settima

filmdujour

Domenica d'agosto [Sunday in August] (Luciano Emmer, 1950)

Aug

7

1949

Domenica d'agosto (1950)

A little boy runs down a Roman street. Superimposed it reads SUNDAY AUGUST 7 S. GAETANO THE SUN RISES AT 5:15 SUNSET AT 19:42 – CRESCENT MOON. S. GAETANO refers to Saint Cajetan, who's feast day is on August 7. DPs: Leonida Barboni, Ubaldo Marelli & Domenico Scala.

La baie des anges [Bay of Angels] (Jacques Demy, 1963)

Aug

6

mercredi

La baie des anges (1963)

The bank where Jean Fournier (Claude Mann) works. A wall calendar, slightly tilted, reads Août 6 Mercredi. DP: Jean Rabier.

“Life has its tricks. Its oddities.”

– Jackie Demaistre

黒蜥蜴 [Kurotokage / Kuro tokage / Black Lizard] (Kinji Fukasaku, 1968)

Aug

4

黒蜥蜴 (1968)

The Black Lizard (Akihiro Miwa) in embrace with Detective Akechi (Isao Kimura). DP: Hiroshi Dōwaki.

She-Man: A Story of Fixation (Bob Clark, 1967)

Aug

4

She-Man: A Story of Fixation (1967)

Lt. Albert Rose, now Rose Albert (Leslie Marlowe), strikes a dramatic pose. DP: Gerhard Maser.

Night Has a Thousand Eyes (John Farrow, 1948)

Aug

3

Night Has a Thousand Eyes (1948)

Mentalist John Triton (Edward G. Robinson, middle) and two of his conspirators. DP: John F. Seitz.

A continuity error later on in the movie makes it August 4.

“I'd become a sort of a reverse zombie. I was living in a world already dead, and I alone knowing it.”

– John Triton

White Woman (Stuart Walker, 1933)

Aug

1

White Woman (1933)

Horace H. Prin (Laughton) and Judith Denning (Lombard) in a promotional photo. DP: Harry Fischbeck.

“You'll go under like all the others.”

– Judith Denning

Dwaj panowie 'N' [Two Gentlemen 'N'] (Tadeusz Chmielewski, 1962)

Feb

29

Dwaj panowie 'N' (1962)

Elzbieta Brylska (Joanna Jedryka) and Sgt. Jan Dziewanowicz (Stanislaw Mikulski). DP: Jerzy Stawicki.

Private Property (Leslie Stevens, 1959/1960)

Jul

21

Private Property (1959 – 1960)

Duke (Corey Allen) and Boots (Warren Oates) “watching TV”. Ann Carlyle (Kate Manx) stripping for her husband is on. DP: Ted D. McCord.

Date watched, not the date in the movie. The quote was too good to leave it off this blog.

– He's got a calendar in there. – What day is it? – It's a broad in a cowboy hat. – Scooby doo bi doo ba ba.

Who, why, and what

This film blog, which is part of the fediverse, compliments my Mastodon musings and to a degree my Letterboxd logs. It consists of three parts:

The oldest is the Bales 2023 Film Challenge. This was a 2023 fediverse (and Twitter/X) challenge where the participants had to post about a film based on the daily theme. 2023 wasn't the kindest year, and at one point I had to skip a title. And then more. And more. And in 2024 I'm still catching up. Read about it on Letterboxd. Note that blog posts are timestamped on their corresponding daily challenge; you may have to scroll all the way back a year, or follow the #Bales2023FilmChallenge, #Bales2024FilmChallenge (December only) and #Bales2025FilmChallenge tags.

Then there is the Film du jour. This too once was a Letterboxd list until a blogger, backed by LB, blatantly copied my list and ran off with my gold medal. That list is now private and the titles – auto-posted on Mastodon on the day they take place – can be found here under the tag #FilmDuJour. The titles repeat yearly, with more and more ingredients added. It's like the soup of the day, but in celluloid form. Delicious!

Talking about food. Over time I announced my film-watching-during-dinner on Mastodon with the hashtag #FilmDinner. Initially just with a nice/interesting still, but then I decided to post a screenshot of a food-related moment in said movie.

The most recent addition is #Arcs, journaling those odd moments where I watch two or more films in a row with very similar scenes or setups. That happens, more often than anticipated.