settima

1980s

Polyester (John Waters, 1981)

Nov

10

Polyester (1981)

Todd Tomorrow (Tab Hunter) and Francine Fishpaw (Divine) in wild ecstasy. The scene appears to evoke a moment of passion between Chris Flanders (Richard Burton) and Flora Goforth (Elizabeth Taylor) in Boom! (Joseph Losey, 1968). DP: Dave Insley.

“Purr Francine! Purr, purr Francine!”

– Cuddles Kovinsky

Das Gold der Liebe [The Gold of Love] (Eckhart Schmidt, 1983)

Nov

9

Das Gold der Liebe (1983)

DAF-fan Patricia (Alexandra Curtis). DP: Bernd Heinl.

“Oh keiner macht's wie du, Wie du so traut sich's keiner, So wie du”

– DAF – El Que (Gold und Liebe (1981)

Tajemství hradu v Karpatech [The Mysterious Castle in the Carpathians] (Oldřich Lipský, 1981)

Oct

27

1897

Tajemství hradu v Karpatech (1981)

A calendar – undeniably designed by the great Jan Švankmajer – with the date October 27, 1897, set on the day of – or referencing a saint – Sabina. Screenshot via DVDBeaver. DP: Viktor Růžička.

– You surely know that my financial support is unlimited.

– Yes. Long live your false cheque factories!

Psychic Confession (Danny Korem, 1982)

Oct

23

Psychic Confession (1982)

James Hydrick spins a one dollar bill – balanced on top of a pin, locked into an airtight, glass box – with the power of his own mind.

“My whole idea behind this in the first place was to see how dumb America was. How dumb the world is.”

– James Hydrick

Könnyű testi sértés [Tight Quarters] (György Szomjas, 1983)

Oct

16

Könnyű testi sértés (1983)

Csaba (Károly Eperjes) and Miklós (Péter Andorai) in their reluctantly shared apartment. Every frame is claustrophobically filled with people, including the television. DP: Ferenc Grunwalsky.

駅​ [Eki / Station] (Yasuo Furuhata, 1981)

Oct

12

駅 (1981)

Eiji Mikami (Ken Takakura) and Kiriko (Chieko Baishō) watching TV in her quiet bar. She sings along with her favourite song. DP: Daisaku Kimura.

Set 278 days before the start of the Tokyo Olympics.

“One can meet only god at such hour.”

Medium (Jacek Koprowicz, 1985)

Oct

2

Medium (1985)

A man in an impeccable, light-colored suit. His nose is bleeding. DPs: Jerzy Zieliński & Wit Dąbal.

Gothic (Ken Russel, 1986)

Oct

1

Frankenstein

Gothic (1986)

Percy Shelley (Gabriel Byrne), Mary Shelley (Natasha Richardson) and Dr Polidori (a deliriously delicious Timothy Spall). DP: Mike Southon.

A [favourite] Frankenstein film.

 

One wet, ungenial summer in 1816, lovers Mary Godwin and Percy Shelley, and Mary's stepsister Claire Clairmont, visited a dear friend at Villa Diodati. That friend was Lord Byron, exiled and residing in the Swiss villa with his physician Dr John Polidori

“There are no ghosts in daylight. You'll get used to our nights at Diodati. A little indulgence to heighten our existence on this miserable Earth. Nights of the mind, the imagination. Nothing more.”

– Lord Byron

Forced indoors, over the cause of three days they turned to the occult, to laudanum, to stories from the Fantasmagoriana, and the horrors of their own. That summer, Frankenstein saw the light of day.

The Devil at Your Heels (Robert Fortier, 1981)

Sep

25

1976

The Devil at Your Heels (1981)

The location of the jump site, marked with a hand painted billboard: KEN CARTER'S JUMP SITE UNDER CONSTRUCTION SAT. SEPT. 25 76 SEE A MAN JUMP A COUNTRY MILE! DP: Barry Perles.

ノーライフキング [No raifu kingu / No Life King] (Jun Ichikawa, 1989)

Sep

23

Nintendo – 1889

No raifu kingu (1989)

Makoto and his friends play with their video game console (via). DP: Osame Maruike.

Home video games: Nintendo was founded on this day in 1889.

 

It's the late 80s and Japan is in the midst of an economic and technological bubble. Like so many kids, Makoto (litt. “truth”) and his friends are obsessed with their game console. In anticipation of the release of the fourth instalment of their favourite game, rumours start doing the rounds. Some cartridges are cursed with the “No Life King”, meaning players who cannot complete the game, will die. The curse appears to spill over into the boys' real world. What if when you die in the game, you really really die…?