Big Business (no 18)

by Allan Fish

(USA 1929 20m) DVD1/2

O tannenbaum!

p  Hal Roach  d  James W.Horne, Leo McCarey  w  H.M.Walker, Leo McCarey  ph  Art Lloyd  ed  Richard Currier

Stan Laurel (himself), Oliver Hardy (himself), James Finlayson (3^rd house owner), Tiny Sandford (policeman), Lyle Tayo (woman),

Stan and Ollie are probably the most beloved comedy duo in world cinema history, their films still regularly showing on BBC2 during holiday periods and video releases of their films still selling out amongst their fans.  However, only their talkies are seen on television these days, which has resulted in many people forgetting that they were also previously a hugely successful silent comedy duo and in these films their humour was different.  If I had to make a conscious decision to pick my favourite Laurel and Hardy silent it would be quite tough to choose, yet I feel that the silent film that showed them at their best was undoubtedly Big Business.  Two Tars, in which they play sailors on leave, came very close (see separate listing), but Big Business edges it perhaps because its unconscious subtext still resonates today.

            Stan and Ollie have has a brainwave and have come up with another get rich quick plan; they aim to sell Christmas trees to Californians.  After a refusal from one woman, they attempt to win over a man with a “positively no peddlers or solicitors” sign by his door.  Ollie says “it’s personality that counts…” before being hit over the head twice with a hammer.  Forced to go elsewhere, they soon come across another customer who gets progressively more annoyed by their knocking and they retaliate in a progressively childish manner until they have destroyed the man’s house and garden and he has destroyed their trees and car.

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A Page of Madness (no 19)

by Allan Fish

(Japan 1926 61m) not on DVD

Aka. Kurutta Ippeiji

The inmates have taken over the asylum

p  Teinosuke Kinugasa  d  Teinosuke Kinugasa  w  Yasunari Kawabata  ph  Konei Sugiyama  m  Minoru Muraoka, Toru Kurashima  art  Chiyo Ozaki 

Masao Inoue, Yoshie Nakagawa, Ayako Iijima, Hiroshi Nemoto, Misao Seki, Eiko Minami,

It’s not overstating it too much to say that Teinosuke Kinugasa is rather a forgotten figure in world cinema, not just among the average reader of Total Film, Variety, Premiere or Empire, whose knowledge of world cinema is at the least limited, but to the more eclectic readers of the world’s movie periodicals.  Some film historians could wax lyrical about his Oscar-winner from 1953, Gate of Hell, with its luscious colour cinematography, but that was an overdue return, not the arrival of a new talent.  Kinugasa was rather a figure who predated the more famous, illustrious names of the thirties who followed, and has probably been unjustly slighted.  Still, it could have been a lot worse had the director not found the print of his twenties masterpiece A Page of Madness in a storeroom in the early seventies.  He brushed it up as best he could, added a soundtrack of rhythmic, repetitive noises best summed up as torturous, but in a deliberate way (just think of the drumbeat of the noise accompanying the torrential rain outside in the opening sequence).  It’s not only one of the most imaginative of silent movies, it’s also probably the purest example of cinema ever perpetrated, being as there is not a single title in the film.  Even the credits move, as they are turned over by a barely seen hand, before kicking into the uninterrupted visual assault.

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Still Life (Best of the 21st Century?)

by Joel Bocko

This is an entry in my Best of the 21st Century? series. Further entries will appear on Wonders in the Dark every Tuesday.

First things first, it’s very hard to capture the life of Still Life in a still. There were numerous images that caught my eye while watching the movie, and when it was over I tried to go back and pause certain moments to create a screen-capture on my computer. No dice, though I finally settled on the enticing image seen above. The problem was that all of these impressive visuals contained the essential value of movement, either of the camera, within the frame, or both. One particular sequence seemed ripe for pictures: a quiet scene in which characters dance on a rooftop at dusk, with the half-constructed metropolis blazing in the background and a yawning, unilluminated bridge stretching towards the hilly horizon. Yet each time I paused the simple panning motion, the still did not capture that visceral pull of the visuals, the interruption of a simple sweep somehow stripping the shot of its power.

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Spione (no 20)

by Allan Fish

(Germany 1928 143m) DVD1/2

Aka. Spies: The Spy

Appointment at Parkstrasse 24

p  Erich Pommer  d  Fritz Lang  w  Thea Von Harbou  ph  Fritz Arno Wagner  m  Donald Sosin  art  Otto Hunte, Karl Vollbrecht

Rudolf Klein-Rogge (Haghi), Gerda Maurus (Sonja Barranikova), Lien Deyers (Kitty), Louis Ralph (Morrier), Craighall Sherry (Police Chief Jason), Willy Fritsch (No.326), Lupa Pick (Dr Akira Matsumoto), Fritz Rasp (Colonel Jellusic), Paul Hoerbiger (Franz), Hertha Von Walther (Lady Leslane),

Spione is a film which is slowly coming back into vogue.  For years it was overshadowed in film histories by the Dr Mabuse crime films made either side of it, and for sure they had a massive impact.  Yet to these eyes Lang’s best underworld drama – indeed, best contemporary German film, after M – is this 1928 spy effort.  Coming on the back of his folie de grandeur, Metropolis, it was a return to commercial form for a director then considered a loose cannon.  For here is one of the great spy dramas, one that may have little to do with the worlds of Fleming, Deighton, la Carré or Forsyth, but which still has an imperishable legacy.  For where would those illustrious authors have been without the successes and popularity of Alfred Hitchcock’s spy dramas (from The 39 Steps to Sabotage, from The Lady Vanishes to Foreign Correspondent)?  Not only would Hitchcock’s films follow the blueprints of the great Teutonic master, but producer Pommer would himself come to Britain in the thirties. 

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Monday Morning Diary (March 8)

by Sam Juliano

     The entire weekend was spent cleaning the house for the Oscar party, and today I was pre-occupied with all my guests in watching the show.  As a result I don’t have a formal report on the two films I saw this week (The Art of the Steal and Alice in Wonderland) and an off Broadway play I saw earlier in the week.  I also was unable to spend time at the PC to post links, but I will return to doing that next week.  I will speak more about the films in the comment section, as well as a discussion of the Oscars, where The Hurt Locker won six Academy Awards including Best Picture.

    Everyone is still encouraged to make their entries here, and many thanks to Dee Dee, Tony and Joel for their yeoman work this week.  I must respond to some e mails I received too from Joel and from Michael the Coffee Messiah, which I will do tomorrow.  Thanks again!

Note:[Oops! I added this Monday Morning Poll after reading some of the comments’ left by the commenters’]

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Häxan (no 21)

by Allan Fish

(Denmark 1922 105m) DVD1/2

Aka. Witchcraft Through the Ages

Ode to Sprenger and Kramer

p  Ernest Mattison  d/w  Benjamin Christensen  ph  Johan Ankarstjerne  ed  Edia Hansen  md  Gillian Anderson  art  Richard Louw

Maren Pederson (Maria, the Weaver), Astrid Holm (Anna, the scribe’s wife), Oscar Stribolt (Friar), Elith Pio (Johannes, the judge), Clara Pontoppidan (Sister Cecilia), Karen Winther (Anna’s sister), Benjamin Christensen (Satan), Kate Fabian (Old maid), Alice O’Fredericks (Nun), Wilhemine Henriksen (Apelone), Emmy Schoenfeld,

“It has long been recognised even from the earliest times, during the first groupings towards the essential conveniences of social decency and social order, that witchcraft is an evil thing, an enemy to light, an ally of the powers of darkness, disruption and decay.”  Those words were written in 1928 for Montague Summers’ preface to his translation of the Malleus Maleficarum, the book used for nearly 300 years from 1484 to root out witchcraft.  Benjamin Christensen’s film begins, more succinctly, with “the belief in sorcery and witchcraft is probably as old as mankind…”, yet the essence is the same.  Indeed, I have always wondered whether dear old Reverend Summers ever did see Christensen’s film less than a decade earlier, as Christensen certainly read the Malleus Maleficarum.  I also wonder what the fanatical 15^th century authors James Sprenger and Heinrich Kramer would have thought of it.  They would probably have said moving pictures themselves were witchcraft and sorcery.  And there can surely be no greater irony that that. 

The fact remains that there truly is no other film quite like Benjamin Christensen’s Häxan, which in this day and age still has the power to shock.  After all, how many silent films would still get 18 certificates when released in the UK?  For a long time the only version seen was a visually inferior 75m version with narration from William Burroughs.  Needless to say, the full version, which is the one available in the US on DVD courtesy of those lovely people at Criterion, is something altogether different.

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Rounding Up the Oscars

Just a reminder, the complete round-up of all the nominee reviews and ceremonial predictions from Sam Juliano, Bob Clark, Dee Dee, Jamie Uhler, and me (Joel) is active at “The Academy Awards on Wonders in the Dark”. Since Friday, the post has been updated to include Bob’s review of Avatar, Sam’s picks for Best Picture and Dee Dee’s round-up of all his predictions, and my own reviews of Bright Star and Inglourious Basterds. (I’ve also added Sam’s pick for Best Picture, which I didn’t realize was forthcoming, and bumped this post back up to the top of the page at Dee Dee’s request.)

Enjoy…

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And The Winner Is…Director Kathryn Bigelow Wins Big at the Oscars@

Please Check Out The Winners Here…Thanks,
http://oscar.go.com/oscar-night/winners
Oscar@ Statues

All of Sam Juliano’s Oscars@ Predictions…
Picture: The Hurt Locker
Director: Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker)
Actor: Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart)
Actress: Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side)
Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz (Inglorious Basterds)
Supporting Actress: Mo’Nique (Precious)
Original Screenplay: The Hurt Locker
Adapted Screenplay: Up in the Air
Editing: The Hurt Locker
Cinematography: The White Ribbon
Foreign Film: The Secret in Their Eyes (Argentina)
Animated Film: Up
Documentary Feature: The Cove
Original Score: Up
Original Song: The Weary Kind (Crazy Heart)
Art Direction: Avatar
Visual Effects: Avatar
Costumes: The Young Victoria
Make-up: Star Trek
Sound Editing: Avatar
Sound Mixing: The Hurt Locker
Animated Short: The Lady and the Reaper
Live Action Short: Instead of Abracadabra
Documentary Short: China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan

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Wonders in the Dark…Sam Juliano Predicts That “The Hurt Locker” Will Win For Best Film and Best Director…What Do You Think? Let Sam Juliano know…What You Think Too!

According to Sam Juliano, The Best Director’s race this year, brings together the helmers of the five strongest films of the ten nominated in the Best Picture category. Hence, the five nominees are:
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
James Cameron, Avatar
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds
Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
Lee Daniels, Precious

Not a single choice here was unexpected when nominations were announced, and it’s almost a sure bet that these five films would have been the exact ones named if the category was still restricted to five. Of course there is little doubt that Kathryn Bigelow, will be bring home the gold this year for her vigorous direction of The Hurt Locker, which will make her the first woman ever to cop the prestigious prize. Even if for some reason The Hurt Locker fails to cop Best Picture, it is a foregone conclusion that Ms. Bigelow is a lock in this category.

Personally I believe that The Hurt Locker will be carried in to the winners circle in the biggest category, largely as a result of Bigelow’s popularity and certain win. James Cameron’s Avatar could still win Best Picture, but Cameron can’t win Best Director, as he’s won once before, and his big ego has always been a turn off to voters, despite his considerable talent and ability to pump life into the industry with big box-office. Similarly, Tarantino, Reitman and Daniels are just here for the ride, though of the three, it now appears Tarantino is probably the strongest.

Sam Juliano’s Prediction: Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
Sam Juliano’s Personal Choice: James Cameron, Avatar

Note: If you like you can partake in the Oscar@ poll(s)…
[The Polling Will End This Evening at 6:25pm]

Best Director and Best Actress

Best Actress in a Leading Role…
Sam Juliano’s Choice To Win…
Sandra Bullock in “The Blind Side”
Sam Juliano’s Personal Favorite…
Helen Mirren in “The Last Station”
Carey Mulligan in “An Education”
Gabourey Sidibe in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”
Meryl Streep in “Julie & Julia

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The Gold Rush (no 22)

by Allan Fish

(USA 1925 72m/85m) DVD1/2

T’Aint a Fit Night Out for Man or Beast!

p/d/w  Charles Chaplin  ph  Rollie Totheroh  ed  Harold McGhean  m  Charles Chaplin  md  (1942 version) Max Terr (including N.Rimsky-Korsakov, P.I.Tchaikovsky)   art  Charles D.Hall 

Charles Chaplin (the tramp), Georgia Hale (Georgia), Mack Swain (Big Jim McKay), Tom Murray (Black Larson), Henry Bergman (Hank Curtis), Malcolm White (Jack),

So the line quoted above is not even a Chaplin line, but rather the immortal catchphrase of W.C.Fields in his classic short The Fatal Glass of Beer which, likewise, is set in a snowy cabin in the middle of nowhere.  But much as though Fields was hardly a fan of Chaplin (“the son of a bitch is nothing but a ballet dancer”), he was also astute enough to know the comical situations that could arise from such a setting.

            The story of what would become Chaplin’s first classic feature film (no disrespect to The Kid in 1921, but that was more of an extended mini-feature, and A Woman of Paris – in which he didn’t appear – was a failure with the public which, though critically admired in various quarters, was not a mistake he was going to repeat) is simple; a lone prospector in the Yukon hooks up with another lone prospector (played by Chaplin’s regular partner in crime, the great Mack Swain) in their attempts to find gold, during which time Charlie falls for a music hall girl.  It is in essence quintessential Chaplin, displaying all of his virtues and some of his faults.  Sure, it’s ripe with sentimental pathos and has a Victorian view of romance. (To watch Chaplin plead love is so indicative of the times, and also very reminiscent of his friend Douglas Fairbanks in Robin Hood and The Three Musketeers, all wild arm gesticulation, holding of hands to chest, pointing into the distant blue or grey yonder, like he’s paying homage to a queen rather than making romantic allusions.)  Indeed it’s more a series of great set pieces than a great whole.  But what set pieces! – the cliff-hanging cabin, the gourmet shoe eating, the chicken shoot, the waltz to Tchaikovsky tied to a dog, the dance of the bread rolls, the list is endless.  Trying to pick a favourite moment is hard, because there are so many, but for me it has to be the cliff hanger on the cabin, if only because its style is not really typical of Chaplin, it’s the sort of thing more associated with Buster Keaton or, in particular, Harold Lloyd.  It’s comparable to the best hair-raisers Lloyd ever did, even if Chaplin didn’t quite risk as much personal injury as Lloyd did in the likes of Safety Last and Speedy. 

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