(Manhattan & Long Island, New York; contemporary)
IMDb
A Burmese "ivory king" complicates the relationship between a stockbroker and his wife. Early De Mille rather mundane until sex slavery scene in which a women actually gets branded. The Fannie Ward wife character is no better then a spoiled little girl, she steals the Red Cross relief money for the Belgians, and uses it to invest in cooper. Odious to women, Burmese, and those in the cooper industry.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
The Little Girl Who Lives Down The Lane (1976)
(New England; contemporary)
IMDb
Based on Laird Koenig's novel, this was originally intended to be a TV movie, but ended up being released theatrically. That's a good thing too, because otherwise this odd little gem might be largely lost to us. Jodie Foster is Rynn, the only daughter of a famed poet, who has moved from England to stay with her divorced father in his isolated country home. Shortly after her arrival her sickly father dies, but not before leaving behind money and instructions, that should allow Rynn to live, pretty well undisturbed, for years hence. The artifice of her fathers continued, but isolated living, is kept up so as to protect the 13 year old's preferred lifestyle. Of course anyone who might try to disrupt things for the girl has a tendency to end up dead, be it Rynn's estranged mother, bigoted landlady (Alexis Smith), or the latter's pervert son (Martin Sheen). Rynn does manage to befriend a local policeman (Mort Shuman) and his semi-crippled nephew (Scott Jacoby). I may have spoiled the big surprise for you (don't go in the cellar), but the restrained yet kitschy performances by the surprisingly good cast, combined with the deliberate pace and beautiful score (about half of which is Chopin), makes this movie worth seeing if you can find it.
IMDb
Based on Laird Koenig's novel, this was originally intended to be a TV movie, but ended up being released theatrically. That's a good thing too, because otherwise this odd little gem might be largely lost to us. Jodie Foster is Rynn, the only daughter of a famed poet, who has moved from England to stay with her divorced father in his isolated country home. Shortly after her arrival her sickly father dies, but not before leaving behind money and instructions, that should allow Rynn to live, pretty well undisturbed, for years hence. The artifice of her fathers continued, but isolated living, is kept up so as to protect the 13 year old's preferred lifestyle. Of course anyone who might try to disrupt things for the girl has a tendency to end up dead, be it Rynn's estranged mother, bigoted landlady (Alexis Smith), or the latter's pervert son (Martin Sheen). Rynn does manage to befriend a local policeman (Mort Shuman) and his semi-crippled nephew (Scott Jacoby). I may have spoiled the big surprise for you (don't go in the cellar), but the restrained yet kitschy performances by the surprisingly good cast, combined with the deliberate pace and beautiful score (about half of which is Chopin), makes this movie worth seeing if you can find it.
So Long at the Fair (1950)
(France; 1889)
IMDb
Jean Simmons and her brother David Tomlinson travel to Paris to visit the worlds fair. After the first night in the hotel, Jean goes to awaken her brother, only to discover that not only is he missing, but his entire room is as well. Neat mystery story, that didn't end as I expected. Elaborate set design and costumes are highly memorable, you can tell the set dressers had a ball doing this thing. Dirk Bogarde plays an English painter who serves as a love interest for Simmons and helps her solve the mystery. Still not 100% certain who caused the hot air balloon to blow up.
IMDb
Jean Simmons and her brother David Tomlinson travel to Paris to visit the worlds fair. After the first night in the hotel, Jean goes to awaken her brother, only to discover that not only is he missing, but his entire room is as well. Neat mystery story, that didn't end as I expected. Elaborate set design and costumes are highly memorable, you can tell the set dressers had a ball doing this thing. Dirk Bogarde plays an English painter who serves as a love interest for Simmons and helps her solve the mystery. Still not 100% certain who caused the hot air balloon to blow up.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Courage of Lassie (1946)
(Washington state, Aleutian Islands; sometime during World War II)
IMDb
A 'Lassie' movie only in that it stars a collie. Accidentally left in the woods as a puppy, "Bill" grows up in the wild until he is discovered by a young Elizabeth Taylor, the daughter of a local rancher. The two form one of those loving bonds that can not be diminished by time or distance, even after the dog is lost from its owner for about a year. While a loyal and helpful dog, Bill is also a particularly unlucky one, not only was he left in the woods as a pup, but he was later shot by teen aged hunters, hit by a truck, shot again by Japanese solders, shot at by ranchers and finally put to trail for killing some sheep. Bill gets off though on account of his service record ( he saved a whole platoon) and the fact that he was suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome. Enjoyable, if a little far fetched, Sunday morning fair. Sweet and pure.
IMDb
A 'Lassie' movie only in that it stars a collie. Accidentally left in the woods as a puppy, "Bill" grows up in the wild until he is discovered by a young Elizabeth Taylor, the daughter of a local rancher. The two form one of those loving bonds that can not be diminished by time or distance, even after the dog is lost from its owner for about a year. While a loyal and helpful dog, Bill is also a particularly unlucky one, not only was he left in the woods as a pup, but he was later shot by teen aged hunters, hit by a truck, shot again by Japanese solders, shot at by ranchers and finally put to trail for killing some sheep. Bill gets off though on account of his service record ( he saved a whole platoon) and the fact that he was suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome. Enjoyable, if a little far fetched, Sunday morning fair. Sweet and pure.
King Kong (1933)
(New York City, mysterious island south of Malaysia; contemporary)
IMDb
Merian C. Cooper's original Kong still considered the definitive. Groundbreaking in both special effects and sense of spectacle, it has inspired film makers from Ray Harryhausen to Peter Jackson. This is the story in concentrate, as opposed to Jackson's strung-out version. Canadian born actress Fay Wray is the only member of the cast (other then Kong) who is really remembered, though Robert Armstrong is good as the big apes promoter. Something to be seen for film literacy.
IMDb
Merian C. Cooper's original Kong still considered the definitive. Groundbreaking in both special effects and sense of spectacle, it has inspired film makers from Ray Harryhausen to Peter Jackson. This is the story in concentrate, as opposed to Jackson's strung-out version. Canadian born actress Fay Wray is the only member of the cast (other then Kong) who is really remembered, though Robert Armstrong is good as the big apes promoter. Something to be seen for film literacy.
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Big Jim McLain (1952)
(Daniel Webster's grave, Washington D.C., Hawaii; contemporary)
IMDb
This relic or curio from the early 1950's stars John Wayne as Jim McLain, an investigator for the House Un-American Activities Committee. McLain hates the communists, and how they exploit our constitution, particularly the 5th amendment, to get away with their nefarious schemes. He is matched in his disdain for the Marxists only by his partner Mal Baxter (a pre Gunsmoke James Arness), who frequently wants to beat the Reds senseless, in the courtroom or elsewhere. The two are sent to Hawaii to investigate communist agitation, particularly in the local unions. While there the Duke fins love in psychology student Nancy Vallon (Nancy Olson), and Mal finds a fatal overdose of truth serum (Wayne gives him an kick ass obituary in his head when identifying the body).
As you would want from a movie of this description it is over the top, starting with a bizarre prologue about Daniel Websters grave, in which the possibility of an angry zombie Senator Webster is provoked (It sounds like an uncredited Henry 'Harry' Morgan may have given the opening narration). There's a lot of spoon feed patriotism on display, from the choice of background music in the opening, to a largely pointless visit to the wreckage of the U.S.S. Arizona, before the memorial was built. My favorite odd touch to the film, largely because it was so random and thus memorable, was a crazy-type eccentric "doctor" who visits Wayne to inform him about his supper weapon, recent visit with Stalin, plan to make all people in the world look alike, and how he prefers his Lemonade made with Lemons. The whole sequence produced at least a couple audible "What the Hell's?" from me during viewing. Real life Honolulu chief of Police Dan Liu appears as himself, Alan Napier is the despicable mastermind of the communist plot.
IMDb
This relic or curio from the early 1950's stars John Wayne as Jim McLain, an investigator for the House Un-American Activities Committee. McLain hates the communists, and how they exploit our constitution, particularly the 5th amendment, to get away with their nefarious schemes. He is matched in his disdain for the Marxists only by his partner Mal Baxter (a pre Gunsmoke James Arness), who frequently wants to beat the Reds senseless, in the courtroom or elsewhere. The two are sent to Hawaii to investigate communist agitation, particularly in the local unions. While there the Duke fins love in psychology student Nancy Vallon (Nancy Olson), and Mal finds a fatal overdose of truth serum (Wayne gives him an kick ass obituary in his head when identifying the body).
As you would want from a movie of this description it is over the top, starting with a bizarre prologue about Daniel Websters grave, in which the possibility of an angry zombie Senator Webster is provoked (It sounds like an uncredited Henry 'Harry' Morgan may have given the opening narration). There's a lot of spoon feed patriotism on display, from the choice of background music in the opening, to a largely pointless visit to the wreckage of the U.S.S. Arizona, before the memorial was built. My favorite odd touch to the film, largely because it was so random and thus memorable, was a crazy-type eccentric "doctor" who visits Wayne to inform him about his supper weapon, recent visit with Stalin, plan to make all people in the world look alike, and how he prefers his Lemonade made with Lemons. The whole sequence produced at least a couple audible "What the Hell's?" from me during viewing. Real life Honolulu chief of Police Dan Liu appears as himself, Alan Napier is the despicable mastermind of the communist plot.
The Informer (1935)
(Dublin, Ireland; 1922)
IMDb
Before he was an endearing caricature of himself in John Ford movies of the 1950's, Victor McLaglen was a surprisingly successful player in John Ford movies of the 1930's. The gruff character actor was even the unlikely recipient of a best actor Academy Award, for his performance as Gypo Nolan, a drunken, cowardly, ex-agent of the Sinn Fein. Having been kicked out of the organization because he could not bring himself to kill a prisoner, Gypo takes to the streets, a pathetic, talentless figure, begging and borrowing to survive. When he finds his girl friend on the edge of prostitution, and has an opportunity to turn in an old friend, beloved resistance leader Frankie McPhillip (Wallace Ford) to the British, he does so. Gypo however is overcome by guilt when Frankie is killed while evading arrest, resulting in the six hours of heavy boozing that constitute the bulk of the film. Fortunately we don't see all six hours, but it almost feels like we do. While the performances are mostly good (though at a few points kind of strained), and the camera work frankly fantastic, in a 'shadow and fog', heavily German influenced kind of way, the movie just felt over-long. It's possible I'm just not appreciating Fords point here, he wants it to seem like one long, awful night, in the life of a rather pathetic man, but I wound up longing for some tightening of pace. The movie is still an important achievement though, one of the few "art house films" to ever come out of RKO. A clip from the movie can be briefly seen in Scorsese's The Departed, which explores similar themes of deception. Know what your in for if you rent this one.
IMDb
Before he was an endearing caricature of himself in John Ford movies of the 1950's, Victor McLaglen was a surprisingly successful player in John Ford movies of the 1930's. The gruff character actor was even the unlikely recipient of a best actor Academy Award, for his performance as Gypo Nolan, a drunken, cowardly, ex-agent of the Sinn Fein. Having been kicked out of the organization because he could not bring himself to kill a prisoner, Gypo takes to the streets, a pathetic, talentless figure, begging and borrowing to survive. When he finds his girl friend on the edge of prostitution, and has an opportunity to turn in an old friend, beloved resistance leader Frankie McPhillip (Wallace Ford) to the British, he does so. Gypo however is overcome by guilt when Frankie is killed while evading arrest, resulting in the six hours of heavy boozing that constitute the bulk of the film. Fortunately we don't see all six hours, but it almost feels like we do. While the performances are mostly good (though at a few points kind of strained), and the camera work frankly fantastic, in a 'shadow and fog', heavily German influenced kind of way, the movie just felt over-long. It's possible I'm just not appreciating Fords point here, he wants it to seem like one long, awful night, in the life of a rather pathetic man, but I wound up longing for some tightening of pace. The movie is still an important achievement though, one of the few "art house films" to ever come out of RKO. A clip from the movie can be briefly seen in Scorsese's The Departed, which explores similar themes of deception. Know what your in for if you rent this one.
Friday, May 25, 2007
A Place in the Sun (1951)
(unspecified, possibly upstate New York; roughly contemporary)
IMDb
Post-war update of Theodor Dreisers 'An American Tragedy', a kind of Horatio Alger tale with an Edger Allen Poe ending. Raised in a poor religious family to which he always felt somewhat estranged, George Eastman (Montgomery Clift) runs into a wealthy uncle at the Chicago hotel in which he works as a bus boy. Offered a job, the ambitious young man quickly travels a great distance to work at the family factory, a manufacturer of women's swimwear. Socially forgotten by his relatives, he enters into a forbidden relationship with young co-worker Alice Tripp (Shelly Winters). Because employees are prohibited from dating by company policy, he sees her secretly. One day while touring his factory George's uncle notices him, and invites his nephew to attend a party at their mansion. There he meets Angela Vickers, a wealthy socialite with whom he falls in love. Now George is living a double life, one with Angela and his wealthy (and now) welcoming extended family and their friends, and a decidedly blue color and secretive one with Alice. After a short time George chooses to go with Angela, the girl he really loves, and who also happens to symbolize the life he always wanted. Only one problem, Alice announces that she is pregnant.
Georges Stevens impressive adaptation of the last two-thirds of Dreisers classic novel is riveting. Taught, melodramatic, and existential. It is a story about the truths we don't tell, to ourselves and others, and lies that come back to strangle us (or in this case nearly drown and later electrocute us). Clift is wonderful at giving life to the mind of his characters, you can see him thinking furred thoughts behind those darting eyes of his. George is always looking for a way out, whether from his situation with Alice, or from the once welcome friends and family, that now seem to only crowed out his precious time with Angela. He knows he's getting caught, he knows too many people saw him that day, that day when he was suppose to be in Kansas City with his mother. But instead he had made his way to that isolated lake with Alice. The lake Angela had shown him, the one she had found hiking as a young girl, her lake. A couple had drowned there last year she had told him, and it seemed to his mind that that kind of thing could happen again, conveniently. But when he finally gets there, he can't go through with it, he must resign himself to a poor life with Alice. She however knows he's not fully into it, knows that he will go with her only reluctantly, that he prefers the other woman and her world. That's when she stands up in the boat, and clumsy ill-fated girl that she is, capsizes the vessel and drowns. George survives, but its only a restive before the trail, a fiery Raymond Burr, and the electric chair.
Yes its irony laid on thick, and more then a little reminiscent of Camus, but it works beautifully. Stevens knows what he's doing, as well as all the actors. Everything is set up for the ending trail and the verdict, even the old doctor, who Alice had gone to feeling out if he really did offer the back-ally abortions she had heard about, he didn't, but he makes an encore appearance. I really think I've become a George Stevens man, I love the irony of Billy Wilder, but Stevens execution is just so exquisite, I find it as hard to resist as a young Elizabeth Taylor.
IMDb
Post-war update of Theodor Dreisers 'An American Tragedy', a kind of Horatio Alger tale with an Edger Allen Poe ending. Raised in a poor religious family to which he always felt somewhat estranged, George Eastman (Montgomery Clift) runs into a wealthy uncle at the Chicago hotel in which he works as a bus boy. Offered a job, the ambitious young man quickly travels a great distance to work at the family factory, a manufacturer of women's swimwear. Socially forgotten by his relatives, he enters into a forbidden relationship with young co-worker Alice Tripp (Shelly Winters). Because employees are prohibited from dating by company policy, he sees her secretly. One day while touring his factory George's uncle notices him, and invites his nephew to attend a party at their mansion. There he meets Angela Vickers, a wealthy socialite with whom he falls in love. Now George is living a double life, one with Angela and his wealthy (and now) welcoming extended family and their friends, and a decidedly blue color and secretive one with Alice. After a short time George chooses to go with Angela, the girl he really loves, and who also happens to symbolize the life he always wanted. Only one problem, Alice announces that she is pregnant.
Georges Stevens impressive adaptation of the last two-thirds of Dreisers classic novel is riveting. Taught, melodramatic, and existential. It is a story about the truths we don't tell, to ourselves and others, and lies that come back to strangle us (or in this case nearly drown and later electrocute us). Clift is wonderful at giving life to the mind of his characters, you can see him thinking furred thoughts behind those darting eyes of his. George is always looking for a way out, whether from his situation with Alice, or from the once welcome friends and family, that now seem to only crowed out his precious time with Angela. He knows he's getting caught, he knows too many people saw him that day, that day when he was suppose to be in Kansas City with his mother. But instead he had made his way to that isolated lake with Alice. The lake Angela had shown him, the one she had found hiking as a young girl, her lake. A couple had drowned there last year she had told him, and it seemed to his mind that that kind of thing could happen again, conveniently. But when he finally gets there, he can't go through with it, he must resign himself to a poor life with Alice. She however knows he's not fully into it, knows that he will go with her only reluctantly, that he prefers the other woman and her world. That's when she stands up in the boat, and clumsy ill-fated girl that she is, capsizes the vessel and drowns. George survives, but its only a restive before the trail, a fiery Raymond Burr, and the electric chair.
Yes its irony laid on thick, and more then a little reminiscent of Camus, but it works beautifully. Stevens knows what he's doing, as well as all the actors. Everything is set up for the ending trail and the verdict, even the old doctor, who Alice had gone to feeling out if he really did offer the back-ally abortions she had heard about, he didn't, but he makes an encore appearance. I really think I've become a George Stevens man, I love the irony of Billy Wilder, but Stevens execution is just so exquisite, I find it as hard to resist as a young Elizabeth Taylor.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Holes (2003)
(Latvia & Texas; turns of the 20th and 21st century's)
IMDb
Oddly involved Disney film is based on the 'beloved' children's book of the same title. Surprisingly good cast ranges from Henry Winkler to Sigourney Weaver. Lead LaBeouf is quite likable, Jon Voight seems to be having a good time. Plot concerns a dried up lake bed, family curse, kissing bandit, and corrupt boys reformatory. Quirky but not exactly my cup of tea, though it did grew on me while viewing. An early draft of its screenplay was written by Donnie Darko creator Richard Kelly.
IMDb
Oddly involved Disney film is based on the 'beloved' children's book of the same title. Surprisingly good cast ranges from Henry Winkler to Sigourney Weaver. Lead LaBeouf is quite likable, Jon Voight seems to be having a good time. Plot concerns a dried up lake bed, family curse, kissing bandit, and corrupt boys reformatory. Quirky but not exactly my cup of tea, though it did grew on me while viewing. An early draft of its screenplay was written by Donnie Darko creator Richard Kelly.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Dark Water (2005)
(Seattle, 1974; New York, 2005)
IMDb
I actually was interested in seeing this movie when it first came out to theaters. It has a neat look and a good cast. However it is sloooow, and really didn't come together for me until the last 20 minutes, in which we are treated to a kind of forced twist. Jennifer Connelly is however as fine an actress as I've ever seen slowly go crazy on screen, which is good because that's about the whole show here. However I'd still gladly watch John C. Reilly in anything, well anything except porn.
IMDb
I actually was interested in seeing this movie when it first came out to theaters. It has a neat look and a good cast. However it is sloooow, and really didn't come together for me until the last 20 minutes, in which we are treated to a kind of forced twist. Jennifer Connelly is however as fine an actress as I've ever seen slowly go crazy on screen, which is good because that's about the whole show here. However I'd still gladly watch John C. Reilly in anything, well anything except porn.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Knocking (2006)
IMDb
I found Joel Engardio's concise little documentary on the Jehovah's Witnesses to be very enlightening. I know relatively little about the faith, despite having some contact with members of various Kingdom Hall's on my mission. Often Witnesses I meet knocking doors would be very prepared to share their faith with us missionary's, and somehow get us to go away with a pamphlet. At other times I enjoyed swapping stories of how people had been rude to us when we showed up at their doors. Sometimes we LDS missionary's where mistaken for Jehovah's Witnesses (you really have to know pretty little about either group to make that mistake, in my opinion), and the general impression I got from these and other occurrences, was that the average southerner found Mormons to be more blasphemous, but Jehovah's Witnesses to be more annoying, or more aggressive proselytisers. In general I really think they disliked the JW's more then the Mormons, and I'm not entirely sure why, though it might have something to do with their lack of patriotism (as traditionally understood).
The documentary covers briefly the history of the Jehovah's Witnesses, including important civil liberty's cases they where involved in (mostly involving the right to proselytize), as well as some of their more distinctive doctrines and practices. Mostly however the film follows two families, one a Jewish Holocaust survivor who converted to the faith, and his children both Jewish and JW. The other a family of converts whose oldest son suffers from a degenerative liver condition, one that is typically treated by a transplant that involves blood transfusion, with the latter aspect of the surgery being expressly forbidden by the Witnesses beliefs. Both families are engaging, and offer opportunity's to look at important aspects of the Witnesses faith as a whole.
So far as the family with the (twenty-something) child with the liver condition goes, we get to explore both the impact of strict adherence to the beliefs about blood on the family's handling of a health crises (they eventually have a successful bloodless liver transplant performed at a Los Anglos area hospital, an advancement that will be equally helpful to members of all faiths), and the impact of the faith on non-Jehovah's Witness family members. The mother-in-law thinks going through the bloodless surgery is too dangerous for her grandchild, and resents the family's non-participation in Christmas and other holiday actives, a practice (or lack there of) dictated by their faith. That mother-in-law reminds me of many friends and relatives to LDS people, convinced that that seemingly alien faith is keeping them from fully embracing loved ones who do not prescribe to its precepts. In both the Jehovah's Witness and Latter-day Saint cases, I think it is often the 'non-member' parties who place the biggest distance between adherents and non, often based on mistaken our stereotyped understandings of the faith in question, and reading non-participation in certain activities as a personal rejection (i.e. JW's not showing up for Christmas dinner, and non-Mormons not being allowed to attend LDS temple marriages).
Of course the concept of family strain is also more then evident in the story of the Jewish convert. When the old man comes to tale the tale of his Holocaust experience at a local school, his Jewish daughter seems somewhat uncomfortable when he begins to speak of the imprisoned Jehovah's Witness that so inspired him as a boy. The whole story of the Jehovah's Witness in Europe during the second World War (and I suppose even in America, where they were sometimes beaten on grounds of unpatriotism) is a very interesting one to me. I wouldn't mind seeing a documentary on only that, so any JW reading this should feel free to leave a message if they know of a way that I might receive one. I admit part of this fascination is rooted in a kind of spiritual envy, most Latter-day Saints in Germany and environs during the war cooperated with the Nazi's (probably not important, but I think there were fewer Mormons in Europe at that time the Jehovah's Witnesses). I think that its a kind of manifestation of spiritual guilt that so much exposure has been given in the past decade to the story of a teenage Mormon resistance fighter who was killed by the Nazi's during the war ( I forgot his name, some Mormon could probably help me out on this). I mean what he did was brave and all, but he was the exception not the rule. In fact the Nazi's were big fans of Mormon genealogical recording keeping, thinking it a fine tool for confirming or denying racial purity. The one real negative thing I came away with from this doc, was that Jehovah's Witness sure seem to excommunicate a lot of people, roughly 30,000 a year out of a membership of about 7 million.
Anyway I liked this documentary and the people in it, wouldn't mind talking about what I learned. However I live with other people and JW's would not be welcome at my house, so let's keep it to an online chat, an open invitations to any Jehovah's Witness who might happen upon this blog.
I found Joel Engardio's concise little documentary on the Jehovah's Witnesses to be very enlightening. I know relatively little about the faith, despite having some contact with members of various Kingdom Hall's on my mission. Often Witnesses I meet knocking doors would be very prepared to share their faith with us missionary's, and somehow get us to go away with a pamphlet. At other times I enjoyed swapping stories of how people had been rude to us when we showed up at their doors. Sometimes we LDS missionary's where mistaken for Jehovah's Witnesses (you really have to know pretty little about either group to make that mistake, in my opinion), and the general impression I got from these and other occurrences, was that the average southerner found Mormons to be more blasphemous, but Jehovah's Witnesses to be more annoying, or more aggressive proselytisers. In general I really think they disliked the JW's more then the Mormons, and I'm not entirely sure why, though it might have something to do with their lack of patriotism (as traditionally understood).
The documentary covers briefly the history of the Jehovah's Witnesses, including important civil liberty's cases they where involved in (mostly involving the right to proselytize), as well as some of their more distinctive doctrines and practices. Mostly however the film follows two families, one a Jewish Holocaust survivor who converted to the faith, and his children both Jewish and JW. The other a family of converts whose oldest son suffers from a degenerative liver condition, one that is typically treated by a transplant that involves blood transfusion, with the latter aspect of the surgery being expressly forbidden by the Witnesses beliefs. Both families are engaging, and offer opportunity's to look at important aspects of the Witnesses faith as a whole.
So far as the family with the (twenty-something) child with the liver condition goes, we get to explore both the impact of strict adherence to the beliefs about blood on the family's handling of a health crises (they eventually have a successful bloodless liver transplant performed at a Los Anglos area hospital, an advancement that will be equally helpful to members of all faiths), and the impact of the faith on non-Jehovah's Witness family members. The mother-in-law thinks going through the bloodless surgery is too dangerous for her grandchild, and resents the family's non-participation in Christmas and other holiday actives, a practice (or lack there of) dictated by their faith. That mother-in-law reminds me of many friends and relatives to LDS people, convinced that that seemingly alien faith is keeping them from fully embracing loved ones who do not prescribe to its precepts. In both the Jehovah's Witness and Latter-day Saint cases, I think it is often the 'non-member' parties who place the biggest distance between adherents and non, often based on mistaken our stereotyped understandings of the faith in question, and reading non-participation in certain activities as a personal rejection (i.e. JW's not showing up for Christmas dinner, and non-Mormons not being allowed to attend LDS temple marriages).
Of course the concept of family strain is also more then evident in the story of the Jewish convert. When the old man comes to tale the tale of his Holocaust experience at a local school, his Jewish daughter seems somewhat uncomfortable when he begins to speak of the imprisoned Jehovah's Witness that so inspired him as a boy. The whole story of the Jehovah's Witness in Europe during the second World War (and I suppose even in America, where they were sometimes beaten on grounds of unpatriotism) is a very interesting one to me. I wouldn't mind seeing a documentary on only that, so any JW reading this should feel free to leave a message if they know of a way that I might receive one. I admit part of this fascination is rooted in a kind of spiritual envy, most Latter-day Saints in Germany and environs during the war cooperated with the Nazi's (probably not important, but I think there were fewer Mormons in Europe at that time the Jehovah's Witnesses). I think that its a kind of manifestation of spiritual guilt that so much exposure has been given in the past decade to the story of a teenage Mormon resistance fighter who was killed by the Nazi's during the war ( I forgot his name, some Mormon could probably help me out on this). I mean what he did was brave and all, but he was the exception not the rule. In fact the Nazi's were big fans of Mormon genealogical recording keeping, thinking it a fine tool for confirming or denying racial purity. The one real negative thing I came away with from this doc, was that Jehovah's Witness sure seem to excommunicate a lot of people, roughly 30,000 a year out of a membership of about 7 million.
Anyway I liked this documentary and the people in it, wouldn't mind talking about what I learned. However I live with other people and JW's would not be welcome at my house, so let's keep it to an online chat, an open invitations to any Jehovah's Witness who might happen upon this blog.
George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey (1984)
IMDb
One of the most famous films about a filmmaker. George Stevens Jr's loving tribute to his father(1904-1975) is satisfying on every level. You learn a lot about the man, not just his techniques and his talents, but about his soul, wonderfully recounted in some powerful audio recordings. Major names both in front and behind the camera appear to provide their reminiscences about Stevens. Also included is the color footage he took both behind the scenes of his movies, and during his service as a Eisenhower's choice to chronicle the Allied invasion of Europe in 1944-45, including some of the only color footage of the liberation of Paris and Dachau. But what really got me is the power of his scenes, even separate from the pictures they come from they are riveting, and totally involving (here I am echoing John Huston's sentiments). Great documentary, makes me want to have a Stevens marathon, which I just might do this Memorial Day weekend.
One of the most famous films about a filmmaker. George Stevens Jr's loving tribute to his father(1904-1975) is satisfying on every level. You learn a lot about the man, not just his techniques and his talents, but about his soul, wonderfully recounted in some powerful audio recordings. Major names both in front and behind the camera appear to provide their reminiscences about Stevens. Also included is the color footage he took both behind the scenes of his movies, and during his service as a Eisenhower's choice to chronicle the Allied invasion of Europe in 1944-45, including some of the only color footage of the liberation of Paris and Dachau. But what really got me is the power of his scenes, even separate from the pictures they come from they are riveting, and totally involving (here I am echoing John Huston's sentiments). Great documentary, makes me want to have a Stevens marathon, which I just might do this Memorial Day weekend.
The Independent (2000)
(California and Nevada; contemporary)
IMDb
Satire about a Roger Corman type schlock film producer, done largely in a mockumentary format. Jerry Stiller plays the producer, Morty Fineman, a man who has made over 400 films in a 30+ year career, and who is now in danger of losing the rights to those films to a bank whom he owes ten million dollars. In an effort to pay off the bank Morty enlists the aid of his estranged daughter Paloma (Janeane Garofalo) to make a blockbuster film, eventually settling on a musical biography of a famed serial killer. We get a number of opportunity's to see clips from Fineman's massive catalogue of films, all exploitative, and most mildly amusing (particularly Whale of a Cop, with Jerry's son Ben playing the lead). A number of real film makers appear as themselves in the capacity of talking heads in the documentary being made about Fineman, among them are Peter Bogdanovich and Ron Howard. The film climaxes at a retrospective of Fineman's work at the High Desert Film Festival in Chaparral, Nevada, a town whose primary industry is legalized prostitution. The clips from Morty's first production, shown at the end of the movie, an Army VD film done in the style of Ingmar Bergman, pretty much captures the essence of the proceedings. The Independent is watchable, which is probably the biggest praise Morty Fineman could ever have gotten.
IMDb
Satire about a Roger Corman type schlock film producer, done largely in a mockumentary format. Jerry Stiller plays the producer, Morty Fineman, a man who has made over 400 films in a 30+ year career, and who is now in danger of losing the rights to those films to a bank whom he owes ten million dollars. In an effort to pay off the bank Morty enlists the aid of his estranged daughter Paloma (Janeane Garofalo) to make a blockbuster film, eventually settling on a musical biography of a famed serial killer. We get a number of opportunity's to see clips from Fineman's massive catalogue of films, all exploitative, and most mildly amusing (particularly Whale of a Cop, with Jerry's son Ben playing the lead). A number of real film makers appear as themselves in the capacity of talking heads in the documentary being made about Fineman, among them are Peter Bogdanovich and Ron Howard. The film climaxes at a retrospective of Fineman's work at the High Desert Film Festival in Chaparral, Nevada, a town whose primary industry is legalized prostitution. The clips from Morty's first production, shown at the end of the movie, an Army VD film done in the style of Ingmar Bergman, pretty much captures the essence of the proceedings. The Independent is watchable, which is probably the biggest praise Morty Fineman could ever have gotten.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Caveman Pictures
Now you've probably heard that a television series is in the works staring the Gicko Cavemen. Now this is probably stretching the concept too thin (like most SNL inspired movies) but at lest these photo stills seem mildly entertaining.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Gilmore Girls: Season 6 (2005-2006)
(Mostly Connecticut; contemporary)
IMDb
A true testament to the fact that I have too much time on my hands and need a full-time job, is the fact that I watched all 22 episodes of this in just four days. The sadness factor aside, its not a bad way to watch a season, you retain the emotional and logical continuity of the program to a great degree. Season 6 can basically be divided into two parts, the first 8 episodes focusing on Rory's prolonged 'time-off' from Yale, and the last 14 on Luke's newly discovered daughter April. I admire the strength of the arcs that started to develop again in the 5th season. Seasons 1 and 2 had arcs that fit nicely into the teen/family drama aspects of the show, while seasons 3 & 4 seemed to ride the sentiment of life transitions (graduating high school starting college) for story and momentum (with season 4 seeming the most uneven). After that though, when the Rory character was made more 'adult', things got stronger. This is not to say it wasn't an enjoyable program before, it was, but it progressed to another level starting in season 5, and this season may have been the most dramatically satisfying ever. I even kind of sympathise with the Logan character. Stand out sequences this season include the duel 'Paul Ankia' dream, and the monument to creative editing that is family dinner in 'Friday Nights All Right For Fighting'.
IMDb
A true testament to the fact that I have too much time on my hands and need a full-time job, is the fact that I watched all 22 episodes of this in just four days. The sadness factor aside, its not a bad way to watch a season, you retain the emotional and logical continuity of the program to a great degree. Season 6 can basically be divided into two parts, the first 8 episodes focusing on Rory's prolonged 'time-off' from Yale, and the last 14 on Luke's newly discovered daughter April. I admire the strength of the arcs that started to develop again in the 5th season. Seasons 1 and 2 had arcs that fit nicely into the teen/family drama aspects of the show, while seasons 3 & 4 seemed to ride the sentiment of life transitions (graduating high school starting college) for story and momentum (with season 4 seeming the most uneven). After that though, when the Rory character was made more 'adult', things got stronger. This is not to say it wasn't an enjoyable program before, it was, but it progressed to another level starting in season 5, and this season may have been the most dramatically satisfying ever. I even kind of sympathise with the Logan character. Stand out sequences this season include the duel 'Paul Ankia' dream, and the monument to creative editing that is family dinner in 'Friday Nights All Right For Fighting'.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
The North Avenue Irregulars (1979)
(New Campton, California; contemporary)
IMDb
Edward Herrmann plays the Reverend Michael Hill, a motorcycle ridding widower, who has just taken over the post of pastor at the North Avenue Presbyterian Church. Shortly after arriving in his new community, the Reverend discovers that it is overrun by an illegal gambling operation and a corrupt city hall and police department. After denouncing the situation on television, he earns the wrath of the local syndicate, but his boldness inspires a couple of treasury agents (Michael Constantine and Steve Franken) to in list his help in fighting the corruption. Unable to rustle up any help from the men in his congregation, Rev. Hill enlists some of the church lady's to go under cover, and later tail, the various couriers for the gambling operation. Did I mention this film was Disney.
This is fun Saturday afternoon fair, not meant to be taken to seriously. The Church lady's are mostly types, the old lady, the black lady, the lady with a half-a-dozen kids, but their enjoyable enough to watch. I think I probably liked this movie more then it deserves, but its a late 70's Disney picture I'd never seen (I didn't even know it existed until a month or so ago), so It brought me back to a time when all of these pictures were new to me. As an added plus, this is one of the few family movies your likely to see that includes the fire bombing of a chapel.
IMDb
Edward Herrmann plays the Reverend Michael Hill, a motorcycle ridding widower, who has just taken over the post of pastor at the North Avenue Presbyterian Church. Shortly after arriving in his new community, the Reverend discovers that it is overrun by an illegal gambling operation and a corrupt city hall and police department. After denouncing the situation on television, he earns the wrath of the local syndicate, but his boldness inspires a couple of treasury agents (Michael Constantine and Steve Franken) to in list his help in fighting the corruption. Unable to rustle up any help from the men in his congregation, Rev. Hill enlists some of the church lady's to go under cover, and later tail, the various couriers for the gambling operation. Did I mention this film was Disney.
This is fun Saturday afternoon fair, not meant to be taken to seriously. The Church lady's are mostly types, the old lady, the black lady, the lady with a half-a-dozen kids, but their enjoyable enough to watch. I think I probably liked this movie more then it deserves, but its a late 70's Disney picture I'd never seen (I didn't even know it existed until a month or so ago), so It brought me back to a time when all of these pictures were new to me. As an added plus, this is one of the few family movies your likely to see that includes the fire bombing of a chapel.
Hail the Conquering Hero (1944)
(San Fransisco and Oak Ridge California; 1943ish)
IMDb
War time comedy by Preston Struges showcases the directors unique ability to use star Eddie Bracken to full effect. Bracken pays Woodrow Lafayette Pershing Truesmith, the son of a (late) medal of honor winning World War One hero, who is discharged from the Marines after a month of basic training because of chronic hay fever. Embarrassed by being unable to live up to the lofty expectations set by his father, Truesmith goes to work for a factor producing war supplies, and has a friend in the field send letters to his mother in which he claims to be serving overseas. After a year of this Woodrow gets lonesome for home, and decides to head back to his home town and face the truth. The night before he is to leave from San Fransisco he runs into six Marines returning from Guadalcanal. He buys them beers and explains his plight, and before long his new friends have taken it upon themselves to pass the young man off as a fellow solder returning home from the front.
High expectations at home, and a series of mistaken communications, leads the citizens of Oak Ridge to believe that their Woodrow is a bonafied war hero, a statues which the six Marines (lead by Sturges regular William Demarest) do their best to maintain. Before long 'Corporeal Truesmith' has been drafted to run for mayor against the father of his pre-war girlfriends fiancee. As is typical for a Sturges movie the complications keep mounting, and poor Bracken gets increasingly nervous as the hole he's in grows deeper and deeper. Of course the director has a Capra-like hart and things are bound turn out well, which is probably what makes watching the good mans suffering bearable (that and its funny). A wonderful World War Two home front film, unlike any other.
IMDb
War time comedy by Preston Struges showcases the directors unique ability to use star Eddie Bracken to full effect. Bracken pays Woodrow Lafayette Pershing Truesmith, the son of a (late) medal of honor winning World War One hero, who is discharged from the Marines after a month of basic training because of chronic hay fever. Embarrassed by being unable to live up to the lofty expectations set by his father, Truesmith goes to work for a factor producing war supplies, and has a friend in the field send letters to his mother in which he claims to be serving overseas. After a year of this Woodrow gets lonesome for home, and decides to head back to his home town and face the truth. The night before he is to leave from San Fransisco he runs into six Marines returning from Guadalcanal. He buys them beers and explains his plight, and before long his new friends have taken it upon themselves to pass the young man off as a fellow solder returning home from the front.
High expectations at home, and a series of mistaken communications, leads the citizens of Oak Ridge to believe that their Woodrow is a bonafied war hero, a statues which the six Marines (lead by Sturges regular William Demarest) do their best to maintain. Before long 'Corporeal Truesmith' has been drafted to run for mayor against the father of his pre-war girlfriends fiancee. As is typical for a Sturges movie the complications keep mounting, and poor Bracken gets increasingly nervous as the hole he's in grows deeper and deeper. Of course the director has a Capra-like hart and things are bound turn out well, which is probably what makes watching the good mans suffering bearable (that and its funny). A wonderful World War Two home front film, unlike any other.
To Sir, With Love (1967)
(London, contemporary)
IMDb
There is a story in my family about how when my mom was a teenager she wanted to go and see this movie, but my grandmother wouldn't let her because she had come under the impression that it was somehow a scandalous production. Well shortly after this ultimatum, a local church leader praised the film as a wonderful source of appropriate and uplifting entertainment for young people. Given this oft told tale, its kind of surprising that I had never actually seen this movie before. In addition to the family history element, To Sire, With Love is the archetypal inspiring teacher, rowdy classroom movie of the 60's (much as Stand and Deliver was to its time). Star Poitier had some experience in this genera, have been one of the students in the 1955 Glenn Ford film Blackboard Jungle (the iconic teacher film of its decade).
Poitier plays Mark Thackeray, a Guiana born (American educated?) engineer, who takes a temp job at an inner-city London High School when he is unable to find employment in his chosen field. Predictably the first few days are rough on teacher and students, but in time a revelation hits (triggered by a classroom incident), and Mr. Thackeray starts treating his students as adults. Having never really experienced this before, the students respond positively, saving for a few hold outs who are necessary for plot purposes.
The movie now has the added benefit of wonderfully evoking its time an place. We've the music, which includes Lulu's rendition of the endearing but slightly saccharine titular song, and some mostly forgotten Herman's Hermits knock-off band, providing tunes for the school dance. You've also got a lot of British people complaining about the way the Yanks are running the world, I shudder to think I'll probably be hearing a lot of the same things said here in thirty years regarding the Chinese. It's also interesting to contrast the racial situation in England with that in the United States, there was defiantly some unease there, but a little farther from the surface then we think of it being in America at the time.
One of the funny things that unexpectedly jumped out at me was the undercurrent of that nations socialist experiment. There is a scene when Thackeray has to hand out these blue forms to the graduating class, so that they can register for the national health care plan. While kind of reminiscent of the American practice of registering with selective service, this combined with the depressed, run down feeling of the school and the adjoining neighbourhood, and the general sense of failed empire, makes for a kind of 1984 lite. Maybe I'm reading to much into this, Brazil after all is still stuck in my brain.
One must appreciate the straight forward simplicity of this film, it works on the level of Plato's perfect form, this is exactly how this movie should look like. The only real false lead in the film, possibly dictated by the times, is a hinted at postnatal romantic relationship between Thackeray and a blond lady teacher at the school. Of course Poitier would cross that boundary in another film of the same year, Guess Who's Coming To Dinner. The actor also had one more entry in that triumvirate year, the best picture winner In the Heat of the Night. Between these three films, Sidney Poitier was the number one box-office attraction of 1967.
IMDb
There is a story in my family about how when my mom was a teenager she wanted to go and see this movie, but my grandmother wouldn't let her because she had come under the impression that it was somehow a scandalous production. Well shortly after this ultimatum, a local church leader praised the film as a wonderful source of appropriate and uplifting entertainment for young people. Given this oft told tale, its kind of surprising that I had never actually seen this movie before. In addition to the family history element, To Sire, With Love is the archetypal inspiring teacher, rowdy classroom movie of the 60's (much as Stand and Deliver was to its time). Star Poitier had some experience in this genera, have been one of the students in the 1955 Glenn Ford film Blackboard Jungle (the iconic teacher film of its decade).
Poitier plays Mark Thackeray, a Guiana born (American educated?) engineer, who takes a temp job at an inner-city London High School when he is unable to find employment in his chosen field. Predictably the first few days are rough on teacher and students, but in time a revelation hits (triggered by a classroom incident), and Mr. Thackeray starts treating his students as adults. Having never really experienced this before, the students respond positively, saving for a few hold outs who are necessary for plot purposes.
The movie now has the added benefit of wonderfully evoking its time an place. We've the music, which includes Lulu's rendition of the endearing but slightly saccharine titular song, and some mostly forgotten Herman's Hermits knock-off band, providing tunes for the school dance. You've also got a lot of British people complaining about the way the Yanks are running the world, I shudder to think I'll probably be hearing a lot of the same things said here in thirty years regarding the Chinese. It's also interesting to contrast the racial situation in England with that in the United States, there was defiantly some unease there, but a little farther from the surface then we think of it being in America at the time.
One of the funny things that unexpectedly jumped out at me was the undercurrent of that nations socialist experiment. There is a scene when Thackeray has to hand out these blue forms to the graduating class, so that they can register for the national health care plan. While kind of reminiscent of the American practice of registering with selective service, this combined with the depressed, run down feeling of the school and the adjoining neighbourhood, and the general sense of failed empire, makes for a kind of 1984 lite. Maybe I'm reading to much into this, Brazil after all is still stuck in my brain.
One must appreciate the straight forward simplicity of this film, it works on the level of Plato's perfect form, this is exactly how this movie should look like. The only real false lead in the film, possibly dictated by the times, is a hinted at postnatal romantic relationship between Thackeray and a blond lady teacher at the school. Of course Poitier would cross that boundary in another film of the same year, Guess Who's Coming To Dinner. The actor also had one more entry in that triumvirate year, the best picture winner In the Heat of the Night. Between these three films, Sidney Poitier was the number one box-office attraction of 1967.
Monday, May 14, 2007
The Message (1976)
(Arabia, 7th Century A.D.)
IMDb
Unsatisfying and uninvolving epic about foundational events in the history of Islam, through the conquest of Mecca. The films producers aim for a reverent, respectful approach (even boasting in the opening credits that their presentation was deemed acceptable by an Egyptian university and a prestigious sounding Islamic organization), and in so doing honor Islamic custom in not representing the prophet Muhammad on film. This is something of a liability dramatically in that we never really get a sense of who Muhammad was as a person, and we are subjected to quite a few scenes in which characters address the camera as if the audience were Muhammad. The film mostly concentrates on the trials of various inner-circle followers of the prophet, including the warrior figure Hamzea (played by Anthony Quinn, the only real star in the cast), and an abundance of battle scenes. It's a slow going feature, which tells us close to nothing over its three hour running time.
Some would accuse the film of soft pedaling the faith, as aside from willing to do battle for there cause, you see little that would indicate any basis for the violent acts associated with radical Islam (of course the same is true of Christianity in relation to its historic abuses). The Islam presented here sounds pretty good, pretty tolerant and progressive, it is no doubt the Islam of Cat Stevens. The villains of the picture are cruel, greedy, polytheistic idolaters, no Jews are shown, and the one real Christian character ultimately comes off well. I really can't comment beyond that in terms of the religious and political dimensions of the film, I know relatively about the Muslim faith. A montage at the end of the movie, showing then present day Muslims around the world in prayer, strives to emphasis the universality of the faith, a theme that gets a fair bit of emphasis in the film itself. I wanted to like this movie but I didn't, mostly I was board. Most any documentary on the subject would be a vastly better way to learn about the Islamic faith.
IMDb
Unsatisfying and uninvolving epic about foundational events in the history of Islam, through the conquest of Mecca. The films producers aim for a reverent, respectful approach (even boasting in the opening credits that their presentation was deemed acceptable by an Egyptian university and a prestigious sounding Islamic organization), and in so doing honor Islamic custom in not representing the prophet Muhammad on film. This is something of a liability dramatically in that we never really get a sense of who Muhammad was as a person, and we are subjected to quite a few scenes in which characters address the camera as if the audience were Muhammad. The film mostly concentrates on the trials of various inner-circle followers of the prophet, including the warrior figure Hamzea (played by Anthony Quinn, the only real star in the cast), and an abundance of battle scenes. It's a slow going feature, which tells us close to nothing over its three hour running time.
Some would accuse the film of soft pedaling the faith, as aside from willing to do battle for there cause, you see little that would indicate any basis for the violent acts associated with radical Islam (of course the same is true of Christianity in relation to its historic abuses). The Islam presented here sounds pretty good, pretty tolerant and progressive, it is no doubt the Islam of Cat Stevens. The villains of the picture are cruel, greedy, polytheistic idolaters, no Jews are shown, and the one real Christian character ultimately comes off well. I really can't comment beyond that in terms of the religious and political dimensions of the film, I know relatively about the Muslim faith. A montage at the end of the movie, showing then present day Muslims around the world in prayer, strives to emphasis the universality of the faith, a theme that gets a fair bit of emphasis in the film itself. I wanted to like this movie but I didn't, mostly I was board. Most any documentary on the subject would be a vastly better way to learn about the Islamic faith.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
The 4400: Season 3 (2006)
(The Seattle area, contemporary)
IMDb
I started watching the 3rd season of The 4400 with its rebroadcasts late Wednesday evenings on USA. I got through about half the season that way, and then it was released on DVD. My sister immediately bought the set, and I finished the second half that way in a couple of days. I must say that it plays better when you can watch several episodes at once, because it is a detail oriented series and you retain more that way. Anyway at first I thought they were kind of jumbling to many plot threads together, the Nova group, Isabelle, the use of neuro-agent Promicen to grant 'abilities' to non-4400 (both military and civilian), the resurrection of Jordan Colliar, and the factional conflicts in the future. However in about the last 3 or 4 episodes these seem to come together nicely, resolving enough while introducing new concepts and developments to be explored next season (through the quality montage you can expect to see at the end of each season final). Also the flash forward to the initial conflict in 'the great disaster', (though now possibly negated by Isabelle's 2nd transformation), is perhaps the most intriguing I've seen since Babylon 5. I'm looking forward to Richards transformation into a militant, I think there's a lot of potential there, epically sense he's probably the most sympathetic character in the show, and if he does go dark the audience might even side with him. The new Colliar is also intriguing. Finally, I've developed something of a thing for Summer Glau.
IMDb
I started watching the 3rd season of The 4400 with its rebroadcasts late Wednesday evenings on USA. I got through about half the season that way, and then it was released on DVD. My sister immediately bought the set, and I finished the second half that way in a couple of days. I must say that it plays better when you can watch several episodes at once, because it is a detail oriented series and you retain more that way. Anyway at first I thought they were kind of jumbling to many plot threads together, the Nova group, Isabelle, the use of neuro-agent Promicen to grant 'abilities' to non-4400 (both military and civilian), the resurrection of Jordan Colliar, and the factional conflicts in the future. However in about the last 3 or 4 episodes these seem to come together nicely, resolving enough while introducing new concepts and developments to be explored next season (through the quality montage you can expect to see at the end of each season final). Also the flash forward to the initial conflict in 'the great disaster', (though now possibly negated by Isabelle's 2nd transformation), is perhaps the most intriguing I've seen since Babylon 5. I'm looking forward to Richards transformation into a militant, I think there's a lot of potential there, epically sense he's probably the most sympathetic character in the show, and if he does go dark the audience might even side with him. The new Colliar is also intriguing. Finally, I've developed something of a thing for Summer Glau.
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
The West Wing: Season 3 (2001-2002)
(primarily the White House, also New Hampshire, New York, and other locations)
IMDb
Well those who know me know that I like The West Wing, so I'll spare you the general praise. There are three main threads running through the third season, 1) the fallout from Bartlet's MS revelation, 2) the re-election campaign, and 3) the raise of Qumar as a state sponsor of terror. As this was the season that aired in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, there is a noticeable change in tone from that Clinton-era feel, to the 'war on terror' (this was also the season when I became a regular viewer). Series creator Aaron Sorkin has been accused of going militant after 9/11, and I see where people get that. Ironically this largely liberal cultural text, should probably be regarded as one of the best pop-culture taps into the American mindset just after the attacks (just look at the montage in the season final of the secret American assassination of high ranking middle-eastern leader).
Speaking of the season final (Posse Comitatus) it is a gem, perhaps the emotional highlight of the entire series. It tops itself with two effecting montages, and the introduction of two characters who will be important additions in the 4th season (played by Lily Tomlin, and James Brolin). Of the DVD set itself, I'd say the highlight for me was the audio commentary by the late John Spencer on the Christmas episode Bartlet for America, in which we see in flash back Leo's brief relapse into alcoholism during the final days of the 98' campaign. Sense much of this story line echos the actors own lived experience (i.e. John Spencer was a long time alcoholic) it works on several levels, and the performer has more then usual unique insight to add to the proceedings. Ironically later on John Spencer's own real-life passing would parallel events in his characters life, as the actor passed on from a heart-attack, about a year and a half after the near fatal one which befell his character. Series producer John Wells later remarked on the impact that had on him, as he had written the season 6 opener in which the character has his initial heart-attack. Anyway The West Wing is excellent stuff.
IMDb
Well those who know me know that I like The West Wing, so I'll spare you the general praise. There are three main threads running through the third season, 1) the fallout from Bartlet's MS revelation, 2) the re-election campaign, and 3) the raise of Qumar as a state sponsor of terror. As this was the season that aired in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, there is a noticeable change in tone from that Clinton-era feel, to the 'war on terror' (this was also the season when I became a regular viewer). Series creator Aaron Sorkin has been accused of going militant after 9/11, and I see where people get that. Ironically this largely liberal cultural text, should probably be regarded as one of the best pop-culture taps into the American mindset just after the attacks (just look at the montage in the season final of the secret American assassination of high ranking middle-eastern leader).
Speaking of the season final (Posse Comitatus) it is a gem, perhaps the emotional highlight of the entire series. It tops itself with two effecting montages, and the introduction of two characters who will be important additions in the 4th season (played by Lily Tomlin, and James Brolin). Of the DVD set itself, I'd say the highlight for me was the audio commentary by the late John Spencer on the Christmas episode Bartlet for America, in which we see in flash back Leo's brief relapse into alcoholism during the final days of the 98' campaign. Sense much of this story line echos the actors own lived experience (i.e. John Spencer was a long time alcoholic) it works on several levels, and the performer has more then usual unique insight to add to the proceedings. Ironically later on John Spencer's own real-life passing would parallel events in his characters life, as the actor passed on from a heart-attack, about a year and a half after the near fatal one which befell his character. Series producer John Wells later remarked on the impact that had on him, as he had written the season 6 opener in which the character has his initial heart-attack. Anyway The West Wing is excellent stuff.
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
World War II: When Lions Roared (1994)
(various locations around the globe, primarily the capitals of the three major Allied powers)
IMDb
This mid-90's mini-series about the great leaders of the second World War, offers excellent roles for, and strong performances by, Michael Caine (as Stalin), Bob Hoskins (as Churchill), and John Lithgow (as FDR). Much of the dialogue throughout this three hour production is lifted from real-life statements of the figures involved. While epic in its subject matter, the budget (no doubt strained under the salaries of the leads) relies on BBC-style sets, minimal outdoor shooting, and lots of period footage to create the appropriate sense of atmosphere and scope. One of the creative flourishes employed is the heavy use of split screen cuts, where in the lead characters often speak to each other seemingly directly, when they are in fact on different continent's, as well as in an era before such instantaneous communications were practical, even possible. This is at first somewhat distracting, but you get used to it.
It's a fine production, a kind of novelty but enjoyable in a straight sense as well. The best scenes are probably when all three are really together at the conferences in Tehran and Yalta. Speaking of which I greatly admire the very subtle way in which they make Lithgow's Roosevelt look sickly towards the end. All of the players perfectly fit their roles, Caine even makes his Stalin kind of likable (which I suppose he was when he wanted to be). However if I had to chose a favorite I'd have to go with Hoskins, few twentieth century figures can possibly be as fun to play as Churchill. Anyway this movie made me want to play Axis and Allies and wear cool hats while doing it.
IMDb
This mid-90's mini-series about the great leaders of the second World War, offers excellent roles for, and strong performances by, Michael Caine (as Stalin), Bob Hoskins (as Churchill), and John Lithgow (as FDR). Much of the dialogue throughout this three hour production is lifted from real-life statements of the figures involved. While epic in its subject matter, the budget (no doubt strained under the salaries of the leads) relies on BBC-style sets, minimal outdoor shooting, and lots of period footage to create the appropriate sense of atmosphere and scope. One of the creative flourishes employed is the heavy use of split screen cuts, where in the lead characters often speak to each other seemingly directly, when they are in fact on different continent's, as well as in an era before such instantaneous communications were practical, even possible. This is at first somewhat distracting, but you get used to it.
It's a fine production, a kind of novelty but enjoyable in a straight sense as well. The best scenes are probably when all three are really together at the conferences in Tehran and Yalta. Speaking of which I greatly admire the very subtle way in which they make Lithgow's Roosevelt look sickly towards the end. All of the players perfectly fit their roles, Caine even makes his Stalin kind of likable (which I suppose he was when he wanted to be). However if I had to chose a favorite I'd have to go with Hoskins, few twentieth century figures can possibly be as fun to play as Churchill. Anyway this movie made me want to play Axis and Allies and wear cool hats while doing it.
The Southerner (1945)
(The rural American south, roughly contemporary)
IMDb
Director Jean Renoir considered this uneven, episodic story of a tenant family struggling to start their own farm, to be the highlight of his American exile period. Attempting to tap into a deep vain of Americana and mythologization of the protestant work ethic, Renoir comes up short in a number of respects. First off, while something can be said for the overwhelming 'close to the earth' aspects of the story, both in terms of its relative simplicity and evocation of the rural ethos, it's still mostly pretty dull stuff. Renoir made some of the finest films to ever come out of Europe, and while his characters in films like The Grand Illusion might sometimes fall into type, they never-the-less always remained fully realized characters. That extent of deep characterization felt noticeably lacking in this film, with leads Zachary Scott and Betty Field exuding little more then a pleasant banality, even after going through excessive hardships. The Beulah Bondi character, who I think was suppose to be charmingly cranky, was really just whinny and annoying. Even Normon Lloyd (man of one of the all time great creepy faces) was waisted. I suspect this features winning of the Best Picture Award at the Venice Film festival, had more to do with a general respect for Renior (mostly well deserved), and their being recently liberated by the Americans, then with its own merits. Granted time may have diminished the impact of the film, which was very much unlike the standard studio output of its era.
IMDb
Director Jean Renoir considered this uneven, episodic story of a tenant family struggling to start their own farm, to be the highlight of his American exile period. Attempting to tap into a deep vain of Americana and mythologization of the protestant work ethic, Renoir comes up short in a number of respects. First off, while something can be said for the overwhelming 'close to the earth' aspects of the story, both in terms of its relative simplicity and evocation of the rural ethos, it's still mostly pretty dull stuff. Renoir made some of the finest films to ever come out of Europe, and while his characters in films like The Grand Illusion might sometimes fall into type, they never-the-less always remained fully realized characters. That extent of deep characterization felt noticeably lacking in this film, with leads Zachary Scott and Betty Field exuding little more then a pleasant banality, even after going through excessive hardships. The Beulah Bondi character, who I think was suppose to be charmingly cranky, was really just whinny and annoying. Even Normon Lloyd (man of one of the all time great creepy faces) was waisted. I suspect this features winning of the Best Picture Award at the Venice Film festival, had more to do with a general respect for Renior (mostly well deserved), and their being recently liberated by the Americans, then with its own merits. Granted time may have diminished the impact of the film, which was very much unlike the standard studio output of its era.
Saturday, May 5, 2007
The Mormons (2007)
PBS Site
Joint production of Frontline and The American Experience by religious documentarian Helen Whitney. I was impressed on several levels, both aesthetically and in terms of content. In the aesthetics department I liked the look of the thing, especially the lighting of the interview subjects, it seemed to re-enforce that twilight quality that I think the church occupies in the minds of most Americans (meaning the difficulty Mormonism presents in terms of classification, it's neither day nor night). Also I enjoyed a mostly new set of talking heads, as opposed to those featured in PBS's several Mormon themed documentaries of the late 1990's. The music was very moving at times, reminds me of Phillip Glass if he did prelude music for church devotionals.
In terms of content, I think the Church was treated very fairly, with real class. That seems to be the hang up of most Mormons when dealing with any presentation of the Church outside of official 'correlated' control, 'how do we look?'. The treatment falls in line with the so-called new Mormon history, the good points are highlighted, but the controversial topics are not glossed over in return. I know any talk about polygamy, mountain meadows, women's depression, homosexuals, the temple, etc., makes some orthodox Mormons uncomfortable. Many Mormons are okay with some limited discussion about these issues, but feel the need for it to always come around at the end to a reinforcement of orthodox positions, and more consumer friendly aspects of church doctrine and history. I on the other hand think we should probably talk about these 'fringe' issues more. We need to deal with them, because not dealing with them is denial, and denial is seldom healthy.
I'd be hard pressed to come up with something said in the documentary that is in any way outrageous, or intentionally offensive. People can and will disagree on matters central to the Mormon faith and experience, lets air all sides and hope were confident enough in our own position to not take offense and live with it. I'd like to heap some praise on Marlin K. Jensen, I know were not suppose to be rooting for future appointments to the apostleship, but I've had my eye on him since a talk he gave in General Conference back in 2000. Elder Jensen expresses positions on the subjects he is asked about that are safely within the LDS mainstream, but you always get the feeling that he really understands, even respects the other side on these matters. This is something sadly that I can't say for everyone in leadership. Again I gulp a little when Elder Oaks says that we shouldn't voice any criticism of the leadership, even when it may be true. Really my differences with the 'establishment' are mostly matters of style, and I've come to live with that. However everything I know tells me that a lack of criticism and oversight of any group or any person (including myself) leads to abuses.
There were a few places in this documentary where I was really moved, inspired, or felt like I made some kind of spiritual connection I never had before. For instance I never fully understood the Mormon obsession with dancing. I just kind of assumed this was a holdover of frontier entertainment from the 19th century. However when they spoke of dancing as a Mormon celebration of the body, and of joy in physicality (with some beautiful footage of graceful performance dance played as B roll) I nearly broke down. What a beautiful aspect of my faith that I had never appreciated, what a wonderful contribution to and extension of theology into the mortal sphere. But mostly I just appreciated the respectful honesty of all who were interviewed. I highly recommend The Mormons as a time saving substitute for any of a number of wonderful general overview books written on the Church.
Joint production of Frontline and The American Experience by religious documentarian Helen Whitney. I was impressed on several levels, both aesthetically and in terms of content. In the aesthetics department I liked the look of the thing, especially the lighting of the interview subjects, it seemed to re-enforce that twilight quality that I think the church occupies in the minds of most Americans (meaning the difficulty Mormonism presents in terms of classification, it's neither day nor night). Also I enjoyed a mostly new set of talking heads, as opposed to those featured in PBS's several Mormon themed documentaries of the late 1990's. The music was very moving at times, reminds me of Phillip Glass if he did prelude music for church devotionals.
In terms of content, I think the Church was treated very fairly, with real class. That seems to be the hang up of most Mormons when dealing with any presentation of the Church outside of official 'correlated' control, 'how do we look?'. The treatment falls in line with the so-called new Mormon history, the good points are highlighted, but the controversial topics are not glossed over in return. I know any talk about polygamy, mountain meadows, women's depression, homosexuals, the temple, etc., makes some orthodox Mormons uncomfortable. Many Mormons are okay with some limited discussion about these issues, but feel the need for it to always come around at the end to a reinforcement of orthodox positions, and more consumer friendly aspects of church doctrine and history. I on the other hand think we should probably talk about these 'fringe' issues more. We need to deal with them, because not dealing with them is denial, and denial is seldom healthy.
I'd be hard pressed to come up with something said in the documentary that is in any way outrageous, or intentionally offensive. People can and will disagree on matters central to the Mormon faith and experience, lets air all sides and hope were confident enough in our own position to not take offense and live with it. I'd like to heap some praise on Marlin K. Jensen, I know were not suppose to be rooting for future appointments to the apostleship, but I've had my eye on him since a talk he gave in General Conference back in 2000. Elder Jensen expresses positions on the subjects he is asked about that are safely within the LDS mainstream, but you always get the feeling that he really understands, even respects the other side on these matters. This is something sadly that I can't say for everyone in leadership. Again I gulp a little when Elder Oaks says that we shouldn't voice any criticism of the leadership, even when it may be true. Really my differences with the 'establishment' are mostly matters of style, and I've come to live with that. However everything I know tells me that a lack of criticism and oversight of any group or any person (including myself) leads to abuses.
There were a few places in this documentary where I was really moved, inspired, or felt like I made some kind of spiritual connection I never had before. For instance I never fully understood the Mormon obsession with dancing. I just kind of assumed this was a holdover of frontier entertainment from the 19th century. However when they spoke of dancing as a Mormon celebration of the body, and of joy in physicality (with some beautiful footage of graceful performance dance played as B roll) I nearly broke down. What a beautiful aspect of my faith that I had never appreciated, what a wonderful contribution to and extension of theology into the mortal sphere. But mostly I just appreciated the respectful honesty of all who were interviewed. I highly recommend The Mormons as a time saving substitute for any of a number of wonderful general overview books written on the Church.
Friday, May 4, 2007
The Goebbels Experiment (2005)
Excerpts from the diary of Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels, covering the years 1924-1945. Events are illustrated through archival footage, film clips, contemporary video of places refereed to in the journals, and the most minimal of reenactments. Kenneth Branagh's reading of the mans words is as strong a performance and you might suppose from the Irish Shakespearean.
The draw of the film is a glimpse inside the mind of this key Nazi leader. Goebbels obviously thought a lot of his own ideas and observations, and of all the big name party members, he kept the most extensive personal records. From a depressed and angry college years (one entry read might have been a veiled reference to a future suicide), Goebbels finds his meaning in the National Socialist Party, and in Adolph Hitler, a man with whom he would have a varied relationship.
At times Goebble's worships his Fuhrer, and can't seem to say enough good things about him, at other times it appears the Hitler is now an 'idiot' or has "lost his way, he no longer leads us." These shifts in perception seem to have a lot to do with the amount of attention he feels he is being paid ("Sunday: Breakfeast at the Furher's"), and the extent to which he is then currently in the fickle mans 'good graces'. Also highlighted is Goebble's opinions on other important Nazi's and world leaders, which also seem to change. Goreing for example is "a megalomaniac" then "a nice guy really" and finally "an idiot" and even "effeminate". The propaganda ministers assessment of Churchill also changes with time, going from "ugly, fat" to "an adversary to be respected, he's not as stupid as Chamberlain was."
As Goebbles was in charge of propaganda he spends a good deal of time in his diary's talking about movies. He is mostly a very critical reviewer, at least when it comes to forgone films, thought he had his issues with Leni Refensthal as well. In one entry he tells how a certain Czech film, while well made, had no effect on him, while words on the screen inform us that he later had an affair with the lead actress. Joseph's obsession with film and image lead to his own home as well, as the mans children where routinely photographed for propaganda purposes. Seeing his seemingly loving and happy large brood prance around on screen is all the more sickening when one knows that he and his wife poisoned them in Hitlers bunker, so that they would never live to be 'brainwashed' by the Allied powers. The Goebbels Experiment ends with footage of Allied troops inspecting the bodies of the dead children, and the burned corpse of the Joseph Goebbels.
The draw of the film is a glimpse inside the mind of this key Nazi leader. Goebbels obviously thought a lot of his own ideas and observations, and of all the big name party members, he kept the most extensive personal records. From a depressed and angry college years (one entry read might have been a veiled reference to a future suicide), Goebbels finds his meaning in the National Socialist Party, and in Adolph Hitler, a man with whom he would have a varied relationship.
At times Goebble's worships his Fuhrer, and can't seem to say enough good things about him, at other times it appears the Hitler is now an 'idiot' or has "lost his way, he no longer leads us." These shifts in perception seem to have a lot to do with the amount of attention he feels he is being paid ("Sunday: Breakfeast at the Furher's"), and the extent to which he is then currently in the fickle mans 'good graces'. Also highlighted is Goebble's opinions on other important Nazi's and world leaders, which also seem to change. Goreing for example is "a megalomaniac" then "a nice guy really" and finally "an idiot" and even "effeminate". The propaganda ministers assessment of Churchill also changes with time, going from "ugly, fat" to "an adversary to be respected, he's not as stupid as Chamberlain was."
As Goebbles was in charge of propaganda he spends a good deal of time in his diary's talking about movies. He is mostly a very critical reviewer, at least when it comes to forgone films, thought he had his issues with Leni Refensthal as well. In one entry he tells how a certain Czech film, while well made, had no effect on him, while words on the screen inform us that he later had an affair with the lead actress. Joseph's obsession with film and image lead to his own home as well, as the mans children where routinely photographed for propaganda purposes. Seeing his seemingly loving and happy large brood prance around on screen is all the more sickening when one knows that he and his wife poisoned them in Hitlers bunker, so that they would never live to be 'brainwashed' by the Allied powers. The Goebbels Experiment ends with footage of Allied troops inspecting the bodies of the dead children, and the burned corpse of the Joseph Goebbels.
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Ryan's Daughter (1970)
(The Irish coast, 1916)
IMDb
David Lean never ceased being a master. After a triumvet of films consisting of The Bridge on the River Kawi, Lawrence of Arabia, and Doctor Zhivago, you couldn't really expect anybody to top those. While Ryan's Daughter is lesser known then these three films, and not nearly as epic in scope, it's just as strong in its direction. A vast film full of visual flourish, and griping story, as well as fascinating characters, and characterizations for that matter. If there had been a SAG award in 1970, I don't know how this film could have possibly lost. George C. Scott in Patton may have been more memorable as a single performance, but this movie has got Trevor Howard as powerfully righteous (not self righteous) Catholic Priest, Leo McKern as a blustery (but ultimately cowardly) inn-keep, and John Mills (father of Hayley and Juliet) earning himself a supporting actor Oscar as a sad, pathetic creature out of Lon Cheney.
Perhaps the most surprising performance in the film comes from Robert Mitchum, who proves he was capable of a lot more then the parts the studios usually gave him allowed. Here we have a quite, patient Mitchum, a man of dignity, poise, and learning, who is also an armature botanist. His being cast against type adds an extra layer of tension to the proceedings, as your just waiting for him to crack. Mitchum's Charles Shaughnessy is the village school master, who three years after his wife's death marries a much younger women, a former student of his in fact, who basically forces herself upon him so enamoured she is. That is not to say that Mitchum doesn't return the affection, he comes to love her deeply, deeply enough to see the marriage through the trouble that lies ahead.
The aforementioned trouble comes in the form of Randolph Doryan (Christopher Jones), a shell shocked officer sent back from the front because of a leg injury. Major Doryan is given what is considered a cushy position, at a small military post in occupied Ireland. The troubled but hansom young man comes quickly into a mutual fancy with Mrs. Shaghnessy. This is bad because not only do the local townsfolk hate the British officers there stationed, but Rosy's husband is Robert Mitchum, and you've all seen Cape Fear, you know what he's capable of. Capable or not he never acts in rage, though as he starts to piece together the puzzel of what is happening between his wife and the newcomer, you're pretty sure he's gonna.
However in the end its the towns people who seem to re-enforce the English stereotype of a hot blooded race who can't be trusted to govern themselves. You see that in the unruly young people who crowed the main (and only) street, because there is little employment around. You see it in the mob that comes up to the school teachers house to beat Rose Shaughnessy for being the traitor, though there is not but circumstantial evidence to suggest that she tipped off the British to the arms shipment from the Germans (guess who did?). Her husband knows she didn't do it because he was there with her when she would have had to have done it, and he can't say that kind of thing often. Nobel Irishmen are there to no doubt, the wonderful Trevor Howard, and likable resistance leader Tim O'Leary (Barry Foster)
Ryan's Daughter exceeded my expectations, I thank the late Frank Capra for recommending it to me as an example of great accomplishments in 'current' cinema in his 1970's autobiography. To bad I waited a good decade to take his advice.
IMDb
David Lean never ceased being a master. After a triumvet of films consisting of The Bridge on the River Kawi, Lawrence of Arabia, and Doctor Zhivago, you couldn't really expect anybody to top those. While Ryan's Daughter is lesser known then these three films, and not nearly as epic in scope, it's just as strong in its direction. A vast film full of visual flourish, and griping story, as well as fascinating characters, and characterizations for that matter. If there had been a SAG award in 1970, I don't know how this film could have possibly lost. George C. Scott in Patton may have been more memorable as a single performance, but this movie has got Trevor Howard as powerfully righteous (not self righteous) Catholic Priest, Leo McKern as a blustery (but ultimately cowardly) inn-keep, and John Mills (father of Hayley and Juliet) earning himself a supporting actor Oscar as a sad, pathetic creature out of Lon Cheney.
Perhaps the most surprising performance in the film comes from Robert Mitchum, who proves he was capable of a lot more then the parts the studios usually gave him allowed. Here we have a quite, patient Mitchum, a man of dignity, poise, and learning, who is also an armature botanist. His being cast against type adds an extra layer of tension to the proceedings, as your just waiting for him to crack. Mitchum's Charles Shaughnessy is the village school master, who three years after his wife's death marries a much younger women, a former student of his in fact, who basically forces herself upon him so enamoured she is. That is not to say that Mitchum doesn't return the affection, he comes to love her deeply, deeply enough to see the marriage through the trouble that lies ahead.
The aforementioned trouble comes in the form of Randolph Doryan (Christopher Jones), a shell shocked officer sent back from the front because of a leg injury. Major Doryan is given what is considered a cushy position, at a small military post in occupied Ireland. The troubled but hansom young man comes quickly into a mutual fancy with Mrs. Shaghnessy. This is bad because not only do the local townsfolk hate the British officers there stationed, but Rosy's husband is Robert Mitchum, and you've all seen Cape Fear, you know what he's capable of. Capable or not he never acts in rage, though as he starts to piece together the puzzel of what is happening between his wife and the newcomer, you're pretty sure he's gonna.
However in the end its the towns people who seem to re-enforce the English stereotype of a hot blooded race who can't be trusted to govern themselves. You see that in the unruly young people who crowed the main (and only) street, because there is little employment around. You see it in the mob that comes up to the school teachers house to beat Rose Shaughnessy for being the traitor, though there is not but circumstantial evidence to suggest that she tipped off the British to the arms shipment from the Germans (guess who did?). Her husband knows she didn't do it because he was there with her when she would have had to have done it, and he can't say that kind of thing often. Nobel Irishmen are there to no doubt, the wonderful Trevor Howard, and likable resistance leader Tim O'Leary (Barry Foster)
Ryan's Daughter exceeded my expectations, I thank the late Frank Capra for recommending it to me as an example of great accomplishments in 'current' cinema in his 1970's autobiography. To bad I waited a good decade to take his advice.
My Ten Favorite Lynch Films in Order
The fact that David Lynch has only made ten features in a 30 year career makes this list pretty easy to compile. I'll start with my favorite and work my way down:
1. Mulholland Dr. (2001)
2. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992)
3. Blue Velvet (1986)
4. The Elephant Man (1980)
5. The Straight Story (1999)
6. Lost Highway (1997)
7. Eraserhead (1977)
8. INLAND EMPIRE (2006)
9. Dune (1984)
10. Wild at Hart (1990)
1. Mulholland Dr. (2001)
2. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992)
3. Blue Velvet (1986)
4. The Elephant Man (1980)
5. The Straight Story (1999)
6. Lost Highway (1997)
7. Eraserhead (1977)
8. INLAND EMPIRE (2006)
9. Dune (1984)
10. Wild at Hart (1990)
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
INLAND EMPIRE (2006)
(Hollywood California contemporary, also extended 'flashback?' sequences, probably in Germany or Poland, most likely in the 1920's or 30's)
IMDb
After a five year absence from the big screen, David Lynch returns to feature films with INLAND EMPIRE. This third entry in his loosely defined 'California Trilogy', EMPIRE shares more in common with the two other entries in this series, Mulholland Dr. and Lost Highway, then with anything else the auteur has done (though there is a little Blue Velvet in there as well).
To start out with I should point out that INLAND EMPIRE really isn't a film, and that this statement apples in two ways. First off EMPIRE was shot on digital video, a medium whose possibility's the director was so taken with, that he has publicly stated he will never go back to using conventional film for movies again. Secondly, like the other two Lynch films previously cited, EMPIRE does not follow a traditional story structure. Exactly how we are to read the film, in terms of sequence of events, and what does and does not constitute its internal logic or reality is left ambiguous. I had previously determined, in my mind, that most of Lost Highway was 'An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge' type epiphany just before Bill Pullman was electrocuted by the state, and Mulholland Dr. primarily a women's sexual fantasy (don't ask), but EMPIRE has proven more difficult for me to place in my head. It is possibly a series of re-interpretations of an old Polish folk tale introduced early in the proceedings.
The ostensible plot concerns Nikki Grace (Laura Dern), an actress yearning for something of a comeback, who lands the female lead in a film called On High in Blue Tomorrows. Justin Theroux is her co-star Devon Berk, a performer who appears noted for bedding his leading Lady's, much to Nikki's husbands chagrin (what, is this Lynch's take on Bradgallina?). Early on in the films production the director, Kingsley Stewart (Jeremy Irons), reveals to the two stars information that has been dug up by his right-hand man Freddie Howard (Harry Dean Stanton). It seems that On High is a remake of film (known by a different title) that was never finished because the two leads were murdered, and that the current producers had intentionally plotted to hide this fact from the cast and crew. In short order the boundaries between whats happening on the set, in the film, and in 'real life' (whatever that is) start to bluer. As the film within the film is about adultery, you can see how this could cause problems.
Like the others in the 'California trilogy', EMPIRE doesn't really make sense in any empirical way, rather it functions in a sort of 'dream logic'. Themes, concepts, key phrases, and even actors show up in different guises. Be it an existential sitcome staring rabbits, or nine prostitutes doing the Locomotion, and no I'm not soft peddling a sex act here, the prostitutes are literally doing the dance the Locomotion, you somehow know its all supose to make sense on some level.
EMPIRE was weird and long, not fully satisfying as a movie, but something you could watch to get into a state of deep mediation. Maybe that's what Lynch intended. But if I could see into the future like Grace Zabriskie's character, I would hope to find Lynch moving in another direction. Throughout the showing I kept hopping that this movie would be a little like Fire Walk With Me, the ending of one of Lynch's creative periods, when he largely set aside the small town motif, and moved onto something different and even more inventive, in that case it was Lost Highway and the start of this current trilogy. With the director now in his 60's perhaps he has a new cosmology in mind to show us, and I for one will be ready at the ticket counter when he does.
IMDb
After a five year absence from the big screen, David Lynch returns to feature films with INLAND EMPIRE. This third entry in his loosely defined 'California Trilogy', EMPIRE shares more in common with the two other entries in this series, Mulholland Dr. and Lost Highway, then with anything else the auteur has done (though there is a little Blue Velvet in there as well).
To start out with I should point out that INLAND EMPIRE really isn't a film, and that this statement apples in two ways. First off EMPIRE was shot on digital video, a medium whose possibility's the director was so taken with, that he has publicly stated he will never go back to using conventional film for movies again. Secondly, like the other two Lynch films previously cited, EMPIRE does not follow a traditional story structure. Exactly how we are to read the film, in terms of sequence of events, and what does and does not constitute its internal logic or reality is left ambiguous. I had previously determined, in my mind, that most of Lost Highway was 'An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge' type epiphany just before Bill Pullman was electrocuted by the state, and Mulholland Dr. primarily a women's sexual fantasy (don't ask), but EMPIRE has proven more difficult for me to place in my head. It is possibly a series of re-interpretations of an old Polish folk tale introduced early in the proceedings.
The ostensible plot concerns Nikki Grace (Laura Dern), an actress yearning for something of a comeback, who lands the female lead in a film called On High in Blue Tomorrows. Justin Theroux is her co-star Devon Berk, a performer who appears noted for bedding his leading Lady's, much to Nikki's husbands chagrin (what, is this Lynch's take on Bradgallina?). Early on in the films production the director, Kingsley Stewart (Jeremy Irons), reveals to the two stars information that has been dug up by his right-hand man Freddie Howard (Harry Dean Stanton). It seems that On High is a remake of film (known by a different title) that was never finished because the two leads were murdered, and that the current producers had intentionally plotted to hide this fact from the cast and crew. In short order the boundaries between whats happening on the set, in the film, and in 'real life' (whatever that is) start to bluer. As the film within the film is about adultery, you can see how this could cause problems.
Like the others in the 'California trilogy', EMPIRE doesn't really make sense in any empirical way, rather it functions in a sort of 'dream logic'. Themes, concepts, key phrases, and even actors show up in different guises. Be it an existential sitcome staring rabbits, or nine prostitutes doing the Locomotion, and no I'm not soft peddling a sex act here, the prostitutes are literally doing the dance the Locomotion, you somehow know its all supose to make sense on some level.
EMPIRE was weird and long, not fully satisfying as a movie, but something you could watch to get into a state of deep mediation. Maybe that's what Lynch intended. But if I could see into the future like Grace Zabriskie's character, I would hope to find Lynch moving in another direction. Throughout the showing I kept hopping that this movie would be a little like Fire Walk With Me, the ending of one of Lynch's creative periods, when he largely set aside the small town motif, and moved onto something different and even more inventive, in that case it was Lost Highway and the start of this current trilogy. With the director now in his 60's perhaps he has a new cosmology in mind to show us, and I for one will be ready at the ticket counter when he does.
Tom Poston: 1921-2007
There was always something likable about Tom Poston. You could just kind of tell he was an incredibly decent and nice man, someone who could make even Bob Newhart seem unexceptional in the meek department. Whether he played cranky or resigned (the two states I really remember him in), he was always endearing, and someone you wanted to know and interact with on a regular basis. You just wanted Tom Poston to like you, because you liked him so much instinctively. Now this nice man is gone, and that's to bad, I had always hoped to see more of him.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)