I got an email announcing the release of a CD, Maurice Jarre’s score to the incredible Sundays and Cybele. The music has been re-recorded by Robert Lafond and the example I heard was very faithful to the original. It’s been a while since I’ve seen this amazing film but I do remember being struck by the soundtrack, especially some intriguing electronic tonalities.
This score so impressed Sam Spiegal that he hired Jarre to score Lawrence Of Arabia. It’s wonderful that his music from this forgotten gem is being brought to life once again. I had the distinct pleasure of working with Mr. Jarre on a film a few years back, Michael Cimino’s The Sunchaser. He was a warm, sensitive person and his score was great. All the musicians at the scoring stage were in awe of him. It was magical to hear his music come to life. Thanks to Clement Fontaine for bringing this to my attention. He is the producer of the album entitled Unpublished French Film Music available on Disques Cinemusique . See The Movie, Listen To The Score.
An intrepid band of young filmmakers got together and made a Western, it’s called The Scarlet Worm. Now they have a distribution deal, congratulations! The Scarlet Worm is an enjoyable foray into Morality Western Style, a gun, a Bible, a whorehouse, a killer with a conscience, a Scripture spouting abortionist. Very creative spin on the genre. Standout performers: Dan Van Husen, Aaron Stielstra, Kevin Giffin, Montgomery Ford, David Lambert, Mike Malloy. Impressive wide screen cinematography by Mike Martinez. Great production design and locations, these guys do a lot with a little, it’s difficult to pull off a period film without a big budget and their results are very impressive. I also thought the practical gunshot effects were outstanding, when someone gets shot you feel it. Lead actor Stielstra composed the score as well and it’s very good, atmospheric, lyrical, it elevates the film. An excellent script by David Lambert explores Religion, Spirituality, Morality, in a classic Western drama, fraught with unexpected twists and creative soliloquies that contrast Biblical verse and natural science and become the basis for man’s rationalization of his horrible behavior. Director Michael Fredianelli assembled a talented cast of actors and artisans and pulled off a coup. The Scarlet Worm will be distributed by Unearthed Films later this year (I got a chance to view an advanced screener). Check it out as soon as you can.
Fassbinders epic SciFi filmWorld On A Wire will screen at LACMA , Saturday August 20th at 7:30 pm. The recently restored 3 1/2 hour movie screened for the first time at the Museum of Modern Art last year, now it’s here in LA, being shown at the endangered LACMA film series. It looks like classic Fassbinder, check out the trailer. All the info can be found here.
Here is the 3rd installment in my Val Lewton article extravaganza! This time it’s from Life Magazine. It’s mainly about Bedlam , the last of Lewton’s films for RKO, notable for it’s use of Hogarth prints as inspiration. Then there’s a short section on Lewton and a great photo of him in a screening room. Val got a lot of good press. Lewton constantly amazed his contemporaries by producing quality period films on a minuscule budget. His techniques are still well worth studying .
As promised, I’m posting a scan of another article about the great Val Lewton. This one is from Liberty magazine back in 1946. This was just after Lewton left RKO for Paramount, where he would be morassed in political intrigue and backbiting. It was not a good move for Val. This article is sort of an overview of the Horror film genre with special emphasis on Lewton. By the way I just got another old film magazine with an article on Curse Of The Cat People and a remembrance by DeWitt Bodeen, writer of said film. I’ll post that one soon as well.
Here as promised is a scan of a great article from an old issue of The Velvet Light Trap. Mark Robson describing his early days at RKO, where he worked his way up in the editorial department and eventually was given a shot at directing by Val Lewton. Those were the days, Robson’s accomplishments as an editor should not be overlooked, his work on I walked wih a Zombie and Cat people is nothing short of genius. He invented an amazing optical trick that is used in both films and I’ve never heard anyone discuss, it’s a transitional wipe that creates an undercurrent of fear and unease in the audience, I described it in my piece on Cat People. Robson and Robert Wise formed a production company after they left RKO , Lewton was supposed to be a part of it but was kicked out by his former proteges, two men he had raised up from editor to director. I don’t know all the details but Robert Wise said he regretted not telling Val in person. I guess they got rid of him by messenger. Too bad, Lewton’s wife said it devastated him and he passed away soon after. If anyone knows the true story write in and let us all know, set the record straight on what seems, on the surface at least, to be a grave injustice or business as usual in Hollywood, U.S.A. Click here for the article.Velvet Light Trap Robsen
Here’s a link to an article about composer Daniele Luppi, the photo was shot by my wife Heather D’Augustine and he’s sitting in my car, a 1972 Citroen Maserati. Check it out here.
My good pal Daniele Luppi was asked by the L.A. Film Festival to program a Spaghetti Western with a score he admired and he picked a classic, Sergio Corbucci’s epic Navajo Joe or as it was also called A Dollar A Head. See a young handsome Burt Reynolds give an incredible physical performance as an angry Indian out for revenge. Burt was a stunt man before he became a huge star and he executes some incredible feats in this film. Sergio Corbucci , one of the top directors of Italian Westerns , 2nd only to the greatest Sergio, Sergio Leone, delivers a violent, action packed film, a worthy companion to his masterpiece, The Grand Silence. And Ennio Morricone’s iconic score will blow you away.The vocal stylings of Alessandro Alessandroni’s choral group I Cantori Moderni, are used to amazing effect. Go See It! Downtown Friday Night June 24th, 10:15 pm at the Downtown Independent Theater. Here’s the info.
I just scored a copy of Liberty magazine from 1946 that has an extensive article about the great Val Lewton, I’ll be posting scans of it soon, along with scans from a Life magazine article of similar vintage, I also got a copy of The Velvet Light Trap, a wonderful magazine that specialized in film history, interpretation, appreciation,and criticiscm. This issue features an interview with Mark Robson about his RKO days. Coming Soon to a computer near you! Look For It!
Terrence Malik’s Tree Of Life has taken the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Bravo! This is the first time in years that I am excited about seeing a new film at the theater! I can’t wait to experience it.
                            The Figure Of Sean Penn in A Landscape
Well I went to Badlands, I was able to get out of work on time and rushed over to LACMA, they’re screening all of Malick’s work, sort of a build up to the release of Tree Of Life. It was pretty amazing to watch the film on 35mm with a large audience, it made me feel like I was at the 11th New York Film Festival where Badlands premiered. It was a beautiful print and the use of natural light was stunning, I can understand when Sissy said the shoot went on longer than planned, if you want to get those magic hour shots, it takes time, you barely have an hour each day.
Sissy spoke after the screening and was really gracious and beautiful. Such a natural performance, she was the first person cast and spent a lot of time with Malick before they began shooting, when he found out she was a baton twirler he put that in the script, Sissy described walking down to Hollywood Blvd. from Malick’s house to buy a baton after their first meeting. I asked her about the voice over in the film, was it scripted before they shot? She said Malick had two versions of the script, one for investors and one for shooting and a lot of the VO was present in the shooting script. She also told of recording the VO in Malick’s bedroom after he nailed up a lot of blankets on the walls. I still think it is one of the best uses of voice over ever done. As I said everytime you watch this film you pick up on different ideas, themes, etc. This time I was struck by the idea of Heaven and Earth, the characters are always trying to get to Heaven, sending their dreams up in a balloon, standing in a field with a full moon prominent in the frame, like you can reach out and touch it, living in nature away from civilization.
Their quest for happiness, love, that elevates them then disappears like smoke from between their fingers, Earthly existence in a nutshell. Malick said that a gun was like a magic wand to Kit Carruthers, it could make his troubles (in the form of other people) disappear. But isn’t this the legacy of the Western? Solve your problems by letting some daylight through an adversary, blasting them with a Colt 45 or a Winchester. Another thing I noticed at this screening was how the end of the film reminded me opf the begining of Reifenstahl’s Triumph Of The Will. Hitler appears in the clouds like a god descending from Olympus, the airplane lands and he gets out the god who fell to Earth. The reverse is Badlands, the serial killer exalted to a Movie Star (contemporary god level) . “I’ll kiss your ass if he don’t look like James Dean.” Elevated in an airplane to the cloudscapes of Heaven, two sociopaths raised on high by mechanical means, contemporary Deii Ex Machinae.
Yo Film Fiends, tonite LACMA starts it’s tribute to Terrence Malick by screening his first film the seminal masterpiece Badlands. If you haven’t seen it or even if you have go to LACMA and experience it in all it’s 35mm glory. This is Poetic Cinema at it’s finest! The best use of Voice over of all time! And the person that speaks that voice over will be there in person! The incredible Sissy Spacek! One of the finest, most unique film actors ever to grace the silver screen. She is a precious gem in the crown of Cinema, Queen of the Arts.
Go Go Go! to LACMA. I got a ticket but I have to work late so I don’t think I can make it, I am bummed out but everyone else who can go should. The last time I saw Badlands I felt it was about cruelty to animals and how that spoke as to what kind of a human being you were. It’s such a wonderful work of art that every time you watch it you can discover whole new themes. The end is beautiful too, clouds, sky, music. The innocent drawl of Sissy Spacek narrating her mysterious existence in everyday terms. Here’s the info.
