view
Rat Fink [My Soul Runs Naked / Wild and Willing] (James Landis, 1965)
May
11
World Ego Awareness Day
Real-world teen pop idol Schuyler Hayden as Lonnie. He's very pretty, and pensive, sitting in front of a potted palm and balloons, this thumb up to his chin. His face and eyes are lit in such a way that he looks strangely sinister. DP: Vilmos Zsigmond.
Pretty boy Lonnie gets what he wants. And he wants to be out of where he came from, and he wants to be wanted and rich. And he's got the looks and the voice and the ego. So he gets it, the getting out and the love and the money. And then some. And then some. And then.
“It's not my fault that opportunity came my way.”
– Lonnie
Rat Fink is not your pop-idol-turned-movie-star vehicle. Something's off, no good vibrations here. It's dark – not in the least thanks to cinematographer Vilmos “The Deer Hunter” Zsigmond's doings – and gritty – real-world pop singer Schuyler Hayden doesn't hold back in his portrayal of egomaniacal pretty boy Lonnie.
If it hadn't been lost for half a century you may be fooled to believe that it spawned a certain, fictional 80s investment banker.
view
點指兵兵 [Dian zhi bing bing / Cops and Robbers] (Kwok-Ming Cheung, 1979)
May
6
A table set with one small plate of meat, one small plate of vegetables, three empty bowls, and one pair of chopsticks.
view
Ghosts… of the Civil Dead (John Hillcoat, 1988)
Apr
26
Hug An Australian Day
One of the inmates near a small window. The light's cold. DPs: Paul Goldman & Graeme Wood.
“Officer, come here. I wanna spit in your fucking eye!”
– Maynard
The #industrial soundtrack is by Bad Seed Nick Cave (co-writer and starring as Maynard), Mick Harvey, and Blixa Bargeld from when they were still closer to being birthday boys than morose crooners.
view
Le Samouraï [The Samurai] (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1967)
Apr
25
License Plates Day
A pair of hands switching license plates on the front of a Citroën DS. The scene is almost black-and-white. DP: Henri Decaë.
Hitman Jef Costello (Alain Delon) coolly drives a #Citroën DS 21 to his garagiste (André Salgues), who routinely switches the license plates in a beautifully wordless, efficiently lit scene.
“I never lose. Never really.”
view
羅生門 [Rashōmon] (Akira Kurosawa, 1950)
Apr
22
April Showers Day
Two men sheltering from torrential rain in the gate of a wooden temple. DP: Kazuo Miyagawa.
“It sounded interesting, at least while I kept out of the rain. But if it's a sermon, I'd sooner listen to the rain.”
– commoner
view
Supermarkt [Die Stadt, Jane Love / Supermarket] (Roland Klick, 1974)
Apr
16
National Cash Day
A dirty, cut hand attempts to steal a few coins from a dish at a public toilet. DP: Jost Vacano.
Good-for-nothing Willi (Charly Wierzejewski) is in trouble. After yet another run-in with the law, and yet again meeting the wrong people at the wrong time, he falls in love with a destitute street worker (Eva Mattes). Now he really needs #money so he can support himself, her, and her kid. He tries his hand at renting himself out to a rich homosexual (homosexuality was illegal in 1970s W Germany), then moves forward to robbing the money transporter of a local supermarket with his pimp buddy. But as usual, Willi is in trouble.
Shot on location in #Hamburg's red-light district St. Pauli, Supermarkt is gritty, unpleasant and has an authenticity rarely seen in other films of this genre.
view
The Kirlian Witness (Jonathan Sarno, 1978)
Apr
13
International Plant Appreciation Day
Rilla (Nancy Snyder) in a neglected room, the floor's littered with empty food packaging. On a small table in front of her, a ficus hooked up to a polygraph. DP: João Fernandes.
Kirlian photography claims that plants can communicate telepathically. Rilla (Nancy Snyder) delves deep into the science so to interrogate the only witness to her plant-loving sister Laurie's murder, a ficus.
Not to be confused with the inferior alternative cut The Plants are Watching.
view
Mickey One (Arthur Penn, 1965)
Apr
8
Step Into The Spotlight Day
Mickey (Warren Beatty) bent over, holding a microphone with a bright spotlight aimed at him. DP: Ghislain Cloquet.
“I'm the king of the silent pictures. I'm hiding out till talkies blow over.”
– Mickey One
Having said that, there are several great small surreal moments that are carried by uncredited character actors alone. And then there's a sole spotlight, stealing it all away.
view
Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (F.W. Murnau, 1927)
Mar
12
Academy Award For Best Picture
The Man and Wife kiss in the countryside. Suddenly, the backdrop changes to the hustle and bustle of the big city. Carts, both horse and engine driven, come to a halt for the lovers. DPs: Charles Rosher & Karl Struss.
Sunrise was bestowed the award for “Best Unique and Artistic Picture” on that first Oscar night. The first and last time that ever happened; in 1930, the price was scrapped and replaced by “Outstanding Picture” aka “Best Picture”. And that one went to the much more American-patriotic Wings (1927).
Also rightfully awarded in '29 were Janet Gaynor (Best Actress in a Leading Role), Charles Rosher and Karl Struss (Best #Cinematography), while Rochus Gliese was nominated for Best #ArtDirection.
“This song of the Man and his Wife is of no place and every place; you might hear it anywhere, at any time.”
– opening title card
Sunrise is a fantastic tour de force, and it winning that award should make you feel hopeful for the future of cinema. Instead, the current list of nominees and winners is, at least to me, a checklist of what to avoid for ever.