The Whipped Cream May 2009

Top 5 of the Month

Otto Preminger's Bunny Lake is Missing

Claude Chabrol's The Color of Lies

Maurice Pialat's Naked Childhood

Alain Resnais's Providence

Olivier Assayas's Summer Hours

ALL FIRST-TIME SCREENINGS
30 Rock: Season 3 (2008-09, Various)
Advise & Consent (1962, Otto Preminger)
Angel Face (1952, Otto Preminger)
Anything Else (2003, Woody Allen)
Bonjour Tristesse (1958, Otto Preminger)
The Break-Up (2006, Payton Reed)
Bride Wars (2009, Gary Winick)
Bullit (1968, Peter Yates)
Bunny Lake is Missing (1965, Otto Preminger)
Carmen Jones (1954, Otto Preminger)
Celtic Pride (1996, Tom DeCerchio)
The Color of Lies (1999, Claude Chabrol)
The Departure and Return of the Prodigal Children (1967, Jean-Luc Godard)
Edmond (2005, Stuart Gordon)
The Foot Fist Way (2006, Jody Hill)
The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973, Peter Yates)
The Girlfriend Experience (2009, Steven Soderbergh)
Guernica (1950, Alain Resnais & Robert Hessens)
Intolerable Cruelty (2003, Joel Coen)
Jacques Rivette, Le veilleur (1990, Claire Denis & Serge Daney)
Kinski Paganini (1989, Klaus Kinski)
The Ladykillers (2004, Joel & Ethan Coen)
The Last Combat (1983, Luc Besson)
Little Murders (1971, Alan Arkin)
Loser (2000, Amy Heckerling)
The Man with the Golden Arm (1955, Otto Preminger)
The Moon is Blue (1955, Otto Preminger)
The Mouth Agape (1974, Maurice Pialat)
Naked Childhood (1968, Maurice Pialat)
The New World (1963, Jean-Luc Godard)
The Office: Season 5 (2008-09, Various)
Party Down: Season 1 (2009, Various)
The Philadelphia Story (1940, George Cukor)
Predator (1987, John McTiernan)
Providence (1977, Alain Resnais)
River of No Return (1954, Otto Preminger)
Saint Joan (1957, Otto Preminger)
Sloth (1962, Jean-Luc Godard)
Star Trek (2009, J.J. Abrams)
The Story of Menstruation (1946, Walt Disney Productions)
Subway (1985, Luc Besson)
Summer Hours (2008, Olivier Assayas)
Terminator Salvation (2009, McG)
A Treatise on Japanese Bawdy Songs (1967, Nagisa Oshima)
The Touch (1971, Ingmar Bergman)
Where the Sidewalk Ends (1960, Otto Preminger)
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009, Gavin Hood)
Zizek! (2005, Astra Taylor)

The Lite Ribbon

Jean-Luc Wachthausen at Le Figaro tells us that The White Ribbon's Palme d'Or was a compromise vote. Huppert wanted Antichrist, and James Gray did not. (via Richard Brody).

IFC's Antichrist Mutilation

One more reason to hate IFC Films:

IFC will show the movie uncut in a few U.S. cinemas and then trim it -- working with the director -- to show it on VOD.

IFC, why did you even buy Lars von Trier's Antichrist?

Trailer: Bela Tarr's The Man From London

The new trailer for Bela Tarr's The Man From London is now available to watch at theauteurs (or below) and I have to ask: Did IFC re-dub this film into English?

I can complain about IFC and their crunk business model one more time... but instead I'll just wish everyone the best of luck in trying to see this film in the theaters, etc etc.

Is IFC Releasing DVD's Again?

It looks like Gael Morel's Apres Lui and Joe Swanberg's Nights and Weekends are seeing a DVD release through MPI Home Video. Does this mean IFC is no longer releasing DVD's through Genius and thus is no longer beholden to the Blockbuster rental only rule? Or, are these two titles just anomalous?

The African Queen Not Coming to DVD

So I was apparently very wrong about The African Queen coming to DVD this October. ClassicFlix confirmed the bad news from Paramount itself.

But from this comes an opportunity to explain the proper use of the expression "begs a question." This news of The African Queen's DVD release begs a question. Paramount's inability to release this film onto DVD does not, however, beg a question. It does, however, beg an answer.

Robbe-Grillet's Gradiva Now Pre-Orderable

Mondo Macabro's Gradiva (C'est Gradiva qui vous appelle), their first Alain Robbe-Grillet DVD release as well as the very first English subtitled release of one of his films (let alone in Region 1), is now available to pre-order at Amazon. *

The 2006 film, about the fictional S & M escapades between a real-life academic and a woman's fictitious, auto-biographical creation, is a pretty decent swan song for Robbe-Grillet, and works almost as a mix between Cronenberg's Naked Lunch and Lynch's Lost Highway. Worth your time for sure.

* Sorry, Koch Lorber also released La Belle Captive a few years back.

Paramount Finally Releases The African Queen onto DVD

Coming 10/13.

Can Alain Resnais Finally win the Palme d'Or?

I've been hearing great things about the new Alain Resnais film, Les Herbes folles, and this latest post by David Phelps at theauteurs made me wonder if Resnais can energize enough of the judges to finally win this thing once and for all...

Finally, Alain Resnais’ Les Herbes folles (Wild Grass, but Folles also means mad) changed everything; it’s the one film whomever I talk to agrees is a masterpiece and the only one. At a small press conference with 12 journalists leaning in around a table, and a spry, boomerang-bent Resnais leaning back, Resnais told us that the film was inspired by Eisenstein (for the colors) and Curb Your Enthusiasm (for the comedy); that he knew he was on the right track when he saw Larry David was in Woody Allen’s new movie; that the logic of the film, as in Lewis Carroll, is largely based on puns (even English ones—the problems of a pant’s fly as a man flies a plane); that his camera imitates a plane; that he’s never seen The Bridges at Toko-Ri, which at the center of the film has almost the same ending as Resnais’ film; that Leo McCarey understood details better than anyone; that he and Andre Bazin were good friends, though at first he didn’t have much respect for Bazin, who never watched any movies; that at 18 in Provence, he argued with his friends whether cinema was an art form, since it can only show reality instead of interpreting it (as, contra Bazin, his friends insisted art must), and that he defended himself with the Kuleshov effect and invocations of the editing of Pudovkin and Lubitsch; that Abel Gance or von Stroheim would probably be thrilled by the possibilities of TV series like The Sopranos; that he’s read his films are about memory, but that’s not true; that they’re really about imagination ("but that includes a bit of memory, too"); that he doesn’t distinguish between a real apple and an apple painted by Cezanne (all his movies in a line?), but that he might prefer to eat the real apple, and might prefer to keep Cezanne’s.

... not that he is necessarily trying to win.

Download von Trier's The Idiots

Those anxiously waiting to see Lars von Trier's Antichrist at their local theater can watch The Idiots to pass the time. As always, once someone announces the unedited DVD of this film in the states, I will remove these links immediately.

Directed in the vein of Luis Bunuel if he were as remotely as sadistic as Michael Haneke, The Idiots is a dark comedy that mocks the social behaviors of a particular ideological movement, as well as those to which the movement is a reaction. It's the only official Dogme film of von Trier's, and people have read the film as a mockery of von Trier's own Dogme '95 movement. However, it's often easy to read any film as a broad allegory for film in general, and I think most would agree that meaning within The Idiots is a bit more muddied than say Breaking the Waves or Dancer in the Dark, the two other films that comprise his "Golden Heart" trilogy.

I rank The Idiots as one of von Trier's best, up there with The Five Obstructions, Kingdom, and his recent office comedy The Boss of it All They each show his strengths as a formalist and essayist, and they each avoid what I once heard David Bordwell refer to as von Trier's obsession with destroying his own work. If my memory serves me well, Bordwell once told me that von Trier has this need to sadistically destroy each of his films just before they end. People might recall the infamous "bell shot" in Breaking the Waves, the preachy text at the end of Dancer in the Dark, and the Bowie track at the end of both Dogville and Manderlay. The Idiots, however, is a rare example of von Trier not choosing to tear his painting to shreds once his audience is at a full emotional release.

So with that I leave you with links that were emailed to me a short while ago. The password is 'lovermanUK' for those few who do decide to watch the film. Enjoy!

http://rapidshare.com/files/47674040/lvtID98.part01.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/47679635/lvtID98.part02.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/47685329/lvtID98.part03.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/47690540/lvtID98.part04.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/47695999/lvtID98.part05.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/47701378/lvtID98.part06.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/47707773/lvtID98.part07.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/47714483/lvtID98.part08.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/47714869/lvtID98.part09.rar

Peter Becker Still Doesn't Care About Jacques Rivette

I'll post this again because it never gets old. Maybe someone at Criterion is listening this time.

And a big thanks to my buddy Kenton for his two donations, I'm not sure if I thanked him the first time I posted this -- and unfortunately it looks as if that video was in fact deleted by blogger. YouTube is probably where it should have been uploaded to begin with.

More Rare Akerman on the Way!

Criterion's Jeanne Dielman announcement is simply the beginning. Icarus Films, the company responsible for the recent slew of Chris Marker DVDs such as A Grin Without a Cat and The Sixth Side of the Pentagon, has confirmed that they will focus their next batch of auteur releases on the work of Chantal Akerman.

Starting hopefully by the end of the year, Icarus Films will first announce D'Est (From the East), Akerman's 1993 document of her trip to Moscow, following next by Sud (Sud), De l'autre côté (From the Other Side), and Akerman's auto-biographical episode for "Cinéma, de notre temps" aptly titled Chantal Akerman by Chantal Akerman.

UPDATE: My mistake. Icarus has already licensed Chantal Akerman by Chantal Akerman to Criterion to be part of their Jeanne Dielman DVD. Sorry for the confusion.

Antonioni From Beyond the Grave

Michelangelo Antonioni's unproduced script, Two Telegrams, "the tale of three people wrapped up in a passionate vortex of love and control," is now in development.

Jaz Films partner Jeremy Wall said: “Michelangelo Antonioni was a brilliant and revered film-maker for over 50 years and we are honoured to be collaborating with his long time friend and writing partner, Rudy Wurlitzer, in bringing Two Telegrams to life.”

Would anyone else kill to see Godard direct this?

IFC Acquires Antichirst

Via Joe, the deepest of pockets prevail. IFC Films just picked up the US rights to Lars von Trier's Antichrist.

IFC Films previously distributed von Trier's Manderlay and The Boss of it All.

Perspective Watch: Lars von Trier circa 1998

Having not yet seen Lars von Trier's Antichrist, I can only ask those who are going nuts about it: Can it be any more offensive than the finale to his music video for "You're a Lady" featuring the faux mentally challenged from The Idiots.

I am reminded of a Chris Rock stand-up routine about Siegfried and Roy's Roy getting mauled on stage: That tiger didn't go crazy. That tiger went tiger.

On a side note, there are rumors that Criterion is looking to release The Idiots onto DVD. If the rumors are true, wouldn't the timing be perfect?

Full Details on Sony's Icons of Screwball Comedy DVDs

Via Classiflix:

Volume 1: If You Could Only Cook (1935), Too Many Husbands (1940), My Sister Eileen (1942), She Wouldn't Say Yes (1945)

Volume 2: Theodora Goes Wild (1936), Together Again (1944), The Doctor Takes a Wife (1940), A Night to Remember (1943)

More Sony DVD Goodness?

It looks like Sony is releasing two volumes titled "Icons of Screwball Comedy" featuring Too Many Husbands, My Sister Eileen, Theodora Goes Wild, A Night To Remember and more.

Street date 8/4.

DVD Cover Art: Ray's Party Girl

Dear Warner Archive:

Umm...

... solve this.

Kisses,
Filmbo

So Mitchell Leisen is Big in Italy?

Google News Alerts never fail. Italy will see a damn nice 6-film Mitchell Leisen boxset on their shelves sometime soon I gather.

Along with Midnight and Easy Living, two terrific films that were finally made available on Region 1 DVD last year, the set will also include Remember the Night, Arise My Love, No Time for Love and Lady in the Dark. Seriously.

For those keeping score, Italy just beat out the states big time. But because I imagine Universal Home Entertainment's management has shifted a bit as of recent, I wont rub it in.

Now if you will excuse me, I have all twelve of my semiannual anniversary edition Jaws DVDs to polish.

Tarantino Is Not Remaking Godard's Weekend

But dammit if that doesn't sound like something I would actually want to see.

Preliminary Cover Art: Criterion's Jeanne Dielman

Add Chantal Akerman's Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles to that list of great post-Nouvelle Vague films cinephiles now can recognize by name but will still leave unseen.

Hat tip to the .org forum as always, I suspect the typeface is the first to be altered.

The Antichrist Cannes Press Conference Video

Watch it here.

I'm not sure who to trust: those who don't understand Lars von Trier and love this film, or those who don't understand Lars von Trier and hate this film. Oddly, I think von Trier fits into the former rather nicely.

More Googling

Okay, now google "Lars von Trier" and "I am the best filmmaker in the world."

Google Ron Paul Antichrist

Google "Cannes" and "Antichrist" to read the vocal reactions to Lars von Trier's latest, for there are too many reviews popping into my RSS reader for me to choose which ones to use as links.

Take Aim at the Appellations

Japanese New Wave film noirs translated into English make the best titles.

I'm told future titles for a possible second Nikkatsu Noir box might include: Crimson Pistol, Dirty Work, Fast-Draw Guy, Gangster VIP, Plains Wanderer, The Velvet Hustler and The Weird Love Makers.

And let's not forget the great titles of the Janus/Criterion owned Nagisa Oshima films: A Town of Love and Hope, A Cruel Story of Youth, The Sun's Burial, Night and Fog in Japan, Pleasures of the Flesh, Violence at Noon, A Treatise on Japanese Bawdy Songs, Double Suicide: Japanese Summer and Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence. Though, maybe the best Oshima title (and I believe it's stuck in New Yorker Films hell) is The Man Who Shot His Will on Film.

Bulle Ogier Talks Rivette

I apologize for the rough audio on this, but it's a great interview with Bulle Ogier about her working relationship with Jacques Rivette, and I think most of you will get over the aural distractions.

This too is is a short clip from Claire Denis's Rivette documentary shot in between Gang of Four and La Belle Noiseuse, though much of the general focus is on Le Pont du Nord. It's a pretty indispensable addition to the Rivette catalog and so once again, I'll ask anyone in the home video distribution industry who might stumble upon this post to consider releasing it alongside, say, Le Pont du Nord, maybe Rivette's most criminally neglected and underrated masterpiece.

I try to keep posting more clips from these interviews, so please stay tuned.

Sony's Fuller and Cassavetes DVDs

According to Amazon.com, The Sam Fuller Film Collection (The Crimson Kimono, Underworld USA, Scandal Sheet) will arrive from Sony on 9/29.

In addition, Cassavetes's Husbands is arriving on 8/18.

Also of note are two volumes of The Film Noir Collection (featuring a re-release of The Big Heat) and The Rita Hayworth Film Collection, all scheduled for 11/3.

Filmbo is still waiting for Sony to release Otto Preminger's Porgy and Bess and Elaine May's Ishtar. Next year, he hopes.

Breaking: The Last Days of Disco on DVD

This August, Criterion will release Whit Stillman's final film before that impenetrable hiatus.

Directed by John Ford DVD Cover

Streeting 9/15:

From tcm.com:

New material assembled for DIRECTED BY JOHN FORD includes two major elements:

• Newly shot interviews with Harry Carey Jr. (a Ford regular), Clint Eastwood, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg and Walter Hill, all of whom have been influenced by Ford, as well as Bogdanovich, who wrote and directed not only the original but also this updated version.

• New sequences featuring clips and interviews outlining Ford's vision of the family, his use of rituals and the sense of spirituality as portrayed in his work, including scenes from such pictures not previously mentioned such as The Wings of Eagles and How Green Was My Valley, as well as the impact of his complicated relationship with Katharine Hepburn on Ford and his work, using clips from Mary of Scotland and audio recordings.

This restructured version of DIRECTED BY JOHN FORD should be considered an entirely new work. Bogdanovich has said this updated version is more personal than the original. Both the original Orson Welles narration and the interviews with John Ford, John Wayne, James Stewart and Henry Fonda have been kept intact but somewhat re-edited and rearranged to give a new sense of understanding to John Ford as a person and director.

Director: Peter Bogdanovich
Narrator: Orson Welles
BW & C-100m. Closed captioning.

Look for the premiere June 1st and 8 pm on TCM.

Tamblyn's Mother: Reasonable Doubt

A trailer for Peter Hyams's not-quite-the-Fritz-Lang-remake of Beyond a Reasonable Doubt appears online, and I'm wondering if anyone else thinks Amber Tamblyn is a splitting image of a young Jeanne Tripplehorne.

Lorber Liebt Sokurov

Lorber HT Digital has acquired the rights to Alexsandr Sokurov's latest, The Sun (about Hirohito's surrender) for North American distribution. This third film in Sokurov's Dictator Trilogy, which includes 1999's Moloch (about Hitler) and 2001's Taurus (about Lenin) will see national distribution in 2010.

Warner's Upcoming Zabriskie Point DVD Problems?

Gary Tooze's advance look at Warner's upcoming Zabriskie Point DVD is causing quite a stir among its fans. Tooze writes:

ADDITION: Warner - US - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC: May 09': On the visual front this is great news - taken from the recent restoration - this is dual-layered, progressive and, finally, ANAMORPHIC! It looks significantly better - even beyond the 16X9 enhancement. Colors - flesh tones lose the orange-ness of the PAL editions and everything else seems more true although perhaps a little green. Generally it has a tighter feel and stronger detail. The French transfer looks boosted beside the US edition.

I've never seen this theatrically - but it again has no 'acid rock' closing - it's Roy Orbison to the sunset (sunrise?) and no end credits. Just this:

The audio is consistent English mono with an optional French DUB and there are subtitles available in English, French or Japanese.

No extras but a 2 minute trailer - 4:3 letterboxed.

I think after all we have gone through this has to be considered a victory with the film in NTSC running time, anamorphic and looking very true. Some extras would have been nice and I'll let the experts debate the ending. I'm certainly more, digitally, content than I have ever been for this title.

Specifically, the complaints suggest that Antonioni's original ending of the film depicted Daria driving her car off into the distance with a reprise of Pink Floyd's music, but MGM imposed a new ending onto the film, which is the same ending that appears on Tooze's copy of the DVD. I will do my best to get to the bottom as to the what and why of this issue, but I invite those who know more about this issue to please drop me a note.

Biz Markie's and will.i.am's 8th Grade Prom

Like a Jerry Lewis routine, the strong set-up eclipses any need for a punchline.

Sony Takes Haneke's The White Ribbon

Sony Pictures Classics has picked up the North American distribution rights to the new Michael Haneke film, The White Ribbon, from Les Films du Losange.

Maybe we'll see a fall release?

Criterion's Contempt Blu-ray Scrapped

According to an email sent to a member of the .org forum, Criterion no longer controls the rights to distribute a Blu-ray disc of Jean-Luc Godard's Contempt. This odd news comes at the tail end of yet another announcement from Criterion that they no longer control the rights to release Akira Kurosawa's Ran. Both titles were mentioned as forthcoming on their website, causing (yes, I'm going to say it... then regret it) blu-ray blue balls for their fans (no regrets!).

Though while everyone is clamoring for Criterion to release one of Godard's color/scope films onto the new format, I am requesting that Criterion revisit their very first Godard release, the b&w/academy Alphaville.

It remains one of the few bare bones DVDs left in the gate keepers' library, and could easily use the help of a new print with special features that include:

1. "The New World" (from Ro.Go.Pa.G.) -- Godard's very first take on the sci-fi genre, where a man blames atomic fallout for his lover's sudden change of heart.

2. "Sloth" (from The Seven Deadly Sins) -- Godard's first project with Alphaville star Eddie Constantine, where Constantine is too lazy to take advantage of a young woman who does everything she can to seduce him.

3. Germany Year 90 Nine Zero -- Godard's final project with Constantine, which bears less of a literal and more of a thematic relationship to Alphaville than its reputation as a sequel would otherwise imply.

This is a pipe dream for sure, but if you find yourself with some spare time on your hands, why not send the pleasant gate keepers at Criterion an email.

Kino's Gift from God

ClassicFlix.com: Kino has announced a September 1st release date for Gaumont Treasures: 1897 - 1913. The 3 disc set will focus on Alice Guy, Louis Feullade and Leonce Perret with each getting a disc devoted to them.

Democracy Is...

A few months ago, The State Department hosted a video contest which invited anyone to make a three-minute youtube video that completed the phrase "Democracy Is...". The winner would win free trips around the country to meet with various filmmakers and diplomats. My ever-silly friend Rob Raffety, who had recently won a similar youtube competition to be an official blogger at last year's Republican convention, submitted his own entry to the State Department's competition:

At first the video was rejected for being racist. Apparently the judges objected to one of the voices in the film. So Rob replaced this redneck voice for a woman's voice, and the video was accepted. It was strikingly different than everyone else's. It was silly, creative, but reasonably informative, characteristics that we assumed would be boons to its chances of winning. Unfortunately it lost.

Rob's fine with losing. After all, he has a decent job as well as a moonlighting gig as a law professor at George Mason. But I encourage you to watch the three North American winners below:

The first uses the Errol Morris / Mac aesthetic with cute kids explaining what democracy is. So... democracy is a commercial best understood by the uneducated, albeit cute.

The second is a montage of overused images from the 2008 election, set to the theme from Rocky. So... democracy is best defined through contrivances and manipulation.

The third re-interviews the children from the first video twenty years later and sorts them by country of origin. So... in English democracy is spelled D-E-M-O-C-R-A-C-Y.

Not that any of these three videos are dishonest or inaccurate, but what do they actually say about Americans (not to mention The State Department) who use the word democracy? Isn't that the bigger issue with a contest such as this.

Le sigh. Sorry, Rob.

Rivette on His Cahiers Days

Here's a Saturday treat for you all! Claire Denis tapes Serge Daney interviewing Jacques Rivette on his early interest in filmmaking, his days with Cahiers du cinéma, and his first meetings with Jean-Luc Godard, François Truffaut, and Eric Rohmer. A must watch for those who haven't yet seen Denis's Jacque Rivette, The Watchman.

This interview comes from 1990, and should hopefully be found in full as an extra feature on any forthcoming Jacques Rivette DVD -- and if you know any that are forthcoming do let me know!

Sony and Visconti

Joe uncovered some great news for fans of Visconti's Vaghe stelle dell'Orsa...

I just assumed this film would never see the light of day on DVD in the states. And remember that Criterion confirmed for me that Senso is on its way to DVD as well. Now, if only someone could get their hands on a decent print of his adaptation of The Stranger.

Godard's Socialisme Trailer

Via the auteurs, unfortunately no subtitles as of yet.

Has Godard adjusted his attitude toward aspect ratio?

Bogdanovich's Directed by John Ford Finally on DVD

Warner is releasing this much undervalued 1971 documentary from one-time-auteur Peter Bogdanovich in September, possibly along with another package of Ford/Wayne films.

However, P-Bog (or Captain Ascot, as he's sometimes known) has completely restructured the film, added new interviews, and will most likely consider this to be a new film altogether. This will surely piss off a few people.

UPDATE: More here.

Another Reference from Criterion?

And that's now twice...

Stop with the teasing. What's next, you're going to mention Alex in Wonderland? F me.

Rossellini's War Trilogy Coming this Fall?

That would be my guess...

... but to what are the 'parisian bunnies' and chickens allusions?

Funny Tango

Judd Apatow's Funny People will be 150 minutes long.

I guess the trailer doesn't reveal the entire movie after all.

500th Post! et. al.

Every now and then I google a post of mine from 2007 that I don't remember writing. It's the Stephen King Cujo phenomenon I reckon.

And now for an important question of the day. Humor me.

Q. Which will happen first: Minnesota seats Al Franken, or IFC Films begins to release DVDs again?

Warner Unleashes Ray's Party Girl

I just got word that the Warner Archive now includes Nicholas Ray's Party Girl!

When?... When?... When?...

Here's a real find.

Early in his career, before his breakout with Company, Stephen Sondheim wrote the songs for a 1966 teleplay musical titled Evening Primrose. The story concerns Charles (Anthony Perkins), a boy who runs away from home to secretly live among a clandestine community in a department store, where he falls in love with Ella, a girl with an apparently parallel story. Recent conversations with friends about The Last of Sheila, that brilliant film written by Perkins and Sondheim, made me want to look for this earlier collaboration (possibly their very first?), and sure enough someone has put maybe the best number from the entire show online.

Musically, "When" is a catchy marriage between Leonard Bernstein's "Tonight" and "Something's Coming" from West Side Story, a show for which Sondheim wrote the lyrics ten years prior. The irony was that in Sondheim's youthful bravado, he would mock Bernstein's music (at one point singing "There's old what's-his-name" in place of "There's a place for us"), though it's pretty clear that Sondheim doesn't bother hiding his influences within his own compositions.

The other noteworthy aspect of the "When" number is the sheer camp, a product of the duet sung as interior monologues, who's impetus derives more than casually from the card game that Charles plays (the lines "I'll pass" and "one heart" within the confines of the game become pivot points for the song's verses to begin). Amazingly, it remains both sincere and frolicsome.

For someone who is both actively critical as well as appreciative of Sondheim's contribution to musical theater, I find this to be one of Sondheim's all time best numbers, up there with "Someone in a Tree" from Pacific Overtures and "Now / Later / Soon" from A Little Night Music.

Watch Polanski's Cul-De-Sac

If you don't find yourself laughing and cringing while dancing along with the cool score my Krzysztof Komeda, then something is wrong with you.

What this says about a potential Criterion release, I have no idea.

Sam Fuller Triple Feature from Sony

According to Barrie Maxwell, Sony is working on a Samuel Fuller boxset featuring "The Crimson Kimono, Underworld USA and Scandal Sheet (the latter based on a Fuller novel)." No date yet announced.

A Sex Offender's Big Comeback?

"Por el camino del desierto / El viento me despeina...

This video has made the rounds on blogs, most recently as the video of the day on The House Next Door.

We all love edarem, yes? Well, do read this.

Moreau Sings Some Jules et Jim to Sutherland

Take a few moments out of your day to watch this beautiful musical break from Paul Mazursky's Alex in Wonderland between the incomparable Jeanne Moreau and the comparable Donald Sutherland.

Do I even need to explain where or why this takes place in relation to the rest of the film? No, and I hope Warner adds this to their DVD-R Archive soon.

And remember, you can download the full film here.

The Film Desk Takes Respite from Garrel

On June 12th, Film Forum will premiere Film Desk's latest release from the vaults, Alain Cavalier's 1962 debut Le combat dans l'île (Fire and Ice). Promoted as a Nouvelle Vague thriller, the new 35mm print was restored under the supervision of cinematographer Pierre Lhomme (of Army of Shadows and Mr. Freedom fame) and will most likely get a limited run at select cities depending on its success at Film Forum.

Read more about the film here. It's also worth noting that The Film Desk will also premiere on June 17th their first-run film from 2008, Alexander Olch's The Windmill Movie.

Criterion Taunts

Criterion taunts us by donating a few lines to Jacques Rivette's L'amour fou in their recent blog post on Nagisa Oshima's In the Realm of the Senses.

Though In the Realm of the Senses was made nearly thirty-five years ago, it has never been shown uncensored in Japan. Consequently, though elsewhere acknowledged as a major film, now freely screened in other countries, the true work remains unknown to the Japanese audience.

It is based upon a real incident. A woman named Sada Abe notoriously, if accidentally, killed her lover during the act of love itself. Fleeing the police, she cut off and took with her the very member that had connected them. She still had it when she was apprehended, and she was later convicted.

The story is that of two people very much in love, consumed by it—what the French call l’amour fou. An extreme example would be the aptly titled L’amour fou, Jacques Rivette’s 1968 film, where the love-maddened couple destroy not only each other but also the apartment house where they live. It was shown without difficulty in France and elsewhere. Equally, in Japan, two other films of the Sada Abe story, Noboru Tanaka’s A Woman Called Sada Abe (1975) and Nobuhiko Obayashi’s Sada (1998), had no distribution problems.

Ironic that the opening of the post begins with an Oshima quote, "The concept of "obscenity" is tested when we dare to look at something that we desire to see but have forbidden ourselves to look at." So, is Rivette's hard-to-see L'amour fou thus obscene?