Remember the revival theaters of the 1970's? If you don't, back then the Bay Area overflowed with venues that specialized in old and semi-old movies, many of them changing their double bill every day. (You almost always got a double bill.) The downside was repetition. These theaters thrived on the three Bs of repertory cinema: … Continue reading Reviving the Revival Theater

Let's assume, for the moment, that sound movies existed in 1601, and that the first production of Hamlet was recorded for posterity. Remember that the title role was tailored to a particular actor, Richard Burbage, just as surely as was the role of Charles Foster Kane. And if we had such a movie, we would … Continue reading Longevity

Michael Medved is right—Hollywood is out of touch with America. Sunday night, we watched the Academy pick the smart one, the one with quality, the right one. That’s not the way America votes. In all the post-Oscar talk about Chris Rock and Beyonce, there’s one interesting statistic that no one seemed to notice: For the … Continue reading Oscar Post-Moderm

It’s Oscar time. This Sunday evening we forget about war and oppression and find out who we really hate. For my money, that’s the advertisers, the choreographers, and anyone who takes the Academy Awards seriously. Don’t get me wrong. I never miss Hollywood’s annual festival of self-adoration. I find it fascinating; like a car wreck … Continue reading Hollywood’s Annual Festival of Self-Adoration

This is Bayflicks' last Sunday newsletter. No, I'm not giving up the site. I'm just moving the newsletter from Sunday afternoon to Friday morning, because movie recommendations are more useful before the weekend. The weekly schedules will still run from Sunday to Saturday because, damn it, the week starts on Sunday. Call me old-fashioned--I don't … Continue reading The Last Sunday Newsletter

Inevitable death isn't the only problem with mortality; there are also the time constraints. I simply don't have enough decades to read every good book, meet every interesting person, or see every movie that arouses my curiosity. That last one has been bugging me, lately. I've only managed to spend one day at the International … Continue reading What I Don’t Have Time to Watch

Americans have a hard time believing that Buddhists make movies. We imagine them sitting under mango trees, contemplating the world and mastering their desires, not scouting locations and sweet-talking investors. But, of course, Buddhists do all of these. And sometimes do them very well. All of which brings me to the International Buddhist Film Festival. … Continue reading Buddhist Report

January 30, 2005 There were no big surprises in the Oscar nominations this week. I've been saying for the last month that The Aviator will take Best Picture, and now it's the official front-runner. Not that it deserves to win that Oscar--I could name five better films this year without even stretching my mind (Hotel … Continue reading Oscar Nominations

My wife and I went to the Pacific Film Archive Friday night to see two great late silent dramas, The Crowd and Sunrise. We were both familiar with The Crowd, having watched it together about a year ago on Turner Classic Movies. But this time, the ending was different--more upbeat. The televised version left us … Continue reading How Music Can Change a Silent Film

I attended the opening of David Thomson's series at the Pacific Film Archive Thursday night. He talked for nearly an hour, but it felt like 20 minutes--a terrific speaker! He ranged fro the nature of movies, our reactions to them, Hollywood, and the bottom line of making a film that works: The viewers "have to … Continue reading David Thomson and The Last Tycoon