tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55797542301162855402024-03-14T02:44:03.010-07:00the art of memorythe art of memoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02748087818232571209noreply@blogger.comBlogger815125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5579754230116285540.post-8310788272306017412022-12-31T13:01:00.005-08:002023-01-07T09:51:05.593-08:00twenty twenty two according to vibrational occurrences in the vicinity of my progeny leviathan gray paw aka leviathan grey paw<p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52595177525_dc5df394dc_o.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52595177525_dc5df394dc_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52596934219_2fa159bd16_o.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52596934219_2fa159bd16_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></b></div><b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52596184632_b1aa140de6_o.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52596184632_b1aa140de6_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />aural vibrational occurances aka best new music of 2022:</b><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br />Alva Noto, Martin L. Gore & William Basinski / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Subterraneans</b></i></span> (Noton)<br />Andrew Anderson / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Vagrancies</b></i></span> CD (Elevator Bath)<br />Brötzmann, Graves, Parker / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Historic Music Past Tense Future</i></b></span> LP (Black Editions Archive)<br />Robin Carolan & Sebastian Gainsborough / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>The Northman</i></b></span> LP (VMP)<br />Laura Cannell / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Antiphony of the Trees</i></b></span> (Brawl Records)<br />Nick Cave & Warren Ellis / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Blonde</b></i></span> (Invada Records UK, Lakeshore Records)<br />Deathprod / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Sow Your Gold In The White Foliated Earth (A Composition For Ensemble Musikfabrik's Harry Parch Instruments)</b></i></span> LP (Smalltown Supersound)<br />Ben Frost / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Broken Spectre</b></i></span> (The Vinyl Factory)<br />Evgueni Galperine / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Theory of Becoming</b></i></span> (ECM)<br />Terry Jennings, Charles Curtis / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Piece for Cello and Saxophone</i></b></span> LP (Saltern)<br />aLICE kEMP / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>To All My Hideous Children</b></i></span> (Coherent States)<br />Susana López / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Edge Of The Circle</b></i></span> CD (Elevator Bath)<br />Emeka Ogboh / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>6°30’33.372”N 3°22’0.66”E</b></i></span> LP (Danfotronics)<br />Tindersticks / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Stars at Noon</b></i></span><br />Valerio Tricoli / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Say Goodbye To The Wind</i></b></span> CD (Shelter Press)<br />Keith Fullerton Whitman / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>GRM [Redactions]</b></i></span> LP (NAKID)<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52595146210_916b390453_o.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="795" data-original-width="800" height="636" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52595146210_916b390453_o.png" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52596676141_f91481c43c_o.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="795" height="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52596676141_f91481c43c_o.png" width="636" /></a></b></div><b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52596679801_4f6d0a67d6_o.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="700" height="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52596679801_4f6d0a67d6_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52597205983_f663f88a91_o.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52597205983_f663f88a91_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />reissued or archival vibrational occurances aka best archival music:</b><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br />Idris Ackamoor The Pyramids / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Aomawa (The 1970s Recordings)</i></b></span> LP Boxset (Strut)<br />Alva Noto + Ryuichi Sakamoto with Ensemble Modern / <b><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">utp_</span></i></b> LP (Noton)<br />Fred Anderson & Hamid Drake / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>From The River To The Ocean</i></b></span> LP (Thrill Jockey)<br />Ash Ra Tempel / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Join Inn</b></i></span> LP (MG.ART)<br />Ash Ra Tempel & Timothy Leary / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Seven Up</b></i></span> LP (MG.ART)<br />Albert Ayler / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Revelations - The Complete ORTF 1970 Fondation Maeght Recordings</b></i></span> CD Boxset (INA, Elemental Music)<br />The Beatles / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Revolver</b></i></span> LP (Apple Records)<br />Colin Blunstone / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>One Year</b></i></span> LP (Sundazed Music)<br />Brötzmann & Bennink / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Schwarzwaldfahrt</i></b></span> Book + CD (Trost Records)<br />Gavin Bryars / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>The Sinking Of The Titanic</i></b></span> LP (Superior Viaduct)<br />Harold Budd / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Pavilion Of Dreams</b></i></span> LP (Superior Viaduct)<br />Ornette Coleman / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Shape Of Jazz To Come</b></i></span> LP (VMP)<br />Ornette Coleman / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Round Trip: Ornette Coleman On Blue Note</b></i></span> LP Boxset (Blue Note Tone Poet)<br />Alice Coltrane Featuring Pharoah Sanders And Joe Henderson / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Ptah, The El Daoud</i></b></span> LP (Verve By Request)<br />John Coltrane / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Sun Ship</b></i></span> LP (VMP)<br />Digable Planets / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Blowout Comb</i></b></span> LP (Light in the Attic)<br />Johnny Dyani / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Song For Biko</b></i></span> LP (Steeplechase)<br />Bob Dylan / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Blonde on Blonde</b></i></span> LP (VMP)<br />Bill Evans Trio / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Trio '65</b></i></span> LP (Verve)<br />Marvin Gaye / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>What's Going On</b></i></span> 2LP version (Tamla, UMe)<br />Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru</i></b></span> LP (Mississippi Records)<br />Grant Green / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Feelin' The Spirit</b></i></span> LP (Blue Note Tone Poet)<br />Hands To / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Bio Electric</b></i></span> (New Forces)<br />Bernard Herrmann / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Vertigo</b></i></span> LP (VMP)<br />Freddie Hubbard / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Breaking Point</i></b></span> LP (Blue Note Tone Poet)<br />Bobby Hutcherson / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Stick-Up!</b></i></span> LP (Blue Note Tone Poet)<br />Interpol / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Turn On The Bright Lights</b></i></span> 2LP (VMP<br />Khan Jamal's Creative Arts Ensemble / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Drum Dance To The Motherland</i></b></span> LP (Aguirre Records)<br />Thomas Köner / <b><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">Aubrite</span></i></b> LP (Mille Plateaux)<br />Dickie Landry / <b><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">4 Cuts Placed In "A First Quarter"</span></i></b> (Unseen Worlds)<br />Dickie Landry / <b><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">Solos</span></i></b> (Unseen Worlds)<br />Yusef Lateef / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Three Faces of Yusef Lateef</b></i></span> LP (VMP)<br />Les Rallizes Denudes / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>The Oz Tapes</i></b></span> LP (Temporal Drift, Oz Records)<br />Les Rallizes Denudes / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>'67-'69 Studio Et Live</i></b></span> (Tuff Beats, The Last One Musique)<br />Mizutani & Les Rallizes Denudes / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Mizutani & Les Rallizes Dénudés</b></i></span> (Tuff Beats, The Last One Musique)<br />Maliks Emerging Force Art Trio / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Time And Condition</b></i></span> LP (Moved-By-Sound)<br />Branko Mataja / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Over Fields And Mountains</i></b></span> (Numero Group)<br />Curtis Mayfield / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Super Fly</b></i></span> 2LP version (Run Out Groove)<br />Ken McIntyre / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Year Of The Iron Sheep</i></b></span> LP (Sowing Records)<br />Jackie McLean / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Destination... Out!</b></i></span> LP (Blue Note)<br />Jackie McLean / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Tippin' The Scales</b></i></span> LP (Blue Note Tone Poet)<br />Charles Mingus / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Mingus</b></i></span> LP (Candid)<br />Charles Mingus / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus</i></b></span> LP (Candid)<br />Joni Mitchell / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Blue</b></i></span> LP (Reprise Records)<br />Neu! / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>50!</b></i></span> Vinyl Boxset (Grönland Records)<br />Michel Pilz, Peter Kowald, Paul Lovens / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Carpathes</b></i></span> LP (CIEN FUEGOS)<br />Pink Floyd / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Animals (2018 Remix)</i></b></span> LP (Pink Floyd Records)<br />Ride / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Nowhere</b></i></span> LP (Wichita)<br />Max Roach / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>We Insist! Max Roach's Freedom Now Suite</i></b></span> LP (Candid)<br />Pharoah Sanders / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Karma</b></i></span> LP (Impulse!)<br />Gil Scott-Heron / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Pieces Of A Man</b></i></span> LP (Flying Dutchman)<br />Wayne Shorter / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Adam's Apple</b></i></span> LP (Blue Note Tone Poet)<br />Sirone / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Artistry</b></i></span> LP (Moved-By-Sound)<br />David Sylvian / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Blemish</b></i></span> LP (Samadhisound)<br />David Sylvian / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Manafon</b></i></span> LP (Samadhisound)<br />Tangerine Dream / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Alpha Centauri</b></i></span> LP (Esoteric Records)<br />Tangerine Dream / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Live In Reims Cinema Opera, September 23rd, 1975</i></b></span> LP (Eastgate Music And Arts)<br />Horace Tapscott Quintet / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Quintet</b></i></span> LP (Mr Bongo)<br />Teenage Fanclub / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Bandwagonesque</b></i></span> LP (Sony Music)<br />Masahiko Togashi, Don Cherry & Charlie Haden / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Session In Paris, Vol. 1 "Song Of Soil"</b></i></span> LP (We Want Sounds)<br />Robert Turman / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Flux</b></i></span> LP (Spectrum Spools)<br />War / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Deliver The Word</b></i></span> LP (Avenue Records, Rhino Records)<br />War / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The World Is A Ghetto</b></i></span> LP (Avenue Records, Rhino Records)<br />War / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>All Day Music</b></i></span> LP (Avenue Records, Rhino Records)<br />The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Part One</b></i></span> LP (Jackpot Records)<br />The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Vol. 2 (Breaking Through)</i></b></span> LP (Jackpot Records)<br />The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Vol. 3: A Child's Guide To Good & Evil</b></i></span> LP (Jackpot Records)<br />Wilco / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Yankee Hotel Foxtrot </b></i></span>Vinyl Boxset (Nonesuch)<br />The Frank Wright Quintet / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Your Prayer </i></b></span>LP (ESP Disk)<br />Larry Young / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Unity</b></i></span> LP (Blue Note)<br />Townes Van Zandt / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>At My Window</b></i></span> LP (Craft Recordings)<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52594692671_72465c9c7f_o.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52594692671_72465c9c7f_o.png" width="640" /></a></div><b></b><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52597208663_4da095216a_o.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="800" height="384" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52597208663_4da095216a_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></b></div><b><br />visual vibrational occurances aka best theatrical films and television:</b><br /><p></p><p>Charlotte Wells / <b><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Aftersun</i></span></b><br />Martin McDonagh / <b><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">The Banshees of Inisherin</span></i></b><br />Joanna Hogg / <b><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">The Eternal Daughter</span></i></b><br /><br />Robert Eggers / <b><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>The Northman</i></span></b><br />Todd Field / <b><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Tár</i></span></b><br />James Gray / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Armageddon Time</b></i></span><br />Thomas M. Wright / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Stranger</b></i></span><br />Jordan Peele / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Nope</b></i></span><br />Claire Denis / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Stars at Noon</b></i></span><br />Alec Berg & Bill Hader / <b><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Barry Season 3</i></span></b><br />Mike White / <b><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>The White Lotus: Sicily</i></span><br /></b><br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52594222162_d173906521_o.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="503" data-original-width="800" height="402" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52594222162_d173906521_o.png" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52596690956_680ff3ed40_o.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="689" height="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52596690956_680ff3ed40_o.jpg" width="551" /></a></b></div><b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52597218103_9a0abe8fff_o.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="691" height="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52597218103_9a0abe8fff_o.png" width="553" /></a></div><br />blu ray / 4k vibrational occurances aka best films in the physical media:</b><br /><p></p><p><br />Jane Campion / <b><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">The Power of the Dog</span></i></b> (Criterion Collection) 4K<br />David Cronenberg / <b><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Eastern Promises</i></span></b> (Kino) 4K<br />Francis Ford Coppola / <b><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">The Godfather 50 Years</span></i></b> (Paramount) 4K<br />John Dahl / <b><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Red Rock West</i></span></b> (Plan B Entertainment)<br />Carl Th. Dreyer / <b><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Vampyr</i></span></b> (Eureka)<br />Clint Eastwood / <b><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">High Plains Drifter</span></i></b> (Kino) 4K<br />John Ford / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance</b></i></span> (Paramount) 4K<br />Richard Franklin / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Cloak & Dagger </b></i></span>(Vinegar Syndrome) 4K<br />Philip Haas / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Music of Chance</b></i></span> (Imprint)<br />Ryusuke Hamaguchi / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Drive My Car</b></i></span> (Criterion Collection)<br />Rowdy Herrington / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Road House</b></i></span> (Vinegar Syndrome) 4K<br />Walter Hill / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Driver</b></i></span> (Studio Canal) 4K<br />Alfred Hitchcock / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Shadow of a Doubt</b></i></span> (Universal) 4K<br />Mike Hodges / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Get Carter</b></i></span> (BFI) 4K<br />Mike Hodges / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Croupier</b></i></span> (Arrow) 4K<br />Dennis Hopper / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Out of the Blue</b></i></span> (Severin) 4K<br />Dennis Hopper / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Out of the Blue</b></i></span> (BFI)<br />Norman Jewison / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>In the Heat of the Night</b></i></span> (Kino) 4K<br />Lau Kar-leung / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter</b></i></span> (Arrow)<br />Stanley Kubrick / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Killing</b></i></span> (Kino) 4K<br />John Landis / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>An American Werewolf in London</i></b></span> (Arrow) 4K<br />Sergio Leone / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>A Fistful of Dollars</b></i></span> (Arrow) 4K<br />Sergio Leone / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>For a Few Dollars More</b></i></span> (Arrow) 4K<br />Martin McDonagh / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>In Bruges</i></b></span> (Kino) 4K<br />John McNaughton / <b><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer</span></i></b> (Arrow) 4K<br />Allan Moyle / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Times Square</b></i></span> (Kino)<br />Mira Nair / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Mississippi Masala</b></i></span> (Criterion Collection)<br />Gordon Parks / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Shaft</b></i></span> (Criterion Collection) 4K<br />Alan J. Pakula / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Parallax View</b></i></span> (Imprint)<br />Ivan Passer / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Born to Win</b></i></span> (Fun City Editions)<br />Ivan Passer / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Cutter’s Way</b></i></span> (Fun City Editions)<br />Frank Perry / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Man on a Swing</b></i></span> (Imprint)<br />Lynne Ramsay / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Morvern Callar</b></i></span> (Fun City Editions)<br />Al Reinert / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>For All Mankind</b></i></span> (Criterion Collection) 4K<br />Bernard Rose / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Candyman</b></i></span> (Arrow) 4K<br />Joseph Sargent / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Taking of Pelham One Two Three</b></i></span> (Kino) 4K<br />Martin Scorsese / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Last Waltz</b></i></span> (Criterion Collection) 4K<br />Martin Scorsese / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Raging Bull</b></i></span> (Criterion Collection) 4K<br />Tony Scott / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>True Romance</b></i></span> (Arrow) 4K<br />Jim Sheridan / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Directed By Jim Sheridan: Four Irish Films</i></b></span> (Imprint)<br />Don Siegel / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Escape from Alcatraz</i></b></span> (Kino) 4K<br />Bertrand Tavernier / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>’</b></i><i><b>Round Midnight</b></i></span> (Criterion Collection)<br />Various / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Shawscope: Volume Two</b></i></span> (Arrow)<br />Various / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>House of Psychotic Women</b></i></span> (Severin)<br />Various / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>All The Haunts Be Ours: A Compendium Of Folk Horror</b></i></span> (Severin)<br />Thomas Vinterberg / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Celebration</b></i></span> (Criterion Collection)<br />Jimmy Wang Yu / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>One-Armed Boxer</i></b></span> (Arrow)<br />Wayne Wang / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Chan Is Missing</b></i></span> (Criterion Collection)<br />Billy Wilder / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Some Like It Hot</b></i></span> (Kino) 4K<br />Billy Wilder / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Apartment</b></i></span> (Kino) 4K<br />Billy Wilder / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Double Indemnity</b></i></span> (Criterion Collection) 4K<br />Michael Winner / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Deathwish 2</i></b></span> (Vinegar Syndrome) 4K<br />Theodore Witcher / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Love Jones</b></i></span> (Criterion Collection)<br />John Woo / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Hard Target</i></b></span> (Kino) 4K<br /><br />much advise from friends on these releases... <br />many more I wanted, but couldn't buy at the moment!<br /></p>the art of memoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02748087818232571209noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5579754230116285540.post-2313543367641597742022-12-08T19:18:00.000-08:002022-12-08T19:18:31.711-08:00figurative senses, the fact or condition of being inspired : milford graves<div><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52552184045_5d012d75cb_o.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="446" data-original-width="800" height="357" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52552184045_5d012d75cb_o.png" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">still from <i>Milford Graves: Full Mantis</i>, a film by Jake Meginsky and Neil Cloaca Young<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52552184775_cffb37445a_o.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52552184775_cffb37445a_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p>"The drums, after all, echo the heartbeat, and as Milford Graves has
also noted 'If you study the anatomy of the ear, you'll see that the
so-called <i>eardrum</i> is nothing but a membrane, and the so-called hammer is nothing but a drumstick.'" Valerie Wilmer <i>As Serious As Your Life: The Story of the New Jazz<br /></i><br /></p><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52552250388_36e3ac43ec_o.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="502" data-original-width="800" height="402" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52552250388_36e3ac43ec_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52551708226_8f32cc950a_o.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="447" data-original-width="800" height="358" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52551708226_8f32cc950a_o.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">images of inspiration, a breathing or infusion into the mind or<br />soul of a supernatural being, a visual portrait of Milford Graves</span></b><br /></div><div><br />Milford Graves<br />born August 20, 1941 Jamaica, Queens, New York<br />died February 12, 2021<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52551250197_474bf611b8_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="562" data-original-width="800" height="450" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52551250197_474bf611b8_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52551708311_6fd9760b9d_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="565" data-original-width="800" height="452" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52551708311_6fd9760b9d_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52552181265_da1a956e53_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="494" data-original-width="741" height="427" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52552181265_da1a956e53_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52551250097_c48b2d603d_o.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="797" height="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52551250097_c48b2d603d_o.png" width="638" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52552250418_4067cbbb2f_o.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="617" height="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52552250418_4067cbbb2f_o.png" width="494" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52551250112_6a62393c67_o.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="612" height="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52551250112_6a62393c67_o.png" width="490" /></a></div><br />American
drummer, percussionist, cosmic philosopher, professor, researcher,
inventor, visual artist/sculptor, gardener, herbalist, and martial
artist.<br /><br />Began playing drums when he was three years old.<br /><br />Along
with Sunny Murray and Rashied Ali, Graves is known for liberating
percussion from its timekeeping role in music. One wouldn't cross a busy
road with a rigid military march, but move at different rhythms.<br /><br />Graves was music faculty at Bennington College from 1973-2012 and was appointed faculty emeritus in 2016.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52551708261_df807be399_o.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="792" data-original-width="800" height="634" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52551708261_df807be399_o.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52551250147_b8f1cfd1ae_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="596" height="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52551250147_b8f1cfd1ae_o.jpg" width="636" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52552181270_2266472c9f_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="787" data-original-width="800" height="630" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52552181270_2266472c9f_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52552181275_16b76828d5_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="669" data-original-width="740" height="579" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52552181275_16b76828d5_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52552250583_488a8f0272_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="700" height="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52552250583_488a8f0272_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52551708336_0dc7ac9e3c_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="700" height="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52551708336_0dc7ac9e3c_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52552000194_5de544f98f_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52552000194_5de544f98f_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Select Discography<br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>Albert Ayler</b></span> <i>Holy Ghost: Rare & Unissued Recordings</i> (1962–70) (Revenant)</li><li><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>Paul Bley</b></span> <i>Barrage</i> (ESP) 1964</li><li><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>New York Art Quartet</b></span> <i>New York Art Quartet</i> (ESP) 1964</li><li><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>New York Art Quartet</b></span> <i>Mohawk</i> (Fontana) 1965</li><li><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>Giuseppi Logan</b></span> <i>The Giuseppi Logan Quarte</i>t (ESP) 1965</li><li><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>Jazz Composer's Orchestra</b></span> <i>Communication</i> (Fontana) 1965</li><li><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>Lowell Davidson, Gary Peacock, Milford Graves</b></span> <i>Lowell Davidson Trio</i> (ESP) 1965</li><li><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>Milford Graves with Sonny Morgan</b></span> <i>Percussion Ensemble</i> (ESP) 1965</li><li><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>Giuseppi Logan</b></span> <i>More</i> (ESP) 1966</li><li><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>Milford Graves with Don Pullen</b></span> <i>At Yale University</i> (SRP) 1966</li><li><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>Milford Graves with Don Pullen</b></span> <i>Nommo</i> (SRP) 1967</li><li><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>Albert Ayler</b></span> <i>Love Cry</i> (Impulse!) 1968</li><li><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>Sonny Sharrock</b></span> <i>Black Woman</i> (Vortex) 1969</li><li><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>Milford Graves with Andrew Cyrille</b></span> <i>Dialogue of the Drums</i> (IPS) 1974</li><li><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>Milford Graves with Arthur Doyle, Hugh Glover</b></span> <i>Bäbi</i> (IPS) 1977</li><li><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>Milford Graves with Kaoru Abe, Toshinori Kondo, Mototeru Takagi, and Toshiyuki Tsuchitori</b></span> <i>Meditation Among Us</i> (Kitty) 1977</li><li><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>Kenny Clarke, Andrew Cyrille, Milford Graves, and Famoudou Don Moye</b></span> <i>Pieces of Time</i> (Soul Note) 1984</li><li><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>David Murray and Milford Graves</b></span> <i>Raw Deal</i> (DIW) 1994</li><li><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>Milford Graves</b></span> <i>Grand Unification</i> (Tzadik) 1998</li><li><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>New York Art Quartet</b></span> <i>35th Reunion</i> (DIW) 2000</li><li><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>Milford Graves</b></span> <i>Stories</i> (Tzadik) 2000</li><li><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>Milford Graves, Peter Brötzmann and William Parker</b></span> <i>Historic Music Past Tense Future</i> (Black Editions) recorded 2002, issued 2022</li><li><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>Milford Graves, Anthony Braxton & William Parker</b></span> <i>Beyond Quantum</i> (Tzadik) 2008</li><li><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>Milford Graves with Bill Laswell</b></span> <i>Space/Time – Redemption</i> (TUM Records) 2014</li><li><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>Milford Graves with Bill Laswell</b></span> <i>The Stone (Back In No Time)</i> (M.O.D. Technologies) 2014</li><li><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>Wadada Leo Smith</b></span> <i>Sacred Ceremonies</i> (Tum) 2021</li></ul><p></p><br /></div>the art of memoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02748087818232571209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5579754230116285540.post-40062904169406802292022-11-01T06:22:00.003-07:002022-11-03T07:41:47.966-07:00a record of consumption, part nine (being a new film journal) the horror continues<div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52466252536_148cc0edc3_o.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="433" data-original-width="800" height="346" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52466252536_148cc0edc3_o.png" width="640" /></a></div><br />9.5.2022<br />Rob Reiner <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Misery</b></i></span> 1990<br />(rewatch)<br />4K Essential rewatch via Kino Lorber. This film reminds me of all the nut jobs that got so upset with the last season of GOT. I remember saying to a group of them I thought the last season was pretty good and had to run to escape being tarred and feather, was quite shocking..<br /><br /><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Down the Road: The Making of Drive My Car</b></i></span> 2022<br />Criterion Collection.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52466802283_3d3b02e919_o.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="448" data-original-width="800" height="358" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52466802283_3d3b02e919_o.png" width="640" /></a></div><br />Bryan Forbes <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Seance on a Wet Afternoon</b></i></span> 1964<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Shocking Shocking business. Richard Attenborough and Kim Stanley in this visually arresting film shot by Gerry Turpin (camera operator on <i>Peeping Tom</i>) with memorable score by John Barry. Hard to not think of Attenborough as the serial killer from the crazy <i>10 Rillington Place</i> film, he gives such an eerie performance here, as does Kim Stanley whom makes you want to wash the grime off when the film ends. Great stuff.<br /></div><div><br />9.6.2022<br />Robert Eggers <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>The Northman</i></b></span> 2022<br />(rewatch)<br />Better the second time. Good looking film.<br /><br />9.7.2022<br />Wayne Wang <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Chan Is Missing</b></i></span> 1982<br />(rewatch)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Second time in the last 6 months watching this. Beautiful mix of hommage, comedy, grit, novelistic story telling, and low key ambiance. Just comes close enough to having a non-plot to be totally intellectual engaging and exciting in a way few films are. Abstractions with light and off beat moments give it an experimental quality that fits well with the story and the San Francisco charm. Great film.<br /></div><div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">9.8.2022<br />Martin Scorsese <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Raging Bull</b></i></span> 1980<br />(rewatch)<br />4K Criterion Collection disc. 50th time rewatch? Endlessly have watched this film over the last 30 years. Grain jumping off the screen like water spraying from a waterfall, more beautiful than the Mona Lisa. If one wants to have the most visceral experience from a film, just tune into the editing by Thelma Schoonmaker, probably the best editing in any film that I can think of.</p><p>9.9.2022<br />Richard Benjamin <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Mermaids</b></i></span> 1990<br />Bob Hoskins!<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52466713180_f5a7a86099_o.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="449" data-original-width="800" height="359" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52466713180_f5a7a86099_o.png" width="640" /></a></div><br />9.10.2022<br />Alex Garland <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Men</b></i></span> 2022<br />Great performance by Rory Kinnear as numerous f*cked up characters in this bizarre film.<br /><br />9.11.2022<br />Jim Sheridan <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>In the Name of the Father</i></b></span> 1993<br />(rewatch)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">From the Imprint Films Jim Sheridan boxset. Some really awe inspiring film-making here, like when we see John Lynch and Daniel Day-Lewis hammered dancing in a bar to Dylan's <i>Like a Rolling Stone</i> with an hard cut to driving into London with "I arrived in London on the 26th of June" Daniel Day-Lewis voice over. Beautiful film.<br /></div><div><br />Jim Sheridan <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Boxer</b></i></span> 1997<br />(rewatch)<br />From the Imprint Films Jim Sheridan boxset. Classic with Daniel Day-Lewis and Emily Watson.<br /><br />Albert Hughes, Allen Hughes <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Menace II Society</b></i></span> 1993<br />(rewatch)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Second time watching the Criterion Collection 4K disc. Beautiful nihilistic film. Larenz Tate's performance here as nihilist O-Dog in contrast with his Darius Lovehall in Theodore Witcher's <i>Love Jones</i> so striking.<br /></div><div><br />9.17.2022<br />Woody Allen <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Vicky Cristina Barcelona</i></b></span> 2008<br /><br />9.18.2022<br />Al Reinert <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>For All Mankind</b></i></span> 1989<br />(rewatch)<br />Via Criterion Collection, essential 4K rewatch. Brian and Roger Eno, and Daniel Lanois soundtrack.<br /><br />Woody Allen <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Manhattan Murder Mystery</b></i></span> 1993<br />(rewatch)<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52466802378_741d7e6602_o.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="356" data-original-width="633" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52466802378_741d7e6602_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />9.20.2022<br />George A. Romero <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Dawn of the Dead</b></i></span> 1978<br />(rewatch)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Theatrical cut from the 4K Second Sight boxset. Had some friends in town who felt like having cocktails and watching horror films so our October of Horror films starts early. Nothing much better than this 1978 classic Dystopian film by Romero. Destruction of Mall Life = Dystopian.<br /></div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52466534099_0e41097a52_o.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52466534099_0e41097a52_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />David Cronenberg <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Shivers</b></i></span> 1975<br />(rewatch)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Horror continues. Arrow Blu ray. Favorite Cronenberg film, with <i>Scanners</i> second. Beautifully unsettling end of the world film, at times subtle, and at times not. Great humor, erotic horrors and many challenges to morals.<br /></div><div><br />9.21.2022<br />Ari Aster <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Hereditary</b></i></span> 2018<br />(rewatch)<br />The Horror continues. Maybe 5th time watching Aster's classic. Great film.<br /><br />9.23.2022<br />Ari Aster <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Midsommar</b></i></span> 2019<br />(rewatch)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Horror continues. Second time watching the 4k extended cut version via A24. Much prefer this one with its complete virtuosic film-making. Don't care for the actors as much as <i>Hereditary</i>, but such a beautifully shot and constructed film, aurally and visually.<br /></div><div><br />9.24.2022<br />Sam Raimi <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>The Evil Dead</i></b></span> 1981<br />(rewatch)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Horror continues. 4K version, after several rewatches, I don't enjoy this as much as the second version, but the film has some great moments, and the rawness is quite intoxicating. The shots of the woods are some of the best moments in horror ever.<br /></div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52466713075_7e622d2755_o.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="800" height="280" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52466713075_7e622d2755_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />John Carpenter <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Fog </b></i></span>1980<br />(rewatch)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Horror continues. Classic Inverness California horror film. Love the relationship between Jamie Lee Curtis and Tom Atkins, similar to Curtis and Stacy Keach in <i>Roadgames</i> from 1981.<br /></div><div><br />9.25.2022<br />Paul Schrader <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Hardcore</i></b></span> 1979<br />(rewatch)<br />Favorite Schrader film, along with <i>Light Sleeper</i>. Last section in San Francisco blows your mind.<br /><br />John Sayles <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Lone Star</i></b></span> 1996<br />(rewatch)<br />Essential.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52466534134_a060890016_o.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52466534134_a060890016_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />9.26.2022<br />Carl Franklin <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>One False Move </b></i></span>1992<br />(rewatch)<br />Carl Franklin <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, episode one</i></b></span> 2022<br />The Horror continues. Spending time with the master Carl Franklin.<p></p><p>9.27.2022<br />Wes Craven <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>A Nightmare on Elm Street </b></i></span>1984<br />(rewatch)<br />The Horror continues.<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52466534244_5d3bf0586d_o.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="598" data-original-width="800" height="478" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52466534244_5d3bf0586d_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />9.28.2022<br />Andrew Dominik <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Blonde</b></i></span> 2022<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Huge fan of Dominik's films (<i>The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford</i>, <i>Killing Them Softly</i>, <i>Mindhunter</i>) but was a bit concerned if this would be a waste of time given I hate biopics and didn't see the point in another Marilyn Monroe film. Was not familiar with the Joyce Carol Oates 2000 biographical fiction novel and walked into this film with no reference, and decided not to read the negative reviews of the film, because really what is the point of that if you haven't seen it? Loved the film, loved the cinematography by Chayse Irvin which is so dark and high contrast at times he makes Weegee seem like a disney photographer. Love the lush soundtrack by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, maybe one of their best, and loved the performances by all. This film is another reminder for myself not to take film critics seriously, or to not read them at all, and form my own opinion on a film instead of letting their own ideas replace ones I have.<br /></div><div><br />9.30.2022<br />John Patton Ford <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Emily the Criminal</b></i></span> 2022<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52466713185_512da90e8b_o.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="431" data-original-width="800" height="345" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52466713185_512da90e8b_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />10.1.2022<br />Paul Schrader <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Cat People</b></i></span> 1982<br />(rewatch)<br />The Horror continues. Serious John Heard performance.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52465753162_63feeaa5f0_o.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52465753162_63feeaa5f0_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Jack Sholder <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Hidden</b></i></span> 1987<br />(rewatch)<br />The Horror continues. In the late 1980s I would watch this often on (I assume) HBO, along with <i>They Live</i> and some other classics, this film left a big impression. Had not seen since then.<br /><br />10.2.2022<br />Amy Holden Jones <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>The Slumber Party Massacre</i></b></span> 1982<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Horror continues. From the director of the great film <i>Love Letters</i> (Jamie Lee Curtis and James Keach) and writer of <i>Mystic Pizza</i>, comes a film about a serial killer brutalizing young girls, and finally turning their party into a bloodbath.<br /></div><div><br />Tobe Hooper <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Funhouse</b></i></span> 1981<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Great carny film from the director of <i>The Texas Chainsaw Massacre</i>, <i>Poltergeist</i>, and <i>Lifeforce</i>. Horrible killer in this film, would keep the devil up at nights. Great atmosphere, and some wonderful aerial shots of the carnival.<br /></div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52466534214_bf859ced40_o.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="429" data-original-width="800" height="343" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52466534214_bf859ced40_o.png" width="640" /></a></div><br />Gary Sherman <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Dead & Buried</i></b></span> 1981<br />(rewatch)<br />The Horror continues. Mobs of deranged blood thirsty townspeople wreak havoc in Mendocino California.<br /><br />10.3.2022<br />Robert Bierman <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Vampire’s Kiss</i></b></span> 1988<br />The Horror continues. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52466802198_5cc0824c41_o.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52466802198_5cc0824c41_o.png" width="640" /></a></div><br />10.4.2022<br />Ken Russell <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>The Lair of the White Worm</i></b></span> 1988<br />The Horror continues. Horror film with Hugh Grant. Strange one, not without interest. Ken Russell apparently indulged in some dipsomania during the filming.<br /><br />10.7.2022<br />Mike Newell <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Four Weddings and a Funeral</b></i></span> 1994<br />(rewatch)<br />Another but totally different Hugh Grant classic.<br /><br />10.8.2022<br />Siân Heder <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>CODA</b></i></span> 2021<br />(rewatch)<br />Solid film.<br /><br />10.9.2022<br />John Boorman, Rospo Pallenberg <i><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Exorcist II: The Heretic</span></b></i> 1977<br />The Horror continues.<br /><br />Ti West <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>X</b></i></span> 2022<br />The Horror continues.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52465753167_5079326072_o.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52465753167_5079326072_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />10.10.2022<br />Tobe Hooper <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>The Funhouse</i></b></span> 1981<br />(rewatch)<br />The Horror continues. Second time this week. Amazing the first time, better the second time.<br /><br />10.11.2022<br />John Scheinfeld <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Chasing Trane</i></b></span> 2016<br />John Coltrane doc.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52466713035_f8c0753141_o.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="414" data-original-width="758" height="350" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52466713035_f8c0753141_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />John Carpenter <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Thing</b></i></span> 1982<br />(rewatch)<br />The Horror continues. 4K version of the masterpiece. Favorite horror film. Love this photo of the crew in Alaska.<br /><br />10.12.2022<br />Michael Laughlin <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Strange Behavior</b></i></span> 1981<br />The Horror continues.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52466534034_eef3244c24_o.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="435" data-original-width="800" height="348" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52466534034_eef3244c24_o.png" width="640" /></a></div><br />10.13.2022<br />Tobe Hooper <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2</i></b></span> 1986<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Horror continues. Bizarre follow-up to the hard to watch classic, strange and funny with essential performance from Dennis Hopper.<br /></div><div><br />10.14.2022<br /><br />Daniel Roher <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band</b></i></span> 2019<br />A rare thing; a good music documentary.<br /><br />David Robert Mitchell <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>It Follows</i></b></span> 2014<br />(rewatch)<br />The Horror continues. Second time around, not doing much for me and the family.<br /><br />Tony Williams <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Next of Kin</b></i></span> 1982<br />The Horror continues.<br /><br />10.15.2022<br />Nicolas Roeg <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Don’t Look Now</b></i></span> 1973<br />(rewatch)<br />The Horror continues. Every October, one must spend time with the master and his great work.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52466802208_de20901d4e_o.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="439" data-original-width="780" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52466802208_de20901d4e_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />10.16.2022<br />Robert Harmon <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Hitcher</b></i></span> 1986<br />(rewatch)<br />The Horror continues. One of those films I remember seeing on cable as a kid, but no memory of the film. Actually not bad, starring Rutger Hauer, C. Thomas Howell, and Jennifer Jason Leigh. Unrelenting.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52466713095_125cd865bf_o.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="335" data-original-width="800" height="268" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52466713095_125cd865bf_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />10.21.2022<br />Christian Tafdrup <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Speak No Evil</i></b></span> 2022<br />The Horror continues. Danish horror film with a <i>With a Friend Like Harry</i> vibe. Pretty heavy throughout, not sure about the ending but overall a solid film with a fantastic atmosphere.<br /><br />Alice Lowe <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Prevenge</b></i></span> 2016<br />The Horror continues. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52466802148_768c80d450_o.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="338" data-original-width="800" height="270" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52466802148_768c80d450_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />10.22.2022<br />Michael O’Shea <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Transfiguration</b></i></span> 2016<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Horror continues. Young man in South Brooklyn talks about how realistic vampires are in all the horror classics to his new girlfriend. Kills people, drinks their blood, and pukes up a little when he is not doing that. Good film.<br /></div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52466824898_2e5192f7e4_o.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="446" data-original-width="800" height="357" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52466824898_2e5192f7e4_o.png" width="640" /></a></div><br />Don Coscarelli <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Phantasm</b></i></span> 1979<br />(rewatch)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Horror continues. Second time watching, the avant'garde qualities really become apparent in this film, an unusual one with a really strange quality to it from the editing and general construction.<br /></div><div><br />10.23.2022<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Curtis Harrington <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>The Fall of the House of Usher</i></b></span> 1942, <b><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">Fragment of Seeking</span></i></b> 1946, <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Picnic</i></b></span> 1949, <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>On the Edge</b></i></span> 1949, <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Assignation</b></i></span> 1953, <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Wormwood Star</b></i></span> 1956, <b><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">The Four Elements</span></i></b> 1966, <b><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">Usher</span></i></b> 2000<br />The Horror continues. Very engaging Curtis Harrington shorts form the Indicator blu ray. Many take the Maya Deren style and give a horror edge.<br /></div><div><br />Rubén Galindo Jr. <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Grave Robbers</b></i></span> 1989<br />(rewatch)<br />The Horror continues.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52466802158_a781c03ee1_o.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52466802158_a781c03ee1_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Dennis Donnelly <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Toolbox Murders</b></i></span> 1978<br />The Horror continues. Serial killer wreaking havoc in an apartment complex.<br /><br />Eskil Vogt <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Innocents</b></i></span> 2021<br />(rewatch)<br />The Horror continues. Four kids in an housing estate with telepathic powers.<br /><br />10.24.2022<br />Ian Brennan, Ryan Murphy <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>The Watcher </i></b></span>2022<br />The Horror continues. Uninspiring coastal grandmother aesthetic: bland beige and off-white.<br /><br />10.25.2022<br />Paul Lynch <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Prom Night</b></i></span> 1980<br />The Horror continues. Early Jamie Lee Curtis film.<br /><br />10.26.2022<br />Anna Biller <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Love Witch</b></i></span> 2016<br />(rewatch)<br />The Horror continues. De Palmaesque Post-Hitchcock film with witchcraft, nudity and sex.<br /><br />10.27.2022<br />Mark Rosman <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The House on Sorority Row</b></i></span> 1982<br />(rewatch)<br />The Horror continues. Better than one would think.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52466534094_9a3726318d_o.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="430" data-original-width="800" height="344" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52466534094_9a3726318d_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />10.29.2022<br />Abel Ferrara <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>The Addiction</i></b></span> 1995<br />(rewatch)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Horror continues. Initially saw this in the theater, made a big impression. The high contrast black and white with pitch black blood made so beautiful by cinematographer Ken Kelsch. Great film, and the party sequence at the end is just pure cinematic bliss, heightened by the Joe Delia score. Great film.<br /></div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52466252391_ac29745642_o.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="295" data-original-width="540" height="350" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52466252391_ac29745642_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />10.30.2022<br />José Ramón Larraz <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Vampyres</b></i></span> 1974<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Horror continues. From the director of <i>Symptoms</i> from the same year, this beautifully shot film (the dp was Harry Waxman who also shot <i>The Wicker Man</i>) where blood on a car window looks like it should be in a museum. Two female seductress vampires who lure men to their mansion to seduce and drink from them, has similarities with Claire Denis's <i>Trouble Every Day</i> from 2001 with the mixture of eroticism and cannibalism.<br /></div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52466534089_930d11bcdc_o.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="515" data-original-width="800" height="412" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52466534089_930d11bcdc_o.png" width="640" /></a></div><br />William Friedkin <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Exorcist</b></i></span> 1973<br />(rewatch)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Horror continues. Essential. Shot by Owen Roizman, editing by Norman Gay and Evan A. Lottman. The mother coming out of the subway section with subliminal frames inserted like the one above have quite an effect, even after 20-30 viewings.<br /></div><div><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>The Power of Christ compels you</li><li>You're Going To Die Up There</li><li>Could you help an old alter boy father</li><li>Your mother sucks codpieces in Hell, Karras, you faithless slime</li><li>Until she rots, and lies stinking in the Earth</li><li>You keep it away... ahh! It burns! It burns!</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Especially important, is the warning to avoid conversations with the demon. We may ask what is relevant, but anything beyond that is dangerous. He is a liar. The demon is a liar. He will lie to confuse us. But he will also mix lies, with the truth to attack us. The attack is psychological, Damien, and powerful. So don't listen to him. Remember that... do not listen.</li><li>Come into me! Goddamn you take me! Take me!</li></ul><div><p><br />10.31.2022<br />Mike White <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>White Lotus season 1 ep 1</b></i></span> 2022<br /><br />Andrew Semans <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Resurrection</i></b></span> 2022<br /></p></div></div>the art of memoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02748087818232571209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5579754230116285540.post-35111200671483981632022-10-02T13:46:00.000-07:002022-10-02T13:46:12.315-07:00body and spirit are intertwined, and metaphysical realities are manifested in the physical world<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidKbLn9jps51IC7bGxIAyE3amXGwcmhr51FWaNnB16evCSC40b8v9KIjNSn6QFHGEOBdsSSc4SX8B5CguvVrTyD4U86wJVch2iSyULdY4pcH1aFR_oI54I9Q534_DTpKuk6L8PbIV5O7V7Etl2B8GQdnjz28S9azdW5SUrHdpsYJ2eX9n-famxFqzQTg/s858/Chi-Yun-Mandala-VI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="858" data-original-width="696" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidKbLn9jps51IC7bGxIAyE3amXGwcmhr51FWaNnB16evCSC40b8v9KIjNSn6QFHGEOBdsSSc4SX8B5CguvVrTyD4U86wJVch2iSyULdY4pcH1aFR_oI54I9Q534_DTpKuk6L8PbIV5O7V7Etl2B8GQdnjz28S9azdW5SUrHdpsYJ2eX9n-famxFqzQTg/w520-h640/Chi-Yun-Mandala-VI.jpg" width="520" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">MANDALA VI (2018) by Chi Yun<br /></div><div><p style="text-align: justify;">If in the Hudson Valley of New York, please visit the <a href="https://www.pinkwatergallery.com/shows" target="_blank">Pinkwater Gallery</a> in Kingston where my wife <a href="https://www.chiyunart.com/" target="_blank">Chi Yun</a> has 2 of her meditations on nature-abstraction, shamanism, spirituality, and metaphysics are on view from now until 11/27, with an opening on Saturday, October 15 from 6 to 8pm.<br /><br />Regarding the Mandala Series:<br /> <br />The paintings are a meditation on three cosmic zones. There is a core circle which is starting from the observational zone. It symbolizes looking within, reflection and inside the Earth. The second circle is the connection between myself, earth and nature. The outer circle represents enlightenment and transformation. All these molecules are forming into a whole, searching for completeness. This vision of the Mandala is rooted in Shamanism, The Occult, and Buddhism, yet has been transformed through my individual process into something more unique and personal. <br /></p></div>the art of memoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02748087818232571209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5579754230116285540.post-75653991255859633062022-09-05T10:39:00.000-07:002022-09-05T10:39:00.651-07:00a record of consumption, part eight (being a new film journal)<p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52336669283_360d2583f2_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="800" height="486" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52336669283_360d2583f2_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />7.22.2022<br />Dennis Hopper <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Out of the Blue</b></i></span> 1980<br />(rewatch)<br />4K rewatch via Severin Films. Seriously tough to watch film, but worth the pain it inflicts.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52336731184_fc1140949b_o.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="332" data-original-width="800" height="266" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52336731184_fc1140949b_o.png" width="640" /></a></div><br />7.25.2022<br />Roman Polanski <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Tess</b></i></span> 1979<br />(rewatch)<br />From Thomas Hardy's 1891 novel <i>Tess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented</i>, with a screenplay by Polanski, Gérard Brach (<i>Frantic, The Bear, The Tenant, Repulsion, Cul-de-sac, The Fearless Vampire Killers, Identification of a Woman</i>), and the British translator John Brownjohn. Moving score by Philippe Sarde, with a subdued palette by the two heavies Ghislain Cloquet and Geoffrey Unsworth. The film is dedicated to Polanski's late wife Sharon Tate, whom was convinced he would make a film of Tess one day. In Tarantino's <i>Once Upon a Time in Hollywood</i>, we see Margot Robbie (Sharon Tate) buying her husband a copy of <i>Tess</i> from an antiquarian bookseller in Westwood (image above).<br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">7.26.2022<br />Peter Crane <b><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Moments</i></span></b> 1974<br />Last film from The Pemini Organization. Only 42 people have marked this film as watched on letterboxd.<br /><br />7.27.2022<br />Donald Glover & Hiro Murai <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Atlanta season three</i></b></span> 2022<br />Favorite show on television right now.<br /><br />Nicolas Winding Refn <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Pusher 3</b></i></span> 2005<br />Volume three follows Milo (Zlatko Burić). Less effective of the Pusher Trilogy, but great music by Peter Peter and Peter Kyed, worth watching the movie for.<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52336858485_4974028475_o.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52336858485_4974028475_o.png" width="640" /></a></div><br />David Cronenberg <b><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">Eastern Promises</span></i></b> 2007<br />(rewatch)<br />Essential 4K rewatch, via Kino Lorber. For my 9-5 we were studying tattoo/body art history and trends, which got me thinking about the books of Russian Criminal Tattoos by Fuel Design, and then of course to Cronenberg's great <i>Eastern Promises</i>. Where body art takes an extremely offensive and irritating art world nonsense trajectory in <i>Crimes of the Future</i>, with charlatan artists as superstars (which has plagued contemporary art), and art enthusiasts as brainless consumers, we see it pure and in the street here in <i>Eastern Promises</i>.<br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">7.28.2022<br />Billy Wilder <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Apartment</b></i></span> 1960<br />(rewatch)<br />Essential 4K rewatch, via Kino Lorber. Kino is insane these days with their releases.<br /><br />7.30.2022<br />Mark Robson <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Harder They Fall</b></i></span> 1956<br />(rewatch)<br />From Indicator's <i>Columbia Noir #5: Humphrey Bogart</i> boxset. Only film I have seen more than once. Good scenes in this film, the best is the <a href="https://theartofmemory.blogspot.com/2010/05/breugel-in-film-you-yellow-dog.html" target="_blank">You Yellow Dog bit</a>. This actress is really wonderful.<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52336731314_894722c8e0_o.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="532" data-original-width="800" height="426" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52336731314_894722c8e0_o.png" width="640" /></a></div><br />Carl Franklin <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Devil in a Blue Dress</i></b></span> 1995<br />(rewatch)<br />Criterion Collection 4K. Fourth time I have seen this film in the last 2 years. Perfect film, best Denzel film. Just unreal how good it is. This and <i>One False Move</i> are some of the best examples of Neo-Noir films that are get better with each viewing and are like a drug you can't stop pushing or a cocktail you can't put down.<br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">8.3.2022<br />Michael Mann <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Collateral</i></b></span> 2004<br />(rewatch)<br />4K.<br /><br />8.6.2022<br />David Cronenberg <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Crimes of the Future</b></i></span> 2022<br />See review above in <i>Eastern Promises</i>.<br /><br />8.7.2022<br />Martin Ritt <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Hud</i></b></span> 1963<br />(rewatch)<br />Esssssssssential Paul Newman.<br /><br />8.9.2022<br />Skye Borgman <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Girl in the Picture</b></i></span> 2022<br />Netflix true crime doc.<br /><br />John McNaughton <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer</b></i></span> 1986<br />(rewatch)<br />Arrow Films 4K. Essential 4K rewatch, even more disturbing coming at you in such high fidelity.<br /><br />8.10.2022<br />Stuart Heisler <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Tokyo Joe</b></i></span> 1949<br />Mediocre Bogart film.<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52335475852_50501c43c2_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52335475852_50501c43c2_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />8.13.2022<br />Philip Haas <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Music of Chance</b></i></span> 1993<br />Blu ray from Imprint Films out of Australia. Lesser known 90s film, based on the novel by Paul Auster (whom has a cameo in the film). Perfect film, a nod of the hat to Sisyphus with Mandy Patinkin and James Spader as two characters whom enter into a purely novelist world where they are pushed into building a stone wall which resembles a lovely piece of Land Art, due to owing money to Joel Grey and Charles Durning, with M. Emmet Walsh as their overseer/caretaker. Samantha Mathis and Chris Penn show up as bit roles. Wonderful cyclical story, seen through the eyes of our heroes and artificially through the use of a model of the world. Both real and artificial, a film and just simply a story, what we are seeing with our own eyes, and how narrative manipulates reality (and manipulates narrative), and consumes its tail creating circles of confusion.<br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">8.14.2022<br />Dario Argento <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Bird with the Crystal Plumage</b></i></span> 1970<br />Arrow films 4K. Mostly watch these films for the soundtracks. This one with Ennio Morricone getting into a late 60s Miles Davis zone.<br /><br />Dario Argento <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Tenebre</b></i></span> 1982<br />Arrow films 4k, music by Goblin.<br /><br />Jaume Collet-Serra <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Non-Stop</b></i></span> 2014<br />(rewatch)<br />Non-Stop, The Grey, and Taken are the 3 most rewatchable Liam Neeson action films. Pure pleasure.<br /><br />8.15.2022<br />Bernard Rose <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Candyman</i></b></span> 1992<br />(rewatch)<br />4K Essential Cinema. Starring Virginia Madsen, Tony Todd, Xander Berkeley, Kasi Lemmons, and Vanessa E. Williams. Novel by Clive Barker (The Forbidden"). Beautifully shot by Anthony B. Richmond. Really love Xander Berkeley in this film, an often seen face in 90s cinema, like in Todd Haynes <i>Safe</i> as the husband. He usually plays a somewhat loser character, or in <i>Terminator 2</i> as the step father... very talented actor. As is Tony Todd who plays Candyman here, and Madsen's wonderful performance as the student of chaos.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">8.17.2022<br />Mike Hodges <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Get Carter </i></b></span>1971<br />(rewatch)<br />Essential 4K rewatch, BFI disc. Brutalist architecture, cars speeding and blurring, Caine at high level intense low level comedy, one of his most subtle performances. Industry destroying the sea, and getting rusted out and destroyed in the process. Beautiful film, not much better.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">8.21.2022<br />Jonathan Demme <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Married to the Mob</b></i></span> 1988<br />Off beat film from the master (<i>Caged Heat</i> 1974, <i>Melvin and Howard</i> 1980, <i>Something Wild</i> 1986, <i>The Silence of the Lambs</i> 1991, <i>Philadelphia</i> 1993 to name a few).<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Sam Peckinpah <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Killer Elite</b></i></span> 1975<br />(rewatch)<br /><br />8.23.2022<br />Dave Franco <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Rental</b></i></span> 2020<br /><br />8.24.2022<br />Tamara Jenkins <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Private Life</b></i></span> 2018<br />(rewatch)<br /><br />8.26.2022<br />John Carney <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Once</b></i></span> 2007<br />(rewatch)<br /><br />8.27.2022<br />Roger Donaldson <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>White Sands</b></i></span> 1992<br />(rewatch)<br />Strong memory of this film a few times being seen in high school. Great performances by Willem Defoe, Mickey Rourke, and M. Emmet Walsh.<br /><br />8.28.2022<br />Dan Trachtenberg <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>10 Cloverfield Lane</b></i></span> 2016<br />(rewatch)<br />4K. Would be great to see part 2 where the end of this film leaves us.<br /><br />8.29.2022<br />Diao Yi’nan <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Wild Goose Lake</b></i></span> 2019<br />Sublime and visionary film from the director of <i>Black Coal, Thin Ice</i>. Hard to put into words after one viewing, this film is insanely profound!<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52336429621_265f898a9b_o.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="536" height="800" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52336429621_265f898a9b_o.png" width="536" /></a></div><br />9.1.2022<br />Richard Tuggle <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Out of Bounds</b></i></span> 1986<br />Great 80s sleazebag Los Angeles wrong man / drug thriller film starring Anthony Michael Hall and Jenny Wright. Anthony Michael Hall gives a solid performance as a chill kid from Iowa whom moves to Los Angeles, has a crush on a hip girl, and then has to start running from the law and from the drug underworld. Normally not into him, but he gives a tough performance here as a strong kid, fish out of water, and too mellow to be irritating. Great cast includes actors you know their faces but not their names like Raymond J. Barry, Pepe Serna, Glynn Turman, and Jerry Levine. Good stuff.<br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">9.2.2022<br />Ethan Hawke <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Last Movie Stars</b></i></span> 2022<br />Documentary on Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman. Good attempt at showing the range and virtuosity of these two actors. Any road to cinephilia usually starts with <i>Hud</i>, <i>The Hustler</i>, <i>The Fugitive Kind</i>, <i>The Verdict</i>, <i>Cool Hand Luke</i>, and <i>The Long Hot Summer</i>. I remember around 2000 picking up the Library of America 2 volumes of the writings of Tennessee Williams, after seeing quite a few of the films, there was a very strong desire to read the actual pages and have a deeper understanding. Again and again these Williams inspired films were studied by this young enthusiast and the 2 actors above became essential. I am sure that Ethan Hawke and many of the actors in this doc had a similar history with these great films, and at times it was quite lovely to see the enthusiasm like with Vincent D'Onofrio explaining the difference between a bland reading and a reading under the method of method acting. The zoom infiltration of the film was frankly a bummer, as was the confusion that happened when an actor was on zoom in a conversation, and then transitioned to doing a voice over. Also having actors claim they are not familiar with the works but still participating, one wonders why not pick someone else or have no-one at all besides the 2 heavies we are here to see? Do we always need a contemporary voice in documentaries about true visionaries?<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Joshua Logan <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Picnic</b></i></span> 1955<br />Based on the play by William Inge. Stars William Holden, Cliff Robertson, Susan Strasberg, Kim Novak, Arthur O'Connell, and Betty Field. Good for architecture enthusiasts into American industrial architecture, specifically grain silos which are beautifully explored in this film.<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52336731409_3e765e395e_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52336731409_3e765e395e_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />9.3.2022<br />Ryusuke Hamaguchi <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Drive My Car</b></i></span> 2021<br />(rewatch)<br />Second time with this film, first in the theater and now the Criterion Collection blu ray. Between viewings I purchased and read the Haruki Murakami short story <i>Drive My Car</i> to get a better idea of the narrative. The sophistication in story telling in this film is hard for an old amateur like myself to completely understand, the levels of subtle storytelling that go through the film and reappear takes an extreme amount of mental abilities, something I maybe don't fully have, but luckily my wife hits the pause button every so often and not only illuminates but explains these subtleties. I say illuminates because half of the narrative streams I probably would not have noticed if not pointed out. Such a beautiful film visually and aurally it can be hard at times to actually take in all the concepts coming at you. The idea of story within story is certainly an essential part of the history of the novel from Georges Perec to <i>Don Quixote</i>, Hamaguchi adds to this lovely history with his films, but very much in his own style, where the perception of the layered story is not in the foreground, but can be more like a dream or fragmented or words during sexual encounters happening and not happening. Truly profound stuff which will probably need another few viewings to truly reveal itself.<br /><p></p><p>Matthew Weiner <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Mad Men Season two through seven</b></i></span> 2008-2015<br />(rewatch)<br />Good stuff. Show goes from being pretty good to amazing at it progresses.<br /></p>the art of memoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02748087818232571209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5579754230116285540.post-37074035279581009512022-06-21T17:28:00.001-07:002022-06-21T17:28:08.278-07:00a record of consumption, part seven (being a new film journal) <div><div><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52082617347_f656087e56_o.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52082617347_f656087e56_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />5.18.2022<br />Paul Thomas Anderson <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Inherent Vice</b></i></span> 2014<br />(rewatch)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nothing better than the moment this film hits heavy into the Can. Some psychedelic magic starts that never lets up. Not long after we hear Johnny Greenwood doing a Can hommage and an endlessly beautiful soundtrack continues throughout the film. A classic Chandleresque plot approaching nonsensical non-plot rarely has moments of clarity, and reaches an extreme with the Martin Short section which would have made Edward Lear uncomfortable. One way to watch a film like this (or <i>The Maltese Falcon</i>, <i>The Big Sleep</i>, <i>The Long Goodbye</i>) is to treat the plot as a level of rhythm which acts as a Fire Music foundation enabling an array of instruments to interact in a purely aesthetic way bringing forth and giving jouissance. Utter blissful moments overwhelm this film, like Josh Brolin as a Renaissance Detective, the search for Eric Roberts as Wolfmann aka Wolf-Man, and numerous poetic/comedic names floating around like Sortilège, Shasta Fay Hepworth, Ensenada Slim, Dr. Buddy Tubeside, Sauncho Smilax, Esq, Luz, Amethyst Harlingen, Smedley, Puck Beaverton, Stone Turntable Magazine, and many more. Cast includes Michael Kenneth Williams, Benicio Del Toro, Jena Malone, Martin Short, Martin Donovan, Jeannie Berlin, and Hong Chau. Cinematographer by the master Robert Elswit (<i>Redbelt</i>, <i>Hard Eight</i>, <i>Punch-Drunk Love</i>, <i>The Bourne Legacy</i>, <i>The Town</i>, <i>Boogie Nights</i>, <i>There Will Be Blood</i>, <i>Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation</i>, and <i>Nightcrawler</i>). Novel by Thomas Pynchon, interpreted by Paul Thomas Anderson: "Do you need to use the facilities... do you need to use the bathroom before touring the facilities". Editing by Leslie Jones. Great film, one of Anderson's best.</div><p></p><p>Gordon Parks <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Shaft’s Big Score!</b></i></span> 1972<br />(rewatch)<br />This was on television often in the late 80s/early 90s. Spent many late nights watching this as a kid. Not so crazy about it this time around, but has good moments and a wonderful aesthetic.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52144070687_db160e54ca_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="270" data-original-width="400" height="432" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52144070687_db160e54ca_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />5.19.2022<br />Stacy Peralta <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Powell Peralta: Public Domain</i></b></span> 1988<br />(rewatch)<br />Classic.<br /><br />Robert Aldrich <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Big Knife</b></i></span> 1955<br />(rewatch)<br />Essential.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52145581295_a4d03297c3_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="428" data-original-width="800" height="342" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52145581295_a4d03297c3_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Dennis Hopper <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Easy Rider</i></b></span> 1969<br />(rewatch)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Bringing in the aesthetic of the 1970s with Dennis Hopper, Peter Fonda, Karen Black, Terry Southern, Jack Nicholson, Warren Finnerty, Phil Spector, László Kovács and Donn Cambern. Ending is tragic, but so beautifully shot (László Kovács) and edited (Donn Cambern), it really leaves you speechless.<br /></div><div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">5.20.2022<br />Joel Coen <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Fargo</b></i></span> 1996<br />(rewatch)<br />My wife and I are watching comfort movies, this one in 4K. I repeat lines from this film seems like everyday.<br /><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52145328494_20b4e13951_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="342" data-original-width="800" height="274" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52145328494_20b4e13951_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />5.21.22<br />David Fincher <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Se7en</b></i></span> 1995<br />(rewatch)<br />Stretching the concept a bit, but another late night comfort movie. Comfort for some at least, including myself.<br /><br />5.22.2022<br />Jeffrey Eger & Miriam Eger <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Sonambients: The Sound Sculpture of Harry Bertoia</b></i></span> 1971<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Spent the day with Jeffrey Eger, looking at his collection of books, and he asked me if I liked Harry Bertoia. I said hell yes, especially his sound work. He gave me a copy of documentary on the subject, which is a really great film.<br /></div><div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">John Ford <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance</b></i></span> 1962<br />(rewatch)<br />Essential 4K rewatch. First Ford film in this format I believe. Hopefully <i>The Searchers</i> to follow.<br /><br />Chloé Zhao <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Nomadland</b></i></span> 2020<br />(rewatch)<br />Essential 4K rewatch.<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52145581275_444f249f3f_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="429" data-original-width="573" height="479" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52145581275_444f249f3f_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />5.23.2022<br />Miloš Forman <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Loves of a Blonde</b></i></span> 1965<br />(rewatch)<br />A film that has left an extreme memory for this viewer, but only a second time viewing. Strong early work by the master Forman.<br /><br />5.24.2022<br />Donald Glover <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Atlanta Season Two: Barbershop</b></i></span> 2022<br />Hiro Murai <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Atlanta Season Two: Teddy Perkins</b></i></span> 2022<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Some really great episodes scattered through Donald Glover's show <i>Atlanta</i>, especially these two masterpieces: <i>Barbershop</i> with Paper Boi (Brian Tyree Henry) attempting to get a haircut from barber Bibby (Robert S. Powell), and <i>Teddy Perkins</i> with Darius (LaKeith Stanfield) attempting to get a free piano with multi-colored keys from rich eccentric Teddy Perkins (Danny Glover). Both episodes, and some others in the series, are departure episodes both poetic and nonsensical, not unlike the <i>Barry</i> episode <i>ronny/lily</i> with the freak kid and father. Really powerful narratives in this season with Sisyphean struggles, unlike much of what is normally encountered in current television. Great stuff.<br /></div><div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Stuart Baird <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>U.S. Marshals</b></i></span> 1998<br />Relates to the 1993 film <i>The Fugitive</i> with Tommy Lee Jones and crew.<br /><br />5.25.2022<br />Kasper Collin <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>I Called Him Morgan</b></i></span> 2016<br />Doc on Lee Morgan.<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52145328464_f8479ca2e9_o.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="457" data-original-width="800" height="366" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52145328464_f8479ca2e9_o.png" width="640" /></a></div><br />5.28.2022<br />John G. Avildsen <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Rocky</b></i></span> 1976<br />(rewatch)<br />Essential 4K rewatch.<br /><br />Jimmy Wang Yu <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>One-Armed Boxer</b></i></span> 1972<br />Raw and beautiful martial arts film.<br /><br />Richard Linklater <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>SubUrbia</b></i></span> 1996<br /><br />Steven Soderbergh <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Limey</b></i></span> 1999<br />(rewatch)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Essential 4K rewatch. Fragmented structure can be either jarring or refreshing, depending on your mood. This time I found it quite nice, last time a few years ago I think it annoyed me slightly. Love the Bill Duke part "There's one thing I don't understand. The thing I don't understand is every motherfuckin' word you're saying".<br /></div><div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Harold Ramis <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Groundhog Day</b></i></span> 1993<br />(rewatch)<br />Essential 4K rewatch.<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52144070682_1801a8a00d_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52144070682_1801a8a00d_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />5.30.2022<br />Dario Argento <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>The Cat o’ Nine Tails</i></b></span> 1971<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Had not seen this Argento film before, perhaps my favorite after <i>Suspira</i>. Apparently it was Argento's least favorite film. Too Hollywood for him. I loved the thriller aspect of it, and some great performances, great film.<br /></div><div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">5.31.2022<br />Dario Argento <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>The Cat o’ Nine Tails </i></b></span>1971<br />Watched with Arrow films commentary with Alan Jones and Kim Newman.<br /><br />Martin Scorsese <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>GoodFellas</b></i></span> 1990<br />(rewatch)<br />Essential 4K rewatch. RIP Ray Liotta. <br /><br />6.1.2022<br />Tom McCarthy <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Stillwater</b></i></span> 2021<br />Not a bad Matt Damon film.<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52145113438_8b1bf158a9_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52145113438_8b1bf158a9_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />6.2.2022<br />Penelope Spheeris <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Suburbia</b></i></span> 1983<br />(rewatch)<br />Could watch this film over and over.<br /><br />Michel Franco <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Sundown</b></i></span> 2021<br />Solid film with Tim Roth as Londoner hanging out in Mexico, drinking and having sex.<br /><br />Sergio Sollima <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Revolver</b></i></span> 1973<br />Oliver Reed speaking Italian. Not great but worth watching.<br /><br />6.3.2022<br />David Lynch <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Straight Story</b></i></span> 1999<br />(rewatch)<br />Imprint Films blu ray. Underrated Lynch film.<br /><br />John McNaughton <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Wild Things</i></b></span> 1998<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Florida Neo-Noir from John H<i>enry Portrait of a Serial Killer</i> McNaughton. Not on the level as other Floridian Neo-noirs like <i>92 in the Shade</i>, <i>Night Moves</i>, or <i>Body Heat</i>. Two songs by Morphine, one of the worst bands or the 1990s, turned a mediocre film into a real honey bucket. God I hate the band Morphine!<br /></div><div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52145113423_381c43b251_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52145113423_381c43b251_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />6.6.2022<br />Kevin Macdonald <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Sky Ladder: The Art of Cai Guo-Qiang</i></b></span> 2016<br /><br />Anthony Mann <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>T</b></i><i><b>he Tin Star</b></i></span> 1957<br />(rewatch)<br />Essential Mann western with Henry Fonda, Anthony Perkins, Lee Van Cleef, John McIntire, and Russell Simpson. Shot by Loyal Griggs.<br /><br />Tom Surgal <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Fire Music</b></i></span> 2018<br />History of Free Jazz from Ornette Coleman to FMP.<br /><br />Adam Wingard <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Guest</b></i></span> 2014<br />Ex soldier David (played by Dan Stevens) comes to a small town to wreak havoc in a <i>Bourne Identity</i> style, but more sadistic.<br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52145328434_4d3baaa589_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="800" height="342" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52145328434_4d3baaa589_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />6.7.2022<br />Jonathan Glazer <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Under the Skin</i></b></span> 2013<br />(rewatch)<br />Best Glazer film, would watch more often if its bleakness did not overwhelm. Pure magic.<br /><br />Martin McDonagh <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri</b></i></span> 2017<br />(rewatch)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Essential film for enthusiasts of Frances McDormand, Caleb Landry Jones (understated performance), Sam Rockwell, Woody Harrelson, Abbie Cornish, Lucas Hedges, Zeljko Ivanek, Peter Dinklage, Clarke Peters, and John Hawkes.<br /></div><div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">6.11.2022<br />JG Thirwell & Sten Backman <b><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">Silver Mantis</span></i></b> 2019<br />Live at Tinker Street Cinema in Woodstock NY.<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52145581320_0ddbb632b6_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="461" data-original-width="800" height="369" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52145581320_0ddbb632b6_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />6.12.2022<br />Peter Crane <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Hunted</b></i></span> 1972<br />From the Indicator Films boxet The Pemini Organisation, the short lived independent British film production company, active between 1972 and 1974. This short film stars Edward Woodward (<i>The Wicker Man</i>) and June Ritchie.<br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Richard Franklin <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Cloak & Dagger</i></b></span> 1984<br />Classic 80s film I had never seen, but did now via Vinegar Syndrome, in a lovely 4K box set. Directed by the great Australian director Richard Franklin (<i>Road Games</i>, <i>Patrick</i>) whom has cited Hitch as his major influence. From the story by Cornell Woolrich, and written for the screen by Tom Holland (the writer not actor). Solid performances by Henry Thomas, Dabney Coleman, Michael Murphy, William Forsythe. John McIntire, Jeanette Nolan, Eloy Casados, and Tim Rossovich.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52145114313_7f935441c7_o.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="531" data-original-width="800" height="425" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52145114313_7f935441c7_o.png" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52145110621_cc424a2750_o.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="445" data-original-width="800" height="356" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52145110621_cc424a2750_o.png" width="640" /></a></div>6.13.2022<br />Cary Joji Fukunaga <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>No Time to Die</b></i></span> 2021<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This
is one of those films where the cast (with the exception of Daniel
Craig and Jeffrey Wright) turns a mediocre film into a total piece of hogwash. Some of the worst actors working today, dominating the scene and getting paid to stink up films, are here in a completely unnecessary manner and given carte blanche. One wonders if on opening night millions of people were throwing up in their mouths a bit from the theme song? It is nothing but unspeakable, just an unspeakable bit of rotgut, like the <span>Malek accent</span>. Just completely disagreeable. Headache inducing. Frightful. Bad-tempered. Churlish. Filthy. <span class="ILfuVd"><span class="hgKElc">Disobliging. As rotten as a dishonorable melon farmer</span></span><span class="ILfuVd"><span class="hgKElc">. In fact, the film is completely without honor and in fact possibly has no value?<br /></span></span></div><div><br />Bill Hader & Alec Berg <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Barry season three</b></i></span> 2022<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Last
episode and rewatch of various episodes from the season. Was interested
in but not super excited about this season initially, but in episode
six (crazy motorcycle episode, a trippy aesthetic experience when motorcycles are flying through traffic) the show starts getting seriously
great, up there or surpassing previous seasons. Totally abstract European art film, with the Hader/Berg black comedy, nonsense
mixed with Fellini or Tarkovsky, with a bits of extreme violence to fuck
things up. Ends beautifully with last episode.<br /><br />6.14.2022<br />Chad Stahelski <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum</b></i></span> 2019<br />(rewatch)<br />Near essential 4K rewatch. Very tired Wick moves about the city trying to stay alive. Great film, few annoying actors/characters that bring it down, but overall amazing film. Mark Dacascos is so great in this.<br /><br />Alfred Hitchcock <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Shadow of a Doubt</b></i></span> 1943<br />(rewatch)<br />Essential 4K rewatch. One of the Hitch films you just can't stop watching. Something about the way he does Santa Rosa, the quality of light captured by Joseph A. Valentine, the bizarre conversations between Henry Travers and Hume Cronyn, the basically incestuousness interactions between Teresa Wright and Joseph Cotton. None better.<br /><br />6.15.2022<br />Nicholas Ray <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Lusty Men</b></i></span> 1952<br />(rewatch)<br />Once a year rewatch of this peripheral western classic. Stars Susan Hayward, Robert Mitchum, and Arthur Kennedy. I spent my 20s watching Arthur Kennedy in roles where he was closer to middle age, and it is always a bit strange seeing him here as the good looking wet behind the ears rodeo rider turned dirty dog Wes Merritt. Great performances by all, and one of Ray's best. Based on <i>King of the Cowpokes</i> by Claude Stanush and screenplay by Horace McCoy (<i>They Shoot Horses, Don't They?</i>) and David Dortort, and shot by the great Lee Garmes (Hawks' <i>Scarface, Shanghai Express, Morocco, Duel in the Sun, Nightmare Alley, Portrait of Jennie, </i>and<i> The Desperate Hours</i>). Deep pleasure to watch.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52164317364_5e50deb8e5_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="410" data-original-width="728" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52164317364_5e50deb8e5_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />6.16.2022<br />John Dahl <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>The Last Seduction</i></b></span> 1994<br />(rewatch)<br />Classic 90s Neo-Noir. Not much better in this area of film.<br /><br />6.17.2022<br />John Dahl <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>The Last Seduction</i></b></span> 1994<br />(rewatch)<br />Two nights in a row watching this film.<br /><br />6.20.2022<br />Clint Eastwood <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil</i></b></span> 1997<br />(rewatch)<br /><br />Matthew Weiner <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Mad Men season one</b></i></span> 2007<br />(rewatch)<br /><br />6.21.2022<br />Peter Crane <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Assassin</b></i></span> 1973<br />From Indicator's Pemini Organisation boxset. British mercenary film stars Ian Hendry as a sleazy killer arriving into town to do a bit of dirty business. Ian Hendry familiar as the almost equally sleazy Martin in Antonioni's <i>The Passenger</i>. Something about his visual aesthetic suits these rolls.<br /></div>the art of memoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02748087818232571209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5579754230116285540.post-15408177473372438562022-05-18T17:55:00.003-07:002022-05-18T18:10:17.760-07:00a record of consumption, part six (being a new film journal)<p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52083660884_b0acf6c057_o.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="360" height="500" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52083660884_b0acf6c057_o.jpg" width="360" /></a></div><br />4.2.2022<br />Kwon Oh-seung <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Midnight</b></i></span> 2021<br />Korean serial killer film.<br /><br />Woody Allen <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Hannah and Her Sisters</i></b></span> 1986<br />(rewatch)<br />"I'm going through a period where I can't be around people" (Max von Sydow).<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52082391967_0fbda8606d_o.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="433" data-original-width="800" height="346" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52082391967_0fbda8606d_o.png" width="640" /></a></div><br />4.3.2022<br />King Hu <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Come Drink with Me</b></i></span> 1966<br /><br />Martin Scorsese <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Last Waltz</b></i></span> 1978<br />(rewatch)<br />Essential 4k rewatch, via Criterion. First time I heard The Band, was watching this film, and remember watching the 116 minute film 3 times in 2 days.<br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Tim Hunter <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>River’s Edge</b></i></span> 1986<br />(rewatch)<br />Very Lynchian in atmosphere. Shot by Frederick Elmes, whom worked with David Lynch, Ang Lee, Charlie Kaufman, Jim Jarmusch, and Todd Solondz. For the role of drug and mannequin man Feck, Tim Hunter had wanted John Lithgow, but the part was also offered to Harry Dean Stanton whom declined it, but luckily passed the script on to his friend, Dennis Hopper.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">4.4.2022<br />Martin Scorsese <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Last Waltz</b></i></span> 1978<br />(rewatch)<br />Scorsese & Robbie Robertson commentary.<br /><br />Eliza Hittman <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Forever’s Gonna Start Tonight</b></i></span> 2011<br /><br />Kasi Lemmons <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Eve’s Bayou</b></i></span> 1997<br />Lemmons directorial debut, Southern Gothic film about a prosperous Creole-American community in Louisiana. Lemmons is known as Ardelia Mapp in Jonathan Demme's <i>The Silence of the Lambs</i> and Bernadette Walsh in Bernard Rose's <i>Candyman</i>. Great film.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Clio Barnard <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Dark River</b></i></span> 2017<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52083930755_30ea790163_o.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52083930755_30ea790163_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52083434856_b80ff34a1f_o.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="426" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52083434856_b80ff34a1f_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />4.5.2022<br />Thomas Vinterberg <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Another Round</b></i></span> 2020<br />(rewatch)<br />Stunningly beautiful film, up there with Vinterberg's <i>The Celebration</i> and <i>The Hunt</i>. Love the Yves Klein ending.<br /><br />Johan Renck <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Chernobyl</b></i></span> 2019<br />(rewatch)<br />Essential 4K rewatch.<br /> <br />4.6.2022<br />Alexander Payne <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Sideways</b></i></span> 2004<br />(rewatch)<br />Once a year rewatch.<br /><br />4.9.2022<br />Jon Watts <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Spider-Man: No Way Home</b></i></span> 2021<br />Dizzying layers of meta.<br /><br />4.10.2022<br />Philip Kaufman <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Invasion of the Body Snatchers</b></i></span> 1978<br />(rewatch)<br />Essential 4K rewatch.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52082407542_01894e07c2_o.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52082407542_01894e07c2_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />4.11.2022<br />Peter Sollett <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Metal Lords</b></i></span> 2022<br /><br />Nicolas Winding Refn <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Pusher II: With Blood on My Hands</b></i></span> 2004<br />Refn is the master of blissfully pushing viewers to their extremes, a euphoric use of music, and giving nudity and sex an almost offensive quality. Mads Mikkelsen gets quite heavy in the film, beautiful performance. Soundtrack by Peter Peter (<i>Pusher</i>, <i>Bleeder</i>, <i>Pusher 3</i>, and <i>Valhalla Rising</i>).<p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">4.13.2022<br />James Whale <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Invisible Man</b></i></span> 1933<br />(rewatch)<br />Essential 4K rewatch.<br /><br />Woody Allen <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Alice</b></i></span> 1990<br />(rewatch)<br />Watching this for William Hurt, film not as great as I remembered, not bad though.<br /><br />Ridley Scott <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Blade Runner </b></i></span>1982<br />(rewatch)<br />Essential 4K rewatch.<br /><br />4.15.2022<br />Tony Maylam <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>White Rock</b></i></span> 1977<br />Documentary on the XII Olympic Winter Games Innsbruck 1976 hosted by James Coburn. Beautifully shot.<br /><br />4.17.2022<br />Denis Villeneuve <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Dune</b></i></span> 2021<br />(rewatch)<br />Third time with this film, this time on 4K disc, much better sound and image this way, great film.<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52083444391_8010eab6dc_o.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="409" data-original-width="728" height="409" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52083444391_8010eab6dc_o.jpg" width="728" /></a></div><br />4.23.2022<br />Theodore Melfi <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>St. Vincent</b></i></span> 2014<br />(rewatch)<br />Traveling lately for work and family so less time in the dark enjoying plato's cave, got to sneak in a rewatch of <i>St. Vincent</i>. Not speaking of the lusterless musician, but the Naomi Watts / Bill Murray / Melissa McCarthy film.<br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br />4.24.2022<br />Joel Edgerton <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Gift</b></i></span> 2015<br />(rewatch)<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52083449066_30736ba7c2_o.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="334" data-original-width="800" height="267" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52083449066_30736ba7c2_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />5.1.2022<br />Bertrand Tavernier <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Round Midnight </b></i></span>1986<br />Stunning Tavernier film with the great tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon as the fictional Dale Turner and François Cluzet as Francis Borler, in a fiction film loosely based on the relationship between French author Francis Paudras and Bud Powell. Turner's character also uses Lester Young as inspiration. We also see Herbie Hancock. Martin Scorsese, Philippe Noiret, Wayne Shorter, Bobby Hutcherson, Alain Sarde, Billy Higgins, John McLaughlin, Ron Carter, Tony Williams, and Freddie Hubbard. Gordon's performance is beyond words.<br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br />Matt Reeves <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>The Batman</i></b></span> 2022<br />Beautifully shot by Greig Fraser (<i>Dune, Killing Them Softly, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Bright Star</i>) and edited by William Hoy and Tyler Nelson. Not a great film, but hard to not be impressed by its visual qualities.<br /><br />Michael Winner <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Death Wish II</b></i></span> 1982<br />(rewatch)<br />4K from Vinegar Syndrome. Not exactly essential 4K rewatch, but a great example of early 80s sleazy cinema that takes it a bit too far in making the viewer feel uncomfortable, and needing to take a shower to get the grime off, but not necessarily in a bad way. Part of the appeal for this film is the gritty krautish soundtrack by Jimmy Page.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Paul King <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Paddington</b></i></span> 2 2017<br />(rewatch)<br />Didn't hit me much on a second viewing, but certainly not without interest. High Grant gives great performance.<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52083693954_100d9244af_o.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="449" data-original-width="800" height="359" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52083693954_100d9244af_o.png" width="640" /></a></div><br />5.2.2022<br />David Lynch <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Mulholland Drive</b></i></span> 2001<br />(rewatch)<br />Essential 4K rewatch. Second time this year, first via Criterion Collection 4K, now StudioCanal. Stunning package and presentation. Love the Edward Hopper inspired package design.<br /><br />5.3.2022<br />Sam Jones <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off</i></b></span> 2022<br /><br />5.4.2022<br />Stacy Peralta <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Powell Peralta: The Search for Animal Chin</i></b></span> 1987<br />(rewatch)<br />Middle school favorite.<br /><br />Stacy Peralta <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Bones Brigade: An Autobiography</b></i></span> 2012<br /><br />Buzz Kulik <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Hunter</b></i></span> 1980<br /><br />Norman Jewison <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>In the Heat of the Night </b></i></span>1967<br />(rewatch)<br />Essential 4K rewatch via Kino Lorber.<br /><br />5.5.2022<br />Mike Leigh <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Meantime</b></i></span> 1983<br />(rewatch)<br />Huge Mike Leigh fan, but only second time seeing this. Classic for lovers of his work, and the work of Tim Roth, Gary Oldman, Alfred Molina, and Phil Daniels.<br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52083696959_c4cb86211b_o.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="454" data-original-width="800" height="363" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52083696959_c4cb86211b_o.png" width="640" /></a></div><br />5.6.2022<br />Robert Eggers <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Northman</b></i></span> 2022<br />For my wife and myself, this was one of the most anticipated films of the year. Not huge huge Eggers fans, but certainly liked his other two films. After the credits ended, and my wife with a big smile said "how did you like it", I wasn't sure what to say. It took a couple of days to sink in, reflecting on it in my mind, for me to respond back to her "yes I liked the film, very good, would like to watch it again pronto". A few things that confused me initially was that the film aesthetically look, at times, like a video game, which was a bit off-putting. Also the story can be quite subtle and the references to Shakespeare needed some time to sink in. In a time when many Indie filmmakers are going out and making some of the worst piece of garbage super hero films, it is refreshing that Eggers makes a visionary big budget film, with layers of meaning, and performances worthy of the actors. Good stuff.<br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br />5.7.2022<br />Ivan Passer <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Born to Win</b></i></span> 1971<br />(rewatch)<br />Great blu ray presentation from Fun City Editions. Love this film.<br /><br />Chad Stahelski <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>John Wick: Chapter 2</b></i></span> 2017<br />(rewatch)<br />Essential 4K rewatch.<br /><br />5.12.2022<br />Rick Charnoski, Buddy Nichols <b><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">The Tony Alva Story</span></i></b> 2019<br /><br />Justin Kurzel <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Nitram</b></i></span> 2021<br />Caleb Landry Jones won best actor at Cannes for this film. No f'en joke.<br /><br />5.14.2022<br />Robert Eggers <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Lighthouse</b></i></span> 2019<br />(rewatch)<br />Post <i>The Northman</i>, getting into some Eggers rewatches. My favorite of his films, an absurdist aesthetic masterpiece in the tradition of Samuel Beckett, David Lynch, Krzysztof Penderecki, Harold Pinter, and Maya Deren.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">5.15.2022<br />Alain Corneau <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Tous les matins du monde</i></b></span> / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>All the Mornings of the World</b></i></span> 1991<br />(rewatch)<br />Essential film for fans of Jordi Savall, Marin Marais, Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe, and the French school of bass-viol composers in general.<br /><br />Michelangelo Antonioni <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Blow-Up</i></b></span> 1966<br />(rewatch)<br />I could spend days watching the park scenes in this film on repeat, or even just having the sound going.<br /><br />Dario Argento <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Profondo rosso</b></i></span> / <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Deep Red</b></i></span> 1975<br />(rewatch)<br />David Hemmings double feature. Despite not being a fan of this film, the Goblin soundtrack is quite memorable and comedic accidental truck killing at the end is perfect. Looks beautiful in the Arrow 4k Dolby Vision release.<br /></p><p>Sebastian Meise <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Great Freedom</b></i></span> 2021<br />Prison film with Franz Rogowski.<br /><br />5.16.2022<br />Stacy Peralta <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Powell Peralta: The Bones Brigade Video Show</b></i></span> 1984<br />(rewatch)<br /><br />Stacy Peralta <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Future Primitive: Bones Brigade Video II</b></i></span> 1985<br />(rewatch)<br />Both childhood favs.<br /><br />5.17.2022<br />Adam Leon <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Italian Studies</b></i></span> 2021<br />non mi è piaciuto.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Various Television :</b><br /><br />Reinaldo Marcus Green <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>We Own This City</b></i></span> 2022<br />Has moments of interest, but the story moving all around doesn't really work. Jamie Hector really stands out, great actor.<br /><br />Antonio Campos <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Staircase</b></i></span> 2022<br />Couldn't finish.<br /><br />Brian Watkins <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Outer Range</b></i></span> 2022<br />Was not particularly enjoying this show, and then found the last two episodes, and especially the ending to be too problematic. "Too problematic" seems to be my words for a lot of recent television, where moments in the show are quite good (like the actors, or the music), but an overall feeling of disappointment creeps in.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Kogonada & Justin Chon <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Pachinko</b></i></span> 2022<br />In general, wasn't crazy about the show, but Justin Chon's Episode 4 was pretty good, especially in the way The Cure’s <i>In Between Days</i> (played live by Luamel) playfully interacts with the end of the episode.<br /></p><p>Alec Berg and Bill Hader <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Barry</b></i></span> season three 2022<br />Entertaining. Agree with my screening partner when see says "I sure miss the acting school".<br /><br /><br /></p>the art of memoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02748087818232571209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5579754230116285540.post-32215164409445494532022-04-02T08:40:00.001-07:002022-04-02T08:40:14.089-07:00a record of consumption, part five (being a new film journal)<div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51953559539_6c5869aee0.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="210" data-original-width="500" height="269" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51953559539_6c5869aee0.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />3.14.2022<br />Denis Villeneuve <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Polytechnique</b></i></span> 2009<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Based on the 1989 École Polytechnique massacre in Montreal, a mass murder where misogynist Marc Lépine murdered fourteen women, and wounded ten women and four men.<br /></div><div><br />Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Red Shoes</b></i></span> 1948<br />(rewatch)<br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">Have had <i>The Red Shoes</i>
on LaserDisc, DVD, never on blu ray, and now on 4k, and not seen a
Technicolor print, and this feels pretty close to that magic. Was really
looking forward to seeing the reds on this, but the yellows, blues and
blacks just unreal to see.....</div><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51952280767_02e85ddd44.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="272" data-original-width="499" height="349" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51952280767_02e85ddd44.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />3.15.2022<br />Joachim Trier <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Worst Person in the World </b></i></span>2021<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Shot on 35mm (saw a nice hair in the gate). Wonderful film, read it was like a romcom made by Bergman. Good stuff.<br /></div><div><br />3.17.2022<br />Martin Campbell <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Casino Royale</b></i></span> 2006<br />(rewatch)<br /><br />Adrian Lyne <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Unfaithful</b></i></span> 2002<br />(rewatch)<br />Diane Lane gets it on with a French bookseller in Soho when she gets bored of Richard Gere.<br /><br />3.18.2022<br />Adrian Lyne <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Deep Water</i></b></span> 2022<br />Garbage.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51952286332_6597ac70fc.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="500" height="384" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51952286332_6597ac70fc.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />3.19.2022<br />William Lustig <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Maniac Cop 2</i></b></span> 1990<br />(rewatch)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Strange, received the 4K of <i>Maniac Cop 2</i> and <i>The Accused</i> in the mail, both films with crazed performance by Leo Rossi.<br /></div><div><br />Dario Argento <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Phenomena</b></i></span> 1985<br />(rewatch)<br />Jennifer Connelly Giallo style in 4K via Arrow Films.<br /><br /><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Goliath Season 4</i></b></span><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Goliath</i> season 4 gets into bringing down Big Pharma. Dreamscapes and Chinatown San Francisco dominate the season. Great cast in addition to Billy Bob Thornton include: William Hurt, J.K. Simmons, Elias Koteas, Bruce Dern, Griffin Dunne, Robert Patrick, Haley Joel Osment (<i>The Sixth Sense</i>), Jena Malone, Beth Grant (<i>Donnie Darko</i>, <i>No Country for Old Men</i>)<br /></div><div><br />James L. Brooks <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Broadcast News</b></i></span> 1987<br />(rewatch)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Criterion Collection purchase as my wife and I are very much wanting to dig into the William Hurt filmography. Strange role for Hurt as sort of sham news broadcaster inspired by the "anchormania”of Tom Brokaw, Peter Jennings and Dan Rather.<br /></div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51953336173_2fb9f13e11.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="269" data-original-width="500" height="344" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51953336173_2fb9f13e11.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />3.20.2022<br />John Landis <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>An American Werewolf in London</i></b></span> 1981<br />(rewatch)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">4K rewatch, via Arrow Films. Can't go wrong with a film with Jenny Agutter. Cinematography by Robert Paynter (<i>Superman II</i> & <i>III</i>, <i>Trading Places</i>, <i>National Lampoon's European Vacation</i>) which has a very pleasant feel especially when the travelers go out to "the moors". Score by Elmer Bernstein, with the song <i>Blue Moon</i> in various versions by Sam Cooke + Bobby Vinton + The Marcels, and <i>Moondance</i> by Van Morrison, plus <i>Bad Moon Rising</i> by Creedence Clearwater Revival.<br /></div><div><br />Siân Heder <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>CODA</i></b></span> 2021<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Very good "feel good" film. Dig the kid's King Crimson <i>Discipline</i> t-shirt. Great performances, especially by the father Troy Kotsur.<br /></div><div><br />Jonathan Kaplan <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Accused</b></i></span> 1988<br />(rewatch)<br />Essential late 80s film.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51953877415_0d6810bb6c.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="210" data-original-width="500" height="269" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51953877415_0d6810bb6c.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p><br />3.21.2022<br />William Lusting <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence</i></b></span> 1993<br />(rewatch)<br />4k rewatch, as with other <i>Maniac Cop</i> films; co-produced and written by Larry Cohen. Robert Davi is great in these films, in MC 3 we find Robert Forster as a smooth talking self-as·sured Doctor Powell. Excellent score by Joel Goldsmith.<br /><br />Joanna Hogg <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Souvenir: Part II</b></i></span> 2021<br />Very nice film!<br /><br />3.22.2022<br />Wes Craven <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Hills Have Eyes</b></i></span> 1977<br />Visually beautiful film, shot in the Mojave Desert by cinematography Eric Saarinen, who's father was the great architect Eero Saarinen, and grandfather Eliel Saarinen.<br /><br />Jon Watts <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Spider-Man: Homecoming</b></i></span> 2017<br />My friend described this as an homage to the more edgy 80s high school films. Good stuff.<br /><br />Kathryn Bigelow <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Near Dark</b></i></span> 1987<br />(rewatch)<br />One of the best vampire films. Music by Tangerine Dream. Beautiful dark stuff, shot by Adam Greenberg (<i>Terminator, Terminator 2, Ghost</i>). Essential 80s film.<br /><br />3.23.2022<br />Billy Wilder <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Some Like It Hot</b></i></span> 1959<br />(rewatch)<br />Essential 4K rewatch.<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51972363311_283c096f19.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="363" data-original-width="500" height="465" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51972363311_283c096f19.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />3.24.2022<br />John Huston <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Maltese Falcon</b></i></span> 1941<br />(rewatch)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">One only need meditate on the names involved: John Huston, Dashiell Hammett, Humphrey Bogart, Elisha Cook Jr., Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet, Ward Bond, Arthur Edeson (director of photography), Adolph Deutsch (music), Hal B. Wallis.<br /></div><div><br />3.25.2022<br />Chad Stahelski <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>John Wick</b></i></span> 2014<br />(rewatch)<br />Essential 4K rewatch.<br /><br />3.26.2022<br />Richard Tuggle <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Tightrope</b></i></span> 1984<br />(rewatch)<br />Very strange Clint Eastwood film, prostitute obsessed detective in New Orleans after a serial killer.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51971358147_2d0c59d170.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="338" data-original-width="500" height="433" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51971358147_2d0c59d170.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />3.27.2022<br />Jane Campion <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>The Water Diary</i></b></span> 2006<br />Children reacting to drought.<p></p><p> Thomas Vinterberg <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Last Round</b></i></span> 1993<br />Stunning early film by Vinterberg, starring Thomas Bo Larsen.<br /><br />Thomas Vinterberg <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Boy Who Walked Backwards</b></i></span> 1994<br />Another beaut by Vinterberg.<br /><br />Jesper Jargil <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Purified</b></i></span> 2003<br />Dogma 95 documentary.<br /><br />Douglas Sirk <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Written on the Wind</b></i></span> 1956<br />(rewatch)<br />Manhattan to Texas with Rock Hudson, Lauren Bacall, Robert Stack, and Dorothy Malone. Stunning photography by Russell Metty. Perhaps Sirk's best.<br /><br />3.28.2022<br />Jon Watts <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Spider-Man: Far From Home</b></i></span> 2019<br />High school film with kids going on a cultural tour through Europe, with some trouble from water and fire.<br /><br />Nicolas Winding Refn <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Pusher</b></i></span> 1996<br />First Refn film, stunning performance by Kim Bodnia as Frank. Also early film for Mads Mikkelsen.<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51972644984_4a34c003c4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="338" data-original-width="500" height="433" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51972644984_4a34c003c4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />3.29.2022<br />John Huston <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Misfits</b></i></span> 1961<br />(rewatch)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Serious grown up movie with stunning performances by Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, Eli Wallach, Montgomery Clift, and Thelma Ritter. Heavy themes. Screenplay by Arthur Miller, Cinematography Russell Metty whom also shot <i>Written on the Wind</i> a few films up.<br /></div><div><br />3.30.2022<br />Liu Chia-Liang <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter</i></b></span> 1984<br />Brand new Arrow Films release of Shaw Brothers classic.<br /><br />Joseph L. Mankiewicz <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>All About Eve</b></i></span> 1950<br />(rewatch)<br />Eve = Evil.<br /><br />Katt Shea <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Poison Ivy</b></i></span> 1992<br /><br />3.31.2022<br />Michael Steinberg, Neal Jimenez <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Waterdance</b></i></span> 1992<br />Eric Stoltz, Wesley Snipes, and William Forsythe play paraplegics in a rehabilitation home. Pretty good film, Snipes and Forsythe are stunning. Grace Zabriskie plays Forsythe's mother.<br /><br />Todd Haynes <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Far from Heaven</b></i></span> 2002<br />(rewatch)<br />Haynes on Sirk. Great film.<br /><br />Peter Tscherkassky <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Train Again</b></i></span> 2021<br />(rewatch)<br />Noticed clips from <i>Spirit of the Beehive</i> and <i>The Shining</i> this time around. Great film.<br /><br />Peter Tscherkassky <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Dream Work</b></i></span> 2001<br />(rewatch)<br />Great stuff.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51977298453_bc0df1f483.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="207" data-original-width="499" height="265" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51977298453_bc0df1f483.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />4.1.2022<br /><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Goliath Season 1 & 2</b></i></span><br />Watching these the last couple of weeks. Again good cast, with more Billy Bob Thornton and John Hurt plus Maria Bello, Molly Parker, Lou Diamond Phillips, Paul Williams and many more.<br /><br />Grace Lee <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Barrier Device</b></i></span> 2002<br />Short film on Criterion Channel with Sandra Oh.<br /><br />Michael Anderson <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Logan’s Run</b></i></span> 1976<br />(rewatch)<br />Not a fan of the film but love Jenny Agutter & Richard Jordan in it.<br /><br />Neil Burger <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Limitless</i></b></span> 2011<br />I call this too fried on friday night to watch criterion.... <br /><p></p><p></p></div>the art of memoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02748087818232571209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5579754230116285540.post-25665040067967077452022-03-13T20:19:00.001-07:002022-03-21T16:33:48.338-07:00a record of consumption, part four (being a new film journal)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51937328040_56b7072358.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="212" data-original-width="500" height="271" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51937328040_56b7072358.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />2.13.2022<br />Otakar Vávra <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Witchhammer</b></i></span> 1970<br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">From Severin's boxset <i>All The Haunts Be Ours: A Compendium Of Folk Horror</i>. Czech film tells the story of the Northern Moravia witch trials of the 1670s. Interesting beginning, where a dirty bastard explains the origin of sin is to be found in women, over a montage of nude women in a bathhouse (Beauty comes from the Devil).<br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51937032754_6b397e0b33.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="500" height="480" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51937032754_6b397e0b33.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Delbert Mann <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Marty</i></b></span> 1955<br />(rewatch)<br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Perfect film. What could be better than watching a movie of mostly failed dates.<br /><br /></p><p>Yorgos Lanthimos <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Nimic</b></i></span> 2019<br /></p><p>Alexandre Rockwell <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Sweet Thing</b></i></span> 2020</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51935730377_84428ffb0a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="500" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51935730377_84428ffb0a.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />2.14.2022<br />Jane Campion <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>An Angel at My Table</b></i></span> 1990<br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Following up on my "watch ever Jane Campion film" idea this month, we now arrive at one of the heaviest <i>An Angel at My Table</i>, not an easy watch, but worth it to stick through it. A tad dull initially, but as we get more familiar with Janet Frame's trials and tribulations, the more engaging the film became.<br /><br /></p><p>Mauricio Corco Espinoza <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Yun</i></b></span> 2020</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51935730647_ce1173f26c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="363" data-original-width="500" height="465" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51935730647_ce1173f26c.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />2.15.2022<br />Georgiy Kropachyov, Konstantin Ershov <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Viy</b></i></span> 1967<br />Kåre Bergstrøm <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Lake of the Dead</i></b></span> 1958<br />Viðar Víkingsson <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Tilbury</b></i></span> 1987<br />Mario Andreacchio <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Dreaming</b></i></span> 1988<br />James Bogle <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Kadaicha</b></i></span> 1988<br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">From Severin's boxset <i>All The Haunts Be Ours: A Compendium Of Folk Horror</i>.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51936718516_37c9e940dc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="273" data-original-width="500" height="349" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51936718516_37c9e940dc.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />William Friedkin <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Cruising</b></i></span> 1980<br />(rewatch)<br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Arrow blu ray. Third time seeing this, besides it being just an overwhelming disorienting horror film, the use of music and sound design is brilliant throughout the film, having the music often times present but a little louder than it needs to be, adds to the disorienting quality to this film and gives the bizarre end that extra kick. Possibly the best Friedkin film?</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51937343850_d4e3e092cd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="264" data-original-width="500" height="338" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51937343850_d4e3e092cd.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />2.16.2022<br />Tsui Hark <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Once Upon a Time in China II</i></b></span> & <i><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Once Upon a Time in China III</span></b></i> 1992<p></p><p>Melvin Van Peebles <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song</b></i></span> 1971<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Opens with 12 year old Mario Van Peebles naked on top of and engaging with a naked prostitute. Crazy psychedelic stuff, highly creative, hard to watch, and truly avant'garde. <br /><br /></p><p>Melvin Van Peebles <b><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Sunlight</i></span></b> 1957<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Flickering black and white lushness, sometimes under exposed, sometimes over. Collision of music like Charles Ives collage of folk tunes, patriotic songs, and marching band music. Beautiful film.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51936718721_5493f0f610.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="500" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51936718721_5493f0f610.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Dee Rees <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Pariah</b></i></span> 2011<br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Stunning film on the turbulent life of a young Brooklyn high school girl.<br /><br /></p><p>2.17.2022<br />Alfred Hitchcock <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Rear Window</b></i></span> 1954<br />(rewatch)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Essential 4K rewatch. L.B. Jefferies (James Stewart) apartment acting as a camera recording the goings on in the facing apartment.<br /></p><p><br />Alfred Hitchcock <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Birds</b></i></span> 1963</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51936787693_2fbd1cff49.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="374" data-original-width="499" height="480" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51936787693_2fbd1cff49.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Wayne Wang <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Chan is Missing</b></i></span> 1982<br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Wonderfully nonsensical San Francisco neo-noir. Our would be detective Jo (Wood Moy) interrogates a woman but we can't hear because her kid is playing music too loud in his bedroom. Keeps going from here with the private dick stuff..... like a bizarre version of the classic SF Noirs. Great film, a new favorite!<br /></p><p><br />2.20.22<br />John Carpenter <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Halloween</b></i></span> 1978<br />(rewatch)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Essential 4K rewatch.<br /></p><p><br />Josef von Sternberg <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Devil Is a Woman</b></i></span> 1935<br />(rewatch)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">From Indicator's boxset <i>Marlene Dietrich & Josef Von Sternberg at Paramount 1930-1935</i>. Hadn't watch Josef von Sternberg's films in a dog's age.<br /></p><p><br />Ridley Scott <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Martian</b></i></span> 2015<br />(rewatch)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Essential 4k rewatch.<br /></p><p><br />2.21.2022<br />Tod Browning <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Dracula</b></i></span> 1931<br />James Whale <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>The Invisible Man</i></b></span> 1933<br />George Waggner <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Wolf Man</b></i></span> 1941<br />(rewatch)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Essential 4K rewatch. From the <i>Universal Classic Monsters: Icons of Horror Collection</i> boxset.<br /></p><p><br />Sydney Pollack <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Three Days of the Condor</i></b></span> 1975<br />(rewatch)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Hard to not be charmed by Pollack's take on the 70s paranoia aka <i>Klute</i>, <i>Parallax View</i> and <i>All the President's Men</i>.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51936718761_affba75a0a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="269" data-original-width="500" height="344" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51936718761_affba75a0a.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />2.22.2022<br />Richard Fleischer <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Mr. Majestyk</b></i></span> 1974<br />(rewatch)<br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Watched the Kino blu ray. Favorite Bronson film sitting up there with <i>Once Upon a Time in the West</i> and <i>Death Wish</i>.<br /></p><p><br />Willard Huyck, Gloria Katz <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Messiah of Evil</i></b></span> 1973<br />(rewatch)<br /><br />2.23.2022<br />Josef von Sternberg <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Scarlet Empress</b></i></span> 1934<br />Josef von Sternberg <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Shanghai Express</b></i></span> 1932<br />(rewatch)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">From Indicator's boxset <i>Marlene Dietrich & Josef Von Sternberg at Paramount 1930-1935</i>.<br /></p><p><br />Kathryn Bigelow <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Point Break</i></b></span> 1991<br />(rewatch)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">My wife and I have watched this once a year since we met, never gets old. Still picking up strange expressions from Gary Busey (Pappas) on each viewing.<br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51937032714_507ac2a847.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="282" data-original-width="500" height="361" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51937032714_507ac2a847.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />2.25.2022<br />Peter Yates <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Friends of Eddie Coyle</b></i></span> 1973<br />(rewatch)<br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Via Criterion. Essential cinema.<br /></p><p><br />Josef von Sternberg <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Dishonored</b></i></span> 1931<br /><br />Christopher Nolan <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Batman Begins</b></i></span> 2005<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Essential 4K rewatch.<br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51936718731_3283fd70c0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="283" data-original-width="500" height="362" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51936718731_3283fd70c0.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />2.26.2022<br />Tsai Ming-liang <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Stray Dogs</b></i></span> 2013<br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">On a Tsai Ming-liang kick after his recent film. Had not seen this one... jeez what a film. Slow beautiful stuff. Last shot goes on and on and on.... way after you expect the credits to come... but what a great shot, hard to find anything but the sublime in it. As a young man watching these films, I thought Tsai Ming-liang's main actor Lee Kang-sheng was sort of an eccentric screen presence, that was always a pleasure to watch, but over the last few months rewatching these films, his performances are really just so stunning you could count him up there with Gena Rowlands and John Cazale in terms of the skill as an actor he conveys to the audience... in <i>Stray Dogs</i> there is a cabbage eating emotional scene so powerful it is up there in top 10 screen performance. Lee Kang-sheng really can just do anything on screen.<br /></p><p><br />Hirokazu Kore-eda <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Truth</b></i></span> 2019<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51937328085_dfb842427c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="276" data-original-width="499" height="354" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51937328085_dfb842427c.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />2.27.2022<br />Tsai Ming-liang <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Journey to the West</i></b></span> 2014<br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Slow film focused on performances by Lee Kang-sheng and Denis Lavant. Tsai Ming-liang likes to sometimes put his actors through an endurance test, doing something physical or emotional (or both) that is clearly not easy for the actor. Here we have Lavant staring into the lens for what seems like forever and Lee Kang-sheng playing a Buddhist monk traversing so slowly through Marseilles it is like a minute a footstep. If not for a script, the film would be perhaps more of a filmed performance, but somehow a clear narrative sinks in and gives some complexity to the film. A shot where Lee Kang-sheng walks down some steps with dust from the space creating magical light flickers was truly a sublime event, with passers by mystified by his actions. The level of precision and focus the actor had to maneuver so slowly down the stairs boggles the mind. Even later as he traverses an alley, Denis Lavant attempts to imitate him and go slow through time and space, and really bringing attention to the virtuosity present in what we are seeing. Often a shot is happening for some time and one gets lost in the beauty, and finally the monk enters the scene both expected and unexpected. Amazing film, one of Tsai Ming-liang's best.<br /></p><p><br />Christopher Nolan <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>The Dark Knight</i></b></span> 2008<br />(rewatch)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Part II with Heath Ledger. Another masterclass in acting, this time with Mr. Ledger, definitely not an overrated performance.<br /></p><p><br />2.28.2022<br />Steven Spielberg <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Duel</b></i></span> 1971<br />(rewatch)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">ABC Movie of the Week. Story and screenplay by Richard Matheson (<i>I Am Legend</i>), directorial debut of Spielberg. Sort of loser businessman Dennis Weaver drives across the California desert getting totally f*cked with by a deranged truck driver. Reminds me of the great line from David Lynch's <i>Twin Peaks: The Return:</i> "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ci3ltuvvl4">It's a world of truck drivers</a>".<br /></p><p><br />Stephen Cone <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Henry Gamble’s Birthday Party</i></b></span> 2015 & <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Princess Cyd</i></b></span> 2017<br /><br />3.1.2022<br />Julia Ducournau <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Raw</b></i></span> 2016<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Hard to watch! No messing around. Laurent Lucas from <i>With a Friend Like Harry...</i> (2000) plays the father.<br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51936718361_fbc5474a11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="358" data-original-width="500" height="458" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51936718361_fbc5474a11.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />3.2.2022<br />Hal Ashby <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>8 Million Ways to Die</i></b></span> 1986<br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Good vibe to this film.<br /><br /></p><p>Christopher Nolan <b><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>The Dark Knight Rises</i></span></b> 2012<br />(rewatch)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">4K rewatch, had only seen this once at the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood. Not as good as first two, but worth watching. Good cast besides regular crew: Anne Hathaway, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ben Mendelsohn, Matthew Modine, Aidan Gillen.<br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51936718706_5493f8d69b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="323" data-original-width="500" height="413" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51936718706_5493f8d69b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />3.3.2022<br />Sergio Leone <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Good, the Bad and the Ugly</b></i></span> 1966<br />(rewatch)<br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Essential 4K rewatch.<br /><br /></p><p>Edward Owens <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Private Imaginings and Narrative Facts</b></i></span> 1968<br /><br />Peter Tscherkassky <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Train Again</b></i></span> 2021<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Kurt Kren inspired train flicker film. Sound by Dirk Schaefer.<br /></p><p><br />3.4.2022<br />Jackie Chan <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Police Story</b></i></span> 1985<br />(rewatch)<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51937032549_5fe85d1bd6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="289" data-original-width="500" height="370" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51937032549_5fe85d1bd6.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />3.6.2022<br />Josef von Sternberg <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Blonde Venus</b></i></span> 1932<br />(rewatch)<br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">From Indicator's boxset <i>Marlene Dietrich & Josef Von Sternberg at Paramount 1930-1935</i>. Previously my favorite von Sternberg film, still resonates very strongly.<br /></p><p><br />Joseph Ellison <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Burning aka Don’t Go in the House</b></i></span> 1979<br />(rewatch)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Arrow blu ray release, extended cut with original title <i>The Burning</i>. One tough film, the scene where the killer goes into a clothing store to buy a disco outfit and interacts with the sales clerk who says "I think it's a dynamite outfit" is pretty amazing. The initial burning scene with nudity is quite disturbing. Second time seeing this film and really appreciate it's timbre, underrated horror film. Stars Dan Grimaldi, whom is a recognizable character in <i>The Sopranos</i>. Shot at the Strauss Mansion Museum in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey. On the blu ray, there is are two interviews with Joseph Ellison presenting him as an articulate artist with a strong aesthetic, surprised he didn't have a bigger career, he only made one other film <i>Joey</i>.<br /></p><p><br />Calum Waddell, Jim Kunz <b><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">Grindhouse All-Stars: Notes from the Sleaze-Cinema Underground</span></i></b> 2017<br /><br />Joanna Hogg <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>The Souvenir</i></b></span> 2019<br />(rewatch)<br /><br />3.7.2022<br />Joseph Ellison <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Burning</b></i></span> aka <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Don’t Go in the House</b></i></span> 1979<br />(rewatch)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Watched with commentary by Stephen Thrower on disc 2 and by Joseph Ellison and producer Ellen Hammill on disc 1.<br /></p><p><br />John Woo <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Hard Target</b></i></span> 1993<br />(rewatch)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Essential 4K rewatch. Some of the best action sequences ever filmed, especially the explosive end in the warehouse of antiquated Mardi Gras floats and statues. Kino discs has very informative extras like interviews with Yancy Butler, John Woo, and Lance Herniksen.<br /></p><p><br />3.8.2022<br />Charlotte Stoudt <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Pieces of Her</b></i></span> 2022<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Toni Collette, Bella Heathcote, David Wenham (<i>LOTR</i> and <i>Top of the Lake</i>), and Gil Birmingham (<i>Hell or High Water</i>, <i>Wind River</i>). Good acting, script is off.<br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51936718716_7e4772342d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="266" data-original-width="499" height="341" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51936718716_7e4772342d.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />3.9.2022<br />John Carpenter <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Prince of Darkness</i></b></span> 1987<br />(rewatch)<br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Essential 4K rewatch.<br /></p><p><br />Wayne Wang <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Joy Luck Club</b></i></span> 1993<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Based on the novel by Amy Tan, four women play mahjong in San Francisco, and their various family histories are explained through flashbacks.<br /></p><p><br />3.10.2022<br />Sergio Corbucci <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Django</b></i></span> 1966<br /><br />John Carpenter <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>They Live</i></b></span> 1988<br />(rewatch)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Essential 4K rewatch.<br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51935730692_896ddf08f4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="392" data-original-width="500" height="502" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51935730692_896ddf08f4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Daniel Petrie <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Lifeguard</b></i></span> 1976<br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Was not familiar with this film, heard about it from the recent WTF podcast with Sam Elliott. Was a bit put off by his derogatory remarks on <i>The Power of the Dog</i> film, especially since I see <i>Tombstone</i> as nothing but a "piece of shit" "Chippendales western", but still hard to dislike the great actor who has been in a few good films like <i>Road House</i> and The <i>Big Lebowski</i>. <i>Lifeguard</i> could be added to the list of solid Elliott films, def has that 70s sleaze which is often great but can sometimes sink into something a little more slimy than you are comfortable with, which it does a bit in <i>Lifeguard</i> in the way women are presented, but overall the film has a good vibe and he is quite excellent in it.<br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51936991378_2f6d8f2c28.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="335" data-original-width="499" height="430" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51936991378_2f6d8f2c28.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />3.11.2022<br />Taylor Hackford<span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i> An Officer and a Gentleman</i></b></span> 1982<br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Beautiful film with love story between Richard Gere and Debra Winger, and more tragic one between David Keith and Lisa Blount (from Carpenter's <i>Prince of Darkness</i>). Solid performances by Louis Gossett Jr., Robert Loggia, and Grace Zabriskie! So used to seeing Zabriskie in the strange Lynch roles, it was a little jarring to see her in a more straight role. Strange score by the master Jack Nitzsche in which he mainly abstracts the melody from <i>Up Where We Belong</i> by Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes.<br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51937032659_7db641c6bf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="280" data-original-width="500" height="358" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51937032659_7db641c6bf.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />3.12.2022<br />Bent Hamer <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Factotum</i></b></span> 2005<br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Very good film with Matt Dillon as Charles Bukowski’s alter ego, Henry Chinaski. Alcoholism, degenerate gambling, inability to keep a job, and bad relationships. Hard to get that wonderful Bukowski quote from <i>Sideways</i> out of my mind: "Half my life is over, and I have nothing to show for it. I'm a thumbprint on the window of a skyscraper. I'm a smudge of excrement on a tissue surging out to sea with a million tons of raw sewage." Lily Taylor and Marisa Tomei also really wonderful in the film.<br /></p><p><br />John Sturges <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>The Great Escape</i></b></span> 1963<br />(rewatch)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">4K via Kino.<br /></p><p><br />3.13.2022<br />Sam Raimi <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>The Evil Dead</i></b></span> 1981 & <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>The Evil Dead II</i></b></span> 1987<br />(rewatch)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Essential 4K rewatches. Had never watched these films back to back, like a jazz song with 2 interpretations by the same artist. Joel Coen assisted in editing the first film. Blood is really stunning in 4k Dolby Vision!<br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51935948842_40dcec16fc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="381" data-original-width="500" height="488" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51935948842_40dcec16fc.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Lawrence Kasdan <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Body Heat</i></b></span> 1981<br />(rewatch)<br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rest In Peace Mr. William Hurt whom passed away today at age 71. One of the best actors of the 80s and 90s, even in films that are not amazing, he would elevate them to great heights. Going to spend the next few weeks savoring his filmography. Starting with one of the best, the South Florida neo-noir with almost unconfortable nudity, sweat flowing, greasy hair, great lines; just a perfect film, which is certainly very much elevated with Mr. Hurt's presence.<br /><br /><br />David Cronenberg <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>A History of Violence</b></i></span> 2005<br />(rewatch)<br /><br />William Hurt as the memorable gangster Richie Cusack with the strangely uncomfortable mustacheless goatee. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.<br /></p>the art of memoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02748087818232571209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5579754230116285540.post-86304368837465136152022-02-28T07:34:00.005-08:002022-03-06T13:25:51.865-08:00rituals in transfigured time<p>(some women filmmakers)</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51908233950_214a9b53d0_z.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="640" height="346" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51908233950_214a9b53d0_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b>Maren Ade</b><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">German producer, screenwriter, and director mostly known for her 2016 film <i>Toni Erdmann</i>. Ade also produced Valeska Grisebach's stunning film <i>Western</i> (2017).<br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51906634322_5c8a28abc1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="500" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51906634322_5c8a28abc1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b>Chantal Akerman</b><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Belgian director whom many will claim as their favorite director (myself included). Akerman transformed time so beautifully with her 1975 film <i>Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles</i>, that it was impossible to not look at any other film without referencing it. Other essential films are <i>Les Années 80</i> (1983), <i>Les Rendez-vous d'Anna</i> (1978), <i>Je Tu Il Elle</i> (1974), <i>Saute ma Ville</i> (1968), and <i>News from Home</i> (1977). Sadly in 2015 Akerman took her life at the age of 65.<br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51907605306_cc66882579.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="274" data-original-width="500" height="351" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51907605306_cc66882579.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b>Allison Anders</b><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">American independent director known for her 90s films <i>Gas Food Lodging</i> (1992), <i>Mi Vida Loca</i> (1993), and <i>Grace of My Heart</i> (1996). She was also a production assistant on <i>Paris, Texas</i>.<br /></p><p><br /><b>Kamila Andini</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Indonesian director known for her debut film <i>The Mirror Never Lies</i> (2011).<br /><br /><br /><b>Maya Angelou</b><br /><br />The poet's one feature film: <i>Down in the Delta</i> (1998) on motherhood and dipsomania.<br /></p><p><br /><b>Gillian Armstrong</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Australian director, known for <i>My Brilliant Career</i> (1979), <i>Little Women</i> (1994), and <i>Oscar and Lucinda</i> (1997).<br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51908234085_692efd6dc6.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="239" data-original-width="499" height="307" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51908234085_692efd6dc6.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b>Andrea Arnold</b><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Brilliant English filmmaker and former actor Andrea Arnold, her immensely impressive filmography includes the films <i>Wasp</i> (2003), <i>Red Road</i> (2006), <i>Fish Tank</i> (2009), <i>Wuthering Heights</i> (2011), <i>American Honey</i> (2016), episodes of <i>I Love Dick</i> (2017), and the 2021 documentary <i>Cow</i> which is a portrait of a dairy-farm cow’s life span.<br /></p><p><br /><b>Dorothy Arzner</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">American Hollywood director making films from the 1920s into the early 1940s.<br /></p><p><br /><b>Lila Avilés</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Mexican director, screenwriter, and producer known for her 2018 film <i>The Chambermaid</i>.<br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51907605186_fa4d78400a_z.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="426" data-original-width="640" height="426" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51907605186_fa4d78400a_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b>Ilisa Barbash</b><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Barbash is the curator of visual anthropology at Harvard’s Peabody Museum. She co-directed and co-produced <i>In and Out of Africa</i> (1992), <i>P.O.V.</i> (2011) and the documentary masterpiece <i>Sweetgrass</i> (2009) that follows modern-day shepherds leading their sheep up into Montana's Absaroka-Beartooth mountains.<br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51907697368_8423978b48_z.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="393" data-original-width="640" height="393" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51907697368_8423978b48_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b>Corinna Belz</b><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">German filmmaker who directed the wonderful portrait of the artists <i>Gerhard Richter Painting</i> (2011), and <i>Peter Handke: In the Woods, Might be Late</i> (2016).<br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51908233905_dc657c6827_z.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="359" data-original-width="639" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51908233905_dc657c6827_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b>Sadie Benning</b><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Born 1973 in Milwaukee, and daughter of James Benning. Benning is known for experimenting with the moving image as a child with a Fisher-Price Pixelvision PXL-2000 toy camera. She also co founded the band Le Tigre.<br /></p><p><br /><b>Ann Biderman</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">American film and television writer known for the intense portrait of Los Angeles police officers <i>Southland</i> (2009-2013).<br /></p><p><br /><b>Susanne Bier</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Danish film director, screenwriter, and producer. Bier directed <i>After the Wedding</i> (2006) with Mads Mikkelsen, and <i>The Night Manager</i> (2016) with Tom Hiddleston and Hugh Laurie.<br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51907697608_115f14c72a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="319" data-original-width="480" height="425" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51907697608_115f14c72a.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b>Kathryn Bigelow</b><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Hugely talented American director, responsible for many classics such as the outlaw biker film <i>The Loveless</i> (1981) with Willem Dafoe and musician Robert Gordon, the uncomfortable neo-western/vampire film <i>Near Dark</i> (1987) with Lance Henriksen and Bill Paxton, and the gritty 90s classic surf/bank robbery film <i>Point Break</i> (1991). Not without interest are <i>Strange Days</i> (1995), and <i>The Hurt Locker </i>(2008).<br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51907697603_c034c6df84.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="500" height="384" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51907697603_c034c6df84.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b>Lizzie Borden</b><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Not the tried and acquitted axe murderer, but the American filmmaker who directed <i>Working Girls</i> (1986) focussing on the life of several prostitutes in a Manhattan brothel, and the documentary-style feminist fiction film <i>Born in Flames</i> (1983).<br /></p><p><b><br />Catherine Breillat<br /></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Not for everyone, the French director who's 2001 film <i>Fat Girl</i> is an alternative coming-of-age film with two sisters Anaïs Pingot and Elena Pingot, perhaps inspired by Anaïs Nin?<br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51907697298_80a21786f6_z.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="620" height="330" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51907697298_80a21786f6_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b>Mary Ellen Bute</b><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Pioneer American animator mastering the concept of visual music. The Houston born filmmaker made fourteen abstract films between the 1930s to the 1950s set to classical music. I was fortunate to be initiated to her work at the 1995 Harvard Film Archive show <i>Articulated Light: The Emergence of Abstract Film in America</i> curated by Bruce Posner and presented by Cecile Starr.<br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51907924334_5dc249b13a_z.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51907924334_5dc249b13a_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b>Jane Campion</b><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">New Zealand director, screenwriter, and producer, and the first female filmmaker to receive the Palme d'Or for her 1993 film <i>The Piano</i>. As a high school kid seeing <i>The Piano</i> on the big screen was completely overwhelming and still resonates within me. Her films <i>Sweetie</i> (1989), <i>An Angel at My Table</i> (1990), <i>Holy Smoke!</i> (1998), <i>In the Cut</i> (2003), <i>Bright Star</i> (2009), the television show <i>Top of the Lake</i> (2013), and <i>Power of the Dog</i> (2021), are all monumental works. <br /></p><p><br /><b>Niki Caro</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">New Zealand director and screenwriter responsible for the 2002 film <i>Whale Rider</i>.<br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51907697203_57133776c8_z.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="418" data-original-width="640" height="418" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51907697203_57133776c8_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b>Xan (Alexandra) Cassavetes</b><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Daughter of Gena Rowlands and John Cassavetes. Her 2002 film <i>Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession</i> is essential to anyone interested in the history of film as art and its reception in the United States.<br /></p><p><br /><b>Liliana Cavani</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Italian director who made the insane 1974 film <i>The Night Porter</i>.<br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51906754662_08f92f7c97.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="330" data-original-width="500" height="422" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51906754662_08f92f7c97.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b>Lisa Cholodenko</b><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">American screenwriter and director. Cholodenko wrote and directed the films <i>High Art</i> (1998), <i>Laurel Canyon</i> (2002), <i>The Kids Are All Right</i> (2010), the HBO four-part mini-series <i>Olive Kitteridge</i>, the first three episodes of Netflix's <i>Unbelievable</i> (2019), and several episodes of <i>Homicide: Life on the Street</i> and <i>Six Feet Under</i>.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><br />Chinonye Chukwu</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Nigerian-American film director best known for the 2019 film <i>Clemency</i> with Alfre Woodard.<br /><br /><b>Christina Choe</b><br /><br />American director, made <i>Nancy</i> in 2018 starring Andrea Riseborough.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /><b>Věra Chytilová</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Avant-garde Czech film director best known for her 1966 Czech New Wave film <i>Daisies</i>.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51907828198_2c1950e54f.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="280" data-original-width="500" height="358" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51907828198_2c1950e54f.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b>Shirley Clarke</b><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Seeing Shirley Clarke's 1963 film <i>The Cool World</i> in college was a huge event for this film enthusiast, and it is strange to have never heard mention of the masterpiece since then. The film follows the Royal Pythons, a youth gang in Harlem, specifically a 15 year-old gangster Duke (Hampton Clanton), and a racketeer named Priest (Carl Lee). The music is by Mal Waldron and The Dizzy Gillespie quintet. Clarke also made the film version of the 1959 New York City's Living Theater group play <i>The Connection</i> by Jack Gelber, initially with Jackie McLean, Freddie Redd, Cecil Taylor, Warren Finnerty, and Carl Lee, many of whom appear in Clarke's film. She also directed Skyscraper (1959), <i>Portrait of Jason</i> (1967), and <i>Ornette: Made in America</i> (1985).<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51906772857_ed5f2ed747.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="376" data-original-width="500" height="481" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51906772857_ed5f2ed747.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b>Maya Daren</b><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Towering figure in the early New York City avant'garde film scene, hanging out with Marcel Duchamp, André Breton, John Cage, and Anaïs Nin, Deren influenced countless filmmakers such as Stan Brakhage, Curtis Harrington, Kenneth Anger, and Carolee Schneemann. She had creative partnerships with two husbands Alexander Hammid (<i>Meshes in the Afternoon</i> and <i>Ritual in Transfigured Time</i>, <i>The Private Life of a Cat</i>) and later Teiji Itō whom did music for <i>Meshes of the Afternoon</i> and <i>Meditation on Violence</i>. Other essential films include <i>At Land</i> (1944), <i>A Study in Choreography for Camera</i> (1945), and <i>Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti</i>. Her contributions to the history of experimental/avant'garde cinema are beyond essential.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /><b>Julie Dash</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">One of the filmmakers in the L.A. Rebellion group, known for her films <i>Four Women</i> (1975), Illusions (1982), and <i>Daughters of the Dust</i> (1991).<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /><b>Storm de Hirsch</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Pioneer 1960s New York City avant'garde filmmaker and poet, one of the founding members of the Film-Makers' Cooperative and early editor of Film Culture magazine; Storm de Hirsch is known for her frame-by-frame etching and painting and metadiagetic editing.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51907753701_350f4edcf7.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="333" data-original-width="500" height="426" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51907753701_350f4edcf7.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b>Claire Denis</b><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">French filmmaker known for her films <i>I Can't Sleep</i> (1994), <i>Beau Travail</i> (1999), <i>Trouble Every Day</i> (2001), <i>Friday Night </i>(2002), <i>35 Shots of Rum</i> (2008), <i>White Material</i> (2009), <i>Les Salauds</i> (2013), <i>High Life</i> (2018) and <i>Fire</i> (2022). Memorably scored by the English band Tindersticks.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /><b>Mati Diop</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">French/Senegalese filmmaker and actress who starred in Claire Denis' film <i>35 Shots of Rum</i> (2008). Diop went on to direct the stunning 2019 supernatural romantic drama <i>Atlantics</i> (Atlantique) which competed for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><br />Evelina Domnitch</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Along with Dmitry Gelfand, Evelina Domnitch explores visual and invisible phenomena through the moving image and installations.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51908405338_d0268aeda0.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="211" data-original-width="500" height="270" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51908405338_d0268aeda0.jpg" width="640" /></a></b></div><b><br />Julia Ducournau</b><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">French film director and screenwriter. Her crazy as f*ck virtuosic, sensitive, and deranged film <i>Titane</i> won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /><b>Germaine Dulac</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">French filmmaker, film theorist, journalist and critic known for the 1928 film <i>The Seashell and the Clergyman</i>.<br /><br /></p><p><b>Cheryl Dunye</b><br /><br />Dunye's<i> The Watermelon Woman</i> was the first gay African-American female filmmaker's feature film.<br /><br /><br /><b>Ava DuVernay</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">California filmmaker, directed <i>Middle of Nowhere</i> (2012), <i>Selma</i> (2014) and <i>When They See Us</i> (2019).<br /></p><p><br /><b>Nora Ephron</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">NYC Romcom director known for writing <i>Silkwood</i> (1983), <i>Heartburn</i> (1986), <i>When Harry Met Sally</i>... (1989) and directing <i>Sleepless in Seattle</i> (1993) and <i>You've Got Mail</i> (1998). Growing up hating the genre, they are actually not bad films when you watch them.<br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51908233820_7e8490a08b_z.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="481" data-original-width="640" height="481" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51908233820_7e8490a08b_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b>Valie Export</b><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I still remember as a college student the pain and transcendence experienced while watching Export's 1973 film <i>Remote, Remote</i>, where she cuts her cuticles and dips her bloodied hand in a bowl of milk. The Austrian artist and filmmaker is best known for her public performances, expanded cinema work, video installations, computer animations, photography, and sculpture. Memorable is Export's TAP and TOUCH Cinema where her naked chest is obscured with a mini makeshift ‘movie theatre’, and passers by are challenged to engage with her cinema.<br /></p><p><br /><b>Valerie Faris</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Music video director team Valerie Faris and her husband Jonathan Dayton co-directed the 2006 feature film <i>Little Miss Sunshine</i>.<br /></p><p><br /><b>Sophie Fiennes</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">English film director and producer, the sister of actors Ralph and Joseph Fiennes. Fiennes produced and directed the documentary <i>The Pervert's Guide to Cinema</i> and <i>The Pervert's Guide to Ideology</i> with the philosopher and psychoanalyst Slavoj Žižek. Her 2010 documentary on Anselm Kiefer <i>Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow</i> focuses on Kiefer's site specific work at his abandoned factory complex outside Barjac France.<br /></p><p><br /><b>Greta Gerwig</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">American actress and director from Sacramento California, after starring in Noah Baumbach's <i>Greenberg</i> (2010) and <i>Frances Ha</i> (2012), Gerwig directed the lovely film <i>Lady Bird</i> (2017) on growing up in the early aughts in Sacramento.<br /><br /><b>Bette Gordon</b><br /><br />American director, made the gritty film <i>Variety</i> (1983), and the experimental film <i>I-94</i> (1974) with James Benning.<br /></p><p><br /><b>Marleen Gorris</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Dutch writer and director, her 1995 film <i>Antonia's Line</i> won an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.<br /></p><p><br /><b>Debra Granik</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Cambridge Massachusetts born director best known for her films <i>Down to the Bone</i> (2004) and <i>Winter's Bone</i> (2010).<br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51907605261_33ca851558_z.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="550" data-original-width="640" height="550" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51907605261_33ca851558_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b>Nancy Graves</b><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">American sculptor, painter, printmaker, and filmmaker. Her 1970 film <i>Izy Boukir</i> documents camels in the Sahara. The 1973 film <i>Aves: Magnificent Frigate Bird, Great Flamingo</i> is a multilayered motion study of overlapping forms in flight. The 1974 <i>Reflections on the Moon</i> is a black and white abstraction showing the passage of a camera over a static surface comprised of 200 stills of lunar surface.<br /></p><p><br /><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51908347838_8d13bc58da.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="267" data-original-width="500" height="342" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51908347838_8d13bc58da.jpg" width="640" /></a></b></div><b><br />Valeska Grisebach</b><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">German director and part of the Berlin School of filmmaking, who's film <i>Western</i> (2017) is shockingly original and has a kick like a mule.<br /></p><p><br /><b>Alice Guy-Blaché</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">French pioneer filmmaker working from 1896 to 1920.<br /></p><p><br /><b>Lucile Hadžihalilović</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">French writer and director whom grew up in Morocco. Her films include the 2004 mystery drama <i>Innocence</i>, the 2015 water focused horror/thriller <i>Evolution</i>, and editing for many films including Gaspar Noé's <i>I Stand Alone</i> (1998).<br /></p><p><br /><b>Mary Harron</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Canadian filmmaker and screenwriter, directed the indie hits <i>I Shot Andy Warhol</i> (1996) and <i>American Psycho</i> (2000).<br /></p><p><br /><b>Amy Heckerling</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">American filmmaker known for the classic 80s films <i>Fast Times at Ridgemont High</i> (1982), <i>National Lampoon's European Vacation</i> (1985), and the 1995 film <i>Clueless</i>. <br /></p><p><br /><b>Marielle Heller</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">American writer, director, and actress best known for directing the films <i>The Diary of a Teenage Girl</i> (2015), <i>Can You Ever Forgive Me?</i> (2018), and <i>A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood</i> (2019). Her acting in <i>The Queen’s Gambit</i> (2020) really gives an extra push to an already solid show. <br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51908354868_27836921b7.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="500" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51908354868_27836921b7.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b>Eliza Hittman</b><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">New York City screenwriter, film director, and producer. The Brooklyn based film <i>Beach Rats</i> (2017) about a high school boy dangerously hooking up with older men via the internet was definitely interesting, but the 2020 film <i>Never Rarely Sometimes Always</i> about a young girl traveling to the big city (Manhattan and Brooklyn) to get an abortion is a modern day classic worthy of many rewatches and close study.<br /></p><p><br /><b>Joanna Hogg</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">British film director and screenwriter. In the late 1970s Hogg worked as a photographer and made experimental super-8 films after borrowing a camera from her mentor Derek Jarman. Her feature films include her debut <i>Unrelated</i> (2007), <i>Archipelago</i> (2010), <i>Exhibition</i> (2013), and the sublime duo <i>The Souvenir</i> (2019) and <i>The Souvenir Part II</i> (2021).<br /><br /><b><br />Amy Holden Jones</b><br /><br />American screenwriter, editor and film director. In addition to directing the memorable film <i>Love Letters</i> (1983) starring Jamie Lee Curtis and James Keach, Jones edited <i>American Boy: A Profile of Steven Prince</i> (1978), and wrote <i>Mystic Pizza</i> (1988).<br /></p><p><br /><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51908270306_2dac8927a7.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="500" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51908270306_2dac8927a7.jpg" width="640" /></a></b></div><b><br />Agnieszka Holland</b><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Polish film and television director and screenwriter. Holland was initially an assistant to directors Krzysztof Zanussi and Andrzej Wajda, and then emigrated to France. Her works include the historic war drama <i>Europa Europa</i> (1990), the fantasy drama <i>The Secret Garden</i> (1993), three episodes of the heaviest of television shows <i>The Wire</i> (2004, 2006, and 2008), three episodes of the Seattle crime drama <i>The Killing</i> (2011 and 2012), three episodes of <i>House of Cards</i> (2015 and 2017), and the truly strange and mysterious 2017 Polish crime film <i>Spoor</i>, which is a film that has not left my head since seeing it.<br /></p><p><br /><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51908639219_f6eb4de930.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="372" data-original-width="499" height="477" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51908639219_f6eb4de930.jpg" width="640" /></a></b></div><b><br />Nancy Holt</b><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">American artist whom made films related to Land Art, her own and work by Robert Smithson and Michael Heizer. The films include <i>Mono Lake</i> (1968), <i>East Coast, West Coast</i> (1969), Swamp (1971), <i>Sun Tunnels</i> (1978), and was the cinematographer for Robert Smithson's film <i>Spiral Jetty</i> (1970).<br /></p><p><b><br />Ágnes Hranitzky</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Hungarian film editor and director whom co-directed <i>The Man From London</i> and <i>The Turin Horse</i> with her spouse Béla Tarr.<br /></p><p><br /><b>Sophie Huber</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Swiss actress and director, known for her documentary <i>Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction</i> (2012).<br /></p><p><br /><b>Ann Hui</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Hong Kong New Wave film director, producer, screenwriter and actress. Known for her <i>Vietnam Trilogy</i> including <i>Below the Lion Rock</i> (1978), <i>The Story of Woo Viet </i>(1981), and <i>Boat People </i>(1983).<br /><br /><br /><b>Courtney Hunt</b><br /><br />American director and screenwriter who directed the stunning debut feature film <i>Frozen River</i> 2008 starring Melissa Leo.<br /></p><p><br /><b>Patty Jenkins</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">American film director, screenwriter, and producer who's debut film <i>Monster</i> (2003) on serial killer Aileen Wuornos stars Charlize Theron and Christina Ricci.<br /></p><p><br /><b>Tamara Jenkins</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">American filmmaker known for her feature films <i>The Savages</i> (2007) with Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman, and <i>Private Life</i> (2018) with Paul Giamatti and Kathryn Hahn.<br /><br /></p><p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51908474011_e3e9e5738c.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="219" data-original-width="500" height="280" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51908474011_e3e9e5738c.jpg" width="640" /></a></b></div><b><br />Gloria Katz</b><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">American director, screenwriter and film producer. Most notably Katz co-directed the 1973 supernatural horror film <i>Messiah of Evil</i> with her husband Willard Huyck. The film takes place in the California beach town of Point Dume, same place where Treehorn’s beach party in <i>The Big Lebowski</i> was filmed, and many scenes from <i>Planet of the Apes</i>. Katz also wrote the screenplays for <i>American Graffiti</i> (1973) and <i>Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom</i> (1984). Katz and Huyck were also script doctors for Lucas, including his film <i>Star Wars</i>.<br /></p><p><b><br />Marjorie Keller</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">New York experimental filmmaker, activist, author, and film scholar. Keller was a student of Stan Brakhage, and wrote the book <i>The Untutored Eye: Childhood in the Films of Cocteau, Cornell and Brakhage</i>, published in 1986. Her many films include <i>Misconception</i> (1977), <i>Daughters of Chaos</i> (1980), and <i>Herein</i> (1991).<br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51909109205_18c8e28299.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="306" data-original-width="500" height="392" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51909109205_18c8e28299.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b>Jennifer Kent</b><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Australian actress, writer and director. Her debut film <i>The Babadook</i> (2014) and her second film <i>The Nightingale</i> (2018) are truly disturbing and one doesn't come away unscathed.<br /></p><p><br /><b>So Yong Kim</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Korean American filmmaker known for <i>In Between Days </i>(2006), Treeless Mountain (2008), <i>For Ellen</i> (2012), and <i>Lovesong</i> (2016).<br /></p><p><br /><b>Barbara Kopple</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">American filmmaker known for her documentary <i>Harlan County, USA</i> (1976) on the 1973 Brookside Strike of 180 coal miners and their wives against the Duke Power Company-owned Eastover Coal Company's Brookside Mine and Prep Plant in Harlan County, southeast Kentucky.<br /></p><p><b><br />Tamara Kotevska</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Macedonian filmmaker, co-directed the 2019 documentary <i>Honeyland</i> with Ljubomir Stefanov which portrays the life of Hatidže Muratova, a beekeeper of wild bees who lives in the remote mountain village of Bekirlija.<br /></p><p><br /><b>Kasi Lemmons</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">American film director, screenwriter, and actress, known for <i>Eve's Bayou</i> (1997)<br /></p><p><br /><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51909604018_56f82969ca.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="499" height="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51909604018_56f82969ca.jpg" width="640" /></a></b></div><b><br />Helen Levitt</b><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">New York City photographer, director, editor and cinematographer. Levitt made the documentary <i>In the Street</i> (1948) with Janice Loeb and James Agee, a document of life on the streets of Spanish Harlem made with hidden 16mm film cameras.<br /></p><p><br /><b>Jeanne Liotta</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">American experimental filmmaker, born in Brooklyn in 1960.<br /></p><p><br /><b>Jennie Livingston</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">American director best known for the 1990 documentary <i>Paris is Burning</i>, which chronicles NYC Ball Culture.<br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51907697218_5b51beaba2_z.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51907697218_5b51beaba2_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b>Barbara Loden</b><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">American actress and director. Loden wrote, starred in, produced and director the 1970 masterpiece <i>Wanda</i>, a portrait of a wanderer who's actions veer toward the out of control. Loden left a strong mark as an actress in <i>Splendor in the Grass</i> (1961). Her scenes with Burt Lancaster in Frank Perry's <i>The Swimmer </i>(1968) were replaced by Janice Rule.<br /></p><p><br /><b>Rose Lowder</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">French-Peruvian avant-garde filmmaker, her films mostly deal with abstracting nature.<br /></p><p><br /><b>Mary Lucier</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Pioneer video artist. Of particular note in Lucier's oeuvre is the video works from the 1970s where she focused the camera on the sun and burned the recording tube, seen in such works as <i>Dawn Burn</i> (1975), <i>Paris Dawn Burn</i> (1977) and <i>Equinox</i> (1979).<br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51906634267_c3d8125565.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="267" data-original-width="500" height="342" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51906634267_c3d8125565.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b>Ida Lupino</b><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">English-American actress, singer, director, and producer. Lupina worked in the periphery of 1950s Hollywood directing the film noir <i>The Hitch-Hiker</i> (1953) with Edmond O'Brien, William Talman and Frank Lovejoy. Also <i>Not Wanted</i> (1948), <i>Never Fear</i> (1950), <i>Outrage</i> (1950), <i>The Bigamist</i> (1953), and and uncredited on <i>On Dangerous Ground</i> 1951. As an actress, Lupina is most memorable in <i>High Sierra</i> (1941) with Humphrey Bogart.<br /></p><p><br /><b>Babette Mangolte</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">French cinematographer, film director, and photographer best known for her work with Chantal Akerman: <i>Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles</i> (1975) and <i>News from Home</i> (1977). Mangolte also documented performance works of choreographers like Trisha Brown, Lucinda Childs, David Gordon, and Yvonne Rainer. Mangold directed many films from 1973 to 2013.<br /></p><p><br /><b>Elaine May</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">American comedian, film director, screenwriter, playwright, and actress. In the 1950s May was in the influential improv comedy due with Mike Nichols; Nichols and May. Her directorial efforts include <i>A New Leaf</i> (1971) <i>The Heartbreak Kid</i> (1972) <i>Mikey and Nicky</i> (1976) and <i>Ishtar</i> (1987) with <i>A New Leaf</i> being one of the best films of the 1970s. In addition to her directed films, May wrote the screenplay for <i>The Birdcage</i> (1996), <i>Heaven Can Wait</i> (1978) and uncredited contribution to <i>Tootsie</i> (1982). As an actress May made quite an impression in <i>Small Time Crooks</i> (2000) and her own <i>A New Leaf</i> (1971).<br /></p><p><br /><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51908555262_fe645b0054.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="499" height="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51908555262_fe645b0054.jpg" width="639" /></a></b></div><b><br />Marie Menken</b><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">New York City experimental filmmaker and painter. Menken and her husband Willard Maas lived in a Brooklyn Heights apartment where they had an avant'garde circle of filmmakers such as Stan Brakhage, Kenneth Anger, and Andy Warhol. Menken was a huge influence on these artists. It is said that Menken and Maas' drunken fights were an influence on <i>Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf</i>. All of Menken's films are just stunning, perhaps a good place to start is <i>Arabesque for Kenneth Anger</i> (1961).<br /></p><p><br /><b>Rebecca Miller</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">American filmmaker and novelist. Her 2002 indie film <i>Personal Velocity: Three Portraits</i> focuses on three women who have reached a turning point in their lives, starring Kyra Sedgwick, Parker Posey, and Fairuza Balk.<br /></p><p><br /><b>Trinh T. Minh-ha</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Born in Hanoi. Her first 16mm film, <i>Reassemblage</i> from 1983 was filmed in Senegal, picturing the dwellings and everyday life of the Sereer people and is a non-linear montage of sounds and visuals.<br /></p><p><br /><b>Jocelyn Moorhouse</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Australian screenwriter, producer, and film director. Her 1991 debut film <i>Proof</i> stars Hugo Weaving, Geneviève Picot and Russell Crowe with Weaving as a blind photographer adverse to romance. Moorhouse also produced her husband P.J. Hogan's film <i>Muriel's Wedding</i> (1994) starring Toni Collette.<br /></p><p><br /><b>Mira Nair</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Indian-American director known for <i>Mississippi Masala</i> (1991) and <i>Monsoon Wedding</i> (2001).<br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51908233930_516a5c2738_z.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="467" data-original-width="639" height="468" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51908233930_516a5c2738_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b>Gunvor Nelson</b><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Swedish pioneer experimental filmmaker, most of her better known films made while she lived in the Bay Area in the mid 1960s and early 1970s. Some works include <i>Schmeerguntz</i> (1965 with Dorothy Wiley), the audiovisual masterpiece <i>My Name Is Oona</i> (1969), <i>Take Off </i>(1972), and the portrait of her dying mother <i>Time Being</i> (1991).<br /></p><p><br /><b>Marie Nyreröd</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Swedish filmmaker know for her portrait of Ingmar Bergman and his home <i>Bergman Island</i> (2004).<br /></p><p><br /><b>Yoko Ono</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Japanese Fluxus artist and singer/songwriter who made a number of Fluxfilms (aka Fluxus films) including <i>One</i> (1966), <i>Eye Blink</i> (1966), <i>Four</i> (1966), as well as other films, the most well known being <i>Fly</i> (1970).<br /></p><p><br /><b>Véréna Paravel</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">French anthropologist, filmmaker, and photographer. She works in the Sensory Ethnography Lab at Harvard University in Cambridge, USA, and in Paris, France. She co-directed <i>Leviathan</i> (2012), with Lucien Castaing-Taylor, the highly abstract film about the North American fishing industry.<br /></p><p><br /><b>Kimberly Peirce</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">American director known for her debut film <i>Boys Don't Cry</i> (1999) and the <i>The Conceptual Fuck</i> episode of <i>I Love Dick</i> (2017).<br /></p><p><br /><b>Sally Potter</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">English film director and screenwriter best known for directing <i>Orlando</i> (1992) with Tilda Swinton.<br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51907605426_d007a22835.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="280" data-original-width="500" height="358" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51907605426_d007a22835.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b>Charlotte Pryce</b><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">London born experimental filmmaker. I took an history of experimental film class with Pryce at SFAI that uncovered an alternative history of structural film focusing on lesser known artist investigating representations of nature interacting with a camera.<br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51907697208_9578e3a107_z.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="474" data-original-width="625" height="485" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51907697208_9578e3a107_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b>Yvonne Rainer</b><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">American minimalist dancer, choreographer, and filmmaker. Rainer made a number of films starting in the 70s that were part autobiography, fiction, soundworks and political.<br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51906634167_abe72c1178_z.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51906634167_abe72c1178_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b>Lynne Ramsay</b><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Scottish film director, writer, producer, and cinematographer. Ramsay arrived on the scene with the gritty and sublime <i>Ratcatcher</i> (1999), followed by <i>Morvern Callar</i> (2002) with Samantha Morton exploring the darkness. Her abstraction <i>Swimmer</i> (2012), the abstract neo-noir psychological thriller film <i>You Were Never Really Here</i> (2017) with Joaquin Phoenix is clearly one of the best films of the decade. <br /></p><p><br /><b>Dee Rees</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">American screenwriter and director. Rees is known for her films <i>Pariah</i> (2011), <i>Bessie</i> (2015), <i>Mudbound</i> (2017), and <i>The Last Thing He Wanted</i> (2020). <i>Pariah</i> follows a 17-year-old Black teenager embracing her identity as a lesbian.<br /></p><p><br /><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51909629453_695cdfc0d5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="334" data-original-width="500" height="428" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51909629453_695cdfc0d5.jpg" width="640" /></a></b></div><b><br />Kelly Reichardt</b><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">American director and screenwriter, born and raised in Miami Florida. Reichardt received her MFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Her films are described as part of a minimalist movement in film, but that doesn't quite come across to this viewer, her cinematic style is more a subtle relationship between a non-fiction vérité quality and good old fashioned story telling, low key but profound in a quiet way. Inspired by Todd Haynes' move to Portland OR, Reichardt started making films in Oregon like <i>Old Joy</i> (2006), <i>Wendy and Lucy</i> (2008), <i>Meek's Cutoff</i> (2010), <i>Night Moves</i> (2013), and <i>First Cow</i> (2019). Her film <i>Certain Women</i> (2016) was shot in Montana. One truly profound narrative from Reichardt appears in <i>Certain Women</i> with "the rancher" played by Lily Gladstone, making humble attempts at a relationship with the rather detached Kristen Stewart character by attending her lackluster classes and going to dinner with her. The unrequited love narrative sort of shocked this viewer in how something so quiet could have such an emotional effect.<br /></p><p><br /><b>Lotte Reiniger</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">German pioneer of silhouette animation.<br /></p><p><br /><b>Alice Rohrwacher</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Italian film director, editor and screenwriter. Her film <i>Happy as Lazzaro</i> won the 2018 Best Screenplay Award at the Cannes Film Festival.<br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51906634372_a6dce92714.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="357" data-original-width="500" height="457" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51906634372_a6dce92714.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b>Barbara Rubin</b><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">New York City underground filmmaker Barbara Rubin's 1963/64 masterpiece <i>Christmas on Earth</i> is as important as any film Jack Smith or Jonas Mekas made. The orgiastic ritual film was inspired by Arthur Rimbaud's <i>A Season in Hell</i> and made when Rubin was 17 years old. Rubin died at age 35 in 1980 after giving birth to her fifth child. She had left the avant'garde life of NYC to become an Hasidic Jew.<br /></p><p><br /><b>Joanna Sarsby</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Director of David Attenborough's 1998 masterpiece <i>The Life of Birds</i>.<br /></p><p><br /><b>Nancy Savoca</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">New York City director initially a production assistant to John Sayles on his film <i>The Brother From Another Planet</i>, and as an assistant auditor for Jonathan Demme for his films <i>Something Wild</i> (1986), and <i>Married to the Mob</i> (1988). Her 1991 coming-of-age film Dogfight with Lili Taylor and River Phoenix starts as a tasteless game where Marines compete to score the ugliest date, and shifts into a beautiful love story.<br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51906634252_820a672949.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="347" data-original-width="500" height="444" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51906634252_820a672949.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><b><br />Carolee Schneemann</b><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Schneemann's 1967 film <i>Fuses</i> is a transcendent erotic masterpiece conceived as a cinematic experience shot through the eyes of her cat Kitch, memorably showing emotional love making between Schneemann and her partner James Tenney, nature abstractions and light moving through and shifting time. The 16mm film was then stained, burned, and directly drawing on for an experience that is as moving as it is sexual.<br /></p><p><br /><b>Céline Sciamma</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">French screenwriter and film director best known for her 2019 film <i>Portrait of a Lady on Fire</i>. Even more inspiring is her 2014 coming-of-age film <i>Girlhood</i> about Marieme (Karidja Touré), a teenage girl who lives in a rough neighborhood on the outskirts of Paris surrounded by a world full of intimidation and theft.<br /></p><p><br /><b>Susan Seidelman</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">American film director, producer, and writer. Seidelman directed <i>Smithereens</i> (1982) and <i>Desperately Seeking Susan</i> (1985).<br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51909865134_61f01351aa.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="500" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51909865134_61f01351aa.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b>Adrienne Shelly</b><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">American actress, film director and screenwriter. She made a big impact on the film scene through Hal Hartley's films <i>The Unbelievable Truth</i> (1989) and <i>Trust</i> (1990). Shelly directed, wrote, and starred in the 2007 film <i>Waitress</i> which was released a year after she was tragically murdered by a 19-year-old construction worker in her West Village apartment.<br /></p><p><br /><b>Larisa Shepitko</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Ukrainian Soviet film director, screenwriter and actress. Larisa Shepitko's film <i>The Ascent</i> (1977) is a big film in the art film community. In 1979 Shepitko was tragically killed in a car accident at the age of forty.<br /></p><p><br /><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51910178800_645d8b17f2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="338" data-original-width="500" height="433" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51910178800_645d8b17f2.jpg" width="640" /></a></b></div><b><br />Joan Micklin Silver</b><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Omaha Nebraska born filmmaker who moved to New York City in 1967 and became a writer for The Village Voice. Her 1979 film <i>Chilly Scenes of Winter</i> with Mary Beth Hurt, John Heard, Peter Riegert and Gloria Grahame is a brilliant film I watch once a year.<br /></p><p><br /><b>Penelope Spheeris</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">American film director, producer, and screenwriter. Besides her well-known music trilogy <i>The Decline of Western Civilization</i>, Spheeris' 1984 film <i>Suburbia</i> is a truly profound portrait of the punk lifestyle and 80s counter culture, American dystopianism, parental sexual abuse, and life on the streets of California.<br /><br /><br /><b>Jill Sprecher</b><br /><br />American director, producer and writer. Directed <i>Clockwatchers</i> (1997) starring Parker Posey, Lisa Kudrow, Toni Collette and Alanna Ubach.<br /></p><p><br /><b>Chick Strand</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">American experimental filmmaker from Northern California. Strand studied anthropology at Berkeley and organized film happenings with Bruce Baillie, whom she founded Canyon Cinema with in 1961. In the early 60s, and started making personal films at age 34 which spanned three decades.<br /></p><p><br /><b>Barbra Streisand</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">American singer and actress whom directed <i>Yentl</i> (1983) and <i>The Prince of Tides</i> (1991).<br /></p><p><br /><b>Ann Turner</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Australian writer and director mostly known for her distinctive 1989 film <i>Celia</i>, the horror coming-of-age film about a young girl in the 1950s who's imagination blurs reality through fantasy and a touch of grimness.<br /></p><p><br /><b>Agnès Varda</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">French director whom help define the French New Wave, and really went into uncharted territories with films like <i>Vagabond</i> (1985), <i>The Gleaners and I</i> (2000), <i>Ydessa, the Bears etc.</i> (2004), and <i>The Beaches of Agnès</i> (2008).<br /></p><p><br /><b>Phoebe Waller-Bridge</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">British actress and writer known for her television comedy <i>Fleabag</i> (2016/2019) which really stands out as a great show in a period with so much to watch and so much not worth watching.<br /></p><p><br /><b>Lois Weber</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">Weber was an American silent film actress, screenwriter, producer and director.<br /><br /><br /><b>Lina Wertmüller</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Italian film director and screenwriter best known for her 1970s art house films <i>The Seduction of Mimi</i> (1972), <i>Love and Anarchy</i> (1973), <i>Swept Away</i> (1974), and <i>Seven Beauties</i> (1975).<br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51907605281_666dfa0221_z.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="560" data-original-width="640" height="560" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51907605281_666dfa0221_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b>Joyce Wieland</b><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Canadian experimental filmmaker, Weiland started out as a painter and shifted into filmmaking when she moved to New York City in the early sixties.<br /></p><p><br /><b>Claudia Weill</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">NYC director known for her stunning 1978 film <i>Girlfriends</i>, starring Melanie Mayron, Christopher Guest, Bob Balaban and Eli Wallach. Had never heard of the film before Criterion issued a blu ray, and the film quickly became a favorite at the offices of the art of memory.<br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51907605066_4e993587d0_z.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="640" height="427" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51907605066_4e993587d0_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b>Chloé Zhao</b><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Seeing Zhao's 2017 film <i>The Rider</i> was one of those rare film experiences where a new world of experience through film opens up. Her <i>Songs My Brothers Taught Me</i> (2015) and <i>Nomadland</i> (2020) are equally breathtaking and inspiring works worthy of close attention and rewatches. Zhao was born in Beijing and later went to graduate studies at NYU, she quotes Wong Kar-wai's <i>Happy Together</i> as a major influence, and the work of Spike Lee, Ang Lee, Werner Herzog and Terrence Malick.<br /></p>the art of memoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02748087818232571209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5579754230116285540.post-79455750660111150052022-02-13T10:00:00.001-08:002022-02-13T10:00:12.485-08:00a record of consumption, part three (being a new film journal)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51879498456_569b3cb037_c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="426" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51879498456_569b3cb037_c.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />1.23.2022<br />Chang Cheh <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Chinatown Kid</b></i></span> 1977<br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">From Arrow's <i>ShawScope Volume One</i> box set. Starring the matchless Sheng Fu, whom tragically died at age 28 in a car crash. Very nice San Francisco footage, also faked SF footage of street scenes which were quite charming.<br /><br /></p><p>Peter Tscherkassky <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Instructions for a Light and Sound Machine</b></i></span> 2005<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Tscherkassky reinterpretation of <i>The Good, The Bad and the Ugly</i>. Sound work by Dirk Schaefer.<br /><br /></p><p>Apichatpong Weerasethakul <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Ashes</b></i></span> 2012 & <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Blue</b></i></span> 2018<br /><br /></p><p>Tsui Hark <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Once Upon a Time in China</b></i></span> 1991<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Visually stunning martial arts film by Hong Kong New Wave director Tsui Hark, has a Wong Kar-wai quality. Music by Romeo Díaz and James Wong is very low key through much of the fights, sort of heard way under everything else, has s strange quality, especially when action is in slow motion or rain is obscuring our view of the action.<br /><br /></p><p>1.24.2022<br />Martin Scorsese <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The King of Comedy</b></i></span> 1982<br />(rewatch)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Wonderful
moment when Robert De Niro and Sandra Bernhard are having an argument
in the street and passers by are all staring at the movie being made.
Also the strange restaurant scene when De Niro is being mocked by out of
focus man as he talks with real life wife Diahnne Abbott. The actor
mocking De Niro is Chuck Low, whom played Morrie Kessler in <i>Goodfellas</i>. <br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51880143000_e69a40ba98_c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="800" height="280" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51880143000_e69a40ba98_c.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>1.25.2022<br />Chang Cheh <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Five Venoms</b></i></span> 1978 & <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Crippled Avengers</i></b></span> 1978<br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">From Arrow's <i>ShawScope Volume One</i> box set. Both have disturbing moments, good films.<br /><br /></p><p>Liu Chia-Liang <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Heroes of the East</i></b></span> 1978<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">From Arrow's <i>ShawScope Volume One</i> box set.<br /><br /></p><p>Jane Campion <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Piano</b></i></span> 1993<br />(rewatch)<br /><br />Essential 4k viewing via Criterion Collection.<br /><br /></p><p>1.26.2022<br />Liu Chia-Liang <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Dirty Ho</i></b></span> 1979<br /><br />From Arrow's <i>ShawScope Volume One</i> box set.<br /><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51880155545_7e0f1a9960_c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="436" data-original-width="800" height="349" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51880155545_7e0f1a9960_c.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />1.27.2022<br />Lynne Ramsay <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Morvern Callar</b></i></span> 2002<br />(rewatch)<br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Fun City Editions blu ray. Have always watched this on some crap DVD or bad stream, really made me get much closer to the masterpiece, tuning in to all the vivid shiftings of light and darkness, and hearing the surround sound immersion, great film.<br /><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51880160625_a15a396c99_c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51880160625_a15a396c99_c.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />1.28.2022<br />Manfred Kirchheimer <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Stations of the Elevated</i></b></span> 1981<br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Trains and Mingus. In college I dated a girl who's father was a jazz guitarist. I was heavily into Mingus at the time, he asked me what I listened to and I said "Charlie Mingus". He was pissed and corrected me "Its Charles Mingus", and never spoke to me again.<br /><br /></p><p>James Benning <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Landscape Suicide</b></i></span> 1987<br /><br /></p><p>Jane Campion <b><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">Holy Smoke</span></i></b> 1999<br />(rewatch)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Planning on going through the Campion filmography after seeing this and <i>The Piano</i>. Like the classics <i>An Angel at My Table</i>, <i>Bright Star</i>, <i>In the Cut</i>, <i>Sweetie</i>, <i>Power of the Dog</i>, <i>Top of the Lake</i>, <i>The Portrait of a Lady</i>, and perhaps some shorts.<br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Kenneth Lonergan <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Manchester by the Sea</i></b></span> 2016<br />(rewatch)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Essential 4K rewatch. Fifth time seeing this classic, gets better each time. Heavy film with some great comedy bits.<br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51879523811_3eb9d2763d_c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="406" data-original-width="800" height="325" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51879523811_3eb9d2763d_c.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />1.29.2022<br />King Hu <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>A Touch of Zen</b></i></span> 1971<br />(rewatch)<p></p><p>Essential in the martial arts genre.<br /><br /></p><p><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Behind the Scenes With Jane Campion</b></i></span> 2022<br /><br />Making of <i>The Power of the Dog</i>.<br /><br /></p><p>Tsai Ming-liang <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Goodbye, Dragon Inn</b></i></span> 2003<br />(rewatch)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Last night in a run down rain infested movie theater, showing King Hu's <i>Dragon Inn</i>, with much nonsense, rain, (failed) pickups, and limping around. Great film.<br /><br /></p><p>Bernardo Bertolucci <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Stealing Beauty</i></b></span> 1996<br />(rewatch)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Always enjoyed this film, but this time around all the swines trying to get into Liv Tyler's pants sort of annoyed me. She is great in it, as is Jeremy Irons.<br /><br /></p><p>1.30.2022<br />Toshiya Fujita <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Lady Snowblood</b></i></span> 1973 & <b><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance</span></i></b> 1974<br />(rewatch)<br /><br /></p><p>Marlon Riggs <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>The Signifyin’ Works of Marlon Riggs</i></b></span><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Criterion edition of the works of Marlon Riggs, especially good is <i>Tongues Untied</i> from 1989, about being a black homosexual male in racist America, with stunning sound work, like <i>Brother to Brother</i> moving from speaker to speaker and later in the film, Idris Ackamoor on sax. Most films masterly edited by Christiane Badgley.<br /><br /></p><p>Mike Leigh <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Life Is Sweet</b></i></span> 1990<br />(rewatch)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Essential Criterion rewatch. Includes 5 minute films as extras: <i>Probation</i>, <i>Afternoon</i>, <i>A Light Snack</i>, <i>Old Chums</i>, <i>The Birth of the Goalie of the 2001 F.A. Cup Final</i>.<br /><br /></p><p>Stéphane Brizé <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Measure of a Man</b></i></span> 2015<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Ken Loach like film but from France. My wife and I on a Vincent Lindon kick after watching <i>Titane</i>. One hell, hell I say, of an actor.<br /><br /></p><p>Stanley Kubrick <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Killing</b></i></span> 1956<br />(rewatch)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Essential Criterion rewatch. Written by Kubrick and Jim Thompson and based on the novel <i>Clean Break</i> by Lionel White. Good supplements on blu ray discusses the role of Thompson in the film. After seeing this film about 20 times, I still get so blown away by it, and the bizarre acting of Timothy Carey.<br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51879843449_f1654d6b62_c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51879843449_f1654d6b62_c.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />1.31.2022<br />Jane Campion <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Sweetie</i></b></span> 1989<br />(rewatch)<br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Very strange film with unusual atmosphere and narrative, no other film quite like it. Stars Geneviève Lemon and Karen Colston. Great first feature film.<br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51878568312_f8a0550631_c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="338" data-original-width="800" height="338" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51878568312_f8a0550631_c.jpg" width="800" /></a></div><br />2.1.2022<br />Tommy Lee Wallace <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Halloween III: Season of the Witch</i></b></span> 1982<br />(rewatch)<br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Essential 4K rewatch courtesy of Shout!. Almost enjoy this more than the first film, yet still has heavy Carpenter feel with his soundtrack made with Alan Howarth, and Carpenter assistance on screenplay. Strong performances by Tom Atkins (love how he always plays a ladies' man), Stacey Nelkin, and Dan O'Herlihy. Moments like the town drunk Starker played by Jonathan Terry really give the film an uncomfortable quality that is jarring in many ways.<br /><br /></p><p>Allan Moyle <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Pump Up the Volume</i></b></span> 1990<br />(rewatch)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Christian Slater and Samantha Mathis. Contrast in Slater's two characters in this film is interesting on a rewatch, reminds me of Mark Ruffalo in <i>I Know This Much Is True</i>.<br /><br /></p><p>2.2.2022<br />Brian Robbins <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Varsity Blues</b></i></span> 1999<br /><br />Texas high school football and sex.<br /><br /></p><p>Derek Cianfrance <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>I Know This Much Is True</i></b></span> 2020<br />(rewatch)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Shot around where I am living currently, outside of Kingtson NY. One HELL of a show, why in the heck does HBO not have it up in 4K? since it was shot on 35mm. Lovely to look at, and the Budd music is overwhelming. Cianfrance said about shooting it: "It’s two-perf 35mm film because the story takes place in the ‘90s, ‘80s, ‘70s, ‘60s, ‘50s, ‘40s, ‘30s, ‘20s and ‘10s, I needed a format that was gonna unify it, and digital HD format didn’t exist, during any of those times. If I was gonna shoot video, the only thing I could have shot, that would have been authentic, would have been SD video from the ‘90s. But then, you have that whole challenge of, what do you shoot the grandpa’s story in then? I just thought that film would immediately unify our story and unify our world. Film has been around throughout the whole 20th century, so I felt like this was a choice for film. That’s it, on an aesthetic level. It’s feels warmer, there’s more grain, and it’s just more alive."<br /><br /></p><p>2.3.2022<br />John Sturges <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Last Train from Gun Hill</b></i></span> 1959<br />(rewatch)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Nice edition from Imprint Films. Underrated director, responsible for <i>Bad Day at Black Rock</i>, <i>Gunfight at the O.K. Corral</i>, <i>Joe Kidd</i>, <i>The Magnificent Seven</i>, and <i>The Great Escape</i>.<br /><br /></p><p>Alan J. Pakula <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Parallax View</b></i></span> 1974<br />(rewatch)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Imprint Films blu ray edition, watched film with commentary by film historian Kevin Lyons. Also interviews and history of conspiracies by Kim Newman and Matthew Sweet. Wonderful disc. Some things to take note of: Robert Towne did a rewrite of the screenplay by David Giler and Lorenzo Semple Jr., based on the 1970 novel by Loren Singer.<br /><br /></p><p>Bong Joon-ho <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Parasite</b></i></span> 2019<br />(rewatch)<br /><br />Essential 4K rewatch.<br /><br /></p><p>2.5.2022<br />Guillaume Canet <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Blood Ties</b></i></span> 2013<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Billy Crudup, Clive Owen, Zoe Saldana, James Caan, Lili Taylor, Jamie Hector, John Ventimiglia, and Marion Cotillard. Good acting, film is okay.<br /><br /></p><p> Jonathan Lynn <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>My Cousin Vinny</b></i></span> 1992<br />(rewatch)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Marisa Tomei and Joe Pesci essential rewatch.<br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51878579507_f958751b4b_z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51878579507_f958751b4b_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />2.6.2022<br />David Mackenzie <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Hell or High Water</b></i></span> 2016<br />(rewatch)<br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Essential 4K rewatch. Heavy ending.<br /><br /></p><p>George Lucas <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>THX 1138</b></i></span> 1971<br />(rewatch)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">TXH 1138 and <i>American Graffiti</i> from 1973 - two essential Lucas films worth many rewatches.<br /></p><p><br />Clint Eastwood <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Unforgiven</b></i></span> 1992<br />(rewatch)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Essential 4K rewatch. David Webb Peoples' script portrays Bill Munny's (Clint Eastwood) progression as a character from bad (pre-film narrative) to decent to bad again. Intense ending has Eastwood return to his ways with vacant nihilist eyes, or snake eyes like the Angel of Death mentioned mid film by Easwood. Release includes many informative special features.<br /><br /></p><p>Andrew Davis <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Fugitive</b></i></span> 1993<br />(rewatch)<br /><br />Not familiar with Andrew Davis, but he sure make a great film with <i>The Fugitive</i>.<br /><br /></p><p>2.7.2022<br />Woody Allen <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>A Rainy Day in New York</b></i></span> 2019<br /><br /></p><p>Burt Reynolds <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Sharky’s Machine</b></i></span> 1981<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Reynolds as a cop going after the pimps of high class prostitutes. Stars John (Winnie the Pooh) Fiedler as a forensic police officer, Charles Durning, Bernie Casey, Henry Silva, and one of the strangest Val Avery roles.<br /><br /></p><p>2.8.2022<br />John D. Hancock <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Let’s Scare Jessica to Death</b></i></span> 1971<br />(rewatch)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Fourth time watching this the last 5 years or so after having it recommended by Colin Elevator Bath Sheffield. Overwhelmingly beautiful film, with photography by Robert M. Baldwin that somehow has an extreme bite yet low-key and under the radar, mixed with music by Orville Stoeber and Walter Sear of a similar nature. Watching the [Imprint] films blu ray, with great special features including Kim Newman whom describes the film as "Re-imagining the Vampire Myth".<br /><br /></p><p>Jack Hill <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Switchblade Sisters</b></i></span> 1975<br /><br />Gang of girls wreaking havoc.<br /><br /></p><p>2.9.2022<br />Harold Ramis <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Groundhog Day</b></i></span> 1993<br />(rewatch)<br /><br />Essential 4K rewatch. So strange to see Michael Shannon in this film.<br /><br /></p><p>2.10.2022<br />Avery Crounse <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Eyes of Fire</b></i></span> 1983<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">From Severin's boxset <i>All The Haunts Be Ours: A Compendium Of Folk Horror</i>.<br /><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51879575491_56dba8b78e_z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="490" data-original-width="640" height="490" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51879575491_56dba8b78e_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />2.11.2022<br />Đorđe Kadijević <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Leptirica</b></i></span> 1973<br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">AKA <i>The She-Butterfly</i>, from Severin's boxset <i>All The Haunts Be Ours: A Compendium Of Folk Horror</i>. Yugoslav/Serbian Vampire Shapeshifter film with one of the best endings with the She-Butterfly torturing her victim by riding him like a bull in slow motion (image above).<br /><br /></p><p>Sean Baker <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Red Rocket</b></i></span> 2021<br /><br />Could take it or leave it.<br /><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51879567676_309de7df04_z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="639" height="361" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51879567676_309de7df04_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />2.12.2022<br />Zhang Yimou <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Red Sorghum</b></i></span> 1987<br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Directorial debut of Zhang Yimou. From the [imprint] boxset<i> Collaborations: The Cinema of Zhang Yimou & Gong Li</i>. Intense violence at the end with Japanese versus Chinese, was quite shocking.<br /></p>the art of memoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02748087818232571209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5579754230116285540.post-33751994359473572672022-01-23T09:25:00.000-08:002022-01-23T09:25:25.908-08:00a record of consumption, part two (being a new film journal) <div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51832743001_e84f09ec54_b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="800" height="272" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51832743001_e84f09ec54_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />1.12.2022<br />Chang Cheh, Pao Hsueh-Li <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Boxer from Shantung</b></i></span> 1972<br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">From Arrow's <i>ShawScope Volume One</i> box set. Full immersion into Shaw Brothers films, of which I am a total neophyte. Kung Fu star Kuan Tai Chen has extreme screen presence, in the way Charles Bronson did, from simple scenes with him sitting and smoking to balls out fight sequences. Knife fight/death scene with David Chiang also brings this film to next level quality as does the mind blowing Peckinpah ending. Assistant director was John Woo! Blu ray has interview with him, very much worth watching.<br /><br /></p><p>Ryusuke Hamaguchi <b><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy</span></i></b> 2021<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Recently saw Hamaguchi's <i>Drive My Car</i>, based on the Haruki Murakami short story, which was my favorite film of 2021. Also read the short story afterwards which brought attention to the virtuosity of the screenwriting in <i>Drive My Car</i>. Now seeing his second feature from 2021, a film in three parts, or four parts as one section has a break in time, with each story equally solid and without mediocrity. Hamaguchi says "I think the biggest incentive for me to becoming a director was watching Cassavetes", good enough reason to watch his work over and over, these 2 films of 2021 are incredibly well written, beautifully performed, odd stories that are both basic in the way you understand them but having many layers of subtlety that keep them at the threshold of clear/unclear.<br /><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51832822148_bed3951387_b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51832822148_bed3951387_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />1.13.2022<br />Jeong Chang-Hwa <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>King Boxer (Five Fingers of Death)</b></i></span> 1972<br />(rewatch)<br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Second time watching <i>King Boxer</i> by the veteran Korean director Jeong Chang-Hwa, this time with David Desser commentary.<br /><br /></p><p>Chang Cheh <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Five Shaolin Masters</i></b></span> 1974<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">From Arrow's <i>ShawScope Volume One</i> box set. Full chaos. Sublime fight scenes out of doors, in the fields, in rivers, blood and flying axes... Ends with cinematic bliss with 5 fights flawlessly intertwined with some of the most technical editing imaginable, and even though the cuts are far from invisible, they perform like a silent killer, perhaps much done within the camera. Unreal film.<br /><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51833474310_7bce518bb8_b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="800" height="384" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51833474310_7bce518bb8_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Julia Ducournau <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Titane</b></i></span> 2021<br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Truly bizarre and uncomfortable film. Hated it initially, the flashiness and amped up photography, but it really grew on me as the story moved on. Really liked the Future Islands dance sequence. Very good music (Jim Williams) / sound (Séverin Favriau, Fabrice Osinski, and Stéphane Thiébaut). Very Cronenbergian.... yet in its own trajectory, a powerful film.<br /><br /></p><p>Nicholas Ray <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Johnny Guitar</i></b></span> 1954<br />(rewatch)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Umpteenth time rewatch, both straight and with Adrian Martin commentary. From Master's of Cinema blu ray, also includes discussions with Tony Rayns, David Cairns, Geoff Andrew, Susan Ray, and Martin Scorsese's DVD intro. I remember in late 90s/early 2000s collecting many DVDs with the Scorsese intros, almost as good as the films some of them, the master can really access the magic of a film with apparent little effort.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51831770692_3954473859_b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="591" data-original-width="800" height="473" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51831770692_3954473859_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />1.14.2022<br />Joel Coen <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Tragedy of Macbeth</b></i></span> 2021<br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Denzel Washington! Stephen Root! Brian Thompson! Corey Hawkins! Extreme black and white photography by Bruno Delbonnel, just beautiful and tactile. Coen music collaborator Carter Burwell returns and delivers a beautiful score. Set design by Nancy Haigh, buildings sort of look like a combination of black and white Luis Barragán with Giorgio de Chirico added in. My letterboxd account told me Denzel Washington was the actor I spent the most time with in 2021, after seeing his performance here I can understand why.<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51833072569_e6448be73b_b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="582" data-original-width="800" height="466" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51833072569_e6448be73b_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51832720781_b7a7f7c657_b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="586" data-original-width="800" height="469" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51832720781_b7a7f7c657_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51833449675_228cf61339_b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="589" data-original-width="800" height="471" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51833449675_228cf61339_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51833076539_f4ce4f905e_b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="587" data-original-width="800" height="470" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51833076539_f4ce4f905e_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51833458175_ba36b1d054_b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="573" data-original-width="800" height="458" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51833458175_ba36b1d054_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Favorite Denzel performances:<p style="text-align: justify;"><i>Devil in a Blue Dress</i> (Carl Franklin)<br /><i>Flight</i> (Robert Zemeckis)<br /><i>Philadelphia</i> (Jonathan Demme)<br /><i>Unstoppable</i> (Tony Scott)<br /><i>The Equalizer</i> and <i>The Equalizer 2</i> (Antoine Fuqua)<br /><i>American Gangster</i> (Ridley Scott)<br /><i>The Taking of Pelham 123</i> (Tony Scott)<br /><i>Inside Man</i> (Spike Lee)<br /><i>Deja Vu</i> (Tony Scott)<br /><i>Training Day</i> (Antoine Fuqua)<br /><i>The Mighty Quinn</i> (Carl Schenkel)<br /><i>The Magnificent Seven</i> (Antoine Fuqua)<br /><i>Glory</i> (Edward Zwick)<br /><i>The Manchurian Candidate</i> (Jonathan Demme)<br /><i>Roman J. Israel, Esq.</i> (Dan Gilroy)<br /><i>Man on Fire</i> (Tony Scott)<br /><i>Out of Time</i> (Carl Franklin)<br /><i>He Got Game</i> (Spike Lee)<br /><i>The Hurricane</i> (Norman Jewison)<br /><i>The Pelican Brief</i> (Alan J. Pakula)<br /><i>Crimson Tide</i> (Tony Scott)<br /><i>Malcolm X</i> (Spike Lee)<br /><i>Remember the Titans</i> (Boaz Yakin)<br /><i>Mo' Better Blues</i> (Spike Lee)<br /><br />Born 1954 in Mount Vernon, New York, just outside Manhattan, Mr. Washington studied
Journalism at Fordham University and then moved to San Francisco and
studied a year at the American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.). Left to work as an actor, and made his
first big screen appearance in <i>Carbon Copy</i> (1981) with George Segal.
Married Pauletta Washington in 1983 (they met in 1977) and is still
married to her with 4 children and lives in Los Angeles. Tom Hanks said
working with him on <i>Philadelphia</i> was like going to film school.<br /><br /></p><p>1.15.2022<br />Scott Frank <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>The Queen’s Gambit</i></b></span> 2020<br />(rewatch)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">4k rewatch. Enjoyed this the first time, and even more now. Really love Bill Camp in this. Moses Ingram from <i>The Tragedy of Macbeth</i> stars here as Jolene, as childhood friend of Beth Harmon, as does Macbeth's Harry Melling. Marielle Heller on rewatch really struck me as well, her Steve Buscemi facial expressions and strange way of talking are very charming.<br /><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51833458365_4aeb812b27_c.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="336" data-original-width="800" height="269" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51833458365_4aeb812b27_c.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Francis Ford Coppola <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>The Outsiders: The Complete Novel</i></b></span> 1983<br />(rewatch)<br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Arrow 4k release. Classic Coppola film with memorable cast which includes C. Thomas Howell, Matt Dillon, Ralph Macchio, Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, Tom Cruise, Diane Lane, Michelle Meyrink, Tom Waits, and Flea. Looked and sounded quite insane in 4K which much rear speaker action, Atmos atmospherics to give a powerful sonic experience.<br /><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51833459040_8e80ed8e21_c.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="424" data-original-width="800" height="339" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51833459040_8e80ed8e21_c.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />1.16.2022<br />Paul Thomas Anderson <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Licorice Pizza</b></i></span> 2021<br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Couldn't find a point of entry into this film, and the pointlessness of the story made it unwatchable. I like that my friend's complaint was he thought all the running around was of irritating, it was indeed. On a positive note, it was nice hearing Chico Hamilton on the soundtrack.<br /><br /></p><p>Paul Thomas Anderson <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Phantom Thread</b></i></span> 2017<br />(rewatch)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Fourth time rewatch. Splendid, simply splendid film. Hard to not love dwelling in the ambiance of this narcissistic, pompous, arrogant, and vulnerable man. Sort of the worst qualities of men, yet presented in an absurd manner.<br /><br /></p><p>1.17.2022<br />Chang Cheh <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Shaolin Temple</i></b></span> 1976<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Fourth film from Arrow's <i>ShawScope Volume One</i> box set. A common theme in these films, martial arts training techniques throughout the film yield fruit in the end, in a <i>Karate Kid</i> type manner (wax on wax off). End is bliss.<br /><br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51832886158_6569a02934_c.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="672" height="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51832886158_6569a02934_c.jpg" width="538" /></a></div><br />Ryszard Bugajski <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Clearcut</b></i></span> 1991<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">From Severin's <i>All the Haunts Be Ours: A Compendium of Folk Horror</i> boxset. Native American perspective on nature, capitalism, and the beyond, here seen through the lens of the horror genre. Worth seeing also for Graham Greene and Floyd 'Red Crow' Westerman.<br /></div><div><br />1.18.2022<br />Liu Chia-Liang <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Challenge of the Masters</i></b></span> 1977 & <b><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">Executioners from Shaolin</span></i></b> 1977<br /><br />2 from Arrow's ShawScope Volume One box set.<p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /> Ridley Scott <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>The Last Duel</i></b></span> 2021<br /><br />Scott's Rashomonesque violation film. Great performance by Jodie Comer.<br /><br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51832727021_7ffccb4f92_c.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="604" data-original-width="799" height="484" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51832727021_7ffccb4f92_c.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />1.19.2022<br />Kent MacKenzie <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>The Exiles</i></b></span> 1961<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Have been wanting to see this for many years, after watching and rewatching Thom Andersen's <i>Los Angeles Plays Itself</i>. Stunning film, shot by Erik Daarstad, Robert Kaufman, and John Arthur Morrill, a portrait of the no longer Bunker Hill, and Native American's getting loose and wild in the once atmospheric location, and offering an alternative view of West Coast Beat Culture. Essential.<br /><br /></div><div><br />Boaz Yakin <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Remember the Titans</i></b></span> 2000<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Disney film dealing with race, starring Denzel Washington, Will Patton, Ryan Gosling (small role), and Wood Harris (Avon Barksdale in <i>The Wire</i>).<br /></div><div><br /><br />Don Siegel <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Shootist</b></i></span> 1976<br />(rewatch)<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"I’m a dying man scared of the dark". Despite the made for tv quality, the film really stands up to multiple rewatches over a period of time, first saw in the mid 90s, being a huge Don Siegel and John Wayne fan, and have watched it a few times since, has some problems, but overall a very good film about a dying outlaw and a disappearing time in the same vein as the 1962 film <i>Lonely Are the Brave</i>.<br /></div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51837304347_d837f6dffe_c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="461" data-original-width="799" height="369" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51837304347_d837f6dffe_c.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />1.20.2022<br />Don Siegel <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Escape from Alcatraz</i></b></span> 1979<br />(rewatch)<br /><br />Endlessly rewatchable film, really starts cooking when Fred Ward shows up.<br /><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"> Walter Hill <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>The Warriors</i></b></span> 1979<br />(rewatch)<br /><br />Perfect way to spend an evening, had to erase the director's cut from my mind with the straight up version.<br /><br /><br />Christian Petzold <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Undine</i></b></span> 2020<br /><br />Recent Petzold film with the magnetic Paula Beer & Franz Rogowski. Hard to not see Rogowski as a young Brando with the interesting addition of the hairlip. Lovely film.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br />1.21.2022<br />Peter Tscherkassky <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Dream Work</i></b></span> 2001<br /><br />Flicker film merging into an homage to Man Ray.<br /><br /><br />George Cukor <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>My Fair Lady</i></b></span> 1964<br />(rewatch)</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Last time seeing this was probably 25 years ago. Had little memory of it except that there were great performances by Audrey Hepburn, Rex Harrison, Wilfrid Hyde-White, and Stanley Holloway (best known to me from <i>Brief Encounter</i>). If it is not clear enough that we are living in a world of near darkness, I was told and shown proof that many young people today only see this as a misogynistic film with little to no value. Having this in mind whilst watching, could only come to the conclusion that many film enthusiasts today are not watching what is on the screen but something else perhaps in their mind, with no ability to read a film as presented to them. Beautiful stuff, looked great in 4K Dolby Vision!</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51838611769_0bda3b5b1c_c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51838611769_0bda3b5b1c_c.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />1.22.2022<br />Frank Capra <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Mr. Deeds Goes to Town</i></b></span> 1936<br />(rewatch)<p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Essential cinema 4K rewatch.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> <br />George A. Romero <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Dawn of the Dead</b></i></span> 1978<br />(rewatch)</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Watched the 3 different versions of this film many times in 2021, now watching the theatrical cut in 4K. Glorious film. Can it get any better?<br /><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Julia Ducournau <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Titane</b></i></span> 2021<br />(rewatch)</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Second time with Julia Ducournau's powerful film <i>Titane</i>, paying close attention to the use of music and sound. As the film's antihero Alexia/Adrien shows a duality and goes through a noticeable transformation, the sound and music mirror these levels of consciousness experienced with Alexia/Adrien. In addition to the composer Jim Williams' score and the powerful sound design by Séverin Favriau, Fabrice Osinski, and Stéphane Thiébaut (like in the forest fire at night scene), there are songs used that either in themselves show transformation, or are manipulated sonically to demonstrate change. <i>Wayfaring Stranger</i> covered by 16 Horsepower in the opening sequence and a later version by Lisa Abbott as Alexia/Adrien dances atop the fire truck, same song rendered quite differently. The Kills' <i>Doing It to Death</i> is heard in the car/dance sequence. Caterina Caselli's <i>Nessuno Mi Può Guidicare</i> accompanies the first kill. The Zombies' <i>She’s Not There</i> from 1964 drives along the male bonding in the dancing/fighting scene between father and son. The most spectacular is when Future Islands' <i>Light House</i> is heard during the fireman's dance sequence, the song begins as the only audible part of the sound, then when an interruption breaks the transcendence, room sounds are added in as the song drops in volume a bit, and as we get back into the scene's transcendence the song is shifted and abstracted for a spell and then brought back to dominate the experience as the scene ends blissfully. Johann Sebastian Bach's <i>St. Matthew Passion</i> is modified for the extremely uncomfortable lust/birth sequence giving the cinematic illusion of angels watching over the events. End credits have Jim Williams' elated <i>Sarabande</i>. Ducournau is not only a master story teller, but also virtuosic with constructing an experience unlike any other through the medium of film.<br /><br /><br />Peter Tscherkassky <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Outer Space</b></i></span> 1999<br /><br />Flickering fuckery, being a rendition of Sidney J. Furie's 1982 film <i>The Entity</i> with Barbara Hershey. Pure virtuosity, Tscherkassky is a master of the visceral film experience.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br />Derek Simonds <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Sinner</b></i></span>, season one 2017<br />(rewatch)</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Going through the first season again, perhaps also the second.<br /></p></div>the art of memoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02748087818232571209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5579754230116285540.post-82801417455743296572022-01-12T10:58:00.002-08:002022-01-15T09:13:21.463-08:00a record of consumption, part one (being a new film journal) <div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51815582023_9879bed4d5_b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="438" data-original-width="800" height="350" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51815582023_9879bed4d5_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />1.1.2022<br />John Milius <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Big Wednesday</b></i></span> 1978<br />(rewatch)<br /><br />The world of 4K, HDR, and Dolby Vision has initiated a new way of viewing films here at the offices of The Art of Memory, with many old and new favorites being seriously devoured in an action of uncompromising consumption. With a non-distorted way of receiving light, and a quality of color that is immediately more like 35mm film, a certain pleasure of the moving image is consuming me. This falling in love yet again with light moving through time has rekindled the old film journal, and why not start with the Jan-Michael Vincent / Gary Busey classic.<br /><br /></div><p style="text-align: left;">Amy Heckerling <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Fast Times at Ridgemont High</b></i></span> 1982<br />(rewatch)<br /><br />Criterion blu ray. Essential 80s high school film veering towards the poetic anti-social.<br /><br /><br />Tony Bill <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>My Bodyguard</b></i></span> 1980<br />(rewatch)<br />Kino blu ray. Essential 80s high school film veering towards the poetic anti-social.<br /><br /><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51815477421_dd7383057f_b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="479" data-original-width="800" height="384" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51815477421_dd7383057f_b.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br />1.2.2022<br />Wes Anderson <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The French Dispatch</b></i></span> 2021<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Is it strange to call such a popular film pretension? Could one say the same thing for the equally unwatchable <i>I'm Thinking of Ending Things</i>? Folks forever called pretentious reject these films in unison and are promptly called pretentious.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br />Mike Mills <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>C’mon C’mon</b></i></span> 2021<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Not really a Mike Mills (or Miranda July) enthusiast but enjoyed the charm of this film's sound / image construction. Black and white photography shot by the heaviest of heavies Robbie Ryan whose work is always immediately inspiring.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br />Destin Daniel Cretton <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings</i></b></span> 2021<br /><br />Not without interest.<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51815477356_ee74e23da6_b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51815477356_ee74e23da6_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;">1.3.2022<br />Gareth Edwards <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Rogue One: A Star Wars Story</b></i></span> 2016<br />(rewatch)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">4K rewatch which turned my lukewarm feelings into more on the warm side. Mads Mikkelsen and Ben Mendelsohn! Stunning photography by Greig Fraser (<i>Dune</i>, <i>The Gambler</i>, <i>Killing Them Softly</i>, <i>Bright Star</i> and many more).<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br />Maggie Gyllenhaal <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Lost Daughter </b></i></span>2022<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Intense performances from Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley, Dakota Johnson, Ed Harris, and Peter Sarsgaard. Surprised by this film!<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51816194270_6e83e15f92_b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="447" data-original-width="800" height="358" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51816194270_6e83e15f92_b.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br />1.4.2022<br />Peter Jackson <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Beatles: Get Back</b></i></span> 2021<br /><br />Tsai Ming-liang <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Days</i></b></span> 2020<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Sublime film-making, <i>Days</i> transforms narrative time through long form techniques familiar from avant-garde cinema, shifting perception only in the way true cinema can. In the 90s my friends and I were very preoccupied with Ming-liang Tsai, and seeing his new collaboration with the actor Kang-sheng Lee and how their cinema has transformed over the years was an emotional experience honestly. His style from those days is so present here, with the subtle humor elements and slow temporal gaze, yet maybe more emotional and personal. Stunning film.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51814519682_2ea7f74c80_b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51814519682_2ea7f74c80_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;">1.5.2022<br />Jane Campion <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Power of the Dog</b></i></span> 2021<br />(rewatch)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">A film made to endlessly rewatch and bath in its light. Subtle Subtle Subtle surround/atmos sound work interlaced with the beautiful Johnny Greenwood soundtrack. The film is one of those great works with ambiguity as the starring character, giving a performance that is ephemeral, abstract, underscored, thought provoking, even mind-altering. As a record of consumption: Currently reading the 1967 Thomas Savage novel of the same name.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br />1.6.2022<br />Kier-La Janisse <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror</i></b></span> 2021<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Purchased the Severin boxset <i>All the Haunts Be Ours: A Compendium of Folk Horror</i> and started with the doc. Very engaging and informative, and was glad to get the ball rolling with this thoughtful study. One criticism is that every scholar presented had such a dramatically different sounding recorded voice it made the film honestly hard to watch, especially a couple that were so tinny to the ears it was painful. Strange because in final cut one can pretty easily fix these sort of issues to at least an acceptable level, the film would have really been enhanced without these problems. Still quite good though.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br />1.7.2022<br />Danny Strong <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Dopesick</i></b></span> 2021<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">With a sort of recent anti television mindset, this viewer is still trying to find new shows to engage with… <i>Dopesick</i> was not bad, good cast, writing a bit off but it worked for the most part. Very much prefer <i>Unbelievable</i> with Kaitlyn Dever, but this show had some nice moments and certainly an interesting story.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br />Hugh Dillon Taylor Sheridan <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Mayor of Kingstown</i></b></span> 2021<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Another attempt to find some good television. <i>Mayor of Kingstown</i> not bad but having trouble getting into Mr. Sheridan’s more recent works. Loved Jeremy Renner in it! PS, didn't watch both shows in the same day but ended them here and can't remember when I started them.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br />John G. Avildsen <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>The Karate Kid</i></b></span> 1984<br />(rewatch)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Essential 4K viewing. Special features with Pat Morita very much worth watching. Elegant dude.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br />1.8.2022<br />Paul Verhoeven <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>Benedetta</i></b></span> 2021<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Not sure what I am watching here. Problematic.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br />1.9.2022<br />Aleksandre Koberidze <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>What Do We See When We Look at the Sky?</i></b></span> 2021<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Problematic.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br />Fran Kranz <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Mass</b></i></span> 2021<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Feels like a problem, but good actors (Martha Plimpton, Ann Dowd, Jason Isaacs, Reed Birney).<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51814519677_2007002523.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="500" height="492" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51814519677_2007002523.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;">1.10.2022<br />Thomas Vinterberg <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Festen / The Celebration</b></i></span> 1998<br />(rewatch)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">New on blu ray from Criterion: Vinterberg’s second feature film <i>Festen (The Celebration)</i>, being Dogme 95’s first film, followed by Lars von Trier’s <i>The Idiots</i>. It is nothing but pure pleasure for this viewer to read over the Dogme 95 requirements:<br /></p><ol style="text-align: justify;"><li>Shooting must be done on location. Props and sets must not be brought in (if a particular prop is necessary for the story, a location must be chosen where this prop is to be found).</li><li>The sound must never be produced apart from the images or vice versa. (Music must not be used unless it occurs where the scene is being shot.)</li><li>The camera must be hand-held. Any movement or immobility attainable in the hand is permitted.</li><li>The film must be in colour. Special lighting is not acceptable. (If there is too little light for exposure the scene must be cut or a single lamp be attached to the camera.)</li><li>Optical work and filters are forbidden.</li><li>The film must not contain superficial action. (Murders, weapons, etc. must not occur.)</li><li>Temporal and geographical alienation are forbidden. (That is to say that the film takes place here and now.)</li><li>Genre movies are not acceptable.</li><li>The film format must be Academy 35 mm.</li><li>The director must not be credited.</li></ol><p style="text-align: justify;">Also the lovely “Vow of Chastity”:<br />“Furthermore I swear as a director to refrain from personal taste! I am no longer an artist. I swear to refrain from creating a 'work', as I regard the instant as more important than the whole. My supreme goal is to force the truth out of my characters and settings. I swear to do so by all the means available and at the cost of any good taste and any aesthetic considerations. Thus I make my VOW OF CHASTITY.″<br /><br />These rules perhaps in the cinema of the avant-garde are more commonplace, but for a narrative director to take them on was/is awe inspiring. Rule 2 (The sound must never be produced apart from the images or vice versa) struck me while watching <i>Festen</i> in the way that the sound moves so elegantly from shot to shot, sometimes coming in as a narrative tool, going beyond current sound design methods in a way that seems more like in the world of chance techniques. The sound and image relationship if one is engaged in it, is pure poetry, hovering somewhere between Saul Levine's works and Luc Ferrari's montages, what first feels random becomes full of emotion and pleasure. Room tone shifts quickly with fast editing like a speed up David Lynch film. Jesus H this film is just stunning!<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br />Hal Needham <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Smokey and the Bandit</b></i></span> 1977<br />(rewatch)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Essential 4K viewing. Also recently watched Needham's <i>Rad</i> in 4k.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51814519702_4decf33ee3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="263" data-original-width="500" height="336" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51814519702_4decf33ee3.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />James Whale <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Frankenstein</b></i></span> 1931<br />(rewatch)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Essential 4K viewing. Love thinking about Víctor Erice's <i>Spirit of the Beehive</i> whist watching this.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /> John G. Avildsen <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Karate Kid Part II</b></i></span> 1986<br />(rewatch)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Essential 4K viewing.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51815821434_35e08b2623_b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="362" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51815821434_35e08b2623_b.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />1.11.2022<br />Jeong Chang-Hwa <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>King Boxer (5 Fingers of Death)</b></i></span> 1972<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">From Arrow's <i>ShawScope Volume One</i> box set. For this viewer, the English overdubbing in Shaw Brothers films was always something too difficult to get past, and now seeing <i>King Boxer</i> in the original Mandarin, the poetics finally are unleashed. Included is a quite nice history of the Shaw Brothers by Tony Rayns.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Paolo Sorrentino <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>The Hand of God</b></i></span> 2021<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Problematic in the Fellini tradition.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br />Pablo Larraín <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>Spencer</b></i></span> 2021<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Story and acting lacking, yet with beautiful soundtrack by Johnny Greenwood (perhaps in a Polish jazz or 70s ECM tradition!), and beyond lovely photography by Claire Mathon (<i>Portrait of a Lady on Fire</i> and <i>Atlantics</i>).<br /></p>the art of memoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02748087818232571209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5579754230116285540.post-88638990827427271652021-06-17T08:05:00.002-07:002021-06-17T08:05:35.032-07:00kill your television<div><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51254162410_6fbb8b2e11_3k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="434" data-original-width="800" height="347" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51254162410_6fbb8b2e11_3k.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51253320448_2b5c2f5b7e_3k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="436" data-original-width="800" height="349" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51253320448_2b5c2f5b7e_3k.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51252390237_18583af8e0_3k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="433" data-original-width="800" height="346" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51252390237_18583af8e0_3k.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51253866274_c8afc92540_3k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="435" data-original-width="800" height="348" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51253866274_c8afc92540_3k.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51253117916_aa6da84844_3k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="434" data-original-width="800" height="347" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51253117916_aa6da84844_3k.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51253866614_ba0f246730_3k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="434" data-original-width="800" height="347" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51253866614_ba0f246730_3k.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51253866584_c44f5fd42e_3k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="433" data-original-width="800" height="346" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51253866584_c44f5fd42e_3k.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51253118236_3d2ca9dda0_3k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="434" data-original-width="800" height="347" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51253118236_3d2ca9dda0_3k.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51253866514_f20ffdd339_3k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="434" data-original-width="800" height="347" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51253866514_f20ffdd339_3k.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51253866489_8d1adf4e86_3k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="433" data-original-width="800" height="346" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51253866489_8d1adf4e86_3k.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51253321063_7a4bd59af3_3k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="434" data-original-width="800" height="347" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51253321063_7a4bd59af3_3k.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51254163095_2fc3f297c2_3k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="435" data-original-width="800" height="348" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51254163095_2fc3f297c2_3k.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51253118626_cd0f007bfe_3k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="435" data-original-width="800" height="348" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51253118626_cd0f007bfe_3k.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51252390887_287030af89_3k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="433" data-original-width="800" height="346" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51252390887_287030af89_3k.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51253118586_4573ddb15b_3k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="435" data-original-width="800" height="348" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51253118586_4573ddb15b_3k.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51253866924_8fefc45f26_3k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="433" data-original-width="800" height="347" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51253866924_8fefc45f26_3k.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51253866909_b588111440_3k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="436" data-original-width="800" height="349" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51253866909_b588111440_3k.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51252390822_893da97502_3k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="433" data-original-width="800" height="346" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51252390822_893da97502_3k.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51253118501_43ba136f83_k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="428" data-original-width="800" height="343" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51253118501_43ba136f83_k.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51252391117_e45b198662_k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="434" data-original-width="800" height="347" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51252391117_e45b198662_k.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51253118751_44b6dd62f7_k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="436" data-original-width="800" height="349" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51253118751_44b6dd62f7_k.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Television destruction by the Sleaze Sisters in Allan Moyle's 1980 film <b><i>Times Square</i></b><br /><br />Starring Trini Alvarado, Robin Johnson, Tim Curry, Elizabeth Peña, Peter Coffield, and Steve James<br /><br />Cinematography by James A. Contner<br /></div>the art of memoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02748087818232571209noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5579754230116285540.post-6023819927221000542021-02-23T21:54:00.004-08:002021-02-23T21:54:50.698-08:00have you checked the children?<div style="text-align: justify;"><i><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50975408647_a1931c521b_3k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="430" data-original-width="800" height="344" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50975408647_a1931c521b_3k.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />When a Stranger Calls</b></i> (1979, directed by Fred Walton)<br />In praise of a cinema without qualities. That classic seventies sleaze film found in a room full of of normality, glorious moments within horror films guilty of unremarkableness.<br /></div><p style="text-align: justify;">Trying to fill in gaps in my horror knowledge, attempting to find those moments worth spending time with in a genre plagued with mediocrity. Films either too kitschy, with an actorshippe that is beyond deplorable, structural elements assembled with no thought, absurdist plots or simply no plot at all. Many qualities that in all likelihood attract many viewers, but which are difficult to take after spending time with the masters like Robert Bresson, Chantal Akerman, or John Ford. Perhaps one has to to draw a line somewhere.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Fred Walton's <i>When a Stranger Calls</i> initially attractive because of the poster, then seeing the cast included Carol Kane and Charles Durning I was in. This is the fourth film I have watched this week with a bit about babysitter encounters with darkness: Alan Clarke's 1987 film <i>Rita, Sue and Bob Too</i> where 2 young women have sex with and then an affair with the father that drives them home. Donald Petrie's 1988 film <i>Mystic Pizza</i> where Annabeth Gish has a sexual encounter with the father, and George Roy Hill's 1982 film <i>The World According to Garp</i> where Robin Williams drives home the babysitter and pulls over for a bit of lustful liaisons. And finally here with Carol Kane getting repeated calls from an old Englishman saying "have you checked the children?" almost as a statement than a question, before the chaos ensues. When she calls the police she gets this advice from Seventh Precinct, Sergeant Sacker: "An anonymous caller? Has he threatened you? Has he been using obscene
language? It's probably just some weirdo. The city's full of them.
Believe it or not, we get reports like this every night. It's nothing to
worry about".<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50975302751_a1dc313a32_3k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="434" data-original-width="800" height="347" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50975302751_a1dc313a32_3k.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />The somewhat ordinary horror beginnings, although creepy and with an admirable atmosphere, shift quite surprisingly at 21 minutes in beginning with a freeze frame of Charles During's face (image above) as the door opens and the madness is revealed. We then fast forward seven years and the film enters into this late 70s mood, a mood any lover of the decade craves. Dirty bars, private detectives as assassins, psychopaths, urban decay, dipsomaniac lovers, ambiguous narratives, hotel rooms and apartments so stained and covered in grit, light has nowhere to illuminate.<br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50975302681_063032a925_3k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="800" height="346" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50975302681_063032a925_3k.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50975408487_4ec7f12c6c_3k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="429" data-original-width="800" height="343" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50975408487_4ec7f12c6c_3k.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50974610328_3db154fe58_3k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="800" height="341" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50974610328_3db154fe58_3k.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />We are then as viewers privileged to recordings of the psychopath Curt Duncan (played by Tony Beckley from <i>The Italian Job</i>, <i>Get Carter</i>) which sound to my ears like Donald Pleasence from Harold Pinter's<i> The Caretaker.</i>.. rough talk, almost drunken, full of absurdity, coming from the nowhere and going back without having brought us anywhere. For lovers of Pinter this world is perhaps bliss. <p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Hospital "To give you medication will calm you down. We are
not putting anything in your food either"<br />Curt "No?..... I've got to eat the food?.... it doesn't taste right..... "<br />Hospital "Curt, why are you fidgeting? Can't you get comfortable?"<br />Curt "No!.... I'm not comfortable! Don't look at me. Don't you talk to me. Don't you touch me. Stay away. Stay away".<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50975408162_c96cc4a84f_3k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="431" data-original-width="800" height="345" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50975408162_c96cc4a84f_3k.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Toward the end of the film we get this small glimpse into the serial killer's mind, pondering his nonexistence and place in the big nowhere: "Nobody can see me anymore.... nobody can hear me... no one touches
me.... I'm not here... I don't exist... I was never born... no one can
see me anymore".<p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The film should have stopped here but sadly goes into another 15 minutes
of awfulness that sadly leaves you feeling a bit like you too have
entered the great nothingness. Perhaps worth it though for the many great moments found within this film. They can't all end as perfectly as they begin.<br /></p>the art of memoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02748087818232571209noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5579754230116285540.post-56764457412264138892021-01-30T15:32:00.001-08:002021-04-26T08:13:15.642-07:00the nineteen nineties, a compendium of classic cinema<p><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50788099537_86e82a4828_z.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50788099537_86e82a4828_z.jpg" /></a></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />The Cinema of the Nineteen Nineties.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Grainy
poetic light flickering out of the darkness, sometimes bright, often dark. Darkness seeking light, light seeking none more black.
Narratives structural in nature, or abstracted, crooked, always meandering. The art of
failure, abjection, dirt dreaming of itself. The decade offered a different take on classic cinema.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The 1990s hard to imagine now in terms of day to day life. One could find themself in a grimy
city with a bit of leisure time, spending an hour in video stores, or getting used
cloths a dollar a pound. No awareness
of time, pre-digital flow where one takes things as they come, content to sit
and stare, to listen in on conversations, to sit in a cafe and dream of
nothing. To give (or get) a smile on the street, to pass out drunk in an
alleyway. All night bicycle rides because who gives a shit, washing
dishes for $4 an hour, reading Proust and listening to My Bloody
Valentine. Hanging out in bookstores, used books, books by the foot,
Marquis de Sade books published by Grove Press, academic oversized books
with beautiful dust jackets and mylar covers. Occult bookstores,
confusion over how to get in, how to get out!, how to get from one place
to another, not caring.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">In these vague times, I kept a copy of Leonard Maltin's <i>Film and Video Guide </i>in my bag and checked off titles with a pen as I watched them. When that wasn't enough I moved to black journals and created lists, lists and
more lists. Lists of movies, lists of books, lists of albums to get. Writing things down unnecessarily, writing almost everything down. Not being able to keep up
with the titles that were thrown my way. Watching the classics as much as the cinema of the times. French black and white films shot on the street!
Made in the sixties, and made now. Not understanding the idea of the here and now, but rather finding that
time blurs, not thinking of the relevant but more the irrelevant.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Part of this decade I worked at The Kendall Square Cinema in Cambridge MA. I could get
into any theater in town for free, watching so many films a day I could really not make sense of it. <i>Casablanca</i> in the morning, <i>Wavelength</i> in class, <i>Dead Man</i>
(on a rewatch) whilst at work, and running over to Harvard Film
Archive to see Vlada Petrić present the next film in a Tarkovsky
retrospective. The current cinema, the cinema of the nineties, melded in
so well with everything in a way that is almost hard to understand now.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Below is a list of key films from the period both independent and with box office draw. Some last seen when they came out, some only now, some never. Many recommended by friends, some with
notes, some without. The idea is mainly just to give love to this fruitful period and hope that more will come out on blu ray or 4k or even stream. Many key films in this list are very hard to see now like James Mangold's <i>Heavy</i> or Victor Nuñez's <i>Ruby in Paradise</i>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Thanks for immense help from Laura Braun, John Spell, and Chi Yun in creating this list.<br /><br /></div><div><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>:: 1990 :: </b></span><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>A Brief History of Time</i></b> (Errol Morris)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>After Dark, My Sweet</i></b> (James Foley) <br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Alice</i></b> (Woody Allen)<br />Classic
Woody Allen film with Joe Mantegna, Mia Farrow, and William Hurt.
Lovely interplay between Chinese medicine and an Upper East Side NYC life of privilege. Suburb color
palette by the Italian cinematographer Carlo Di Palma whom shot much
for Allen and Antonioni.<br /></p><p><b><i>All the Vermeers in New York</i></b> (Jon Jost)</p><p><b><i>An Angel at My Table</i></b> (Jane Campion)</p><p><b><i>Another 48 Hrs.</i></b> (Walter Hill) <br /></p><p><i><b>Awakenings</b></i> (Penny Marshall)</p><p><i><b>Baby Blood</b></i> (Alain Robak)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Bad Influence</b></i> (Curtis Hanson)<br />The eighties spilling over with Rob Lowe and James Spader, getting into a hyper 80s territory, aka the early 1990s.</p><p><i><b>Boiling Point</b></i> (Takeshi Kitano)</p><p><i><b>Bullet in the Head</b></i> (John Wood)<br /></p><p><i><b>Cadillac Man</b></i> (Roger Donaldson) </p><p><b><i>Catchfire</i></b> (Dennis Hopper)<br /><br /><i><b>The Civil War </b></i>(Ken Burns)<br /></p><p><b><i>Close-Up</i></b> (Abbas Kiarostami)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>The Comfort of Strangers</b></i> (Paul Schrader)<br />Schrader film that totally has his signature but also feels like someone else made it. Stars Christopher Walken, Rupert Everett, Natasha Richardson, and Helen Mirren. Screenplay by Harold Pinter which was adapted from a Ian McEwan novel. <br /></p><p><b><i>Cry-Baby</i></b> (John Waters) <br /></p><p><i><b>Dances with Wolves</b></i> (Kevin Costner)<br />Solid Costner film with the always awesome Graham Greene.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50788099517_b674e4847d_z.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50788099517_b674e4847d_z.jpg" /></a></i></b></div><b><i><br />Days of Being Wild</i></b> (Wong Kar-wai)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Second
Wong Kar-wai film, stars Leslie Cheung, Maggie Cheung, Andy Lau, Tony
Chiu-Wai Leung. Shot by the drunken master Christopher Doyle who can make an outhouse look poetric. One of Wong Kar-wai's
best in a filmography where basically every film is flawless.<br /></div><div><i><b><br /></b></i></div><div><i><b>Death in Brunswick</b></i> (John Ruane)<br />Australian film with Sam Neill.<br /><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Desperate Hours</i></b> (Michael Cimino)<br />Remake of the 1955 film by William Wyler and also a hit Broadway play. Stars Mickey Rourke, Anthony Hopkins, Mimi Rogers, Lindsay Crouse (from the world of Mamet), Kelly Lynch, and the truly amazing Elias Koteas. Produced by Dino De Laurentiis. Not an easy watch.<br /></p><p><b><i>Dick Tracy</i></b> (Warren Beatty)<br /></p><p><i><b>Die Hard 2</b></i> (Renny Harlin)<br />More of a good thing but just a little less of it.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Dreams</i></b> (Akira Kurosawa)<br />I remember seeing this film as a mere child (just under 20) at the height of my Kurosawa craze and saying to myself "this is a Kurosawa film?!?", but over a couple viewings really getting into the groove of it and loving the film.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Edward Scissorhands</b></i> (Tim Burton)<br />Not being properly adjusted enough to the goth style as a youth (or now), I am not sure where this fits into the history. I was for sure into music with gothic qualities in high school but was surrounded by farmers in a small town, so really no no idea of what was going on in cities. Watching this recently, Depp's outfit was a bit shocking to me. He in no way appears like an outsider but more the hippest kid in town.<br /></p><p><i><b>The Exorcist III</b></i> (William Peter Blatty)<br />Not usually into sequels but this one is pretty solid. Stars George C. Scott.<br /></p><p><b><i>The First Power</i></b> (Robert Resnikoff)<br /></p><p><b><i>Flatliners</i></b> (Joel Schumacher)</p><p><i><b>The Freshman</b></i> (Andrew Bergman)</p><p><span id="docs-internal-guid-0b4cfb80-7fff-7c98-6298-170fb31f1dea" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><i><b>The Guardian</b></i> (William Friedkin)</span> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><b><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50788099447_e49064950e_z.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="324" data-original-width="576" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50788099447_e49064950e_z.jpg" /></a></b></i></div><i><b><br />Ghost</b></i> (Jerry Zucker)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Was dismissive of this film from seeing it as a youth, but on seeing it a few years ago, it is quite impressive.<br /></div><div><p><b><i>The Godfather: Part III</i></b> (Francis Ford Coppola) <br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>GoodFellas</i></b> (Martin Scorsese)<br />Marty
started out the decade in such a beautiful way with this film, one of
his best and one of those films that got this viewer hyper aware of the
language of cinema (shot length, edits, the classic Hitchcockian camera
pulling back/zooming in shot). After seeing this film a few times in my late teens, the language of cinema was no longer a mystery, and films after became completely alive or just plain flat.<br /></p><p><b><i>Green Card</i></b> (Peter Weir)<br />Another film that seemed a little lame at the time but on a recent viewing was quite good. Nothing like a film by Peter Weir, or a 1990s film taking place in Manhattan.<br /></p><p><i><b>The Grifters</b></i> (Stephen Frears)</p><p><i><b>Hardware</b></i> (Richard Stanley) </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Henry & June</i></b> (Philip Kaufman)<br />Fred Ward appears in <i>Tremors</i>, <i>Catchfire</i>, <i>Miami Blues</i>, and <i>Henry & June</i> in 1990. One hell of a great actor.<br /></p><p><i><b>Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer </b></i>(John McNaughton)<br />From 1986, but not released until 1990. The rawness of this film continues to overwhelm.</p><p><b><i>Hidden Agenda</i></b> (Ken Loach)<br /></p><p><b><i>Home Alone</i></b> (Chris Columbus)<br />Not a film I like but I love John Heard.<br /></p><p><b><i>The Hunt for Red October</i></b> (John McTiernan) <br /></p><p><b><i>I Love You to Death</i></b> (Lawrence Kasdan) <br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Jacob’s Ladder </b></i>(Adrian Lyne)<br />Being
in my first or second year of high school when these films came out, I
was of course too young to fully understand them fully, but they sure
made an impression. This one in particular scared the hell out of me and
really changed the way I thought about the war in Vietnam, where my father served and thankfully came home from.<br /></p><p><i><b>Ju Dou</b></i> (Zhang Yimou)<br />So many great Zhang Yimou films this decade including <i>Raise the Red Lantern</i>, <i>The Story of Qiu Ju</i>, <i>To Live</i>, <i>Shanghai Triad</i>, and <i>The Road Home</i>.<br /></p><p><b><i>The Juniper Tree</i></b> (Nietzchka Keene)</p><p><b><i>Kindergarten Cop</i></b> (Ivan Reitman) <br /></p><p><i><b>King of New York</b></i> (Abel Ferrara)<br />My
favorite Ferrara film. Personally I would love to snap his fingers and walk outside to the city
presented in this film instead of the Starbucks and rotten Chick-fil-Lays.<br /></p><p><i><b>La Femme Nikita</b></i> (Luc Besson) <br />Some films from this period work for some, and not for others.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Life is Sweet </i></b>(Mike Leigh)<br />After seeing <i>Naked</i> in the theater as a youth, Mike Leigh quickly became one of my farorite directors. Still is. Endless wonderful films from him including this one.<br /></p><p><i><b>Lionheart</b></i> (Sheldon Lettich)</p><p><i><b>Lisa</b></i> (Gary Sherman) <br /></p><p><i><b>Lord of the Flies</b></i> (Harry Hook) <br /></p><p><i><b>Maniac Cop 2</b></i> (William Lustig)<br />Only discovered the films of Lustig recently, some fantastic work, and even the sequels which is rare.<br /></p><p><b><i>The Match Factory Girl</i></b> (Aki Kaurismäki)<br />Never
saw a Kaurismäki film until early 2000s, another filmmaker like Mike
Leigh that once you see their work, your view of cinema is completely
changed.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Mermaids</i></b> (Richard Benjamin)<br />I love Bob Hoskins in this film. Directed by Richard Benjamin who starred in <i>Diary of a Mad Housewife</i>, <i>Goodbye, Columbus, Westworld</i> and others where he leaves quite an impression.<br /></p><p><i><b>Metropolitan</b></i> (Whit Stillman) <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50787994581_43c9bcf4dc_z.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50787994581_43c9bcf4dc_z.jpg" /></a></i></b></div><b><i><br />Miami Blues</i></b> (George Armitage)<br />Great film with Jennifer Jason Leigh, Fred Ward, and Alec Baldwin. The film has a great atmosphere to it, Ward is really so fantastic in this film.<br /><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Miller’s Crossing</i></b> (Joel Coen)<br />In
a career of outstanding films, this one really stands out for the Coen
Brothers. Beyond the beauty of it, the film really takes multiple viewings to get a grasp on the story, very much in the Raymond Chandler and Robert Altman spirit.<br /><br /><i><b>Misery</b></i> (Rob Reiner)<br />Another completely memorable film from the year (and decade). One of the best films from a Stephen King novel.<br /></p><p><i><b>Mo’ Better Blues</b></i> (Spike Lee)</p><p><i><b>New York Portrait, Chapter III</b></i> (Peter B. Hutton)<br />Peter Hutton, the profound poet of the cinema's last film in the New York trilogy <i>New York Portraits</i>.<br /></p><p><i><b>Pacific Heights</b></i> (John Schlesinger)<br />Excellent use of San Francisco as a character.<br /><br /><i><b>Paris Is Burning</b></i> (Jennie Livingston)<br /><br /><i><b>Postcards from the Edge</b></i> (Mike Nichols)<br /><br /><i><b>Presumed Innocent</b></i> (Alan J. Pakula) <br /><br /><i><b>Pretty Woman</b></i> (Garry Marshall)<br />One of those films I saw as a stuck up youngster and was dismissive of, and later came to really like in my 40s. Had to de-punk rock myself a bit over the
years to enjoy certain films.<br /></p><p><i><b>Pump Up the Volume</b></i> (Allan Moyle)</p><p><i><b>Q&A</b></i> (Sidney Lumet)</p><p><b><i>Quick Change</i></b> (Howard Franklin and Bill Murray)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead</b></i> (Tom Stoppard)<br />At the time, the film was a bit of a head scratcher for a teenager NH kid, but certainly left an impression. Have not seen since then.<br /><br /><i><b>The Reflecting Skin</b></i> (Philip Ridley)<br />Truly strange and original film with Viggo Mortensen, Lindsay Duncan, Jeremy Cooper, Sheila Moore. Not an easy film to digest, but quite unique to the decade and beautifully put together. Shot by the great Dick Pope .<br /></p><p><i><b>Rocky V</b></i> (John G. Avildsen)<br />Growing
up in the 1990s, the Rocky sequels probably were watched more by youngsters
than the first one (myself included). Not bad films though, worth watching, but the first is the best by far.<br /><br /><i><b>The Russia House</b></i> (Fred Schepisi)</p><p><i><b>See you later / Au revoir</b></i> (Michael Snow)<br />Very slow mo film by Mr. Snow.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><b><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50788099442_2cddd2a114_z.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="356" data-original-width="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50788099442_2cddd2a114_z.jpg" /></a></b></i></div><i><b><br />The Sheltering Sky</b></i> (Bernardo Bertolucci)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Another
quite original film from 1990. Paul Bowles story staring Debra
Winger and John Malkovich taking place in Oran (Algeria). Wonderful atmosphere to the film. Shot by the great Italian cinematographer Vittorio Storaro (<i>The Conformist, Apocalypse Now</i>, and <i>The Last Emperor</i>).<br /></div><div><p><i><b>Slacker</b></i> (Richard Linklater)<br /></p><p><i><b>Stanley & Iris</b></i> (Martin Ritt) <br /></p><p><i><b>State of Grace</b></i> (Phil Joanou)</p><p><i><b>Texasville</b></i> (Peter Bogdanovich) <br /></p><p><i><b>To Sleep with Anger</b></i> (Charles Burnett)<br />The Los Angeles poet of cinema enters the decade with this classic.<br /></p><p><i><b>Total Recall</b></i> (Paul Verhoeven)<br />Seriously strange film from Verhoeven that many are completely obsessed with.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Tremors</b></i> (Ron Underwood)<br />Another film that was on repeat for many kids in the 1990s, but somehow this viwer missed it. Stars Fred Ward, Kevin Bacon, Victor Wong, Finn Carter, and Michael Gross whom all really light up the screen.<br /></p><p><i><b>Truly, Madly, Deeply</b></i> (Anthony Minghella)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Trust </b></i>(Hal Hartley)<br />Somehow
I never saw Hartley's films in the nineties, and not until about 8
years ago did I spend any time with them. Perhaps as a immature young
man I would have had trouble with the awkwardness and off beat dialogue,
but now I truly love it and can't imagine the decade without his many great works. Sometimes it is good to hold out for certain works and let them really engulf you when you are ready.<br /></p><p><i><b>Twilight</b></i> (György Fehér)<br />From
the Hungarian director who worked with Béla Tarr. The story of a
retired detective who tries to find the murderer of a young girl.<br /></p><p><i><b>The Two Jakes</b></i> (Jack Nicholson) <br /></p><p><i><b>Vincent & Leo</b></i> (Robert Altman)<br /><i><b><br />Visions in Meditation #3: Plato’s Cave</b></i> (Stan Brakhage)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Wild at Heart</b></i> (David Lynch)<br />Some classic scenes in this film, especially with Willem Defoe. Not Lynch's best work but still pretty good. In college I made a "best of Wild at Heart" VHS, the film distilled down to around thirty minutes, that I rewatched the hell out of it.<br /></p><p><i><b>The Witches</b></i> (Nicolas Roeg)<br />Only saw recently and loved it. Off beat atmosphere, makes sense Roeg directed the film.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>46/90 Falter 2</b></i> (Kurt Kren)<br />1998
I had only seen a few films by Kurt Kren, and then Steve Anker
programmed a retrospective with every Kren film in one night to honor
his death, a life changing event.</p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">:: 1991 ::</span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50791325873_dca748cc24_z.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50791325873_dca748cc24_z.jpg" /></a></div><i><b><br />A Brighter Summer Day</b></i> (Edward Yang)<p><i><b>A Kiss Before Dying</b></i> (James Dearden)</p><p><i><b>A Rage in Harlem</b></i> (Bill Duke)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>The Addams Family</i></b> (Barry Sonnenfeld)<br /><br /><i><b>The Adjuster</b></i> (Atom Egoyan)<br />Extremely strange and uncomfortable Elias Koteas/Atom Egoyan film that is not a favorite, but certainly not without interest. Crazy role for Koteas, perhaps looking at this and <i>Crash</i>, and <i>The Thin Red Line</i> would give a strong glimpse at Koteas' range and screen presense.<br /></p><p><i><b>An American Tail: Fievel Goes West</b></i> (Simon Wells and Phil Nibbelink)</p><p><i><b>A Scene at the Sea</b></i> (Takeshi Kitano) <br /></p><p><i><b>Barton Fink</b></i> (Joel Coen)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Billy Bathgate</b></i> (Robert Benton)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Bloody Morning</b></i> (Li Shaohong)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Boyz n the Hood</b></i> (John Singleton)<br />Hugely
influential first film by Singleton, written as an application to film
school. Stunning performances by Angela Bassett, Ice Cube, Cuba Gooding
Jr., Morris Chestnut, Laurence Fishburne, Nia Long, and Regina King. Essential 90s.<br /></p><p><i><b>Bugsy</b></i> (Barry Levinson) <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><b><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50792278052_49a38b4c52_z.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="359" data-original-width="639" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50792278052_49a38b4c52_z.jpg" /></a></b></i></div><i><b><br />Cape Fear</b></i> (Martin Scorsese) <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">One of those rare films where a remake of a really solid film is on par or even superior to the original (Philip Kaufman's <i>Invasion of the Body Snatchers</i>
is another). Juliette Lewis, Joe Don Baker, Illeana Douglas, and Robert
De Niro really stand out. I remember really watching the hell out of
this film in college, always getting some sort of inspiration from it,
one of Scorsese's best.<br /></div><div><p><i><b>City of Hope</b></i> (John Sayles)</p><p><i><b>Class Action</b></i> (Michael Apted)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Clearcut</b></i> (Ryszard Bugajski)<br />The
last few years doing research into horror films, this one staring Graham Greene came up pretty early on as an essential under appreciated film to see. Can't find it anywhere, so it remains a mystery.<br /></p><p><i><b>Closet Land</b></i> (Radha Bharadwaj)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>The Commitments</b></i> (Alan Parker) <br />Outstanding
film from Alan Parker about the formation of a working-class soul band
in Dublin Ireland. Such a great portrait of a world any interesting person would want to get a look into.<br /></p><p><i><b>Crooked Hearts</b></i> (Michael Bortman)<br />Solid
cast with Peter Berg (<i>The Last Seduction</i>), Vincent D'Onofrio, Peter
Coyote, Juliette Lewis, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and a young Joshua
Jackson. Fucked up coming of age film.<br /></p><p><i><b>Daughters of the Dust</b></i> (Julie Dash)</p><p><i><b>Dead Again</b></i> (Kenneth Branagh) <br /></p><p><i><b>Defending Your Life</b></i> (Albert Brooks)</p><p><i><b>Delicacies of Molten Horror Synapse</b></i> (Stan Brakhage) <br /></p><p><i><b>Departure</b></i> (Saul Levine) <br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>The Doctor</b></i> (Randa Haines)<br /><br /><i><b>Dogfight</b></i> (Nancy Savoca)<br />A group of jarheads
try to outdo one another by getting the ugliest date and River Phoenix
ends up with the very not ugly Lili Taylor. This film probably wouldn't have worked if directed by a man. In addition to a classic 90s indie film it is a beautiful portrait of San
Francisco which is always something to look forward to.<br /></p><p><i><b>The Doors</b></i> (Oliver Stone)</p><p><i><b>Double Impact</b></i> (Sheldon Lettich)</p><p><i><b>Elegy</b></i> (Joe Gibbons)<br /></p><p><i><b>Europa</b></i> (Lars von Trier)<br />Visually stunning film influenced by Franz Kafka's <i>Amerika</i>.<br /></p><p><i><b>Eve of Destruction</b></i> (Duncan Gibbins)</p><p><i><b>Father of the Bride</b></i> (Charles Shyer) <br /></p><p><i><b>The Fisher King</b></i> (Terry Gilliam) <br /></p><p><i><b>Flight of the Intruder</b></i> (John Milius)<br /></p><p><i><b>Flirting</b></i> (John Duigan)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Frankie and Johnny</b></i> (Garry Marshall) <br />Romantic
comedy (aka romcom) starring Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer. Saw this
film a few times in high school but the romantic element most likely put me off. Really left an impression when seeing it recently, partially because of the 1990s NYC as starring character.<br /></p><p><i><b>Fried Green Tomatoes</b></i> (Jon Avnet) </p><p><i><b>Grand Canyon</b></i> (Lawrence Kasdan)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Guilty by Suspicion</b></i> (Irwin Winkler)<br />Worth seeing for those wishing to learn more about one of the many stains in American history; McCarthyism. Directed by the renowned producer
Irwin Winkler (<i>Rocky</i> franchise, <i>New York, New York</i>, <i>The Right Stuff</i>, <i>Goodfellas</i>, <i>The Irishman</i> and many more) whose new book is an engaging look at the process of making a film from idea to screen.<br /></p><p><i><b>Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man</b></i> (Simon Wincer)<br />Mickey Rourke and Don Johnson. Not a bad film.<br /></p><p><i><b>Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse</b></i> (Fax Bahr, George Hickenlooper, Eleanor Coppola)<br />Essential doc on the making of a film.<br /></p><p><i><b>Herein</b></i> (Marjorie Keller)<br /></p><p><i><b>He Said, She Said</b></i> (Ken Kwapis and Marisa Silver) <br /></p><p><b><i>Homicide</i></b> (David Mamet)<br />Classic Mamet. <br /></p><p><i><b>The Indian Runner </b></i>(Sean Penn) <br />Definitely of interest for fans of Viggo Mortensen and David Morse.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>The Inland Sea</b></i> (Lucille Carra)<br />Documentary
inspired by Donald Richie's poetic travelogue of the islands of Japan, with music is by
Toru Takemitsu.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Is As Is</b></i> (Saul Levine)<br /></p><p><i><b>Jacquot de Nantes</b></i> (Agnes Varda) <br /></p><p><i><b>JFK</b></i> (Oliver Stone)<br /><br /><b><i>Jumpin at the Boneyard</i></b> (Jeff Stanzler)</p><p><i><b>Jungle Fever </b></i>(Spike Lee)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Kafka</b></i> (Steven Soderbergh)<br /><br /><i><b>La Belle Noiseuse</b></i> (Jacques Rivette)<br />Great film which is partially remembered for the nude modeling of Emmanuelle Béart.<br /><br /><i><b>La double vie de Véronique</b></i> (Krzysztof Kieślowski)<br />One
of those films most self respecting film students of the 1990s would
watch over and over and over and over, especially if they happen to have
any Polish blood in them. Essential 90s film and one of Kieślowski's best.<br /></p><p><i><b>L.A. Story</b></i> (Mick Jackson)</p><p><i><b>Liebestraum</b></i> (Mike Figgis) <br /></p><p><i><b>Lionheart</b></i> (Sheldon Lettich)</p><p><i><b>The Lovers on the Bridge</b></i> (Leos Carax)<br /></p><p><i><b>The Man in the Moon</b></i> (Robert Mulligan)</p><p><i><b>Map of the Human Heart</b></i> (Vincent Ward) <br /></p><p><i><b>Mississippi Masala</b></i> (Mira Nair) <br /></p><p><i><b>Mister Johnson</b></i> (Bruce Beresford)</p><p><i><b>Mortal Thoughts</b></i> (Alan Rudolph)<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><b><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50792111091_b451bb97e4_z.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="348" data-original-width="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50792111091_b451bb97e4_z.jpg" /></a></b></i></div><i><b><br />My Own Private Idaho</b></i> (Gus Van Sant)<br />Profound
film by Gus Van Sant that really expands the possibilities of narrative cinema.<br /><p><i><b>Naked Lunch</b></i> (David Cronenberg)<br /></p><p><i><b>New Jack City</b></i> (Mario Van Peebles)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Night on Earth</b></i> (Jim Jarmusch)<br />One
great film in a career of great films. Four sections include Gena
Rowlands/Winona Ryder, Armin Mueller-Stahl/Giancarlo Esposito (I sure
love this one), Isaach De Bankolé/Béatrice Dalle, Roberto Benigni/Paolo
Bonacelli, and the very Aki Kaurismäki Helsinki ending with Kari
Väänänen/Sakari Kuosmanen/Tomi Salmela.<br /></p><p><i><b>Once Around</b></i> (Lasse Hallström) <br /></p><p><i><b>Point Break</b></i> (Kathryn Bigelow)<br />My wife and I watch this film about twice a year. Perfect film.<br /></p><p><i><b>Poison</b></i> (Todd Haynes)<br />Was initially introduced to the work of Todd Haynes in film school (pre <i>Safe</i>) with this and his <i>Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story</i>, both films have become slightly difficult to see these days. Good pairing with the work of Jean Genet or Jean Cocteau.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>The Prince of Tides</b></i> (Barbra Streisand)<br />Perhaps a bit over the top performance by Nick Nolte, but worth watching. Yet another memorable portrait of New York City in the 1990s.<br /><br /><i><b>Proof</b></i> (Jocelyn Moorhouse)<br />Have
seen twice in the last few years, truly inspiring work starring Hugo
Weaving, Geneviève Picot and Russell Crowe. Hugo Weaving plays a blind
photographer, which is a great way to begin thinking of a film, similarly to Elliott Gould in <i>Little Murders</i> being a photographer of dog shite.<br /></p><p><i><b>Queens Logic</b></i> (Steve Rash) <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><b><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50792127021_b3012ceedb_z.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50792127021_b3012ceedb_z.jpg" /></a></b></i></div><i><b><br />Raise the Red Lantern</b></i> (Zhang Yimou)<br />This film really brings into consciousness the idea of a color palette being a character in a film.<br /><p><i><b>Rambling Rose</b></i> (Martha Coolidge)<br /></p><p><b><i>The Rapture</i></b> (Michael Tolkin)<br />Film follows Mimi Rogers' days of debauchery that transforms into cultism, showing perhaps that they are not far from one another.<br /></p><p><i><b>Rear Window</b></i> (Ernie Gehr)<br /></p><p><i><b>Regarding Henry</b></i> (Mike Nichols)<br /><br /><i><b>Rhapsody in August</b></i> (Akira Kurosawa)</p><p><i><b>Ricochet</b></i> (Russell Mulcahy) <br /></p><p><i><b>Riff-Raff</b></i> (Ken Loach)<br />Starring Robert Carlyle and Ricky Tomlinson.<br /></p><p><i><b>Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves</b></i> (Kevin Reynolds) <br /></p><p><i><b>Run</b></i> (Geoff Burrowes)</p><p><i><b>Rush</b></i> (Lili Fini Zanuck) <br />Stars Jason Patric, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Sam Elliott, and Max Perlich.<br /></p><p><i><b>Scenes from a Mall</b></i> (Paul Mazursky)<br /></p><p><i><b>Scum</b></i> (Alan Clarke)<br />TV movie version of the 1979 film aired in 1991 perhaps beginning a small revival of Clarke's work. </p><p><i><b>Shattered</b></i> (Wolfgang Petersen) <br /></p><p><i><b>Shout</b></i> (Jeffrey Hornaday) <br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Showdown in Little Tokyo</b></i> (Mark L. Lester)<br /><i><b><br />The Silence of the Lambs</b></i> (Jonathan Demme)<br />Very good example of some elements of progressive subculture from the 1980s and 1990s making their way into a Hollywood film. From the soundtrack featuring Colin Newman's <i>Alone</i>, and of course Q. Lazzarus' <i>Goodbye Horses</i> to the lifestyle and interest of Ted Levine's Buffalo Bill. This film has been constantly on my mind since first seeing it in the early 90s and contributes greatly to what I look for in film, from its innovative yet subtle structure, to its potrayal of darkness.<br /></p><p><i><b>Sólo con tu pareja</b></i> (Alfonso Cuarón)</p><p><i><b>The Stranger </b></i>(Satyajit Ray)<br /></p><p><i><b>The Super</b></i> (Rod Daniel)</p><p><i><b>The Taking of Beverly Hills</b></i> (Sidney J. Furie)<br /><br /><i><b>Terminator 2: Judgment Day</b></i> (James Cameron)<br />One of the great sequels with a perfect first quarter.<br /><br /><i><b>Thelma & Louise</b></i> (Ridley Scott)<br />When I was in high school, this film was often on television and I would see it often, but not again until recently. Really has that Ridley Scott quality and a beautiful message of feminism.<br /></p><p><i><b>This Side of Paradise</b></i> (Ernie Gehr)<br />Sounds and images from the Polish flea-market in Potsdamer Platz, Berlin.<br /><br /><i><b>Tous les Matins du Monde</b></i> (Alan Corneau)<br />Stunning film with soundtrack by Jordi Savall (Sainte-Colombe and Marin Marais).<br /></p><p><i><b>Toy Soldiers</b></i> (Daniel Petrie Jr.)<br /></p><p><i><b>True Colors</b></i> (Herbert Ross)</p><p><i><b>Until the End of the World</b></i> (Wim Wenders)<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><b><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50792143631_3c9ccaf8cc_z.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50792143631_3c9ccaf8cc_z.jpg" /></a></b></i></div><i><b><br />Van Gogh</b></i> (Maurice Pialat)<br />One of the finest biopics, Jacques Dutronc plays a wonderful late Van Gogh.<br /><p><i><b>What About Bob?</b></i> (Frank Oz)</p><p><i><b>Where Angels Fear to Tread</b></i> (Charles Sturridge)<br /></p><p><i><b>White Fang</b></i> (Randal Kleiser)</p><p><i><b>World of Glory</b></i> (Roy Andersson) <br /></p><p><i><b>Your Television Traveler</b></i> (Larry Gottheim) <br /></p><p><i><b>47/91 Ein Fest</b></i> (Kurt Kren)</p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>:: 1992 ::</b></span></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50804783788_8fc7c0d5f9.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="282" data-original-width="500" height="361" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50804783788_8fc7c0d5f9.jpg" width="640" /></a></i></b></div><b><i><br />A Few Good Men</i></b> (Rob Reiner) <br /><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>American Heart</b></i> (Martin Bell)<br />Epitome of the classic 90s indie film, from the director of the 1984 film <i>Streetwise</i> about <span class="aCOpRe"><span>homeless youths</span></span> living on the streets of Seattle WA. Jeff Bridges as a ex-con father who doesn't give a shite, and his increassingly streetwise son Edward Furlong.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>A Midnight Clear</b></i> (Keith Gordon) <br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>And Life Goes On</i></b> (Abbas Kiarostami)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>A River Runs Through It</b></i> (Robert Redford)<br />Bob Redford's classic film based on Norman Maclean's novella, starring Brad Pitt that takes place in<br />Missoula Montana. Solid score by Mark Isham.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><b><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50805533576_e12d6d4c67.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="279" data-original-width="499" height="358" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50805533576_e12d6d4c67.jpg" width="640" /></a></b></i></div><i><b><br />Bad Lieutenant</b></i> (Abel Ferrara)<br />Saw this film many times when I was way to young to see it and I am sure it had a strange influence on seeing the world. Perfect film that just hits every time.<br /><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Baraka</b></i> (Ron Fricke)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Basic Instinct</b></i> (Paul Verhoeven)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Batman Returns</b></i> (Tim Burton) <br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Beethoven</i></b> (Brian Levant)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Benny’s Video</b></i> (Michael Haneke)<br />Certainly not a film for everyone, I remember in the early 2000s renting all of Haneke's films after seeing <i>The Piano Teacher</i>, and finding this one on the more shocking side.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>The Best Intentions</b></i> (Bille August)<br />Written by Ingmar Bergman.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Blade Runner Director's cut</b></i> (Ridley Scott)<br />A big deal when this cut hit the streets.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Bob Roberts</b></i> (Tim Robbins)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>The Bodyguard</b></i> (Mick Jackson)<br />Was
always struck by how strange it was that Whitney Houston's character
would sit around the pool listening to her own music. Haven't seen since
1992, but remember that odd detail which at the time made this viewer
uncomfortable and does even more now.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><b><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50804783483_ee85b4571c.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="269" data-original-width="500" height="344" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50804783483_ee85b4571c.jpg" width="640" /></a></b></i></div><i><b><br />Bram Stoker's Dracula</b></i> (Francis Ford Coppola)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Heavy
performances by Gary Oldman and Tom Waits. As a kid I had the double VHS sets of
Godfather 1 & 2 and was particularly interested in this when it came
out, but didn't particularly like the film at the time, but it had some moments.<br /></div><div><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Candyman</b></i> (Bernard Rose)<br />Much
loved supernatural horror film written by Clive Barker with Virginia
Madsen, Tony Todd, Kasi Lemmons, and Xander Berkeley whom always does
pretty uncomfortable scumbag-oriented roles like in <i>Safe</i>, <i>Heat</i>, and <i>Terminator 2: Judgment Day</i>.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Chaplin</b></i> (Richard Attenborough)<br />Robert Downey Jr. as Chaplin.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Ciao Professore!</b></i> (Lina Wertmüller)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>City of Joy</b></i> (Roland Joffé)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Cold Heaven</b></i> (Nicolas Roeg)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Consenting Adults</b></i> (Alan J. Pakula) <br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Cool World</b></i> (Ralph Bakshi)<br />Not to be confused with the very wonderful 1963 film by Shirley Clarke <i>The Cool World</i>. Bakshi known for his many fantasy films of the 1970s and 1980s.<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><b><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50805647617_c1217beb53.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="213" data-original-width="500" height="273" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50805647617_c1217beb53.jpg" width="640" /></a></b></i></div><i><b><br />The Crying Game</b></i> (Neil Jordan)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Perhaps
one of this viewer's favorite films from the 1990s, Neil Jordan's
classic film peripheral to "The Troubles" of the IRA with Jaye
Davidson!, Stephen Rea, Miranda Richardson, and of course Forest
Whitaker with his lovely frog and scorpion bit. Also lovely performance
by Jim Broadbent as barkeep and matchmaker Col. One of those once a year films for this viewer.<br /></div><div><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Damage</b></i> (Louise Malle)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Death Becomes Her</b></i> (Robert Zemeckis) <br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Deep Cover</b></i> (Bill Duke)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Dervish Machine</b></i> (Jeanne Liotta and Bradley Eros)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>El Mariachi </b></i>(Robert Rodriguez)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Enchanted April </b></i>(Mike Newell)<br />Great
cast including Miranda Richardson, Josie Lawrence, Polly Walker, and
Joan Plowright, Alfred Molina, Michael Kitchen, and Jim Broadbent.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Fishing with John</b></i> (John Lurie)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><b><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50804783643_63e0c74f13.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="499" height="333" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50804783643_63e0c74f13.jpg" width="640" /></a></b></i></div><i><b><br />Gas Food Lodging</b></i> (Allison Anders)<br />Quintissential indie film from the 90s with score by J. Mascis and starring Brooke Adams, Ione Skye, Fairuza Balk, James Brolin, Donovan Leitch, and Chris Mulkey (pictured above, also known for Hank Jennings in <i>Twin Peaks</i>).<br /><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Gladiator</b></i> (Rowdy Herrington)<br />From <i>Road House</i> director, boxing film starring Cuba Gooding Jr., James Marshall, Brian Dennehy, and Robert Loggia.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Glengarry Glen Ross</b></i> (James Foley)<br />Star-studded film that overwhelms every viewing. I remember my father recommended this to me in the mid ninties because he said it reminded him of the many jobs he had in sales, which I still think of when I watch it.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Guncrazy</b></i> (Tamra Davis)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>The Hand That Rocks the Cradle</b></i> (Curtis Hanson)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Hard Boiled</b></i> (John Woo)<br />Hard
to convey how much of a shocker it was to see this film for the first
time in the early 1990s, even for someone that grew up watching martial
arts films. Key film from the 1990s.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth</b></i> (Anthony Hickox) <br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Highway 61</b></i> (Bruce McDonald)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Hoffa</b></i> (Danny DeVito)<br />Written
by David Mamet with Jack Nicholson as Hoffa. Have not seen since the
day but would be interesting to compare with Al Pacino's Hoffa in <i>The Irishman</i>.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><b><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50805647422_3d66ce2185.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="326" data-original-width="500" height="417" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50805647422_3d66ce2185.jpg" width="640" /></a></b></i></div><i><b><br />Howards End</b></i> (James Ivory)<br />In a filmography of profound films, this one stands out for Merchant Ivory. Memorable post magic hour opening sequence which is pictured above.<br /><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Husbands and Wives</b></i> (Woody Allen)<br />One
of Allen's most essential films from the 90s, starring Mr. Allen himself,
Mia Farrow, Sydney Pollack, Judy Davis, Lysette Anthony, Juliette
Lewis, Liam Neeson and Blythe Danner. Handheld camera work by Carlo Di
Palma (Antonioni etc.).</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Immaculate Conception</b></i> (Jamil Dehlavi)<br />Strange one by Jamil Dehlavi who is responsible for the 1986 film <i>Born of Fire</i>.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Indochine</b></i> (Régis Wargnier) <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><b><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50804783628_5b1e0d5b48.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="500" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50804783628_5b1e0d5b48.jpg" width="640" /></a></b></i></div><i><b><br />In the Soup</b></i> (Alexandre Rockwell)<br />Another quintessential 1990s indie film with Steve Buscemi as would-be filmmaker and cosa nostraesque Seymour Cassel his producer.<br /><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Juice</b></i> (Ernest R. Dickerson)<br /><br /><i><b>The Last of the Mohicans</b></i> (Michael Mann)<br />Mann's adaptation of James Fenimore Cooper's novel <i>The Last of the Mohicans: A Narrative of 1757</i>
starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Madeleine Stowe, Jodhi May, Russell
Means, Wes Studi, Pete Postlethwaite, and Jared Harris. Shot by Dante
Spinotti. Beautiful film.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>La Vie de Bohème</b></i> (Aki Kaurismäki)<br />Kaurismäki
stunning buddy film about Paris artists beautifully lacking in profundity, whom mostly enjoy a bit of wine and talk.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Laws of Gravity</b></i> (Nick Gomez)<br />Crime drama starring Peter Green and Edie Falco.<br /><br /><i><b>Léolo</b></i> (Jean-Claude Lauzon)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Lessons of Darkness</b></i> (Werner Herzog)<br />Stunningly shot film about the Kuwaiti oil fields in flames.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Like Water for Chocolate</b></i> (Alfonso Aráu)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><b><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50805533376_8206bb70a4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="500" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50805533376_8206bb70a4.jpg" width="640" /></a></b></i></div><i><b><br />Light Sleeper</b></i> (Paul Schrader)<br />One
of the best of 1992; Schrader's moody and intellectual film about
yuppie NYC drug dealers Willem Dafoe, Susan Sarandon, and David Clennon.<br /><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>The Long Day Closes</b></i> (Terence Davies)<br />Coming-of-age story of a British boy growing up through a cinemic eye in 1950s Liverpool.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Lorenzo's Oil</b></i> (George Miller)<br />Directed by <i>Mad Max</i>, <i>Babe</i>, and <i>The Witches of Eastwick</i>'s
George Miller. Nick Nolte and Susan Sarandon search for a cure for
their son's Adrenoleukodystrophy. Very much a classic example of 90s
cinema.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>The Lover</b></i> (Jean-Jacques Annaud)<br />Marguerite Duras story narrated by Jeanne Moreau. Intense love affair acted by Jane March and Tony Leung in 1929 French Indochina.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Malcolm X</b></i> (Spike Lee)<br />Solid Spike Lee Joint with <i>The New York Times Best Actor of the 21st Century (So Far)</i> Denzel Washington.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Man Bites Dog</b></i> (Benoît Poelvoorde, Rémy Belvaux)<br />Popular film when it came out in the early 1990s, at least in Boston MA.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Map of the Human Heart</b></i> (Vincent Ward)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Medicine Man</b></i> (John McTiernan) <br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>The Mighty Ducks</b></i> (Stephen Herek)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>My Cousin Vinny</b></i> (Jonathan Lynn)<br />Essential for enthusiasts of the great Marisa Tomei and Joe Pesci.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Noises Off...</b></i> (Peter Bogdanovich)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Of Mice and Men</b></i> (Gary Sinise)<br />Bizarre performance by John Malkovich. Also starring two 90s heavies Joe Morton and Sherilyn Fenn.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><b><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50805647287_c5cfbf9e0e.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="500" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50805647287_c5cfbf9e0e.jpg" width="640" /></a></b></i></div><i><b><br />One False Move</b></i> (Carl Franklin)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Co-written
by Billy Bob Thornton, and starring Bill Paxton, Thornton, and Cynda
Williams. Good pairing with Sam Raimi's 1998 film <i>A Simple Plan</i> with
Paxton, Thornton, and Bridget Fonda. Both great films.<br /></div><div><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Orlando</b></i> (Sally Potter)<br />Introduced
this viewer to Tilda Swinton.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Passion Fish</b></i> (John Sayles)<br />One
of the best Sayles films, in a career with so many damn good films.
Beautiful and touching performances by Alfre Woodard and Mary McDonnell.
Sayles always has that <i>Classic Sayles</i> male character often played by David Strathairn or Chris Copper (here by David Strathairn). Perfect film.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Patriot Games</b></i> (Phillip Noyce)<br />Tom Clancy story.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>The Player</b></i> (Robert Altman)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Poison Ivy</b></i> (Katt Shea)<br />Erotic thriller starring Drew Barrymore, Sara Gilbert, and Tom Skerritt.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>The Public Eye</b></i> (Howard Franklin)<br />Joe Pesci film.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><b><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50804783528_f8258d9461.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="327" data-original-width="499" height="419" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50804783528_f8258d9461.jpg" width="640" /></a></b></i></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b><br />The Quince Tree Sun</b></i> (Victor Erice)<br />This viewer most definitely did not see this in the 90s, probably not until 2000, and was hugely overwhelmed by
it. A film in many ways about being content with failure, in a
Beckett sort of way. I remember jumping out of my chair when Antonio
López García put a grid of string before a tree to help him with
perspective, just so stunning. This film began an obsession with not
only Erice, but also Antonio López García's drawings and paintings which at the time
(for Americans) could really only be seen through this film and the
giant Rizzoli monograph.<br /><br /><i><b>Radio Flyer</b></i> (Richard Donner)<br />Starring
Lorraine Bracco, John Heard, Elijah Wood, Joseph Mazzello, Adam Baldwin
and Ben Johnson. Shot by László Kovács and music by Hans Zimmer.<br /><br /><i><b>Rapid Fire</b></i> (Dwight H. Little)<br />Very much a solid and rewatchable Brandon Lee film. Not unlike <i>Road House</i>, the films minor imperfections really give a level of sincerity and beauty which somewhat lacking in Brandon Lee's more well known picture <i>The Crow</i>.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><b><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50815254341_b3c2760055.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="342" data-original-width="500" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50815254341_b3c2760055.jpg" /></a></b></i></div><i><b><br />Ready-Made</b></i> (Saul Levine and Pelle Lowe)<br />Portrait of a nude Saul Levine with cigar approaching Édouard Manet's painting Olympia.<br /><br /><i><b>Rebels of the Neon God</b></i> (Tsai Ming-liang)<br />Tsai Ming-liang's first feature film, starring Lee Kang-sheng whom is in basically all Ming-liang's film.<br /><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Reservoir Dogs</b></i> (Quentin Tarantino)<br />This
film was such a big deal when it came out it is hard to imagine a film having a similar popularity these days. I remember even playing the living heck
out of the sountrack. <i>Jackie Brown</i> gives a smoother finish, but this film certainly has some good qualities.<br /><br /><i><b>Romper Stomper</b></i> (Geoffrey Wright)<br />Russell Crowe as a neo-Nazi sleazebag in suburban Melbourne Australia.<br /><br /><i><b>Scent of a Woman</b></i> (Martin Brest)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>School Ties</b></i> (Robert Mandel)<br />In the 90s this could be confused with <i>Dead Poet's Society</i>. Over the years of watching <i>Dead Poet</i>'s so many times the confusion has cleared. Not
a bad film, stars Brendan Fraser, Matt Damon, Chris O'Donnell,
Randall Batinkoff, Andrew Lowery, Cole Hauser, Ben Affleck, and Anthony
Rapp. Shot by the great Freddie Francis.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Shadows and Fog</b></i> (Woody Allen)<br />Woody Allen's German Expressionist film.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Side/Walk/Shuttle</b></i> (Ernie Gehr)<br />Gehr's
elegantly photographed film illicitly shot from the elevator of
San Francisco’s Fairmont Hotel.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Simple Men</b></i> (Hal Hartley)<br />Classic Hal Harley film, one of the true originators of the 1990s independent film style.<br /><br /><i><b>Single White Female</b></i> (Barbet Schroeder)<br />Erotic thriller with Bridget Fonda and Jennifer Jason Leigh.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Singles</b></i> (Cameron Crowe)<br />Gen-x Seattle romcom with Bridget Fonda, Campbell Scott, Kyra Sedgwick, and Matt Dillon.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Sister Act</b></i> (Emile Ardolino)<br />With Whoopi Goldberg and Harvey Keitel.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Sleepwalkers</b></i> (Mick Garris)<br />Stephen King story starring Mädchen Amick.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Sneakers</b></i> (Phil Alden Robinson)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>South Central</b></i> (Stephen Milburn Anderson) <br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Stay Tuned</b></i> (Peter Hyams)<br />John Ritter film.<br /><br /><i><b>The Story of Qiu Ju</b></i> (Zhang Yimou)<br /><br /><i><b>Surviving Desire</b></i> (Hal Hartley)<br /><br /><i><b>Swoon</b></i> (Tom Kalin)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Thunderheart</b></i> (Michael Apted)<br />Neo-Western mystery starring Val Kilmer, Sam Shepard, and Graham Greene. Shot by Roger Deakins.<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><b><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50805647222_950b72ef40.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="279" data-original-width="500" height="357" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50805647222_950b72ef40.jpg" width="640" /></a></b></i></div><i><b><br />Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me</b></i> (David Lynch)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The VHS of this film was on repeat in my high school days, and a deep deep admiration and awe grew for the film. The film
seemed to get much disrespect for many years, which has changed quite a
bit over the years.<br /></div><div><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Unforgiven</b></i> (Clint Eastwood)<br />For 1992, this is one of the best, and certainly one of the strongest 1990s Post-Westerns.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Unlawful Entry</b></i> (Jonathan Kaplan)<br />"I got a cop who wants my wife!' Starring Kurt Russell, Madeleine Stowe, and Ray Liotta as the dirty cop. Loitta is pretty awsome in this film, an extremely uncomfortable performance that fills you with dread but also a small amount of humor.<br /><br /><i><b>Untitled (For Marilyn) </b></i>(Stan Brakhage)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Visions of Light</b></i> (Arnold Glassman and Todd McCarthy)<br />Discussions on the art of cinematography.<br /><br /><i><b>Voyager</b></i> (Volker Schlöndorff)<br />Starring Sam Shepard, Julie Delpy, and Barbara Sukowa. Screenplay Rudy Wurlitzer.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Waterland</b></i> (Stephen Gyllenhaal)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Wayne’s World</b></i> (Penelope Spheeris) <br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>White Men Can’t Jump </b></i>(Ron Shelton)<br />For someone whom grew up hating sports, this was one of those films that I hated liking so much.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><b><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50805533136_e609231c8b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="212" data-original-width="499" height="272" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50805533136_e609231c8b.jpg" width="640" /></a></b></i></div><i><b><br />White Sands</b></i> (Roger Donaldson)<br />Seminal performance from Willem Dafoe, in his 1990s prime.<br /><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Wind</b></i> (Carroll Ballard)<br />With Matthew Modine. Screenplay by Mac Gudgeon and Rudy Wurlitzer.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Year of the Comet</b></i> (Peter Yates)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Zefiro Torna or Scenes from the Life of George Maciunas (Fluxus)</b></i> (Jonas Mekas)<br />Jonas Mekas' portrait of Lithuania born head of fluxus George Maciunas.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>1991: The Year Punk Broke</b></i> (David Markey)<br />Documentary about the grunge/punk scene in the early 90s mostly from the point of Sonic Youth.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b> </b></span><span style="font-size: large;"><b>:: 1993 ::</b></span></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50808533232_faa6d754c4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="255" data-original-width="500" height="326" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50808533232_faa6d754c4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>A Bronx Tale</b></i> (Robert De Niro)<br />Adapted from Chazz Palminteri's 1989 play. Joe Pesci shows up for those like me with a major love of his career.<br /><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>The Age of Innocence</b></i> (Martin Scorsese)<br />For
those who closely follow Scorsese's career, this might be a film passed
over but it is actually quite beautiful and stands out in his 90s work. Lovely to see a boom mic in a shot, a reminder of how
Scorsese has always remained bascially an independent filmmaker.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Alive</b></i> (Frank Marshall) <br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>And the Band Played On</i></b> (Roger Spottiswoode)<br />For those growing up in the 1990s with cable in the house, and especially HBO, this would have been a film seen a few times. Matthew Modine stars in an early look at the AIDS Epidemic.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>A New Life</b></i> (Olivier Assayas)<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><i>A Perfect World</i></b> (Clint Eastwood)<br />Solid Eastwood film with Kevin Costner as killer with somewhat of a heart.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Arizona Dream</b></i> (Emir Kusturica)<br />Very strange with Johnny Depp as Faye Dunaway's lover, and Vincent Gallo doing <i>North by Northwest</i> inspired art performances.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Army of Darkness</b></i> (Sam Raimi) <br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>The Baby of Mâcon</b></i> (Peter Greenaway) <br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Benny & Joon</b></i> (Jeremiah S. Chechik)</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>The Birth of Love</b></i> (Philippe Garrel) <br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Bodies, Rest & Motion</b></i> (Michael Steinberg) <br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Boiling Point</b></i> (James B. Harris)<br />Action thriller with Wesley Snipes, Dennis Hopper, Lolita Davidovich, and Viggo Mortensen.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Boulder Blues and Pearls and…</b></i> (Stan Brakhage)<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Boxing Helena</b></i> (Jennifer Chambers Lynch)<br />Sherilyn Fenn, Julian Sands and Bill Paxton.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Calendar</b></i> (Atom Egoyan)<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Carlito's Way</b></i> (Brian De Palma)<br />I
mainly remember this film as being the first time I noticed the great
Viggo Mortensen. Also some good work by Luis Guzman and John Leguizamo.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>The Cement Garden</b></i> (Andrew Birkin)</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Clean, Shaven</b></i> (Lodge Kerrigan)<br />Bizarre entry in the history of horror films with the murder spree of schizophrenic Peter Winter played by Peter Greene. Essential 90s indie and horror film.<br /><br /><i><b>Cliffhanger </b></i>(Renny Harlin)</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Cronos</b></i> (Guillermo del Toro)<br />Guillermo del Toro's first feature film.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Dangerous</b></i> Game (Abel Ferrara) <br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>The Dark Half </b></i>(George A. Romero) <br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Dazed and Confused</b></i> (Richard Linklater)</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Dave</b></i> (Ivan Reitman) <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50808421606_e58cea9c42.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="278" data-original-width="500" height="356" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50808421606_e58cea9c42.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>Dream Lover</b></i> (Nicholas Kazan)<br />For
those interested in the history of sex scenes, here we have some good
ones with James Spader and Mädchen Amick. Not quite as intoxicating as the couple from <i>Fargo</i> ("where are ya?") but noteworthy.<br /><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Falling Down</i></b> (Joel Schumacher)<br />Perhaps
a bit dated especially with race related matters, but a strong Michael
Douglas performance as a man who is just not going to take any more
crap. Having never been to Los Angeles as a youngster, the city of this film is sort of how I imagined it.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Faraway, So Close! </b></i>(Wim Wenders)<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Farewell My Concubine</b></i> (Chen Kaige)<br />Essential 1990s film distributed by Miramax Films.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Fearless</b></i> (Peter Weir)<br />Jeff Bridges as yuppie who survives a plane crash and experiences PTSD. Peter Weir didn't make any dogs really.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Fire in the Sky</b></i> (Robert Lieberman) <br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>The Firm</b></i> (Sydney Pollack)<br />One of those films I loved to hate when I was a teenager, but seeing it a few years ago, it is actually a pretty good film.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Free Willy</b></i> (Simon Wincer)<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50808419536_8d22404caa.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="499" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50808419536_8d22404caa.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>From the East</b></i> (Chantal Akerman)<br /><i><b><br />The Fugitive</b></i> (Andrew Davis)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Exceedingly
intense remake of the television classic here with Harrison Ford and
Tommy Lee Jones. My wife and myself watch this film once a year. Also
great small role by Joe Pantolian/Joey Pants. Perfect film.<br /></div><div><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Groundhog Day</b></i> (Harold Ramis)<br />This
is one of those films I really liked as a young man, and then grew to
sort of dislike in my twenties god knows why, and then came back around to really
loving in my 30s/40s. Has become one of those films I watch every couple
of years and like more each time.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Grumpy Old Men</b></i> (Donald Petrie)<br />Pretty solid Jack Lemmon/Walter Matthau film with Ann-Margret, Kevin Pollack, Ossie Davis, and Daryl Hannah.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Guilty as Sin</b></i> (Sidney Lumet)<br />Legal thriller written by the great Larry Cohen.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50808421746_29a3eb6f43.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="398" data-original-width="500" height="509" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50808421746_29a3eb6f43.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>Hard Target</b></i> (John Woo)<br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">New Orleans film with Jean-Claude Van Damme, Lance Henriksen, Yancy Butler, and Wilford Brimley. Actually pretty good film, with some tangible chemistry between Yancy Butler and Jean-Claude Van Damme.</div><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey</b></i> (Duwayne Dunham)<br />Disney adventure film from the great editor of Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet, and Wild at Heart.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Household Saints</i></b> (Nancy Savoca)<br />To
find quality lesser-known 90s indie films, one can take a look through the filmography of Michael Imperioli, who showed up in many NYC related independent films both before and after his starring role in David Chase's <i>The Sopranos</i>. In Savoca's <i>Household Saints</i> we also find other familiar faces
from the show Michael Rispoli, Judith Malina, and Elizabeth Bracco.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Indecent Proposal</b></i> (Adrian Lyne)<br />In college I would do a prank at the video store and put this VHS in the comedy section.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Indian Summer</b></i> (Mike Binder)<br /><i><b><br />In the Line of Fire</b></i> (Wolfgang Petersen)<br />Clint Eastwood tracks down assassin John Malkovich. Shot by the great John Bailey and music by Ennio Morricone.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50808419621_eed2f4d090.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="499" height="333" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50808419621_eed2f4d090.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>In the Name of the Father</b></i> (Jim Sheridan)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Based
on the story of the Guildford Four who were falsely convicted of the
1974 Guildford pub bombings. Essential performances by Daniel Day-Lewis
and Pete Postlethwaite. Great use of <i>Voodoo Child (Slight Return)</i> by The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Sheridan's other essential films are <i>My Left Foot </i>and <i>The Boxer</i>.<br /></div><div><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Joey Breaker </b></i>(Steven Starr)<br />Interesting
cast with some heavies from 90s cinema like Richard Edson (Sonic Youth's original drummer), Michael
Imperioli, Seth Gilliam, Gina Gershon, and Philip Seymour Hoffman.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><i>Joy Luck Club</i></b> (Wayne Wang)<br />Essential film from Wayne Wang who's 1995 <i>Smoke</i> is beyond words.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Jurassic Park</b></i> (Steven Spielberg) <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50807679143_2fbe86b6e3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="500" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50807679143_2fbe86b6e3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>Kalifornia</b></i> (Dominic Sena)<br />Wonderful
serial killer film with Brad Pitt, Juliette Lewis, David Duchovny, and
Michelle Forbes. Always loved the title/spelling of this film with K for
killer.<br /><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Killing Zoe</b></i> (Roger Avary) <br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>King of the Hill</b></i> (Steven Soderbergh)</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Leprechaun</b></i> (Mark Jones)<br /><br /><i><b>Little Buddha</b></i> (Bernardo Bertolucci)</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Łódź Symphony</b></i> (Peter B. Hutton)<br />Hutton's portrait of Łódź Poland.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Lost in Yonkers</b></i> (Martha Coolidge)<br />From the Neil Simon play with Mercedes Ruehl, Richard Dreyfuss, Irene Worth, and David Strathairn.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Malice</b></i> (Harold Becker)</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Manhattan Murder Mystery</b></i> (Woody Allen)<br />One of the best Woody Allen films of the decade. Memorable performances by Jerry Adler and Anjelica Huston.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence</b></i> (William Lustig)</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Matinee</b></i> (Joe Dante)</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>M. Butterfly</b></i> (David Cronenberg)</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Menace II Society</b></i> (The Hughes Brothers)<br />A tough watch from Albert and Allen Hughes.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Mi Vida Loca</b></i> (Allison Anders)</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Mr. Wonderful</b></i> (Anthony Minghella) <br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Mrs. Doubtfire</b></i> (Chris Columbus)</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Much Ado About Nothing</b></i> (Kenneth Branagh)<br /><br /><i><b>Music of Chance</b></i> (Philip Haas)<br />Written by Paul Auster, Belinda Haas, and Philip Haas. Always into seeing films with M. Emmet Walsh.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50808420321_ceca4ffc16.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="499" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50808420321_ceca4ffc16.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>Naked</b></i> (Mike Leigh)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Life was forever changed for this 18 year old after seeing <i>Naked</i>
at the Wilton Town Hall Theatre in Wilton NH (pictured above). The theatre is operated by Dennis Markaverich
in the town hall of Wilton, an old industrial New England town which
once had a water-powered textile mill. Frequent visits here kickstarted a
life long obsession with film, with very strong memories of seeing quite a
few late 80s and early 90s independent films there like <i>Go Fish</i>, <i>Gas Food Lodging</i>, <i>The Piano</i>, and <i>The Last Temptation of Christ</i> which I believe for those living in NH was the only place to see this film.<br /></div><div><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Naked In New York</b></i> (Daniel Algrant)</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>The Nightmare Before Christmas</b></i> (Henry Selick)<br />Produced by Tim Burton.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Passage à l’acte</b></i> (Martin Arnold)<br />Arnold's re-edit of the classic Robert Mulligan <i>To Kill a Mockingbird</i>.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>The Pelican Brief</b></i> (Alan J. Pakula)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Philadelphia</b></i> (Jonathan Demme)<br />Demme's <span class="ILfuVd"><span class="hgKElc">devastating</span></span> film on the AIDS Epidemic with emotional and subtle performances by Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington. Small roles like <i>Silence of the Lambs</i>' Q Lazzarus as party singer, Paul Lazar as Dr. Klenstein, <i>Repo Man</i>'s Tracey Walter as bigoted Librarian, Roger Corman as Mr. Roger Laird, and Robert Ridgely (The Colonel from <i>Boogie Nights</i>) as king bigot Walter Kenton. Bruce Springsteen's <i>Streets of Philadelphia</i>, which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, opens the film and Neil Young's heartbreaking <i>Philadelphia</i> closes. Score by Howard Shore gives a slight <i>Silence of the Lambs</i> or Cronenbergian eerie quality which mirrors the homophobic pulse central to the story.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50808420836_f2a66fb45f.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="271" data-original-width="500" height="347" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50808420836_f2a66fb45f.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>The Piano</b></i> (Jane Campion)<br />Film
has two endings: Ada dying (Campion's chosen bleak ending), or her
starting a new life with Harvey Keitel which we see in the film. This of
course would have gone over my head as a 18 year old but now is quite
fascinating. Deservedly won the Palme D'or.<br /><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Poetic Justice</b></i> (John Singleton) <br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Posse</b></i> (Mario Van Peebles) <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50808421771_166e2612d6.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="500" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50808421771_166e2612d6.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>Red Rock West</b></i> (John Dahl)<br />Groundbreaking early 90s film with Nicolas Cage, Lara Flynn Boyle, J. T. Walsh and Dennis Hopper. One of the best of the year.<br /><br /><i><b>The Remains of the Day</b></i> (James Ivory)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Perhaps
the most well-known Merchant Ivory film, such a wonderful picture. Screenplay by
Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, and Harold Pinter (uncredited) after the novel by
Kazuo Ishiguro. Overshelming performances by Emma Thompson and Anthony
Hopkins.<br /></div><div><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Rising Sun</b></i> (Philip Kaufman)<br />Based on the Michael Crichton novel. Stars Sean Connery, Wesley Snipes, and Harvey Keitel.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Romeo Is Bleeding</b></i> (Peter Medak)<br />A favorite Gary Oldman film. Watched the hell out of this film in the nineties on VHS. Good stuff.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Ruby Cairo</b></i> (Graeme Clifford)<br />With Andie MacDowell, Liam Neeson, and Viggo Mortensen. Wiki says "One scene features Aleister Crowley's The Book of the Law".<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50808420891_d7939781fc.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="500" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50808420891_d7939781fc.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>Ruby in Paradise</b></i> (Victor Nuñez)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Perhaps the MOST underrated 1990s director; Victor Nuñez, who's other film <i>Ulee's Gold</i> from 1997 is equally profound. <i>Ruby in Paradise</i>
is a character study of Ashley Judd's Ruby and her slow pace through life, her
passions, her dealing with death, and certainly a profound
quality beyond her years. Perfect film as is <i>Ulee's Gold.</i> Nuñez
has been a long standing professor at the Florida State University
College of Motion Picture, Television and Recording Arts.<br /></div><div><br /><i><b>Rudy</b></i> (David Anspaugh)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">One
of the great sports films (coming from someone with zero interest!)
with Sean Astin, Ned Beatty, Charles S. Dutton, and Lili Taylor.<br /></div><div><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>The Scent of Green Papaya</b></i> (Tran Anh Hung)<br /><br /><i><b>Schindler’s List</b></i> (Steven Spielberg)<br />Screenplay
by Steven Zaillian. I remembering people saying back in the day this
was a sort of Disneyfication of the Holocaust, but the film stands up
pretty well over all these years and the performances by Liam
Neeson and Ralph Fiennes are some of the best of the decade.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Searching for Bobby Fischer</b></i> (Steven Zaillian)<br />Solid cast with Joe Mantegna, Joan Allen, Ben Kingsley, and Laurence Fishburne. Cinematography by the great Conrad L. Hall. Good pairing with the recent <i>Queen's Gambit</i>.<br /><br /><i><b>The Secret Garden</b></i> (Agnieszka Holland)<br />From the 1911 Frances Hodgson Burnett novel. Great film.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Shadowlands</b></i> (Richard Attenborough)<br />Anthony Hopkins as C. S. Lewis and his wife Debra Winger.<br /><br /><i><b>Short Cuts</b></i> (Robert Altman)<br />Would watch this film over and over and over in the late 90s, one of Altman's best and most dark films.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Six Degrees Of Separation</b></i> (Fred Schepisi)</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Sleepless in Seattle</b></i> (Nora Ephron) <br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><i>Sliver</i></b> (Phillip Noyce)<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Sonatine</b></i> (Takeshi Kitano)<br />From the great Beat Takeshi. A must see in Japanese film history.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Stellar</b></i> (Stan Brakhage)<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Striking Distance</b></i> (Rowdy Herrington)</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Study in Color and Black and White</b></i> (Stan Brakhage)<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Sunset Grill </b></i>(Kevin Connor)</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Tales of the City</b></i> (Alastair Reid)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50808534817_694e3454a3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="333" data-original-width="499" height="427" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50808534817_694e3454a3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>The Thing Called Love</b></i> (Peter Bogdanovich)<br />Aspiring Nashville singer songwriters Samantha Mathis and River Phoenix. One of the most memorable film posters of the 1990s.<br /><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould</b></i> (François Girard)<br />Was
a huge Gould fanatic in the 90s (still am) and remember having many of
the laserdiscs of his films put out by Sony. This film came out and I
remember it being of interest but honestly have no memory of the film
and need to resee.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>This Boy’s Life</b></i> (Michael Caton-Jones)<br />Coming of age drama with Leonardo DiCaprio.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Three Colors: Blue</b></i> (Krzysztof Kieślowski)<br />The
Juliette Binoche chapter. Saw these films a couple/few years after they
came out all in a weekend and, like most people, become quite taken by
them. Every year after that I would say to myself a certain one was my
favorite, <i>White</i> for example (the comedy of the bunch), but I kept
changing my mind. Now perhaps I see it as a single film and don't
really waste my time comparing them. I love the connections between all
of the films from the palette to the characters. Not many trilogies
quite like this one.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Three of Hearts</b></i> (Yurek Bogayevicz)</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Tombstone</b></i> (George P. Cosmatos)<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50807680613_73f4e5cd72.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="332" data-original-width="500" height="425" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50807680613_73f4e5cd72.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>True Romance</b></i> (Tony Scott)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">One
of the most essential early 1990s film with Quentin Tarantino script.
Quite memorable scenes with James Gandolfini, Dennis Hopper, Gary
Oldman, Brad Pitt, and Christopher Walken. As a kid I remember being
sort of irritated by Brad Pitt and his larger than life roles until I
saw him as the drugged roommate quietly saying "Don't condescend me,
man. I'll fuckin' kill ya, man" and not until the heavies leave.<br /></div><div><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Untamed Heart</b></i> (Tony Bill)<br /><br /><i><b>The Vanishing</b></i> (George Sluizer)<br />American Version.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>The Wedding Banquet</b></i> (Ang Lee)<br />Wonderful twist on the romcom by the master Ang Lee.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>What’s Eating Gilbert Grape</b></i> (Lasse Hallström)<br />I
remember a coworker who was an acting enthusiast saying back in the day that
Leonardo DiCaprio's performance here was of no value because any actor
can convincingly play someone mentally impaired, but over the years of
rewatching this film DiCaprio's subtleties come across being quite
strong and unique, and perhaps from the distance of 30 years the
performance is pretty incredible for someone his age. It is interesting
to compare his performance here with the stunning self-destructive
trailer scene in Tarantino's <i>Once Upon a time in Hollywood</i>. The film was shot by Sven Nykvist!<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>What’s Love Got to Do with It</b></i> (Brian Gibson) <br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Wide Sargasso Sea</b></i> (John Duigan)<br />From the director of <i>Sirens</i>.<i><b><br /><br />The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl</b></i> (Ray Müller)<br />Films by Leni Riefenstahl where quite popular back in the 90s and shown in many film schools and repertory houses. Not discussed as much now, but probably for good reason. Hard to not acknowledge the qualities of her film <i>Olympia</i>, but seeing it just once might be enough.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b> <br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>:: 1994 ::</b></span><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50812036826_c1d79bd9a2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="242" data-original-width="500" height="310" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50812036826_c1d79bd9a2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert</b></i> (Stephan Elliott)<br />Classic road movie in Australia with Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce, and Terence Stamp.<br /><p><i><b>Ace Ventura: Pet Detective</b></i> (Tom Shadyac)<br /><br /><i><b>Amateur</b></i> (Hal Hartley)<br />Classic Hartley film with Isabelle Huppert, Martin Donovan, Elina Löwensohn, and Michael Gaston.</p><p><i><b>A Pure Formality</b></i> (Giuseppe Tornatore)<br /></p><p><i><b>Backbeat </b></i>(Iain Softley)<br /><br /><i><b>Barcelona</b></i> (Whit Stillman)<br /><br /><i><b>Before the Rain</b></i> (Milcho Manchevski)<br /><br /><i><b>Bitter Moon</b></i> (Roman Polanski)</p><p><i><b>Black Beauty</b></i> (Caroline Thompson)<br /><br /><i><b>Black Ice</b></i> (Stan Brakhage)<br /><br /><i><b>Blink</b></i> (Michael Apted)<br />Neo-Noir with Madeleine Stowe and Aidan Quinn.</p><p><i><b>Blue Chips</b></i> (William Friedkin)<br />Nick Nolte as college basketball coach.<br /><br /><i><b>Body Snatchers</b></i> (Abel Ferrara)<br />Story by Raymond Cistheri and Larry Cohen.</p><p><i><b>The Browning Version</b></i> (Mike Figgis)<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50812037011_ae5ba31bce.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="265" data-original-width="500" height="339" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50812037011_ae5ba31bce.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>Bullets Over Broadway</b></i> (Woody Allen)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Jennifer
Tilly as a truly rotten actress, Jim Broadbent as a big snacker
enlarging throughout the film, and Dianne Wiest whom has one of the best
lines regarding ordering 2 martinis in film history. Great Woody Allen
film. I fondly remember seeing this at the MFA theater in Boston when it came out.<br /></div><div><p><i><b>The Burning Season</b></i> (John Frankenheimer)<br />With Raul Julia.<br /><br /><i><b>Captives</b></i> (Angela Pope)<br /><br /><i><b>Clerks</b></i> (Kevin Smith)<br />Maybe not a film for everyone but not without interest.<br /></p><p><i><b>The Client</b></i> (Joel Schumacher)<br />John Grisham novel with Susan Sarandon, Tommy Lee Jones, Mary-Louise Parker, Anthony LaPaglia, and Anthony Edwards.<br /><br /><i><b>Chungking Express</b></i> (Wong Kar-Wai)<br />Most popular Wong Kar-Wai film with <i>In The Mood for Love</i>.</p><p><i><b>Clear and Present Danger</b></i> (Phillip Noyce)<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50812148982_809e257773.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="500" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50812148982_809e257773.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /><i><b>Cold Water </b></i>(Olivier Assayas)<br />First
Assayas film I saw, in a class taught by the avant-garde animator Lewis
Klahr. Saw again a year later at the Walter Reade Theater introduced by
Assayas himself with a few of his other early films. Still my favorite
Assayas.<br /><br /><i><b>Corrina, Corrina</b></i> (Jessie Nelson)<br /><br /><i><b>The Crow </b></i>(Alex Proyas)<br />Includes music by Lustmord.<br /><br /><i><b>Crumb</b></i> (Terry Zwigoff)<br />Classic Zwigoff. Goes well with his <i>Ghost World</i> and <i>American Splendor</i> by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini.</p><p><i><b>The Days</b></i> (Wang Xiaoshuai)<br /><br /><i><b>Dead Connection</b></i> (Nigel Dick)<br /><br /><i><b>Death and the Maiden</b></i> (Roman Polanski)</p><p><i><b>Disclosure</b></i> (Barry Levinson)<br />90s erotic thriller.</p><p><i><b>Drift</b></i> (Chris Welsby)<br />A study of winter light falling on the surface of water, metal and cloud.<br /><br /><i><b>Eat Drink Man Woman</b></i> (Ang Lee)<br /><br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50811295048_a07393685d.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="271" data-original-width="500" height="347" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50811295048_a07393685d.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /><i><b>Ed Wood</b></i> (Tim Burton)<br />Biopic
on the most wonderful Ed Wood, perhaps not getting the respect these
days he deserves. With the fetish for cult cinema now with box sets on every obscure filmmaker imaginable, and even their grandmothers, it is strange there is not a set on him yet. Martin Landau pictured above portraying the great Bela
Lugosi and his bit "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMTUt3XqpGU">Pull the string</a>".</p><p><i><b>Elementary Phrases</b></i> (Stan Brakhage and Phil Solomon)<br /><br /><i><b>L’Enfer</b></i> (Claude Chabrol)<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50811295058_5583f4957c.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="500" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50811295058_5583f4957c.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p><br /><i><b>Exotica </b></i>(Atom Egoyan)<br />Yet
another very strange film by Egoyan with a memorable performance by Mia
Kirshner as well as Elias Koteas, Sarah Polley, and Bruce Greenwood.
Doing graduate film studies in the 90s, the big art house filmmakers in
the circles I ran were Wong Kar-wai, Atom Egoyan, Hou Hsiao-Hsien,
Tsai Ming-liang, and for the real serious cats there was Béla Tarr. Very
pleasurable times getting to know the work of these masters. Some don't
seem to be discussed as much lately by the current intelligentsia, so
it was really nice to see the Criterion Channel recently putting some emphasis on
Egoyan's work. His films are not exactly easy to watch, and definitely have a
feel that might be slightly dated now but in a way that makes you long
for the past.<br /><br /><i><b>Forrest Gump</b></i> (Robert Zemeckis)<br /><br /><i><b>Four Weddings and a Funeral </b></i>(Mike Newell)<br />Pretty good film in the romcom film history.<br /><br /><i><b>Fresh </b></i>(Boaz Yakin)</p><p><i><b>From: First Hymn to the Night – Novalis</b></i> (Stan Brakhage)<br /><br /><i><b>The Getaway</b></i> (Roger Donaldson)<br />From
the Jim Thompson novel with screenplay by Walter Hill and Amy Holden
Jones. Stars Alec Baldwin, Kim Basinger, Michael Madsen, James Woods,
and Jennifer Tilly. Particularly brutal scenes of cuckoldry that were quite shocking at the time.<br /><br /><i><b>The Glass Shield</b></i> (Charles Burnett)<br />Crime drama with Ice Cube, Michael Boatman and Lori Petty (<i>Point Break</i>).<br /><br /><i><b>Go Fish</b></i> (Rose Troche)<br />Groundbreaking
film on lesbian culture. I remember seeing this with my mom perhaps
first year of college and being slightly uncomfortable the both of us,
but liking the film.<br /><br /><i><b>Hand Gun</b></i> (Whitney Ransick)</p><p><i><b>Hated: GG Allin & The Murder Junkies</b></i> (Todd Phillips)<br />I remember seeing GG Allin on the streets of Manchester NH when I was in high scool. Strange dude.<br /><br /><i><b>Heavenly Creatures</b></i> (Peter Jackson)<br />Didn't
personally see this until after LOTR. Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh's
other really great film for this film enthusiast. Stunning performances
by Melanie Lynskey and Kate Winslet.<br /><br /><i><b>Hoop Dreams</b></i> (Steve James)<br /><br /><i><b>The Hudsucker Proxy</b></i> (Joel Coen)<br /><br /><i><b>I Can’t Sleep</b></i> (Claire Denis)<br /><br /><i><b>Il postino</b></i> (Michael Radford)<br /><br /><i><b>Immortal Beloved</b></i> (Bernard Rose)<br />Another
classic Gary Oldman role, here playing old Ludwig van. Oldman's 90s roles are intoxicatingly sublime, with memorable
roles in <i>JFK</i>, <i>Bram Stoker's Dracula</i>, <i>True Romance</i>, <i>Romeo is Bleeding</i>, <i>Léon: The Professional</i>, <i>Basquiat</i>, and some others.. I am more partial to Miloš Forman' 1984 film <i>Amadeus</i> as a composer biopic, but this is worth watching as well. Wondering why biopics of this quality are a thing of the past.<br /><br /><i><b>Intersection</b></i> (Mark Rydell)<br /><br /><i><b>Interview with the Vampire </b></i>(Neil Jordan)<br />Stars
Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Stephen Rea, Antonio Banderas, Christian Slater,
and a young Kirsten Dunst. Found the novel unreadable myself, but the film
has some moments and overall is visually interesting. Worth a watch for Neil Jordan
enthusiasts.<br /><br /><i><b>In the Mouth of Madness</b></i> (John Carpenter)<br /><br /><i><b>Iron Will </b></i>(Charles Haid)<br />Dog-sled race adventure film.</p><p><i><b>Killing Zoe</b></i> (Roger Avary)<br /><br /><i><b>Ladybird Ladybird</b></i> (Ken Loach)<br /><br /><i><b>La page blanche</b></i> (Olivier Assayas)<br />Part of the television series <i>Tous les garçons et les filles de leur âge</i>... which also included <i>Portrait of a Young Girl at the End of the ’60s in Brussels</i> by Chantal Akerman (see below for more details).<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50811295098_9d5dba6f40.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="500" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50811295098_9d5dba6f40.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>The Last Seduction</b></i> (John Dahl)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Linda Fiorentino in the ultimate nineties "erotic thriller" performance. With Peter Berg, Bill Pullman, Dean Norris, and the
ever sleazy J. T. Walsh. Starts in NYC and moves (I beleive) to Up State
New York.<br /></div><div><br /><i><b>Legends of the Fall</b></i> (Edward Zwick)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Somewhat
of a Western, based on the 1979 novella by Jim Harrison and starring
Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, and Aidan Quinn. Not a bad film.<br /></div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50811295758_3699591ccc.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="212" data-original-width="499" height="272" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50811295758_3699591ccc.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>Léon: The Professional</b></i> (Luc Besson)<br />One of the most memorable Gary Oldman performances... "bring me everyone... EVERYONE".<br /><p><i><b>The Lion King</b></i> (Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff)<br /><br /><i><b>Little Odessa</b></i> (James Gray)<br />With Tim Roth and Edward Furlong.<br /><br /><i><b>Little Women</b></i> (Gillian Armstrong)</p><p><i><b>Maverick</b></i> (Richard Donner)<br /><br /><i><b>Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle</b></i> (Alan Rudolph)<br /><br /><i><b>Muriel’s Wedding</b></i> (PJ Hogan)<br />Outstanding performance by Toni Collette. One of the best of the 1990s.<br /><br /><i><b>Nadja</b></i> (Michael Almereyda)<br />This was a big one back in the day but haven't seen since and not sure how it holds up.<br /><br /><i><b>Nell</b></i> (Michael Apted)<br /><br /><i><b>Nobody’s Fool</b></i> (Robert Benton)<br />Very
good older Paul Newman role as a charismatic hustler living in Up State
New York, with a solid cast that includes Jessica Tandy, Bruce Willis,
Melanie Griffith, Dylan Walsh, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Gene Saks, Josef
Sommer, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Philip Bosco.<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50812037716_d2d599d022.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="251" data-original-width="500" height="321" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50812037716_d2d599d022.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>Portrait of a Young Girl at the End of the ’60s in Brussels</b></i> (Chantal Akerman)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Part of the television series <i>Tous les garçons et les filles de leur âge</i>... which also included Claire Denis' <i>US Go Home</i>, Olivier Assayas' <i>La page blanche</i>, and a few other films. Saw Akerman introduce this film at The Harvard Film Archive, still one of my favorites by her and hardly spoken of by the current intelligentsia.<br /></div><div><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Pulp Fiction</b></i> (Quentin Tarantino)<br />The
buzz around this film in 1994 was pretty overwhelming. Some truly
memorable scenes in this film, sort of crazy that Tarantino could cram
so many into a single film, the first that come to mind are the stories
with Ving Rhames and Bruce Willis.</p><p><i><b>Queen Margot</b></i> (Patrice Chéreau)<br />With Isabelle Adjani.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Quiz Show</b></i> (Robert Redford)<br />Extremely rewatchable film with John Turturro, Rob Morrow, Ralph Fiennes, David Paymer, and Paul Scofield and cinematography by Scorsese's Michael Ballhaus. Music by Mark Isham whom did so many big films in the 1990s.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Reality Bites</b></i> (Ben Stiller)<br />Very
90s film with Ben Stiller, Winona Ryder, Ethan Hawke, Janeane Garofalo,
Joe Don Baker, John Mahoney, and Steve Zahn. Early film for the
cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki.<br /></p><p><i><b>River of Grass</b></i> (Kelly Reichardt)<br /><br /><i><b>The River Wild</b></i> (Curtis Hanson)</p><p><i><b>Run</b></i> (Luther Price)<br />From the filmmaker responsible for the 1989 avant-garde classic <i>Sodom</i>.<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50812037721_38d10cff43.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="500" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50812037721_38d10cff43.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b>Sátántangó</b> (Béla Tarr)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Personally
it is hard to see this as a 90s film as it is just so much in its own
category and stands outside time. Tarr's language is really like no one
before (although copied now) and utterly unique in film history like the
films of Bresson or Tarkovsky. In 1994 my film professors said this
was THE film to see, but at the time it was impossible in Boston, and
not until a couple years later could I see this (at the PFA in
Berkeley). Staggering that a filmmaker could make a 439 minute film so
rewatchable. Essential score by Mihály Vig which is being reissued soon
on vinyl.<br /></div><div><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>The Secret Of Roan Inish</b></i> (John Sayles)<br />So
many great Sayles films in the 1990s, this one though quite unusual for
him and a gem indeed, shot by Haskell Wexler mostly in Donegal,
Ireland, and the Isle of Mull in Argyll, Scotland. Unbelievably
beautiful film that it is rumored to be forthcoming on Criterion.<br /></p><p><i><b>Serial Mom</b></i> (John Waters)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Shallow Grave</b></i> (Danny Boyle)<br />Classic 90s Boyle film along with <i>Trainspotting</i>. <br /><br /><i><b>The Shawshank Redemption</b></i> (Frank Darabont)<br />With
Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton, William Sadler, Gil Bellows,
James Whitmore, and the very memorable Clancy Brown. Seems many people
either don't like this film or saw it too many times back in the day but
I sort of ignored it until 10 years ago and quite enjoy watching it now.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Sirens</b></i> (John Duigan)<br />Wonderful
film where Hugh Grant plays an Anglican priest visiting an artist of
pornographic scenes, played by Sam Neill, to disaude him from continuing
in his pursuit of the flesh. Strong screen presense from Tara
Fitzgerald, Pamela Rabe, Elle Macpherson, Portia de Rossi, and Kate
Fischer but perhaps a tad too much nudity for some viewers.<br /></p><p><i><b>Spanking the Monkey</b></i> (David O. Russell)<br />Big film at the time with Jeremy Davies, pre the David O. Russell craze.<br /><br /><i><b>Speed</b></i> (Jan de Bont)<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50812037811_9467cc4c2c.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="280" data-original-width="500" height="358" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50812037811_9467cc4c2c.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>Take Care of Your Scarf, Tatiana</b></i> (Aki Kaurismäki)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Classic
Kaurismäki film with some chill hanging out and drinking, driving, and
dancing to traditional Finnish music. Includes his regular cast of Kati
Outinen and Matti Pellonpää.<br /></div><div><br /><i><b>Three Colors: White</b></i> (Krzysztof Kieślowski)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For
so long my favorite of the color trilogy. Love the idea of
Zbigniew Zamachowski's character not being able to make love to his wife
(Julie Delpy) in Paris, but no problem in Poland. Classic low key Polish
humor here which reminds me quite a bit of the Jerzy Skolimowski film
<i>Moonlighting</i>.<br /></div><div><br /><i><b>Three Colors: Red</b></i> (Krzysztof Kieslowski)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Such
a lovely film where the sometimes subtle and other times overt use the
red is like a character in the film where you eagerly await every move
they make. Many times I have watched this film just analyzing the use of the color. And of course Irène Jacob and Jean-Louis Trintignant's
performances are stunning. Perfect film.<br /></div><div><br /><i><b>Through the Olive Trees</b></i> (Abbas Kiarostami)<p><i><b>To Live</b></i> (Zhang Yimou)<br />One
of those wonderful memories is discovering the films of Zhang Yimou and
spending the next month renting them all (Le Video in San Francisco)
and truly falling in love. </p><p><i><b>U.S. Go Home</b></i> (Claire Denis)<br /><br /><i><b>Vanya on 42nd Street</b></i> (Louis Malle)<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50812149617_90ea95b926.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="500" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50812149617_90ea95b926.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /><i><b>Vive L’Amour</b></i> (Tsai Ming-liang)<br />Tsai
Ming-liang's second feature film about three people unknowingly
sharing an apartment. Going to SFAI in the late nineties, a
fellow student I was friends with had previosly worked with Tsai Ming-liang and lived in the
infamous Taipei apartment when they shot the film.<br /></p><p><i><b>Wild Reeds</b></i> (André Téchiné)</p><p><i><b>Whispering Pages</b></i> (Aleksandr Sokurov)<br /><br /><i><b>Wolf</b></i> (Mike Nichols)</p><p><i><b>Wyatt Earp</b></i> (Lawrence Kasdan)</p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>:: 1995 ::</b></span><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50814752958_1a138c05a6.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="269" data-original-width="500" height="344" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50814752958_1a138c05a6.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>The Addiction</b></i> (Abel Ferrara)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Lili
Taylor stars in this NYU vampire film with Christopher Walken,
Annabella Sciorra, and Edie Falco, all faces one gets to know pretty
well in the 1990s.<br /></div><div><br /><i><b>A Close Shave</b></i> (Nick Park)<br />Very nice Wallace and Gromit film.<br /><br /><i><b>A Little Princess</b></i> (Alfonso Cuarón)<p><i><b>Angela</b></i> (Rebecca Miller)<br />Strange Vincent Gallo role as preacher.<br /><br /><i><b>Antonia’s Line</b></i> (Marleen Gorris)<br />Described as a feminist fairy tale.</p><p><i><b>A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies</b></i> (Martin Scorsese and Michael Henry Wilson)</p><p><i><b>A Trick of the Light</b></i> (Wim Wenders)<br /></p><p><i><b>Babe</b></i> (Chris Noonan)<br />Outstanding
pig film with screenplay written by George Miller and Chris Noonan
based on the book <i>The Sheep-Pig</i> by Dick King-Smith.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>The Basketball Diaries</b></i> (Scott Kalvert)<br />Very
popular film at the time, based on the autobiographical novel by Jim
Carroll, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as a drug-addicted high school
basketball player, and his antics with friends. Also good for seeing 90s
performances by Bruno Kirby, Lorraine Bracco, Ernie Hudson, Patrick
McGaw, James Madio, Michael Imperioli, and Mark Wahlberg.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50814753238_0023d3c363.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="500" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50814753238_0023d3c363.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>Before Sunrise</b></i> (Richard Linklater)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">First in the extremely profound <i>Before trilogy</i>
by Linklater beginning Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Céline's (Julie Delpy)
meeting and falling in love inspired by an evening Richard Linklater
spent with a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zb0Q7QyvrHM">young woman</a> in Philadelphia.<br /></div><div><p><i><b>Blue in the Face</b></i> (Wayne Wang and Paul Auster)<br />Follow up to <i>Smoke</i> which also came out in 1995.</p><p><i><b>Bouquets 1-10</b></i> (Rose Lowder)<br /></p><p><i><b>Boys On The Side</b></i> (Herbert Ross)<br /><br /><i><b>Braveheart</b></i> (Mel Gibson) <br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>The Bridges of Madison County</b></i> (Clint Eastwood)<br />Lovingly
humble relationship between Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood. Wonderful
film based on the best-selling Robert James Waller novel.</p><p><i><b>Butterfly Kiss</b></i> (Michael Winterbottom)<br />Amanda Plummer as bisexual serial killer.<br /></p><p><i><b>Carl Th. Dreyer: My Metier</b></i> (Torben Skjødt Jensen)<br /></p><p><i><b>Casino</b></i> (Martin Scorsese)<br /></p><p><i><b>The Celluloid Closet</b></i> (Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman)<br />Documentary based on Vito Russo's 1981 book <i>The Celluloid Closet: Homosexuality in the Movies</i>.</p><p><i><b>Citizen X</b></i> (Chris Gerolmo)<br />Hunting a 1908s Russian serial killer.<br /></p><p><i><b>Clockers</b></i> (Spike Lee)</p><p><i><b>Clueless </b></i>(Amy Heckerling)<br />Huge fan of Heckerling's <i>Fast Times at Ridgemont High</i> from 1982.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50815500196_5a0fab213c.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="342" data-original-width="500" height="438" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50815500196_5a0fab213c.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>Cold Fever</b></i> (Fridrik Thor Fridriksson)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">One
of those really great 90s films that seems to be basically forgotten.
Masatoshi Nagase (<i>Paterson</i>, <i>Mystery Train</i>, and <i>Flirt</i>) as a Japanese
businessman traveling to Iceland.<br /></div><div><p><i><b>Copycat</b></i> (Jon Amiel)</p><p><i><b>Crimson Tide</b></i> (Tony Scott) <br /></p><p><i><b>The Crossing Guard</b></i> (Sean Penn)<br />Jack Nicholson seeks vengeance on David Morse for the death of his daughter.<br /></p><p><i><b>Cyclo</b></i> (Tran Anh Hung)<br />Stars
Lê Văn Lộc, Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Trần Nữ Yên Khê and won the Golden
Lion at the 52nd Venice International Film Festival.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50814753353_c8d1b4b00d.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="284" data-original-width="500" height="364" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50814753353_c8d1b4b00d.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>Dead Man </b></i>(Jim Jarmusch)<br />Not only one hell of a beautiful film, but some of the best Neil Young guitar work ever.<br /><p><i><b>Dead Man Walking</b></i> (Tim Robbins)<br />Shot by Roger A. Deakins.<br /></p><p><i><b>Dead Presidents</b></i> (The Hughes Brothers)</p><p><i><b>Desperado</b></i> (Robert Rodriguez)<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50815498566_c92fde0563.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="331" data-original-width="499" height="425" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50815498566_c92fde0563.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>Devil In A Blue Dress</b></i> (Carl Franklin)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Neo-noir
film set in the 1940s with Denzel Washington in one of his best roles,
and some great performances from Tom Sizemore, Jennifer Beals, and Don
Cheadle. Stunning film.<br /></div><div><p><i><b>Die Hard: With a Vengeance</b></i> (John McTiernan) <br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Dolores Claiborne</b></i> (Taylor Hackford)<br />Screenplay
by Tony Gilroy after the Stephen King novel. Psychological thriller
drama starring Kathy Bates, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Christopher Plummer,
John C. Reilly, and David Strathairn and music by Danny Elfman.<br /></p><p><i><b>Doom Generation</b></i> (Gregg Araki) </p><p><i><b>The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain</b></i> (Christopher Monger)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50815602742_ddd21db0e1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="261" data-original-width="499" height="335" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50815602742_ddd21db0e1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>Fallen Angels</b></i> (Wong Kar-Wai)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Some
of the most stunning motorcycle images in film history which have a similarity to the driving sequence in Tarkovsky's <i>Solaris</i>.<br /></div><div><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Flirt</b></i> (Hal Harley)<br />More well-known Harley film with some key 90s actors like Martin Donovan, Parker Posey, Bill Sage, and Harold Perrineau, Jr. (<i>Smoke</i>, <i>Lost</i>).<br /></p><p><i><b>French Kiss</b></i> (Lawrence Kasdan)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Georgia </b></i>(Ulu Grosbard)<br />Lesser known nineties independent film starring Jennifer Jason Leigh and Mare Winningham. Exploration of their complex and messed up relationship.<br /></p><p><i><b>Get Shorty</b></i> (Barry Sonnenfeld)<br /></p><p><i><b>The Grass Harp</b></i> (Charles Matthau)</p><p><i><b>Hackers</b></i> (Iain Softley)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50814754038_9fe167f2d2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="389" data-original-width="500" height="498" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50814754038_9fe167f2d2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>Heat</b></i> (Michael Mann)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For
someone pretty deep in avant-garde and 90s independent cinema, seeing
this in the theater was just unlike anything I had ever experienced. The
viscerality of Michael Snow's <i>La Région Centrale</i> mixed with the sleaziness and color of Miami Vice which at the time was one of the best things on television.<br /></div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50815603832_3e8cd893f3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="313" data-original-width="500" height="401" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50815603832_3e8cd893f3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>Heavy</b></i> (James Mangold)<br />Mangold's
directorial debut, beautiful film starring Pruitt Taylor Vince and
Liv Tyler. Not unlike some of the 1990 films by Steve Buscemi.<br /><p><i><b>I Take These Truths</b></i> (Stan Brakhage)<br /><i><b><br />Institute Benjamenta, or This Dream People Call Human Life</b></i> (Brothers Quay)<br />Robert Walser's <i>Jakob von Gunten</i>
(the most beautiful novel in existence) with Mark Rylance and Alice
Krige. The section with swaying students to vocal music by Lech
Jankowski is quite memorable.<br /></p><p><i><b>Jefferson in Paris </b></i>(James Ivory)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Kicking and Screaming</b></i> (Noah Baumbach)<br /><br /><i><b>Kids</b></i> (Larry Clark)<br />Every
hip cat and their grandmother from Maine to Timbuktu was talking about
this film in 1995. Looking back the film is of note for the wonderful Chloë Sevigny and also Leo
Fitzpatrick from <i>The Wire</i>. The ending Sebadoh song <i>Spoiled</i> is really quite good.<br /></p><p><i><b>La Ceremonie</b></i> (Claude Chabrol) <br /></p><p><i><b>La Haine</b></i> (Mathieu Kassovitz)<br />Huge buzz around this film when it came out.<br /></p><p><i><b>Leaving Las Vegas</b></i> (Mike Figgis)<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50814754188_6fe4935dd3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="500" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50814754188_6fe4935dd3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>Living on Oblivion</b></i> (Tom DiCillo)<br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">Steve
Buscemi plays fictional director Nick Reve, and surrounded by actors
and film technicians Catherine Keener, Kevin Corrigan, Dermot Mulroney, Danielle von
Zerneck, James LeGros and Peter Dinklage. Good stuff.</div><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Lumière and Company</b></i> (Various Directors)<br />40
international directors make a film with the Lumière Brothers'
Cinematographe camera with three rules: duration no longer than 52 seconds,
no synchronized sound, and no more than three takes. Best one is David
Lynch's <i>Premonitions Following an Evil Deed</i>.<br /></p><p><i><b>Maborosi</b></i> (Hirokazu Kore-eda)<br />Beautifully poetic narrative by Kore-eda that washes over you like slow moving fog.<br /></p><p><i><b>Mallrats</b></i> (Kevin Smith)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Me Gut No Dog Dog</b></i> (Luther Price)<br /><br /><i><b>Mighty Aphrodite</b></i> (Woody Allen)<br />Screenplay inspired by <i>Pygmalion</i>.
With Mira Sorvino, Helena Bonham Carter, Jack Warden, Olympia Dukakis,
and F. Murray Abraham. Not one of Allen's best but worth watching.<br /></p><p><i><b>Mr. Holland’s Opus</b></i> (Stephen Herek)</p><p><i><b>The Neon Bible</b></i> (Terence Davies) <br /></p><p><i><b>New Jersey Drive</b></i> (Nick Gomez)<br />Joy riding crime drama.<br /><br /><i><b>Now and Then</b></i> (Lesli Linka Glatter)<br /><br /><i><b>One Hundred and One Nights</b></i> (Agnes Varda)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Palookaville</b></i> (Alan Taylor)<br />Saw
this in the theater and have never heard anyone mention the film since.
Very good, starring William Forsythe, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Vincent
Gallo, Adam Trese, and Frances McDormand.<br /></p><p><i><b>Party Girl</b></i> (Daisy von Scherler Mayer)<br />Definitely essential for fans of the great Parker Posey.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50815603962_f72ca12dcb.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="334" data-original-width="500" height="428" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50815603962_f72ca12dcb.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>Persuasion</b></i> (Roger Michell)<br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">My
personal favorite of the British Jane Austen films / television shows. A
BBC production with some truly outstanding performances by Amanda Root and
Ciarán Hinds, giving new definition to the word subtle. Mostly saw this
on VHS and am not sure how one goes about seeing it these days.</div><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>The Prophecy</b></i> (Gregory Widen)<br />Christopher
Walken as Archangel Gabriel loose on the streets. With Elias Koteas,
Virginia Madsen, Eric Stoltz, and Viggo Mortensen.<br /></p><p><i><b>Rumble in the Bronx</b></i> (Stanley Tong) <br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Safe</b></i> (Todd Haynes)<br />Astonishing film by Mr. Haynes, an extremely subtle critique of new age
culture disguised as a psychological horror. A slight exaggeration, but features a truly disturbing sex scene
between Julianne Moore and Xander Berkeley that in a way gets the
environmental sickness started in the narrative.<br /></p><p><i><b>Screamers</b></i> (Christian Duguay) <br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Sense and Sensibility</b></i> (Ang Lee)<br />Ang
Lee's Jane Austin film with Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Kate Winslet,
Hugh Laurie, Tom Wilkinson a, and Hugh Grant. Beautiful film.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Se7en</b></i> (David Fincher)<br />Solid
Fincher film, shot by Darius Khondji, where we see a bit of the
4AD/Vaughan Oliver aesthetic brought to the screen. Always loved the
psychopath's notebooks and apartment.</p><p><i><b>Shanghai Triad</b></i> (Zhang Yimou)<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50814752728_6bd357ab0a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="285" data-original-width="500" height="365" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50814752728_6bd357ab0a.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>Smoke</b></i> (Wayne Wang)<br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">Written
by Paul Auster. The most beautiful of 90s films. The project that
Harvey Keitel has of photographing the street corner every day, rain or
shine, without really considering himself an artist, is something that speaks very loudly to this viewer, the ultimate artistic expression that is sans ego and pretension.
Wonderful performance by Harold Perrineau Jr. who shows up here in there
in television and film but never had the career he deserved.</div><p><i><b>The Snowman</b></i> (Phil Solomon)<br />“A meditation on memory, burial and decay – a belated kaddish for my father.” (Phil Solomon)<br /><br /><i><b>Species</b></i> (Roger Donaldson)<br /><br /><i><b>Strange Days </b></i>(Kathryn Bigelow)<br /><br /><i><b>Sweet Nothing</b></i> (Gary Winick)<br />Michael Imperioli and Mira Sorvino.<br /><br /><i><b>The Tie That Binds</b></i> (Wesley Strick)<br />Keith Carradine and Daryl Hannah as psychopathic couple.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50814754468_02168196ab.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="272" data-original-width="500" height="348" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50814754468_02168196ab.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>To Die For</b></i> (Gus Van Sant)<br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">One
of the great Gus Van Sant films with a screenplay by Buck Henry, music
by Danny Elfman, and some really top notch performances by Nicole
Kidman, Joaquin Phoenix, Casey Affleck, Matt Dillon, Illeana Douglas and
Dan Hedaya. The story of Pamela Smart having her husband Gregg Smart
murdered by her 15 year old lover and student William Flynn is
particularly memorable for me as it took place my second year of high
school 26 miles away in Derry NH. Crazy story at the time which was
right out of a movie and seemed made up. In terms of the film, it is
hard to imagine anyone being able to say no to Nicole Kidman in this
film.</div><p><i><b>The Underneath</b></i> (Steven Soderbergh)</p><p><i><b>Ulysses’ Gaze</b></i> (Theo Angelopoulos)<br /></p><p><i><b>Unzipped</b></i> (Douglas Keeve)</p><p><i><b>The Usual Suspects</b></i> (Bryan Singer) <br /></p><p><i><b>Welcome to the Dollhouse</b></i> (Todd Solondz)<br />First
Solondz film I saw, remember being quite uncomfortable in the theater
but loving the hell out of the film. Such a masterpiece.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50814754573_778ea03593.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="500" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50814754573_778ea03593.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>50 Feet of String</b></i> (Leighton Pierce)<br />From the master of slow moving multiple exposed light.<br /><p><i><b>49/95: tausendjahrekino</b></i> (Kurt Kren)<br /><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>:: 1996 ::</b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50825776378_f3f998888c.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="370" data-original-width="500" height="474" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50825776378_f3f998888c.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b><i>A Depression in the Bay of Bengal </i></b>(Mark LaPore)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Lovely
film by my old friend and teacher Mark LaPore. “I have made a film
about traveling and living in a distant place which looks at aspects of
daily life and where the war shadows the quotidian with a dark and
rumbling step.” LaPore.<br /></div><div><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>A Time to Kill </b></i>(Joel Schumacher)<br />Courtroom
crime drama based on a John Grisham novel with Matthew McConaughey,
Sandra Bullock, Samuel L. Jackson, and a ton of other heavies from
the period. Essential for McConaughey fans.<br /></p><p><b><i>Basquiat</i></b> (Julian Schnabel)<br />Jeffrey Wright as Basquiat, and David Bowie as Warhol and a ton of other stars. Nice use of Public Image Ltd.</p><p><i><b>Bastard Out of Carolina </b></i>(Anjelica Huston)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Big Night</b></i> (Stanley Tucci, Campbell Scott)<br />Great film with Stanley Tucci, Tony Shalhoub, Minnie Driver, Ian Holm, Isabella Rossellini, and Allison Janney.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>The Birdcage</b></i> (Mike Nichols)<br />Solid remake of the 1978 film <i>La Cage aux Folles</i>. Screenplay by Elaine May (<i>A New Leaf, Mikey and Nick</i>y).<br /></p><p><i><b>Bottle Rocket</b></i> (Wes Anderson)<br />Personal favorite Wes Anderson film. Worth seeing even for those not fans of his work.<br /></p><p><i><b>Bound</b></i> (Lilly & Lana Wachowski)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50826523251_ff2e1f2443.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="221" data-original-width="500" height="283" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50826523251_ff2e1f2443.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50825776233_9d5a71c81b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="220" data-original-width="500" height="282" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50825776233_9d5a71c81b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>Breaking the Waves</b></i> (Lars von Trier)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In
a year with stunning film after stunning film, this one really stands
out. I remember really disliking it the first time I saw it in the
theater, but over the next year becoming a huge enthusiast of the film
and still try to watch it every so often to feed into its magic. The
film includes stunning Panoramas between each chapter by the Danish
painter, poet, filmmaker, sculptor, architect Per Kirkeby. Influenced by
Trier's Dogme 95 movement, although many of the rules are broken.
Cinematography by Robby Müller.<br /></div><div><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>The Cable Guy</b></i> (Ben Stiller)<br />Jim
Carrey and Matthew Broderick. Interesting that this was directed by Ben
Stiller, he has done a few good films over the years.</p><p><i><b>Caught</b></i> (Robert M. Young)<br />Takes place in a Jersey City retail fish market, and stars Edward James Olmos and Arie Verveen.<br /></p><p><i><b>Citizen Ruth</b></i> (Alexander Payne)</p><p><i><b>Comingled Containers</b></i> (Stan Brakhage)</p><p><i><b>Concrescence</b></i> (Stan Brakhage and Phil Solomon)<br /></p><p><i><b>Crash</b></i> (David Cronenberg)<br /><br /><i><b>Cremaster 1</b></i> (Matthew Barney)</p><p><i><b>The Daytrippers</b></i> (Greg Mottola)<br />Classic
New York City 90s indie film with Hope Davis, Stanley Tucci, Anne
Meara, Parker Posey, Marcia Gay Harden, and Liev Schreiber.<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50826619752_3deb5519ea.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="500" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50826619752_3deb5519ea.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>Drifting Clouds</b></i> (Aki Kaurismäki)<br />First of Kaurismäki's <i>Finland trilogy</i>, which also includes <i>The Man Without a Past</i> and <i>Lights in the Dusk</i>.<br /><p><i><b>Ed's Next Move</b></i> (John C. Walsh) <br /></p><p><i><b>Emma</b></i> (Douglas McGrath)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>The English Patient</b></i> (Anthony Minghella)<br />One
of those films I like to watch every few years, Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche, Willem Dafoe, Kristin Scott Thomas as almost Gods in the realms of actorshippe,
and some great work by Naveen Andrews, and Colin Firth. Sound design and film editing by Walter
Murch which won him 2 academy awards. Based on the novel by Michael
Ondaatje whom also wrote the wonderful book <i>The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film</i>. One hell of a film.<br /></p><p><i><b>Escape From L.A.</b></i> (John Carpenter)<br /></p><p><i><b>Everyone Says I Love You</b></i> (Woody Allen)<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50825776243_59c62b9d7f.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="273" data-original-width="499" height="350" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50825776243_59c62b9d7f.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>Fargo</b></i> (Joel Coen)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Perfect
1990s film which this viewer has probably seen upwards of 20 times,
about once a year is the regular rewatch schedule for me. I remember working at the movie theater and my mother came by and wanted to watch this film with me.<br /></div><div><br /><b><i>Flirting With Disaster</i></b> (David O. Russell)<p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Fly Away Home</b></i> (Carroll Ballard)<br />Stunning
Ballard film with Anna Paquin, Jeff Daniels, and Dana Delany. Assiting
Canadian geese in migration by having them follow Paquin in her small
aircraft.<br /></p><p><i><b>Foxfire</b></i> (Annette Haywood-Carter) <br /></p><p><i><b>Freeway</b></i> (Matthew Bright)<br /><i>Holy shit! Look who got beaten with the ugly stick!</i><br /><br /><i><b>From Dusk till Dawn</b></i> (Robert Rodriguez)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Frozen</b></i> (Wang Xiaoshuai)<br />Chinese
film based on a true story of performance artist Qi Lei, who attempts
to create a masterpiece centered on the theme of death.<br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50826619767_693af202b9.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="269" data-original-width="500" height="344" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50826619767_693af202b9.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>The Funeral</b></i> (Abel Ferrara)<br />One
of this film viewer's favorite Ferrara films, stars Christopher Walken,
Chris Penn, Annabella Sciorra, Isabella Rossellini, Vincent Gallo,
Benicio del Toro and Gretchen Mol. Stunning work of art.<br /> <p><i><b>Girls Town</b></i> (Jim McKay)</p><p><i><b>Goodbye South, Goodbye</b></i> (Hou Hsiao-hsien)<br />Slightly abstract (as I remember it) crime drama by Hou Hsiao-hsien.<br /></p><p><i><b>Grace Of My Heart</b></i> (Allison Anders)<br />1960s pop music world with Illeana Douglas.<br /><br /><i><b>Gray's Anatomy</b></i> (Steven Soderberg)</p><p><i><b>Habit</b></i> (Larry Fessenden)<br /></p><p><b>Hamlet</b> (Kenneth Branagh)<br /><br /><i><b>Hamsun</b></i> (Jan Troell)<br />Norwegian author Knut Hamsun played by Max von Sydow. One of the best modern writers, especially his novel <i>Hunger</i>, with shit bird interest in Nazism.<br /> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50826523301_607678eea7.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="500" height="435" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50826523301_607678eea7.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>Hard Eight</b></i> (Paul Thomas Anderson)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">First film by PT Anderson. He has made many great films since but never one better than this first masterpiece.<br /></div><div><p><i><b>Hype!</b></i> (Doug Pray)<br />Documentary on the grunge movement.<br /></p><p><i><b>Independence Day</b></i> (Roland Emmerich)<br />On the other side of the independent film.<br /></p><p><i><b>Irma Vep</b></i> (Olivier Assayas)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50826523386_6bcd5dafd8.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="500" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50826523386_6bcd5dafd8.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>I Shot Andy Warhol</b></i> (Mary Harron)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Another
huge film at the time for those interested in independent cinema. Not mentioned too much these
days. Stars the amazing Lili Taylor, with quite interesting moments from
Jared Harris (Andy Warhol!), Martha Plimpton, Stephen Dorff (as Candy
Darling), and Michael Imperioli (as Ondine).<br /></div><div><br /><i><b>Jerry Maguire</b></i> (Cameron Crowe)<p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Kansas City</b></i> (Robert Altman)<br />Slightly
lesser know Altman film with Jennifer Jason Leigh, Miranda Richardson,
Harry Belafonte, Michael Murphy, Jane Adams, and Steve Buscemi.<br /></p><p><b><i>Kingpin</i></b> (Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly)<br />Really gross flossing scene with Randy Quaid. Solid Woody Harrelson performance.<i><b> </b></i></p><p><i><b>Kissed</b></i> (Lynne Stopkewich)</p><p><i><b>La Promesse</b></i> (Luc Dardenne, Jean-Pierre Dardenne)<br />First really big film from the Belgian directors the Dardenne brothers.<br /></p><p><i><b>Last Man Standing</b></i> (Walter Hill)<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50826619797_19e03ff19e.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="500" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50826619797_19e03ff19e.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>Lone Star</b></i> (John Sayles)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sayles'
most perfect film in a filmography with many perfect films. Stars Chris
Cooper, Elizabeth Peña, Kris Kristofferson, and Matthew McConaughey. It
is not surprising Sayles did so many scripts over the years, starting
with Roger Corman and going all over the place with scripts like <i>Alligator</i>, <i>The Howling</i>, <i>The Challenge</i>, and <i>Piranha</i>. Just looking at <i>Lone Star</i> in terms of the narrative, it is like
some kind of perfect stone giving off and reflecting light at times, completely monochromatic at others, just full of mystery but as plain as day. One of the most important films of
the decade.<br /></div><div><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Looking for Mushrooms</b></i> (Bruce Conner)<br />Revision
of the original version from 1967 where Conner repeats each frame five
times to make a longer version, and set to music by Terry Riley.<br /></p><p><i><b>Love and Other Catastrophes</b></i> (Emma-Kate Croghan)</p><p><i><b>Manny & Lo</b></i> (Lisa Krueger)<br />Music by John Lurie. First starring role for Scarlett Johansson.</p><p><b>Mars Attacks!</b> (Tim Burton)<br /><br /><i><b>Marvin’s Room</b></i> (Jerry Zaks)<br />With Meryl Streep, Leonardo DiCaprio, Diane Keaton, Robert De Niro, Hume Cronyn, Gwen Verdon, Hal Scardino and Dan Hedaya.<br /><br /><i><b>Michael Collins</b></i> (Neil Jordan)</p><p><i><b>Mission: Impossible</b></i> (Brian De Palma)<br />First in the series, not as good as the later films.<br /><br /><b><i>Mother Night</i></b> (Keith Gordon)</p><p><i><b>Mulholland Falls</b></i> (Lee Tamahori) <br /></p><p><i><b>The People vs. Larry Flynt</b></i> (Miloš Forman)<br />Written by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski.<br /></p><p><i><b>The Pig Fell Into the Well </b></i>(Hong Sang-soo)<br />First film by Korean filmmaker Hong Sang-soo and film debut of actor Song Kang-ho.<br /></p><p><i><b>The Pillow Book</b></i> (Peter Greenaway)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>The Portrait of a Lady</b></i> (Jane Campion)<br />Adaptation
of the Henry James novel with Nicole Kidman, Barbara Hershey, John
Malkovich, Mary-Louise Parker, Martin Donovan, Shelley Duvall, Richard
E. Grant, Shelley Winters, Viggo Mortensen, Valentina Cervi, Christian
Bale, and John Gielgud.</p><p><i><b>The Present</b></i> (Robert Frank) <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50825776263_43a94269a4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="278" data-original-width="499" height="357" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50825776263_43a94269a4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>Primal Fear</b></i> (Gregory Hoblit)<br />First film for Edward Norton in a very subtle and complicated role.<p><i><b>Pusher </b></i>(Nicolas Winding Refn)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Ridicule</b></i> (Patrice Leconte)<br /><br /><i><b>The Rock</b></i> (Michael Bay)<br />Sean
Connery, Nicolas Cage, Ed Harris, Michael Biehn, and William Forsythe.
Huge at the time, and later put out by The Criterion
Collection.<br /></p><p><i><b>Schizopolis</b></i> (Steven Soderberg)</p><p><i><b>Scream</b></i> (Wes Craven) <br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Screamers</b></i> (Christian Duguay)<br />Screenplay written by Dan O'Bannon (<i>Alien</i>) with a rewrite by Miguel Tejada-Flores, and based on Philip K. Dick's 1953 short story <i>Second Variety</i>.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50825776293_fbd83c582d.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="500" height="480" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50825776293_fbd83c582d.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>Secrets & Lies</b></i> (Mike Leigh)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In
the mid 1990s it was easy to go from being a huge John Cassavetes
enthusiast to transitioning into a huge Mike Leigh enthusiast especially
living in Boston with Ray Carney teaching at Boston University. In the
very extreme of my Leigh obsession, watching as many of his films as I
could at the time, this beauty came out in the theater I worked at and I
remember going into the theater as many times as I could when I was
working to get glimpses of it, and coming back after work to watch in
full. Perfect film. Classic Leigh cast includes Marianne Jean-Baptiste,
Timothy Spall, Brenda Blethyn, Phyllis Logan, Claire Rushbrook, Ron
Cook, Lesley Manville, Elizabeth Berrington, Michele Austin, Lee Ross,
Emma Amos, and Hannah Davis.<br /></div><div><p><i><b>Shine</b></i> (Scott Hicks)<br />Geoffrey
Rush plays the pianist David Helfgott, who suffered a mental breakdown
from trauma inflicted by his abusive father. Rush was awarded the
Academy Award for Best Actor.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Sleepers</b></i> (Barry Levinson)<br /><br /><i><b>Sling Blade</b></i> (Billy Bob Thornton)<br />"I
sure do like them French-fried potaters." Wonderful film! Interesting
cameo with Jim Jarmusch as Deke, the Frostee Cream employee.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Spitfire Grill</b></i> (Lee David Zlotoff)<br />Indie film with a rather memorable performance by Alison Elliott. Also stars Ellen Burstyn, Marcia Gay Harden,
Will Patton, Kieran Mulroney, and Gailard Sartain. Based on the 2001
Off-Broadway musical of the same name by James Valcq and Fred Alley which one could assume is the reason for the only flaw in the film which is the unnecessarily sentimental ending. Cinematographer Robert Draper gives the film quite a unique look for the decade, heavy browns and high contrast, capturing the beauty of the landscapes and small towns of Maine.<br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50826523341_a2c904946b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="374" data-original-width="500" height="479" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50826523341_a2c904946b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>Stealing Beauty</b></i> (Bernardo Bertolucci)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Stunning
film shot by Darius Khondji and starring Liv Tyler, Jeremy Irons,
Sinéad Cusack, Jean Marais, Donal McCann, D. W. Moffett, Stefania
Sandrelli, and Rachel Weisz.<br /></div><div><p><i><b>Suburbia</b></i> (Richard Linklater) </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Swingers</b></i> (Doug Liman)<br />Big when it came out, slightly hard to watch now. Strange memory of being in a closet-sized hotel room in Venice with red velvet wallpaper and a tiny tiny bed watching this on a microscopic television.<br /></p><p><i><b>That Thing You Do!</b></i> (Tom Hanks)<br />The rise and fall of a fictional 1960s one-hit wonder pop band. Liv Tyler is great in the film.<br /></p><p><i><b>Thesis</b></i> (Alejandro Amenábar)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Trainspotting</b></i> (Danny Boyle)<br />This
film sort of define a generation. Bloody great cast which includes Kelly Macdonald, Ewan McGregor,
Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller, Kevin McKidd, and Robert Carlyle. Not
sure if it would hold up for everyone but hard to deny its place in 90s
film history.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50825776318_b96c97ce95.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="499" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50825776318_b96c97ce95.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>Trees Lounge</b></i> (Steve Buscemi)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Perfect
and extremely rewatchable Buscemi directed film. Crazy cast includes Buscemi, Chloë
Sevigny, Mark Boone Junior, Anthony LaPaglia, Elizabeth Bracco, Eszter
Balint, Carol Kane, Daniel Baldwin, Mimi Rogers, Debi Mazar, Seymour
Cassel, and Samuel L. Jackson. One of the best low key films of the
decade. Not surprising that David Chase brought Buscemi on to direct <i>The Sopranos</i> <i>Pine Barrens</i> episode which is one of the most perfect television episodes in the history of the medium.<br /></div><div><p><i><b>Triste</b></i> (Nathaniel Dorsky)</p><p><i><b>Tuning the Sleeping Machine</b></i> (David Sherman)<br /></p><p><i><b>Twister </b></i>(Jan de Bont)</p><p><i><b>Vertigo</b></i> (Alfred Hitchcock)<br />In
1996 the new 70mm print with DTS soundtrack played all over the country
exposing young people like myself at the time to this fine classic.<br /></p><p><i><b>Waiting for Guffman</b></i> (Christopher Guest) <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50825776328_5ddec0c897.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="246" data-original-width="500" height="315" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50825776328_5ddec0c897.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>Walking And Talking</b></i> (Nicole Holofcener)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Catherine
Keener, Anne Heche, Todd Field, Liev Schreiber, and Kevin Corrigan.
Wonderful scenes with Corrigan who works at a video store and wears a
MBV shirt, he was such a big part of cinema of this period as was Liev
Schreiber whom was in <i>The Daytrippers</i> this same year which has a similar feel.<br /></div><div><p><i><b>White Squall</b></i> (Ridley Scott)</p><p><i><b>2 Days in the Valley</b></i> (John Herzfeld) <br /></p><p><i><b>50/96 Snapshots (For Bruce)</b></i> (Kurt Kren)<br /><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>:: 1997 ::<br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50841888396_f643561c3b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="280" data-original-width="500" height="358" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50841888396_f643561c3b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>Absolute Power</b></i> (Clint Eastwood)<br />Clint Eastwood as theif who accidently steels from the wrong person. Good low-key film.<br /><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Affliction</b></i> (Paul Schrader)<br />Perhaps
the most difficult and serious of Schrader films. Not one you would want
to watch over and over again but stands out in his oeuvre.<br /></p><p><i><b>The Apostle</b></i> (Robert Duvall)</p><p><i><b>As Good as It Gets</b></i> (James L. Brooks)<br /><br /><i><b>Birth of a Nation</b></i> (Jonas Mekas)<br />Music by Hermann Nitsch.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Boogie Nights</b></i> (Paul Thomas Anderson)<br />First
time I saw a PTA film, so huge at the time it is not surpising
how influential he is now. Seeing this film again recently, the most
striking moment was the crazy Alfred Molina scene.<br /></p><p><i><b>The Boxer</b></i> (Jim Sheridan)<br />Solid for fans of Daniel Day-Lewis, Emily Watson, and Brian Cox.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Career Girls</b></i> (Mike Leigh)<br />Slightly
unusual film by Leigh starring Katrin Cartlidge and Lynda Steadman as
two college fuck-ups reuniting many years later as yuppies. Not one of
his best but worth watching.<br /></p><p><i><b>Chasing Amy</b></i> (Kevin Smith)<br />Not being a big Kevin Smith fan, it is hard to deny this film being not without interest.<br /><br /><i><b>Chicago</b></i> (Jürgen Reble)<br />Stunningly beautiful film with dust-noise soundtrack by Thomas Köner.<br /><br /><i><b>Clockwatchers</b></i> (Jill Sprecher)<br />Stars Parker Posey, Lisa Kudrow, and Toni Collette.<br /></p><p><i><b>Contact</b></i> (Robert Zemeckis)<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50841888701_a65bbf59ff.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="326" data-original-width="500" height="417" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50841888701_a65bbf59ff.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>Cop Land</b></i> (James Mangold)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">One of the best films of the year, <i>Cop Land</i>
stars Sylvester Stallone as small town police chief in a town that
an endless number crooked Manhattan cops call home. Unbelievable cast includes
Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Peter Berg, Janeane Garofalo,
Robert Patrick, Michael Rapaport, Annabella Sciorra, Frank Vincent and
Edie Falco. Good example of the visual ambiance that can be seen in films from this period.<br /></div><div><p><i><b>Cure</b></i> (Kiyoshi Kurosawa)<br />Horror film Bong Joon-ho lists as one of the greatest films of all time.<br /></p><p><i><b>Deconstructing Harry</b></i> (Woody Allen) <br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>The Deli</b></i> (John A. Gallagher)<br /><br /><i><b>The Devil's Advocate</b></i> (Taylor Hackford)<br />Not
a film this viewer likes much, but the subway scene with Al Pacino and
Keanu Reeves is quite memorable and something I watch from time to time
on youtube.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Donnie Brasco</b></i> (Mike Newell)<br />Great
low-key ganster film with a deadbeat lower level Mafia player portrayed by Al Pacino and his
more ambitious protege Johnny Depp. Also great performances by Michael Madsen, Bruno
Kirby, and James Russo. Small roles for Val Avery, Tim Blake Nelson, and
Paul Giamatti. Solid film I have seen many times over the years which again is a great example of that visual ambiance we see so strong in this decade.<br /></p><p><i><b>Dream with the Fishes</b></i> (Finn Taylor)</p><p><i><b>The Edge </b></i>(Lee Tamahori)<br />With Anthony Hopkins, Alec Baldwin, Elle Macpherson, and Harold Perrineau.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50841975522_89bb88f6b8.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="500" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50841975522_89bb88f6b8.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>The Eel</b></i> (Shōhei Imamura)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">One
of those really outstanding contemporary Japanese films that I sometimes
wonder if I am the only one who has seen. Very underrated and perfect
film. One of those films that seems impossible to see these days.<br /></div><div><p><i><b>The End Of Violence</b></i> (Wim Wenders)<br /><br /><i><b>Eve’s Bayou</b></i> (Kasi Lemmons)</p><p><i><b>Event Horizon</b></i> (Paul W. S. Anderson)</p><p><i><b>Face/Off </b></i>(John Woo)<br />American John Woo film with John Travolta and Nicolas Cage.</p><p><i><b>Fast, Cheap & Out of Control</b></i> (Errol Morris)<br /></p><p><i><b>The Full Monty</b></i> (Peter Cattaneo)<br />Stars
Robert Carlyle, Mark Addy, William Snape, Steve Huison, Tom Wilkinson,
Paul Barber and Hugo Speer. Popular film at the time.<br /></p><p><i><b>Funny Games</b></i> (Michael Haneke)<br />First of the Haneke <i>Funny Games</i>.<br /></p><p><i><b>The Game</b></i> (David Fincher)<br />Not completely satisfying film with Michael Douglas and Sean Penn.<br /></p><p><i><b>Gattaca</b></i> (Andrew Niccol)<br />A quite unique sci-fi film at the time with understated performances by Ethan Hawke,Uma Thurman, and Jude Law.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50841888711_145350e64d.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="276" data-original-width="500" height="353" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50841888711_145350e64d.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>Good Will Hunting</b></i> (Gus Van Sant)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Classic
Van Sant film with Robin Williams, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Minnie
Driver, and Stellan Skarsgård, that perhaps at the time seemed a little
overly commercial, but now is just a solid way to spend 126 minutes. Classic Elliott Smith soundtrack which made him an household name.<br /></div><div><p><i><b>Green Fish</b></i> (Lee Chang-dong) <br /></p><p><i><b>Gridlock’d</b></i> (Vondie Curtis-Hall)</p><p><i><b>Grind</b></i> (Chris Kentis)</p><p><i><b>Grosse Pointe Blank</b></i> (George Armitage)<br />Stars John Cusack and Minnie Driver.<br /></p><p><i><b>Hani-Ba</b></i> (Takeshi Kitano)<br />Aka <i>Fireworks</i>, the crime drama film written, directed, starring, and edited by Takeshi Kitano.<br /></p><p><i><b>Happy Together </b></i>(Wong Kar-Wai)<br />My personal fav of Wong Kar-Wai. Such an emotional and beautiful film.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50841975562_251ff371ce.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="500" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50841975562_251ff371ce.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>Henry Fool</b></i> (Hal Hartley)<br />The classic Hal Hartley film with Thomas Jay Ryan as Henry Fool, James Urbaniak as Simon Grim, and Parker Posey as Fay Grim. Really evocative names that Harley comes up with.<br /><p><i><b>The House</b></i> (Šarūnas Bartas)<br />Slow moving and moody film not dissimilar to the work of Alexander Sokurov.<br /></p><p><i><b>The House Of Yes </b></i>(Mark Waters)<br />Black comedy with Parker Posey.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>The Ice Storm</b></i> (Ang Lee)<br />Incredible
Ang Lee film about bored upper middle class Connecticut couples in or
approaching middle age. Visually stunning aesthetically, shot by
Frederick Elmes. Love how the railway man says Conn ect tic cut which ever since seeing the film is how I say it, as a slight hommage to the film, which always yields a blank stare.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Insomnia</b></i> (Erik Skjoldbjærg)<br />Flawless film with Stellan Skarsgård as a cop with questionable morality. Music by Geir Jenssen aka Biosphere.<br /></p><p><i><b>Inventing the Abbotts</b></i> (Pat O’Connor)<br />Coming-of-age film with Liv Tyler, Joaquin Phoenix, Billy Crudup, Jennifer Connelly, Kathy Baker, Will Patton, and Joanna Going.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50841164178_809e1a280a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="326" data-original-width="500" height="417" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50841164178_809e1a280a.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>Jackie Brown</b></i> (Quentin Tarantino)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Adaptation of Elmore Leonard's 1992 novel <i>Rum Punch</i>. This was always the most satisfying Tarantino film, which now has a partner with <i>Once Upon a Time in Hollywood</i>. Stands up very well to multiple viewings, as I have tested very well over the years.<br /></div><div><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Kundun</b></i> (Martin Scorsese)<br />Can't remember if I ever saw this film, but I love the Michael Imperlioli line in <i>The Sopranos</i> where he says to a passing Martin Scorsese “Marty, Kundun ... I liked I it. “<br /><br /><i><b>LA Confidential</b></i> (Curtis Hanson)<br />The
Curtis Hanson film this viewer has rewatched endlessly, just so
expertly put together and jaw-dropping performances by Guy Pearce and
Russell Crowe, and in addition Kevin Spacey, James Cromwell, Kim
Basinger, Danny DeVito, Ron Rifkin, and a memorable David Strathairn.
Perfect film.<br /></p><p><i><b>Lawn Dogs</b></i> (John Duigan)</p><p><i><b>Life is Beautiful</b></i> (Roberto Benigni) <br /></p><p><i><b>The Life of Jesus</b></i> (Bruno Dumont) <br /></p><p><i><b>Lost Highway</b></i> (David Lynch)<br />Problematic
Lynch film with some really damn good scenes overall that makes it
worth a rewatch every so often, especially the tailgating scene with
Robert Loggia.<br /></p><p><i><b>Men with Guns</b></i> (John Sayles)<br /><i><b><br />Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil</b></i> (Clint Eastwood)<br />Solid Eastwood film with Kevin Spacey and John Cusack.<br /><br /><i><b>Mimic</b></i> (Guillermo del Toro)<br />Guillermo del Toro's second film.<br /></p><p><i><b>Mother and Son </b></i>(Aleksandr Sokurov)<br /></p><p><i><b>Nil by Mouth</b></i> (Gary Oldman)</p><p><i><b>Nowhere</b></i> (Gregg Araki) <br /></p><p><i><b>Paradise Road</b></i> (Bruce Beresford)<br /><br /><i><b>The Rainmaker</b></i> (Francis Ford Coppola)<br />At
the time I probably wouldn't have wanted to see this film, but on
watching it a couple of times over the years, it is actually a pretty
solid film.<br /></p><p><i><b>Rainy Dog</b></i> (Takashi Miike)<br /><br /><i><b>The Relic</b></i> (Peter Hyams)<br />A monster in Chicago's Field Museum of Natural History.<br /><br /><i><b>The River </b></i>(Tsai Ming-liang)<br /><br /><b><i>Rosewood</i></b> (John Singleton)<br />Stunning Ving Rhames performance.<br /><br /><i><b>She’s So Lovely</b></i> (Nick Cassavetes)<br />Memorable scenes with James Gandolfini.<br /></p><p><i><b>Smilla’s Sense Of Snow</b></i> (Bille August)<br />Smilla
Jaspersen played by Julia Ormond, investigates the mysterious death of a
small Inuit boy who lived in her housing complex in Copenhagen.</p><p><i><b>The Spanish Prisoner</b></i> (David Mamet)<br /></p><p><i><b>Starship Troopers</b></i> (Paul Verhoeven)<br />Yet another strange Verhoeven film, based on Robert A. Heinlein's 1959 novel.<br /></p><p><i><b>Study of a River </b></i>(Peter B. Hutton)<br />Hutton's portrait of of the Hudson River.<br /></p><p><i><b>SubUrbia</b></i> (Richard Linklater)<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50841164193_fa32c5fb11.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="228" data-original-width="499" height="292" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50841164193_fa32c5fb11.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>The Sweet Hereafter</b></i> (Atom Egoyan)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Perhaps too everday kind of man of a thing to say, but this is my
personal favorite Egoyan film. Stars Sarah Polley, Ian Holm, and Bruce
Greenwood. Perhaps this film appears more regular than his others, but
actually quite strange in a subtle way that hits hard as the film
progresses. Amazing performance by Sarah Polley.<br /></div><div><p><i><b>Taste Of Cherry</b></i> (Abbas Kiarostami)</p><p><i><b>Titanic</b></i> (James Cameron)</p><p><i><b>Thomas Jefferson</b></i> (Ken Burns)<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50841888796_17ea718317.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="301" data-original-width="500" height="385" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50841888796_17ea718317.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>Ulee’s Gold</b></i> (Victor Nuñez)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As stated previously, Victor Nuñez is perhaps one of the most underated directors on this list. <i>Ulee's Gold</i> is his beautiful film following <i>Ruby in Paradise</i> with Peter Fonda as a beekeeper forced into a world unknown and distasteful to him dealing with criminality and abjectness.<br /></div><div><p><i><b>The Van</b></i> (Stephen Frears) <br /></p><p><i><b>Waiting for Guffman</b></i> (Christopher Guest)<br />Perhaps the best of the Guest directed film with all-star cast.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>The Wings of the Dove</b></i> (Iain Softley) <br />From
the Henry James novel with Helena Bonham Carter, Linus Roache, Alison
Elliott, Elizabeth McGovern, Michael Gambon, Alex Jennings, and
Charlotte Rampling.</p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>:: 1998 ::</b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50850007136_cdf027f929.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="500" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50850007136_cdf027f929.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>A Civil Action</b></i> (Steven Zaillian)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Written and directed by the great Steven Zaillian, responsible for <i>The Irishman</i>, <i>The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo</i>, <i>American Gangster</i>, <i>Gangs of New York</i>, and <i>Schindler's List</i>.<br /></div><div><br /><i><b>After Life</b></i> (Hirokazu Kore-eda)<br />Kore-eda's second feature film after <i>Maborosi</i> and three documentary films. Functionaries in a way station between life and death.<br /><br /><i><b>Alone. Life Wastes Andy Hardy</b></i> (Martin Arnold)<p><i><b>American History X</b></i> (Tony Kaye)<br />Edward Norton and Edward Furlong in an Los Angeles Neo-Nazi crime drama.<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50850099787_9f970241c3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="500" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50850099787_9f970241c3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>A Simple Plan</b></i> (Sam Raimi)<br />Neo-Noir
classic with Bill Paxton, Billy Bob Thornton, Bridget Fonda, and Gary
Cole. Music by Danny Elfman. Perfect 90s film this viewer has spent many
many hours in the dark with, rewatching and loving.<p><i><b>Babe: Pig in the City</b></i> (George Miller)<br />From George Miller, known for his <i>Mad Max</i> series.<br /></p><p><i><b>Besieged</b></i> (Bernardo Bertolucci)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>The Big Lebowski</b></i> (Joel Coen)<br />Perhaps
the film this decade that most people have watch over and over more than any
other film. I worked with a guy that would quote the film numerous times a day and I loved it.<br /></p><p><i><b>Black Cat, White Cat</b></i> (Emir Kusturica)</p><p><i><b>Blade</b></i> (Stephen Norrington)<br /></p><p><i><b>The Boys</b></i> (Rowan Woods)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50850007186_9fd6329e85.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="271" data-original-width="500" height="347" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50850007186_9fd6329e85.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>Buffalo ’66</b></i> (Vincent Gallo)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Classic
1990s film with Vincent Gallo, Christina Ricci, Ben Gazzara, Mickey
Rourke, Rosanna Arquette, Jan-Michael Vincent, and Anjelica Huston. <i>Buffalo ’66</i>
brings the decade to a close in a way as it is like an amped-up version
of the 1990s film, and gets into territory we see in the 2000s.<br /></div><div><p><i><b>The Celebration</b></i> (Thomas Vinterberg)<br />Classic Dogme 95 film.<br /></p><p><i><b>Central Station</b></i> (Walter Salles)</p><p><i><b>Claire Dolan</b></i> (Lodge Kerrigan)</p><p><i><b>Croupier</b></i> (Mike Hodges)<br />British Neo-Noir with Clive Owen. First film I saw with him.<br /><br /><i><b>The Decline of Western Civilization Part III </b></i>(Penelope Spheeris)<br />Lifestyles of gutter punks.<br /></p><p><i><b>Down in the Delta</b></i> (Maya Angelou)<br />Maya Angelou's only feature film as directer, with the great Alfre Woodard.<br /></p><p><i><b>Elizabeth</b></i> (Shekhar Kapur)</p><p><i><b>Enemy of the State</b></i> (Tony Scott)<br /></p><p><i><b>Eternity and a Day</b></i> (Theo Angelopoulos)</p><p><i><b>Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas</b></i> (Terry Gilliam) <br /></p><p><i><b>The General</b></i> (John Boorman)</p><p><i><b>Gia</b></i> (Michael Cristofer)<br />Story of the early days of AIDS with Angelina Jolie. Perhaps not good for religious folks as there is quite a bit of nudity.<br /></p><p><i><b>Gods and Monsters</b></i> (Bill Condon)<br />Fictionalized last days of the life of film director James Whale, played by Ian McKellen.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50850007216_537c5ae5fc.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="273" data-original-width="500" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50850007216_537c5ae5fc.jpg" /></a></div><br /><i><b>Happiness</b></i> (Todd Solondz)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'll
never forget renting this from the Berkeley library and the librarian
said "looks like you're going to have a fun weekend". One of the most
messed up (and pleasurable) film ever made. Insane cast includes Jane
Adams, Elizabeth Ashley, Dylan Baker, Lara Flynn Boyle, Ben Gazzara,
Jared Harris (as the wonderful Vlad), Philip Seymour Hoffman, Louise
Lasser, and Jon Lovitz. Still the best Solandz film.<br /></div><div><p><i><b>He Got Game</b></i> (Spike Lee)<br />Father Denzel Washington gets leave from prison to recruit his son into college basketball.<br /></p><p><i><b>High Ar</b></i>t (Lisa Cholodenko)</p><p><i><b>Hilary and Jackie</b></i> (Anand Tucker)<br />Emily Watson and Rachel Griffiths as sisters Jacqueline du Pré and Hilary du Pré.<br /><br /><i><b>The Hole</b></i> (Tsai Ming-liang)<br />Another strange one by Tsai Ming-liang starring Lee Kang-sheng.<br /></p><p><i><b>The Idiots</b></i> (Lars von Trier)<br />Trier's classic Dogme 95 film.<br /></p><p><i><b>The Last Days of Disco</b></i> (Whit Stillman)</p><p><b><i>L.A Without a Map</i></b> (Mika Kaurismäki)<br />From the brother of Aki Kaurismäki, starring David Tennant, Vinessa Shaw, Julie Delpy, Vincent Gallo, Joe Dallesandro, and Johnny Depp.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50850099987_09fccd1865.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="500" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50850099987_09fccd1865.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>The Life of Birds</b></i> (David Attenborough)<br />Essential Attenborough film with sound recordings by Chris Watson.<br /><p><i><b>Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels</b></i> (Guy Ritchie)<br /><br /><i><b>Meeting People Is Easy</b></i> (Grant Gee)<br /><i>OK Computer</i> period documentary on Radiohead.<br /><br /><i><b>One True Thing</b></i> (Carl Franklin)</p><p><i><b>The Opposite of Sex</b></i> (Don Roos) <br /></p><p><i><b>Out of Sight</b></i> (Steven Soderbergh)<br />Written by Scott Frank (<i>Logan</i>, <i>The Queen's Gambit</i>),
adapted from Elmore Leonard's novel. Stars George Clooney, Jennifer
Lopez, Ving Rhames, Don Cheadle, Steve Zahn, Dennis Farina, and Albert
Brooks.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50850100167_956cce99f1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="279" data-original-width="499" height="358" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50850100167_956cce99f1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b>Passion</b> (György Fehér)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Based on <i>The Postman Always Rings Twice</i> by James M. Cain. Beautiful Hungarian film up there with the later works of Béla Tarr. Saw this at The Castro Theatre in San Francisco around the turn of the century, very impressive they programmed this film.<br /></div><div><p><i><b>Pi</b></i> (Darren Aronofsky)<br />Aronofsky's first.<br /></p><p><i><b>Psycho</b></i> (Gus Van Sant)<br />Close to shot-for-shot remake of the classic.<br /></p><p><i><b>The Power of Kangwon Province</b></i> (Hong Sang-soo)</p><p><i><b>The Quiet Family</b></i> (Kim Jee-woon) <br /></p><p><i><b>Ringu</b></i> (Hideo Nakata)<br />Successful entry in the history of J-horror films.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Ronin</b></i> (John Frankenheimer)<br />Solid
action film with Robert De Niro, Jean Reno, Natascha McElhone, Stellan
Skarsgård, Sean Bean, and Jonathan Pryce and written by written by John
David Zeik and David Mamet.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Rounders</b></i> (John Dahl)<br />For fans of another very underrated 90s director, John Dahl. Starring Matt Damon and Edward Norton as two high-stakes poker players.<br /></p><p><i><b>Run Lola Run</b></i> (Tom Tykwer)</p><p><i><b>Rush Hour</b></i> (Brett Ratner)<br />Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker.<br /><br /><i><b>Rushmore</b></i> (Wes Anderson)</p><p><i><b>The Saltmen of Tibet</b></i> (Ulrike Koch)<br />Chronicles a clan of Tibetan salt harvesters.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Saving Private Ryan</b></i> (Steven Spielberg)<br />I
have seen this film 4 times or so over the last 20 years and enjoy the
Normandy landings sequence and some other action sequences in the film,
but the opening and closing sentimentality is really hard to stomach.
Not without interest with great cast.<br /></p><p><i><b>Slums of Beverly Hills</b></i> (Tamara Jenkins) <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50850100437_9a2f3a9987.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="500" height="443" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50850100437_9a2f3a9987.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>Smoke Signals</b></i> (Chris Eyre)<br />Young Native Americans living in Coeur D'Alene Indian Reservation in Plummer Idaho. Drove through there a few years ago, beautiful part of the country.<br /><p><i><b>Stepmom</b></i> (Chris Columbus) <br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>The Thin Red Line</b></i> (Terrence Malick)<br />In
a filmography with so many seminal films, this has always been my
personal favorite. Amazing to consider that there was a 20 year span of
nothingness between this and <i>Days of Heaven</i>.<br /></p><p><i><b>Too Tired to Die</b></i> (Wonsuk Chin) <br /></p><p><i><b>The Truman Show</b></i> (Peter Weir)<br />Poor Jim Carrey's life taking place on a set for others amusement.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Twilight</b> (Robert Benton)<br />Neo-Noir with Paul Newman, Susan Sarandon, Gene Hackman, Stockard Channing, Reese Witherspoon, and Giancarlo Esposito.</p><p><i><b>Vampires</b></i> (John Carpenter)<br /></p><p><i><b>Velvet Goldmine</b></i> (Todd Haynes) <br /></p><p><i><b>Waking Ned Devine</b></i> (Kirk Jones) <br /></p><p><i><b>Your Friends & Neighbors</b></i> (Neil LaBute)</p><p><i><b>You’ve Got Mail</b></i> (Nora Ephron)<br />Remake of Ernst Lubitsch's <i>The Shop Around the Corner </i>from 1940 dealing with the shuttering of many independent book stores with the coming of the corporate giants. Not a bad film.<br /></p><p><i><b>Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl</b></i> (Joan Chen)</p><p><i><b>42 Up</b></i> (Michael Apted) <br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>:: 1999 ::</b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50853771143_afdff597f1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="499" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50853771143_afdff597f1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>All About My Mother</b></i> (Pedro Almodóvar) <br /><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>American Beauty</b></i> (Sam Mendes)<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Analyze This </b></i>(Harold Ramis)<br />Not completely without interest. Mafia spoof with Robert De Niro and Billy Crystal. The lighter side of the decade.<br /></p><p><i><b>Angela's Ashes</b></i> (Alan Parker)<br /></p><p><i><b>Arlington Road </b></i>(Mark Pellington)</p><p><i><b>Audition </b></i>(Takashi Miike)<br />Extremely creepy J-horror film that is hard to forget.<br /></p><p><i><b>A Walk on the Moon</b></i> (Tony Goldwyn)<br />Starring Diane Lane, Viggo Mortensen, Liev Schreiber and Anna Paquin.<br /></p><p><i><b>Beau Travail</b></i> (Claire Denis) <br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Being John Malkovich</b></i> (Spike Jonze)<br />The
last year of the decade pushes us into "the aughts" with some films
that have really bothered this particular viewer over the years, films
that have qualities (as stated by others) that are difficult or
impossible personally to see. In addition it is perplexing how strong of a hold
these films have on the average cinephile. Films like <i>Matrix</i>, <i>Being John Malkovich</i>, <i>Eyes Wide Shut</i>, <i>The Virgin Suicides</i>, and <i>Fight Club</i>,
one is almost afraid to speak ill of them for fear of a public persecution.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>The Blair Witch Project</b></i> (Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez)<br />This
film received much publicity at the time for its novel qualities.
Wasn't a big fan at the time but perhaps with another viewing would
convert me.<br /></p><p><i><b>Blast from the Past </b></i>(Hugh Wilson)</p><p><i><b>The Bone Collector</b></i> (Phillip Noyce)<br />Denzel Washington, Angelina Jolie, Queen Latifah, Michael Rooker, and Luis Guzman.<br /><br /><i><b>Boys Don’t Cry</b></i> (Kimberly Pierce)</p><p><i><b>Buena Vista Social Club</b></i> (Wim Wenders)<br />The Buena Vista Social Club hangs with Ry Cooder.<br /></p><p><i><b>But I’m A Cheerleader </b></i>(Jamie Babbit)</p><p><i><b>Bringing Out the Dead </b></i>(Martin Scorsese)<br /><br /><i><b>Charisma</b></i> (Kiyoshi Kurosawa)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50854580382_42913248d1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="208" data-original-width="499" height="267" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50854580382_42913248d1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>The Cider House Rules</b></i> (Lasse Hallström)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Novel
and Screenplay by John Irving. Near flawless film with Tobey Maguire,
Charlize Theron, Delroy Lindo, Paul Rudd, Michael Caine, Jane Alexander,
Kathy Baker, Kieran Culkin, Heavy D, Kate Nelligan, and the signer
Erykah Badu. Classic Miramax film.<br /></div><div><p><i><b>Dark City</b></i> (Alex Proyas)<br /><br /><i><b>Double Jeopardy</b></i> (Bruce Beresford)</p><p><i><b>Election</b></i> (Alexander Payne)<br />Essential Payne film.<br /></p><p><i><b>eXistenZ</b></i> (David Cronenberg) <br /></p><p><i><b>Eyes Wide Shut</b></i> (Stanley Kubrick)</p><p><i><b>Felicia’s Journey</b></i> (Atom Egoyan)</p><p><b><i>Fight Club</i></b> (David Fincher)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Genghis Blues</b></i> (Roko Belic)<br />Blind American singer Paul Pena visits Tuva to learn from the Tuvan throat singing. <br /><br /><i><b>Girl, Interrupted</b></i> (James Mangold)<br />Winona
Ryder as a young woman diagnosed with borderline personality
disorder. Also starts Angelina Jolie, Clea DuVall, Brittany Murphy,
Whoopi Goldberg, Elisabeth Moss, Angela Bettis, Vanessa Redgrave, and
Jared Leto. Mangold manages to always deliver a solid film.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50854491201_f49c7cd4d9.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="500" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50854491201_f49c7cd4d9.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><b>Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai</b></i> (Jim Jarmusch)<br />Highest level of love goes to this Jarmusch film and the solid soundtrack by RZA.<br /><p><i><b>Go</b></i> (Doug Liman)<br />Sort of a mess of a film.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>The Green Mile</b></i> (Frank Darabont)<br />Tom Hanks as a death row corrections officer during the Great Depression, based on the Stephen King 1996 novel.<br /></p><p><b><i>Holy Smoke</i></b> (Jane Campion)<br /></p><div style="text-align: justify;">Miramax film where Kate Winslet and Harvey Keitel get into some sexual mischief. Music by Angelo Badalamenti.</div><p></p><p><b><i>The Hurricane</i></b> (Norman Jewison)<br /></p><div style="text-align: justify;">Denzel
Washington as Rubin "The Hurricane" Carter, the former middleweight
boxer who was wrongly convicted for a triple murder in a bar in
Paterson, New Jersey.</div><p></p><p><b><i>The Insider</i></b> (Michael Mann)<br /></p><div style="text-align: justify;">One of
Mann's best, shot by Dante Spinotti, and music by Lisa Gerrard and
Pieter Bourke. The very Mannian cast brings many levels of meaning to the film:
Al Pacino, Russell Crowe, Christopher Plummer, Diane Venora (an
interesting contrast to her performance in <i>Heat</i>), Philip Baker Hall, and Lindsay Crouse.</div><p></p><p><b><i>Jesus’ Son</i></b> (Alison Maclean) <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50854491241_74741ff9d8.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="325" data-original-width="500" height="416" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50854491241_74741ff9d8.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b><i>Juha</i></b> (Aki Kaurismäki)<br />Loosely based on the 1911 novel by the Finnish author Juhani Aho.<br /><p><b><i>Kikujiro</i></b> (Takeshi Kitano) <br /></p><p><b><i>L'Humanité</i></b> (Bruno Dumont)<br /></p><div style="text-align: justify;">Hard to believe this film is from 1999, seems partially like it was made yesterday, and partly like some film from the 1980s.</div><p></p><p><b><i>Limbo</i></b> (John Sayles)<br /></p><div style="text-align: justify;">Shot by Haskell Wexler and featuring Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, David Strathairn, Vanessa Martinez and Kris Kristofferson. Like many from this decade, one of Sayles' best.</div><p></p><p><b><i>The Limey</i></b> (Steven Soderbergh)<br />At times overly edited, but really a stunning Soderbergh film and Terence Stamp performance.<br /></p><p><b><i>Magnolia</i></b> (Paul Thomas Anderson)<br /></p><div style="text-align: justify;">I always am afraid to say this, but <i>Magnolia</i> is my least favorite PTA film, right along <i>The Master</i>. A few really solid moments though make it worth a rewatch every now and again, specifically the Tom Cruise character.</div><p></p><p><b><i>The Matrix</i></b> (Lilly & Lana Wachowski)</p><p><b><i>The Mission</i></b> (Johnnie To)</p><p><b><i>Mystery, Alaska</i></b> (Jay Roach) <br /></p><p><b><i>The Ninth Gate</i></b> (Roman Polanski)<br /></p><div style="text-align: justify;">Very
nice novel but the film gets lost somewhere. First 20 minutes or so with
Depp as a book thief is certainly very much worth watching.</div><p></p><p><b><i>Office Space</i></b> (Mike Judge)<br />Classic
working stiff comedy with Ron Livingston, Jennifer Aniston, Gary Cole,
Stephen Root (wow!!!!), David Herman, Ajay Naidu, and Diedrich Bader.<br /></p><p><b><i>Onegin</i></b> (Martha Fiennes)</p><p><b><i>On The Run</i></b> (Bruno de Almeida)<br /><br /><b><i>Peppermint Candy</i></b> (Lee Chang-dong)<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50853771293_ffe4fa381f.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="270" data-original-width="500" height="346" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50853771293_ffe4fa381f.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b><i>Ratcatcher</i></b> (Lynne Ramsay)<br />Ramsay's debut film.<br /><br /><b><i>Ride with the Devil</i></b> (Ang Lee)<br />Ang Lee western with Tobey Maguire.<br /><p><b><i>Rosetta</i></b> (Dardenne Brothers)<br />One of the best Dardenne films, about a teenage girl living in a caravan park with her alcoholic mother. Heavy.<br /><br /><b><i>The Road Home</i></b> (Zhang Yimou)</p><p><b><i>Running Out of Time</i></b> (Johnnie To) <br /></p><p><b><i>Set Me Free/Emporte-moi</i></b> (Léa Pool) <br /></p><p><b><i>Shiri</i></b> (Kang Je-gyu)<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50854580452_36d77eb616.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="500" height="360" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50854580452_36d77eb616.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b><i>The Sixth Sense</i></b> (M. Night Shyamalan)<br /><div style="text-align: justify;">One of the truly original and at the time almost shocking films from the decade, Shyamalan's <i>The Sixth Sense</i>
with Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, and Haley Joel Osment. I watch this
film every 5 years or so thinking it will be dated but it holds up well
and is completely satisfying even though the film has a trick that is and remembered from previous viewings.</div><p><b><i>Stir of Echoes</i></b> (David Koepp) <br /></p><p><b><i>The Straight Story</i></b> (David Lynch)<br /></p><div style="text-align: justify;">WWII
veteran Alvin, played by the great Richard Farnsworth, drives his lawn
mower across Iowa and Wisconsin to visit his estranged brother Lyle
(Harry Dean Stanton). Perfect film. Every time I read about the best films of the decade, I copy and paste <i>The Straight Story</i> where <i>Matrix</i> or <i>Fight Club</i> are mentioned.</div><br /><b><i>Summer of Sam</i></b> (Spike Lee)<br />Written
by Victor Colicchio, Michael Imperioli, and Spike Lee. Serial killer
film about David Berkowitz's effect on a group of Italian-Americans in
The Bronx in the late 1970s.<br /><p></p><p><b><i>Sweet and Lowdown</i></b> (Woody Allen)<br />Definitely of interest for those who love Django Reinhardt.<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50854491256_9da66ec594.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="269" data-original-width="500" height="344" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50854491256_9da66ec594.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b><i>The Talented Mr. Ripley</i></b> (Anthony Minghella)<br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Being a huge Patricia Highsmith fan, and especially the Tom Ripley novels, this and Wim Wender's <i>The American Friend</i>
have always stood out as the great films based on these books. Wonderful
cast includes Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law, Cate Blanchett,
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jack Davenport, James Rebhorn, Sergio Rubini,
and Philip Baker Hall.</div><p><b><i>Three Kings</i></b> (David O. Russell)</p><p><b><i>Titus</i></b> (Julie Taymor)<br /><br /><b><i>Topsy-Turvy</i></b> (Mike Leigh)</p><p><b><i>True Crime</i></b> (Clint Eastwood)<br /><br /><b><i>The Virgin Suicides</i></b> (Sofia Coppola)</p><p><b><i>The Wind Will Carry Us</i></b> (Abbas Kiarostami)<br /><br /><b><i>The Wood</i></b> (Rick Famuyiwa)</p><p><b><i>The 24 Hour Woman</i></b> (Nancy Savoca)<br />From <i>Dogfight</i> director Nancy Savoca.</p></div>the art of memoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02748087818232571209noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5579754230116285540.post-36701339822722946962021-01-06T15:34:00.001-08:002021-01-06T22:18:34.000-08:00confusion over velvety indubitable diabolism : best music in the year of our lord twenty twenty<div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50807869558_b69b74611d.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50807869558_b69b74611d.jpg" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50808724622_3d2ae85b5c.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="500" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50808724622_3d2ae85b5c.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50808612641_a085497c66.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50808612641_a085497c66.jpg" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50808724572_25dd7a80b0.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50808724572_25dd7a80b0.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50808724682_75d307078a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="499" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50808724682_75d307078a.jpg" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50807869518_34f8839af7.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50807869518_34f8839af7.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50807869433_63ea1e4332.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50807869433_63ea1e4332.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50808612546_093a5dc945.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="500" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50808612546_093a5dc945.jpg" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.tarrllightowler.com/">Tarrl Lightowler</a><br /></div> <div><br />:: sound’s that helped me get hear ::<br /><br />Jim O’Rourke <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Shutting Down Here</i></span> (Portraits GRM)<br />Jim O’Rourke <i><span style="color: #cc0000;">Steamroom #47-51</span></i> (Bandcamp)<br />Brunhild Ferrari and Jim O'Rourke <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Le Piano Englouti</i></span> (Black Truffle)<br />Kassel Jaeger and Jim O’Rourke <i><span style="color: #cc0000;">in cobalt aura sleeps</span></i> (Editions Mego)<br />Kassel Jaeger <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Swamps/Things</i></span> (Shelter Press)<br />Kassel Jaeger <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Meith</i></span> (Black Truffle)<br />Tatsuhisa Yamamoto <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Ashioto</i></span> (Black Truffle)<br />Bellows <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Undercurrent</i></span> (Black Truffle)<br />Alvin Lucier <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Works for the Ever Present Orchestra</i></span> (Black Truffle)<br />Judith Hamann <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Peaks</i></span> (Black Truffle)<br />Judith Hamann <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Shaking Studies</i></span> (Blank Forms)<br />Judith Hamann <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Music for Cello and Humming</i></span> (Blank Forms)<br />Catherine Christer Hennix <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Unbegrenzt LP</i></span> (Blank Forms)<br />Vladislav Delay <i><span style="color: #cc0000;">Rakka</span></i> (Cosmo Rhythmatic)<br />Colin Stetson <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Color Out of Space</i></span> (Milan)<br />Black Unity Trio <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Al-Fatihah</i></span> (Salaam Records)<br />Nate Wooley <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Seven Storey Mountain VI</i></span> (Pryoclastic Records)<br />Space Afirka <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>hybtwibt?</i></span> Bandcamp<br />zeroh <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>BLQLYTE</i></span> (Leaving Records)<br />Thomas Koner <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Motus</i></span> (Mille Plateaux)<br />Florian TM Zeisig <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Coatcheck</i></span> (enmossed)<br />Henning Christiansen <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Peter der Grosse / Gudbrandsdal</i></span> (Institut for Dansk Lydarkæologi)<br />Dean Roberts <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Not Fire</i></span> (Erstwhile Records)<br />Toshiya Tsunoda and Taku Unami <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Wovenland 2</i></span> (Erstwhile Records)<br />Sarah Davachi <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Cantus, Descant </i></span>(Late Music)<br />Roland Kayn <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Electronic Symphony I-III</i></span> Bandcamp<br />Roland Kayn <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>A Pan-Air Music</i></span> Bandcamp<br />Roland Kayn <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>November Music</i></span> Bandcamp<br />Roland Kayn <i><span style="color: #cc0000;">Sound-Hydra</span></i> Bandcamp<br />Roland Kayn <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Made in the NL after the Sixties and Beyond</i></span> Bandcamp<br />Roland Kayn <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Music for the Isle of Man</i></span> Bandcamp<br />Roland Kayn <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Requiem pour Patrice Lumumba</i></span> Bandcamp<br />Roland Kayn <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>The Man and the Biosphere</i></span> Bandcamp<br />Keith Fullerton Whitman <i><span style="color: #cc0000;">Resonators (1)</span></i> (Alpha State)<br />Mary Lattimore <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Silver Ladders</i></span> (Ghostly International)<br />Komare <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>The Sense of Hearing</i></span> (Penultimate Press)<br />Ai Aso <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>The Faintest Hint</i></span> (Ideologic Organ)<br />Eyvind Kang <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Ajaeng Ajaeng</i></span> (Ideologic Organ)<br />Phurpa <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Hymns of Gyer</i></span> (Ideologic Organ)<br />Golem Mecanique <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Nona, Decima et Morta</i></span> (Ideologic Organ)<br />Duma <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Duma</i></span> (Nyege Nyege Tapes)<br />Nazar <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Guerilla</i></span> (Hyperdub)<br />Echium <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Disruptions of Form</i></span> (sferic)<br />Jake Muir <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>the hum of your veiled voice</i></span> (sferic)<br />Romeo Poirier <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Hotel Nota</i></span> (sferic)<br />FUJI||||||||||TA <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Komori</i></span> (Boomkat Editions)<br />FUJI||||||||||TA <i><span style="color: #cc0000;">iki</span></i> (Hallow Ground)<br />Autechre – <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Sign</i></span> (Warp)<br />Autechre – <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Plus</i></span> (Warp)<br />William Basinski <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Lamentations</i></span> (Temporary Residence)<br />Charles Curtis <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Performances and Recordings</i></span> (Saltern)<br />Bob Dylan <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Rough and Rowdy Ways</i></span> (Columbia Records)<br />Bill Callahan <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Gold Record</i></span> (Drag City)<br />Phoebe Bridgers <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Punisher</i></span> (Dead Oceans)<br />King Crimson <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>The Complete 1969 Recordings</i></span> (Burning Shed)<br />John Lennon <i><span style="color: #cc0000;">Gimme Some Truth</span></i> (Capitol)<br />Aki Onda <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Nam June's Spirit Was Speaking to Me</i></span> (Recital)<br /><br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50808724527_71087b0abd.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="375" height="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50808724527_71087b0abd.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50808616996_710873aa67.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="333" height="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50808616996_710873aa67.jpg" width="427" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50808616981_1442ae1edd.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="449" data-original-width="499" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50808616981_1442ae1edd.jpg" /></a></div><br />:: books ::<br /><br />Peter Schwenger <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Asemic The Art of Writing</i></span> (University of Minnesota Press)<br />Paul Celan <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Microliths</i></span> (Contra Mundum Press)<br />Paul Celan <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Memory Rose Into Threshold Speech</i></span> (Farrar Strauss Giroux)<br />Sid Smith <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>In the Court of King Crimson</i></span> (Panegyric)<br />Éliane Radigue<span style="color: #cc0000;"><i> Intermediary Spaces</i></span> (Les Presses du Reel)<br />Maryanne Amacher <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Selected Writings and Interviews</i></span> (Blank Forms Editions)<br />Robert Storr <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Philip Guston A Life Spent Painting</i></span> (Laurence King Publishing)<p>(Part 9 in a series of contemporary artist's best of lists for 2020) <br /></p></div>the art of memoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02748087818232571209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5579754230116285540.post-19404554386479295092021-01-04T16:09:00.005-08:002021-01-07T15:03:15.239-08:00confusion over various idealic dungeaters : best film and music in the year of our lord twenty twenty<div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50787790682_d75bc9e625_b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="496" data-original-width="800" height="397" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50787790682_d75bc9e625_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;">Matthew Swiezynski, aka <a href="https://www.darknessmoves.com/">darkness moves</a></p><p><br />:: the moving image, in order of l'amour ::<br /><br />Steve McQueen <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Small Axe</i></span><br />Derek Cianfrance <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>I Know This Much Is True</i></span><br />Kelly Reichardt <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>First Cow</i></span><br />Eliza Hittman <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Never Rarely Sometimes Always</i></span> <br />Thomas Vinterberg <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Another Round / Druk</i></span><br />Christopher Nolan <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Tenet</i></span><br />Kantemir Balagov <i><span style="color: #cc0000;">Beanpole</span></i><br />Ken Loach <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Sorry We Missed You</i></span><br />Viktor Kossakovsky <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Gunda<br /></i></span>Pietro Marcello <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Martin Eden</i></span><br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50787696061_8c1a79ea48.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="393" height="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50787696061_8c1a79ea48.jpg" width="503" /></a></div><br />:: blu ray, by label ::<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This year I spent much time on the couch with my lovely wife Chi and my pup Leviathan watching film after film with my all region blu ray player, projector, and surround sound system... taking in the light and accumulating many fine region B films,... some new to me, but many old favorites I had on DVD or even laserdisc or VHS tapes way back when. Not only getting new blus issued forth in 2020, but catching on with labels such as Indicator and Arrow out of the UK. <br /></div><div><br />Krzystof Kieslowski <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Cinema of Conflict: Four Films by Krzystof Kieslowski</i></span> Arrow (UK)<br /><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Four Film Noir Classics</i></span> Arrow (UK)<br />Abel Ferrara <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>King of New York</i></span> Arrow (UK)<br />Douglas Trumbull <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Silent Running</i></span> Arrow (UK)<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50796966881_4e68ceb28b_z.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="515" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50796966881_4e68ceb28b_z.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50797088097_d1c7e10169_z.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="515" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50797088097_d1c7e10169_z.jpg" /></a></div><br />Takeshi Kitano <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Takeshi Kitano Collection</i></span> BFI (UK)<br />Jim Jarmusch <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai</i></span> Criterion (US)<br />Martin Scorsese <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>The Irishman</i></span> Criterion Collection (US)<br />Bong Joon-ho <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Parasite</i></span> Criterion Collection (US)<br />Claudia Weill <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Girlfriends</i></span> Criterion Collection (US)<br />Alfonso Cuarón <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Roma</i></span> Criterion Collection (US)<br />George Marshall <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Destry Rides Again</i></span> Criterion Collection (US)<br />Frank Perry <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>The Swimmer</i></span> Grindhouse Releasing (US)<br /><br /><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50797113377_bdc83ea04b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="443" height="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50797113377_bdc83ea04b.jpg" width="567" /></a><br />Curtis Harrington <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Night Tide</i></span> Indicator (UK)<br /><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Columbia Noir #1</i></span> Indicator (UK)<br />Bill L Norton <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Cisco Pike</i></span> Indicator (UK)<br />Joseph Losey <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Eva/Eve</i></span> Indicator (UK)<br />Carl Franklin <i><span style="color: #cc0000;">Devil in a Blue Dress</span></i> Indicator (UK)<br />Richard Franklin <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Roadgames</i></span> Indicator (UK)<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50797120357_2591993496_z.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="526" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50797120357_2591993496_z.jpg" /></a></div><br />Frank Perry <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Diary of a Mad Housewife</i></span> Kino Lorber (US)<br />Bruce Beresford <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Tender Mercies</i></span> Kino Lorber (US)<br />David Miller <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Lonely are the Brave</i></span> Kino Lorber (US)<br />Phillip Borsos <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>The Grey Fox</i></span> Kino Lorber (US)<br />Maya Deren <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>The Maya Deren Collection</i></span> Kino Lorber (US)<br />Don Siegel <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Two Mules for Sister Sara</i></span> Kino Lorber (US)<br />Don Siegel <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>The Beguiled</i></span> Kino Lorber (US)<br />Clint Eastwood <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>High Plains Drifter</i></span> Kino Lorber (US)<br />John Sturges <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Joe Kidd</i></span> Kino Lorber (US)<br />Clint Eastwood <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>The Eiger Sanction</i></span> Kino Lorber (US)<br />Clint Eastwood <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Play Misty For Me</i></span> Kino Lorber (US)<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50797075311_f31b647ae8.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="397" height="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50797075311_f31b647ae8.jpg" width="508" /></a></div><p>Robert Siodmak <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Criss Cross</i></span> MoC (UK)<br />Masaki Kobayashi <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Kwaidan</i></span> MoC (UK)<br />John Ford <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Rio Grande</i></span> MoC (UK)<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50797192807_63e6c44010.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="450" height="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50797192807_63e6c44010.jpg" width="577" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50798166627_116f1ea070.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="395" height="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50798166627_116f1ea070.jpg" width="507" /></a></div><br />George Romero <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Dawn of the Dead</i></span> Second Sight (UK)<br />Nicolas Roeg <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Walkabout</i></span> Second Sight (UK)<br />Roman Polanski <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>The Tenant</i></span> Shout (US)<br />David Lynch <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>The Elephant Man</i></span> StudioCanal (UK)<span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><br />4-Film Collection: Film Noir</i></span> Warner Archive (US)<br />Martin Scorsese <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Goodfellas 30th Anniversary Collector's Edition</i></span> Warner (UK)<br /><br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50797388221_7abe2973e4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="388" height="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50797388221_7abe2973e4.jpg" width="497" /></a></div><p>Peter Yates <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>The Deep</i></span> 101 Films (UK)<br />Saul Bass <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Phase IV</i></span> 101 Films (UK)<br />William Lustig <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Maniac</i></span> Blue Underground (US)<br /><br /><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50787714456_61901421fb_b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="797" height="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50787714456_61901421fb_b.jpg" width="638" /></a><br />:: music, in alphabetical order ::<br /><br />Alva Noto <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Xerrox, Vol. 4</i></span> (Noton) LP<br />Autechre <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>PLUS</i></span> (Warp Records) LP<br />Autechre <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>SIGN</i></span> (Warp Records) LP<br />Autechre <i><span style="color: #cc0000;">AE LIVE 2016/2018</span></i> Digital<br />Black Unity Trio <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Al-Fatihah</i></span> (Gotta Groove Records / Salaam Records) LP Vinyl Reissue<br />Harold Budd <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>I Know This Much Is True</i></span> (All Saints) Digital<br />Charles Curtis <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Performances & Recordings 1998-2018</i></span> (Saltern) CD<br />Miles Davis <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Live-Evil</i></span> (Sony Records Japan) Quad CD<br />Vladislav Delay <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Rakka</i></span> (Cosmo Rhythmatic) Digital<br />Werner Durand <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Schwingende Luftsäulen 3</i></span> (Ants) CD<br />Bill Fontana <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Landscape Sculpture with Fog Horns</i></span> (Other Minds) Digital Reissue<br />Ellen Fullman & Theresa Wong <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Harbors</i></span> (Room40)<br />Emmanuel Holterbach, Blutwurst <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Ricercar Nell'ombra</i></span> (Another Timbre) CD<br />Kassel Jaeger <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Swamps / Things</i></span> (Shelter Press) LP<br />Jóhann Jóhannsson and Yair Elazar Glotman <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Last and First Men</i></span> (Deutsche Grammophon) LP/Blu Ray<br />Jóhann Jóhannsson <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Retrospective II</i></span> (Deutsche Grammophon) CD/DVD<br />King Crimson <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>The Complete 1969 Recordings</i></span> (Discipline Global Mobile, Panegyric ) CD/DVD/Blu Ray<br />KTL <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>VII</i></span> (Editions Mego) LP<br />Thomas Köner <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Motus</i></span> (Mille Plateaux) LP<br />Mary Lattimore <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Silver Ladders</i></span> (Ghostly International) Digital<br />John Lennon <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Gimme Some Truth</i></span> (Universal Music Group) Surround CD/Blu Ray<br />Susana López <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Crónica De Un Secuestro</i></span> (Elevator Bath) CD<br />Mirror <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Some Days it Rains All Night</i></span> (La Scie Dorée) DIGITAL<br />Ennio Morricone <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>The Thing - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack </i></span>(Waxwork Records) LP Vinyl Reissue<br />Bill Nace <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Both</i></span> (Drag City) Digital<br />Pole <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>1 2 3</i></span> (Mute) CD<br />Pole <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Fading</i></span> (Mute) Digital<br />Massimo Ricci <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Tracey Feels Worse</i></span> (Elevator Bath) CD<br />Dean Roberts <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Not Fire</i></span> (Erstwhile Records) CD<br />Toshiya Tsunoda / Taku Unami <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Wovenland 2</i></span> (Erstwhile Records) CD<br />Robert Turman <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Chapter Eleven</i></span> (Helicopter, Hanson Records) CD<br />Zelienople <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Hold You Up</i></span> (Miasmah) LP<br /><br />(Part 8 in a series of contemporary artist's best of lists for 2020)<br /></p><p></p><p></p></div>the art of memoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02748087818232571209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5579754230116285540.post-10223537589266579152021-01-04T15:47:00.002-08:002021-01-04T15:49:15.785-08:00confusion over vampirebats ingesting darkstars : best film and music in the year of our lord twenty twenty<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50801768492_4b628c5815.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="473" height="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50801768492_4b628c5815.jpg" width="605" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50800910663_b94910bd0f.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="500" height="639" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50800910663_b94910bd0f.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.bea-kwan.net/">Bea Kwan Lim</a> <br /></p><p><br />:: music ::<br /><br />Harold Budd & Robin Guthrie <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Another Flower</i></span> (Darla Records) CD ❀forever torn apart by this loss..❀<br />J.A. Seazer <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>A Journal of the Plague Year</i></span> (FUJI) CD<br />J.A. Seazer <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Song of the Lily 1980</i></span> (FUJI) CD<br />C.C.C.C. <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Amplified Crystal II</i></span> (New Forces) CD<br />Charles Curtis <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Performances & Recordings 1998-2018</i></span> (Saltern Imprint) CD<br />Incapacitants <i><span style="color: #cc0000;">Onomatopée Suicida</span></i> (Total Black) Digital<br />zeroh <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>BLQLYTE</i></span> (Leaving Records) Digital<br />Jon Hassell <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Seeing Through Sound (Pentimento Volume Two)</i></span> (ndeya Records) Digital<br />Mary Lattimore <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Silver Ladders</i></span> (Ghostly International) Digital<br />Tashi Dorji <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Stateless</i></span> (Drag City) Digital<br />His Name Is Alive <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Ghost Tape EXP</i></span> (Disciples) Digital<br /><br />:: film ::<br /><br />Steve McQueen <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Small Axe</i></span><br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50800914378_d18977df5a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="337" height="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50800914378_d18977df5a.jpg" width="431" /></a></div><br />:: books ::<br /><br />Jean Ray <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>The Great Nocturnal</i></span> (Wakefield Press)<br />Jean Ray <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Circles of Dread</i></span> (Wakefield Press)<br />Kashina <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>East of Borneo</i></span> (Antifurniture)<br />Unica Zürn <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>The Man of Jasmine & Other Texts</i></span> (Atlas Press)<br />Akiko Miyakoshi <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>I Dream of a Journey</i></span> (Kids Can Press)<br />Marcel Brion <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Waystations of the Deep Night</i></span> (Wakefield Press)<br />Varlam Shamalov <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Sketches of the Criminal World</i></span> (New York Review of Books)<br />Eliot Weinberger <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Angels & Saints</i></span> (New Directions)<br />Léon Spilliaert <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>From the Depths of the Soul</i></span> (Ludion)<br /><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50801792282_ee1b31a552.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="395" height="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50801792282_ee1b31a552.jpg" width="507" /></a></div><br />:: beautiful forever-paw gifts ::<br /><br />Robert Rauschenberg <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>The Early 1950s</i></span> (Menil Foundation)<br />Käthe Kollwitz <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Prints, Process, Politics</i></span> (Getty Research Institute)<br />Yuri Norstein <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Hedgehog in the Fog</i></span> print<br />Josef von Sternberg <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Marlene Dietrich & Josef von Sternberg at Paramount, 1930 - 1934 Limited Edition</i></span> Indicator UK<br />Peter Watkins <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Edvard Munch</i></span> (Eureka/MoC UK)<br />Buster Keaton <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>The Navigator / Seven Chances / Battling Butler</i></span> (Eureka UK)<br />Randall McClellan <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>The Healing Music of Rana</i></span> (Sun Ark Recordings)<br />Curtis Harrington <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Night Tide Limited Edition</i></span> (Indicator UK)<br />David Sylvian & Russell Mills <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Ember Glance: The Permanence of Memory</i></span> (Virgin)<br />Steve Lake, Paul Griffiths <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Horizons Touched: The Music of ECM</i></span> (Granta UK)<br />King Crimson <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>In the Court of the Crimson King</i></span> 3CD Box (Discipline Global Mobile)<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50801760822_b148e1764e.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="400" height="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50801760822_b148e1764e.jpg" width="512" /></a></div><br />:: frequent sighs from yore ::<br /><br />Harold Budd & Clive Wright <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>A Song for Lost Blossoms</i></span> (Darla Records) CD<br />Harold Budd <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Agua</i></span> (Sine Records) CD<br />Harold Budd & Brian Eno <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>The Pavilion of Dreams </i></span>(Editions EG) CD<br />The Chameleons <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Script of the Bridge</i></span> (Statik) CD<br />Morita Doji <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Complete Recordings</i></span> (Universal Music Japan) CD<br />This Mortal Coil <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Complete Recordings</i></span> (4AD) CD<br />Isaac Hayes <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Hot Buttered Soul</i></span> (Enterprise) CD<br />Digable Planets <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Blowout Comb</i></span> (Pendulum Records) CD<br />Misty Blue <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>4/4 Sentimental Painkiller</i></span> (Pastel Music) CD<br />Geinoh Yamashirogumi <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Osorezan / Doh no Kenbai</i></span> (Leemoon Records) CD<br /><br />Marguerite Yourcenar <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Fires</i></span> (University of Chicago Press)<br />Joseph Joubert <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>The Journals of Joseph Joubert</i></span> (New York Review of Books)<br />Philippe Jaccottet <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Seedtime: Notebooks 1954-79</i></span> (Seagull Books)<br />Maurice Scève <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Emblems of Desire</i></span> (Archipelago Books)<br />Paul Willems <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>The Cathedral of Mist</i></span> (Wakefield Press)<br /><br />(Part 7 in a series of contemporary artist's best of lists for 2020)<br /><p></p>the art of memoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02748087818232571209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5579754230116285540.post-19189600667742897602021-01-03T13:50:00.163-08:002021-01-03T14:28:51.604-08:00confusion over velocity indicating darkmatter : best music in the year of our lord twenty twenty<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50787819882_e88f592e8f.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50787819882_e88f592e8f.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/huremics/">John Spell</a>'s rotation of music in 2020 <br /></p><p>LPS/EPS/SINGLES<br /><br />Thomas Köner <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Motus</i></span> [Mille Plateaux]<br />Delphine Dora <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>L’Inattingible</i></span> [three:four/meakusma]<br />Mirror <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Some Days It Rains All Night</i></span> [La Scie Dorée]<br />The House In The Woods <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Walk One/Walk Two/Walk Three/Walk Four</i></span> [self-released]<br />Autechre <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>PLUS</i></span> [Warp]<br />Siavash Amini & Saåad <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>All Lanes Of Lilac Evening</i></span> [Opal Tapes]<br />Vladislav Delay <i><span style="color: #cc0000;">Rakka</span></i> [Cosmo Rhythmatic]<br />SHXCXCHCXSH <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>VOOO</i></span> [Mord]<br />Shinichi Atobe <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Yes</i></span> [DDS]<br />Kareem Ali <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Soul Flex</i></span> [Fort Evil Fruit]<br />Autechre <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>SIGN</i></span> [Warp]<br />Saskia <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Eeuwig Op Reis</i></span> [Stroom]<br />Elodie <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Le Nid d’Ivoire</i></span> [La Scie Dorée]<br />Robert Haigh <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Black Sarabande</i></span> [Unseen Worlds]<br />Lucy Johnson <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Soundtracks 2013-2019 Vol. 1</i></span> [Opal Tapes]<br />Ai Aso <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>The Faintest Hint</i></span> [Ideologic Organ]<br />Midori Hirano <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Invisible Island</i></span> [Sonic Pieces]<br />Imperial Valley <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Imperial Valley</i></span> [Other Forms Of Consecrated Life]<br />Ann Margaret Hogan <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Honeysuckle Burials</i></span> [Downwards]<br /><br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50793688427_185d6df600.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="356" data-original-width="500" height="456" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50793688427_185d6df600.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />REISSUES/REMASTERS/EXPANDED EDITIONS/BOX SETS<br /><br />Pye Corner Audio <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>The Black Mill Tapes (10th Anniversary Box)</i></span> [Lapsus]<br />Svitlana Nianio & Oleksandr Yurchenko <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Znayesh Yak? Rozkazhy</i></span> [Skire/Night School]<br />Global Communication <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Transmissions</i></span> [Evolution]<br />Leila <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Like Weather</i></span> [Modern Love/Thank U Records]<br />Pole <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>1 2 3</i></span> [Mute]<br />Jóhann Jóhannsson <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Retrospective II </i></span>[Deutsche Grammophon]<br />SND <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Tplay/Newtables/Travelog (Special Extended Editions)</i></span> [SND]<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50793697892_407bd086f0.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50793697892_407bd086f0.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />ON STAPLE ROTATION FOR 2020<br /><br />Victoria Spivey <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Complete Recorded Works In Chronological Order Vol. 1-4</i></span> [Document Records]<br />Dexter Gordon <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>One Flight Up</i></span> [Blue Note]<br />Virginia Astley <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>From Gardens Where We Feel Secure</i></span> [Rough Trade/Happy Valley Records]<br />Rapoon <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Fallen Gods (Cidar)</i></span> [Staalplaat]<br />Maurizio 12”s [M-Series]<br />Bullwackies All Stars <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Dub Unlimited</i></span> [Wackie’s]<br />Herman Chin-Loy <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Aquarius Dub</i></span> [Aquarius]<br />Saint Etienne <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Boxette</i></span> [Foreign Office]<br />Harold Budd <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>The Pavillion Of Dreams</i></span> [Obscure]<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50793705642_de6954594b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="500" height="480" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50793705642_de6954594b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p><br />BOOKS<br /><br /><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Thought Forms: A Record Of Clairvoyant Investigation</i></span> Annie Besant & C.W. Leadbeater [Sacred Bones Books]<br /><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Käthe Kollwitz: Prints, Process, Politics</i></span> [Getty Research Institute]<br /><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>John Cage: A Mycological Foray</i></span> [Atelier Éditions]<br /><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>The Red Years: Theory, Politics, and Aesthetics In The Japanese ‘68</i></span> [Verso]<br /><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>We Still Here: Pandemic, Policing, Protest & Possibility Marc Lamont Hill</i></span> [Haymarket Books]<br /><br /><br />CHERISHED GIFTS IN 2020<br /><br /><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Isle: Changes In The Times And The Seasons (Paintings By Andrew Chalk)</i></span> Andrew Chalk [Faraway Press]<br /><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Into The Mylar Chamber </i></span>Ira Cohen [Fulgur Press]<br /><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Lake Lahontan / Lake Bonneville</i></span> Michael Light [Radius Books]</p><p> </p><p>(Part 6 in a series of contemporary artist's best of lists for 2020) <br /></p><p></p>the art of memoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02748087818232571209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5579754230116285540.post-76767959970450293822021-01-03T10:15:00.008-08:002021-01-05T12:15:26.369-08:00confusion over vale implement destructionists : best music in the year of our lorder twenty twenty<p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50787834147_5a2530efc0_b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50787834147_5a2530efc0_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50796409136_184b8629dd_z.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50796409136_184b8629dd_z.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50796528702_a7a5485354_z.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50796528702_a7a5485354_z.jpg" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://colinandrewsheffield.bandcamp.com/"><b>Colin Andrew Sheffield</b></a>'s rotation of music in 2020<br /></p><p>:: music ::<br /><br />20. A.F. Jones <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>A Jurist For Nothing</i></span> (Gertrude Tapes) LP <br />19. Sequences <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Woven Empty</i></span> (Audio. Visuals. Atmosphere.) LP<br />18. Nightmares <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Sub-Sonic Language Transmission</i></span> (self-released) Cassette<br />17. Bob Bellerue <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Amplified Discovery</i></span> (Erratum) LP<br />16. Incapacitants <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Onomatopée Suicida</i></span> (Total Black) LP<br />15. JT Whitfield <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Untitled</i></span> (LIES Records) LP<br />14. Merzbow <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>StereoAkuma</i></span> (Room40) CD<br />13. Andy Bolus, Joseph Hammer, John Wiese P<span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>relude To Hawaiian Radio</i></span> (Helicopter/Troniks) CD<br />12. Emil Beaulieau <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Polio</i></span> (Hospital Productions) Cassette<br />11. Jim Haynes <i><span style="color: #cc0000;">Incomplete</span></i> (No Rent) Cassette<br />10. Alex Keller & Sean O'Neill <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Ando</i></span> (Loma Editions) CD<br />09. Organum Electronics <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Stilness</i></span> (Siren Records) CD<br />08. Sparkle Division <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>To Feel Embraced</i></span> (Temporary Residence) LP<br />07. Skin Crime <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Stories And Studies Of Strange Things</i></span> (Self Abuse) Cassette<br />06. Robert Turman <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Fulfilling The Absence Of Space Between The Opposite Meanings</i></span> (self-released) Cassette<br />05. Tomoko Sauvage <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Fischgeist</i></span> (Bohemian Drips) LP<br />04. Adam Pacione <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Mâché</i></span> (self-released) digital<br />03. Aaron Dilloway / Robert Turman / John Wiese <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Electronic Extension</i></span> (Helicopter/Troniks) CD<br />02. William Basinski <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Lamentations</i></span> (Temporary Residence) LP<br />01. Werner Dafeldecker <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Parallel Darks </i></span>(Room40) LP</p><p>:: favorite reissues or archival releases (in alphabetical order) ::<br /><br />Aube <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Spindrift</i></span> (Robert & Leopold) LP<br />Walter Bishop Jr. <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Coral Keys</i></span> (Real Gone Music/Black Jazz Records) CD<br />Black Unity Trio <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Al-Fatihah</i></span> (Gotta Groove) LP<br />Art Blakey & The New Jazzmen <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Live In Paris ‘65</i></span> (Sam Records) LP<br />Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Just Coolin'</i></span> (Blue Note) LP<br />Cairo Free Jazz Ensemble <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Heliopolis</i></span> (Holidays Records) LP<br />Bill Evans <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Live At Ronnie Scott's</i></span> (Resonance Records) 2CD<br />Beatriz Ferreyra <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Echos +</i></span> (Room40) LP<br />Flaming Tunes <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>s/t</i></span> (Superior Viaduct) LP<br />Giancarlo Gazzani <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Musica Per Commenti Sonori</i></span> (Sonor Music Editions) LP<br />Heshoo Beshoo Group <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Armitage Road</i></span> (We Are Busy Bodies) LP<br />Bobby Hutcherson <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>The Kicker</i></span> (Blue Note) LP<br />Incapacitants <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Operorue</i></span> (Troniks/Helicopter) CD<br />Thelonious Monk <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Palo Alto</i></span> (Impulse!) LP<br />Pale Saints <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>The Comforts Of Madness 30th Anniversary Re:Masters</i></span> (4AD) 2CD<br />Sonny Rollins <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Rollins In Holland</i></span> (Resonance Records) 2CD<br />Saint Etienne <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Words And Music By Saint Etienne</i></span> (Heavenly) 2CD<br />Robert Turman <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Chapter Eleven</i></span> (Hanson/Helicopter) 4CD<br />Various Artists <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Black Fire</i></span> (Now-Again Records) 5LP<br />Various Artists <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Bruton Brutoff </i></span>(Trunk Records) LP <br /></p><p> <br />(Part 5 in a series of contemporary artist's best of lists for 2020) </p><p></p>the art of memoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02748087818232571209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5579754230116285540.post-59337008120187412312021-01-03T09:49:00.006-08:002021-01-03T12:29:55.022-08:00confusion over vermilion isolated dallasites : best film and music in the year of our lorder twenty twenty<p><span><span style="color: black;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50795557098_13998d9b42_z.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50795557098_13998d9b42_z.jpg" /></a></span></span></div><span><span style="color: black;"><br /> </span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50796448532_0b8da411ed_z.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="549" data-original-width="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50796448532_0b8da411ed_z.jpg" /></a></div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.eric-graham.com/">Eric Graham</a></span></span>'s rotation of music and film in 2020 </p><p>:: music ::<br /><br />John Coltrane <i><span style="color: #cc0000;">Giant Steps</span></i> (Atlantic/Rhino Records) LP reissue<br />Pylon <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Chomp</i></span> (New West Records) LP reissue<br />Pylon <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Gyrate</i></span> (New West Records) LP reissue<br />Guided By Voices <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Vampire On Titus</i></span> (Scat Records) LP reissue<br />Townes Van Zandt <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Our Mother The Mountain</i></span> (Fat Possum Records) LP reissue<br />Townes Van Zandt <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Townes Van Zandt</i></span> (Fat Possum Records) LP reissue<br />Will Johnson <i><span style="color: #cc0000;">El Capitan</span></i> (Keeled Scales) LP</p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50788603762_7906ac5061_z.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="356" data-original-width="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50788603762_7906ac5061_z.jpg" /></a></div><br />:: film ::<p></p><p>Christopher Nolan <i><span style="color: #cc0000;">Tenet</span></i><br />Spike Lee Da 5 Bloods</p><p><br />(Part 4 in a series of contemporary artist's best of lists for 2020) <br /></p>the art of memoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02748087818232571209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5579754230116285540.post-53440617173620903092021-01-03T09:29:00.006-08:002021-01-03T19:11:23.689-08:00confusion over verisimilitude idiosycratic deliquescence : best film and music in the year of our lord twenty twenty <a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50796213641_2a3ba8b7b4_z.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="258" data-original-width="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50796213641_2a3ba8b7b4_z.jpg" /></a><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://shop.keraunograph.org/">James Hamilton</a>'s rotation of film and music in 2020 </p><p>:: some movies from this year ::<br /><br />Valentyn Vasyanovich <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Atlantis</i></span><br />Natalya Vorozhbit <i><span style="color: #cc0000;">Bad Roads</span></i><br />Zheng Lu Xinyuan <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>The Cloud in Her Room</i></span><br />Jóhann Jóhannsson <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Last and First Men</i></span><br />Lois Patino <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Lua Vermella</i></span><br />Sion Sono <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Red Post on Escher Street</i></span><br />Balaji Vemby Chelli <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>The Tremor</i></span><br />Radu Jude <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Uppercase Print</i></span><br /><br /></p><p><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50786967973_921987404e_b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50786967973_921987404e_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50796238121_a1f236468e_z.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50796238121_a1f236468e_z.jpg" /></a></div><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i> </i></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50796347807_d1002f77a8_z.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50796347807_d1002f77a8_z.jpg" /></a></div><p><br />:: music::<br /><br />Autechre <i><span style="color: #cc0000;">AE LIVE 2016/2018 </span></i>(Warp)<br />C.C.C.C. <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Amplified Crystal II</i></span> (New Forces) reissue<br />The Hafler Trio <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Being the Elucidation of Why We Do Not Liberate Even the Smallest of Instances</i></span> (and other Bandcamp stuff)<br />Marc Hurtado <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Hurt </i></span>(Des Astres d'Or)<br />Alice Kemp <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Songs in the Key of NO </i></span>(Fragment Factory)<br />Alice Kemp <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Sweetly My Blacken Doll </i></span>(Dead Mind Records)<br />Metgumbnerbone <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Anthropological Field Recordings for the Dispossessed</i></span> (archive recordings)<br />Massimo Ricci <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Tracey Feels Worse</i></span> (Elevator Bath)</p><p>(part 3 in a series of contemporary artists' best of lists for 2020) <br /></p><p></p>the art of memoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02748087818232571209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5579754230116285540.post-33025683735197894952021-01-03T09:01:00.002-08:002022-01-14T15:24:53.164-08:00confusion over vague inner deamonlovers : best music in the year of our lord twenty twenty<p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50792879857_fdbd8ce852_z.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="535" data-original-width="600" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50792879857_fdbd8ce852_z.jpg" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/grhm_stew/">Graham Stewart</a>'s rotation of music in 2020<br /></p><p>1. <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Funereal and Shamanic Chants from Jindo Island, Korea</i></span>. Fascinating recordings of traditional Korean shamanic and funeral rites, accompanied by small ensembles. Ocora, 2018.<br /><br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50792011248_22d1387c06_z.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="574" data-original-width="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50792011248_22d1387c06_z.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">2. Farida Parveen <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Songs of Lalon Shah</i></span>. Exquisitely beautiful collection of songs written by 19th century Bengali mystic and philosopher Lalon Shah. Ocora, 2017<br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50792761771_7946249101_z.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="571" data-original-width="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50792761771_7946249101_z.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">3. Haïg Sarikouyoumdjian <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>The Art of the Duduk</i></span>. Haïg Sarikouyoumdjian makes his own instruments and reeds, which adds to the feeling personal and unique feeling of this duduk album. Not at all what was expected. Ocora, 2020.<br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50792011118_6d659c602e_z.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50792011118_6d659c602e_z.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">4. Chants & Musique Pinpeat <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Ballet Royal du Cambodge</i></span>. Recorded and released in 2010, these three long ballet accompaniments are performed by a 10 piece Pinpeat orchestra. Exquisitely beautiful. Buda Records, 2010.<br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50792011088_ca5f01518f_z.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="476" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50792011088_ca5f01518f_z.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">5. Sixto Silgado & Los Gaiteros de Punta Brava. Sixto Silgadod was 70 when this music for two gaitas (Colombian vertical flute made from cactus) and three percussionists was recorded. It feels both virtuosic and effortless, yet contains complex rhythms and melodies ... the work of master musicians. Ocora, 2012.<br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50792011063_8d199d333b_z.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="361" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50792011063_8d199d333b_z.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">6. <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Pays Basque: Kantuketan</i></span>. 2 CDs, released in 2006, rich with extremely diverse vocal music from the Basque regions of France and Spain, all sung in Euskara. Ocora, 2006.<br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50792011058_d1ac8353cc_z.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50792011058_d1ac8353cc_z.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">7. Sehyung Kim <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Three Sijo</i></span>. I loved every minute of this CD by Kazakhstan-born composer Sehyung Kim, based on the Korean poetic form, Sijo. Beautiful, sparse, sustained compositions for duets or small ensemble. Perfect music. Austrian Grammophone, 2020.<br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50792879627_84de7c0023_z.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="637" data-original-width="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50792879627_84de7c0023_z.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">8. Hyejin Yoon <i><span style="color: #cc0000;">정념 情念 / Thinking Being Irresistibly Burnt </span></i>... Great performances on traditional Korean instruments by the Jeong Ga Ak Hoe ensemble, of compositions by Yoon Hyejin. Absolutely superb and utterly genuine music, I didn't want it to end. AkdangEban, 2009.<br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50792761586_f7ccd4898e_z.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50792761586_f7ccd4898e_z.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">9. Dasom Baek <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Nothingness</i></span>. Excellent first solo CD from Korean daegeum player and composer Baek Dasom. Very deliberate and controlled performances for daegeum, loops, and electronics. A complex album that feels very personal and gets better and better with each attentive listen. Self-released, 2020.<br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50792010963_173498fe23_z.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50792010963_173498fe23_z.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">10. Michael Ranta <i><span style="color: #cc0000;">Die Mauer</span></i>. Stunning set of pieces by German percussionist Ranta, composed as a ballet accompaniment. Fantastic, cycling combinations of percussive, electronic, abstracts sounds. Metaphon, 2019.</p><p> </p><p>(part 2 in a series of contemporary artists' best of lists for 2020) <br /></p>the art of memoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02748087818232571209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5579754230116285540.post-1017639946256490972021-01-03T08:45:00.000-08:002021-01-03T08:45:05.773-08:00confusion over veriform idiosyncratic dreamcasters : best music in the year of our lord twenty twenty<div><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://stephenspera.bandcamp.com/">Stephen Spera</a>’s top 2020 picks<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">It’s certainly been quite a year for mutant chamber works - whether medieval songs from a Cistercian Abbey of the imagination, to a dusty backroom Jazz Club in in fertile memory, Circus music for aliens to Baroque ensembles heard from a room down the hall long ago, it seems also to be Lost Tribe Sound’s year- they have hosted three of these releases, with some of their artists popping up on other labels….much of this is beyond category. But that how we like it, yes?<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50787742421_e98b9d1913_z.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50787742421_e98b9d1913_z.jpg" /></a><br /><br />William Ryan Fritch <a href="https://williamryanfritch.bandcamp.com/album/the-letdown"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>The Letdown</i></span></a> (Lost Tribe Sound)<br /><br />I wish I had the words to describe this one better. If you like the music of Italian highland Brass bands, dusty backroom organ trios, mutant jazz ensembles from beyond the rings of saturn, you are home- apparently Fritch thinks of the record as fine, but a bit of a 'weirdo throwaway' - but- that's what the world thought of Moondog, Tom Waits, Harry Partch, and many many other uncategorizable artists- all of who proved to be genius. Lost Tribe Sound has a considerable chunk of these- especially this year! ….This is the album of the year at my Editions Vaché ....<br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50792373877_af6c654024_z.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50792373877_af6c654024_z.jpg" /></a></div><br />Several wives <a href="https://severalwives.bandcamp.com/album/veil-on-veil"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Veil on veil</i></span></a> (Lost Tribe Sound)<br /><br />Lost Tribe Sound scores highly in releasing this latest from the inscrutable Several Wives.....and we are reveling in its dark mesmerism....the label releases some of the finest sound on the planet- and this is no exception.....<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50791513348_75ba3950d9_z.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50791513348_75ba3950d9_z.jpg" /></a></div><br />Danny Clay <a href="https://laaps-records.com/album/ocean-park"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Ocean Park</i></span></a> (Laaps)<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Danny Clay is at times tough to classify- but no matter how he is working- be it a Chamber Piece for Baroque Ensemble, Glitched-out electronics (two of his releases are made from gameboy with tapedeck!) he never lets us down. Ocean Park, in its new life here, is a masterpiece.<br /></div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50792266636_4fb8784ef1_z.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50792266636_4fb8784ef1_z.jpg" /></a></div><br />Seabuckthorn <a href="https://iikki.bandcamp.com/album/through-a-vulnerable-occur"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Through a vulnerable occur</i></span></a> (Ikki)<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Andy Catrwright makes music that is in between states....at times drone, other times virtuostic - some of the deepest listening available. Gorgeous, haunted, full of texture and soul- this year has been a wonderland of ‘chamber works’, and this is a proud addition…<br /></div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50792386877_5e55f8daae_z.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="625" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50792386877_5e55f8daae_z.jpg" /></a></div><br />Ian Hawgood <a href="https://homenormal.bandcamp.com/album/--4?fbclid=IwAR1nWzvRcR_Qab3oDzanaeljcy5xwNlhGDu5-q67fns3a14zT3x7oqUWWcw"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>光</i></span></a><a href="https://homenormal.bandcamp.com/album/--4?fbclid=IwAR1nWzvRcR_Qab3oDzanaeljcy5xwNlhGDu5-q67fns3a14zT3x7oqUWWcw"> </a>(Home Normal/ Eilean)<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The purpose of a musical work , as Beethoven is said to have put forth, is to bring the listener into the mental space of the composer….A key feature of Ian Hawgood’s work is centered on its emotional -and physical space- the space a sound work occupies…you can feel the passing of time, the presence of a room, the expanse of a shoreline……filtered through tape reels, already disintegrating…..the tiny grit of time dusted over it all…<br /></div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50791549878_f93784a27e_z.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50791549878_f93784a27e_z.jpg" /></a></div><br />Vieo Abiungo <a href="https://williamryanfritch.bandcamp.com/album/at-once-there-was-no-horizon"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>At once, there was no horizon</i></span></a> (Lost Tribe Sound)<br /><br />Vieo Abiungo, a project of the aforementioned William Ryan Fritch- and I’m thrilled to have a new release….this album takes you on a deep, mystical journey- a chamber work under the canopy of an imaginary jungle…….this is quite a year for Lost Tribe Sound…!!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50792304121_4d78f52690_z.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50792304121_4d78f52690_z.jpg" /></a></div><br />Kaboom Karavan <a href="https://kaboomkaravan.bandcamp.com/album/the-log-and-the-leeway"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>The log and the leeway</i></span></a> (Miasmah records)<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Like the oldest of fairy tales, lots of darkness, menace even, lurks below the forest overhead. Bram Bosteels has kept this remarkable circus on wheels that is the Karavan going- for some time now. He has constructed a full musical universe like no other- the power of complete invention is only a part of this dimension. We admire artists who create their own mythologies ( the more far-reaching the better! )- and as Erik Skodvin, boss of Miasmah records told him, “If everything fails, we´ll open a Kaboom Karavan museum” <br /></div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50791561078_061e3fffd1_z.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50791561078_061e3fffd1_z.jpg" /></a></div><br />Ciro Berenguer <a href="https://slaapwel.bandcamp.com/album/bruma"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Bruma</i></span></a> (Slaapwell Records)<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is extremely difficult to write-or extend- a longform piece, but on Bruma, Ciro Berenguer does a fantastic job- the music weaves and fades, shifts in a way the Slaapwell Philosophy of "music for Sleep" is tended.....Berenguer has created a rich piece, which illustrates it title, "The ins-and outs- of the night" with care-.have a soak in its ambience ( mastered by Ian Hawgood!) and let it take you on its gentle journey.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">*******<br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br />I encourage you to explore these and related artists- have a listen to the works in bandcamp, peek at other from their catalogues, etc and support artists in sound during these trying times!……and, drop by Editions Vaché /spiritradiomusic /stephenspera at <a href="https://stephenspera.bandcamp.com/">bandcamp</a> or <a href="https://www.instagram.com/stephenspera/">instagram</a> to read other reviews and see what we are all up to. Let’s start 2021 in style!! </div><p></p><p> </p><p>(part 1 in a series of contemporary artist's best of lists for 2020)<br /></p></div>the art of memoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02748087818232571209noreply@blogger.com0