The Nose (various versions) Try to adapt a tongue-twisting, pyrotechnical punning festival of irrational rant to film and you will have to resort to animation. or reinterpretation in order to capture a fraction of the original spirit. Below are several versions of Nikolai Gogol’s “The Nose” that can be found on YouTube. Each addresses something … More The Nose (various versions)
Fellini Casanova (1976) I always wanted to see this film, largely due to its unavailability. Finally, last year Kino Classics released a 4K restoration on Blu-Ray, with an outstanding, though sometimes repetitive audio commentary by film critic Nick Pinkerton. Given the number of egos involved in the production of any movie, it is always a … More Fellini Casanova (1976)
Crash (1996) For me, there is considerable difference between reading a book and seeing a film adaptation. David Cronenberg channelled J. G. Ballard’s cold, metafictional novel of individuals using car crashes as a way to incite sexual pleasure. This steely dissociation is something Cronenberg magages to visualize, pursuing his interest in human flesh as … More Crash (1996)
Bunker of the Last Gunshots (1981) Once a nation has been occupied by fascists, there is no unforgetting the experience. Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro created this early short film, capturing the bleak horror of insect confinement in a fascist bunker, where experiments on a cadet continue in an attempt to atone for some catastrophic … More Bunker of the Last Gunshots (1981)
The Black Camel (1931) *Death is a black camel that kneels unbidden at every gate.” Warner Oland as Charlie Chan teams up with Bella Lugosi as a psychic in this Honolulu murder mystery. A starlet, who seeks advice from Lugosi about marrying, winds up dead. This is the earliest Fox Studio Charlie Chan production that has … More The Black Camel (1931)
Death in the Garden (1956) Luis Buñuel directed this French-financed mix of genres during his Mexican film period. The first half of the picture is haunted by his hatred of Franco’s fascism, as he dramatizes the bungling conflict between a military junta and greedy diamond prospectors that erupts into violence. The second half follows a motley … More Death in the Garden (1956)
They Came From Within (1975) Also known as The Parasite Murders, and Shivers [Frissons], David Cronenberg launched his career directing films that obsess over horrors of the human body. Parasites infect an apartment complex, but in the most private of places: the bathroom. Barbara Steele, doyenne of Gallo horror, makes her cameo as the lesbian … More They Came From Within (1975)
Repulsion (1965) What I have most admired about Catherine Deneuve is her choice of roles in movies. Instead of catering to her physical beauty as a model, she has undermined her image by playing psychopaths and sexual deviants, maturing eventually to respectable but flawed matriarchs. In this early performance, she embodies Roman Polanski’s jaded vision … More Repulsion (1965)
EROTIKON (1929 silent) Mauritz Stiller’s naughty Swedish comedy of manners, “A Daring Fable of Modern Love,” has been released by KINO in an excellent restoration, with an outstanding introduction by Peter Cowie. An entomology professor obsessed with the sex life of bugs and his flirtatious wife eventually go their separate ways with new lovers. However, … More Erotikon (1929 silent)
Asparagus (1979), Suzan Pitt’s first breakthrough animation, and Pinball (2013), her last animation, showcase amazing accomplishments celebrating independent filmmaking. On the CalArts Web site, Maureen Seawood wrote, “She [Suzan] believed that within us, we had the ability to unfold the way we dream. That each image leads us to the next image, giving birth to … More Asparagus (1979) and Pinball (2013)
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