Cinema Orion, 24 April 2009. The concluding lecture in the U.S. Independents series. How the independent companies became subsidiaries of the major companies.
Lions Gate Films, Summit Entertainment, Overture Films, IFC Films, Samuel Goldwyn Films, Warner Independent Pictures, The Weinstein Company / Dimension Films, Magnolia Pictures, Palm Pictures, Tartan Fils, Newmarket Films, Picturehouse, ThinkFilm, Troma Entertainment, First Look Studios, Image Entertainment.
Independent Film and Television Alliance
The story of DreamWorks
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys!
Rakettirakkautta / Raketkärlek. US © 1958 Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp. P+D: Leo McCarey. SC: Claude Binyon, Leo McCarey – based on the novel by Max Shulman (1957, in Finnish: Ohjukset irrallaan [Missiles on the Loose], Juhana Perkki / Otava, 1959). DP: Leon Shamroy – CinemaScope – colour: De Luxe. AD: Lyle R. Wheeler, Leland Fuller (art dir.). COST: Charles LeMaire. Make-up: Ben Nye. Hair: Helen Turpin. M: Cyril J. Mockridge. Song: "Seein' As How You're Mah Boojum" (comp. + lyrics: Leo McCarey). Conductor: Lionel Newman. Orchestra: Edward B. Powell. S: Eugene Grossman, Harry M. Leonard. ED: Louis R. Loeffler. CAST: Paul Newman (Harry Bannerman), Joanne Woodward (Grace Bannerman), Joan Collins (Angela Hoffa), Jack Carson (Capt. Hoxie), Dwayne Hickman (Grady Metcalf), Tuesday Weld (Comfort Goodpasture), Gale Gordon (Gen. Thorwald), Tom Gilson (Opie), O.Z. Whitehead (Isaac Goodpasture). 108 min. A Twentieth Century-Fox studio print viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki, 22 April 2009. - A fine print with good colour. - Leo McCarey's last comedy, after a comedy directing career of over 30 years, starting with Laurel & Hardy and other Hal Roach greats. One can still recognize the zany impulse, but although the cast is great, the actors are not as funny as the Hal Roach ensemble or Cary Grant and Irene Dunne. It's not bad but one has come to expect better from Leo McCarey.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
My Son John
Agentti 52 / Agent 52. US (c) 1952 Paramount. P+D: Leo McCarey. SC: Myles Connolly, Leo McCarey - adaptation: John Lee Mahin - based on a story by Leo McCarey. DP: Harry Stradling. AD: Hal Pereira, William Flannery. Song: "Alma Mater" (composed by Leo McCarey and Robert Emmett Dolan, lyrics by Leo McCarey). COST: Edith Head. ED: Marvin Coil. CAST: Helen Hayes (Lucille Jefferson), Van Heflin (Stedman), Dean Jagger (Dan Jefferson), Robert Walker (John Jefferson), Minor Watson (Dr. Carver), Frank McHugh (Father O'Dowd). 122 min. A Paramount (Hollywood) print viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki, 21 April 2009. - A brilliant print. - A seminal anti-communistic film made with total devotion by Leo McCarey, who not only wrote, directed, and produced, but also dubbed John's final speech and composed and wrote lyrics to the final song that accompanies it. - After this film, there was a five year hiatus in McCarey's filmography. - A strange film beneath McCarey's usual intelligence, wit and sense of humour. - McCarey had certainly demonstrated audacity in treating serious political issues in Hollywood entertainment in Once Upon a Honeymoon. - Before this, he had made one non-comedy, Make Way for Tomorrow, but there was a profound sense of humour in it. - It seems that for McCarey, Communism was a force of evil, of Satan (as in Satan Never Sleeps). - The strange conclusions in this film include that intellect, intellectuality, and academic achievements become suspect. And a fatally dysfunctional family (a weak, conformist and alcoholic father, and a mother on the verge of nervous breakdown) becomes the ideal of America. - Robin Wood has remarked that if this film had been properly understood, McCarey, himself, might have been hauled before the Un-American activities committee. - A pervasive sense of unease, fraud, and phoniness. - A terrible film with a lot of fascinating unconscious content. - An apology of naming names, informing, and espionage. - Robert Walker plays John for a monster. - Helen Hayes is great as the neurotic mother, who also makes fun about her condition (pretending to catch a fly).
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Going My Way
Kulje tietäni / Vandra min väg. US 1944. PC: Paramount. P+D: Leo McCarey. CAST: Bing Crosby (Father Chuck O'Malley), Barry Fitzgerald (Father Fitzgibbon), Rise Stevens (Genevieve Linden). 126 min. A Universal print viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki, 17 April 2009. - A brilliant print. - Revisited: a masterpiece made during WWII about spiritual regeneration. - The old St. Dominic church is deteriorating, and even finally burns down, but Father O'Malley comes to start a revival with his high spirits. The generation clash (qf. Make Way for Tomorrow) with the old Father Fitzgibbon. - The music is based on the contrast between the Metropolitan Opera, where Genevieve sings the habanera from Carmen, and the church, where Bing Crosby leads a magnificent performance of "Adeste fideles". - It seems that O'Malley has been in love with Genevieve, but because of a misunderstanding had come to believe that Genevieve was not interested in him anymore. - This is a film about the joy of helping, about the pain of the generation gap, and the difficulty of giving up. - It is played as a comedy, but there is a profound sense of sadness and disappointment, also because of the human condition in 1944, as in The Bells of St. Mary's. - Going My Way was made in order to make The Bells of St. Mary's, which was Leo McCarey's original project.
Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song
US (c) 1971 Yeah. P+D+SC+M+ED: Melvin Van Peebles. M: Earth, Wind & Fire. CAST: Melvin Van Peebles (Sweetback), Simon Chuckster (Beetle), Hubert Scales (Mu-Mu), John Dullaghan (Commissioner), Niva Rochelle. 98 min. A MoMA restored print viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki 17 April 2009. - A brilliant print. Last time I saw this in 1992, the print was not so hot. - Revisited (the beginning and the end): a film that is more fascinating than I have realized, see Pirkka Kivenheimo's commentary below.
Pirkka Kivenheimo: African-American Cinema (lecture)
Lecture at Cinema Orion, 17 April 2009, in the U.S. Independents series.
For the black film-makers in the United States, being "independent" was not a virtue but a necessity.
The Birth of a Nation: racism in the heart of mainstream Hollywood.
The PBS definition: three of the following criteria have to be met in order for a film to be classified as "black": 1) black producer, 2) black director, 3) black executive producer, 4) black talent, 5) black target audience.
In Hollywood the black breakthrough took place first in the late 1990s.
Clip: ABC Nightline on the 1996 Oscar Gala. American film industry was one of the last to have black presence.
For a long time blacks had to make their films independently on a small budget.
1910: Chicago, Phileon Poster. Segregation in Cinemas.
1910-1952: ca 500 race movies.
Oscar Micheaux: 34 films. He made the first black feature film The Homesteaders (1919). Paul Robeson debuted in Body and Soul (1924). The first black sound film.
The 1950s and the 1960s were the great decades of civil rights. During 1952-1967 there was not a single film directed by a black artist in the United States.
1967: San Francisco Film Festival: Melvin Van Peebles presented La Permission. He had lived since 1959 in Europe. Born in 1932 in Chicago, served in the U.S. Air Force, was a painter in Mexico, worked in San Francisco as a trolley driver, became an author, since 1957 short films, Pick-Up Men for Merrick, moved to the Netherlands in 1959, was a dramaturg, moved to France in 1961, first feature film 1965, and in 1967, La Permission, in the same year as Sidney Poitier starred in In the Heat of the Night and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.
Hollywood studios were intrigued and employed at once three black directors. Gordon Parks, Sr. became the first black Hollywood director (The Learning Tree). Ossie Davis, the second (Cotton Comes to Harlem). Van Peebles directed The Watermelon Man for Columbia.
But in 1971 he directed Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song. On a budget of 100.000 USD the revenue was 10 million dollars. Immediately this success inspired the blaxploitation cycle, starring blacks, but written, directed and produced by whites.
Van Peebles inspired a whole generation of young black film-makers, such as Spike Lee, Robert Townsend, Keenen Ivory Wayans, the Hudlins, Charles Burnett, Mario Van Peebles, John Singleton, the Hugheses, Ernest Dickerson, Carl Franklin, Bill Duke, Mike Lane, Leslie Harris, Ruby Oliver.
Clip: Melvin Van Peebles visits the set of Do the Right Thing (1989).
Melvin Van Peebles was multitalented: he made records, poems, novels, theatre, he was a flyer, and in the 1970s and the 1980s he was a trader in the New York stock exchange, and also wrote a book about that.
Clip: Mario Van Peebles, 2003.
As a 13 year old boy Mario played a sex scene in Sweet Sweetback.
Backing came from Bill Cosby, among others.
Clip: Baadassss (Mario Van Peebles, 2003)
The secret of the popularity of Sweet Sweetback: the right time, the right place, the right spirit. The black community. Melvin hired black professionals to his crew. For the first time, police violence against blacks was shown. It was well-known to the blacks, but first in 1991, with the Rodney King incident, whites became aware of it. Sweet Sweetback was prophetic.
No more resignation. Taking responsibility. Emphasis on the black community. Already the opening credits are significant. "Starring: the black community". Melvin himself stars as "Brer Soul", a reference to Brer Rabbit and the old tales of the South, coming from Africa. A new kind of hero.
The film is serious beneath the surface.
The depiction of sexuality was interpreted as machoist, but is not that simple. The theme of androgyny. The sexual exploitation is mutual.
The theme of violence. The essential scene: Sweetback kills the policemen who beat cruelly a brother. There is no glorification of violence.
"Dedicated to the brothers and sisters who have had enough of the Man".
The old woman's comment: "I might have had a Leroy once, but they used to take them away from me". The slave masters could break up families, and so could the social security officials.
Clip: the premiere (from Mario's Baadassss, 2003), "dedicated to the brothers and sisters who opened the door".
Earth, Wind & Fire performed the soundtrack in the year of their debut album.
For the black film-makers in the United States, being "independent" was not a virtue but a necessity.
The Birth of a Nation: racism in the heart of mainstream Hollywood.
The PBS definition: three of the following criteria have to be met in order for a film to be classified as "black": 1) black producer, 2) black director, 3) black executive producer, 4) black talent, 5) black target audience.
In Hollywood the black breakthrough took place first in the late 1990s.
Clip: ABC Nightline on the 1996 Oscar Gala. American film industry was one of the last to have black presence.
For a long time blacks had to make their films independently on a small budget.
1910: Chicago, Phileon Poster. Segregation in Cinemas.
1910-1952: ca 500 race movies.
Oscar Micheaux: 34 films. He made the first black feature film The Homesteaders (1919). Paul Robeson debuted in Body and Soul (1924). The first black sound film.
The 1950s and the 1960s were the great decades of civil rights. During 1952-1967 there was not a single film directed by a black artist in the United States.
1967: San Francisco Film Festival: Melvin Van Peebles presented La Permission. He had lived since 1959 in Europe. Born in 1932 in Chicago, served in the U.S. Air Force, was a painter in Mexico, worked in San Francisco as a trolley driver, became an author, since 1957 short films, Pick-Up Men for Merrick, moved to the Netherlands in 1959, was a dramaturg, moved to France in 1961, first feature film 1965, and in 1967, La Permission, in the same year as Sidney Poitier starred in In the Heat of the Night and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.
Hollywood studios were intrigued and employed at once three black directors. Gordon Parks, Sr. became the first black Hollywood director (The Learning Tree). Ossie Davis, the second (Cotton Comes to Harlem). Van Peebles directed The Watermelon Man for Columbia.
But in 1971 he directed Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song. On a budget of 100.000 USD the revenue was 10 million dollars. Immediately this success inspired the blaxploitation cycle, starring blacks, but written, directed and produced by whites.
Van Peebles inspired a whole generation of young black film-makers, such as Spike Lee, Robert Townsend, Keenen Ivory Wayans, the Hudlins, Charles Burnett, Mario Van Peebles, John Singleton, the Hugheses, Ernest Dickerson, Carl Franklin, Bill Duke, Mike Lane, Leslie Harris, Ruby Oliver.
Clip: Melvin Van Peebles visits the set of Do the Right Thing (1989).
Melvin Van Peebles was multitalented: he made records, poems, novels, theatre, he was a flyer, and in the 1970s and the 1980s he was a trader in the New York stock exchange, and also wrote a book about that.
Clip: Mario Van Peebles, 2003.
As a 13 year old boy Mario played a sex scene in Sweet Sweetback.
Backing came from Bill Cosby, among others.
Clip: Baadassss (Mario Van Peebles, 2003)
The secret of the popularity of Sweet Sweetback: the right time, the right place, the right spirit. The black community. Melvin hired black professionals to his crew. For the first time, police violence against blacks was shown. It was well-known to the blacks, but first in 1991, with the Rodney King incident, whites became aware of it. Sweet Sweetback was prophetic.
No more resignation. Taking responsibility. Emphasis on the black community. Already the opening credits are significant. "Starring: the black community". Melvin himself stars as "Brer Soul", a reference to Brer Rabbit and the old tales of the South, coming from Africa. A new kind of hero.
The film is serious beneath the surface.
The depiction of sexuality was interpreted as machoist, but is not that simple. The theme of androgyny. The sexual exploitation is mutual.
The theme of violence. The essential scene: Sweetback kills the policemen who beat cruelly a brother. There is no glorification of violence.
"Dedicated to the brothers and sisters who have had enough of the Man".
The old woman's comment: "I might have had a Leroy once, but they used to take them away from me". The slave masters could break up families, and so could the social security officials.
Clip: the premiere (from Mario's Baadassss, 2003), "dedicated to the brothers and sisters who opened the door".
Earth, Wind & Fire performed the soundtrack in the year of their debut album.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
The Bells of St. Mary's
Pyhän Maarian kellot / Klockorna i St. Mary. US 1945 © Rainbow Productions, Inc. P+D: Leo McCarey. SC: Dudley Nichols – from a story by Leo McCarey. DP: George Barnes. COST: Edith Head. M: Robert Emmett Dolan. Songs: "The Bells Of St. Mary's" (Douglas Furber, A. Emmett Adams); "Aren't You Glad You're You?" (Johnny Burke, James Van Heusen); "In The Land Of Beginning Again" (George W. Meyer, Grant Clarke); "Varvindar friska"; "Adeste fideles (O, Come All Ye Faithful)" (John Francis Wade); "O sanctissima" (trad. virsi). CAST: Bing Crosby (Father O'Malley), Ingrid Bergman (Sister Mary Benedict), Henry Travers (Horace P. Bogardus), William Gargan (Joe Gallagher), Ruth Donnelly (Sister Michael), Joan Carroll (Patsy Gallagher), Martha Sleeper (Mrs. Gallagher), Rhys Williams (Dr. McKay), Dickie Tyler (Eddie), Una O'Connor (Mrs. Breen). 125 min. A UCLA print viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki, 15 April 2009. - This is a much screened print of a restored version apparently based on partly challenging materials. Mostly the definition of light is beautiful. - A masterpiece revisited. - I am not a religious person, but as years go by, my respect and admiration for religious work keeps growing. - There are several profound ideas in this film produced during WWII. - There is a fight among the schoolchildren in the yard. Bing Crosby defends the boy who wins: "On the outside it's a man's world". Ingrid Bergman: "How are they doing?". - "I turned the other cheek. Then he really let me have it". - The funniest scene is the "boxing nun" scene; it's also very thought-provoking. It brings to mind that Leo McCarey was the co-creator of the Laurel and Hardy "tit for tat" concept. - The story of the troubled millionaire who finally donates the schoolhouse to the nuns. The message of the film is that doing good for others is good for your heart, even literally. - It is the story of the joy of giving, when every day is Christmas. - If we don't fail sometimes our successes don't mean anything. - You don't become a nun to run away from something but because you've found something. - The final prayer: remove all bitterness from my heart. - The final, breathtaking scene: "You have a touch of TB". "Thank you... you have made me very happy". The misunderstanding of Ingrid Bergman's transfer is cleared (it is to save her). - The beautiful close-ups of the protagonists who have sworn abstinence. - The film is humoristic, but there is also a sense of hidden profound sadness and disappointment which the protagonists fight to overcome.
Huuto tuuleen
A Shout Into the Wind. FI (c) 2007 Oktober Oy. P: Joonas Berghäll. D+SC: Katja Gauriloff. DP: Jarkko T. Laine, J.-P. Passi, Jani Kumpulainen, Pentti Pällijeff, Johannes Lehmuskallio. M: Pekka Karjalainen. ED: Tuuli Kuittinen. S: Juha Hakanen. 56 min. Digibeta from Katja Gauriloff, with English subtitles by Susan Heiskanen, viewed at Cinema Orion, 15 April 2009 in the presence of Katja Gauriloff. - This is the story of the Skolt Sami today, a proud people of ca 600 only, most of which lived in Petsamo, now part of Russia, and now living around Lake Sevetti. - The film both gives a view of the lived life of the Skolt Sami and the action to have their status as an indigenous people accepted. - The director herself is a Skolt Sami.
Porojen parissa
Bland renar / With the Reindeer. FI 1947. P: Erik Blomberg Oy, Eino Mäkinen, Adams Filmi. D: Erik Blomberg, Eino Mäkinen. 8 min. A fine KAVA print viewed at Cinema Orion, 15 April 2009 (Dokumentin ytimessä 47). - Revisited the beautiful account of the reindeer round-up (poroerotus), a big annual event in the life of the Sami people, of the "paliskunta" institution (reindeer owners' association).
Suonikylän talvielämää
Vinterliv i Suenjel / Winter Life in Suenjel. FI 1938. PC: Kansatieteellinen Filmi. D+SC: Eino Mäkinen, Kustaa Vilkuna. Specialist: Karl Nickul. Silent, 25 min. A fine 35mm KAVA print. Viewed at Cinema Orion, 15 April 2009 (Dokumentin ytimessä 47: Saamelaiset / In the Core of the Documentary 47: The Sami People). - A beautiful print. - Revisited the classic of Finnish ethnographic cinema, with scenes of sheep-farming, washing clothes, net-fishing through ice, children playing with the lasso (suopunki) and with reindeer horns, producing thread from veins, spinning by distaff and filling the shoe with hay. Also shown is baby-rearing and removing blackheads from the skin of the back. The whole property of the skolt sami family is packed in a sleigh (ahkio), and winter survival techniques are displayed. - Ilkka Kippola and Jari Sedergren criticize the film for breaches of intimacy, but the Sami director Katja Gauriloff did not find the film improper in that way. - A beautiful film in the Flaherty tradition.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Katyn
PL (c) 2007 Akson Studio etc. P: Michał Kwieciński. D: Andrzej Wajda. Based on the novel Post Mortem by Andrzej Mularczyk. SC: Andrzej Wajda, Przemysław Nowakowski. DP: Paweł Edelman - 4K digital intermediate. M: Krzysztof Penderecki. ED: Milenia Fiedler, Rafał Listopad. Excerpts from both the German and the Soviet propaganda films, "Im Wald vom Katyn" and "Katynskiego lieso". CAST: Maja Ostaszewska, Artur Żmijewski, Paweł Małaszyński. 122 min. A Polish TV / Polish Embassy print with English subtitles by Jerzy Siemasz. Viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki 9 April 2009. - The 4K digital intermediate is so well made that I didn't notice it was digital. - A strong historical film that approaches the Katyn massacre in 1940 of 22.000 Polish officers by NKVD from the viewpoint of the survivors. The script is well constructed to convey the profundity of the horror and the pressure on the survivors to lie. - As in Roman Polanski's The Pianist, there is no self-conscious style here. The director's style is unrecognizable, there is perhaps a slight lack of sturdiness and intensity. - The subject-matter is horrible in itself, and the visual and musical expression is calm and dignified. - Certainly one of Wajda's key films beside Ashes and Diamonds and The Man of Marble.
"Plaisir d'amour" (song by Martini, 1780)
"Plaisir d'amour", the song by Jean Martini (1780), has a pivotal role in two films in which it is the theme song:
Love Affair (Leo McCarey, 1939): the moment of gravity in the life of the two protagonists.
The Heiress (William Wyler, 1949): the lost love of father and daughter; also in this film the tune is played imperfectly; the choice of the song was Wyler's
Plaisir d'amour ne dure qu'un moment.
chagrin d'amour dure toute la vie.
J'ai tout quitté pour l'ingrate Sylvie.
Elle me quitte et prend un autre aimant.
Plaisir d'amour ne dure qu'un moment.
chagrin d'amour dure toute la vie.
Tant que cette eau coulera doucement
vers ce ruisseau qui borde la prairie,
Je t'aimerai me répétait Sylvie.
L'eau coule encore. Elle a changé pourtant.
Plaisir d'amour ne dure qu'un moment.
chagrin d'amour dure toute la vie.
Love Affair (Leo McCarey, 1939): the moment of gravity in the life of the two protagonists.
The Heiress (William Wyler, 1949): the lost love of father and daughter; also in this film the tune is played imperfectly; the choice of the song was Wyler's
Plaisir d'amour ne dure qu'un moment.
chagrin d'amour dure toute la vie.
J'ai tout quitté pour l'ingrate Sylvie.
Elle me quitte et prend un autre aimant.
Plaisir d'amour ne dure qu'un moment.
chagrin d'amour dure toute la vie.
Tant que cette eau coulera doucement
vers ce ruisseau qui borde la prairie,
Je t'aimerai me répétait Sylvie.
L'eau coule encore. Elle a changé pourtant.
Plaisir d'amour ne dure qu'un moment.
chagrin d'amour dure toute la vie.
Love Affair
Sanovat sitä rakkaudeksi / Det handlar om kärlek... US (c) 1939 RKO. D: Leo McCarey. SC: Delmer Daves, Donald Ogden Stewart - based on a story by Mildred Cram and Leo McCarey. DP: Rudolph Maté. AD: Van Nest Polglase, Al Herman. M: Roy Webb. Theme song: "Plaisir d'amour" (1780, Jean Paul Egide Martini). ED: Edward Dmytryk, George Hiveley. CAST: Irene Dunne (Terry McCay), Charles Boyer (Michel Marnay), Maria Ouspenskaya (grandmother). 88 min. A MoMA restored print with funding provided by The Film Foundation. Viewed at Cinema Orion, 9 April 2009. - This is the best print; the restoration has been conducted from partially worn and scratched materials. - A masterpiece revisited. - The Madeira turning-point. Two shallow people who have been drifting through life experience a moment of gravity. - The story of spiritual regeneration through love.
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Once Upon a Honeymoon
Paronitar painuu maan alle / Baronessen går under jorden / Lua sem mel. US 1942 © RKO Radio Pictures. P+D: Leo McCarey. SC: Sheridan Gibney – based on a story by Sheridan Gibney and Leo McCarey. DP: George Barnes. AD: Albert S. D'Agostino, Al Herman. Set dec: Darrell Silvera, Claude E. Carpenter. COST: Miss Leslie. M: Robert Emmett Dolan. S: James G. Stewart, Richard Van Heussen. Montage: Douglas Travers. ED: Theron Warth. CAST: Cary Grant (Pat O'Toole), Ginger Rogers (Katie O'Hara von Luber or Katherine Butt-Smith), Walter Slezak (Baron von Luber), Albert Dekker (Le Blanc), Albert Bassermann (General Borelski). 116 min. A Cinemateca Portuguesa print. Viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki, 7 April 2009. - A print from less than perfect start material. - A wonderful film that faces the fatal world historical situation in the Hollywood way, a remarkable film that can be juxtaposed with Chaplin's The Great Dictator and Lubitsch's To Be Or Not To Be. The three greatest comedy directors active in Hollywood each handled Nazi invasion, persecution of the Jews and concentration camps in a topical comedy. - This film is rich with surprises, and Cary Grant and Ginger Rogers handle their difficult roles very well.
Fucking Åmål
Fucking Åmål. SE (c) 1998 Memfis Film. D+SC: Lukas Moodysson. DP: Ulf Brantås - Super 16 mm - blow-up to 35mm. Music selections include: "När vi två blir en" (Per Gessle) pres. Gyllene Tider. "Adagio" (Albinoni). "I Want To Know What Love Is" pres. Foreigner. "Show Me Love" pres. Robyn. ED: Michal Leszczylowski. CAST: Alexandra Dahlström (Elin), Rebecca Liljeberg (Agnes), Mathias Rust (Johan), Erica Carlson (Jessica), Stefan Hörberg (Markus). 89 min. Finnish subtitles: Arto Paljakka. A vintage release print, a good print, viewed at Cinema Orion, 7 April 2009. - The 16mm cinematography brings a filmic texture, the colour is full and saturated in a pleasant way in the all-photochemically processed print. - Lukas Moodysson's masterpiece stands the test of time. Now, after the serial school massacres that got a higher profile since Columbine 1999, the theme of school bullying seems interesting and alarming in a new way. The film is psychologically subtle and honest. It is an extremely serious film about identity, sexual identity in this case. It is about love that has to be hidden. The conclusion is moving. "Do you really mean what you said before?" The victory of pride.
Friday, April 03, 2009
Swoon
Leopold & Loeb: lapsenmurhaajien tarina / Brottslig drift. US 1992. PC: Intolerance Productions, American Playhouse. P: Christine Vachon. D+SC: Tom Kalin. CAST: Daniel Schlachtet (Loeb), Craig Chester (Leopld). 94 min. A Cinemateket / Svenska Filminstitutet print with Swedish subtitles. Viewed at Cinema Orion, 3 April 2009. - I watched the first 20 minutes of the fascinating black and white film which borders on the experimental.
Marjo Pipinen: New Queer Cinema (lecture)
An excellent lecture belonging to the U.S. Independents cycle at Cinema Orion, Helsinki, 3 April, 2009.
- Traditional queer cinema: American Underground, European directors (Pasolini, Jarman, Fassbinder, Akerman), San Francisco Gay and Lesbian Film Festival 1977
- Gay representations in mainstream cinema (The Children's Hour, Rebel Without a Cause)
- The 1980s: Born in Flames, Lianna, The Times of Harvey Milk, Desert Hearts, Mala Noche, My Beautiful Laundrette, I've Heard the Mermaids Singing, Looking for Langston
- New Queer Cinema. B. Ruby Rich (Sight & Sound, Sep 1992, March 2000). Festivals the main distribution channel. "A new kind of film and video-making that was fresh, inventive, unapologetic, sexy and stylistically daring". No consistent aesthetics or strategy, but a common style: Homo Pomo
- Characteristics: roughness (low budget); appropriation - pastiche - re-interpretating the past; pleasure!; no clear identities; an unapologetic attitude; aesthetizing violence
- Themes: re-interpreting the past: Looking for Langston (Isaac Julien, GB 1988), The Hours and the Times (Christopher Münch, 1991), Edward II (Derek Jarman, GB 1991), Swoon (Tom Kalin, 1992), Orlando (Sally Potter, GB 1992), The Watermelon Woman (Cheryl Dunye, 1996)
- Themes: AIDS. RSVP (Laurie Lynd, 1991), The Living End (Gregg Araki, 1992), Blue (Derek Jarman, GB 1993), Derek (Isaac Julien, GB 2008), Zero Patience (John Greyson, CA 1993), Fig Trees (John Greyson, CA 2009), Safe (Todd Haynes, 1995)
- Themes: Queers of Color. Looking for Langston (Isaac Julien, GB 1988), Young Soul Rebels (Isaac Julien, GB 1991), Paris Is Burning (Jennie Livingston, 1991), Tongues Untied (Marlon Riggs, 1991), Khush (Pratibha Parmar, GB 1991), A Place of Rage (1991), The Watermelon Woman (Cheryl Dunye, 1996)
- Themes: Outside Society. Gus Van Sant: Mala Noche (1985), My Own Private Idaho. - Todd Haynes: Poison (1991). - Tom Kalin: Swoon (1992), Savage Grace (2007). - Gregg Araki: The Living End (1992), Mysterious Skin (2004). - Negative representions?
- Lesbian Cinema. Su Friedrich: Sink or Swim (1990), Lesbian Avengers Eat Fire (1994). Sadie Benning: A Place Called Lovely (1991). Aerlyn Weissman & Lynne Fernie: Forbidden Love (CA 1992). Rose Troche: Go Fish (1994). Cheryl Dunye: The Watermelon Woman (1996). Lisa Cholodenko: High Art (1998).
- After New Queer Cinema? - From a radical impulse to a market opportunity. - Rather a moment than a movement. - Queer motifs int0 the mainstream: Lesbian chic, trendy gays. - A flood of hlbt film festivals. - Genre cinema: coming out, romantic comedy.
- Cam Archer: Wild Tigers I Have Known (2006), EX: Gus Van Sant
- Queer in the 2000s: old film-makers. Gus Van Sant (1952. Elephant, Paranoid Park, Milk). Gregg Araki (1959. Mysterious Skin, Smiley Face). Bruce LaBruce (1964. The Raspberry Reich DE/CA, Otto; Or, Up With Dead People DE/CA). Todd Haynes (1961. Velvet Goldmine, Far from Heaven, I'm Not There). Tom Kalin (1962. Savage Grace). Todd Solondz (1959. Happiness, Storytelling, Palindromes).
- Queer in the 200s: new film-makers. John Cameron Mitchell (1963. Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Shortbus). Michel Cuesta (1963. L.I.E.). Jonathan Caouette (1973. Tarnation). Cam Archer (1982. Wild Tiger I Have Known)
- L Code employing Lesbian directors. Rose Troche (D, SC, P), Go Fish. Kimberly Peirce (D), Boys Don't Cry. Jamie Babbitt (D), But I'm a Cheerleader, Itty Bitty Titty Committee. Angela Robinson (D, SC), D.E.B.S.
SOURCES:
- “New Queer Cinema”, Sight & Sound, Sep 1992
- B. Ruby Rich, “Queer and Present Danger”, Sight & Sound, maaliskuu 2000
- PopcornQ: http://www.planetout.com/popcornq/
- Michele Aron (toim.), New Queer Cinema: A Critical Reader (2004)
- Richard Dyer, Now You See It (1990, 2003); The Culture of Queers (2002)
- B. Ruby Rich, Chick Flicks: Theories and Memories of the Feminist Film Movement (1998)
- Traditional queer cinema: American Underground, European directors (Pasolini, Jarman, Fassbinder, Akerman), San Francisco Gay and Lesbian Film Festival 1977
- Gay representations in mainstream cinema (The Children's Hour, Rebel Without a Cause)
- The 1980s: Born in Flames, Lianna, The Times of Harvey Milk, Desert Hearts, Mala Noche, My Beautiful Laundrette, I've Heard the Mermaids Singing, Looking for Langston
- New Queer Cinema. B. Ruby Rich (Sight & Sound, Sep 1992, March 2000). Festivals the main distribution channel. "A new kind of film and video-making that was fresh, inventive, unapologetic, sexy and stylistically daring". No consistent aesthetics or strategy, but a common style: Homo Pomo
- Characteristics: roughness (low budget); appropriation - pastiche - re-interpretating the past; pleasure!; no clear identities; an unapologetic attitude; aesthetizing violence
- Themes: re-interpreting the past: Looking for Langston (Isaac Julien, GB 1988), The Hours and the Times (Christopher Münch, 1991), Edward II (Derek Jarman, GB 1991), Swoon (Tom Kalin, 1992), Orlando (Sally Potter, GB 1992), The Watermelon Woman (Cheryl Dunye, 1996)
- Themes: AIDS. RSVP (Laurie Lynd, 1991), The Living End (Gregg Araki, 1992), Blue (Derek Jarman, GB 1993), Derek (Isaac Julien, GB 2008), Zero Patience (John Greyson, CA 1993), Fig Trees (John Greyson, CA 2009), Safe (Todd Haynes, 1995)
- Themes: Queers of Color. Looking for Langston (Isaac Julien, GB 1988), Young Soul Rebels (Isaac Julien, GB 1991), Paris Is Burning (Jennie Livingston, 1991), Tongues Untied (Marlon Riggs, 1991), Khush (Pratibha Parmar, GB 1991), A Place of Rage (1991), The Watermelon Woman (Cheryl Dunye, 1996)
- Themes: Outside Society. Gus Van Sant: Mala Noche (1985), My Own Private Idaho. - Todd Haynes: Poison (1991). - Tom Kalin: Swoon (1992), Savage Grace (2007). - Gregg Araki: The Living End (1992), Mysterious Skin (2004). - Negative representions?
- Lesbian Cinema. Su Friedrich: Sink or Swim (1990), Lesbian Avengers Eat Fire (1994). Sadie Benning: A Place Called Lovely (1991). Aerlyn Weissman & Lynne Fernie: Forbidden Love (CA 1992). Rose Troche: Go Fish (1994). Cheryl Dunye: The Watermelon Woman (1996). Lisa Cholodenko: High Art (1998).
- After New Queer Cinema? - From a radical impulse to a market opportunity. - Rather a moment than a movement. - Queer motifs int0 the mainstream: Lesbian chic, trendy gays. - A flood of hlbt film festivals. - Genre cinema: coming out, romantic comedy.
- Cam Archer: Wild Tigers I Have Known (2006), EX: Gus Van Sant
- Queer in the 2000s: old film-makers. Gus Van Sant (1952. Elephant, Paranoid Park, Milk). Gregg Araki (1959. Mysterious Skin, Smiley Face). Bruce LaBruce (1964. The Raspberry Reich DE/CA, Otto; Or, Up With Dead People DE/CA). Todd Haynes (1961. Velvet Goldmine, Far from Heaven, I'm Not There). Tom Kalin (1962. Savage Grace). Todd Solondz (1959. Happiness, Storytelling, Palindromes).
- Queer in the 200s: new film-makers. John Cameron Mitchell (1963. Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Shortbus). Michel Cuesta (1963. L.I.E.). Jonathan Caouette (1973. Tarnation). Cam Archer (1982. Wild Tiger I Have Known)
- L Code employing Lesbian directors. Rose Troche (D, SC, P), Go Fish. Kimberly Peirce (D), Boys Don't Cry. Jamie Babbitt (D), But I'm a Cheerleader, Itty Bitty Titty Committee. Angela Robinson (D, SC), D.E.B.S.
SOURCES:
- “New Queer Cinema”, Sight & Sound, Sep 1992
- B. Ruby Rich, “Queer and Present Danger”, Sight & Sound, maaliskuu 2000
- PopcornQ: http://www.planetout.com/popcornq/
- Michele Aron (toim.), New Queer Cinema: A Critical Reader (2004)
- Richard Dyer, Now You See It (1990, 2003); The Culture of Queers (2002)
- B. Ruby Rich, Chick Flicks: Theories and Memories of the Feminist Film Movement (1998)
Make Way for Tomorrow
[The film has never been released in Finland, nor transmitted on tv, nor published on video or dvd]. US (c) 1937 Paramount. Presented by: Adolph Zukor. EX: William LeBaron. D: Leo McCarey. SC: Viña Delmar - based on the novel Years Are So Long (1934) by Josephine Lawrence and an unpublished play based on the novel by Helen Leary and Nolan Leary (1935). DP: William C. Mellor. AD: Hans Dreier, Bernard Herzbrun. Interior Decorations: A.E. Freudeman. M: Victor Young, George Antheil. Song: "Make Way For Tomorrow" (Leo Robin, Sam Coslow, Jean Schwartz). "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" (Leo Friedman, Beth Slater Whitson). S: Walter Oberst, Don Johnson. ED: LeRoy Stone. CAST: Victor Moore (Barkley Cooper), Beulah Bondi (Lucy Cooper), Fay Bainter (Anita Cooper), Thomas Mitchell (George Cooper), Porter Hall (Harvey Chase), Barbara Read (Rhoda Cooper), Maurice Moscovitch (Max Rubens), Elisabeth Risdon (Cora Payne), Minna Gombell (Nellie Chase). 91 min. A Universal print. Viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki, 2 April 2009. - A fine print. - Revisited: Leo McCarey's masterpiece of the generation gap, or, rather "a canyon between us". - The motto is "Honour Thy Father and Mother", but the film is a satire about that theme. - Parents living with children: never has worked out for anybody else. - Grandmother Lucy spoils her daughter-in-law's bridge class. - The kind shopkeeper Rubens reads Lucy's letter to Barkley. - The first half of the film is the story of the embarrasment as the old Cooper couple gets evicted from their home and cannot fit to live with their children, even separately. - The second half is their "second honeymoon" 50 years after the first one (their golden wedding), for one day only, which they spend in New York, in Central Park, in front of the car store, in the restaurant and the dancing hall of the Vogard hotel, and in the railway station. - Everybody else is very nice to them. - "We have five children". "It must be a lot of pleasure". "I bet you haven't any children". - Barkley doesn't know that Lucy is going to an old people's home. "It's been very nice knowing you". - The train leaves. A medium shot of the lonely Lucy. The End.
Thursday, April 02, 2009
The Awful Truth
Rouvani sulhanen / Min fru har en fästman. US (c) 1937 Columbia. P+D: Leo McCarey. SC: Viña Delmar - contribution to screenplay construction: Dwight Taylor - based on the play by Arthur Richman (1922). DP: Joseph Walker. AD: Stephen Goosson, Lionel Banks. Interior Decorations: Babs Johnstone. Gowns: Kalloch. M: Ben Oakland, MD: Morris Stoloff. Song: "My Dreams Are Gone With The Wind" (Ben Oakland, Milton Drake). "Home On The Range". "La serenata" sung by Irene Dunne. CAST: Irene Dunne (Lucy Warriner), Cary Grant (Jerry Warriner), Ralph Bellamy (Daniel Leeson), Alexander D'Arcy (Armand Duvalle), Cecil Cunningham (Aunt Patsy), Molly Lamont (Barbara Vance), Esther Dale (Mrs. Leeson), Joyce Compton (Dixie Belle Lee), Skippy (Mr. Smith). 91 min. [Other film adaptations of the play: 1925, 1929, 1953.] A SFF print with Swedish subtitles by Torsten Manns. Viewed at Cinema Orion, 1 April 2009. - Print was intact but with low contrast. - Revisited: a film I had seen only on tv before. I had not unreservedly liked it because I sensed a mean streak in the parody of the characters around the Warriner couple. I have preferred the Lubitsch approach which makes fun of everybody, with tenderness underneath. - I still find that the film's weakness is that all except the Warriners are made too ridiculous, and as we feel no sympathy for them, the whole story is diminished. - Having said that, the film has abundant joys to offer. Even as I watch it I want to see it again, because there are too many touches to savour during a single viewing. - Cary Grant and Irene Dunne: sophisticated comedy acting at its best. - The skill of Cary Grant of making Irene Dunne's remarriage plans look ridiculous as he feigns to defend them. - The affection of Cary Grant as he rises to Irene Dunne's defense when her reputation is questioned. - Cary Grant's girlfriend's skirt-blowing song scene and its parody by Irene Dunne. - The dance scene with the waltz and the jitterbug. - The scene with the two hats and the dog. - Ralph Bellamy: "Well, I guess a man's best friend is his mother". - The final sequence is magnificent. The couple drive together on the final evening before their divorce is legal. The seriousness behind the fun. Irene Dunne tricks them to Aunt Patsy's cabin, a trysting place of affairs. There is between the two bedrooms a creaking door that won't stay shut. There is a black cat, a wind from the window, and a cuckoo clock with a male and a female figure. "Things are the way you made them". "Things could be almost the same, only a little different". The eroticism and sensuality of Irene Dunne in the final bedroom image is of Lubitsch caliber (resembling Jeanette McDonald's nightgown scenes).
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
The Singing Revolution
Laulev revolutsioon / Laulava vallankumous / Den sjungande revolutionen. US/EE (c) 2006 Mountain View Productions. D: James Tusty, Maureen Castle Tusty, Mike Majoros. Narrator: Linda Hunt. 97 min. A 35mm print with title sequences and subtitles in English from Mountain View Productions. Viewed at Cinema Orion, 31 March 2009. - A good print, with many of the news footage from video origins, and at least some new footage looked like it is shot or edited digitally. - An excellent documentary film of Estonia's way back to independence 20 years ago. - Magnificent aerial footage on the Laulupidu song festivals. - The memory of the free republic. The forest brothers. The gulag survivor. The last forest brother captured in 1978. Russification. I (interview): Lennart Meri. - One of the largest collections of folk songs in the world. - The song fest of 1947: Stalin era, Soviet hymn, and "Mu isanmaa" (Gustav Ernesaks, Lydia Koidula). The unofficial national anthem. The sign of protest. - 1969: the centenary song festival, revival of "Mu isanmaa". They had to let Ernesaks conduct. - 1985: Gorbachov. 1987: non-violence, environment, phosphor mines. - Official debate on the occupation. The revelation of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact. - The Tartu revolt. I: Mart Laar. The Heritage Society. The guy on the motorcycle with a flag - soon flags everywhere. - Revolution with a smile and a song. - Glasnost = free speech. - Popular front. Edgar Savisaar. Carrying out perestroika. - USSR replaced hardliners with Vaino Valjas. Russians got nervous. 40% Russians in Estonia. Interfront. - All had different strategies. - Laulupidu: 300.000 - one third of the Estonians. - I: Edgar Savisaar. I: Marju Lauristin. I: Heinz Valk. I: Vaino Valjas. - Developing Estonian Laws. I: Arnold Rüütel. The Estonian language. The Estonian flag. - 1989: avoiding direct confrontation. An example of responsibility. - Footage of Gorbachov meeting the Estonians. - The 50th anniversary of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact. - The giant human chain through the three Baltic countries. - The Soviet Party warns the Baltic countries. - Illegal occupation. Political violence. Estonian citizenship exists. Registration campaign. Denying legitimacy of occupation. It was easy to start. 860.000 registered. An overwhelming referendum. - 1990: the Congress of Estonia. Not declaring any official authority. Russians lose privileges. Interfront increasingly hostile. - Hammer and sickle illegal. - Interfront at Toompea. I: Jevgeni Kogan (Interfront). - The crowd stormed. The defense of Toompea Castle. Liberty! The crowd stayed calm. - 1991: Vilnius: Soviet soldiers killed 14, hundreds wounded. I: Lennart Meri. Free media. Riga: 6 more killed. - Soviet system collapsed. Hardliners agains Gorbachov. Gorbachov always late. Restructuring. Tanks. - The Hirve Park demonstration. - Heinz Volk gave the Singing Revolution its name. - A calmly engrossing documentary film. - Essential viewing for any Finn.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Bottle Rocket
Cinema Orion, 27 March 2009. - Revisited: I checked 45 minutes of a brilliant vintage print with full colour in the Texas light. - The screening was well attended, and the audience audibly enjoyed the fine picture. - A film that rewards repeated screenings.
Antti Alanen: "The Class of 1999" in American Cinema (lecture)
Cinema Orion, 27 March 2009. Main points:
1. The new generation of directors:
Paul Thomas Anderson,
Wes Anderson,
Darren Aronofsky,
Sofia Coppola,
Michel Gondry,
Spike Jonze,
Alexander Payne,
David O. Russell,
Todd Solondz.
The screenwriter Charlie Kaufman.
2. Key films of 1999: Magnolia, Three Kings, Being John Malkovich, Fight Club, American Beauty, The Matrix, Election, The Virgin Suicides, Boys Don't Cry. The most exciting year in American cinema in the last ten years. The following year: Requiem for a Dream.
3. The network: many of the new directors were friends
4. The video generation
5. Low tech not a problem
6. The music video background (especially Spike Jonze, Michel Gondry)
7. The skateboard video background
8. The issue of violence and crime
9. The sensitivity to young people
10. The widening register of sexual issues from virginity and restraint to paedophilia and incest
1. The new generation of directors:
Paul Thomas Anderson,
Wes Anderson,
Darren Aronofsky,
Sofia Coppola,
Michel Gondry,
Spike Jonze,
Alexander Payne,
David O. Russell,
Todd Solondz.
The screenwriter Charlie Kaufman.
2. Key films of 1999: Magnolia, Three Kings, Being John Malkovich, Fight Club, American Beauty, The Matrix, Election, The Virgin Suicides, Boys Don't Cry. The most exciting year in American cinema in the last ten years. The following year: Requiem for a Dream.
3. The network: many of the new directors were friends
4. The video generation
5. Low tech not a problem
6. The music video background (especially Spike Jonze, Michel Gondry)
7. The skateboard video background
8. The issue of violence and crime
9. The sensitivity to young people
10. The widening register of sexual issues from virginity and restraint to paedophilia and incest
Three Kings
Kolme kuningasta. USA (c) 1999 Warner Bros., Village Roadshow Films. PC also: Coast Ridge Films, Atlas Entertainment, TK PRoductions. D+SC: David O. Russell - based on an idea by John Ridley. DP: Tom Sigel - Technicolor - Super 35 - 2,35:1. CAST: George Clooney (Maj. Archie Gates), Mark Wahlberg (Sgt. Troy Barlow), Ice Cube (Staff Sergeant Chief Elgein), Nora Dunn (Adriana Cruz), Jamie Kennedy (Walter Wogaman), Spike Jonze (Private Conrad Vig). Colour, 2,35:1, DD 5.1, 114 min. Dvd (Finland): Sandrew / Warner, 2003, extras galore. - From my MMM Film Guide: A political action satire featuring Major Archie Gates (GC) on the verge of retirement in the Gulf War in 1991 on one of his last missions. He finds out that three soldiers possess a map based on which it is possible to find a gold treasure stolen by Saddam Hussein's troops from the Kuwaitians. But as they embark on the quest for the treasure they find themselves having to defend innocent civilians who are in the line of fire of Saddam's troops, and they are soon in danger from their own forces, as well. - The media war. - The clash of the civilizations. - George W. Bush in 1999: then I guess I'll have to finish this war?
The Virgin Suicides
Kauniina kuolleet. [My suggestion for the Finnish title: Nuorena nukkuneet.] USA (c) 1999 Virgin Suicides, LLC. O: Sofia Coppola. M: Air. CAST: James Woods, Kathleen Turner, Kirsten Dunst, Josh Hartnett, Michael Paré, Scott Glenn, Danny DeVito. Colour, 1,85:1, DD 5.1, 97 min. Finnish subtitles Marko Hautala. Dvd, Future Film 2001.
Sofia Coppolas debut feature revisited on dvd. Wikipedia capsule: "Based on the novel by Jeffrey Eugenides, the film tells of the suicides of the five Lisbon sisters in an upper middle class suburb of Detroit during the 1970s. The girls’ suicides fascinate their community as their neighbors struggle to find an explanation for the acts." The Lisbon sisters have overprotective, isolating parents. - This is an account of the awkward age. - The movies has an interesting 1970s soundtrack. - The movie is a tragedy, but there also moments of joy, happiness, and love. - I saw the film during the first run. It was interesting to see it again now, having seen the development in their later films of Sofia Coppola, Kirsten Dunst, and Josh Hartnett. - The Virgin Suicides is a story of repression. One of the motifs is tree protection. The home becomes a prison. - Messages are sent via music codes. There is a gang of boys admiring the virgins. - There is a profound sense of loss and sadness. - The motif of the collective suicide resonates also with the contemporary school tragedies of Columbine, 1999, and later.
Election
Vaalit. USA (c) 1999 Paramount Productions. PC: MTV Films. D: Alexander Payne. CAST: Matthew Broderick, Reese Witherspoon. 99 min. Colour, anamorphic 2,35:1, DD 5.1, 99 min. Dvd release in Finland: Paramount / Finnkino. With audio commentary with Alexander Payne. - A good transfer. - Tom Charity in Time Out Film Guide: "This remarkable film may be set in high school, but its satiric take on moral corruption, political chicanery, adultery and seduction is anything but juvenile. In a smart role reversal, Ferris Bueller (aka Matthew Broderick) plays Mr. McAllister, a responsible, concerned teacher worn thin by long years at George Washington Carver High, by his sexless marriage, and by the plight of his best friend, sacked for sleeping with the redoubtable but under age Tracy Flick (Reese Witherspoon). Come elections for student council president, Tracy is far and away the front runner, but Mr. McAllister, terrified by the prospect of working so closely with this closet Lolita, and charged with overseeing the proceedings, discreetly sponsors a rival candidate, gormless jock Paul (Chris Klein). Things hot up when Paul's lesbian younger sister joins the race. Granted, McAllister's narration has a sour, misogynistic aftertaste, even if director/co-writer Payne affects a certain balance by giving Tracy her say. There's more than a whiff of Monica Lewinsky about Ms. Flick. With her clipped diction, prim demeanour and blinkered ability to see only her side of every issue, she makes a frighteningly credible proto despot. This may not be politically correct, but as a microcosm of the malaise creeping through Western democracies, the apathy, vote rigging, and character assassination manifest at Carver High serve all too well". - Sharp, focused, satirical, visually expressive. - The ending is an original development of "what happened to them afterwards".
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Welcome to the Dollhouse
Tervetuloa nukketaloon. USA (c) 1995 Suburban Pictures. D: Todd Solondz. CAST: Heather Matarazzo, Dawn Wiener, Brendan Sexton, Jr., Daria Kalinina, Matthew Faber, Angela Pietropinto. 90 min. Finnish subtitles by Simo Tarkkonen. Dvd (Future Film 2006).
A moving account of the coming of age, school harassment, and growing pains at 12. Leonard Maltin crystallizes this very well: "The pain of puberty has never been portrayed so unflinchingly; smart-but-ordinary Matarazzo has to deal with her incredibly un-nurturing suburban family (which dotes on her "adorable" younger sister), and worse, the pranks and sexual threats of virtualy her entire junior high school. Amid this dire lack of support and warmth is a heroine of enormous pluck and cunning. While viewer may wince as numerous unpleasant situations play out, there is also terrific satire (and guffaws) as life in the Seventh-Grade-From-Hell is depicted with dead-on clarity. Strong performances, sharply scripted by the director". - Sensitive, humoristic, with a lively soundtrack incorporating nice surprises of familiar classical music excerpts. - Themes include sexual initiation and drugs. The ballerina little sister adored by everyone is kidnapped. The bully boyfriend Brandon McCarthy (Brendan Sexton III) escapes to New York. The egoistic rocker Steve Rodgers (Eric Mabius) insults the protagonist. She tries to find the lost little sister with a terrible sense of guilt.
Bottle Rocket
Lurjukset. USA 1995. PC: Gracie Films. D: Wes Anderson. SC: Owen Wilson, Wes Anderson. DP: Robert Yeoman. M: Mark Mothersbaugh. CAST: Luke Wilson (Anthony), Owen Wilson (Dignan), Robert Musgrave (Bob Mapplethorpe), Lumi Cavazos (Inez), James Caan (crime lord). 91 min. Viewed on vhs (Nordisk Finland 1996). - Wes Anderson's debut feature film is a freewheeling account of three would-be criminals, who are rather stupid than evil. - The title means a small firework, which the guys use in the big caper. - In comparison with Tarantino this is realistic, sensitive, vibrant with life. - There is a touching, tentative relationship between Paraguyan Grace and Anthony. - The spoilt rich Mapplethorpe brothers. - Planning a big caper, a bit I soliti ignoti, but completely original. Also an affinity with early Fellini (I vitelloni). - There is also a soundtrack album. - A favourite of Martin Scorsese, Tony Rayns and Robin Wood.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Krustceļš
[The Path of the Cross] / [Ristin tie] / Homeland / Um Freiheit zu singen. LV (c) 1990 JPS Productions. PC: Jura Podnieka Studija, Channel 4 (GB), NHK Japan. D+SC: Juris Podnieks. DP: Andris Slapiņš, Gvido Zvaigzne, Juris Podnieks - IMAX 70mm 1,44:1. ED: Antra Clilinska. S: Anrijs Krenbergs. 64 min. A Betacam SP from the Latvian Embassy. English subtitles. Viewed at Cinema Orion, 24 March 2009. - A masterpiece on the Baltic liberation 20 years ago. Beautiful image and sound. - The bells. The old man in his log house. Archival footage of the song festivals of the past. The oldest conductor of the Baltic countries. Occupation footage. Reunions. Aerial footage of the song festival. Latvian choirs from many countries. Estonia: Saarenmaa, the occupation in 1940. -The deportations. - Interviewed: Miss Saarenmaa of 1931, taken to the Gulag. The Saarenmaa song festival of 1931. Once again she wears her ribbon. - Will the Russians leave? - WWII: 10% of the men conscripted. The veteran who is missing his other arm. - Saldus military test site. - Demonstrations: citizens vs. soldiers. - Siberia: Bulani village. - 10% of the Baltic people left for the USA. - The return from the Gulag. "With the eyes of an animal". Forgiveness. I wore a mask. We became actors. The bones of the deported. - The graveyard in Siberia. 200.000 from the Baltic are buried here. The repatriation of the dead. - The hill of the crosses. The masses under their umbrellas. - Lithuania: the cross is an ancient symbol of power. - The hill of a million crosses. Although it was rolled over, it rose time and again. - The KGB opened all foreign mail. - The path of the cross. - The huge bust of Lenin is rolled down. - The Baltic countries have been put down. - 1990: the Supreme Soviet: the debate on independence. 53% of the people in Latvia are non-Latvians. - Every 10. Latvian belongs to the Red Army. - Police violence against the peaceful demonstration. - Water of life, water of death. - The camera rises to an aerial shot of the huge song festival. - Two cameramen were later shot by Red Army snipers, and the director died in a car accident.
Fear Beyond the Wall (seminar)
In memory of the 60th anniversary of the deportations in the Baltic countries and the 20th anniversary of the fall of the wall.
Organized by the Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian Embassies together with National Audiovisual Archive, WSOY, Sofi Oksanen, and Imbi Paju.
At Cinema Orion, 17.00-21.00
Moderator: Ms. Iivi Anna Masso
GREETINGS
Ms. Merle Pajula, Ambassador of Estonia
Mr. Einars Semanias, Ambassador of Latvia
Ms. Halina Kobeckaité, Ambassador of Lithuania
Ms. Anna Zigure, author, ex-Ambassador of Latvia
ADDRESSES
Mr. Toomas Hiio (International Commission of History, Estonia): Management of the Past in Estonia by Historical Research
Mr. Martin Arpo (Security Police, Estonia, ex-researcher of war crimes and crimes against humanity): Deportations as a Crime Against Humanity
Prof. Seppo Zetterberg: The Estonian Historiography from the Viewpoint of a Finnish Researcher
INTERVIEW
Mmes Imbi Paju and Sofi Oksanen, editors of the anthology book Kaiken takana oli pelko (Fear Was Beyond Everything, WSOY 2009) interviewed by Iivi Anna Masso
PRESENTATION
AA: Gulag and the Cinema - the Fear Beyond the Wall retrospective [the first retrospective in Finland on the theme, curated by Sofi Oksanen and Imbi Paju]
MUSICAL EVENT
the original presentation of
Jüri Reinvere: Requiem
presented by the Scotch flautist Richard Craig and four singers from the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir
combined with a film on Digibeta by Catherine Jarvis, compiled from rare Estonian footage from 1911-1945
text written by Jüri Reinvere, recited by Catherine Jarvis
The cinema was packed, the atmosphere was calm and intensive, and there had already been the book presentation two hours earlier at the Mediatori at Sanomatalo. - There was great media attention, but, alas, half of it was devoted to a bizarre demonstration of a group of 15 (misled to believe that the film The Soviet Story was being shown).
Organized by the Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian Embassies together with National Audiovisual Archive, WSOY, Sofi Oksanen, and Imbi Paju.
At Cinema Orion, 17.00-21.00
Moderator: Ms. Iivi Anna Masso
GREETINGS
Ms. Merle Pajula, Ambassador of Estonia
Mr. Einars Semanias, Ambassador of Latvia
Ms. Halina Kobeckaité, Ambassador of Lithuania
Ms. Anna Zigure, author, ex-Ambassador of Latvia
ADDRESSES
Mr. Toomas Hiio (International Commission of History, Estonia): Management of the Past in Estonia by Historical Research
Mr. Martin Arpo (Security Police, Estonia, ex-researcher of war crimes and crimes against humanity): Deportations as a Crime Against Humanity
Prof. Seppo Zetterberg: The Estonian Historiography from the Viewpoint of a Finnish Researcher
INTERVIEW
Mmes Imbi Paju and Sofi Oksanen, editors of the anthology book Kaiken takana oli pelko (Fear Was Beyond Everything, WSOY 2009) interviewed by Iivi Anna Masso
PRESENTATION
AA: Gulag and the Cinema - the Fear Beyond the Wall retrospective [the first retrospective in Finland on the theme, curated by Sofi Oksanen and Imbi Paju]
MUSICAL EVENT
the original presentation of
Jüri Reinvere: Requiem
presented by the Scotch flautist Richard Craig and four singers from the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir
combined with a film on Digibeta by Catherine Jarvis, compiled from rare Estonian footage from 1911-1945
text written by Jüri Reinvere, recited by Catherine Jarvis
The cinema was packed, the atmosphere was calm and intensive, and there had already been the book presentation two hours earlier at the Mediatori at Sanomatalo. - There was great media attention, but, alas, half of it was devoted to a bizarre demonstration of a group of 15 (misled to believe that the film The Soviet Story was being shown).
Friday, March 20, 2009
Harri Kilpi: The Sundance Generation in American Cinema (lecture)
Cinema Orion, 20 March 2009
An interesting lecture with several clips.
An interesting lecture with several clips.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Belle of the Nineties
Kaunotar ja lemmenoikut. US (c) 1934 Paramount. D: Leo McCarey. SC: Mae West. DP: Karl Struss. COST: Travis Banton. M performed by: Duke Ellington's Orchestra.
"Pom Tiddley Om Pom (Beef Trust Chorus)" (comp. Walter Passmore, lyr. R. H. Douglas, arr. Sam Coslow)
"My Old Flame" ( Arthur Johnston, Sam Coslow)
"Troubled Waters" (Johnston, Coslow)
"My American Beauty" (Johnston, Coslow)
"I Met My Waterloo" (Johnston, Coslow)
"I'm In Love With A Tattooed Man" (Johnston, Coslow)
"When A St. Louis Woman Comes Down To New Orleans" (Johnston, Coslow, Gene Austin)
"Meet The King" (Arthur Johnston, Leo McCarey)
"The Royal Wedding" (Johnston, McCarey)
"Memphis Blues" (trad.)
CAST: Mae West (Ruby Carter), Roger Pryor (Tiger Kid), John Mack Brown (Brooks Claybourne), John Miljan (Ace Lamont), Katherine de Mille (Molly Brant), Duke Ellington's Orchestra. 73 min
A brilliant Universal Paramount print.
Viewed at Cinema Orion, 18 March 2009.
Revisited: a marvellous Mae West film. She is a master of sexual parody, making fun of sexual hype and sexual inhibition. "My American Beauty" where she transforms from a butterfly to the Statue of Liberty could be her signature production number. This film has her best music numbers, thanks to Duke Ellington, and their "Memphis Blues" would be my all-time favourite Mae West performance. This film, one of the working titles of which was "It Ain't No Sin", fell victim to the tightening of the Production Code, but there is still enough life in it.
"Pom Tiddley Om Pom (Beef Trust Chorus)" (comp. Walter Passmore, lyr. R. H. Douglas, arr. Sam Coslow)
"My Old Flame" ( Arthur Johnston, Sam Coslow)
"Troubled Waters" (Johnston, Coslow)
"My American Beauty" (Johnston, Coslow)
"I Met My Waterloo" (Johnston, Coslow)
"I'm In Love With A Tattooed Man" (Johnston, Coslow)
"When A St. Louis Woman Comes Down To New Orleans" (Johnston, Coslow, Gene Austin)
"Meet The King" (Arthur Johnston, Leo McCarey)
"The Royal Wedding" (Johnston, McCarey)
"Memphis Blues" (trad.)
CAST: Mae West (Ruby Carter), Roger Pryor (Tiger Kid), John Mack Brown (Brooks Claybourne), John Miljan (Ace Lamont), Katherine de Mille (Molly Brant), Duke Ellington's Orchestra. 73 min
A brilliant Universal Paramount print.
Viewed at Cinema Orion, 18 March 2009.
Revisited: a marvellous Mae West film. She is a master of sexual parody, making fun of sexual hype and sexual inhibition. "My American Beauty" where she transforms from a butterfly to the Statue of Liberty could be her signature production number. This film has her best music numbers, thanks to Duke Ellington, and their "Memphis Blues" would be my all-time favourite Mae West performance. This film, one of the working titles of which was "It Ain't No Sin", fell victim to the tightening of the Production Code, but there is still enough life in it.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Six of a Kind
Rehellinen mies / Äventyr på brollopsresan. US (c) 1934 Paramount. D: Leo McCarey. Cast: Charles Ruggles (J. Pinkham Whinney), Mary Boland (Flora Whinney), W. C. Fields (Sheriff ["Honest"] John Hoxley), George Burns (George Edward[s]), Gracie Allen (Gracie Devore), Alison Skipworth (Mrs. K. Rumford), Bradley Page (Ferguson), Grace Bradley (Goldie), William J. Kelly ([A. B.] Gillette). 65 min. A brilliant Universal-Paramount print. Viewed at Cinema Orion, 17 March 2009.
The six of the kind are presented during the opening credits: six aces, the pairs:
- Charles Ruggles and Mary Boland, planning their 20th anniversary honeymoon trip coast-to-coast: from New York to Hollywood and back in two weeks
- George Burns and Gracie Allen, sharing the trip to cut costs, turning the trip to disaster
- W.C. Fields and Alison Skipworth in Nuggetville, Nevada, where the two couples stop
The funniest performer is W.C. Fields with his twisted pool stick routine and an incomprehensible account on why he is called "honest John".
The plot is also about a bank robbery. A crooked bank teller colleague slips 50.000 dollars in Charles Ruggles' suitcase in order to retrieve them later.
Ok, not great.
The six of the kind are presented during the opening credits: six aces, the pairs:
- Charles Ruggles and Mary Boland, planning their 20th anniversary honeymoon trip coast-to-coast: from New York to Hollywood and back in two weeks
- George Burns and Gracie Allen, sharing the trip to cut costs, turning the trip to disaster
- W.C. Fields and Alison Skipworth in Nuggetville, Nevada, where the two couples stop
The funniest performer is W.C. Fields with his twisted pool stick routine and an incomprehensible account on why he is called "honest John".
The plot is also about a bank robbery. A crooked bank teller colleague slips 50.000 dollars in Charles Ruggles' suitcase in order to retrieve them later.
Ok, not great.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
THE ANN RUTLEDGE THEME (from Young Mr. Lincoln) is the main music theme of The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. (There is also a theme song recorded called The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, but it is not heard in the film.) The Ann Rutledge theme is played seven times:
1) Hallie and Link arrive in their cart at Tom's burned hut.
2) Ransom promises Hallie to teach her to read.
3) Tom brings a cactus rose to Hallie.
4) Hallie alone in the classroom.
5) Hallie binds Ransom's wound.
6) After the statement "print the legend", the train whistle, "getting late", Hallie's cactus flower on Tom's coffin.
7) After the statement "nothing's too good for the man who shot Liberty Valance", the train disappears in the horizon, THE END.
THE PSYCHOANALYTICAL ANGLE
1) The main symbols: the cactus rose and the gun.
2) The psychologically sensitive actors Vera Miles and James Stewart, both Hitchcock regulars.
3) Das Unbehagen in der Kultur: the theme of civilization being built upon the repression / control of our wild primitive forces.
4) The unhappy, unsatisfied woman, the childless Hallie.
5) Alcoholism. What makes the man drink: Tom loses Hallie, takes to the bottle, burns his house, almost commits suicide, and in a way the rest of his life is a slow suicide.
THE JOHN FORD STYLE
The unique combination of the over-the-top (the character of Liberty Valance, several other characters verging on the caricature and parody) and restraint. The most beautiful scene of restraint is the one where Hallie sits besides Link, and their looks tell everything. During the film, Vera Miles acts with her eyes.
THE SCREEN AND THE MONITOR
The eloquence of the restraint is evident on the cinema screen but may pass unnoticed on the home monitor. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is readily available on dvd and in tv programming, but to evaluate it it's necessary to see it on the screen.
1) Hallie and Link arrive in their cart at Tom's burned hut.
2) Ransom promises Hallie to teach her to read.
3) Tom brings a cactus rose to Hallie.
4) Hallie alone in the classroom.
5) Hallie binds Ransom's wound.
6) After the statement "print the legend", the train whistle, "getting late", Hallie's cactus flower on Tom's coffin.
7) After the statement "nothing's too good for the man who shot Liberty Valance", the train disappears in the horizon, THE END.
THE PSYCHOANALYTICAL ANGLE
1) The main symbols: the cactus rose and the gun.
2) The psychologically sensitive actors Vera Miles and James Stewart, both Hitchcock regulars.
3) Das Unbehagen in der Kultur: the theme of civilization being built upon the repression / control of our wild primitive forces.
4) The unhappy, unsatisfied woman, the childless Hallie.
5) Alcoholism. What makes the man drink: Tom loses Hallie, takes to the bottle, burns his house, almost commits suicide, and in a way the rest of his life is a slow suicide.
THE JOHN FORD STYLE
The unique combination of the over-the-top (the character of Liberty Valance, several other characters verging on the caricature and parody) and restraint. The most beautiful scene of restraint is the one where Hallie sits besides Link, and their looks tell everything. During the film, Vera Miles acts with her eyes.
THE SCREEN AND THE MONITOR
The eloquence of the restraint is evident on the cinema screen but may pass unnoticed on the home monitor. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is readily available on dvd and in tv programming, but to evaluate it it's necessary to see it on the screen.
Cinema and Psyche: The Touch of Horror (Symposium 13-14 March 2009)
Cinema Orion, 190 participants
FRIDAY 13 MARCH, 2009
Chairman AA
9.00 Film: El espíritu de la colmena (Victor Erice, ES 1973)
- an infinitely rich film, inspired a high level discussion with several in-depth interpretations; the print was not brilliant
11.00 Lecture: Christel Airas: The Spirit of the Beehive by Victor Erice
11.45 Recital: Arto Leppänen: the commentary to La Morte Rouge (ES 2006, Victor Erice)
- the film itself is not yet available for screenings (it is reserved for viewing at the marvellous Erice / Kiarostami exhibition only), but in this case, the commentary is highly rewarding in itself, as the film is largely speech-driven
12.15 Lunch break
Chairperson Aune Raitasalo
13.45 Lecture: AA: Media and Violence
14.45 Film: Retour en Normandie (Nicolas Philibert, FR 2006)
- a fascinating documentary look on the countryside, mirroring the making of Moi, Pierre Rivière 30 years earlier, the changes and fates of the performers
16.40 Coffee break
17.05 Lecture: Jussi Kotkavirta: Retour en Normandie
18.30 Film: Moi, Pierre Rivière (René Allio, FR 1976)
- the first screening of this film in Finland, based faithfully on the dossier edited by Michel Foucault's team, an unique film made on location with lay performers, on a turning-point in the French history of jurisdiction and psychiatry, Pascal Bonitzer and Serge Toubiana among the screenwriters
SATURDAY, 14 MARCH 2009
Chairperson Stig Hägglund
9.00 Film: Nosferatu (DE 1922)
- the Lumière project restored version (1995), always rich and fascinating
10.25 Break
10.40 Lectures: Mikael Enckell: Nosferatu, and Aune Raitasalo: Latterday Vampires
11.45 Film: Tuholaiset [Devastators / Pests / Vermins] (Katja Lautamatti & Mina Laamo, FI 2007) 39 min + discussion with Stig Hägglund and Mina Laamo
- an excellent documentary on the reality and nightmare projections of household insects
13.00 Lunch break
14.30 Film: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (US 1962)
- see separate entry
16.30 Coffee break
17.00 Lecture: Vesa Manninen: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
- the male images of Tom Doniphon and Ransom Stoddard
18.00 Conclusion
18.15 Buffet dinner at Restaurant Dubrovnik
FRIDAY 13 MARCH, 2009
Chairman AA
9.00 Film: El espíritu de la colmena (Victor Erice, ES 1973)
- an infinitely rich film, inspired a high level discussion with several in-depth interpretations; the print was not brilliant
11.00 Lecture: Christel Airas: The Spirit of the Beehive by Victor Erice
11.45 Recital: Arto Leppänen: the commentary to La Morte Rouge (ES 2006, Victor Erice)
- the film itself is not yet available for screenings (it is reserved for viewing at the marvellous Erice / Kiarostami exhibition only), but in this case, the commentary is highly rewarding in itself, as the film is largely speech-driven
12.15 Lunch break
Chairperson Aune Raitasalo
13.45 Lecture: AA: Media and Violence
14.45 Film: Retour en Normandie (Nicolas Philibert, FR 2006)
- a fascinating documentary look on the countryside, mirroring the making of Moi, Pierre Rivière 30 years earlier, the changes and fates of the performers
16.40 Coffee break
17.05 Lecture: Jussi Kotkavirta: Retour en Normandie
18.30 Film: Moi, Pierre Rivière (René Allio, FR 1976)
- the first screening of this film in Finland, based faithfully on the dossier edited by Michel Foucault's team, an unique film made on location with lay performers, on a turning-point in the French history of jurisdiction and psychiatry, Pascal Bonitzer and Serge Toubiana among the screenwriters
SATURDAY, 14 MARCH 2009
Chairperson Stig Hägglund
9.00 Film: Nosferatu (DE 1922)
- the Lumière project restored version (1995), always rich and fascinating
10.25 Break
10.40 Lectures: Mikael Enckell: Nosferatu, and Aune Raitasalo: Latterday Vampires
11.45 Film: Tuholaiset [Devastators / Pests / Vermins] (Katja Lautamatti & Mina Laamo, FI 2007) 39 min + discussion with Stig Hägglund and Mina Laamo
- an excellent documentary on the reality and nightmare projections of household insects
13.00 Lunch break
14.30 Film: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (US 1962)
- see separate entry
16.30 Coffee break
17.00 Lecture: Vesa Manninen: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
- the male images of Tom Doniphon and Ransom Stoddard
18.00 Conclusion
18.15 Buffet dinner at Restaurant Dubrovnik
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
The Milky Way
Aivotärähdys / Folkets jubel. US (c) 1936 Paramount. D: Leo McCarey. Starring Harold Lloyd (Burleigh Sullivan), Adolphe Menjou (Gabby Sloan), Helen Mack (Mae Sullivan), Dorothy Wilson (Polly Pringle), George Barbier (Wilbur Austin), Lionel Stander (Spider Schultz), Bonita (landlady). 92 min. A Harold Lloyd Entertainment print. Viewed at Cinema Orion, 10 March 2009. - A good, clean print but not brilliant [a victim of Paramount's negative-burning?]. - Revisited: most of this very good comedy, which I last saw last year on dvd. - This film may not have the same excellent reputation as the Harold Lloyd 1920s masterpieces, but it is a perfectly enjoyable comedy with so many delicious touches that the film is worth revisiting every now and then. A great difference to the 1920s films that the women are now more independent, and even more charming. Helen Mack portrays Harold's sister, and Dorothy Wilson his girlfriend, who distances herself from him when his personality changes as a result of his phony boxing success. - There are psychological depths in the Harold Lloyd comedies: big themes of self-esteem, self-image, illusion vs. reality, self-awareness, self-confidence. This film is rich with them.
Saturday, March 07, 2009
Ultimate Sexual Massage
USA (c) 2002 Alexander Institute. Bernie Zilbergeld. 60 min. From Sin City, Helsinki, 7 March 2009.
A sexually explicit education video, somewhat amateurish, with a framing story of a massage video being watched by a couple. The woman performer who shows he video to her man is really pleasant. She seems really aroused and orgasming. Her vaginal massage scene is superb
On the flipside of the two-sided dvd there are advertisements of other Alexander Institute releases plus the best scenes of "G-Spot and Genital Massage Techniques from Ultimate Sexual Massage" without the unnecessary framing story.
Tantric Sexual Massage for Lovers
USA (c) 2008 Alexander Institute (Sherman Oaks, CA, USA). Mark Michaels and Patricia Johnson. Complete Explicit Version. 75 min. From Sin City, Helsinki, 7 March 2009.
A sexually explicit educational video with two performing couples (one normal people, the others very fit performers) and one teaching couple. Good advice for everybody on the road to ancient Indian wisdom. Basic video record. Nondescript computer music. Mundane commentary and dialogue.
The trapezius muscle
The sacrum
The parasympathetic nervous system
Breath up spine
Dry friction rub
Mons veneris of the hand
Achilles tendon
Full body massage
Nipple stimulation
External female genital massage
Internal female genital massage
External male genital massage
Internal male genital massage
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
The Kid from Spain
Härkätaistelija / Tjurfäktaren. US (c) 1933 Samuel Goldwyn. D: Leo McCarey. SC: William Anthony McGuire, Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby. DP: Gregg Toland. AD: Richard Day. COST: Milo Anderson. MD: Alfred Newman. SONGS: "In The Moonlight", "Look What You've Done", "What A Perfect Combination" (Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby). CHOREO: Busby Berkeley. ED: Stuart Heisler. CAST: Eddie Cantor (Eddie Williams / Don Sebastian II), Lyda Roberti (Rosalie), Robert Young (Ricardo), Ruth Hall (Anita Gomez), John Miljan (Pancho), Noah Beery (Alonzo Gomez), J. Carrol Naish (Pedro). AFI: 118 min, 101 min, 90 min. The print viewed was 82 min and seemed complete as for plot. At Cinema Orion, Helsinki, 3 March 2009. - This film does not have a good reputation, but it is a wacky comedy that is completely enjoyable, and there was an applause after the movie. - The huge Busby Berkeley setpieces are comically disparate from the plot, starting from the girls' dormitory with patterned swimming in a huge pool. A mixup with robbers brings Eddie to Mexico. Even there the women are gorgeous. Eddie needs to pose as the bullfighter, Don Sebastian II. - What an imperfect combination!
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Thundercrack!
US 1975. PC: Thomas Bros. D+DP: Curt McDowell - b&w - 16mm. SC: George Kuchar, Mark Ellinger. M: Mark Ellinger. Starring: Marion Eaton (Ms. Gert Hammond), George Kuchar (Bing), Melinda McDowell (Sash), Mookie Blodgett (Chandler), Moira Benson (Roo), Rick Johnson (Toydy), Maggie Pyle (Willene), Ken Scudder (Bond), Pamela Primate (Medusa), Bernie Boyle (Senor Tostada), Mark Ellinger (Charlie Hammond), Virginia Giritlian (Sarah Lou Phillips). Ur-version reportedly 158 min. This print ran 120 min. Jack Stevenson, 16mm. Viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki, 28 Feb 2009. - Introduced by Jack Stevenson. San Francisco in the 1970s, liberated, at the height of the sexual revolution. A dialogue-driven movie with a million metaphors, impossible to prepare an introduction, I am completely at loss for words. Curt was positive, George was negative in their attitudes about sex. - It starts with a thundercrack. Fine music by Mark Ellinger. A good definition of light. Gross-out scenes. Sleaze elements. Hard-core sex scenes, both homosexual and heterosexual. A rarity: a conversation sequence with fellatio. Enter the gorilla. "People come and go, but the cucumbers must stay".
Exploring Your Inner Demons
A programme compiled by Jack Stevenson. Viewed at Cinema Orion, 28 Feb 2009. 16mm
The programme note with comments.
EXPLORING YOUR INNER DEMONS: A SAMPLING OF AMERICAN UNDERGROUND CINEMA
Presented by Jack Stevenson
"American author and print collector Jack Stevenson has complied an entertaining and thought-provoking program that spans American Underground cinema from the Mid-60’s to the modern day and captures the essence of what personal (aka ‘underground’) filmmaking is all about."
In order of play:
BEHIND EVERY GOOD MAN - 1966, 9 min., by Nikolai Ursin. Home movie style docu-drama about a day in the life of a negro transvestite living in mid-60's Los Angeles. / AA: recovered by Jack from an unmarked cardboard box
HOLD ME WHILE I'M NAKED - 1966, 15 min., color, by George Kuchar. One of the best loved films of the 60s underground, a playful satire of motion picture making: the fantasy of Hollywood glamour collides with the reality of loneliness in the Bronx. /AA: colour ok in GK's most famous film, exploring his own feelings in a mode now familiar from webcams, the diarist format, 0 budget
THE CRAVEN SLUCK, 1967, 23 min. b/w, directed by Mike Kuchar. This film concerns itself with the sordid domestic routines of a typical Bronx married couple, Adel and her goofy salaryman husband, Brunswick, played by Bob. Adel - played with verve by Floraine Connors - seeks escape in the arms of a secret lover, Morton, played by George Kuchar. To complicate matters, Morton is married, to a rotund, pill-popping frump called Florence, played by Bob in a cheap wig. Yet all these complications of the flesh are suddenly rendered inconsequential by a squadron of attacking UFOs that vaporize the leading lady and bring the plot to an unexpected and gloriously implausible halt. The skillful use of music in the Hollywood tradition makes the story come alive. / AA: the fascination with glamour, living in the most unglamourous Bronx, the mixture of horror, melodrama, scifi, 0 budget
ROCKFLOW: 1968, 9 min. color, directed by Bob Cowan. This 9 minute film is constructed largely of footage Bob shot at The Electric Circus (in NYC) in connection with the opening of a boutique there at which the Chambers Brothers rock band played. Mod fashions are on display as folks pack the dance floor, including Donna Kerness (in trademark antenna headgear) and Hopeton Morris (their outfits designed by Hope). But what appears to be a straightforward if experimental fashion/dance/rock document changes mid-point into a psychedelic nightmare as eerie music creates an ominous mood, the images grow more hallucinatory and the editing more rapid-fire. Donna now reappears in a solitary setting in close-up, swinging giant earrings and staring at the camera as if she's casting a spell. The effect is sinister and trance-like as special effects bombard the screen. / AA: a fascinating psychedelic discovery, a fine example of rock music and dance film, a great sense of rhythm
LOVE IT / LEAVE IT: 1970, 15 min., color. This second film by Tom Palazzolo more fluidly weaves sound and image together to create an hallucinatory montage of urban America at the height of anti-war demonstrations. Equal parts totalitarian nightmare and candy-coated consumer fun fair, it is like most of his work: devoid of overt editorial comment and full of ambiguity – a searching to capture the spirit and times and people without imposing the filmmaker’s own political agenda. /AA: a nudist movie juxtaposing militarism and nudism, with a fine musique concrète score
SIAMESE TWIN PINHEADS - 1972, 4 min., b&w, Kurt McDowell and Mark Ellinger do their perverse ‘siamese twin pinhead’ act.The two would stand at the center of San Francisco’s rebellious underground film scene of the 70’s. / AA: the makers of Thundercrack! in an offensive short film of two masturbating imbecile twin pinheads, compared by Jack with Lars von Trier's Idiots
ASTHMA – 1995, 2 min., by Martha Colburn / an early collage film on the subject of smoking. One of her most straight-forward films, it hints at the more frenetic style she would later adopt. / AA: belongs to the music video phenomenon, wonderful, broken, rapid cutting, rhythm, dots, patterns, signs, interesting music by Smoking Jaunties
SPIDERS IN LOVE – 2000, 2.5 minutes, by Martha Colburn / A gloriously chaotic take on sex, spiders and various other hallucinations – handmade annimation and some found footage clips. / AA: belongs to the music video phenomenon, "an arachnorgasmic musical", rapid cutting, penis obsession, death imagery
END
The programme note with comments.
EXPLORING YOUR INNER DEMONS: A SAMPLING OF AMERICAN UNDERGROUND CINEMA
Presented by Jack Stevenson
"American author and print collector Jack Stevenson has complied an entertaining and thought-provoking program that spans American Underground cinema from the Mid-60’s to the modern day and captures the essence of what personal (aka ‘underground’) filmmaking is all about."
In order of play:
BEHIND EVERY GOOD MAN - 1966, 9 min., by Nikolai Ursin. Home movie style docu-drama about a day in the life of a negro transvestite living in mid-60's Los Angeles. / AA: recovered by Jack from an unmarked cardboard box
HOLD ME WHILE I'M NAKED - 1966, 15 min., color, by George Kuchar. One of the best loved films of the 60s underground, a playful satire of motion picture making: the fantasy of Hollywood glamour collides with the reality of loneliness in the Bronx. /AA: colour ok in GK's most famous film, exploring his own feelings in a mode now familiar from webcams, the diarist format, 0 budget
THE CRAVEN SLUCK, 1967, 23 min. b/w, directed by Mike Kuchar. This film concerns itself with the sordid domestic routines of a typical Bronx married couple, Adel and her goofy salaryman husband, Brunswick, played by Bob. Adel - played with verve by Floraine Connors - seeks escape in the arms of a secret lover, Morton, played by George Kuchar. To complicate matters, Morton is married, to a rotund, pill-popping frump called Florence, played by Bob in a cheap wig. Yet all these complications of the flesh are suddenly rendered inconsequential by a squadron of attacking UFOs that vaporize the leading lady and bring the plot to an unexpected and gloriously implausible halt. The skillful use of music in the Hollywood tradition makes the story come alive. / AA: the fascination with glamour, living in the most unglamourous Bronx, the mixture of horror, melodrama, scifi, 0 budget
ROCKFLOW: 1968, 9 min. color, directed by Bob Cowan. This 9 minute film is constructed largely of footage Bob shot at The Electric Circus (in NYC) in connection with the opening of a boutique there at which the Chambers Brothers rock band played. Mod fashions are on display as folks pack the dance floor, including Donna Kerness (in trademark antenna headgear) and Hopeton Morris (their outfits designed by Hope). But what appears to be a straightforward if experimental fashion/dance/rock document changes mid-point into a psychedelic nightmare as eerie music creates an ominous mood, the images grow more hallucinatory and the editing more rapid-fire. Donna now reappears in a solitary setting in close-up, swinging giant earrings and staring at the camera as if she's casting a spell. The effect is sinister and trance-like as special effects bombard the screen. / AA: a fascinating psychedelic discovery, a fine example of rock music and dance film, a great sense of rhythm
LOVE IT / LEAVE IT: 1970, 15 min., color. This second film by Tom Palazzolo more fluidly weaves sound and image together to create an hallucinatory montage of urban America at the height of anti-war demonstrations. Equal parts totalitarian nightmare and candy-coated consumer fun fair, it is like most of his work: devoid of overt editorial comment and full of ambiguity – a searching to capture the spirit and times and people without imposing the filmmaker’s own political agenda. /AA: a nudist movie juxtaposing militarism and nudism, with a fine musique concrète score
SIAMESE TWIN PINHEADS - 1972, 4 min., b&w, Kurt McDowell and Mark Ellinger do their perverse ‘siamese twin pinhead’ act.The two would stand at the center of San Francisco’s rebellious underground film scene of the 70’s. / AA: the makers of Thundercrack! in an offensive short film of two masturbating imbecile twin pinheads, compared by Jack with Lars von Trier's Idiots
ASTHMA – 1995, 2 min., by Martha Colburn / an early collage film on the subject of smoking. One of her most straight-forward films, it hints at the more frenetic style she would later adopt. / AA: belongs to the music video phenomenon, wonderful, broken, rapid cutting, rhythm, dots, patterns, signs, interesting music by Smoking Jaunties
SPIDERS IN LOVE – 2000, 2.5 minutes, by Martha Colburn / A gloriously chaotic take on sex, spiders and various other hallucinations – handmade annimation and some found footage clips. / AA: belongs to the music video phenomenon, "an arachnorgasmic musical", rapid cutting, penis obsession, death imagery
END
Friday, February 27, 2009
Wild Harvest
Kuumaa kiihkoa / Hetsande lidelse. US (c) 1961 Hollywood Artists Productions. D: Jerry A. Baerwitz. Based on the novel by Stephen Longstreet (1960). DP: Gordon Avil - b&w - 1,85:1. M: Bert Shefter, Paul Sawtell. Narrator: Walter Winchell. Starring Dolores Faith, Arlynn Greer, Kathleen Freeman, Susan Kelly. 78 min. A vintage 35mm print viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki, 27 Feb 2009. Introduced by Jack Stevenson. - I watched the start. This is a rare case of a film with strong social comment. The subject: the migrant workers of California, harvesting grapes. It is also about the sexual exploitation of the female workers by the male bosses. Belongs thematically with Grapes of Wrath. There is grim, vital, sexual energy in this film. Some actors are clumsy, but vitality compensates. It is nice to see Kathleen Freeman, the Jerry Lewis / Frank Tashlin / John Landis regular in a serious role.
Jack Stevenson: A Journey Into Grindhouse (lecture)
A lecture in the series of the Film Society of the Helsinki University Students' Union. At Cinema Orion, 27 Feb 2009. With many clips. An exciting lecture with a lot of fertile ideas.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
THE 81ST ACADEMY AWARDS ( FOR FILMS OF 2008)
Nominees & Winners for the 81st Academy Awards
Performance by an actor in a leading role
* Richard Jenkins in “The Visitor” (Overture Films)
* Frank Langella in “Frost/Nixon” (Universal)
* Sean Penn in “Milk” (Focus Features)
* Brad Pitt in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
* Mickey Rourke in “The Wrestler” (Fox Searchlight)
Performance by an actor in a supporting role
* Josh Brolin in “Milk” (Focus Features)
* Robert Downey Jr. in “Tropic Thunder” (DreamWorks, Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)
* Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Doubt” (Miramax)
* Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.)
* Michael Shannon in “Revolutionary Road” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage)
Performance by an actress in a leading role
* Anne Hathaway in “Rachel Getting Married” (Sony Pictures Classics)
* Angelina Jolie in “Changeling” (Universal)
* Melissa Leo in “Frozen River” (Sony Pictures Classics)
* Meryl Streep in “Doubt” (Miramax)
* Kate Winslet in “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company)
Performance by an actress in a supporting role
* Amy Adams in “Doubt” (Miramax)
* Penélope Cruz in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” (The Weinstein Company)
* Viola Davis in “Doubt” (Miramax)
* Taraji P. Henson in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
* Marisa Tomei in “The Wrestler” (Fox Searchlight)
Best animated feature film of the year
* “Bolt” (Walt Disney), Chris Williams and Byron Howard
* “Kung Fu Panda” (DreamWorks Animation, Distributed by Paramount), John Stevenson and Mark Osborne
* “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Andrew Stanton
Achievement in art direction
* “Changeling” (Universal), Art Direction: James J. Murakami, Set Decoration: Gary Fettis
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Art Direction: Donald Graham Burt, Set Decoration: Victor J. Zolfo
* “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Art Direction: Nathan Crowley, Set Decoration: Peter Lando
* “The Duchess” (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC Films), Art Direction: Michael Carlin, Set Decoration: Rebecca Alleway
* “Revolutionary Road” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage), Art Direction: Kristi Zea, Set Decoration: Debra Schutt
Achievement in cinematography
* “Changeling” (Universal), Tom Stern
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Claudio Miranda
* “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Wally Pfister
* “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), Chris Menges and Roger Deakins
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Anthony Dod Mantle
Achievement in costume design
* “Australia” (20th Century Fox), Catherine Martin
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Jacqueline West
* “The Duchess” (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC Films), Michael O’Connor
* “Milk” (Focus Features), Danny Glicker
* “Revolutionary Road” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage), Albert Wolsky
Achievement in directing
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), David Fincher
* “Frost/Nixon” (Universal), Ron Howard
* “Milk” (Focus Features), Gus Van Sant
* “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), Stephen Daldry
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Danny Boyle
Best documentary feature
* “The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)” (Cinema Guild), A Pandinlao Films Production, Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath
* “Encounters at the End of the World” (THINKFilm and Image Entertainment), A Creative Differences Production, Werner Herzog and Henry Kaiser
* “The Garden” A Black Valley Films Production, Scott Hamilton Kennedy
* “Man on Wire” (Magnolia Pictures), A Wall to Wall in association with Red Box Films Production, James Marsh and Simon Chinn
* “Trouble the Water” (Zeitgeist Films), An Elsewhere Films Production, Tia Lessin and Carl Deal
Best documentary short subject
* “The Conscience of Nhem En” A Farallon Films Production, Steven Okazaki
* “The Final Inch” Vermilion Films in association with Google.org, Irene Taylor Brodsky and Tom Grant
* “Smile Pinki” A Principe Production, Megan Mylan
* “The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306” A Rock Paper Scissors Production, Adam Pertofsky and Margaret Hyde
Achievement in film editing
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
* “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Lee Smith
* “Frost/Nixon” (Universal), Mike Hill and Dan Hanley
* “Milk” (Focus Features), Elliot Graham
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Chris Dickens
Best foreign language film of the year
* “The Baader Meinhof Complex” A Constantin Film Production, Germany
* “The Class” (Sony Pictures Classics), A Haut et Court Production, France
* “Departures” (Regent Releasing), A Departures Film Partners Production, Japan
* “Revanche” (Janus Films), A Prisma Film/Fernseh Production, Austria
* “Waltz with Bashir” (Sony Pictures Classics), A Bridgit Folman Film Gang Production, Israel
Achievement in makeup
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Greg Cannom
* “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), John Caglione, Jr. and Conor O’Sullivan
* “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” (Universal), Mike Elizalde and Thom Floutz
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Alexandre Desplat
* “Defiance” (Paramount Vantage), James Newton Howard
* “Milk” (Focus Features), Danny Elfman
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), A.R. Rahman
* “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Thomas Newman
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
* “Down to Earth” from “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Music by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman, Lyric by Peter Gabriel
* “Jai Ho” from “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Music by A.R. Rahman, Lyric by Gulzar
* “O Saya” from “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Music and Lyric by A.R. Rahman and Maya Arulpragasam
Best motion picture of the year
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), A Kennedy/Marshall Production, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Ceán Chaffin, Producers
* “Frost/Nixon” (Universal), A Universal Pictures, Imagine Entertainment and Working Title Production, Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Eric Fellner, Producers
* “Milk” (Focus Features), A Groundswell and Jinks/Cohen Company Production, Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen, Producers
* “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), A Mirage Enterprises and Neunte Babelsberg Film GmbH Production, Anthony Minghella, Sydney Pollack, Donna Gigliotti and Redmond Morris, Producers
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), A Celador Films Production, Christian Colson, Producer
Best animated short film
* “La Maison en Petits Cubes” A Robot Communications Production, Kunio Kato
* “Lavatory - Lovestory” A Melnitsa Animation Studio and CTB Film Company Production, Konstantin Bronzit
* “Oktapodi” (Talantis Films), A Gobelins, L’école de l’image Production, Emud Mokhberi and Thierry Marchand
* “Presto” (Walt Disney), A Pixar Animation Studios Production, Doug Sweetland
* “This Way Up” A Nexus Production, Alan Smith and Adam Foulkes
Best live action short film
* “Auf der Strecke (On the Line)” (Hamburg Shortfilmagency), An Academy of Media Arts Cologne Production, Reto Caffi
* “Manon on the Asphalt” (La Luna Productions), A La Luna Production, Elizabeth Marre and Olivier Pont
* “New Boy” (Network Ireland Television), A Zanzibar Films Production, Steph Green and Tamara Anghie
* “The Pig” An M & M Production, Tivi Magnusson and Dorte Høgh
* “Spielzeugland (Toyland)” A Mephisto Film Production, Jochen Alexander Freydank
Achievement in sound editing
* “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Richard King
* “Iron Man” (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment), Frank Eulner and Christopher Boyes
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Glenn Freemantle and Tom Sayers
* “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Ben Burtt and Matthew Wood
* “Wanted” (Universal), Wylie Stateman
Achievement in sound mixing
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Mark Weingarten
* “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo and Ed Novick
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty
* “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Tom Myers, Michael Semanick and Ben Burtt
* “Wanted” (Universal), Chris Jenkins, Frank A. Montaño and Petr Forejt
Achievement in visual effects
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron
* “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Tim Webber and Paul Franklin
* “Iron Man” (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment), John Nelson, Ben Snow, Dan Sudick and Shane Mahan
Adapted screenplay
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Screenplay by Eric Roth, Screen story by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord
* “Doubt” (Miramax), Written by John Patrick Shanley
* “Frost/Nixon” (Universal), Screenplay by Peter Morgan
* “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), Screenplay by David Hare
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Screenplay by Simon Beaufoy
Original screenplay
* “Frozen River” (Sony Pictures Classics), Written by Courtney Hunt
* “Happy-Go-Lucky” (Miramax), Written by Mike Leigh
* “In Bruges” (Focus Features), Written by Martin McDonagh
* “Milk” (Focus Features), Written by Dustin Lance Black
* “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Screenplay by Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon, Original story by Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter
http://www.oscars.org/awards/81academyawards/nominees.html
Performance by an actor in a leading role
* Richard Jenkins in “The Visitor” (Overture Films)
* Frank Langella in “Frost/Nixon” (Universal)
* Sean Penn in “Milk” (Focus Features)
* Brad Pitt in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
* Mickey Rourke in “The Wrestler” (Fox Searchlight)
Performance by an actor in a supporting role
* Josh Brolin in “Milk” (Focus Features)
* Robert Downey Jr. in “Tropic Thunder” (DreamWorks, Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)
* Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Doubt” (Miramax)
* Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.)
* Michael Shannon in “Revolutionary Road” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage)
Performance by an actress in a leading role
* Anne Hathaway in “Rachel Getting Married” (Sony Pictures Classics)
* Angelina Jolie in “Changeling” (Universal)
* Melissa Leo in “Frozen River” (Sony Pictures Classics)
* Meryl Streep in “Doubt” (Miramax)
* Kate Winslet in “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company)
Performance by an actress in a supporting role
* Amy Adams in “Doubt” (Miramax)
* Penélope Cruz in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” (The Weinstein Company)
* Viola Davis in “Doubt” (Miramax)
* Taraji P. Henson in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
* Marisa Tomei in “The Wrestler” (Fox Searchlight)
Best animated feature film of the year
* “Bolt” (Walt Disney), Chris Williams and Byron Howard
* “Kung Fu Panda” (DreamWorks Animation, Distributed by Paramount), John Stevenson and Mark Osborne
* “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Andrew Stanton
Achievement in art direction
* “Changeling” (Universal), Art Direction: James J. Murakami, Set Decoration: Gary Fettis
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Art Direction: Donald Graham Burt, Set Decoration: Victor J. Zolfo
* “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Art Direction: Nathan Crowley, Set Decoration: Peter Lando
* “The Duchess” (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC Films), Art Direction: Michael Carlin, Set Decoration: Rebecca Alleway
* “Revolutionary Road” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage), Art Direction: Kristi Zea, Set Decoration: Debra Schutt
Achievement in cinematography
* “Changeling” (Universal), Tom Stern
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Claudio Miranda
* “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Wally Pfister
* “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), Chris Menges and Roger Deakins
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Anthony Dod Mantle
Achievement in costume design
* “Australia” (20th Century Fox), Catherine Martin
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Jacqueline West
* “The Duchess” (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC Films), Michael O’Connor
* “Milk” (Focus Features), Danny Glicker
* “Revolutionary Road” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage), Albert Wolsky
Achievement in directing
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), David Fincher
* “Frost/Nixon” (Universal), Ron Howard
* “Milk” (Focus Features), Gus Van Sant
* “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), Stephen Daldry
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Danny Boyle
Best documentary feature
* “The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)” (Cinema Guild), A Pandinlao Films Production, Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath
* “Encounters at the End of the World” (THINKFilm and Image Entertainment), A Creative Differences Production, Werner Herzog and Henry Kaiser
* “The Garden” A Black Valley Films Production, Scott Hamilton Kennedy
* “Man on Wire” (Magnolia Pictures), A Wall to Wall in association with Red Box Films Production, James Marsh and Simon Chinn
* “Trouble the Water” (Zeitgeist Films), An Elsewhere Films Production, Tia Lessin and Carl Deal
Best documentary short subject
* “The Conscience of Nhem En” A Farallon Films Production, Steven Okazaki
* “The Final Inch” Vermilion Films in association with Google.org, Irene Taylor Brodsky and Tom Grant
* “Smile Pinki” A Principe Production, Megan Mylan
* “The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306” A Rock Paper Scissors Production, Adam Pertofsky and Margaret Hyde
Achievement in film editing
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
* “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Lee Smith
* “Frost/Nixon” (Universal), Mike Hill and Dan Hanley
* “Milk” (Focus Features), Elliot Graham
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Chris Dickens
Best foreign language film of the year
* “The Baader Meinhof Complex” A Constantin Film Production, Germany
* “The Class” (Sony Pictures Classics), A Haut et Court Production, France
* “Departures” (Regent Releasing), A Departures Film Partners Production, Japan
* “Revanche” (Janus Films), A Prisma Film/Fernseh Production, Austria
* “Waltz with Bashir” (Sony Pictures Classics), A Bridgit Folman Film Gang Production, Israel
Achievement in makeup
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Greg Cannom
* “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), John Caglione, Jr. and Conor O’Sullivan
* “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” (Universal), Mike Elizalde and Thom Floutz
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Alexandre Desplat
* “Defiance” (Paramount Vantage), James Newton Howard
* “Milk” (Focus Features), Danny Elfman
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), A.R. Rahman
* “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Thomas Newman
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
* “Down to Earth” from “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Music by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman, Lyric by Peter Gabriel
* “Jai Ho” from “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Music by A.R. Rahman, Lyric by Gulzar
* “O Saya” from “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Music and Lyric by A.R. Rahman and Maya Arulpragasam
Best motion picture of the year
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), A Kennedy/Marshall Production, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Ceán Chaffin, Producers
* “Frost/Nixon” (Universal), A Universal Pictures, Imagine Entertainment and Working Title Production, Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Eric Fellner, Producers
* “Milk” (Focus Features), A Groundswell and Jinks/Cohen Company Production, Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen, Producers
* “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), A Mirage Enterprises and Neunte Babelsberg Film GmbH Production, Anthony Minghella, Sydney Pollack, Donna Gigliotti and Redmond Morris, Producers
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), A Celador Films Production, Christian Colson, Producer
Best animated short film
* “La Maison en Petits Cubes” A Robot Communications Production, Kunio Kato
* “Lavatory - Lovestory” A Melnitsa Animation Studio and CTB Film Company Production, Konstantin Bronzit
* “Oktapodi” (Talantis Films), A Gobelins, L’école de l’image Production, Emud Mokhberi and Thierry Marchand
* “Presto” (Walt Disney), A Pixar Animation Studios Production, Doug Sweetland
* “This Way Up” A Nexus Production, Alan Smith and Adam Foulkes
Best live action short film
* “Auf der Strecke (On the Line)” (Hamburg Shortfilmagency), An Academy of Media Arts Cologne Production, Reto Caffi
* “Manon on the Asphalt” (La Luna Productions), A La Luna Production, Elizabeth Marre and Olivier Pont
* “New Boy” (Network Ireland Television), A Zanzibar Films Production, Steph Green and Tamara Anghie
* “The Pig” An M & M Production, Tivi Magnusson and Dorte Høgh
* “Spielzeugland (Toyland)” A Mephisto Film Production, Jochen Alexander Freydank
Achievement in sound editing
* “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Richard King
* “Iron Man” (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment), Frank Eulner and Christopher Boyes
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Glenn Freemantle and Tom Sayers
* “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Ben Burtt and Matthew Wood
* “Wanted” (Universal), Wylie Stateman
Achievement in sound mixing
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Mark Weingarten
* “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo and Ed Novick
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty
* “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Tom Myers, Michael Semanick and Ben Burtt
* “Wanted” (Universal), Chris Jenkins, Frank A. Montaño and Petr Forejt
Achievement in visual effects
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron
* “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Tim Webber and Paul Franklin
* “Iron Man” (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment), John Nelson, Ben Snow, Dan Sudick and Shane Mahan
Adapted screenplay
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Screenplay by Eric Roth, Screen story by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord
* “Doubt” (Miramax), Written by John Patrick Shanley
* “Frost/Nixon” (Universal), Screenplay by Peter Morgan
* “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), Screenplay by David Hare
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Screenplay by Simon Beaufoy
Original screenplay
* “Frozen River” (Sony Pictures Classics), Written by Courtney Hunt
* “Happy-Go-Lucky” (Miramax), Written by Mike Leigh
* “In Bruges” (Focus Features), Written by Martin McDonagh
* “Milk” (Focus Features), Written by Dustin Lance Black
* “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Screenplay by Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon, Original story by Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter
http://www.oscars.org/awards/81academyawards/nominees.html
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Fire and Ice
Fire and Ice. The Winter War of Finland and Russia. / Talvisota: tuli ja jää! USA 2006. (c) 2005 MasterWork Media LLC. P+D+SC: Ben Strout. DP: Michael Bowie. M: Jamie Lawrence. ED: Kurt Poole. Dvd, 1,85:1, DD 5.1, 79 min. Russian and Finnish comments with English subtitles. Masterworks Media dvd, American release, received as a gift from my American relatives in St. Paul, Faye and Ken LeDoux. [There is also a Finnish dvd release: Karelia Klubi.] Viewed at home in Helsinki, 22 Feb 2009.
A many-sided documentary with modern Finnish-Russian war enactments, newsreel footage, interviews, quotes from vintage testimonies, some animation. American, Finnish, and Russian views make up a balanced picture of the amazing war. The author and poet Eeva Kilpi, a refugee from Karelian Hiitola, has a strong presence. So has John F. "Jack" Hasey, Volunteer, Iroquois Ambulance Corps. We see F.D. Roosevelt denouncing USSR on news footage. League of Nations banishes USSR. The Terijoki puppet government. Mannerheim's considerations. The interviewees include William Trotter (author, Frozen Hell), Gunnar Laatio (veteran, Mannerheim line), Major Mauno Uoti, Erkki Palosuo (veteran pilot), Aulikki Olsen (veteran, Lotta Svärd), Dr. Tomas Reis, Dr. Ohto Manninen, Inkeri Kilpinen, Minister Max Jakobson, Pasi Kesseli, Ermei Kanninen, Niilo Halkola (Suomussalmi veteran), Mauno Laaksonen, Lemmetty veteran; Anna Tukia, Lotta Svärd veteran; Tami Leinonen, Karelian refugee; Marko Seppänen, Suomussalmi, Raatteen Portti Museum; Raino Kurtti, Suomissalmi veteran; Mauno Uoti, Parola Tank Museum. The Molotov-Ribbentrop pact is examined. The German Blitzkrieg on Poland. The Finnish specials: the Molotov cocktail, the satchel charges, jamming a log into a tank's treads, the "motti" blocking tactic, snipers: "the white death". The feats of Taipale, Summa, Lahde, Tolvajärvi (the first victory). The sausage war. Suomussalmi, the Raate road. The meaning of Winter War not only for Finland which was not occupied but also for the Red Army which Stalin had to rebuild.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Joensuu 1685: Crystal Light
A music video. Finland 2009. PC: Bare Bone Business. P: Asko Keränen. D+ED: Mika Taanila. DP: Mika Taanila (16mm, 8mm), Leo Taanila (8mm), Martti Jämsä (8mm). FEAT: Mikko Joensuu, Markus Joensuu, Risto Joensuu. 7'30". - The strong flicker can cause headache, malaise, or migraine. - The music video was first screened in Cinema Orion, Saturday 14 Feb 2009, but I missed it as I was in Berlin. - Viewed at home on dvd 21 Feb 2009. - A flicker video. Big water. Waterfalls. Blue. Ultra rapid cutting. Acceleration. Performance footage: hard rhythmic electric metal sound, first instrumental, then with vocals. Time lapse. Negative. Leader. Holes on film. Red colour. Yellow colour. Extreme close-ups. Fire. Flowers. Back to the waterfalls, back to big water. - Pure elementary observations.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Pasi Nyyssönen: The Beginning of New Hollywood (lecture)
A lecture in the U.S. Independent lecture series of the Film Society of the Helsinki University Students' Association at Cinema Orion, 20 Feb 2009. With many video clips.
Humain, trop humain
FR 1974. PC: NEF. D: Louis Malle. DP: Etienne Becker - looks like 16mm blown up to 35mm - colour. ED: Suzanne Baron. S: Jean-Claude Laureux. 73 min. AFF / CNC beautiful restored 35mm print with e-subtitles in Finnish by Lena Talvio [but there is no commentary nor significant dialogue]. Viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki, 19 Feb 2009.
An industrial documentary film shot in July 1972 at the Citroën factory in Rennes, Bretagne and at a Car Fair in Paris. All phases of the car assembly. The steel plates arrive on rolls. They are cut. The assembly line principle. The assembly of the body. Grinding and sanding. Washing. The assembly of the motor. The cable systems. Long tracking shots to give a full view of the whole process. A film without commentary, without dialogue; the hardly audible words belong mainly to the soundscape. The endless rows of cars waiting by the railway station. The women soldering. The seats. The finishing. The polishing. Welding. The sounds of the factory: musique concrète. Qf. Tati: the machine world, the mechanical world, cybernetic. Qf. Chaplin: Modern Times. The final episode: a young woman turning steel plates. A freeze frame on her face, her look. The noise goes on.
A remarkable and original vision of the factory world.
An industrial documentary film shot in July 1972 at the Citroën factory in Rennes, Bretagne and at a Car Fair in Paris. All phases of the car assembly. The steel plates arrive on rolls. They are cut. The assembly line principle. The assembly of the body. Grinding and sanding. Washing. The assembly of the motor. The cable systems. Long tracking shots to give a full view of the whole process. A film without commentary, without dialogue; the hardly audible words belong mainly to the soundscape. The endless rows of cars waiting by the railway station. The women soldering. The seats. The finishing. The polishing. Welding. The sounds of the factory: musique concrète. Qf. Tati: the machine world, the mechanical world, cybernetic. Qf. Chaplin: Modern Times. The final episode: a young woman turning steel plates. A freeze frame on her face, her look. The noise goes on.
A remarkable and original vision of the factory world.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Soy Cuba
SU/CU 1964. PC: Goskino / ICAIC. D: Mihail Kalatozov. SC: Enrique Pineda Barnet, Jevgeni Jevtushenko. DP: Sergei Urusevski - b&w - 35mm - 1,37:1. M: Carlos Farinas. 141 min. A Mr. Bongo print of the Cuban version, via MK2, with English subtitles. Viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki, 19 Feb 2009. - Revisited: the opening of the amazing film of Communist propaganda rejected by everyone at the time and only returning to wide awareness outside Cuba since Telluride 1992. - Astounding opening with a helicopter view of the Cuban jungle. Infrared lenses catch a wild and marvellous vision of the village. The camera moves irresistibly from the rooftop of the hotel inside the pool. This is a camera adventure of Cuba, following the Bazinian philosophy of forbidden montage. "Loco amor" sung by the Platters crooner. - A thrilling, inspiring film. I do not see it as an apology of tyranny, on the contrary, it is a rebellious film, and that certainly was a main reason to the shelving in the USSR.
Laurel & Hardy: the Birth of the Comedy Duo
The Second Hundred Years / Toiset sata vuotta / De andra hundra åren. US 1927. 16mm, 20 min
Big Business / Joulukuusikauppiaat / Svindlande affärer. US 1929. 35mm, 20 min
Liberty / Vapaus / Friheten. US 1929. 35mm, 20 min
PC: Hal Roach Studios. EX: Hal Roach. P: Leo McCarey. DP: George Stevens.
Bonner Kinemathek prints with e-subtitles in Finnish by Aretta Vähälä and piano music by Joonas Raninen. Viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki, 18 Feb 2009.
The starting programme of the Leo McCarey retrospective. McCarey was with Stan Laurel the co-creator of the concept of the Stan and Ollie comedies at Hal Roach Studios.
It was good to see on screen the full-length The Second Hundred Years, and 35mm screenings (good prints, too) of Big Business and Liberty, so familiar from home viewing.
Comedy at its best, funniest, laughingest.
Big Business / Joulukuusikauppiaat / Svindlande affärer. US 1929. 35mm, 20 min
Liberty / Vapaus / Friheten. US 1929. 35mm, 20 min
PC: Hal Roach Studios. EX: Hal Roach. P: Leo McCarey. DP: George Stevens.
Bonner Kinemathek prints with e-subtitles in Finnish by Aretta Vähälä and piano music by Joonas Raninen. Viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki, 18 Feb 2009.
The starting programme of the Leo McCarey retrospective. McCarey was with Stan Laurel the co-creator of the concept of the Stan and Ollie comedies at Hal Roach Studios.
It was good to see on screen the full-length The Second Hundred Years, and 35mm screenings (good prints, too) of Big Business and Liberty, so familiar from home viewing.
Comedy at its best, funniest, laughingest.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
The Last Movie
US (c) 1971 Universal Pictures / Alta-Light. D: Dennis Hopper. DP: Laszlo Kovacs. ED consultant: Alejandro Jodorowsky. Starring Dennis Hopper, Stella Garcia, Julie Adams, Tomas Milian, Roy Enger, Samuel Fuller. 109 min. A Théâtre du Temple print avec sous-titres francais viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki, 17 Feb 2009. - Print ok, a slighly duped look. - Revisited: the beginning only. An acid trip. Strong energy. A sense of disaster. Kris Kristoffersson's "Me And Bobby McGee" effective (a special recording for this film?). Samuel Fuller's signature role.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Berlin, 12-15 February, 2009
I visited Berlin 12-15 February, 2009 during the Berlinale, the Berlin Film Festival, but the days were so packed with meetings that I missed the films altogether!
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Calcutta
FR 1969. PC: NEF. P: Louis Kastner. D+SC+commentary reader: Louis Malle. DP: Etienne Becker - 16mm blown up to 35mm. ED: Suzanne Baron. S: Jean-Claude Laureaux. AFF / CNC restored print, e-subtitles Lena Talvio. Viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki, 10 Feb 2009. - I viewed the beginning. The print not as brilliant as The Phantom India. - The bathers in the holy river Ganges. The cameraman as Peeping Tom. Plunging into a reality that is different from ours. The endless bustle of humanity. The long start of the film without dialogue, without commentary. Goats in the city traffic. The music starts. Beggar children. An elephant being washed. People staring at the camera. The poor ones of the street. At 15 minutes, Malle's voice is heard. The story of a man. The chamber of death. The hit songs of popular movies. In 1967 in Bengal, a coalition government, a demonstration, vive la révolution. The gorgeous statues of Saraswati.
Monday, February 09, 2009
Moana
Moana - auringon poika. US © 1926 Famous Players-Lasky. D+SC+DP: Robert Flaherty - Akeley. With Frances Flaherty and David Flaherty. LOC: Safune village at Savai'i, Polynesia. WITH: Ta'avale, Fa'amgase, Tu'ugaita, Moana, Pe'a. Copyright renewed by Paramount (1953). The Monica Flaherty music version © 1980, 16 mm print of Sami van Ingen, 70 min. Viewed at KAVA Pursimiehenkatu screening room, 9 Feb 2009.
Revisited, I had seen this version before in ca 1985 in Berlin, presented by Monica Flaherty. She utilized early May rebellion songs recorded by David Flaherty. She remembered also Samoan songs from her childhood there. Three principal actors (Moana, Faangese, Pea) were still alive in 1975. Robert Flaherty always wanted Moana in sound, and Monica realized his wish.
A print stretched in all sequences with human motion and equipped with soundtrack. The film was apparently shot at 18 fps, every third frame doubled in the human motion scenes. The sound was recorded in 1975 in Samoa by Monica Flaherty and Richard Leacock. - The original negative was burned by Paramount maybe already in the 1940s. This print is based on the Stockholm dupe. - This masterpiece is the film that was the first to be called a work "of documentary value" in the English language (by Grierson).
The harvest. Fa'angase, the highest maiden. Beautiful harvest songs. The only dangerous animal: the wild hog. The hunting song. Setting the trap. Water out of the tree trunk. The song of returning from the woods. The songs are gentle and tender. Pua a tele! - it's big! The lethal fangs of the hog. A beautiful song as the hog is carried on bars. The sea. The long boat for three. Swimming in the clear water. Fishing with a sharp stick. Peeling the tree bark. Tanning the bark. The manufacture of the Tava cloth from bast (the inner bark) of the mulberry tree.
How the cloth is made. - The interest in little gestures, how hands are moving. - Sandalwood seeds to produce colour. A beautiful sandalwood song. - Lavalava: the national dress. - The boat at sea: sharpening the sticks. - Climbing high to the top of the cocoanut tree in a memorable long shot. - The storm, the big waves. The blow-holes. The rainbow. - The song of the boatmen. Rowing against the waves, falling into the water. The giant splashes. - Expressive close-ups. - The strange animal hiding in the rockpile. - Making fire by rubbing two pieces of wood against each other. - The boy smokes the the coconut crab out of the rockpile. (Expressive close-ups).
The boys hunting the giant turtle. Magnificent reflections. The song of the turtle hunters. The song of the turtle shell. - Faangese cannot eat the oyster but loves raw small fish. - Cocoanut milk out of the cocoanut. The palusami dessert. Baked inside leaves. Breadfruit. A long montage on food. Taro, qf. dioscorea (in Finnish: jamssi). - Green bananas. - A volcanic island. - Faamgase & Moana, at the end of the day, Faamgase decorates Moana with flowers. Massage with cocoanut oil. Age-old rite. Tinkling shells in the ankle. Soft drumming, chorus singing, harmony. - A dance sequence: the pride of beauty and strength. The art, the worship, the courtship of the race. The mating dance. Music imitating birdsong. - Rhythmic music. - The ritual of the tattoo, three weeks, painful. The bone nail. The old-style clothes. Little by little. At great pain. The tattoo music. Light up your oven. Add colour. Dance music: the encourage Moana. Manhood through pain. Beautiful tattoo chorus music. In three weeks, the whole body is tattooed. - Let the kava be prepared. - The kava is prepared in a big bowl. The virgin of the village, the princess, makes the kava. Youth comes into its own. Dances. Harmonious song. Beautiful music as the little boy falls asleep. UA UMA LA VA = THE END.
Revisited, I had seen this version before in ca 1985 in Berlin, presented by Monica Flaherty. She utilized early May rebellion songs recorded by David Flaherty. She remembered also Samoan songs from her childhood there. Three principal actors (Moana, Faangese, Pea) were still alive in 1975. Robert Flaherty always wanted Moana in sound, and Monica realized his wish.
A print stretched in all sequences with human motion and equipped with soundtrack. The film was apparently shot at 18 fps, every third frame doubled in the human motion scenes. The sound was recorded in 1975 in Samoa by Monica Flaherty and Richard Leacock. - The original negative was burned by Paramount maybe already in the 1940s. This print is based on the Stockholm dupe. - This masterpiece is the film that was the first to be called a work "of documentary value" in the English language (by Grierson).
The harvest. Fa'angase, the highest maiden. Beautiful harvest songs. The only dangerous animal: the wild hog. The hunting song. Setting the trap. Water out of the tree trunk. The song of returning from the woods. The songs are gentle and tender. Pua a tele! - it's big! The lethal fangs of the hog. A beautiful song as the hog is carried on bars. The sea. The long boat for three. Swimming in the clear water. Fishing with a sharp stick. Peeling the tree bark. Tanning the bark. The manufacture of the Tava cloth from bast (the inner bark) of the mulberry tree.
How the cloth is made. - The interest in little gestures, how hands are moving. - Sandalwood seeds to produce colour. A beautiful sandalwood song. - Lavalava: the national dress. - The boat at sea: sharpening the sticks. - Climbing high to the top of the cocoanut tree in a memorable long shot. - The storm, the big waves. The blow-holes. The rainbow. - The song of the boatmen. Rowing against the waves, falling into the water. The giant splashes. - Expressive close-ups. - The strange animal hiding in the rockpile. - Making fire by rubbing two pieces of wood against each other. - The boy smokes the the coconut crab out of the rockpile. (Expressive close-ups).
The boys hunting the giant turtle. Magnificent reflections. The song of the turtle hunters. The song of the turtle shell. - Faangese cannot eat the oyster but loves raw small fish. - Cocoanut milk out of the cocoanut. The palusami dessert. Baked inside leaves. Breadfruit. A long montage on food. Taro, qf. dioscorea (in Finnish: jamssi). - Green bananas. - A volcanic island. - Faamgase & Moana, at the end of the day, Faamgase decorates Moana with flowers. Massage with cocoanut oil. Age-old rite. Tinkling shells in the ankle. Soft drumming, chorus singing, harmony. - A dance sequence: the pride of beauty and strength. The art, the worship, the courtship of the race. The mating dance. Music imitating birdsong. - Rhythmic music. - The ritual of the tattoo, three weeks, painful. The bone nail. The old-style clothes. Little by little. At great pain. The tattoo music. Light up your oven. Add colour. Dance music: the encourage Moana. Manhood through pain. Beautiful tattoo chorus music. In three weeks, the whole body is tattooed. - Let the kava be prepared. - The kava is prepared in a big bowl. The virgin of the village, the princess, makes the kava. Youth comes into its own. Dances. Harmonious song. Beautiful music as the little boy falls asleep. UA UMA LA VA = THE END.
Saturday, February 07, 2009
The Films of Mika Taanila 3
Tampereen elokuvajuhlat 2008 traileri / Tampere Film Festival 2008 Trailer (2008) 35mm, 0'30"
Pidän tästä hiljaisuudesta / I Like This Silence (1983-1986) dvd, 1'20"
Fysikaalinen rengas / A Physical Ring (2002) 35mm, 4'40"
Täydellisen pimennyksen vyöhyke / The Zone of Total Eclipse (2002) 2 x 16mm, 6'
Optinen ääni / Optical Sound (2005) 35mm, 2,35:1, 6'
Thank You For the Music - elokuva muzakista / Thank You For the Music - A Film About Muzak (1997) 35mm, 24'
RoboCup99 / RoboCup99 - We Have a Dream (2000) 35mm, 25'
Total duration of the programme: 75 min. Viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki, 7 Feb 2009.
A great programme with a wonderful variation, and the many technical challenges were met perfectly, including the special double-16mm presentation of The Zone of Total Eclipse with two moving 16mm projectors.
Pidän tästä hiljaisuudesta / I Like This Silence (1983-1986) dvd, 1'20"
Fysikaalinen rengas / A Physical Ring (2002) 35mm, 4'40"
Täydellisen pimennyksen vyöhyke / The Zone of Total Eclipse (2002) 2 x 16mm, 6'
Optinen ääni / Optical Sound (2005) 35mm, 2,35:1, 6'
Thank You For the Music - elokuva muzakista / Thank You For the Music - A Film About Muzak (1997) 35mm, 24'
RoboCup99 / RoboCup99 - We Have a Dream (2000) 35mm, 25'
Total duration of the programme: 75 min. Viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki, 7 Feb 2009.
A great programme with a wonderful variation, and the many technical challenges were met perfectly, including the special double-16mm presentation of The Zone of Total Eclipse with two moving 16mm projectors.
Thursday, February 05, 2009
L'Inde fantôme 1-7
Based on the episodes I have seen: the best film by Louis Malle, the best film on India I have seen, and one of the all-time best films. It changes the way I see the world. Also a marvellous restoration by AFF / CNC.
L'Inde fantôme 6: En marge de l'Inde
L'Inde fantôme: Réflexions sur un voyage 6: En marge de l'Inde / Phantom India 6 / Intian päiväkirja 6: Muukalaiset Intiassa. FR 1969. P: NEF / ORTF. D: Louis Malle. 52 min. An AFF / CNC restored print (colour, 16mm blown up to 35mm), with e-subtitles by Lena Talvio, viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki, 5 Feb 2009. - A brilliant, full-coloured print. Magnificent cinematography.
The Bondo: the oldest inhabitants, mountain-dwellers, hunting with bow and arrow, women with many pendants, ancient weaving patterns, no cattle taboo, no taxes, making of the mud hut, making of brooms, complicated mythology. Wives older than husbands, severe exogamy, divorce common. No alphabet, no names. The common sleeping houses for the young, no sexual restrictions.
The Communist: with red flag, denouncing the officials, the land-owners, the usurers.
The Christians: Christian churches in Kerala, no succcess, in Goa, the Englishmen restrained the missionaries. The Christians of India are fanatic, with a sense of inferiority.
The Jews: the Jews have lived in Cochin since 1900 years, since before the fall of the Second Temple. Simon Coder, merchant. Never persecuted, except during the Portuguese rule. Some came 200 years ago from Baghdad. Very happy in India. Some leave for Israel. But there is something weak and sickly, as a result of strict marriage rules, marriage allowed among Jews only.
Pondicherry, a former French center of commerce. Illumination is ever-present. "I was a chef in over 10 countries, looking for inner peace" (an Italian meditator). Bhagavad Git. A Swedish woman: I was not aware that I have a soul. Aurobindo: a synthesis of yoga. The building of meditation. Ashram: sport. Active, flourishing. Exemption from taxes. Standing on one's head. Celibacy, no smoking, no alcohol. Senior sport. The eldest is 85 years. Comes a day when the human body experiences a change.
Hatha Yoga. Ambu, teacher of hatha yoga. Asanat. Incredible flexibility, a human snake. "I don't practise every day". Hatha = tenacity, stubbornness.
Auroville. A rich Indian businessman. The road to Damascus. The savior of the world.
The Toda. Nilgir Mountains, 2400 m over the sea level. Toda: an ideal society. Sumerians? Descendants from the age of Alexander the Great? No Toda girl is a virgin until 13 years of age. Free love. There is no word for sex. Children don't go to school. Collective poems. Houses out of wood. There is a shortage of women. Absolute sexual freedom. Shepherds, vegetarians, not farmers. No wars, no weapons, no leaders. The buffalo: pure, holy, unique. Men take turns as priests, alone in the temple, with a holy piece of metal. There are 800 Toda. They are the last representatives of a free society.
The Bondo: the oldest inhabitants, mountain-dwellers, hunting with bow and arrow, women with many pendants, ancient weaving patterns, no cattle taboo, no taxes, making of the mud hut, making of brooms, complicated mythology. Wives older than husbands, severe exogamy, divorce common. No alphabet, no names. The common sleeping houses for the young, no sexual restrictions.
The Communist: with red flag, denouncing the officials, the land-owners, the usurers.
The Christians: Christian churches in Kerala, no succcess, in Goa, the Englishmen restrained the missionaries. The Christians of India are fanatic, with a sense of inferiority.
The Jews: the Jews have lived in Cochin since 1900 years, since before the fall of the Second Temple. Simon Coder, merchant. Never persecuted, except during the Portuguese rule. Some came 200 years ago from Baghdad. Very happy in India. Some leave for Israel. But there is something weak and sickly, as a result of strict marriage rules, marriage allowed among Jews only.
Pondicherry, a former French center of commerce. Illumination is ever-present. "I was a chef in over 10 countries, looking for inner peace" (an Italian meditator). Bhagavad Git. A Swedish woman: I was not aware that I have a soul. Aurobindo: a synthesis of yoga. The building of meditation. Ashram: sport. Active, flourishing. Exemption from taxes. Standing on one's head. Celibacy, no smoking, no alcohol. Senior sport. The eldest is 85 years. Comes a day when the human body experiences a change.
Hatha Yoga. Ambu, teacher of hatha yoga. Asanat. Incredible flexibility, a human snake. "I don't practise every day". Hatha = tenacity, stubbornness.
Auroville. A rich Indian businessman. The road to Damascus. The savior of the world.
The Toda. Nilgir Mountains, 2400 m over the sea level. Toda: an ideal society. Sumerians? Descendants from the age of Alexander the Great? No Toda girl is a virgin until 13 years of age. Free love. There is no word for sex. Children don't go to school. Collective poems. Houses out of wood. There is a shortage of women. Absolute sexual freedom. Shepherds, vegetarians, not farmers. No wars, no weapons, no leaders. The buffalo: pure, holy, unique. Men take turns as priests, alone in the temple, with a holy piece of metal. There are 800 Toda. They are the last representatives of a free society.
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
MARKKU LEHMUSKALLIO, ANASTASIA LAPSUI, SAKARI TOIVIAINEN
Publication of Sakari Toiviainen's book in Cinema Orion, Helsinki, 4 Feb 2009. With presentations by Sakari Toiviainen and Markku Lehmuskallio.
We celebrate the 70th anniversary of Markku Lehmuskallio with a complete retrospective of the feature films of Markku Lehmuskallio and Anastasia Lapsui and their carte blanche series. Today, Sakari Toiviainen's book Kadonnutta paratiisia etsimässä (In Search of Paradise Lost) was published, with exquisite illustrations edited by Kai Vase in collaboration with Markku Lehmuskallio.
Markku Lehmuskallio is a great artist of both documentary and fiction films. Their common subject is the life of the Northern peoples in Lapland, Siberia, and Canada. What Robert Flaherty started in Nanook of the North, Lehmuskallio has done during his whole film career, rescuing the vanishing, primordial cultures of the Sami, the Nenets, the Nganasan, the Selkup, the Inuit, and so on, for instance in his great I Am, the history of the art of the people in the tundra.
He is the documentarian of immemorial tradition and man on the last threshold of survival.
He is also a poet of the forest and of nature. He is an ecological visionary.
Since 1992, Lehmuskallio has made his films with Anastasia Lapsui, a Nenets who belongs to a family of shamans.
We celebrate the 70th anniversary of Markku Lehmuskallio with a complete retrospective of the feature films of Markku Lehmuskallio and Anastasia Lapsui and their carte blanche series. Today, Sakari Toiviainen's book Kadonnutta paratiisia etsimässä (In Search of Paradise Lost) was published, with exquisite illustrations edited by Kai Vase in collaboration with Markku Lehmuskallio.
Markku Lehmuskallio is a great artist of both documentary and fiction films. Their common subject is the life of the Northern peoples in Lapland, Siberia, and Canada. What Robert Flaherty started in Nanook of the North, Lehmuskallio has done during his whole film career, rescuing the vanishing, primordial cultures of the Sami, the Nenets, the Nganasan, the Selkup, the Inuit, and so on, for instance in his great I Am, the history of the art of the people in the tundra.
He is the documentarian of immemorial tradition and man on the last threshold of survival.
He is also a poet of the forest and of nature. He is an ecological visionary.
Since 1992, Lehmuskallio has made his films with Anastasia Lapsui, a Nenets who belongs to a family of shamans.
Sunday, February 01, 2009
THE JUSSI AWARDS FOR 2008
BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR
Niko - lentäjän poika / The Flight Before Christmas - producers Petteri Pasanen, Hannu Tuomainen
ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING
Tummien perhosten koti / The Home of Dark Butterflies - Dome Karukoski
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Putoavia enkeleitä / Falling Angels - Tommi Korpela
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Putoavia enkeleitä / Falling Angels - Elena Leeve
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Tummien perhosten koti / The Home of Dark Butterflies - Pertti Sveholm
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Putoavia enkeleitä / Falling Angels - Elina Knihtilä
SCREENPLAY
Niko - lentäjän poika / The Flight Before Christmas - Hannu Tuomainen, Marteinn Thorisson
ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY
Käsky / Tears of April - Rauno Ronkainen
ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC
Risto Räppääjä / Risto the Rapper - Iiro Rantala
ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND DESIGN
Sauna / Sauna - Panu Riikonen, Vesa Meriläinen
ACHIEVEMENT IN FILM EDITING
Tummien perhosten koti / The Home of Dark Butterflies - Harri Ylönen
ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION
Sauna / Sauna - Antti Nikkinen, Ville Vauras, Vladimir Bedrich Dvorak
ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN
Sauna / Sauna - Anna Vilppunen
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Katastrofin aineksia / Recipes for Disaster - John Webster
THE FAVOURITE OF THE AUDIENCE
Tummien perhosten koti / The Home of Dark Butterflies.
...
All fair and well, but for years by favourite film of the year has not even been nominated. For 2008, I would have voted for Risto the Rapper for both best picture and best director (Mari Rantasila).
Niko - lentäjän poika / The Flight Before Christmas - producers Petteri Pasanen, Hannu Tuomainen
ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING
Tummien perhosten koti / The Home of Dark Butterflies - Dome Karukoski
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Putoavia enkeleitä / Falling Angels - Tommi Korpela
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Putoavia enkeleitä / Falling Angels - Elena Leeve
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Tummien perhosten koti / The Home of Dark Butterflies - Pertti Sveholm
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Putoavia enkeleitä / Falling Angels - Elina Knihtilä
SCREENPLAY
Niko - lentäjän poika / The Flight Before Christmas - Hannu Tuomainen, Marteinn Thorisson
ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY
Käsky / Tears of April - Rauno Ronkainen
ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC
Risto Räppääjä / Risto the Rapper - Iiro Rantala
ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND DESIGN
Sauna / Sauna - Panu Riikonen, Vesa Meriläinen
ACHIEVEMENT IN FILM EDITING
Tummien perhosten koti / The Home of Dark Butterflies - Harri Ylönen
ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION
Sauna / Sauna - Antti Nikkinen, Ville Vauras, Vladimir Bedrich Dvorak
ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN
Sauna / Sauna - Anna Vilppunen
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Katastrofin aineksia / Recipes for Disaster - John Webster
THE FAVOURITE OF THE AUDIENCE
Tummien perhosten koti / The Home of Dark Butterflies.
...
All fair and well, but for years by favourite film of the year has not even been nominated. For 2008, I would have voted for Risto the Rapper for both best picture and best director (Mari Rantasila).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
