Here is a great look at what went on during the making of Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. His daughter Vivian had unlimited access and we are lucky that she did. We get to see the master at work. Check it out.
Here’s another animation by the genius that did Lynch Meets Lucas, Sascha Ciezata.
Check out this great animation while you can
The Spy Who Wore Glasses
Here’s the trailer for a Michael Caine movie: Funeral in Berlin. Follow up to The Ipcress File, Caine’s answer to 007. Featuring the great Oskar Homolka, star of Hitchcock’s Sabotage.
Last night I had dinner with an old friend, James Hong, we were talking and I mentioned the great camerman James Wong Howe, James Hong told me he was friends with James Wong Howe and what a struggle it was for him to become a cameraman in Hollywood. I was reminded of Seconds, a crazy film Howe shot for the great John Frankenheimer so here is the trailer. Check out Sweet Smell Of Success to see more of the camerwork of the great James Wong Howe.
And here is a little documentary about James Wong Howe
Here is a short film by my pal Mike Malloy about a French Actor named Marc Mazza. He appeared in some great European films in the 60’s and 70’s including the magnificent Rider On The Rain by Rene Clement. Mike has really done an in-depth portrait of an almost unknown character actor, Bravo!
Here is a kind of follow up to Jules and Jim, Truffaut’s earlier masterpiece about a love triangle. This film is also based on a novel and stars the wonderful JeanPierre Leaud, whom Truffaut had discovered as a boy and cast him in The 400 Blows. Truffaut released this film in 1972 but unhappy with the reaction to the film in France, he restored 20 minutes of footage right before he passed away in 1984. The restored version came out posthumously. I think this film is great, understated, poetic, romantic. Check it out, here’s the trailer to whet your appetite.
I guess I’ve been in the mood for film dancing lately, here is some footage from the 1970 Oscars where Fred Astaire does a number, he was born in 1899 so that would make him 71! You can see semi-bearded Jack Nicholson in the crowd watching, he was nominated for his role in Easy Rider that year. Anyway enjoy!
The great Mabel Lee has passed on at age 97, she was a great singer, dancer from Harlem. She appeared in many Soundies, short musical films that played in coin operated jukeboxes in cafes and bars. Here’s a classic example. The Chicken Shack Shuffle.
and here is a Soundie Player in action.
Check out this dance number from Stormy Weather by the incredible Nicholas Brothers.
This is a great film, the story is simple, almost a genre detective structure but the nuances of character, class, Korean life, and memory weave a complex web that is fascinating and will stay with you for a long time after the film ends. You probably will want to watch it again and catch all the clues, I love films that don’t explain everything,that don’t spell everything out for the audience. Because mystery is a wonderful element in any artistic creation and the filmmaker that explains everything disrespects the intelligence of the audience. The characters are wonderfully drawn out, especially our three main ones, Jong-seo Jun plays Shin Hai-me, a young girls so full of curiosity about life, so charming, she’s like your first love, the cool girl you met in college.
Ah-in yoo plays Lee jong-su, our hero, a would be writer, a kind of normal everyman with a deep soul, smarter than he seems at first glance, a young man pushed to the brink.
Steven Yeun is Ben, a rich sociopath, everything in life is a game to him.
I don’t want to say too much about this terrific film, just watch it for yourself. I guarantee it will affect you and make you think. This is Cinema.
Here is an interview with the amazing Patricia Gozzi. She was a child star of such cinematic power, unforgettable! Check out Jean Pierre Melville’s Leo Morin Priest with Jean Paul Belomondo and the masterpiece Sundays and Cybele.