Recently Watched Films

[Wombatz]

First adult viewing of 2001. So strange and great until the advent of HAL. Nothing much seems to fit or work before that (especially the soundtrack is so marvellously inapposite it makes you feel every edit bodily), but then, after c. 50 minutes, while the details still seem to be sort of tackled in graphical score mood, once the drama sets in, such a letdown.

[Jesse]

Extraordinary, if you can manage the near total lack of technical skill in holding the steady cam steady. Following When The Levees Broke , a devastating home movie from a genuinely remarkable couple who filmed what they endured. The US government's response to Katrina is unfathomably heartless, this document reminds us who suffered and who gained (cf. Naomi Klein's The Shock Doctrine).

[Dan Warburton]

Tay Garnett, The Postman Always Rings Twice, 1946

Decided on a whim (Pynchon-inspired, as Doc Sportello in Inherent Vice is a John Garfield fan) to go for this, and was sort of underwhelmed. The strangely convoluted plot (post murder - until they do away with poor old Nick it's pretty easy to figure out what's going on), with false confessions, corrupt PIs, extortion and goodness knows what else, might have been more convincing if the script and directing had been less wooden. Haven't seen the 81 remake with Jack Nicholson for decades, but I can recommend Luchino Visconti's Ossessione (1943), which transplants James Cain's novel to wartime Italy and does a much better job of it.

[Dan Warburton]

Julien Duvivier, Boulevard, 1960

Sorry I couldn't find a shot of Jean-Pierre Léaud, but I rather prefer to look at Magali Noel anyway. Very much enjoyed this - Léaud fans should definitely check it out (though as far as I know there's no version with English subtitles - and I really appreciated the French titles).. just a year after Les 400 Coups but the voice has broken and the Léaud of the late 60s is discernible. One of those films that looks both ways - forward to the recently broken New Wave (location shots impressive) but also back to world of Marcel Carné and Renoir.

[Dan Warburton]

Samuel Fuller, The Naked Kiss, 1964

Has to be one of the most sensational openings to any film I've ever seen, so I'd better not spoil it for you. This is one weird movie, the story of a reformed hooker who takes a job nursing disabled children (check out the scene where they all sing, wobbling about on their crutches) who falls in love (sort of) with a local tycoon only to find him molesting a child (to the accompaniment of the cute song above).. The juxtaposition of corny kitsch Americana and truly disturbing violence (all of which comes from our heroine - check out when she visits Candy, the local madame) is worthy of David Lynch. Wild.

[Jesse]

I love Fuller, Kiss is outrageous-I agree it presages Lynch, and would wager Lynch would agree as well.

[p.t]

A Tale of Two Sisters.

[surfer]

2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (Godard, 1967) - I can see why people like this as much as they do. Stylistically, it sits somewhere between Vivre Sa Vie and Weekend. Its not as episodic as Weekend, but not as narrative as VSV. There is a balance between the interest in characters (Vlady is great, maybe not quite as good as Karina, imo), and interest in politics and ideology. The cinematography by Coutard is probably the best I've seen in Godard's work. Visually, this is a stunning movie, even the pretentious coffee swirling scene works. And yet the politics, esp the Vietnam War stuff, is a real weak spot for me - as it was in Weekend. Its not that its dated (I have no problem with current events or cultural references in movies) but that they WAY its talked about is dated. The young boy's dream of twins merging into one, and then he says to his mother Vlady "And I realized they were North and South Vietnam reunified" is cringe worthy. The whole bit about the American journalist who wears an American Flag t-shirt and wants a three-some is silly. Ham-fisted. A lot of the philosophy that comes out of Vlady's mouth and mind (which are obviously Godard's musings) is just stilted, not natural, and not believable. That being said, generally I find Godard's sociological and linguistic ruminations to be a bit more interesting than his political ones, but mostly I just find my tastes to run more towards the "simple" and "straightforward" filmaking of Vivre Sa Vie. But compared to his other late 60's work, this is his best, imo.

[przesyt]

[img]http://auteurs_production.s3.amazonaws.com/stills/13635/bitter-tears-of-petra-von-kant.png[/img]

Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Die bitteren Tränen der Petra von Kant, 1972

Derek Jarman's favourite Fassbinder movie

[Dan Warburton]

2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (Godard, 1967) - I can see why people like this as much as they do. Stylistically, it sits somewhere between Vivre Sa Vie and Weekend. Its not as episodic as Weekend, but not as narrative as VSV.

I find it works well as a double bill with Masculin Feminin, myself. Fits in with Made In USA too. But it also looks forward to the 80s, particularly Sauve Qui Peut (La Vie).

There is a balance between the interest in characters (Vlady is great, maybe not quite as good as Karina, imo), and interest in politics and ideology. The cinematography by Coutard is probably the best I've seen in Godard's work. Visually, this is a stunning movie, even the pretentious coffee swirling scene works. And yet the politics, esp the Vietnam War stuff, is a real weak spot for me - as it was in Weekend. Its not that its dated (I have no problem with current events or cultural references in movies) but that they WAY its talked about is dated. The young boy's dream of twins merging into one, and then he says to his mother Vlady "And I realized they were North and South Vietnam reunified" is cringe worthy.

I think Godard's tongue is in his cheek as firmly as those PanAm bags on the girls' heads in the journalist threesome. It also sounds better in French, of course.

[img]http://auteurs_production.s3.amazonaws.com/stills/13635/bitter-tears-of-petra-von-kant.png[/img]
Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Die bitteren Tränen der Petra von Kant, 1972
Derek Jarman's favourite Fassbinder movie

Good old Derek. Interesting he should pick an all girl movie

Meanwhile, last night's fun - and fun it was - was


Enzo Castellari, Quel maledetto treno blindato (Inglorious Bastards), 1978

[Jesse]

That actress really needed to have a sandwich.

[Dan Warburton]

That actress really needed to have a sandwich.

[surfer]

I think Godard's tongue is in his cheek as firmly as those PanAm bags on the girls' heads in the journalist threesome. It also sounds better in French, of course.

I realize of course that watching Godard means watching him on his terms. So it seems unfair to want him to be someone he's not. but that being said, I do wish he would relax control over some of his characters and make them less robotic vehicles for spouting his ideas and political propoganda.

[cheerios]

Medea - Lars Von Trier

wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

no seriously, I'm a bit tired will come back to this and comment later

[Dan Warburton]

Douglas Sirk, All That Heaven Allows, 1955

Class. Sassy script, sensational camera work, exquisite lighting. You can see why Fassbinder loved him.

[Jesse]

Did you see this homage, Dan?


I've meant to but have procrastinated, not liking the last couple of Haynes films I saw.
Btw, where are you exactly?

[Dan Warburton]

Actually, I haven't seen the Haynes, but I intend to - John Gill, occasional contributor to PT and author of the infamous first Nurse With Wound ????? review, has just written a book on Far From Heaven for the BFI. So I should check it out.
Where am I? Paris, wheredja think?

[Jesse]

Thought you were traveling, must be hallucinating.

[cheerios]

I saw both those films, the Douglas Sirk film made me get Rock Hudson buttons on ebay!

Ok, as to Medea-things I liked about the movie: it was short, at 1 hour and 16 minutes it was easy to watch, not only because it was short, but also because it was well executed. the acting was pretty good, and the landscape in the movie was cool, filmed in plains, on beaches, and marshes. i wasn't familiar with the story of Medea, and Von Trier doesn't really provide much of a backstory so you're pretty much on your own but the themes are quite clear, vengence, being the main one.

[leroysghost]

Ok, as to Medea-things I liked about the movie: it was short, at 1 hour and 16 minutes it was easy to watch, not only because it was short, but also because it was well executed. the acting was pretty good, and the landscape in the movie was cool, filmed in plains, on beaches, and marshes. i wasn't familiar with the story of Medea, and Von Trier doesn't really provide much of a backstory so you're pretty much on your own but the themes are quite clear, vengence, being the main one.

i find Medea rather dull and over serious, something that should never be said of a film with Udo Kier in it .

tonight i saw two movies at random that turned out to be an accidentally apt double bill:

Elaine May - The Heartbreak Kid (1972)
it was a little worrying that the Charles Grodin character here resembles something of a blueprint for a lot of today's u.s. republican politicians.


Bob Rafelson - Five Easy Pieces (1970)
i hadn't seen either of these since i was a child, needless to say i enjoyed them much more this time around.
it's nice that at the time, people were allowed to get so serious about their comedies (or is that comedic about their dramas?).