Hello folks! This blog post shall relate to a genre of film that I enjoy and that ladies and germs is Film Noir! but before I get into all of that, I'm going to squeeze in some shit to start out on!
First off, I just played the game World of Goo and it's pretty fun, it's a physics based puzzle game where you have to build structures with goo balls. I may be behind on it but it'd would be a good app to get on an iPad or iPhone I'm sure. Another one is Plants vs. Zombies it may be lame but I really dig this game, you plant a bunch of plants that work like guns to kill invading zombies and then the last one, as everyone knows, is Angry Birds, which is also pretty fun. ANYWAY, there are some apps for you if you want games and shit...
Also, there's this youtube channel, dunno why, but I call it Shit Cats! You'll see... http://www.youtube.com/user/KimKwitter
Next in the line are my recommendations (as usual). For the film, I'm going to be super lame and let you see a side of me that I'm not proud of and say Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007). That's right, this incredibly stupid comedy film that satirizes music documentaries like Walk The Line and The Doors. I thought the film was actually hilarious and great if you want a mindless, lowbrow sort of comedy. For the album today, I'll go with Surfer Rosa from Pixies. This is a great piece of alternative rock, it's great.
Okay, now onto the good stuff, film noir. If you don't know what a film noir is, it's generally a hollywood crime drama. Classic film noir lasted from the 1940s to the 1950s and had a black and white style that was similar to German expressionism. Film noir came out of the pulp crime fiction of the Depression. It is a very difficult genre to classify due to the fact that it could span and include many different subjects. One reason for the rise of the noir style in America was due to German expressionist film makers, like Fritz Lang, fleeing to America in the 30s and 40s to get away from Nazi control of Germany and bringing that style with them. Classic noir generally had a low budget and lacked a well known star. They were essentially B-movies that didn't always get the recognition they deserved until after they were released. Many of these films revolved around strong women, generally with questionable intent, which was uncommon at the time. The femme fatale was a common character archetype in noir, along with the brooding and hardened detective. Many of the popular and beloved noir films were A-list endeavors also, many of the noir directors that may have started off doing b-list movies eventually went onto direct A-list films also.
Noir is generally seen as an American film form, however, there are noir films from all over the world. France, Britain, Italy and Japan are just a few of the international entities that produced classic noir films.
The popularity of noir carried on into the 60s and became a style that is generally classified as neo-noir. Generally these new takes on the genre either revived or reworked the conventions of the classics and at times amplified the classic standards. Even as the new payed homage and revitalized the old, it also critiqued it. It took the standard archetypes and made then laughable at times , made them over-exaggerations of themselves but largely it took what classic noir had begun and relaunched it's importance in society.
Neo-noir continued into the 80s and 90s, becoming grittier, more sexually charged and more acclaimed. Some directors who relaunched and changed the noir style for the new decade were Martin Scorsese, The Coen Brothers, David Cronenberg and David Lynch, who all mixed aspects of noir into different styles and genres. A perfect example of the new noir of the 90s was Pulp Fiction by Quentin Tarantino, the name alone describes where it's influence came from, the same place that influenced many noir films.
Noir has become popular in the 2000s also crossing into genres such as comic based movie even (such as with The Dark Knight), and sci-fi.
There are many noir staples such as the detective, the crime boss or the femme fatale. Common occurrences in noir films are murder (or some other form of crime), heists, false accusations of crimes, amnesia, and alienated characters. The setting is generally always urban and usually in a big city at night or during storms. Casinos, bars and nightclubs are also common locales in a noir. They generally always either question morality or include characters on the negative end of the morality spectrum. They usually include flashbacks, disrupted or obscure narrative, voiceover narration, and can be told in third-person but is generally first-person.
The lighting of noir films is very low and provides a lot of light/dark contrast and a lot of shadow. Many camera angles are common in noir such as the Dutch angle, low angle shots, wide angle shots, and skewed angle shots. Another noir staple is the use of mirrors, seeing characters in mirrors is common. On-site shooting is also common in noir and night-for-night shooting which means that night scenes are actually shot at night instead of in the daytime.
Noir is so popular that they even have video games in the style such as L.A. Noire or the noir section of Spiderman: Shattered Dimensions.
I would enjoy doing a noir style film some day in my hopeful career as a director, but we'll see if that all works out... anyway, I hope this was informative for you and check you later.
Showing posts with label Genre. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Genre. Show all posts
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
The Twenty-second Nap-- Howdy Partner!
Let me start off by saying, if you have an iPhone or iPod touch and you see the AFI app and think, "oh hey, this could be cool..." don't get it, cuz it's nothing but a few videos, twitter and facebook updates and the top 100 list only, not really worth it.
Now on to my post, I say!!
Today, I'm doing another genre post and this one is on westerns (It'll probably take me another week or more). A western, is generally set in the portion of the Old West between the end of the Civil War and The Battle of Wounded Knee, some westerns though portray a time as early as the Battle of The Alamo or even go into modern times. What the American Film Institute defines as a western is a story that is "set in the American West that embody the spirit, the struggle and the demise of the new frontier". The hero archetype of the western is usually the same, a fairly nomadic cowboy or gunslinger of some kind. On the other hand, the western villain archetype was generally the same also, being a bandit or a Native American. Unfortunately Native Americans were largely portrayed negatively in westerns, especially early westerns. During the silent film era the western was extremely popular, however, not a lot of these films survived and once sound became the standard the western lost it's popularity. The western didn't regain popularity until the film Stagecoach, that launched the career of John Wayne.
Now, if you thought all westerns are cut and dry, you're wrong. There are many sub-genres of the western, and I shall share them with you...
What do you think of first when you think of western cinema? Probably the Classical Western. This began all the way back in the silent film era with the movie, The Great Train Robbery (1903). It is generally the style that everyone is used to, good cowboy and bad indian/robber.
Westerns that take place in the north, usually in Canada or Alaska are called Northerns. Films that are in this sub-category are The Far Country (1955) and North to Alaska (1960).
Euro Westerns were westerns made in western Europe, a lot being from Germany. One example is The Savage Guns (1961).
Aussie Westerns are westerns that were shot in Australia. Australia (2008) and The Proposition (2005) are examples of this.
Next is the Epic Western. In these westerns the characters are more complex along with the story lines, some epic, sweeping plot takes place where some ridiculous obstacle must be overcome. Alliances shift, men who stay away from violence are sometimes forced into it. A lot of them draw parallels to norse or greek mythological stories. Examples of this are Once Upon A Time in The West (1968), The Searchers (1956) and The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (1966).
Shoot 'em Up Westerns are just that, rely on violence, shoot outs and not very deep characters.
Ostern or Red Western were western films made in communist Europe, specifically the Soviet Union. The Red Westerns, were set in the American west and generally had favorable depictions of Native Americans as freedom fighters and an oppressed minority (which they actually were). Osterns, on the other hand, were set in central Asia or the Russian steppes and were set around the Russian Revolution or Civil War. Examples of Red Westerns are The Sons of The Great Bear (1966) and The Oil, The Baby and The Transylvanians (1981). Ostern examples are, Dauria (1971), The Bodyguard (1979) or The Sixth (1981).
Similar to Osterns are Revisionist Westerns or Anti-Westerns. There were revisionist westerns in the Soviet Union, however, after the 60s, America began to make revisionist westerns that questioned the old ways of making a western. One thing it did was portray Native Americans in a better light, not just showing them as evil savages like they had been for decades. Another way is by giving women a more powerful and prominent role in the west and showing the outlaws as anti-heros. Some examples of this style are The Assassination of Jesse James by The Coward Robert Ford (2007), Dances With Wolves (1990) , Cat Ballou (1965), True Grit (2010), Little Big Man (1970), and Dead Man (1995).
In the same vein are Zapata Westerns. Zapata westerns are a branch off of Spaghetti Westerns (which I will talk about soon, hold your horses) that were made in the 1960s and 70s and took place in Mexico. They generally all take place around the Mexican Revolution (they get their name from the Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata) and deal with strong political themes. Even though most Zapata Westerns were done by Italian directors criticizing fascist regimes and American capitalism, there were also American Zapata Westerns which made their heros less revolutionary and more "soldiers of fortune" hiring themselves out to make a profit.
Next are Contemporary Westerns! (cut down the excitement), these are westerns set in modern times, but usually have the same Old West archetypes like the anti-hero, the open landscapes and gunfights. These are films like El Mariachi (1992), Brokeback Mountain (2005) or No Country for Old Men (2007).
There are Curry Westerns, westerns made in India (slightly racist, I know).
Then there is the Weird Western. This is a film or comic or anything that combines the western genre with something that typically doesn't go with it, such as steampunk, like in the film Wild Wild West (1999), or superheros, like in Jonah Hex (2010). Then there are other, more common types in this sub-genre like Horror Westerns, which are like they sound, a mixture of horror or the supernatural with westerns, examples are Billy The Kid vs Dracula (1966) or The Burrowers (2008). Another little type is the Sci-fi Western. Which puts aliens or advanced technology into a western setting, examples of this are Cowboys & Aliens (2011), Westworld (1973) or Back to The Future Part III (1990).
Finally we come to one of my two favorite types of westerns, Acid Westerns. This sub-genre was started in the 1960s and 70s that combined metaphorical and philosophical ideas with the ridiculousness of Spaghetti Westerns and packaged it all up for the counterculture. The acid western takes a lot of the standard ideals of the western and turns them around. Instead of the west being a place of adventure, liberation and a new beginning, it becomes a place of death and destruction. What I love about the acid western is the look and philosophy of it, it gives everything this twisted, real and chaotic feel, a feeling of isolation and despair, while capturing the sense of drug use or psychosis. I also love the general depth of the acid western, taking everything from politics to religion and twisting it and putting it in the context of the horror of the Old West, films, especially ones like El Topo, also add an almost, tournament feel to the main character's overcoming of obstacles, and those obstacles have odd, unique and fantastic looks and abilities and beliefs. If you're looking for some acid westerns, here are a few movies that are considered acid westerns, Dead Man (1995), The Shooting (1966), Ride the Whirlwind (1966), El Topo (1970), Greaser's Place (1972), Zachariah (1971), and Dirty Little Billy (1972).
Now, for my second most favorite type of western and the one that many sub-genres take from, the Spaghetti Western. Spaghetti Westerns came about in the mid-60s and were primarily made by Italians (I know, racist again). Spaghetti Westerns generally take place around the Mexican Revolution and takes a leftist stance. A lot also talk about revenge and bounty hunters. I love spaghetti westerns, I love the low budget feel and the grittiness, the feeling that things are bad and it takes a bad ass to be a "hero" in the Old West, it's got politics, it's got the western feel and it spawned a lot of other styles like the acid western mentioned above. Examples of the spaghetti western are, or course, A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For a Few Dollars More (1965), The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (1966), then also The Mercenary (1968) and The Return of Ringo (1966), among many many others.
When I was a kid, I totally hated westerns, but after seeing what westerns COULD be, I began to enjoy them. I would love to do a modern western some day and hope to, anyway, that is all.
Nighty Night
Now on to my post, I say!!
Today, I'm doing another genre post and this one is on westerns (It'll probably take me another week or more). A western, is generally set in the portion of the Old West between the end of the Civil War and The Battle of Wounded Knee, some westerns though portray a time as early as the Battle of The Alamo or even go into modern times. What the American Film Institute defines as a western is a story that is "set in the American West that embody the spirit, the struggle and the demise of the new frontier". The hero archetype of the western is usually the same, a fairly nomadic cowboy or gunslinger of some kind. On the other hand, the western villain archetype was generally the same also, being a bandit or a Native American. Unfortunately Native Americans were largely portrayed negatively in westerns, especially early westerns. During the silent film era the western was extremely popular, however, not a lot of these films survived and once sound became the standard the western lost it's popularity. The western didn't regain popularity until the film Stagecoach, that launched the career of John Wayne.
Now, if you thought all westerns are cut and dry, you're wrong. There are many sub-genres of the western, and I shall share them with you...
What do you think of first when you think of western cinema? Probably the Classical Western. This began all the way back in the silent film era with the movie, The Great Train Robbery (1903). It is generally the style that everyone is used to, good cowboy and bad indian/robber.
Westerns that take place in the north, usually in Canada or Alaska are called Northerns. Films that are in this sub-category are The Far Country (1955) and North to Alaska (1960).
Euro Westerns were westerns made in western Europe, a lot being from Germany. One example is The Savage Guns (1961).
Aussie Westerns are westerns that were shot in Australia. Australia (2008) and The Proposition (2005) are examples of this.
Next is the Epic Western. In these westerns the characters are more complex along with the story lines, some epic, sweeping plot takes place where some ridiculous obstacle must be overcome. Alliances shift, men who stay away from violence are sometimes forced into it. A lot of them draw parallels to norse or greek mythological stories. Examples of this are Once Upon A Time in The West (1968), The Searchers (1956) and The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (1966).
Shoot 'em Up Westerns are just that, rely on violence, shoot outs and not very deep characters.
Ostern or Red Western were western films made in communist Europe, specifically the Soviet Union. The Red Westerns, were set in the American west and generally had favorable depictions of Native Americans as freedom fighters and an oppressed minority (which they actually were). Osterns, on the other hand, were set in central Asia or the Russian steppes and were set around the Russian Revolution or Civil War. Examples of Red Westerns are The Sons of The Great Bear (1966) and The Oil, The Baby and The Transylvanians (1981). Ostern examples are, Dauria (1971), The Bodyguard (1979) or The Sixth (1981).
Similar to Osterns are Revisionist Westerns or Anti-Westerns. There were revisionist westerns in the Soviet Union, however, after the 60s, America began to make revisionist westerns that questioned the old ways of making a western. One thing it did was portray Native Americans in a better light, not just showing them as evil savages like they had been for decades. Another way is by giving women a more powerful and prominent role in the west and showing the outlaws as anti-heros. Some examples of this style are The Assassination of Jesse James by The Coward Robert Ford (2007), Dances With Wolves (1990) , Cat Ballou (1965), True Grit (2010), Little Big Man (1970), and Dead Man (1995).
In the same vein are Zapata Westerns. Zapata westerns are a branch off of Spaghetti Westerns (which I will talk about soon, hold your horses) that were made in the 1960s and 70s and took place in Mexico. They generally all take place around the Mexican Revolution (they get their name from the Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata) and deal with strong political themes. Even though most Zapata Westerns were done by Italian directors criticizing fascist regimes and American capitalism, there were also American Zapata Westerns which made their heros less revolutionary and more "soldiers of fortune" hiring themselves out to make a profit.
Next are Contemporary Westerns! (cut down the excitement), these are westerns set in modern times, but usually have the same Old West archetypes like the anti-hero, the open landscapes and gunfights. These are films like El Mariachi (1992), Brokeback Mountain (2005) or No Country for Old Men (2007).
There are Curry Westerns, westerns made in India (slightly racist, I know).
Then there is the Weird Western. This is a film or comic or anything that combines the western genre with something that typically doesn't go with it, such as steampunk, like in the film Wild Wild West (1999), or superheros, like in Jonah Hex (2010). Then there are other, more common types in this sub-genre like Horror Westerns, which are like they sound, a mixture of horror or the supernatural with westerns, examples are Billy The Kid vs Dracula (1966) or The Burrowers (2008). Another little type is the Sci-fi Western. Which puts aliens or advanced technology into a western setting, examples of this are Cowboys & Aliens (2011), Westworld (1973) or Back to The Future Part III (1990).
Finally we come to one of my two favorite types of westerns, Acid Westerns. This sub-genre was started in the 1960s and 70s that combined metaphorical and philosophical ideas with the ridiculousness of Spaghetti Westerns and packaged it all up for the counterculture. The acid western takes a lot of the standard ideals of the western and turns them around. Instead of the west being a place of adventure, liberation and a new beginning, it becomes a place of death and destruction. What I love about the acid western is the look and philosophy of it, it gives everything this twisted, real and chaotic feel, a feeling of isolation and despair, while capturing the sense of drug use or psychosis. I also love the general depth of the acid western, taking everything from politics to religion and twisting it and putting it in the context of the horror of the Old West, films, especially ones like El Topo, also add an almost, tournament feel to the main character's overcoming of obstacles, and those obstacles have odd, unique and fantastic looks and abilities and beliefs. If you're looking for some acid westerns, here are a few movies that are considered acid westerns, Dead Man (1995), The Shooting (1966), Ride the Whirlwind (1966), El Topo (1970), Greaser's Place (1972), Zachariah (1971), and Dirty Little Billy (1972).
Now, for my second most favorite type of western and the one that many sub-genres take from, the Spaghetti Western. Spaghetti Westerns came about in the mid-60s and were primarily made by Italians (I know, racist again). Spaghetti Westerns generally take place around the Mexican Revolution and takes a leftist stance. A lot also talk about revenge and bounty hunters. I love spaghetti westerns, I love the low budget feel and the grittiness, the feeling that things are bad and it takes a bad ass to be a "hero" in the Old West, it's got politics, it's got the western feel and it spawned a lot of other styles like the acid western mentioned above. Examples of the spaghetti western are, or course, A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For a Few Dollars More (1965), The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (1966), then also The Mercenary (1968) and The Return of Ringo (1966), among many many others.
When I was a kid, I totally hated westerns, but after seeing what westerns COULD be, I began to enjoy them. I would love to do a modern western some day and hope to, anyway, that is all.
Nighty Night
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
The Nineteenth Drag-- Which New Wave?
There are a lot of movements in film, however, nearly every civilized country that was producing films after the 1960s and the fall of the studio system had a new wave movement. That new batch of film makers making film in a new way and using plots that pushed the boundries of taboo. From the art house to the grind house to the film schools, it's new film makers making independent films. Let's go through a few new wave movements, shall we?
Starting a bit far from home, Japanese New Wave. The Japanese New Wave started in the late 1950s and went onto the 1970s. It began around the same time as the French New Wave and has, at many times, been considered a copy of the French movement. However, the Japanese New Wave started up roughly at the same time. The movement primarily included young students who studied as film critics and focused on questioning and opposing social norms. The movement didn't last that long, not past the 1970s, with only a few residual film makers still making films past the 70s. Some of the major film makers in the Japanese New Wave movement are Susumu Hani, Hiroshi Teshigahara, Nagisa Oshima, Yasuzo Masumura, Masahiro Shinoda, Shohei Imamura, Seijun Suzuki, Ko Nakahira, and Kaneto Shindo. The topics of these films were uncommon for Japan at the time, topics like sexuality, generder roles, racism, heros from social outcasts, and critiques of social structure, all of these weren't generally done in the society before this. Some of the films in this movement are In The Realm of The Senses (1976), Cruel Story of Youth (1960), Naked Island (1960), Tattooed Life (1964), The Revolutionary (1962), Boy (1969), Double Suicide (1969) and many others. An example of the change in Japan is the use of these subjects in comic books, like the manga Yu Yu Hakusho, where the main character is a High School delinquent.
Moving a bit closer now is Indian New Wave, also known as Parallel Cinema. It began around the same time as the Japanese and French movements, but has lasted a bit longer, the section known as the "new wave" took the portion from 1952 to 1976, however, what is known as "parallel cinema" lasted from 1946 to the present day. It branches off from the mainstream Indian cinema known as Bollywood and focuses on seriousness, realism, social commentary and naturalism. The early directors of this movement were Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, Bimal Roy, Mrinal Sen, Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, Chetan Anand, Guru Dutt, and V. Shantaram. Parallel Cinema started way back in the 1920s but reached it's height in the 70s and 80s, however, by the 90s it had a major decline, primarily due to the cost of creating the films and the fact that the return was not guaranteed. People would go to underground financiers but that proved to only lead to it's downfall, along with piracy, political and economic turmoil and the popularity of TV. Recently, Parallel Cinema is on the rise once again as films that don't quite fit Bollywood. Some of the films in this movement include Sawkari Pash (1925), Pather Panchali (1955), The World of Apu (1959), Pyaasa (1957), Ankur (1974), Swaham (1994) and My Brother... Nikhil (2005).
Another step toward us is the Iranian New Wave in cinema (that's right, even Iran had a new wave). The new wave movement in Iran was quite innovative and talked a lot about political and philosophical topics, it also used highly poetic language. The shift into the new wave came after the social and political changes in the country and a shift to more romanticism. It draws parallels with Italian Neorealism. Some of the major directors from the Iranian New Wave are, Dariush Mehrjui, Nasser Taqvai, Masoud Kimiay, Parviz Kimiavi and others. One major film in the movement and the beginning of it is The Cow (1969).
Up next is the French New Wave. The French are generally seen as the originators of the new wave scene with most others copying them, however, most of the new wave movies came around the same time as the French. The French New Wave is actually influenced by Italian Neorealism and Classic Hollywood. The major things about this movement is the rejection of standard, classic cinematic form and depictions of youthfulness, and using editing, narrative and visuals to discuss political and radical subjects. This is another movement that was started by film makers that begin careers as critics. The leaders of the movement were Francois Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Eric Rohmer, Claude Chabrol and Jacques Rivette. The French New Wave was popular in the 50s and 60s and came a lot from the climate of the world after World War II. France began to revert back to the old ways and this movement was a revolt against that. The whole thing was to keep the stories honest, the plot from being too linear and to move the art form forward like directors like Charlie Chaplin, Orson Welles and Alfred Hitchcock did before them. They dealt with existential themes and absurdity, they used jump cuts and long tracking shots, they used improvisation and circular shots, they were just trying to do something different, to tell a story, not follow standard traditions. In turn, the French New Wave influenced other film movements, even the American movement, it came full circle. Some of the films from this movement are The 400 Blows (1959), Breathless (1960) and Le Beau Serge (1958) and many many others.
Right across the "pond" we have The British New Wave. This movement once again took place in the 50s and 60s like the other New Wave movements. Unlike the existentialism and poetry of the other movements, the British New Wave focused on everyday life, the working class, and just discusses class in general. However, the style is very similar to the French New Wave with it's air of spontaneity and use of real people as opposed to extras. By 1964 the movement was over with new films out of Britain being more comical and fantastic and not focused on real and serious issues. A few films from the movement are Room at the Top (1959), The Entertainer (1960), The Loneliness of The Long Distance Runner (1962) and Billy Liar (1963).
And finally we get home, that's right the American New Wave, or New Hollywood. Our new wave movement came later, from the mid-1960s to the '80s and was influenced by the French New Wave. The new film makers of the American movement changed the way our studios looked at and marketed films. These film makers weren't independent film makers either, just willing to try new things. The studio system in America was failing and European art cinema was becoming more popular, thus this movement began. Most of these directors came from film schools, many were members of the 60s counterculture and most were young. The films kept the artistic aspects and put more energy and sexuality in their films. The movement began to come to an end around the 70s with the release of films like Star Wars, primarily because it began the American cinema to be more interested in making blockbusters over art films (which has carried onto today). Many excellent art films of the time also spawned unnecessary sequels just to make money, like The Godfather. Some of the big directors on the movement were Woody Allen, Hal Ashby, Francis Ford Coppola, Dennis Hopper, Stanley Kubrick, Geroge Lucas, Richard Lester, John Milius, Roman Polanski, Sydney Pollock and Martin Scorsese (many are still making films). Some of the big films are Bonnie and Clyde (1967), The Graduate (1967), The Godfather (1972), Harold and Maude (1971), A Clockwork Orange (1971), One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) and many many others.
Finally, I'll talk about No Wave cinema. It came later, from 1976 to 1985, and like, the musical New Wave movement abandoned structure for mood and texture. It was largely an underground movemet that started in New York. Some of the film makers associated with it are Amos Poe, Eric Mitchell, Vivienne Dick, and James Nares. It spawned a new generation of underground independent film makers also like, Jim Jarmusch, Steve Buscemi and Vincent Gallo.
There it is, New Wave in a nutshell, sorry it was such a long time coming but I hope you enjoyed it and hope it's up to your standards.
There are tons more new wave movements that I wasn't able to discuss but you can look it up, or maybe I'll talk about it later. Some are Australian New Wave, Brazilian New Wave (Cinema Novo), Portuguese New Wave (Novo Cinema), Czechoslovak New Wave, Hong Kong New Wave, Romanian New Wave, Taiwan New Wave and Dogme 95 (which was a movement in 1995, largely from the likes of Lars Von Trier). There are also the revivals of other genres such as Film Noir and Remodernism.
Later Gators!
Starting a bit far from home, Japanese New Wave. The Japanese New Wave started in the late 1950s and went onto the 1970s. It began around the same time as the French New Wave and has, at many times, been considered a copy of the French movement. However, the Japanese New Wave started up roughly at the same time. The movement primarily included young students who studied as film critics and focused on questioning and opposing social norms. The movement didn't last that long, not past the 1970s, with only a few residual film makers still making films past the 70s. Some of the major film makers in the Japanese New Wave movement are Susumu Hani, Hiroshi Teshigahara, Nagisa Oshima, Yasuzo Masumura, Masahiro Shinoda, Shohei Imamura, Seijun Suzuki, Ko Nakahira, and Kaneto Shindo. The topics of these films were uncommon for Japan at the time, topics like sexuality, generder roles, racism, heros from social outcasts, and critiques of social structure, all of these weren't generally done in the society before this. Some of the films in this movement are In The Realm of The Senses (1976), Cruel Story of Youth (1960), Naked Island (1960), Tattooed Life (1964), The Revolutionary (1962), Boy (1969), Double Suicide (1969) and many others. An example of the change in Japan is the use of these subjects in comic books, like the manga Yu Yu Hakusho, where the main character is a High School delinquent.
Moving a bit closer now is Indian New Wave, also known as Parallel Cinema. It began around the same time as the Japanese and French movements, but has lasted a bit longer, the section known as the "new wave" took the portion from 1952 to 1976, however, what is known as "parallel cinema" lasted from 1946 to the present day. It branches off from the mainstream Indian cinema known as Bollywood and focuses on seriousness, realism, social commentary and naturalism. The early directors of this movement were Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, Bimal Roy, Mrinal Sen, Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, Chetan Anand, Guru Dutt, and V. Shantaram. Parallel Cinema started way back in the 1920s but reached it's height in the 70s and 80s, however, by the 90s it had a major decline, primarily due to the cost of creating the films and the fact that the return was not guaranteed. People would go to underground financiers but that proved to only lead to it's downfall, along with piracy, political and economic turmoil and the popularity of TV. Recently, Parallel Cinema is on the rise once again as films that don't quite fit Bollywood. Some of the films in this movement include Sawkari Pash (1925), Pather Panchali (1955), The World of Apu (1959), Pyaasa (1957), Ankur (1974), Swaham (1994) and My Brother... Nikhil (2005).
Another step toward us is the Iranian New Wave in cinema (that's right, even Iran had a new wave). The new wave movement in Iran was quite innovative and talked a lot about political and philosophical topics, it also used highly poetic language. The shift into the new wave came after the social and political changes in the country and a shift to more romanticism. It draws parallels with Italian Neorealism. Some of the major directors from the Iranian New Wave are, Dariush Mehrjui, Nasser Taqvai, Masoud Kimiay, Parviz Kimiavi and others. One major film in the movement and the beginning of it is The Cow (1969).
Up next is the French New Wave. The French are generally seen as the originators of the new wave scene with most others copying them, however, most of the new wave movies came around the same time as the French. The French New Wave is actually influenced by Italian Neorealism and Classic Hollywood. The major things about this movement is the rejection of standard, classic cinematic form and depictions of youthfulness, and using editing, narrative and visuals to discuss political and radical subjects. This is another movement that was started by film makers that begin careers as critics. The leaders of the movement were Francois Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Eric Rohmer, Claude Chabrol and Jacques Rivette. The French New Wave was popular in the 50s and 60s and came a lot from the climate of the world after World War II. France began to revert back to the old ways and this movement was a revolt against that. The whole thing was to keep the stories honest, the plot from being too linear and to move the art form forward like directors like Charlie Chaplin, Orson Welles and Alfred Hitchcock did before them. They dealt with existential themes and absurdity, they used jump cuts and long tracking shots, they used improvisation and circular shots, they were just trying to do something different, to tell a story, not follow standard traditions. In turn, the French New Wave influenced other film movements, even the American movement, it came full circle. Some of the films from this movement are The 400 Blows (1959), Breathless (1960) and Le Beau Serge (1958) and many many others.
Right across the "pond" we have The British New Wave. This movement once again took place in the 50s and 60s like the other New Wave movements. Unlike the existentialism and poetry of the other movements, the British New Wave focused on everyday life, the working class, and just discusses class in general. However, the style is very similar to the French New Wave with it's air of spontaneity and use of real people as opposed to extras. By 1964 the movement was over with new films out of Britain being more comical and fantastic and not focused on real and serious issues. A few films from the movement are Room at the Top (1959), The Entertainer (1960), The Loneliness of The Long Distance Runner (1962) and Billy Liar (1963).
And finally we get home, that's right the American New Wave, or New Hollywood. Our new wave movement came later, from the mid-1960s to the '80s and was influenced by the French New Wave. The new film makers of the American movement changed the way our studios looked at and marketed films. These film makers weren't independent film makers either, just willing to try new things. The studio system in America was failing and European art cinema was becoming more popular, thus this movement began. Most of these directors came from film schools, many were members of the 60s counterculture and most were young. The films kept the artistic aspects and put more energy and sexuality in their films. The movement began to come to an end around the 70s with the release of films like Star Wars, primarily because it began the American cinema to be more interested in making blockbusters over art films (which has carried onto today). Many excellent art films of the time also spawned unnecessary sequels just to make money, like The Godfather. Some of the big directors on the movement were Woody Allen, Hal Ashby, Francis Ford Coppola, Dennis Hopper, Stanley Kubrick, Geroge Lucas, Richard Lester, John Milius, Roman Polanski, Sydney Pollock and Martin Scorsese (many are still making films). Some of the big films are Bonnie and Clyde (1967), The Graduate (1967), The Godfather (1972), Harold and Maude (1971), A Clockwork Orange (1971), One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) and many many others.
Finally, I'll talk about No Wave cinema. It came later, from 1976 to 1985, and like, the musical New Wave movement abandoned structure for mood and texture. It was largely an underground movemet that started in New York. Some of the film makers associated with it are Amos Poe, Eric Mitchell, Vivienne Dick, and James Nares. It spawned a new generation of underground independent film makers also like, Jim Jarmusch, Steve Buscemi and Vincent Gallo.
There it is, New Wave in a nutshell, sorry it was such a long time coming but I hope you enjoyed it and hope it's up to your standards.
There are tons more new wave movements that I wasn't able to discuss but you can look it up, or maybe I'll talk about it later. Some are Australian New Wave, Brazilian New Wave (Cinema Novo), Portuguese New Wave (Novo Cinema), Czechoslovak New Wave, Hong Kong New Wave, Romanian New Wave, Taiwan New Wave and Dogme 95 (which was a movement in 1995, largely from the likes of Lars Von Trier). There are also the revivals of other genres such as Film Noir and Remodernism.
Later Gators!
Friday, April 29, 2011
The Seventeenth Drop-- What Happened to Comedy?
You love comedy films don't you? Who doesn't like to sit down in front of a screen for an hour or so and get a few cheap laughs? Well I must say that I, personally, have become disappointed with comedy in recent years. Films like The Hangover or Superbad just don't deliver the kinds of clever laughs that a good comedy does. They rely on language and low brow sex and drug jokes and have nearly no clever commentary or anything. In this post, I'll try to talk about some classic comedic films and the various sub-genres of comedy and perhaps talk about some modern popular comedies. Here we go.
Comedy can be a lot of things, it can be light hearted, it can have a message, it can have social commentary, it can be combined with almost any other kind of genre and it's one of the oldest genres of film ever. There are tons of comedy types and I intend to let you know about them.
First is the anarchic comedy, which uses stream-of-consciousness and nonsensical humor that spoofs authority. A lot of the action of the film focuses on non sequitur and often abandons narrative and plot for absurdity. It uses a lot of other aspects of comedy like farce and slapstick, however, unlike like slapstick it doesn't necessarily focus on violence. Some examples of this is Duck Soup, Sherlock, Jr, Monty Python and The Holy Grail, and Ace Ventura.
Next up is farce. Farce uses unlikely situations and verbal humor like sexual innuendo. It generally has a happy ending. Films like this are The Pink Panther, Never Give a Sucker an Even Break and The Love Bug.
One of the most popular sub-genres of comedy, especially early on, is slapstick. This is a type of comedy that draws humor from over-exaggerated violence and nonsensical activities. There are five conventions of slapstick, pain without consequence, unrealistic situations due to editing, impossible situations, confusing zooms, and off screen sounds. Some examples of slapstick films are Shawn of The Dead, MouseHunt, Scary Movie, nearly every Three Stooges film. Slapstick was largely employed by the likes of Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, The Marx Brothers, The Keystone Cops, and can also be seen in cartoons like Tom and Jerry.
Another style that is equally as popular is the "fish out of water" comedy. This is usually where the main character finds themselves in situations where they don't really fit. Films like these include Some Like It Hot, Big, "Crocodile" Dundee, Tootsie and most Coen Brothers films like The Big Lebowski.
A less common form is called a comedy of manners. This is where a social group or class is satirized by a stereotypical character. This is used a lot in mockumentaries like The Office.
Parody or spoof is another style of comedy, it satirizes, uses stereotypes, and mocks scenes of other movies and uses sarcasm. More or less it makes fun of other things in culture. Examples, Young Frankenstein, Scary Movie, Blazing Saddles (in fact nearly every Mel Brooks movie), Dark Star, Monty Python and The Holy Grail, UHF, or Austin Powers.
One of my favorite forms of comedy film are black comedies. These satirize "taboo" subjects and dark subjects like death, murder, suicide, sexual relations, war, insanity, crime, or drug abuse. A lot of the Coen Brothers' comedies are like this. Other films that include black comedy are Arsenic and Old Lace, Dr. Strangelove: or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, MASH, or Brazil.
The romantic comedy is about a relationship between a man and a woman (or in very few cases a man and a man/a woman and a woman) and consists of light hearted humor due to sexual tension and general interaction. Generally the plots end with the couple getting back together after one loses the other. This is a very common style of comedy and is generally known as a "chick flick" (but I'm sure you know that). Films like this include Annie Hall, Pretty Woman and Love and Other Drugs.
There's also a style of comedy known as the "gross out" comedy that focuses on vulgarity, profanity, sexual humor or "toilet" humor. It uses shock value and is generally controversial. The films in this sub-genre are Pink Flamingos, There's Something About Mary, Animal House, American Pie, or Dumb and Dumber.
Screwball comedy is another form of comedy but is usually combined with nearly all other forms of comedy. It generally includes quick and witty dialogue, role reversal and happy endings. One example of this is What's Up, Doc?
There are also buddy films, that generally include two characters that either get along or do not and learn to love one another by going through odd happenings. They also happen on the road at times, two characters that are forced to work together to get somewhere and go through ridiculous circumstances. Films like Due Date, Road to Singapore (and all of the Road to... films), and Planes, Trains and Automobiles are all examples of this.
Now there are many transitional genres like action comedy, comedy horror, military comedy, sci-fi comedy, western comedy, dramady, and fantasy comedy. These are all either comedy films that include other genres or other films that have aspects of comedy.
I think it is time to discuss some of the good comedy films. Films that are actually clever and comedic. Where will I get these films you might ask? Well there's this little group called the American Film Institute, they regularly release film based "best of" lists and of course they have one for the top 100 comedies, so I'll go through a few of those and talk about them.
The number one comedy film on AFI's top 100 comedy list is Some Like It Hot. The film stars Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis. The film is a classic in comedy cinema, it's the beginning of the edgy comedy. It was a film that involved violence (from the mob), two men in drag (which was taboo at that time), and the sex symbol of Monroe. It popularized the use of taboos in comedy and was really clever about it, it had a lot of social commentary to it also, it went deeper than a lot of comedic films but still kept it light hearted and brought a lot of star power. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053291/synopsis
http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2371683353/
Number three on the list is one of my personal favorites, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love The Bomb. This is Stanley Kubrick's wonderfully executed commentary on nuclear warfare. It features a wonderful performance by Peter Sellers, who plays three different roles in the film, including the zany ex-Nazi Dr. Strangelove. The film has been called "culturally significant" and it truly is. It has excellent comedy, one of the finest Peter Sellers performances ever, and a spot on commentary of the absurdity of nuclear warfare. One of my favorite scenes is at the end, when all of the politicians are hiding in the bomb shelter (but I'll let you see the movie, I won't ruin the ending).
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057012/synopsis
http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi3114467609/
The fifth film on the list it The Marx Brothers' Duck Soup. This film is a classic anarchic comedy, it has ridiculous situations, slapstick, fast paced and witty dialogue and commentary on the government, all wrapped up in a neat and humorous film complete with singing and dancing.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0023969/plotsummary
Now, because I'm a good ole' chap, I'll give you the AFI's top 100 laughs list (information you could easily get on wikipedia):
1. Some Like It Hot (1959)
2. Tootsie (1982)
3. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love The Bomb (1964)
4. Annie Hall (1977)
5. Duck Soup (1933)
6. Blazing Saddles (1974)
7. M*A*S*H* (1970)
8. It Happened On Night (1934)
9. The Graduate (1967)
10. Airplane! (1980)
11. The Producers (1968)
12. A Night at The Opera (1935)
13. Young Frankenstein (1974)
14. Bringing Up Baby (1938)
15. The Philadelphia Story (1940)
16. Singin' In The Rain (1952)
17. The Odd Couple (1968)
18. The General (1927)
19. His Girl Friday (1940)
20. The Apartment (1960)
21. A Fish Called Wanda (1988)
22. Adam's Rib (1949)
23. When Harry Met Sally... (1989)
24. Born Yesterday (1950)
25. The Gold Rush (1925)
26. Being There (1979)
27. There's Something About Mary (1998)
28. Ghostbusters (1984)
29. This Is Spinaltap (1984)
30. Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
31. Raising Arizona (1987)
32. The Thin Man (1934)
33. Modern Times (1936)
34. Groundhog Day (1993)
35. Harvey (1950)
36. National Lampoon's Animal House (1978)
37. The Great Dictator (1940)
38. City Lights (1931)
39. Sullivan's Travels (1941)
40. It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)
41. Moonstruck (1987)
42. Big (1988)
43. American Graffiti (1973)
44. My Man Godfrey (1936)
45. Harold and Maude (1971)
46. Manhattan (1979)
47. Shampoo (1975)
48. A Shot In The Dark (1964)
49. To Be or Not To Be (1942)
50. Cat Ballou (1964)
51. The Seven Year Itch (1955)
52. Ninotchka (1939)
53. Arthur (1981)
54. The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1944)
55. The Lady Eve (1941)
56. Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
57. Diner (1982)
58. It's A Gift (1934)
59. A Day at The Races (1937)
60. Topper (1937)
61. What's Up, Doc? (1972)
62. Sherlock, Jr. (1924)
63. Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
64. Broadcast News (1987)
65. Horse Feathers (1932)
66. Take The Money and Run (1969)
67. Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)
68. The Awful Truth (1937)
69. Bananas (1971)
70. Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
71. Caddyshack (1980)
72. Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948)
73. Monkey Business (1931)
74. Nine to Five (1980)
75. She Done Him Wrong (1933)
76. Victor Victoria (1982)
77. The Palm Beach Story (1942)
78. Road to Morocco (1942)
79. The Freshman (1925)
80. Sleeper (1973)
81. The Navigator (1924)
82. Private Benjamin (1980)
83. Father of The Bride (1950)
84. Lost in America (1985)
85. Dinner at Eight (1933)
86. City Slickers (1991)
87. Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)
88. Beetlejuice (1988)
89. The Jerk (1979)
90. Woman of The Year (1942)
91. The Heartbreak Kid (1972)
92. Ball of Fire (1941)
93. Fargo (1996)
94. Auntie Mame (1958)
95. Silver Streak (1976)
96. Sons of The Desert (1933)
97. Bull Durham (1988)
98. The Court Jester (1956)
99. The Nutty Professor (1963)
100. Good Morning, Vietnam (1987)
Now, these are are only the top American comedies, it doesn't take into account the foreign comedies that are also classics.
I haven't been a fan of the current popular comedy films of the past few years. I think they're all poorly done, don't supply NEARLY enough laughs and rely too heavily on gimmicks and "toilet" humor or sex humor. Now, don't get me wrong, I like saying "fuck" and hearing dick jokes as much as the next guy, but comedy films today are becoming WAY too low brow, there's no depth to the comedies, they're all too straight forward. Films like The Hangover, Knocked Up, Superbad, all rely too much on this. They don't even do it cleverly like Kevin Smith does in his films. Overall, modern comedies are disappointing, mindless laughs to fill seats, but hey, it works right?
Anyway, I'm done with this post, if you have a comment or disagreement, let me know. Goodbye!
Comedy can be a lot of things, it can be light hearted, it can have a message, it can have social commentary, it can be combined with almost any other kind of genre and it's one of the oldest genres of film ever. There are tons of comedy types and I intend to let you know about them.
First is the anarchic comedy, which uses stream-of-consciousness and nonsensical humor that spoofs authority. A lot of the action of the film focuses on non sequitur and often abandons narrative and plot for absurdity. It uses a lot of other aspects of comedy like farce and slapstick, however, unlike like slapstick it doesn't necessarily focus on violence. Some examples of this is Duck Soup, Sherlock, Jr, Monty Python and The Holy Grail, and Ace Ventura.
Next up is farce. Farce uses unlikely situations and verbal humor like sexual innuendo. It generally has a happy ending. Films like this are The Pink Panther, Never Give a Sucker an Even Break and The Love Bug.
One of the most popular sub-genres of comedy, especially early on, is slapstick. This is a type of comedy that draws humor from over-exaggerated violence and nonsensical activities. There are five conventions of slapstick, pain without consequence, unrealistic situations due to editing, impossible situations, confusing zooms, and off screen sounds. Some examples of slapstick films are Shawn of The Dead, MouseHunt, Scary Movie, nearly every Three Stooges film. Slapstick was largely employed by the likes of Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, The Marx Brothers, The Keystone Cops, and can also be seen in cartoons like Tom and Jerry.
Another style that is equally as popular is the "fish out of water" comedy. This is usually where the main character finds themselves in situations where they don't really fit. Films like these include Some Like It Hot, Big, "Crocodile" Dundee, Tootsie and most Coen Brothers films like The Big Lebowski.
A less common form is called a comedy of manners. This is where a social group or class is satirized by a stereotypical character. This is used a lot in mockumentaries like The Office.
Parody or spoof is another style of comedy, it satirizes, uses stereotypes, and mocks scenes of other movies and uses sarcasm. More or less it makes fun of other things in culture. Examples, Young Frankenstein, Scary Movie, Blazing Saddles (in fact nearly every Mel Brooks movie), Dark Star, Monty Python and The Holy Grail, UHF, or Austin Powers.
One of my favorite forms of comedy film are black comedies. These satirize "taboo" subjects and dark subjects like death, murder, suicide, sexual relations, war, insanity, crime, or drug abuse. A lot of the Coen Brothers' comedies are like this. Other films that include black comedy are Arsenic and Old Lace, Dr. Strangelove: or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, MASH, or Brazil.
The romantic comedy is about a relationship between a man and a woman (or in very few cases a man and a man/a woman and a woman) and consists of light hearted humor due to sexual tension and general interaction. Generally the plots end with the couple getting back together after one loses the other. This is a very common style of comedy and is generally known as a "chick flick" (but I'm sure you know that). Films like this include Annie Hall, Pretty Woman and Love and Other Drugs.
There's also a style of comedy known as the "gross out" comedy that focuses on vulgarity, profanity, sexual humor or "toilet" humor. It uses shock value and is generally controversial. The films in this sub-genre are Pink Flamingos, There's Something About Mary, Animal House, American Pie, or Dumb and Dumber.
Screwball comedy is another form of comedy but is usually combined with nearly all other forms of comedy. It generally includes quick and witty dialogue, role reversal and happy endings. One example of this is What's Up, Doc?
There are also buddy films, that generally include two characters that either get along or do not and learn to love one another by going through odd happenings. They also happen on the road at times, two characters that are forced to work together to get somewhere and go through ridiculous circumstances. Films like Due Date, Road to Singapore (and all of the Road to... films), and Planes, Trains and Automobiles are all examples of this.
Now there are many transitional genres like action comedy, comedy horror, military comedy, sci-fi comedy, western comedy, dramady, and fantasy comedy. These are all either comedy films that include other genres or other films that have aspects of comedy.
I think it is time to discuss some of the good comedy films. Films that are actually clever and comedic. Where will I get these films you might ask? Well there's this little group called the American Film Institute, they regularly release film based "best of" lists and of course they have one for the top 100 comedies, so I'll go through a few of those and talk about them.
The number one comedy film on AFI's top 100 comedy list is Some Like It Hot. The film stars Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis. The film is a classic in comedy cinema, it's the beginning of the edgy comedy. It was a film that involved violence (from the mob), two men in drag (which was taboo at that time), and the sex symbol of Monroe. It popularized the use of taboos in comedy and was really clever about it, it had a lot of social commentary to it also, it went deeper than a lot of comedic films but still kept it light hearted and brought a lot of star power. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053291/synopsis
http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2371683353/
Number three on the list is one of my personal favorites, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love The Bomb. This is Stanley Kubrick's wonderfully executed commentary on nuclear warfare. It features a wonderful performance by Peter Sellers, who plays three different roles in the film, including the zany ex-Nazi Dr. Strangelove. The film has been called "culturally significant" and it truly is. It has excellent comedy, one of the finest Peter Sellers performances ever, and a spot on commentary of the absurdity of nuclear warfare. One of my favorite scenes is at the end, when all of the politicians are hiding in the bomb shelter (but I'll let you see the movie, I won't ruin the ending).
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057012/synopsis
http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi3114467609/
The fifth film on the list it The Marx Brothers' Duck Soup. This film is a classic anarchic comedy, it has ridiculous situations, slapstick, fast paced and witty dialogue and commentary on the government, all wrapped up in a neat and humorous film complete with singing and dancing.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0023969/plotsummary
Now, because I'm a good ole' chap, I'll give you the AFI's top 100 laughs list (information you could easily get on wikipedia):
1. Some Like It Hot (1959)
2. Tootsie (1982)
3. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love The Bomb (1964)
4. Annie Hall (1977)
5. Duck Soup (1933)
6. Blazing Saddles (1974)
7. M*A*S*H* (1970)
8. It Happened On Night (1934)
9. The Graduate (1967)
10. Airplane! (1980)
11. The Producers (1968)
12. A Night at The Opera (1935)
13. Young Frankenstein (1974)
14. Bringing Up Baby (1938)
15. The Philadelphia Story (1940)
16. Singin' In The Rain (1952)
17. The Odd Couple (1968)
18. The General (1927)
19. His Girl Friday (1940)
20. The Apartment (1960)
21. A Fish Called Wanda (1988)
22. Adam's Rib (1949)
23. When Harry Met Sally... (1989)
24. Born Yesterday (1950)
25. The Gold Rush (1925)
26. Being There (1979)
27. There's Something About Mary (1998)
28. Ghostbusters (1984)
29. This Is Spinaltap (1984)
30. Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
31. Raising Arizona (1987)
32. The Thin Man (1934)
33. Modern Times (1936)
34. Groundhog Day (1993)
35. Harvey (1950)
36. National Lampoon's Animal House (1978)
37. The Great Dictator (1940)
38. City Lights (1931)
39. Sullivan's Travels (1941)
40. It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)
41. Moonstruck (1987)
42. Big (1988)
43. American Graffiti (1973)
44. My Man Godfrey (1936)
45. Harold and Maude (1971)
46. Manhattan (1979)
47. Shampoo (1975)
48. A Shot In The Dark (1964)
49. To Be or Not To Be (1942)
50. Cat Ballou (1964)
51. The Seven Year Itch (1955)
52. Ninotchka (1939)
53. Arthur (1981)
54. The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1944)
55. The Lady Eve (1941)
56. Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
57. Diner (1982)
58. It's A Gift (1934)
59. A Day at The Races (1937)
60. Topper (1937)
61. What's Up, Doc? (1972)
62. Sherlock, Jr. (1924)
63. Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
64. Broadcast News (1987)
65. Horse Feathers (1932)
66. Take The Money and Run (1969)
67. Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)
68. The Awful Truth (1937)
69. Bananas (1971)
70. Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
71. Caddyshack (1980)
72. Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948)
73. Monkey Business (1931)
74. Nine to Five (1980)
75. She Done Him Wrong (1933)
76. Victor Victoria (1982)
77. The Palm Beach Story (1942)
78. Road to Morocco (1942)
79. The Freshman (1925)
80. Sleeper (1973)
81. The Navigator (1924)
82. Private Benjamin (1980)
83. Father of The Bride (1950)
84. Lost in America (1985)
85. Dinner at Eight (1933)
86. City Slickers (1991)
87. Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)
88. Beetlejuice (1988)
89. The Jerk (1979)
90. Woman of The Year (1942)
91. The Heartbreak Kid (1972)
92. Ball of Fire (1941)
93. Fargo (1996)
94. Auntie Mame (1958)
95. Silver Streak (1976)
96. Sons of The Desert (1933)
97. Bull Durham (1988)
98. The Court Jester (1956)
99. The Nutty Professor (1963)
100. Good Morning, Vietnam (1987)
Now, these are are only the top American comedies, it doesn't take into account the foreign comedies that are also classics.
I haven't been a fan of the current popular comedy films of the past few years. I think they're all poorly done, don't supply NEARLY enough laughs and rely too heavily on gimmicks and "toilet" humor or sex humor. Now, don't get me wrong, I like saying "fuck" and hearing dick jokes as much as the next guy, but comedy films today are becoming WAY too low brow, there's no depth to the comedies, they're all too straight forward. Films like The Hangover, Knocked Up, Superbad, all rely too much on this. They don't even do it cleverly like Kevin Smith does in his films. Overall, modern comedies are disappointing, mindless laughs to fill seats, but hey, it works right?
Anyway, I'm done with this post, if you have a comment or disagreement, let me know. Goodbye!
Friday, April 8, 2011
The Eighth Night-- And As A Candle, The Light Goes Out
Warning: This post is about a questionable topic and may not be something you would want to read about... if you DO, don't think oddly of me...
Well, today's post was intended to be on narrative structure, however, I need to ponder that one a bit more I think... so instead, today's post is going to take a more... morbid turn (don't judge me). While doing some research, I came upon the topic of "snuff" film. This is a very disturbing and unsettling topic and something I'd generally shy away from but the myth intrigues me and I've been reading a lot about horror from Chris Jones' blog (http://musingsofamoviedouche.blogspot.com/) and thought why not? (I'm not trying to compete though haha).
If you are not aware what the genre of "snuff film" is, it's the visual depiction of a person's actual death with out visual effects for the intent of profit (more or less horrible). Generally this type of film is a myth (seeing as how it's illegal and morally appalling... but you already know that). There ARE, however, filmed documentation of murders and executions in existence. They are NOT sold though and if you can find one anywhere, it somehow just got out without the intention of monetary gain. At times a documentary film crew will catch an execution or accidental death (great example is the JFK assassination). There is even a documentary called Executions that include people who have been sentenced to death. Sometimes a death will be caught by accident, like the suicides of Ricardo Cerna or Bud Dwyer (who killed himself on a news broadcast). At times, serial killers will tape their murders (it was rumored that The Manson Family was doing this)... however, NONE of these are considered snuff films due to the fact that the act was not performed for the intent of sale.
In this idea though, there have been actual motion picture who have dealt with the subject, such as the 1976 film Snuff, which was actually portrayed as a real snuff film. It started as an average slasher/splatter film that was taken by a producer and (without permission) was changed to include a new ending that was done to look like an actual murder. After this film was released, many other films tried to cash in on the myth, like The Brave, 8mm, Snuff-Movie, and Vacancy.
There have been many controversial films made that were close to depicting actual snuff films. One of these was the Japanese Guinea Pig film series. The first two films of this series The Devil's Experiment and Flowers of Flesh and Blood were done to appear to be low budget and home recordings of actual snuff films. They so closely resembled snuff films that the creators got investigated by the FBI and repeatedly taken to court and interrogated. Another film that is very close to an actual snuff film is the Italian film Cannibal Holocaust. In the film, six animals were actually slaughtered and it very graphically depicted sexual violence and was thought to have shown actual murders (in fact the director was arrested in charged with making a snuff film almost immediately, he eventually had the charges dropped).
This film myth is so jarring because, while actual film of real murders does exist, it is usually kept locked away, only occasionally being leaked. The idea that a commercial film could include a real death for money is a bit unsettling... and what's more disturbing or frightening than your murder being taped and sold to everyone? It's a very disgusting concept and myth that, apparently, makes for good fringe, gore film plots.
Well, now that THAT disturbing topic is over, I can bid you all adieu. I'm sorry for yet another short post.
Well, today's post was intended to be on narrative structure, however, I need to ponder that one a bit more I think... so instead, today's post is going to take a more... morbid turn (don't judge me). While doing some research, I came upon the topic of "snuff" film. This is a very disturbing and unsettling topic and something I'd generally shy away from but the myth intrigues me and I've been reading a lot about horror from Chris Jones' blog (http://musingsofamoviedouche.blogspot.com/) and thought why not? (I'm not trying to compete though haha).
If you are not aware what the genre of "snuff film" is, it's the visual depiction of a person's actual death with out visual effects for the intent of profit (more or less horrible). Generally this type of film is a myth (seeing as how it's illegal and morally appalling... but you already know that). There ARE, however, filmed documentation of murders and executions in existence. They are NOT sold though and if you can find one anywhere, it somehow just got out without the intention of monetary gain. At times a documentary film crew will catch an execution or accidental death (great example is the JFK assassination). There is even a documentary called Executions that include people who have been sentenced to death. Sometimes a death will be caught by accident, like the suicides of Ricardo Cerna or Bud Dwyer (who killed himself on a news broadcast). At times, serial killers will tape their murders (it was rumored that The Manson Family was doing this)... however, NONE of these are considered snuff films due to the fact that the act was not performed for the intent of sale.
In this idea though, there have been actual motion picture who have dealt with the subject, such as the 1976 film Snuff, which was actually portrayed as a real snuff film. It started as an average slasher/splatter film that was taken by a producer and (without permission) was changed to include a new ending that was done to look like an actual murder. After this film was released, many other films tried to cash in on the myth, like The Brave, 8mm, Snuff-Movie, and Vacancy.
There have been many controversial films made that were close to depicting actual snuff films. One of these was the Japanese Guinea Pig film series. The first two films of this series The Devil's Experiment and Flowers of Flesh and Blood were done to appear to be low budget and home recordings of actual snuff films. They so closely resembled snuff films that the creators got investigated by the FBI and repeatedly taken to court and interrogated. Another film that is very close to an actual snuff film is the Italian film Cannibal Holocaust. In the film, six animals were actually slaughtered and it very graphically depicted sexual violence and was thought to have shown actual murders (in fact the director was arrested in charged with making a snuff film almost immediately, he eventually had the charges dropped).
This film myth is so jarring because, while actual film of real murders does exist, it is usually kept locked away, only occasionally being leaked. The idea that a commercial film could include a real death for money is a bit unsettling... and what's more disturbing or frightening than your murder being taped and sold to everyone? It's a very disgusting concept and myth that, apparently, makes for good fringe, gore film plots.
Well, now that THAT disturbing topic is over, I can bid you all adieu. I'm sorry for yet another short post.
Monday, April 4, 2011
The Fifth Verse-- Taking A Trip To The Moon
I'm gonna start this one off by saying that, according to imdb.com, Arnold Schwarzenegger loves Soviet leaders... or at least has too many statues of them http://www.imdb.com/news/ni9241041/ (I've noticed they do a lot of stories about him) but that's besides the point...
Sci-Fi is the point! Sci-Fi has been in film sense the beginning, at least 1895... La Charcuterie mécanique is a French film made in 1895 and is considered the first sci-fi movie. One of the earliest influential sci-fi films was Le Voyage dans la lune, or A Trip to The Moon by Georges Méliès. This 14 min, silent film uses tons of visual effects and trick photography (including a man's face covered in some kind of cream to represent the "man in the moon").
What's great about this film is the fact that, not only did it influence filmmakers to come, it included certain things that have become common place in film, such as multiple cuts of scenes in different views and time-lapse photography. Even though the editing was a bit lacking, the film was so influential it was also copied by The Smashing Pumpkins for the music video "Tonight, Tonight" and The Mighty Boosh's character of the Moon is based off of the moon in this film (if you can't tell).
But here's the movie is you want to watch it... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JDaOOw0MEE
After Le Voyage dans la lune, there were many sci-fi films made, but the next major example of an important sci-fi film is Metropolis by Fritz Lang (released in 1927). It tells the story of a futuristic struggle between the upper class and the working class. What's important about this film is the story... it uses sci-fi to tell the story of the age old struggle of the bourgeoisie and the proletariat in capitalism. It takes a futuristic and scientific view of this ideal, which is important to the legitimacy of the sci-fi genre. Without a message, a meaning and a strong plot, sci-fi is a bit of a ridiculous genre and very rarely after Metropolis, do you see a sci-fi movie with a real message. (here's the synopsis... http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0017136/plotsummary).
Through the 30s, 40s and 50s, sci-fi went underground. Mainly consisting of b-movies, low budget and campy sci-fi horror films, none are really too important. The major sci-fi films of the 30s and 40s especially, such as Frankenstein, King Kong, or The Invisible Man were more widely known as horror films and it wasn't until the early 1950s that the sci-fi genre started to make a come back. Films like, The Day The Earth Stood Still, The War of The Worlds, Invasion of The Body Snatchers, and The Blob, were big movies in the sci-fi genre... but still focused quite a bit on the horror aspects (which is common for sci-fi most of the time). Toward the end of all of this b-movie action comes what is generally considered the worst movie ever made... Plan 9 From Outer Space. This film was made in 1959 by Ed Wood and features the last performance of Bela Lugosi (even though he died in 1956). It involves a plan by aliens to stop Earth from creating a doomsday device by creating zombies (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052077/plotsummary). Why is this "the worst movie ever made"? Well it has poor acting, horrible special effects, continuity mistakes, miserable dialogue, mics in shots, noticeable wiring and many other mistakes. This is the frequent trend in the science fiction films of this time and it didn't really change and progress until the 1960s.
There weren't many sci-fi films in the 1960s but, questionably the most important one was Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. Made in 1968 it's one of the most important sci-fi movies ever. It gave realism and believability to the genre... it had it all, a philosophical stand point, a sweeping plot, realistic visual effects (some more realistic than later movies), and technology that is actually scene today (a few of the computers in the film look just like the modern day iPad). It deals with evolution, alien technology, the loneliness and solitude of space, technological advancement, and time warps. This movie, even with all of it's importance and grandiose scale and arching, sweeping subject matter, is horribly boring (at least in my opinion). It's a slow movie with a confusing ending, however, the entire section of the movie that involves the supercomputer HAL, is entirely genius. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062622/synopsis. This movie effected and influenced every sci-fi movie to come. Other major 60s sci-fi films that weren't nearly as influential were The Planet of The Apes, Barbarella, Alphaville and Godzilla (even though the first Godzilla film was done in 1954).
By the 70s and 80s, sci-fi was making a come back (a large part because of the moon landings), many good sci-fi were made at this time, Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange, Soylent Green, and other films that deal with the paranoia of technology and the government... There was sci-fi horror like Alien, and popular films like Close Encounters of the Third Kind, RoboCop, Blade Runner, The Terminator, (Schwarzenegger DOES fit into this post!), Back To The Future and ET: The Extra-Terrestrial (that was a rip off of a scrapped Indian film). The biggest movie of this period was probably Star Wars. I don't think there could EVER be a sci-fi post WITHOUT mentioning Star Wars. It's one of the most important films of the past century, developing many things like the production company ILM, use of grandiose and detailed models and puppets, and many cutting edge visual effects. Telling an epic story that becomes more complicated with each installment, it influences and effects things to this day, the story never ends, only becomes more dense, and it's still as popular today as ever. Star Wars is in no way a perfect movie, Luke whines too much (which you find out fast when playing the drinking game), the dialogue is poor, the acting is poor, the plot was taken from other stories and it has some continuity errors but it is a great and important work of cinema (which I may do a whole post on at a later date).
The 80s saw sci-fi movies become international phenomena, and ridiculous action packed affairs that had very shallow story lines but kept the public entertained. The Terminator being a prime example, the story has twisted and become odd and lush, but still doesn't have the depth of some movies before it... http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088247/synopsis
With the internet came a different kind of sci-fi film... it included more technology and stories based around the internet technology, Total Recall and The Matrix are examples while others dealt with disasters (Armageddon), invasion (Independence Day) and experiments (Jurassic Park). The Matrix was another monumental science fiction film. It changed the way that action sequences were done, primarily the slow motion bullet sequence.
The look of sci-fi became sleek and modern, slow motion action scenes were edgy. It really changed the look of things and the kinds of action that people expected. In the 2000s now though, the world is obsessed with the end of the world, sci-fi now focuses a lot on alien invasion and other things that signify the world ending. District 9, 2012, Battle: Los Angeles and Children of Men all deal with either aliens or the world ending. Avatar, while I personally disliked it, DID have a solid story about conservation and not wiping out a race (a tale that was already told in a story called Pocahontas). Whether this makes for good movie or not is up to you.
Sci-fi is a very wide reaching style, one that you can mix with nearly anything. It's often mixed with horror, disaster, noir, comedy, action, even westerns (as seen in the upcoming film Cowboys & Aliens). More or less the genre is broad and can be adapted into nearly everything. So if you like sci-fi, way to go, there will be tons of it and it'll come in all different styles...
And there's your lesson for today, peace!
Sci-Fi is the point! Sci-Fi has been in film sense the beginning, at least 1895... La Charcuterie mécanique is a French film made in 1895 and is considered the first sci-fi movie. One of the earliest influential sci-fi films was Le Voyage dans la lune, or A Trip to The Moon by Georges Méliès. This 14 min, silent film uses tons of visual effects and trick photography (including a man's face covered in some kind of cream to represent the "man in the moon").
What's great about this film is the fact that, not only did it influence filmmakers to come, it included certain things that have become common place in film, such as multiple cuts of scenes in different views and time-lapse photography. Even though the editing was a bit lacking, the film was so influential it was also copied by The Smashing Pumpkins for the music video "Tonight, Tonight" and The Mighty Boosh's character of the Moon is based off of the moon in this film (if you can't tell).
But here's the movie is you want to watch it... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JDaOOw0MEE
After Le Voyage dans la lune, there were many sci-fi films made, but the next major example of an important sci-fi film is Metropolis by Fritz Lang (released in 1927). It tells the story of a futuristic struggle between the upper class and the working class. What's important about this film is the story... it uses sci-fi to tell the story of the age old struggle of the bourgeoisie and the proletariat in capitalism. It takes a futuristic and scientific view of this ideal, which is important to the legitimacy of the sci-fi genre. Without a message, a meaning and a strong plot, sci-fi is a bit of a ridiculous genre and very rarely after Metropolis, do you see a sci-fi movie with a real message. (here's the synopsis... http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0017136/plotsummary).
Through the 30s, 40s and 50s, sci-fi went underground. Mainly consisting of b-movies, low budget and campy sci-fi horror films, none are really too important. The major sci-fi films of the 30s and 40s especially, such as Frankenstein, King Kong, or The Invisible Man were more widely known as horror films and it wasn't until the early 1950s that the sci-fi genre started to make a come back. Films like, The Day The Earth Stood Still, The War of The Worlds, Invasion of The Body Snatchers, and The Blob, were big movies in the sci-fi genre... but still focused quite a bit on the horror aspects (which is common for sci-fi most of the time). Toward the end of all of this b-movie action comes what is generally considered the worst movie ever made... Plan 9 From Outer Space. This film was made in 1959 by Ed Wood and features the last performance of Bela Lugosi (even though he died in 1956). It involves a plan by aliens to stop Earth from creating a doomsday device by creating zombies (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052077/plotsummary). Why is this "the worst movie ever made"? Well it has poor acting, horrible special effects, continuity mistakes, miserable dialogue, mics in shots, noticeable wiring and many other mistakes. This is the frequent trend in the science fiction films of this time and it didn't really change and progress until the 1960s.
There weren't many sci-fi films in the 1960s but, questionably the most important one was Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. Made in 1968 it's one of the most important sci-fi movies ever. It gave realism and believability to the genre... it had it all, a philosophical stand point, a sweeping plot, realistic visual effects (some more realistic than later movies), and technology that is actually scene today (a few of the computers in the film look just like the modern day iPad). It deals with evolution, alien technology, the loneliness and solitude of space, technological advancement, and time warps. This movie, even with all of it's importance and grandiose scale and arching, sweeping subject matter, is horribly boring (at least in my opinion). It's a slow movie with a confusing ending, however, the entire section of the movie that involves the supercomputer HAL, is entirely genius. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062622/synopsis. This movie effected and influenced every sci-fi movie to come. Other major 60s sci-fi films that weren't nearly as influential were The Planet of The Apes, Barbarella, Alphaville and Godzilla (even though the first Godzilla film was done in 1954).
By the 70s and 80s, sci-fi was making a come back (a large part because of the moon landings), many good sci-fi were made at this time, Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange, Soylent Green, and other films that deal with the paranoia of technology and the government... There was sci-fi horror like Alien, and popular films like Close Encounters of the Third Kind, RoboCop, Blade Runner, The Terminator, (Schwarzenegger DOES fit into this post!), Back To The Future and ET: The Extra-Terrestrial (that was a rip off of a scrapped Indian film). The biggest movie of this period was probably Star Wars. I don't think there could EVER be a sci-fi post WITHOUT mentioning Star Wars. It's one of the most important films of the past century, developing many things like the production company ILM, use of grandiose and detailed models and puppets, and many cutting edge visual effects. Telling an epic story that becomes more complicated with each installment, it influences and effects things to this day, the story never ends, only becomes more dense, and it's still as popular today as ever. Star Wars is in no way a perfect movie, Luke whines too much (which you find out fast when playing the drinking game), the dialogue is poor, the acting is poor, the plot was taken from other stories and it has some continuity errors but it is a great and important work of cinema (which I may do a whole post on at a later date).
The 80s saw sci-fi movies become international phenomena, and ridiculous action packed affairs that had very shallow story lines but kept the public entertained. The Terminator being a prime example, the story has twisted and become odd and lush, but still doesn't have the depth of some movies before it... http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088247/synopsis
With the internet came a different kind of sci-fi film... it included more technology and stories based around the internet technology, Total Recall and The Matrix are examples while others dealt with disasters (Armageddon), invasion (Independence Day) and experiments (Jurassic Park). The Matrix was another monumental science fiction film. It changed the way that action sequences were done, primarily the slow motion bullet sequence.
The look of sci-fi became sleek and modern, slow motion action scenes were edgy. It really changed the look of things and the kinds of action that people expected. In the 2000s now though, the world is obsessed with the end of the world, sci-fi now focuses a lot on alien invasion and other things that signify the world ending. District 9, 2012, Battle: Los Angeles and Children of Men all deal with either aliens or the world ending. Avatar, while I personally disliked it, DID have a solid story about conservation and not wiping out a race (a tale that was already told in a story called Pocahontas). Whether this makes for good movie or not is up to you.
Sci-fi is a very wide reaching style, one that you can mix with nearly anything. It's often mixed with horror, disaster, noir, comedy, action, even westerns (as seen in the upcoming film Cowboys & Aliens). More or less the genre is broad and can be adapted into nearly everything. So if you like sci-fi, way to go, there will be tons of it and it'll come in all different styles...
And there's your lesson for today, peace!
Friday, April 1, 2011
The Second Chapter-- Surrealism
I'm pretty psyched about this blog of mine, so I think I'm going to do another post...
Let's start with a little recommendation/a bit about me, if you know me well, you know that I carry around a bag with a few of my art supplies and writing notebooks, I also generally have a few movies on me (for when life can't wait eh? *wink wink nudge nudge*)... but I think these movies deserve a viewing so I'll tell you what I have on me now. First off, two movies I mentioned in my last post, Black Swan and The Big Lebowski, two amazing (and very different) movies, and then I have Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Synecdoche, New York. All four movies are amazing, two are twisted dramas and the other two are comedy... but I would recommend any and all of them (and may touch on them later).
That's all besides the point though...
Let's start this off with a director... who is that director you ask? David Lynch is that director... I haven't seen too many Lynch films but my interest in him has been heightened by my gorgeous girlfriend Samantha who seems to also be intrigued by his work. I bought a copy of Eraserhead for her a while back and I must say that it is a very... unique debut.
For those of you who have not seen Eraserhead... well, prepare yourself for one of the strangest films you MAY encounter. It's done completely in black and white (as all great film school debuts should be, am I right?) and had a budget of $10000. The film includes such hard hitting topics as, a person's head falling off and his brain used as erasers, a women in a radiators singing, mutant babies, white noise, old men pulling levers in the Moon, and mini chickens leaking black fluid... and that's only the half of it. This is the movie that started our interest in Lynch (however it's not the first Lynch movie I've seen).
Here's the IMDB synopsis... http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074486/plotsummary
My first Lynch film (because I know you were all asking when you read that) was Blue Velvet, which, in my personal opinion is a very fucked up film... what could you expect from it? a disembodied ear, Dennis Hopper inhaling gas and screaming into a woman's vagina, fellatio at knifepoint, drugs, an androgynous man singing the song "Blue Velvet" and voyeurism. This movie actually disturbed me slightly when I first saw it and made me question whether I wanted to watch Lynch (until I eventually saw Eraserhead). http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090756/plotsummary
I'm a fan of surrealism (sorry to those of you who aren't), it may be pretentious and far reaching at times but it's intriguing and generally artistic (at times too artistic). The problem with surrealism is the occasional forfeit of plot... Many surreal paintings and films deal with dream imagery, and if there's one thing about dream imagery it's the fact that it's often changing, non-linear and confusing with little explanation (and films that include this, like Lynch's Mulholland Drive, use non-linear, confusing and only slightly connecting dream logic), it makes the movies ever changing, interesting and great for people with A.D.D. and a twisted mind... but hard to follow at times.
(Plot summary of Mulholland Drive for good measure... http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0166924/synopsis)
If you don't know much about surrealism, it's a artistic and cultural movement that started in the 1920s, evolving from Dadaism (which actually influenced many other major art and cultural movements). Not many films were made during the 1920s surrealist movement, however, the few films that were made were fairly influential... one of these was Un chien andalou, (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0020530/plotsummary) which is a 16 minute short film by Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí. This film includes many odd happenings and actually does some surprising (or I suppose they're not surprising since it IS surrealism) things for the 20s, such as show nudity and a man groping a woman and chasing her with the intention of rape. Luis Bañuel went on to create other influential surreal films and Dalí, as you probably know, was a very influential surrealist painter.
Well, I'm going to wrap this one up for now, I may come back with more on surrealism at a later date (hopefully I'll know more about it by then), but there are two surrealist directors to get you started, one old, one newer... Also to help you out I'll post the filmography of both!
Louis Bañuel:
Un chien andalou (1929)
L'Age d'Or (1930)
Las Hurdes: Tierra Sin Pan (1933)
Gran Casino (1947)
El Gran Calavera (1949)
Los olvidados (1950)
Susana (1951)
La hija del engaño (1951)
Subida al cielo (1952)
Una mujer sin amor (1952)
El bruto (1953)
Él (1953)
La ilusión viaja en tranvia (1954)
Abismos de pasión (1954)
The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe (1954)
Ensayo de un crimen (1955)
El rio y la muerte (1955)
Cela s'appelle l'aurore (1956)
La mort en ce jardin (1956)
Nazarin (1959)
La fièvre monte à El Pao (1959)
The Young One (1960)
Viridiana (1961)
El ángel exterminador (1962)
Le journal d'une femme de chambre (1964)
Simón del desierto (1965)
Belle de jour (1967)
La Voie Lactée (1969)
Tristana (1970)
Le charme discret de la bourgeoisie (1972)
Le fantôme de la liberté (1974)
Cet obscur objet du désir (1977)
PHEW! now that THAT'S over...
David Lynch:
Eraserhead (1977)
The Elephant Man (1980)
Dune (1984)
Blue Velvet (1986)
Wild at Heart (1990)
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992)
Lost Highway (1997)
The Straight Story (1999)
Mulholland Drive (2001)
Inand Empire (2006)
Lynch also has a ton of short films, a few music videos, a few TV shows and some online series' and has worked with Sparklehorse and Dangermouse on the album Dark Night of the Soul and even has his own album called BlueBob.
Also, I'm not going to delve into it yet, but I feel like it'd be wrong not to at least mention a certain director in a surreal post... I'll most likely discuss him later... Federico Fellini, who combined fantasy and modern real images and what is considered "baroque"
ANYWAY... that's all I have for you now, sorry for being so short but if you want more film bloggage check out this self proclaimed "movie douche"... http://musingsofamoviedouche.blogspot.com/
especially if you want some of that fringe horror shit!
See you later
Let's start with a little recommendation/a bit about me, if you know me well, you know that I carry around a bag with a few of my art supplies and writing notebooks, I also generally have a few movies on me (for when life can't wait eh? *wink wink nudge nudge*)... but I think these movies deserve a viewing so I'll tell you what I have on me now. First off, two movies I mentioned in my last post, Black Swan and The Big Lebowski, two amazing (and very different) movies, and then I have Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Synecdoche, New York. All four movies are amazing, two are twisted dramas and the other two are comedy... but I would recommend any and all of them (and may touch on them later).
That's all besides the point though...
Let's start this off with a director... who is that director you ask? David Lynch is that director... I haven't seen too many Lynch films but my interest in him has been heightened by my gorgeous girlfriend Samantha who seems to also be intrigued by his work. I bought a copy of Eraserhead for her a while back and I must say that it is a very... unique debut.
For those of you who have not seen Eraserhead... well, prepare yourself for one of the strangest films you MAY encounter. It's done completely in black and white (as all great film school debuts should be, am I right?) and had a budget of $10000. The film includes such hard hitting topics as, a person's head falling off and his brain used as erasers, a women in a radiators singing, mutant babies, white noise, old men pulling levers in the Moon, and mini chickens leaking black fluid... and that's only the half of it. This is the movie that started our interest in Lynch (however it's not the first Lynch movie I've seen).
Here's the IMDB synopsis... http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074486/plotsummary
My first Lynch film (because I know you were all asking when you read that) was Blue Velvet, which, in my personal opinion is a very fucked up film... what could you expect from it? a disembodied ear, Dennis Hopper inhaling gas and screaming into a woman's vagina, fellatio at knifepoint, drugs, an androgynous man singing the song "Blue Velvet" and voyeurism. This movie actually disturbed me slightly when I first saw it and made me question whether I wanted to watch Lynch (until I eventually saw Eraserhead). http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090756/plotsummary
I'm a fan of surrealism (sorry to those of you who aren't), it may be pretentious and far reaching at times but it's intriguing and generally artistic (at times too artistic). The problem with surrealism is the occasional forfeit of plot... Many surreal paintings and films deal with dream imagery, and if there's one thing about dream imagery it's the fact that it's often changing, non-linear and confusing with little explanation (and films that include this, like Lynch's Mulholland Drive, use non-linear, confusing and only slightly connecting dream logic), it makes the movies ever changing, interesting and great for people with A.D.D. and a twisted mind... but hard to follow at times.
(Plot summary of Mulholland Drive for good measure... http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0166924/synopsis)
If you don't know much about surrealism, it's a artistic and cultural movement that started in the 1920s, evolving from Dadaism (which actually influenced many other major art and cultural movements). Not many films were made during the 1920s surrealist movement, however, the few films that were made were fairly influential... one of these was Un chien andalou, (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0020530/plotsummary) which is a 16 minute short film by Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí. This film includes many odd happenings and actually does some surprising (or I suppose they're not surprising since it IS surrealism) things for the 20s, such as show nudity and a man groping a woman and chasing her with the intention of rape. Luis Bañuel went on to create other influential surreal films and Dalí, as you probably know, was a very influential surrealist painter.
Well, I'm going to wrap this one up for now, I may come back with more on surrealism at a later date (hopefully I'll know more about it by then), but there are two surrealist directors to get you started, one old, one newer... Also to help you out I'll post the filmography of both!
Louis Bañuel:
Un chien andalou (1929)
L'Age d'Or (1930)
Las Hurdes: Tierra Sin Pan (1933)
Gran Casino (1947)
El Gran Calavera (1949)
Los olvidados (1950)
Susana (1951)
La hija del engaño (1951)
Subida al cielo (1952)
Una mujer sin amor (1952)
El bruto (1953)
Él (1953)
La ilusión viaja en tranvia (1954)
Abismos de pasión (1954)
The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe (1954)
Ensayo de un crimen (1955)
El rio y la muerte (1955)
Cela s'appelle l'aurore (1956)
La mort en ce jardin (1956)
Nazarin (1959)
La fièvre monte à El Pao (1959)
The Young One (1960)
Viridiana (1961)
El ángel exterminador (1962)
Le journal d'une femme de chambre (1964)
Simón del desierto (1965)
Belle de jour (1967)
La Voie Lactée (1969)
Tristana (1970)
Le charme discret de la bourgeoisie (1972)
Le fantôme de la liberté (1974)
Cet obscur objet du désir (1977)
PHEW! now that THAT'S over...
David Lynch:
Eraserhead (1977)
The Elephant Man (1980)
Dune (1984)
Blue Velvet (1986)
Wild at Heart (1990)
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992)
Lost Highway (1997)
The Straight Story (1999)
Mulholland Drive (2001)
Inand Empire (2006)
Lynch also has a ton of short films, a few music videos, a few TV shows and some online series' and has worked with Sparklehorse and Dangermouse on the album Dark Night of the Soul and even has his own album called BlueBob.
Also, I'm not going to delve into it yet, but I feel like it'd be wrong not to at least mention a certain director in a surreal post... I'll most likely discuss him later... Federico Fellini, who combined fantasy and modern real images and what is considered "baroque"
ANYWAY... that's all I have for you now, sorry for being so short but if you want more film bloggage check out this self proclaimed "movie douche"... http://musingsofamoviedouche.blogspot.com/
especially if you want some of that fringe horror shit!
See you later
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