settima

1970s

Dirty Little Billy (Stan Dragoti, 1972)

Feb

25

National Billy Day

Dirty Little Billy (1972)

Michael J. Pollard as Billy the Kid. He looks rather unwashed. DP: Ralph Woolsey.

A mucky, nihilistic #punk adaptation of the Billy the Kid saga foreshadowing Alex Cox's Straight to Hell by 15 years.

– All right, Billy. All right. You still haven't answered my question. What do you want to do?

– Nothin'.

The Whole Shootin' Match (Eagle Pennell, 1978)

Feb

23

Diesel Engine Day

The Whole Shootin' Match (1978)

Frank (Sonny Carl Davis) and Loyd (Lou Perryman) attempt to fix the diesel motor that keeps their polyurethane business afloat. DP: Eagle Pennell.

“Now this is a real good one Loyd, you want me to get in a business I can't even pronounce the name of? Poly-whatcha-doodle-all-day?”

– Frank

Fast Break (Mike McLeod + Don Zavin, 1978)

Feb

19

NBA All Star Game

Fast Break (1978)

Bill Walton hosting a basketball camp for Indigenous kids. Children line up to get pictures and T-shirts signed. DP: Mike McLeod.

Le genou de Claire [Six Contes Moraux V: Le genou de Claire / Claire's Knee] (Éric Rohmer, 1970)

Feb

17

National Tennis Pro Day

Le genou de Claire (1970)

Touching Claire's knee. DP: Néstor Almendros.

“Every woman has her most vulnerable point. For some, it's the nape of the neck, the waist, the hands. For Claire, in that position, in that light, it was her knee.”

– Jerome

Hroch [The Hippo] (Karel Steklý, 1973)

Feb

15

World Hippo Day

Hroch (1973)

A poster for Hroch, showing a beautifully dressed woman in an animal enclosure feeding a hippopotamus what appears to be a consecrated wafer. A TV camera in the back records it all. DP: František Uldrich.

In this political satire criticising Czechoslovakia's “normalisation” period, a journalist learns about bank employee Bedrich Hroch, who – while attempting to determine how much #gold the local #zoo's hippopotamus' needs for a tooth replacement – is swallowed by the animal.

 

With the man happily residing inside the creature, his journalist friend hatches a plan to use the “talking hippo” for political means .

Primate (Frederick Wiseman, 1974)

Feb

12

Georgia Day

Primate (1974)

Man and ape sharing a white concrete cell. The man playfully dangles from a chain attached to the wall while the ape looks on. DP: William Brayne.

Filmed at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center in Atlanta, Georgia.

“Now, we'll just let nature take its course.”

– researcher

Françoise Durocher, Waitress (André Brassard, 1972)

Feb

9

freebie: Customer Service Day

Françoise Durocher, Waitress (1972)

A few of the 24 performers portraying waitress Françoise Durocher. DP: Thomas Vámos.

23 actresses and one person in drag play the part of Québécois waitress Françoise Durocher in seven monologues.

“One grilled cheese, two slices of toast, two coffees. One pepper steak no chili and a plate of spaghetti and meatballs. Two glasses of milk. One plate of spare ribs. A chicken in a basket with three cups of honey. One lean smoked meat sandwich with pickles and mustard. One two-cream coffee and two club sandwiches. Two clubs.”

– Françoise Durocher

Watch the short on the NFB website.

Bröder Carl [Brother Carl] (Susan Sontag, 1971)

Feb

7

Ballet Day

Bröder Carl (1971)

Carl (Laurent Terzieff) in a the opening position of a brisé (litt. “broken”) – a leap – on a veranda, with choreographer Martin (Keve Hjelm) watching over him. DP: Rune Ericson.

Shoot It Black, Shoot It Blue (Dennis McGuire, 1974)

Jan

29

Kansas Day

Shoot It Black, Shoot It Blue (1974)

A white cop (Michael Moriarty) aims his gun at someone offscreen. DP: Bob Bailin.

Ucho [The Ear] (Karel Kachyňa, 1970)

Jan

27

Thomas Crapper Day

Ucho (1970)

Ludvik (Radoslav Brzobohatý) taking a break from the official's party in a pristine but claustrophobic, white-tiled toilet stall. DP: Josef Illík.

“Even you, Ear, can't listen in the toilet!”

– Ludvik