Here is a great BBC produced series about the early days of the Movie Business and how it wound up in Hollywood USA. Great interviews with the real Silent Movie people done back in the late 60’s I’d guess. Narrated by the great James Mason who in real life bought Buster Keaton’s old house and lived there for a while. Anyway it’s a great series chock full of amazing information and fascinating characters. Check it out!
I loved this show, so weird , so cool! I didn’t know Patrick McGoohan was so uptight when he made it. I guess he had a lot on his plate, but watch the doc about the show to get the inside dope. I think they waited for McGoohan to pass on befgore they dished the dirt about him. I still think it’s a great amazing TV show, one of the best of all time. Check it out.
Here’s a rare interview with McGoohan
And here’s a sample of the show from the BluRay release. I recommend it! Looks beautiful!
I guess you’ll have to copy and paste the URLs to see the clips.
I just watched the classic short film, Meshes Of The Afternoon by Alexander Hackenschmied and Maya Deren. Usually credit is given the other way around with Maya Deren getting top billing, maybe she deserves it. But I wanted to give Alexander Hackenschmied (Americanized to Hammid) his due. He was a filmmaker when the two of them got together to make this film in wartime Los Angeles. Deren had no film experience, He gave her the name Maya when the two of them got together in NYC. She was a talented dancer, you can see for yourselves how she moves in Meshes… And it was groundbreaking to have a woman star in and be co-creator of this amazing film. I would love to find the location where they shot this, it looks like it’s in Silverlake or the Hollywood Hills. Also it does bear some resemblance to Alexander’s earlier film Aimless Walk. Where the main characvter catches sight of himself walking away, a kind of Moebius Strip of reality. A very influential visual concept that has been repeated countles times since. Check out Mario Bava’s Kill Baby Kill (Operazione Paura) . Hammid was maybe the father of Underground filmmaking here in the USA, or at least one of them. He worked on a film for the World’s Fair in NY, To Be Alive, Bob Downey had a job at the Worlds Fair, so probably did a lot of up and coming filmmakers. Meshes.. was shown at Universities all over America. Maya Deren was beautiful, there is a classic shot of her from the film. Looking out a window, it’s only on screen for a few seconds but it stays with you. Just like a lot of things in this film. Anyway here they are thanks to YouTiube, watch them and judge for yourself.
For some reason I couldn’t copy Aimless Walk but you can see it on YouTube. So here’s a cool doc that talks about Alexander.
Here is a very cool period piece about Fascists in Romania at the outset of WWII. It is a straight ahead supercool, incorruptible hero versus black leather clad proto- Nazi killers. Great action, great locations, amazing stunts! That’s what made me want to watch it, an incredible stunt, where The Inspector jumps from ledge to ledge outside a building to thwart the Legionaires trying to snuff him. So Cool! A cop guarding the hero of The Whistlers was watching this scene in that movie and when I saw the clip I knew I had to watch it. So I did thanks to YouTube and it looks pretty good as well. I did a little research, the movie is directed by and stars Sergiu Nicolaescu. And I swear he does some of his own stunts! That takes balls, to have the director and star jumping off a 4th story ledge! No wires involved! It’s based on a true story about a massacre by Legionaires at a prison, the leadert of the Fascist Iron Guard was a criminal named Paraipan (Gheorghe Dinica). This reminds me of Jose Giovanni, part of a criminal gang that collaborated with the Nazi occupiers of France, just to extort money from Jewish business men. Giovanni was sentenced to death but got out through his father efforts, he changed his name from Joseph Damiani to Jose Giovanni and became a prolific Crime Writer, Film Director, hobnobbing with all the Luminaries of the French Film Industry. Anyway check out An Inspector Accuses! You won’t regret it! I for one am going to watch more of Sergiu Nicolaescu’s films, they kick ass!
Here is an amazing Film Noir by the supremely talented one-eyed Hungarian director Andre de Toth. Onc again theat femme fatale Lizabeth Scott appears in all her ice cold blonde glory. See Dick Powell, star of Murder My Sweet as the chump who takes a wrong turn down a dirty alley and bumps into the evil Raymond Burr. Check out All- American wife Jane Wyatt, what a babe! Pre Father Knows Best and brilliant. And then just to wet your whistle for another great de Toth Noir, the trailer for CrimeWave.
Here is a film noir I ran across on YouTube. Featuring an ice cold blonde Femme Fatale. Talk about Evil, she takes the Devils Food Cake! Check it out! Would make a great double bill with the Ultra Sleazy, Too Late For Tears, See Dan Duryea out slimed by a super bad Lizbeth Scott!
Here is a nice documentary on one of the greatest actors of all time, Peter Lorre. He is unique,there will never be another like him. I guess his daughter had died by the time they made this doc. Lorre’s niece supplies the family point of view.
Here’s a crazy Spaghetti Western available on Amazon Prime, Requiescant. It stars Lou Castel, who appeared in the SuperCool, Grazie Zia, which I wrote about herehttp://www.filmforno.com/?p=1147. This film also stars Mark Damon as the evil Southern rascist boss, some say the inspiration for Leonardo DiCaprio’s character in Django Unchained. The other bonus in this picture is Pier Paolo Pasolini as a Mexican revolutionary. Pretty Cool. Here’s the trailer which is not the greatest.
I just watched Werner Herzog’s magnificent film Stroszek. Starring the incomparable Bruno S. I had never seen it before and it really impressed me. All the acting is terrific especially Bruno as the title character. The film is filled with an undeniable poetry, the ending is a visionary critique of Capitalism and the American way of life, something that was not scripted but found by chance as Herzog filmed on location. A miracle of Synchronicity. You should watch it and be amazed. 10 thumbs up!
Here’s the trailer.
Here is a scene from the great Ermanno Olmi’s film The Legend of The Holy Drinker. I haven’t seen the film but I will watch it as soon as I can. I love Olmi’s films, he was such a cinematic genius. And here’s to Rutger Hauer who just died, another great talent gone on to the next level.
P.S. This film won the Golden Lion at The 1988 Venice Film Festival.
P.P.S. it’s available to watch FREE on Amazon Prime so check it out!
Here she is on the Mike Douglas show talking about Wanda and how she met John and Yoko at Cannes. Pretty Cool. They even show a scene from Wanda, notice how dirty it is, she probably only had one print. Pretty cool.
Here is the great Barbara Loden, writer,star, and director of the wonderful film Wanda, playing the scantily clad sidekick to Ernie Kovacs magician. Loden said Ernie Kovacs took pity on her and hired her over the objections of a producer. Enjoy the shtick.