FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION: films of a certain quality

[barracuda]

I still don't know who did the movie with the guy climbing up a building and ending up hanging off a clock, any ideas?

Harold Lloyd, Safety Last!

[Project Willow]

^I had the great joy and pleasure two years ago of attending one of the "Silent Movie Mondays" at Seattle's Paramount theater which featured the Mighty Wurlitzer playing along to two Harold Lloyd films.

http://www.kplu.org/post/mighty-wurlitzer-organ-stars-paramount-theatres-silent-movie-mondays

My then neighbor, a young teen who was an aficionado, and who owned her own theater organ, lent me her collection of Lloyd films during the same period. She has since relocated to Toronto, and I look forward to visiting her, and Jeff as well, one day.

[8bitagent]

I been in a new wave/no wave new york mode lately

[justdrew]

check this out 8bit...
the Richard Hell & The Voidoids - Blank Generation MOVIE

Classic 1980 film starring Richard Hell as a down and out NYC musician. Finally on DVD! - A classic punk rock movie from 1980 starring Richard Hell, illustrating the end of the first wave of New York City punk rock better than any documentary. Nada (Carole Bouquet), a beautiful French journalist on assignment in New York, records the life and work of an up and coming punk rock star, Billy (Richard Hell). Soon she enters into a volatile relationship with him and must decide whether to continue with it, or return to her lover, a fellow journalist trying to track down the elusive Andy Warhol (playing himself). Featuring members of the Voidoids and the Ramones. This long lost film is like a time capsule from pre-Disneynification New York City: sleazy, dirty and most importantly, real. Includes a lengthy new interview with Hell about the film and more. "This is a priceless package. The real burnt-out New York in January and February 1978, the Voidoids live at CBGB, Ed Lachman's cinematography, Elliot Goldenthal's sound track, Carole Bouquet's face, my lithe figure, Andy Warhol to break your heart, Luc Sante demonically extracting the ugly truths from me re: the horror of it all (bonus feature which is better than the movie itself)...unique. Spring for it." - Richard Hell

[justdrew]

http://thedominoeffectmovie.com/

The Domino Effect is a feature length documentary film that explores the process of real estate development in New York City and digs deep to uncover the complex networks of banks, developers, politicians, and non-profit organizations that shape our cities.

this was a kickstarted movie BTW

[justdrew]

well, this turns out to be a better movie than I would have ever guessed. check it out

Looker is a 1981 science fiction film written and directed by Michael Crichton. It starred Albert Finney, Susan Dey, and James Coburn. Former NFL linebacker Tim Rossovich[1] was featured as the villain's main henchman.

The film is a suspense/science fiction piece which comments upon and satirizes media, advertising, TV's effects on the populace, and ridiculous standard of beauty.

[justdrew]

Friday, April 09, 2010
The Book You Have to Read: “Shoot,” by Douglas Fairbairn

Is there any such thing as “macho noir”? I’ve never heard of it, but if there were, then Shoot would certainly be one of its classic examples.

Written in 1973 by Douglas Fairbairn, it’s a testosterone-loaded novel, which has one of the best openings I’ve read in a long, long time. A group of middle-aged hunters, all buddies and veterans of various wars, are traipsing about through the woods one day in full hunting regalia. As they come to a riverbank, they spot another group of guys, very much like themselves, on the other side. Without any provocation whatsoever, one of the hunters on the opposite bank raises his rifle and fires at our group, wounding one of them. Reflexively, one of our guys, an expert marksman, returns fire, blowing the shooter’s head apart.

A frantic firefight ensues, and eventually, our guys retreat and get the hell out of there without suffering any more casualties. What follows is a well-constructed tale of the nature of manhood and its entwining with pack mentality.

Rex Jeannette is the ultimate alpha male, leading his group of friends through an agonizing analysis of both the bloody event and what they should do about it. Call the police? Go back and confront the attackers again? Do nothing? And speaking of the attackers, what are they going to do? Will they seek revenge for their slain comrade? Will they call the police? Who knows? But Rex is firmly in charge and everyone knows it.

He owns a big department store in town, and when he’s not dealing with the aftermath of the shootout in the woods, he’s busy slugging whiskey and screwing the girls who work in his store. He makes constant references to firearms, complete with manufacturer, caliber, and model number. He’s not afraid of anything and he has no patience for anyone who is. Those who step out of line will pay for it.

Fairbairn, the author of the excellent 1977 noir novel, Street 8, is definitely untainted by the world of political correctness and all of its stifling restrictions. That’s understandable, since PC wasn’t really entrenched back in 1973, when he wrote Shoot. However, you get the impression that through Rex Jeannette, Fairbairn is venting a lot of his own aggression, working out his own hang-ups, and perhaps searching for his own place in the world. He received very little aid, though, from the uninspired film made from his book in 1976.

The climax of Shoot, while not entirely unexpected, is still something of a surprise, thanks to the tremendous suspense the author has created in the run-up to it. The final few lines are a fitting end to an incisive, violent novel.

Dramatic film from 1976 starring Oscar winners Cliff Robertson and Ernest Borgnine. As far as I know this film is not available for viewing anywhere else. It's not for sale anywhere, and you can't see it anywhere else on the entire web. It was never released to DVD, it never plays on TV and, it's impossible to even find old VHS copies of it. Directed by Harvey Hart, based on a Douglas Fairbairn novel.

[divideandconquer]

Friday, April 09, 2010
The Book You Have to Read: “Shoot,” by Douglas Fairbairn

Is there any such thing as “macho noir”? I’ve never heard of it, but if there were, then Shoot would certainly be one of its classic examples.

Written in 1973 by Douglas Fairbairn, it’s a testosterone-loaded novel, which has one of the best openings I’ve read in a long, long time. A group of middle-aged hunters, all buddies and veterans of various wars, are traipsing about through the woods one day in full hunting regalia. As they come to a riverbank, they spot another group of guys, very much like themselves, on the other side. Without any provocation whatsoever, one of the hunters on the opposite bank raises his rifle and fires at our group, wounding one of them. Reflexively, one of our guys, an expert marksman, returns fire, blowing the shooter’s head apart.

A frantic firefight ensues, and eventually, our guys retreat and get the hell out of there without suffering any more casualties. What follows is a well-constructed tale of the nature of manhood and its entwining with pack mentality.

Rex Jeannette is the ultimate alpha male, leading his group of friends through an agonizing analysis of both the bloody event and what they should do about it. Call the police? Go back and confront the attackers again? Do nothing? And speaking of the attackers, what are they going to do? Will they seek revenge for their slain comrade? Will they call the police? Who knows? But Rex is firmly in charge and everyone knows it.

He owns a big department store in town, and when he’s not dealing with the aftermath of the shootout in the woods, he’s busy slugging whiskey and screwing the girls who work in his store. He makes constant references to firearms, complete with manufacturer, caliber, and model number. He’s not afraid of anything and he has no patience for anyone who is. Those who step out of line will pay for it.

Fairbairn, the author of the excellent 1977 noir novel, Street 8, is definitely untainted by the world of political correctness and all of its stifling restrictions. That’s understandable, since PC wasn’t really entrenched back in 1973, when he wrote Shoot. However, you get the impression that through Rex Jeannette, Fairbairn is venting a lot of his own aggression, working out his own hang-ups, and perhaps searching for his own place in the world. He received very little aid, though, from the uninspired film made from his book in 1976.

The climax of Shoot, while not entirely unexpected, is still something of a surprise, thanks to the tremendous suspense the author has created in the run-up to it. The final few lines are a fitting end to an incisive, violent novel.

Dramatic film from 1976 starring Oscar winners Cliff Robertson and Ernest Borgnine. As far as I know this film is not available for viewing anywhere else. It's not for sale anywhere, and you can't see it anywhere else on the entire web. It was never released to DVD, it never plays on TV and, it's impossible to even find old VHS copies of it. Directed by Harvey Hart, based on a Douglas Fairbairn novel.

I watched this last night. Very good! Thanks for posting!

[Project Willow]

For those interested in Franklin type narratives, this recent series by Jane Campion. The ending is particularly powerful. Now available on Netflix.



Another film on trafficking making the festival rounds this year. http://www.edenthefilm.com/

[guruilla]

One of the more interesting movies of recent years – and also more socially relevant (if I read it right). Its incomprehensibility seems somehow accurate to the subject matter (if I read it right).

It could even be seen as an alien abduction narrative, without aliens.

Also, a story about attaining enlightenment?

[Simulist]

That looks fascinating and exciting. I'm very interested to see it.

(And put it at the top of my Netflix queue.)

I enjoyed Primer very much, too; a 2004 film also by Shane Carruth.

[guruilla]

Primer ended up annoying me for being so illogical, which maybe was deliberate, the incoherence of time travel narratives etc, but it seemed a bit like arrogance in the end. He's evolved in leaps and bounds since then - this is like if Cronenberg + Kubrick + Atom Egoyan got into Brundle's telepod and then made a movie on the other side.

[Bruce Dazzling]

I'm really looking forward to this.

[JackRiddler]

Primer ended up annoying me for being so illogical, which maybe was deliberate, the incoherence of time travel narratives etc, but it seemed a bit like arrogance in the end. He's evolved in leaps and bounds since then - this is like if Cronenberg + Kubrick + Atom Egoyan got into Brundle's telepod and then made a movie on the other side.

Come on, it's totally logical. You just need a week to figure it out. Click here:


Of course, according to the comments, it's already been found to be wrong.
http://unrealitymag.com/index.php/2011/ ... or-primer/

I don't know if I said it before, but Primer is radical among all time-travel movies for actually being about time travel. Even if it turns out possible to go in the reverse direction, you don't get to magically jump to any past point, as if you fast-rewind or magically could skip centuries by picking a year on a console and voila, it's 1066. These guys have to travel "backward" in the same way and at the same rate we all travel "forward." The other thing is it dispenses with all the clean-loop nonsense of most other time travel narratives, where in the end everything fits into a single timeline.

[Project Willow]

I saw Eden last night. It shook-up my girlfriend quite a bit, and much of the audience as well, if you can tell anything by how people lingered long into the credits in stone silence.

It's not better than competent movie-making, its story is its strength. It also held back on the level and number of specific brutal acts, making it easier to remain engaged. It shows a hidden co-culture of violent sexual slavery and organized crime existing right in the middle of suburban America, operated by at least one pillar of the community. The biggest shock (for the uninitiated) is how different the world looks when one leaves the theater.

http://www.edenthefilm.com/