I write about movies here and maybe sometimes some other stuff but mostly just movies. If you are looking for the old Cineblog postings because you are compiling a book or whatever, you can find them here.

Monday, February 28, 2005

The Red Shoes (1948, Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger)

Sometimes you go to a film and you complain about how predictable it is, you saw the whole story laid out in the first ten minutes. When that happens you're not complaining about knowing what is coming, because if you sit down and think about it there are very few movies wherein this is not true. What you're complaining about is either a) you are so bored that you bothered to figure out what was coming or b) you figured out what was coming and then the excution of said plot was so boring and/or lame that it just annoyed you. I mention this because there is a point about 20 minutes into The Red Shoes where the dicatatorial ballet producer Boris Lermontov is explaining the plot outline of Hans Christian Andersen's story to his composer Julian Crastner, and suddenly in a flash the entire movie came to me. I saw every major plot point laid out in front of me, they all came true one by one, and this was still a truly amazing film-going experience because Powell and Pressburger pull it off with such class and style, and the ensemble performances are all beyond first rate. I was mesmerized from the word go, and about the only thing I can say bad about it is that the ending was a little overboard. Especially noteworthy was Anton Walbrook's turn as Lermontov, he kept the part at just the right level, never bursting out of the shell the character kept wrapped tightly around him. It's a great companion to his part as Theo in The Life And Death Of Colonel Blimp. I had a lot of sympathy for this character, despite the fact that he is obviously poised as the "bad guy."

As the credits rolled I realized that a month ago I had seen none of the films of these two geniuses, and now I have seen four - three of which I consider masterpieces - and that suddenly this filmmaking team had entered the upper echelon of my favorite filmmakers. I wondered at how long these films had been out there without my having seen them, I wondered at how I could have possibly lived without the booming performances of Roger Livesey or the stunning cinematography of Jack Cardiff, and I wondered how many more of these awe-inspiring discoveries awaited me in the future. The sad truth of being a film buff is that inevitable as you work your way through the masters, these experiences are destined to be fewer and fewer. For now though, goddamn these are some good fucking movies.

Friday, February 25, 2005

Sideways (2004, Alexander Payne)

So what you've got is two assholes (one raging, one enabling) going on a road trip and being assholes, and maybe at the end one of them has learned something about himself. Will someone please tell me why this is a big deal? kthxbye

Tuesday, February 22, 2005

Black Narcissus (1947, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger)

This was not my favorite of the Powell/Pressburger films, but jesus it sure is gorgeous. Worth seeing just for the cinematography, seriously. I was especially impressed with the scenes involving Kathleen Byron losing it at the end, they are perfectly lit to expose her state of mind without going over the top. Great print too. Thematically certainly it takes a turn from the likes of Colonel Blimp and A Matter Of Life And Death in that while it still focuses very closely on character building, interaction, and emotion, it is also a thriller, which P&P pull off admirably. Think about how this movie would end today - Deborah Kerr would leave the faith to spend the rest of her life with David Farrar and it would be ALL FUCKING WRONG.

Thursday, February 17, 2005

Cat People (1942, Jacques Tourneur)

For a while I was taping movies off TCM like mad and I found that pile of tapes recently while unpacking. This came off one of them, I am going to start moving through them when I have spare time. There's like 30 or 40 movies there. This Classic horror film from beloved auteur Tourneur took a little while to get going and seems a little trite from a modern view, but its influence on what followed is undeniable and there is some gorgeous b&w cinematography. The Leopard Man is also on this tape so I'll have to get to that next.

Tuesday, February 15, 2005

Hey

So maybe yet again I will give this a shot. The last year has been extremely tumultuous, culminating in a 3600 mile drive to my new home in Seattle. It is cool here, there is no snow. This is good. The film action here has been far better than I expected. At the present time there are big retros going on for Bertollucci, Powell/Pressburger and Ozu. There's a small theatre giving week long runs to three old Howard Hawks comedies. I'm trying to figure out how to scam my way into film class screenings at U of W. The Seattle International Film Festival is probably the best fest in the country (especially if you're a film buff and not an industry type.) Scarecrow Video is the only place I've seen that gives Facets a run for its money, and it actually puts Facets to shame. Plus there are some good rock bands here and mountains and stuff. It's all good and I'm enjoying myself.

So there is stuff I've seen already since I've been here, and I probably won't spend much time on it. You can look it up in the list. Some very brief notes:

- Thelma Schoonmaker was in town and she did two events. First she gave a lecture on editing and presented a screening of Raging Bull, then did Q&A. It was 12:15 by the time they finally forced her to shut it down but she seemed like she would have been perfectly pleased to go for another hour or two. Second, she presented a screening of A Matter Of Life And Death and then did even more Q&A about her late husband Michael Powell. Both were really enjoyable, and she was a kind and gracious woman. Thank you.

- Speaking of Michael Powell, his films have thus far been this year's big revelation and I've only seen two. I was especially taken by The Life And Death Of Colonel Blimp and its exquisite presentation of the ebbing and flowing of friendship.

- I have now seen three Ozus and I have to say I Was Born, But... is by far my favorite of them. Tokyo Story ranks a close second.

- Someone release The Conformist properly on DVD, OK? Please? PLEASE?

Now lets see if I can actually make this last more than a week or two.