#6 - Beauty And The Beast

So once again, I must preface this blog entry with "I had no idea what the hell I was getting into...

I knew the general storyline - (never saw the Disney version but don't we all kinda know the story a bit) - but didn't know the director or jest of what forms the story would take.  I guess Jean Cocteau was a painter, poet, writer and general artistic everyman who did 11 films - (this was his 3rd) and numerous poetry collections, theater, novels, etc...

At it's core, it's a fairy tale romance - so he has the source material of a 17th century version of the story

The thing is, the fairy-tale Romance - I don't do these so well, but the music and special effects stand out as a rather outstanding accompaniment to the story, which of course, centers on...well, do I need to even discuss the plot?

One of the intriguing things to me (and to others) was the ending.  I didn't walk away with Happily Ever After in my mouth - in fact, it almost leaves me distrusting the guy the Beast turns into.  Others have commented that the Beast is almost a more sympathetic character than the Prince that he turns into. Perhaps that is part of the tale when one does a movie three months after the fall of Germany and WWII. 

The first half seemed to fly by but I thought the 2nd half dragged a but, but some great music and exterior shots make this a good viewing and the use of backwards filming on some shots makes for some great special effects

The extras are on this disk.  (I watched the Criterion release, not the Art House one.)  Of course, we have the usual extra audio commentaries, a couple documentaries and one on film restoration - One thing that stuck out here is a Phillip Glass composed audio track that turns the dialogue and music of the movie into Opera - that wasn't my thing but maybe others would like it.   The little I heard made me think the music would be inferior to what was actually in the 1946 release

This will be the last entry for 2016 - see ya all in 2017 -

Pax
RB

#5 - The 400 Blows

So, we're in another one of those "I had no idea what I was getting" films - (I suspect this will happen a lot) - BUT I have seen a French New Wave film or two, and what I didn't know is this was one of the founding films of the French New Wave.

There are a lot of definitions of French New Wave, and wikipedia has a few but the best way I can say it is, it's cinema trying to be art - and it's generally a very beautiful and engaging thing.

I actually had gotten this copy initially from my library as part of the Art House Collection - I was a bit dissatisfied with that letterbox crammed into a 4:3 print, so I looked on Netflix, and lo and behold, they had one of the two or three re-releases - (and in fact, it's being re-released again in Jan.) - Imagine my even more pleasant surprise to find I had accidentally checked out the Blu-Ray - so we got to go hi-def on this one.   In one last bit of amusement, much of the film seems to take place around the holiday of Christmas, so here I was two days before Christmas reading Joyeux Noel on the windows in Paris and seeing Christmas trees :)

This is the film of a young adolescent coming to grips with a failed family and social structure and becoming a delinquent.  It actually reminded me a bit of the previous film I had seen, Amarcord, in how the youth are left to some degree, without the guidance or resources needed to develop properly.  The main character, Antoine, has a mother who doesn't like him, a congenial but not over-adoring step-father, and teachers with whom he just doesn't get along.   He has a good friend, Rene, who is a co-conspirator and fellow troublemaker, with another set of neglectful parents who aren't able to provide the stability needed.

What I found very interesting was how this was mostly a semi-autobiographical story of the Director, Francois Truffaut.  Many events shadow his life, and near the end, a monologue of questions about upbringing and life choices apparently were right out of the Director's life.   The director himself was almost saved from a life of petty crime, and so in this way, the movie is a lot like Jack Kerouac's "On The Road" as Antoine and his friend Rene were semi-biographical fictional representations of the Truffaut and his good friend, who also worked on this movie

A couple brief asides...this would end up being the first of Four movies (and one short) by Francois to feature the same actor as the character of Antoine over the course of 20 years.   In fact, they'll all be part of a boxed set up there in the 180's - and that's fine - (I don't think they all have the same flavor as the French New Wave) but knowing that the story goes on kinda spoiled the ending for me a bit which left us wondering what Antoine's future was or where he would manage to go or have one in the final shot

The other aside is merely this - Paris is a magnificent supporting actor in almost any movie.  It's my favorite European City, and the New Wave films such as "Paris Belongs to Us" and this one use it to wonderful effect.  I am reminded of a non-Criterion release that takes place in Newfoundland (The Shipping News) and how that locale as well, becomes one of the characters in the story.

One of the most powerful scenes to me was Antoine crying as he is hauled away in a paddy wagon, looking out over the neon and city lights of Paris, no longer free to wander them like a giant playground.   He is being hauled away ironically, for attempting to right a wrong he had committed.  I almost expected to see him running to Paris at the end of the movie with the Eiffel Tower in the background.   Paris is his playground for much of the movie, and much of French New Wave shows the youth of Paris coming of age and making the most of this wonderful and ancient city

This is another movie where if I have time, I may try and catch the commentaries - (There are two) but there are over 800 films to go and a long time to get there :) - I prefer to play them on the PC where I can speed up the audio and get it done a bit quicker the 2nd time around which is much harder with blu-ray, but in any case, this is a very good film, and was famous in ways I didn't know about before starting and wouldn't have probably seen had I not started these in numerical order of release - I definitely look forward to more French New Wave after seeing this and "Paris Belongs to Us"

RB

#4 - Amarcord

I'll just start this one by coming right out and saying it - I had no idea what to expect.   I was totally unaware of the cinema of Federico Fellini and I think I've only seen one or two Italian films in my lifetime.   Evidently he's quite a character who in some ways, has defined how the world views Italians

So I went into this pretty wide open - I found it to be beautifully shot, and a very entertaining comedic film.  The title is translated as "I Remember" and the film apparently is a look back at some of Federico's early memories of an Italian seaside town on the Cusp of Fascism, with Il Duce taking center stage in one of the town's scenes.   It is meant to be reminiscent of the town of Remini, on the Adriatic Sea

It is more than anything else, an examination of a year in a small Italian village with a rambunctious cast of characters.    There is no discernable plot, as it were, so much as a photograph of time.   It offered some risqué humor, and some sad moments as well as the year goes on.  It primarily focuses on a young teenager, Titta, and the people and places around him, including his obsession with the town's (and DVD cover's) curvaceous Lady in Red, Gradisca, who often reminded me of Sophia Loren.

The film flows from one moment to another, starting in Spring, to the arrival of regional fascists, to the summer and great events like the arrival of a famous Italian Cruise liner, to a country picnic, and later, to foggy fall, to winter, and death, and life again in the spring with the wedding of Gradisca, (sadly, to a Fascist.)   I did not walk away from this movie feeling nostalgic for that time, interestingly, but perhaps that is because in some respects, the characters and the depictions are a bit cartoonish.  (One essay said it was a circus and they were circus performers)   There is also a general theme here where it is implied (mostly in the School scenes) that the older generation is not doing right by the younger generation and not giving them what they need to be full adults.

However, as I said at the start, it is a beautifully shot and entertaining film and I enjoyed it throughly.

The usual DVD extras, interviews, commentary, and restoration clips are here in the two disk edition.   I did something I won't always do here which is I re-watched the DVD with the commentary to learn more about Fellini, his life, history, and extras about the film.  The one thing I was slightly aware of and only more so on the second viewing is that the town and it's togetherness is slowly disintegrating and the implication is that the cause is Fascism.  It was a powerful point that you could miss in all the comedy and surrealist behavior, but once it was pointed out to me in the commentary I couldn't help but notice it.  

And of course, being an American in the 21st Century under the impending presidency of Donald Trump, the disintegration of community under fascism or authoritarianism feels extra close and may make for a great film about us in 40 years time - let's hope not...but enough digression

RB

Series 40 - Late Ray

So with the last post, I made it pretty clear that I was going to intermittently pursue the Eclipse Collection as time permitted, starting with this one - Series 40 - Laty Ray - - These are 3 of the last 4 films that Satyajit Ray did in his lifetime

I won't get into a big exposition here except to say that Satyajit Ray is one of the most famous of all Indian (and Bengali) directors and that no less than Akira Kurosawa said if you haven't seen a Ray film, you haven't seen the sunrise

on that theme, these films are the sunset, as it were

The first one, the Home and the World, from 1984, is his last period piece and was the one he suffered a heart attack while doing and got assistance finishing from his son.   The last two - An Enemy of the People (adapted from a Play by Henrik Isben) and The Stranger are much more constrained visually.  Ray was forced to work on studio sets with a doctor nearby, and as such they are extensively dialogue driven.   There is often only one or two exterior shots in the last films, and we get less of some of the glorious exterior shots that he had in  his earlier career.

Strictly speaking, he visits some of the same Indian themes in these pictures that he has done before - Ideas such as corruption in business, the role of women in traditional and modern society, and family bonds have all played a role in his previous films.  It has beens stated that he was becoming more activist, and perhaps he wanted to make a stronger statement than he had in the past but compared to films like "The Big City" or the films of the Calcutta Trilogy, I feel like they still hold back still a bit.

The Stranger is a wonderful swansong to end a career with.  At least one comment I read on it stated the Director felt that with it complete, he had no more need to make any more films, and he would pass away about a year after it's completion  - The story is that a long lost uncle pays a visit to a great-niece, and the intrigue and comedy with which they attempt to discover his true roots and origins make this one of the more interesting films I've seen on the subject.  

Key moments include a conversation in the film that a friend from Bengal asked me to watch ahead of this viewing between the Uncle and a Barrister that is an interesting commentary on what Civilization has brought/taken from humanity that needs to be seen a couple times to get the full force of, and of course, one last dance number for old times sake near the end.

There is a missing film here called Branches of the Tree that is similar to the last two - dialogue driven on small sets - I could see where that might be left off with all the other stuff - who needs a 3rd film of people talking for two hours, but it would have been nice to get it in for purity's sake

I heard on the Eclipse Podcast - (link last post) that Criterion got the rights to 18 of Ray's films, and that's not the entire collection - several have been released including the magnificent Apu Trilogy which inspired me to pursue all of Ray's feature films.   The Eclipse series fills a nice niche for some obscure genres (like my personal favorite, Nikkatsu Noir) but it also provides some nice blocks of directors who sometimes don't get the catalog fully explored.  With that in mind, these are great films for fans of Ray's work, but the other mainline Criterion films released, especially the Apu Trilogy, Charilata, the Music Room, and The Big City are a better introduction to one of the greatest directors in world cinema.   Start with the Apu Trilogy and try watching all three in one sitting and then follow the branches out from there

more about Satyajit Ray can be found at wikipedia

RB

Digression - The Eclipse Series (and Satyajit Ray)

just a quick post to set up my next one -

Although I plan on trying to do the Criterion Releases in order, I'm also including the Eclipse Releases, and those not necessarily in order - part of the reason is the fact that these are some great lesser-known films - (the first 9 films of Akira Kurosawa for example) and because they're only released on DVD, they are very accessible and affordable and also on Filmstruck  The other reason is sometimes, it's nice to take a break genre-wise with some Nikkatsu Noir or Documentaries, and I'll throw them in as they come to my attention or my library request queue

To that end, One of my favorite links is the Eclipse Viewer Podcast on Criterioncast - not only does each episode include a number of links to other materials, but you get two great film guys talking about the films - Sometimes what I'll do is listen to the part up to the discussion of the films to get the backstory, and then come back after going thru them.

To that end, I had a second project I was wrapping up as I was starting this one - I have been watching the films of Satyajit Ray in Chronological order,  and 3 of his last 4 films are part of an Eclipse Series - (I do not know why the 4th wasn't included) - but for that reason, since I was going to have to go thru this boxed set to complete my viewings, I felt it was time to throw an Eclipse Boxed Set in here.  If you live in the Midwest US, you'd know we've had a cold snap of -20 degrees F, and that is conductive to staying indoors and watching movies if everyone else in the house is asleep. 

One final point - although some of Satyajit's films have been unreleased here in the States, a large number of the unreleased ones are available on Youtube and in poor quality (illegal, I suppose) bittorrent downloads.   Most are, if not always decently subtitled, but as part of this quest I've watched some cruddy quality films, with no restoration and often subtitles from the opensubtitles.org website that didn't sync up.  My favorite headache is having a lower quality copy of "Hirak Rajar Deshe" but a higher quality YouTube stream BUT one that dropped the Subtitles for Bengal Karaoke lines during the songs - so I flipped back and forth about a dozen times. 

I also had a Netflix DVD for "The Elephant God" where something broke in Subtitle encoding and I had to burn the disk to a file and find my own subtitles because somehow the DVD was broke.

We tend to forget what a great time we live in to get great quality restorations with in sync subtitles (that can be turned off - many subtitles have been embedded in the prints.)   When trying to find these unreleased films, many of which have suffered physical damage - (See The Song of the Little Road, an excellent if slightly out of date documentary about preservation of Ray's legacy) -  you might find some films that don't look great blown up on a 55 inch screen, but it's a great opportunity to watch all of a Director's films chronologically, and I hope to do that with other directors that stick out to me during this blog -

Up next - Eclipse 40 - Late Ray

#3 - The Lady Vanishes

sorry for the brief delay - family vacations and all that...

I didn't read as much of the film essay material before starting this film because I don't obviously want to give away the elements of what is a mystery/thriller - but let me start with this

Hitchcock is one of those directors I don't know a lot about short of Psycho and The Birds - I knew he was English but had no idea he had a career in England prior to coming to the US.

This film was a total mystery to me - a romantic thriller with elements of Comedy - and to be honest, I didn't like it very much

the Essays make it clear that in one sense, this is a story about the English.  Several English Travelers are on a train in a foreign country - (a fictional Balkan one with a dictatorship) and are a cross section of English Life - you have an upper class barrister, a middle class artist, a couple of comedic chaps who are basically Cricket obsessed fans, and the spunky daughter of a businessman about to go off and get married - (and that's not even all of them) - As the story implies, a disappearance on the train starts the thriller part of the story

Looking back I can appreciate better what Alfred was doing, and there are definite shadows of the tensions rising with Nazi Germany - (by 1938, Germany had annexed Austria, most of Czechoslovakia, and was clearly mobilizing for war) - The comedic duo of Charters and Caldicott are introduced here, and a second movie (which I didn't watch) was included as part of the collection where they are the principal characters -

It's definitely a thriller that keeps you engaged, and there's some excellent documentaries that describe how it was shot (on a 90 foot set, basically) - and upon re-watching of the special features, one misses how much of the train atmosphere was captured on a regular set - to capture that kind of vibe always rocking and background shots, one could easily think it was shot in part on a train set, but it was all in the studios...

As a whole, a nice intro to the film, but I think I'll appreciate his later American stuff a bit more - this is clearly a British film with nuances I have missed, but it does get your attention

RB

slight delay on #3 and #4

There's a waiting list in the library system for films 3 and 4 - (The Lady Vanishes and Amiacord)

I've got holds placed (and on #5 - The 400 Blows as well) but it might be a few days before my next update -

I could filmstruck it but I really want big screen experience on these if I can get it

RB

#2 - Seven Samurai (part II)

so to conclude, having written that massive post BEFORE watching the movie, what can I leave you with

There's just so much to this movie that carries you in - it's the easiest way to blow off 3.5 hrs without noticing it - The print is fantastic, the story, the music and the comic relief

I was pretty certain I was going to watch it without the commentary, having watched (I think) both commentaries in the past - being day instead of late at night when I usually watch, I made a point of cranking the audio - I had forgotten how good the music was - it's probably the best music I've heard in a Samurai film  - relentless and driving right in the opening credits, and the main theme sounds both noble and tragic, as was the story of many of the protagonists.

There is even more material on the extras blu-ray than there is in the movie - 3 documentaries spread out over 4 hrs - an interview with Akira Kurosawa takes up 2 hrs alone

And then there are the extra audio commentaries - there are two of them, one by a noted expert, and one is a group of people, each taking a turn  - you could burn another 7 hrs just listening to them talk about this film.   In my blu-ray set there is also a small booklet with 8 film essays and a couple remembrances, including one by Toshiro Mifune about memories of the filming, etc.


I have to confess, in the middle of writing this, I started drifting around Google maps in the Izu Peninsula, where the village was built for the movie - I guess the sets aren't standing but dang if it ain't a pretty place

guess that means I need to wrap this entry up - there's so much to read about - I'll leave you with the Wikipedia again and just remind you this is #1 on many lists for the greatest international film ever made and if you're reading this blog and haven't seen it - just drop everything until you do :)

Seven Samurai - at Wikipedia

RB

#2 - Seven Samurai - (pre-viewing thoughts)

Seven Samurai - wow - what can I say - a Masterpiece

First off, let me say I saw this film the first time on the Big Screen a few years ago at the Uptown in Minneapolis as part of the re-release and cleaned print.  This is one of the first Criterion DVD's I bought - (as part of a boxed set with three other Kurosawa movies)

it's also the first DVD I bought that was upgraded with the new master print, and the first Blu-Ray upgrade I bought - this is one of those films that belongs on the shelf of every serious film lover, period

This is the movie that inspired and created a love for Japanese Samurai cinema of all flavors (dramatic and swordplay) and made me a forever fan of Kurosawa - I have two books about his films, and I still plan on doing an "Akira Movie Marathon" someday after I get along a bit - I have to do a check but I believe with the recent release of Dreams and the two Eclipse box sets - (""Early Kurosawa"" and "Akira Kurosawa after the War"") that Criterion has a copy of his entire filmography although when I checked a couple years ago there might have been one or two they didn't have the rights to

I've also done a big study of Japanese History around this time - and the important thing to note about Samurai films is they usually fall in one of three time periods

the Sengoku Period - the time of war and unification of Japan - usually falling in the late 1500 - early 1600's - films like Kagemusha show the Samurai as soldiers and warriors during time timeframe

The Post-War/Pre-Restoration period - at this time Samurai stories either focus around Ronin or in some more excellent modern pieces like The Twilight Samurai, they are portrayed as bureaucrats and government officials who just keep the government running.  There is a lot of great cinema in this time period especially the Samurai Trilogy of Yoji Yamada (The Twilight Samurai, The Hidden Blade and Love and Honor)

Finally, there is the Meiji Restoration, which briefly summed up, is the period of conflict between the Shogunate and Emperor resulting in the Emperor being restored to the head of power in 1868.  There is some Cinema in this period - "(Assassin - 1964) and other films about the Shinsengumi that take place in this period - These tend to be a bit more action and swordplay but there are always exceptions

Seven Samurai takes place in 1586-7, in the middle of the Sengoku period where as they point out in the intro, attention was elsewhere during the civil wars and bandits had a bit more free reign.  It's also worthy to note that most of Kurosawa's Samurai pieces were about Ronin - as one commentator put it, a real historical Samurai was fairly boring - he took orders and did stuff but the Ronin had room in a story to develop a bit

One last point I remember the commentaries I've seen and read - this is the first historical period piece to focus exclusively on Samurai that gained success in the West.  Samurai were obviously in early historical films, and in films such as Rashomon.  There were some swordplay films, and Japanese history is full of stories and legends of Noble Samurai, but this focus of them as the center of the story in a historical piece was fairly unique at the time, and it paved the way for the Samurai films to follow and would open the door for Samurai Cinema in the West

up next - my impressions on the film and extras

#1 - The Grand Illusion

So we start this endeavor with a film that Criterion no longer prints.  It is a classic I had never heard of, by a director I barely heard of (Jean Renoir) - Clearly I have a lot to learn on this trip :D

I don't know if I'm going to be writing summaries of the films here as much as my impressions - This film kept my attention the whole way thru, with it's depiction of WWI prison life.  I was struck by how much it reminded me of WWII POW films, such as Stalag 17 or The Great Escape.  I was also struck by the depiction of what I would call, familiarity and decency between the POW's and the Guards.

It is here that one of the special features of the Disc paid off - Jean Renoir himself talking about the 1958 re-release.   This film was shot before WWII and the Nazis.  There was a last vestige of the aristocracy between the French Captive, Captain de Boeldieu, and his German counterpart, Captain  von Rauffenstein.   From the very first scenes, you get the impression that WWI among captured officers was as far from the front lines as we are in the 21st century from Trench warfare.

Of course, no POW film is complete without some escape attempts, and the 2nd half of the film is driven by the narrative of the escape of two Lieutenants, one a working class Mechanic from Paris, and one an upper class Jewish naturalized citizen.   I suspect this is what drove the Nazis to attempt to destroy all copies of the movie, as their friendship is among the strongest represented in the picture.

As a final note - (although it's unavailable to anyone without access to the disk) - There is a special feature on how the film was restored.   I'll probably write some interludes here and there, thoughts on things like film restoration, subtitles, and the like, but to see what the print WAS and what Criterion restored it to is magnificent - The technology only gets better and better - The Apu Trilogy by Satyajit Ray was recently restored, and folks have commented that what is on the Blu-ray is probably better than any copy that ever made the theater.   It's wonderful to have these films without the scratches and noise, that, like crackle on a vinyl record, can serve as fatigue of sorts as the film goes along.

There is some excellent trivia at wikipedia, of course, and I'll leave you with that link regarding some of the history and themes.   This film feels like it's needed in today's world - I can see why it would be the first film they chose to release when they started the DVD series


The Grand Illusion - at Wikipedia

Once more, into the breach

I'm starting this blog to post my thoughts and efforts in documenting my viewing of the Criterion/Eclipse collection of films.

This is something I've been wanting to do for some time - I've still got two or three irons in the fire - (I am finishing a viewing of all the cinema by Satyajit Ray, and there is some overlap here) But mostly I've been wanting to take advantage of the selection of Criterion DVD's in the Twin Cities, and we'll see how this goes, whether or not I'm able to contribute anything to the conversation or if it's just "Good film - needs more explosions"

For the most part, I plan on using Library Materials in the Hennepin and St. Paul Public Library system and hitting the interlibrary loan system if need be  - I own a few DVD's and Blu-Ray's but as part of my attempt to declutter my life, will not be doing much purchasing at the present time unless I find some of the material (like the Zatoichi collection) is going out of print.

In addition, I hope to post some thoughts on cinema from the POV of an amateur - someone who barely knows anything about cameras, or angles, or pacing - I have friends who have directed movies and they no doubt will be vastly amused if they come read this - I was a broadcasting major in College but my experience was limited to Radio

My PLAN is to go in numerical order on the spine - I may have to find other publishers for out-of-print DVD's but I will avail myself of all the essays on the Criterion website before watching, and go into these films with a small grasp of what I'm getting into

When it comes to the Eclipse series, I may skip around a bit, we'll see. I can already tell based on availability there is one collection I want to watch ahead of the others.

I am partial to Japanese, some French, and Indian Cinema, mostly because I have either been to those countries, or just really REALLY like Samurai films - so you've been warned :)

Finally one last thought - and it's political so you can skip this paragraph now if you don't like politics - I dislike the wave of Nationalism that has taken over the United States with the election of Donald Trump. I recognize that America has it's own culture, with good and bad points, and that we've got some great cinema, but I feel too often we only look at ourselves.   I feel the citizens of my country would benefit greatly from having more exposure to the outside world, countries, political systems, values, etc - even if we don't embrace them.  As part of my time in India (for work) I got to know several Indians who discussed their new Prime Minister, and got to see that in some ways, the fights we have between Conservative and Progressive values are not at all unique to America, or even Democracies.

My hope is that by viewing all these (mostly) foreign films, that I will be a better citizen of the world and better able to understand the conversation and history of what has taken place prior to now.   And of course, to be entertained - anything like this is worth doing if it's fun :)

I will create a twitter account to link to this and will follow any other movie blogs that are interested

and....to begin with, we will start with an out-of print Criterion DVD I had to go to Downtown St. Paul to get - The Grand Illusion, by Jean Renoir

RB