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writers gone wild!
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Bright Lights Film Journal
Issue 42 | November 2003

from the editor

These laurels are so comfortable!

Now that we've brought democracy to those pesky Iraqis, established a warm and personal link between the government and every phone call and email message we send and receive, started the privatization of Medicare, enjoyed a fabulous "jobless recovery" — I could go on, but you get the idea. Yes, our culture and those who've shaped it have triumphed in just about every area imaginable, so it's time to kick back and enjoy the fruits of all those wonderful efforts. And how better, we ask, than with the new issue of Bright Lights?

This time around, we're doing our part as unabashed patriots to remind readers of the many good things to appreciate in l'art du cinema. We've always prided ourselves on seeing the cup half full — whether it's got anything in it or not.

In that spirit, we invite the readers to "set aspell," as Homer and Jethro so aptly put it, and enjoy a tour of the world from the safety of armchair, toilet stall, prison cell, or gutter, depending on your present (or pending) location. Stalwart associate editor Alan Vanneman weighs in with a tantalizing photo essay on Hitchcock's motifs — eyes, hair, hands, you name it. AV, as we call him here in the cavern, also surveys Shakespeare via Kiss Me Kate and Fred and Rita via You Were Never Lovelier. Uncowed by contemporary cinema, he also takes on, in a few pithy paragraphs, those hitherto unnoticed queer undertones in Master and Commander.

Bob Castle expands the canvas with a look at the related darknesses of The Shining and Fargo, and finds curiously compelling connections between the (squalid) real world and two cinematic portraits of leaders unhinged: The Caine Mutiny and Tunes of Glory. BL regulars Julian Upton and David Boxwell celebrate, respectively, the glorious Katrin Cartlidge, who died at 41, and, yes, those hitherto unremarked queer undertones in reviled pre-Code comic duo Wheeler and Woolsey — no small achievement in the latter case. And our Brit pal Ben Dickenson gives a pithy view of the "Governator" in a late addition to this issue.

A tip of the chapeau is in order to our new writers this issue. Christopher Dow exhaustively analyzes the "Private Snafu" series of World War II. Andrea Dahlberg finds much to cheer in Ousmane Sembene's seminal Borom Sarret. Walter Rankin thoughtfully explores the beloved Robinson Crusoe on Mars for all manner of undertones. Garrett Chaffin-Quiray offers an enticing examination of Atanarjuat (The Fast Runner).

Festival coverage this time is on the meaty side. BL veteran Megan Ratner did double duty with the New York Film Festival and the Edinburgh Fest, covering an astoundingly wide range of films between them. Joanne Bealy takes a look-see at the Montreal festival, while BL warhorse Bob Keser jumps feet first into the Chicago Film Festival. Bob also kindly provided an irresistible look at the documentary Cinerama Adventure.

The flood of DVD releases continues, and Bright Lights is there to meet it. Scott Thill, editor of the ever-thrilling Morphizm zine, critiques Jonathan Miller's 1966 cult version of Alice in Wonderland. BL newbie Adam Bingham takes a big bite out of Fassbinder's Ali: Fear Eats the Soul, and our pal Matt Kennedy stomps all over several recent releases and gives qualified praise to a couple more.

Not to be outdone, yours truly has supplied an interview with pioneer of gay porn Joe Gage and a collection of brief reviews of films showcasing important themes like amputee sex, trains to nowhere, and that perennial favorite, supermasochism!

Gary Morris

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Visit the archives for hundreds of other articles, dear.

articles antechamber

Shakespeare Improved! Cole Porter Teaches the Old Bard New Tricks in Kiss Me Kate — "Why, you'd make a perfect shrew!"

Tunes of Mutiny, or Making the Job Bearable — "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss" — The Who

Patriotism, Politics, and Propaganda: The Naturalization of Friday's Man, Robinson, in Robinson Crusoe on Mars — Defoe's classic translates surprisingly well to outer space in this 1960s gem

Fred and Rita Go Latin in You Were Never Lovelier — Chiu chiu to you, baby

The Trouble with the Governator — The ascension of Arnold — salvation, apocalypse, or trigger for a resurgent left?

Kubrick and the Coen Brothers Again — The Shining and Fargo — These films share a view of society as "stupefied by its hypothetical aspirations"

the empty guest room

Katrin Cartlidge: A Tribute — Her brilliant career

features foyer

Private Snafu's Hidden War: Historical Survey and Analytical Perspective — The famed doofus of WWII propaganda cartoons served purposes patriotic and perfidious

Alfred Hitchcock: A Hank of Hair and a Piece of Bone — A photo study of the Master's fetishes — uh, motifs

revivals

Film as a Catalyst for Social Change: Ousmane Sembene's Borom Sarret — This 1963 short film, considered the first African-made African film, remains relevant 40 years later

Cinerama Adventure — "See it without glasses!"

recent film roundabout

Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner — Native Canadians and a Glimpse in the Mirror — This breakthrough film fascinates on many levels

interrogation alcove

Keep on Truckin': An Interview with Joe Gage — A gay-porn pioneer speaks

palace of the perverts

Wheeler and Woolsey Queered — The downright peculiar pleasures of pre-Code Wheeler and Woolsey

O Captain! My Captain! — Master and Commander wants to raise your mast

festivals vestibule

Together Again in the Dark: The 2003 Chicago International Film Festival — The crowd has a thousand eyes

57th International Film Festival in Edinburgh — Not the best of times, not the worst of times

2003 Montreal World Film Festival — A world-class city offers a world-class fest — despite some troubling backstory

The 2003 New York Film Festival — This year's NYFF is a decidedly mixed bag of tricks

cornucopia corner

Little Stabs of Happiness (and Horror) — Random Short Reviews of the Worthy and the Worthless in Recent and Old-School Cinema

temple of video

All That Heaven Allows: Ali: Fear Eats the Soul on DVD — Postwar German culture is skewered in this Fassbinder masterpiece, beautifully presented by Criterion

Jonathan Miller's Alice in Wonderland (1966) on DVD — Through the Looking Glass Darkly

DVD Reviews: Christ in Concrete, The Garden of Eden, Mau Mau Sex Sex, Ordinary Sinner, Breaking the Cycle — Five DVDs for every taste, though some are more appetizing than others