On January 11, 1914, a Keystone movie crew drove to Venice--a beach town near Los Angeles--to improvise a comedy around an actual event of modest interest. Only one performer came with the crew--a young British Music Hall comedian recently signed with Keystone. The comic, Charlie Chaplin, quickly put together a costume and makeup, and created … Continue reading Chaplin at the Castro: My Report on a Wonderful Day
Category: First-person Report
A Century Ago: The Films of 1913
Thursday night, I drove to the Rafael to see A Century Ago: The Films of 1913. This is the latest edition of an annual event--one that was just becoming possible a scant decade ago. And, in its current form, it won't be possible for much longer. In 1910, people still went to movies primarily to … Continue reading A Century Ago: The Films of 1913
Taxi Driver, Alamo Bay, and 4K Digital Projection at the PFA
Saturday night, my wife and I attended two screenings at the Pacific Film Archive. Both were parts of the series The Resolution Starts Now: 4K Restorations from Sony Pictures. And this time, unlike Thursday night's screening, the movies were actually projected in 4K. And they both looked fantastic. This was not a double feature. You … Continue reading Taxi Driver, Alamo Bay, and 4K Digital Projection at the PFA
DCP, Grover Crisp, & Bonjour Tristesse at the PFA
Thursday night I attended the second event in the Pacific Film Archive series, The Resolution Starts Now: 4K Restorations from Sony Pictures. This was more than just a movie screening. It was a talk by Sony's head archivist--and one of the current heroes of film restoration--Grover Crisp. Then came the movie: Otto Preminger’s Bonjour Tristesse. … Continue reading DCP, Grover Crisp, & Bonjour Tristesse at the PFA
French New Wave Friday at the PFA
The two films I saw Friday night at the Pacific Film Archive were not officially a double bill, yet they worked very well as one. Both were of the French New Wave, and made when the Wave was truly new--1961 and '62. They have more in common than that. Both films have a female protagonist … Continue reading French New Wave Friday at the PFA
Friday Night at the PFA
I visited the Pacific Film Archive Friday night to see two very good films. I suppose I could say that they were both feminist films. The first was about a woman and the damage done to her because to her gender, and the second was directed by a woman. But that would be a stretch. … Continue reading Friday Night at the PFA
Steve McQueen and 12 Years a Slave
I attended the Mill Valley Film Festival screening of 12 Years a Slave Friday night. Absolutely amazing. True story: In 1841, Con artists kidnapped Solomon Northup--a free-born African American living in upstate New York--and sold him into slavery down south. Movie: This film shows us the horrors of slavery through the eyes of an educated … Continue reading Steve McQueen and 12 Years a Slave
Mill Valley Film Festival Report: Costa-Gavras Tribute
Greek/French filmmaker Costa-Gavras has been making slick, exciting political films since the 1960s. His works have attacked Fascism, Communism, American foreign policy, and a Pope. Friday night, he stepped up onto the stage at the Rafael's downstairs auditorium to discuss his career and screen his latest film. But he didn't step up on time. The … Continue reading Mill Valley Film Festival Report: Costa-Gavras Tribute
My Thoughts on Blue Jasmine
Cate Blanchett can do anything. In Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine, which my wife and I saw Saturday night, she gives a great performance in an otherwise shallow and unbelievable drama. You probably already know the story. Jasmine (Blanchett) enjoys a life of indulgence and privilege as the spoiled wife of an extremely rich, New York-based … Continue reading My Thoughts on Blue Jasmine
My Thoughts on Fruitvale Station
My wife and I visited the Cerrito Thursday night to catch Fruitvale Station. It was a strong, harrowing tale that I won't likely forget soon. You may know Alfred Hitchcock's theory on time bombs in movies. If the audience knows that there's a time bomb under the table, everything that anyone sitting at that table … Continue reading My Thoughts on Fruitvale Station
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