Friday, May 01, 1981

MAY 1981, WEST BERLIN AND STOCKHOLM

Christiane F - wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo / Christiane F - isku suoraan suoneen. DE 1981. D: Ulrich Edel. Marmorhaus, West Berlin. Boring
Desperado City. DE 1981. D: Vadim Glowna. Filmkunst 66, West Berlin. Boring.
...
Back to Stockholm
Bus Stop. tv [4]. Seems to work well on tv, feels quicker, pan-scan does not harm.
The Man I Killed / Särkynyt sävel. US 1932. D: Ernst Lubitsch. Fkl / Fh. A strange L. film. The man who becomes the double of the one he killed. In the phenomenology of the cinema this belongs to the chapter on Conscience.
Trouble in Paradise. US 1932. D: Ernst Lubitsch. Fkl / Fh. Might this not be quite as brilliant as they say, or maybe I was not in the best mood for this. Dazzling but too thin.
Design for Living / Meidän herrojen kesken. US 1933. D: Ernst Lubitsch. A fascinating precursor of Jules et Jim. The two friends who love the same woman, yet stay friends. Also this felt too thin.
Caprice / Caprice - vaarallinen oikku. US 1967. D: Frank Tashlin. Doris Day. Fkl / Fst. A boring agent parody. Poor Tashlin.
The Merry Widow / Iloinen leski. US 1934. D: Ernst Lubitsch. Fkl / Fh. Marvellous, maybe the best L. film, one of the highlights of the year besides The Wedding March and Vertigo. *
Peeping Tom. GB 1960. D: Michael Powell. The film as a mortal dream.
La Danse de mort / Kuolemantanssi. FR 1948. D: Marcel Cravenne. Strindberg. Erich von Stroheim, Denise Vernac. The prison island as a symbol of the world. The breath that can be seen in the freezing air.
Angel / Yön enkeli. US 1937. D: Ernst Lubitsch. A L. favourite of mine. The profound darkness beneath the froth.
Secret Agent / Salainen asiamies. GB 1936. D: Alfred Hitchcock. Fkl / Fst. A light suspense film switches abruptly into tragedy as Gielgud and Lorre assassinate the wrong man. Robert Young one of the memorable H. villains. Important clarification of essential moral grounds.
TV: Jerry Williams: Rockrullen. Chuck Berry: Memphis, Tennessee. Jerry Lee Lewis: Great Balls Of Fire. Ruth Brown: Tears Keep Tumbling Down. Fats Domino: Honey Chile [...Hold That Kiss...]. The Moonglows: Over And Over Again. The Coasters: What Is The Secret Of Your Success (*). Johnny Burnette: Lonesome Train. Carl Perkins: Glad All Over. Elvis: Blue Suede Shoes.
Ninotchka / Ninotchka. US 1939. D: Ernst Lubitsch. Greta Garbo. Fkl / Fh. Perfect.
Rude Boy / Rude Boy. GB 1980. D: Jack Hazan & David Mingay. The Clash. Filmstaden.
The Shop Around the Corner / Pieni myymälä. US 1940. D: Ernst Lubitsch. Fkl / Fh. L. does not convince me in the land of romance.
Nashville / Nashville. US 1975. D: Robert Altman. Fkl / Fh. Great, loose yet full of intensity, Nashville as a microcosm.
To Be Or Not To Be. Fkl / Fh [2] A print dubbed in German. - One of my five L. favourites. Incredibly brilliantly constructed. The characters keep changing their roles, yet keep going in their varying strategies. The ham actors are more credible playing Gestapo than Gestapo itself, because they are afraid to unmask the big fraud. The trick by which they finally outwit Gestapo is the greatest ever. - For the first time I understood this film.
Fadren. SE 1911. D: Anna Hoffman-Uddgren. Strindberg. Fkl / Fst. Just a record of a theatrical performance.
Fadern / Isä. SE 1969. D: Alf Sjöberg. Strindberg. Fkl / Fst. Somehow it had it all, but an urgent spirit was missing.
Herr Puntila och hans dräng Matti. tv. [2] Unlike Sjöberg, Långbacka hasn't it all, but Pöysti's magnificent outburst makes one forget about it. Something wild and wonderful.
Roman Holiday / Loma Roomassa. US 1953. D: William Wyler. Audrey Hepburn. Brilliant but a little empty.
The Wolf Man. US 1941. D: George Waggner. Lon Chaney, Jr. Fkl / Fst. Good actors, good art direction. It is not us vs. them. The dividing line goes through the monster, he is both himself and something else.
The Conversation / Keskustelu. US 1974. D: Francis Ford Coppola. tv
Meet Me In St. Louis / Tyttö ja kosija. US 1944. D: Vincente Minnelli. Fkl / Fh.
Let's Make Love. tv [2]
The Day the Earth Stood Still / Uhkavaatimus Maalle. US 1951. D: Robert Wise. Fkl / Fst. If we don't stop playing with nuclear power they must unfortunately destroy us.
Lili Marleen / Lili Marleen. DE 1981. D: R.W. Fassbinder. Cinema
Beat the Devil / Afrikan aarre. GB/US/IT 1953. D: John Huston. Fkl / Fst. A wonderful ensemble. I have to agree with PvB: "slackerhood perceived as Weltanschauung". Men of action who don't act.
TV: Jerry Williams: Rockrullen. Chuck Berry's bus in Let The Good Times Roll. Chuck Berry: Little Queenie (*). Richie Valens: Ooh My Head (Alan Freed). Buddy Holly: Peggy Sue (tv 1957). Buddy Holly: Oh Boy (tv 1958). Lewis Lymon & The Teen Chords: Your Life's Chance (*). Elvis: Heartbreak Hotel. Elvis: Hound Dog (1956). Chuck Berry & Bo Diddley: Johnny B. Goode (Let The Good Times Roll).
Live and Let Die. Kvartersbion. [2] Recycling other cultures. The soul discotheques of Harlem, the voodoo cult of Haiti, Bayou country. This was the big collapse in the continuum of the Bond movies.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame / Notre Damen kellonsoittaja. US 1939. D: William Dieterle. Fkl / Fst. Charles Laughton is great.


* The Merry Widow (Ernst Lubitsch) - the funniest telegram in film history.
Bits from the telegram to the Marshovian Ambassador in Paris Popoff (Edward Everett Horton).
"Darling" = "You are the greatest idiot in the diplomatic service".
"Next word: Lilac Time" (having heard this Horton asks to remove the poison bottle).
"She must be married now. Act quickly. Be brilliant. Meet crisis. Kill rumors. Admit nothing. Deny everything. Evade issues. Face facts. Stand pat. Something must be done. Do it. Do it now. What are you waiting for?"
"Darling!"