Ninth Five Films, 2007
+ +
On the Bowery (Lionel Rogosin) at Anthology Film Archives. Having come to New York in the post-Giuliani era, it was great to see a portrait of the rough-and-tumble life down on Manhattan's skid row. Also a useful reminder of what bars used to mean back before everything city life got gentrified and sterilized. I really liked the vibe at Anthology and hope to get back there more often.
+ +
+ + +
Madame de... (Max Ophuls) at Film Forum. The use of movement both as part of the action within the mise en scene and in the editing was really virtuosic, particularly the dancing sequence which feels like a single, well-choreographed dance, even though the costumes and settings obviously change; somehow we get the time-lapse effect of montage without the jarring cuts normally associated with those kinds of scenes.
+ + +
+
Gunfight at the OK Corral (John Sturges) at home on DVD. A much more satisfying Sturges work than Ice Station Zebra, but gets much less out of the same story than My Darling Clementine, which was directed by John Ford eleven years prior. I suppose I ought to see Tombstone and Kevin Costner's Wyatt Earp for good measure. I also need to see more Kirk Douglas films; he steals basically every scene he's in here.
+
+ +
The Beaver Trilogy (Trent Harris) at home on DVD, c/o Brian, who has a couple blog posts and numerous photos up from his visit. The story of Groovin' Gary, a misfit Utahan who talks too much and craves the spotlight. The first third, featuring Gary live and in the flesh, is mildly intriguing, though deepened by the two dramatizations to follow. I didn't care for Sean Penn's interpretation, though I felt it was a good bridge between the first and last parts. Crispin Glover was excellent in his version, though in some senses a different person altogether from the original oddball.
+ +
+ + +
Ugetsu (Kenji Mizoguchi) at IFC. I wish they'd had the new print as advertised (something got mixed up in shipping, I believe), but even slightly scratched and worn this is still one of my favorite movies of all time. I ought to be ashamed if I haven't sought out at least two more Mizoguchi films by the end of the year.
+ + +
On the Bowery (Lionel Rogosin) at Anthology Film Archives. Having come to New York in the post-Giuliani era, it was great to see a portrait of the rough-and-tumble life down on Manhattan's skid row. Also a useful reminder of what bars used to mean back before everything city life got gentrified and sterilized. I really liked the vibe at Anthology and hope to get back there more often.
+ +
+ + +
Madame de... (Max Ophuls) at Film Forum. The use of movement both as part of the action within the mise en scene and in the editing was really virtuosic, particularly the dancing sequence which feels like a single, well-choreographed dance, even though the costumes and settings obviously change; somehow we get the time-lapse effect of montage without the jarring cuts normally associated with those kinds of scenes.
+ + +
+
Gunfight at the OK Corral (John Sturges) at home on DVD. A much more satisfying Sturges work than Ice Station Zebra, but gets much less out of the same story than My Darling Clementine, which was directed by John Ford eleven years prior. I suppose I ought to see Tombstone and Kevin Costner's Wyatt Earp for good measure. I also need to see more Kirk Douglas films; he steals basically every scene he's in here.
+
+ +
The Beaver Trilogy (Trent Harris) at home on DVD, c/o Brian, who has a couple blog posts and numerous photos up from his visit. The story of Groovin' Gary, a misfit Utahan who talks too much and craves the spotlight. The first third, featuring Gary live and in the flesh, is mildly intriguing, though deepened by the two dramatizations to follow. I didn't care for Sean Penn's interpretation, though I felt it was a good bridge between the first and last parts. Crispin Glover was excellent in his version, though in some senses a different person altogether from the original oddball.
+ +
+ + +
Ugetsu (Kenji Mizoguchi) at IFC. I wish they'd had the new print as advertised (something got mixed up in shipping, I believe), but even slightly scratched and worn this is still one of my favorite movies of all time. I ought to be ashamed if I haven't sought out at least two more Mizoguchi films by the end of the year.
+ + +
Posted on Monday, April 02, 2007
2 Comment(s):
Two thoughts this post roused in me:
Re: Kirk Douglas, my desire to watch Spartacus again. I haven't seen it since 7th grade, and think I would appreciate it more now. I do remember Douglas's presence standing out.
Re: Mizoguchi, have you seen Sansho Dayu? I think that and Ugetsu were the only Mizoguchi films Prof. Tomonari selected for our Japanese Cinema class, and your mention of Ugetsu today reminded me of both. I'm tempted to go out and rent them now; I seem to recall Sansho Dayu being great.
I need to find a way of seeing On The Bowery one day; I've been wanting to see it ever since I watched Come Back, Africa for comps.
Speaking of the latter, it sounds like it is roughly the same movie, but with Johannesburg standing in for New York City and a great deal more political commentary. I will have to remember to bring my copy of it for you to possibly look at if I get down to New York, which should happen Pretty Soon. (Although roughly half of it isn't in English and there are no subtitles.)
Post a Comment