by Sam Juliano
Christmas shoppers and home lighters have begun their annual rituals aided by unseasonably moderate weather. Meanwhile film critics’ awards groups have begun giving out prizes, with both The Artist and Hugo getting the nods from the New York Film Critics Circle and the National Board of Review respectively. Here in Giants territory, fans are mourning this evening’s crushing 38 to 35 loss to the undefeated Green Bay Packers here on home turf. The Jets, however, won a crucial game against the Washington Redskins to stay in the playoff hunt.
Maurizio Roca has made his return to the writing ranks with a stupendous avante garde entry in the “Fixing A Hole” series, while Jamie Uhler’s incomparable “Getting Over the Beatles” series has reached it’s 52nd installment with another banner post. Jaime Grijalba’s masterful and moving feature on the late Shingo Araki represents one of his most eloquent and passionate pieces to date, while the Fish Obscuro series continues in splendid form. On the horizon are the Ford and Kubrick series and the comedy countdown and science-fiction countdowns.
To say that Lucille and I were active on the cultural scene this past week would be quite the understatement as all told we saw five films in theatres, one stage play, an opera from the Met in HD at the local multiplex, and a ‘Renaissance Christmas 17th Centry English music concert at the Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church. In addition to this, I saw two reviewings of The Descendants and The Artist to see if both films held up to fullfill a personal commitment. That made for a total of 1o ‘events’ over seven days.
Handel’s RODELINDA is an utterly captivating and rapturous baroque opera written by George Frideric Handel in Italian, and the work received ‘A’ plus staging at the Metropolitan Opera, who opted to include this in their 2011-12 HD series schedule. (It began at 1:00 P.M. on Saturday afternoon) Handel, the ‘Messiah’ composer who Beethoven once said was “the greatest of us all” wrote 40 operas in his lifetime, along with a number of English oratorios, and he now being re-evaluated and seen as one of the greatest of all opera composers, one whose music for the form is both infectiously rhythmic and refreshingly spontaneous. The two counter-tenors were marvelous as was world famous soprano Rene Fleming. RODELINDA is a joy for nearly every minute of its four-hour running time. (I am planning a full review) *****
“My Lord Chamberlain’s Consort: A Renaissance Christmas” was hosted by the Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church in Manhattan on Sunday afternoon and it features seventeenth-century music performed by lute, cittern and viol with esteemed tenors and sopranos Phillip Anderson, Rosamund Morley, Pat O’Brien, Andy Rutherford and Marcia Young. The music of Tomas Ravenscroft, Michael Praetorious, Henry Lawes included some traditional holiday hymns and work that has survived for over 400 years. It was a lovely concert that boasted some great highlights including “Lo how a rose” and “Romanesca.” **** 1/2
The stage play “Angel Reapers” is played by Shaker brothers and sisters, who sing and dance to Shaker spiritials in a cappella on the vast stage of the Joyce on Eighth Avenue. It was an interesting idea and it has its moments, but overall it was only passable at best, as a stage work needs more than just a unique concept to sustain the length. Seen on Saturday night, the play was written by Alfred Uhry, who won a Pulitzer Prize for Driving Miss Daisy. ** 1/2
The completed movie schedule was as follows:
Shame **** 1/2 (Friday night) Chelsea Cinemas
Into the Abyss **** (Wednesday night) IFC Film Center
Eames: The Architect and the Painter *** 1/2 (Wed.) IFC Film Center
The King of Devil’s Island **** (Thursday night) Cinema Village
The Flesh and the Devil (1926) **** 1/2 (Monday night) Film Forum
THE FLESH AND THE DEVIL is a famous silent with Greta Garco and John Gilbert, with direction by Clarence Brown. The film is a romantic drama with a wartime context that wields considerable emotional power. The live piano accompaniment that is employed for this entire Monday night series was Steve Sterner’s best and most affecting to date!
Warner Herzog’s capital punishment documentary INTO THE ABYSS has a few inconsistencies, but it is a powerful piece nonetheless, again showing Herzog as a master class interviewer. It isn’t quite on a level with his earlier CAVE OF FORGOTTEN DREAMS, but the subject here is more arresting. EAMES: THE ARCHITECT AND THE PAINTER would seem like a guaranteed bore, but it is reasonably engaging, thanks to the interviews with the charismatic husband and wife team at its center. KING OF DEVIL’S ISLAND is a taut and bleak piece set in the Norway snow that features a riveting prison revolt in a youth compound. This is often a most arresting drama with haunting human interplay in an atmospheric setting.
A vocal minority have complained that Steve McQueen’s SHAME is hollow and empty, but this incisive, stark and despairing film is anything but, as it peels the gauze and takes a dead-on look at a sexoholic in a stylistically oppressive urban milieu, with the complicity of two of the year’s most electrifying performances by Michael Fassbender (what a year he’s having!) and Cary Mulligan.
I saw THE ARTIST and THE DESCENDANTS a second time on Sunday morning and evening. Both are still excellent films, but the former goes up a half-star (4 to 4.5) while teh latter goes from 4.5 to 4, a half star less. This all means that THE ARTIST is a sure Top Ten finisher, while THE DESCENDANTS will probably not make the Top Ten.
Some links have been updated:
John Greco, writer extraordinaire, has penned one of his greatest pieces at Twenty Four Frames on Hitchcock’s “Rear Window”: http://twentyfourframes.wordpress.com/2011/12/02/rear-window-1954-alfred-hitchcock/
R.D. Finch has written a buffo essay on “The Tree of Life” at The Movie Projector: http://themovieprojector.blogspot.com/2011/12/tree-of-life-2011.html
Judy Geater at Movie Classics has penned a new entry in her seminal Wellman series: 1932′s “Love is a Rachet.” As always is a marvelous piece: http://movieclassics.wordpress.com/2011/11/19/love-is-a-racket-william-a-wellman-1932/
Tony d’Ambra has posted a new entry in his “Noir Digest” series, two penetrating assessments of “Onflict” and “Rogue Cop” at FilmsNoir.net: http://filmsnoir.net/film_noir/noir-digest-conflict-and-a-rogue-cop.html
On the occasion of Woody Allen’s 76th birthday, Jaime Grijalba offers up a killer list of his ten favorite Woodman films at Exodus 8:2: http://exodus8-2.blogspot.com/2011/12/los-76-de-woody-allen.html
Just Another Film Buff (Srikanth) has again unearthed an art house piece from 2010 from China that appears to be an essential survival tale. It’s “The Ditch” from Wang Biong, and it’s at The Seventh Art: http://theseventhart.info/2011/12/04/ellipsis-51/
Laurie Buchanan at Speaking From The Heart covers “Aries” in her extraordinary astrological series: http://holessence.wordpress.com/2011/12/01/aries-mar-21-apr-19/
Dee Dee has posted a wonderfully informative and engaging piece on the origin of lobby cards at Darkness Into Light: http://noirishcity.blogspot.com/2011/11/holding-auctiontaking-look-at-eleven.html
Jon Warner has written a terrific review of Richard Linklater’s “Before Sunrise” at Films Worth Watching: http://filmsworthwatching.blogspot.com/2011/12/before-sunrise-1995-directed-by-richard.html
Marilyn Ferdinand appears to have written another brilliant essay on a film she recently saw with Shane at the University of Chicago called “The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975” at Ferdy-on-Films: http://www.ferdyonfilms.com/?p=12413
Meanwhile, Roderick Heath on the same pages has penned yet another in his endless line of writing treasures with a review on 2011’s “Warrior”: http://www.ferdyonfilms.com/?p=12374
At Roderick Heath’s literature blog, English-One-O-Worst, the great writer takes on the Bard’s “King Lear” and the result is a scholarly masterpiece: http://englishoneoworst.blogspot.com/2011/11/what-he-rightly-is-king-lear-as-king.html
Pat Perry evokes Woody Allen and Central Park in her poetic and picturesque post at Doodad Kind of Town, wishing her readers a Happy Thanksgiving: http://doodadkindoftown.blogspot.com/2011/11/i-recall-central-park-in-fall.html
Craig Kennedy issues high praise for “Shame” on this week’s new Watercooler post at Living in Cinema: http://livingincinema.com/2011/12/04/nc-17-shame-doesnt-need-to-hide-its-face-at-the-box-office/
Murderous Ink, in Tokyo examines 1920′s cinema ia a brilliant new post titled “Going Berserk” at Vermillion and One Nights: http://vermillionandonenights.blogspot.com/2011/11/going-berserk.html
At Patricia’s Wisdom, our friend and proctor of the same name has penned another superlative movie review, this time on the BBC film Creation: http://patriciaswisdom.com/2011/12/creation-%e2%80%93-a-movie-review/
At Scribbles and Ramblings Sachin Gandhi has penned a master class essay on “Martha Marcy May Marlene”: http://likhna.blogspot.com/2011/11/girl-with-three-names.html
At the always-spectacular Creativepotager’s blog, artist Terrill Welch offers up another captivating work-in-progress on her latest oil painting: http://creativepotager.wordpress.com/2011/12/02/spilling-over-original-oil-painting-by-terrill-welch/
Writer extraordinaire Samuel Wilson, has penned a tremendous review of Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo” at Mondo 70: http://mondo70.blogspot.com/2011/12/on-big-screen-hugo-2011.html
At The Long Voyage Home, Peter Lenihan features 103 year-old director Manuoel de Oliveira’s “The Strange Case of Angelica”: http://thelongvoyagehome.blogspot.com/2011/11/moving-beyond-materialism-manoel-de.html
The gifted and always brilliant Jason Bellamy takes a fascinating and perceptive look at “J Edgar” that in some measure differs from the majority stand. It’s at The Cooler: http://coolercinema.blogspot.com/2011/11/solid-weight-j-edgar.html
Filmmaker Jeffrey Goodman at The Late Lullaby offers up a new quartet of films including one by Ozu and another by Pialat that impressed him greatly as of late: http://cahierspositif.blogspot.com/2011/11/favorite-four-part-fifteen.html
Again Stephen Russell-Gebbett expands the boundaries of blog posts by offering up some cogent ideas as what makes a film work in a tremendous piece titled “Film and Musicality: The Importance of Tempo, Rhythm, Length and Timing” at Checking On My Sausages: http://checkingonmysausages.blogspot.com/2011/11/film-and-musicality-importance-of-tempo.html
At The Schleicher Spin David asks writers to name the ten people from the past they’d most want to have a conversation with: http://theschleicherspin.com/2011/11/23/elizabeth-r-you-free-for-dinner/
At Cinemascope Shubajit Laheri has an impressive and honest capsule of the Czech film “Kolya”: http://cliched-monologues.blogspot.com/2011/12/kolya-1996.html
At This Island Rod, Roderick Heath stays the course with another stupendous review, this one on 1971′s “When Eight Bells Toll: http://thisislandrod.blogspot.com/2011/11/when-eight-bells-toll-1971.html
Michael Harford, the erstwhile ‘Coffee Messiah’ offers up an engaging video about the beverage’s worldwide popularity: http://coffeemessiah.blogspot.com/2011/11/coffee-break.html
Troy Olson announces plans to commence with his Robert Bresson project at Elusive as Robert Denby: http://troyolson.blogspot.com/2011/11/argh.html
Jason Marshall explains why he feels that “Anonymous” is the worst film he has seen in 2011 thus far at Movies Over Matter: http://moviesovermatter.com/2011/11/10/why-anonymous-is-the-worst-movie-ive-seen-in-2011-so-far/
At Petrified Fountain of Thought Stephen Morton offers up three terrific capsules on “50/50″, “Moneyball” and “Ides of March”: http://petrifiedfountainofthought.blogspot.com/2011/11/recent-movies-5050-moneyball-ides-of.html
Fritz Lang, Joseph Losey and Jean-Luc Godard all figure in Drew McIntosh’s latest post “I’ll Be Damned” at The Blue Vial: http://thebluevial.blogspot.com/2011/11/ill-be-damned.html
Kevin Olson offers up a postscript to his recent Horror Blogothon at Hugo Stigliz Makes Movies: http://kolson-kevinsblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/italian-horror-blogathon-postscript.html
Tony Dayoub at Cinema Viewfinder offers up an interview with the Self-Styled Siren: http://www.cinemaviewfinder.com/2011/11/gone-to-earth-conversation-with-self.html
Hokahey has penned an impressive review of “The Immortals” at Little Worlds: http://hokahey-littleworlds.blogspot.com/2011/11/immortal-imagery-immortals.html
Dave Van Poppel is gearing for some updates at Visions of Non Fiction, but presently is still leading up with his very fine review of “Project Nim”: http://visionsofnonfiction.blogspot.com/2011/08/project-nim.html
At The Reluctant Bloger Jeff Stroud has offered up some stunning beautiful images in a post titled “Autumn Leaves”: http://jeffstroud.wordpress.com/
Wow, you are still very busy viewing and I am sure shopping with children anticipating the holidays. We put up some lights this weekend, and borrowed our car back from Librarian Girl so we could get a tree – keeping it outside to stay fresh until closer to the season.
This was a huge fundraising weekend…so sang with the Peace Choir for one event, then delivered Grapefruit, oranges, and chocolate for another group, And if that was not enough proceeded to distributed greens that we sold for women’s scholarships….This week I am going to be attending the opening of the Environmental Justice Center for the United Church of Christ, which is located in Washington State and not in Cleveland, Ohio where the headquarters are…
Oldest daughter finished and got her Thesis approved; it is off to the printers, so we parentals with bated breath,can relax and happy dance about her success.
I wish Lucille was closer….1st year teacher is having a hard time with her principal…she could use some mentoring…she is feeling abandoned…all those things take up lots of conversation time…and energy…We decided to not go to the movies but spend time with her before she drove home.
Our own Nutcracker Ballet begins next week and a great friend of mine is choreographing the event. She and her husband, the biologist, dance together for many occasions – they love ballroom and when their kids left home rebuilt the family room into a lovely dance space looking into the gardens.
I should stop writing here and leave room for the movie buffs….Wow it WAS an exciting week of reading everyone’s reviews and sharing…even the bit of argumentative parlay. Thank you all for your amazing efforts…
And Sam thanks again for the shout out…
Patricia—
Lucille and I are late shoppers. Usually around the 17th or 18th. Seems like we love the stress. Ha! I am saddned that our youngest child, nine-year old Jeremy is no longer a believer of jolly old St. Nick, as other students in his class have been chirping, while some of my other kids haven’t been denying some of his questions. Ah the times when we had to divert their attention to hide gifts on the second floor. The time is flying by.
Great to hear you obtained your tree, and have put up your lights. We did the latter late last night, but still have to secure our pine. Congrats on your oldest daughter getting her thesis approved! That’s a monumental achievement. Kudos to both of you. And best of luck with that environmental venture! You are always taking up worthwhile causes, including the charity project and and fundraising project.
And yes first-year teachers have their hands full, as I see virtually every single day in our own school system! Lucille is gifted at what she does, largely because she was formally a special education teacher with students with emotional problems.
Thanks for following all the WitD affairs as always even the spirited ones! Have a great week my friend! Loved reading your second film review at PATRICIA’S WISDOM!
I love the Nutcracker and don’t feel complete unless I hear and/or see it once at this time of the year!
Sam, thanks so much for the wonderful mention.
What an amazing, full week for Lucille and you. I’m especially envious of that FLESH AND THE DEVIL screening. I recently saw the film for my first time and was extremely moved and impressed.
This week was fairly quiet for me. I saw MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE, Rossellini’s THE AGE OF THE MEDICI, and WOODY ALLEN: A DOCUMENTARY. I was glad to see them all but was most affected by the Rossellini. It’s the most profound expression of his late period that I have seen so far, and certainly makes an argument that this group of TV work deserves more cinephile attention and discussion.
Here’s to another excellent week, Sam! Thanks so much for all that you do.
Jeffrey—
THE FLESH AND THE DEVIL was indeed a major event for this past week, and for the year in general. I’ve never connected with that film as much as I did with this viewing. Even my 14 year-old son Sammy was engrossed, and he was talking about it on the way home. Steve Sterner’s piano work was truly sublime! Tonight, several of us will be attending one of the silent festival’s supreme masterworks, THE WIND (Sjostrom; Gish) I’m sure you know the film well and revere it. Anyway, seeing this film with the accompaniment is really a treat!
I also love that later Rossellini for all kinds of reasons, but it is first and foremost visually ravishing. Not the biggest fan of MARTHA, but I know I’m in an extreme minority. Can’t wait to see that Woodman documentary!
Thanks as always my esteemed friend, and I wish you and your wife a great week!
Amazed by the stunning victory of Martin Scorsese and HUGO from the National Board Of Review the other day (Best Picture and Director). Is there nothing that this director touches that doesn’t get high praise these days? Oh, well. I guess I have to see it ASAP.
I’ll fo see it, but Scorsese of the last 20 years, Casino aside, has just been doing different personal projects, but few of them have had any real resonance beyond th technical accomplishment. Was there a more disappointing film last year than Shutter Island. Of course he’s earned the right to do as he likes and he’ll always be a consummate craftsman, but I doubt we’ll see another Scorsese masterpiece…
I think the fact that Scorsese took on Hugo is something to applaud. And unlike you I thought Shutter Island was nicely done and gleefully entertaining. He’ll never duplicate his peak days, but he has done well, a fact you point to when you say he’ll always be the consummate craftsman.
I enjoy some of those movies, but mostly agree that since Goodfellas he has not been making great movies (I’d include Casino in that category too – a lot of fun, and some great moments, but basically a Goodfellas remake). I haven’t seen Kundun or the Stones doc but I think I’ve seen the rest. Bringing Out the Dead is probably underrated, though I haven’t seen it since it came out (at 15, I might have just been thrilled to be seeing my first Scorsese on the big screen).
I’d have to say he made three great films since Goodfellas – Kundun, The Gangs of New York and Hugo, the last of which I saw over the weekend with Sue. And I think The Departed, Shine A Light, The Aviator and Bringing Out the Dead are solid films.
For me the revelation of ‘Casino’ was Sharon Stone’s white-hot performance. Who knew?
Yes, Stone was white hot Mark! Couldn’t agree more.
Scorsese is always worth watching, though. I think The Age of Innocence is a masterpiece, terribly underrated by so many. I have yet to see Casino or Kundun, but Bringing Out the Dead is quite good, Gangs of New York is uneven but often brilliant, The Aviator is excellent, and The Departed is cracking. Shutter Island kind of sucks, though.
Very much looking forward to Hugo.
Goodfellas was his last great film. Nothing since has been anywhere near that level. Shutter Island was extremely disappointing despite the Val Lewton worship.
I’ll take Casino, Bringing Out the Dead & Gangs of New York over Goodfellas any day.
Yep Dennis, you do need to see it. I guess the down side of all the praise, spectacular reviews and awards is that everyone and their brother will now be looking to take it down. It’s the Law of Nature. But I’m not listening, as this is a return to form for the master filmmaker.
Many thanks!
Sounds like the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in English music were your order of business over the wekend. Wish I could have been there. You really make the most of your free time.
Interesting that The Artist and The Descendants went in opposite directions, albeit slightly.
Really bummed about the Giants.
Frank—
Thanks for that. yes this was as hectic a week as we’ve ever had, and it did bear some succulent fruit. The concert was magnificent as was the HD broadcast of the Handel. THE ARTIST is surely one of the best films of 2011. THE DESCENDANTS is very fine, but perhaps not good enough to make aTop Ten at this point.
Have a great week my friend! Many thanks as always!
I’ve heard some very good things about the new ‘Coriolanus’ directed by Ralph Fiennes. Too bad the only venue right now is at the Sony Lincoln Square theatre.
I saw it at the Chicago International Film Festival and quite liked it. I will also admit that I don’t remember it very well – whether that is a failure of my aging mind or the film, I can’t venture to say.
Thanks for that Fred! I nearly saw it, but unfortuantely Sunday was massively booked. This week I will attend to it, even though I agree that theatre is a pain to negotiate. CORIOLANUS is actually one of my favorite Bard plays, even though its grossly undervalued. I’ve been fortunate to see three times on stage over the years, with two of those productions most memorable.
Marilyn, I do well remember your glowing praise at FERDY-ON-FILMS for the film and your masterful essay. Thank you.
Sam –
As always, I am in awe of the amount of filmgoing and cultural activity you manage to pack into a week. The Renaissance Christmas concert sounds especially intriguing.
Filmgoing took a back seat to rehearsals for me this week, as the Festival Chorus – a local choir in which I sing – prepared for and staged the first of three Holiday Concerts. We performed Vivaldi’s GLORIA and a selection of carols and holiday favorites to a sold-out house yesterday. Another concert tonight, and again next Sunday.
I did manage to squeeze in OUR IDIOT BROTHER which was modestly enjoyable. Also, in the wake of Ken Russell’s death – and after reading Marilyn’s superb review of THE DEVILS here last week, I was up late Friday and looking online for somehwere to buy the uncut DVD when I discovered that the entire film (albeit NOT the uncut version) had been posted to YouTube. I’m glad I finally got to see it – a very serious, difficult and disturbing film but brilliant. I hope it get the Blu-Ray release it deserves someday soon (but I completely understand Allan’s pessimism about that.)
Have a great week!
Oh, and just a quck addition, I also got a new post up late in the the week, a reassessment of Woody Allen’s YOU WILL MEET A TALL DARK STRANGER: http://doodadkindoftown.blogspot.com/2011/12/academy-of-underrated-you-will-meet.html
Pat—
Thrilled to hear you are tackling GLORIA. I really wish I could be there to hear you, I bet it’s a heavenly sound! Yes, the Renaisaance concert would of course hugely capture your fancy! But your own concert-going this week shows you are in your element lock, stock and barrel. Film going should definitely take a hit when greatness like that is at hand anyway.
Yes, you have certainly framed THE DEVILS most impressively there. It is a haunting and deeply disturbing film, but it is Russell’s masterpiece, and the full, unedited cut on blu-ray is the ultimate collector’s dream, ranking up there with the likes of a discovery of GREED footage. Ha! Well, almost anyway.
Wasn’t much of a fan of IDIOT BROTHER but most people are with you on that ‘modest’ assessment of it.
It figures I muffed up that link to your site. Sorry about that Pat. I’ll be checking out that piece later today! Thanks as always my very good friend! have a great week!
Hi Sam – Thanks for the mention of a review I got up rather late yesterday. You DO keep me on deadline! 🙂
I’m in the midst of awards season, so the screeners have been going into the DVD player at a brisk clip. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy was stylish and diverting, though I gather from Rod’s diatribe against it, not up to the miniseries’ standard. Pariah is an interesting coming-of-age and coming-out story with some affecting performances. I finally caught up with Jane Eyre and, like you, loved it. Martha Marcy May Marlene is scary, a Manson family kind of story that draws one in inexorably. Margin Call was an effective look at the Wall Street meltdown, if a bit hermetically sealed in its rarified tower of money. Beginners was an ingenious film about two commitment phobes falling in love, with great performances by Ewan MacGregor and Christopher Plummer. The Descendants gave me a free trip to Hawaii (always welcome), but was flat, underdeveloped, and unconvincing. Getting out to see The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 was the highlight of the week, mixing with an audience keenly interested in the film and its topic. Oh and just to break things up a bit, I watched the enjoyable prototype for Hogan’s Heroes, To Be or Not to Be (1942) with Jack Benny and Carole Lombard.
Marilyn—
That is quite a week you had there, and yes, on sunday night I usually wait till the late hour to finalize links. Unfortunately I muffed Pat’s update. Well, screeners or not that was quite a diverse line-up you managed. You made my day by saying that you loved JANE EYRE, which is surely a Top 10 of the year choice for me. There was even a point where I was saying it was my absolute favorite film, but I have backed off the position as of late. Still Ms. Wasikowski was superlative, it was lushly filmed, and dario Marianelli’s piercingly lovely score is hands-down the best of the year in that department, methinks.
Seems like Allan is in completely agreement with Rod as to the two versions of TINKER TAILOR, which opens on Friday I believe.
I liked MARTHA less than you did (it was unintentially disjointed) but I also cared less for BEGINNERS despite Plummer’s excellent work, and didn’t find MARGIN CALL as riveting as most. By I am well aware that all three have major support, and I am beginning to think I is me. As to THE DESCENDANTS I found it witty and heartfelt, and very well acted by Ms. Woodley and Clooney in particular. And yes it was an irresistible travelogue! Ha! But I like your alternate take there. i will say that my second viewing of the film on Sunday showed that it lost a little bit. I know some will say that is to be expected.
Yes, I see TO BE OR NOT TO BE as a classic for sure, and am more than intrigued with THE BLACK POWER MIXTAPE. I will be investgating your review fully in short order.
Thanks for that astounding report my friend! And have an even better week still!
Thanks for the mention Sam. You had quite the busy week although I think it is good preparation for the next 2-3 weeks when more new films will be released. The one consistent factor in this award season appears to be the Iranian film A SEPARTION which is busy scooping up best foreign film in quite a few places. It is a remarkable film that was also the first film to sell out at CIFF weeks before the festival started on Sept 23. It was also #2 in Sight & Sound’s top 2011 films while THE TREE OF LIFE was #1.
Sachin—
Indeed! November and December always have torrid seven-day periods with all the prestige stuff making debuts for award consideration. I agree with you on A SEPARATION. it is cleaning up, and I can’t wait to see it. I am wondering if a USA theatrical run will launch before the end of the year. I’ll have to investigate that. But that is definitely one of three films I am most eager to see with CORIOLANUS and …..KEVIN. I also did notice it came #2 with the Sight and Sound voters behind TREE OF LIFE. I envy you my friend for having seen it already. I’m much too greedy! Ha!
Have agreat week and thanks so much for the terrific submission here my friend!
Another impressive cultural week for you, Sam. I haven’t managed very much – but I did see the last remaining Astaire/Rogers movie which I hadn’t previously watchede, ‘the Story of Vernon and Irene Castle. I liked it very much, although they don’t sing and dance as much as in their others. Interesting to see them in a biopic and their warmth to one another certainly comes across. I also saw another rare 1930s Wellman movie, ‘The President Vanishes’, from 1934, but was disappointed – nowhere near his usual standard, I’d have to say. Anyway, I wish you and all at Wonders a good week.
Judy—
Thanks as always for your always-enlightening and appreciated submission! I also have seen THE STORY OF VERNON AND IRENE CASTLE, and liked it too, though it’s behind their best films together. But I know some do consider it among their best work. Looks like that’s another Wellman I haven’t yet seen, but will take a note on, even with the compromised reaction. Have a terrific week my very good friend!!!
We loved Hugo Sam! i can see why it is being mentioned for awards and ten-best lists. Selznick must have been thinking Marty when he wrote the book. There’s so much visual imagination, clever writing and inspired performances, that we might say Scorsese has outdone Spielberg.
Peter—
I expected this reaction from the both of you, and I can’t say I’m not delighted. This is a great film, and deserving of whatever year-end awards it may win. Yes, it almost seems pre-ordained that Marty would be the one to take on Selznick’s book. Everything you say there to define it is dead-on.
Thanks as always my friend!
Sam,
Thanks for the great mention and looks like another splendid week you had. Flesh and the Devil is probably Garbo’s greatest silent film and a remarkable one at that. The Artist and The Descendants look fine although not surprised they fall short of Masterpiece status for you. I’m beginning my last week in the UK and will return home on Thursday. I watched some Garbo films this week I brought with me: Grand Hotel, Anna Karenina, and Camille. I now feel that Camille may have been the greatest performance she ever gave, although Queen Christina vies for that crown as well. I need to watch that one again.
I also went out one afternoon to see My Week With Marilyn. I found that I enjoyed it far more than I expected. I was expecting a great performance for sure, but I normally don’t like biopics. But I found the film to not really be a biopic. It contains some interesting elements that I’m working on for a write-up I’m doing. I particularly liked the strict point of view of Clark. We never really see Marilyn without Clark being there. We in a sense, are Clark. He’s a blank canvas that the audience projects themself onto. Certainly not the best film of the year, and it’s extremely glossy, but a grand entertainment in my book.
I hope you have a fabulous week ahead!
Jon—
I know the trip that is presently winding down will be one you won’t soon forget. I hope you opt to do something at your site, though you may not want to go that route, understandable. Soon i’ll be singing the ‘Welcome Back Kotter’ song to you! You do have some great reviews up at FILMS WORTH WATCHING on “Before Sunrise” and “Odds Against Tomorrow”. FLESH AND THE DEVIL may well be Garbo’s greatest film, though QUEEN CHRISTINA is right there as well. Of course GRAND HOTEL is a great film too, but it’s an acting hodgepodge.
Actually Jon, I liked THE ARTIST even more on a second viewing (it is surely Top Ten for me) but liked THE DESCENDANTS a bit less. Still the latter is a splendid film in a number of ways.
Great analysis of MY WEEK WITH MARILYN, a film I like well enough too. Perhaps you’ll be posting a review when you get back? Williams was wonderful, even if not as volumptuously transcribed as some would have preferred.
Have a comfortable trip back.
Many thanks my friend!
Hi Sam,
Yeah I think I’m going to incorporate some thoughts on my trip into the My Week With Marilyn essay. It seems to all fit together! Thanks my friend you’re great! Still can’t wait to get get into the stash of DVDRs you sent me! Thanks Sam!
Sam, Hugo is definitely a top-ten film and for the moment I think of it as Scorsese’s best since Casino. But one does get the feeling that, ever since Michael Powell died, Scorsese has resolved to become him at the expense of his own thematic identity. Shutter Island and Hugo suggest that he’s finally getting the hang of the act. He’s made other strong films over the last twenty years, but he’s too often put craftsmanship before passion. So of course his ponderous attempt to make an old-school Scorsese film was the one that got the Oscar. Such is the Academy.
Besides spending two hours with Scorsese and a pair of glasses, I devoted myself to my DVR, which had recorded a day of Warren William films Friday following a night of William Powell. I intend to deal with four of the Friday movies in my next Pre-Code Parade piece. What an era it was when someone like Warren W. could become a star for as long as he was, from apparently stealing Under Eighteen from Marian Marsh to winning Marsh in Beauty and the Boss to top-billing in The Dark Horse (while giving Bette Davis and Guy Kibbee a boost) to a high-profile loanout to M-G-M for Skyscraper Souls, in which he was perhaps predictably misused. Even during his decline, I rather liked him as the Lone Wolf for Columbia. Of the Powell films, I enjoyed his supercriminal turn in Jewel Robbery, along with the ahead-of-its-time stoner humor, while the Code-era Star of Midnight lacked that transgressive zing but kept some of the old flavor. Meanwhile, the Spencer Tracy book is back in my hands and almost done. For all that James Curtis damns the hatchet work of other writers, his biography is definitely a warts-and-all account unlikely to endear Tracy to its readers. I’d still recommend it to anyone with the time to spare for it — you’ll need plenty.
Samuel—
What you say in the first paragraph about Scorsese’s addiction to the homage is hard to dispute. I think the Powell death and Marty’s subsequent infatuation with acknowledging classic cinema in his work was just more of a timing thing. As far as the Academy going with THE DEPARTED, I also think it was the right timing. It was Marty’s turn to win, everyone in that Hollywood cesspool realized the main has been way too long slighted. THE DEPARTED was a modestly solid entertainment and while barely worthy, gave at least a small look back to the Marty of old.
I really liked JEWEL ROBBERY, and still thought SKYSCRAPER SOULS a lot of fun, though I see what you mean with the latter. William was quite good in THE MIND READER, THE MOUTHPIECE and UPPER WORLD of the early pre-coders as well, though he is also known for his fine work in IMITATION OF LIFE and GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933 among others. You plans for the next pre-code round-up does genuinely have me intrigued, as I just came off a few months ago a large dose of that fare.
Thanks too for that book round-up. I really would love to read the Tracy at some point!
Thanks for the awesome wrap my great friend!
Now the Washington D.C. Film Critics Weigh In:
Best Film: The Artist
Best Director: Martin Scorsese, Hugo
Best Actor: George Clooney, The Descendants
Best Actress: Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn
Best Supporting Actor: Albert Brooks, Drive
Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer, The Help
Best Acting Ensemble: Bridesmaids
Best Adapted Screenplay: Alexander Payne and Nate Faxon & Jim Rash, The Descendants
Best Original Screenplay: Will Reiser, 50/50
Best Animated Feature: Rango
Best Documentary: Cave of Forgotten Dreams
Best Foreign Language Film: The Skin I Live In
Best Art Direction: Dante Ferretti, Production Designer, and Francesca Lo Schiavo, Set Decorator, Hugo
Best Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki, The Tree of Life
Best Score: Ludovic Bource, The Artist
Albert Brooks is getting many prizes for a lackluster role.
it’s a fun role, it’s just pretty thin. Though all the characters in that film (one I did like) are just as much symbol/archetypes as anything else.
It is definitely a fun role, but in this sense I’d say the thinness of the role works to Brooks’ advantage, and he gives an unforgettable performance, one that is winning all kinds of recognition. Jaime’s position is fair enough though.
Wow I haven’t seen Hugo but surprised about the Directing nod. Not surprised by Michelle Williams. She deserves it, even perhaps Brooks too who was completely menacing. I guess disappointed that maybe Malick didn’t win for best director.
Dribs and drabs —
Some of the film work that’s given me the most pleasure over the past year:
Film: The Tree of Life; Poetry; Wild Grass (I know, I know, ‘Wild Grass’ is a 2010 picture, but I just saw it for the first time early this year)
Director: Terrence Malick; Lee Chang-dong; Alain Resnais
Actress: Yun Jung-hee (‘Poetry’) and Charlotte Gainsbourg (‘Melancholia’)
Actor: George Clooney (‘The Descendants’) and Hunter McCracken (“The Tree of Life’)
Screenplay: Lee Chang-dong (‘Poetry’)
Cinematography: Too many candidates to choose from.
I’ve unfairly sniffed at ‘The Artist’ (best picture pick of the NYFCC) without having seen it, but a pastiche of black-and-white and the silent film era sounds particularly gimmicky and sticky. I wonder. Does the film include a loving hommage to the Klansmen of ‘The Birth of a Nation’ — a cakewalk in full Klan regalia, maybe?
Ask any Lolita. Taylor Lautner has great pecs; he has great abs; he also has great arms and a great smile, and he probably has great gams and a great ass. But I will never know because unlike zillions of mall rats bewitched by teen phlebotomy, I will never see another ‘Twilight’ movie for as long as I live.
Sam and everyone — did you know that ‘Weekend’, La Notte’, and Woody Allen’s ‘Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex’ are out of print?
I tried to buy all three over the weekend and, as Susan Hayward says in ‘I Want To Live!”, NO DICE!
Be back later — just saw Val Guest’s ‘Expresso Bongo’ (with Laurence Harvey and Teddy Boy Cliff Richard) and ZOWIE! Pure pleasure from first frame to last.
WEEKEND was just released by Criterion I thought, or if it hasn’t it’s coming because it just toured the country in arthouses via Janus. That always means a Criterion release is upcoming in a few months.
Yes, seeing that on the big screen was one of the cinema highlights of the year for me.
Glad another WILD GRASS fan sits amongst our ranks.
Jamie, do you know when Godard’s epic ‘Histoire(s) du cinema’ (the box set) is being released on DVD? I understand the release is imminent, but don’t know the date. This has got to be one of the major events in the entire history of movies and I’m frothing at the mouth to see it.
It (the R1 which I assume you’re referring to) came out yesterday actually (http://www.amazon.com/Histoire-Du-Cinema-Jean-Luc-Godard/dp/B005MXQD74/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1323277689&sr=1-1), and there’s been a R2 for awhile (that’s the one I’ve always wanted to buy since the packaging is a bit better IMHO).
Either way it is a masterpiece of the highest order.
Mark—
When it comes to sizing up the year’s achievements I’d say you are on the mark (get it?) even though you do reject some of the other choices I would add to these gems. Yes, POETRY and TREE OF LIFE are among the year’s best films (the latter will be my own #1) and you are absolutely right to praise Yun Jung-Hee, who may well be the actress of the year, at least in the way USA critics give their award and make their lists.
For my money young Hunter McCracken gave teh best performance of 2011. case closed. That boy was wholly extraordinary. i guess my runner-up would be Dennis Farina for THE LAST RITES OF JOE MAY, a film few have seen.
I strongly recommend THE MILL AND THE CROSS, OF GODS AND MEN, JANE EYRE, TOMBOY, SHAME, WIN WIN, THE ARTIST, DRIVE and of course HUGO. I laughed heartily at that crack about THE ARTIST, though I assure you it is no such thing. Ha!
Mark, you will be geting a packet in the mail later this week, with three titles. Try and figure out what they will be.
The Best Director this year for me goes to Terrence Malick as well.
I saw one TWILIGHT movie, the first, but I’ll never see another either!! But I say this a safe distance from my 15 year-old daughter Melanie, who is in love with those movies and that hunky actor. I don’t even remember his name.
Anyway, as always you show taste, discernment and scholarly discourse. Thanks as always my friend!
Sam, my friend, I can’t wait to see HUGO; it looks ‘magical,’ if I may indulge in newspaper blurb-ese. I wrote off Scorsese after ‘New York, New York’ and then he comes roaring back with ‘Raging Bull’; I wrote him off again after ‘The King of Comedy’ and he comes up with the wonderfully oddball, nocturnal tour of Soho in ‘After Hours’; I thought his ‘Age of Innocence’ was a desecration of Edith Wharton (some myopically called it Scorsese’s ‘The Leopard’ Oy vay!) and then he pulls ‘Casino’ and ‘The Gangs of New York’ out of his hat. It’s dangerous, if not downright foolish, to write off a director of Marty’s (if I may be so familiar) talent.
Watching some of the previews of THE ARTIST, my guess is that the film is a paean to silent movies, but to all the wrong ones — the films with Park Avenue swells and white-lacquered pianos, tuxedos and faux Greek columns in NY Art Deco nightclubs. Maybe not, though. It sure has been getting ecstatic reviews.
So your daughter has a crush on Taylor Lautner — so does my niece ( and I’m beginning to think my nephew does too. Ha!) Lautner, all sculpted physique, but dead behind the eyes.
I’ll be popping back later, my friend —
Ha Mark! My daughter actually much prefers Pattinson to Lautner, but I can’t dispute how you describe him there!
What you say about Martin Scorsese always coming back is telling too. Like you I wasn’t the biggest fan of his AGE OF INNOCENCE, despite the fact that I’m a big period film adherent. You may go for HUGO or you may not, I can’t make my mind up to make a prediction. You are also dead-on with THE ARTIST, but I think those wrong ones are precisely the point of the film and it’s focus. Just to let you know our great friend and site colleague Maurizio Roca wasn’t the biggest fan of it, and hopefully will come back and elaborate on the telling e mail he sent to some of us after seeing it in a cold and miserable NYC rain last night.
Not much elaboration needed. The film is a gimmick that uses the pretense of silent films to tell the most cliched romantic story ever. Not to mention the ultra tired rise and fall (and rise) of a main character that has been used countless amounts of time in the history of cinema. Will Ferrell has based all his comedies on it for one. The Artist in fact is about as profound as Anchorman or Semi-Pro. Nothing wrong with that by the way, just that the movie is nothing special in the end. An okay little film…
This will be the last time I speak of this film. I don’t want to come across as someone trying to rain on everyone’s parade like the Drive discussions.
I’d rather see a pastiche to the black-and-white silent era as represented by the likes of Fritz Lang, m’self.
Hello Sam and everyone! Thanks once again for featuring my humble top 10 in your essential blog roll. The films of Woody Allen, while not all of them are truly great, they’re always interesting in some form, hence the interest I had in the documentary by PBS that aired and it’s really amazing as I said last week. I also told you last week that, as we’re having Ford and Kubrick retrospective/countdowns, what about one on the Woodman? I’d love to do it, I’d just need some time to see his scripted (but not directed) work that I think it’s needed for a full apreciation.
So, you’ve had quite a week Sam, congratulations! The classic music stuff is always enlightening and sign of something that I’d never get into without looking like a poser. And then there’s the films, of those I want to see the most are Into the Abyss and the silent The Flesh and the Devil, thanks for the capsules.
My week, well, I edited, wrote, I went out with my girlfriend, the details are not needed in this case, since it was pretty much eventless. Anyway…
Film wise, I saw:
– Alabama’s Ghost (1973, Frederic Hobbs) ** This is a blaxploitation film that goes into the vampire and robot technology territory, with some black magic and nazis thrown in. It sounds like something truly fantastic and whacky, but sometimes it’s fun, but at other times it takes itself way too seriously, killing it for me.
– Catching Hell (2011, Alex Gibney) **** Gibney is some kind of magician. He can take any subject and make it into an entertaining and fun documentary, and here he talks about baseball, and I couldn’t care less about that really boring (for me) sport, more on that I barely understand the rules and the fact that we don’t play it here. Nevertheless, he manages to make a great documentary on the Steve Bartman incident. Good stuff.
– The Ides of March (2011, George Clooney) **** Well acted and constructed drama. It has some fascinating moments towards the end, but before that it lacks the tension, we lack the outisde view of what would really happen if all this stuff would blow up and who would go down and who would win, that’s the interesting part, that we can imagine what would happen, but here stuff is resolved so quickly, that we are left with no imagination and no tension.
– Knights on Bikes (1956, Ken Russell) ***1/2 The first short film of this late director, an unfinished short movie that still holds up in its five minutes on just visual power and silent comedies imitation.
– Peepshow (1956, ¨Ken Russell) **** A short film from the british director that manages to encapsule all the later interests and visual tropes of the director, as well as referencing and sending a love letter to the early silent films that mix comedy and Caligarism. Great stuff.
– The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 (2011, Bill Condon) *1/2 What a dreadful little film. Sex is bad and the consecuences worse. How can you act even worse than this couple? The film is boring and drawn out just so it could fit in two full lenght movies, so they can keep miliking the heck out of these series. Bad things will happen.
– The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010, David Slade) ** This one is a bit different. It features the best and the worst of the series. I’d say that the best thing about these movies is the romance between the two characters, is interesting to see the sexual tension and so on (no matter how badly they act), and then they mix it up with the worst stuff: mythology. This could’ve been a great film if it were about a frigid boy meeting a fridig girl, and not this vampire nonsense.
That’s all, have a good week Sam!
RE: Blaxploitation (in the Horror realm), check out GANJA & HESS it’s almost a gritty 70’s social angst pic (in the vein of, say, MEDIUM COOL) but then it has vampires and drug addictions. It’s an awesome film, I think a French paper called it ‘the American film of the 70s’. Considering that was a strong decade for American film relatively, it’s quite a statement.
Oh, and I’ve mentioned to Sam and Allan in the past about Wonders, “when is the Blaxploitation countdown?” to which I don’t believe I received a response. ha!
I’ve asked for many countdowns, they never get answer.
We’ll have to make our own site with whores and gambling.
Actually, forget the site.
RE: Ganja & Hess, it’s on my list.
Ha Jaime!!! Well, speaking for myself I would always support every countdown proposition, especially if it is serious. The blaxploitation is a unique idea, but do we have enough works within that genre?
“The blaxploitation is a unique idea, but do we have enough works within that genre?”
Um…. maybe? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_blaxploitation_films)
Really the quick genres like this would be, Top 25. Maybe one day for the Honorable Mentions. In and out in under a month (and maybe even do 2 a day until 15 to compress it further). Could be a blast, as it’s generally considered a trash genre, there are some legit artistic films. GANJA & HESS I just named but DETROIT 9000, THE SPOOK WHO SAT BY THE DOOR, and ACROSS 110th STREET are all great urgent films with bubbling political undercurrents.
2:00 a.m. this Friday night/Saturday morning on TCM for those with access. Looking forward to my first viewing.
And even That list is incomplete! No mention of Alabama’s Ghost, so we can do this.
Van Peeble’s incendiary ‘Sweet Sweetback’s Baadassss Song’ is worth an enitire thesis paper. ‘Cleopatra Jones,’ “Watermelon Man,’ — there’s no shortage of interesting blaxploitation films if you don’t limit it to just horror (haven’t seen ‘Blacula’).
Oh hell, I forgot ‘Coonskin’, Bakshi’s great cartoon.
Yep, Mark you cite a few of the other essential ones. Really in any top 25 or so of this genre films Peebles would be very represented. You could make a great argument that he’s the greatest African-American director we’ve ever had (I’d take his anger over Spike Lee’s any day), maybe if I give it more thought I’d think of a few others but off the top of my head he’s pretty high. COFFY is another one to name with CLEOPATRA, but I’m in the base that considers JONES quite a bit better. Much more incendiary.
The late, great Tamara Dobson (the adjective statuesque is too puny to do her any justice), kick-boxing her way through one melee after another without ever breaking a nine-inch nail, soilng her furs, undoing her ‘Fro or falling off her high-rise platforms. It was a sad day for me when she died several years ago.
Oh and mark s. since we are talking dvd releases below, how about the real, widescreen COONSKIN that’s coming? Great news, put June 5, 2012 on your calender.
By the way, I’d forgotten that ‘Sweetback’ (and Pontecorvo’s ‘The Battle of Algiers’) were required viewing for the Black Panthers back in the day. Revolutionary, indeed.
Can’t wait for the COONSKIN DVD.
The Battle of Algiers, eh Mark?
The big M word for that one!
Jaimie—
I would definitely be interested in a series on the Woodman’s films, and I well understand and appreciate that you would be the person to do this, providing of course you could impart that time, what with your exceedingly demanding schedule. Heck, your capsule reviews, essays at EXODUS 8:2 and listings have shown you have a particular expertise of his work. Presently it appears that the Ford retrospective will be going after the New Year’s every other Wednesday (in other words on the Wednesday Jim Clark is not posting) with Peter Lenihan as the tentative writer. There is no more impassioned Ford fan and scholar out there than Lenihan, a fact I’ve come to know over teh past years in the blogosphere.
As to Kubrick, Dennis will be forwarding his schedule as well for after the New Year. We will talk by e mail as to what you are proposing.
Glad you got some time out with your girlfriend, though I figured you were editing and writing.
Yes, I’m sure you’d be riveted with INTO THE ABYSS, and FLESH IN THE DEVIL is a classic silent. Thanks for those great capsules on those two Russell films I have not yet seen. On further reflection I’d say I like THE IDES OF MARCH less than what I did when I saw it in the theatre, and can agree with you own stated reservations despite the fine acting.
I agree the TWILIGHTs are garbage, but haven’t seen ALABAMA’S GHOST, nor CATCHING HELL, the last of which you have good words for.
Have a great week my friend and thanks again for the stupendous wrap!
Believe it or not ‘Hugo’ is doing (relatively) poorly at the box office for all the artistic excellence and fabulous reviews. Scorsese is an honorable artist who won’t yield to the more popular decisions.
I suspect the film will be seen as one of his masterpieces years down the road.
David—
Thanks for stopping by. You have been sorely missed in these parts. My good friend Samuel Wilson has made the same contention over at MONDO 70, and I’m afraid I’m red-faced. Sure after DVD and blu-ray sales HUGO will still make money, but it appears it will be anything but a bonafide box-office hit.
You have to hand it to Marty for his integrity and refusal to compromise. The result is an artistic triumph, and for sure will be seen as a masterpiece soon enough.
Thanks again my friend.
Sam,
Thanks again for the shout out. Your week was an amazing feat of cultural endurance. I am tired just thinking about it all (LOL). My week was busy with the upcoming holiday stuff of decorating and shopping. Our cultural event of the week was last night when we attended the Andrea Bocelli concert at the St. Pete Times Forum. His tour consisted of only five cities here in the U.S. with Tampa being one of them. The first half of the show was made up entirely of Opera works from Puccini, Rossini, Gounod and mostly Verdi. The second half took a more varied turn ranging from Ave Maria, Amazing Grace, O sole Mio to More, Volare and New York, New York.
At home I watched the following films…
Trespass (*1/2) This is a story about losers. Everyone in the film, whether it is the upscale King family (Nicolas Cage and Nicole Kidman) or the inept thugs who invade their fancy home. The real loser though is the viewer who wasted two hours he will never get back, that’s me.
Joe Macbeth (**1/2) A reworking of Shakespeare’s play into a lightweight gangster movie. Paul Douglas is unconvincing as the pretender to the throne. Ruth Roman is convincing as his ambitious wife who pushes him to power but the script by Phillip Yordan lets them all down.
Man’s Favorite Sport (***1/2) The last comedy from Howard Hawks is highly benefited by the underappreciated talent of Paula Prentiss who lights up the screen. The film also underscores Rock Hudson’s lack of talent for comedy.
Walk Softly, Stranger (***) The more I think about this film, the more intriguing I find it. Is it a teary eyed melancholy romance or a gritty crime film. A little bit of both I think and that is what I like about it.
John—
I again want to congratulate you on that stupendous essay you penned on REAR WINDOW, which is surely one of the great reviews of the blogosphere.
Yes this past week was dizzying!! That is a fact.
I can connect with you and Dorothy on the Andrea Boccelli concert, as I saw him four years ago at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, and experienced the same opera and popular song concert combination, including “O Solo Mio” and “Volare.” I agree that by any barometer of measurement that such an event would be the cultural highlight of the week. Great that you guys had a real nice time!
LOL what you say about TRESPASS!!! But how true. I couldn’t agree more. I have not seen JOE MACBETH, but appreciate the capsule. I count myself as a moderate fan of MAN’S FAVORITE SPORT as you do and am pretty much with you too on WALK SOFTLY STRANGER.
I can well understand that Xmas activities are beginning to take center stage now. Same must happen here this week.
Thanks as always my friend for the terrific wrap and have a great week!
Thanks for the mention Sam! You’ll find a review of The Mill and the Cross on my site that I finished last week. Have a great week!
Dave—
So sorry for not checking before going with the old link. I will make the change later tonight when I get home, and be rest assured I’ll be checking that review! The film is one of my favorites of the year!
Many thanks as always!
This was originally on the Fixing a Hole thread, but I wanted to let that stay focused on the films themselves:
Maurizio (& readers), after some thought I am turning over Fixing a Hole to Maurizio effective immediately. Right now, I am a bit overwhelmed with projects and tasks, blog- and non-blog related, and feel I’ve bitten off more than I can chew. I’m also taking a break in general, but while I’ll return to other activities at some point, I was obviously already extricating myself from Wonders so it wouldn’t make sense to come back here.
Thanks to all, it was a great ride!
Like last time:
Thanks Sam as always for the kind mention. You had a pretty enriching week in terms of movie viewing. I managed to watch just a couple of movies – Ritwik Ghatak’s Subarnarekha (The Golden Thread) & Agnes Varda’s Cleo from 5 to 7 – and liked both of them.
Shubhajit—
You may have only seen two films, but two most interesting ones at that. Whenever I hear of Ghatek I always think of A CLOUD CAPPED STAR, but obviously there is far more. Yes, this past week was hectic, as will be this current one, but this is the way it is in late December and November. Ha!
Have a great week my friend. Many thanks!
“…we saw five films in theatres, one stage play, an opera from the Met in HD at the local multiplex, and a ‘Renaissance Christmas 17th Centry English music concert at the Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church. In addition to this, I saw two reviewings of The Descendants and The Artist to see if both films held up to fullfill a personal commitment. That made for a total of 1o ‘events’ over seven days.”
HOLY MACKEREL! How in the world do the two of you have the energy and speed to sustain this type of Olympic viewing?! You must take phenomenal multi-vitamins and wear Olympic type speed skates to pull it off!
Unbelievably, THE DESCENDANTS has still not made it to Crystal Lake, IL — and while it’s lost half a star, I’m absolutely confident that I’m going to love it!
Thank you, as always, for pointing to Speaking from the Heart
Laurie–
It has been a long standing tradition to burn both ends of teh candle in December, at least as far as movie going is concern. As the kids get older it is easier to make them part of the equation as well. Your own sizing up of teh situation is wonderfully appreciative, especially since I know some others will think I am losing my marbles. Ha!!
I look forward to what will surely be a most favorable reaction to THE DESCENDANTS.
Thanks as always my great friend!
I responded today to Craig Kennedy at LIC, as to why I liked THE ARTIST better on the seond viewing, at least to qualify why I now consider it one of the best films of the year:
“Craig, what changed for me was that I no longer saw the originally perceived frothiness of the enterprise as significant enough to mitigate against the film’s exceeding style, charm, infectious buoyancy and exuberance. I came to realize that the silent cinema that it honored here was not really the most profound extreme (like GREED or LA ROUE among others) but the kind of silent film that delighted audiences in the day. As such I found it far more sophisticated and substancial than I had originally thought, and surely one of the best films of 2011. Among a bevy of virtues, I appreciated the score more than ever this time. Perhaps it’s only behind Dario Marianelli’s for JANE EYRE.
Oddly enough, I thought a bit less of THE DESCENDANTS on a second view, though I still of course like much about the film.”
Sam,
Thanks for the link, as always.
Rodelinda is the first Handel opera I encountered more than two decades ago. It was Sutherland/Bonynge LP vinyl from Decca and that did it. Since then I devoured every Handel’s vocal works I could find in local library, occasional new recordings or exotic Polish box set from sixties or whatever I could find. You see, Bach’s vocal and choral works are well-represented in catalogs but Handel’s are far and few between. I love his clear styles, bright yet compelling phrases and, most of all, rich dramatic articulation. His Italian influences served him very well, it seems. Since late eighties, period instruments and baroque vocal styles have become mainstream, and most of new Handel opera recordings are in this category. As far as it is good, I don’t have anything against it, but I consider some of them have been a disappointment, to say the least. I maybe musically incorrect, but I find Handel’s style fits better with larger orchestra and brighter modern polish. What do you think? I really would like your review on this MET performance. God, I wish I had been there.
MI
MI—
Your comments, my friend are in a class by themselves, and I can’t say how delighted I am that you speak here (and in depth) of Handel’s “Rodelinda” and of the composing titan’s operas in general. I am amazed that “Roselinda” was in fact your first Handel opera! While what you say about Bach’s vocal and choral works being well-represented in catelogues, while relatively speaking Handel’s are not, I have seen a surge in popularity for his operas in the past decade where the smaller companies have been tackling a number of his lesser exposed works. The New York City Opera for example, until last year, were doing two Handel works a season. Yes, the style, the phrasing and drmatic articulation (and I’d add the spontaneity and the logical musical progession) are aspects of Handel and teh baroque period that have sustained it’s popularity for hundreds of years.
As to your question, I will after deliberation, side with you. There is nothing like the modern polish to enhance and enrich this music, and the lure of period instrument authenticity can’t match the musical glory to be had with the larger orchestra. It is surely of course a matter of taste I know, but the Metropolitan Opera performance of last week was the kind of defining example that would support teh call for a larger orchestra.
Anyway, my friend, this is surely the season for Handel in many ways as you know, what with the ‘Messiah’ topical for this month and other oratorios of artistry particularly popular during the holidays.
Heck, I’m just about ready to insert “The Madness of King George” into my DVD player pronto. Perhaps a bit of the Water Music or Royal Fireworks for a CD encore! I must say though, that I am poised to go on another Handel binge, and his operas are prime candidates for discovery and re-discovery.
Thanks for your interest in a full review of “Roselinda.” I will have one up here at the site next Wednesday.
You always raise the tone here my friend, and I deeply appreciate your great knowledge and taste. Always the ultimate pleasure.
Hope all is well in Tokyo.
Many thanks as always!
This nuclear meltdown in Japan could ultimately make the US bombing raid of March 9/10 1945 plus the destruction wrought by Godzilla in 1954 look like brush fires on the New Jersey Turnpike.
Time to get serious…