official selections. Cannes, one of the world's premier film festivals, will begin on May 11.

The Hollywood Production Code: The Full Text

2005-04-17T12:48:00.000-07:00

When I first wrote about the Hollywood Production Code last July, I lamented the fact that I could not find the full text of the document on the internet. Recently, and kind and anonymous reader sent a link to The Code from Wikipedia.org. You can read more about the draconian document along with its full text here.

One of my new year's resolutions was to make this blog more user friendly, and sadly I have not made much progress on that front. The reasons range from not being technically savvy to pure procrastination. While I struggle to work on this site, please know that if you have any questions, an e-mail address is in my profile (another area that needs a lot of work!).

Again, thanks to the reader who sent the link!

The Golden Age of Hollywood Portraiture

2005-04-10T12:36:00.000-07:00

Clark Gable and Joan Crawford

On a recent trip to Austin, I stopped by the Harry Ransom Center on the University of Texas campus to see the exhibit SHOOTING STARS: THE GOLDEN AGE OF HOLLYWOOD PORTRAITURE, 1925-1950. It was a small jewel of an exhibit, featuring 80 black & white photographs of such legendary stars as Greta Garbo, Carole Lombard, Rudolph Valentino, and Cary Grant, among others.

In the exhibition overview, the curator notes, “Studios discovered the importance of amplifying a performer’s presence, popularity and money-earning potential by making them ‘stars’. The photograph was one of the main elements used in the image-generating process.” In the earliest days of Hollywood, stars such as Mary Pickford would use their own money and hire independent photographers to create images to distribute to fans and the media. As studios gained more power, they sought more control over the images of their stars. To this end, the studios hired their own, in-house photographers. These photographers, through the use of lighting, props, backgrounds, fashions—and yes, retouching—created “lush images of glamour”, iconic imagery of “the Hollywood star”. These manufactured images had a profound effect on the cult of celebrity, and many photographic motifs created by these studio workers are still employed today in the realms of celebrity and fashion photography. While many of the studio photographers toiled in anonymity, some did achieve acclaim for their work, such as George Hurrell and Clarence Sinclair Bull, both represented in the exhibition.

One of the interesting bits of information I learned from this exhibit pertains to the role of the HOLLYWOOD PRODUCTION CODE in the creation of the images. The Code, a censorial set of rules governing motion pictures (discussed at length in an earlier entry) also applied to still images and advertising. The most worrisome for movie censors was the “2-shot” photo. Since many of the films had a romantic plots, studios would often request images of both the leading man and lady together—or the “2-shot”. The Code spelled it out clearly: Salacious poses are not allowed. Photographers had to take into consideration how a man held a woman, making sure there was no appearance of impropriety. No cleavage or navels could be shown, and “excessive and lustful kissing, lustful embraces or suggestive postures and gestures” were strictly verboten. The image above of stars Clark Gable and Joan Crawford by George Hurrell, for the 1936 film LOVE ON THE RUN, was considered a safe image to release to the media.

To see more classic examples of celebrity portraiture from George Hurrell and his contemporaries, check out the site HurrellPhotos.com

11 Rules for the Box Office, According to Preston Sturges

2005-04-03T09:24:00.000-07:00

Preston Sturges (1898-1959) is one of the all-time great comedic filmmakers, with such classics as THE LADY EVE (1941), SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS (also 1941) and my personal favorite, THE PALM BEACH STORY (1942), to his credit. Before finding acclaim as a director, Sturges was a highly respected screenwriter. The Film Forum in New York City is presenting a showcase of Sturges' written works entitled THE EARLY STURGES: PRESTON STURGES SCREENPLAYS, 1930-39. This article thakes a look at these early films and provides an overview of Sturges' body of work.

Around 1941, when Sturges began directing hit films, he made this cheeky list of eleven "rules" for good box office:

1. A pretty girl is better than an ugly one.
2. A leg is better than an arm.
3. A bedroom is better than a living room.
4. An arrival is better than a departure.
5. A birth is better than a death.
6. A chase is better than a chat.
7. A dog is better than a landscape.
8. A kitten is better than a dog.
9. A baby is better than a kitten.
10. A kiss is better than a baby.
11. A pratfall is better than anything.

Walter Benjamin and Film

2005-03-24T10:01:00.000-08:00

Earlier this month, the New York Times ran an intriguing article titled “Is a Cinema Studies Degree the New M.B.A.?” Written by Elizabeth Van Ness, the article explores the idea that cinema/media is a new form of literacy, a professional language of the future. The article highlights several students who have applied their film school degrees in other realms such as public policy, the military, and other art media. One of the students profiled in the article—one who hoped to do work in the arena of public policy—states, “People endowed with social power and prestige are able to use film and media images to reinforce their power—we need to look to film to grant power to those who are marginalized or currently not represented.”

This quote brought me back to the work of Walter Benjamin (1892-1940), the influential German-Jewish literary critic and philosopher. In my grad school days, we studied one of his seminal essays THE WORK OF ART IN THE AGE OF MECHANICAL REPRODUCTION. Originally published in 1935, this essay explores the impact of photography and film on the traditional world of art. It is a rich and far-ranging work; anyone could go on for days (or spend lots of pages) discussing the various nuances of his ideas. Two things must be noted about Benjamin and this essay: one being that, unlike many of his intellectual contemporaries, he viewed the rise of the film medium as a good thing; and two, that he believed film has the potential to have an enormous positive effect on the common man. Benjamin, a Marxist, advocated for the people to take up the camera and portray themselves, while warning that the “capitalistic exploitation of the film denies consideration to modern man’s legitimate claim to being reproduced. Under these circumstances the film industry is trying hard to spur the interest of the masses through illusion-promoting spectacles and dubious speculations.” (section X). Back in 1994, I wrote this musing in a journal kept for a film history class:

“Both [Russian filmmaker Dziga] Vertov and Benjamin called for the workers to take the camera in hand and represent themselves. The act would be both empowering and subversive. Benjamin warned, however, that the great ‘danger’ of film is becoming a circus of the masses. The popular TV show “America’s Funniest Home Videos” perfectly embodies Benjamin’s fears. “The people” send in their homemade videos, usually of family events peppered with slapstick mishaps, which are aired for all America to see. The studio audience then votes for “the funniest” and the winner receives a cash prize…Can a revolutionary idea retain its dignity and still become popular to the masses? I don’t think so, not in this society.”

What a difference a decade can make! I was wringing my hands, so to speak, over “America’s Funniest Home Videos”! While one can argue that things have gone downhill, with the explosion of “reality TV” competitions, it can also be said there is great promise on the horizon with the rise of new technology—affordable digital cameras, home filmmaking software, etc.—the opening up of alternative outlets for presentation, and the new emphasis on media literacy programs in the schools.

Benjamin’s ideas, I believe, are just as relevant today as they were at the beginning of the 20th century. This site offers a very comprehensive view of Benjamin’s life and work, and includes the full text for The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. This site offers a concise discussion—a sort of Cliff’s Notes—on The Work of Art…

Benjamin, a German Jew, committed suicide in 1940, believing that the Nazi’s were closing in on him at his hiding location in Spain. The woman that initially helped Benjamin escape, Lisa Fittko, died earlier this month at the age of 95. Fittko’s obituary, while covering this remarkable woman’s life, fills in the story of Benjamin’s last days.

P.S. Benjamin was a highly quotable writer. This quote has nothing to do with film or The Work of Art…. I just loved it for its wittiness:

"Genuine polemics approach a book as lovingly as a cannibal spices a baby."

A list of Benjamin quotes can be found here.

A Trip to South by Southwest

2005-03-21T14:27:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I returned home from a trip to South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas. I unfortunately could not attend for the entire week, but for the few days I was there, I saw a lot of great films. Hopefully, these films will make it to theaters, TV, or DVD in the near future. Here’s a rundown of what I saw:

I started the fest with a documentary called CRISIS IS OUR BRAND. A former president of Bolivia, Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada, nicknamed “Goni”, seeking re-election hires former Clinton advisor James Carville's private political consulting firm to mastermind his campaign. The firm's political savvy gets “Gomi” elected with only 22% of the popular vote. The firm, however, backs the wrong horse, so to say. Within several months, the new president runs Bolivia into the ground, with mass rioting, bloodshed, and eventual presidential resignation and exile. The film is a frank look at American involvement (meddling?) in Latin American politics. I don't know if this will make it into the theaters, but it is ripe for TV like PBS’s Frontline series or perhaps HBO.

I saw several of documentaries, and I think my favorite of the entire trip was called YOU’RE GONNA MISS ME, chronicling the life of Roky Erickson, the charismatic lead singer of "The 13th Floor Elevators", a groundbreaking 1960s psychedelic band from Austin. Roky, considered an unsung legend in the eyes of most rock historians, has lived a turbulent life marked by drug use, diagnosed schizophrenia, and mental institution incarceration. The heart of the story, however, is the fight for “custody” of Roky, pitting his well-meaning but highly eccentric mother against his youngest brother. This was a very moving film. The director was in attendance, and while there was no distribution deal at that time, he was already talking about a DVD. Perhaps the biggest treat of the viewing was seeing Roky, himself. In fact, Roky sat directly behind me during the screening--which was very cool!

The first feature I saw was SOUTHERN BELLES, a light-hearted comedy about two Georgia girls named “Belle”, living in a rural trailer park. Figuring there is more to life outside their little town, the girls start dreaming of a new life in the big city—Atlanta. Their best-laid plans, however, are continuously interrupted by clueless boyfriends, crappy jobs, and small town inertia. The film was very humorous, with a nice story that, despite stock characters of rednecks and trailer park denizens, never drifts over the line into cliché. The film was buoyed by a good ensemble cast of relatively unknown actors

Although it was categorized as a documentary, CULTURE CLASH IN AMERICCA is really a “concert film” featuring the edgy comedy of the theatre troupe Culture Clash. Directed by Emilio Estevez (yes, that Emilio Estevez), the doc is a filmed performance of the group’s titular play in front of a live audience. Pulling from thousands of interviews of Americans conducted by Culture Clash themselves, the group creates skits and dialogues that explore the rich diversity of American life, touching on such “flashpoint” issues as race, sexuality, and politics. The film was very funny. Culture Clash performs this play throughout the country in theaters; I’m glad they will now reach bigger audiences through this film.

Another musician documentary I saw was DERAILROADED: INSIDE THE MIND OF LARRY “WILD MAN” FISCHER. Through his association with Frank Zappa, Wild Man Fischer became a fixture on the L.A. underground music scene in the 1960s and 1970s. Like Roky Erickson, above, Wild Man Fischer is plagued by schizophrenia. The film follows his ubiquitous 40-year career and documents the harrowing effects of his debilitating illness. I didn’t like this as much as the Erickson doc, but it was very interesting, nonetheless.

The final film I saw was an indie feature called STRAIGHT LINE. Written, directed, acted and edited by first-time filmmaker Sean Ackerman on a miniscule budget, Straight Line follows a young man, haunted by loss, as he drives from Montana to Panama to win back his girlfriend. As on most cinematic journeys, the young man learns more about himself and the world around him as the miles progress. The film had an interesting look, using three different formats—35 mm, 16mm, and digital—to tell the story. I always admire someone who has the grit and passion to get a film made. This is a very good first effort from Ackerman and hopefully we will see more work from him in the future.

Movie Rentals, Week of 3/7/05

2005-03-13T13:28:00.000-08:00

SAME TIME NEXT YEAR (1978): I rented this film in honor of Alan Alda’s Oscar nomination for THE AVIATOR (2004). Same Time Next Year, based on an award-winning play by Bernard Slade, follows George (Alda) and Doris (Ellen Burstyn) as they carry on a clandestine affair—meeting for only one weekend, once a year—for 25 years. With the action beginning in the 1950s, the narrative follows the couple as they negotiate their uncommon love against the backdrop of a rapidly changing world. The movie retains the feel of a play—limited sets, very small cast, etc. Alan Alda is such a great actor, and this film underscored this for me. Thoroughly enjoyable!

THE VERVE: THIS IS MUSIC: THE SINGLES 92-98 (2004): This DVD is a compendium of music videos from one of the great British bands of the 1990s THE VERVE. I rented this because I loved their 1998 hit Bittersweet Symphony and its accompanying music video, with leader Richard Ashcroft striding down a street in all his snarling, beautiful, art school boy glory. I must admit I came to The Verve somewhat late (they’re not even together anymore), so the rest of the singles on the DVD served as a revelation. So much so, that I went out and bought their cd URBAN HYMNS, which has been on continuous play ever since.

LA VIRGEN DE LA LUJURIA (THE VIRGIN OF LUST) (2002): I tried so hard to like this film by Mexican filmmaker Arturo Ripstein. On paper, the film sounded great: “..neorealist drama follows unambitious waiter “Nacho”, who spends his days toiling in a 1940s Vera Cruz café and his nights pleasuring himself while fantasizing about killing Spain’s General Franco. Enter “Lola”, a licentious, opium-addled political extremist and soon the head-over-heels Nacho finds himself in a sadomasochistic tryst with the hooker in this daring allegorical tale.” (thanks, Netflix). The look of the film was very interesting, very reminiscent of old Hollywood sets, but I just couldn’t make myself care for the characters. At 2 hours 20 minutes, the film is overly long and tedious. I stuck it out as long as I could, but at the 2-hour mark, I was climbing the walls. I just couldn’t see it through, with the finish line in sight. I actually shut it off, which is very rare for me.

FESPACO: Africa's Premier Film Festival

2005-03-10T14:48:00.000-08:00

The New York Times > International > Africa > Ouagadougou Journal: Africa Makes Fine Films. Of Course, Projector May Fail.

This article on FESPACO, the Pan African Film Festival in Ouagadougou, Burkina Fasso, is a nice companion piece to my recent posting on Nigerian Videofilm Culture. While highlighting broader cinematic trends throughout contemporary Africa, the article also explores the unique problems of getting African films shown to African audiences.

When Stars Die in Threes

2005-02-21T14:03:00.000-08:00

It’s an old saw that celebrities die in threes. Sometimes the proverbs actually come true, as evinced over the weekend with the passing of three famous figures from the worlds of stage, screen, and print media.

Sandra Dee was the “Queen of Teenagers”. She was Gidget and Tammy, she was a girl “in trouble” in A SUMMER PLACE (1959) (that scene where the evil mother character made her submit to a virginity exam so disturbed my childhood mind!). I later remember seeing her in the DUNWICH HORROR (1970) trying to play a teenager, looking old and haggard. A local TV station used to run the old Fantasy Island TV series, and I recall her guest appearance, painfully thin and looking so frail and vulnerable standing next to Mr. Roarke. She led a very rough life, and hopefully she found a little bit of piece in the end. You can read her obituary here.

When most people mention John Raitt nowadays, the reference point is “Bonnie Raitt’s dad”. That’s unfortunate because Raitt was an immensely talented stage performer. He originated roles in theater classics “Carousel” and “Pajama Game”, with a raw acting style that anticipated Marlon Brando and James Dean by ten years. Raitt had a handful of movie credits in the early 1940s and turned to TV in his later years. You can read his obituary here.

This is a sad one. Hunter S. Thompson, the passionate articulator of America’s underside, famously portrayed by Johnny Depp in FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS (1998) and immortalized as Uncle Duke in the Doonesbury comic strips, committed suicide over the weekend. You never really know why people make the choice to end their lives in this manner. It is such a shame because we need his voice now more than ever. Reading message boards about his death, I came across a fitting epitaph. I don’t know who said this and where it was originally quoted, but it captures the essence of Thompson perfectly: “Too weird to live, and too rare to die.” You can read his obituary here.

A Trip to Nollywood: Nigerian Videofilm Culture

2005-02-21T12:00:00.000-08:00

Recently, my local museum, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, hosted a talk by Nigerian filmmaker Tunde Kelani, as part of a citywide celebration of contemporary African art. The lecture was an incredible change to lean about an emerging cinema culture from one of its leading practitioners.

Nigeria is one of Africa’s most populous and diverse nations, with about 100 million people amongst 250 ethnic groups. Emerging into democracy from a military dictatorship, Nigeria has a remarkably productive film industry. Today, Nigeria cranks out approximately 600 titles annually, making the country one of the world’s top film-producing nations and earning it the nickname “Nollywood”. The medium of choice (and of economic circumstance) is video, and most of its practitioners are unapologetically dedicated to making a quick buck. Olaf Möller in a recent Film Comment article describes the qualities of a typical production: “Absurdly ardent acting, the absence of anything remotely resembling craftsmanship beyond keeping the actors in frame (forget focus), dialogue-drowning soundtrack noise, sub-amateur-porn production values, and above all…ultra-twisted stories…always ending with a moral so heavy you would need a crane to lift it.” Möller later sums up Nigerian videofilm culture as thus: “Here’s the African experience in all its violent contradictions: corrupt cops paying a visit to a witch doctor in a BMW, curses that can turn a woman into a vagina dentate, jolly jesters and born-again Christians, occasionally all-signing, all dancing. It’s sheer invention, born of utter poverty, from people desperate to tell themselves stories, to forge a cinema culture of their own, like the one they know from TV or video—but rooted in their own experience.”

Tunde Kelani, who took two days to travel from Nigeria to Houston to show his films, is an anomaly in the Nollywood culture. Classically trained as a photographer and cinematographer in Great Britain, Kelani is one of the few actual “filmmakers” in the Nigerian videofilm culture. Indeed, he is considered an “auteur” in many circles. A recent recipient of a small retrospective at the Rotterdam International Film Festival, Kelani has made it his life’s mission to document the Nigerian/Yoruba ethnic culture. At the lecture, Kelani showed nine clips of his work. Shot on video and film, Kelani’s work explored the impact of AIDS, depicted the abuses of political power, and dramatized the conflict between traditional values and contemporary society—all with engaging, and sometimes quite humorous, narratives, many adapted from Nigerian literature. The following weekend, the museum’s film department presented his film AGOGO EEWO (2002) a thinly veiled allegory critiquing Nigerian politics.

Kelani is excited by the possibilities offered by new digital technology, and by his current role as a leader in the Nigerian film industry. Reminiscing about when he first decided to become a filmmaker, Kelani said that he believed that his photographs would be more powerful if they moved. He further states, “There’s a tremendous need to see stories about our own culture…like a revolution, someone has to start.”

Olaf Möller’s article “A Homegrown Hybrid Cinema of Outrageous Schlock From Africa’s Most Populous Nation” explores current Nigerian videofilm culture, its history and its practitioners. You can read the article here.

Movie Rentals, Week of 2/15/2005

2005-02-20T14:36:00.000-08:00

HANNAH AND HER SISTERS (1986) This “late-period” Woody Allen film was perfect for a recent rainy Sunday afternoon. Starring Mia Farrow, the film follows the romantic entanglements of Hannah and her two sisters, played by Dianne Wiest and Barbara Hershey. Michael Caine (who won his first Oscar for this role), Max von Sydow, Allen, and Sam Waterston co-star and the befuddled husbands and lovers. I have a real sense of nostalgia for this and earlier Woody Allen films. I discovered his films as a teenager, and as a kid trapped in a rural northwest Texas town, I longed for the jazz, urban conversations, and even the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves that color Allen’s films. Hannah and her Sisters also introduced me to one of my all-time favorite poems, e.e. cummings “somewhere i have never traveled…”

HOME MOVIE (2001) This short documentary comes from Chris Smith, the filmmaker who brought us the hilarious and touching doc AMERICAN MOVIE (1999), a chronicle of one man’s passion for filmmaking. Home Movie takes us on a guided tour of six of the most unusual homes in the country, from a grand tree house in Hawaii, to a converted missile silo, to a charmingly retro “house of the future”. The phrase “home is where the heart is” takes on a quirky new meaning with this piece.

THE SADDEST MUSIC IN THE WORLD (2003) Isabella Rossellini announces, “ If you’re sad and you like beer, I’m your lady!” in this film from the unique mind of Guy Maddin. Rossellini plays Lady Port-Huntley, an amputee beer magnate in Depression-era Canada. Wanting to drum up business, she sponsors the “Saddest Music in the World Contest” where top musicians from around the world descend upon Winnipeg to duke it out for the title. I really can’t begin to describe the surrealness of this tinted and filtered black & white film that seems to take inspiration from such sources as silent movies, German Expressionist sets, and Hollywood musicals, among others. Maddin blends these diverse sources with bizarre storytelling to create a singular work, not some random pastiche of styles. I was first introduced to Maddin’s films through CAREFUL (1992), featuring an Alpine village whose populace had to whisper due to the threat of an avalanche. I like Careful better than The Saddest Music, but that could be due to the shock-of-the-new I experienced. I would definitely recommend seeing both films if you want to see one of the most interesting directors working in film today.

When a Film Collapses: "Eucalyptus"

2005-02-19T11:39:00.000-08:00

The New York Times > Movies > Peril of Star Power Is Seen in Collapse of a Fox Film

Moviemaking is a rough business. The pitfalls are legion: hijacked creative control, unchecked egos, failed financing, among many others. It's a story as old as Hollywood...

This article discusses the recent collapse of the planned-film Eucalyptus. Intended as an "art house" project to revive the Australian film industry, Eucalyptus is a study in what goes wrong when a superstar (in this case, Russell Crowe) signs on to make a small film

Happy Valentine's Day

2005-02-14T11:30:00.000-08:00

Valentine postcard, circa 1920s

I found this adorable postcard at an antique show last fall. Dating from the 1920s (or perhaps even earlier?), the card likens the new medium of "moving pictures" to fond memories of a loved one. It reads, I've a Moving Picture of You in my heart, with images of a love-struck little boy and girl along with a film projector showing a movie featuring songbirds.

Although the card was never mailed, there is a cryptic letter written on the back:

To Lucille, from Grandma and Aunt Zora.

Dear Lucille,
Grandma is here and we are writing to you and we want you and your mama to make your papa get away from down there or you won't have any papa very long. You just keep after him until you get him started.

If you enjoy "found" items from flea markets, estate sales, thrift stores, and such, please check out my friend Angie's blog Swapatorium.

Some "Raging Bull" Reading

2005-02-08T13:52:00.000-08:00

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the release of Martin Scorsese's RAGING BULL, with a two-disk special edition dvd of the film arriving this week. There has been a lot of fanfare surrounding the dvd's release, with special screenings and retrospective articles rightfully touting the greatness of the film. Here, however, are three articles that look beyond the standard subjects of Scorsese and star Robert De Niro:

I was quite surprised to discover that Jake La Motta is still alive, and a spry 83 at that. In this article, La Motta reflects on his notoriety after the release of the film in 1980.

Vikki La Motta, Jake's teenaged wife portrayed in the film by Cathy Moriarty, passed away last month at the age of 75. Her obituary covers her life beyond her turbulant marriage to La Motta.

Johnny Barnes was a young boxer hired to play Sugar Ray Robinson in the film. This poignant article catches up with an aging Barnes, who can't quite escape the shadows of his past.

Movie Rentals, Week of 1/31/2005

2005-02-05T14:34:00.000-08:00

FREAKY FRIDAY (1976) This is the original Disney tale of mother/daughter body switching starring a young Jodie Foster and a hilarious Barbara Harris. The story has been told so many times (was this movie the first? I don’t know.), and while it is dated, I think this 1976 flick is the best version. I watched this movie while in bed recovering from a wicked case of food poisoning. The film is perfect for the sick-day blues—it’s comforting retro fun.

I’LL SLEEP WHEN I’M DEAD (2003) This British film stars recent Academy Award nominee Clive Owen as a retired criminal who returns to London to exact vengeance on those responsible for his brother’s brutal demise. The film is an exercise in dark and moody noir aesthetics—although the storyline of male rape is an unexplored topic within the genre. The pacing was a little slow for my tastes, but it is an interesting-enough film—if only to see the ascendant Owen at work. The film contains a stellar supporting cast, including Charlotte Rampling, Malcolm McDowell, and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers.

THE OFFICE SPECIAL (2003) Continuing with the British theme, this is the two-part series finale of the brilliant BBC comedy set in a bleak paper company. How will David Brent cope without his job? What happens to Tim and Dawn? How is Gareth adjusting to the role of boss? All of these questions are explored with the show’s trademark cringe-inducing and often poignant humor. A lot of times, wrap-up shows like this feel a bit forced and slapped together. Thankfully, this finale is pitch-perfect and a fitting end to one to the greatest comedy series ever made.

R.I.P. Ossie Davis

2005-02-04T11:52:00.000-08:00

The New York Times > AP > Arts > Ossie Davis, Actor, Is Dead at 87

What a loss....

At his memorial service, Maya Angelou said that when Ossie Davis died, "the heaviest door in the universe slammed shut, and there are no knobs." On Davis' commitment to civil rights, Harry Belafonte eulogized, "the performing arts became his rebellion to tyranny." Davis was one of those rare individuals who perfectly melded his art with a strong social conscience. To read about his extraordinary life, please click on the above link.

Sundance Wrap Up

2005-01-31T10:39:00.000-08:00

I've been woefully behind on any kind of Sundance information, but really what have we missed? Seems like all the news coming from the fest is gossip, Paris Hilton sightings, and celebrities going wild over the free stuff offered by various merchandisers. And here, may I pause to give props to Keanu Reeves, who, by most accounts, refuses to indulge in the freebie free-for-all.

Sundance is, ostensibly, about idependent filmmaking, and the festival wrapped up this weekend with its traditional awards ceremony. For a run down of the award winners and trends coming out of Sundance 2005, read here.

Journal Entry: What is a Documentary?

2005-01-30T14:40:00.000-08:00

The other day I was digging through an old box and found a small journal that I had kept for a college film theory class. We were required to jot down our thoughts on films or topics covered in class. This entry was my musings on the nature of documentaries. At the time, I was relatively new to watching and thinking about films critically. I also did not have a lot of experience with documentaries. Reading the entry now, it seems really quaint--naive, even--to question the "truthfulness" of documentaries. Perhaps this is a reflection of me at the time, exposed to new concepts. But I also beleive that we, as a society, have grown much more media savy, and perhaps this musing was also a product of its time. Here is what I wrote in 1994:

What is a documentary? Like most, I used to think that it was a truthful, fairly objective look at a certai event or personality. However, after "deconstructing" documentary photos and films in various courses, I'm wondering if anything put on film or tape could ever be purely objective. I dont think so--there will always be some sort of slant.

I looked up "documentary" in my Webster's dictionary. It states: recording news events or showing social conditions dramatically but without fictionalization. I liked the use of the word "drama" because it acknowledges the injection of emotion, from the artist, in the work. The word "fiction" proved interesting as well. Definition number four of fiction states: in law, something accepted as fact for convenience, although no necessarily true. Perhaps this would be a better definition of documentary.

Found Photos: Celebrity Parade

2005-01-28T13:21:00.000-08:00

Celebrity Parade, circa 1940s. Click on image to enlarge

Recently, I came across these two snapshot photos of an unknown parade taken in the late 1940s. The top image appears to be actress Susan Hayward (the sign on her convertible is partially obscured). Hayward, a five-time Oscar nominee, had a long Hollywood career dating from the late 1930s. Her resume contains such gems as BEAU GESTE (1939), the death row drama I WANT TO LIVE! (1958), and the camp classic VALLEY OF THE DOLLS (1967).

The bottom pic is of the character actor Chill Wills, who had a lengthy career as a supporting player in B-westerns as well as in high profile films MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS (1944) with Judy Garland; GIANT (1956) with Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor and James Dean; and THE ALAMO (1960) with John Wayne. Wills also provided the voice of the popular 1950s film series featuring FRANCES THE TALKING MULE.

If you have an interest in found photos/vernacular photography, check out my friend’s photo blog SNAPATORIUM.

Movie Rentals, Week of 1/17/2005

2005-01-22T11:42:00.000-08:00

After a long break, I’m starting up the weekly mini-reviews once again. Here is what I watched this week:

THEY SHOOT HORSES, DON’T THEY (1969): This late 1960s film—or, for that matter, Horace McCoy’s 1935 novel on which it is based—is still as fresh and relevant as ever. The film follows desperate individuals competing for money in a dance marathon—a gruesome contest and spectator sport popular in Depression-era America. Jane Fonda, Michael Sarrazin, and Gig Young (who won an Oscar for his supporting role) star. The advertising tagline for the film was “People are the ultimate spectacle”. How true today in the age of reality TV.

This film was part of my Depression-era viewing theme in anticipation of the new season of HBO’s CARNIVALE. To that, I added an interesting little documentary RIDING THE RAILS (1997), made for PBS’s American Experience series. In the grip of poverty, thousands of teens stowed away on freight trains and crisscrossed America looking for work and adventure. Using the reminiscences of the youth (now in their twilight years) along with archival footage and folk song soundtrack, the doc explores this Depression-era phenomenon.

THE TAO OF STEVE (2000): This small indie film centers on Dex, a lovable schlub of a guy who manages to bed and break the hears of a succession of woman by using self-styled rules he calls “The Tao of Steve”—“Steve” being the epitome of masculine cool, Steve McQueen. When a woman named Syd enters his life, however, love threatens his cherished rules and shakes the foundation of his identity. This is a great first film by director Jenniphr Goodman, and Donal Logue completely owns the role of Dex.

ROCKETS REDGLARE! (2003): Filmmaker and friend Jim Jarmusch calls Rockets Redglare (born Michael Morra), “a con man with a soul.” This low budget documentary turns the camera on Rockets and his pals, including Steve Buscemi, Matt Dillon, and Julian Schnabel, as they tell the story of this relatively unknown fixture of the early 1980s New York scene. Born a heroin-addicted baby, Rockets turned a horrifying childhood into edgy stand-up comedy, a succession of supporting actor roles, and stints as bodyguards for Jean-Michel Basquiat and The Sex Pistols. Indeed, it was Rockets who found Nancy Spungen dead of the bathroom floor of the Chelsea Hotel. Plagued by addiction, ballooning weight, and a host of health problems, Rockets tells his remarkable life story with unflinching honestly, humor and grace.

Dog Day Afternoon

2005-01-19T15:02:00.000-08:00

I received a lot of great DVDs for birthday and Christmas presents over the holidays, one being DOG DAY AFTERNOON (1975). It was one of those films that I had woefully neglected seeing—it’s a shame that I had waited so long.

Dog Day Afternoon focuses on two robbers (Al Pacino and the incomparable John Cazale) as they attempt to hold up a Brooklyn bank. What should have been a quick and easy job spirals out of control into a standoff and an all-out media circus. The film is funny, dark, satirical, and, I think, one of the best examples of gritty 1970s filmmaking.

The film is based on a true incident involving bank robber John Wojtowicz. Wojtowicz received 20 years for his crime, and was in prison when the movie came out. Unhappy with the way he was portrayed, Wojtowicz wrote his own review of the film and submitted it to the NEW YORK TIMES, which rejected the article. JUMP CUT, an online review of contemporary media, has reprinted both Wojtowicz’s review and the Times rejection letter. Both can be read here.

Jump Cut is a great resource for those wanting more substantial critiques of film and other media. Around since 1974, Jump Cut analyzes media in relation to class, race, and gender. The site has the latest issues as well as extensive archives dating back to the magazine’s origins in the 1970s.

A New Year at Flicker

2005-01-13T10:40:00.000-08:00

After a long holiday break, I’m back and read to start blogging again. In the coming year, I hope to post more in-depth entries, broaden coverage into recent independent/art/foreign film fare, as well as highlight current issues and technology within the film community. To that end, I’m excitedly planning a trip to Austin’s South by Southwest Film Conference and Festival in March. I attended the conference a couple of years ago and saw some amazing work by both up-and-coming and veteran filmmakers; I’m sure the 2005 conference will be just as compelling. As for other blogging goals, I want to make this site more available and user-friendly, placing it on various search engines, updating my profile, and making it easier for those who would like to ask questions or leave comments.

I’m starting the year, however, with an old stand-by—the R.I.P. The link below leads to the L.A. TIMES obituary for Thelma White, who achieved notoriety as a lead in the anti-marijuana cult classic REEFER MADNESS (1936). As you will read, she led quite a colorful life, starting as a child carny crisscrossing the Midwest, not unlike the outfit depicted in HBO’s surreal and fascinating series, CARNIVALE.

Thelma White, 94; Actress Known for 'Reefer Madness'

Cinema in Your Pocket

2004-12-07T11:47:00.000-08:00

The New York Times > Books > A Library and Cinema in Your Pocket

This is an interesting little article in the New York Times on the new frontier of cinematic videos made especially for mobile phone technology. As a first step in development, businesses in Europe and Asia are making a form of roman photo, using photos of actors and text to tell a story. Episodes of the story are then sent to subscribers’ cell phones. Most stories being made are “soap operas”, and are devised as a marketing tool aimed at women.

Roman photo dates back to post-World War II Europe, and were very popular in their day. The roman photo phenomenon was celebrated in the film LO SCEICCO BIANCO or THE WHITE SHEIK (1952), a delightful, early comedy by master filmmaker Federico Fellini. In this film, an uptight clerk named Ivan brings his virginal wife Wanda to Rome for an audience with the Pope and to meet his extended family. While Ivan rests from the trip, a star-stuck Wanda sneaks away to a nearby production set to meet “The White Sheik”, the handsome hero of her favorite roman photo and star of her romantic fantasies. Comic mayhem ensues….

R.I.P. John Drew Barrymore

2004-11-30T10:58:00.000-08:00

John Drew Barrymore, son of actors John Barrymore and Dolores Costello and father of Drew Barrymore, has passed away. Coincidentally, I recently watched a movie of his called HIGH SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL (1958). A campy teen exploitation tale that plays like a pulp fiction novel, the film stars Russ Tamblyn as a baby-faced cop working undercover in a high school trying to bust a dope ring run by Jackie Coogan. Barrymore plays a badass high school drug dealer. In one scene, Barrymore slouches in front of a classroom and delivers his version of Columbus discovering America, a monologue filled with hipster slang. His charisma is so strong in the scene that you could practically feel it though the television screen. It made me want to seek out more films he was in.

Drew Barrymore has released a statement about her father, saying, "He was a cool cat. Please smile whien you think of him." If you would like to read more about J.D. Barrymore's (apparently troubled) life, check out his obituary here.

Kurosawa's Samurai

2004-11-22T13:00:00.000-08:00

No time to write an original blog entry? Then recycle old college papers!

This is the last in a series of excerpts from a paper on Japanese cinema and filmmaker Akira Kurosawa that I wrote in grad school. The following explores Kurosawa’s unique characterization of samurai warriors and discusses a couple of his famous samurai films:

As Japan began to recover and prosper economically from World War II, Kurosawa found it difficult to find an audience for his stark contemporary dramas. He began to focus his attentions mainly towards the historical drama. These types of dramas, deriving from Kabuki theatre, are populated with samurai. Traditionally, these idealized warriors are characterized as strong, wise, and determined. Imbued with Confucian morals, samurais’ loyalty to feudalistic lords is above that of family, placing no value on romantic love whatsoever. Kurosawa made major reforms in the characterization of samurai by combining their traditional majesty with narratives that had universal appeal. Unlike their forebears, Kurosawa’s samurai hold little if any allegiance to feudal authority, while retaining their strong personal integrity. This characterization of samurai provided a new ideal of Japanese manhood. At the same time, it made the films more accessible to Western audiences, who found the traditional samurai too overbearing.

A major theme running through Kurosawa’s films is the individual’s responsibility to criticize society for its betterment. Kurosawa found the means to express this through the framework of the Hollywood western. The American genre, like all genres, has specific structures. Western film scholar John H. Lenihan writes, “At the heart of the western was preoccupation with individual freedom amid social constraints…Within the framework of the western, a man could do what he had to do with an instinctive natural awareness of right and wrong. The pursuit of individual good would not threaten society but would protect and perfect it.” Essentially, Kurosawa took the western formula, replaced the cowboys with samurai and substituted the American frontier with a feudal Japanese landscape, with ingenious results. Kurosawa was no stranger to the Hollywood western. As a child, he became fascinated with the films of John Ford, who is considered in most circles as the father of the genre. Kurosawa often cites Ford as one of his filmmaking idols. It is also worth noting that Kurosawa was a descendant of a samurai family and often incorporated samurai imagery into his personal mythology—in various texts he is referred to as a “samurai filmmaker.”

Kurosawa’s film THE SEVEN SAMURAI (1954), indeed, can be seen as a homage to John Ford. A group of rural farmers, terrorized by unruly brigands who steal their crops, hire seven samurai to protect their village. When introduced, the samurai are drifters, roaming the city with their swords strapped to their sides. In an early scene, one of the samurai faces-off with a bullying townsman. With sword drawn, the bully rushes forward, only to be struck down in one blow by the cool samurai, in a scintillating take on the traditional “gunfight in the streets” scene. The seven, each possessing a unique personality, travel to the village and become part of the community, all the while readying themselves and the villagers for a final epic battle with the brigands.

Kurosawa’s clever reinterpretation of the western genre did not go unnoticed. Hollywood remade The Seven Samurai into a traditional western. Entitled THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, the film takes place south of the border, with a group of rural Mexican farmers terrorized by a band of Pancho Villa look-alikes. The farmers travel north to hire seven, white gun-slingers to protect their village. The essential characterizations of Kurosawa’s samurai remain intact as well as the basic plot structure in this version. This film’s success spawned three sequels: RETURN OF THE SEVEN (1966), GUNS OF THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (1969), and THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN RIDE! (1972).

In 1961 Kurosawa made another samurai/western hybrid film entitled YOJIMBO. Based on Dashiell Hamet’s novel RED HARVEST, the film centers on an amoral samurai who wanders into a warring nineteenth century town and becomes a hired assassin for both sides of the feud. This film, too, was remade into a western entitled A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS (1967), a film commonly referred to as a “spaghetti western”. Responding to a lack of exported Hollywood films, Italian directors began making their own versions of westerns. Using a largely European cast with English-speaking leads, these films were later dubbed and exported to the United States. Directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood, A Fistful of Dollars and the rest of the “Dollars Trilogy”—FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE (1965) and THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY (1966)—have, in particular, been adopted as “classics” of the Hollywood western genre. In essence, an Italian created his version of the American West, using a Japanese samurai film as his source, which was modeled after an American western to begin with. The western genre, literally, has come full circle.

Sources used within this excerpt:

Tadao Sato (trans. by Gregory Barrett), CURRENTS IN JAPANESE CINEMA, (Kodansha International, 1982).

John H. Lenihan, SHOWDOWN: CONFRONTING MODERN AMERICA IN THE WESTERN FILM, (University of Illinois Press, 1985).

Gerald Peary, “Akira Kurosawa: Japan’s Existential Cowboy Looks West and Thinks East”, AMERICAN FILM, (April 1989).

Some Film Reading for the Week of November 15th

2004-11-15T13:34:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, the New York Times Magazine released its "Movies 2004" issue. The contents include, among other features, articles on the state of American and Foreign cinema, a profile of Asian actress Maggie Cheung, and essays on Bollywood cinema and on the phenomenon of terrorists using video as a means of communication.

Each issue of the New York Times Magazine is posted online for a week. To check out the "Movies 2004" issue, click here.

Jorge Luis Borges On Film

2004-11-07T09:21:00.000-08:00

In 1998, I traveled to San Antonio, Texas, to attend CINEFESTIVAL, the largest and oldest international Latino film and video exhibition program in the nation. One night they screened a new Argentinean film called MOEBIUS, a fantastical tale of a subway track designed in the shape of an infinity loop, and when the subway hit a certain high speed, it was transported into a parallel dimension. This was my first encounter with the work of the great Argentinean writer Jorge Luis Borges.

Borges (1899-1986) has often been referred to as a master miniaturist, weaving dense and complex worlds filled with musings on time, space, history, and dualities into short stories and poems. While known mainly for his fiction writings, Borges was a prolific author of essays, reviews and magazine articles. Interestingly, Borges was, for many years, a film critic. The 1999 book JORGE LUIS BORGES: SELECTED NON-FICTIONS (ed. Eliot Weinberger) contains a small yet intriguing sampling of Borges film writing.

The collected reviews cover a few years in the 1930s and early 1940s. While some refer to South American and European films, several reviews offer a uniquely Borgesian take on Hollywood cinema. He was a passionate admirer of Charlie Chaplin. In a wonderful sentence that typifies his writing style, Borges writes, “Would anyone dare ignore that Charlie Chaplin is one of the established gods in the mythology of our time, a cohort of de Chirico’s motionless nightmares, of Scarface Al’s ardent machine guns, of the finite yet unlimited universe of Greta Garbo’s lofty shoulders, of the goggled eyes of Gandhi?” Borges film reviews were often quite humorous. When discussing Josef von Sternberg’s version of CRIME AND PUNISHMENT (1935), he writes, “Indoctrinated by the populous memory of THE SCARLET EMPRESS, I was expecting a vast flood of false beards, miters, samovars, masks, surly faces, wrought-iron gates, vineyards, chess pieces, balalaikas, prominent cheekbones, and horses. In short, I was expecting the usual von Sternberg nightmare, the suffocation and the madness.” Borges had little patience for films he did not like. He writes off KING KONG (1933) with a short, dismissive paragraph-long review:

A monkey, forty feet tall (some fans say forty-five) may have obvious charms, bust those charms have not convinced this viewer. King Kong is no full-blooded ape but rather a rusty, desiccated machine whose movements are downright clumsy. His only virtue, his height, did not impress the cinematographer, who persisted in photographing him form above rather than from below—the wrong angle, as it neutralizes and even diminishes the ape’s overpraised stature. He is actually hunchbacked and bowlegged, attributes that serve only to reduce him in the spectator’s eye. To keep him from looking the least bit extraordinary, they make him do battle with far more unusual monsters and have him reside in caves of false cathedral splendor, where his infamous size again loses all proportion. But what finally demolishes both the gorilla and the film is his romantic love—or lust—for Fay Wray.

The collection also contains an essay championing the humanity of film stories vs. empty cinematography, as well as a piece railing against film dubbing.

Borges, who suffered from a degenerative eye disease, went completely blind by 1955, thus ending his film reviews and other essay work. He instead devoted himself to poetry (which he could compose in his head), lectures and literature surveys, remaining quite productive until his death in 1986.

After viewing MOEBIUS at the film festival, I began reading Borges work in earnest, even taking a continuing education course on the author. I’ve often thought of that film. I was under the impression that its director (who was in attendance) was looking for a distributor. Who knows if he ever found one? I have the feeling, however, that MOEBIUS, was one of those films that makes a few brief appearances before sinking into the depths of obscurity, leaving only trace memories in those it affected.

If you would like to read more about Jorge Luis Borges, check out the New York Times Book Review of Edwin Williamson's new biography BORGES: A LIFE.

Recent Rentals: Documentaries

2004-10-30T14:31:00.000-07:00

I love a good documentary, and many of my recent rentals have been within this genre. Here is what I watched:

SICK: THE LIFE & DEATH OF BOB FLANAGAN, SUPERMASOCHIST (1997): This doc follows the late performance artist Bob Flanagan through the last year of his life. Flanagan, who was in his forties when the film was made, had the distinction of being one of the oldest survivors of cystic fibrosis, a genetic lung disease that normally fells those afflicted in their youth. Experiencing a life of pain and sickness out of his control, Flanagan believed that by inflicting pain upon himself, he was regaining a small bit of control over his body. The film is a poignant, yet celebratory look at a person who defied the odds and turned his life into art. I highly recommend this film, but be warned: it is not for the squeamish. The film is very graphic it its depiction of Flanagan’s masochism. I physically gagged at one point.

HOW TO DRAW A BUNNY (2002): This is another artist doc, this time focusing on Ray Johnson, a somewhat obscure yet highly influential artist at the forefront of mid-century modern American art. Iconoclast Johnson, whose peers included James Rosenquist, John Cage and Andy Warhol, worked with collage and pioneered the concept of “mail art”. Johnson lived and breathed art, and even his final act—his suicide—was as carefully constructed as one of his collages. The DVD also contains a full “gallery” of the artist’s work. I knew very little about Johnson, so this was welcome viewing. A very interesting film.

VAUDEVILLE (1997): This doc from the PBS “American Masters” series explores the history of American vaudeville. The film is fairly straight-forward, with interviews and rare film clips that trace the popular entertainment’s roots up to its ultimate demise with the rise of the film medium. The fun part for me was seeing interviews with some of the few remaining vaudevillians, including June Havoc (whose life as “Baby/Dainty June” was a central element in the musical GYSPSY) and Rose Marie, who most know as “Sally” from the DICK VAN DYKE SHOW, but was also a big child star on the vaudeville circuit. Who knew?

SUPER SIZE ME (2004): This highly popular doc follows filmmaker Morgan Spurlock as he eats only McDonald’s fast food for a month and charts the damage done to his body. It is a disturbing, yet funny, indictment of the fast food industry on Americans’ health. The DVD has a couple of great extras; one being an interview with Eric Schlosser (author of FAST FOOD NATION) which explores the effects of the fast food industry on the global society, filling in some areas that fell outside the main focus of the documentary. And after watching “The Smoking Fry”, you will never want to eat another fast-food French fry ever again!

The Lady in the Tutti Frutti Hat: Some Notes on Carmen Miranda

2004-10-19T13:52:00.000-07:00

I think a lot of “Gen-X” people like myself became acquainted with the image of 1940s film star Carmen Miranda through cartoons. Any time Bugs Bunny or Daffy Duck knocked over a food cart or crashed into a waiter, they would stand up, dazed, with a stack of fruit on their heads. Then—for a few seconds—they would break into a samba dance and a “boom-chick-a-boom” song before continuing the slapstick mayhem.

Carmen Miranda’s look and sound were indeed distinctive: towering fruit-decorated headdresses and platform shoes in service of the music of her beloved Brazil. There was, of course, much more to Miranda than the image she created and Hollywood propagated. Recently, I watched a compelling documentary on Miranda by filmmaker Helena Solberg called BANANAS IS MY BUSINESS (1994). Using photos, archival footage, interviews, and fanciful re-enactments, Solberg (Brazilian herself) created both a poignant portrait of Miranda and personal memoir exploring the central question—why was Carmen Miranda’s image so compelling?

Surprisingly, Miranda was not actually Brazilian but Portuguese, born there in 1909. Her family moved to Brazil when she was just a child, becoming part of a thriving immigrant community. Miranda left school at fifteen to work in—coincidentally enough—a hat shop designing headwear for Brazil’s upper-class women. She would sing while she worked, and this would lead to her eventual “discovery” and record contract. By age twenty-one, she would have a hit record and would maintain stardom in Brazil throughout the 1930s. In 1939, for a performance in a Rio de Janeiro nightclub, Carmen concocted a flamboyant costume based on the women of Bahia: blousy, off-the-shoulder tops, long skirts, and turban-wrapped head. It was a look she would refine and maintain for the rest of her career. Both her outfit and the songs she sang were steeped in Bahia’s African roots.

It was this nightclub act that caught the eye of Broadway impresario Lee Schubert. She was immediately cast in the musical STREETS OF PARIS and sent to New York City. Miranda was a huge hit, packing in audiences every night and influencing the New York fashion scene. Hollywood took notice, of course, and she was cast in the musical DOWN ARGENTINE WAY (1940), making a splash across America.

After a heady eighteen months in the U.S., Carmen returned on Brazil to what was initially a hero’s welcome. She had conquered America, but as with many public figures, those that built them up began to tear them down. Things quickly took a nasty turn: elite society audiences (attuned to the fact that one of the “immigrant class” was representing Brazil abroad) were cold at her public performances, critics lambasted her as “Americanized”, the newspapers editorialized that she did not deserve her accolades. The general public feeling was that she was no longer, “our Carmen Miranda.” This would deeply hurt and embitter Miranda for the rest of her life. Although she would always proudly assert her Brazilian identity, Miranda soon left for Hollywood and would not return to Brazil until fourteen years later.

Miranda quickly signed a contract with 20th Century Fox and began appearing in a sting of successful Hollywood musicals, each Technicolor extravaganzas with flamboyant costumes and musical numbers. This was, by most accounts, a happy time in Miranda’s life. She bought a home and brought her family to live with her. She was also a fixture on the Hollywood social scene and a generous host to visiting Brazilian dignitaries.

It is here that Carmen’s life—and the documentary film—takes an intriguing turn. Her fame came at the height of World War II. As European markets were being closed by war, the Roosevelt administration crafted the “Good Neighbor Policy”, designed to open Latin American resources to American markets. Hollywood, long in service of the war effort, created an image of Latin American in film and cast Miranda as the “Ultimate Good Neighbor”. As one commentator in the documentary diplomatically states, “a lot of mistakes were made.” Latin Americans did not like the way they were portrayed on screen, some later questioned the effect Miranda’s character had on existing stereotypes of Latinas. She was once again an object of derision in her home country. Miranda, herself, was in a precarious situation: she was under an iron-clad contract and had to please the studio and her American fan base. This was not the first time she was used for political gain. Before her first send-off to Broadway, the Brazilian president personally pressed her into the role of “ambassador” of Brazilian culture. While Miranda embraced that role at the time, it ultimately backfired on her, as noted above. Commenting on Miranda’s “Good Neighbor” image, one Brazilian critic lamented, “Our greatest star has been occupied by a foreign country.”

Miranda became increasingly restless after the war. She was starting to tire of her act. The studio, however, had strict control of her image, and as she was still a money-maker for them, would not let her try other things. After a long struggle, she bough out her studio contract and struck out on her own. Around this time, she entered into a marriage with a man who was physically and emotionally abusive. While she was still popular in nightclubs and on the new medium of television, Miranda was ill and depressed and increasingly turned to pills to keep herself going. A full nervous breakdown followed. Miranda eventually rallied, and she continued a vigorous work schedule. While on the Jimmy Durante television show, Miranda briefly collapsed on camera. Always a trooper, she picked herself up and fined the show. She died later that night from a heart ailment—she was forty six years old. Her body was taken back to her beloved Brazil and thousands thronged the streets to get a view of her flag-draped coffin. Turned away from Brazil in life, she was welcomed with open arms in death.

Filmmaker Helena Solberg narrates, “She could never meet all the different expectations people had of her. [Miranda] had an incandescent talent and her talent was used by many to further many different ends.” Comprising complex underpinnings of race, class, and politics, Carmen Miranda’s public image overtook the fun character she initially created, ultimately trapping the woman inside it. Solberg’s film, Bananas Is My Business, celebrates Miranda and her talents, and begins to uncover the woman from beneath the iconic image.

The Sad Remains of Veronica Lake

2004-10-13T18:10:00.000-07:00

In his highly popular HOLLYWOOD BABYLON books, Kenneth Anger documents the dark, murky bywaters of celebrity. This recent CNN article on actress Veronica Lake would be right at home in Anger's world.

Lake was a 1940s screen siren, with an iconic look that was famously copied by Kim Basinger's character in L.A. CONFIDENTIAL (1997). Lake eventually faded into a life of alcohol-soaked obscurity, and--according to the article linked above--continues to suffer the indignity of neglect even in death.

Recent Movie Rentals

2004-10-11T13:35:00.000-07:00

With the start of the fall TV season and the general busyness of my life recently, I haven’t rented as many films and have thus gotten off track with my “Weekly Rentals” blog entry. To make up for some lost time, here is a rundown of the movies I have rented over the past few weeks:

ANGELS IN AMERICA (2003): This six-hour miniseries from HBO recently swept the Emmy awards---justifiably so. Featuring a crème de la crème cast, this drama based on Tony Kushner’s play follows three interconnected stories set in Regan-era America at the outset of the AIDS epidemic. The screenplay is also by Kushner, and I found myself awed at the electric, high-caliber dialogue. While the “marquee” names Al Pacino, Meryl Streep and Emma Thompson definitely shine, the performances of actors Justin Kirk, Ben Shenkman, Jeffrey Wright and Mary Louise Parker carry the film. Angels in America does require a major time commitment—2 discs, each 3 hours in length—but it is well worth it.

SWINGERS (1996): I needed a lighthearted antidote after Angels in America, and this comedy featuring John Favreau and Vince Vaughn hit the spot. Swingers follows a group of hipster guys as they struggle with life and love in modern day Los Angeles. Favreau and Vaughn are so “money” in a film that sparkles with witty dialogue and hilarious moments while showing a lot of heart. This is one of those films that I just never got around to seeing when it came out—and I can’t believe that I’ve waited so long to do so!

THE STATION AGENT (2003): This independent film features Peter Dinklage as a dwarf named Fin who moves into an inherited train station in rural New Jersey. The film quietly follows Fin as he forms an uneasy friendship with a gregarious Bobby Cannavale and an emotionally damaged Patricia Clarkson, and attempts to make his place among the townsfolk. I have not seen Dinklage in other roles (although his Internet Movie Database profile shows he has several films in the works and a solid resume of stage roles), but his brooding, introspective performance here points toward a long and stereotype-shattering career.

THE LADYKILLERS (2004): I was very disappointed I this film. I recently viewed the original British version and loved it, and since this re-make is in the hands’ of the Coen Brothers, I had reasons to be optimistic. The 2004 version transfers the action to the rural South and employs Tom Hanks in the role of the dandified leader of a bumbling gang of crooks. It just doesn’t work. The biggest flaw for me was turning the Louisa/Marva character from a sweet innocent to a sassy force of nature. The Coen Brothers are usually so reliable, but this was definitely a misfire.

Forgotten Star: Jackie Coogan

2004-10-06T11:32:00.000-07:00

Jackie Coogan (1914-1984)

Perhaps it is a bit of a misnomer to call Jackie Coogan a “forgotten star”, for he will forever be remembered as the kooky Uncle Fester in THE ADDAMS FAMILY television show. That role, however, came at the end of a long career. What may be forgotten about Coogan is that he was one of the first—and definitely most famous—child stars at the birth of American cinema.

Coogan was born in to 1914 to a family of vaudevillians. While performing on stage at the age of five, Coogan was spotted by actor Charlie Chaplin and quickly cast in his first role, A DAY’S PLEASURE (1919). Chaplin was so taken with Coogan that he planned the film THE KID (1921) especially for him. Success soon followed and by 1923, Coogan—age nine—was one of the highest paid stars in Hollywood and, as some sources state, the youngest self-made millionaire in history at that time.

Coogan’s career trajectory, however, was one that is now familiar to those who follow the lives of latter day child stars. As he hit puberty, roles began drying up. In 1935, his father and best friend were killed in a car accident, with his mother marrying his business manager soon afterwards. Now in his twenties, Coogan asked his mother and stepfather for access to the millions he made as a child star—they refused. Coogan sued his family, but at that time, there was no law to protect him. He received a paltry $126,000 settlement. The publicity surrounding the case, however, caused a public outcry, and the California Legislature swiftly passed “The Child Actors Bill”—known as the “Coogan Act”—that required trust funds to be set up for any child actor in order to protect their earnings.

Between the late 1930s through the early 1960s, Coogan drifted about. He served honorably in World War II, enjoyed a brief marriage to pin up icon Betty Grable, and appeared sporadically in a string of B-pictures and television shows. By the 1960s, Coogan was in his fifties and nearly broke. In 1964, Coogan was cast as the zany Uncle Fester in THE ADDAMS FAMILY, which enjoyed a popular run from 1964 to 1966 and thereafter became enshrined as a classic of American television. Perhaps it was the universe’s way of paying him back for all the turmoil of his youth—Coogan never wanted for money or work ever again. He passed away in 1984 at age 70 of a heart attack.

The Films of Director Wong Kar-wai

2004-10-01T13:47:00.000-07:00

The New York Times > Magazine > The Director's Director

It is Friday, and with the craziness of the week, I am only now doing my first post of the week. My apologies....

This is an in-depth New York Times Magazine article on the great director Wong Kar-Wai. I have seen three of his films--CHUNGKING EXPRESS (1994), IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE (2000), and my sentimental favorite, FALLEN ANGELS (1995). All three boast beautiful, haunting imagery supporting moody tales of love and alienation--I highly recommend them. I know very little about the director, so I was very pleased to come across this article.

R.I.P. Tiny Doll

2004-09-20T15:50:00.000-07:00

The New York Times > Obituaries > Elly Annie Schneider, 90, Ex-Munchkin, Dies

Elly Annie Schneider, also known as Tiny Earles and Tiny Doll, passed away earlier this month. While she was best known for playing a Munchkin in THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939), Tiny and her other small siblings--Harry, Daisy, and Grace--had solid careers in both the film industry and the circus, often performing together as The Doll Family. Most notably, Harry and Daisy had featured roles in the notorious Pre-Code era film FREAKS (1932). In that film, Harry played the owner of a traveling carnival and Daisy played his very chaste love interest--brother and sister cast as a couple. I plan on writing more about FREAKS in an upcoming post.

If you would like to see a photo of the Doll Family, please check out my friend's photo blog Snapatorium.

Movie Rentals, Week of 9/13/04

2004-09-20T13:07:00.000-07:00

HAIR (1979): I rented this musical because 1) I’ve never seen it, and 2) a local theatre company is doing a production and I keep hearing the music everywhere on commercials. I had high hopes for the film because it was directed by the great Milos Forman. I don’t know if it was the film itself or because I was so tired when I tried to watch it, but I found it so tedious that I actually turned it off after 30 minutes. That’s very rare for me, because I will usually stick things out until the bitter end. Maybe I’ll give the film a second chance some other day.

THINGS BEHIND THE SUN (2001): This intense little film by independent filmmaker Allison Anders features a struggling musician self-destructing from the effects of her childhood gang rape. A handsome magazine reporter arrives on the scene, ostensibly to interview her, but is hiding troubling connections to the musician’s past. This is a somewhat difficult film to watch. The violence—both physical and psychological—is very palatable. Anders, a rape survivor herself, aptly portrays the wreckage wrought by rape, and shows the seeds of healing and redemption. I’m a big fan of her work, and Things Behind the Sun has the hallmarks of a great Allison Anders film—great cast, good storytelling, and focusing on stories that normally aren’t told on film. This redeemed my film watching week after the Hair misfire.

Gael Garcia Bernal

2004-09-19T13:50:00.000-07:00

The New York Times > Movies > Gael Garc�a Bernal: Just Another Homeless Young Star

Okay, I LOVE Gael Garcia Bernal! The talented and oh-so-handome actor from Mexico has two new films on the horizon: THE MOTORCYLE DIARIES and Pedro Almodovar's BAD EDUCATION. The link above takes you to a very nice profile of the actor in today's (9/19) New York Times.

R.I.P. Johnny Ramone

2004-09-16T13:55:00.000-07:00

I was very saddened to hear the news this morning that Johnny Ramone succumbed to prostate cancer. I think everyone knew that his passing was on the horizon, but it still doesn’t lessen the shock of the loss. Three of the four original members of the band have died within the past three years, with only Tommy remaining. The Ramones’ legacy is undeniable, and the world becomes a little less cool with each of their passing.

In a previous post, I’ve discussed The Ramones on Film. Johnny’s death comes at a time of new releases in the band’s filmography. On September 28th, RAMONES RAW will be released on DVD, featuring a compilation of rare concert and behind the scenes footage of the band. Also on the horizon is the documentary END OF THE CENTURY: THE STORY OF THE RAMONES, which is already in limited theatrical release, with plans to expand to theaters across the nation throughout fall. To see if this film is coming to your town, please check out the official website.

Early Japanese Cinema

2004-09-14T14:17:00.000-07:00

You can tell it’s a busy week for me when I start recycling old school papers! Here is another excerpt from my grad school paper on Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa. This is an oh-so-brief overview of the various influences that shaped early Japanese cinema:

The Japanese public’s first exposure to the film medium came in an 1896 exhibition of Thomas Edison’s kinetoscope—the first movie camera. This occurred some two years after the camera’s first appearance in Europe. Approximately one year later, the short films of France’s Lumiere Brothers were shown to mass audiences. Inspired with the possibilities that the medium presented, Japanese began making their own films in earnest. In the beginning, the filmmakers turned not to Western imagery, but to their own within the traditional theater. The very first movies, in fact, were filmed theater performances.

Subsequent film genres and methods of characterization evolved from two traditional drama types—Kabuki and Shimpa. Kabuki is a historical drama, its main characters consisting of samurai. These idealized warriors are characterized as strong, wise, and determined. Imbued with Confucian morals, samurais’ loyalty to feudalistic lords is above that of family, placing no value on romantic love whatsoever. Shimpa, on the other hand, is a contemporary drama, coming into existence around 1890 as a potential replacement for Kabuki, “whose feudalistic forms were no longer capable of reflecting the mores of a modernizing Japan.” (Tadao Sato) The majority of these plays are love tragedies.

Many foreign films were imported as well, exerting considerable stylistic influence on the Japanese. Set designs were copied from German Expressionist films of the 1920s. Psychological insight was injected into characterizations in response to French film of the 1930s. The Japanese leftist “tendency films” made circa 1930 mimicked the montage style of Soviet Sergei Eisenstein’s films, resulting in a fad for an extreme style of editing. The pre-World War II American films had the most profound influence. The youthful movie-going audience, who detested what they considered their oppressive, authoritarian society, liked the “liberal spirit” of the American films. As Japanese film critic and historian Tadao Sato notes, “What they envied most were the heroes and heroines, who were ordinary people, the love stories, and the American freedom of spirit.” Up until the late 1940s, it was common practice to model Japanese films after American hits.

Source:

Sato, Tadao. CURRENTS IN JAPANESE CINEMA. trans. by Gregory Barrett. New
York: Kodansha International Ltd., 1982.

Filmmaker on the Fringe: Doris Wishman

2004-09-13T11:42:00.000-07:00

Recently, I viewed an excellent retrospective of the photographer Diane Arbus at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Seeing Arbus’s portraits of nudists, carnival workers, transsexuals and others on the margins of 1950s-1970s society made me think of Doris Wishman, auteur of 1960s “sexploitation” films. Wishman made over 25 feature films from 1959 to 1983, and is one of the most prolific women filmmakers of the sound era. Sadly, she is mainly a footnote in mainstream filmmaking history because of her chosen genre: exploitation films, with titles such as BAD GIRLS GO TO HELL (1965) and 1970s-era DOUBLE AGENT 73 and DEADLY WEAPONS, featuring well-endowed actress “Chesty Morgan.” Wishman has the distinction of being the only woman to work within this genre.

Wishman had no formal filmmaking training, her only introduction to the film world was through a job at a film distribution company in the late 1940s. She threw herself into filmmaking after the early death of her husband. Wishman started in the early 1960s making charmingly naïve “nudie” films and later moved on to “roughie” films, exploring darker topics of sexual freedom, violence, and sexual anxiety. She briefly retired after her 1983 film A NIGHT TO DISMEMBER. Aging and in need of money, Wishman sold all of her film rights to two businessmen and later worked at the Pink Pussycat Boutique in Coconut Grove, Florida selling sex toys. With a growing cult fan base, Wishman came out of retirement and made two more films and was working on the third when she succumbed to cancer in 2002. Wishman was 90 years old.

A small number of Doris Wishman’s films are available on DVD. She is also featured in the documentary SCHLOCK: SECRET HISTORY OF AMERICAN MOVIES (2001). For more biographical information, discussion of her films and list of web resources, check out her page at Senses of Cinema.

Movie Rentals, Week of 8/30/04

2004-09-09T13:19:00.000-07:00

After spending a week wrestling with a wicked case of PMS, I really needed a good laugh. Here is what I watched:

OLD SCHOOL (2003) Starring Luke Wilson, Will Ferrell and Vince Vaughn, Old School follows three, thirty-something guys as they revert to their college ways and set up the perfect frat house on campus. I hate to categorize films by gender, but this is probably more of a “guy comedy”, but that doesn’t mean I did not enjoy the laughs. I’m also a big fan of Vince Vaughn, so that helped a lot!

RAISING ARIZONA (1987) This is one of my favorite Coen Brothers film. Raising Arizona features Nic Cage and Holly Hunter as a childless couple who kidnaps a baby, and a wacky group of characters that try to steal the baby back for the reward money. I’ve seen this film so many times, yet there is always a detail that I’ve either missed or forgotten that will crack me up. This time, a character asks if a bag of balloons blow up into funny shapes. The clerk deadpans, “Not unless you think round is funny.”

WET HOT AMERICAN SUMMER (2001) This is one of those films that you either love or hate—the satire is so broad that it can be either the funniest thing ever, or the stupidest. Count me in on the love. Created by the guys that brought us television’s THE STATE, American Summer follows kids and their camp counselors on the last day of summer camp, 1981. Every camp film from MEATBALLS (1979) to LITTLE DARLINGS (1980) is mined for comedy gold, and like Raising Arizona, the big laughs are in the little details. You’ll find yourself quoting the dialogue long after the movie ended. The stellar cast includes Janeane Garofalo, David Hyde Pierce, Michael Showalter, Paul Rudd, and Christopher Meloni.

A Tale from the Hollywood Canteen

2004-09-07T13:50:00.000-07:00

At 22, Gene Tierney was living a fairy tale. She was a beautiful rising starlet in Hollywood, married to designer Oleg Cassini and pregnant with their child. As the country was thrust in to World War II, Tierney, like many of her colleagues, threw herself into volunteer work at the Hollywood Canteen, a hospitality club for U.S. soldiers. Sadly, while working at the cantina, Tierney contracted German measles; her child was born severely disabled.

Many years, later, Tierney was at a Hollywood tennis party. A fawning guest approached her. Excitedly, the woman told Tierney that they had met before. During the war, she had been stationed at a Marine Corps camp. The camp had been quarantined because of a measles epidemic, but she sneaked out one night to go to the Hollywood Canteen just to see her favorite movie star—Gene Tierney. She had kissed Tierney on the cheek, the gushing fan remembered.

Soon after this chance encounter, Tierney lapsed into a severe depression and attempted suicide. Eventually, she was briefly committed to a mental institution. While she recovered enough to continue her career, Tierney was never quite the same after that fateful meeting at the tennis party. She later retired to Houston, Texas, where she died of emphysema in 1991.

---From David Wallace, LOST HOLLYWOOD (2001)

Movie Rentals, Week of 8/23/04

2004-09-03T13:34:00.000-07:00

Well, better late than never….here’s what I watched the week of August 23rd:

THE LADYKILLERS (1955): This is the original film that was recently remade by Joel and Ethan Coen. This British production stars the incomparable Alec Guinness as the leader of a robbery gang holed up in a boarding house run by probably the sweetest little old lady ever on film. Hilarity abounds as the precious old gal thwarts the group’s best laid plans. I have not seen the Coen Brothers remake, but this version would be hard to live up to. The film also features a young Peter Sellers.

PLATINUM BLONDE (1931): This Pre-Code screwball comedy directed by Frank Capra stars bombshell Jean Harlow as a rich girl who impulsively marries a hard-nosed reporter—a classic story of two diametrically opposed worlds colliding. A pretty Loretta Young co-stars as a reporter who vies with Harlow for her colleague’s affections. A pleasant film—great for a rainy Sunday afternoon. I was interested in the engaging male lead in the film, Robert Williams. I did not recognize the name and hadn’t recalled ever seeing him in any other film. After a quick check in the Internet Movie Database, I discovered that Williams died of appendicitis in 1931. This was the last film he ever made.

ITALIAN FOR BEGINNERS (2000): This Dogme film from Denmark follows the lives and loves of eight lonely people brought together by an Italian language class. The movie was shot on videotape using a hand-held camera. This is somewhat jarring at first, but once you get used to it, the characters and story shines through. This is a very sweet, romantic film.

What are Dogme Films?

2004-08-31T15:40:00.000-07:00

In 1995, a group Danish film directors, led by Lars von Trier and Thomas Vintenberg, formed a collective to inspire filmmakers to throw off “certain tendencies” prevalent in contemporary—mainly Hollywood—films. Called DOGME 95, the group’s fiery manifesto asserts that films have been “cosmeticised to death”, or to put it plainly, films have become all image and no substance. They write: “The ‘supreme’ task of the decadent filmmaker is to fool the audience…Is that what the ‘100 years’ [of cinema] have brought us?…As never before, the superficial action and superficial movie are receiving all the praise.”

To counteract this superficiality, Dogme filmmakers must swear to follow a set of rules, called the “Vow of Chastity”, that requires, among other things: that films be shot only on location (no sets), that the camera must be hand-held, and use of camera filters and other kinds of “optical work” are forbidden. Furthermore, the director must “refrain from personal taste”, with his or her only desire being to “force the truth out of characters and settings.” The Dogme director does not sign his or her name to a film. Films made under “the Vow” receive certification that they are true Dogme films.

Approximately 35 films from 12 different countries, including the United States, have been certified as Dogme films. In June 2002, however, the “Dogmesecretariat” overseeing the manifesto closed. In making this decision, the group writes: “The manifesto…has almost grown into a genre formula, which was never the intention. As a consequence, we will stop our part of mediation and interpretation on how to make Dogme films…In case you do desire to make a Dogme film, you are free to do so…the Vow of Chastity is an artistic way of expressing a certain cinematic point of view—it is meant to inspire filmmakers all over the world.”

To read the manifesto and its Vow of Chastity, to see a list of certified Dogme films, and to learn more about the movement, check out their official website. If you think Dogme 95 sounds dry and humorless, just check out their highly irreverent logo!

I will review the Dogme film ITALIAN FOR BEGINNERS (2000) in my next Weekly Film Rentals post.

Found Photo: Grauman's Chinese Theatre

2004-08-29T15:08:00.000-07:00

Grauman's Chinese Theatre, circa 1940s

This is a 1940s snapshot photo of Grauman's Chinese Theatre that I recently found in a local antique shop. The Hollywood movie palace, built by showman Sid Grauman, opened in 1927 and is still in operation today. Perhaps the most famous aspect of the theatre is its outer forecourt, where hundreds of movie stars have left their foot and hand prints in cement tiles. If you look closely, you can see World War II sailors and other tourists in front, checking out the tiles.

If you have an interest in found photos, please check out my friend's photo blog Snapatorium.

Stella Adler and Method Acting

2004-08-26T17:33:00.000-07:00

In recent obituaries and retrospectives for Marlon Brando, much is made of the fact that he was a “Method” actor. I do not know much about the subject, so I recently read the book STELLA ADLER: THE ART OF ACTING (ed. Howard Kissel). Adler was one of America’s foremost acting teachers—Brando was her student.

THE ART OF ACTING presents the grande dame in her own voice. Using audio tapes, transcripts and her personal notebooks, editor Howard Kissel brings Adler’s acting classes to life on the page. Adler was a fierce believer in the transformative powers of the theater, and she is at turns passionate, imperious, dynamic, and eviscerating with her students. You really had to have a tough skin if you were in her class. Adler says, “I’m very aware that this class is antagonistic to your time. It challenges the suppositions of your time. But you want to be a professional, and this is a 2,000 year-old profession.” Adler was a force of nature, which comes through clearly in the book.

Stella Adler was the daughter of a prominent stage family and took to acting at a very young age. She was later part of the prestigious GROUP THEATRE in Depression-era New York, performing works by such greats as Eugene O’Neill and Clifford Odets. It was during this time that she traveled to Paris and met Konstantin Stanislavski, a Russian actor that created the original “Method”. She was to be the only American acting instructor that studied with him.

There really is no easy way to describe the Method. The rise of the modern theater in the late 1800s, featuring works by such playwrights as Strindberg and Ibsen, brought new challenges to actors. Stanislavski was one of the first to recognize these new challenges, and he developed techniques to help actors discover the essence of the characters and play and to transmit this knowledge to the audience. For Adler, acting exercises using intelligence and imagination lead the actor to the mind of the character. This is in great contrast to another great American Method acting teacher Lee Strasberg, who believes the re-creation of experienced emotions was at the heart of the actor’s task. Put in the most simplest terms: for Adler, acting was doing something, for Strasberg, it was feeling something, and they both had their own techniques to reach those goals. Both Adler and Strasberg had fierce debates with one another over the interpretation of Stanislavski’s Method. Adler was always proud to point out that she was the only one to study with him.

In his afterward to THE ART OF ACTING, editor Howard Kissel likened the Method to ancient religious texts that have been disseminated and transformed by followers with varying interpretations. Adler herself says, “The Method is something you’ll find through me. I am one of the two million people who have been inspired by it. But my particular contribution will be to make you independent of the Method. You will then have the strength to refine it and go your own way.” THE ART OF ACTING is not a how-to book, it is truly a philosophy book, and one that stretches far beyond the realm of acting. I am not an actor, nor have any great aspirations to be one, yet I found this book to be quite inspirational. I think anyone trying to lead a creative-based life will gain by reading the ideas of this great woman of American theater.

Movie Rentals, Week of 8/16/04

2004-08-25T13:28:00.000-07:00

Continuing with last week’s 1970s theme, this week’s rentals focus on the other 1970s—the New Wave and Punk scenes of New York and London from the beginnings through the early 1980s. Here is what I watched:

BLANK GENERATION (1976) and DANCIN’ BAREFOOT (1995): This two-documentary dvd takes a look at the great New York underground bands. Only 55 minutes in length, Blank Generation is a grainy black & white super-8 film of bands performing inside of the famed club CBGBs circa 1975. Shot by Ivan Kral, bassist of the Patti Smith Group, the film shows the early performances of Blondie, The Talking Heads, The Ramones, Johnny Thunders and other great groups of the era. The film was shot without sound, so the filmmakers used later live performances as a soundtrack, resulting in out of sync sound and imagery that takes some getting used to. The film is raw and jerky, yet overall aesthetically matching the punk/new wave era it’s documenting. Dancin’ Barefoot is an hour long documentary produced by Czech television on Ivan Kral, a Czech exile, noted bassist of the Patti Smith Group and a filmmaker of Blank Generation. Along with scenes of the aforementioned film are great archival footage of Patti Smith and other great bands, along with contemporary interviews with Kral, Smith, Iggy Pop, Debbie Harry, and others.

SID AND NANCY (1986): This classic biopic stars Gary Oldman and Chloe Webb as doomed lovers Sid Vicious, bassist of the Sex Pistols, and groupie Nancy Spungen. The film follows the drug-dazed pair from their initial hook up in London, through the Sex Pistols disastrous U.S. tour, to Spungen’s bloody end in New York’s Chelsea Hotel. Excellent acting by Oldman and Webb, with a story at turns darkly humorous, poignant, and lurid.

DOWNTOWN 81 a.k.a. NEW YORK BEAT MOVIE (2001): This film featuring artist Jean Michel Basquiat was shot in 1981, yet was considered lost until its rediscovery and release in 2000/2001. The film follows the 19 year-old Basquiat—who at this time was going by the name SAMO and doing graffiti throughout the city—as he wanders around the streets of New York after getting kicked out of his apartment. As he drifts around the city, Basquiat does his graffiti and encounters mysterious strangers and friends, along with some great new wave bands of the era, including Kid Creole and the Coconuts, Tuxedomoon, DNA, and James White and the Blacks. This film is an incredible time capsule of early 80s New York.

I have a special, personal memory of Downtown 81. In 2001, the film was shown at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (my former employer) as a fundraiser. The film’s writer Glen O’Brien and Debbie Harry (who has a small role in the film) came as guests of the screening. Debbie was as cool as ever, still rocking the punk fashions and two-toned hair. She signed the jacket cover of my 45 rpm of RAPTURE that I bought back in elementary school. At that time, you were really cool if you could rap along with Debbie on the playground. “Fab Five Freddy tell me everybody’s fly/ D.J.’s spin makes me say “My! My!” It was a great night.

The Golden Age of Mexican Cinema, Cruising into a Town Near You

2004-08-22T11:37:00.000-07:00

HoustonChronicle.com - Cinema on wheels displays Mexican films, heritage

Granted they are trying to sell you tortilla chips, this is a very novel way to bring classic Mexican films to U.S. audiences.

Watching Silent Films, Japanese Style

2004-08-21T14:16:00.000-07:00

The other day, I was digging through a box and found a research paper on filmmaker Akira Kurosawa that I had written back in my grad school days. Within the paper was this brief discussion on Japanese silent film:

The Japanese fashioned a unique way of viewing [silent] films. The western way of viewing involved projecting images followed by text on the screen, with organ accompaniment to enhance the drama. The Japanese, however, used benshi, or silent film narrators. As Kurosawa describes them, the benshi, “not only recounted the plot of the films, they enhanced the emotional content by performing the voices and sound effects and providing evocative descriptions of the events and images on the screen.” In time, the benshi became stars in their own right, and they—not the films—would often be the main attractions for the audience. One of these star narrators was Heigo Kurosawa, the older brother of Akira.

The benshi wielded considerable power in their heyday. They often pressured the studios to make movies with longer shots, so they could talk as much as they wanted. In 1918, a reform movement was underway within the [Japanese film] industry, one of their goals being to replace the benshi with subtitles on the screen. After a lengthy battle, both sides agreed upon the use of one benshi per film, whereas previously up to four narrators worked on a single film. When sound films were introduced, the benshi held strikes and protests, yet to no avail. Heigo Kurosawa was one of the leaders of the failed strikes. Despondent over his situation, Heigo eventually committed suicide.

Information from: Akira Kurosawa, SOMETHING LIKE AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY, translated by Audie E. Bock (Alfred A. Knopf, 1982), and Tadao Sato, CURRENTS IN JAPANESE CINEMA, translated by Gregory Barrett (Kodansha International Ltd., 1982).

I really love Kurosawa’s films and will go into depth about the filmmaker and his work in later posts.

R.I.P. Elmer Bernstein

2004-08-19T07:36:00.000-07:00

The New York Times > Movies > Elmer Bernstein, Prolific Film Composer, Dies at 82

It seems like I've been doing a lot of these "R.I.P." posts lately. Elmer Bernstein was a prolific composer who could, "use a symphony orchestra as a handmaiden to cinema." He scored over 200 films, ranging from TO KILL A MOCKING BIRD and HUD to even NATIONAL LAMPOON'S ANIMAL HOUSE and AIRPLANE. Bernstein was also one of those blackballed for several years in the 1950s becuase he considered himself a communist. This obiturary from the NY Times provides an interesting overview of his life and work.

Movie Rentals, Week of 8/9/04

2004-08-17T13:12:00.000-07:00

It was the 1970s last week at my house—what’s new? LOL! Here is what I watched:

FOXY BROWN (1974). This vintage blaxploitation film starring the incomparable Pam Grier is a follow up to her successful film COFFY in 1973. Foxy has an almost identical storyline: Grier takes her revenge on drug lords who have killed her boyfriend, and must go through much tribulation before she gets her justice. I liked Coffy better, but this is fun to watch nonetheless. Antonio Fargas (Huggy Bear!) co-stars as her wayward brother involved with the drug lords.

FIVE EASY PIECES (1970). This film is rightly placed in the canon of great 1970s films. Jack Nicholson gives an Oscar-nominated performance as a Bobby Dupea, a highly talented and mercurial pianist who has rejected that world to work and carouse in western oil fields. Karen Black also gives a standout performance as his frowsy waitress girlfriend. The acting and writing in this film are superb. This is another one of those films that sneak up on you—you may think nothing much is going on as you watch it, only to find yourself savoring its nuances hours later.

BREEZY (1973). This romantic drama is Clint Eastwood’s third directorial effort after his auspicious debut with PLAY MISTY FOR ME (1971). Kay Lenz is Breezy, a young free-spirited hippie who drifts into the life of William Holden, a middle-aged divorcé soured on love. The film follows the two as they tentatively fall in love. This is a nice film, and I think it would make an interesting double feature with another great May-December romance of the era, the darkly comic HAROLD AND MAUDE (1971).

Pre-Code Hollywood Films, An Overview

2004-08-13T12:43:00.000-07:00

Pre-code Hollywood films are generally defined as those films made between the appearance of sound in 1929 and the strict enforcement of the Hollywood Production Code in 1934. In an earlier post, I discussed the rigid production code, a censorial document that dictated film content from mid-1934 to 1968. Now I want to give an overview of the types of films made “pre-code”—films that Depression-era audiences loved and drove the moralists crazy!

Gangster Films. The birth of the modern gangster film happed in this era. Probably the most famous group of films from this time are: LITTLE CAESAR (1930), where Edward G. Robinson defined the genre with his portrayal of his Al Capone-based character; THE PUBLIC ENEMY (1931), with James Cagney famously smashing a grapefruit in Mae Clarke’s face; and the original SCARFACE (1932), which features Paul Muni as the insanely violent Tony Camonte, with a rather incestuous attachment to his sister.

Horror. Some of the well-known horror films made pre-code were FRANKENSTEIN (1931), the Bella Lugosi version of DRACULA (1931), and DR. JYKELL & MR. HYDE (1932). KING KONG (1933), too, was a pre-code film. Perhaps the most notorious of the bunch was director Tod Browning’s FREAKS (1932), which features actual circus freaks who take revenge against a “normal” woman who does them wrong. I intend to devote an entire post to this film later on because there is way too much to discuss! Tod Browning was blackballed by the U.S. film industry after the film was released. Freaks was banned in some U.S. states, and in the entire United Kingdom for thirty years. According to the Internet Movie Database, it’s still banned in Sweden.

Vice Films. These films featuring moral laxity were very popular in their day. The titles alone were enough to titillate viewers: THE ROAD TO RUIN; MERRILY WE GO TO HELL; MADAM SATAN (great film!); FREE LOVE; SHE HAD TO SAY YES. A popular sub-genre was the “kept woman” film, which features young women who discover the perks and pitfalls of being well-compensated mistresses to usually-married men. A young Joan Crawford in POSSESSED (1931) is a prime example. Another popular type was the all-out “bad girl”, who will lie, cheat, and steal to make her way to the top. One of the most notorious of this category is BABY FACE (1933). A poor Barbara Stanwyck stands in front of a skyscraper and decides that she wants to go to the top—and she does just that by sleeping her way from office to office, floor to floor, until she snares the rich playboy that lives in the building’s penthouse.

Other standout examples of pre-code films include MURDER AT THE VANITIES (1934), a musical with an over the top number devoted to marijuana; THE SIGN OF THE CROSS (1932), a Cecil B. deMille epic ostensibly about Christian martyrs, yet seems to relish showing Roman orgies; and THE EMPEROR JONES (1933), featuring the legendary Paul Robeson who escapes the poverty of the segregated South to become a despotic dictator on a tiny Caribbean island (another film to be discussed at length in the future). The era also showcased the sophisticated sexual innuendo of Mae West and the Marx Brothers before they became de-fanged caricatures.
Some of these films are making their way to DVD, and many are available on VHS if you can find an independent rental outlet with a deep catalogue. Several pre-code films turn up from time to time on cable’s Turner Classic Movies channel. Later on, I will devote posts to specific films, actors, and other topics surrounding the pre-code era.

Movie Rentals, Week of 8/2/04

2004-08-10T11:06:00.000-07:00

The theme of this weeks rentals is recent comedies. Here is what I watched:

STARSKEY & HUTCH (2003). Finally, after a month of geeky preparation by watching season one of the old T.V. series, I watch the Ben Stiller/Owen Wilson flick. What a letdown. The movie is somewhat cute, but it just seems like a series of gags other than having some sort of plot. I like Stiller and Wilson, and they make the movie viewable, but Snoop Dogg steals the show as Huggy Bear. Both the original Starskey & Hutch actors make a cameo, and my god, David Soul is unrecognizable! Time has not been kind to his fair-haired features. And where, pray tell, was Antonio Fargas? If you want cheesy fun, I would stick to the original series—and lord help me, they just releases season two on DVD.

BUBBA HO-TEP (2003). This tiny-budget independent film has one of the most wacked-out premises ever. An ageing (and very much alive) Elvis Presley and an elderly black man who thinks he’s President John F. Kennedy, battle a soul-sucking mummy that is plaguing their East Texas retirement home. This film defies definition. It is ostensibly a horror picture, yet has a lot of comedic moments and is packed full of poignancy and heart. This rare combination is what makes it so great. Bubba Ho-Tep is not a silly movie by any means—it is one of the most original, well-made films I have seen in a long time. With cult film-icon Bruce Campbell as Elvis and legendary Ossie Davis as a would-be JFK.

SCHOOL OF ROCK (2003). This cute movie stars Jack Black as a down and out musician who shapes up a group of ten year-old prep school students into a formidable rock ‘n’ roll band. This movie is predictable, but I don’t necessarily mean that as a bad thing: you know the hard-nosed school principal will melt, you know the uptight parents will loosen up, you know the savvy kids will triumph at the end of the day. The performances of Black and the kids raise the film above the level of banal. This is cinematic comfort food, and who doesn’t need that every once in a while?

R.I.P. Fay Wray

2004-08-09T12:53:00.000-07:00

The New York Times > Movies > Fay Wray, Beauty to Kong's Beast, Dies at 96

Found Photo: Film Crew, 1933

2004-08-05T09:22:00.000-07:00

Film crew on location, 1933

Here is another recent find from a local antique shop. This is a snapshot photo of a film crew working on location. The caption on the back reads: Arger's Film Company filming on Bond Place, June 1933. I have looked through books and on the Internet, and I cannot find any sort of reference to an "Arger's Film Company". Perhaps another little company lost to history....

If you enjoy found photos, please check out my friend's blog, Snapatorium.

Great Performance: Mick Jagger in "The Man from Elysian Fields"

2004-08-03T12:17:00.000-07:00

Over the years, Mick Jagger has built up a small resume of acting roles, from Australian outlaw NED KELLY (1970) to futuristic villain in FREE JACK (1992). In 2001, Jagger took a supporting role in the independent film THE MAN FROM ELYSIAN FIELDS. Set aside any preconceptions you may have about the Rolling Stone’s front man, and you will see a great actor at work in this film.

Elysian Fields stars Andy Garcia as a down and out writer with a family to feed and no income in sight. Garcia happens upon Jagger’s Luther Fox, owner of a private escort business that services affluent women about town. Yes, Jagger is a pimp—yet oh so stately and elegant! A desperate Garcia joins Jagger’s coterie and starts down that familiar road to personal downfall. In a secondary storyline, Jagger carries on a “business relationship”—years in length—with a fun-loving Anjelica Huston. Convinced he has found true love, Jagger declares his feelings with disastrous results.

Jagger plays the role with such quiet power. Taking on the persona of a refined Englishman, Jagger creates a character whose seductive elegance masks the essential seediness of his livelihood. Jagger employs his distinctive face with such mastery, moving from a benign world-weariness to utter devastation at his lover’s cruel rejection. He truly loses himself in this role—you are not watching “Mick Jagger” (and all the baggage that goes with it) on screen—and that in itself is quite a feat. This is a great performance, and one that made me see Jagger in a new light.

Movie Rentals, Week of 7/26/04

2004-08-02T09:26:00.000-07:00

THE TESTAMENT OF DR. MABUSE (1933) This strange German thriller by director Fritz Lang (METROPOLIS) features a demented Dr. Mabuse, who, while confined to an insane asylum, orders his minions to commit crimes to bring about world chaos. This film was later banned by the Nazi regime because the Mabuse character more than suggested Hitler writing MEIN KAMPF while in prison. Eerily enough, the film, viewed through today’s eyes, parallels the shadowy world of Al Qaeda. This film is just as relevant now as it was in the 1930s.

SIX FEET UNDER (2001), Season 2, discs 4 and 5. These discs wrap up season two of the HBO series. All in all, this season was a good one, with each character getting a compelling storyline and what seems like equal time on the show—unlike THE SOPRANOS, where main characters can get ignored for episodes at a time (oh well, just different ways of storytelling). Ultimately, the Fisher family is left in limbo, as is the viewer if they are cable deprived like myself! I wonder how long it will take HBO to release season 3? Why are they so far behind on this series?

Carmen Miranda's Shoes

2004-07-30T12:31:00.000-07:00

From the department of obscure Hollywood gossip.....

Carmen Miranda, the Latin American signing and dancing sensation of the 1940s, was known for her wild costumes—tall fruit-filled hats, sexy ruffled dresses, and towering platform shoes. Her shoes, while part of her iconic look, served another purpose as well. According to Kenneth Anger’s HOLLYWOOD BABYLON II, Ms. Miranda kept her cocaine hidden in a secret compartment inside the flashy footwear.

I like Carmen Miranda a lot, and I plan to profile her and an excellent documentary of her life, BANANAS IS MY BUSINESS (1995), in a future post.

What's New on DVD? Check out the NY Times

2004-07-27T09:27:00.000-07:00

The New York Times > Movies > DVD and Home Video > New DVD's: Many Features, Old Cartoons and, Oh Yes, a Movie, Too

Every once in a while, I'll be raving about a film to someone and they will ask, "Where did you find out about it?" One good source is NY TIMES. Every Tuesday, the Times reviews new DVDs released that day. The great thing about their review is that they frequently focus on the obscure releases and kind of gloss over recent Hollywood crap. Today's review features the 1930s Soviet films of director Boris Barnet, French suspense master Claude Chabrol, and the British and American versions of PENNIES FROM HEAVEN (1978/1981).

Movie Rentals, Week of 7/19/04

2004-07-26T11:12:00.000-07:00

SIX FEET UNDER, Season 2, discs 2 and 3. More drama and dark humor from the Fisher family and their funeral business. I love the way each episode revolves around a dead “client”, and some of the more quirky guests on discs two and three include an autoerotic asphyxiation, a wrecked Santa Claus biker, and a lonely old maid dead for a week and a devoured by ants. Since I don’t have cable, I have been trying to avoid any talk about the current season (four, I think) now airing on HBO, but what has unfortunately seeped through is that the show has “lost its way”. That’s a shame if true--seasons one and two showcase a superb cast in a truly original, well-written series.

CITY OF GOD (2002). This Brazilian film received a slew of awards and Academy Award nominations last year—all well deserved. Directed by Katia Lund and Fernando Meirelles, City of God tells interconnecting stories about a group of boys growing into men amidst the drugs and violence of Rio’s teeming favelas. Some critics knocked the “glossiness” and “M-TV style” effects of the film, saying it gave the crushing violence of favela life a touch of glamour. I think that is just nit picking. Lund and Meirelles have created an honest and engaging film that tells stories from Rio that are not usually told—no Carnival or Girl-from-Ipanema cliché’s here. If you want to get a raw look at Rio’s slums, then check out the one-hour documentary NEWS FROM A PERSONAL WAR in the special features area of the disc and see how the world-wide “War on Drugs” has wrecked havoc on Brazil’s poor. Crushing bleakness…

The Hollywood Production Code

2004-07-22T08:01:00.000-07:00

I am fascinated with Pre-Code Hollywood films. The term “pre-code” generally designates films made between the advent of talk pictures—circa 1929-1930—and the strict enforcement of the censorious Hollywood Production Code in 1934. I am planning a series of entries discussing pre-code films, but for now I want to take a look at the actual “code”.

The film industry has long been under scrutiny of cultural conservatives, fearful that movie content may lead the public’s morals astray. In the 1920s, the most popular stories of the day depicted Jazz Age excess—wild youth, adulterous spouses, sophisticated seducers, and such. To fend off increasingly combative civic and religious groups and possible government regulation, the studios hired Will Hays—a former postmaster general under President Warren G. Harding—to clean up the industry. In 1930, under Hays’ direction, Father Daniel Lord (a Jesuit priest) and Martin Quigley (a prominent Roman Catholic layman) wrote the Hollywood Production Code. The overriding theme of the document is stated as such: “No picture should lower the moral standards of those who see it.” The multi-page code and its addenda spell out everything, from a film’s “moral obligation” to how to depict certain plots such as crime and love, to certain strictures on costumes and dancing and definitions of what is obscene and vulgar. I have tried to find the entire Hollywood Production Code text on the internet to no avail, but a tiny sampling of some of its content is as follows:

Not plot theme should definitely side with evil against good.
The courts of the land should not be presented as unjust.
“Pure Love”—the love of a man for a woman permitted by the law of God and man—is a rightful subject for plots.
Miscegenation (sex relationship between white and black races) is forbidden.
Ministers of religion…should not be used in comedy, as villains, or as unpleasant persons.
Bedrooms: in themselves are perfectly innocent…However, under certain conditions they are bad dramatic locations [when they suggest sex laxity and obscenity].

The code was adopted in 1930, yet it was viewed mainly as a PR move. There was lax oversight and very little enforcement, with unfavorable rulings easily appealed. Most films that violated the spirit of the code were released. So really, the term “pre-code” for films released during this time is somewhat of a misnomer—a code was in place, no one was following it.

By 1934, under a new outcry to clean up Hollywood and the threat of government censorship under Roosevelt’s New Deal, the studios began harsh enforcement of the code. Will Hays appointed Joseph I. Breen (a former newspaperman and influential Roman Catholic) to enforce the code, which he did with, as one author notes, “missionary zeal.” All Hollywood films were made under the strident code from 1934 until the late 1960s. In a new era of freedom of expression and civil rights, the code came increasingly under attack in the 1950s and 1960s as antiquated and intrusive. Finally, in 1968, the code was dropped altogether for the ratings system (G, PG, R) used today.

As I mentioned above, I could not find a full text of the Hollywood Production Code on the internet. The code appears in Thomas Doherty’s excellent book PRE-CODE HOLLYWOOD: SEX, IMMORALITY, AND INSURRECTION IN AMERICAN CINEMA 1930-1934, available in bookstores or at your local library. This book aided in the preparation of this entry.

Movie Rentals, Week of 7/12/04

2004-07-16T14:11:00.000-07:00

Really no rhyme or reason for this week's rentals, so here goes:

SIX FEET UNDER, Season 2, disc 1 (2001): HBO has a knack for creating excellent character-driven series, and this is no exception. Six Feet Under follows the Fishers, a highly dysfunctional family that runs a small, Southern California funeral home. I'm pissed that it has taken HBO so long to release the second season (I'm cable-deprived, so DVD is the only way for me to see the show). The writing is top-notch, and seeing the characters again has made me realize how much I've missed them.

PARTY MONSTER: THE SHOCKUMENTARY (1998) and PARTY MONSTER (the movie, 2003): It was interesting watching these two films back to back, as they were both made by the same filmmaking team of Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato. In the "shockumentary", we see the real Michael Alig and his Club Kid cohorts tell the story of Alig's descent into drugs and, ultimately, murder. The Club Kids relentlessly documented themselves on video, so the film is chocked full of archival footage of the New York club scene of the late 1980s and 1990s. The dramatization of Alig's story, on the other hand, is simply good but not great--and I think some of this rests on star Macaulay Culkin. It was halfway through the film before I could let go of the fact that I was watching Culkin playing a gay club kid. I know that its not fair for Culkin to have all that child star baggage, and I give him props for trying to play a character like this, but for me personally, it was still somewhat difficult to accept him in that role. Despite this, the film did a good job at capturing an authentic look and feel of the era. If you want to know the story about Michael Alig and the club land murder, I would go with the documentary.

MYSTIC RIVER (2003): Excellent. Director Clint Eastwood and the top tier cast of Sean Penn, Tim Robinson, and Kevin Bacon are in fine form in this dark tale of childhood friends reuniting as damaged adults over the murder of Penn's daughter. My only quibble with the film is the tacked on ending. I'm not giving anything away here, but the film should have ended with Penn walking down the street and Bacon getting into the car--end of story. The added "denouement" seems so unnecessary and has the feel of spoon-feeding the audience. I wonder if studio executives demanded this?

Found Photo: The Hollywood Canteen

2004-07-14T12:44:00.000-07:00

Hollywood Canteen, circa 1940s

I recently purchased this 1940s snapshot photo of the HOLLYWOOD CANTEEN at a local antiques store. The canteen--brain child of actor JOHN GARFIELD and based on a similar operation in New York--was designed to entertain and give comfort to military personnel fighting in World War II. Garfield enlisted his friend BETTE DAVIS as president of the organization. Using her considerable clout, Davis helped raise money, materials, and manpower needed for the patriotic project. The canteen--a renovated livery stable and theater space at 1451 Cahuenga Blvd.--opened with great fanfare in October 1942. During its run, the canteen served up to 3,000 servicemen every night--the only admission price, their uniforms. Big bands and comedy acts entertained the troops; everything from cigarettes, milk, coffee, sandwiches and cake were free for the asking. The canteen was also a place to see the stars. Over 6,000 actors and entertainment industry workers volunteered their time. Actresses such as HEDY LAMARR, OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND and MARLENE DIETRICH danced with the servicemen and helped out in the kitchen; actors such as FRED MACMURRY, SPENCER TRACY, and BASIL RATHBONE served as busboys. The Hollywood Canteen operated continuously until November 22, 1945. When all was said and done, the Hollywood community fed and entertained nearly 4 million soldiers.

Hey! Ho! Let's Go!: The Ramones on Film

2004-07-12T13:23:00.000-07:00

With Johnny Ramones' health issues making news recently, I thought it would be good to revisit a couple of Ramones films. In 1979, the band blasted onto the screen in Roger Corman's great ROCK 'N' ROLL HIGH SCHOOL. Filled with a joyful mix of silliness and rebellion, the film follows your Riff Randall (P.J. Soles) as she tries to make her way to a Ramones concert while trying to outwit evil principal Miss Togar (Mary Woronov), who has banned rock 'n' roll music from the school. The centerpiece of the film is a 20-minute Ramones concert, featuring such classics as "Lobotomy" and "Blitzkrieg Bop", later coming to an explosive end when the teenagers and the Ramones take over the school. ROLLING STONE magazine recently listed the film among the top 10 of rock 'n' roll movies ever made. I agree--it's pure fun.

In 2003, Extinkt Films released HEY! IS DEE DEE HOME?, a small documentary on the Ramones' punk icon bassist. This film happened as an afterthought. The director, Lech Kowalski, made a documentary on seminal punk rocker Johnny Thunders called BORN TO LOSE: THE LAST ROCK & ROLL MOVIE (1999), in which Dee Dee participated. After Dee Dee's death in 2002, Kowalski culled through his footage and decided he had enough material to make a stand-alone piece. In the film, Dee Dee is shown in a sit-down interview format--he tells a lot of drug stories and talks a lot about Johnny Thunders (naturally). Essentially, the doc gives a glimpse of Dee Dee--in his own words--but does not give a full picture of his life and work.

Speaking of Johnny Thunders, I recently finished an excellent biography on the New York Doll and Heartbreaker called JOHNNY THUNDERS: IN COLD BLOOD by Nina Antonia. This exceptionally written book chronicles the life and tragic end of Thunders and gives a very vivid account of the punk era in both New York and Europe. As a bonus, the book comes with a DVD featuring a late 1980s concert, clips of a film Thunders made in Europe, along with interviews. If you are interested in this scene, I highly recommend this book.

Quote: On the Nature of Film Studios

2004-07-11T14:33:00.000-07:00

From PRATER VIOLET, a 1945 novel by Chistopher Isherwood, who spent a brief period of time as a Hollywood writer:

"You see, the film studio...is really the palace of the sixteenth century. There one sees what Shakespeare saw: the absolute power of the tyrant, the courtiers, the flatterers, the jesters, the cunningly ambitious intriguers. There are fantastically beautiful women, there are incompetent favorites. There are great men who are suddenly disgraced. There is the most insane extravagance, and unexpected parsimony over a few pence. There is enormous splendor which is a sham; and also horrible squalor hidden behind the scenery. There are vast schemes, abandoned because of some caprice. There are secrets which everybody knows and no one speaks of. There are even two or three honest advisers. These are the court fools, who speak the deepest wisdom in puns, lest they should be taken seriously. They grimace, and tear their hair privately, and weep."

Movie Rentals, Weeks of 6/30 and 7/5/2004

2004-07-08T14:02:00.000-07:00

I haven't watched a lot of movies over the last tow weeks due to work and the holiday, but here is a run down of my recent rentals:

STARSKY & HUTCH (1975-76) Season 1, discs, 4 and 5. I finished out season one of this gloriously cheesy '70s cop show. In recent episodes, Starsky nearly dies from a slow acting poison; Hutch gets into the ring with professional wrestlers; and Huggy Bear is super fly as ever! My one beef with this series is that, in the beginning, Huggy owned a restaurant and bar, but sometime mid season he leaves it behind to be an "entrepreneur". This means that the character started selling glow in the dark crucifixes on street corners, or running a rat racing gambling operation (I kid you not) in an abandoned warehouse. I'm sure this change was done by the writers to give him more "street cred", but I think it watered Huggy down into a stereotype. I guess a black man owning a bar was a little too much in Aaron Spelling land at that time.....

DEMONLOVER (2002). This is a French film with an international cast, including Connie Nielsen (GLADIATOR), Chloe Sevigny (LAST DAYS OF DISCO), and Gina Gershon (SHOWGIRLS). The film was SUPPOSED to be a stylish corporate espionage thriller set in the internet adult entertainment industry, but the plot is so convoluted and executed so poorly, that I struggled to even finish the film.

SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES (1983). I had such high hopes for this film, based on a Ray Bradbury novel. I love carnival stories, and what attracts me to them are their surrealness, their freakiness, if you will. There's not a lot of that here. The film is basically a touching story about a father and son against the backdrop of a "sinister" carnival that comes into their idyllic town. I put sinister in quotes because this is a Disney film--so the "horror" that Netflix promised me is very watered down. Bradbury wrote the script himself, but I'm sure (as in most cases) the book is ten times better. Maybe I'm just viewing the film through jaded eyes. The carnival stories I like are more along the lines of Todd Browning's FREAKS (1932) or even HBO's recent series CARNIVALE.

Flicker and the "Persistence of Vision"

2004-07-06T18:51:00.000-07:00

I named my blog "Flicker" because it is an old slang word for a movie. The term itself dates from the early silent era, when films were projected at a rate of 16 frames per second. This slow rate (today's sound projectors run at 24 frames/second) renders the human eye unable to perceive a continuous image. The illusion of a steady image and continuous brightness inside a movie theater is a phenomenon known as "persistence of vision", which allows the eye to interpret a rapid succession of light and dark as even illumination. When the frequency of light and dark is too slow to create a "persistence of vision", a flickering effect results--thus the slang "flickers" (or "flicks") was born.

R.I.P. Marlon Brando

2004-07-02T11:04:00.000-07:00

The New York Times > Movies > Marlon Brando, Oscar Winning Actor, Is Dead at 80

Forgotten Stars--Dolores Costello

2004-06-29T13:58:00.000-07:00

Dolores Costello (1903-1979)

She was known as "The Goddess of the Silent Screen." Dolores Costello was the daughter of Maurice Costello, one of the most popular actors of the silent era. As early as 1909, Dolores, along with her sister Helene, began appearing in films alongside her famous father, and would work steadily throughout the 1910s and 1920s on stage and screen. Around 1926, a nineteen-year-old Dolores met actor John Barrymore, a man old enough to be her father. The two fell in love while appearing together in the film THE SEA BEAST and later married in 1928. The marriage between two powerful acting families proved to be a tumultuous one, marked by Barrymore's hard drinking and roving eye. After numerous attempts to save the marriage for the sake of their children, Costello eventually divorced Barrymore in 1935. Dolores continued her acting career and went on to appear in a number of films, most notably as "Isabel" in Orson Welles' THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS (1942). But in a cruel twist of fate, the actress, know for her beauty, developed a horrible skin condition due to the heavy makeup used on film sets. The skin on her cheeks literally began to disintegrate. Forced into retirement, Costello lived in virtual seclusion until her death in 1979. The "Goddess of the Silent Screen" may have faded into history, but her presence has made an impact on today's film industry--she is Drew Barrymore's grandmother.

The New York Times > Movies > A Different Mexican Revolution

2004-06-27T13:08:00.000-07:00

The New York Times > Movies > A Different Mexican Revolution

This article from the NEW YORK TIMES provides an interesting overview of the history of Mexican cinema. The article was writen in anticipation of CINE MEXICO, a 26-film retrospective of Mexican film at Manhattan's Film Forum in July, 2004.

Movie Rentals, Week of 6/21/04

2004-06-27T12:19:00.000-07:00

I thought about doing a post like this on a week when I had rented "great" or "important" works, but what the hell, I'll start now. I will admit, I'll watch just about anything, and with unlimited monthly rentals at Netflix, I feel a little freer to occasionally indulge in what I like to call cinematic junk food. So in this spirit, here is what I watched this week:

STARSKY & HUTCH, Season 1, disc 3 (1975). Lord knows why I started renting this series. I think my original intention was to prepare myself for the Ben Stiller/Owen Wilson version, but I also love the decade of the 1970s, so I've totally gotten into this for the fashions, the interiors, and that "tomato" Ford Turino. David Soul and Paul Michael Glaser are hoot--all hipster and earnest about their jobs (and each other!)--and Antonio Fargas rocks as Huggy Bear. Pure, cheesy fun!

A NIGHT IN THE LIFE OF JIMMY REARDON (1988). I rented this to relive my teenage River Phoenix crush. This is definitely not one of River's shining moments. I remember this film being bad when it first came out, and it certainly has not gotten better with age. River is in blond, pretty-boy heartthrob mode, with a support cast that includes a young Matthew Perry and Ione Skye. Ugh...I should have stuck with River's vastly underrated DOG FIGHT (1991).

ANGIE (1994). I rented this purely to see James Gandolfini outside THE SOPRANOS. No such luck here--he's basically playing a younger, more slender version of Tony in the role of Geena Davis's loutish boyfriend Vinnie. This film was okay, not great, but not terrible, either. Also with future Soprano regulars Aida Turturro and Michael Rispoli in supporting roles. It's going to be a long haul to season six of The Sopranos (September 2005)!

Hollywood Postcard, circa 1940s

2004-06-26T16:09:00.000-07:00

Flicker

Two-Lane Blacktop, or James Taylor--Who Knew?

2004-06-25T09:13:00.000-07:00

When I think of James Taylor, I (like probably a lot of Gen-Xers) see an image of a middle-aged, slightly balding singer with tunes on radio stations with catch names like "Soft Hits", "Light Favorites", "Kozy" or what have you. But Back in 1971, he was a dark, brooding (and stunningly handsome!) lead in an independent film called TWO-LANE BLACKTOP. Directed by cult legend Monte Hellman, the film follows two drag racing drifters, Taylor and Beach Boy's drummer Dennis Wilson, as they race the incomparable Warren Oates across the American southwest with a mysterious hitchhiker, Laurie Bird, in tow.

TWO-LANE BLACKTOP is minimalism at its best. The characters have no name, the dialoge spare, the landscape barren, even the 1995 Chevy they drive is stripped down to its primer gray paint. This is a movie that sneaks up on you. I remember thinking in the middle of my first viewing that nothing much is going on here, but by the time the last frame dissolves into nothingness, I am stunned at the film's stark beauty. Produced during the Vietnam war and social upheaval at home, TWO-LANE BLACKTOP is a meditation on alienated youth. Many critics have noted that this film captures the mood of the era better than its more famous predecessor EASY RIDER (1969). I tend to agree.

This would be James Taylors and Dennis Wilson's only acting roles. Laurie Bird would only appear on screen two more times, in Hellman's COCKFIGHTER (1974) and in Woody Allen's ANNIE HALL (1977). All three, in their own way, battled darkness with tragic results. Wilson would drown in 1983 aftern drunkenly jumping off his boat. Bird would commit suicide in 1979. Only James Taylor, who fought drug addiction and mental institutionalization, seems to have come out on the other side.

Welcome

2004-06-22T13:10:00.000-07:00

Welcome to FLICKER, shining the light into the world of film. With this blog, I'll highlight favorite films, profile actors and filmmakers, and discuss a variety of topics related to film and its history. While there are exciting things going on in film today, this blog will mainly focus on the past--classic and obscure films, forgotten stars, unfamiliar histories, and so forth. I hope this site will entertain and inspire movie lovers of all kinds!

P.S. I am new to blogging, so please bear with me as I build up this page!