“Love your neighbour”Neighbours (Norman McLaren, 1952)
Aug
17
Neighbor Night
Neighbour on the Left (Jean Paul Ladouceur) and Neighbour on the Right (Grant Munro) upon discovering a small flower growing right on their properties' border. Two colourful, almost identical deckchairs can be seen on the lawn in the front and two cardboard façades of almost identical houses in the back. Both men wear almost identical beige slacks and blue shirts and sport a very similar hairstyle. DP: Wolf Koenig.
Norman McLaren's low-budget pixelation (animation created with live action footage) was groundbreaking in many aspects; even the soundtrack was painted directly onto the film stock.
– title card
Read more about its fascinating backstory and watch the short animation over at the National Film Board of Canada's website.
canada
“Put the mask on, now!”The Mask [Eyes of Hell / The Spooky Movie Show] (Julian Roffman, 1961)
Jul
22
Jaws 3D release day
strobe warning: click to toggle image
Rudi Linschoten as Dr Allan Barnes' alter ego in one of the jaw-dropping 3D scenes. With red/cyan glasses you can see the 3D effect in all its eye-popping glory! DP: Herbert S. Alpert.
What would you do if someone sends you a mysterious jade mask that, according to the ill-fated now-dead previous owner, causes terrifying nightmares? Well, you put it on, now! In the name of science Dr Allan Barnes (Paul Stevens) does exactly that and transports him and us – wearing our own Magic Mystic Masks – to a hallucinatory dreamworld with Zardoz-styled floating skulls and their robed devotees.
– recurring on-screen prompt
Julian Roffman's The Mask is an extremely watchable psychotronic affair. The 3D effects during the nightmarish Andreas Vesalius-inspired sequences are well implemented and yes, there's stuff flying at you for all the right reasons. Not quite #WilliamCastle gimmicky, but made with lots of love for the potential of 3D.
Le temps d'une chasse [Once Upon a Hunt / The Time of a Hunt] (Francis Mankiewicz, 1972)
Jul
17
after hours coffee
A Hopperesque glimpse through a corridor reveals a young woman (Frédérique Collin) sitting at a mostly empty dinner table. There are two coffee cups and a fruit bowl, and a bare bulb hanging from the ceiling. DP: Michel Brault.
American Dreams: Lost and Found (James Benning, 1984)
Feb
24
National Trading Card Day
A Hank Aaron trading card from director James Benning's personal collection. Below it a scrolling text quoting from Arthur Bremer's diary.
“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, Waitress (André Brassard, 1972)
Feb
9
freebie: Customer Service Day
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.
– Françoise Durocher
Watch the short on the NFB website.