I attended the screening of 3 Bad Men at the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum last night. I'd been wanting to see this John Ford silent western since I'd read Joseph McBride's Ford biography, where he described it as “the silent film pointing most clearly to the strengths of his mature masterpieces.” Visually, it was … Continue reading Speaking of Silents
Month: December 2008
What’s Screening: December 26-January 1
Sorry I'm late with this. I can't even blame Christmas for the oversight, since I don't celebrate Christmas. But here's the newsletter, a few hours late. Not much of note this week, anyway. Best to take the time to catch a new film. I recommend Bolt (especially in 3D) and very highly recommend Milk. I'll … Continue reading What’s Screening: December 26-January 1
The Best Films You Couldn’t See in 2008
I saw a lot of great movies this year. Unfortunately, quite a few of them never got released in this country. They screened at local festivals, but didn't get picked up for commercial exhibition--even by the small, independent distributors who pick up the good stuff that the Hollywood studios and their faux independent subsidiaries, don't … Continue reading The Best Films You Couldn’t See in 2008
Upcoming Festivals
After a brief lull, the festivals are starting again. Berlin & Beyond runs January 15 through 21 at the Bay Area's favorite festival venue, the Castro. In addition to the Blue Angel screening I mentioned earlier and a Wim Wenders tribute, it includes 29 new (at least for America) features. As soon as B&B closes, … Continue reading Upcoming Festivals
Blue Angels
Now here's something odd: Josef von Sternberg's The Blue Angel was one of the first German talkies. As was common in the days before dubbing and subtitles, the movie was shot twice--once in German, and once in English. The German version is widely considered a classic. (Personally, I find it interesting, and Marlene Dietrich wonderful--it … Continue reading Blue Angels
Shattuck Theater Getting Remodeled
Landmark Theater's is remodeling the Shattuck, adding "Landmark’s exclusive Screening Lounge™ auditoriums and other upscale amenities." I suspect that's a trademarked name for what other theater chains have been doing for years. I found a description of another "Screening Lounge" theater on Landmark's site; it should give you an idea of what it means. Basically, … Continue reading Shattuck Theater Getting Remodeled
The Sound of Wall-E at the Rafael
First, let me apologize for getting this out to you so late. It describes an event that happened a month ago tomorrow, and I wrote it that day. I held back on posting it because I was hoping to have it posted elsewhere. Andrew Stanton and the folks at Pixar created an amazing although compromised … Continue reading The Sound of Wall-E at the Rafael
What’s Screening: December 12-18
Double bill: The African Queen & Sabrina, Stanford, all week. That A is for The African Queen. Humphrey Bogart, Katharine Hepburn, Africa, and Technicolor all make for splendid entertainment in John Huston's romantic comedy action adventure. According to Huston's autobiography, he didn't intend the film to be funny, but during production he realized that Bogart … Continue reading What’s Screening: December 12-18
metropolis Report
My wife and I attended the screening of Metropolis at Stanford University (not the Stanford theater) last night. This was as much a music event as a movie one--maybe more so. The West Coast premiere of Martin Matalon’s score, performed by members of the Santa Rosa orchestra under the baton of Bruno Ferrandis. My wife's … Continue reading metropolis Report
What’s Screening: December 5-11
Metropolis, Stanford University's Memorial Auditorium, Saturday, 8:00 (pre-performance discussion at 7:00). The first important science fiction feature film still strikes a considerable visual punch. The images--workers in a hellish underground factory, the wealthy at play, a robot brought to life in the form of a beautiful woman--are a permanent part of our collective memory. Even … Continue reading What’s Screening: December 5-11
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