Showing posts with label Wim Wenders. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wim Wenders. Show all posts
15 October 2009
January Criterions and More!
16 July 2009
Hello, Dušan Makavejev!
28 April 2008
Study Up, Kids!
Unlike in the past few years, particularly this past one, the line up for this year’s Cannes film festival isn’t heavily populated by the international titans of cinema, but a handful of directors on a smaller scale, likely not as recognizable by name. Certainly, there’s some bigwigs in the competition this year (Clint Eastwood, Steven Soderbergh, the Dardenne brothers, Wim Wenders and Atom Egoyan), but here’s a roadmap to get you better acquainted with some of the directors you may not have heard of in preparation for the 14th of May. I've chosen not to do a rundown for Eastwood, Soderbergh or Charlie Kaufman... because, well, you should already be familiar with them.
Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Three Monkeys)
Hailing from Turkey, Nuri Bilge Ceylan isn’t a stranger to the festival. He went home with the Grand Prix in 2002 for Distant (Uzak), his third feature after the lesser-known Clouds of May (Mayis sikintisi) (1999) and Kasaba (1998). Ceylan returned to the festival in 2006 with Climates (Iklimler) which he also wrote and starred in. You’ll find many comparisons to the great Antonioni in Ceylan’s work, which is often characterized as slow and quiet cinema.
Availability: Distant is available on DVD through New Yorker in the US, Climates from Zeitgeist and Clouds of May and Kasaba can both be found R2 from Artificial Eye as a double-feature. Included on both the US and UK versions of Distant is Ceylan’s first short, Koza (1995).
Arnaud Desplechin (Un conte de Noël)
Un conte de Noël will mark the French director’s fourth film to play in competition at Cannes. La sentinelle, about a man’s obsession with a severed human head, was his first in 1992, followed by My Sex Life… Or How I Got into an Argument (Comment je me suis dispute… ma vie sexuelle), with Mathieu Amalric, Emmanuelle Devos, Jeanne Balibar and Chiara Mastroianni, in 1996 and his English-language Esther Kahn, with Summer Phoenix and Ian Holm, in 2000. Since then he has directed Léo, en jouant ‘Dans la compagnie des hommes’ (Playing ‘In the Company of Men’) (2003) and Rois & reine (Kings and Queen) (2004), with Amalric and Devos, which premiered at that year’s Venice Film Festival.
Availability: La sentinelle and My Sex Life are both available from Fox Lorber (though both appear to be out-of-print); Esther Kahn and Kings & Queen are both available from Wellspring, and both Léo and his first film, La vie des morts (1991), are only available in France from Gaumont and Cahiers du Cinéma, respectively.
Ari Folman (Waltz with Bashir)
Waltz with Bashir will mark Israeli writer/director Ari Folman’s third feature film, following Saint Clara (Clara Hakedosha) (1996), which he co-directed with Ori Sivan, and Made in Israel (2001). In additiont o his film work, Folman has written for several Israeli television programs, as well as an episode for HBO’s In Treatment.
Availability: Saint Clara is available on DVD from Kino, and I couldn’t find a DVD release for Made in Israel.
Philippe Garrel (La frontière de l’aube)
Phillippe Garrel has been making films for over thirty years, but only with the emergence of his son Louis’ acting career and their film together, Regular Lovers (Les amants réguliers) (2005), has the international community started paying attention. In the late 60s and early 70s, Garrel worked with his then-partner Nico with several projects.
Availability: Regular Lovers is the only of his works to be available on DVD in the US, from Zeitgeist. J’entends plus la guitare (1991), Les baisers de secours (Emergency Kisses) (1989), La naissance de l’amour (The Birth of Love) (1993) Sauvage innocence (Wild Innocence) (2000), Le vent de la nuit (The Winds of the Night) (1993) and Elle a passé tant d’heures sous les sunlights… (1985) are available in France through Cahiers du Cinéma, as well as Le révélateur (1968) and Le lit de la verge (1969) through re:voir.
Matteo Garrone (Gomorra)
Gomorra will be Italian director Matteo Garrone’s first In Competition premiere at this year’s Cannes. Previously he directed two haunting features, The Embalmer (L’imbalsamatore) (2002), a strangely homoerotic tale of a taxidermist’s new assistant, and Primo amore (First Love) (2004), about an obsessive relationship where a man forces his new girlfriend into starvation. Gomorra is his sixth feature film.
Availability: The Embalmer is available in the US through First Run Features and Primo amore from Strand Releasing.
Jia Zhangke (24 City)
The Chinese director has gained quite a following in the film theorist circles, though not much success outside of that world. He gained popularity in the States with Platform (2000), Unknown Pleasures (2002), The World (2004) and Still Life (2006), again allowing for critics to make comparisons to Antonioni and even Godard in his stark depiction of rambling youth.
Availability: Platform and Unknown Pleasures are available in the US from New Yorker, The World from Zeitgeist. In the UK, the Artificial Eye Unknown Pleasures disc includes his film Xiao Wu (Pickpocket) (1997), and in France, the Still Life disc from mk2 features his documentary Dong (2006). Still Life has yet to receive a DVD release in the US from New Yorker, but is available in both France and China, from Warner, currently.
Eric Khoo (My Magic)
Singapore-based director Khoo achieved modest international success with his feature Be with Me from 2005. Previously, he elevated Singapore’s cinema to more widespread attraction with the films Mee Pok Man (1995) and 12 Storeys (1997). He has also directed a number of shorts since 1990. My Magic will be his fourth feature.
Availability: Be with Me is available in the US through Film Movement, Mee Pok Man through Kimstim. 12 Storeys is unavailable in the US but has been released in Singapore through Alliance.
Lucrecia Martel (La mujer sin cabeza)
Argentine director Lucrecia Martel has been selected as one of the filmmakers to keep an eye out for in this year’s festival. Granted, if you had seen her previous films, La niña santa (The Holy Girl) (2004) or La ciénaga (2001), you would have known what an amazing filmmaker Martel is beforehand. La mujer sin cabeza is her third feature, though she’s directed several shorts both live-action and animated.
Availability: The Holy Girl is available in the US through HBO, and La ciénaga from Home Vision, which also includes her short Rey muerto (1995).
Brillante Mendoza (Serbis)
Philippine director Brillant Mendoza will be showing his latest film In Competition for the first time this year. Prior to this, many of his films have made the international film circuit, becoming one of the most prominent voices in both contemporary queer and Philippine cinema.
Availability: Only two of his seven features, all made within three years, are available in the United States: The Masseur (2005) from Picture This! and Pantasya (2007) from Water Bearer Films.
Kornél Mundruczó (Delta)
As an actor, director, writer and production designer, Hungarian Kornél Mundruczó is a busy young man. Previously, his Johanna (2005), an avant-garde opera, was a controversial out-of-competition entry at Cannes. He’s also directed a number of shorts and features before Delta, many of the recent ones with actress Orsolya Tóth.
Availability: None of Mundruczó’s films have been made available in the US, although Tartan released Johanna in the UK.
Paolo Sorrentino (Il divo)
Italian director Paolo Sorrentino, along with Matteo Garrone, is a fine representation of the state of Italian cinema, a nation who has never been able to rival their extreme popularity from the 60s and early 70s. Sorrentino’s films haven’t made it to the US, but have been rather successful in the UK and other parts of Western Europe.
Availability: The Consequences of Love (Le conseguenze dell’amore) (2004) and The Family Friend (L’amico di famiglia) (2006) are both available in the UK from Artificial Eye.
Pablo Trapero (Leonera)
Pablo Trapero will be the second Argentine director to show at this year’s competition, along with Lucrecia Martel. Leonera will be his first film to play in competition as well.
Availability: Rolling Family (Familia rodante) (2004) and Crane World (Mundo grúa) (1999) are both available in the US from Palm Pictures and Facets, respectively. El bonaerense (2002) and Born and Bred (Nacido y criado) (2006) are only available in the UK from Optimum Releasing and Axiom Films respectively.
Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne (Le silence de Lorna)
Availability: Palme d'Or winner L'enfant (2005) is available from Sony, La promesse (1996) and The Son (Le fils) (2002) through New Yorker. Their other Palme d'Or winner Rosetta (1999) is not available in the US, but can be found in the UK and France from Artificial Eye and TF1 Vidéo respectively.
Atom Egoyan (Adoration)
Availability: Where the Truth Lies (2005) is available in its uncut version from Sony. The Adjuster (1991) was once available from MGM but is now out-of-print; it still appears to be in print in Canada from Alliance. Exotica (1994) from Miramax is also out-of-print but still readily available at video stores and used; Miramax also released a 2-disc set of Ararat (2002), which is still in print. The Sweet Hereafter (1997) can be found from New Line, and Felicia's Journey (1999) from Artisan. Zeitgeist has also released the rest of his pre-Exotica films, which includes Speaking Parts (1989), Next of Kin (1984) and Family Viewing (1987), and Calendar (1993).
Walter Salles, Daniela Thomas (Linha de Passe)
Availability: The directors have worked together on three films: Paris je t'aime (2006) from First Look, Midnight (1998) and Foreign Land (Terra Estrangeira) (1996), both from Fox Lorber. Separately, Salles directed Behind the Sun (Abril Despedaçado) (2001) from Miramax, Central Station (Central do Brasil) (1998) from Columbia Tri-Star, the American remake of Dark Water (2005) from Touchstone and The Motorcycle Diaries (2004) from Focus Features.
Wim Wenders (The Palermo Shooting)
Availability: Palme d'Or winner Paris, Texas (1984) is available from 20th Century Fox, and Best Director winner Wings of Desire (Der Himmel über Berlin) (1987) from MGM and its Grand Prix-winning sequel Faraway, So Close (In weiter Ferne, so nah!) (1993). He co-directed Beyond the Clouds (Al di là delle nuvole) with Michelangelo Antonioni, but the Image disc is out-of-print in the States. It is available, however, in France. Other available titles include Buena Vista Social Club (1999) from Artisan, Don't Come Knocking (2005) from Sony, The End of Violence (1997) from MGM, Hammett (1982) from Paramount, Land of Plenty (2004) from IFC Films, Lisbon Story (1994) from Lionsgate, and The Million Dollar Hotel (2000) from Studio. Anchor Bay has released two box-sets which include Lightning Over Water (1980), Notebook on Cities and Clothes (Aufzeichnungen zu Kleidern und Städten) (1989), The American Friend (Der Amerikanische Freund) (1977); and a larger one which also includes Room 666 (Chambre 666) (1982), Tokyo-Ga (1985), Wrong Move (Falsche Bewegung) (1975), The Scarlet Letter (Der Scharlachrote Buchstabe) (1973) and Trick of Light (Die Gebrüder Skladanowsky) (1995) in addition to the three titles above. Some of the discs are available separately. Until the End of the World (Bis ans Ende der Welt) (1991) is not available in the US, but is in various formats around the world including the 279-minute version in Germany from Kinowelt and the 158-minute theatrical version in the UK from Metrodome. Alice in den Städten (1974), Der Stand der Dinge (The State of Things) (1982) and Im Lauf der Zeit (Kings of the Road) (1976) are available in Germany from Kinowelt.
Get busy.
Hailing from Turkey, Nuri Bilge Ceylan isn’t a stranger to the festival. He went home with the Grand Prix in 2002 for Distant (Uzak), his third feature after the lesser-known Clouds of May (Mayis sikintisi) (1999) and Kasaba (1998). Ceylan returned to the festival in 2006 with Climates (Iklimler) which he also wrote and starred in. You’ll find many comparisons to the great Antonioni in Ceylan’s work, which is often characterized as slow and quiet cinema.
Un conte de Noël will mark the French director’s fourth film to play in competition at Cannes. La sentinelle, about a man’s obsession with a severed human head, was his first in 1992, followed by My Sex Life… Or How I Got into an Argument (Comment je me suis dispute… ma vie sexuelle), with Mathieu Amalric, Emmanuelle Devos, Jeanne Balibar and Chiara Mastroianni, in 1996 and his English-language Esther Kahn, with Summer Phoenix and Ian Holm, in 2000. Since then he has directed Léo, en jouant ‘Dans la compagnie des hommes’ (Playing ‘In the Company of Men’) (2003) and Rois & reine (Kings and Queen) (2004), with Amalric and Devos, which premiered at that year’s Venice Film Festival.
Waltz with Bashir will mark Israeli writer/director Ari Folman’s third feature film, following Saint Clara (Clara Hakedosha) (1996), which he co-directed with Ori Sivan, and Made in Israel (2001). In additiont o his film work, Folman has written for several Israeli television programs, as well as an episode for HBO’s In Treatment.
Phillippe Garrel has been making films for over thirty years, but only with the emergence of his son Louis’ acting career and their film together, Regular Lovers (Les amants réguliers) (2005), has the international community started paying attention. In the late 60s and early 70s, Garrel worked with his then-partner Nico with several projects.
Gomorra will be Italian director Matteo Garrone’s first In Competition premiere at this year’s Cannes. Previously he directed two haunting features, The Embalmer (L’imbalsamatore) (2002), a strangely homoerotic tale of a taxidermist’s new assistant, and Primo amore (First Love) (2004), about an obsessive relationship where a man forces his new girlfriend into starvation. Gomorra is his sixth feature film.
The Chinese director has gained quite a following in the film theorist circles, though not much success outside of that world. He gained popularity in the States with Platform (2000), Unknown Pleasures (2002), The World (2004) and Still Life (2006), again allowing for critics to make comparisons to Antonioni and even Godard in his stark depiction of rambling youth.
Singapore-based director Khoo achieved modest international success with his feature Be with Me from 2005. Previously, he elevated Singapore’s cinema to more widespread attraction with the films Mee Pok Man (1995) and 12 Storeys (1997). He has also directed a number of shorts since 1990. My Magic will be his fourth feature.
Argentine director Lucrecia Martel has been selected as one of the filmmakers to keep an eye out for in this year’s festival. Granted, if you had seen her previous films, La niña santa (The Holy Girl) (2004) or La ciénaga (2001), you would have known what an amazing filmmaker Martel is beforehand. La mujer sin cabeza is her third feature, though she’s directed several shorts both live-action and animated.
Philippine director Brillant Mendoza will be showing his latest film In Competition for the first time this year. Prior to this, many of his films have made the international film circuit, becoming one of the most prominent voices in both contemporary queer and Philippine cinema.
As an actor, director, writer and production designer, Hungarian Kornél Mundruczó is a busy young man. Previously, his Johanna (2005), an avant-garde opera, was a controversial out-of-competition entry at Cannes. He’s also directed a number of shorts and features before Delta, many of the recent ones with actress Orsolya Tóth.
Italian director Paolo Sorrentino, along with Matteo Garrone, is a fine representation of the state of Italian cinema, a nation who has never been able to rival their extreme popularity from the 60s and early 70s. Sorrentino’s films haven’t made it to the US, but have been rather successful in the UK and other parts of Western Europe.
Pablo Trapero will be the second Argentine director to show at this year’s competition, along with Lucrecia Martel. Leonera will be his first film to play in competition as well.
Availability: Palme d'Or winner L'enfant (2005) is available from Sony, La promesse (1996) and The Son (Le fils) (2002) through New Yorker. Their other Palme d'Or winner Rosetta (1999) is not available in the US, but can be found in the UK and France from Artificial Eye and TF1 Vidéo respectively.
Availability: Where the Truth Lies (2005) is available in its uncut version from Sony. The Adjuster (1991) was once available from MGM but is now out-of-print; it still appears to be in print in Canada from Alliance. Exotica (1994) from Miramax is also out-of-print but still readily available at video stores and used; Miramax also released a 2-disc set of Ararat (2002), which is still in print. The Sweet Hereafter (1997) can be found from New Line, and Felicia's Journey (1999) from Artisan. Zeitgeist has also released the rest of his pre-Exotica films, which includes Speaking Parts (1989), Next of Kin (1984) and Family Viewing (1987), and Calendar (1993).
Availability: The directors have worked together on three films: Paris je t'aime (2006) from First Look, Midnight (1998) and Foreign Land (Terra Estrangeira) (1996), both from Fox Lorber. Separately, Salles directed Behind the Sun (Abril Despedaçado) (2001) from Miramax, Central Station (Central do Brasil) (1998) from Columbia Tri-Star, the American remake of Dark Water (2005) from Touchstone and The Motorcycle Diaries (2004) from Focus Features.
Availability: Palme d'Or winner Paris, Texas (1984) is available from 20th Century Fox, and Best Director winner Wings of Desire (Der Himmel über Berlin) (1987) from MGM and its Grand Prix-winning sequel Faraway, So Close (In weiter Ferne, so nah!) (1993). He co-directed Beyond the Clouds (Al di là delle nuvole) with Michelangelo Antonioni, but the Image disc is out-of-print in the States. It is available, however, in France. Other available titles include Buena Vista Social Club (1999) from Artisan, Don't Come Knocking (2005) from Sony, The End of Violence (1997) from MGM, Hammett (1982) from Paramount, Land of Plenty (2004) from IFC Films, Lisbon Story (1994) from Lionsgate, and The Million Dollar Hotel (2000) from Studio. Anchor Bay has released two box-sets which include Lightning Over Water (1980), Notebook on Cities and Clothes (Aufzeichnungen zu Kleidern und Städten) (1989), The American Friend (Der Amerikanische Freund) (1977); and a larger one which also includes Room 666 (Chambre 666) (1982), Tokyo-Ga (1985), Wrong Move (Falsche Bewegung) (1975), The Scarlet Letter (Der Scharlachrote Buchstabe) (1973) and Trick of Light (Die Gebrüder Skladanowsky) (1995) in addition to the three titles above. Some of the discs are available separately. Until the End of the World (Bis ans Ende der Welt) (1991) is not available in the US, but is in various formats around the world including the 279-minute version in Germany from Kinowelt and the 158-minute theatrical version in the UK from Metrodome. Alice in den Städten (1974), Der Stand der Dinge (The State of Things) (1982) and Im Lauf der Zeit (Kings of the Road) (1976) are available in Germany from Kinowelt.
Get busy.
04 July 2006
100! Part 1!
So I'm dividing my 100th post into four. It counts, okay? Anyway, I've decided to make a list of 100 Films that have aided the continuation of my film adoration. This post will cover 25 films that mattered to me in my formative years from birth until the end of middle-school, when I first started walking my own ass up to the video store when my parents grew tired of driving me. This is not to say that all of the films (if any...) are still worth seeing, but they certainly shaped the way I look at cinema now. It's really going to show my age. I'll add the occasional anecdote here and there to spice things up. They're in no particular order.
1. Exotica - dir. Atom Egoyan - 1994 - Canada
This was one I had to wait to rent until mom and dad went out of town. I didn't want them asking to see what I had rented and then raising their Catholic eyebrows at a film called Exotica. And just think if they had seen the awful, lurid box-cover with a woman who's not even in the film in Catholic schoolgirl attire on her spread knees. Jesus. I knew it was an "art film," as my parents had bought me some big Roger Ebert book when I was in sixth grade, and I remember it being the first film to really "challenge" me. I didn't like it, but somehow couldn't take my eyes off of it. It introduced me to Egoyan and, best of all, Leonard Cohen (I really only learn about music through film or hipper friends). Throughout my life, I find myself revisiting Exotica and somehow taking something completely different out of it each time. That's the purpose of revisiting films, right? The purpose of home video?
2. True Romance - dir. Tony Scott - 1993 - USA
My aunt sure wasn't happy when I told her to tape this one of HBO. She's one of those cool aunts, and, as I came of age, wanted to prove to her that I was cool too. Unfortunately, I didn't then realize her sensitivity to extreme violence. Begin crush on Patricia Arquette.
3. Harold and Maude - dir. Hal Ashby - 1971 - USA
Begin crush on Ruth Gordon.
4. A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors - dir. Chuck Russell - 1987 - USA
To this day, I don't recall why the third installment of the Nightmare on Elm Street series is the best, but I trust my youthful instinct when it comes to horrortrash. Continue Patty Arquette crush.
5. The Crow - dir. Alex Proyas - 1994 - USA
I'd just be a snob if I didn't include some of the more truly embarrassing films that shaped me as a youth. The Crow, yes, was one of them. And while I may have recognized just a year or two later its hollowness, it did manage to be one of the catalysts in my own high school deflowering, but I'm not sharing that story either. And, to this day, the soundtrack is pretty amazing. Nine Inch Nails' cover of "Dead Souls" introduced me to my love of Joy Division.
6. The Pillow Book - dir. Peter Greenaway - 1996 - UK/France/Netherlands
Such eroticism! I could never finish this film in one sitting. Partially because it was so fucking sexy and partially because it was so fucking boring. I'm not really sure if I ever really finished the film until years later, but my late fees on it will surely prove that I started it quite a few times. This film would be the beginning of my several-year-long obsession with Greenaway and my rather naive declaration that he was the greatest filmmaker out there. I think I just liked all the penises and vaginas.
7. Desperate Living - dir. John Waters - 1977 - USA
It still has one of the most exuberantly funny opening scenes ever committed to film, but this was really my first underground Waters film. I found this at the local Blockbuster before I realized Hollywood Video had a cult classics section, where I got to prematurely enjoy such gems as Begotten and Schizopolis and, of course, Pink Flamingos! To be honest, I never really enjoyed Flamingos outside of its filthiness; Desperate Living had me crying laughing.
8. The Doom Generation - dir. Gregg Araki - 1995 - USA/France
I didn't get it then, but, boy, did I sure feel cool for seeing this when I was in middle-school.
9. Return to Oz - dir. Walter Murch - 1985 - USA/UK
I still don't think anyone at Disney knows what happened with this film, but I loved it so much that a friend of mine and I made up our own Return to Oz game. I don't remember what it consisted of other than someone being that witch who has glass-cases full of heads and chasing after Dorothy. Little did I know that young Fairuza Balk would become...
10. Gas Food Lodging - dir. Allison Anders - 1992 - USA
+
11. The Craft - dir. Andrew Flemming - 1996 - USA
...my number 1 youthcrush. It must have been the eyes or her darkside or the fact that I liked The Crow. I'm not sure. But, 7th and 8th grade, Fairuza Balk could do no wrong in my book. I related to the loneliness of Shade in Gas Food Lodging and longed to be the crazy bitch Nancy in The Craft. I don't care if she was a bad girl; she was a fuck of a lot cooler than her slutty sister Ione Skye and her boring protege Robin Tunney. Here were two sides of me as portrayed by my then-screen goddess Fairuza Balk.
12. Sliver - dir. Phillip Noyce - 1993 - USA
Back to sex. What a toe-curler this was for a young boy. I hadn't seen Basic Instinct. I knew my parents had seen it, and they would have been pissed if they had found out that I too had seen it. So I felt safe with Sliver one night on HBO. It must be my Catholic upbringing, but most of the films I can remember pre-high school were sexy. Who better to introduce young boys of the 1990s to onscreen sex than Sharon Stone? Each generation has had their own screen siren. Stone was like Bardot for the 90s. And doesn't the opening credit music from Enigma make you just feel really hotdirty? I know I wasn't the only one.
13. Dazed and Confused - dir. Richard Linklater - 1993 - USA
I actually just rewatched this tonight with the Criterion re-release, so expect a longer dissection of it after I finish these four blogs. Dazed and Confused was one of those movies that was always annoyingly checked out of the video store, because A.) stoners don't remember due dates and B.) Dazed and Confused was the official litmus test of coolness in my middle school. You haven't seen it? Well, I guess you're not cool then. (Empire Records was a close second). I always wanted to make my own version of Dazed and Confused when I was younger until I saw someone do it with Can't Hardly Wait... and I realized they'd fucked up my idea forever.
14. Scream - dir. Wes Craven - 1996 - USA
You better believe I saw this baby three times in the theatre!
15. Hackers - dir. Iain Softley - 1995 - USA/UK
And you best believe that I saw this one three times in the theatre too! Hackers was exactly the world I wanted to live in. I wanted to go about my daily routine on rollerblades from this point on. I also wanted to be, look like, and name myself Dade (Jonny Lee Miller). Judging by the photo above, I may want to think again about that. Plus, I think I was the only one of my friends who caught the Angelina Jolie nip-slip.
16. Clueless - dir. Amy Heckerling - 1995 - USA
Fuck, Clueless is still endlessly quotable. When discussing my lousy lovelife once with Bradford, he responded, "finding love in Saint Louis is like finding meaning in a Pauly Shore movie." When my friend Beth and I went to a bar a few weeks ago, she stated, "let's make a lap before we commit to a location." Whenever I want to insult someone I know I usually say, "he/she's a virgin who can't drive," in my best New Jersey accent. See, Clueless is still relevant! Or perhaps only to my generation.
17. Welcome to the Dollhouse - dir. Todd Solondz - 1995 - USA
I knew some girls in middle school who had rented this film somehow and rewatched it about a million times, just because one of them thought that Brandon Sexton III was a hot kisser. I liked it, because I hated dorks. And I loved every morsel of shit that Solondz dropped on Dawn "Weinerdog" Weiner (Heather Matarazzo). Just as all of my friends thought it hilarious that a girl in our class looked like Anne Frank, I loved that another girl looked just like Weinerdog.
18. The Addiction - dir. Abel Ferrara - 1995 - USA
Youth Restricted Viewing sticker? I'm all over it! And talk about philosophy mixed with raw violence? I feel smarter now. I didn't really know how to appreciate it then, but I sure acted as if I did.
19. Paris, Texas - dir. Wim Wenders - 1984 - West Germany/France
Paris, Texas was one of a few examples (Chinatown was another) of my premature film-lovin'. Even in 8th grade, I thought, "hey, this is a well-respected film; of course I'll like it!" I was wrong. I had a certain cockiness at a young age when it came to film, a particular understanding that I had already reached the point of maturity in film appreciation as I'd well surpassed my peers. To this day, I'm not sure how I feel about Paris, Texas, but at least I have a better understanding now how to read it.
20. Kids - dir. Larry Clark - 1995 - USA
This, plus Catholic school sex ed can sure make a boy who hadn't even had his first kiss scared of getting AIDS.
21. The Good Son - dir. Joseph Ruben - 1993 - USA
+
22. My Girl - dir. Howard Zieff - 1991 - USA
I could never really figure out why, but for as long back as I can remember, I've hated Macaulay Culkin. I don't remember being too fond of the Home Alone movies, but I do remember liking both My Girl and The Good Son, probably because both films have Culkin meeting his maker. I also remember feeling weird the first time I heard Culkin use the word "fuck" and seeing him kiss Vada. I think I was jealous that he'd done everything before I had.
23. All Over Me - dir. Alex Sichel - 1997 - USA
I've been meaning to rewatch this ever since the DVD was released a few years ago, because I don't quite remember how this film affected me on the whole. I just remember moments. Coming-of-age, unacceptance, Patti Smith, punk rock, dyed hair, body issues. All up my alley. I'd like to say this was the film that got me out of my "dark, Brandon Lee-loving" phase, but as you'll see in Part 2, it isn't over yet.
24. Natural Born Killers - dir. Oliver Stone - 1994 - USA
Of course, right? I was totally an edgy 6th grader.
25. Breathless (À bout de souffle) - dir. Jean-Luc Godard - 1960 - France
Breathless was the first foreign-language film I can recall ever seeing. At least the only one I can remember the title of (I think the first one was either Italian or Russian, either way a total B movie). When I discovered foreign films had more nudity than American ones, I was all over it. And who's parents would suspect that? Their kid is just advanced. He doesn't mind reading subtitles. Naturally, Breathless put me to sleep.
This was one I had to wait to rent until mom and dad went out of town. I didn't want them asking to see what I had rented and then raising their Catholic eyebrows at a film called Exotica. And just think if they had seen the awful, lurid box-cover with a woman who's not even in the film in Catholic schoolgirl attire on her spread knees. Jesus. I knew it was an "art film," as my parents had bought me some big Roger Ebert book when I was in sixth grade, and I remember it being the first film to really "challenge" me. I didn't like it, but somehow couldn't take my eyes off of it. It introduced me to Egoyan and, best of all, Leonard Cohen (I really only learn about music through film or hipper friends). Throughout my life, I find myself revisiting Exotica and somehow taking something completely different out of it each time. That's the purpose of revisiting films, right? The purpose of home video?
My aunt sure wasn't happy when I told her to tape this one of HBO. She's one of those cool aunts, and, as I came of age, wanted to prove to her that I was cool too. Unfortunately, I didn't then realize her sensitivity to extreme violence. Begin crush on Patricia Arquette.
Begin crush on Ruth Gordon.
To this day, I don't recall why the third installment of the Nightmare on Elm Street series is the best, but I trust my youthful instinct when it comes to horrortrash. Continue Patty Arquette crush.
I'd just be a snob if I didn't include some of the more truly embarrassing films that shaped me as a youth. The Crow, yes, was one of them. And while I may have recognized just a year or two later its hollowness, it did manage to be one of the catalysts in my own high school deflowering, but I'm not sharing that story either. And, to this day, the soundtrack is pretty amazing. Nine Inch Nails' cover of "Dead Souls" introduced me to my love of Joy Division.
Such eroticism! I could never finish this film in one sitting. Partially because it was so fucking sexy and partially because it was so fucking boring. I'm not really sure if I ever really finished the film until years later, but my late fees on it will surely prove that I started it quite a few times. This film would be the beginning of my several-year-long obsession with Greenaway and my rather naive declaration that he was the greatest filmmaker out there. I think I just liked all the penises and vaginas.
It still has one of the most exuberantly funny opening scenes ever committed to film, but this was really my first underground Waters film. I found this at the local Blockbuster before I realized Hollywood Video had a cult classics section, where I got to prematurely enjoy such gems as Begotten and Schizopolis and, of course, Pink Flamingos! To be honest, I never really enjoyed Flamingos outside of its filthiness; Desperate Living had me crying laughing.
I didn't get it then, but, boy, did I sure feel cool for seeing this when I was in middle-school.
I still don't think anyone at Disney knows what happened with this film, but I loved it so much that a friend of mine and I made up our own Return to Oz game. I don't remember what it consisted of other than someone being that witch who has glass-cases full of heads and chasing after Dorothy. Little did I know that young Fairuza Balk would become...
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11. The Craft - dir. Andrew Flemming - 1996 - USA
Back to sex. What a toe-curler this was for a young boy. I hadn't seen Basic Instinct. I knew my parents had seen it, and they would have been pissed if they had found out that I too had seen it. So I felt safe with Sliver one night on HBO. It must be my Catholic upbringing, but most of the films I can remember pre-high school were sexy. Who better to introduce young boys of the 1990s to onscreen sex than Sharon Stone? Each generation has had their own screen siren. Stone was like Bardot for the 90s. And doesn't the opening credit music from Enigma make you just feel really hotdirty? I know I wasn't the only one.
I actually just rewatched this tonight with the Criterion re-release, so expect a longer dissection of it after I finish these four blogs. Dazed and Confused was one of those movies that was always annoyingly checked out of the video store, because A.) stoners don't remember due dates and B.) Dazed and Confused was the official litmus test of coolness in my middle school. You haven't seen it? Well, I guess you're not cool then. (Empire Records was a close second). I always wanted to make my own version of Dazed and Confused when I was younger until I saw someone do it with Can't Hardly Wait... and I realized they'd fucked up my idea forever.
You better believe I saw this baby three times in the theatre!
And you best believe that I saw this one three times in the theatre too! Hackers was exactly the world I wanted to live in. I wanted to go about my daily routine on rollerblades from this point on. I also wanted to be, look like, and name myself Dade (Jonny Lee Miller). Judging by the photo above, I may want to think again about that. Plus, I think I was the only one of my friends who caught the Angelina Jolie nip-slip.
Fuck, Clueless is still endlessly quotable. When discussing my lousy lovelife once with Bradford, he responded, "finding love in Saint Louis is like finding meaning in a Pauly Shore movie." When my friend Beth and I went to a bar a few weeks ago, she stated, "let's make a lap before we commit to a location." Whenever I want to insult someone I know I usually say, "he/she's a virgin who can't drive," in my best New Jersey accent. See, Clueless is still relevant! Or perhaps only to my generation.
I knew some girls in middle school who had rented this film somehow and rewatched it about a million times, just because one of them thought that Brandon Sexton III was a hot kisser. I liked it, because I hated dorks. And I loved every morsel of shit that Solondz dropped on Dawn "Weinerdog" Weiner (Heather Matarazzo). Just as all of my friends thought it hilarious that a girl in our class looked like Anne Frank, I loved that another girl looked just like Weinerdog.
Youth Restricted Viewing sticker? I'm all over it! And talk about philosophy mixed with raw violence? I feel smarter now. I didn't really know how to appreciate it then, but I sure acted as if I did.
Paris, Texas was one of a few examples (Chinatown was another) of my premature film-lovin'. Even in 8th grade, I thought, "hey, this is a well-respected film; of course I'll like it!" I was wrong. I had a certain cockiness at a young age when it came to film, a particular understanding that I had already reached the point of maturity in film appreciation as I'd well surpassed my peers. To this day, I'm not sure how I feel about Paris, Texas, but at least I have a better understanding now how to read it.
This, plus Catholic school sex ed can sure make a boy who hadn't even had his first kiss scared of getting AIDS.
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22. My Girl - dir. Howard Zieff - 1991 - USA
I've been meaning to rewatch this ever since the DVD was released a few years ago, because I don't quite remember how this film affected me on the whole. I just remember moments. Coming-of-age, unacceptance, Patti Smith, punk rock, dyed hair, body issues. All up my alley. I'd like to say this was the film that got me out of my "dark, Brandon Lee-loving" phase, but as you'll see in Part 2, it isn't over yet.
Of course, right? I was totally an edgy 6th grader.
Breathless was the first foreign-language film I can recall ever seeing. At least the only one I can remember the title of (I think the first one was either Italian or Russian, either way a total B movie). When I discovered foreign films had more nudity than American ones, I was all over it. And who's parents would suspect that? Their kid is just advanced. He doesn't mind reading subtitles. Naturally, Breathless put me to sleep.
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