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13601


From: Craig Keller
Date: Wed Aug 4, 2004 5:16pm
Subject: Re: Re: Touch of Evil ratio: Welles vs. Studio
 
> If ever a video of a Jerry Lewis movie came along that was
> cropped to 2.35:1, I'd scream bloody murder.

I just wish a DVD of a Jerry Lewis(-directed) movie would come along,
period. (In addition to 'The Nutty Professor' of course, and in
original aspect ratio.)

Actually, now that I think of it, I believe 'The Bellboy' is slated for
release sometime this month or September...

craig.
13602


From: Jaime N. Christley
Date: Wed Aug 4, 2004 5:22pm
Subject: Re: Jerry on DVD [was Welles vs. studio]
 
--- In a_film_by@yahoogroups.com, Craig Keller wrote:
> > If ever a video of a Jerry Lewis movie came along that was
> > cropped to 2.35:1, I'd scream bloody murder.
>
> I just wish a DVD of a Jerry Lewis(-directed) movie would come along,
> period. (In addition to 'The Nutty Professor' of course, and in
> original aspect ratio.)
>
> Actually, now that I think of it, I believe 'The Bellboy' is slated for
> release sometime this month or September...
>
> craig.

You're in luck! All six movies Jerry directed from THE BELLBOY to THE
FAMILY JEWELS will be released on DVD in October. THE NUTTY PROFESSOR
is getting a "special edition" re-release. Also due on the same day:
THE STOOGE, THE DISORDERLY ORDERLY, and THE DELICATE DELINQUENT.

-Jaime
13603


From: Craig Keller
Date: Wed Aug 4, 2004 5:42pm
Subject: Re: Re: Kubrick: space, improvs, romace (was: Kier Dullea Gone Tomorrow)
 
>
> The punchline of which (if I remember right) was that
> Nabokove published his version of the script (I'm not
> sure if it's the 400 page one, or if even the final
> screenplay had plenty of scenes not included in the
> film) as a sort of alternative to the movie, which he
> praised, perhaps not unsarcastically.

It was unsarcastic. He said of Kubrick, "He is a true artist." (For
more by VN on the film, cf. the second volume of Boyd's biography and
'Strong Opinions.')

craig.
13604


From: hotlove666
Date: Wed Aug 4, 2004 5:44pm
Subject: hold your horses [Re: aspect ratio project - Welles weighs in]
 
--- In a_film_by@yahoogroups.com, "Jaime N. Christley"
wrote:
> I want to say "hold your horses" and then I'm going to open up
another
> can of worms - simultaneously solving and potentially
re-complicating
> the whole affair. Here's what Jeff Wilson (who runs Wellesnet)
reports:
>
> "Well, all I can tell you is this: in a previous thread, linked
below,
> Rick Schmidlin wrote 'According to the records of Phil Lathrop
and
> Russel Metty, both well documented and easy to find a AFI and
The
> Academy Welles intended and composed TOE to be 1:85. This
film like
> Pshycho were shot full frame for future T.V. use. At the time of
> release and all screenings Welles attended it was screened
as labled
> on the orignal neg. can 1:85. In regard to the DVD , I offered to
> produce it and was told NO!'"

Why would the production records for Touch of Evil be at the
Academy and the AFI? They would be in the Universal Collection
at USC. The Pshycho records that I have been able to find are at
the Academy, but not Touch of Evil, as far as I know. And -- again
to my knowledge -- all the AFI has is a so-so script collection in
its library. But I haven't done a lot of paper trailing on Welles, so
I'd be happy tgo be informed that their are camera reports on
Touch of Evil somewhere at AFI. Much easier for me to get to
than the USC paper archives, which are in an unfinbdable cul de
sac downtown. But I have to say it's news to me.
13605


From: Craig Keller
Date: Wed Aug 4, 2004 5:48pm
Subject: Re: Re: Jerry on DVD [was Welles vs. studio]
 
>
> You're in luck! All six movies Jerry directed from THE BELLBOY to THE
> FAMILY JEWELS will be released on DVD in October. THE NUTTY PROFESSOR
> is getting a "special edition" re-release. Also due on the same day:
> THE STOOGE, THE DISORDERLY ORDERLY, and THE DELICATE DELINQUENT.

Great Scott!! I am -so- there.

I'm curious to see what the special edition looks like -- to my eyes,
the DVD that's currently out there looks pristine. I wouldn't be
surprised if it were the same transfer, but with a host of features.

Speaking of Jerry, has anyone seen him since he kicked that
prescription he'd been taking? I've heard he's lost all (or most) of
the weight he put on over the last two years as a result. (I also read
that in lieu of the medication, he underwent some surgery to fix
whatever it was the pills were supposed to be alleviating -- it might
have been the chronic back pain.)

Additionally: Did anyone see Jerry when he was on Conan last-time (last
year?). I heard it was edge-of-your-seat television. Any highlights?

craig.
13606


From: George Robinson
Date: Wed Aug 4, 2004 6:09pm
Subject: Fw: [AMIA-L] JUMP CUT online
 
Don't know how many of us are also on the Moving Image Archivists list but this is from them
and should be of interest to some of us.

g

He that would make his own liberty secure
must guard even his enemy from oppression;
for if he violates this duty he establishes
a precedent that will reach to himself.
--Thomas Paine





----- Original Message -----
From: Chris Horak
To: AMIA-L@L...
Sent: Wednesday, August 04, 2004 12:30 PM
Subject: [AMIA-L] JUMP CUT online


We have wonderful news from Jump Cut. Check out our

Classics from the past — essays from earlier issues now online

Index of online essays

http://www.ejumpcut.org/archive/onlinessays/index.html

We are putting all the back issues of Jump Cut online online as fast as we can. We hope new readers will discover these classic essays. And we hope that they will be useful for readers who followed Jump Cut from the start and whose old issues have yellowed with age. This contribution to film studies lets teachers can have easy access to a collection of thoughtful critical essays for their classes. It is also our contribution to left, feminist, and gay/lesbian cultural criticism for lovers of cinema throughout the world. We began Jump Cut in 1974 and hope to bring all thirty years of film criticism to you online in about a year.

Right now we have numbers 1-15 online, comprising over 260 essays. It is too much to read all at once but we hope you will dip into this archive over and over to read about favorite films and TV shows and also to see how the field of film criticism has developed over the last quarter century. In retrospect, it is clear that Jump Cut has taken the lead in many of the most important areas of film and television criticism, especially in terms of the journal's social orientation.

If you read some of these essays and find them useful, we would like to ask a favor. We need help at this point with proofreading. The process of transferring essays online involves scanning the text into a "picture-like" image, then turning that image into text through a optical character recognition (OCR) software program, then proofing the text in Word, and then putting the text into the program used to construct the web site, Dreamweaver. The OCR process is quite imprecise and a few typographical errors may remain in these essays. If you find any, please contact us and let us know. The editor in charge of layout is Julia Lesage, jlesage@u...

Please forgive us if you get more than one message like this. Tell all your friends the good news, especially someone who may have written for us over the past thirty years. We are in touch with all too few of our past writers.

In the struggle, Julia

--

Julia Lesage
Professor Emerita, English
University of Oregon. Eugene OR 97403
Co-editor, JUMP CUT: A REVIEW OF CONTEMPORARY MEDIA
<http://www.ejumpcut.org>

email address:
personal web site: <http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~jlesage/>
Current address: 3480 Mill Street, Eugene OR 97405
Phone: 541/344-8129




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
13607


From: hotlove666
Date: Wed Aug 4, 2004 6:13pm
Subject: Re: Jerry on DVD [was Welles vs. studio]
 
--- In a_film_by@yahoogroups.com, Craig Keller
wrote:
> >
> > You're in luck! All six movies Jerry directed from THE
BELLBOY to THE
> > FAMILY JEWELS will be released on DVD in October. THE
NUTTY PROFESSOR
> > is getting a "special edition" re-release.

> I'm curious to see what the special edition looks like -- to my
eyes,
> the DVD that's currently out there looks pristine. I wouldn't be
> surprised if it were the same transfer, but with a host of
features.
>

God knows with his personal film archives he could supply a ton
of those.

> Speaking of Jerry, has anyone seen him since he kicked that
> prescription he'd been taking? I've heard he's lost all (or most)
of
> the weight he put on over the last two years as a result. (I also
read
> that in lieu of the medication, he underwent some surgery to fix
> whatever it was the pills were supposed to be alleviating -- it
might
> have been the chronic back pain.)

I think it was a lung disease. We'll know soon. Labor Day's
a-cumin in.

> Additionally: Did anyone see Jerry when he was on Conan
last-time (last
> year?). I heard it was edge-of-your-seat television. Any
highlights?

I don't have tv as such, but I always plug in the rabbit ears when
the 'Thon comes to town.
13608


From: hotlove666
Date: Wed Aug 4, 2004 6:28pm
Subject: hold your horses [Re: aspect ratio project - Welles weighs in]
 
--- In a_film_by@yahoogroups.com, "hotlove666"
wrote:
>
> Why would the production records for Touch of Evil be at the
> Academy and the AFI? They would be in the Universal
Collection
> at USC. The Pshycho records that I have been able to find are
at
> the Academy, but not Touch of Evil, as far as I know. And --
again
> to my knowledge -- all the AFI has is a so-so script collection in
> its library. But I haven't done a lot of paper trailing on Welles, so
> I'd be happy tgo be informed that their are camera reports on
> Touch of Evil somewhere at AFI. Much easier for me to get to
> than the USC paper archives, which are in an unfinbdable cul
de
> sac downtown. But I have to say it's news to me.

It just occured to me that "records" might mean oral histories?
Normally, of course, those would be at ACS, but the AFI might
have transcripts of Joe McBride's Working with Welles series.
The Academy has a good set of oral histories and a list of oral
histories in collections all over the country. I'll check next time I'm
in to see if there's a Metty one, which would be invaluable to have
-- unless of course Rick Schmidlin was "talkin' thru his hat."

Curiously, I have often found that where Welles is accused of
that, it is really the person contradicting him whose hat is
deployed. Claudio Guzman's sworn testimony about costs and
production history of Fountain of Youth at an AFI Working with
Welles seminar I attended when I came to town in 1978 was the
first time I encountered that curious syndrome, but not the last.

In this case the person whose testimony I'd like to pin down is
Murch, who has never committed Munchausenism re: Welles as
far as I know, or re: anything else. Actually, I think it was Jonathan
who told me what Murch had said about this. If Jonathan heard it
directly from him, that would mean that the decision to make a
bi-ratioed remix was based on his examination of the framing in
the camera neg. That would be valuable testimony indeed.
13609


From: Craig Keller
Date: Wed Aug 4, 2004 7:32pm
Subject: Re: Re: Jerry on DVD [was Welles vs. studio]
 
>
> God knows with his personal film archives he could supply a ton
> of those.

What are Lewis's personal archives like?

> I don't have tv as such, but I always plug in the rabbit ears when
> the 'Thon comes to town.

I was shocked, quite frankly, to see him make it through last year's
edition, but with the supposed weight loss it might have an easier go
of it this time around.

Does the man still have an interest in making films? (Not that a
Hollywood studio would finance him.)

craig.
13610


From: hotlove666
Date: Wed Aug 4, 2004 7:40pm
Subject: Re: Jerry on DVD [was Welles vs. studio]
 
--- In a_film_by@yahoogroups.com, Craig Keller
wrote:
> >
> > God knows with his personal film archives he could supply a
ton
> > of those.
>
> What are Lewis's personal archives like?

Vast. Vesides lots of H'wd parody-style home movies made w.
friends and family through the years, he has outtake archives
and clowning around on the set archives that reportedly
approach Chaplin's. And of course The Day the Clown Cried...

I think some of this stuff has been used by Lewis intimate Robert
Benayoun to craft documenatries in France. JPC would know
more about that.

>
> > I don't have tv as such, but I always plug in the rabbit ears
when
> > the 'Thon comes to town.
>
> I was shocked, quite frankly, to see him make it through last
year's
> edition, but with the supposed weight loss it might have an
easier go
> of it this time around.
>
> Does the man still have an interest in making films? (Not that
a
> Hollywood studio would finance him.)
>
> craig.

He certainly does, and I don't see why H'wd should say no.
Hardly Working did 9 million in rentals and Smorgasbord 7, back
when the dollar was still worth something. He had a project
called Truffles set up to make in France a few years ago --
presumably his illness put paid to that. In my article on Stuck On
You for Trafic I sadly penned these words -- "the Farrelly
Brothers, leading masters of the burlesque in the post-Lewis
era." I'd love to be proven wrong.
13611


From: Craig Keller
Date: Wed Aug 4, 2004 7:44pm
Subject: Cartier-Bresson Is Dead
 
http://www.liberation.com/

and

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/04/obituaries/04CND-CARTIER.html?hp
13612


From: jpcoursodon
Date: Wed Aug 4, 2004 8:05pm
Subject: hold your horses [Re: aspect ratio project - Welles weighs in]
 
--- In a_film_by@yahoogroups.com, "Jaime N. Christley"
wrote:
> I want to say "hold your horses" and then I'm going to open up
another
> can of worms - simultaneously solving and potentially re-
complicating
> the whole affair. Here's what Jeff Wilson (who runs Wellesnet)
reports:
>
> "Well, all I can tell you is this: in a previous thread, linked
below,
> Rick Schmidlin wrote 'According to the records of Phil Lathrop and
> Russel Metty, both well documented and easy to find a AFI and The
> Academy Welles intended and composed TOE to be 1:85. This film like
> Pshycho were shot full frame for future T.V. use. At the time of
> release and all screenings Welles attended it was screened as labled
> on the orignal neg. can 1:85. In regard to the DVD , I offered to
> produce it and was told NO!'"
>


If the film was shot at 1:85 for theatrical screenings, how come
it looked so badly cropped on "wide screens" (which surely were not
wider than 1:85) when released in Europe, including the first-run
showing in an exclusive Champs Elysees theater in Paris? Bazin even
wrote an indignant article about it at the time.

JPC
13613


From: Craig Keller
Date: Wed Aug 4, 2004 8:09pm
Subject: Re: Re: Jerry on DVD [was Welles vs. studio]
 
>
> Vast. Vesides lots of H'wd parody-style home movies made w.
> friends and family through the years, he has outtake archives
> and clowning around on the set archives that reportedly
> approach Chaplin's. And of course The Day the Clown Cried...

So 'The Day the Clown Cried' was actually shot/edited? I didn't know
it had even gone as far as startng production.

> He certainly does, and I don't see why H'wd should say no.
> Hardly Working did 9 million in rentals and Smorgasbord 7, back
> when the dollar was still worth something. He had a project
> called Truffles set up to make in France a few years ago --
> presumably his illness put paid to that. In my article on Stuck On
> You for Trafic I sadly penned these words -- "the Farrelly
> Brothers, leading masters of the burlesque in the post-Lewis
> era." I'd love to be proven wrong.

I guess I just always assume that there's no-one at the studios today
who has an interest in doing any business with the older masters --
that studio-heads' position is something like, "With Jerry Lewis having
been out of the directing racket this long, what are the chances he can
possibly appeal to a 2004 audience?" I'd love to be told I'm
over-reaching on this, too.

craig.
13614


From:
Date: Wed Aug 4, 2004 4:11pm
Subject: Re: Re: Jerry on DVD [was Welles vs. studio]
 
Craig Keller wrote:

>I was shocked, quite frankly, to see him make it through last year's
>edition, but with the supposed weight loss it might have an easier go
>of it this time around.

I saw him in a television interview this past February or March; he looked
significantly better than he did at the previous year's telethon.

I heard at one point fairly recently that he wanted to remake his own "Family
Jewels," with Tom Hanks. I'd certainly love to see it happen, or any new
Jerry Lewis film, for that matter; if the studios feel financially safer with a
remake starring Tom Hanks, so be it. I'll take whatever I can get from this
master director. I am a huge fan of all of the "late" Lewis films: "Hardly
Working," "Cracking Up," and the UNICEF short "Boy."

I wonder if we'll ever see "The Day the Clown Cried," but Bill revealed last
year that there's another unseen Lewis: an unfinished film from the early '80s
about aging comedians. I believe the title was "That's Life" (?)

And there's supposedly a memoir about Dean Martin he's working on that's the
size of "War and Peace."

Peter
13615


From:
Date: Wed Aug 4, 2004 4:16pm
Subject: Re: Re: Jerry on DVD [was Welles vs. studio]
 
Craig Keller wrote:

>So 'The Day the Clown Cried' was actually shot/edited? I didn't know
>it had even gone as far as startng production.

As far as I understand, it is 99% shot (I've sometimes heard Lewis say in
interviews, back when he would discuss the film, that he needs another day or
week's shooting or whatever) and is at least edited into rough cut. I'm sure
others on the group more knowledgeable than I can confirm or elaborate on the
matter. Apart from Welles' "The Other Side of the Wind" or "Don Quixote" (a cut
prepared by Welles, that is), there's no unseen movie I long to see more.

Jean-Pierre, have you seen a supposedly mammoth French documentary on Lewis,
"Bonjour, Monsieur Lewis"?

Peter
13616


From: jpcoursodon
Date: Wed Aug 4, 2004 8:21pm
Subject: Re: Jerry on DVD [was Welles vs. studio]
 
>
> > He certainly does, and I don't see why H'wd should say no.
> > Hardly Working did 9 million in rentals and Smorgasbord 7, back
> > when the dollar was still worth something. He had a project
> > called Truffles set up to make in France a few years ago --
> > presumably his illness put paid to that. In my article on Stuck On
> > You for Trafic I sadly penned these words -- "the Farrelly
> > Brothers, leading masters of the burlesque in the post-Lewis
> > era." I'd love to be proven wrong.
>

Lewis will be eighty next year, and has been in poor health.
isn't it a bit unrealistic to expect anybody to ask him to direct a
movie (let alone play in one) at this point? I know, there's
Oliveira, but still...

JPC
13617


From: Craig Keller
Date: Wed Aug 4, 2004 8:26pm
Subject: Re: Re: Jerry on DVD [was Welles vs. studio]
 
> And there's supposedly a memoir about Dean Martin he's working on
> that's the
> size of "War and Peace."

I thought the memoir took as its subject Lewis's entire life -- with a
large portion devoted to his work with Martin. And yes, I too had read
(I think this was in a USA Today interview around Labor Day of 2002)
that the manuscript is something like 1300 pages.

craig.
13618


From:
Date: Wed Aug 4, 2004 4:29pm
Subject: Re: Re: Jerry on DVD [was Welles vs. studio]
 
In a message dated 8/4/04 2:58:46 PM, hotlove666@y... writes:


> I sadly penned these words -- "the Farrelly Brothers, leading masters of
> the burlesque in the post-Lewis era."
>
Why sadly?

Kevin John




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
13619


From: Jonathan Rosenbaum
Date: Wed Aug 4, 2004 8:55pm
Subject: hold your horses [Re: aspect ratio project - Welles weighs in]
 
I don't recall Murch ever saying anything about the aspect ratio.
The only source I can recall citing on this issue is Rick Schmidlin.


--- In a_film_by@yahoogroups.com, "hotlove666"
wrote:
> --- In a_film_by@yahoogroups.com, "hotlove666"
> wrote:
> >
> > Why would the production records for Touch of Evil be at the
> > Academy and the AFI? They would be in the Universal
> Collection
> > at USC. The Pshycho records that I have been able to find are
> at
> > the Academy, but not Touch of Evil, as far as I know. And --
> again
> > to my knowledge -- all the AFI has is a so-so script collection
in
> > its library. But I haven't done a lot of paper trailing on
Welles, so
> > I'd be happy tgo be informed that their are camera reports on
> > Touch of Evil somewhere at AFI. Much easier for me to get to
> > than the USC paper archives, which are in an unfinbdable cul
> de
> > sac downtown. But I have to say it's news to me.
>
> It just occured to me that "records" might mean oral histories?
> Normally, of course, those would be at ACS, but the AFI might
> have transcripts of Joe McBride's Working with Welles series.
> The Academy has a good set of oral histories and a list of oral
> histories in collections all over the country. I'll check next
time I'm
> in to see if there's a Metty one, which would be invaluable to
have
> -- unless of course Rick Schmidlin was "talkin' thru his hat."
>
> Curiously, I have often found that where Welles is accused of
> that, it is really the person contradicting him whose hat is
> deployed. Claudio Guzman's sworn testimony about costs and
> production history of Fountain of Youth at an AFI Working with
> Welles seminar I attended when I came to town in 1978 was the
> first time I encountered that curious syndrome, but not the last.
>
> In this case the person whose testimony I'd like to pin down is
> Murch, who has never committed Munchausenism re: Welles as
> far as I know, or re: anything else. Actually, I think it was
Jonathan
> who told me what Murch had said about this. If Jonathan heard it
> directly from him, that would mean that the decision to make a
> bi-ratioed remix was based on his examination of the framing in
> the camera neg. That would be valuable testimony indeed.
13620


From: Aaron Graham
Date: Wed Aug 4, 2004 9:15pm
Subject: Re: Jerry on DVD [was Welles vs. studio]
 
--- In a_film_by@yahoogroups.com, ptonguette@a... wrote:
> Craig Keller wrote:
>
> >So 'The Day the Clown Cried' was actually shot/edited? I didn't
know
> >it had even gone as far as startng production.
>
> As far as I understand, it is 99% shot (I've sometimes heard Lewis
say in
> interviews, back when he would discuss the film, that he needs
another day or
> week's shooting or whatever) and is at least edited into rough
cut.

Oddly enough, I'm currently reading Jerry Lewis' autobiography
("Jerry Lewis: In Person" - with Herb Gluck) at the present, so I'm
overjoyed to be seeing a discussion of the man.

re: The Day the Clown Cried. There's a webpage out there which hosts
the screenplay, a couple articles concerning the production (one that
quotes our own JP Coursodon from a "Film Comment" article), etc. It's
at: http://www.subcin.com/clownspy.html

Lewis was on "The Simpsons" this past year, portraying Professor
Frinks' re-animated dead father (for those who don't know, Frink is
a "Nutty Professor"-like chemist.) It was quite amusing to hear Lewis
do Prof. Kelp's voice again.

I saw his "Conan" appearance from last year, too, and he was as
lively as someone at his age could be. He seemed to be in great
spirits - here's hoping he has many Telethons to come.

-Aaron
13621


From: jpcoursodon
Date: Wed Aug 4, 2004 9:27pm
Subject: Re: Jerry on DVD [was Welles vs. studio]
 
--- In a_film_by@yahoogroups.com, ptonguette@a... wrote:
>
> Jean-Pierre, have you seen a supposedly mammoth French documentary
on Lewis,
> "Bonjour, Monsieur Lewis"?
>
> Peter

it's not "supposedly" -- it IS mammoth. Actually it's not a
documentary for theatrical exhibition (I don't know that it has ever
been shown in theaters) but a series of six one-hour television
shows. It was shown at Cannes in 1982 (in Jerry's presence) then
broadcast on French TV in 1983. It was highly praised by critics but
I have never seen it, alas. I wonder if it's available on video. It
certainly should be.

JPC
13622


From: hotlove666
Date: Wed Aug 4, 2004 10:07pm
Subject: hold your horses [Re: aspect ratio project - Welles weighs in]
 
--- In a_film_by@yahoogroups.com, "Jonathan Rosenbaum"
wrote:
> I don't recall Murch ever saying anything about the aspect ratio.
> The only source I can recall citing on this issue is Rick
Schmidlin.

If this is all based on Schmidlin's say-so -- he's also the authority
cited by Jaime from wellesnet -- I would say that the proper
aspect ratio for projecting any version of Touch of Evil remains a
subject for further investigation, with the evidence presently tilting
heavily to Academy aperture.
13623


From: Jaime N. Christley
Date: Wed Aug 4, 2004 11:05pm
Subject: TV We Like: the sequel
 
Spoilers for THE SHIELD

.
.
.
.
.
.


From Netflix I rented the first disc of THE SHIELD, starring Michael
Chiklis - last seen being strung out (as John Belushi in the notorious
biopic WIRED), nebbish (TV's THE COMMISH), or feckless (creepy
supporting role Paul W.S. Anderson's sci-fi crap-orama SOLDIER), and
heard in the English language track for SPIRITED AWAY - as a no-neck,
barrel-chested alpha male SWAT leader with "you want me on that wall,
you need me on that wall" syndrome, a shrewd but bullheaded
shoot-first copper who kills a team member for agreeing to rat out his
team's brutal methods.

THE SHIELD, a mid-season replacement that criticizes frontier justice
barely half a year after 9/11, is efficiently if not strikingly
directed, uses AVID pyrotechnics conservatively, and has so far been
unpredictable, occasionally jarring, and has almost none of the
trying-to-be-cool qualities that made the early episodes of CSI such a
chore.

Going by the IMDb, some of the directors are HOMICIDE: LIFE ON THE
STREETS veterans, and several have cynical crime thrillers under their
feature film belt, as good as KISS THE GIRLS (Gary Fleder) and as bad
as the GET CARTER remake (Stephen Kay). There are also episodes
directed by John Badham and David Mamet.

Anyone like THE SHIELD? I wouldn't write a song expressing my love
for it, but it's strong stuff that has a lot of qualities that other
cop shows strain for but fuck up for various reasons.

-Jaime
13624


From:
Date: Wed Aug 4, 2004 9:26pm
Subject: Jerry on The Simpsons (Was: Jerry on DVD)
 
In a message dated 8/4/04 4:36:43 PM, machinegunmccain@y... writes:


> Lewis was on "The Simpsons" this past year, portraying Professor
> Frinks' re-animated dead father (for those who don't know, Frink is
> a "Nutty Professor"-like chemist.) It was quite amusing to hear Lewis
> do Prof. Kelp's voice again.
>
Lewis' performance in that episode was pure genius. He lent almost every
single word its own distinctive characteristic. I was totally floored!

Kevin John




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
13625


From: jpcoursodon
Date: Thu Aug 5, 2004 1:41am
Subject: TV or not TV
 
I've been wondering all day who posted the strange statement: "I
don't have TV as such" -- I'm pondering: "as such" -- whatever that
means. Seems interesting that some people here don't watch any TV at
all while others seem to watch everything -- things like The
Simpsons, series of all kinds... Maybe it would be interesting to
know how people feel about TV within an auteurist context (or maybe
not...)

JPC
13626


From: Craig Keller
Date: Thu Aug 5, 2004 1:54am
Subject: Pynchon / The Simpsons (Was: Jerry on The Simpsons)
 
>> Lewis was on "The Simpsons" this past year, portraying Professor
>> Frinks' re-animated dead father (for those who don't know, Frink is
>> a "Nutty Professor"-like chemist.) It was quite amusing to hear Lewis
>> do Prof. Kelp's voice again.
>>
> Lewis' performance in that episode was pure genius. He lent almost
> every
> single word its own distinctive characteristic. I was totally floored!

I'm wondering whether anyone here has seen the 'Simpsons' episode from
this season where Thomas Pynchon gives Marge encouragement on her
novel, via a split-screen "shot" where the characters are speaking to
each other on the telephone -- Pynchon wears a brown paper-bag over his
head, but it's his real voice, thus marking the first ever public
"appearance" of the man.

Needless to say, I missed this episode. I was disappointed with the
"weekly guest-star" trend the show started taking several seasons back,
and thought the writing kind of went down-hill too, so I hadn't been
watching regularly -- I made a mental note to see this episode but
still ended up missing it, and probably its repeats too. I did end up
seeing two episodes from this season, however, and thought they were
both pretty good, so maybe it's on an upswing. (Which I wouldn't have
thought possible after the producers -- James L. Brooks? -- hired the
always unfunny Dana Gould as one of the new head writers. You might
know him from his work on the 1994 Crystal Dynamics video game 'Gex'
for the short-lived 3DO system... or not. He's also done turns as an
unfunny character actor, and -- his main gig -- an unfunny stand-up
comic.)

The point of all this being -- does anyone know if somebody's uploaded
a clip of the Pynchon scene anywhere on the Web?

I used to live across the street and a few houses up from where he
started writing 'V.' (and probably composed a lot of the earliest stuff
in 'Slow Learner'), at Johnny's Big Red Grill -- which is also only
three or four blocks (depending on how you count it) away from where
Nabokov wrote the opening chapters of 'Lolita' and most of 'Pnin.'
Insanely, I've heard Johnny's Big Red has closed in the last year or so
-- a fact I haven't been able to confirm.

craig.
13627


From: Dan Sallitt
Date: Thu Aug 5, 2004 2:15am
Subject: Re: Pynchon / The Simpsons (Was: Jerry on The Simpsons)
 
> The point of all this being -- does anyone know if somebody's uploaded
> a clip of the Pynchon scene anywhere on the Web?

Yeah, my Pynchonian friend tracked it down.

http://www.themodernword.com/pynchon/TRP_simpsons.html

Not the voice I expected.... - Dan
13628


From: Jaime N. Christley
Date: Thu Aug 5, 2004 2:23am
Subject: Re: Pynchon / The Simpsons (Was: Jerry on The Simpsons)
 
--- In a_film_by@yahoogroups.com, Dan Sallitt wrote:

> http://www.themodernword.com/pynchon/TRP_simpsons.html

Let me guess, the joke is that he's a reclusive author and he's out
there advertising himself and putting up a bunch of signs indicating
his location? Witty.

-Jaime
13629


From: Jaime N. Christley
Date: Thu Aug 5, 2004 2:26am
Subject: Re: TV or not TV
 
--- In a_film_by@yahoogroups.com, "jpcoursodon" wrote:
> I've been wondering all day who posted the strange statement: "I
> don't have TV as such" -- I'm pondering: "as such" -- whatever that
> means.

I don't know who posted that, either. Maybe it was me!

But I don't have TV "as such." I own a set but it's mainly for
watching videos and DVDs. The only time I get to watch "real TV" is
when I catch up with a series on DVD or watch something at a friend's
apartment.

Not sure what to do with the auteurist thing. If I know the director
I'll start to apply what I know about them to a single episode.
Otherwise I just take what I see and think about it in other ways.

-Jaime
13630


From: Richard Modiano
Date: Thu Aug 5, 2004 2:34am
Subject: Re: Jerry on DVD [was Welles vs. studio]
 
--- In a_film_by@yahoogroups.com, ptonguette@a... wrote:

"As far as I understand, it[THE DAY THE CLOWN CRIED] is 99% shot
(I've sometimes heard Lewis say in interviews, back when he would
discuss the film, that he needs another day or week's shooting or
whatever) and is at least edited into rough cut."

Apparently Godard has seen it. In an early 1980s tv interview with
Dick Cavett he praised THE DAY THE CLOWN CRIED as "very beautiful."

(Unrelated to Lewis, during the same interview Cavett asked Godard if
he thought Coppola's spending $40 million on APOCALYPSE NOW! was too
much and he answered that in the interest of realism Coppola should
have spent more because the US spent $40 million a day to keep its
embassy in Saigon open.)

Richard
13631


From: Craig Keller
Date: Thu Aug 5, 2004 3:15am
Subject: Re: Pynchon / The Simpsons (Was: Jerry on The Simpsons)
 
>> The point of all this being -- does anyone know if somebody's uploaded
>> a clip of the Pynchon scene anywhere on the Web?
>
> Yeah, my Pynchonian friend tracked it down.
>
> http://www.themodernword.com/pynchon/TRP_simpsons.html
>
> Not the voice I expected.... - Dan

Wow. He sounds like Peter Boyle, or maybe a cousin of the "Car Talk"
hosts. Additionally, another mind-blowing thing to be gleaned from
that clip:

His name is pronounced "PINCH-ahn," not "PINCH-uhn." CRAZY!!!!

Thanks for posting that link, Dan!

craig.
13632


From: Jonathan Rosenbaum
Date: Thu Aug 5, 2004 3:18am
Subject: Re: Jerry on DVD [was Welles vs. studio]
 
It isn't available, but it certainly should be. I've seen it all,
and it contains some wonderful stuff--including bits of Lewis's home
movies with jazzy titles (e.g., Some Back, Little Shiksa), outtakes
from the features, and much of his best TV work with Martin.


--- In a_film_by@yahoogroups.com, "jpcoursodon"
wrote:
> --- In a_film_by@yahoogroups.com, ptonguette@a... wrote:
> >
> > Jean-Pierre, have you seen a supposedly mammoth French
documentary
> on Lewis,
> > "Bonjour, Monsieur Lewis"?
> >
> > Peter
>
> it's not "supposedly" -- it IS mammoth. Actually it's not a
> documentary for theatrical exhibition (I don't know that it has
ever
> been shown in theaters) but a series of six one-hour television
> shows. It was shown at Cannes in 1982 (in Jerry's presence) then
> broadcast on French TV in 1983. It was highly praised by critics
but
> I have never seen it, alas. I wonder if it's available on video.
It
> certainly should be.
>
> JPC
13633


From: hotlove666
Date: Thu Aug 5, 2004 4:29am
Subject: Re: TV or not TV
 
--- In a_film_by@yahoogroups.com, "jpcoursodon"
wrote:
> I've been wondering all day who posted the strange statement: "I
> don't have TV as such" -- I'm pondering: "as such" -- whatever that
> means.

JP - It was me. I have 2 tv sets, 3 vcrs and 1 all-zone dvd player.
The tv is not hooked up to an antenna or cable, and it remains set on
3, the channel where I pick up my home video equipment. That's all I
use it for. Since 1996, 1997. But my friend Marvin tapes things off
HBO and Showtime so I can see them from time to time, and I will even
rent a series on DVD -- like 24 -- to see what's up. But tv as such I
do not have.

When Olivier Joyard called me from Paris on 9/11, all excited about
the attacks, I assumed he was joking, but when Marvin called and said
the same thing I hooked up the rabbit ears, saw the same image for
about 2 hours - smoking rubble - heard a Rear Admiral named
Stufflebeam tell the first lie (that Fl. 93 was not shot down over
Pennsylvania by an F-16), disconnected the rabbit ears and left it
off till the first episode of 24. I hooked up the rabbit ears at the
wrong time, saw what I assumed was a grotesque parody of a news
program within the context of the 24 episode, realized that it was
the local Fox outlet's evening news and unhooked. I hooked up again
to see the first episode of the American version of The Kingdom, and
the first episode of The Paris Hilton Show, but I was not moved to
follow up on either. I was astounded when a very smart girl I work
with revealed the next day that she thought Paris's "What's a
Walmart" line was unscripted stupidity. I've tried not to think about
the implications of that, but sometimes when I'm alone at night they
come creeping in.

I always watch as much of the Telethon as I can, however. The rabbit-
ears image is adequate for that.
13634


From: Damien Bona
Date: Thu Aug 5, 2004 4:50am
Subject: Re: Jerry on DVD [was Welles vs. studio]
 
--- In a_film_by@yahoogroups.com, Craig Keller >
> I guess I just always assume that there's no-one at the studios
today
> who has an interest in doing any business with the older masters --
> that studio-heads' position is something like, "With Jerry Lewis
having
> been out of the directing racket this long, what are the chances he
can
> possibly appeal to a 2004 audience?" I'd love to be told I'm
> over-reaching on this, too.


Judging from the stories I get told by friends in the industry
regarding the appalling ignorance of studio execs and management
about film history, I dare say most of the people in charge of things
don't even know who Jerry Lewis is. A few might think of him as the
guy who has "Jerry's Kids," and one or two of the more "serious" in
their midst might vaguely recollect Jer from King of Comedy (but only
if their Scorsese completists). But I'm afriad that would about be
it.

-- Damien
13635


From: hotlove666
Date: Thu Aug 5, 2004 5:07am
Subject: Re: Jerry on DVD [was Welles vs. studio]
 
--- In a_film_by@yahoogroups.com, "Damien Bona"
wrote:
> Judging from the stories I get told by friends in the industry
> regarding the appalling ignorance of studio execs and management
> about film history, I dare say most of the people in charge of
things
> don't even know who Jerry Lewis is. >
> -- Damien
'
Stop me if I told this before: When my friend Alan first moved to LA
and went to see a Jerry Lewis movie at a neighborhood theatre, he
asked the manager what kind of people came to Jerry Lewis movies. "We
don't think of them as people," the manager said. Early 70s.

The Telethon has certainly kept Lewis in the public eye through thick
and thin, but the celebs who come on tend to be Vegas and B'way,
skewing old. I don't know who watches besides me. Enough people to
raise the budget of Titanic every year, apparently. His performances
in Damn Yankees sold out across the country to adoring audiences who
came just to see him -- again, I was one of them. Jonathan can report
on that too.

As for the Industry, I don't frequent it and I don't know it, but
generalizations about it are usually untrue. Except for this one. I'm
interviewing Peter Farrelly tomorrow. Shall I ask if he's heard of
Jerry Lewis?
13636


From: Craig Keller
Date: Thu Aug 5, 2004 5:13am
Subject: Re: Re: Jerry on DVD [was Welles vs. studio]
 
>
> Stop me if I told this before: When my friend Alan first moved to LA
> and went to see a Jerry Lewis movie at a neighborhood theatre, he
> asked the manager what kind of people came to Jerry Lewis movies. "We
> don't think of them as people," the manager said. Early 70s.

Amazing. How were Lewis's later pictures financed -- were they mostly
studio money, or just studio-distributed with backers coming from
Europe and 'the private sector'? I'm also assuming that Lewis wouldn't
accept having anything other than final-cut -- true?

craig.
13637


From: hotlove666
Date: Thu Aug 5, 2004 6:14am
Subject: Re: Jerry on DVD [was Welles vs. studio]
 
--- In a_film_by@yahoogroups.com, Craig Keller
wrote:
> >
> > Stop me if I told this before: When my friend Alan first moved to
LA
> > and went to see a Jerry Lewis movie at a neighborhood theatre, he
> > asked the manager what kind of people came to Jerry Lewis
movies. "We
> > don't think of them as people," the manager said. Early 70s.
>
> Amazing. How were Lewis's later pictures financed -- were they
mostly
> studio money, or just studio-distributed with backers coming from
> Europe and 'the private sector'? I'm also assuming that Lewis
wouldn't
> accept having anything other than final-cut -- true?
>
> craig.

Hardly Working was financed by a private source named Procter, whose
financing fell through obliging Lewis to put in his own money to
finish. That's Life I don't know about -- in any case, it as started
and stopped after a week or so. It's with a bunch of old comics, but
as far as I know it's not about that - it's about a retirement
village. Smorgasbord was studio financed, I think, and I don't know
if he had final cut. The details should all be in Shawn Levy's bio of
Lewis.
13638


From: Andy Rector
Date: Thu Aug 5, 2004 7:00am
Subject: Re: Jerry on DVD [was Welles vs. studio]
 
>I'm
> interviewing Peter Farrelly tomorrow. Shall I ask if he's heard of
> Jerry Lewis?

Any comedic film director working in the US today should be questioned
about Lewis. They must confess to their influence, or be taught about
his effects, cultural and aesthetic (his immense contribution to the
"history of forms").

These motherfuckers need to pay their dues.

Incidentally, I was reading one of Manny Farber's art reviews in a
collection of Nation articles and was shocked to here that, for
Farber, Lewis heralds a new generation that can laugh at the
holocaust. A provacative statement in lieu of what's gone on in comedy
before and since (the Threee Stooges, the supression (?) of Day the
Clown Cried...etc, etc!)

Yours,
andy
13639


From: Damien Bona
Date: Thu Aug 5, 2004 7:12am
Subject: Re: Jerry on DVD [was Welles vs. studio]
 
--- In a_film_by@yahoogroups.com, "hotlove666"
wrote:

> As for the Industry, I don't frequent it and I don't know it, but
> generalizations about it are usually untrue. Except for this one.
I'm
> interviewing Peter Farrelly tomorrow. Shall I ask if he's heard of
> Jerry Lewis?

The Farrellys are baby boomers, so one would assume they'd be
familiar with Jer. And they seem bright enough to know even who
Tashlin is.

A friend of mine used to be a reader ands he met with a mid-level
executive to go over his coverage of the Coens' Ladykillers script.

First, said executive expressed shock that this was a remake of an
old British movie. And when my friend mentioned Alec Guinness and
Peter Sellers, he was met with blank incomprehension.
13640


From: Adrian Martin
Date: Thu Aug 5, 2004 8:45am
Subject: 'A Film By' Gets Results !
 
Dear friends and eagle-eye screen ratio observers -

Anyone tempted to think we at A FILM BY are merely a bunch of mad
cinephilies chin-wagging to each other on a planet stationed far from
Reality should know: alerted by all the recent discussion here on screen
ratios and specifically the NOTRE MUSIQUE case, I went along to Melbourne
Film Festival's first screening of this film the other night ... and it was
in the wrong ratio, 1.66 instead of 1.37!! And a heck of a lot was indeed
missing and skewed on the screen. So, armed with all the hard data, I
informed the Festival - and a second screening will take place this Sunday,
hopefully in the correct ratio!!

It's a terrific film, by the way. Not that I've seen it 'all' yet !!!

Adrian
13641


From:
Date: Thu Aug 5, 2004 5:06am
Subject: Re: TV or not TV
 
From 1981-1993 I was a heavy watcher of American TV shows, mainly hour-long
crime and science fiction shows. Since then, I have tapered off drastically and
am unfamiliar with modern TV - have never seen The Sopranos or 24, just one
episode of CSI, etc.
The 1981-1993 TV shows seemed "cinematic", with location shooting, complex
plots, production values, etc.
There is a perception that American popular culture started changing
drastically around 1994. That is when mystery publishers started getting rid of their
"mid-list" authors (writers who were medium sellers, not best seller types).
Both American TV and Hollywood film began imploding around that time. I used to
love going to the multiplex in 1981-1993, too. Now I've come to dread
multiplex fare. It is full of horror and gloom.

Mike Grost
PS - the writer and director credits for the TV shows I liked are available
on my web site - please scroll to near the bottom of the page:
http://members.aol.com/MG4273/film.htm

Took careful note of them from the screen.
13642


From:
Date: Thu Aug 5, 2004 5:37am
Subject: Re: Pynchon, Asimov, Spenser, Ballard (OT)
 
Can't resist putting in my two cents on these authors.
Asimov always seemed like a giant to me, despite all the heretical
anti-Asimov posts in recent days. Core works: "Pebble in the Sky", "The Foundation
Trilogy". These show a vastly imaginative "future history", depicting mankind in
the far future.
Did not like the Paul Mayersberg film version of Asimov's "Nightfall". It is
cheesy and full of schlock horror, IMHO.
"The Foundation Trilogy" could be filmed without a single special effect.
Would love to see a 12 hour film of this series. Making an sf film without any
special effects would be a radical aesthetic statement - one long overdue.
There are no white people OR black people in Asimov's futuristic stories.
Asimov believed that current races would all have blended in and then evolved in
new directions in the future. Editors in the 1940's did not agree with him. So
Asimov simply did not describe his characters' racial appearance. No one in
an Asimov far future is "white", for example. They are not described physically
at all.
Pynchon. Read "Slow Learner", "The Crying of Lot 49". Some merit, especially
in the short tales such as "Entropy" and "Lowlands". But in general, I do not
get it. Pynchon seems much less imaginative than such lower-prestige but high
talent pop authors of SF as Asimov, Simak, Lovecraft, Clement, Dick, Ballard,
Le Guin, Cordwainer Smith etc.
J. G. Ballard is a giant. He has a magnificent command of the English
language.
On Edmund Spenser. One of my four favorite English poets, along with
Shakespeare, Coleridge and Keats. Read the first three books of The Faerie Queene,
plus the two Cantos of Mutability. Got around 5 cantos into the second three
books, then got sidetracked. Keep meaning to go back.

Mike Grost
13643


From: cairnsdavid1967
Date: Thu Aug 5, 2004 0:36pm
Subject: Re: Jerry on DVD [was Welles vs. studio]
 
> >I'm
> > interviewing Peter Farrelly tomorrow. Shall I ask if he's heard
of
> > Jerry Lewis?

One of the Farellys actually wrote a pretty good piece about Preston
Sturges so I'm sure they've at least heard of Lewis, even if they
don't admit to an influence.

I would think they WOULD admit to an influence though - it seems to
me that their policy of milking a gag past the point where it's
funny, until it becomes funny AGAIN, owes a hell of a lot to the Jer.

Not too keen on their stuff, but I liked them a little better as
people after the Sturges piece (was maybe in Sight & Sound?)
13644


From: cairnsdavid1967
Date: Thu Aug 5, 2004 0:44pm
Subject: Re: Joe McGrath (was: on the misuse of 'Scope)
 
--- In a_film_by@yahoogroups.com, David Ehrenstein
wrote:
> Yul Brynner in drag singing "Mad
> About the Boy" to Roman Polanski.

Yeah, THAT'S great! The stuff that's faithful to the book seems to be
the weakest. There are things in the book like the effeminate boxing
match that seem to be cryiing out to be filmed, but put on screen
they disappoint (they seem to have cast boxers who just can't do it,
rather than comedians).

> "Digby: The Biggest Dog in the World" has some nice
> moments a does "30 is a Dangerous Age Cynthia."

Would like to see the latter especially.

I adore Spike Milligan but haven't seen a really effective filming of
his style, outside of THE RUNNING JUMPING etc. The fragments of the
early Lester TV shows look intriguing though.

> > I LOVE Lester's stuff, but Lester can compose a
> > shot, shoot coverage
> > so that a scene cuts together, and create original
> > cinematic effects,
> > all talents that mcGrath lacks.
> >
> As I've said McGrath's talents lie elsewhere.

He seems kind of a master of disaster, chaotically thowing a lot of
stuff together in the hopes some of it will work. And yet going by
the people he chooses to work with, one would deduce he had strong
personal tastes. I always feel his stuff should be better.

> In preparation for his oddly beautiful and
> occasionally quite poetic color ones.

Still not sure I could find any of his later work beautiful, except
maybe the ocean voyage in MAGIC CHRISTIAN.

Am trying to figure out definitively who shot what in CASINO ROYALE.
I know the stuff in Ireland-pretending-to-be-Scotland was Huston. and
I'm prepared to bet the Indian dance scene and the Berlin
expressionist stuff was shot by Roeg and directed by Ken Hughes.

How about a thread on the highly underrated Hughes? A retired AD I
knew called him "the filthiest man I ever met."
13645


From: David Ehrenstein
Date: Thu Aug 5, 2004 1:15pm
Subject: Re: Re: Joe McGrath (was: on the misuse of 'Scope)
 
--- cairnsdavid1967 wrote:

> --- In a_film_by@yahoogroups.com, David Ehrenstein

>
> I adore Spike Milligan but haven't seen a really
> effective filming of
> his style, outside of THE RUNNING JUMPING etc. The
> fragments of the
> early Lester TV shows look intriguing though.
>

"The Great McGonagall" more than fills that bill. And
Lester's "The Bed Sitting Room" isn't far behind.


>
> He seems kind of a master of disaster, chaotically
> thowing a lot of
> stuff together in the hopes some of it will work.
> And yet going by
> the people he chooses to work with, one would deduce
> he had strong
> personal tastes. I always feel his stuff should be
> better.
>
I find it just fine.

> Still not sure I could find any of his later work
> beautiful, except
> maybe the ocean voyage in MAGIC CHRISTIAN.
>
Again "McGonagall"

> Am trying to figure out definitively who shot what
> in CASINO ROYALE.

GOOD LUCK!

> I know the stuff in
> Ireland-pretending-to-be-Scotland was Huston. and
> I'm prepared to bet the Indian dance scene and the
> Berlin
> expressionist stuff was shot by Roeg and directed by
> Ken Hughes.
>
> How about a thread on the highly underrated Hughes?
> A retired AD I
> knew called him "the filthiest man I ever met."
>
>
Sexually or hygenically?



__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Mail - You care about security. So do we.
http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail
13646


From: David Ehrenstein
Date: Thu Aug 5, 2004 1:18pm
Subject: Re: Re: Jerry on DVD [was Welles vs. studio]
 
--- Damien Bona wrote:


>
> A friend of mine used to be a reader ands he met
> with a mid-level
> executive to go over his coverage of the Coens'
> Ladykillers script.
>
> First, said executive expressed shock that this was
> a remake of an
> old British movie. And when my friend mentioned
> Alec Guinness and
> Peter Sellers, he was met with blank
> incomprehension.
>
Never trust anyone under 30.




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Yahoo! Mail - 50x more storage than other providers!
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13647


From: cairnsdavid1967
Date: Thu Aug 5, 2004 1:46pm
Subject: Re Balls of Fire (was: Jerry on DVD)
 
I met a researcher for the cheesy BBC show The Hollywood Greats and
suggested they do one on Jer. He looked blank. Then remembered Jerry
Lee Lewis, then looked blank again.

So he called his producer over. "have you ever heard of Jerry Lewis?"

"Of course," she replied, "Goodness Gracious Great Balls of Fire!"
13648


From: cairnsdavid1967
Date: Thu Aug 5, 2004 1:52pm
Subject: Re: Joe McGrath (was: on the misuse of 'Scope)
 
> > I adore Spike Milligan but haven't seen a really
> > effective filming of
> > his style, outside of THE RUNNING JUMPING etc. The
> > fragments of the
> > early Lester TV shows look intriguing though.
>
> "The Great McGonagall" more than fills that bill. And
> Lester's "The Bed Sitting Room" isn't far behind.

I'd put put it far in front!

I like the bit in TGG where the film kind of breaks down into a
debate between Milligan and McGrath over what the hell the scene is
about and whether or not it's over the top, but am upset at the same
time by Milligan's incomprehension of McGrath's kind of incoherent
demands and McG's decision to press on with the scene despite his
star's unhappiness.

> > Am trying to figure out definitively who shot what
> > in CASINO ROYALE.
>
> GOOD LUCK!

There's anecdotal evidence from Val Guest, and Welles, and others.
It's a film where the better-crafted stuff is often the worst, so
McGrath can shine. But the Richard Williams and Ken hughes bits stand
out.

> > How about a thread on the highly underrated Hughes?
> > A retired AD I
> > knew called him "the filthiest man I ever met."

> Sexually or hygenically?

More the former, but probably the latter too.

He once performed sexually with Diana Dors in front of a one-way
glass, viewed by all the guests at her husband's party. "I knew I was
putting on a show so I made sure I gave them a damned good one!" Her
husnad later died of tertiary syphilis.

Who knew life in the British film industry could be so interesting.

Apart from the high class of CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG and THE TRIALS
OF OSCAR WILDE, Hughes also presided over the pageant of horror that
is SEXTETTE, with Mae West...
13649


From: cairnsdavid1967
Date: Thu Aug 5, 2004 1:52pm
Subject: Re: Joe McGrath (was: on the misuse of 'Scope)
 
> > I adore Spike Milligan but haven't seen a really
> > effective filming of
> > his style, outside of THE RUNNING JUMPING etc. The
> > fragments of the
> > early Lester TV shows look intriguing though.
>
> "The Great McGonagall" more than fills that bill. And
> Lester's "The Bed Sitting Room" isn't far behind.

I'd put put it far in front!

I like the bit in TGG where the film kind of breaks down into a
debate between Milligan and McGrath over what the hell the scene is
about and whether or not it's over the top, but am upset at the same
time by Milligan's incomprehension of McGrath's kind of incoherent
demands and McG's decision to press on with the scene despite his
star's unhappiness.

> > Am trying to figure out definitively who shot what
> > in CASINO ROYALE.
>
> GOOD LUCK!

There's anecdotal evidence from Val Guest, and Welles, and others.
It's a film where the better-crafted stuff is often the worst, so
McGrath can shine. But the Richard Williams and Ken hughes bits stand
out.

> > How about a thread on the highly underrated Hughes?
> > A retired AD I
> > knew called him "the filthiest man I ever met."

> Sexually or hygenically?

More the former, but probably the latter too.

He once performed sexually with Diana Dors in front of a one-way
glass, viewed by all the guests at her husband's party. "I knew I was
putting on a show so I made sure I gave them a damned good one!" Her
husnad later died of tertiary syphilis.

Who knew life in the British film industry could be so interesting.

Apart from the high class of CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG and THE TRIALS
OF OSCAR WILDE, Hughes also presided over the pageant of horror that
is SEXTETTE, with Mae West...
13650


From: Elizabeth Nolan
Date: Thu Aug 5, 2004 2:13pm
Subject: Farrelly Brothers and Three Stooges NEW YOKER
 
http://www.newyorker.com/online/content/?040419on_onlineonly01




The parameters of what’s acceptable in film have changed since the
original Stooge era. Should we expect more, or more realistic,
violence? Or just more crudity?

It’ll be the old violence, but with modern conveniences: instead of
wrenches and spanners, we’ll see microwave ovens and electric
toothbrushes. The new Stooges will also have a frankness about bodily
functions and the company of women that they did not have in the
nineteen-thirties. (And Russell Crowe as MOE)
13651


From: Elizabeth Nolan
Date: Thu Aug 5, 2004 2:23pm
Subject: JERRY LEWIS question
 
I heard a long time ago when watching the JL Telethon
that there was some association between the Telethon
and the persona in his films ... he raised the money because
many saw his persona as making fun of people with
physical disabilities. The 'secret' would be revealed after
Jerry's death. Anyone know anything about this?




I'm not sure about this, but I think Jerry Lewis was taking
steroid medications. Steroids are known for their anti-inflammatory
effects, but have tremendous side-effects, including weight gain; I
think the steroids were responsible
for his weight gain

There is even a diagnosis, steroid psychosis.

Additionally, they can make you more prone to infection,
worsen a cancer by stimulating it to grow, and cause GI bleeding.

It has been said that President Kennedy had adrenal insufficiency,
Addison's Disease, and had steroid injections. He had a moon facies, a
rounded, rather than angular look of his brothers, and sisters.
Some claim JFK took the medication for an associated high.
13652


From:
Date: Thu Aug 5, 2004 10:28am
Subject: Re: Re: Jerry on DVD [was Welles vs. studio]
 
In a message dated 8/5/04 8:35:03 AM, cellar47@y... writes:


> Never trust anyone under 30.
>

Ah, ya gotta love that laff-a-minute 1960s counterculture.

Kevin John


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
13653


From: David Ehrenstein
Date: Thu Aug 5, 2004 2:33pm
Subject: Re: Re: Joe McGrath (was: on the misuse of 'Scope)
 
--- cairnsdavid1967 wrote:


>
> I like the bit in TGG where the film kind of breaks
> down into a
> debate between Milligan and McGrath over what the
> hell the scene is
> about and whether or not it's over the top, but am
> upset at the same
> time by Milligan's incomprehension of McGrath's kind
> of incoherent
> demands and McG's decision to press on with the
> scene despite his
> star's unhappiness.
>
Joe Dante avant la lettre.

> He once performed sexually with Diana Dors in front
> of a one-way
> glass, viewed by all the guests at her husband's
> party. "I knew I was
> putting on a show so I made sure I gave them a
> damned good one!" Her
> husnad later died of tertiary syphilis.
>
> Who knew life in the British film industry could be
> so interesting.
>

YIKES!

> Apart from the high class of CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG
> and THE TRIALS
> OF OSCAR WILDE, Hughes also presided over the
> pageant of horror that
> is SEXTETTE, with Mae West...
>
>
My favorite moment in "Sextette" is when Dom DeLuise
does amusical number with a cardboard cut-out of Mae
West because Mae wasn't up to performing that day and
they were behind schedule.

Unkind critics said the cut-out gave a better
performance than Mae herself.




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13654


From: Elizabeth Nolan
Date: Thu Aug 5, 2004 3:42pm
Subject: ROMERO interview; SHAWN of the DEAD
 
http://www.empireonline.co.uk/site/features/interviews/interviews.asp?
IID=147

I started watching RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD after enjoying
SHAWN OF THE DEAD at the SD Comic Con.

Shawn of the Dead will be released in USA 17SEPT. I hope it does
well; I'll see it again.



Saw the out of the mud / graveyard scene in Return of the Dead that is
repeated by UMA in KB2.
13655


From: Craig Keller
Date: Thu Aug 5, 2004 4:01pm
Subject: Re: 'A Film By' Gets Results !
 
> So, armed with all the hard data, I
> informed the Festival - and a second screening will take place this
> Sunday,
> hopefully in the correct ratio!!

Good job, Adrian! I plan on writing a letter to Wellspring in New York
as a pre-emptive call for them to get the aspect ratio right for both
their upcoming theatrical and DVD releases of the film.

craig.
13656


From: Jaime N. Christley
Date: Thu Aug 5, 2004 4:50pm
Subject: digital movies and DLP
 
Michael Mann's new film, COLLATERAL, was shot on digital video. Some
Loews cineplexes are offering to show the film using DLP technology -
high-quality digital projectors. There are also prints being shown,
like normal.

Now, I once had the weird experience of asking a group of multiplex
employees about digital projection - they were clustered around their
brooms, waiting for a show to get out so they could clean the
auditorium, and I had just noticed that the theater was offering
TERMINATOR 3 to be shown using DLP. I asked them about this, and to
my surprise/alarm this group of kids looked at me with the blank stare
of enervated cult members and began reeling off "explanations" as to
why the digital show would be better. "It's cleaner." "No dirt, no
scratches." "It's like watching it on laserdisc." (A double alarm on
that last one, aside from the Body Snatchers creepy-crawly feeling, I
had to wonder how a nineteen year-old kid would know what a laserdisc
was.)

Now, I don't know about you guys and girls, but when $10.25 is at
stake, I usually like to see a film in its intended format: film for
film, digital for digital.

So, given the technical specs for COLLATERAL, would I then be
"correct" in seeking out the digital show? The obvious answer is yes,
but...if COLLATERAL was printed to film before going back to a
DLP-enabled format (highly unlikely, that's pretty expensive), it'll
potentially look worse than digital-to-film, with its sickly smearing
effects.

COLLATERAL was shot by Dion Beebe and Paul Cameron using:

Camera
Panavision Cameras and Lenses
Sony HDW-F900 CineAlta
Thomson VIPER FilmStream Camera, Zeiss Digiprime Lenses
Film negative format (mm/video inches)
Video (HDTV)
Cinematographic process
HDTV (1080p/24)
Aspect ratio
2.35 : 1

-Jaime
13657


From: samfilms2003
Date: Thu Aug 5, 2004 6:00pm
Subject: Re: digital movies and DLP
 
> So, given the technical specs for COLLATERAL, would I then be
> "correct" in seeking out the digital show? The obvious answer is yes,
> but...if COLLATERAL was printed to film before going back to a
> DLP-enabled format (highly unlikely, that's pretty expensive), it'll
> potentially look worse than digital-to-film, with its sickly smearing
> effects.

I think about 20% ?(studio shots) were still film, so it's a bit of a hybrid.

I don't think they would've done a transfer from a film element for the
digital copies.

I'm going to see it, probably film where I am ( and so I can compare to filmouts
of a HD project I worked on in similar low light night situations).
I have to see it, cause I'll be asked over and over and over this summer
if I have....

-Sam
13658


From: Jaime N. Christley
Date: Thu Aug 5, 2004 6:34pm
Subject: holocaust humor and usage in films [was Re: Jerry on DVD]
 
--- In a_film_by@yahoogroups.com, "Andy Rector" wrote:

> Incidentally, I was reading one of Manny Farber's art reviews in a
> collection of Nation articles and was shocked to here that, for
> Farber, Lewis heralds a new generation that can laugh at the
> holocaust. A provacative statement in lieu of what's gone on in comedy
> before and since (the Threee Stooges, the supression (?) of Day the
> Clown Cried...etc, etc!)

Didn't Farber write than in response to a throw-away "joke" about
concentration camps in AT WAR WITH THE ARMY (1950)? I wish I could
remember the line, but it was a bit of a shocker for me (and
presumably for Farber as well). The characters in that situation
might not have known about what was happening in Auschwitz, but the
filmmakers, screenwriters, actors, etc., had no such claim to
ignorance in 1950.

On that tangent, I'm given to believe that Sam Fuller's VERBOTEN was
the first studio picture to feature footage taken from the camps
(footage that Fuller shot himself ). Is this true?

Also - unless anyone knows otherwise - Andre de Toth's masterful NONE
SHALL ESCAPE was the first film to use a "war crimes tribunal" in a
dramatic context.

-Jaime
13659


From: Jaime N. Christley
Date: Thu Aug 5, 2004 7:24pm
Subject: The Shield [Re: TV We Like: the sequel]
 
Yesterday I wrote about THE SHIELD. I finished the first disc and I
think it's great stuff, so far. A little awkward in parts but
marvelously unstable, not the usual desiccated moralizing you get from
TV and movie dramas.

It hit me like a brick, not too long after I finished with the first
set of episodes (the first of four DVDs) that the relationship between
Mike Chiklis' rogue cop and Benito Martinez's by-the-book captain is
nearly a mirror image of Hank Quinlan v. Mike Vargas in TOUCH OF EVIL.
There are obvious differences (the joke about stereotypes: a
"gringo" Vargas and a "grease-ball" Quinlan) but the gravity of the
struggle is comparable.

The program pulls very few punches in dealing with racial issues in
present-day Los Angeles. To me there's a measure of pampering in
seemingly provocative movies dealing (centrally or marginally) with
racial/sexual/economic politics in movies like TRAINING DAY and L.A.
CONFIDENTIAL...and even HEAT, which is one of my all-time favorites.
You get no such comfort and very little PC calculation with THE SHIELD.

Looking forward to more of this, and of course the rest of K STREET
(thanks again to Michael L. for recommending that one).

-Jaime
13660


From: Jaime N. Christley
Date: Thu Aug 5, 2004 7:25pm
Subject: Re: digital movies and DLP
 
--- In a_film_by@yahoogroups.com, "samfilms2003" wrote:
>
> > So, given the technical specs for COLLATERAL, would I then be
> > "correct" in seeking out the digital show? The obvious answer is yes,
> > but...if COLLATERAL was printed to film before going back to a
> > DLP-enabled format (highly unlikely, that's pretty expensive), it'll
> > potentially look worse than digital-to-film, with its sickly smearing
> > effects.
>
> I think about 20% ?(studio shots) were still film, so it's a bit of
a hybrid.
>
> I don't think they would've done a transfer from a film element for the
> digital copies.
>
> I'm going to see it, probably film where I am ( and so I can compare
to filmouts
> of a HD project I worked on in similar low light night situations).
> I have to see it, cause I'll be asked over and over and over this
summer
> if I have....

Mann's digital work in ALI looked good and fit that film's ambitious,
schizo style. Not sure if it was a good film after all, but certainly
"interesting" as regards style issues. But I like Mann's films
overall, and look forward to what he's done with COLLATERAL. Hmmm - I
guess I'll see the DLP show.

-Jaime
13661


From:
Date: Thu Aug 5, 2004 3:39pm
Subject: Re: Re: Jerry on DVD [was Welles vs. studio]
 
David Ehrenstein wrote:

>Never trust anyone under 30.

Gee, not even your friendly a_film_by co-moderator?

Peter
13662


From: David Ehrenstein
Date: Thu Aug 5, 2004 8:01pm
Subject: Re: Re: Jerry on DVD [was Welles vs. studio]
 
You're an Old Soul.


--- ptonguette@a... wrote:

> David Ehrenstein wrote:
>
> >Never trust anyone under 30.
>
> Gee, not even your friendly a_film_by co-moderator?
>
> Peter
>




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13663


From: Noel Vera
Date: Thu Aug 5, 2004 9:29pm
Subject: Re: Pynchon, Asimov, Spenser, Ballard (OT)
 
> These show a vastly imaginative "future
> history", depicting mankind in
> the far future.

Robert Heinlein did this earlier, in the 1940s; Welles
(H.G., not Orson) did it earliest of all that I'm
aware. Of course the definitive "future history" would
be Olaf Stapledon's--a genuine giant of the genre.

> "The Foundation Trilogy" could be filmed without a
> single special effect.

Despite my dislike of the trilogy and all, this would
be interesting (if unlikely, considering the way
studios do things nowadays) to see.

> Making an sf film without any
> special effects would be a radical aesthetic
> statement - one long overdue.

Or not done often enough. I'd say Crash was a
legitimate SF film with only minimum floor effects,
only as much as most dramas. Gattaca comes close,
somewhat.

> Asimov believed that current races would all have
> blended in and then evolved in
> new directions in the future. Editors in the 1940's
> did not agree with him. So
> Asimov simply did not describe his characters'
> racial appearance.

But he never inserted them in subsequent works long
after he had the freedom or power to do so. He
admitted as much, that he's weak in characterization
or scenic descriptions.

I agree on the quality of Clement, Dick, Simak,
Ballard, Le Guin, Cordwainer Smith, and would throw in
Philip Jose Farmer, Brian Aldiss, Michael Moorcock,
James Blish, among others...





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13664


From: Gabe Klinger
Date: Thu Aug 5, 2004 9:56pm
Subject: Re: Jerry on DVD [was Welles vs. studio]
 
--- In a_film_by@yahoogroups.com, David Ehrenstein wrote:
> You're an Old Soul.

This will not get Peter laid.
13665


From: peckinpah20012000
Date: Fri Aug 6, 2004 0:40am
Subject: Re: Joe McGrath (was: on the misuse of 'Scope)
 
--- In a_film_by@yahoogroups.com, "cairnsdavid1967"
wrote:
> > >
> out.
>
> > > How about a thread on the highly underrated Hughes?
> > > A retired AD I
> > > knew called him "the filthiest man I ever met."
>
> > Sexually or hygenically?
>
> More the former, but probably the latter too.
>
> He once performed sexually with Diana Dors in front of a one-way
> glass, viewed by all the guests at her husband's party. "I knew I
was
> putting on a show so I made sure I gave them a damned good one!"
Her
> husnad later died of tertiary syphilis.
>
> Who knew life in the British film industry could be so interesting.
>
> Apart from the high class of CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG and THE TRIALS
> OF OSCAR WILDE, Hughes also presided over the pageant of horror
that
> is SEXTETTE, with Mae West...

As Richard Harris says in MAJOR DUNDEE, "Never underestimate the
value of a European education."

Tony Williams
13666


From:
Date: Thu Aug 5, 2004 9:49pm
Subject: Re: Joe McGrath
 
I loved "The Bliss of Mrs. Blossom" when I saw it decades ago. And my mother
did too - I can still recall her cracking up at the various plot developments
in this film.
"Digby, the Biggest Dog in the World" seemed less inventive. Keep meaning to
track down more of McGrath's work, but it has escaped.
The co-star of "Bliss", James Booth, was associated as a scriptwriter with a
not-bad karate thriller, "American Ninja 2" (Sam Firstenberg, 1987). This
flick is definitely NOT recommended for people who think there is too much plot,
excitement, narrative momentum and snappy dialogue in "Flowers of Shanghai".
You have been warned!

Mike Grost
13667


From: jpcoursodon
Date: Fri Aug 6, 2004 1:55am
Subject: Who's Jerry Lewis?
 
From recent posts it seems that nobody under 30 -- or even under 40 --
has any idea who Jerry Lewis was (is -- the body's still warm).

Maybe. So -- "Sic transit gloria mundi."

But then i always thought "Jerry Lewis" still meant something to
the general public, since every time France and the French are
mentioned in the USA (granted it's not often, and always derogatively)
whether it be in press articles or on TV or radio talk shows or in
conversations, they NEVER fail to bring up the fact that "The French
love Jerry Lewis" (proving of course what an idiotic, decadent race
those funny French are). So we must assume that if no one here had
any idea who JL is, they wouldn't continue to bring that up for
laughs (because it's always brought up for laughs). People don't
laught at jokes about things or people they don't know about.

Lewis was an immensely popular actor for some twenty years. From 1950
to the mid sixties he was rated every year among the ten top box
office stars (you know, that famous Quigley exhibitors referendum),
often in the first or second spot when he was teamed with Dean Martin
(no one has ever heard of that guy either?). He made tens or possibly
hundreds of millions of dollars for Paramount at the time when a
million dollars was A LOT of money. And people in the industry and
everywhere else just don't know he ever existed?

But then of course when I was in my twenties I must have been only
dimly aware of the immese popularity of some forgotten silent stars.
So maybe I shouldn't act so surprised. The Jerry Lewis era is very
very far away from us indeed.

But then when I was in my 20s we didn't have video, TV, DVDs. Just
the Cinematheque in Paris.

By the way, I just watched THE DREAMERS. Interesting period piece,
but I must say no one smoked at the Cinematheque the way they do
(although by 1968 I lived in New York so maybe they did smoke there
for all I know -- "la revolution", you know).


JPC
13668


From: Jaime N. Christley
Date: Fri Aug 6, 2004 2:51am
Subject: Re: Jerry on DVD [was Welles vs. studio]
 
--- In a_film_by@yahoogroups.com, "Gabe Klinger" wrote:
> --- In a_film_by@yahoogroups.com, David Ehrenstein
wrote:
> > You're an Old Soul.
>
> This will not get Peter laid.

Hey bud. Who is this Peter Laid. Would he make a good addition to
our discussions of the films of the cinema.

-Jaime
13669


From: Jonathan Rosenbaum
Date: Fri Aug 6, 2004 3:21am
Subject: Re: Who's Jerry Lewis?
 
> By the way, I just watched THE DREAMERS. Interesting period piece,
> but I must say no one smoked at the Cinematheque the way they do
> (although by 1968 I lived in New York so maybe they did smoke
there
> for all I know -- "la revolution", you know).
>
>
> JPC


No, they didn't. I was in Paris the summer of '68 (from June on) and
moved there in the fall of '69, and no one ever smoked at either the
Palais de Chaillot or the salle at rue d'Ulm. In fact, I brought up
this error when I reviewed the film for the Reader.
13670


From: jpcoursodon
Date: Fri Aug 6, 2004 3:44am
Subject: Re: Jerry on DVD [was Welles vs. studio]
 
--- In a_film_by@yahoogroups.com, "Jaime N. Christley"
wrote:
> --- In a_film_by@yahoogroups.com, "Gabe Klinger"
wrote:
> > --- In a_film_by@yahoogroups.com, David Ehrenstein
> wrote:
> > > You're an Old Soul.
> >
> > This will not get Peter laid.
>
> Hey bud. Who is this Peter Laid. Would he make a good addition to
> our discussions of the films of the cinema.
>
> -Jaime


This exchange should better be laid to rest.

JPC
13671


From: hotlove666
Date: Fri Aug 6, 2004 3:54am
Subject: Re: Jerry on DVD [was Welles vs. studio]
 
--- In a_film_by@yahoogroups.com, "jpcoursodon"
wrote:

> > Hey bud. Who is this Peter Laid. Would he make a good addition
to
> > our discussions of the films of the cinema.
> >
> > -Jaime
>
>
> This exchange should better be laid to rest.
>
> JPC
This is a job for "Hotlove." I actually brought the aspect ratio
thread to a screeching halt! The Thread That Couldn't Be Cut (They
Said)...
13672


From: jpcoursodon
Date: Fri Aug 6, 2004 4:03am
Subject: Re: Who's Jerry Lewis?
 
--- In a_film_by@yahoogroups.com, "Jonathan Rosenbaum"
wrote:
> > By the way, I just watched THE DREAMERS. Interesting period
piece,
> > but I must say no one smoked at the Cinematheque the way they do
> > (although by 1968 I lived in New York so maybe they did smoke
> there
> > for all I know -- "la revolution", you know).
> >
> >
> > JPC
>
>
> No, they didn't. I was in Paris the summer of '68 (from June on)
and
> moved there in the fall of '69, and no one ever smoked at either
the
> Palais de Chaillot or the salle at rue d'Ulm. In fact, I brought up
> this error when I reviewed the film for the Reader.


It's strange that with all the research involved (eg.the
graffiti -- we even catch a glimpse of the "incontournable" "Sous les
paves la plage") no one told BB that there was absolutely no smoking
in French movie theatres in the post war years (I think it was in
1947 that a fire in a movie theatre in Rueil -- how ironic for fans
of Queneau -- killed more than a hundred people, after which very
stringent safety measures where put in place. I never saw anybody
smoking in any movie theatre in France (men smoked outside during
intermission and made a point of getting back inside only after the
credits had unroled). In Italy of course there was much smoking at
the movies. Anyway very few cinephiles I knew actually smoked...
13673


From: jpcoursodon
Date: Fri Aug 6, 2004 4:08am
Subject: Re: Jerry on DVD [was Welles vs. studio]
 
--- In a_film_by@yahoogroups.com, "hotlove666"
wrote:
> --- In a_film_by@yahoogroups.com, "jpcoursodon"
> wrote:
>
> > > Hey bud. Who is this Peter Laid. Would he make a good
addition
> to
> > > our discussions of the films of the cinema.
> > >
> > > -Jaime
> >
> >
> > This exchange should better be laid to rest.
> >
> > JPC
> This is a job for "Hotlove." I actually brought the aspect ratio
> thread to a screeching halt! The Thread That Couldn't Be Cut (They
> Said)...

Can a thread screech -- let alone to a halt? Mixed metaphor, Bill?
Actually I had some more to add on the subject. Maybe tomorrow.

JPC
13674


From: David Ehrenstein
Date: Fri Aug 6, 2004 5:13am
Subject: Re: Re: Joe McGrath
 
--- MG4273@a... wrote:


> The co-star of "Bliss", James Booth, was associated
> as a scriptwriter with a
> not-bad karate thriller, "American Ninja 2" (Sam
> Firstenberg, 1987).
>

He was also excellent in "Zulu" and co-starred with
the great Barbara Windsot in Joan Littlewood's one and
only film "Sparrows Can't Sing."

Oh how I long to see that one again!




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13675


From: David Ehrenstein
Date: Fri Aug 6, 2004 5:16am
Subject: Re: Re: Jerry on DVD [was Welles vs. studio]
 
--- "Jaime N. Christley"
wrote:


> Hey bud. Who is this Peter Laid. Would he make a
> good addition to
> our discussions of the films of the cinema.
>

He's a close relative of Peter Beard -- my first great
cinematic lust object.

(Alain Delon was a romantic fantasy. Peter Beard, I
wanted to actually DO IT with. Not anymore of course, alas.)




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13676


From: David Ehrenstein
Date: Fri Aug 6, 2004 5:17am
Subject: Re: Re: Who's Jerry Lewis?
 
--- Jonathan Rosenbaum
>
>
> No, they didn't. I was in Paris the summer of '68
> (from June on) and
> moved there in the fall of '69, and no one ever
> smoked at either the
> Palais de Chaillot or the salle at rue d'Ulm. In
> fact, I brought up
> this error when I reviewed the film for the Reader.
>
>
>
True but "The Dreamers" is about wish-fulfillment. And
Gilbert was obviously dying for a ciggie back then.



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13677


From: Elizabeth Nolan
Date: Fri Aug 6, 2004 5:47am
Subject: digital movies and DLP
 
I just saw COLLATERAL and didn't know about the film / digital
aspects. I would guess that much of the gritty city-scape / street
scenes were digital and the indoor people scenes were film.

I also read that some South American and other foreign countries
are building digital screen theaters (some being supported by
local businesses that transfer film to digital) and that much of the
film making in those countries will be digital, saving on the
expense of transferring, transporting, etc. film. It's like the cell
phone adoption in remote areas... where telephone poles
never existed. Digital will get adopted sooner in remote areas
and Russia, Africa, China, etc... sooner rather than later. And
as many of these people have not see a pristine FILM under
ideal screening conditions, they may not know what they are missing



> From: "samfilms2003"
>> So, given the technical specs for COLLATERAL, would I then be
>> "correct" in seeking out the digital show? The obvious answer is yes,
>> but...if COLLATERAL was printed to film before going back to a
>> DLP-enabled format (highly unlikely, that's pretty expensive), it'll
>> potentially look worse than digital-to-film, with its sickly smearing
>> effects.
>
> I think about 20% ?(studio shots) were still film, so it's a bit of a
> hybrid.
> I don't think they would've done a transfer from a film element for the
> digital copies.
> I'm going to see it, probably film where I am ( and so I can compare
> to filmouts
> of a HD project I worked on in similar low light night situations).
> I have to see it, cause I'll be asked over and over and over this
> summer
> if I have....
>
> -Sam
13678


From: Damien Bona
Date: Fri Aug 6, 2004 6:04am
Subject: Re: Jerry on DVD [was Welles vs. studio]
 
--- In a_film_by@yahoogroups.com, David Ehrenstein
wrote:
>
> He's a close relative of Peter Beard -- my first great
> cinematic lust object.
>
> (Alain Delon was a romantic fantasy. Peter Beard, I
> wanted to actually DO IT with. Not anymore of course, alas.)


Do you mean Peter Bull?

Curiously, ny first two cinematic lust objects were also Peters:
O'Toole and McEnery.
13679


From: Gabe Klinger
Date: Fri Aug 6, 2004 6:13am
Subject: Re: Jerry on DVD [was Welles vs. studio]
 
> Curiously, ny first two cinematic lust objects were also Peters:
> O'Toole and McEnery.

And I had Bernadette Peters.

Gabe
13680


From: Adrian Martin
Date: Fri Aug 6, 2004 8:47am
Subject: Rivette query
 
Just reading up on he sublime STORY OF MARIE AND JULIEN and came across this
strange remark in one article:

" ... it is hard not to see Rivette's elegiac conclusion as lamenting his
parting with the same actress who starred in another of his explicit
masterpieces, La Belle noiseuse "

What?! Is this critic 'talking through his hat'? Did Rivette and Emmanuelle
Béart have something going on in 1991 ???

The writer goes on to say:

"Though of course this is purely speculative, it remains a fertile, if
tricky, avenue that demands exploration if one is to get a full picture of
the film's rhetoric ­ after all, it would be unthinkable to look at Josef
von Sternberg's films with Marlene Dietrich or Kamal Amrohi's Pakeezah
(1971) starring his late wife Meena Kumari, without pausing to consider the
personal politics that forge their narrative discourses. At the very least,
Rivette's biography should figure in the reading of his work ... "

Have we ever known that much about Rivette's biography? Do we need to?

Adrian
13681


From: hotlove666
Date: Fri Aug 6, 2004 10:58am
Subject: Re: Rivette query
 
--- In a_film_by@yahoogroups.com, Adrian Martin wrote:
> Just reading up on he sublime STORY OF MARIE AND JULIEN and came
across this
> strange remark in one article:
>
> " ... it is hard not to see Rivette's elegiac conclusion as
lamenting his
> parting with the same actress who starred in another of his explicit
> masterpieces, La Belle noiseuse "
>
> What?! Is this critic 'talking through his hat'? Did Rivette and
Emmanuelle
> Béart have something going on in 1991 ???
>
> The writer goes on to say:
>
> "Though of course this is purely speculative, it remains a fertile,
if
> tricky, avenue that demands exploration if one is to get a full
picture of
> the film's rhetoric ­ after all, it would be unthinkable to look at
Josef
> von Sternberg's films with Marlene Dietrich or Kamal Amrohi's
Pakeezah
> (1971) starring his late wife Meena Kumari, without pausing to
consider the
> personal politics that forge their narrative discourses. At the
very least,
> Rivette's biography should figure in the reading of his work ... "
>
> Have we ever known that much about Rivette's biography? Do we need
to?
>
> Adrian

Go, Jacques!
13682


From: cairnsdavid1967
Date: Fri Aug 6, 2004 0:12pm
Subject: Re: Joe McGrath (was: on the misuse of 'Scope)
 
> > I like the bit in TGG where the film kind of breaks
> > down into a
> > debate between Milligan and McGrath over what the
> > hell the scene is
> > about and whether or not it's over the top,
> >
> Joe Dante avant la lettre.

I think if Dante had done it, it would have been PLANNED. Here it's
obvious that the scene has no coverage, and the middle of it is a
protracted debate between star and director, so at some point
somebody had the admittedly brilliant idea of leaving it in - and
showing the unit going to lunch!

> My favorite moment in "Sextette" is when Dom DeLuise
> does amusical number with a cardboard cut-out of Mae
> West because Mae wasn't up to performing that day and
> they were behind schedule.

There's a story that Mae had an earpiece and an assistant reading the
script to her. She would repeat whatever he said, including "Ow!
Fuck!" when somebody accidentally dropped something in his foot.

My favourite bit is all the Mae duets, which are the unlikeliest
combinations of artists and songs in the history of anything, ever.
13683


From: cairnsdavid1967
Date: Fri Aug 6, 2004 0:18pm
Subject: holocaust humor and usage in films [was Re: Jerry on DVD]
 
> On that tangent, I'm given to believe that Sam Fuller's VERBOTEN was
> the first studio picture to feature footage taken from the camps
> (footage that Fuller shot himself ). Is this true?

Doesn't Welles' THE STRANGER do this much earlier?

Like the sound of teh DeToth - you have any good DeToth on tape/DVD?
13684


From: cairnsdavid1967
Date: Fri Aug 6, 2004 0:24pm
Subject: Re: Joe McGrath
 
> > The co-star of "Bliss", James Booth, was associated
> > as a scriptwriter with a
> > not-bad karate thriller, "American Ninja 2" (Sam
> > Firstenberg, 1987).

I'm pretty certain that the action movie scribe and the delightful
character actor are NOT one and the same, and this is a fairly typcal
imdb mistake. But I have no proof of this.

Booth the actor's last gig was reciting romantic verse on TFIFriday,
a popular TV "variety show."

> He was also excellent in "Zulu" and co-starred with
> the great Barbara Windsot in Joan Littlewood's one and
> only film "Sparrows Can't Sing."
> Oh how I long to see that one again!

He also turns up in THE BED-SITTING ROOM, as the armed forces.
13685


From: Jaime N. Christley
Date: Fri Aug 6, 2004 0:26pm
Subject: holocaust humor and usage in films [was Re: Jerry on DVD]
 
--- In a_film_by@yahoogroups.com, "cairnsdavid1967"
wrote:
> > On that tangent, I'm given to believe that Sam Fuller's VERBOTEN was
> > the first studio picture to feature footage taken from the camps
> > (footage that Fuller shot himself ). Is this true?
>
> Doesn't Welles' THE STRANGER do this much earlier?

I'm ashamed - I should know this! Yes, I think that's right.

> Like the sound of teh DeToth - you have any good DeToth on tape/DVD?

Um... [contacts Cairns offlist]

-Jaime
13686


From: Robert Keser
Date: Fri Aug 6, 2004 2:18pm
Subject: Shyamalan
 
Ty Burr's (basically positive) review of The Village in the Boston
Globe has the following comparison that struck me as fascinating:

"Shyamalan's interest in [monsters] is simply as a type of lore --
it's fascinatingly juvenile. In a sense, he's like Michael Jackson.
He'll put you through all kinds of cynical, luridly disillusioned
behavior just to maintain his belief in innocence.

"Every minute of "The Village" is the work of a genius and a fool,
as each of Shyamalan's last four movies has been. And this, by the
filmmaker's standards, is the bravest, craziest one yet, questioning
the meaning of magic and the trauma of loss. It springs from a type
of defiant immaturity that seems possible only with him -- or
Jackson: a Neverland sprung from hurt and paranoia. Both men's art
is so otherworldly, grandiose, and disfigured with naivete that
you're forever asking whether you share the same planet with them."

I'll leave it to those who've seen The Village to figure out whether
the comparison is justified in this case. The entire review is at:

http://www.boston.com/movies/display?display=movie&id=2720

--Robert Keser
13687


From: jess_l_amortell
Date: Fri Aug 6, 2004 2:28pm
Subject: Re: Shyamalan
 
--- In a_film_by@yahoogroups.com, "Robert Keser" wrote:
> Ty Burr's (basically positive) review of The Village in the Boston
> Globe has the following comparison that struck me as fascinating:
>
> "Shyamalan's interest in [monsters] is simply as a type of lore --
> it's fascinatingly juvenile. In a sense, he's like Michael Jackson.
> He'll put you through all kinds of cynical, luridly disillusioned
> behavior just to maintain his belief in innocence.
> [...]
> Both men's art
> is so otherworldly, grandiose, and disfigured with naivete that
> you're forever asking whether you share the same planet with them."
>
> I'll leave it to those who've seen The Village to figure out whether
> the comparison is justified in this case. The entire review is at:
>
> http://www.boston.com/movies/display?display=movie&id=2720


The byline on that page is Wesley Morris, not Ty Burr-- but whoever he is, he writes like a Paulette!
13688


From: Henrik Sylow
Date: Fri Aug 6, 2004 3:06pm
Subject: Re: Shyamalan
 
Where I find "Sixth Sense" interesting and "Unbreakable" highly
original and effective and "Signs" went on my worst film of the year
list. I saw "The Village" recently and it just was a mess.

To me, Shyamalan wants up to believe in his rewritten "myth", which to
begin with is less than logic. As a story teller, he is naive and
wathichg his films reminds me of adults sitting around the campfire
listening to a six year old telling the story about "the hook" for the
first time; We all know it, but we wont spoil the fun of telling the
kid so.

But Shyamalan is an adult and actual quiet good character director, so
someone should really tell him.

Henrik



--- In a_film_by@yahoogroups.com, "Robert Keser" wrote:
> Ty Burr's (basically positive) review of The Village in the Boston
> Globe has the following comparison that struck me as fascinating:
>
> "Shyamalan's interest in [monsters] is simply as a type of lore --
> it's fascinatingly juvenile. In a sense, he's like Michael Jackson.
> He'll put you through all kinds of cynical, luridly disillusioned
> behavior just to maintain his belief in innocence.
>
> "Every minute of "The Village" is the work of a genius and a fool,
> as each of Shyamalan's last four movies has been. And this, by the
> filmmaker's standards, is the bravest, craziest one yet, questioning
> the meaning of magic and the trauma of loss. It springs from a type
> of defiant immaturity that seems possible only with him -- or
> Jackson: a Neverland sprung from hurt and paranoia. Both men's art
> is so otherworldly, grandiose, and disfigured with naivete that
> you're forever asking whether you share the same planet with them."
>
> I'll leave it to those who've seen The Village to figure out whether
> the comparison is justified in this case. The entire review is at:
>
> http://www.boston.com/movies/display?display=movie&id=2720
>
> --Robert Keser
13689


From: Jonathan Takagi
Date: Fri Aug 6, 2004 3:19pm
Subject: RE: Rivette query
 
> What?! Is this critic 'talking through his hat'? Did Rivette and
> Emmanuelle
> Béart have something going on in 1991 ???

It seems very unlikely. If this had been a new project,
and if the once lost "screenplay" had not been published
a couple years prior, this theory may have a little more
support. Rivette also tried to have Béart play the Balibar
role in "Va savoir!". Béart has remarked in various
interviews that she thinks she represents "the flesh" for
Rivette.

Jonathan Takagi
13690


From: jpcoursodon
Date: Fri Aug 6, 2004 3:31pm
Subject: Re: Rivette query
 
> --- In a_film_by@yahoogroups.com, Adrian Martin
wrote:
> > What?! Is this critic 'talking through his hat'? Did Rivette and
> Emmanuelle
> > Béart have something going on in 1991 ???
> >
>
> >
> > Have we ever known that much about Rivette's biography? Do we
need
> to?
> >
> > Adrian
>
> I don't think we need to. Many directors (most, from what I
hear) have affairs with their actresses -- the affair may or may not
last after the shooting is completed (David might tell us if the same
applies to gay directors and their actors). The relevance is
anecdotal at best, of interest to the biographer more than to the
cinephile.

Rivette was in his early sixties when he made NOISEUSE, Beart was
what, twenty-five? Par for the course, no doubt. And he certainly
enjoyed putting her naked in uncomfortable positions for great
lengths of time. A sure sign of romantic attachment (all film
directors are a bit sadistic)... I read somewhere that EB was
romantically involved with Daniel Auteuil around that time. But who
can keep track?

JPC
13691


From: samfilms2003
Date: Fri Aug 6, 2004 3:31pm
Subject: Re: digital movies and DLP
 
I'm not sure what remote areas mean anymore here in 2004 !

In China, some of the "Sixth Generation" filmmakers for instance are
shooting "digital" - but this is to work under the radar screen, and
are working in small, affordable DV, not state of the art High Def
(Thomson Viper package used by M Mann sells for well over $200,000)

In the longer term you may be on to something, but I would argue
that as of now, many Third World Directors, for the most part, almost
can't afford NOT to shoot in 35mm

Why ? Because they can shoot 35, contact print for festival prints,
and then - make a 35mm Interpositive - (from which the the IN
for volume release printing and mastering for DVD/VHS/TV can
be made.

Theatrical Digital Projectors are very expensive (Sony is the first
under the 100,000 USD mark, and have not shipped any yet)
and represent a tiny minority of the projectors in use.

So anything shot digital requires an ~ $60,000 film out to 35 IP.
if filmmakers / distribs want the return from 35 exhibition.
And if they're selling overseas on the Festival circuit, that's an
upfront cost.

In a sense, for a "Third World" filmmaker & producer, 35mm IP
is "convertible currency" so to speak.

I don't doubt these equations will change, but....

-Sam

(p.s. You could argue that Kiarostami, for instance has done well
with digital, but would that have happened without his 35mm work
screened theatrically world-wide for over a decade previously ?)



> I also read that some South American and other foreign countries
> are building digital screen theaters (some being supported by
> local businesses that transfer film to digital) and that much of the
> film making in those countries will be digital, saving on the
> expense of transferring, transporting, etc. film. It's like the cell
> phone adoption in remote areas... where telephone poles
> never existed. Digital will get adopted sooner in remote areas
> and Russia, Africa, China, etc... sooner rather than later. And
> as many of these people have not see a pristine FILM under
> ideal screening conditions, they may not know what they are missing
>
13692


From: Elizabeth Anne Nolan
Date: Fri Aug 6, 2004 3:50pm
Subject: Re: digital movies and DLP
 
--- In a_film_by@yahoogroups.com, "samfilms2003" wrote:
> I'm not sure what remote areas mean anymore here in 2004 !

By remote, I mean a place hard to get to although easy to get a
dvd disc out of. (Essentially, without the substructure for telephone
lines, but easily reached with cell / satellite connections)

> In China, some of the "Sixth Generation" filmmakers for instance
are
> shooting "digital" - but this is to work under the radar screen,
and
> are working in small, affordable DV, not state of the art High Def
> (Thomson Viper package used by M Mann sells for well over $200,000)

There is a program (?KODAK) which is placing film-makers
and digital cameras in CHINA for the 2008 Olympics; training in
film-making with this 'new equipment' is taking place now.
Expect to see more from China, sooner rather than later as
I heard of the program almost a year ago and the film-makers
are already there.
(UCSD has a library of underground Chinese films.)

> In the longer term you may be on to something, but I would argue
> that as of now, many Third World Directors, for the most part,
almost
> can't afford NOT to shoot in 35mm

> Why ? Because they can shoot 35, contact print for festival prints,
> and then - make a 35mm Interpositive - (from which the the IN
> for volume release printing and mastering for DVD/VHS/TV can
> be made.

> Theatrical Digital Projectors are very expensive (Sony is the first
> under the 100,000 USD mark, and have not shipped any yet)
> and represent a tiny minority of the projectors in use.

I believe the price has come down to about $40,000 with a program
being set up with LANDMARK to convert one of their screens
in each of the theaters throughout the country. When you are talking
about foreign countries, some are setting up cinema complexes
that are entirely digital. If you consider the cost of setting up
a film projection house, daily transportation costs and having
someone in each projection booth... there has got to be some
cost benefit of using digital that goes beyond film costs.
Additionally, HOLLYWOOD (and others) are going to go for
universal (all at the same time) release dates in order to prevent
piracy. The only way to get universal release is via digital
satellite.

> So anything shot digital requires an ~ $60,000 film out to 35 IP.
> if filmmakers / distribs want the return from 35 exhibition.
> And if they're selling overseas on the Festival circuit, that's an
> upfront cost.

> In a sense, for a "Third World" filmmaker & producer, 35mm IP
> is "convertible currency" so to speak.
> I don't doubt these equations will change, but....
> -Sam
> (p.s. You could argue that Kiarostami, for instance has done well
> with digital, but would that have happened without his 35mm work
> screened theatrically world-wide for over a decade previously ?)

> > I also read that some South American and other foreign countries
> > are building digital screen theaters (some being supported by
> > local businesses that transfer film to digital) and that much of
the
> > film making in those countries will be digital, saving on the
> > expense of transferring, transporting, etc. film. It's like the
cell
> > phone adoption in remote areas... where telephone poles
> > never existed. Digital will get adopted sooner in remote areas
> > and Russia, Africa, China, etc... sooner rather than later. And
> > as many of these people have not see a pristine FILM under
> > ideal screening conditions, they may not know what they are
missing
> >
13693


From: samfilms2003
Date: Fri Aug 6, 2004 3:51pm
Subject: Re: digital movies and DLP - followup
 
I wrote

> In a sense, for a "Third World" filmmaker & producer, 35mm IP
> is "convertible currency" so to speak.

In a nutshell what I mean is, this being the case the question is,
"what's the most efficient way to get there" (35 IP) and my argument
is that a 35mm camera neg is the best answer, for/till now.

What I think might have more effect on this equation is not the
introduction of DLP and other digital projectors, but the proliferation
of digital post-production techniques - everyone in HK I suspect
is doing digital wire removals etc etc on Wuxia films for instance;

So an infrastructure will build where laser recording of digital out to 35mm
elements will become cost effective on a larger scale.
(I must add I hope so)

-Sam
13694


From: Robert Keser
Date: Fri Aug 6, 2004 3:59pm
Subject: Re: Shyamalan
 
--- In a_film_by@yahoogroups.com, "jess_l_amortell"
wrote:
> >
> > http://www.boston.com/movies/display?display=movie&id=2720
>
> The byline on that page is Wesley Morris, not Ty Burr-- but
whoever he is, he writes like a Paulette!

Ooops! My apologies to Wesley Morris. The Paulette-ishness hadn't
occured to me, though, but now that you mention it, all the signs
are there: addressing the reader as "you", linking film to another
aspect of pop culture, psychoanalyzing of the director, judgmental
vocabulary ("juvenile", "lurid")...

--Robert Keser
 
13695


From: Elizabeth Anne Nolan
Date: Fri Aug 6, 2004 4:01pm
Subject: Re: digital movies and DLP - followup
 
--- In a_film_by@yahoogroups.com, "samfilms2003" wrote:
> I wrote
>
> > In a sense, for a "Third World" filmmaker & producer, 35mm IP
> > is "convertible currency" so to speak.
>
> In a nutshell what I mean is, this being the case the question is,
> "what's the most efficient way to get there" (35 IP) and my argument
> is that a 35mm camera neg is the best answer, for/till now.
>
> What I think might have more effect on this equation is not the
> introduction of DLP and other digital projectors, but the proliferation
> of digital post-production techniques - everyone in HK I suspect
> is doing digital wire removals etc etc on Wuxia films for instance;
The digital post-production houses are helping in the financing of
some of the cinema houses in foreign countries. It is a way to keep
the work 'in country,' which is becoming more and more important
reference the entertainment industry tax laws... other countries are
getting real serious about spending / keeping their investment
money in their own country.

I feel this is going to happen so quick and will be seen first in how
investment dollars and foreign box office dollars decline in the
next few years. Yes, there will always be a number of international
block busters, but they won't be taken for granted as a sure thing.
Other countries do not have the amount of 'entertainment' dollars
as this country seems to have an endless supply of reference
the millions of dollars spent every weekend to see films.
>
> So an infrastructure will build where laser recording of digital out to 35mm
> elements will become cost effective on a larger scale.
> (I must add I hope so)
>
> -Sam
13696


From: Craig Keller
Date: Fri Aug 6, 2004 4:32pm
Subject: Re: Re: digital movies and DLP
 
> I believe the price has come down to about $40,000 with a program
> being set up with LANDMARK to convert one of their screens
> in each of the theaters throughout the country. When you are talking
> about foreign countries, some are setting up cinema complexes
> that are entirely digital. If you consider the cost of setting up
> a film projection house, daily transportation costs and having
> someone in each projection booth... there has got to be some
> cost benefit of using digital that goes beyond film costs.
> Additionally, HOLLYWOOD (and others) are going to go for
> universal (all at the same time) release dates in order to prevent
> piracy. The only way to get universal release is via digital
> satellite.

I was interning for a while at Emerging Pictures in NYC (recently went
on indefinite hiatus because of other, 'paying' work), the company set
up by Ira Deutchman (ex head of Columbia, New Line, and also involved
in some way with Fine Line) and Barry Rebo (big HD proponent /
consultant, who I believe was instrumental in setting up the Discovery
HD channel). Their raison d'être is to create a network of "digital
cinemas" in alternative venues around the country, such as old movie
palaces, performing arts centers, museums and science-centers etc., and
distribute films digitally to these places who would never be able to
afford celluloid rental prints. The venues do not pay for the
projection equipment -- EP provides them with it free of charge. Most
of the films are 'shot on digital' documentaries or small
typical-American-indie features, but they're just starting to gain
momentum. The small "doc" about Chicago Cubs (first baseman?) Ron
Santo (and directed by his son Jeff), 'This Old Cub,' recently opened
in Chicago and did really good business, and is now expanding bit by
bit around the company, and just opened (I believe) in L.A. with NYC
engagement following in a few weeks.

I saw the-still-unsold 'Tony 'n Tina's Wedding' at the Tribeca Festival
(don't ask), which was shot in 24p and projected from an HD source,
DigiBeta or something. And I just thought the image was eerie in its
stillness -- in retrospect, I think that what added to the queasiness
was the lighting-designer videography.

craig.
13697


From: David Ehrenstein
Date: Fri Aug 6, 2004 4:32pm
Subject: Re: Re: Rivette query
 
--- jpcoursodon wrote:

(David might
> tell us if the same
> applies to gay directors and their actors).

No so mych. Todd Haynes and James Lyons were a working
couple long before "Poison."

Gus hasn't cast any of his boytoys in leading -- or
even minor -- roles.

Patrice Chereau, however, is another story.
SurelyPascale Greggory's career was assurred, but I
can't say the same of Sylvain Jacques.



__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
New and Improved Yahoo! Mail - Send 10MB messages!
http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail
13698


From: samfilms2003
Date: Fri Aug 6, 2004 5:42pm
Subject: Re: digital movies and DLP
 
> > I believe the price has come down to about $40,000 with a program
> > being set up with LANDMARK to convert one of their screens
> > in each of the theaters throughout the country

If you want to even approach 35mm it's currently more like $140,000 and
even then..



> The venues do not pay for the
> projection equipment -- EP provides them with it free of charge. Most
> of the films are 'shot on digital' documentaries or small
> typical-American-indie features, but they're just starting to gain
> momentum.

Again, are EP providing 2K Cinema chip DLP's for free ?
I doubt it.

> I saw the-still-unsold 'Tony 'n Tina's Wedding' at the Tribeca Festival
> (don't ask), which was shot in 24p and projected from an HD source,
> DigiBeta or something. And I just thought the image was eerie in its
> stillness -- in retrospect, I think that what added to the queasiness
> was the lighting-designer videography.

I haven't seen it but it was shot on film - Super16, transferred to HD

-Sam
13699


From: Elizabeth Nolan
Date: Fri Aug 6, 2004 5:59pm
Subject: nor ... even exist on celluloid in order to have a sizable social impact
 
http://www.chireader.com/movies/archives/2004/0704/073004_1.html

is J ROSENBAUM's review of OUTFOXED.

It also includes comments about DVD's ... which I have quoted
below:

"All of this stuff is available to anyone with access to the Internet,
which is as much a part of this adventure as DVD technology itself.
Film buffs around the world, many of them still in their 20s, are
swapping information and educating one another about this
unprecedented bounty via blogs and chat groups. All this is
amplifying and intensifying grassroots, word-of-mouth
communication in a way that threatens to forever alter the
power bases that influence cultural matters. Because you no
longer have to live in Paris, New York, or Chicago in order to
find out who Feuillade was or why he's so great -- and because
a "movie" like Outfoxed no longer has to open at a theater
or even exist on celluloid in order to have a sizable social impact."
13700


From: hotlove666
Date: Fri Aug 6, 2004 6:31pm
Subject: Re: Shyamalan
 
--- In a_film_by@yahoogroups.com, "jess_l_amortell"
wrote:
> --- In a_film_by@yahoogroups.com, "Robert Keser"
wrote:
> > Ty Burr's (basically positive) review of The Village in the
Boston
> > Globe has the following comparison that struck me as
fascinating:
> >
> > "Shyamalan's interest in [monsters] is simply as a type of
lore --
> > it's fascinatingly juvenile. In a sense, he's like Michael
Jackson.
> > He'll put you through all kinds of cynical, luridly disillusioned
> > behavior just to maintain his belief in innocence.
> > [...]
> > Both men's art
> > is so otherworldly, grandiose, and disfigured with naivete that
> > you're forever asking whether you share the same planet with
them."
> >
> > I'll leave it to those who've seen The Village to figure out
whether
> > the comparison is justified in this case. The entire review is
at:
> >
> >
http://www.boston.com/movies/display?display=movie&id=2720
>
>
> The byline on that page is Wesley Morris, not Ty Burr-- but
whoever he is, he writes like a Paulette!

Yep -- very acute observation. I haven't seen The Village yet, but
this misses describing Unbreakable by a mile -- it misses
everything by a mile, including the one pre-Sixth Sense flop by
MNS that I have seen. He's a religious filmmaker, something no
true Paulette could stomach, and when they like someone who's
too serious, they'll just make up some baloney to "clear" him of
that terrible charge.

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