April05 Screening Log

01. The Leopard (1963, Italy) Luchino Visconti - *** a must see

It’s not very fashionable to call Luchino Visconti’s widely praised epic anything less than a masterpiece, but in this case I feel like that’s exactly what it is. While the final hour is simply superb--shot, edited, and acted to sheer perfection, the film’s preceding two hours tends to overstay their welcome, perhaps a little too bent on achieving ‘masterpiece’ status. Visconti’s strict dedication to the literary source—the story of a dying Italian aristocracy in the face of a rising middle class—remains interesting, but it’s not until Visconti happens to confine his characters to the stifling ballroom in the finale that the real dramatic tension begins to take shape. It’s for this stunning 60 minutes of film alone, which confirms The Leopard as a major achievement.

02. Sin City (2005, USA) Robert Rodriguez & Frank Miller - ** worth seeing

Alas, an R-rated film that fully takes advantage of the violent potential of enormous budget CGI filmmaking. It took someone with balls to make this picture--both literally and figuratively--and Robert Rodriguez is the “pair” that is credited, in this testosterone oozing, violent and sexed up spectacle based on Frank Miller’s misogynistic graphic comics. A hollow film, with frivolous voice-over narration that lacks the vitriolic flair of a Raymond Chandler, Miller’s noir fantasies are best served up as a rapid succession of images, much like the windows of a comic book that move your eye from one candy-coated frame to the next. Hurry up and bring on the fuckin’ sequel Robert.

03. Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000, S. Korea) Bong Joon-ho - **** Masterpiece

04. A Tale of Two Sisters (2003, S. Korea ) Kim Ji-woon - * has redeeming facet

05. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Winds (1984, Japan) Hayao Miyazaki - *** a must see

06. Real Life (1979, USA) Albert Brooks - ** worth seeing

07. Demons 2 (1986, Italy) Lamberto Bava - * has redeeming facet

08. Tesis (1996, Spain) Alejandro Amenábar - *** a must see

09. The Golden Coach (1953, France/Italy) Jean Renoir - **** Masterpiece

10. The Big Sky (1952, USA) Howard Hawks - **** Masterpiece [140 min. cut]

11. Let's Make Love (1960, USA) George Cukor - *** a must see

12. Funeral Procession of Roses (1969, Japan) Toshio Matsumoto - ** worth seeing

13. Life and Nothing More... (1992, Iran) Abbas Kiarostami - **** Masterpiece

14. The Prowler (1981, USA) Jospeh Zito - * has redeeming facet

15. Living Dead Girl (1982, France) Jean Rollin - * has redeeming facet

16. Laws of Gravity (1992, USA) Nick Gomez - *** a must see

17. Pandora's Box (1928, Germany) G.W. Pabst - **** Masterpiece

18. Looking For Lulu (1998, USA) Hugh Munro Neely - ** worth seeing

19. Born into Brothels (2004, USA/India) Zana Briski & Ross Kauffman- *** a must see

20. Gunner Palace (2005, USA) Petra Epperlein & Michael Tucker - ** worth seeing

21. Angels With Dirty Faces (1938, USA) Michael Curtiz - ** worth seeing

22. Venom (1982, UK) Piers Haggard & Tobe Hooper - * has redeeming facet

23. 99 River Street (1953, USA) Phil Karlson - **** Masterpiece

24. The Upside of Anger (2005, USA) Mike Binder - ** worth seeing

25. Twentieth Century (1934, USA) Howard Hawks - *** a must see

26. The Spiders (1919, Germany) Fritz Lang - ** worth seeing

27. Yolanda and the Thief (1945, USA) Vincente Minnelli - *** a must see

28. Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS (1975, USA) Don Edmonds - • worthless

29. Three Lives and Only One Death (1996, France) Raoul Ruiz - *** a must see

30. Dogs' Dialogue (1977, France) Raoul Ruiz - *** a must see [short]

31. Letter Amorosa (1995, Portugal) João César Monteiro [short] - For this and the film below, we have two brilliant outtakes from when funding to shoot God’s Comedy in Cinemascope fell through. Gorgeous sample of “what coulda been,” as Monteiro shows tremendous discipline in his use of the widescreen frame. O Bestiário is the real standout and has the mad genius in top form, cooking dinner for a young woman while battling his cheap silverware and an annoying moth. Monteiro turns these mishaps into clever moments of seduction for his lady friend. Damn funny too.

32. O Bestiário (1995, Portugal) João César Monteiro - *** a must see [short] - see above

33. The Hustler (1961, USA) Robert Rossen - **** Masterpiece

34. Fever Pitch (2005, USA) Peter & Bobby Farrelly - ** worth seeing

35. Shuzou River (2000, China) Lou Ye - *** a must see

36. Kids Return (1996, Japan) Takeshi Kitano - *** a must see

37. Melinda and Melinda (2004, USA) Woody Allen - *** a must see

38. Mr. Majestyk (1974, USA) Richard Fleischer - *** a must see

39. An Actor's Revenge (1963, Japan) Kon Ichikawa - **** Masterpiece

40. Dragon Swamp (1969, Hong Kong) Lo Wei - *** a must see

41. The Hawks and the Sparrows (1966, Italy) Pier Paolo Pasolini - **** Masterpiece

42. Pitfall (1948, USA) Andre de Toth - *** a must see

43. Un Femme Douce (1969, France) Robert Bresson - *** a must see

44. Jour de fête (1949, France) Jacques Tati - **** Masterpiece

45. Tenement: Game of Survival (1985, USA) Roberta Findlay - • worthless

46. The River (1951, France/India/USA) Jean Renoir - **** Masterpiece

47. Primer (2004, USA) Shane Carruth - *** a must see

48. Sleepless (2001, Italy) Dario Argento - *** a must see

49. Through the Olive Trees (1994, Iran) Abbas Kiarostami - **** Masterpiece

50. Yeelen (1987, Mali) Souleymane Cissé - **** Masterpiece

51. Alice, Sweet Alice (1976, USA) Alfred Sole - ** worth seeing

52. Journey Into Amazing Caves (2001, USA) Stephen Judson - IMAX presentation

Not much of a film, but there is a sense of a return to the idea of cinema as 'spectacle' and 'community experience' in the IMAX format that I find pleasantly invigorating.

53. Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993, USA) Woody Allen - *** a must see

54. Trash (1970, USA) Paul Morrissey - **** Masterpiece

55. The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974, USA) Joseph Sargent - *** a must see

56. The Adventures of Iron Pussy (2003, Thailand) Apichatpong Weerasethakul - ** worth seeing

57. Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933, USA) Mervyn LeRoy & Busby Berkeley - **** Masterpiece

58. 99 Women (1969, Italy) Jess Franco - * has redeeming facet

59. Love Streams (1984, USA) John Cassavetes - **** Masterpiece

How do I do justice to this 141-minute masterpiece, by one of the greatest of all filmmakers, in which every single bit of dialogue, every actorly flourish, every nuanced camera movement, seems worthy of extrapolation? John Cassavetes has created an achingly beautiful film, one that made me weep, made me laugh, and made me cringe in its brutal honesty of the human experience—this is one of those great works of art that stirs you to the very core, leaving you with a profound feeling of what it means to be alive. IF you’ve never seen a John Cassavetes film, then you are depriving yourself of one of the cinemas most truly rewarding experiences, and if you have seen his work, then you realize that every word I said can be applied to just about any of his films.

60. École des facteurs (1947, France) Jacques Tati [short]

61. The Young One (1960, Mexico) Luis Buñuel - **** Masterpiece

62. Peppermint Frappé (1967, Spain) Carlos Saura - ** worth seeing

63. Liquid Sky (1982, USA) Slava Tsukerman - *** a must see

64. Vinyl (1965, USA) Andy Warhol - **** Masterpiece

65. Scenes From the Life of Andy Warhol:Friendships and Intersections (1990, USA) Jonas Mekas [short]

66. Bad Boy Bubby (1993, Australia) Rolf de Heer - *** a must see

67. La Ciénaga (2001, Argentina) Lucrecia Martel - *** a must see

68. The Church (1989, Italy) Michele Soavi - *** a must see

69. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005, USA/UK) Garth Jennings - ** worth seeing

70. Form Phases IV (1954, USA) Robert Breer [short]

71. Recreation (1957, USA) Robert Breer [short]

72. A Man and His Dog Out For Air (1957, USA) Robert Breer [short] - **** Masterpiece

73. Jamestown Baloos (1957, USA) Robert Breer [short]

74. Crac (1981, Canada) Frédéric Back [short] **** Masterpiece

75. Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe (1980, USA) Les Blank [short] - second viewing