Noir City Film Festival 16

Although I neglected to write about Noir City 15 (what?!), I'm back on the wagon and clear-headed enough to write about this year's Noir City 16!

How else will I keep track of the films I've seen, and haven't? At the after-party, closing night, one conversation topic was the near-impossibility to remember noir film names -- more specifically, to pair the title with the film. A film like "Hugo" is about a boy named Hugo, but what about "Raw Deal"?

This year's Noir City ran Jan 26-Feb 4, 2018. It's nice to have my evenings free and my liver is relieved that I'm taking a break from drinking, but I miss the darkness and the camaraderie!

It was another wonderful 10 days (I attended 8 out of 10): catching up with friends, buying a few books and the latest issue of the Noir City Annual (#9), and best of all, having an excuse to sit in the dark, hour after hour, gorging on film.

I now possess Alan Rode's tome on Michael Curtiz -- "Michael Curtiz: A Life in Film" -- can hardly wait to dig in to its detailed 700+ pages of film history goodness!

Out of the total of 24 films, I saw 16 -- pretty good for me, I must say. This year I've been between jobs so I was able to see all the weekday films without fear of losing sleep -- a big silver lining!

This year's festival had a super fantastic hook -- films in chronological order with an A-film paired with a B-film of the same year, to imitate a period movie experience!

Here's the line-up...

Films I Saw:

1941
A: I Wake Up Screaming
B: Among the Living

1945
A: Conflict
B: Jealousy

1946
A: The Blue Dahila
B: Night Editor

1947
A: The Unsuspected
B: High Tide

1948
A: I Walk Alone
B: Bodyguard

1949
A: The Accused
B: The Threat

1950-51
A: The Man Who Cheated Himself
B: Roadblock

1953
A: The Big Heat
B: Wicked Woman

Films I Missed:

1942
A: This Gun for Hire
B: Quiet Please, Murder

1943
A: Shadow of a Doubt
B: Address Unknown

1944
Destiny
Flesh and Fantasy

1950
Southside 1-1000
The Underworld Story

Films I'd Already Seen:

Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
The Man Who Cheated Himself (1950)
Wicked Woman (1953)

So many of these films were new to me. That means I have seven missed films to watch this year -- #resolutions!

The highlights for me this year were Night Editor, The Unsuspected, and The Big Heat.

Noir City Festival 14 - Belated

I wrote a post the week after the Noir City Festival 14, which ran from Jan 22-31, 2016, but got sidetracked, so posting now...better late than never!!

The week following Noir City always feels a little empty. It was a wonderful 10 days (I attended 7 out of 10): catching up with friends, buying a few books and the latest issue of the Noir City Annual (#7), and best of all, having an excuse to sit in the dark, hour after hour, gorging on film.

Out of the total of 25 films, I saw 11. A few of the films I'd seen previously, but there are a bunch that I missed and need to watch on my own. I always struggle to remember the films I saw and films I want to see, so it seemed high time to write a recap for future reference.

Here's the line-up...

Films I Saw at Noir City 14:

Crack-Up (1946)
Los tallos amargos (The Bitter Stems, 1956)
Flicka och hyacinter (Girl with Hyacinths, 1950)
Deception (1946)
Humoresque (1946)
In a Lonely Place (1950)
The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945)
The Bad and the Beautiful (1953)
Specter of the Rose (1946)
Peeping Tom (1960)
Blow-Up (1966)

Films I'd Already Seen:

Rear Window (1954)
The Two Mrs. Carrolls (1947)
The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945)
Screaming Mimi (1958)
Scarlet Street (1945)

Films I Missed:

The Public Eye (1992)
The Dark Corner (1946)
Corridor of Mirrors (1948)
Love Me or Leave Me (1955)
Young Man with a Horn (1950)
Mickey One (1965)
The Big Knife (1955)
The Lodger (1944)
Bluebeard (1944)
The Red Shoes (1948)

I have some movie-watching to do!

The highlight for me this year was Flicka och hyacinter (Girl with Hyacinths, 1950). It such a simple story, so engaging. I can imagine myself launching into an amateur investigation, searching for the reasons behind the tragic actions of my neighbor.

The main character Dagmar Brink, played by Eva Henning, was quietly luminous. And I am pleasantly surprised to discover that she is still with us, at the  age of 95.

Following just behind are two films tied for second place: The Bad and the Beautiful and Specter of the Rose. The Bad and the Beautiful is a fun and drama-filled (and fueled) look at Hollywood. I adore Dick Powell as the professor-turned screenwriter, Gloria Graham is extremely convincing in her role as a sweet and earnest southern bell (not many actresses could pull off that accent), it is interesting to see Lana Turner as a messy drunk, and who doesn't enjoy watching Kirk Douglas lose his cool in a big way, few do hysteria like Douglas!

Then there is Specter of the Rose. What a crazy film with its best/worst dialog--"hold me with your eyes!" And the modern dance sequence--perfection! The dancers earnestly present their depiction of a city scape in dance accompanied by avant guard music by George Antheil (of Ballet Mecanique and Heddy-Lamarr-frequency-hopping fame). Despite their passion, they are casually ignored during their audition with one character going as far as crossing right through their performance, gingerly stepping over them on his way across the room.

The main character, dancer Andre Sanine, was a modern "bro" dropped in the middle of a 1940s film in which everyone spoke with the expected Hollywood accent, except for actor Ivan Kirov's flat Midwestern accent that stood out as so strangely...casual. He was not a seasoned actor, or a dancer at all for that matter--self-taught it turns out, but boy he can portray an unbalanced mind with the best of them!

I've seen The Picture of Dorian Gray before, but I find Oscar Wilde's story so fascinating, I had to see it again. I can't get the Little Yellow Bird song out of my head. A young Angela Lansbury is absolutely adorable.

I'm not sure which of the missed films I'll see first. My plan is to schedule a Post-Noir City program calendar for me and my significant other over the next few months. If that's successful, we'll go through last year's list and repeat the process--a great film plan for 2016! I've been watching too much TV anyway.

I Don't Think I Can Watch "The Exorcist" Again

A friend and I got on the subject of The Exorcist at a recent gathering. A movie night to rewatch the film was discussed. I admitted I'd been interested in seeing the film again, but I'd need some serious company.

I started thinking again about what I like so much, what obsesses me so much, about the film. It is the story, not the shock. It is the struggle with the loss of faith and the unexpected opportunity to renew that faith by facing evil. The existence of evil would provide strong evidence if not proof of the supernatural. The character Father Karras enters the situation as a sceptic, a position strengthened by his weakened faith, so in order for him to be convinced he was facing true evil, and not just a young girl with mental problems, he would need to be faced with an incredibly extreme experience.

Regan MacNeil, the possessed girl, is then simply a catalyst, a vehicle for evil to act on the lives of the characters. Comments I've read on a few blogs reveal that people think the horror is laughable, that Regan's antics are crude and silly. They're missing the true story.

Actor and playwright Jason Miller played Father Damian Karras. Miller began his career writing the play That Championship Season for which he won a Pulitzer Prize.

Miller was so wonderfully intense as Karras. He conveyed the gravity of his struggle without appearing ridiculous. His face effortlessly conveys the burden he carries: guilt, grief, loss.

Despite my obsession with the character of Father Karras, the other main characters in the film, Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn), Father Merrin (Max von Sydow), Lt. William Kinderman (Lee J. Cobb), also experience evil, although their story doesn't feel as compelling to me as Karras'.

For Karras and the other characters, the menacing presence of the demon is only partially visual. The voice performance and sound editing, mixing a melange of sounds with the voice of Mercedes McCambridge is astounding. The demon speaking with Linda Blair's voice might not have convinced anyone of his existence. Without McCambridge, the scenes would certainly lack impact as heard in these cool clips comparing the voices of Blair with McCambridge.

These thoughts lead to what I fear about the film. With a clear head, in the clear light of day, the film is intense and fascinating, but at night time, when I seem to be psychically vulnerable and my rational brain is half asleep, I can't stop seeing frightening images in my head. I can't stop my brain from obsessing on the danger (mental danger more than physical) of things outside the realm of the rational. My struggle is with my "lizard brain" (my emotional brain). I realize real people and real situations (illness, accidents) are the true threat, but my emotional brain is still haunted by what is not real. I don't believe in ghosts rationally, but I still expect one to be standing in the hallway when I round the corner in the dark.

This image of Karras' mother, who suddenly appears in place of Regan and the chaos of the room, is powerful. The image is simultaneously frightening, eerie, and melancholy.

I am also vulnerable to images pop into my brain and refuse to leave at night, in the dark; images like those in The Exorcist. When it came to memorable images, these people knew what they were doing.

Holy crap! Look at that. Don't tell me you're not compelled to turn away. If all you see is an actor in makeup, I envy you. Truly, I envy you.

Here is Eileen Dietz, the face behind the make-up. What a nice-looking lady. But seeing her photo doesn't reduce the impact of the image of her in scary make up...for me.

The more I considered these thoughts, I realized that while I love talking about the film, I am not interested in seeing it again. I want to contemplate the story and the drama without refreshing the frightening images that will play through my head when I least want them (i.e. heading to the bathroom in the middle of the night). So I think I'll continue to reminisce on my memories of the film and be satisfied with the half a dozen viewings. They're enough to last me a lifetime.

Projects Completed and in Progress

Well so much for New Year's Resolutions. How many times has it been said, so I don't feel so bad. I have been hoping to carve out time to blog more, although I have been keeping busy in 2012:

I've been attending a small writing club at least twice a month (been attending 2-3 times per month for four months now) with a small group of work-mates. It's been motivating and inspiring. I have not made a huge amount of progress on my writing progress, but I have been much more consistent, aka writing a little every week.

I completed an article for the Winter 2013 San Francisco Silent Film Festival. And I'm hard at work on a new essay for the Summer 2013 SFSFF! The program list will be announced on 5/23!

Helped Michelle for three of her four pop-ups, aka 20th Century Cafe preview

Teresa, Michelle, and me at the pop-up at State Bird Provisions

I read a bunch of books including the incredible memoir by Michael Tradowsky (found out about the book from his daughter Kirsten who I wrote about in this blog last year). His book is War Children is about growing up in a artistic, non-political family in Nazi Germany. I wrote a brief review on Goodreads.

I completed a video for Michelle's Kickstarter campaign. She reached her goal 12 days early! I received some nice compliments including one in the SF Weekly blog SF Foodie that said, "The Kickstarter page has more details about the café, but the real draw there is the sepia-toned, 1930's/40's video showing Polzine's trials and tribulations getting the place open. It's a fun watch that encapsulates the vintage feel she's trying to create in her café." Kickstarter page with video -- she's got 7 days to go...pledges over her goal will help buy an ice cream machine (you cannot believe the ice cream she makes!).

And I'm working on another video for her Kickstarter, for the last few days of the campaign - seriously, amazing ice-cream!

That's it for now.  A bit of catch up on my creative/project online diary...done and done!

Boardwalk Empire and Richard Harrow

I am blown away by the complexity of effects available now to storytellers. Effects can be a boring mess, or in the hands of talented writers can make anything in the creative mind a "reality."

I am addicted currently to Boardwalk Empire. The writing is top notch and the characters are incredibly compelling. My favorite character is a minor one, Richard Harrow played by Jack Huston.

He is a WWI vet with a disfiguring injury to one side of his face. This character led me to recall the research I did to write the San Francisco Silent Film Festival program essay for the Lon Chaney film The Penalty.

"Blizzard is driven by the loss of his legs. Chaney displays all the emotional and physical awkwardness that challenge and enrage Blizzard. Playing the part of the outcast, as he frequently did, afforded Chaney a unique challenge. His skills produced horrifying characters that repelled audiences. Chaney would then use those same skills to win over audiences and change their repulsion into sympathy, and a more profound understanding of his characters...In recent years, some critics and historians have condemned Chaney’s portrayals as perpetuating negative stereotypes of the disabled. In fact, Chaney’s great gift was his ability to reveal the humanity within even the most disturbed and damaged character."

During researching that essay I came across an amazing paper written by Karen Randell in the film journal Screen, issue 44:2 Summer 2003. Her essay was about the huge numbers of injured vets returning from WWI and the impact on society reflected in film, specifically in the films of actor Lon Chaney. Medical technology had advanced and was able to save many lives, but there was a impact on the vets and society in that many of those surviving had the kinds of injuries never before seen on a living, breathing person.

She writes, "Although the war does not figure explicitly in Chaney's films, I shall argue that the neurotic repetition of deformity provides a contextual reference to the war maimed...war trauma is what remains after the terrors of war have been lived through and rationalized."

At its most superficial, physical disfigurement is used to visually show the evil and corruption of a character. At its most profound, it is used to show the artifacts of a traumatic experience and its lingering damage to a character.

Staycation

Just taking a minute to think about my staycation goals...

Sitting in Cafes

 Writing

Reading

Sewing

Practicing

Watching Movies

Eating

Drinking and Socializing

Quality Time with My Man

Yep, I think that captures all the key goals. Done!

Vincent Price, Art Expert

I came across the Facebook page for the website VincentPriceExhibit.com and it reminded me of two videos I'd found on online archives. I was only able to find one (embedded below), although now, like having a song stuck in your head, I have Vincent Price in my thoughts...

Vincent Price is one of my very favorite actors.


Vincent Price and Gene Tierney in "Dragonwyck" (1946)

I admire him for his acting skills as well as his varied interests and his enthusiasm for acting despite being typecast in horror roles in the later half of his career.


Price with Roger Corman on the set of "House of Usher" (1960)

His career began far from the b-films for which he's best known. He started in the theater, notably acting with Orson Welles' Mercury Theater in two productions and got his big break in film acting in Otto Preminger's Laura (1944).


Tierney and Price together for the first time in "Laura" (1944)

Reading the biography Vincent Price Unmasked: A Biography by James Robert Parrish and Steven Whitney (Drake Publishers Inc, New York, 1974) I learned of Price's passion for food and cooking (writing three cookbooks), for his dog Joe, as demonstrated in his book The Book of Joe: About a Dog and His Man (Doubleday & Co., Inc., 1962), and for art (writing four books on the subject).



He didn't just love art, but was interested in bringing art awareness to the general public. In addition to starting an art gallery, Little Gallery, open from 1943 to 1945, he lectured on art. In 1962 he created an art program for Sears, Roebuck and Co. Below is a 17 min video intended to educate Sears employees.


The Vincent Price Collection of Fine Art: An Informational Program Production (1960), film hosted at Internet Archive

I hesitate from reading Hollywood biographies as I rarely find them inspiring and are usually so sad and tragic. Vincent Price on the other hand seemed to be such a great sport, jumping into any project with zest and consequently lived an varied and fascinating life.


Image borrowed from Henson.com

Taxidermy

One of my favorite things in life is Science Friday on NPR. They repurpose their Friday radio program in podcasts and also produce videos that are available on their website sciencefriday.com.

http://sciencefriday.com/video/12/17/2010/preserving-the-craft-of-taxidermy.html

Flora Lichtman, Sci Fri's Multimedia Producer, has a truly enviable job of producing the media content for the show, mostly video and a blog. She produced the video below, about a subject dear to my heart--taxidermy. Last year, I read the book Still Live: Adventures in Taxidermy by Melissa Milgrom, which includes a great history of the art plus some interesting anecdotes about learning the craft from the best in the business.
Looking at the web page about the video I am reminded that I have to also read Jay Kirk's book Kingdom Under Glass that focuses on the life and work of taxidermist Carl Akeley. A cool film factoid is that Akeley designed and produced a new kind of field motion picture camera that was eventually used in Robert Flaherty's documentary Nanook of the North.

Can Hardly Wait for Noir City Festival!

At a week long work trip/sales meeting and had a few minutes of free time to play around with cool animation application (for free)...

Bears Do Double Indemnity (oops, I switched the characters...not a match to the original...oops!!!)



So excited about this year's Noir City Festival!!!

The inspiration...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

It's Halloween and sadly my creativity went on vacation this month...without me!

Although I'm staying in this weekend, I'm doing one of my very favorite things - watching horror movies, cozy at home with my significant other. Tonight we're watching Woman Who Came Back (1945). See some amazing photos from the film on the marvelous The Obscure Hollow blog (and a couple below).




And I found my favorite Halloween image this year on Thanatos.net @ LJ. It's cute and creepy, all at once!



Many thanks to Thanatos and The Obscure Hollow for providing my main Halloween (eye) candy this year!!!

Happy B-Day Mr. Henson!

1938 WTF!

Supply exceeds demand...hum....

Click on pic for slightly larger, easier to read version

Louise Brooks - Sat Eye Candy

I think this might be the cutest photograph of Miss Louise Brooks ever! I wish I could give her a big hug.

Now I'm off to sew! (and more coffee!!!)

San Francisco Silent Film Festival, Part II

A week has past since the visual/aural film experiences in the dark of the Castro Theatre. I am so thankful to have two amazing festivals here in San Francisco - the SF Silent Film Festival and Noir City. I don't want to get sidetracked though. I want to record my thoughts on Metropolis (Germany, 1927) and Häxan (Denmark/Sweden, 1922).

One more sidetrack, I made a correction just now to the Part I post. I was getting Man with a Movie Camera and Metropolis mixed up. I said MWMC was being re-released on DVD/Blu-Ray, but that's the new, complete version of Metropolis! The DVD of MWMC with the Alloy Orchestra score was released in 2002.

Like many people my first viewing of Metropolis was of the Georgio Moroder version on VHS. Although it pains myself and many a film aficionado to remember this version of the film because of the pop music soundtrack, I understand and applaud his work to introduce modern film audiences to silent film. Audiences, without the experience of watching wordless visuals and music, can benefit from the more obvious emotions of pop song lyrics to engage them and focus their attention. I was definitely in this camp of inexperienced silent viewers until I had more viewing practice. We're so used to the pairing of words and visuals in late 20th century media that it is a new skill to focus on the wordless. I say "wordless," but of course I mean no words heard aloud, as silent films do have silent text in the intertitles.

I venture a guess this title is from Lon Chaney's The Man Who Laughs (1928).

Back in, I believe, 1988, I saw Metropolis for the first time in a theater, at the Castro. While it was a revelation to see the film in a movie palace with live accompaniment, the score was horrific. The music competed with the film's pacing and broke up key sequences. During one key moment, when the main character Freder sees the deadly consequences of the class organization of their society, the orchestra began to tune their instruments for the next phase of their "score." It was terrible; I wished I could have turned them off as complete silence would have been better for the film than the jarring live score.

Fast forward to 2010 and the Alloy Orchestra. I couldn't help feeling an impending cloud over my head as the movie began; that my experience would be flawed, that I'd leave feeling disappointed. The sense of relief and excitement grew as each moment passed and the music was amazing. It so well supported the visuals and the emotions and the pacing. I simply can't gush enough about Alloy.

They worked so closely with the film that I was unable to tear my eyes away from the screen at any point and I was on the edge of my seat for 2 1/2 hours! It was easily one of the best film experiences ever.

It's already so late, and I have to get my day started, so thoughts of Häxan tomorrow. I can't leave without lingering a bit more on the astounding visuals in Metropolis (cinematography by Karl Freund, one noteworthy film he lit and shot is the lush and dark Dracula 1931).