MARCH 1983, STOCKHOLM

Kenji Mizoguchi: 赤線地帯 / Akasen chitai (JP 1956).

Muriel / Muriel ou Le Temps d'un retour. FR/IT 1963. D: Alain Resnais. Jean Cayrol. Fkl / Fh. Belongs to a small elite group of cinema: a film which creates its own unique way of expression. Uneasy relationships. Traumatic impact of the Algerian war. Bold experimentation which is not an end in itself.
Gion bayashi / Les Musiciens de Gion / Gion Festival Music. JP 1953. D: Kenji Mizoguchi. Piercing, sensitive, glorious, ethnographically genuine account of the Gion geisha life: the tea ceremony, the music, the dance, the financial and property relationships. One of M's top achievements.
Nahapet / Naapet - en kärna av liv. AM-SU 1977. D: Henrik Malian. tv. A draggingly monotonous account of an Armenian farmer who loses all in the 1915 genocide and dies inside but recovers finally gradually.
6.3.1983 TV: Jean Sibelius II. FI. Fine.
Shoulder Arms / Kivääri olalle vie! US 1918. Charles Chaplin. VHS. Filling the blanks among C's First National masterpieces. I had probably never seen this one either in its entirety before.
Tauno Palo. FI 1981. D: Peter von Bagh. VHS. A good portrait. Drawback: a part of Palo's address is in the form of an answer in such a way that one would expect to hear the question as well. Less intensive than B's best.
Moi, un noir. FR 1958. D: Jean Rouch. VHS. Ethnofiction of a young black man in Treichville, Abidjan, Ivory Coast, in the last days of the colonial era, first person monologue covering all aspects of life from finding a woman to melancholy drinking. My knowledge of French was not good enough to understand all.
Mizoguchi Kenji no keroku / Kenji Mizoguchi, the Life of a Film Director. JP 1975. Orig. 150 min, this was 135 min. Fkl / Fst. A thorough interview-based documentary with screenwriter Yoshikata Yoda, actress Kinuyo Tanaka, etc. Perfectionism: during shooting, KM never left even for a leak, instead he had a special bottle. His Platonic love to Kinuyo Tanaka.
Musashino fujin / The Lady of Musashino. JP 1951. D: Kenji Mizoguchi. Fkl / Fh. For the Lady (Kinuyo Tanaka), Musashino is a garden that needs cultivation. For the young man, it is a dream of fertility. After-war intrigues and confused relationships. Tokyo spreads like an amoeba and destroys nature. Sumptuous, painterly sense of nature. Splendid.
Inter Rail. SE 1981. D: Birgitta Svensson. tv. I saw the conclusion only.
Air Force / Ilma on kohtalomme. US 1943. D: Howard Hawks. Fkl / Fst. A great epic on the experiences of the crew of an American bomber plane in the aerial warfare in the Pacific . No taste of paper this time from a script by Dudley Nichols. The action of the Hawksian group has now been transferred from a self-sufficient micro-world to a large context. As a result, Air Force has become quite a Fordian movie.
18.3.1983 TV: That's Hollywood 10: Saturday Matinee Heroes. US 1977. Fox TV. P: Jack Haley. Batman, Captain Marvel, Popeye, Captain America, Green Hornet, The Lone Ranger, Red Ryder, Dagwood and Blondie / Helmi ja Heikki, Little Orphan Annie, Dick Tracy, Flash Gordon, Star Wars.
19.3.1983 TV: Fönster mot TV-världen: Kina. A Chinese melodrama which brings to mind the archaic era of the cinema, the 1910s. A young girl's way into crime, prison, repentance and atonement.
19.3.1983 TV: Nadine Gordimer: Kärlek förbjuden. One episode from a series based on G's tales. The forbidden love affair between a white man and a black woman in South Africa.
Uwasa no onna / A Woman of Rumour. JP 1954. D: Kenji Mizoguchi. 16mm. Fkl / Fh. The triangel of enslavement in a house of paid love. A young doctor functions as the mother's pimp and the daughter's "protector". The daugher hates her mother's fate, but her anger turns into revenge. She becomes the bordello madam, who turns her bitterness into ripping off men.
23.3.1983 VHS: That's Hollywood 9: Marilyn Monroe. US 1978. Fox TV. EX: Audrey Solomon. P: Jack Haley. SC: Jack Havenick. Rare early footage, PR footage (Monkey Business, Some Like It Hot), MM in a TV commercial, the Korean tour. Film clips: The Seven Year Itch, Bus Stop, Genlemen Prefer Blondes, Love Happy, All About Eve, Clash By Night, We're Not Married!, Don't Bother to Knock, Niagara, There's No Business Like Show Business, How to Marry a Millionaire, Some Like It Hot. And footage from Something's Got to Give (including a small clip of previously unseen footage). Chaff put together in a hurry, but interesting.
23.3.1983 VHS: Carl Sagan: Cosmos 1: Den kosmiska oceanens stränder. US 1980. The start is somewhat heavy going, I feel S's approach of a Homeric odyssey alienating. The concept is an imaginative space odyssey, a quest reaching to the end of time and space. Science fiction with the stress on the word science.
Hangmen Also Die! / Myöskin pyövelit kuolevat. US 1943. D: Fritz Lang. VHS. The atmosphere of fear and terror in Prague under the rule of Heydrich. The pressure of the assassination and the concomitant retribution: will the chain of confidence break? Pared down and impressive. Unaffected nobility and dignity.
La Pyramide humaine / Ihmispyramidi. FR 1958. D: Jean Rouch. b&w. VHS. On the friendship of white and black young people, Frenchmen and Africans on an intimate level. Takes place in Abidjan, where ?some young Frenchmen spend their holiday? What is the difference between reality and play-acting? ?A central location is a shipwrecked vessel? I made no notes immediately.
Det stora äventyret / Suuri seikkailu / The Big Adventure. SE 1953. D: Arne Sucksdorff. VHS. A feature film by the documentarist and nature-lover. The adventures of two children in the nature during the four seasons. The two main plots: the fate of the fox family; the otter saved from the hunter's bullet secretly fostered by the children. Exquisite.
Akasen chitai / 赤線地帯 / Street of Shame / [the literal translation would be Red Light District] / Punaisten lyhtyjen katu. JP 1956. D: Kenji Mizoguchi. Announced 94 min, actually 85 min. M's last movie is a richly realistic contemporary account of the Dreamland house of paid love in Yoshiwara. In this film as in Uwasa na onna the claim about M's Balzacian aspect proves well-founded. Each character is grippingly portrayed, the vicious circle of each is made clear. The background to all is the debate on prostitution in the Japanese parliament. There is an intention to fix the worst problems, but nothing happens. Dreamland is a favourite location for company parties. The hard-boiled, inhibited bosses buy entertainment for themselves. (The geisha system in Gion bayashi was different: the geisha did not need to sleep with the customer unless she wanted to.)
Red River / Punainen virta. US 1948. D: Howard Hawks. A worn 16mm print. Duration announced 125 min, actually 110 min. This is the regular "voice version" with a spoken commentary by Walter Brennan. The original "book version", the definitive version, has written intertitles instead of spoken commentary, and the final showdown is reportedly more stylishly shot and edited. Fkl / Fst. I saw the film for the first time in its entirety. In summer 1973 at the army I had watch and was able to sneak to see a part only. - A magnificent epic western. Air Force and Red River make me rethink the difference between Ford and Hawks. Would there have been any essential difference if Ford had directed this? The un-idealized account of the ruthless Texan cattle baron, who does not flinch from robbery. A brilliant tribute to work and co-operation. The cattle stampede has apparently been as dangerous on location as it is made to look on screen.
Giulietta degli spiriti / Giulietta ja viettelykset. IT 1965. D: Federico Fellini. Fkl / Fh. Gleefully inventive and embarrassingly candid. My first impression was that I prefer this to 8½. (Having seen 8½ on tv only, and I would not want to see Giulietta degli spiriti on tv.) The Fellinian spectacle is meant for the screen, not tv. I enjoy the fantastic jokes and marvellous colours. F's guilty confession. The ruthlessly treacherous male is a Fellini imitation. Stranger still, Sandra Milo seems to have been F's lover in reality, too.
En sommarsaga / A Summer Saga. SE 1943. D: Arne Sucksdorff. VHS. +
Människor i stad / People in the City. SE 1948. D: Arne Sucksdorff. VHS. +
Trut! / The Seagull. SE 1944. D: Arne Sucksdorff. VHS. Enchantingly lyrical short documentaries.
29.3.1983 VHS: Carl Sagan: Cosmos 2: En stämma i den kosmiska fugan. It picks up.
Come and Get It / Tukkikuningas. US 1936. D: Howard Hawks & William Wyler. VHS. The first part, the original accumulation of capital, is directed by Hawks. The second part, the manners and mores in society circles, by Wyler. Frances Farmer in a dual role. The mother whom the lumber king, class-conscious and in search of a wealthy marriage, discards. And the daughter with whom the lumber king's son falls in love with. There is a strong drive in the first part, and the picture is an interesting sketch for Red River. The basic story is according to Hawks "the story of my grandfather". Walter Brennan has the same role in Come and Get It and Red River.

FEBRUARY 1983, WEST BERLIN, STOCKHOLM

5.2.1983 8mm screening at Spectrum. A demonstration against nuclear power and a fight with the police at Gorleben.
8.2.1983 TV: Hitchcock's Frenzy half-way on. I hate the movie, but there is such a drive in the images that I cannot turn it off. Ron Goodwin's music impressive, too. Sad how H. went down after Torn Curtain.
Die Stadt der verlorenen Seelen. DE 1982. D: Rosa von Praunheim. video. Rubbish.
Tally Brown. DE 1977. D: Rosa von Praunheim. video. Much better, a funny portrait of "the most unusual woman in the world", the bohemian singer and cabaret artist.
In jenen Tagen / Autostrada. DE 1947. D: Helmut Käutner. Arsenal. A journey through the Third Reich narrated by a car (Opel Olympia), which lies as junk in a garage and tells the story of each of its owners. A fine movie with sensitivity and understanding.
11.2.1983 video screening at Video-Bar Korrekt. Cinema Vitesse: TV im Off. DE 1983. Lethally bad and boring as is the location which pretends to be a cool place.
12.2.1983 Nationalgalerie: Videokunst in Deutschland 1963-1982.
- Ingo Günther: Video Voodoo (1980)
- Marcel Odenbach: Freud gegen Marx ist die Devise 1982)
- Manfred Kage: Video Mandala (1981, music creates image)
- Friederike Pezold: Madame Cucumate - Videoplastik (1975, a totem of five monitors)
- Ulrike Rosenbach: Wer hat Angst vor der schwarzen Frau (Medusaimagination - Venusdepression) (1982)
- Ingo Günther: Hi Tao (1981) (six monitors showing the American highway)
- Barbara Hammann: Neue Welle (1983)
- Angelika Bader & Dietmar Tanterl: Ready Made Aide 1982 - Falkland Task Force South
- Ursula Wevers: Horizontales / vertikales Springen (1979)
- Peter Kolb: The Manhattan Tape ("video skyline")
- Klaus vom Bruch: Videogeister (1983)
- Wolf Vostell: Deutscher Anblick 1950-1963
- Nam June Paik: Zen for TV (1963)
In search for meaning.
The Lusty Men. The long version. Filmkunst 66. [2]. Gets better. Good story, taut direction, sensitive handling of characters, juicy dialogue.
Lucifer Rising. Video. [2]. Gets better. Explosive cinema, belongs to the Eisenstein current, taps from the archaic sources. Ecstatic, joy of sound and colour.
...
STOCKHOLM
The Criminal Code. US 1931. D: Howard Hawks. Fkl / Fst. Apparently 16mm. H's stiff beginnings in sound film. Prison drama dragged by the burden of a filmed play. Walter Huston is the rough warden. Boris Karloff is the prisoner who has been appointed to revenge on the informer. A juvenile delinquent punished too harshly breaks down, until saved by the love of the warden's daughter. A rare milieu for H: the textile factory where the prisoners serve their sentence of hard labour and where the dirt, the noise and the forced pace of work almost bring the young protagonist down.
Tiger Shark / Tiikerihai. US 1932. Fkl / Fh. 16mm. A pretty good yarn about tuna fishers in the Pacific. Edward G. Robinson in an unusual part as the Spanish captain who loses his arm as he saves his buddy from the jaws of the shark. The missing arm is replaced by a hook, which is not an advantage when the captain is to select a wife. The wife ends up in the arms of the buddy whom he saved. The sad story gets uplift from R's performance as the boastful captain.
Orizuru Osen / The Downfall of Osen / Osen of the Paper-Cranes. JP 1934. D: Kenji Mizoguchi. Shot silent, synchronized afterwards with a commentaror's voice. A very bad 16mm print. The sorry status of the print made it impossible to make sense of the film. The story is archetypal M: a woman who helps the young man to a good start in life returns in the end as a prostitute rendered feeble-minded by venereal disease. The experience was strange since the film had both lengthy intertitles and spoken commentary. Plus English subtitles.
Pay Day / Palkkapäivä. US 1922. Charles Chaplin. Video. Another late exercise in pure slapstick, now with the full relish made possible by a lack of hurry. I love the transition via the dollar sign.
In a Lonely Place / Hermot pinnalla. US 1950. D: Nicholas Ray. Humphrey Bogart, Gloria Grahame. A delectable psychological thriller about the frustrated screenwriter.
Josei no shori / The Victory of Women. JP 1946. D: Kenji Mizoguchi. Fkl / Fh. A really weak 16mm print. The reported duration was 84 min, actually 77 min. The lousy print again spoiled the experience. Good story: a court drama about a woman who has lost her husband and child. The defense attorney is portrayed by Kinyuo Tanaka, the embodiment of M's anima.
Joyu Sumako no koi / The Love of Sumako, the Actress. JP 1947. D: Kenji Mizoguchi. A bleak 16mm print, annoying hum on the soundtrack. Reported duration 96 min, actually 85 min. A great film from the world of the theatre. The introduction of Western theatre (Ibsen, Shakespeare) to Japan. Sumako has to abandon home and family as she dedicates herself to the theatre, until then a forbidden profession for women. Starring, of course, Kinoyo Tanaka.
Seven Chances / Seitsemän mahdollisuutta. US 1925. Buster Keaton. Fkl / Fst. Announced 75 min, actually 55 min. A masterpiece. The shy inhertior has to marry by a deadline in order to receive the millions. Finally all the women of the town are after him in a crazy chase, during the course of which K. calls forth an earthquake, among other things.
The Pilgrim / Susi lammasten vaatteissa. US 1923. VHS. Magisterial, stark, absurd satire. In the role of the poker-faced preacher C. gets as closest to Keaton. The energy of the fireball is contained in the black robe.
Dead End / Varjojen kadut (TV title 2003). US 1937. D: William Wyler. Lillian Hellman. Gregg Toland. Humphrey Bogart, Joel McCrea. VHS. Theatrical, finger-pointingly didactic crime play from New York's back streets. The slang sound unauthentic as everything else. Disappointed.

JANUARY 1983, STOCKHOLM, WEST BERLIN

A memorable clip in the wonderful compilation film The Love Goddesses (US 1965) from Malcolm St. Clair's A Woman of the World (US 1925). Countess Elnora (Pola Negri) horsewhips the district attorney Richard Granger (Holmes E. Herbert) after he orders her out of town. It must be love. "More, more!" cried the audience in Helmut Arlt's private cinema ("in meinem Kino muss geraucht werden" - "in my cinema you must smoke"). My screenshot from YouTube.

STOCKHOLM
A Day's Pleasure / Huviretki. US 1919. Charles Chaplin. tv. Good old slapstick, done with relish, without fuss.
The Kid. tv [2] C's true style could evolve in his features. In his shorts there was not enough room for such an emotional register.
The Roots of Rock'n'Roll 6. US. Fox TV. VHS. The conclusion of the lousy series. The narration of Pat Boone, Frankie Avalon, etc., provided unintentional comedy. Yet most clips (Bowie, Devo, Lovich) were brilliant.
Les Maîtres fous. FR 1955. D: Jean Rouch. VHS. The anthropologist's wild vision of the initiation rites of the Hauka.
La Chasse au lion à l'arc / Hunting the Lion with Bow and Arrow. FR 1965. D: Jean Rouch. VHS. An exciting account of an African ritual lion hunt that goes on for years.
Jaguar. FR 1967. D: Jean Rouch. VHS. Ethnofiction. A young black man moves from a village to a port town. A Bildungsroman in the form of an anthropological movie. Humoristic and sensual as seems to be the case with R. always.
Fanny och Alexander (cinema version). Astoria. The three-hour version is a disappointment. Gaudy and cliché-ridden. A homage to the "banal waltz tempo of life" (T. Mann).
The Entity / Entity - tuntematon voima. US 1981. D: Sidney J. Furie. Barbara Hershey. Rigoletto. Partially impressive visionary fantasy. But the makers seem to take the parapsychological phenomena seriously.
Cat People / Kissaihmiset. US 1982. D: Paul Schrader. Göta Lejon. Special effects shocks instead of horror. Contrived, guilt-ridden sex instead of sensuality.
...
WEST BERLIN
11.1.1983 a video evening with Helmut Arlt. Clips from Hit the Deck / Meripojat ankkurissa (US 1955, Roy Rowland), The Best Things In Life Are Free / Kaikki riippuu sinusta (US 1956, Michael Curtiz, Sheree North's dance in front of the prison is among the most electrifying things I have seen), Die Drei von der Tankstelle / Rakkautta ja bensiiniä (DE 1930, Wilhelm Thiele), and A Damsel in Distress.
Boudu. tv [3]
Poltergeist / Poltergeist. US 1982. D: Tobe Hooper. DF. Palast. An excellent and original horror movie, in which the mix of horror and comedy is right.
The Thing / The Thing - "se" jostakin. US 1982. D: John Carpenter. DF. Alhambra. Mostly just a vehicle for the terrifying effects.
Der Verlorene. DE 1951. D: Peter Lorre. tv. Acclaimed as the best post-war West German film. Tapping into the excitement of Weimar cinema, a circle of guilt and crime during the Third Reich.
Le Carrosse d'or / Kultavaunut / Die goldene Karosse. IT/FR 1953. D: Jean Renoir. tv. DF. A stylized musical colour film inspired by commedia dell'arte. The master of realism as the master of spectacle. Focus on Anna Magnani.
Holiday / Vakka kantensa valitsee. US 1937. D: George Cukor. tv. DF. Fast screwball comedy slaughtered by German dubbing.
The Love Goddesses / Kauneuden jumalattaret. US 1965. D: Saul J. Turell & Graeme Ferguson. Helmut Arlt, 35 mm. A wonderful introduction to the great love stars since Edison's Kiss. Louise Brooks, Brigitte Helm, Clara Bow, Marlene Dietrich, Jean Harlow, etc.
The Black Room. US 1935. D: Roy William Neill. tv. A discovery from the golden age of horror. Boris Karloff in a dual role portrays the good and the bad brother. Good story, good art direction, Karloff at his best, Neill's directorial grip is strong.
29.1.1983 a 8mm film evening at Gib Acht. DE c1982. Teufelsberg-Produktion: Vorfilms-Aufschnitt. Ropotow im Kampf gegen Terragörcs. Die Fanatischen oder Devil's Daughter. Wunderbarer Industru. Half-amusing. Goes to show that with a mini budget you can do almost as funny a film as with a super budget. But nothing earth-shaking.
Wayne and Shuster Take an Affectionate Look at: W.C. Fields. TV episode. US 1965. A funny 45 min introduction, pretty lightweight.
Mephisto / Mephisto. DE/HU/AT 1981. D: István Szabó. tv. I was not yet impressed.

DECEMBER 1982, WEST BERLIN, STOCKHOLM

WEST BERLIN
Video and film evening 2.12.1982 with Helmut Arlt, Schlüterstrasse. He has a huge video collection (based on Betamax) and his own 35mm home cinema.
- Video: Summer Stock (excerpt) [2]. Thousands Cheer / Sotilasheila (US 1943, D: George Sidney, excerpt). The Ziegfeld Girl / Revyytyttö (US 1941, D: Robert Z. Leonard, Lana Turner, James Stewart, excerpts).
- 35mm: Calling All Girls. US 1942. How Warner Bros. musicals are made. Excerpts from Footlight Parade, Gold Diggers of 1933, Wonder Bar. Including "By A Waterfall", "Petting In The Park", "Shadow Waltz".
A Lawless Street / Ase on puhunut. US 1955. D: Joseph H. Lewis. Randolph Scott. tv. DF. A memorable image in the beginning. The sheriff (RS) has had a rough time with the violent people of the town. Exhausted, he retreats into his office, locks himself in the cell, and falls into deep sleep.
Монолог / Monologi / Monologue. SU 1972. D: Ilya Averbach. SC: Yevgeni Gabrilovich. Arsenal. Potentially interesting, Chekhovian-Bergmanian starting point. The professor (Mikhail Glutzky) confronts the three important women of his life and other major issues. Lacks fresh insight.
Допрос / Das Verhör / The Interrogation. AZ-SU 1979. D: Rasim Odzhakov. Arsenal. A charged Azerbaidzhan thriller of a prosecutor (Alexander Kalyagin) who risks his life as he exposes an extended net of crime and corruption.
TV evening 11.12.1982. Wetten, dass... An entertainment show with unbelievable tricks such as a truck parking on four beer bottles. Jerry Lewis as the special guest star. Nachrichten. Das aktuelle Sportstudio mit Abendgymnastik. Sydne Rome has established her own Work-Out inspired by Jane Fonda. Der Kommissar. Uschi Seifried.
ვედრება / Vedreba / Molba / Loitsu / Das Gebet / The Plea. GE-SU 1968. D: Tengiz Abuladze. Arsenal. A wild force, intensity on Dovzhenko level. I discover the true power of Abuladze, having been disappointed with The Wishing Tree.
Остановился поезд / Der Zug hielt an / The Train Has Stopped. SU 1982. D: Vadim Abdrashitov. SC: Aleksandr Mindadze. Arsenal. A train accident is the starting-point to examine the power structure of a whole town. Two principles of justice: a formal and a humanistic. Anatoli Solonitsyn in one of his last roles. A strong film of profound interest.
...
STOCKHOLM
Video evening 19.12.1982. David Bowie & Bing Crosby: The Little Drummer Boy. The Roots of Rock'n'Roll Part 6, including David Bowie: Ashes To Ashes, Madness: One Step Beyond. Terhi
TV 24.12.1982
- Kalle Anka och hans vänner önskar god jul / Samu Sirkan joulusirkus
- Tales of the Unexpected: Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel's Coat. TV episode. GB 1979. D: Simon Langton. Roald Dahl. Ronald Harwood. Julie Harris. Not as good as the Hitchcock version.
- Starsky and Hutch: Little Girl Lost / Flicka på villovägar. TV episode. US 1976. D: Earl Bellamy. David Soul, Paul Michael Glaser.
- Saturday Night Live. Elliott Gould, John Belushi, Chevy Chase, etc.
TV 25.12.1982
- Fönster mot TV-världen, wonderful animations
- The Night of a Hundred Stars (14.12.1982 Radio City Music Hall / Actors Fund of America 100 Years)
- Gyllene Tider - Parkliv / Gyllene Tider - Parkliv [released in Finland later on dvd]. SE 1981. D: Lasse Hallström. A concert documentary feature of the pop band, in which Per Gessle was active before Roxette.
E.T. / E.T. US 1982. D: Steven Spielberg. Sergel. The cinema was packed, and the Swedish audience was in tears. I had not seen such a reaction since I saw Corazón salvaje in Tallinn in August 1971.
TV 29.12.1982: Pulcinello och Pimpinella. (Pergolesi)
TV 30.12.1982: Earth, Wind & Fire, live at Oakland and London, 60 min, c1982
Sons of the Desert. tv [2]
That's Entertainment 2. tv [2]

NOVEMBER 1982, WEST BERLIN

Detlef Sierck: Das Hofkonzert / The Court Concert (DE 1936).

Die Arbeitsteilung. DE 1968. Educational film at W. F. Haug's seminar.

Black Narcissus / Musta narsissi. GB 1947. D: Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger. Arsenal. A wild drive, builds up speed towards the powerful finale.
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp / Ystävykset. GB 1943. D: Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger. Arsenal. A 124 min version. Marvellous, I look forward to the complete version.
A Matter of Life and Death / Kysymys elämästä ja kuolemasta. GB 1946. D: Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger. Arsenal. Did not work for me, too much dryness, also in the humour.
Unser täglich Brot. DD 1949. D: Slatan Dudow. Arsenal. A largely impressive account on the reconstruction of Berlin (DDR), but one of the strands of the storyline gets annoying. The tale of the boy who becomes a spy is not convincing.
Nuit et brouillard / Nacht und Nebel. Arsenal. DF [2]. The German version is important, a part of the official school curriculum in the country.
Das Frauenzimmer. DE 1981. D: Claudia von Alemann. Arsenal. Feministic avantgarde.
Judofrauen haben als Hilfe boten. DE 1982. D: Ulrike Rosenbach. Arsenal. Feministic avantgarde.
Das Hofkonzert / Hovikonsertti / The Court Concert / Du même titre. DE 1936. D: Detlef Sierck. tv. Interesting to encounter Rudolf Klein-Rogge (Mabuse) and Alfred Abel (Metropolis) in talking roles.
Arsenal 22.11.1982: Wolf Kahlen's Experimental Videos. DE 1970-1982. Presented by Wolf Kahlen. Arsenal. I Angleichungen. 1. Trespassing. 2. Ich kann sagen, was ich will. 3. I Can't Get Hold Of Her. 4. Body Horizons. II Video Entropy. 5. [systematic experiments of the apertures of the video camera]. 6. Three Unfocused Stories. 7. Ich kann sehen was ich will. 8. Schafe (part V: the letter F, and part VI: the letter E). 9. Ich kann mir schon schöner vorstellen. 10. Haarwasche.
The Wedding March. tv [2] The ZDF reconstruction from the best possible elements, with the colour sequences and the original soundtrack. Kept booming magnificently in my mind days afterwards.

OCTOBER 1982, STOCKHOLM

TV 2.10.1982 Oriana Fallaci: En man
Flying Down to Rio / Carioca. US 1933. D: Thornton Freeland. Astaire & Rogers. Fkl / Fh
VHS 4.10.1982 Casablanca. The Church: The Unguarded Moment. The Beatles clips (incomplete): Magical Mystery Tour, All You Need Is Love, You've Got To Hide Your Love Away, I Should Have Known Better, A Hard Day's Night, Ticket To Ride, Get Back. The Beatles: Twist And Shout (live in Sweden 1963). The Beatles: I Wanna Hold Your Hand (live). Annifrid Lyngstad: Something's Going On. Fun Boy Three: Summertime. Bow Wow Wow: I Want Candy. ABC: The Look Of Love. Fleetwood Mac: Gypsy. Box live. Kim Carnes: Voyeur.
The Rolling Stones: Die ersten 20 Jahre. DE c1982. Hannes Rossacher & Rudi Dolezal. VHS. Largely the same material as in The Rolling Stones: History and Highlights. Updated with new material and interviews: Some Girls, Emotional Rescue, Tattoo You, Hal Ashby footage.
Scarlet Street / Punainen katu. US 1945. D: Fritz Lang. VHS. Does not work so well on the box. The caricature in the characters and storytelling. In the final episode Dudley Nichols' vice of overemphasis has not been toned down. Edward G. Robinson's nightmare course starts to feel stupid because of the exaggerated effects. Yet I watched some parts of it many times with fascination.
9.10.1982 A video abuse evening with Vesa, Riitta
VHS 11.10.1982 Casablanca. Peter Gabriel: Shock The Monkey. Haysi Fantayzee: John Wayne Is Big Leggy. Madhouse live. Jimi Hendrix: Purple Haze (Woodstock), Hey Joe (Monterey), Hey Joe (a b&w tv performance), Hear My Train A'Comin' (the Hendrix movie theme), Purple Haze ("is it tomorrow, or just the end of time?"). Soundcheck: Hold The Line. Toto: Rosanna.
Cronaca di un amore / Erään rakkauden tarina. IT 1951. D: Michelangelo Antonioni. Lucia Bosè. VHS
La signora senza camelie / Nainen vailla sielua. IT 1953. D: Michelangelo Antonioni. Lucia Bosè. VHS
The Return of Frank James / Frank Jamesin paluu. US 1940. D: Fritz Lang. Henry Fonda. VHS. A pleasure to see Lang out in the open.
Clash by Night. VHS [2]. Strong ingredients, but Odets's play has not been opened up enough.
TV 18.10.1982 Casablanca. The Cheaters live in the studio. Roxy Music: Avalon. Gerry & The Pacemakers: How Do You Do It? Marianne Faithfull: As Tears Go By. The Ronettes: Dancing In The Street. Freddie & The Dreamers: You Were Made For Me. The Motels: Only The Lonely. Simple Minds: Glittering Prize. Yazoo: Don't Go. Bananarama: Shy Boy. Dexy's Midnight Runners: Come On Eileen. Billy Joel: Pressure.
19.10.1982 a video evening with Erkki.

SEPTEMBER 1982, STOCKHOLM

Till glädje. tv. [2] Maj-Britt Nilsson enchanting.
TV 3.9.1982 Not the Nine O'Clock News
TV 8.9.1982 Raiders of the Lost Tricks
My Darling Clementine. Fkl / Fh [2] after 13 years
Un chapeau de paille d'Italie / Italialainen olkihattu. FR 1927. D: René Clair. Fkl / Fh. For me, Max Linder is still funny, but René Clair feels laboured. I observe his work with admiration.
TV 14.9.1982 Marcus Wallenberg memorial programme, an interview with Tage Erlander.
TV 14.9.1982 Dokument utifrån: Argentina.
TV 18.9.1982 Vetenskapens värld: a communicating wonder monkey.
Le Million / Miljoona. FR 1931. D: René Clair. Fkl / Fh
Cat People. Fkl / Fh. 16mm [2]
Свой среди чужих, чужой среди своих / Toverit / Vieraana ja muukalaisena / Friend Among Strangers, Stranger Among Friends. Fkl / Fh. [2] A mishmash of style.
Lady for a Day / Päivä ylhäisönaisena. US 1933. D: Frank Capra. Fkl / Fh. Funny and warmly emotional. The remake Pocketful of Miracles gives just a diluted aftertaste. It is easy to believe this was one of C's own favourites.
Strike Me Pink. US 1936. D: Norman Taurog. Eddie Cantor. VHS. A laboured comedy. The high point: Ethel Merman performs First You Take Me High, Then You Sink Me Low.
Burden of Dreams. US 1982. D: Les Blank. VHS. His documentary on Werner Herzog making Fitzcarraldo.
Валентина / Valentina. SU 1981. D: Gleb Panfilov. Aleksandr Vampilov. Inna Churikova. VHS. Intensity. A successful adaptation of the play.
Quatorze Juillet / Pariisi tanssii. FR 1932. D: René Clair. Fkl / Fh
Пять вечеров / Viisi iltaa / Five Evenings. Fkl / Fh. [2] In the presence of Nikita Mikhalkov. Gets weaker, Lyudmila Gurchenko's strained habitus in the beginning feels affected.
One from the Heart / [unreleased in Finland, in 1994 it got the tv name Suoraan sydämestä]. US 1982. D: Francis Ford Coppola. Festival. Flat.

THE VIDEO EFFECT

The video effect: I started to have access to home video taped movies and tv programmes in 1980, thanks to Mr. Jouko Hanhinen in Tampere, the first person I knew to have a home video apparatus.
By 1982 I had a VHS video tape recorder, myself. It was now easier to follow complete runs of important tv series. It became possible to rewind to the best clips of music video programmes, and watch favourite movie scenes repeatedly.
I started to arrange regular video evenings at home. We usually watched a complete movie, selected favourite scenes, and top music videos.
First in 1985 I had also a Betamax video tape recorder, but it was mainly to access collections of friends, and I always taped a lot of films for friends. It was my contribution to a video exchange network, and my reward was reasonable access.
For me, video was always only for watching and showing.
I never considered collecting video. I was always aware that it is substandard and not durable.
Writing this in 2008, I still value my VHS apparatus, which I now use to tape extended radio programmes such as operas, concerts, and my favourite radio programme, "YLE Radio 1: Yöklassinen" [YLE Radio 1: The Night Classics] from midnight till 6 am in the morning (Sundays till 7 am). Used as audio tape, VHS is excellent even at half speed or less. YLE Radio 1, one of the great music channels of the world, sends its magnificent programmes uncompressed. Treasures galore!

AUGUST 1982, STOCKHOLM

Fritz Lang: Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (US 1956). Dana Andrews in SuperScope. Lang's last American film.

Three Godfathers / Pako yli aavikon. US 1948. D: John Ford. VHS. The only slip of style: the religious delusion of the final part of the desert journey is too heavy-handedly emphasized. I watched several scenes over and over again.
The Werewolf of London. US 1935. D: Stuart Walker. VHS. Lacks the definitive urgency of Universal's greatest creations. Waggner's The Wolf Man achieved it.
Rauta-aika 2 / Järntiden 2 / The Iron Age 2. FI 1982. VHS
The Making of Mankind 4. GB 1981. Richard Leakey. tv
6.8.1982 TV: Not the Nine O'Clock News. GB 1980.
Рассказ неизвестного человека / Tuntemattoman tarina / The Story of an Unknown Man. SU 1980. D: Vytautas Zalakevicius. Anton Chekhov. Alexander Kaidanovsky convincing, otherwise bland.
Dracula. US 1931. D: Tod Browning. Bram Stoker. tv. Bela Lugosi is Dracula, art direction and acting are definitive, but the movie suffers from the fact that the play adaptation has not been rendered sufficiently cinematic. Later I watched on vhs the Lugosi introduction several times.
Rauta-aika 3. VHS
The Making of Mankind 5. VHS
13.8.1982 Not the Nine O'Clock News. GB 1980. VHS. The best episode so far. The panel discussion with a talking monkey. The video game presentation with a "Royal Revenge". Two tabloid sellers competing with the goriness of their headlines ("Millions Mangled in M-Way Madness").
14.8.1982: a video abuse evening with Eija, Tapio, Nina
Третья Мещанская / Säng och soffa / Bed and Sofa. VHS [2]. A delicious film, the best scenes watched over and over again.
Fedora / Fedora - arvoituksellinen nainen. FR/DE 1978. D: Billy Wilder. Fkl / Fh. Still going strong.
TV 17.8.1982 Måndagsbörsen på burk 1. The synthetizer bands. Classix Nouveaux, Henkans Supersyntare, Depeche Mode, Rupert Hine, Duran Duran.
Rauta-aika 4. TV. The series was proof that there is good material in the Finnish mythology for a movie. A Finnish counterpart to the samurai film? The images were strong, but the eternal stares of the actors and Paavo Haavikko's clumsy dialogue took the steam away. The purely visual action elements were fine, as was the montage (as long as they did not try tricks on the "this is a play" concept).
King Kong. tv. [3]
The Making of Mankind 6. VHS.
Judge Priest. US 1934. D: John Ford. Fkl / Fst. I did not like this as much as Steamboat Round the Bend.
The Iron Horse / Rautahepo. US 1925. Fkl / Fh. A good print. A presentation with musical accompaniment and the original sound effects. The style of the epic legend is convincing. Ford's finest nuances are not yet in evidence. Impresses with its energy, and the massive production values are put in good use.
20.8.1982 Not the Nine O'Clock News. VHS.
Cat Ballou / Paukkurauta Kati. US 1965. D: Elliot Silverstein. Jane Fonda, Lee Marvin. VHS
22.8.1982 TV: Only When I Laugh. TV comedy series. GB 1979.
23.8.1982 TV: Måndagsbörs på burk: Kvinnorna. Efva Attling. Alice. Carline Carter (*). Olivia Newton-John: Physical (a terrible imitation of Jane Russell in Anyone Here For Love?). Elkie Brooks (***).
24.8.1982 a video abuse evening with Kati, Hannele
25.8.1982 Fkl / Fst double bill:
Le Sang d'un poète [2] +
Un chant d'amour. FR 1950. D: Jean Genet. Unique in its open, naked homosexuality.
La plus belle affiche 1. VHS [2]
Tha Making of Mankind 7. VHS. Richard Leakey's series was excellent. Such works are sufficient justification for the existence of tv.
The Whole Town's Talking / Koko kaupungin puheenaihe. US 1935. D: John Ford. Fkl / Fh. The auteur policy at stake: if they had announced Capra as the director, I would not have suspected anything. The screenwriter is Riskin, the company is Columbia, the star is Jean Arthur, and they create the Capra effect? Or is Ford being influenced by his colleague? Who cares, the film is wonderful.
The Informer / Ilmiantaja. US 1935. D: John Ford. Fkl / Fh. Strong story, great main actor (Victor McLaglen). But marred by overemphasis in expressionism. - Ford is a natural expressionist. When he "turns artistic" he risks mannerism.
27.8.1982 Not the Nine O'Clock News. VHS
Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes. tv [2]
28.8.1982 TV: Maratonrock. Eric Burdon, etc.
La plus belle affiche 2. VHS [2]
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt / Sähkötuoli odottaa / Elektriska stolen väntar. US 1956. D: Fritz Lang. tv. His late, stark style packs a punch.

JULY 1982, WEST BERLIN, STOCKHOLM, HELSINKI

Nicholas Colasanto: Columbo S2.E1: Étude in Black (US 1972). Peter Falk (Columbo) and John Cassavetes (conductor Alex Benedict).

WEST BERLIN

The Yellow Sky. tv. DF [2]
Columbo S2.E1 Étude in Black / Columbo: Etude in Schwarz / Columbo: Synkeä etydi. TVM. US 1972. D: Nicholas Colasanto. Peter Falk, John Cassavetes (as a conductor)
...
STOCKHOLM
Ebba the Movie. SE 1982. D: Johan Donner. Ebba Grön. Filmstaden
TV 13.7.1982: The Rolling Stones: Jumping Jack Flash (live 1967, 4 min)
Skönhetssalong i Madagaskar. SE 1935. D: Paul Fejos. tv: Guldkorn från SF
The Incredible Hulk [Season 3, Episode 8]: Homecoming. TV series. US 1979. D: John McPherson. Bill Bixby / Lou Ferrigno. "Hulken"
TV 17.7.1982: Rockrullen / Jerry Williams. 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 (1956).
The Rocky Horror Picture Show. GB 1975. D: Jim Sharman. Cinema. Jouni Suomalainen, a friend from Kajaani
The World at War: A New Germany: 1933-1939 [Episode 1]. GB 1973. D: Hugh Raggett. tv. Great
The Making of Mankind 2. GB 1981. Richard Leakey. Magnificent [one of the best-ever tv series was not mentioned in IMDB or Wikipedia in Dec 2008]
TV 24.7.1982 Rockrullen / Jerry Williams. Elvis: Money Honey (1956) (*). The Coasters: Searchin'. The Coasters: Along Came Jones. The Cadillacs: Please, Mr. Johnson. Eddie Cochran: Teenage Heaven. LaVern Baker: Tra La La. The Temptations: My Girl. Elvis: Ready Teddy. Little Richard: Tutti Frutti (1950s). Little Richard: Lucille (from Let the Good Times Roll).
Rauta-aika 1. TV series. FI 1982. D: Kalle Holmberg. Paavo Haavikko, from Kalevala. tv
The Mummy. US 1932. D: Karl Freund. tv. A stylish, poetic horror movie. Boris Karloff as the Egyptian mummy, revived by the ancient curse accidentally uttered by the scientist.
...
HELSINKI
Elton John: Candle In The Wind. GB [The song is from Yellow Brick Road, 1973]. A Marilyn montage with Korea tour footage, Marilyn and Jane put their handprints on the concrete before Grauman's Chinese, her birthday greeting to President Kennedy. Ca 5 min. Eeva Kurki presented on video, taped from The Roots of Rock'n'Roll.

JUNE 1982, WEST BERLIN

The Rolling Stones - History and Highlights. DE 1978. D: Hannes Rossacher (& Rudi Dolezal?). PC: Atlas Film / Rock Film Club (München). Kant-Kino. The best is in the start: Around And Around, apparently from The TAMI Show. - 1964: Ireland, cinéma-vérité. - A Brian Jones sequence, ending with a clip from The Stones in the Park, with Jagger letting the white butterflies in the air. - Schoolboy Blues (= Cocksucker Blues). - It's Only Rock'n'Roll dressed as sailors. - A groupie sequence. - A psychedelia sequence: In Another Land; 2000 Light Years From Home; Jumpin' Jack Flash [the sequences seemed to be out of order]. - Sympathy For The Devil: a condensation of Godard's film. - Rock and Roll Circus. - Long German concert sequences. - Interviews dubbed with German spoken commentary.
Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? / Houkuttelevat huulet / Sirene in Blond. US 1957. D: Frank Tashlin. Kant-Kino. Masterpiece.
Son of Paleface / Kalpeanaaman poika. US 1951. D: Frank Tashlin. tv. DF. Masterpiece.
The Band Wagon / Iskelmäkaruselli. US 1953. D: Vincente Minnelli. Thalia. Masterpiece.
Ich will doch nur, dass ihr mich liebt. DE 1976. D: R.W. Fassbinder. tv, the beginning only. The most moving RWF bit I had so far seen.
The Gunfighter. tv. DF [2]
The Great Rock'n'Roll Swindle. GB 1980. D: Julien Temple. The Sex Pistols. Front-Kino. Masterpiece.
The Who: The Kids Are Alright / The Kids Are Alright. GB 1981. D: Jeff Stein. Kurbel. A reminder of the amazing scope of the magnificent numbers of The Who. Sloppily compiled.
Der Reagan-Besuch. DE 1982. Medienoperative. Video. Modest.
Subida al cielo / Der Weg, der zum Himmel führt. MX 1951. D: Luis Buñuel. Arsenal. Fun in B's early Mexican, unpretetious way.
Yojimbo / Onnensoturi. JP 1961. D: Akira Kurosawa. DF. Filmkunst 66. My first impression: virtuoso but empty. A Fistful of Dollars not only copied the story but some of Clint's mannerisms (the mechanical gestures of Mifune) and the inspiration of Morricone's music are probably here.
The Killers / Tappajat. US 1964. D: Don Siegel. DF. Klick. With Zafer Tosun. I did not like S's easy cynicism, but of course it has a virtuoso touch. Reagan as the main killer looks like today. There was a jolt in the audience when he appeared.
Dirty Daughters. DE 1982. D: Dagmar Beiersdorf. Cinema. With Zafer Tosun. A good example of contemporary Berlin cinema.

MAY 1982, WEST BERLIN

TV 1.5.1982: Let's Rock. An American continuous fun dancing programme with Shaking Stevens, Lulu, etc.
Columbo: Murder by the Book / Columbo: Tödliche Trennung. TV episode. US 1971. D: Steven Spielberg. tv. DF
De Mayerling à Sarajevo / Sarajevon päiviä. FR 1939. D: Max Ophuls. tv. DF. Edwige Feuillère charming.
Grapes of Wrath / Vihan hedelmät. US 1940. D: John Ford. tv. DF. For the first time. Not slighter than the novel. Roosevelt optimism towards the end. The fighting spirit of Tom Joad / Henry Fonda. Almost equally powerful is Preacher Casey / John Carradine, the preacher who has stopped preaching.
TV 2.5.1982: Zeugen des Jahrhunderts: Axel Springer 70 J.
Die verkaufte Braut / Myyty morsian. DE 1932. D: Max Ophuls. tv. A sunny Smetana opera film in comparison to which Bergman's Magic Flute feels laboured.
Camille / Kamelianainen. US 1936. D: George Cukor. tv. DF. Love films suffer dubbed in German.
Bluebeard's Eighth Wife / Siniparran kahdeksas vaimo. US 1938. D: Ernst Lubitsch. tv. DF. Comedies suffer dubbed in German. Besides, it's one of L's weakest.
One Hour With You / Hetki sinun kanssasi. US 1932. D: Ernst Lubitsch. tv. Enraptured cinema, in a state of grace, one of the top ten musicals.
Johnny Guitar / Wenn Frauen hassen. tv. DF [2]
I Walked With a Zombie. tv. DF [2]
Lady Eve / Nainen Eeva. US 1941. D: Preston Sturges. tv. DF. Depressing in German.
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. US 1948. D. Charles Barton. tv. DF. Boring.
Fitzcarraldo / Fitzcarraldo. DE 1982. D: Werner Herzog. Marmorhaus. Not impressed.
Altered States / Muutostiloja / Der Höllentrip. US 1980. D: Ken Russell. DF. Das Lebende Bild
TV 25.5.1982: Bananas.
An American Werewolf in London / Ihmissusi Lontoossa. US 1980. D: John Landis. DF. Marmorhaus

APRIL 1982, WEST BERLIN

Who's Minding the Store? / Jerry, myyntipäällikön kauhu. US 1963. D: Frank Tashlin. tv, DF. Jerry and Tashlin at their best. In the climax Jerry demonstrates the vacuum cleaner's suction power. It draws in everything from the vicinity and then from the whole floor, including the customer's poodle and the saleslady's briefs. The bag of the cleaner swells into a giant balloon which lifts Jerry to the ceiling, where the whole debris of the consumer society explodes.
TV 2.4.1982: Fred Astaire: Change Partners and Dance /Ein Mann tanzt um die Welt 2: Zauberhafte Partnerinnen. US 1980. D: David Heeley. Fred Astaire. (part)
Le Cercle rouge / Punainen ympyrä / Vier im roten Kreis. FR 1970. D: Jean-Pierre Melville. tv. DF. A masterpiece.
TV 3.-4.4.1982: Rockpalast-Festival X Live aus der Grugahalle in Essen. A six hour live transmission. Rick James, Van Morrison, U2, Bob Seger (taped), The Kinks, David Lindley.
Safety Last / Turvallisuus viimeiseksi / Ausgerechnet Wolkenkratzer. US 1923. D: Fred Newmeyer & Sam Taylor. Harold Lloyd. A masterpiece.
Die Wahlverwandschaften / Les Affinités électives. TVM. FR/CZ/DE 1982. D: Claude Chabrol. Goethe. Stéphane Audran (Charlotte), Michael Degen (Hauptmann Otto), Pascale Reynaud (Ottilie), Helmut Griem (Edouard Otto). A boring adaptation of a novel I love. Premiere transmission.
Easter Parade / Sinun kanssasi kahden. US 1948. D: Charles Walters. Garland, Astaire, Ann Miller. tv. A feast of colour and music.
TV 5.4.1982: Hitparade im ZDF. Dieter Thomas Heck, the Heikki Hietamies of Germany.
The Invisible Ray. US 1936. D: Lambert Hillyer. Karloff, Lugosi. tv
It Started with Eve / Se alkoi Eevasta. US 1941. D: Henry Koster. Deanna Durbin, Charles Laughton. tv. DF. Trivial.
Bathing Beauty / Läpi tulen ja veden. US 1944. D: George Sidney. Esther Williams, Red Skelton. tv. Fun.
Ben-Hur / Ben-Hur. US 1925. D: Fred Niblo. Ramon Novarro, Francis X. Bushman, May McAvoy, Betty Bronson. tv. ZDF reconstruction, with colour sequence, 151 min.
Francesco, giullare di Dio / Fransiskus, Jumalan narri. IT 1950. D: Roberto Rossellini. tv. DF. The first hippie. A masterpiece, one of the great Christian films.
პასტორალი / Pastorali / Pastoraali. GE-SU 1976. D: Otar Iosseliani. Arsenal. Original Georgian version. A brilliant print. Each inch of it fine poetry. Iosseliani is one of the best directors today.
10.4.1982 an evening at Berliner Kinomuseum (the city's smallest cinema with a grandiose name):
Fox tönende Wochenschau (from the early 1950s) +
Jamaica Inn / Jamaica Innin rantarosvot. GB 1939. D: Alfred Hitchcock. Charles Laughton, Maureen O'Hara. DF. One of his worst. +
Die Duse des Films. The memorial film of Asta Nielsen +
Der fremde Vogel. DE 1911. D: Urban Gad. Asta Nielsen
The Red Shoes. tv. DF [2]
Across the Wide Missouri / Eränkävijäin kuningas. US 1951. D: William Wellman. tv. DF. Gable as a trapper in the 1830 who marries an Indian girl (María Elena Marqués) and is drawn to war with the Indians. Qf. Jeremiah Johnson. Belongs to the Western cycle where justice was attempted to the Indians. But didn't work dubbed in German and shrunk into the tv screen.
Let's Make Love. tv. DF [3] Strangely enough, I liked it more this time.
Brigadoon / Lumottu laakso. US 1949. D: Vincente Minnelli. Cyd Charisse, Gene Kelly. tv. DF. A masterpiece.
TV 14.4.1982: Klassiker der Filmkunst: Ernst Lubitsch. DDR.
The Beguiled / Korpraali McB. US 1970. D: Don Siegel. Clint Eastwood. tv. DF. I wasn't impressed.
The Playhouse. tv [3]
Stage Fright / Esirippu laskee. GB 1950. D: Alfred Hitchcock. Jane Wyman, Marlene Dietrich. Arsenal. DF. I didn't like it much at this first screening. The well-known plot problem is distracting. The protagonist's mental unbalance is used calculatingly. My favourite scene: where the little child walks towards Dietrich on stage with a "bloody" puppet in her arms.
Илья Муромец / Jättiläisten taistelu / Der Kampf um das goldene Tor. SU 1956. D: Alexander Ptushko. Filmkunst 66: Fantastival. DF. Discovering Ptushko and Soviet fantasy. The hero is a legendary figure stuck in the oven shelter while Mongols wreak havoc in the Ukraine, but once he puts his act together he can accomplish miraculous feats. (Cf. the battles against Napoleon and Hitler). Juicy, humoristic storytelling. Dubbed in German: "Mütterchen!"
Планета бурь / Myrskyjen planeetta / Planet der Stürme. SU 1962. D: Pavel Klushantsov. Filmkunst 66: Fantastival. DF. Largely stylish science fiction.
Ленин в Париже / Lenin Pariisissa / Lenin in Paris. SU 1981. D: Sergei Yutkevich. tv. Weak. Far from the level of Tales of Lenin and Lenin in Poland.
The Palm Beach Story / Hullujen paratiisi. US 1942. D: Preston Sturges. tv. DF. partly.
TV 24.4.1982: The Eurovision Song Contest + ABBA
TV 25.4.1982: Ernst Lubitsch - Lektion in Kino. D: Enno Patalas. tv. I liked the analyses of the Lubitsch tropes.
TV 26.4.1982: Na sowas. A Bavarian pop programme with Thomas Gottschalk.
TV 26.4.1982: Jugend Club. A DDR pop programme.
The Girl Can't Help It / Minkäpä tyttö sille voi / Die Schlagerpiraten. US 1956. D: Frank Tashlin. Kant-Kino. A great rock satire, a great print paying justice to the 1950s Fox colour and CinemaScope. A self-evident choice for the eve of the First of May.

MARCH 1982, STOCKHOLM AND WEST BERLIN

TV: Hit 1.3.1982. Ear Force live. The Searchers: Sugar And Spice (*). Dion: Ruby Baby (1963). Depeche Mode: Just Can't Get Enough. Oak Ridge Boys. Elvis Costello: A Good Year For The Roses. Altered Images: Happy Birthday. Genesis: ABACAB. Diana Ross: Why Do Fools Fall In Love.
TV: Måndagsbörsen 1.3.1982. Häxorna live. Steve Miller: Macho City. Björn Afzelius live. Earth, Wind & Fire. The Pretenders: Message Of Love + clips. Phil Collins. Annifrid Lyngstad. J. Geils Band, etc.
Иван Грозный / Iivana Julma / Ivan the Terrible. Fkl / Fh [3]
Иван Грозный 2 / Iivana Julma 2 / Ivan the Terrible 2. Fkl / Fh [3]. A magnificent, cryptic experience on a big screen. I still have to discover it.
MACK SENNETT. Fkl / Fh 4.3.1982. A great programme of treasures. The variety, the many sides of the S. performers, all films first rate:
Mabel's New Hero. US 1913. D: Mack Sennett. Fatty Arbuckle, Mabel Normand +
Lucky Star. US 1925. [2] D: Harry Edwards. Harry Langdon as an assistant to a charlatan selling miracle drugs. +
Love at First Flight. US 1928. D: Edward Cline. Daphne Pollard as the sweetheart of a hero aviator. +
The Dentist. US 1932. D: Leslie Pierce. W.C. Fields.
An American in Paris / Pariisin lumoissa. US 1951. D: Vincente Minnelli. Fkl / Fh. Starts with Paris clichés, in the conclusion it takes off to flight like a rocket into outer space.
En compagnie de Max Linder / Max Linderin seurassa. FR 1963. D: Maud Linder. Fkl / Fh. Hosted by René Clair. My discovery of Linder. He had his unique persona and style, and although he is often compared with Chaplin, he reminds me most of Lloyd (the irrepressible briskness and extrovert nature without Chaplin's melancholy side). A laugh fest directed with a firm hand. It climaxes towards the end, the scene where the huge club hits, instead of the intended victim, the gloomy cardinal's head, floored the audience with laughter. Only very rarely have I witnessed laugh explosions such as this. All directed by Max Linder:
Be My Wife / Soyez ma femme / Ainoastaan naisille. US 1921. +
Seven Years Bad Luck / Sept ans de malheur / Seitsemän vuoden onnettomuus. US 1921. +
The Three Must-Get-Theres / L'Etroit mousquetaire / Kolme muskettisolttua. US 1922.
The Bad and the Beautiful / Särkyneiden haaveiden kaupunki. US 1952. D: Vincente Minnelli. Fkl / Fh. A Hollywood satire based on a Citizen Kane structure. Strong actors: Lana Turner, Kirk Douglas, Gloria Grahame.
TV 11.3.1982: Vetenskapens värld: Saturnus i närbild. tv. The Voyager footage.
[Ak kame?] / Белый пароход / Valkea laiva / The White Ship. KG-SU 1976. D: Bolotbek Shamshiyev. Tshingiz Aitmatov. Fkl / Fh. Portraits of children have been strong in Soviet cinema. Great intensity lets down only once, in the dream sequence.
Les Enfants du paradis / Paratiisin lapset. FR 1945. D: Marcel Carné. Fkl / Fh. A great permanent favourite of the Filmklubben. An enthralling Romantic canvas from the Paris in the age of Balzac. Without his eye for society, yet richly full of life. Magnificent cast (Arletty, Barrault, Casares, Brasseur), great art direction (Trauner).
TV 18.3.1982: a fascinating documentary on an artist who makes sculptures of the beach sand. An artist of vanishing works, a little like the film makers.
...
WEST BERLIN
The Mad Magician. US 1954. D: John Brahm. 3D. TV: ZDF. Part only. Vincent Price as the mad circus magician who on his free time uses his scary circus tricks (woman sliced in a circular saw, or burned on the conveyor belt of the crematorium) for real. Unfortunately, in the end he gets to experience the treatment himself.
TV 26.3.1982: Das Beste aus Rock und Klassik: Tangerine Dream: Human Touch.
Mark of the Vampire. US 1935. D: Tod Browning. Bela Lugosi. tv. Boring.
TV 29.3.1982: Na sowas! Klaus Nomi: Total Eclipse. Kraftwerk: Das Model.
TV 30.3.1982: Kenneth Anger - Film als magisches Ritual. D: Reinold E. Thiel. With clips from Fireworks, Puce Moment, Rabbit's Moon, Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome, Scorpio Rising, Invocation of My Demon Brother, Lucifer Rising.
Captain Kidd / Kapteeni Kidd. US 1945. D: Rowland V. Lee. Charles Laughton. tv. DF
Lucifer Rising. US 1981. D: Kenneth Anger. tv
Scorpio Rising. US 1964. D: Kenneth Anger. tv [2]
Eaux d'artifice. FR 1953. D: Kenneth Anger. tv [2]
Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome. US 1954-1966. tv [2]. Lucifer Rising, his new film, is his masterpiece. An incantation, a suggestive cult ceremony. He is one of the few who can master the language of cinema in its entirety: montage as in Eisenstein, primal imagery as in Cocteau. Bob Beausoleil's post-acid music is a continuation of the work of Doors (the guy with a life sentence for murder has composed and recorded it in jail). The summing up of the elements: fire (Fireworks), water (Eaux d'artifice), rock (Scorpio Rising), Lucifer (Demon Brother), the witches (The Wizard of Oz)...

FEBRUARY 1982, STOCKHOLM

Robert Manthoulis: En remontant le Mississippi / Out of the Blacks, Into the Blues 1 : Le Blues du Sud / Along the Old Man River (FR 1973) Brownie McGhee sings "John Henry" (together with Sonny Terry, offscreen).

TV: Hit 1.2.1982. Sun Cats live. B. A. Robinson & Maggie Bell: Hold Me. Kim Wilde: Cambodia. Bill Haley: Crazy Man Crazy. The Tremeloes: Someone Someone.
Casanova / Casanovan lemmenseikkailut. FR 1927. D: Alexandre Volkoff. Ivan Mosjoukine. Filmklubben / Filmhuset. A 9½ mm presentation, ca 80 min, a passable pictorial quality. The orgy scenes famous from the stills were not in evidence in this print. An extravagantly magnificent spectacle, empty inside. Mosjoukine is impressive and not that different from Sutherland in the Fellini version.
TERHI'S VIDEOS. From the programme Chrome 22. The dB's: She's Not Worried [?, impressive colour transformations]: power pop. The Human League: Don't You Want Me: synth pop. Ray Davies: Predictable (*). Thomas Dolby: Europa And The Pirate Twins. Heaven 17: Penthouse And Pavement. +
Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Wet Saturday. TV episode. US 1956. D: Alfred Hitchcock. Sir Cedric Hardwicke.
Ball of Fire / Jään tänne yöksi. US 1941. D: Howard Hawks. tv. Somewhat namby-pamby despite script by Wilder & Brackett and the excellent Stanwyck as Sugarpuss.
A Chump at Oxford. tv. half. [2]
Sympathy for the Devil. GB 1968. D: Jean-Luc Godard. The Rolling Stones. Kvartersbion. Apparently the commercial version. The political side is just boring posing. The Rolling Stones part is good, fascinating documentation on how the track is developed.
JAZZ & BLUES 12. Fkl / Fh:
En remontant le Mississippi / Out of the Blacks, Into the Blues. TV doc. FR/DE 1973. 1: Along the Old Man River. 2: A Way to Escape the Ghetto. Robert Pete Williams, Bukka White, Furry Lewis, Roosevelt Sykes, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee (*), B. B. King (*), Mance Lipscomb.
JAZZ & BLUES 13. Fkl / Fh:
Chicago Blues. US 1971. D: Harvey Cokliss. Johnnie Lewis (*), Floyd Jones, Buddy Guy, Muddy Waters (*), J.B. Hutto and Junior Wells. +
Larry Johnson. US 1970. D: John Hammond, Jr. He's powerful.
Blues Like Showers of Rain. GB 1970. D: John Jeremy. A photo montage to music selected and recorded (?) by Paul Oliver. My favourite: J.B. Lenoir: Been Down So Long; It Hurts Me So Bad.
TV: Hit 8.2.1982. Vox Pop live. Carpenters: Beechwood 4-5789. ELO: Hold On Tight [?]. Sonny & Cher: I Got You Babe. Rachel Sweet: And Then He Kissed Me. Rachel Sweet: Be My Baby.
Rich and Strange / Rikkauden huuma. GB 1932. D: Alfred Hitchcock. Fkl / Fh. Strange but not rich.
The Unforgiven / Leppymättömät. US 1960. D: John Huston. Fkl / Fh. Starts beautifully, and the Griffith association is not only because of Lillian Gish. But ends uglily, the racist tones reportedly Burt Lancaster's fault.
JAZZ & BLUES 14. Fkl /Fh:
St. Louis Blues. US 1929. D: Dudley Murphy. Bessie Smith. +
Leadbelly. US 1945. He sings three numbers. Colour. +
Big Bill Blues. BG 1956. D: Jean Délire. He performs four numbers in a night club in Brussels. * +
Meade Lux Lewis. Three excerpts from 1940s movies +
Mahalia Jackson. CBS News 1961. A memorial programme of ca 30 min *
The Ministry of Fear / Erään merkin varjossa. US 1944. D: Fritz Lang. Graham Greene. Fkl / Fst. A masterpiece.
On purge bébé / [Pannaan lapsi potalle]. FR 1931. D: Jean Renoir. Michel Simon. Fkl / Fst. A dragging farce. The protagonist is an industrialist who is enthusiastic about an unbreakable chamberpot. In the presence of an army dignitary (Michel Simon) as lunch guest the new product is tested by throwing it against the wall, and it shatters into a thousand splinters. It could be promising (satire of the "anal character" of order and discipline), but the means of the sound cinema are not yet in R's command. The gap to his next film, La Chienne, is enormous.
The Ministry of Fear [2]
Woyzeck / Woyzeck - kidutettu. DE 1979. D: Werner Herzog. Georg Büchner. Klaus Kinski. In the tiny screen of a mini tv.
Designing Woman / Mieheni entinen. US 1957. D: Vincente Minnelli. tv. Ok comedy. Two favourite scenes: 1) Gregory Peck's ex "lets slip" hot ravioli on his pants, 2) Peck visiting for the first time Lauren Bacall's design home compares it to his sport reporter's dump and states: "Bad for the ego".
TV: Hit 15.2.1982. Beauty live. The Hollies: a potpourri of their oldies + Take My Love And Run [?]. Little Richard: Long Tall Sally. Gene Pitney: Town Without Pity [?]. Adam Faith & The Roulettes: Poor Me [2]. The Specials: Ghost Town. Colin Blunstone: What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted. James Brown: Rap Payback. Stevie Nicks & Tom Petty: Stop Draggin' My Heart Around.
TV: Måndagsbörsen 15.2.1982. Chaz Jankel: Questionnaire (*). Alice live. ELO: Twilight. Lonnie Donegan live.
TERHI'S VIDEOS. Robert Palmer: Some Guys Have All The Luck. Landscape: Norman Bates. Depeche Mode: Just Can't Get Enough. Adam & The Ants: Prince Charming. The Pretenders: Message Of Love ("the reason we're here"). Pat Benatar: Fire And Ice. The Tubes: Suzie Girl. Linx: Intuition. Spandau Ballet: Paint Me Down. Duran Duran: Careless Memories. Pete Shelley: Homosapien. The Police: Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic. The Church: In Unguarded Moments. etc. +
Da nao tian gong / Uproar in Heaven 1-2 / Kung Markatta / Apinakuningas. CN 1965. D: Wan Laiming. Shanghai Animation Film Studio, based on the Pilgrimage to the West. A masterpiece.
TV: Dallas 37: Kvinnorna Ewing. US 1979
Finian's Rainbow / Finianin sateenkaari. US 1968. D: Francis Ford Coppola. tv. A version of over 2 hrs. Basically a fiasco, yet an often captivating fairy-tale. The American dream still in pure form: a 1940s Broadway hit, Fred Astaire, Hermes Pan, Rainbow Valley, still caught this well this late. The searchers find the end of the rainbow in a little village in Deep South. They find the treasure and are granted the opportunity to realize three wishes. One of the wishes is that the racist bigot white governor is turned black... (Because of this it was impossible to film this before).
TV: Hit 22.2.1982. Warm Guns live. Alvin Stardust live. The Human League: Open Your Heart. Dance styles: the madison (1960), the locomotion (1962). Dollar: Mirror, Mirror. Bill Wyman: Si, Si, Je Suis Un Rock Star. Shakin' Stevens: Oh! Julie.
TV: Måndagsbörsen 22.2.1982. Janne Garman live. M.A. Numminen & Pedro Hietanen live. Hall & Oates: I Can't Go For That. Secret Service: Flash In The Night. Chris de Burgh live.
The Fugitive / Elämisen oikeus. US 1947. D: John Ford. Graham Greene. Henry Fonda. Fkl / Fst. A phony look at the Mexican revolution.
TV: Dokument utifrån - Där kokainen härskar. FR. Shot in Bolivia, Florida.
Zezowate szczéscie / Kierosilmäinen onni / Olycksfågeln / Bad Luck / De la veine à revendre. PL 1960. D: Andrzej Munk. Fkl / Fh. The master's touch in evidence, but there is a bitter, burnt-out taste in this would-be-comedy.
Pasazerka / Matkustaja. PL 1961/1963. D: Andrzej Munk. The strongest fiction I had seen set on a concentration camp. The director's vision on levels seldom reached (Bergman, Resnais). This could have influenced others like Bergman's Persona.
Tristana. tv. half an hour. [2] His worst.
TERHI'S VIDEOS. Elvis Costello in Nashville (material from the album Trust). +
Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Into Thin Air. US 1955. D: Don Medford. The same story as So Long At the Fair (Terence Fisher).
A kedves szomszéd / Mukava naapuri. HU 1979. D: Zsolt Kézdi-Kovács. Fkl / Fh. Nice.

JANUARY 1982, STOCKHOLM

The film of the year: Doug Lower: Merchants of Grain (CBC 1981), SC+narrator Dan Morgan, The Washington Post investigative journalist, based on his book Merchants of Grain: The Power and Profits of the Five Giant Companies at the Center of the World's Food Supply (1979)

Escape from New York / Pako New Yorkista. US 1981. D: John Carpenter. Fst. Fine art direction: Manhattan turned into a ghost town. Impressive music. But there is a quasi-fascist dimension in the picture.
Ingrid Bergman - det var så roligt så länge det varade. SE 1981. D: Gunnel Broström. tv. An interview with clips from Intermezzo, Casablanca, and Höstsonaten. Conventional.
Susan Slept Here / Susanna nukkui täällä. US 1953. D: Frank Tashlin. tv. The lethargic touch of the comedy has a distanciating effect. Narrated by the Oscar statuette of the screenwriter (Dick Powell). T. at his most indifferent.
La plus belle affiche... 1: Le Paradis perdu / Den franska stjärnparaden 1. FR 1980. D: Marie-Madeleine Nahon. tv. A great French That's Entertainment starring Maurice Chevalier, Mistinguette, Josephine Baker, Jean Gabin, Lucienne Boyer, Ray Ventura, Charles Trenet, Tino Rossi, Fernandel.

...
JAZZ & BLUES 3. Filmklubben / Filmstaden.
Black and Tan. US 1929. D: Dudley Murphy. Duke Ellington and the Cotton Club Orchestra. The death of the beauty.
Fats Waller. US 1941. Three pieces: Ain't Misbehaving. Honeysuckle Rose. The Joint Is Jumpin'.
Caldonia. US 1945. D: William Forest Crouch. Louis Jordan and his Tympani Five. A loose farce about making a movie.
Boy! What a Girl. US 1947. D: Arthur Leonard. Clips with Slam Stewart Trio and "Big" Sid Catletts Band.
Jivin' in Bebop. US 1947. D: Leonard Anderson. Dizzy Gillespie and His Big Band.
Andy Kirk. US 1948.
Nat King Cole Trio. US 1948.
Charlie Parker. US 1951. A clip from a tv show.
...
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde / Tri Jekyll ja Mr. Hyde. US 1932. D: Rouben Mamoulian. Fkl / Filmhuset. 16 mm. Fredric March bravura. Miriam Hopkins electrifying. The Paramount brand: an erotic touch.
Rope of Sand / Tuhoavaa hiekkaa. US 1949. D: William Dieterle. Fkl / Fst. An adventure with Casablanca influences. Burt Lancaster and Corinne Calvet backed up by Claude Rains, Paul Henreid, Peter Lorre. A Paramount touch here, too, the erotic touch has a sadistic flavour.
The Killers / Tappajat. US 1946. D: Robert Siodmak. Fkl / Fh. A convincing thriller. Burt Lancaster and Ava Gardner in their double debut.
La plus belle affiche... 2: Je ne regrette rien. FR 1980. D: Marie-Madeleine Nahon. tv. Starring Chevalier, Edith Piaf, Arletty, Charles Trenet, Yves Montand, Boris Vian, Jean Ferre, George Brassens, Jacques Brel, Juliette Greco, Charles Aznavour. - In the two parts there were clips from ca 35 films and 15 tv shows.
The Incredible Shrinking Man / Mies joka kutistui. US 1956. D: Jack Arnold. Fkl / Fh. An excellent fantasy in the shadow of nuclear horror, crystallizing into the cosmic irony of the conclusion.
Terhi's videos. Bruno Bozzetto: La cabina (animation). Lotte Lenya (a couple of songs).
Alfred Hitchcock Presents: One More Mile to Go. US 1957. D: Alfred Hitchcock. There is a corpse hidden in the trunk of David Wayne's car .
Pop videos: The Pretenders live. Ultravox live. Clash: This Is Radio Clash. The Rolling Stones: Neighbors. Japan: Visions Of China. Stray Cats: Little Miss Prissy. Toni Basil: Be Stiff. David Bowie: Boys. The Simple Minds: Love Song. Human League: Love Action. Tom Petty: A Woman In Love. Duran Duran: Girls On Film. Bow Wow Wow: Chihuahua. The Troggs: I Can't Control Myself. The Beatles: Strawberry Fields Forever. Jimi Hendrix: Wild Thing. Robert Palmer: A Bad Case Of Loving You. The Motels: Days Are O.K. Dexy's Midnight Runners: I Couldn't Help It If I Tried. Devo: Whip It. Elvis Costello: A Good Year For The Roses. Altered Images: Happy Birthday. The Flying Padovanis live. Spandau Ballet: I Don't Need This Pressure On. David Bowie: Life On Mars? Police: Invisible Sun. Ultravox: Thin Wall. Pearl Harbor live. Tom Tom Club: Genius Of Love. Alabama: The Closer You Get. Spandau Ballet: Look At The Thousands Of Boys.
Jethro Tull: A. GB 1980. tv. Not impressed.
Freaks. US 1932. D: Tod Browning. Fkl / Fst. Great.
Dallas 32: Rodeo [Season 3, Episode 8]. US 1979. D: Leonard Katzman.
Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler 1: Ein Bild der Zeit. Fkl / Fst. [2] A 160 min presentation. I missed the demonic Elfers music. Speed too slow.
Frankenstein. US 1931. D: James Whale. Boris Karloff. Fkl / Fh. A low contrast print. Great.
Island of Lost Souls. US 1933. D: Erle C. Kenton. Charles Laughton. Fkl / Fst. A low contrast print. Great.
Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler 2: Inferno - Menschen der Zeit. Fkl / Fh. [2] A 120 min presentation. Too slow.
West Side Story / West Side Story. US 1961. D: Robert Wise. Jerome Robbins. Riviera. Requiem for Natalie Wood (1938-1981).
The Body Snatcher. US 1945. D: Robert Wise. Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi. Fkl / Fh. A 16mm C&C television print with low contrast night scenes. Great.
Die 1000 Augen des Dr. Mabuse / Tri Mabusen 1000 silmää. DE 1960. Fkl / Fh. "I want to be the one who pushes the button". Dawn Addams again spied on in the hotel room (see A King in New York). Lethargic, the magic is gone. The maniac has been replaced by a cool Wirtschaftswunder type.
Custer of the West / Lännen suuri taistelija. US 1966. D: Robert Siodmak. Robert Shaw. tv. I saw some 40 min of the ending: Little Big Horn.
Harper / The Moving Target / Lew Harper - yksityisetsivä. US 1965. D: Jack Smight. tv. The private eye in California, Ross McDonald country, interesting superficial quick vision on 1960s California: the fanatics of Oriental sects, the ubiquitous, unsatisfied sexuality. Paul Newman is on top of it. The crime story as a pretext to a tour of the society.
Pirveli mertskhali / Pervaja lastotshka /Den första svalan / Ensimmäinen pääskynen / The First Swallow. GE-SU 1976. D: Nana Mtshedlidze. tv. Slow-tempo Eastern films suffer on tv.
Hit (tv). George Harrison: All Those Years Ago (+). Bill Haley: Rock Around The Clock (o). The GoGos: Our Lips Are Sealed (+). Doris D And The Pins: Dance On (o). The Shadows: Frightened City (+).
Merchants of Grain. CBC 1981. D: Doug Lower. SC+narration: Dan Morgan. The most important film of the year. The investigative journalist of The Washington Post on the international grain trade.
Dallas 34: Breast Operation. US 1979. D: Irving J. Moore. tv. Barbara Bel Geddes breast is operated on.
From Here To Eternity / Täältä ikuisuuteen. US 1953. D: Fred Zinnemann. Fkl / Fh. Great.
Belle de jour. tv [2] Better than I remembered (last time 12 years ago). The carriage as the image of transition to the realm of dream and death.

Rock Out Special: Kizz Lucia Good Night (a music video show by Jan-Olov Andersson on SVT, 12 Dec 1981)

Jean-Paul Goude : Grace Jones : I've Seen That Face Before (Libertango) (US 1982). Also included in the long-form music video Grace Jones : A One Man Show (US 1982, PC: Spectrum / Universal Pictures, D: Jean-Paul Goude).

Jan-Olov Andersson. SVT 12 Dec 1981. In retrospect, Jan-Olov Andersson was proud of having created "MTV before MTV" in his Rock Out programs (see his 2010 remarks copied in the comments)

If there are two marks after the track, the first is for the music, the second for the image.

Rosa Körberg / Attack: O-aa hela natten (-+)
The Police: Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic (o)
The Clash: This Is Radio Clash (o)
Kiss: World Without Heroes (o)
The Rolling Stones: Neighbors (++)
Japan: Visions Of China (o+)
Stray Cats: Little Miss Prissy (+o)
Diana Ross: Why Do Fools Fall In Love (o+) (Ross good-looking)
Kim Wilde: Kids In America (o+) (Wilde good-looking)
Mikael Rickfors: When A Man Loves A Woman (+o)
Devo: Whip It (++) (d: Toni Basil)
ELO: Hold On Tight (++)
Grace Jones: Libertango (I've Seen That Face Before) (++)
Madness: Shut Up! (o)
Specials: Ghost Town (++)
Jim Steinman & Carla De Vito / Meatloaf: Dance In My Pants (++) ("peep show")
Kim Carnes: Bette Davis Eyes (+o)
Landscape: Norman Bates (+)
Depeche Mode: Just Can't Get Enough (+o)
Soft Cell: Tainted Love (+o)
Adam & The Ants: Prince Charming (camp)
Devo: Be Stiff (++) (d: Toni Basil)
David: Boys (Keep Swinging) (++) d: David Mallet
Chrissie Hynde: The Reason We're Here (+o)
Pat Benatar: Fire And Ice (o) good-looking
The Tubes: Suzie Girl (-+) terrible music
Linx: Intuition (++)
Gary U.S. Bonds: This Little Girl (+o)
Simple Minds: Love Song (+o)
Human League: Love Action (+o)
Frank Zappa: You Are What You Is (++)
Rod Stewart: Tonight I'm Yours (++)
Pete Shelley: Homosapien (++)
Tom Petty: Woman In Love (+o)
Earth, Wind & Fire: Let's  Groove  (++)
Spandau Ballet: Paint Me Down (+)
Duran Duran: Careless Memories (-+)
Hall & Oates: Private Eyes (o)
John Foxx: Dancing Like A Gun (o+)
Marianne Faithfull: Sweetheart (++)
ABBA: One Of Us Must Know (--)

Again: the time of the video has arrived. But where will this exploitation lead to. Is it just littering the consciousness.

DECEMBER 1981, STOCKHOLM

G. W. Pabst: Die Büchse der Pandora / Pandora's Box (DE 1929). The wedding banquet. Alice Roberts (Countess Geschwitz), Louise Brooks (Lulu), Fritz Kortner (Dr. Ludwig Schön, a stranger in his own wedding). On first viewing, I was totally bewitched, and it took me 15 years to understand the mystery. Photo: Hans Casparius. 

Berlin, die Sinfonie der Grossstadt / Berliini: suurkaupungin sinfonia. DE 1927. D: Walther Ruttmann. Filmklubben / Filmhuset. Without the Edmund Meisel music. Fine.

Smultronstället. tv. [5] Revisiting after six years. Weaknesses: the fourth generation; the past too idyllic.
Die Büchse der Pandora / Pandoran lipas. DE 1929. D: G. W. Pabst. Wedekind. Louise Brooks, Fritz Kortner. Fkl / Filmstaden. A 150 min presentation [at 16 fps?]. Amazingly contemporary. Louise Brooks has not dated. Weakness: the storyline.
Some Like It Hot. International Youth Center, 16 mm. [3]. An apt coincidence to see this on the same evening after Pandora. I saw it for the first time, previously I had only looked at it.
Nick's Movie / Salama veden yllä. SE/DE 1980. D: Wim Wenders [& Nicholas Ray]. Fkl / Fh. Wenders' macabre deathwatch of Ray. Hated it. When Wim's team plans to blow itself up in a Chinese junk, it sound like the suggestion most worthy of support in the entire film. Three good sequences: 1) Nick presents The Lusty Men to a young audience, 2) a small group watches We Can't Go Home Again, 3) Ray directs Kafka's A Report to the Academy.
Här har du ditt liv. tv [2] Feels diluted in comparison with the recollection of ten years ago. I did not see all of the beginning.
Ladri di biciclette / Polkupyörävaras. IT 1948. D: Vittorio De Sica. Fkl / Fst. Worthy of its reputation. Exemplary, admirable in its clarity and wealth. A feeling of a voyage of discovery. Psychologically sensitive. Cf. The Kid by Chaplin.
The Cocoanuts. Fkl / Fh [3] A bad print from Malmö.
While the City Sleeps / Huulipunamurhaaja. US 1955. D: Fritz Lang. tv. A mordant look on sensational journalism. Dana Andrews, Rhonda Fleming, George Sanders, Ida Lupino, James Craig ("pix editor"), Thomas Mitchell (the Irish drunkard), Sally Forrest (DA's fiancée as the bait for the killer). Top of them all: Vincent Price as the corrupt son of the media magnate. The killer (John Barrymore, Jr.) not convincing. The tv screen does not pay justice to L's visual force. L's architecture suffers on the small screen.
Terhi's videos. Many of the same ones as seen in earlier in November and December, plus: David Bowie: Life On Mars? (*). Police: Invisible Sun (*). Ultravox: live footage. Ultravox: Thin Wall (*). The Rolling Stones: Waiting On A Friend (*). Simple Minds: Love Song (*). Duran Duran: Girls On Film. Bow Wow Wow: Chihuahua (?). Pearl Harbor And The Explosions: Drivin' (?) (with Wilko Johnson) (*). Tom Tom Club: Genius Of Love (*). Ry Cooder: Hollywood. The Pretenders live. etc. For the third time: video. Almost overwhelming. The history of the cinema is being plundered, and a lot of new things are being discovered. There is an affinity with the original joy of Méliès.
Die Little Richard Story. DE 1980. D: William Klein. tv. Quite a good biopic. The biographical side is better than in the other similar ones (Elvis, Janis, Hendrix), but the weakness is that the musical performances are not intact.
Kalle Anka och hans vänner önskar god jul / Samu Sirkan joulusirkus. tv [2]. Seems to be a Swedish Christmas tradition. The living toys of Santa Claus. Clown of the Jungle (a funny bird dancing the gopak disturbs Donald's photography efforts). Cinderella (the birds and the mice sow the dress). Ferdinand the fight-hating bull. Lady and the Tramp: bella notte. The Jungle Book: Baloo teaches Mowgli to box. The Fox and the Hound (Micke och Molle): their friendship. Snow White: the dwarfs jamming. Robin Hood: robbing the tax catch. Chip and Dale in the henhouse. When You Wish Upon A Star. Hosted by Jiminy Cricket, piano by Mickey Mouse. - When Disney turns really sentimental, its awful (those calculatingly, quasi-shyly blinking eyes), as an anarchist he's at his best.
Sommarnattens leende / Kesäyön hymyilyä. SE 1955. D: Ingmar Bergman. tv. I don't quite get the reputation of this, too calculating. B. balance 36/40.
Assault on Precinct 13 / Hyökkäys poliisiasemalle. US 1976. D: John Carpenter. Laconic, crystallized action cinema. Reminds me more of Siegel than Hawks.
Mutter Krausens Fahrt ins Glück. DE 1929. D: Piel Jutzi. Fkl / Fh. A 150 min presentation, a decent quality of image. Story by Zille, Kollwitz participated. An obvious model for Kuhle Wampe. Realism, a sense of humour, sensuality, finally nihilism, suicide as the "journey to happiness". The thoroughness of the prose style could have been condensed. Kuhle Wampe's taut style may be a reaction to this. Anyway, a treat.
Milka / Milka. FI 1980. D: Rauni Mollberg. Timo K. Mukka. Bostock. The fine feeling for nature helps one stand the terrible drawbacks of the picture. The grouse's courtship. The seasons. The birchwoods. The haymaking. The forestry. The performers of Milka's mother and the Christ-Devil are good. The theatrical, quasi-artistic recitation destroys a lot. Awkward use of close-ups. M. seems to have a big problem with sexuality. A terrible dichotomy of the good/beautiful vs. the bad/ugly.
Häxan. SE 1921. D: Benjamin Christensen. Fkl / Fst. 100 min presentation, a fine, toned print. Amazingly contemporary, with a sense of humour. Might Foucault have seen this, or Resnais (Mon oncle d'Amérique)?
Häxan [2]
That's Entertainment. tv [2] great

MELIES SUCCEFILMER / THE SUCCESS FILMS OF MÉLIÈS (in person: Madeleine Malthête-Méliès)

Georges Méliès: L'Homme-orchestre / The One Man Band (FR 1900).

Filmklubben / Filmhuset. Madeleine Malthête-Méliès presented her grandfather's films, with piano music.

Le Voyage dans la lune / Resan till månen
L'Homme-orchestre / Enmansorkestern / The One Man Band (*)
L'Oracle de Delphes / Oraklet i Delfi
Le Maître do-mi-so-do / Maestro do-mi-sol-do (*)
Les Hallucinations du baron de Münchhausen / Baron Münchhausen ser i syne (*)
Le Fakir de Singapour / Fakiren från Singapore (*)
L'Homme-mouche / Flugmannen (*)
L'Auberge ensorcelée / Det förtrollade värdshuset
Au clair de la lune / Månskensserenaden
Raid Paris-Monte Carlo en deux heures / Paris-Monte Carlo loppet
Le Rêve du maître de ballet / Balettmästarens dröm (*)
Jack le ramoneur / Sotar-Jack
Le Bourreau turc / Den turkiske bödeln (*)
Satan en prison / Djävulen i fängelse (*)

Many of the films in the three programmes were recently re-discovered, long believed lost. They go to show that cinema in the first person, auteur cinema, is as old as cinema itself. Even ultra-subjective, solipsistic, surrealistic cinema is already here. What a wide variety of tricks. Many films were without colour, many prints were quite bearable, all worth seeing.