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Könnyű testi sértés [Tight Quarters] (György Szomjas, 1983)
Jun
15
freebie: Flatmates Day
In a claustrophobically framed shot, two men and a woman – Csaba (Károly Eperjes), Miklós (Péter Andorai) and Éva (Mariann Erdőss) respectively – share a small kitchen. DP: Ferenc Grunwalsky.
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The Man Who Could Work Miracles (Lothar Mendes + Alexander Korda, 1936)
Jun
15
fruit
“As I want it, so it will be!”
– George McWhirter Fotheringay
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Körkarlen [The Phantom Carriage] (Victor Sjöström, 1921)
Jun
13
International Axe Throwing Day
David Holm (Victor Sjöström) attempts to break through a wooden door with the butt of an axe. This scene was the inspiration for the infamous door scene in Kubrick's The Shining (1980). DP: Julius Jaenzon.
“I want to be good, but no one believes me. Is it any wonder I cry?”
– David Holm
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Gycklarnas afton [Sawdust and Tinsel] (Ingmar Bergman, 1953)
Jun
11
pancakes
Ringmaster Albert Johansson (Åke Grönberg) with Anne (Harriet Andersson) – holding a pot – standing over him. DPs: Hilding Bladh & Sven Nykvist.
– All I can offer is pancakes? Will they do?
– They'll do just fine.
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Planeta krawiec [The Planet ‘Tailor’] (Jerzy Domaradzki, 1983)
June
7
National Tailors Day
During the tense hours of a solar #eclipse, the locals spend their time in a bar. One litre of vodka is the wager for he who can correctly guess a woman's dress size. Of course, tailor Józef Romanek (Kazimierz Kaczor) doesn't need to guess and that one litre later, finds himself walking through space. When he comes round from his coma, Józef builds an observatory in his house, where the tailor with his home-made telescope dreams of finding an unknown planet, and discovers the world around him.
Polish tailor Adam Giedrys is not only the subject of Planeta krawiec, but also served as the film's consultant. For his passion for and devotion to astronomy, Giedrys was the first Pole to receive Lunar soil from #NASA's 1969 Apollo 11 Moon mission.
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Les trois couronnes du matelot [Three Crowns of the Sailor] (Raúl Ruiz, 1983)
Jun
5
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Les trois couronnes du matelot [Three Crowns of the Sailor] (Raúl Ruiz, 1983)
Jun
4
National Week Of The Ocean
The sailor (Jean-Bernard Guillard) on his ship. DP: Sacha Vierny.
A man murders another and meets a drunk sailor. The drunk then tells the murderer about his life on the sea. Les trois couronnes du matelot is of course never a straightforward crime film. It's Raúl Ruiz, it never is.
“I got nothing out of this crime except the ring he offered me many times; several hundred marks; a collection of old coins, of no value; and a long letter where he advised me to leave the country.”
– the student
The sailor drinks, celebrates and mourns the women and men of his past, we all get drunk on life while the dark water closes itself again above our heads.
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Who Killed Teddy Bear (Joseph Cates, 1965)
Jun
3
A square 1960s man – Jan Murray as Lt. Dave Madden – smugly pouring himself a stiff drink. DP: Joseph C. Brun.
“I don't find you the least bit amusing, Lieutenant Whatever-your-problem- is!”
– Norah Dain
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The Last Man on Earth (Ubaldo Ragona + Sidney Salkow, 1964)
Jun
2
Republic Day – Italy
Dr. Robert Morgan (Vincent Price) walking down the stairs of the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana (aka the Palazzo della Civiltà del Lavoro aka the Colosseo Quadrato), with bodies scattered around him. DP: Franco Delli Colli.
Rome's EUR was Italy's site for the 1942 World's Fair, and meant as a showcase for #Mussolini's then-20 year old fascist state. Due to the outbreak of World War 2, EUR was never used for the Fair. Instead, the Italian Republic restored the project after the war and – quite appropriately if I may say so – turned it into a business district.
“Your new society sounds charming.”
– Dr. Robert Morgan
An idealised, hypermodern interpretation of Classical Roman architecture, EUR feels alien and inhumane and serves as a perfect backdrop for the events a last man on earth may come up against.
