DVD & Blu-ray · Experimental & Underground
Opposition Compositions: Treasures IV: American Avant Garde Film 1947-1986 on DVD
“Avant garde filmmaking has been defined almost entirely in opposition to the Hollywood mainstream.”
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DVD & Blu-ray · Experimental & Underground
“Avant garde filmmaking has been defined almost entirely in opposition to the Hollywood mainstream.”
Every one of Henry Selick’s four feature films to date has dealt with alternate realities. In the Tim Burton-produced The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), the ghoulish Jack Skellington finds a[…]
Dave McKean’s MirrorMask (above) and Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth were released within a year of each other. Both are women-in-wonderland tales. Pan’s Labyrinth is about a little girl who[…]
As reported in the Los Angeles Times – In Hollywood, “even the animals lie about their age.” Cheeta may not be 75 years old. He may not even be[…]
The Alices in flight, those beautiful women alone in their cars on the run – Sylvia Kristel in Alice ou la Dernière Fugue, Candace Hilligoss in Carnival of Souls,[…]
Alice (Sylvia Kristel) has an argument with her husband. She drives off into the pouring rain. There is an accident. When she wakes up, the sun is shining, but something[…]
All three meet as adult women in Alan Moore and Melinda Gebbie’s X-rated graphic novel, Lost Girls (above). Moore, the genius author of Watchmen, From Hell, and The League of[…]
With regard to the whole issue of dubbing, conventional wisdom tells us that foreign films are best viewed in their original language. And I tend to agree with that. But[…]
With a tip of the hat and, perhaps, apologies to Nathaniel R, here is my version of his 20 Actress meme – not just 20 favorite actresses, but 20 outstanding[…]
Actors & Personalities · Exploitation & Erotica
Is there an art to being photographed? I believe there is, and when I say that, I am thinking of four artists in particular, all of whom reached their peaks[…]
Charlie Kaufman’s Synecdoche, New York is not one of those films (e.g., Baz Luhrman’s Australia) that lurches toward the audience with its metaphorical arms wide open, shouting “Love me!” On[…]
I just learned by way of CINEBEATS that Forrest J Ackerman, a man who inspired so many of us – as film fan and friend to film fans, as a[…]
Directors · Experimental & Underground
Last night, I had the pleasure of attending a screening of some of Kenneth Anger’s most recent short films – hosted by Mr. Anger himself. The legendary “underground filmmaker” was[…]
How to describe the films of Charlie Kaufman . . . Ingmar Bergman with laughs? Close, but that makes Kaufman sound too much like Woody Allen, a useful comparison maybe,[…]
There are three basic types of spy stories: 1) the one about the ultra-skilled professional spy who is almost always successful, e.g., James Bond; 2) the one about the civilian[…]
Everyone who writes about film can name other writers about film who have influenced them. For me, the big three are Andrew Sarris, Raymond Durgnat, and Robin Wood. Wood, author[…]
I first noticed Anna Faris in the Scary Movie franchise in which she parodieamong other things, Neve Campbell’s role in Scream. Following that, Faris provided expert comic relief playing supporting[…]
Experimental & Underground · Reviews
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSZYkv4Ad2Q] Canadian Guy Maddin is virtually unique among contemporary filmmakers in that despite having made nine features – including The Saddest Music in the World, Brand Upon the Brain, and[…]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrTfEk2P9nw] When it comes to Lewis Carroll adaptations, Tim Burton’s upcoming 3-D Alice has a lot of competition. The IMDB lists 24 versions of Alice in Wonderland, including Burton’s, and[…]
GOOD – Western Union (Fritz Lang 1941) This is one of Lang’s first color films. He shot it in Arizona’s Painted Desert with special attention to the natural scenery, and[…]