by Sam Juliano
With August now a memory, the new school year looks the teacher contingent at WitD dead-on, and many must now focus their efforts in different directions. Three threads here at the site got fantastic action, with the Inglourious Basterds review attracting 109 comments, Joel Bocko’s Boston Examiner review of Spielberg’s Jaws nabbing 71 responses, and the Hannah and Her Sisters countdown review garnering well over 60. That man from The Aspect Ratio, the tenacious Bob Clark, has given WitD his heart and soul (and mind) for over a month now, and I can’t possibly thank him enough for all he has done. What a trooper this man is! I can’t wait to meet him. Joel Bocko (Movie Man) again gave the site a fabulous review yesterday of a thought-provoking film, Historias Extraordinarias, that has yet to open, and spurred on an interesting discussion.
Around the blogosphere, there is a plethora of stellar writings, led by Ed Howard at Only the Cinema, whose latest superb piece is on “Rock Hudson’s Home Movies,” Dave Hicks’s annual countdown is up to 1973 with “Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid”, John Greco gives a stellar appraisal of Wilder’s classic “Ace in the Hole” at Twenty-Four Frames, the Inglourious Basterds battle continues with my dear friend Jon Lanthier sharing views with Jonathan Rosenbaum, related at The Powerstrip, David Schleicher at The Schleicher Spin, Pat at Doodad Kind of Town, and recently married Kevin Olson, returning from his Honeymoon at Hugo Stiglitz Makes Movies. My close friend Craig Kennedy reviewed the DVD of Sean Baker’s “Take Out” at Living in Cinema, R.D. Finch has his third Jacques Tati essay up at the lead spot at The Movie Projector, Daniel Getahun and Joey Demme have Ponyo pieces up at Getafilm and Movie Zeal respectively, Marilyn Ferdinand’s review of “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie” is one for the ages at Ferdy on Films, Judy at Movie Classics has Frank Sinatra’s “Suddenly” and Chuck Bowen is also talking Tarantino at Bowen’s Cinematic. Two continuing projects are on display at Screen Savour with T.S. and Buster Keaton, and Ibetolis with that true labor of love the 8 month old “Zeros Project”, at Films From the Soul which is one of the net’s most astounding sustained accomplishments. Samuel Wilson also has a Tarantino piece up at Mondo 70. Of course, Jamie Uhler, our own resident writer and prolific commentator posted a unique take on Tarantino’s film at WitD, and Matt Lucas at From the Front Row penned a mixed assessment of the film at his place. Yet another talented blogger, Andrew Wyatt of Gateway Cinephiles wrote a glowing appraisal of the Tarantino film. Film Dr. is considering two DVD releases, including The Last Days of Disco at his place. Alexander Coleman has been on sabbatical, but I still mention his great review of Tetro, which still leads at CCC.
Dearest Dee Dee and Dorothy Porker have “The Men Who Stare at Goats” by Eric Armstrong and “The Disappearing Act: Say Goodbye to the Classics” up at their respective sites, Noirish City and ITG. There are other fine pieces up, but I’ll wait for another week to point some of these sites out. I had a torrid week myself, that kept me away from the PC a good part of the time. Here’s what I saw:
In A Lonely Place ***** (Nick Ray Classic; Film Forum; Friday night)
Brighton Rock ***** (Brit Noir gem; Film Forum; Saturday night)
The Fallen Idol **** 1/2 (Brit Noir Carol Reed classic; Film Forum; Saturday night)
Yield to the Night **** (Brit Noir; Film Forum; Sunday night)
The Criminal ***** (Brit Noir; Losey masterpiece; Sunday night)
I also saw two contemporary films in the mix:
Taking Woodstock ** (Ang Lee misfire; Edgewater multiplex; Friday afternoon)
We Live in Public *** 1/2 (Internet pioneer doc; IFC; late Friday night after BN screening)
The director of WE LIVE IN PUBLIC, a film that focuses on millionaire-turned-pauper Josh Harris, Ondi Timoner, appeared for a Q & A after the film, but I just couldn’t muster the staminer to stay on for it.
As always, we’d love to hear from all of you, whether it be film, theatre, music, food, politics, DVDs, CDs, or literature. This is an open forum.
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Hi! Sam Juliano,
“I had a torrid week myself, that kept me away from the PC a good part of the time. Here’s what I saw…”
Wow, I guess it’s safe for me to second that notion…especially after reading all the activities you, involved yourself in…
…Sam Juliano, Thanks, once again, for acknowledging the writer that write for me blog…and I must admit that I do suffer with terrible headaches …Therefore, I will return later in the day to share my weekend activities.
Take care!
DeeDee😉
Dee Dee, and everyone else who contributed to this thread, my sincerest apologies for not getting here until now (an unusual occurance) as I was in school all day and needed to attend to preparation. We’ve also had some completely unexpected ‘technical difficulties’ at the site sidebar, which I hope to have remedied sometime this week. Dee Dee I hope you are feeling better, and am very sorry to hear of those headaches.
Thanks for the mention, Sam, and the survey of what’s going on in the blogosphere.
You are most welcome Film Dr. I am learning from you and your long standing reputation of honoring your blog colleagues.
Sam, thanks for the mention and you certainly had a busy week before the end of the summer. As for myself, I saw one new screening, “Taking Woodstock”. While I may have enjoyed it a bit more than yourself, the film was somewhat too laid back in it approach and could have been shorter than the 2 hour running time.
Home viewing I watched “Warlock” and a few Ida Lupino films starting with the horrid “The Lady and the Mob”, followed by “The Bigamist” (which I’m sure all here know she also directed) and “On Dangerous Ground.” Fortunately, I watched the worst of these three Lupino films first and they continually improved.
Continuing to read the excellent “Being Hal Ashby: Life of a Hollywood Rebel” and also reading Elmore Leonard’s, actually listening to the recorded book “Road Dogs.”
John, I agree that TAKING WOODSTOCK was laid back, and far tamer than that event would warrant. It’s was really the story of th eyoung coordinator, and shed little insight into this landmark event. I was disappointed with the little attention paid to music, a fact I see another blogger below mentioned.
I love ON DANGEROUS GROUND, and consider Hermann’s core my favorite of all-time. I must read that Ashby book at some point. Ida Luppino directed one of the great episodes of Boris Karloff’s THRILLER: “La Strega.” I wasn’t a great fan of WARLOCK, but found it OK, a conviction that I suspect you share.
Right on about Warlock, Sam, an ok film but not great. Lupino’s directing career is something I still need to get a handle on. I know she did quite a bit of TV work.
My viewing for the last few weeks has been split among three different things: movies to completely my 80s list for this site, films I need to watch for my yearly countdown, and more recently going through classic comedies. For whatever reason, for the longest time I felt that there were very few comedies from “classic Hollywood” that I liked. If the yearly countdown has shown me anything, it’s how completely wrong I have been. I’m discovering a whole new area of films that I had been neglecting, and also increasing my appreciation of certain comedies that I had merely liked in the past. I’ve come to the realization that Ernst Lubitsch and Preston Sturges are two favorites of any era. I’m also a completely neophyte in regards to W.C. Fields, so watching It’s a Gift yesterday was a great experience.
I ordered the Sturges box set recently and am waiting on it to arrive. In the meantime, I watched my copy of The Lady Eve once again and it probably remains my favorite film that he made. I’ve also watched some others that he wrote, both directed by Mitchell Leisen — Remember the Night and Easy Living. I liked both of them as well, slightly preferring Remember the Night.
Had a pretty good week of purchases as well, scouring Amazon and stopping in at Barnes & Noble to go through the sales racks. For about $45 I came away from B&N with: The Apartment (Wilder), Hope and Glory (Boorman), Salvador (Stone), The Age of Innocence (Scorsese), and Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (Peckinpah). I’ve already seen all of these except for The Age of Innocence, but they are ones that I really wanted to have for my collection, so it was a great trip.
And after watching The Apartment again — and by the way, the SE DVD is amazing — I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s my favorite Billy Wilder film. In fact, it’s inspired me to do an “On Second Thought” post at the blog to look at years where I would probably consider changing my mind if doing the countdown again. As much as I love Psycho, it’d be hard for me to pick anything in 1960 over The Apartment.
Ah, Dave, seeing IT’S A GIFT for the first time must surely rank as one of those truly priceless moments. I hope you follow it up with THE BACK DICK and THE MAN IN THE FLYING TRAPEZE, which are among his very best features. Always loved that play on th ename “Carl Le Fong” in IT’S A GIFT and the sequence where the blind man crosses the street.
THE APARTMENT is a great Wilder for sure, and certainly is a valid choice for #1 of his films. As I stated to you befoe that is a great amazon sale you took advantage of there; I am particularly an admirer of HOPE AND GLORY, but that’s really a great batch there!
Can’t beat Hope and Glory for $4.99!
Indeed Dave you said it! BTW I have to get over to your place–and I will as soon as I’ve finished responding on this thread–for the 1974 Roundup! I see you went with the winner of our 70’s poll as your #1! THE GODFATHER PART 2.
Thanks for the mention, Sam. One thing I’ve been wondering about these Monday morning diaries: your roundups of what’s going on around the blogosphere would be much more useful if you linked to what you’re talking about. Yes, I already read many of the blogs you mention, but it’d be nice if you point out a particular piece I haven’t seen, to be able to click on it right there. Just a thought.
Anyway, since I cover my film viewing pretty thoroughly elsewhere, I’ll pontificate on other stuff here.
Music: I listened to the newest Erstwhile records release, a double CD from Sachiko M and Keith Rowe, two of my favorite experimental musicians; the former plays an “empty” sampler with sine wave tones, the latter plays tabletop guitar and various electronics. It’s a typically patient, quiet work from this duo, one I’ll have to spend a lot of time with before fully appreciating it.
Books: The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro. Fantastic stuff, especially since WW2 is very much on my mind of late after seeing Tarantino’s latest. I love how Ishiguro sloooowly reveals elements of story and character from beneath a placid, deceptively uneventful surface.
OK, that’s it for now. I’m at work, where my coworker is telling a story about getting stung by a bee. All I can think of? “Was you ever bit by a dead bee?” I think I watch too many movies.
Ed: That is an EXCELLENT suggestion, and one I will definitely be taking up next Monday. Dan mentions further on down that this could be extra work, but it’s minimal, and well worth it.
FINALLY, a book mentioned on the MMD has been read by me! Ha! I read that Ishiguro (and always remembered the clock on the cover) immediately after I saw the great 1994 film directed by James Ivory, and was very impressed with th erelative faithfulness of the adaptation. That’s a great point you make there about th eslow development, but I see further on down this thread you and Kevin have taken it even further. That last anecdote with the bee of course indicates ‘horror’ movie!
Hi! Sam Juliano, Allan, Tony, and WitD readers…
Weekly roundup…
…Films
First of all, I didn’t really watch any films this week that I care to discuss, but I ordered a film that I “overheard” some film noir aficionados mentioned called Open City. I also plan to purchase copies of several DVDs from a film noir collector this week.
Literature :
I ‘am still reading author D.H. Schleicher’s book Entitled The Thief Maker.
I ordered four books that I plan to add to both bookshelves…3 about the History of Coffee and Chocolate and a fascinating book about Movie Posters (Oh! Yes, Bob Peck’s artwork is in this book) entitled…
…Art of the Modern Movie Poster: International Postwar Style and Design (Hardcover) by Judith Salavetz (Author), Spencer Drate
(Author), Sam Sarowitz (Author), and Dave Kehr (Author).
…Theatre,
Music,…
Food, …
Sports,…
Politics……
DeeDee 😉
OPEN CITY is one of the greatest of the the Italian neo-realism classics. I do have the DVD by the way.
I am very interested in hearing what you say about David’s book!
Oops!… 😳
Correction that film noir title should have been Open Secret. (1948) and not Open City.
Unfortunately, I haven’t watched neither film yet, but hopefully, I will be watching the former soon.
DeeDee😉
Ah Dee Dee, now that’s a difference. Don’t know OPEN SECRET.
Thanks for the mention, Sam – this is really a pretty comprehensive rundown of what’s been going on! I agree with Ed that links would be helpful, but with as many as you listed that would be a bit of a chore, too.
I again saw no new releases this weekend (kind of a running thing this summer, it seems), but I did see a theatrical screening of The Adventures of Robin Hood on Saturday. First time I’d seen it and I really loved it – the technicolor, the stunts, the ridiculous acting/laughing by Errol Flynn. Also noticed how much it influenced other versions of Robin Hood I’ve seen, notably the terrific Disney animated version.
I also plan to see Take Out for review sometime this week as its available on DVD tomorrow. My excitement for Taking Woodstock has really gone downhill pretty quickly with the lukewarm reviews. Also, I saw “Woodstock: Now and Then” on the History Channel the other night and feel like that gave me a much better capture of the event than Ang Lee would.
Books wise, since you mentioned it, I’m trying to begin “The Scramble for Africa”, a history of the European colonization of the continent. Should be fascinating but it is dense, dense work that may take me weeks, if not a couple months.
Dan: As I stated further up to Ed, I definitely will be adding the links next Monday. This is an excellent idea.
The Errol Flynn movie of course is one of the all-time greats. Seeing it on the big screen for the first time is an incomparable experience, and yes that early Technicolor is a feast for the eyes. The choreography was superlative too as you mention. The score by Erich Wolfgand Korngold was one of the greatest in the history of the cinema.
I predict you will love TAKE OUT, and will somehow believe you know these people from around your own neighborhood!
I was very disappointed with the Woodstock film, but hope that soem will be able to tolerate it.
Sam, I wouldn’t be too quick to make your views on “Taking Woodstock” public, as your know our esteemed ‘super’ is good friends with one of the technicians on that film. I haven’t read anything positive about it, and heard it was less about the event than about the young man who put it all together.
Boy, you really took full advantage of that British noir festival. I don’t know how you do it. But with school starting tomorrow, you’ll be hard-pressed to keep up this pace. Good luck.
Just kidding about the super. I think he can handle it.
LOL Frank!! I already spoke to him, and he said he figured as much, as he had read a number of bad reviews.
The Brit Noir Festival devoured my entire month of August–compromising vacations, and preventing trips to the Mostly Mozart festival at Lincoln center, which I deeply regret. But I’ve had a lot of fun at the Film Forum, no doubt about that.
I finally tried Little Poland on Second Avenue and ordered the kielbasa. I must say I enjoyed it and the red cabbage soup that came before that came with the meal. It’s one of those dumpy places that you are almost embarrased to walk into, yet you know that the food’s gonna be special. Actually it reminded us of a diner with primitive and basic decor. I had checked on the food reviews, and some say it’s the best Polish food in the city.
On the movie front we saw ‘Final Destination’. The 3D didn’t help, and the acting and writing was wooden. I didn’t make the decision myself to go, but I could have predicted how this would wind up.
Oh NO Joe! Lucille, Broadway Bob and I went there several years ago and hated it! The food, as I recall had a bad odor and the place was filthy and the dishes dirty. Perhaps they have cleaned up their act? New ownership? I can’t argue with your choice though, as it’s perfect in a Polish place. I’ll have to check out the recent review section among Manhattan restaurants.
I expected that reaction as far as FINAL DESTINATION is concerned.
You couldn’t pay me to eat in that place. It’s a major dive. I’m surprised at Joe’s report.
Ed:
Isn’t Ishiguro’s ability to elicit suspense from a story about the practicality and rules of butler society amazing? It’s easily one of my favorite books. I remember just being amazed at how invested I was in the story and how quickly I wanted to get back to it when I would put the book down for a break. It’s an unlikely, but brilliantly executed, suspense novel.
Have you read Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go? It rivals Remains of the Day. Definitely worth checking out if you like sci-fi type stuff. It’s kind of like Philip Dick or Brave New World. Amazing stuff. They’re making it into a movie with (hold on let me collect myself here) Keira Knightley…yeeeeah I’ll be seeing that, hehe.
Anyway…I highly recommend Never Let Me Go (which was shortlisted for the Booker prize) if you’re a fan of Ishiguro’s work.
Let’s see…I finished reading Jeanette Winterson’s The Stone Gods on the Honeymoon…meh. It was her first attempt at science fiction and it was pretty much a failure. There are some classic Winterson moments where she does her usual poetic diatribes on love, but it’s not as playful or interesting as her other work (the brilliant The Passion or the even more brilliant The Powerbook).
I also read M.J. Hyland’s Carry Me Down. She’s getting a lot of pub because her first novel How the Light Gets In got the kind of reception that Zadie Smith did where a popular author (in Hyland’s case it’s J.M. Coetzee) dropped a quote on the dust jacket and helped boost sales. Hyland’s alright. She’s pretty shoy as a writer, which is funny that someone as nuanced as Coetzee said that her writing was “of the highest order”. Yeah. I didn’t dig it too much. The story felt too much like Roddy Doyle lite.
Anyway…that’s all I’ve read so far…now that school is around the corner I am going to be reading tons of short stories and poems that I can teach the kids (I think I’ll be doing Lord of the Flies and Othello this year as the big projects), so my recreational reading is done until Christmas break.
Music: I probably have the weirdest taste in music compared to everyone here. I’m still an 18 year old at heart and listen to a lot of stuff that isn’t well known to people who aren’t in their late teens or early 20’s (although I’m pretty much done with Metal which was my favorite genre in high school, hehe).
I’ve really been diggin’ the new As Tall As Lions album entitles “You Can’t Take it With You”. Just great postmodern jazzy/alternative music. They have a great sense for how to make a song interesting. And the new Thrice album “Beggars” is amazing. Still the best rock band out there with the least contrived socially conscious lyrics, too. These aren’t just rock stars preaching at their listeners….they’re doers…they belive in what they sing, and it helps that they’re amazing musicians to boot!
Anyway…that’s all I got for now.
Kevin: I salute you for being an avid reader, and for somehow (miraculously, but a testament to your tireless energy) doing all this while watching films and writing about them. This is remarkable. I did not read that second Ishiguro, but you make it seem essential! The si-fi hook is another plus for me. Unfortunately I don’t know those others, but was riveting to your description.
I used LORD OF THE FLIES with my 6th grade group last year, but it was challenging for them. It worked better years back, when I taught 10th grade English, but I’ve been with lower grades now for a number of years. I recommend Knowles’s A SEPARATE PEACE, Zindel’s THE PIGMAN, Steinbeck’s THE PEARL, Adama’s WATERSHIP DOWN and most of all, Lee’s TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, but I bet you know all of these an dhave used them! What grade are you teaching now Kevin?
That music sounds interesting, but unfortunately I don’t know at all, much as I like reading about alternative takes.
Thanks so much for this long, enthralling submission!
I wasn’t quite as down as you were Sam, on Taking Woodstock, but neither did I think it was one to write home about. The biggest problem the way I see it is that there was very little period music. This deprived the film of it’s basic reason to exist. The kid’s mother was a hoot though. I did laugh in many spots, but it was rather shallow.
Yep, Peter, no depth and a pedestrian story. The mother was a funny character, but the narrative never got untracked.
Kevin: Totally agreed about Ishiguro. It’s amazing how the book always maintains this polite, relentlessly formal veneer, as though the narrator is determined to never let a piece of himself slip through, and nevertheless throughout the course of the book we learn more and more until we’ve been able to form an absolutely devastating emotional and psychological portrait of this guy without a word of it having been made explicit. It’s truly an astonishing book. I just finished it this afternoon and was really awed by its sad beauty.
I’ve read Never Let Me Go before and, though it wasn’t quite as overwhelming as this one, it definitely was very good as well. It uses a similar style, where you learn only very slowly what it’s really about, and where the surface hides much deeper, darker truths. I can’t imagine how a film of the novel would deal with that tone very well, and I look forward to the trailers which give away the whole plot right up front anyway.
Now that I’ve finished The Remains of the Day, I think the next thing I’ll tackle is Gary Elshaw’s thesis, The Depiction of Late 1960’s Counter-culture in the 1968 Films of Jean-Luc Godard. Catherine Grant posted a link to this along with some other Godard scholarship available online, so I’ve printed it out now. It sounds right up my alley, especially since Godard’s radical period isn’t written about nearly enough.
And I don’t think I’ve mentioned before, but I’m perpetually reading through one of the big books of Krazy Kat comic strips, reading a little bit at a time whenever I’m in the mood. What a wonderful, timeless, endlessly inventive work of art.
It’s great to have such enlightening discussion of literature at this site. ‘Sad beauty.’ Yep, methinks those two words tell it all there Ed. The Godard volume sounds terrific Ed. Dennis asked me earlier if I remembered who wrote the Krazy Kat comics, but I couldn’t remember.
George Herriman both wrote and drew Krazy Kat. He was a remarkable talent, and Krazy Kat is one of the great jazz masterpieces of comics. The formal play with language in that strip is brilliant, matched only by the formalist design of the Sunday pages.
Ed, I’ve been googling Herriman, and it appears that this book here is really a MUST!
http://www.amazon.com/Krazy-Kat-Comic-George-Herriman/dp/0810991853
You probably know it well, and maybe have it.
Movie Man my friend, I never realized you are up and running, but I’ll be over there, and won’t ever forget to have that link in the blogosphere section weekly. But I hope you’ll still be here too.
hey Sam,
Listened to some Old Time Radio ‘Suspense’ shows, ok but the show hasn’t really hit it’s stride. Just the first year shows, including the pilot program (‘The Lodger’) directed by Hitchcock and starring Herbert Marshall. That’s the best one so far. My favourite has been the celebrated, ‘Sorry, Wrong Number’ starring Agnes Moorehead.
Three episodes of ‘The Wire’ of the 5th season.
I’ve had a bit of a problem with my eyes and had to go get antibiotics. So took it easy watching-wise. But the films I did were…
The Liberation of L.B. Jones** (1970) directed by William Wyler. A very powerful tract on race that must rank as one of the most unremittingly honest depictions of institutionalised bigotry. And this was while Wyler was suffering serious health problems. The print was a bit washed out, I don’t think it’s ever been released on dvd, had to download it via a torrent.
‘City of the Dead’* was a film I’d seen when I was a teen and found it a gripping little delight. My 2nd viewing and I still found it an admirably put together little chiller, minor but well executed. Not in the same league as ‘Thriller’, ‘The Innocents’, ‘Night of the Eagle’, ‘The Haunting’, ect, ect, but a nifty little suspnser. I thought I saw the influence of ‘Psycho’ in it’s basic plot structure.
Fritz Lang’s ‘Jesse James’** film from the ’40s. Beautiful colour and well-made, if a little straid.
Will probably get more watching done this week, now that I have temporary specs.
Bobby:
I’m very sorry to hear about your eye problem, and hope the new specs will eliminate the previous discomfort and mild infection.
I know both “The Lodger” and “Sorry, Wrong Number” and they both are first-rate suspense pieces, with Agnes Moorhead delivering a landmark performance there.
Geez, I never saw that Wyler (one of the few by him that I haven’t seen) but the Lang western there is a solid enough piece, if suffering from the issues you rightfully broach there.
As far as CITY OF THE DEAD…a.k.a. HORROR HOTEL, that’s one of my favorite cult horror films of all-time. it’s spooky, atmospheric, and bookended by compelling sequence, the first in 17th Century Puritan Massachusetts. I can’t even say how many times I’ve watched this.
One day I will do what I should have done along time ago, and that is……to watch THE WIRE!!!!
Sam, ‘The Wire’ is one of the few shows to reach a level that is consistently brilliant, I place it among the finest works ever done for the small screen. It reminds me of rarefiyied high I got watching ‘Hill Street Blues’, ‘The Outer Limits’, ‘Bilko’, ‘Seinfeld’, ‘Falwty Towers’, ‘Upstairs, Downstairs’ and ‘I, Claudis’ – for the first time. The only piece of advice I would give is to cancell all events for the day, it’s so complusively good that you are likely to miss class.
By the way, have you ever seen ‘Burn, Witch Burn’ (aka ‘Night of the Eagle’)?
Bobby:
Allan has been on my case for a long time to start on THE WIRE, and I’ll admit I must find the time, as difficult as it is to do so. Your categorizing with those only further validates what I am missing here.
Yes I DID see BURN WITCH BURN and owned it on laserdisc. I prefer CITY OF THE DEAD in that genre, but most would go with BURN. It’s a fascinating, thought-provoking film!
Appropos of nothing —
Sam, 2sI know you and others here are avid theater goers, and I’m wondering if any of you have seen “God of Carnage.” I’m coming to NYC for a long weekend in September, and already have tickets. Just wondered if you – or anyone else reading this thread – had seen it and what you thought.
Pat–
I never got to it last year, sorry to say, but my good friend ‘Broadway Bob Eagleson’ came in with a favorable report. I’d love to say hello to you, especially since I will probably be over there for one reason or another. My e mail address is:
TheFountain26@aol.com. Feel free to e mail me if you get a chance. But th eshow did get excellent reviews, so you will probably have a great evening. Thanks again for stopping by.
So we got rained on at the Phillies game Saturday night and watched them get clobbered by the Braves.
No visit to the movie theater this weekend (it’s the end of summer doldrums) but on the DVD front I watched:
Timecrimes — *1/2 — should’ve just returned the original cracked DVD and not bothered to ask for a replacement. Interesting concept but not a single reason given to care about any of the characters and it was so drably shot and executed I would’ve rather watched a clock ticking.
Duplicity — *** — not as bad as I thought it would be. Very well photographed (by Oscar winner Elswit), chic, but shallow. Not nearly as clever as Gilroy thinks it is, but still entertaining on a certain level.
Goodbye Solo — ****1/2 — Fantastic, understated indie film set in my former homestate of NC about a Senegalese cab driver and an old man who form an unlikely friendship. I had meant to see this in the theater but something else came up that week. I’m glad I finally caught up with it — as of right now it would probably make my end of the year top ten.
Hey David!
I admire your Phillies loyalty there! We may yet be facing that Phillies-Yankees World Series, but the Yankees can’t beat the Angels at anytime, so there is a problem lurking. But with the best record in MLB, the Yankees are enjoying quite a ride now. The Phillies, defending champs, are most formidable though. We may have to wager a DVD!!! Ha!
TIME CRIMES turned out to be exactly what I predicted it would be for you, but I wasn’t going out on a limb either. i agree completely on DUPLICITY, but what you say about GOODBYE SOLO is MUSIC to my ears!!! Yes, I agree with you that it is (at this point) a top ten choice. Very affecting film with those two fine leads! Didn’t know you were formally a Tar Heel.
Sam:
I don’t really teach a grade. I work at a college that has an alternative program for high school students. I get anyone from 17 – 20 as that’s the age range for students we accept into the program.
No lit for me this term (I just looked at my schedule)…lots of writing classes, though. Those are always fun.
Confession time: I’ve never read Lord of the Flies! Haha. I am rectifying that immediately because at some point this year I do want to teach it. But I was actually never required to read that in high school. Amazing, huh?
Kevin–
That is a wonderful position you have there! Not every instructor is fond of Golding’s novel, as they find it stoic, and too literary, and not the kind of novel that will motivate kids to read. It takes a teacher willing to do some in-class dramatization to bring it to life. It’s themes are superbly accessible, but it’s not the easiest book to tackle. It’s basically about the breakdown of oder and structure, made more startling by the fact that ‘English school boys’ seemingly the last unit on earth to lose this civility are the central characters, and it’s about the inner savagry in people, and when blood is drawn, it will spill over into greater barbarism. I always use either the 1962 Peter Brooks British version or the later color film with Balthazar Getty, which for some easy to figure reasons is the more popular film with the kids.
Hi! Sam Juliano,
Nice upgraded images, on your sidebar…Is that Tony d’Ambra’s or Allan’s “handy work?”
Take care!
DeeDee😉
It’s Tony’s Dee Dee. I hope and pray the site will continue to have these graphics.
and thanks for noticing and asking, my wonderful friend!
Ed-I knew damn well it was George Herrimen. Sam’s blogging almost 24 hours a day now and has trouble remebering his kids names let alone remembering a conversation on the phone. All kidding aside, Herrimen’s KRAZY KAT strips are amazingh the economy and simpleness of the drawing combined with a detail that is so taken for granted. He was truly one of the early forefathers of modern comics and I believe they even animated some of his KK stories in the forties and fifties. I have five volumes somewhere in storage of his stuff in book form. If I ever unbury them I’ll pass them along to you for a look. As an illustrator myself, I see Herrimen as a hero and inspiration.
Not quite 24 hours a day! A lot yes, and more than is rightful, but a bit less than that. Th efact that I’m home and not sitting in the Film Forum tonight is amiracle in and of itself. LOL!
I will admit your work on the Batman animated series replicas was amazing. So who is your favorite of them all, Jones or Avery?
Sam: That Patrick McDonnell-edited Krazy Kat book is definitely a good one, I’ve had that for a while — before the current Fantagraphics reprintings, that was the best source around for a critical biography of Herriman along with a generous selection of his art and the strips themselves. It’s still damn near essential as an introduction to his work, especially since it includes a lot of original hand-colored art with Herriman’s watercolors. Of course, now, Fantagraphics has reprinted 2/3 of the Sunday pages, collected in a series of softcovers or the 2 big hardcovers that I have, and they’ll be collecting the rest over the next few years.
Dennis, I so agree about the deceptive richness of Herriman’s work. It looks so simple, so stripped down, and yet with such economy he crafted endless variations. I’ve never seen the old cartoons, but from what I’ve heard they’re quite different from the strip, more in the vein of Felix the Cat than Krazy Kat. I’d be very surprised if Pixar ever did any more cartoons of Herriman’s work, too — it’s not like the strip is especially well known outside of comics fans. And Pixar’s slick style is pretty much the opposite of Herriman’s scratchy line, anyway, so I wouldn’t bet on them really doing justice to his casual surrealism or his unique style. I’m happy sticking to his own art.
“And Pixar’s slick style is pretty much the opposite of Herriman’s scratchy line, anyway, so I wouldn’t bet on them really doing justice to his casual surrealism or his unique style. I’m happy sticking to his own art.”
Yeah, I quite agree. Pixar can do the safe stuff magnificently, but surrealism is admittedly another matter.
Ed, I’m tempted now to order that book!
Also Ed-there was a rumor about ten years back that PIXAR was going to animate KRAZY KAT in a film of about ten short vignettes taken from Herrimen’s strips. Never heard much about it after that. Don’t know if they scraped the idea or if its still on the planning table. Considering PIXARs track record, I’m sure they would do justice to the eesence of Herrimens stories as well as recreate his visual style.
Interesting question Schmulee. I break up classic American animation up into categories. DISNEY was the technician and innovator in the art form. As for cartoon shorts, no film studio had more fluid movement and realistic reactions than Walts team. WARNER BROS. had the characters, the best in history and they eere easily the reason you can watch them again and again. AVERY was the gag man. His jokes were so off-the-wall you sat in front of his work on guard. Whenever he couldn’t come to a logical conclusion in a joke, he’d drop a rock, an anvil, an oceanliner or a steam roller on you. But who is best?????? HMMMMMMMM.
I personally LOVE Robert Clampett’s work. “The Great Piggy Bank Robbery” and “Porky in Wackyland” are two of my absolute favorite shorts.
Ultimately I go with Chuck Jones. Yes, he was Warner Bros and he was about characters. But, he was also a master in story and design and combining all this together with his gags (think of all the jokes he came up with for Wile E Coyote alone) and I’d say you have the ingredients for the greatest cartoon director of em all. Jerry Beck had four of Jone’s cartoons in his top five in his marvelous book THE 50 GREATEST CARTOONS OF ALL TIME. Which one of those four was best? That’s a whole other debate.
hahaha! I mentioned that book last week to Ed!
You made the best choice.
DUCK DODGERS IN THE 24TH AND A HALF CENTURY would be my choice of Chuck Jones best cartoon. The lightning fast pacing of the story combined with the over-the-top vocal performances of Mel Blanc (On fire as Daffy Duck, Marvin The Martian and my fave, good ole Porky Pig). The backdrop designs by Mike Maltese and Phillipe DeGaurd are comically dazzling (the best in any WB short) and Carl Stallings unforgettably insane musical score is the icing on the cake. Its Jones most crazy masterpiece. I defy anyone to listen to Daffy’s explaination to Porky on how they’ll get to PLANET X without wetting themselves, its a comic tour-de-force. Matter of fact, George Lucas insisted they show this cartoon before he presented STAR WARS to its premiere audience.
That’s a very fine choice there Dennis, but for me it’s WHAT’S OPERA DOC? as the best, to be followed by ONE FLOGGY EVENING, DUCK AMUCK and RABBIT OF SEVILLE. But wow, that was a fantastic description there. Makes me want to put it in the DVD player now.
Did I hear George Lucas there? Has anybody seen Bob?
I love Bob Clampetts work as well. But, Jones comes in later than the original animators and directors and totally redesigns the structure of the shorts and the characters. Daffy becomes more neurotic and conservative under Jones direction. Bugs Bunny becomes more Jewish and, dare I say, Homosexual in Chuck’s redesign (Bugs never had a problem jumping drag while Chuck was at the wheel). Porky is more smart aleck and a real ball breaker. Then you get the ones Jones CREATES: Wile E Cyote and the Road Runner redefine creativity in the same-ol-same-ol, Pepe LePew is Jones answer to all those devastating dates he’d rather forget. And let’s not forget the most ferocious character of em all: TWEETY. Break Tweety’s chops and that little canary comes at you with a powerhouse vengeance comparible to Chuck Bronson in DEATH WISH!!!!
DONT GET BOB GOING ON THAT ONE! ALLAN’S ALREADY GONE THROUGH THREE BOTTLES OF ANTI-ACID TABLETS ALREADY!!!!! LOL!!!!!
Many thanks to Sam for mentioning my blog in such illustrious company. On Ishiguro, just wanted to mention that I recently read his latest book, ‘Nocturnes’, a collection of linked short stories, and would recommend it – as the title suggests, some of them are quite dark and there is a recurring musical theme. The stories have more humour than a lot of his writing, but I’m not sure the humorous/farcical elements work all that well – for me the best stories in this collection tend to be the ones which don’t have so much plot.
The only movies I’ve seen in the past week are a couple from the 1930s, ‘Lady Killer’ (1933), a sort of gangster movie cum Hollywood satire starring James Cagney and ‘The Informer’ (1935), an early John Ford movie about the IRA – I thought they were both heavily flawed, but interesting, especially the Ford, which has stunning shots of the dark city streets.
You are welcome Judy, you certainly deserve to be the others. that a great report there on NOCTURNES. The ‘musical theme’ bit definitely has me intrigued. This author has really managed to bring out enthusiasm from a number of people here.
Allan agrees with you on THE INFORMER, though I rate it higher, especially for its German expressionism-style visuals and for Max Steiner’s score. But McLaglen was superb too, methinks. I know of the heavy-handed criticisms but I don’t agree with them. Still, they are most valid, as is your own opinion, which is very much appreciated here.
ED-i just read your responses on the KRAZY KAT commentaries and wanna know where you’ve been all my life? Schmulee told me you’re a nut for animation and comics. Looks like I’ve found a comrade. Schmulee will tell you that I’ve be fanatical over the art of comics for as long as he’s known me. I recently bought the big 3 volume hardcover bog of Watterson’s CALVIN AND HOBBES (it includes ever strip plus all of his color Sunday pages). Curious. What is your opinion of Watterson’s work. Also, curious, as aa comics fan, what comic book FILM do you rank the best. I have a very definate opinion on which one I’d pick. Wanna see if we’re on the same page.
Dennis, I’m definitely VERY big into comics, though less so animation; not that I dislike it, I’m just less informed when it comes to that. I read tons of comics, though, including lots of classic newspaper strips — in addition to perennial fave Krazy Kat I’m currently reading Terry & the Pirates and Dick Tracy.
I like Watterson. There aren’t many contemporary newspaper strip artists who are any good — as the size of newspaper comics shrunk over time, the best artists migrated from the strips to the superhero comics to the underground/alternatives and then into modern graphic novels and stuff like that. The best talents today are certainly not in newspapers, and they haven’t been for a long time. But Watterson, while he was drawing Calvin & Hobbes, was a rare bright spot in modern newspaper comics. I like his vision of childhood fantasy, it’s a charming, well-drawn strip in the vein of Peanuts at its peak.
Best comic book film? Hmmm, I don’t know. Crumb is great, if that counts. Persepolis is good, in some ways better than its uneven source material. Sin City is a blast, just like the comics. Ghost World is an OK adaptation of a decent Daniel Clowes story, but I prefer his more surrealistic stuff. And then there are all the superhero movies, some of which are decent. Actually, I don’t think I’m all that passionate about any comic book film, so I’m curious which one you’re thinking of.
I’m sure Dennis will be responding here Ed, but CRUMB and PERSEPOLIS are superb choices, methinks. I am not a real big fan of SIN CITY but Allan loves it.
Actually Ed, I think CRUMB is an amazing film. Schmulee, Lucille and I saw it in the city upon its release and the two of us immediately declared it one of the best of the year. For me, though, I’d have to go with Richard Donner’s majestic SUPERMAN (1978). That was one of those all-to-rare adaptions that took its comic book source seriously and with respect and delivered. As a comic book adaption it has no peer and I also feel it works as a great biography as well.
SIN CITY is a tremendous adaptation. I loved the recreation of the look and texture of the source material. But Millers books of that title leave me cold. As much as I admire the artistry of both the book and film I just cannot warm up to a film that highlights dismemberment, machine gun murder, coke-sluts and beheadings. On the other hand, for texture and appearance, as well as plot and emotion, I always had a fascination for Warren Beatty’s loving recreation of Chester Goulds DICK TRACY. As for BATMAN, I thought Tim Burton captured the look of the books but was too short on motivation and character development. Christopher Nolan gets it right, from the soul, with his BATMAN BEGINS and THE DARK KNIGHT (my favorite film last year). I had no use for SPIDERMAN or any of the other MARVEL interpretations (all story, no artistic ingenuity). ROAD TO PERDITION, based on the graphic novel, is a visual tone poem that could be one of my top ten this decade.
Definatively, The Joker will be immortalized on screen by Heath Ledger. Jack Nicholson’s interpretation of the character, I feel, was too subdued. The character, as depicted in the books, is a literal jumping bean of intensity. He can barely sit still. He is also wildly unpredictable and leaves no ryhme or reasoning behind his murder and criminality. In short, The Joker is a pure psychotic. Ledger grabs the brass ring as he lays no predictability in the emotional angle of the portrayal. HeKs a veritable powder keg, both smart and calculating, sweating and ready to explode at any time. There is also a playfulness, as seen when he SKIPS out of the hospital as it explodes, that no other actor has ever embued in the character. This combination nails the character. The greatest villian in comics is finally served his due on film.
PRAISE in comics to the filmic medium must also go to BRUCE TIMM. His BATMAN THE ANIMATED SERIES is, in my opinion, the greatest comic book adaptation in ANY medium. His surrealistic/German impressionistic take on The Dark Knight, runs with the visual ball hinted at by Burton in style, visual tonality and texture. But where Burton failed emotionally, Timm succeeds brilliantly. Each episode is a stand-alone masterpiece on morality, the dreams we have of savior and the posings of vengeance and regrets within life. Timm’s Batman is a deeply conflicted man bittered to life by tragedy and unable to escape the madness he sees as his guide toward vigilantism. The villians all get the respectable due by the artists and writers and, in the case of Robin and Mr. Freeze, character biographies that brought the writers the EMMY. BTAS is a must for any comuc book lover.
Dennis, I agree about Nolan’s Batman movies, and about the animated series as well: I remember loving that show when it was on. I don’t read very many superhero comics at all, but Batman is probably the most fruitful character for artistic interpretations. Frank Miller’s Dark Knight comics and Year One arguably remain his greatest accomplishments. Alan Moore’s Killing Joke is a nasty, twisted portrayal of the hero and his archnemesis as originating in the same dark impulses of revenge and loss, a theme that Nolan obviously had in mind in The Dark Knight. And Grant Morrison’s recent writing for Batman has been a lot of fun, a hallucinogenic tour of the character’s history and mythology, as one would expect from Morrison.
Most of the stuff I read though has nothing to do with the Marvel/DC superhero universe, with very few exceptions (Brian Bendis’ Alias and Powers, Robert Kirkman’s various series, Brian K. Vaughn, etc). Mostly I read more literary and artistic comics. Dennis, do you read any of the modern “alternative” comics coming out of publishers like Fantagraphics or Drawn & Quarterly, or the experimental/art comics from Picturebox and Buenaventura Press?
ED-unfortunately, time constraints (I work 12 to 14 hours a day) keep me from delving further into comic reading material. I recently found this two volume book set, hoewever, called OUT OF PICTURE. Its a compendium of original surrealist comics by artists that work in animation. What the books are, in total, are a collection of pitched ideas that just missed being picked up by animation houses. Every animatedf film is story-boarded, so what you get here are Science Fiction/Fantasy/Mythology stories, but with a very surrealistic edge, presented in comics form. I’m also currently reading through Art Spiegelmann’s MAUSE. MAUSE is one of those rare comics that transcends the form and I’m finding it a most moving experience. I was into some of the Dark Horse stuff (Mike Mignola’s HELLBOY was a fave-i hated the films though), but again: TIME!
Alan Moore’s THE KILLING JOKE could be my favorite of all the comics I’ve ever read. Delving into the psychological idea that Batman and Joker are really players in a game and one cannot survive without the other. In essence, what’s the point in the whole thing if your biggest and best challenge is gone? THE KILLING JOKE, I feel, also gives readers the best presentation of Joker than any book before or since. Only Bruce Timm’s version of Batman’s arch-enemy comes close in seething insanity and wild bursts of evil. These two wonderful variation on “The Clown Prince of Crime” stuck with the mantra that has now become synonymous with him that “no crime is worth doing without pinache.” My favorite crime plan was actually on the show. It was called the “Death of a Thousand Smiles”. The idea was to capture Batman and lower him into a vat of Pirahna. Joker scraps the idea when he realizes the fish frown.
In actuality, Ed. I also love M.Night Shyamalan’s ode to comics: UNBREAKABLE. This was the only film that the hauty director ever made that engrossed me. His idea that the rules of comics and comic book heros actually apply to real life people was fascinating to me. The visual style of the film slowly changes from mundane life to the primary color dominated world of comics that the main characters are really living in. It’s an eery treatise on the theories that outline this medium and a grand entertainment as well. I found the films twists in plot and the performances (particularly Samuel Jackson’s villian “Mr. Glass”) are pitch perfect. Shyamalan always tries to hit you with a surprise ending with his work. I’ve guessed them all correctly. Except UNBREAKABLE. I didn’t see that one coming from miles away!
MAUS is a very good book, a staple of modern comics. But “transcends the form”? No way! Even Spiegelman himself did much better work, as collected in his recently re-released collection BREAKDOWNS. For me, the formalist and experimental pieces in that book are the height of his work, including an early stab at MAUS and various short stories that deconstruct the comics form in really complex, startling ways. This book, more even than the much more popularly acclaimed MAUS, is Spiegelman’s real legacy.
Like you, UNBREAKABLE is the only Shyamalan movie I really like. It really does deal with superheroes in a very compelling way, and the real twist of the film is not its last-minute revelation but the slow dawning of the realization that this IS a film about superheroes, that what’s at stake here is the origin story of a kind of real-world Superman. I doubt Shyamalan will ever make anything else quite as good.
Ed, I actually like THE VILLAGE, with it’s Twilight Zone-ish narrative, shattering conclusion, some beautiful color set pieces and cinematography by Roger Deakins and a lovely score by James Newton Howard with a striking performance by then-newcomer performance by Bryce Dallas Howard, but I’ve absorbed a lot of abuse from Allan for that position. It’s flawed, but for the most part I thought highly of it.
The Village has some great suspense/horror sequences in its first half, no doubt about it. But the acting is almost uniformly awful, and the stiff attempt at “period” accents by everyone involved is embarrassing — with Bryce Dallas Howard being the worst offender. And the film totally falls apart with the big reveal, so that the second half is pretty much a mess.
Shyamalan has a real feel for staging compelling set pieces, but I don’t think he’s got much more to offer beyond that, except in Unbreakable.
Aye, there’s more than just a few that agree with you there, even if I felt something with Bryce’s work. But I hear what you are saying about the accents there. No mentionhere has been made of THE SIXTH SENSE, which is widely his most “popular” film. Geez, isn’t today Tarantino day (Inglourious Basterds) at the House Next Door? I need to make an appearance now! I’ll be rightly shown the door though!!! LOL!!!!
The site is rather quiet tonight, but should anyone appear, I will be back later tonight, as i am leaving now for PEEPING TOM at the Brit Noir Festival (Film Forum).