The War Game

A terrific mockumentary-cum-documentary, directed by Peter Watkins.

It was banned in the U.K. for 2 decades by the BBC, for its depiction of a possible Soviet nuclear strike in Great Britain.



I'll have a full review in the future.

Miklos Jancso

Have heard that he is a big influence on Bela Tarr, and this is one of three DVDs of his I recently got. I must say, in the few scenes you can find online, I don't see much of a connecting thread.

Here is a clip from his most famous film:



We'll see.

Hobson's Choice

A new review.

And a clip from this fine comedy by David Lean:

Ikiru

Enough with the good schlock, back to serious cinema. Ikiru is a masterful film by Akira Kurosawa.

Many film critics argue that Kurosawa's greatest films were his historical epics. While I've only watched about a third of the man's output, and while Rashomon, Seven Samurai, and Kagemusha are certainly terrific films, Ikiru, The Bad Sleep Well, and High And Low, are even better.

The reason is that Kurosawa understood modern man better. Sometimes, even in his greatest historical films, characters would lapse into stereotypes, such as the hero, the villain, the anti-hero, and not converse nor relate to each other easily and naturally. That has never been a problem in the films I've seen of his set in 20th Century Japan.

Here is a trailer for Ikiru:

The Beast of Yucca Flats

Unlike Robot Monster or Plan 9 From Outer Space, this film (starring Plan 9's Tor Johnson), is not quite so bad as to be good.

Note the odd start to the film, and read here for more on it.

This film comes free of commentary



Enjoy!

Robot Monster

Ok, like Plan 9 From Outer Space, Robot Monster is so bad it's good. My review explains why.

Unfortunately, like the Wood movie, the only full length version of the film currently online comes as part of a bad self-produced tv show. Oh well, skip the first few minutes, enjoy the good schlock, and avoid the bad.

Here 'tis:

Plan 9 From Outer Space

Ok, this is, by far, the most famous good bad movie of all time, from Ed Wood- the most famous good bad director of all time.

Here is a trailer:



Here is a collection of the best lines from this film:



Here is the full film, as part of an episode of a Mystery Science Theater 3000 knockoff. Unfortunately, there seems to be no full version, sans this commentary, online, or at least embeddable. Still, an interesting commentary:


Pretension is a killer in the arts. For all his crimes against cinema, no one could claim Wood was pretentious.

Anthony Zanetti should like this movie!

First Spaceship On Venus

I erred. In my prior post I mistakenly recalled Planeta Burg as the Venus-based film based upon a novel by Stanislaw Lem- that's what I get for not Googling first!

So, to atone, I will give you the actual film based upon Lem's novel- 1959-1960's internationally cast First Spaceship On Venus. Don't think it's as good as Planeta Burg (nor Voyage To The Prehistoric Planet), but it's a cut above most sci fi of the time. Only Forbidden Planet, made in Hollywood, was as good as these two films.

I watched reams of these sorts of films on tv, and sneaking into old run movie theaters in the late 60s and early 70s. The film's German title is Der Schweigende Stern, but it's a relatively thoughtful film, low on action and high on mystery. For its time, it was 'realistic,' even as it was set in that far flung year of 1985!

Here is the trailer:



The trailer's hyperbole does no justice to the actual film.

Here is the film:


Films like this remind me of youth. Ah, wherefore time?

Carnival Of Souls

One of these days I have to review The Criterion Collection version of the 1962 horror film Carnival Of Souls. Made by industrial commercial film maker Herk Harvey, it plays like an extended episode of The Twilight Zone, and shows what good ideas and ingenuity can do to overcome a low budget. Its influence on George Romero, the Hammer films, and works by Dario Argento and Mario Bava, are obvious.

Here is the full film, 82 minutes. there are several cuts, ranging between 72 and almost 90 minutes:



And here is the trailer:



The best part has to be the libidinous neighbor of lovely Mary Henry. In the trailer you can see him peeping her through a keyhole. Cheesy, but deeper than far more pretentious films.

Werckmeister Harmonies

Saw another Bela Tarr film today, Werckmeister Harmonies. Simply a great film.

Tarr uses only a few dozen shots in this near 2 1/2 hour long film, and, unlike other of his films, no one can accuse this film of lacking emotion. Here are the opening scenes and a great scene central to the film.





Tarr pushes the envelope even farther than Antonioni and Angelopoulos. This is not to say that he's better, simply extending the art. Can't wait till The Man From London hits DVD, and also look forward to his earlier works.

Satantango

Yesterday I finished watching Bela Tarr's 7 hour film Satantango (it took 2 days), and it's a great achievement. I will write a long essay on it over the next few days, but it really changes the perspective one has on time. Like the poetry of Walt Whitman, there are some demonstrably bad features to it, and some self-indulgence; but, like the Good Gray Poet, if one shortened the scenes, one would lose pacing, character development (yes, even in the excess there is a purpose- see the scenes with the obese drunken Doctor or psychotic little girl), and some other positives. Thus, while a shorter version would gain some, it would also lose some, but it would, essentially be a different film.

Here is a video of the great opening sequence. The music choices in this film are marvelous, and, despite this being a realistic drama, one can see the influence of horror films, from the silents through the Universal films of the 30s through the Hammer films of the 60s and 70s in this one sequence.



That all said, the one thing this film is NOT, is an epic, for it is a highly intimate and cozy little seven hour marathon.

Damnation

Here is a review of the above named Bela Tarr film.

He's someone I want to watch more of because, while this film is not perfect, it is far beyond most Hollywood tripe.

Here is a video clip: