L'inconnu de Shandigor; Les salauds vont en enfer
Jan
24
cuckoo clocks


Top to bottom: L'inconnu de Shandigor (Jean-Louis Roy, 1967), Les salauds vont en enfer (Robert Hossein, 1955).
Watched on January 24 and 25 respectively.
@settima@zirk.us
L'inconnu de Shandigor; Les salauds vont en enfer
Jan
24
cuckoo clocks


Top to bottom: L'inconnu de Shandigor (Jean-Louis Roy, 1967), Les salauds vont en enfer (Robert Hossein, 1955).
Watched on January 24 and 25 respectively.
“This future of yours Shelmerdine, when it's gonna begin? Today? Or, is it always tomorrow?”Orlando (Sally Potter, 1992)
Jan
24
Billy Zane's birthday

Orlando (Tilda Swinton) and Shelmerdine (Billy Zane) in intimate embrace. DPs: Aleksey Rodionov & Andrew Speller.
A [favourite] Billy Zane film for his birthday (1966).
– Orlando
As ordered by Queen Elizabeth I (Quentin Crisp), nobleman Orlando remains young and traverses exotic scenery, civilisations, time, and gender.
دایره مینا [Dayereh mina / The Cycle] (Dariush Mehrjui, 1977)
Jan
23
National Blood Donor Month

Poor looking men seen squatting on the floor, one arm attached to a blood bottle. In the middle of the floor a man in a lab coat with numerous empty bottles on a pristine white table. DP: Houshang Baharlou.
Someone gives blood for National Blood Donor Month (USA). A young man who accompanies his sick father to a hospital decides to donate blood for much needed money.
Macario (Roberto Gavaldón, 1960)
Jan
22
National Poverty in America Awareness Month

Macario (Ignacio López Tarso) passes a Día de los Muertos altar, stacked high with candles, human skulls and bones, and cempasúchil (marigolds), whose fragrant and colour lead the Dead back to their family on this revered day. DP: Gabriel Figueroa.
Poverty: National Poverty in America Awareness Month (USA)
Macario, poor and hungry, wishes to eat a whole turkey all by himself on Día de los Muertos. When he finally has the opportunity, he is interrupted three times: by the Devil, by God, and by Death. With one of them, he shares his meal.
War Machine (Duvet Brothers, 1984)
Jan
21
the passing of Orwell

A repurposed TV still of a battle ship billowing thick black smoke with the text WAR MACHINE superimposed over it.
A scratch video from 1984 on the date George Orwell died (1950). Date of production is either 84 or 85.
1. April 2000 [April 1, 2000] (Wolfgang Liebeneiner, 1952)
Jan
20
Inauguration Day

Austria's new Prime Minister (Josef Meinrad). DPs: Sepp Ketterer, Karl Löb & Fritz Arno Wagner.
Inaugurations for Inauguration Day (USA).
In the future year 2000, on April 1, the newly-elected Prime Minister of Austria is inaugurated. Much to the shock of the Global Union, he declares Austria's independence!
“A candy-colored clown they call the sandman
Tiptoes to my room every night
Just to sprinkle stardust and to whisper
'Go to sleep, everything is alright'”Blue Velvet (David Lynch, 1986)
Jan
19
lights

Ben (Dean Stockwell) miming Roy Orbison's In Dreams with a work light for a microphone. DP: Frederick Elmes.
Lights on the date in 1883 that #ThomasEdison first switched on overhead electric lighting.
– Roy Orbison, In Dreams (1963)
David Lynch at his finest Anger, and Stockwell at his peak. The work light was improvised when Lynch noticed Stockwell handling it between shoots.
“All my life, hold me close to your heart
But all else above
Hold my love, darling, just hold my love”All My Life (Bruce Baillie, 1966)
Jan
18
roses

A still of a red rose bush next to a fence. Image via à pala de walsh. DP: Bruce Baillie.
Roses for the end of the Wars of the Roses (note: January 18 is when Henry VII married Elizabeth of York in 1486; the wars would continue until June 16 the following year).
– Ella Fitzgerald, All My Life (Sidney D. Mitchell & Sammy Stept), 1936
In one continuous shot, the camera tracks a fence and rose bushes while Ella Fitzgerald's 1936 debut song All My Life is playing.
“… as we enjoy great advantages from the inventions of others, we should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours; and this we should do freely and generously.”Egged On (Charles R. Bowers, Harold L. Muller + Ted Sears, 1926)
Jan
17
inventions

Charley working his Rube Goldberger-esque egg-rubberizing contraption.
An invention for Benjamin Franklin's birthday. Inventor Charley (Charles R. Bowers) comes up with an ingenious method to make eggs break-proof for transport by rubberizing them.
– Benjamin Franklin in his autobiography
Bowers was an almost-forgotten silent era comedian, filmmaker, and animator. In more recent years, his groundbreaking stop-motion comedy has found a new, well-deserved, interest.
– Now, see! You kill-a de monk!
– Pay him for that baboon… or I'll run you in!The Cameraman (Edward Sedgwick + Buster Keaton, 1928)
Jan
14
National Dress Up Your Pet Day

Buster (Buster Keaton) with Josephine the monkey on his shoulder. DPs: Reggie Lanning & Elgin Lessley.
A funnily dressed pet for National Dress Up Your Pet Day (USA) (please don't!).
After cameraman Buster accidentally knocks over a monkey, he has no choice but to take the sailor-suited simian along on his movie shoots.