A few musings about movies

I’ve already told you that I’m not doing the usual Friday newsletter. But I have a few things to mention:

I attended the Oscar ceremony at the Cerrito Theater. They kept us entertained during the commercial breaks. My favorite winner was Emma Stone. She was incredible!

Maybe I should watch Oppenheimer again. As I’ve written before,  I was in the third row of the giant IMAX theater at the AMC Metreon 16 (not my choice of seat). But most of the film is closeups of people talking; and on that huge screen you could count the pores on the actors’ faces. But the atom bomb test truly needed IMAX to do the job.

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BAMPFA is the place to be Wednesday afternoon. Film historian David Thomson will discuss Stanley Kubrick’s brilliant anti-war film, Paths of Glory.

Kubrick illustrates how helpless men go through hell for the benefit of men who are much more wealthy. When an impossible mission inevitably fails, the officers who planned the fiasco get off the hook by arranging for three enlisted men to be tried for cowardice – convictions and executions are foregone conclusions. After all, executing three enlisted men is easier than admitting generals’ mistakes. Kirk Douglas plays the honorable officer who tries to help the enlisted men. Read my A+ report.

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The San Francisco Silent Film Festival plays, not at the Castro as before, but the Palace of Fine Arts. It’s beautiful outside, but it’s hard to get to. The festival goes from April 10 to April 14.

It looks like another selection of vintage cinema. I haven’t seen all the films. Here are the pictures I can tell you about:

B The Black Pirate, Wednesday, April 10, 7:30pm

In his only pirate movie, Douglas Fairbanks plays a nobleman who joins a band of scurvy buccaneers to take them down in revenge for his father’s death. People mainly remember The Black Pirate for two things. First, a spectacular stunt where Fairbanks slides down a sail with a knife (it was ineptly recreated in the second Pirates of the Caribbean movie). Second, it’s only the third full-length feature shot entirely in Technicolor. Live music by the Donald Sosin Ensemble.

B Häxan, Friday, April 12, 8:15pm

Striking, frightening imagery holds up much of this Danish silent. Director Benjamin Christensen mixes documentary and narrative techniques to show us how medieval superstitions caused horror and mass hysteria, and how the Church cruelly tortured and killed men and women (mostly women) for allegedly consorting with Satan. Occasionally, Christensen seems to be just showing off. About a quarter of the film (mostly at the beginning and end) is downright boring. Nevertheless, it’s well worth watching. Live music by the Matti Bye Ensemble.

The Laurel and Hardy Show!, Saturday, April 13, 10:00am

Here’s a selection of three shorts from the best comedy duet of all time. The shorts are You’re Darn Tootin’, Two Tars, and The Finishing Touch. Live music by Donald Sosin and Frank Bockius.

A I Was Born, But…, Saturday, 2:00pm

In Yasujirō’s Ozu’s late silent comedy/drama, two young boys see the world through the eyes of two young brothers– sons of a man rising in the corporate world. They love and worship their father and are shocked when they discover that there are executives higher up than their father. Very funny, touching, and very true. Live music by Utsav Lal.

B+ Sherlock Jr., Saturday, 7:00pm

Buster Keaton used special effects to comment on the nature of film itself in his third feature film, where he plays a projectionist who dreams he’s a great detective. The sequence where he enters the movie screen and finds the scenes changing around him would be impressive if it were made today; in 1924, it was mind-boggling. Since it’s Keaton, Sherlock Jr. is also filled with impressive stunts and very funny gags. This is an extremely short “feature.” Live music by Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra.

A+ Kid Brother, Sunday, 12:15pm

This rural comedy has several of the funniest, most brilliantly designed, and extended comedy sequences ever filmed. It also makes you deeply want Harold to succeed (Lloyd’s characters were always named Harold). No one thinks much of him, since he’s the youngest, smallest, and weakest member of an all-male, very macho family. No one seems to notice that Harold is the smartest person in town. He builds contraptions to help him with his chores. He regularly outwits the large bully next door. And when dangerous thugs rob the town, you know who’s going to save the day. Read my Blu-ray review. Live music by Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra.