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Culloden (Peter Watkins, 1964)
Apr
16
1746
“Sir Thomas Sheridan, Jacobite military secretary. Suffering advanced debility and loss of memory. Former military engagement, 56 years ago. Sir John MacDonald, Jacobite captain of cavalry. Aged, frequently intoxicated, described as 'a man of the most limited capacities.' John William O'Sullivan, Jacobite quartermaster general. Described as 'an Irishman whose vanity is superseded only by his lack of wisdom.' Prince Charles Edward Stuart, Jacobite commander in chief. Former military experience: 10 days at a siege at the age of 13.”
– narrator
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L'homme à la valise [The Man with the Suitcase] (Chantal Akerman, 1983)
Mar
11
close quarters
Henri (Jeffrey Kime) and the woman (Chantal Akerman) at a claustrophobically small table, each eating their breakfast. The woman has a baguette, a bowl of coffee, and a cigarette. Henri takes up most of the table with a serving tray holding a whole box of Pelletier toast, a plastic milk bottle, and a coffee pot. He's also manspreading. DP: Maurice Perrimond.
Close quarters: US premiere of 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016).
A filmmaker (Akerman) reluctantly hosts a guest (the always imposing Jeffrey Kime) in her already cramped quarters. His increasingly expanding presence in volume, sight and sound are insufferable for the quiet cineast.
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Tarry-Dan Tarry-Dan Scarey Old Spooky Man (John Reardon, 1978)
Jan
10
Tarry-Dan (Paul Curran) observing kids at the school's gate. DP: Peter Bartlett.
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Operation Ganymed [Helden, verloren im Staub der Sterne] (Rainer Erler, 1977)
Jan
7
moons
Jupiter rising. DP: Wolfgang Grasshoff.
Moons for Galileo Galilei's observation of Jupiter's four largest moons in 1610: Ganymede and Callisto on January 7, and Europa and Io on January 8.
“I therefore concluded and decided unhesitatingly, that there are three stars in the heavens moving about Jupiter, as Venus and Mercury round the Sun; which at length was established as clear as daylight by numerous subsequent observations. These observations also established that there are not only three, but four, erratic sidereal bodies performing their revolutions round Jupiter… the revolutions are so swift that an observer may generally get differences of position every hour.”
– Galileo Galilei, Sidereus Nuncius (”Starry Messenger”), 1610
A spacecraft named Ganymede II returns back to Earth after its expedition to Jupiter's moons followed by 1500 days stuck in space. The Earth they find, is deserted.
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The Night That Panicked America (Joseph Sargent, 1975)
Oct
30
1938
Paul Shenar as Orson Welles. DP: Jules Brenner.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we interrupt our program of dance music to bring you a special bulletin from the Intercontinental Radio News.”
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Śledztwo [The Investigation] (Marek Piestrak, 1974)
Oct
28
A person offscreen shoots a handgun. DP: Edward Kłosiński.
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Medium (Jacek Koprowicz, 1985)
Oct
2
A man in an impeccable, light-colored suit. His nose is bleeding. DPs: Jerzy Zieliński & Wit Dąbal.
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The UFO Incident [Interrupted Journey] (Richard A. Colla, 1975)
Sep
19
Betty Hill (Estelle Parsons) observed from above. It's night, and tire tracks are visible. DP: Rexford L. Metz.
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The War Game (Peter Watkins, 1966)
Sep
16
“In the next world war, I believe that both sides could stop before the ultimate destruction of cities so that both sides could retire for a period of ten years or so of post-attack recuperation, in which world wars four to eight could be prepared.”
– a leading American nuclear strategist
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Die Konsequenz [The Consequence] (Wolfgang Petersen, 1977)
Jun
17
prison grub
Thomas (Ernst Hannawald), the warden's son, and convicted homosexual Martin (Jürgen Prochnow) sharing a mug, a meal, a cell. DP: Jörg-Michael Baldenius.
“I think it's really rotten of them to lock you up like this for making love to a boy.”
– Thomas Manzoni
