settima

1980s

Blue Velvet (David Lynch, 1986)

Jan

19

lights

Blue Velvet (1986)

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.

“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'”

– 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.

Times Square (Allan Moyle, 1980)

Jan

10

1967

Times Square (1980)

A bus on Times Square with a large (expensive) ad asking people to be on the lookout for a Pamela Pearl, born January 10, 1967. DP: James A. Contner.

“Yes, it's story time on WJAD in the heart of Times Square, New York, New York. The city so nice, they named it twice.”

– Johnny LaGuardia, on the air

Mauvais sang [Bad Blood / The Night Is Young] (Leos Carax, 1986)

Jan

8

David Bowie – 1947

Mauvais sang (1986)

(Alex) Denis Lavant in a scene set to David Bowie's Modern Love. DP: Jean-Yves Escoffier.

A [favourite] scene featuring a Bowie song for David Bowie's birthday (1947).

“They pulled in just behind the fridge He lays her down, he frowns “Gee, my life's a funny thing Am I still too young?” He kissed her then and there She took his ring, took his babies It took him minutes, took her nowhere Heaven knows, she'd have taken anything”

– David Bowie, Modern Love (from Let's Dance, 1983)

Altered States (Ken Russell, 1980)

Jan

7

Wed

Altered States (1980)

Eddie Jessup (William Hurt) in his tank. Around him visions of clouds, fishes, the ocean. DP: Jordan Cronenweth.

“I'm a man in search of his true self. How archetypically American can you get?”

– Eddie Jessup

Rosso sangue [Absurd / Monster Hunter] (Joe D'Amato, 1981)

Nov

2

spaghetti

Rosso sangue (1981)

Pretending to be set somewhere in the US, people watch an American Football match on TV. Being Italian, their go-to snack is spaghetti. DP: Joe D'Amato.

“So this is the team, ey? A priest, a detective near retirement, and a young moron rookie of a cop… Terrific.”

– Sgt. Ben Engleman

Night of the Comet (Thom Eberhardt, 1984)

Sep

20

cereal

Night of the Comet (1984)

An empty box or Raisin Bran lies tipped-over next to a Toshiba boombox. Just visible but out of focus is Samantha Belmont (Kelli Maroney) in her cheerleader uniform DP: Arthur Albert.

“Hey! If you're going to throw those guns away, can I have one?”

– Sarah

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

Aug

19

nokedli

Könnyű testi sértés (1983)

Éva (Mariann Erdős) samples nokedli. DP: Ferenc Grunwalsky.

Kisapmata [Sa bawat kisapmata / In the Wink of an Eye] (Mike De Leon, 1981)

Aug

18

gatas

Kisapmata (1981)

Adelina (Charito Solis) unwell in bed. She holds a glass of milk. DP: Rody Lacap.

Czułe miejsca [Tender Spots] (Piotr Andrejew, 1981)

Jul

7

ice cream

Czułe miejsca (1981)

Ewa (Hanna Dunowska) licks melting ice cream with Janek (Michał Juszczakiewicz) looking on. DPs: Jerzy Zieliński & Ryszard Lenczewski.

Simone Barbès ou la vertu (Marie-Claude Treilhou, 1980)

Jun

19

pâté

Simone Barbès ou la vertu (1980)

Two female porn theatre ushers (Ingrid Bourgoin and Martine Simonet) looking bored. They sit under two large eye-shaped neon lights. Between them a small table with various half-consumed items, including part of a baguette with pâté. DP: Jean-Yves Escoffier.

– Ah, regarde, c'est Tati ! – Tati qui? – Tati, comme Mon Oncle.