A marriage sinks as low as it can go, then rises again to the joys of marital bliss in F. W. Murnau's first American film, Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans. The story is as simple and as simplistic as a story can get, yet the beautiful, expressionistic telling of that story turns it into … Continue reading German Expressionism on a Hollywood Budget: My Blu-ray review of Sunrise
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Kurosawa Says Noh to Shakespeare: My Blu-ray review of Throne of Blood
Akira Kurosawa went out on a limb when he made his loose Macbeth adaptation, Throne of Blood. Highly stylized and heavily influenced by Japan's noh theater, the picture holds you emotionally at an arm's length. You're never invited to identify with or even empathize with the characters. This is Kurosawa at his coldest, as if … Continue reading Kurosawa Says Noh to Shakespeare: My Blu-ray review of Throne of Blood
Finishing up the PFA’s 4K Series
Within the space of 48 hours, I attended the last three screenings at the Pacific Film Archive's series The Resolution Starts Now: 4K Restorations from Sony Pictures. With these screenings, there was no Grover Crisp to discuss the technology and how it effects the art. Aside from very brief introductions from the PFA's Steve Seid, … Continue reading Finishing up the PFA’s 4K Series
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
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
How Many Films are Still Shot on Film: The 2013 Edition
For the second year in a row, I've done a survey of current films to determine how many are digitally shot and how many are still captured on film. In 2012, I was surprised to discover that just over half of the films that might have been shot on film (I explain that distinction below) … Continue reading How Many Films are Still Shot on Film: The 2013 Edition
Music, Fame, and American Insanity: My Blu-ray review of Robert Altman’s Nashville
For an all-too-brief time in the 1970s, the Hollywood studios financed and released serious art. They greenlit films without likeable heroes, clearly-defined villains, or conventional, three-act plots. They even financed Robert Altman, who did his best work during that time. And Nashville was unquestionably one of his best. It's tragic, funny, thoughtful, and filled with … Continue reading Music, Fame, and American Insanity: My Blu-ray review of Robert Altman’s Nashville
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
My Thoughts on Star Trek: The Motionless Picture
Monday evening, I watched the very first Star Trek theatrical feature, Star Trek:The Motion Picture. The last time I saw it was 34 years ago, when it played in first run at the now gone Berkeley Theater. I watched it again for two reasons: the Blu-ray fell into my hands, and I wanted to see … Continue reading My Thoughts on Star Trek: The Motionless Picture
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
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