Dog Star Man's Film Reviews

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Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!(1965)


I want to start off my reviews on a semi-serious/semi-humorous note with a film I've loved since my prepubescent years, Russ Meyer's Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!. Now when I was a young kid, I was a huge fan of shlock B-Z-movie entertainment, with Attack of the 50 foot Woman and Plan 9 from Outer Space. Those were the classics outside of the classics, but lets face facts here, when you start to grow older and you want to look are pretty girls, not a lot of options are open to you. That's where Russ Meyer changed my life with his low budget sexploitation flicks... but they weren't demeaning to women, and they weren't pornography either, they were entertaining flicks about busty women who didn't take **** from their male, (or female), counterparts. In a film which John Waters called, "The Greatest Film of All Time", Russ Meyer's magnum opus Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! opens with a warning to any prepubescent male, much like myself at the time, that:

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to violence, the word and the act. While violence cloaks itself in a plethora of disguises, its favorite mantle still remains... sex. Violence devours all it touches, its voracious appetite rarely fulfilled. Yet violence doesn't only destroy, it creates and molds as well. Let's examine closely then this dangerously evil creation, this new breed encased and contained within the supple skin of woman. The softness is there, the unmistakable smell of female, the surface shiny and silken, the body yielding yet wanton. But a word of caution: handle with care and don't drop your guard. This rapacious new breed prowls both alone and in packs, operating at any level, any time, anywhere, and with anybody. Who are they? One might be your secretary, your doctor's receptionist... or a dancer in a go-go club!"

BAM! Cut to the girls in to go-go club! Meet meanest, toughest, bustiest women you've laid eyes on. But they are the forbidden fruits of this cinematic-tree because the minute you cross them, they'll beat you... to death. As perverse as it may sound, this is where Russ Meyer triumphs. He creates wonderful camp entertainment, it may very-well be sexploitation, but as I mentioned before, its far-far from pornography! As John Waters would later put it in The Simpsons, "Its camp! The tragically ludicrous! The ludicrously tragic!" Such a line could easily sum up Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!. However, summing the film up in that context would be missing all the wonderful quirks of the movie itself.

Yes, the dialogue may be shotty; yes, the plot may be full of holes; yes, the actings not all there... but for the film itself... there is a lot of care going into the film actually. Russ Meyer isn't haphazardly putting together a film that won't stand up. In fact, for all its issues, it should fall apart, but it doesn't. It stands up tall because its filmed with a conscience. Had it not, it not only would have been totally disregarded as toilet-trash, but its camp value wouldn't have survived. That's part of the films bizarre genius.

For anyone who is even remotely interested in camp, I highly recommend Russ Meyer's Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! I think you will be pleasantly surprised!

My Rating:
4 1/2 Star of 5
__________________
Imagine an eye unruled by man-made laws of perspective, an eye unprejudiced by compositional logic, an eye which does not respond to the name of everything but which must know each object encountered in life through an adventure of perception. How many colors are there in a field of grass to the crawling baby unaware of 'Green'?

-Stan Brakhage



Interim(1952)


Stan Brakhage's first film Interim is, by my definition, a masterpiece. Drawing inspiration from other famous avant-garde film makers of the time, (especially the works of Maya Deren), Stan Brakhage paints a neorealist portrait of the struggles humanity faces in the modern world. Interim is about the attempts to find love in the modern world, only to realize it will crumble apart without it flourishing in its natural environment.

Before Stan Brakhages move to more extreme avant-garde, where he single handedly put a huge chasm of influence in its realm, his ealier works like Interim focus primarily on idiosyncrasies of psychological human behavior; much like that of his contemporaries. However, what makes Brakhage unique is that he develops early on the subjects that are important to him, "Life, Death, Sex, and the Search for God". While not as highly prodominant as say in his latter films. Interim lightly indicates these subjects that would become so important in his works down the road.

For anyone interested in early Brakhage, I highly recommend Interim.

My Rating:

5 Stars of 5



The Harder They Come(1972)


As I sit here writing the review for The Harder They Come, I listen to the film's soundtrack by actor and musician Jimmy Cliff. You Can Get It If You Really Want and the self-titled The Harder They Come play in a loop, for the songs are inseparable from the film and their beat and pulse make the film come alive. Reggae was known before films release, however it really was The Harder They Come that made the genre international with its spectacular hit soundtrack, and it would set the stage for latter musicians such as Bob Marley.

The Harder They Come ran amongst the midnight movie circuit in the 1970's, and in many theaters, (such as the Elgin which was synonymous with the creation of midnight movies), the film played for several years every weekend. It helped introduce American's to Jamaican films, a foreign culture at that time, and was one of the first Jamaican films to be released in the United States.

There is something to be said about this film. Though its soundtrack was, and still is, a total knock out. The film itself, though completely legitimately Jamaican, has an American appeal. It is almost as American as apple pie, and I'm not trying to steal the flame of its rightful Jamaican heritage, but part of its appeal to the American audience is that it works within the context of "The Dream". In America we have all heard of and were raised on the stories of "The Dream", what we know of here as "The American Dream", whether it be Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Dream" for opportunity and equal rights for people of all colors, all the way down to a vision of Al Capone's "Dream" of ruthless renegade corporate ambition. "The Dream", notice I'm not saying "The American Dream", is illustrated in this film. For "The Dream" exists outside of American culture. Everyone has "The Dream", its what keeps us alive; its our hopes, our ambitions, our modus operandi; and without it we may never strive to go forward. That's where this film works. It works on what I like to call the "Universal Concept" level.

The film is about Ivanhoe "Rhyging" Martin, based on a real Jamaican outlaw and folk hero. How interesting that again we see a similar theme and a cross between cultures. The famous/infamous outlaw which is regarded as folk hero is not limited just to the American West, but this sometimes obtuse vision of "romanticized crime" is open wide to the world. Ivanhoe in real life even being refered to as "The Jamaican Dillinger", again, an American-influenced name. And still today his myth in Jamaica continues with the story of "Duppy", (a ghost or spirit), of him exists in Jamaican children's stories. To bridge a gap here, we can see these myths predominat in very own culture; American children are raised on stories of the outlaw west, and mythos such as Paul Bunyan and his Blue Ox, (while nothing but a exaggerated myth), are in the same vain as "Rhyging the Duppy". To go further, Jimmy Cliff, (the actor/musician who plays him in the movie), refers to him as "Robin Hood". Again, we work here with "Universal Concepts", and that's the cinematic pulse that helps keep this film standing tall.

As I've illustrated, we've all seen this film before in America. What we refer to as "The American Dream" comes through in melody with the films opening song, You Can Get It If You Really Want:

You can get it if you really want
You can get it if you really want
You can get it if you really want
But you must try, try and try
Try and try, you'll succeed at last

Persecution you must bear
Win or lose you've got to get your share
Got your mind set on a dream
You can get it, though harder them seem now

You can get it if you really want
You can get it if you really want
You can get it if you really want
But you must try, try and try
Try and try, you'll succeed at last
I know it, listen

Rome was not built in a day
Opposition will come your way
But the hotter the battle you see
It's the sweeter the victory, now

You can get it if you really want
You can get it if you really want
You can get it if you really want
But you must try, try and try
Try and try, you'll succeed at last

You can get it if you really want
You can get it if you really want
You can get it if you really want
But you must try, try and try
Try and try, you'll succeed at last

You can get it if you really want - I know it
You can get it if you really want - though I show it
You can get it if you really want
- so don't give up now

Scarface: The Shame of a Nation and its latter remake, (which came after this film), shares the films under current of an ordinary guy with huge dreams of making it big in a world confined by rules and regulations. What he, Ivan, wants more than anything is freedom. He is a songwriter, a bird, who needs to sing and have the freedom to fly away. He doesn't fit in to the confines of church, the rules of the bible are too constricting. Therefore, the world, and even the heavens, reject him. So when his plans for commercial success of his "would-be-hit" album fail to make ends meet, he resorts to selling ganga, but he doesn't want to be a mere seller, he wants to be at the top, regardless of those who tell them to, "Ask no questions, and tell no lies". Since his methods don't suit well with his superiors, they try and bump him off, but an outlaw will never be taken down without a fight. Freedom for him is too valuable. I suppose it does say something about greed; but it is the greed for money, fame, and power that makes us more free than others. Soon after he has become a "World Infamous" outlaw his "would-be-hit" becomes "hit" with The Harder They Come:

Well they tell me of a pie up in the sky
Waiting for me when I die
But between the day you're born and when you die
They never seem to hear even your cry

So as sure as the sun will shine
I'm gonna get my share now of what's mine
And then the harder they come the harder they'll fall, one and all
Ooh the harder they come the harder they'll fall, one and all

Well the officers are trying to keep me down
Trying to drive me underground
And they think that they have got the battle won
I say forgive them Lord, they know not what they've done

So as sure as the sun will shine
I'm gonna get my share now of what's mine
And then the harder they come the harder they'll fall, one and all
Ooh the harder they come the harder they'll fall, one and all

ooh yeah oh yeah woh yeah ooooh

And I keep on fighting for the things I want
Though I know that when you're dead you can't
But I'd rather be a free man in my grave
Than living as a puppet or a slave

So as sure as the sun will shine
I'm gonna get my share now of what's mine
And then the harder they come the harder they'll fall, one and all
Ooh the harder they come the harder they'll fall, one and all

Yeah, the harder they come, the harder they'll fall one and all
What I say now, what I say now, awww
What I say now, what I say one time
The harder they come the harder they'll fall one and all
Ooh the harder they come the harder they'll fall one and all

He now becomes his own hit, he is the chart-topper. Though he foreshadows his own doom in his own song, he doesn't seem to mind. For living the rogue life of seemingly unlimited freedom is better than living without it and being truly, by his terms, dead. The film even calls out to the notion that the hero "can't die till the last reel", alluding to Django which was seen earlier in the picture. How interesting therefore that we do not see an American western, but rather a Spaghetti western. Is this film trying to beat out the concept, which I mentioned prior to this discourse, that "The Dream" is not limited to America?

It is a marvelous film regardless. Though I have not come around to it completely, (due to the fact I have not seen it as much as I'd like), which inevitably hurts his rating with me; I suspect The Harder They Come is going to be one of those movies which is much ahead of me. It will take time for me to completely be flowing on its cinematic and musical level, but once I get there, I'm sure I will have felt I've reached the promised land; The Land of Opportunity.

My Rating:

4 Stars of 5



Tetsuo: The Iron Man(1989)


Tetsuo: The Iron Man is a difficult film to approach because the film is impossible to comprehend in "conventional" terms. I am not about to make an "unconventional" review, but I will attempt to review its unconventional and experimental-narrative structure. Because it is avant-garde in nature, because it relies heavily on ambiguity and the speculation of the viewer; I cannot pin a film like this to the ground as say I did with Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! and The Harder They Come. This however, is the films drawing point, and if you don't except that sort of thing that's okay too, but if you do, I find this film to be quite pleasurable. With a runtime of an hour and ten. The film clocks by so quickly with me that I hardly notice that I even began the film to begin with. That to me is an illustration of something within the film working. I've seen films that run ten minutes and feel like hours, and those are the worst kind; but when you get a film along the lines of say Lawrence of Arabia which runs almost four hours and it feels as if time wasn't an issue, that's when you know you've struck gold. While I wouldn't say I've "struck gold" with Tetsuo: The Iron Man, I will say it is a film which holds high value and regard to my own eyes. It is not a film for everyone, which is why I say, with much emphasis, "holds high value and regard to my own eyes".

Tetsuo: The Iron Man is a Japanese "Cyberpunk" film. In the words of David Ketterer, Cyberpunk is the focus on "High-Tech and Low-Life". We can see this premise working within the confines of films like Bladerunner. Many films, arts, and literature in the 1980's had a common themes that technology would out-influence man's own capabilities, and Tetsuo: The Iron Man works within this theme, but to its utmost extreme. Tetsuo: The Iron Man relates technology on a level of the HIV virus. Let us examine the film.

One of the first sequences of the film involves a woman and a man, (our main character), sitting in a metro terminal waiting for the next train. The woman sees a lump, a glob of technological mutation, laying on the ground. It is the virus that will open the Pandora's Box of cybernetic mutations to come. She touches it with her pen, (phallus perhaps?), and soon becomes infected. Her hand becomes more machine than flesh, and soon she chases after our main character. She is the cyber-sexual predator, and soon her "infection" will be transfered, (had it not already existed mildly), into our primary character.

Later on in the film the man and his girlfriend try to engage in sexual intercourse, but his very sexual member becomes transmutated into an object of dangerous technological influence. To be touched by this mechanical penis means infection and painful death. As the man becomes "The Iron Man" his very infector, the technological-AIDS creator, becomes imbodied in the corpse of his late girlfriend. Nothing can stop him except those who live outside the confines of technological influence, (which is also seen within the symbolis of a tramp), but in the end, nothing can stop technology. The films statement soon becomes, "Technology is the new virus, and it will be victorious".

There is a certain charm to this film which I like. Its rooted deep within the underground. It makes no attempt to become "mainstream" and that's part of its appeal to me. Its narrative, purely experimental; its techniques, simplistic in design, yet complex to the viewer. You must work for this film in order for the film to work for you. That's what really holds the film together in my eyes. That's what makes the film move so quickly along the runtime. You are an active viewer when you watch Tetsuo: The Iron Man, and if one passivly watches the film, they will not only miss its wonderful ambiguities, but they will be missing the very point of the film it self, which is to "engage" much like technology within the film itself engages its victims.

I personally love Tetsuo: The Iron Man, but I will admit, it is not for everyone. To the viewer who likes his popcorn and soda pop whilst watching his latest Hollywood fair, steer clear... but to all those who want "hardcore action", cinema-style, by all means: "Engage".

My Rating:

4 Stars of 5



there's a frog in my snake oil
Nice mix of films you've got going here

Hitch says something similar to the 'active viewing = high paced film' idea you mention in the Tetsuo review, but as something intrinsic to the story construction, that should then influence the viewer. Been a long while since I've seen it, but I'll endeavour to be an active cog in the machine if/when I rewatch
__________________
Virtual Reality chatter on a movie site? Got endless amounts of it here. Reviews over here



Bright light. Bright light. Uh oh.
I thought I was pretty active while watching Tetsuo, Tetsuo II and Tokyo Fist. I was actively yelling at the screen to try to make some sense and to not keep on going long after whatever points were being made laid around in dead horses' blood. I still enjoy the reviews.
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It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
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I thought I was pretty active while watching Tetsuo, Tetsuo II and Tokyo Fist. I was actively yelling at the screen to try to make some sense and to not keep on going long after whatever points were being made laid around in dead horses' blood. I still enjoy the reviews.
To quote myself:

I personally love Tetsuo: The Iron Man, but I will admit, it is not for everyone. To the viewer who likes his popcorn and soda pop whilst watching his latest Hollywood fair, steer clear...
I've already read your top 100 films list. Its a solid list I must say, some great films on there, but as far as abstraction in film, you and I have much different tastes.



Bright light. Bright light. Uh oh.
Thanks for reading my list. It will always remain a work in progress.

I'll tell you what. You said that you thought that Persona was not especially avant-garde and I find that difficult to grasp. How about you check out the Persona thread and the Alain Resnais thread and discuss what is and is not avant-garde about those. I would love for anyone to discuss those films. You see, my ratings don't necessarily reflect how interested I am in a film or genre. There are just so many films one can discuss, but I'm trying. I do have a copy of Dog Star Man. Who else besides you here has one? My daughter just went to a screening at USC of a collection of classic avant-garde films, including those of Brakhage, Kenneth Anger, Joseph Cornell, Larry Jordan, etc., so I really need her to post that here. Sarah?



Thanks for reading my list. It will always remain a work in progress.

I'll tell you what. You said that you thought that Persona was not especially avant-garde and I find that difficult to grasp. How about you check out the Persona thread and the Alain Resnais thread and discuss what is and is not avant-garde about those. I would love for anyone to discuss those films. You see, my ratings don't necessarily reflect how interested I am in a film or genre. There are just so many films one can discuss, but I'm trying. I do have a copy of Dog Star Man. Who else besides you here has one? My daughter just went to a screening at USC of a collection of classic avant-garde films, including those of Brakhage, Kenneth Anger, Joseph Cornell, Larry Jordan, etc., so I really need her to post that here. Sarah?
I'd love to join those conversations. Bear in mind, I consider Persona to be avant-garde, but it's rather tame compared to the stuff that I'm used to watching. Consider Persona in comparison to Maya Deren's Meshes of the Afternoon. Its rather an easy film to read, (Persona). Compare Meshes of the Afternoon with say Dog Star Man or Black Ice and that requires more than just a leap, but a catapult to get you to the other side, (that is if your willing to take the ride). When I see these more "technique heavy" avant-garde films, I become inspired myself, which is why I enjoy them so much. Again, different strokes for different folks, but if there are "levels" of avant-garde, I'd rate Persona along the lines of Interim which I already reviewed.



Bright light. Bright light. Uh oh.
So are you saying that you enjoy avant-garde films because it makes you feel part of an inside group or something similar? I realize that you enjoy non-avant-garde films plenty, but do you actually believe that you have to approach different films from different perspectives? I realize that may sound like an ignorant question but my point is how do you determine that a certain film merits some more-specialized analysis than another one, and I'm really serious here because although I was brought up on "mainstream" films, I'd reckon that many of the grade-Z, low-budget genre films I've watched down through the years from childhood are just as avant-garde in their alleged storytelling techniques than the classics of the genre which you love. Cross my heart. Who is it to actually determine what constitutes "avant-garde" and why is it important to know? Zaat seems very avant-garde to me, and I give it a crap rating. At what point do you draw the line between "legit avant-garde" and BS?



So are you saying that you enjoy avant-garde films because it makes you feel part of an inside group or something similar? I realize that you enjoy non-avant-garde films plenty, but do you actually believe that you have to approach different films from different perspectives? I realize that may sound like an ignorant question but my point is how do you determine that a certain film merits some more-specialized analysis than another one, and I'm really serious here because although I was brought up on "mainstream" films, I'd reckon that many of the grade-Z, low-budget genre films I've watched down through the years from childhood are just as avant-garde in their alleged storytelling techniques than the classics of the genre which you love. Cross my heart. Who is it to actually determine what constitutes "avant-garde" and why is it important to know? Zaat seems very avant-garde to me, and I give it a crap rating. At what point do you draw the line between "legit avant-garde" and BS?
I just go with what feels right to me. Simple as that. Its not complicated. There have been times, such as Jean-Luc Godard's Weekend, where I felt he wasn't being witty, sincere, or innovative, but was just jerking me around. Other people see that film and call it a masterpiece, I don't share that opinion because Weekend doesn't feel right to me. In Dog Star Man there is a sequence in Part II that always astounds me of a shot of a baby's face which is zoomed out from, superimposed, and intercutted in on itself to create a sensation of "falling into" the frame. Astounding work, absolutely astounding. It "felt" right to me, and I go with my gut. As a person who wants to be a career-artist, that's what I have to do. Its just inherent in my nature, and I think a stray away from this concept would be rather damning.



Bright light. Bright light. Uh oh.
That's a very good answer even if it's open-ended, but I believe it's good because everyone could say the same thing about something in their life, even if it has nothing to do with art. Then again, if someone really cares, then their life is a form of art and expression is all we have to share with each other.

I have a major problem with most Godard, so I'm not sure if you're agreeing with me or just pointing out a place where you and Godard diverge.

How does a "career artist" make a living being avant-garde (with few exceptions), or is that only part of your career?



The Times of Harvey Milk(1984)


There are few times in cinema in which I am moved to tears. As far as documentaries are concerned, they have been few and far between, but I do remember the moments when they happen. I remember the moment in Hoop Dreams where Arthur Agee is set up to have a match with his sports hero Isiah Thomas, the unscripted joy in the boys face brought tears to my eyes. I remember watching Ken Burn's The Civil War and utterly falling apart of the overwhelming horrors blacks slaves endured on a daily basis, especially realizing that many of the old slaves, who would inevitably be set "free" at the end of the bloodiest war in American history, would never truly know the precious "freedom" we take for granted today. Today I also shed a tear, once again for human liberty and human rights with The Times of Harvey Milk.

The cinematic documentary format has been for years, and still is today, a shaky format. In his book Making Documentary Films and Videos, Barry Hampe has critisized his very own format for falling into the traps of docudramas, reality television, and docuganda. I tend to agree with his criticism; real documentaries are not Schindler's List, real documentaries are not Survivor, and real documentaries, (currently popular today), are not Bowling for Columbine, or to swing the other way, Stolen Honor. Documentaries, as Hampe puts it, are "truth" or "as close to the whole truth" as one can get. Sadly, much of this notion seems to be lost in a sea of corporate ambitions to use "documentaries" as a way to appeal to a denominator of people not interested in "the truth"; or it is lost the sea of todays highly polarized politics, without care of giving all the facts.

However, I was pleasantly surprised with The Times of Harvey Milk. Here I came into it expecting a "docuganda" film on the politics of the man himself, instead, the impression that was ingrained on me in the end was a cry out for basic human rights. I never once felt coerced into believing a "political ideology", which this film could have easily become, but rather a statement that we should love all our brothers and sisters regardless of race, sexual orientation, or, and especially or, creed.

Harvey Milk was a gay democrat, yet he managed to bring people together and pushed this nation a little further into the notion that equal rights should be just that, equal. That's what the films ultimate statement is on. I don't even think the film is completely, (though it is), a statement on just "gay rights". It is a statement on equality, and that's what makes this film so lasting and true. The minute they showed all the people marching along the San Francisco streets at night to honor the deaths of Milk and Moscone, I couldn't help but cry. It just showed that out of complete chaos and disorder, human decency could still exist. Though the aftermath of the killings was completely unfair, the documentary shows that even in death the spirit and influence of Harvey Milk continues to live on. Even though Dan White got away with murder, Milk still won in the end.

For anyone who is interested in documentaries, I highly recommend The Times of Harvey Milk.

My Rating:

4 Stars of 5



How does a "career artist" make a living being avant-garde (with few exceptions), or is that only part of your career?
Well I like to quote Micheal Powell & Emeric Pressburger's film The Red Shoes:

Boris Lermontov: Why do you want to dance?
[Vicky thinks for a short while]
Victoria Page: Why do you want to live?
[Lermontov is suprised at the answer]
Boris Lermontov: Well I don't know exactly why, er, but I must.
Victoria Page: That's my answer too.

I don't really want to live in a fancy house. I don't mind sporting a job in which I'm not paid a handsome salary. I just want something to live on as I make art films. I'm not after fame, glory, or fortune. However, if I can create a work of art that moves me emotionally and aesthetically, then I'll be happy with my life. What do I do to make a living being "avant-garde"... simple... whatever it takes.



I think you'll get some points for quoting The Red Shoes...
And yeah, I went to a screening of several avant-garde films made in LA and the preservationist from the Academy Film Archive who worked on them put it together and introduced them and did a Q&A afterward. He actually didn't show ant Brakhage films, he just talked afterward about how he's been working on restoring a ton of his stuff lately. I suppose I could start with a list of the films they showed, though didn't Dog Star Man start a thread about avant-garde cinema? This feels like it belongs there more... Anyway... --- ------ (1967), Throbs (1972), Bondage Girl (1973), Pasadena Freeway Stills (1974), unc. (1966), Venusville (1973), Stasis (1976), Rose for Red (1980), Mirror People (1974), Future Perfect (1978), Olivia's Place (1966/74), Venice Pier (1976), Picasso (1973), and Sears Sox (1968).
I think by far my favorite was Pasadena Freeway Stills. It's just so awesome... Visually pretty amazing, in my opinion, and it basically just shows the process of making moving images. But the more I think about them, the more others stand out as well. There were plenty of funny, amusing films showed that night. But there were also films that were kind of boring and during which I zoned out a little bit. Like Stasis I think was one of those. It just showed a river flowing and the size of the image got progressively larger until it filled the whole screen but nothing much happened other than water flowing. And Venice Pier only because of the length kind of got to me. It was really interesting and had some amazing images (actually the same director as Pasadena Freeway Stills) but it was just so long that sometimes I felt like I wasn't paying that much attention. When the time lapse stuff came into play though and the ocean and the clouds were moving super fast but the pier was stationary, my mind was pretty blown... Though, I have to say, while watching the films, I was thinking, "these are really interesting" and in some cases "amazing techniques/ideas being used here" but I kept bringing it back to using them in the context of a full-length narrative (probably because that's the kind of films I want to make). Anyway, I feel like I shouldn't have submitted this here and am not hijacking this thread. Forget everything I just said and focus on Dog Star Man's reviews... Though I would be interested in hearing which of the movies I've listed he's seen...
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I always wanted to be an f.



I think you'll get some points for quoting The Red Shoes...
And yeah, I went to a screening of several avant-garde films made in LA and the preservationist from the Academy Film Archive who worked on them put it together and introduced them and did a Q&A afterward. He actually didn't show ant Brakhage films, he just talked afterward about how he's been working on restoring a ton of his stuff lately. I suppose I could start with a list of the films they showed, though didn't Dog Star Man start a thread about avant-garde cinema? This feels like it belongs there more... Anyway... --- ------ (1967), Throbs (1972), Bondage Girl (1973), Pasadena Freeway Stills (1974), unc. (1966), Venusville (1973), Stasis (1976), Rose for Red (1980), Mirror People (1974), Future Perfect (1978), Olivia's Place (1966/74), Venice Pier (1976), Picasso (1973), and Sears Sox (1968).
I think by far my favorite was Pasadena Freeway Stills. It's just so awesome... Visually pretty amazing, in my opinion, and it basically just shows the process of making moving images. But the more I think about them, the more others stand out as well. There were plenty of funny, amusing films showed that night. But there were also films that were kind of boring and during which I zoned out a little bit. Like Stasis I think was one of those. It just showed a river flowing and the size of the image got progressively larger until it filled the whole screen but nothing much happened other than water flowing. And Venice Pier only because of the length kind of got to me. It was really interesting and had some amazing images (actually the same director as Pasadena Freeway Stills) but it was just so long that sometimes I felt like I wasn't paying that much attention. When the time lapse stuff came into play though and the ocean and the clouds were moving super fast but the pier was stationary, my mind was pretty blown... Though, I have to say, while watching the films, I was thinking, "these are really interesting" and in some cases "amazing techniques/ideas being used here" but I kept bringing it back to using them in the context of a full-length narrative (probably because that's the kind of films I want to make). Anyway, I feel like I shouldn't have submitted this here and am not hijacking this thread. Forget everything I just said and focus on Dog Star Man's reviews... Though I would be interested in hearing which of the movies I've listed he's seen...
I actually haven't had the pleasure to see any of the films you've listed. I do hope I can find a way to get my eyes on them though. Thank you for the recommendations, Sarah! (Oh, and don't worry about "hijacking" the thread, I feel its a natural process). However, Stasis does sound very familiar to Ralph Steiner's H20, which is actually one of my favorite "cinema pur" films. So you want to be a film maker too Sarah? What kind of films do you want to make?



Well, the only place I know of that has these films is the Academy Film Archive because that's where the prints I watched came from... And I think they'd been pretty recently restored by them, but I could be wrong.
And what kind of films do I want to make? Um... I'm not sure that that's easy to explain in a few words... I suppose I could tell you some ideas I have, but then someone could steal them... Not that I'm really paranoid... I want to make a bunch of different kinds of movies, whatever interests me. I'm very much a story person, so if a story or character intrigues me, that's all that's necessary really. That's not to say I'm not a visual person, I'm a photographer (at least in my mind) and visuals are very important... I'm not answering your question, am I? I really want to make an adaptation of The Sound and the Fury... If that gives you any idea. And I would love to do a Bobby Driscoll biopic and a remake of La decima vittima and I have a bunch of ideas, probably too many for where I'm at right now. Original stuff too, of course. I'm writing almost all the time now actually.
Where do you go to school? I was just wondering because Ventura isn't that far away from me...