Double feature of the week: Shadow Play

Cinematographer, Conrad Hall said: “Manipulating shadows and tonality is like writing music or a poem.” Conrad Hall shot “In Cold Blood” (1967) so I think we should listen to him. I have always loved films that feature great black and white cinematography. The beauty resides just as much in what remains hidden as in what is shown. So this week, I decided to showcase a double feature of films that don’t just use shadows for tone or atmosphere. In the case of these films, much of the story is actually told in the shadows.

I wouldn’t say that Carl Theodor Dreyer was a filmmaker that was ahead of his time 80+ years ago. I am more inclined to say that 80+ years ago, Carl Theodor Dreyer was a filmmaker that was ahead of our time now. His “Vampyr” (1932) is only one example of his technical and artistic genius. It was his first ‘talkie’ and he used dialogue sparingly. What he used brilliantly however was light and shadows. This was a time when special effects were actually special. Everything was done practically and much of it was actually shot outside. This was his first film after my favorite silent film, “The Passion of Joan of Arc” (1928) and the last film he would direct for ten years.

Our next film is Carol Reed’s “The Third Man” (1950). Written by Graham Green and photographed beautifully by Robert Krasker. Joseph Cotten plays Holly Martins, an American arriving in Vienna to work for his longtime friend Harry Lime (Orson Welles). He arrives just in time to find that his host has died and nobody seems to know how or why. The story of his friend’s checkered past unfolds as he searches through the underbelly of the city, revealing more questions than answers. The shadow play aspect of this film is at 11, culminating with a foot chase through a lantern lit sewer. This is one of those films that made me start looking at black and white cinematography differently. This film is all about the unknown and it quite frankly would never have worked without the dark corners and dim crevices and what may or may not be lurking in the shadows.

Enjoy.

Double feature of the week: Ode To Serial Killers

Today marks the 80^th anniversary of the premier of the mother of all serial killer films. Fritz Lang’s “M” is one of my all time favorites. If you haven’t seen it, stop what you are doing right now, get on your Netflix queue or hit up your local library and get it done. This film is one of the first classic foreign films I watched and I’ve loved it ever since. So, this week’s double feature is in its honor.

Up first is a film I’m sure we’ve all seen. However, I think David Fincher’s “Se7en” (1995) is one of those that probably deserves a second and closer look. As far as I’m concerned, this film is one of the finest to come out of the 1990’s all together. I watched it in the theaters and thought it was cool but never really gave it much of a second chance as I became a more experienced cinematic connoisseur. I had seen it a few more times on cable over the years so again; I never really felt the need to re-watch it. A couple years ago, I picked up the dvd and decided to revisit it. I was amazed at how haunting this film was to me. About two-thirds of the way through the film, I found myself alone in the dark, completely dreading the ending of this film. I was taken aback at how much affect this movie had on me. That is the mark of a great storyteller. How engaged the audience is, even when they know how the story ends. Some people give this film’s “What’s in the box?!?!?” ending a lot of flack. But, I maintain that this is still my favorite David Fincher movie.

Filmmaker Michael Powell was one half of the great Powell/Pressburger team of co-directors that brought us films in the in the 40’s and 50’s like “The Red Shoes”, “Black Narcissus” and “The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp”. “Peeping Tom” (1960) was one of Powell’s earliest films as a solo director. It’s about a young sexually repressed man that’s obsessed with fear. He uses his camera to record himself terrorizing and killing women. I think the only reason this film is not more well known is that it was released in the same year as Hitchcock’s “Psycho”. I would contend though, that this movie is more disturbing and put together better. The cinematography is fantastic, at times showing the point of view of the killer, through his 16mm camera. One of the most interesting things about this flick is that, it is pretty clear that we are meant to empathize with the killer. The fact that he is not just some archetypical psychopath on a rampage gives this film an edge that you can’t soon forget.

Double feature of the week: WTF

Don’t you ever just want to watch a movie that makes no sense whatsoever? I do…. a lot actually. Last year I was treated to a 35mm screening of the ultimate ‘WTF’ film, “Hausu” (1977) at Madcap Theatres in Tempe. This film is now available on dvd and Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection and it’s a must for any cult film fanatic. That being said, I really can’t recommend this film to those who haven’t much experience with weird cult films. Call this double feature a “Hausu” prerequisite. It’s not that these films have anything to do with each other. It’s just that, if you see “Hausu” first, it will probably ruin everything you could ever think is weird in the future.

Alejandro Jodorowski’s “El Topo” (1970) is only one of several ‘WTF’ films from this filmmaker. It may not even be his weirdest. It’s essentially a Spaghetti Western about a gunslinger who takes his son on a spiritual journey of revenge and sexual maturation…….. er something, I really have no clue. What’s interesting about this film is actually how technically good it is. The cinematography, score, costume and set design are all very well done. By virtue of its extremely violent eccentricity, this film has become known as the ultimate ‘Midnight Movie’. I’ve never really thought that was fair. I usually refer to this film as an arthouse film disguised as a grindhouse flick.

I can’t believe this is the first time I’ve mentioned a Suzuki Seijun film in my blog. He’s among my absolute favorite directors and his Nikkatsu films from the late 50’s to the mid 60’s are fantastic. “Zigeunerweisen” (1980) however, is not one of those films. It’s actually very interesting to see this film in the context of his career. His Nikkatsu films were always supposed to be strait forward gangster, melodrama or sometimes erotica B-flicks. He would constantly add more and more surrealisms, dream logic and general oddities. It’s what eventually got him fired from the studio. Flash forward a few years and he’s not working for the studio and his former films have given him the clout that allow him to take a giant swan dive into the realm of bizarre. This film is definitely the most bizarre of his that I’ve seen. I couldn’t even come close to telling you what it’s about. I think it had something to do with this one guy who ummm…. and the other guy…. they had wives…… something about peaches and bones and German orchestral music. I’d love it if someone else would watch this and tell me.

Enjoy.