“His body is golden like molten gold. This hand of his… will smooth away these wounds. Justin, he is as beautiful as the sun. This sun which caresses me… is his burning desire. He is Phoebus Apollo. The sun… is his… burning kiss.” Sebastiane (Paul Humfress + Derek Jarman, 1976)
Feb
18
Pluto Day
Sebastian (Leonardo Treviglio) sits on a rock in a barren landscape. Two men in the distance, and a sheep, all have their backs turned to him. DP: Peter Middleton.
Someone is snubbed or rejected on Pluto [Discovery] Day*.
– Sebastian
Sebastian, member of the Emperor's personal guard, is exiled after an incident. He finds himself on a rocky outpost, and the object of the other men's lust. One of them – a centurion rejected by the Christian boy – subjects Sebastian to torture and eventually lifts him up martyrdom.
* Pluto Demoted Day is on August 24
1970s
“My God. What am I doing in this place?” Le charme discret de la bourgeoisie [The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie] (Luis Buñuel, 1972)
Feb
16
No One Eats Alone Day
The diners at a long table. DP: Edmond Richard.
People eat dinner together on No One Eats Alone Day*
– Henri Sénéchal
The bourgeoisie meet for dinner in various settings, but never consume.
* this event takes place on the Friday of the second full week in February, which makes the 2025 date February 14.
“On Saturday 14th February 1900, a party of schoolgirls from Appleyard College picnicked at Hanging Rock near Mt. Macedon in the state of Victoria. During the afternoon, several members of the party disappeared without trace.”Picnic at Hanging Rock (Peter Weir, 1975)
Feb
14
Valentine's Day
A delicate, pink frosted Valentine's cake topped with a yellow marzipan rose. The cake, which bears the words St. Valentine in crude writing, has a deep straight cut right through the middle and a scorched dark spot on its side. On the right a rusty knife. DP: Russell Boyd.
Amerikai anzix [American Torso] (Gábor Bódy, 1975)
Feb
12
Lincoln born
A soldier on a swing set, high up a tree. Other soldiers and civilians look on. Screenshot (and more information) via. DP: István Lugossy.
Yet another [American] Civil War, for Abraham Lincoln's birthday (1809).
Shot as fainted fragments* based on an Ambrose Bierce story, and outtakes from Karl Marx's diary, Amerikai anzix (litt. American Postcards) follows Hungarian-American cartographer Fiala, one of many of his countrymen fighting in the American Civil War.
*Using a technique described by Bódy as “light editing”, the footage looks worn and grimy.
“Got a lot to write about today. You.”3 Women (Robert Altman, 1977)
Feb
7
1970
Millie Lammoreaux's Social Security card, issued on February 7, 1970. DP: Charles Rosher Jr.
– Millie Lammoreaux
L'udienza [The Audience] (Marco Ferreri, 1972)
Feb
2
Aiche (Claudia Cardinale) washing Principe Donati's (Vittorio Gassman) feet. DP: Mario Vulpiani.
“So, this month becomes the month of Scrawdyke.”Little Malcolm and His Struggle Against the Eunuchs (Stuart Cooper, 1974)
Scrawdyke
2
Malcolm Scrawdyke (John Hurt), disgruntled art student. DP: John Alcott.
– Malcolm Scrawdyke
– You have a good figure. You could use it to your advantage. Get in touch with me some time.
– I'd love to.Die bitteren Tränen der Petra von Kant [The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant] (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1972)
Jan
31
freebie: high fashion
Fashion designer Petra von Kant (Margit Carstensen) – pouting in her emerald-green dress – is kneeled on a large, sheepskin carpet in front of a huge Baroque painting (Nicolas Poussin's Midas und Bacchus, ca. 1624). In front of her a small bottle of gin and a phone. DP: Michael Ballhaus.
A freebie for someone's birthday, with bonus points for high fashion. Petra von Kant is a fashion designer who, during a particularly icy birthday party, tells the world that her new lover is a woman. Then, one day, said lover returns home to her husband.
With its exuberant costumes and set design, a Greek chorus of mannequins, and Sirk-ish larger- than-life melodrama, Fassbinder's Die bitteren Tränen der Petra von Kant delves deep into the absurdities of love and fancy.
Beaubourg, centre d'art et de culture Georges Pompidou [Beaubourg] (Roberto Rossellini, 1977)
Jan
31
1977
Rossellini on site. DPs: Néstor Almendros, Jean Chiabaut & Emmanuel Machuel.
Případ pro začínajícího kata [Case for a Rookie Hangman] (Pavel Juráček, 1970)
Jan
30
doors
In a completely dark room, a large silhouette of a man can be seen rushing through a brightly lit doorway. Other, impossible doors at odd heights show several people observing the man. Still via DVDBeaver. DP: Jan Kališ.
A gateway or door for Janus, god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, frames, and ending
A man named Gulliver (Lubomír Kostelka) accidentally runs over a rabbit, who is dressed to the nines and carries a pocket watch. Slowly, the man finds himself in a sort of Wonderland.