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.

MELIES BURLESKER

The Burlesques of Méliès. Filmklubben / Filmhuset. Madeleine Malthête-Méliès presented her grandfather's films, with piano music.
Le Portrait mystérieux / Det mystiska porträttet
La Cardeuse de matelas / Fyllot och madrasskarderskan
Les Cartes animées / De levande spelkorten
Sorcellerie culinaire / Förhäxad kokkonst
Au pays des jouets / Leksakslandet
Patins à roulettes / Rullskridskoåkarna
Le Tripot clandestin / Den olagliga spelhålan
Le Thaumaturge chinois / Den kinesiske trollkarlen (*)
Le Diable noir / Den svarte djävulen (*)
Un homme de têtes / Mannen med de många huvudena (*)
Le Rêve d'un fumeur d'opium / En opiumrökares dröm (*)
Les Affiches en goguette / Affischer på vift (*)
Le merveilleux eventail vivant / Den fantastiska levande solfjädern
La Duche d'eau bouillante / Den kokheta duschen
Eclipse de soleil en pleine lune / Solförmörkelse i månsken
Une chute de cinq étages / Ett fall från femte våningen
Le Cake-walk infernal / Djävulsk cake-walk

I HUVET PÅ MELIES

In the Head of Méliès. Filmklubben / Filmhuset. Madeleine Malthête-Méliès (who looks like her grandmother) presented her grandfather's films, with piano music.
Escamotage d'une dame chez Robert-Houdin / Damen som försvann
L'Impressioniste fin-de-siècle / En modern trollkarl
Après le bal / Efter balen
Les nouvelles luttes extravagantes / Nya extravaganta brottartag
Le Sacre d'Edouard VII / Edvard VII's kröning
Le Mélomane / Musikvurmen (*)
Le Chaudron infernal / Den djävulska kitteln (*)
Le Voyage à travers l'impossible / Resan genom det omöjliga
L'Homme à la tête en caoutchouk / Mannen med gummihuvudet (*)
Le Tentation de Saint Antoine / Sankt Antonius frestelse (*)
Le Roi du maquillage / Maskeringens konung
La Chrysalide et le papillon / Puppan och fjärilen (*)
Faust aux enfers / Fausts resa i underjorden
Dislocation mystérieuse / Fantastiska syner
La Fée carabosse / Sagan om häxan
Le Locataire diabolique / Den demoniske hyresgästen (*)

NOVEMBER 1981, STOCKHOLM

Rowland Brown: Blood Money (US 1933). A sense of darkness beyond ordinary entertainment in a Pre-Code gangster movie. IMDb synopsis: "Bill Bailey (George Bancroft) is a Los Angeles, California bail bondsman who lives in a world of complete, casual corruption, where all he has to do is pick up the phone to get the charges against a client dismissed. He falls in love with a slumming socialite who bluntly and startlingly declares her sexual preferences with this immortal line: "If I could find a man who would be my master and give me a good thrashing, I'd follow him around like a dog on a leash."" Kathlyn Williams (Mannish Girl), George Bancroft (Bill Bailey) and an unidentified actress. 

Hitori musuko / The Only Son. JP 1936. D: Yasujiro Ozu. Filmklubben / Filmhuset. I'm starting to discover Ozu, it is easier for me to approach him via the early films.

Prisoner of the Shark Island / Haisaaren vanki. US 1936. D: John Ford. Fkl / Filmstaden. A fine surprise, an important step into Ford's greatest stage. Unjustly convicted for being an accessory to Lincoln's assassination the doctor (Warner Baxter) is thrown into the prison, with John Carradine as the sadistic sergeant. Ford fight lynch justice. The archetypal Griffithian-Fordian conclusion: the homecoming of the now skeletal man.
History of the World Part One / Mieletön maailmanhistoria. US 1981. D: Mel Brooks. Park. I only liked the Inquisition.
Czlowiek z zelaza / Rautamies / The Man of Iron. PL 1981. D: Andrzej Wajda. Fst. Important political gesture, but not as good a film as The Man of Marble.
Третья Мещанская / Säng och soffa / Sänky ja sohva / Bed and Sofa. SU 1927. D: Abram Room. Fkl / Fh. A Swedish print. A surprising mix of Soviet realism and the Lubitsch touch. The film seemed to be a Filmklubben favourite. To be compared with Happiness (Medvedkin) and The Outskirts (Barnet).
This Is Elvis / Kuningas Elvis. US 1981. Malcolm Leo & Andrew Solt. Fst. Colonel Parker's view of his victim.
Körkarlen. Fkl / Fh [2]
Двадцать шесть дней из жизни Достоевского / 26 päivää Dostojevskin elämässä / Twenty Six Days from the Life of Dostoyevsky. SU 1980. D: Alexander Zarhi. tv. The only bright spot: Anatoli Solonitsyn.
Quick Millions. US 1931. D: Rowland Brown. Fkl / Fst. Spencer Tracy as gangster.
Kontrakt / Sopimus / The Contract. D: Krysztof Zanussi. tv. I saw only 30 min, bored.
Fängelse / Vankila. SE 1949. D: Ingmar Bergman. Fkl / Fh. Surprise! His best 1940s film, his first masterpiece. An ironic look at Fyrtiotalismen ("The Forties-ism"). A sovereign grip on the structure. Much better than Törst. A Zeitgeist movie. The devil's rationale to oppose nuclear weapons: "Too easy a solution!"
The Wild One / Vauhtihurjat. US 1953. D: Laslo Benedek. Marlon Brando. Mythic. Brando conceited. Lee Marvin irresistible.
Drums Along the Mohawk / Liekehtivä erämaa. US 1939. D: John Ford. Fkl / Fst. The war of independence. The only Indian who is on the Americans' side is mad. The Englishmen (led by patch-eyed John Carradine) provoke the Indians against the Americans. Claudette Colbert's make-up is too thick in this Technicolor film.
Obchod na korze / Liike pääkadulla / The Shop on Main Street. CZ 1965. D: Jan Kadar & Elmar Klos. tv
Blood Money. US 1933. D: Rowland Brown. Fkl / Fh. George Bancroft as a gangster. A dense and furious gangster movie.
Days of Wine and Roses / Viinin ja ruusujen aika. D: Blake Edwards. tv. Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick as alcoholics. Good satire in the beginning, weak temperance propaganda in the end.
Abel Gance - the Charm of Dynamite. GB 1968. D: Kevin Brownlow. Fkl / Fst. Clips from J'accuse, La Roue, and Napoléon. Brilliant! G. is the missing link from Griffith to Eisenstein. The time of the cinema has arrived.
Man of Aran / Aransaaren mies. GB 1934. D: Robert Flaherty. Fkl / Fst
TV: Rock Out. Edited by Jan Olov Andersson. Frank Zappa: You Are What You Is. Rod Stewart: Tonight I'm Yours. Pete Shelley: Homosapien (*). Tom Petty: Woman In Love. Earth, Wind & Fire: Let's Groove Tonight (*). Spandau Ballet: Paint Me Down. Duran Duran: Callous Memories. Hall & Oates: Private Eyes. John Foxx: Dancing Like A Gun. Marianne Faithfull: Sweetheart. ABBA: One Of Us. - The time of the video has arrived.

OCTOBER 1981, WEST BERLIN, STOCKHOLM

Alfred Hitchcock: Rear Window (US 1954). Grace Kelly and James Stewart. During a long embargo, it was impossible to see Rear Window. I saw it for the first time in 1981 on Peter Vollmann's 16 mm print at his Thalia Cinema in West Berlin.

In West Berlin

Feast of Friends. US 1970. D: Paul Ferrara. The Doors. Alhambra. Quite good. +
Jimi Plays Berkeley. US 1971. D: Peter Pilafian. ED: Baird Bryant. Alhambra. Quite good. +
Phantom of the Rue Morgue / Der Würger von Paris. US 1954. D: Roy Del Ruth. DF. Alhambra. A nice triple bill: The Doors and Hendrix at their best and a solid midnight horror movie, which I found on the basis of the recommendation of Frank Arnold (in Zitty?). A strange surprise: Buñuel must have seen this, since there are references to it in Ensayo de un crimen and Viridiana.
Rear Window / Takaikkuna. US 1954. D: Alfred Hitchcock. Thalia 2, 16 mm. In West Berlin it was possible to see this Peter Vollmann print before the film was re-released after a very long break. The H. masterpiece besides Vertigo.

In Stockholm
For Your Eyes Only / Erittäin salainen. GB 1981. D: John Glen. Ian Fleming. Roger Moore (James Bond), Carole Bouquet. Ri-Tvåan. The worst Bond movie in the series started by Saltzman and Broccoli.
The Planet of the Apes / Apinoiden planeetta. US 1967. D: Franklin J. Schaffner. Pierre Boulle. Charlton Heston. tv. "In this universe there must be something bigger than man". Time warp, strange planet inhabited by a small population of apes, and finally in the desert H. bumps into the arm of the Statue of Liberty.
Terhi's videos: the super concert in Germany. A Rockpile program directed by Peter Carr (Albert Lee plays with Dave Edmunds). Mink De Ville boring.
Raiders of the Lost Ark / Kadonneen aarteen metsästäjät. US 1981. D: Steven Spielberg. Filmstaden. Not impressed.
The Kid from Spain / Härkätaistelija. US 1932. D: Leo McCarey. Eddie Cantor. Busby Berkeley tv. Good and bad moments.
La ultima cena / The Last Supper. CU 1976. D: Tomas Gutierrez Alea. Filmklubben / Filmstaden. Too much Buñuel imitation at first, but breaks loose later.
Los sobrevivientes / The Survivors. CU 1978. D: Tomas Gutierrez Alea. Fkl / Fst. Dedicated to Buñuel, but becomes terribly bad.
Punkmordet. SE 1981. PC: Slussenfilm. In the repertory of Erkki Astala. Glimpses from underground Stockholm.
The Creature from the Black Lagoon / Mustan laguunin hirviö. US 1954. D: Jack Arnold. Filmstaden, 3D (red / green glasses). Moments of poetry, starting from the introduction. 3D can be fun when the fish swims towards us or when the harpoon rushes towards the camera.

SEPTEMBER 1981, STOCKHOLM, MUNICH

Luchino Visconti: Ossessione (IT 1943) with Clara Calamai and Massimo Girotti. Visiting Münchner Filmmuseum I saw this masterpiece for the first time. I was surprised by the low contrast and the worn quality. Little did I know that that's all there is. The still looks better than the surviving film.

Sleep, My Love / Pisara myrkkyä. US 1948. D: Douglas Sirk. Fkl / Fst. A ghostly atmosphere of nightmare and distrust. Claudette Colbert, Robert Cummings, Don Ameche, George Coulouris, Raymond Burr. Hazel Brooks a comical vamp.
Imitation of Life / Suurinta elämässä. US 1958. D: Douglas Sirk. Fkl / Fh. My Sirk favourite. Lana Turner.
Magnificent Obsession / Lääkärin omatunto. US 1954. D: Douglas Sirk. Fkl / Fh. I sensed the parodic quite strongly. Rock Hudson, Jane Wyman. The bright pop colour.
Der Gang in die Nacht. DE 1920. D: F. W. Murnau. Fkl / Fh. Recently discovered, long believed lost. Memorable images: the blind painter Conrad Veidt stands in the boat that is being rowed to the coast. The blind Veidt leans on his arm, the empty canvas behind him.
A Woman's Secret / Kiinnitys elämään. US 1949. D: Nicholas Ray. Fkl / Fh. Melvyn Douglas, Maureen O'Hara. The director's touch hardly evident. Good dialogue.
The Barefoot Contessa / Paljasjalkakreivitär. US 1954. D: Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Ava Gardner. tv. On tv the excessive talk is emphasized. The Reverse Cinderella: the countess who wants to dance barefoot.
A Time to Love, a Time to Die / Rakasta tänään, huomenna... US 1958. D: Douglas Sirk. Remarque. Fkl / Fst. Not quite convincing.
Phantom / Fantom. DE 1922. D: F. W. Murnau. Fkl / Fst. Great visuals, hallucinations and delirium fits, but Alfred Abel is not interesting enough.
Captain Lightfoot / Kaikki puolestasi. US 1954. D: Douglas Sirk. Rock Hudson (Lightfoot), Jeff Morrow (Thunderbolt). Fkl / Fh. Not impressed. Irish rebel swashbucklers of the early 19th century.
Don't Look Back / Älä katso taaksesi. US 1967. D.A. Pennebaker. Bob Dylan. Fkl / Fh. Invaluable.
Pather panchali / Tien laulu. In 1955. D: Satyajit Ray. Fkl / Fh. In the middle of this I started to discover S.J.
Der brennende Acker / Palava pelto. DE 1922. D: F. W. Murnau. Long believed lost, just recently found. Fkl / Fh. Can be compared with Zvenigora and Sibiriade: the tale of the field of legends. Beneath it, oil is found.
Москва слезам не верит / Moskova ei usko kyyneliin / Moscow Does Not Believe In Tears. SU 1980. D: Vladimir Menchov. Astoria. Disappointing, a mediocre touch to an interesting subject of the three women and their fates. The saving grace: Aleksei Batalov's character, one of those accusing figures in the Soviet cinema of the age.
Dyrygent / Orkesterinjohtaja / Dirigenten / The Conductor. PL 1980. D: Andrzej Wajda. John Gielgud. Fst. Moderately good. The emigrant conductor's visit to his home country.
...
In Munich
I spent a week in a German language bath during the Oktoberfest. I lived in Schwabing and visited the Alps and Ludwig's fairy-tale castles. I spent all my money at the fabulous Filmland bookstore, buying treasures such as the complete version of Lotte H. Eisner's Murnau monograph which existed only in German.
...
Ossessione / Riivaajat. IT 1942. D: Luchino Visconti. Münchner Filmmuseum. In Italian without translation. A full print but from a worn and low contrast source. V. had the grip from the start.
Rock Around the Clock / Tunnista tuntiin. US 1956. D: Fred F. Sears. Bill Haley & His Comets. Münchner Filmmuseum. Ever worse than I had expected. The only bright thing: The Platters performing The Great Pretender and Only You. Tony Williams's tenor reaches unbelievable layers of madness.
Cameo Kirby / Kuohuvaa verta. US 1923. D: John Ford. Münchner Filmmuseum. A print in Czech. Probably not an especially good film, but could I help liking it? The style brings to mind Griffith, Sjöström, and Murnau. The tale of Mississippi, a steamboat gambler (John Gilbert). Certain scenes are very beautiful.
+ [?North of the Hudson Bay?. US 1923. D: John Ford. Münchner Filmmuseum. May I have seen fragments of this Tom Mix film written by Jules Furthman on 26 Sep 1981 in Munich?]
Im Lauf der Zeit. DE 1975. D: Wim Wenders. tv. I didn't get it this time.
Lola / Lola. DE 1981. D: R. W. Fassbinder. Marmorhalle. I wasn't moved.
The Misfits / Nicht gesellschafsfähig. tv. DF = Deutsche Fassung. [X]

AUGUST 1981, STOCKHOLM

Markku Lehmuskallio: Korpinpolska / Korpens polska / The Raven's Dance (FI/SE 1980). The blue hour.

The Postman Always Rings Twice / Postimies soittaa aina kahdesti. US 1981. D: Bob Rafelson. James M. Cain. Jack Nicholson, Jessica Lange. Sandrew. Well made but futile, no match to Visconti.

Korpinpolska / Korpens polska / The Raven's Dance. FI/SE 1980. D: Markku Lehmuskallio. The nature cinematography felt especially exquisite seen abroad.
Don Giovanni / Don Giovanni. FR/IT/EN/DE 1979. D: Joseph Losey. W. A. Mozart. Fst / Sf. Maybe I was not in the mood. Was this just a copy of two visions: Bergman's Trollflöjten and Fellini's Casanova? But I'm grateful for the opportunity to experience Mozart's work for the first time.
Aktorzy prowincjonalni / Maaseututeatterin näyttelijät / Provincial Actors. PL 1979. D: Agnieszka Holland. Fst / Sf. A strong touch of critique of the power system, but no match to Wajda, Kieslowski, Zanussi.
Heaven's Gate / Portti ikuisuuteen. US 1981. D: Michael Cimino. Rigoletto. Short 150 min version. Magnificent imagery, but there is not enough depth in the characters except Kristoffersson.
Der amerikanische Freund / Amerikkalainen ystävä / The American Friend. DE 1977. D: Wim Wenders. Fst / Sf. Trains he can handle. Ganz is good. Hopper too conceited.
Wodzirej / Pyrkyri / Top Dog. PL 1978. D: Feliks Falk. Jerzy Stuhr. tv. Stuhr is great in another virulent critique of the Polish power structure.
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty / Hurjimus. US 1947. D: Norman Z. McLeod. Danny Kaye, Virginia Mayo. tv. Kaye is not great, and McLeod is not a master, but there is a bonanza of satire of the culture industy. An endless jungle of juicy material.
Враги / Viholliset / Fienderna / Enemies. SU 1977. D: Rodion Nahapetov. Gorky. Innokenti Smoktunovsky, Yelena Solovey. tv. Surprisingly high quality drama adaptation. The end disappoints, it fails to bring the tensions to a satisfactory conclusion.
Le Jour se lève / Varjojen yö. FR 1939. D: Marcel Carné. Gabin, Jules Berry, Arletty. Fst / Sf. Brilliant. During one night Gabin relives his past in a house surrounded by the police.
Panny z Wilka / Kartanon neidot / The Young Ladies of Wilko. PL 1979. D: Andrzej Wajda. Fst / Sf. An ok small film story, better than Brzezina.
Hra v jablku / Omenaleikki. CZ 1976. D: Vera Chytilová. Fst / Sf. I prefer this to Sedmikrasky. Dagmar Blahova wonderful.
Young and Innocent / Nuori ja viaton. GB 1937. D: Alfred Hitchcock. Fst / Sf. Brit Hitch at his best.
Night After Night. US 1932. D: Archie Mayo. Fkl / Fst. George Raft good as the conceited gangster. Mae West's film debut, but women are in the background in this movie.
Cleopatra / Kleopatra. GB/US/CH 1963. D: Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Taylor, Burton, Harrison. Fkl / Fh. The 200 min version. Harrison great as Caesar, some fantastic scenes of spectacle, I was very disappointed with Taylor.
I'm No Angel / En ole enkeli. US 1933. D: Wesley Ruggles. Mae West, Cary Grant. Fkl / Fh. Mae West is an auteur. I love her stuff.
Goin' to Town / Glada änkas miljoner. US 1935. D: Alexander Hall. Fkl / Fst. Mae West in the Wild West.
Edge of the City / A Man Is Ten Feet Tall (GB premiere title) / Miehen mitta. US 1956. D: Martin Ritt. John Cassavetes, Sidney Poitier. tv. A sweat-dripping stockyard melodrama.

JULY 1981, STOCKHOLM

Bob Dylan: Renaldo & Clara (US 1978). Bob Dylan (Renaldo), Sara Dylan (Clara), Joan Baez (The Woman in White), Ronnie Hawkins (Bob Dylan). Telecast in Sweden in a four hour version.

The Trials of Alger Hiss / Alger Hissin oikeudenkäynnit. US 1979. D: John Lowenthal. doc. Fst / Sommarfestival. In the league of de Antonio, Hiss's lawyer uses the freshly opened CIA and FBI files to prove that Hiss, accused of spying for the USSR and convicted of perjury in 1951, was innocent. The Soviet archives that were opened later also had no evidence of Hiss having been a spy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alger_Hiss
The Day the Earth Stood Still. tv [2]
The Horse Soldiers / Ratsuväen urhot. US 1959. D: John Ford. tv. His only Civil War movie, anti-war. Wayne is a railway builder who has to destroy his own work. Holden is a medical officer. Constance Towers is a Southern woman.
The Producers / Kevät koittaa Hitlerille. US 1968. D: Mel Brooks. Fst. Too tired, I fell asleep.
La Spirale. FR 1976. D: Armand Mattelart, Jacqueline Meppiel, Valérie Mayoux, Chris Marker, Silvio Tendler, Pierre Flament. tv. On Chile, familiar images, comprehensive. New: the analysis of media.
Ök ketten / Heitä on kaksi / Marie och Julie / The Two of Them. HU 1977. D: Márta Mészárós. Fst / Sf. Psychological sensitivity, a lack of urgency.
Radio On. Fst / Sf. [2] Gets better.
Renaldo and Clara. US 1978. D: Bob Dylan. tv. Too scattered but strangely compelling four-hour movie. When I Paint My Masterpiece. Isis. A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall. It Ain't Me Babe. Knockin' On Heaven's Door. Hurricane. Romance In Durango. One Too Many Mornings. She Belongs To Me. It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry. The House Of The Rising Sun. One More Cup Of Coffee. Sara. Catfish. Suzanne. Sad-Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands. Tangled Up In Blue (*). Just Like A Woman. In The Morning Of My Life. Ballad In Plain D. Kaw-Liga. Eight Miles High. Makes one appreciate Pennebaker more.
Wise Blood / Levoton veri. US 1979. D: John Huston. Flannery O'Connor. Fst / Sf. He's still got the talent for taut film-making, but I don't like the nihilism.
55 Days in Peking / 55 päivää Pekingissä. US 1963. D: Nicholas Ray. tv. I don't wonder if the director woke up screaming. The only bright things: Ava Gardner and the self-evident Charlton Heston.
Bez znieczulenia / Ilman puudutusta / Without Anesthesia. PL 1978. D: Andrzej Wajda. Starring Zbigniew Zapasiewicz, the official cynic in Polish films. Fst / Sf. Equally good as The Man of Marble, more limited but better in dramatic construction. The film was surprisingly different from what I had read. This is the portrait of an opportunist. Previously he has been supported by all, now by none.
National Lampoon's Animal House / Delta-jengi. US 1978. D: John Landis. Göta Lejon. Farce galore.
THX 1138 / THX 1138. US 1971. D: George Lucas. tv. Incredibly boring.

JUNE 1981, STOCKHOLM

A King in New York / Kuningas New Yorkissa. GB 1957. Charles Chaplin. tv. I was prepared for disappointment but was happily surprised, instead. A new gear for C. First person cinema, direct cinema in a unique way. The best is not in the gags but in the touches: looks, gestures, not acting. His last masterpiece.
Silk Stockings / Silkkisukat. US 1956. D: Rouben Mamoulian. Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse. Filmklubben / Filmhuset. It is ruthless to compare this with Ninotchka.
Carrie. US 1976. Brian De Palma. Stephen King. Rialto. Well made telekinetic horror, but crude, I was not particularly impressed.
Nine to Five / Yhdeksästä viiteen. D: Colin Higgins. Dolly Parton, Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin. Park. A women's feelgood movie, obvious.
Gösta Berlings saga / Gösta Berlingin taru. SE 1924. D: Mauritz Stiller. Selma Lagerlöf. Greta Garbo. Fkl / Fh. Majestic, magnificent. Lars Hanson's ardent sermon. The Devil among the Cavaliers. The wolfpack chasing Garbo and Hanson on the frozen lake. The mansion on fire.
Ma nuit chez Maud / Yöni Maudin luona. FR 1969. D: Eric Rohmer. Fkl / Fh. My favourite R. Admirable focus and clarity. Both realistic and mythical.
Sous les toits de Paris / Pariisin kattojen alla. FR 1930. D: René Clair. Fkl / Fh. Clair felt dated.
Prova d'orchestra. tv [2] Keeps getting better.
A Damsel in Distress /En flicka i knipa / Neitonen ahdingossa. US 1937. D: George Stevens. P.G. Wodehouse. Fred Astaire, George Burns, Gracie Allen, Joan Fontaine. Fkl / Fh. The only bright element: the dances of Astaire: in the fairground, by the moonlit river, the dance which is a drum solo.
Tales of Terror. US 1962. D: Roger Corman. Fkl / Fst. I Morella (Vincent Price, Leona Gage). II The Facts in the Case of Mr. Valdemar (Price, Basil Rathbone, Debra Paget). III The Black Cat (Peter Lorre, Price, Joyce Jameson). Yuck!
Berlin Alexanderplatz. DE 1980. D: R.W. Fassbinder. Alfred Döblin. Günter Lamprecht. tv. some 3-4 episodes
Berlin-Alexanderplatz. DE 1931. D: Phil Jutzi. Alfred Döblin. Heinrich George. tv. I preferred this version at the time.
San Francisco / San Franciscon maanjäristys. US 1936. D: W.S. Van Dyke. Gable, McDonald, Tracy. Fkl / Fst. The MGM studio splendour. Two thirds are about the merry old Frisco with its vices. Then the earthquake, and Gable's religious conversion.
The Raven / Korppi. US 1962. D: Roger Corman. Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff, Jack Nicholson. Fkl / Fst. Very modest.
Perceval le Gallois. FR 1979. D: Eric Rohmer. Fkl / Fh. It failed to move me, but maybe I was in the wrong mood, and the language was difficult.
The Big Heat / Gangsterikuningas. US 1953. D: Fritz Lang. tv. Masterpiece, my favourite American FL film at the time.
Калина красная / Punainen heisipuu / The Red Snowball Tree. Fst / Sommarfestivalen [3] Gets better.
Roma. Nya Ritz [2] This gets better, too, many details I had forgotten. Maybe too scattered.
The Public Enemy / Yhteiskunnan vihollinen. US 1931. D: William A. Wellman. James Cagney, Jean Harlow. Fst / Sf. Cagney is tough. Harlow, too, is tough. The grapefruit act is tough. Especially the shock ending is tough.

MAY 1981, WEST BERLIN AND STOCKHOLM

Marcel Cravenne: La Danse de mort / Dance of Death (FR/IT 1948). Seen in Stockholm: August Strindberg's marriage tragedy enacted by the real-life artist couple Denise Vernac (Théa) and Erich von Stroheim (Edgar).

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!"

APRIL 1981, STOCKHOLM AND WEST BERLIN

Sumurun / Sumurun. DE 1920. D: Ernst Lubitsch. Filmklubben / Filmhuset. A dazzling print. Looks fantastic, but the story does not work so well.
The Tales of Hoffmann / Hoffmannin seikkailut. GB 1951. Powell & Pressburger. Jacques Offenbach. Fkl / Fh. Great, a phenomenological odyssey.
Anna Boleyn / Anna Boleyn. DE 1920. D: Ernst Lubitsch. Fkl / Fh. A full two-hour print, visual quality duped. A perfect production, but L. does not seem to have much to say.
Die Bergkatze / Vuorikissa. DE 1921. D: Ernst Lubitsch. Fkl / Fh. An 95 min presentation, visual quality tolerable. An absolute L. favourite of mine, Pola Negri in great comedy form.
Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari. Fkl /Fh. [3] After 10 years gets stronger, feels even topical. Conrad Veidt is unforgettable as the sleepwalker.
Das Weib des Pharao / Faaraon vaimo. DE 1922. D: Ernst Lubitsch. Fkl / Fh. A 65 min compilation of a two-hour film, with texts in missing sequences, visual quality brilliant. A great spectacle, but the story is banal.
Rosita / Rosita. US 1923. D: Ernst Lubitsch. Mary Pickford. Fkl / Fh. A 100 min presentation of a Russian-language print, apparently shortened, I found the visual quality bearable (?). I liked it more than Dubarry, Boleyn, and Pharao. The Toledo carneval: might Bakhtin have seen this? My first Mary Pickford movie.
The Marriage Circle / Avioliiton ilveilyä. US 1924. D: Ernst Lubitsch. Fkl / Fh. A 110 min presentation of an apparently complete version but with a gray, low-contrast image. The total change of tack. Instead of spectacle, there is a focus on the essentials. Monte Blue seemed too childish, Florence Vidor wonderful.
Fun in Acapulco / Rytmiä ja riemua Acapulcossa. US 1963. D: Richard Thorpe. Elvis Presley, Ursula Andress. tv. The former trapeze artists now suffers from acrophobia.
The Elephant Man / Elefanttimies. GB/US 1980. D: David Lynch. John Hurt, Anthony Hopkins. Grand. An impressive mise-en-scène. The burning gas everywhere. The monster is believably unbelievable.
The Red Shoes / Punaiset kengät. GB 1948. Powell & Pressburger. H.C. Andersen. Fkl / Fh. Andersen's idea has been elaborated in a way that brings to mind Thomas Mann. The tragedy of art, the affinity of art to death.
The Edge of the World. GB 1937. D: Michael Powell. Half-doc. Fkl / Fh. The island in the Atlantic, the incredible waves, apparently inspired by Flaherty.
The Lion Has Wings. GB 1939. D: Michael Powell, Brian Desmond Hurst, Adrian Brunel. Fkl / Fh. Restrained war propaganda in the British style. It is nice to spot Ian Fleming, who resembles Bernard Lee as M.
Cristo si è fermato a Eboli 1 / Kristus pysähty Eboliin 1. IT/FR 1979. D: Francesco Rosi. tv. I was not impressed by the first episode.
Hellzapoppin / Hullunmyllyssä. US 1941. D: H.C. Potter. Filmstaden. A comedy for pure laughter only.
Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Poison. US 1958. D: Alfred Hitchcock. Wendell Corey and the poisonous krait reptile.
Monsieur Verdoux / Ritari Siniparta. US 1947. D: Charles Chaplin. tv. Verdoux's wife is lame, as the City Lights girl was blind. The moment of truth when Verdoux tells Marilyn Nash about the great economic crash, how he woke up and realized that he had been living in a dream world. Fun with Martha Raye, the girl he could not put away (also the insatiable woman in Hellzapoppin). Horrible ironies, catharthic in the end. I found this greater than The Great Dictator and Limelight.
Sullivan's Travels / Nauru kahleiden takana. US 1941. D: Preston Sturges. Joel McCrea. Fkl / Fst. A parody of social consciousness in Hollywood.
Lady Windermere's Fan / Hänen suurin kiusauksensa. US 1925. D: Ernst Lubitsch. Fkl / Fh. A fine print, a 110 min presentation. One of the very greatest L. films. How tensions are built and how they are suddenly condensed in a single gesture.
The Thief of Bagdad / Bagdadin varas. GB 1940. D: Michael Powell, Ludwig Berger, Tim Whelan. Fkl / Fh. Maybe I was not in the right mood for this.
49th Parallel / Pako. GB 1941. D: Michael Powell. Fkl / Fh. A great thriller, taut like Hitchcock, yet original. A team of Nazis flees through Canada to the USA. The episodes grow into a cross section of Canada.
Engel aus Eisen. DE 1981. D: Thomas Brasch. Cinema Paris, West Berlin. Boring.
Vertigo / Vertigo - punainen kyynel. US 1958. D: Alfred Hitchcock. Thalia 2, West Berlin, 16mm. Before the official re-release it was possible to see Peter Vollmann's print of Vertigo in West Berlin, it was maybe 10 min shortened, but not jarringly, and the colour seemed right. For the first time, mind-blowing.

De första filmerna / The First Films (1981 Svenska Filminstitutet / Filmklubben / Filmstaden)

Louis Lumière: Sortie d’usine, [I] (FR 1895). Vue N° 91,1. “Les ouvriers et ouvrières sortent de l’usine Lumière.” Des ouvrières et des ouvriers franchissent le portail de l’usine Lumière et sont suivis d’une voiture attelée de deux chevaux. Cette vue a été datée grâce à l'étude des ombres architecturales (cf. le chapitre L'année 1895 et ses jalons). Opérateur: Louis Lumière. Date: [26 mai 1895]. Lieu: France, Lyon, Monplaisir, chemin Saint-Victor (aujourd'hui rue du 1er Film). Projections: Projetée le 10 juin 1895 à Lyon (France) (Bulletin de la Société française de photographie, 2e série, Tome XI, n° 16, 1895, p. 396). Eléments filmiques: 1 copie Lumière. Pays: France- Ville: Lyon- Lieu: rue, usine, ville. Sujet: ouvrier. Objet: bicyclette, voiture hippomobile. Séries: Edition BluRay 2015, Les sorties d’usine, Salon indien du Grand Café. Photo and data: Catalogue Lumière. Ce site repose sur les données produites par l'équipe de recherche de Michelle Aubert et Jean-Claude Seguin. Il a été développé par Manuel Schmalstieg et des étudiants de l’EAA La Chaux-de-Fonds.

De första filmerna.
Svenska Filminstitutet / Filmklubben / Filmstaden 1 April 1981
...

Lumière FR ca 1895, ca 10 min:
Sortie d'usine
Le Repas de bébé
Démolition d'un mur
L'Arroseur arrosé
L'Arrivée des congressistes
L'Arrivée d'un train à la Ciotat
Partie d'écarté
Barque sortant du port
...

Méliès (wonderful colour prints):
Le Voyage à travers l'impossible (FR 1904) [2]
Le Chaudron infernal (FR 1907)
Le Locataire diabolique (FR 1909 ...

miserable prints:
A Corner in Wheat (US 1909, D. W. Griffith)
The Great Train Robbery (US 1903, Edwin S. Porter)
Rescued from an Eagle's Nest (US 1903, Porter, a laughable eagle)
...
Cops (US 1922). Keaton [3]
The Immigrant (US 1917). Chaplin [3]

MARCH 1981, STOCKHOLM

Emile de Antonio: Painters Painting (US 1973).

Painters Painting. US 1973. D: Emile de Antonio. Filmklubben / Filmhuset. Unexpectedly powerful. Barnett Newman, Willem de Kooning, Frank Stella, Robert Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, Robert Scull (the dealer piranha), Leo Castelli (the asshole). A seminal film of the 1970s
Notorious. Fkl / Fst. [3] Bad print, ingenious film.
The Horror Show. US 1978. D: Richard Schickel. Palladium. CBS compilation in theatrical distribution. Strong scenes from The Phantom of the Opera (Chaney), Island of Lost Souls (Laughton), Frankenstein (Karloff), Creature from the Black Lagoon, etc. Many strange moments.
Ensayo de un crimen. MX 1955. D: Luis Buñuel. Fkl / Fh. Surprise: a key film, ironic, black comedy, the precursor of B's late work.
Under Capricorn / Kauriin merkeissä. GB 1949. D: Alfred Hitchcock. Ingrid Bergman. Fkl / Fst. Lauded by Rohmer and Chabrol, maybe not quite so great.
Der Stolz der Firma. DE 1914. D: Carl Wilhelm. Ernst Lubitsch. Fkl / Fh. Not impressed.
Fräulein Piccolo. DE 1914. D: Franz Hofer. Ernst Lubitsch. Fkl / Fh. Not impressed.
Schuhpalast Pinkus. DE 1916. D: Ernst Lubitsch. Fkl / Fh. Not impressed.
Wenn vier dasselbe tun. DE 1917. D: Ernst Lubitsch. Fkl / Fh. Not impressed.
The Young One / Neitsytsaari. MX/US 1960. D: Luis Buñuel. Fkl / Fh. Original in English. A little masterpiece.
Kaze no naka no mendoori / A Hen in the Wind. JP 1948. D: Yasujiro Ozu. Fkl / Fh. I'm still struggling to get Ozu. His earlier films like this are easier to access, as the narration is more concrete, more dense.
Ein fideles Gefängnis. DE 1917. D: Ernst Lubitsch. Fkl / Fh. Not impressed.
Ich möchte kein Mann sein. DE 1918. D: Ernst Lubitsch. Fkl / Fh. Not impressed. Having seen many weak early L. films I missed the charm of this, too.
Die Augen der Mumie Ma. DE 1918. D: Ernst Lubitsch. Fkl / Fh. A bad print. Not impressed.
Carmen. DE 1918. D: Ernst Lubitsch. Pola Negri. Fkl / Fh. A good print, screening of 85 min. In this film I experienced the L. touch at its earliest.
Die Austernprinzessin / Osteriprinsessa. DE 1919. D: Ernst Lubitsch. Ossi Oswalda. Fkl / Fh. A worn print but full length. Funny, fantastic satire.
Dracula / Kreivi Dracula. GB 1973. D: Dan Curtis. Jack Palance. Saw part. tv. Not impressed.
Intolerance / Suvaitsemattomuus. US 1916. D: D.W. Griffith. Fkl / Fh. A toned print, screening of 165 min. Impressed me much stronger than The Birth of a Nation. Crazily ambitious, with a sense of humour.
Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex *But Were Afraid to Ask / Mitä kaikkea oletkaan aina halunnut tietää seksistä *mutta et ole uskaltanut kysyä. US 1972. D: Woody Allen. Rigoletto. Another surprise. My favourite W.A. besides Annie Hall. Great parodies of film styles: 1: the court jester (costume drama), 2: the hungry wolf (en glupsk varg) (Italian story of alienation), 3: the lamb (Love Story), 4: the man in drag (empathy), 5: What's Your Perversion? (tv commercial and a sponsored tv show), 6: the mammoth breast (science fiction), 7: the machine room (a nature documentary).
Madame Dubarry / Madame Dubarry. DE 1919. D: Ernst Lubitsch. Pola Negri. Fkl / Fh. A worn but almost full-length print. History is not the forte of L.
Nihon no yoru to kiri / Night and Fog in Japan. JP 1960. D: Nagisa Oshima. Fkl / Fh. Not impressed.
Die Puppe / Nukke. DE 1919. D: Ernst Lubitsch. Ossi Oswalda. Fkl / Fh. A worn but full-length print. Fantastic, charming, moving.
Party Girl / Chicagon yöperhoset. US 1958. D: Nicholas Ray. Cyd Charisse. Fkl / Fh. Ray meets the hard MGM glamour.
Kohlhiesels Töchter. DE 1920. D: Ernst Lubitsch. Henny Porten. Fkl / Fh. A very worn print. A broad Bavarian farce. Laughter non stop.
Cabiria / Cabiria. IT 1914. D: Giovanni Pastrone. Bartolomeo Pagano (Maciste). Fkl / Fh. A fine print from the vintage Swedish-titled version. An astounding mastodont film, better than its reputation, but not in the class of Griffith.
Romeo und Julia im Schnee. DE 1920. D: Ernst Lubitsch. Fkl / Fh. A good print. Another broad Bavarian farce, and another laughter success.

FEBRUARY 1981, STOCKHOLM

Krzysztof Kieslowski: Amator / The Camera Buff (PL 1979). Jerzy Stuhr.

The Patsy. (tv) [2] Not as funny the second time, I felt the sadness, instead. Essential Jerry Lewis, anyway.
Der Golem - wie er in die Welt kam / Golem - miten hän tuli maailmaan. DE 1920. D: Paul Wegener & Carl Boese. Filmklubben / Filmstaden. A masterpiece, in full command of the legend.
TV: Hit Service. Slade: Coz I Luv You. Little Feat: Oh Atlanta. The Troggs: With A Girl Like You (Berlin). Boz Scaggs: You Can Have Me Anytime. Robert Gordon: It's Only Make-Believe. The Hollies: The Day That Curly Billy Shot Down Crazy Sam McGee.
Privilege / Tänään huipulla. GB 1967. D: Peter Watkins. Paul Jones (vocalist and harmonica player of Manfred Mann), Jean Shrimpton. Fkl / Filmhuset. Interesting concept, fails to move.
Europa '51. IT 1952. D: Roberto Rossellini. Ingrid Bergman. Fkl / Fh. English version. R's boldest film, brought to mind Tolstoy (Resurrection).
Schatten - eine nächtliche Halluzination / Varjoja - öinen harhakuva. DE 1922. D: Arthur Robison. Fkl / Fst. A bad Yugoslavian print. Fascinating concept: shadows play out the hidden desires. How well this was realized was impossible to tell as the print was so bad.
TV: Hit Service. Leo Sayer: More Than I Can Say. Delaney & Bonnie: Poor Elaine. Peter & Gordeon: World Without Love. Graham Parker: Stupefaction (1980). Frankie Avalon: Teacher's Pet. Deep Purple: Fireball.
El bruto. MX 1952. D: Luis Buñuel. Fkl / Fh. Pedro Armendáriz and Katy Jurado are great.
Les Bruits du monde, les cris de la solitude / Tystnaden - den finns inte. FR 1978. D: Robert Manthoulis & Claude Fléouter. Doc. tv. Fine, inventive, creative film-making, theme: sound. I saw but a part.
The Blues Brothers / The Blues Brothers. US 1980. D: John Landis. Lyran. Some of my favourite music and performers.
Na samotě u lesa / Pakopaikka metsikössä / Sommarstället / Seclusion Near a Forest. CZ 1976. D: Jiří Menzel. Filmstaden. Not as good as Rozmarne leto but better than Bajecni muzni s klikou.
City Lights. tv [2] My absolute C. favourite. The millionaire who recognizes the tramp only when drunk. The girl who recognizes him only as long as she's blind.
Easy Rider / Easy Rider - matkalla. US 1969. D: Dennis Hopper. Victoria. Unexpectedly a small masterpiece. A clarity and ruthlessness of vision. The American odyssey as a death trip.
India. FR/IT 1959. D: Roberto Rossellini. Fkl / Fst. I was not yet ready for India.
The Court Jester / Hovinarri. US 1956. D: Norman Panama & Melvin Frank. Danny Kaye, Glynis Johns. tv. I wasn't impressed. Funny: the outlaws are portrayed by children, and the lady is the only man of the story.
Amator / Amatööri / Camera Buff. PL 1979. D: Krzysztof Kieslowski. Filmstaden. One of the best of the contemporary Polish films besides The Man of Marble and Camouflage. Here scenes that seem random grow into a tight and rich whole. Multidimensional yet not confused.
La ilusion viaja en tranvia. MX 1953. D: Luis Buñuel. Fkl / Fh. A light, sympathetic story. A sense of humour and a feeling for the ensemble.
Il generale della Rovere / Kenraali della Rovere. IT 1959. D: Roberto Rossellini. Vittorio De Sica. Fkl / Fh. Clearly different from R's earlier films, missing a sense of urgency.
Era notte a Roma / Rooman öitä. IT 1960. D: Roberto Rossellini. Fkl / Fh. See above.
There's No Business Like Show Business. Fkl / Fh [2]. I saw the SEA print with the magnetic soundtrack in Filmhuset for the first time with sound. Marilyn is the only reason to see this.