Category Archives: Blog
A New Criterion Podcast
I’m pleased to announce that we have a Criterion Collection podcast in the works. In case you missed any of the social media teases or the new menu button up top, there is a placeholder page that promises more details. Here are some of these details.
The one and only Mark Hurne is going to be my co-host. He has contributed to numerous podcasts, including First Time Watchers, InSession Film Cast, and Eclipse Viewer. He has also been involved with social media for Filmspotting, and has written Criterion content for Psycho Drive-in.
He has a wealth of Criterion knowledge at his fingertips, and like me, he is a completist. He owns a healthy percentage of the Collection, including a number of out-of-print titles. He currently has a monthly segment on First Time Watchers called “Criterion 101” where he talks about the announced titles and various news items about releases.
As for me, if you’re reading this page, you probably know that I write about Criterions. A lot. My podcasting resume is not as large as Mark’s, as I have just appeared in one episode of WrongReel and soon will appear on Flixwise.
Most importantly, we love to talk about film. Maybe I’m biased, but I think we’re pretty good at it.
So what can you expect?
Our goal is to put on a weekly show and we’ll occasionally have special guests, usually experts about a certain field or fans of a particular film. Of course we’ll talk about all things Criterion, which includes news and rumors, new titles, upcoming titles, announcements, speculation etc.
Even though Criterion is a big label, just the news and rumors would not be enough content for a weekly show. We’re also going to screen a film from the collection nearly every week, whether new and old, whether for the first time or a re-watch, and have a healthy, analytical discussion about the film.
We won’t stop there. One thing that’s great about Criterion titles is they often reveal a story behind the film. We’ll go further than just the film and talk about one or many related topics. For instance we could talk about a particular director, actor, a type of theme, an era, a genre — you name it. These discussions will expand beyond the Collection. Criterion has quite an impressive list of titles, but they do not have everything.
We will focus primarily on titles available on Blu-Ray, whether upgraded or not. We have pledged to cover one new release per month. That could change based on what we’re interested in, or whether we have a fitting guest for a title. The films will run the gamut. We’ll talk about modern films, classic films, foreign films, silent films — all kind of films, as long as they have that Criterion logo. We will even take requests. We want to be flexible and talk about whatever film seems right for the time.
I will maintain this blog, CriterionBlues, and will continue to update it as frequently as I can. This podcast will initially be posted here, so if you’re already subscribed to this site, you’ll get notified of new casts along with new posts. Even though this content will be housed here, this is a different project than the one I’m working on.
The Name
We’re going to give the podcast a new name, which we’re narrowing down right now. Here are some of the choices that we’re chewing on. Feel free to share your preference.
A Taste of Criterion
Certified Criterion
Colors of Criterion
Criterion Collective
Criterion Colors
Criterion Travels
My Darling Criterion
Some Like it Criterion
The Criterion Life
You may have noticed that some of these are derived from Criterion titles, and a couple others just classic films. Yes, I know there are two Kiarostami films and two names with Color. That doesn’t mean we’re leaning in any direction. If you can think of a good title that we haven’t listed here, but all means, share it.
The Production
We don’t want to sound like two guys talking through a tin can. We’ve already done some tests and think the audio quality should be strong. We’ll continue to test as we make preparations just to make sure it sounds as good as possible.
We’ll make sure to utilize media tools that simply are not available with the written word. For example, when we talk about Mulholland Drive, we could play the audition clip, the Silencio clip, or any number of clips, and break them down for analysis. We’ll also include music and other media whenever it fits the cast.
Yes. We will podcast about Mulholland Drive.
Even though you’ll be hearing the voices of Aaron and Mark, we want it to be interactive. We want to hear feedback from you guys. We won’t get everything right and sometimes people will disagree with us. You are welcome to comment and continue the discussion via the blog or social media. In fact we encourage it as long as you remain respectful. Just based on our track record, we are probably going to like most of the Criterion titles. Some we will like more than others, and occasionally we won’t like one. Everyone has different tastes. We’ll respect yours provided it came from a well-thought out position. We hope that you’ll respect ours as well.
When Will it Begin?
Now that’s a good question. We’ve been planning this thing for a little while with an approximate air date in mind. We have the week of August 24th penciled in, which will give us an opportunity to give a proper introduction to the cast and talk about November releases. Barring unforeseen technical difficulties, we could launch it later. Or we might be ready early. Most likely it will be towards the end of August.
Hopefully you’ll join us on this new adventure.
My Journey to British Blu-Ray
Even though I love my Criterions, I have looked longingly quite often across the pond. The one limitation with US releases is that Criterion is basically the go-to label for prestigious classic films. Sure, others have their moment in the sun, but it isn’t much of a comparison. What’s more is that Criterion and Janus have the rights to so many movies that may never see a release (hence the Eclipse sets and Hulu channel). British labels for instance (Arrow, Artificial Eye, BFI, Masters of Cinema, among others) have a wide array of arthouse films available.
The label that intrigues me the most is Masters of Cinema, which could be called the UK version of Criterion. They coincidentally started me on this journey. We were tweeting about a title that was available through Masters of Cinema, and I tagged them, thinking nothing of it. I casually mentioned that down the road I might get a region-free player, but I wasn’t in a major hurry. Frankly, the idea of a region-free player doesn’t excite me. Fooling with firmware and getting a mediocre player is not something I want to do. Masters of Cinema surprised me by tweeting just to buy a British Blu-Ray player and an adapter. How simple! Why didn’t I think of that?
This was on May 20th.
There were a few obstacles. It was difficult to find an Amazon player that would ship to the United States. I finally settled on this player. It was reasonably priced, had good reviews, and looked to be eligible for US shipping. I put it on my wish list and planned to come back when I was ready, probably sometime over the summer.
I also asked Brian and Ryan from Criterion Cast’s Off the Shelf podcast for their suggestions about the best Region-B releases to try. I told them my plans about buying a British player rather than going Region free, and Ryan stopped me right there. He said that even if a player says it will ship, it might not ship. He (or people he knew) had tried to order players, and they simply would sit there and never ship. He contacted service and nothing happened, so he eventually canceled the order.
When I heard this, I placed the order immediately. It was May 27th and it had an estimated ship time of a couple weeks. Fine by me. A little bit of time passed. I checked, and no movement. It had not been “dispatched” as they say in the UK, whereas most Amazon UK orders dispatch within a day or two, sometimes on the same day. I checked again later, and still nothing. Maybe Ryan was right?
I contacted Amazon customer service and asked them the status. They were quite helpful and apologetic, but they explained that the shipment delay was because it had to ship from a distribution center in another country. It would ship around mid-July. Huh? When I heard this news, I had practically given up. I doubted I would ever see the player. I went on with my life and forgot about it, but I did not cancel the order just in case.
Within a week or so, I received a surprising email. The player had been dispatched and was on the way. It even had a tracking number. Now I got excited. I watched as the player bounced around the UK until it stopped in Surrey. I checked periodically, and again, no movement. I was beginning to think that my expectations were getting the best of me again, and that it would never leave Surrey.
On June 20th, a Sunday of all days, I noticed a suspicious package on my doorstep. It looked big and bulky. What did I order? It was an Amazon box, but it wasn’t the pristine looking boxes that you get from Amazon US. It looked like it had been around the world. Well, it had. The Blu-Ray player had arrived!
That was a major step, but that was not the final step. You cannot plug and play a British piece of equipment. We have different plugs. I needed an adapter of some sort. It also had to be the right voltage because our plugs and their plugs generate different amounts. As I investigated the player, I found that it required 250V. That could be a problem as most standard adapters only support up to roughly 150V.
I was back on the detective trail. At first I searched Amazon and found a number of low cost adapters, but in the questions section, most of them said they would not play laptops or other electronics. The others simply did not have the wattage levels. I tried Amazon UK thinking that there has to be something available there for British travelers visiting the states or elsewhere. Oh, there were plenty there, but the only problem is I could not find a single one that shipped to the United States. Sigh.
Back to the drawing board, I tried Amazon.com again. I aimed at a little higher price point and found some more viable options. I settled on this one because it was advertised as “100% Compatible with US, UK, EU, & AU plug/socket standards!” It said it handled up to 250V.
Knowing that Amazon has a good return policy, I took the plunge. There was no shipping drama. It arrived within two days. I was wary of burning the house down, so I found the largest surge protector in the house, unplugged everything from it, and gave this little baby a try. A white light came on. Success!
I tried it with the TV. We have two, one of which is a little older. That one did not work. It said that it did not have the proper resolution to support the player. Sigh. It seemed that every time something good happened, something bad would follow.
I tried the other TV and was prepared for disappointment. The light turned on; the TV was thinking. All of a sudden the language options showed up. VICTORY! The first disc I tried looked gorgeous.
Success!
So the whole thing set me back about a month and $80, not to mention all the extra discs I’ll be buying in the coming months and years. Was it worth it? Absolutely!
I’ve already bought some British Blu-Rays and more are on the way, so I’ll follow this up later with a post with the beginnings of the collection.
My Beach Party Rainout
The above picture is my yet to be unpacked suitcase. It is packed with unrealistic expectations.
Often when I travel, I’ll have free time and (surprise!), I spend it watching movies. As you can see, I have a few movies in there — The Seventh Seal, Make Way for Tomorrow, Limelight, Bye Bye Birdie. The first priority was The Seventh Seal, because that was my topic for the Beach Party Blogathon. I was super excited to dive into it because I was planning to write a creative and hopefully funny take on Death going to the beach, contrasting and making light of the austere, cerebral themes and images of Bergman. Since this would be another notch in this Blu-Ray project, I would have also covered the film with traditional analysis, which is a tall and time consuming order for such a dense film.
Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on perspective), I was able to watch absolutely nothing. That part of the suitcase was not even touched during the trip. We managed to have such an exciting trip that we seldom had down time, and when we did, I was too scatterbrained to focus on film analysis.
On top of that, a friend is visiting town this week, so even finishing up Modern Times is going to be ambitious. In other words, I have a lot of excuses that I didn’t foresee when originally planning my involvement. I’ve been assured that a shark won’t eat me, so I have to thank the wonderful Kristina and Ruth for giving me a pass.
Even though I won’t be participating, please check out the Blogathon that is going on right now. The Day 1 Recap has already been posted at Silver Screenings, and look for Day 2 over at Speakeasy. I’ll be catching up on all of the entries when my schedule calms down, probably over the weekend.
Speaking of big projects, I have finally chosen my topic for the Classic Movie History Project and it is a whopper! I’m going to write a complete history about the demise of the studio system. It will be published in three posts over the three days during the project. The first post will be about the roots of the system, and how the seeds for independence were planted long before the downfall took place. The second post will be about the legislation and anti-studio efforts that culminated in the Paramount Decision. The final post will be the aftermath and ultimate downfall of the studios, where I’ll also delve into some of the other socio-economic changes that contributed to the power shift.
If it sounds big, well, it is. It is gargantuan and I could have taken the easier route and wrote about Billy Wilder. However, I have done some extensive academic work on the studio system and have all my notes and sources, so this will be easier than it sounds. I’m actually looking forward to it, but I know that I have my work cut out for me.
Shadows & Satin and Speakeasy are hosting another Blogathon next month that covers just the year 1947 — a spectacular year for film. I’m covering Black Narcissus from one of my favorite teams, Powell & Pressburger. The full line-up is here.
These are appointments that I’ll gladly keep. There are no more vacations in the near future.
New York Postscript
Yesterday’s post about my Criterion trip was lengthy enough, but I forgot one tidbit.
Remember I was wearing the Ride t-shirt and the show had been the night before? After I left the Criterion offices, I got into an elevator with a number of people. I was pretty much in a daze, reflecting on the Criterion experience, that I barely even noticed them. As I walked out of the building, someone in front of me held the door open. As I passed through, he noticed my shirt.
Coincidentally, I got the same question that the Criterion guys asked. “Were you at the show last night?”
This guy was probably about 10 years older than the Criterion Ride fan, and maybe a few years younger than myself. He was dressed in business casual, but I could see some stubble on his face. Today wasn’t a shaving day. Of course I answered yes with enthusiasm. As it turned out, he had been to the show as well, which is why he looked slightly worn out. We talked for a few moments about the highlights of the show.
I was standing there with the Criterion postcards in my hand, which he then noticed. He didn’t say anything, just looked back at me. Without thinking, I asked, “do you work at Criterion?” He laughed. “I wish! I just work upstairs.” He didn’t go into more detail about his job, and I’m guessing it didn’t measure up to Criterion. We then started talking about Criterion and he learned that I was just visiting their office as a fan.
He then told me some stories about just working in the building with them. He said he sees artist-types all the time, which I am guessing are sometimes directors, sometimes graphic designers, or other people associated with the industry. I could tell that while he enjoyed film, he wasn’t the foreign film devotee that I am, and wouldn’t recognize a lot of avant-garde directors, so I could not glean any secrets from him. The only guest he had ever recognized was Wes Anderson, who he had seen numerous times. That makes sense because W.A. has a distinctive look, and is arguably the biggest and most recognized American indie-auteur.
With Moonrise Kingdom‘s postponed release just around the corner, I could have pressed hm for more details. I didn’t ask when the visits took place or how long he had been working there. Anderson probably visited plenty for The Fantastic Mr. Fox and The Life Aquatic because of supplements and to sign off on the releases so they could use the ‘Director Approved’ sticker. So while the news wasn’t revolutionary, it was still interesting to hear the firsthand experiences from someone who works a few floors above Criterion.
When I go on a vacation, I make it a point to pack a few movies. This time I packed four Criterion discs. Guess how many I watched? Absolutely none. I watched a light classic movie on the plane, and that was it. That speaks to the fact that we had such a packed trip. After doing the podcast, seeing a concert and visiting Criterion, I was just either too excited or too exhausted to pour my energy and concentration into an art film.
I happened to have completed Modern Times and all of its supplements before leaving town, and was hoping to finish writing my post on the airplane or in the hotel. That didn’t happen either. I tried a few times, but found my idle time too distracted with twitter, email, or whatever.
Since I have this mammoth ongoing project in process, I sometimes felt guilty for neglecting my ‘responsibilities.’ As fate would have it, we were in a restaurant yesterday and they were playing Chaplin films. Great idea!
We watched and laughed at a silent Chaplin as we ate, which ended about the time we were paying our check. As you can see from the image above, the next movie was Modern Times. We left right after I took the above picture, but I found it an eerily coincidental reminder. Expect that post up within the next couple of days as I get re-settled into town.
The guys over at CriterionForum found a phantom page for Samantha Fuller. Could this mean that Pickup on South Street is going to be reissued on Criterion? Could this mean that another Fuller title is forthcoming? Maybe a box-set? The sleuths at CriterionForum have concluded that this is indeed for Pickup. I hope they are right. What James brought up about Sam Fuller on the podcast was fascinating and I would love to learn more about the man, and of course I’d be eager to revisit this restored classic again from my home theater. My guess is we’ll know something in a few weeks or months.
A Trip to Criterion (and other NYC cultural excursions)
It was Day 3 on our NYC “not a tour” trip. Day 1 was a movie — Pickup on South Street; day 2 was a concert — Ride; Day 3 was shopping and just hanging about. The one thing about New York City is there’s so much to see and do, that it caters to everyone’s interests, so we ended up focusing on culture, cinema and art. We spent some time at a Game of Thrones store (!), near MoMa looking at Russian Constructivist artwork, and ended with me making a beeline to Criterion Collection Headquarters. Since the latter trip is what is most interesting to readers here, I’ll start with that and work my way backwards. This is like the Memento of blog posts.
Disclaimer: Please do not try this without contacting Criterion. They are super friendly as I found out, but this is a place of business and they probably don’t want hordes of people dropping by.
It was getting toward the end of the day. We had already walked for miles, shopped at the places we wanted to shop, and were a little bit travel weary. We decided to head back to the hotel. My wife wanted to get in a nap before our dinner reservation.
We were walking on 5th Avenue, which has a mixture of upscale retail, commercial and tourism. We passed CBS without interest, but that prompted the thought – where in New York City would I like to go that would connect with my film interests? It hit me like a bolt of lightning. THE CRITERION COLLECTION.
As we walked, I became one of the people that annoy me – the phone walker. I was using Maps and the Internet to try to figure out where in the city their office is. As luck would have it, Criterion was not far from our hotel, only it was on the opposite side of a big landmark. There was no way I was going to talk my wife into going with me. I looked at the clock and it was still during the business day on a Friday, but with us leaving town on Sunday, this was the only opportunity. My wife laughed when I told her my plan, but it was to split up at the crossroads. She would head to the right to the hotel, while I would head left and try to find Criterion. It was about a mile of a walk out of our way.
The office was hard to find. There is no large sign out that says ‘Criterion Collection.’ I had an address, but it is not really easy to see street numbers. At first I passed it by a couple blocks, still looking for it on the left. The Internet helped again, and I was able to narrow down the building they were in. Eventually I found it, and it was just that, an office building that looks like the thousand other New York buildings.
As I walked in, I looked at the directory on the right to see if Criterion was listed. Nope. Was this the right place? I walked in further. There were two security guards at the very front. I work in an office at home, but realized that I was wearing a concert shirt, had gone three days without shaving, and had been walking all over the city in the rain. They were professional, but wanted to know where I was visiting. I cleared my throat. “The Criterion Collection,” I said, probably with a waver in my voice, expecting them to say “The What??” Instead they responded with “name and ID please.” They didn’t even do a double take about my appearance. It then dawned on me that I was visiting an office that gets tons of artists. I was probably dressed more appropriately than I thought.
Once past the first barrier, I was in the building and had to figure out where the office was. There were about 20 floors. I went into an elevator with a group of businessmen. I guessed at the floor (correctly, I would find), and they all looked at me curiously. I would find out why later.
As I got off the elevator, it was there before me. It looked like any ordinary office with a reception area, transparent glass walls and doors. There was no large Criterion sign, but there was a distinctive feature. There were movie posters, all over the place. From the elevator I could only see Belle de Jour, and as I got closer, there were many more. They were all over the place. I had found my Mecca.
I walked in and to my right, saw a young gentleman who looked at me curiously. I could tell they were not used to visitors. Again, my nerves shot up and was expecting to be escorted back to the door. Instead I just told them the truth. “Hey there, this may seem weird, but I am just a major fan of your products. I own a ton of them and follow you religiously. I just wanted to swing by, say hello and thanks.” Again, I braced myself, but was relieved when I was not turned away.
As I mentioned above, I had seen a concert the night before and was wearing the shirt. Ride is an obscure art-rock band, technically categorized as “shoegaze”, but not a band that the masses would know. The young man, essentially acting as receptionist, said hello. Seeing my shirt, he asked if I was at the show last night. That broke the ice. Yes, and it was amazing. We talked about that shortly, so it was nice to have common ground. He had not been able to make it to the show, but was clearly a fan.
I was looking around and still wary of being thrown out. Aside from the posters, this looked like any other office. There was a waiting room with comfortable couches and coffee table books (one of which was Criterion Designs, naturally). There were fax machines, copiers, files, and that sort of thing.
There were two people up front, the Ride fan and a still-young, but slightly older lady behind him performing various office functions. As we would talk, she would occasionally look back and beam a smile, usually when I made some sort of film reference.
They were welcoming and invited me to take pictures of the posters and reception area. Still nervous, I took pictures, but I did quick takes shots from my phone rather than lining them up perfectly to get everything in the frame. I guess if I had done the latter, I would have been right at home.
We started talking. “Are you film buffs, or do you just work here?” was my first question, and it really was a dumb one. “We work here, but we are film buffs, and that’s why we work here.” Great answer! Thousands of people would dream of working at Criterion, and even though I have a terrific job back at home, I’m one of them.
We then began to talk shop. He knew the city, the film industry, and could hold his own talking with a film geek. He asked me questions, and I told him about myself and how I appreciate Criterion. Yes, I did mention the blog and how I follow podcasts (like CriterionCast), but did not give a lot of specifics. I didn’t get too nosy asking about their roles or what they do. To stay in their good graces, I didn’t want to make this an interview with question after question. It was a pleasant chat.
As I was venturing further in to take pictures, I was cut off at one point. “You can only stay within this general area,” he said, pleasantly and not authoritatively. “Besides, there’s really nothing to see back there, just offices.” Oh, there would be plenty for me to see. I’d want to look at every file, in every office drawer, and especially on every computer monitor. Of course I obeyed.
The coolest thing was when he asked if I wanted my picture taken. Yes! I was looking disheveled, as you can see below, and the cane is for walking in New York after recovering from a surgery. It helps. I asked to have it taken right between the posters for The Killing and Modern Times, because the latter is the one I am working on now. As it turns out I blocked both pictures, but that’s fine. It came out okay.
They had a cabinet of postcards and offered to let me take any. I took a select few, and could have taken each and every one. Again, I didn’t want to wear out my welcome.
Postcards thanks to Criterion.
I asked if people like me show up. Occasionally, they said. Not daily, and I got the impression that it may not even be weekly. “But we know we have our fans,” they said.
A good 15-minutes had passed and I figured I had distracted them long enough. They were doing their jobs after all, and they were more than hospitable to me. They were great, just the type of people I’d love to grab a drink with and talk films.
I had one last request as I left. “Can you pass along to the suggestion people a request?” They smiled. They were glad to, eager to hear what I would come up with. I asked for La Chienne from Jean Renoir. Big smile. “You got it. I will pass that along.” This was another reference that caused the lady to turn around and she again beamed a big smile. They may have reacted accordingly because I recommended a Jean Renoir, who is obviously a favorite of the label, but it is not going to get the sales of a Beatles or David Lynch movie. I also know there is a 4k restoration out there somewhere. Did those smiles mean that it was already in the works, and they were just imagining a positive reaction on the 15th of some month? Your guess is as good as mine, but I am cautiously optimistic.
As for the other topics that we discussed, I’m going to remain silent. They did say some things that I could interpret as being a sign of things to come; yet they did not give away any secrets. That said, I left there having gleaned what might have been secrets. These could have been red herrings or perhaps I’m reading into things out of my own enthusiasm. Either way, out of respect to the label and their veil of secrecy (and since they have my name and picture,) I’m going to keep those inferences to myself until they are announced. I’d rather stay in Criterion’s good graces. I will say that if my guesses are correct, there will be some happy people out there.
My visit to Criterion was not the only cool film and media place I visited that day.
We decided to do some shopping in Midtown. We remember being particularly fond of the Uniqlo near MoMA. We walked along 6th avenue. Along the way my wife spotted the Mad Men bench and took a picture. She’s a fan of the show, while I’ve only seen one episode. Afterwards, we were walking along when my wife spotted a display that stopped her dead in her tracks. “Is that a Game of Thrones store?” I had completely missed it, turned around and there it was. There was a big display in front with the world of Westeros. Yes, there is such a thing in the world as a Game of Thrones store.
It was technically an HBO Store. There were some shirts and items for Girls, Silicon Valley, Veep, etc. However, the vast majority of the inventory was Game of Thrones related. My first thought was, ‘do people actually buy this stuff?’ and that changed within minutes to ‘which one of these should I buy?’
Cool, but no thanks.
Instead I bought a Team Stark T-shirt. Should I be careful of who I trust from now on?
The North Remembers.
The Uniqlo store really is special. I didn’t buy anything on the last trip, but I liked the idea of using vintage art as a basis for clothing design. What we saw before was good, but not something we’d wear (Haring, Basquiat, Warhol T-shirts, etc.). This time we were caught off guard by a section on classic Soviet Constructivist posters from the Stenberg Brothers. This probably is tied to an exhibit at MoMA. For those not familiar with the group, they used their unique art to design Soviet posters for films. The poster in the display was for Chaplin’s A Woman of Paris
Stenberg Brothers shirts. My wife bought the one on the left.
After a lot of browsing, one design caught my attention. It was a “no way!” sort of reaction. I immediately recognized Vertov’s Man With a Movie Camera. An Internet search confirmed that Stenberg did the poster, and it looked exactly like the shirt. I bought that sucker! Yes, there’s some irony that I just bought a T-shirt of a propaganda poster for an arguably propaganda film about anti-commercialist values. Vertov might not have been fine with my spending $19 and being able to wear what is basically a conversation starter. I like the shirt. Sorry, Dziga.
It is almost a cliché to say that the last concert you’ve seen is “the best you’ve ever seen.” The aforementioned Ride show was really it for me. I’m not going to write a full-fledged review because that’s not the purpose of the blog. I’ll just say that I discovered them over 20 years ago and have grown to like them a little more with every year of my life. Their music is the ultimate ‘grower,’ and it has become better after years of listening and hundreds, maybe even thousands of plays. Their music is playing in the background as I write a number of these posts, including this one right now. I never get sick of it.
They had two brilliant, critically acclaimed albums and a handful of solid EPs. Tensions ran high, and they lost a step. Their third album was not received as well (although I have come to love it over the years), and their last album was a bomb. They had practically broken up during the recording. I hate that last album.
A number of years after the break-up, one of the members (Andy Bell) joined Oasis. When they broke up, he joined Liam’s band Beady Eye. The others worked in various projects over the years, but of course, none of them compared to Ride. The split was acrimonious enough that nobody expected them to get back together. Not ever.
That changed when Beady Eye broke up, and that’s what prompted this trip. The first (and seemingly only) US date that was announced initially was in NYC. We were lucky enough to get tickets to the sold out show. They later announced and have already played other shows in the USA (California, Atlanta), but we were proud to see them in a city that we love.
The show was tremendous. They were on for two hours, and played every song I would have hoped for. They’ve come a long way in 20 years and played leagues better than they did when they were kids. The sound (much of it was noise) was pure bliss. They finished with a cover of the Beatles Tomorrow Never Knows, a snippet of which is below, and finished with my favorite song of theirs, Chelsea Girl. My favorite moment was belting out the lyrics to the song right along with them, never expecting to see them play it before my eyes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_oowQsMgSE
Here are some pictures from the show.
Hello Podcasting
A great thing about social media is you end up vibing with certain people. I’ve made “friends” with people that live thousands of miles away and speak different languages, just because we share a common interest. I started getting along with James Hancock several months ago. We have similar tastes and have done our share of tweeting and retweeting at each other. He started a podcast with Mikhail Karamidov and P.Dixon called The Wrong Reel, which I’ve found enjoyable. Often they talk about films that I haven’t yet seen, especially the films that are playing limited in New York City. Even if I haven’t seen the film, I always enjoy hearing their take on film news. They’ve even helped inspire this blog on a couple of occasions, like when I wrote about Errol Morris, and through their commentary, I was able to brave the muddy waters of Salò.
Hello, New York City,
I was going to be in the city and wanted to check out some restoration screenings. I sent word to the guys and they were all for meeting up. That was weeks ago and we didn’t know what would be playing. I was hoping for the Apu Trilogy, but did not know it had been held over yet. Instead, when I learned the Sam Fuller’s Pickup on South Street would be playing, I asked the guys to meet me in person, and James and Mikhail were into it. Sammy and Lucille from Wonders in the Dark also joined us. They were super friendly and knowledgeable people. Sammy is my type of film buff. He has seen it all and just loves good film.
Of course the conversation was typical classic film geek stuff – in other words, heaven. I felt that we all clicked right away, but we only had a few minutes to talk before and after the screening.
I cannot remember if it was before or after the film when James asked, “hey, do you want to come up and do a podcast right quick? It’ll be just thirty minutes.” Wow, sure, I guess? After bidding Sammy and Lucille goodbye, he welcomed us to his NYC apartment (I know, could be the premise for a good noir crime film). He and Mikhail set up some microphones and gave me a Podcasting 101 class in five minutes. Their format was comfortable for a first-timer, just an informal setting with guys talking about a variety of film topics. My wife Andrea was also there, who they knew as a Jeopardy champ. That comes up a couple times in the podcast.
Pickup on South Street
You can probably tell that I was a little nervous, especially near the beginning. They threw me some curveballs. The toughest was asking me to pick two desert island scenes. Yow! That’s a brutal question to ask a cinephile, but I think I did well on the spot. They asked tougher questions, like my thoughts on the summer blockbuster season, which I honestly haven’t studied too much. This is an unusual year that nothing around the corner jumps out at me. There were also a couple bloopers that made it into the show. They had told me they edited the show, and one time I turned around and said something, and said “edit” in Ron Burgundy fashion. Yeah, didn’t get edited. There was another time with some technical problems. James thought my mike wasn’t working, but the issue was with headphones.
As for the meat of the movie, I hope I came across well. This one was of particular interest to me since the 4k restoration and already in the Collection, it is almost assured of being upgraded to Blu-Ray. That means I’ll be talking about Fuller again in the hopefully near future.
James and Mikhail were quite impressive. James knew practically everything about Sam Fuller — a fascinating individual, yet not a filmmaker I have explored in depth. I give Mihkail props for processing the movie in such a short of time and making valid analytical points, even if his opinion didn’t agree match up with mine or James. I’m the type of guy that usually likes my feelings on a film to brew at least a day or two, or sometimes a week (which is happening now with Modern Times, but that is more to do with me being on vacation). I loved the film and I hope I articulated as much. My comments centered on the filmic elements and not the actors, characters or plot. In fact, I winced when re-listening when I wiffed on a Thelma Ritter question and started talking about something else.
Aside from the learning lessons, I think it went off pretty well. We got to talk about a variety of topics, including Star Wars, JJ Abrams, Salò, and we had a lot of fun. As a listener to the cast, it was interesting observing James and Mikhail play off each other. They have a terrific dynamic and rapport, one which I was careful not to interrupt. On that part I think I succeeded too well. I could have chimed in a few more times. Even Andrea got her opportunity to participate, once with fact checking, and providing a background piece of trivia on another.
As we were parting company, the guys said “Aaron, you should start a podcast.” Ehh, tempting, but not going to happen. The written word is my preference, although now I might be more inclined to participate in others in the future. In fact, I’m already in talks with someone to appear on another favorite podcast of mine. We are working out the logistics and I’ll share something soon.
James, Mikhail, and P. Dixon (even though you weren’t in the room) – thanks for the good time and taking my podcast virginity!
Now onto the rest of my vacation. We will be checking out Pather Panchali tomorrow and just eating, drinking and walking the rest of the time.
Me too, Banksy.
History, Around the Corner
It’s funny how I undertook a project to write about The Criterion Collection. yet I find myself continually engaged with film history. As it turns out, a new summer collective film project has launched. It can be called a Blogathon, but in reviewing the topics, this seems to be on a grander scale. I’m pleased to participate even though this is going to be a diversion from the project at hand.
You can you see the full list of participants and topics here.
I just learned that Flicker Alley has agreed to sponsor the “event” in order to promote their upcoming releases of Man With a Movie Camera and 3-D Rarities, both of which I had already pre-ordered and have been excited about. I may break Criterion protocol and actually review these two discs down the road.
My original topic was going to be about Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett. After a string of hits, the writing, producing and directing partners had become kings of Paramount. They continued to push the envelope as the studio system faded, and they came out with a trio of subversive and increasingly cynical titles (A Foreign Affair, Sunset Blvd, Ace in the Hole) while the studio system burned.
I may very well stick with this topic, or I may up the ante and put together a larger piece on the entire downfall of the studio system. This would be a sweeping essay, possibly in multiple parts that would begin when the seeds for divorcement began before the war years, and last throughout the legal decisions that broke up the studios. It would also discuss the reasoning for the actual downfall of the studio’s domination as the 1950s progressed. Divorcement was a major factor, but there were several other media and societal changes in the works.
The good thing is I already have done quite a bit of research on both topics. The latter will require more writing, but fortunately no more actual research.
Speaking of Blogathons, the Beach Party Blogathon is just around the corner and I’ll be covering The Seventh Seal.
The news that is the most exciting for me personally is that I’ll be traveling to New York City this coming week and have plans to screen Pickup on South Street at Film Forum. I had initially been hoping to catch The Apu Trilogy, but the run was going to end the week before we arrived. Now that it has been extended, I may try to slip away and catch one screening. It seems like a once in a lifetime experience, so I’d really like to, but there’s a lot to do in Gotham City and we’re only there for five days. At least we’ve seen most of the sights, so this will be more of a pop culture, dining and hanging out trip rather than being a tourist. We’re also going to see a concert that I may or may not talk about here.
As for the slowdown in Criterions, I expect to get the energy flowing soon. This week I was ready to finalize my post of The River, but caught myself with a head cold that took me out of the analytical mood. Around the corner, I also plan to cover Modern Times, The Great Beauty, and hopefully catch up on some recent releases, of which I am about seven discs behind.
An Appreciation for Errol Morris
It was a strange coincidence that when I was reevaluating Errol Morris’ Gates of Heaven and Vernon, Florida, just a number of weeks after delving into The Thin Blue Line, that I caught wind of one of my favorite podcasts (WrongReel) dedicating half of an episode to Errol Morris. Rather than influence my own opinion, I proceeded with the write-ups and listened to the podcast afterward. Here is the cast in question, where they also talk about another film, The Seven Five that sounds up my alley.
It was an excellent episode, and just like I did with Salò (link), I am going to piggyback on their thoughts and add some of my own about his entire body of work.
First off, Morris is a master interviewer. This is particularly apparent in The Thin Blue Line and The Fog of War. Often in his documentaries (although not in his early ones), you can hear his voice in the background asking questions. He asks pointed, sharp, and sometimes difficult, penetrating questions. He basically put Robert McNamara on the spot to get him to admit to being wrong about his entire operation. One thing the WrongReel guys touched on was that Morris intentionally does not react to something a subject says. In that aspect, some of his subjects think he isn’t listening to them – quite the contrary. He just does not want to influence them one way or another, and by doing this, somehow they just talk aimlessly and in the process will reveal details they might not want be known. One example is a witness at one of the trials who basically incriminates herself. McNamara nearly does the same to himself, although he’s careful not to absolutely place blame on himself (he indicts the war machine).
The guys point out how Morris chose a couple of his subjects out of his own morbid curiosity. That hadn’t dawned on me before, but when you look at his filmography, it is absolutely and unequivocally true. Even Vernon, Florida, which is among his lighter and funnier documentaries, originated as a way of exploring people who blew up their own limbs as an insurance scam in “Nub City.” Those people wouldn’t talk to him without threatening or inflicting violence, so he talked to the town goofballs instead.
This morbid taste is more obvious with some topic choices, such as <emThe Thin Blue Line and Mr. Death. Other topics lean in a morbid direction. With the two politician films, he takes them down a path for them to revisit the atrocities committed during the war while they were in office. Even with A Brief History of Time, which is the least Morris-like documentary, he has to talk about the condition that put Stephen Hawking in a near vegetative state. Gates of Heaven is about people burying their pets. Errol Morris is without question into dark topics.
Philip Glass also plays a major part in the key works of Errol Morris — The Thin Blue Line, A Brief History of Time, and The Fog of War. It is difficult to imagine these films without Glass’ music. The documentary styles are a perfect marriage, and I have to give the editors credit for coupling these two styles for maximum affect. Glass also scores Godfrey Reggio’s The Quatsi Triogy and a number of other documentaries and fiction films, but at least for me, it is the Errol Morris documentaries where his music has the most presence.
Since I’ve seen just about all of them, here are my personal top five Errol Morris films.
4. A Brief History of Time
3. Mr. Death
2. The Fog of War
The top two are among my favorite documentaries of all time, so this was a close call.
I’ll end with a story. My father is a Vietnam veteran. If you’ve met many, you’ll know that they often don’t like to talk about their time in the war. My father and I have had some brief conversations about it over the years, but nothing substantial. My father also planted the seeds for my love of film. After being enamored by The Fog of War, I thought this might be a way of bonding with my father if we watched it together. I thought that maybe it would help him process some things, plus I know that he loves a good documentary.
My father watched it pensively. I could see him fidgeting as we watched. Afterward he conceded that it was well put together. When I asked if he liked it, he said it was okay. I pursued, and finally he said (without anger), “I just cannot believe the nerve of that asshole!” I learned later that the troops and protestors reviled McNamara back in the day, that he was the poster boy for what was wrong with the war. Even though I was decently educated about the war, I did not realize the venom towards this one figure. That was not a part of my generation. My father’s main reservation was that this was a mea culpa, only it was 30 years too late. His problems with the movie were the same as my praise, just from a completely different perspective. I respected my Dad’s opinion and have never brought the film or the war up again.
Fast forward a decade and I watch The Unknown Known, which is a similar format as the McNamara film only with Donald Rumsfeld as the subject talking about his time overseeing the Iraq war. Having lived through that debacle, I had a tough time taking anything Rummy said seriously. The fact that he was deliberately evasive and became semantic with the nature of the questions showed that he was the opposite of McNamara. This was no mea culpa, but more of a quagmire. It angered me more than anything because this was the same stuff the guy was doing in the White House. I respected the filmmaking, but I could not bring myself to “like” this film.
I found myself in a film discussion with someone who passionately loved the Rumsfeld doc. His argument was that this was the point. The circular logic that Rumsfeld expounded revealed his flaws as a human being, and that Morris was making light of that. That’s why he titled the movie The Unknown Known because, frankly, the phrase is illogical. This individual made a decent argument, but I was seeing none of it. Later I learned that my debate opponent was 20, so he was 10 during the high point of the war and in elementary school during its inception. He didn’t have the preconceived and impermeable perceptions of the individual. It dawned on me at that very moment that this kid was me ten years ago, and I was my father after seeing The Fog of War.
The way a message lands depends on the recipient.
Keep making movies, Errol.
My Favorite Classic Movie Blogathon: On the Waterfront
Over the last week, I’ve dedicated myself to re-evaluating a single film for Classic Film and TV Cafe’s “My Favorite Classic Movie” Blogathon. This is the official post for my choice of film, but I’ve already written about the film at length. I began the week introducing this adventure that I dubbed “Waterfront Week.” I then explored the history of the HUAC and how Elia Kazan’s testimony materializes in the plot in Kazan Naming Names. Finally, and most importantly, I looked at The Great Performances in On the Waterfront. Since the acting is the most groundbreaking aspect of the film, the latter was the post that I dedicated the most time and energy towards. If I were to recommend reading one post on the topic, that would be the one.
One thing I wondered at the start of this revisitation was whether the film would resonate as well upon yet another viewing and deeper exploration. The answer is an enthusiastic and emphatic YES. Even though I had already seen the movie a few times before, including seeing the Contender scene probably a dozen times, I still found myself as engaged as every other time, perhaps even more so thanks to the wealth of extra materials on the Criterion release.
On the Waterfront is among my favorite movies of all time. If I had to cobble together a list, my guess is it would be in my top ten or top five. It is in the conversation for my favorite American film of all time. At the moment I cannot think of many American films that comes close. Of course Citizen Kane, Sunset Blvd, The Third Man and others are in the conversation. On the Waterfront belongs right with them, but it is also different. You cannot compare it with Kane, which was more groundbreaking with cinematography and artistic narrative. Kane has a realism and humanism that so many films lack.
It stands on its own because it is an investigation of the human spirit. We can identify with Terry Malloy because we are him. I don’t care who or how successful you are, you’ve had your low points, regrets, and someone in your life has let you down. There are several occasions in my own life where I can relate to Malloy’s predicament. Part of the reason it works so well is because it is such a realistic portrayal of someone who has come to terms with his life’s disappointment, and decided to take action against those who kept him and others like him down. T
Malloy showing off his boxing moves.
We adore Terry not just because he is one of us, but because through Marlon Brando, he is both charismatic and naive. He is an everyman that has walked the tightrope when it comes to his own morality. He has participated, directly or indirectly, in a corrupt system for most of his life, unaware or perhaps in denial how monstrous the system actually was. His slap in the face is the murder of his friend, the effect that had on the family, including a love interest, and the fact that his brother has some involvement with the criminals. His brother is the major obstacle between him doing the right thing or continuing to live his life of blissful ignorance.
The taxi cab scene is so effective because it is the pivotal moment of realization for both characters. Terry realizes that if the system prompted his Charley to threaten him with a gun, then that system isn’t worth saving. His brother understands that it was, in fact, him that let Terry down. He did compromise long-term success for short-term gains for his cronies. During those few minutes, they reconcile a lingering issue that had transformed both of their lives.
When Rod Steiger exhales and looks away after putting the gun away, you know the situation has forever changed. The ending, however spectacular, is inevitable. Again, we like Terry for being relatable, but we admire him for being brave and going against the criminals. I’ve had some brave moments, but I cannot say that I’d do the same thing in his shoes.
On the Waterfront is one of my favorite classic movies of all time. Thanks again to Rick at Classic Film & TV Cafe for planting this seed.
There will be one more post where I evaluate the Criterion release, and next week I’ll move on to other films.
Waterfront Week
Some films require more attention than just the standard “review” format to cover properly. On the Waterfront has been “reviewed” thousands of times from amateurs and professionals alike. It is the caliber of film that, in my opinion, requires a little more attention than just a few scribblings and moving on to the next one. There are many variables in play, and the film reflects film history, and would change the nature of film (especially acting!) for years to come. For that reason, I am going to expand upon my usual format to cover this tentpole film. I’m going to spend the entire week dedicating myself to the film and discussing various elements.
What prompted this was another Blogathon. I caught wind of Classic Film and TV Café’s “My Favorite Classic Movie Blogathon” and had to make a quick decision. I wanted something American, so I scanned my shelves for an unwatched master. My eyes settled in this lovely turquoise and white digipack for On the Waterfront. I had seen the movie a couple of times and considered it among my favorites of all time, even though it ranked behind Sansho the Bailiff in my 1954 list. Picking a favorite film would be like a father of ten picking a favorite child. I just cannot do it, but in terms of importance and the influence of a film on my own tastes, On the Waterfront qualifies.
Excuse the increased activity, but this week there will be a few posts about the film. The first will be within the next day or two and will discuss the history behind the film, specifically the HUAC and how Elia Kazan named names. This film was in a lot of ways a justification of his actions. The next post will be about the acting styles. This was arguably one of the greatest ensembles of method actors ever assembled for a film. It cemented Brando as a star and changed acting permanently. On Saturday, I will post the reason I consider this among my favorite films. Who knows? By the end of the week, I may be willing to boldly proclaim it AS my favorite film. We’ll see how it holds up. Either way, it certainly belongs in the conversation and I will discuss why. Finally I will wrap up the postings, talk about the Criterion supplements (of which there are many) and then I can move onto the next one.
I hope you’ll enjoy taking this journey with me. If you haven’t seen it, I implore you to rush out and rent it, or better yet buy the Criterion. It is a must have for any serious cinephile.
Criterion Close-Up 