FAVORITE FILMS: REQUIEM OF A DREAM

If you dare, Darren Aronofsky's 2000 film REQUIEM FOR A DREAM manages to combine the exagerated and angst feuld images of German Expressionism with tremendous montage sequences that recall the power of Soviet Montage.  The film follows four protagonists linked by love, friendship, family, and addiction.  REQUIEM FOR A DREAM, as the title suggests, explores the disparate nature of our dreams and our realities.  The characters of the film become victims of their own dreams and delusions, which leads them down a road of desperation.

This gripping and shocking film, based on the novel by Hurbert Shelby Jr., shows that these two international movements may share a lot of similarities and form two important cornerstones to cinematic expression:  mise-en-scene and montage.  In additon, the film has powerful performances and a moving musical score.

POP CULTURE PARALLELS: MADONNA AND FILM HISTORY

Besides the rap section of Madonna's Vogue music video, a litany of Hollywood stars, or her imitation of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes in MAterial Girl, she is a pop artist who has repeatedly co-opted or appropriated filmic history and iconography.  In addition to her evelopment of star personas such as Maryiln Monroe and Jean Harlow, her music videos, especially during the 1990s, show case an impressive film literacy from herself and the directors with whom she worked. 

Perhaps these music videos by Madonna can shed light on the movements of German Expressionism and Soviet Montage.

David Fincher's EXPRESS YOURSELF video draws heavily from Metropolis (the canoical german expressionist film.  Urban paranoira, repressed sexuality, industrial malaise all dominate the narrative.  Its visuals are heightened similar to The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and shows a modern use of the expressionistic mode.



In this second video to Madonna's RAY OF LIGHT, Swedish director Jonas Åkerlund, used sped up images from various cities including Los Angeles, New York, London, Vegas, and Stockholm.  The disparate images of single days in the city and their editing recall Vertov's Man with a Movie Camera.  Åkerlund is also referencing Godfrey Reggio's 1982 film Koyaanisqatsi: Life out of Balance, which features time-lapse photography.



Åkerlund and Madonna were later accused of plagarism by Stefano Salvati.  The Italian director claimed that he had sent Maverick, Madonna's record company, a copy of his video for Biagio Antonacci's  song "Non è Mai Stato Subito" prior to the filming of Ray of Light.

SCREENING: THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI and MAN WITH A MOVIE CAMERA

This week's screening is a European double feature consisting of THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI, an example of German Expressionism, and MAN WITH A MOVIE CAMERA, an example of Soviet Montage.  These films showcase two very different but equally important parts of filmmaking:  mise-en-scene and montage.  Both these films and their respective movements would have tremendous impact on the art of filmmaking and especially the development of Classical Hollywood cinema that we will look at in a few weeks. 

THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI is considered one of the best horror films ever produced.  The film follows a series of murders in a German mountain town after the arrival of Dr. Caligari and his assistant Cesare.  With amazing sets and performances, the film takes the viewer into the deranged psyche of the human mind.  The visuals of MAN WITH A MOVIE CAMERA are equally disorienting but in a different way.  Constructed from images of Soviet citizens, with no plot, the film is an experimental documentary that features numerous cinematic techniques including double exposure, split screens, and jump cuts.

Suggested Supplmental Screenings:  For German Expressionism -- NOSFERATU (Murnau, 1922), METROPOLIS (Lang, 1927), and SUNRISE: A SONG OF TWO HUMANS (Murnau, 1927).  For Soviet Montage -- THE BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN (Eisenstein, 1925) and STRIKE (Eisenstein, 1925).

FAVORITE FILMS: STEAMBOAT BILL JR.

If you like Keaton, check out this film.  The film begins with Steamboat Bill, who is excited that his son Steamboat Bill, Jr. is returning home from school.  Bill wants Bill Jr. to take over the family business, but Bill Jr. resists.  Instead of work, Bill Jr. is interested in Kitty, a girl he met in school.  The affair is complicated when Bill Jr. meets Kitty's father, Steamboat Bill's rival.  The film is best known for a daring prision escape set admist a cyclone.  This is a great example of the Keaton persona and the performer's daring physical performances. 



A lot of Chaplin, Keaton, and Lloyd's work can be found on DVD at the library or through the Internet Archive.

POP CULTURE PARALLELS: CHAPLIN AND KEATON IN FASHION

For Spring 2011, fashion designer John Galliano turned to silent film for inspiration.  The collection inspired by Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton experimented with new proporitions.  The runway featured a giant clock, which could be a reference to Chaplin's film MODERN TIMES in which he is trapped in a set of gears or possibly to Harold Lloyd's SAFETY LAST.  The show's references could also be a remark on the current economic enviornment.  Ironic that this tramp ensemble costs so much money.

Fashion and film have always been very connected but more than ever fashion houses are turning to film and filmmakers to reach a larger audience.  For example, three famous directors have produced perfume commercials for fashion houses:  David Lynch for Gucci, Sofia Coppola for Dior, and Jean-Pierre Jeunet for Chanel.

SCREENING: SILENT COMEDIES

While the feature films discussed in class are examples of melodrama, another popular genre was comedy.  This weeks screening encapsulates three of the leading silent comedians of the era:  Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and Harold Lloyd.  In the essence of time, the films by Chaplin and Keaton are short films and Lloyd's a feature film.  It is important to note that Chaplin and Keaton also produced feature films and all three were very hands-on with their productions whether they are credited as director or not.  These comedies, like the melodramas, provide entertainment as well as a window on life during that time.

You should notice a connection between these comedians and later comics such as Jerry Lewis and Jim Carrey.  Pay attention to the intricate visuals of these films since they are paramount to the successful completion of the gags.  Also of importance is the way in which each of these silent comedians honed their skills and cultivated distinctive personas that made them famous.  Chaplin, Keaton, and Lloyd were all very aware of the roles they were playing and very protective of their work, especially Lloyd (who witheld his work for decades).

Suggested Supplemental Screenings:  SHOULDER ARMS (Chaplin, 1918), THE KID (Chaplin, 1921), CITY LIGHTS (Chaplin, 1931), MODERN TIMES (Chaplin, 1936), SHERLOCK JR. (Keaton, 1924), GO WEST (Keaton, 1925), THE GENERAL (Keaton, 1926), STEAMBOAT BILL JR. (Keaton, 1928),
GRANDMA'S BOY (Lloyd, 1922), and GIRL SHY (Lloyd, 1924)

Chaplin and Keaton appear together in LIMELIGHT (1952).  We will watch Chaplin's THE GREAT DICTATOR (1940) at the end of the semester.

Surprisingly a new Charlie Chaplin film was recently discovered through ebay when a man purchased a film canister labeled "an old film," which turned out to be CHARLIE CHAPLIN IN ZEPPED, a 1916 World War I propoganda film that was considered lost.

FAVORITE FILMS: JEANNE DIELMAN ...

The transition to feature filmmaking was one concerned with time.  How to extend spectator interests?  Since the advent of the feature film the industry average is between 90-120 minutes.  However, some filmmakers have gone beyond that to make longer films.  At one point such epic films would be interrupted with an intermission, but that is no longer the case.



In the May/June 2010 issue of FILM COMMENT, there is a "A Trivial Top 20" list of "The Best Very, Very Long Films."  Among the list, which includes Francis Ford Coppola's THE GODFATHER: PART II (200 minutes), Stanley Kubrick's BARRY LYNDON (184 minutes), and Andy Warhol's CHELSEA GIRLS (210 minutes), Chatal Akerman's masterpiece of pacing JEANNE DIELMAN, 23 QUAI DU COMERCE, 1080 BRUXELLES (201 minutes) stands out for its darring experimentation with duration.  It is a fascinating film that builds tension during its 3-hour plus running time to a shocking, climatic finish.  It is certainly worth the time to watch.  Akerman visited the Cosford in the Fall of 2008.

FAVORITE FILMS: THE SHINNING

The "Here's Johnny" scene of Stanely Kubrick's THE SHINNING is one of cinema's most classic lines and moments.  You can compare it with D.W. Griffith's BROKEN BLOSSOMS to discover that the tremendous effects provided by the cinematic expereince are establish quite early in its history.  The comparrison between these two films shows what can be learned and used from early cinema to make contemporary. 

Kubrick, like Griffith, was a master of cinema.  Both loved melodrama and understood the power of cinema through camera placement, editing, and performances.  Both men operated on an epic scale.  Another example showing the universality of cinema in the past and present. 

SCREENING: THE BLOT

Directed by pioneer filmmaker Lois Weber, THE BLOT, made in 1921, is a feature film detailing issues of poverty, class, and ethics. Weber made great attempts to keep a level of realism to this family melodrama through her use of location shooting, natural lighting, and non-professional actors in supporting roles.

Weber was a director, producer, and actress. In 1914 she became the first woman to direct a feature film. She even formed her own production company in 1917. THE BLOT, which was not successfully received, marked a turning point in Weber's life, professionally and personally. The 1920s were a rough period of the director as she experienced both the loss of her company and the end of her marriage.
THE BLOT was restored by Kevin Brownlow and David Gill and showcased at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival. The restoration of Weber's work has secured her a place in the annuals of film history next to directors such as D.W. Griffith and Cecil B. DeMille.

Suggested Supplemental Screenings: BIRTH OF A NATION (Griffith, 1915), THE CHEAT (DeMille, 1915), BROKEN BLOSSOMS (Griffith, 1919), WAY DOWN EAST (Griffith, 1920)

LES VAMPIRES ONLINE LINK!

http://www.archive.org/details/lesVampires1915Episode4-theSpectre

Now you can watch it from your computer.

PORTER'S UNCLE JOSH SERIES

These three films by Porter form a sort of series of films revolving around the character of Uncle Josh, a country pumbkin, they also represent trick films.

UNCLE JOSH AND THE SPOOKY HOTEL (1900)

This has a very vaudville feel to it.  Something we will see when we look at the silent comedies of Chaplin, Keaton, and Lloyd.

UNCLE JOSH'S NIGHTMARE (1900)

Notice the similarites to Melies' film THE BLACK IMP, made a few years later.  It possibly shows the exchange of ideas or stealing of ideas.  It also shows the develpment of the trick film.  Melies' is more compliated and smoother.

UNCLE JOSH AT THE MOVING PICTURE SHOW (1902)

This film is fascinating in its fascination with the cinematic medium.  Like THOSE AWFUL HATS, the film shows the curiosity associated with the cinema by audiences and filmmakers.  Technically... masking.  Also sort of a homage to the Lumiere Brothers and their film THE ARRIVAL OF THE TRAIN AT THE STATION and the reported audience reaction of fear that the train would break through the screen.  If you like this sort of reflexivity you might want to look at Buster Keaton's SHERLOCK JR. and Woody Allen's THE PURPLE ROSE OF CARIO.

SCREENING: LES VAMPIRES

Make sure to screen Louis Feuillade's 1915 Serial film LES VAMPIRES before Thursday.  Copies of the film can be found in the Reading Room and on hold at the Library.  You only need to watch part 4 -- Le spectre (The Ghost) (32 min). If you feel like watching the entire 399 minutes, please do.
The story will be somewhat complete and somewhat incomplete.  Consider the similarities of this format to more recent films such as the HARRY POTTER SERIES or the TWILIGHT SAGA.  These films stand on their own but they are part of a continuing story.  Serial and series films, we'll discuss the difference on Thursday, can be seen as precursors to the popularity of sequels, the development of series television, and the ubiquity of modern film marketing tie-ins.

Suggested Supplemental Screenings:  THE PERILS OF PAULINE (1914), THE HAZARDS OF HELEN (1914-1917), JUDEX (1914/1916)

POP CULTURE PARALELLS: LUMIERES TO VIRAL VIDEO

The parallels between the Lumiere Brothers' CHILDISH QUARREL (1896) and the viral video CHARLIE BIT ME demonstrate that while cinema has changed a great deal in the last 100 years many essentials remain.  Notice that both films are of domestic moments seemingly caught spontaneously.  The popularity of both films confirm that entertainment really has not changed a great deal.

FAVORITE FILMS: BLUEBEARD

If you were intrigued by Melies, you can check out his adaptation of BLUEBEARD, Charles Pennualt's grisly children's story.  French filmmaker Catherine Breillat recently adapted this classic fairy tale in a new way.  The film, like the story, follows a young girl who is wedded to a mysterious man.  Admist rumors of disappeared wives, the young girl must decide whehter to obey her husband's orders or submit to her own curiosity.  Breillat ingeniously frames the primary story as two sisters read the tale.  The film fits perfectly with Breillat's interest in sexuality and violence, the bonds of sisterhood, and the victimization of women.  Known as a provacauteur, Breillat's film is shocking and beautiful. 

The film is part of the Tournees Film Festival this semester exploring the New Extreme in French Cinema.  BLUEBEARD will be screening 10.7.10 at 7pm in the Cosford.