The Noose.The first scene in Wojciech Has’s filmography belongs to an accordion. The instrument is shown in a contracted state, dangling from the ceiling of an antique shop. Outside the shop, a little boy ogles it through the window; he dreams of playing it. Later in Has’s debut fiction short, Harmonia (1947), he dramatizes that dream. Has’s understanding of cinema as an oneiric canvas is apparent from the very beginning, and his sense that its narratives were meant to trip over themselves through elisions, reversals, and collapses reinforced itself throughout his career. His films are frequently in a state of mutation and his characters always on introspective journeys; objects are the only constant, as their material weight exhibits more solidity than his stories’ whims or his characters’ souls. All the while, Has’s camera acts like an accordion, playing in its own time, starting wide and pushing...
- 3/21/2024
- MUBI
It’s hard to say whether Wes Anderson’s sensibility is perfectly suited to that of Roald Dahl or the other way around. Whichever it may be, the “Fantastic Mr. Fox” author’s “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar” seems to have found its ideal screen incarnation in the “Fantastic Mr. Fox” director’s hands: a fanciful 40-minute short featuring a slew of new collaborators in the helmer’s traditional head-on diorama style. At that tight running time, it’s dauntingly dense, but also ready to compete in the Oscar short category, where it would be better than every winner since Martin McDonagh’s “Six Shooter” way back in 2006.
Instead of being a one-off, it’s just the start of a larger project, with three more Anderson-crafted Dahl adaptations — “The Swan,” “The Ratcatcher” and “Poison” — coming to Netflix in late September. “Henry Sugar” lands soon after “Asteroid City” and...
Instead of being a one-off, it’s just the start of a larger project, with three more Anderson-crafted Dahl adaptations — “The Swan,” “The Ratcatcher” and “Poison” — coming to Netflix in late September. “Henry Sugar” lands soon after “Asteroid City” and...
- 9/1/2023
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
"The Furniture," by Daniel Walber. (Click on the images for magnified detail)
Last week’s column was about Dr. Zhivago, the obvious first choice for any 1965 celebration of production design. But where do we go for Part 2? None of the other 9 nominees really leap forward as worth a column, though I do like King Rat. Outside Oscar’s purview, meanwhile, there’s a lot. There are sweeping historical dramas, like The Saragossa Manuscript and Forest of the Hanged. There are wildly bizarre fantasies, like Juliet of the Spirits and Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors. But I think it would be fun to follow Dr. Zhivago with something entirely different, a movie with only a handful of sets and a budget of $200,000.
Mario Bava’s Planet of the Vampires was perhaps never destined to be a hit. Bava was disappointed with the casting of Barry Sullivan as Captain Mark Markary, who he considered far too old.
Last week’s column was about Dr. Zhivago, the obvious first choice for any 1965 celebration of production design. But where do we go for Part 2? None of the other 9 nominees really leap forward as worth a column, though I do like King Rat. Outside Oscar’s purview, meanwhile, there’s a lot. There are sweeping historical dramas, like The Saragossa Manuscript and Forest of the Hanged. There are wildly bizarre fantasies, like Juliet of the Spirits and Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors. But I think it would be fun to follow Dr. Zhivago with something entirely different, a movie with only a handful of sets and a budget of $200,000.
Mario Bava’s Planet of the Vampires was perhaps never destined to be a hit. Bava was disappointed with the casting of Barry Sullivan as Captain Mark Markary, who he considered far too old.
- 9/30/2020
- by Daniel Walber
- FilmExperience
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSRenowned composer Krzysztof Penderecki, best known to moviegoers for his work in The Shining, Wild at Heart, and The Exorcist, has died. In the Guardian's guide to Penderecki's inspirational catalog, Philip Clark writesPartnering with Art House Convergence and Janus Films, the Criterion Collection has announced an online fundraiser for art house cinemas impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Funds will be distributed among theatres according to needs, and will go towards helping theatres survive temporary closures. Recommended VIEWINGThis week, the late Albert Maysle's final film In Transit is available to stream for free. The film follows passengers travelling across America aboard Amtrak's Empire Builder. In his review of the film at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, Tanner Tafelski writes that the film has a "go-west-young-man romanticism, and plenty of humanism." Isiah Medina—whose films Semi-Auto Colours,...
- 4/1/2020
- MUBI
You have to hand it to Trembles. When it comes to introducing Dread Central readers to the obscure ... the offbeat ... the just plain weird, no one does it better! On tap for this week's Motion Picture Purgatory is the 1965 Polish film The Saragossa Manuscript (aka Rekopis znaleziony w Saragossie).
Here's how Amazon describes the flick: Based on the book by the highly esteemed Count Jan Potocki, the film is reputedly a respectful, mostly faithful adaptation of this literary cat's cradle set in the weird fantasy landscapes of arid 17th Century Spain. Characters pop in and out of each other's stories with the random logic of a trip. The characters includes sexy ghost princesses, demon possessions, and many a corpse. The intriguing stylistic flourishes sit against the wonderful soundtrack, which was composed by Krzyszt Penderecki, famous for the scores of The Shining and Wild At Heart.
"Meta within meta inside of meta on top of meta!
Here's how Amazon describes the flick: Based on the book by the highly esteemed Count Jan Potocki, the film is reputedly a respectful, mostly faithful adaptation of this literary cat's cradle set in the weird fantasy landscapes of arid 17th Century Spain. Characters pop in and out of each other's stories with the random logic of a trip. The characters includes sexy ghost princesses, demon possessions, and many a corpse. The intriguing stylistic flourishes sit against the wonderful soundtrack, which was composed by Krzyszt Penderecki, famous for the scores of The Shining and Wild At Heart.
"Meta within meta inside of meta on top of meta!
- 12/17/2009
- by The Woman In Black
- DreadCentral.com
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