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I'm not your typical vampire film fan, I tend to go for stuff that has a little more thought in it that just fangs and blood. I'm also not going to win any points with those who want a film companion that only feast on a diet of domesticated flicks. I tend to hunt down the kind of film that takes it's time to seduce it's audience, Andrzej Krzysztof Tarkowski would have been a great horror movie director if he's been so inclined. But there is a film that comes close to what I've been thirsting for, the Scandinavian "Let The Right One In". Let the Right One In is very orthodox in keeping to all the vampire rules, and yet it is the most naturalistic, and maybe most realistic portrayal of the plight of the vampire I've seen in a long while. Don't get me wrong, I love where "30 Days of Night" went in expanding on the myth of the vampires among us, and I hope to see more like it, yet Let The Right One In adds a softer touch that is seldom experienced in horror. I'd love to write more, but I think the film speaks for it's self.

Updated Dec 8, 2008

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The Adventures of Prince Achmed: Lotte Reiniger, Carl Koch

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From the the first few minutes of my first viewing of this unique work I was truly astonished.

About the film:
The oldest extant animated feature, The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926) was made by Lotte Reiniger using the silhouette technique she invented. Reiniger manipulated cutouts made from cardboard and thin sheets of lead under the camera to create an Arabian Nights world of delicate, filigree backgrounds and intricately jointed figures. With the assistance of Aladdin, the Witch of the Fiery Mountain, and a magic horse, the title character battles the evil African sorcerer to win the hand of Princess Peri Banu.

Updated Aug 24, 2008

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adventure
animated feature
animation
Carl Koch
DVD
fairy tale
film
Lotte Reiniger
Movies

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Phantom Museums: The Short Films of the Quay Brothers

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For those who already know the short films of the Brothers Quay, Phantom Museums is a welcome, thorough investigation of a lifelong dedication to stop-motion animation and dream sequence narratives. For those just discovering this identical twin team of Stephen and Timothy Quay, Phantom Museums is the place to start. This two-disc set includes roughly twenty of their projects, chronologically spanning thirty years. Inspired by the old-fashioned look of early animated features such as The Adventures of Prince Achmed, as well as Jan Svankmajer and Jiri Barta's films, The Brothers Quay built their reputation on combining the quaintness and delicacy of early animation with present day macabre. As miniaturists, they painstakingly hand assembled decadent sets, such as an ancient library, a shrunken head vault at the natural history museum, and spiral staircases. Homemade dolls with missing eyes, pins, needles, and screws, protractors, and other tiny metallic things, make characters and their environs grotesquely techno, framed by carnivalesque camerawork in which the viewer experiences scenes from every possible angle. Highly anatomical, they sometimes use steaks and livers to represent doll innards. Watching these films now, one appreciates their Goth quality, especially because of the romantic, classical musical accompaniment. Their influence on the music video industry is also apparent. Each film has a unique story and production design, so that although the overall Quay aesthetic is clear, variation avoids redundancy. Phantom Museums also includes director commentary, alternate versions, and a wonderful filmed interview with the pair, in which they discuss their father forcing them to choose between either becoming gym teachers or artists. Lucky for us.

Updated Aug 24, 2008

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WIWP- Now Showing: The Lost Art of the Film Poster

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40+ Creatives were given the task of creating their own interpretation of a Cult, Classic or Obscure film poster from the past, whether it be a literal or abstract solution.

BRILLIANT!

Updated Jun 5, 2008

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007
007 posters
Blow Up
Bond
Clockwork Orange
coolhunting
Corey Holms
COSH Gallery
Dr No

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Madame Tutli-Putli

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Brilliant work, the use of puppets live action and animation is so much better than full on 3D animation.

Updated May 29, 2008

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animation
Canadian film
Chris Lavis
dreams
film
Jason Walker
Maciek Szczerbowski
moths

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La Jetee/Sans Soleil (Criterion Collection): Chris MarkerFlorence Delay, Charlotte Kerr, Riyoko Ikeda, Alexandra Stewart, Ariell

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Two film journeys I've taken many times, I wonder how it would be to see on a small screen with the ability to replay, fast forward, slow down pause.

Updated May 22, 2008

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Girls On Film

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Alexandra
Charlotte Kerr
Chris Marker
Criterion Collection
film
Florence Delay
influential

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Chris Maker - La Jetee: cine-roman

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More than any other film Chris Maker's "La Jetee" influenced my way of viewing cinema, as well as my way of creating art. I think of this book of images from "La Jetee" is a treasure.

About this book: "This book version of La Jetée is, to my mind, astonishingly beautiful. It brings a total freshness to the work and a new way to use photos to deal with dramatic events. Not a film's book, but a book in its own right--the real ciné-roman announced in the film's credits."
--Chris Marker

La Jetée, the legendary science fiction film about time and memory after a nuclear apocalypse, was released in 1964 and is considered by many critics to be among the greatest experimental films ever made. (It provided the basis for Terry Gilliam's 1995 film 12 Monkeys.) Chris Marker, who is the undisputed master of the film essay, composed this postapocalyptic story almost entirely of black-and-white still photographs. The story concerns an experiment in recovering and changing the past through the action of memory, yet the film can be read as a poem dominated by a single moving image, which in its context becomes one of the supreme moments in the history of film.

This Zone Books edition reproduces the film's original images along with the script in both English and French.

Updated May 21, 2008

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The Juniper Tree

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Nietzchka Keene's "The Juniper Tree" is a lovely tale of nordic witchcraft in the style of Tarkovsky

Updated May 22, 2008

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Valley of Flowers

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'Valley of Flowers' is a epic Himalayan legend of a love struggling against the inevitability of death, an astonishing tale spanning from the early 19th century mountain existence, to hectic, bustling modern day Tokyo. There is much to love about this film, the direction, the cinematography, the great cast--made featuring first time actress, actual nomads, the use of actual Himalayan locations, and period costumes, the fabulous soundtrack, and the use of magic and mystery which fortunately was not created through CGI, we need to see more stories like this one, thank you!

Updated Apr 24, 2007

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Lynch on Lynch

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2 people recommended this item

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The interview within "Lynch on Lynch" brought me into the hidden creative process which drives David Lynch's unique vision. As the subject of the interview Lynch doesn't give detailed answers regarding his creative, personal, or professional life, but rather givers straight and simple answers which remind me of zen answers, so basic and humble that it's easy to miss the true depth of his meaning,--no worries the substance of his humility resurfaces when viewing Lynch's actual art work, films, and photography. The desire to gain creative insight may be what draws one to read "Lynch on Lynch", yet once inside the book it's the storytelling of underground film school success to cinema icon that actually nourishes the reader. I felt that there is much charm and value in David Lynch's life stories, and in the end I felt like a well attended guest--a nice read.

David Lynch's distinguished career includes such films as "The Elephant Man", "Blue Velvet", "Wild at Heart"; "Last Highway"; and the seminal television series "Twin Peaks". Here, Lynch speaks openly about the full breadth of his creative work, which encompasses not only movies but also a lifelong commitment to painting, a continuing exploration of photography, extensive work in television, and musical collaborations with composer Angelo Badalamenti and singer Julee Cruise. (via Sean McCabe)

Updated Oct 2, 2007