It’s time to catch up with some of the most interesting cinema-centric books of the last few months, and it’s a diverse list. There’s some Lego, some Nolan, some Star Wars (of course), and even some vintage Stan Brakhage. That’s range.
Off the Cliff: Making of Thelma & Louise by Becky Aikman (Penguin Press)
The career of Ridley Scott is full of peaks and valleys. One of the peaks was the release of Thelma & Louise in 1991. The cultural impact of this story of two female outlaws cannot be overstated, and Becky Aikman’s account of the making of the film helps explain why. Thelma & Louise involved a unique cast of characters, including stars Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis, as well as a young hunk named Brad Pitt. But the most memorable figures here are Scott, who knew his career needed a change but could not originally see...
Off the Cliff: Making of Thelma & Louise by Becky Aikman (Penguin Press)
The career of Ridley Scott is full of peaks and valleys. One of the peaks was the release of Thelma & Louise in 1991. The cultural impact of this story of two female outlaws cannot be overstated, and Becky Aikman’s account of the making of the film helps explain why. Thelma & Louise involved a unique cast of characters, including stars Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis, as well as a young hunk named Brad Pitt. But the most memorable figures here are Scott, who knew his career needed a change but could not originally see...
- 10/18/2017
- by Christopher Schobert
- The Film Stage
Late summer is all about reflection over at The Criterion Collection, as the library is spending August offering up a handful of unsung classics and new look at some longtime favorites.
Michael Curitz’s “The Breaking Point,” a mostly overlooked Hemingway adaptation, starring John Garfield and Patricia Neal, will be available on Blu-ray for the first time, while Sacha Guitry’s “La poison” arrives on home video for the first time ever. Elsewhere, Mike Leigh’s revelatory “Meantime” is getting a 2K restoration, all the better to enjoy the early work of Tim Roth and Gary Oldman. That’s not all for Oldman fans, however, as Alex Cox’s “Sid & Nancy” hits the collection with a brand new 4K digital restoration. Finally, Walter Matthau stars in the charming comedy “Hopscotch,” also available on Blu-ray in a 2K digital restoration.
Below is the complete list of August additions, with descriptions provided by Criterion.
Michael Curitz’s “The Breaking Point,” a mostly overlooked Hemingway adaptation, starring John Garfield and Patricia Neal, will be available on Blu-ray for the first time, while Sacha Guitry’s “La poison” arrives on home video for the first time ever. Elsewhere, Mike Leigh’s revelatory “Meantime” is getting a 2K restoration, all the better to enjoy the early work of Tim Roth and Gary Oldman. That’s not all for Oldman fans, however, as Alex Cox’s “Sid & Nancy” hits the collection with a brand new 4K digital restoration. Finally, Walter Matthau stars in the charming comedy “Hopscotch,” also available on Blu-ray in a 2K digital restoration.
Below is the complete list of August additions, with descriptions provided by Criterion.
- 5/16/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Watching a film by Olivier Assayas is a little like wandering into the bedroom of a teenager, taking in the aesthetic décor that clings to his or her walls and bookshelves—posters, pop records, hastily cut-out collages of idols, and literature—and being left to draw a logical conclusion based on these ephemeral scraps. This idea of collage, assembling or reinventing an identity, has always been a concept inherent to punk and youth culture: British punk historian Jon Savage coined the term “living collage” to describe European teenagers in the 1970s who tore apart thrifted vintage clothing at the seams to fuse and repurpose them with safety pins. Assayas’ work is essentially the filmic equivalent of that same idea: he populates his frames with torrents of ideas and surfaces and lets loose cinematographers Yorick Le Saux and Eric Gautier to pan wildly, struggling to encapsulate everything into their widescreen, handheld compositions.
- 5/8/2015
- by Mark Lukenbill
- MUBI
A documentary based on Jon Savage's study of youth and youth culture offers fascinating insights
The standard view of "teenagers" is that they came into being after the second world war, along with James Dean and Marlon Brando. But like Jon Savage's fiercely readable and exhaustively researched source book (subtitled The Creation of Youth: 1875-1945), Matt Wolf's film goes further back into the past, to the abolition of child labour.
Through a dense collage of archive, retro-reconstruction, and dramatic narration, this fascinating study leads us through the personal and political stories of Jitterbugs, Boy Scouts, Bright Young Things and Hitler Youths. An evocative soundscape conjured by Mark Phillips and composer Bradford Cox adds depth and resonance.
Rating: 3/5
DocumentaryMark Kermode
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The standard view of "teenagers" is that they came into being after the second world war, along with James Dean and Marlon Brando. But like Jon Savage's fiercely readable and exhaustively researched source book (subtitled The Creation of Youth: 1875-1945), Matt Wolf's film goes further back into the past, to the abolition of child labour.
Through a dense collage of archive, retro-reconstruction, and dramatic narration, this fascinating study leads us through the personal and political stories of Jitterbugs, Boy Scouts, Bright Young Things and Hitler Youths. An evocative soundscape conjured by Mark Phillips and composer Bradford Cox adds depth and resonance.
Rating: 3/5
DocumentaryMark Kermode
theguardian.com © 2014 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds...
- 1/26/2014
- by Mark Kermode
- The Guardian - Film News
The 'teenager' is a relatively new phenomenon, argues a documentary that uses faux-amateur footage to dramatise real-like teenage diary entries
Matt Wolf's documentary is based on Jon Savage's 2007 book Teenager, all about the "prehistory" of the teenager as a separate western cultural lifeform in the first half of the 20th century. It is a collage of archive and newsreel footage interspersed with faux amateur film, to accompany the dramatised readings from real-life teenage diarists of the period. (These staged film sequences incidentally work reasonably well, but the un-signposted use of mock Super 8 in documentaries is in danger of becoming a general fetish, undermining authenticity and good faith.) Wolf's thesis is that the "teenager" is a relatively new invention: a recently evolved entity with a distinct social identity and consumer profile, which came into being with the industrial revolution and then mass conscription. The mobilisation of young workforces and...
Matt Wolf's documentary is based on Jon Savage's 2007 book Teenager, all about the "prehistory" of the teenager as a separate western cultural lifeform in the first half of the 20th century. It is a collage of archive and newsreel footage interspersed with faux amateur film, to accompany the dramatised readings from real-life teenage diarists of the period. (These staged film sequences incidentally work reasonably well, but the un-signposted use of mock Super 8 in documentaries is in danger of becoming a general fetish, undermining authenticity and good faith.) Wolf's thesis is that the "teenager" is a relatively new invention: a recently evolved entity with a distinct social identity and consumer profile, which came into being with the industrial revolution and then mass conscription. The mobilisation of young workforces and...
- 1/24/2014
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
London, Oct er 25: Kurt Cobain thought he was gay when he was a teenager, it has been revealed.
The Nirvana frontman, who committed suicide in 1994, had told music journalist Jon Savage that he did believe at one point that he was gay, Metro.co.uk reported.
Cobain said that during his high school, he thought it might be the solution to his problem of feeling isolated.
The rockstar said that he never experimented with it, but he had a gay friend and his mom didn't allow him to be friends with him, as she was homophobic.
Cobain had insisted that it was real devastating for him, as he couldn't hang out with.
The Nirvana frontman, who committed suicide in 1994, had told music journalist Jon Savage that he did believe at one point that he was gay, Metro.co.uk reported.
Cobain said that during his high school, he thought it might be the solution to his problem of feeling isolated.
The rockstar said that he never experimented with it, but he had a gay friend and his mom didn't allow him to be friends with him, as she was homophobic.
Cobain had insisted that it was real devastating for him, as he couldn't hang out with.
- 10/25/2013
- by Ketali Mehta
- RealBollywood.com
With their snippets of poetry, drawings, film storyboards, thoughts, plans and photographs, Derek Jarman's sketchbooks offer a rare insight into an artist's mind at work. Sean O'Hagan takes a look
See our gallery of images from Derek Jarman's sketchbooks here
There are so many different Derek Jarmans that it feels strange to focus on just one aspect of the man," writes pop culture historian Jon Savage in one of the many essays-cum- recollections threaded though the beautifully produced Derek Jarman's Sketchbooks. And yet the ideas mapped out in the 31 private sketchbooks the controversial filmmaker, artist and gay activist produced throughout his working life are like blueprints for his many and varied projects, and show off a restless creative temperament that roamed far and wide for its inspiration.
Jarman, who died aged 52 in 1994, was one of the last of the great underground filmmakers, merging myth, queer politics and...
See our gallery of images from Derek Jarman's sketchbooks here
There are so many different Derek Jarmans that it feels strange to focus on just one aspect of the man," writes pop culture historian Jon Savage in one of the many essays-cum- recollections threaded though the beautifully produced Derek Jarman's Sketchbooks. And yet the ideas mapped out in the 31 private sketchbooks the controversial filmmaker, artist and gay activist produced throughout his working life are like blueprints for his many and varied projects, and show off a restless creative temperament that roamed far and wide for its inspiration.
Jarman, who died aged 52 in 1994, was one of the last of the great underground filmmakers, merging myth, queer politics and...
- 8/25/2013
- by Sean O'Hagan
- The Guardian - Film News
One of the more intriguing works to be making their world premiere at Tribeca this month is New York based experimental documentarian Matt Wolf's "Teenage." The stylish doc blends archival footage with painstaking 16mm period recreations to tell the story of the birth of teenage culture, from the end of child labor laws to flappers and Nazi Youth. Narrated by Jena Malone, Ben Whishaw, Julia Hummer and Jessie Usher, and featuring a score from Deerhunter and Atlas Sound's Bradford Cox, Wolf's adaptation of Jon Savage's punk novel will premiere at Tribeca on April 20th. You can check out the exclusive first poster below.
- 4/15/2013
- by Mark Lukenbill
- Indiewire
Trend-setter, impresario, phenomenon: David Bowie has shaped entire subcultures. Jon Savage traces the star's talent for reinvention and his catalytic encounter with William Burroughs
William Burroughs: The weapon of the Wild Boys is a bowie knife, an 18in bowie knife, did you know that?
David Bowie: An 18in bowie knife … you don't do things by halves do you? No, I didn't know that was their weapon. The name Bowie just appealed to me when I was younger. I was into a kind of heavy philosophy thing when I was 16 years old, and I wanted a truism about cutting through the lies and all that.
On 28 February 1974, Rolling Stone magazine published a remarkable encounter between David Bowie and William Burroughs. Entitled "Beat Godfather Meets Glitter Mainman", the event had been hosted in November 1973 by the American journalist A Craig Copetas. As published it took the form of a Q...
William Burroughs: The weapon of the Wild Boys is a bowie knife, an 18in bowie knife, did you know that?
David Bowie: An 18in bowie knife … you don't do things by halves do you? No, I didn't know that was their weapon. The name Bowie just appealed to me when I was younger. I was into a kind of heavy philosophy thing when I was 16 years old, and I wanted a truism about cutting through the lies and all that.
On 28 February 1974, Rolling Stone magazine published a remarkable encounter between David Bowie and William Burroughs. Entitled "Beat Godfather Meets Glitter Mainman", the event had been hosted in November 1973 by the American journalist A Craig Copetas. As published it took the form of a Q...
- 3/9/2013
- by Jon Savage
- The Guardian - Film News
Our season of British cult classics gets off to an arty start with a duo of films about Francis Bacon and Caravaggio
Love Is the Devil, the 1998 film directed by John Maybury, is many things: the first serious cinematic study of the life and art of painter Francis Bacon, a tour de force performance by Derek Jacobi, an unholy convocation of YBAs (including Tracey Emin, Sarah Lucas and Angus Fairhurst) filling in as background extras; and perhaps, most remarkably in hindsight, an early sighting of 007 himself, Daniel Craig. Craig is rather brilliant in Love Is the Devil, playing the troubled George Dyer, Bacon's petty-criminal lover, who met the artist after crashing through his roof while attempting a break-in, and who killed himself in 1971. You can't say Craig doesn't go all the way for his art: the film includes a jaw-dropping scene of him in the bath, entirely in the altogether.
Love Is the Devil, the 1998 film directed by John Maybury, is many things: the first serious cinematic study of the life and art of painter Francis Bacon, a tour de force performance by Derek Jacobi, an unholy convocation of YBAs (including Tracey Emin, Sarah Lucas and Angus Fairhurst) filling in as background extras; and perhaps, most remarkably in hindsight, an early sighting of 007 himself, Daniel Craig. Craig is rather brilliant in Love Is the Devil, playing the troubled George Dyer, Bacon's petty-criminal lover, who met the artist after crashing through his roof while attempting a break-in, and who killed himself in 1971. You can't say Craig doesn't go all the way for his art: the film includes a jaw-dropping scene of him in the bath, entirely in the altogether.
- 11/9/2012
- by Andrew Pulver
- The Guardian - Film News
From from the British Pathé newsreel archive, Jon Savage unearths footage of the hip young band who rode the trad jazz wave in 1962, inspired by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band
Reading this on mobile? Watch clip here
This is a charming period piece, from March 1962. The colour makes it seem at once vivid and time-locked. It shows the travelling arrangements and a performance of a young, Dixieland jazz group called the Original Downtown Syncopators – who featured as pianist the future polymath Ron Geesin, best known for his collaboration with Roger Waters on The Body film soundtrack and with Pink Floyd on the Atom Heart Mother suite.
That would occur nearly a decade later. In early 1962, the Original Downtown Syncopators were a young and enthusiastic outfit riding the trad wave with a little more authenticity than some of their peers. As the clip shows, they took their cues from the source,...
Reading this on mobile? Watch clip here
This is a charming period piece, from March 1962. The colour makes it seem at once vivid and time-locked. It shows the travelling arrangements and a performance of a young, Dixieland jazz group called the Original Downtown Syncopators – who featured as pianist the future polymath Ron Geesin, best known for his collaboration with Roger Waters on The Body film soundtrack and with Pink Floyd on the Atom Heart Mother suite.
That would occur nearly a decade later. In early 1962, the Original Downtown Syncopators were a young and enthusiastic outfit riding the trad wave with a little more authenticity than some of their peers. As the clip shows, they took their cues from the source,...
- 10/4/2012
- by Jon Savage
- The Guardian - Film News
Danny Boyle's supposedly dangerous playlist is nothing of the sort. It just proves we're a nation of stick-in-the-muds and conformists
So the Olympics opening ceremony isn't just going to be Teletubbies Land with sheep? Albion will rise, for the Queen will spontaneously combust when she hears God Save the Queen by the Sex Pistols. A living flame will light the way. Her maj may have been lulled into submission by Gary Barlow and entertained by man of the people Jimmy Carr, but the leaked playlist planned by Danny Boyle is dangerous, man.
There is Relax by Frankie. Sex! There is a bit of Underworld. Drugs – well, lager. There is some Oasis. Rock'n'roll. There is some Handel and stodgy old Clash. For the laydeez there is some Mia and Sugababes. And, of course, some Mike Oldfield and that other famous Brit, Michael Jackson.
It's all very jolly and an essentially British playlist.
So the Olympics opening ceremony isn't just going to be Teletubbies Land with sheep? Albion will rise, for the Queen will spontaneously combust when she hears God Save the Queen by the Sex Pistols. A living flame will light the way. Her maj may have been lulled into submission by Gary Barlow and entertained by man of the people Jimmy Carr, but the leaked playlist planned by Danny Boyle is dangerous, man.
There is Relax by Frankie. Sex! There is a bit of Underworld. Drugs – well, lager. There is some Oasis. Rock'n'roll. There is some Handel and stodgy old Clash. For the laydeez there is some Mia and Sugababes. And, of course, some Mike Oldfield and that other famous Brit, Michael Jackson.
It's all very jolly and an essentially British playlist.
- 6/20/2012
- by Suzanne Moore
- The Guardian - Film News
The death of Davy Jones should give us pause to remember that the Monkees were one of the great groups of the 1960s
In the Purcell Room in London last night, a panel of pop sages – Jon Savage, Nicky Wire and Alexis Petridis – chose the TV moment that made them realise pop music was the key to their future, something that could open up their lives. Respectively, they picked the Rolling Stones, the Smiths, and Adam & the Ants; all three groups were inspirational but all equally seemed unattainable, otherworldly.
The Monkees were the exact opposite. Two or three generations of musicians will have grown up watching their show on Saturday mornings, or in the summer holidays, thinking: "I want to be like them." Their lifestyle was highly desirable and didn't seem impossible: form a band, move into a ramshackle flat together, meet loads of girls. At least, Davy Jones, who died yesterday,...
In the Purcell Room in London last night, a panel of pop sages – Jon Savage, Nicky Wire and Alexis Petridis – chose the TV moment that made them realise pop music was the key to their future, something that could open up their lives. Respectively, they picked the Rolling Stones, the Smiths, and Adam & the Ants; all three groups were inspirational but all equally seemed unattainable, otherworldly.
The Monkees were the exact opposite. Two or three generations of musicians will have grown up watching their show on Saturday mornings, or in the summer holidays, thinking: "I want to be like them." Their lifestyle was highly desirable and didn't seem impossible: form a band, move into a ramshackle flat together, meet loads of girls. At least, Davy Jones, who died yesterday,...
- 3/1/2012
- by Bob Stanley
- The Guardian - Film News
Hordes of Halbstarken – the German equivalent of teddy boys – come alive in this hidden rock'n'roll gem unearthed by Jon Savage from the archive of British Pathé newsreels
What's interesting in looking through newsreel archives is how the editorial policy of the day differs from what is now received history. So, although rock'n'roll arrived in Britain in the winter of 1955-6 with the success of Bill Haley and the Comets' Rock Around the Clock (No 1 in early January), there is comparatively little material relating to rock'n'roll in Pathé's archive from 1956.
Nowhere is there anything about Elvis Presley, who had four major hits that year, nor anything about the late-summer furore that accompanied the release of the film Rock Around the Clock – a heady brew of excited newspaper reports and censorious local councils reacting to a bit of gang warfare and youthful high spirits.
Rock'n'roll's impact went way beyond the music,...
What's interesting in looking through newsreel archives is how the editorial policy of the day differs from what is now received history. So, although rock'n'roll arrived in Britain in the winter of 1955-6 with the success of Bill Haley and the Comets' Rock Around the Clock (No 1 in early January), there is comparatively little material relating to rock'n'roll in Pathé's archive from 1956.
Nowhere is there anything about Elvis Presley, who had four major hits that year, nor anything about the late-summer furore that accompanied the release of the film Rock Around the Clock – a heady brew of excited newspaper reports and censorious local councils reacting to a bit of gang warfare and youthful high spirits.
Rock'n'roll's impact went way beyond the music,...
- 2/27/2012
- by Jon Savage
- The Guardian - Film News
Pet Shop Boys have announced details of a new B-sides compilation. Format will be a double album, featuring 38 B-sides from the duo's singles between 1996 and 2009. Each track has been remastered, and the collection will also contain an interview with Chris Lowe and Neil Tennant by Jon Savage. The duo previously released the B-sides compilation Alternative, featuring tracks from 1985 to 1994. Pet Shop Boys were the support act throughout Take That's 'Progress' tour earlier this year. The full tracklisting: CD1
'The Truck Driver And His Mate'
'Hit And Miss'
'In The Night' (1995)
'Betrayed'
'How I Learned To Hate Rock 'N' Roll'
'Discoteca' (New Version)
'The Calm Before The Storm'
'Confidential' (more)...
'The Truck Driver And His Mate'
'Hit And Miss'
'In The Night' (1995)
'Betrayed'
'How I Learned To Hate Rock 'N' Roll'
'Discoteca' (New Version)
'The Calm Before The Storm'
'Confidential' (more)...
- 11/16/2011
- by By Tom Eames
- Digital Spy
Writer/Director Stevan Mena graciously took time out of his schedule to answer a few questions about Bereavement, as well as his earlier movies Malevolence and Brutal Massacre.
Jude Felton (Jf) – Congratulations on Bereavement. I just finished watching it a couple of days ago and have to say that it was well worth the wait. After its limited theatrical release you must be thrilled to finally see it coming to Blu-ray and DVD?
Stevan Mena (Sm) – Yes, the whole process was exhausting as I was involved from writing and production, all the way through distribution, so it’s great to see it finally seeing the light of day. The film wasn’t made, it was forged.
Jf – Bereavement is the prequel to your debut movie Malevolence. At what point did you decide that you wanted to expand on the story from that movie? Was it always the plan? Or did this decision come later on?...
Jude Felton (Jf) – Congratulations on Bereavement. I just finished watching it a couple of days ago and have to say that it was well worth the wait. After its limited theatrical release you must be thrilled to finally see it coming to Blu-ray and DVD?
Stevan Mena (Sm) – Yes, the whole process was exhausting as I was involved from writing and production, all the way through distribution, so it’s great to see it finally seeing the light of day. The film wasn’t made, it was forged.
Jf – Bereavement is the prequel to your debut movie Malevolence. At what point did you decide that you wanted to expand on the story from that movie? Was it always the plan? Or did this decision come later on?...
- 8/18/2011
- by Jude
- The Liberal Dead
Just as rock albums get a second shelf life by dint of deluxe reissues featuring bonus CDs of live performances, outtakes, remixes, B-sides, and other aural paraphernalia, so pop-music histories are increasingly augmented by volumes of Q&A sessions the authors conducted for them. Simon Reynolds’ Rip It Up And Start Again is now abetted by Totally Wired; Jon Savage’s The England’s Dreaming Tapes is nearly 100 pages longer than England’s Dreaming itself. Now Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton, the London authors of 2000’s definitive disc-jockey history Last Night A DJ Saved My Life, present 46 ...
- 5/26/2011
- avclub.com
New York – The Tribeca Film Institute (Tfi) today announced several program award winners and grantees at the Tfi Awards Luncheon at Riverpark NYC during the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival. Two winners of the Tribeca All Access (Taa) Creative Promise Awards presented by Time Warner; seven new Taa alumni grants and fellowships; four winners of the Latin America Media Arts Fund; and four grantees supported by Insurgent Media for the inaugural Tfi Documentary Fund were all presented today, totaling $125,000 in funds.
“This year’s winners and grantees are true examples of the incredible strength of films and talent resulting from the support of the Tribeca Film Institute,” said Beth Janson, Executive Director of the Tribeca Film Institute. “Our main hope is that these films go on to completion and build strong relationships with audiences.”
During the Tfi Awards Ceremony at Riverpark NYC in Manhattan, the following Tribeca All Access Creative Promise winners...
“This year’s winners and grantees are true examples of the incredible strength of films and talent resulting from the support of the Tribeca Film Institute,” said Beth Janson, Executive Director of the Tribeca Film Institute. “Our main hope is that these films go on to completion and build strong relationships with audiences.”
During the Tfi Awards Ceremony at Riverpark NYC in Manhattan, the following Tribeca All Access Creative Promise winners...
- 4/29/2011
- by The Moving Arts
- The Moving Arts Journal
The Tribeca Film Institute has announced today award winners and grants totaling $1,000,000. Winners included two of the Tribeca All Access Creative Promise Awards, seven new Taa alumni grants, four for the Tfi Documentary Fund, as well as four winners of the Latin America Media Arts Fund. For more details, please read the press release below or visit Tribeca Film.
[New York, NY – April 28, 2011] – The Tribeca Film Institute (Tfi) today announced several program award winners and grantees at the Tfi Awards Luncheon at Riverpark NYC during the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival. Two winners of the Tribeca All Access (Taa) Creative Promise Awards presented by Time Warner; seven new Taa alumni grants and fellowships; four winners of the Latin America Media Arts Fund; and four grantees supported by Insurgent Media for the inaugural Tfi Documentary Fund were all presented today, totaling $125,000 in funds.
“This year’s winners and grantees are true examples of the incredible strength of...
[New York, NY – April 28, 2011] – The Tribeca Film Institute (Tfi) today announced several program award winners and grantees at the Tfi Awards Luncheon at Riverpark NYC during the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival. Two winners of the Tribeca All Access (Taa) Creative Promise Awards presented by Time Warner; seven new Taa alumni grants and fellowships; four winners of the Latin America Media Arts Fund; and four grantees supported by Insurgent Media for the inaugural Tfi Documentary Fund were all presented today, totaling $125,000 in funds.
“This year’s winners and grantees are true examples of the incredible strength of...
- 4/29/2011
- by Christopher Clemente
- SoundOnSight
The best of your comments on the latest films and music
Oh, West Berlin! City of fascination for suburban Brits in the late 1970s and early 80s! Drugs! Sex! Great albums! Great films! More drugs! More sex!
Last week, Jon Savage outlined what made West Berlin so culturally fascinating 30 or so years ago: "An oasis of extremity created by the cold war … peopled with bohemians and outcasts." One thing he didn't explain was why it was peopled by those bohemians and outcasts. Enter Hooper165, who explained that Berliners were exempt from conscription to the West German army, which "triggered in the 70s and early 80s a vast youth migration from all parts of Germany into Berlin". Showmaster expanded the point, explaining that even as the young were desperate to move in to the city, the old were desperate to move out. And why did the young live so much in the moment?...
Oh, West Berlin! City of fascination for suburban Brits in the late 1970s and early 80s! Drugs! Sex! Great albums! Great films! More drugs! More sex!
Last week, Jon Savage outlined what made West Berlin so culturally fascinating 30 or so years ago: "An oasis of extremity created by the cold war … peopled with bohemians and outcasts." One thing he didn't explain was why it was peopled by those bohemians and outcasts. Enter Hooper165, who explained that Berliners were exempt from conscription to the West German army, which "triggered in the 70s and early 80s a vast youth migration from all parts of Germany into Berlin". Showmaster expanded the point, explaining that even as the young were desperate to move in to the city, the old were desperate to move out. And why did the young live so much in the moment?...
- 4/28/2011
- by Michael Hann
- The Guardian - Film News
"The indie Texan filmmaker David Lowery receives a double bill at the reRun Gastropub Theater in Dumbo, Brooklyn, and while Pioneer, a 16-minute short, and St Nick, an 86-minute feature, don't provide hard answers to their mysteries, both are deeply intriguing," writes Andy Webster in the New York Times. Regarding St Nick, a "potentially stifling ambience is deflected by quiet suspense and the awe-inspiring compositions of the cinematographer, Clay Liford. Decaying rustic interiors evoke Andrew Wyeth still lifes; pastoral long shots suggest a Southwestern walkabout. And Mr Lowery seems ready for a bigger canvas."
"Obliquely charting the terror, loneliness, and liberation of navigating a cold, callous grown-up world, St Nick follows nameless brother and sister runaways (played by real-life siblings Tucker and Savanna Sears) who take up impermanent residence in an empty Texas house," writes Nick Schager in Slant. "David Lowery's debut feature is long on silence and laden...
"Obliquely charting the terror, loneliness, and liberation of navigating a cold, callous grown-up world, St Nick follows nameless brother and sister runaways (played by real-life siblings Tucker and Savanna Sears) who take up impermanent residence in an empty Texas house," writes Nick Schager in Slant. "David Lowery's debut feature is long on silence and laden...
- 4/23/2011
- MUBI
Love is in the air, but there's a definite whiff of opportunism in there too
The big story
A nation holds its breath. Unshakeable from the collective imagination is the image of a tall, blond, regal-looking young man and his shapely dark-haired companion. In feverish newsrooms they check the wires for stories of surges in sales of booze, bunting and widescreen TVs among a recession-hit populace thirsty for a shot of euphoria. Yes, Lifetime TV's William & Kate: the movie, is coming to your screens this Sunday.
Not everyone was swept away in the excitement of the royal romance-themed Us movie. Indeed Lifetime's William, whose name sounds like one Beano writers might have concocted for a used car salesman, Nico Evers-Swindell, felt compelled to defend the film. Why? Well, the Daily Mail had shown it some tough love, calling it "truly terrible: a shoddily cast, poorly executed, badly edited and surprisingly...
The big story
A nation holds its breath. Unshakeable from the collective imagination is the image of a tall, blond, regal-looking young man and his shapely dark-haired companion. In feverish newsrooms they check the wires for stories of surges in sales of booze, bunting and widescreen TVs among a recession-hit populace thirsty for a shot of euphoria. Yes, Lifetime TV's William & Kate: the movie, is coming to your screens this Sunday.
Not everyone was swept away in the excitement of the royal romance-themed Us movie. Indeed Lifetime's William, whose name sounds like one Beano writers might have concocted for a used car salesman, Nico Evers-Swindell, felt compelled to defend the film. Why? Well, the Daily Mail had shown it some tough love, calling it "truly terrible: a shoddily cast, poorly executed, badly edited and surprisingly...
- 4/21/2011
- The Guardian - Film News
Matt Wolf, one of our 25 New Faces of 2008, and author and critic Jon Savage are collaborating on a feature doc, Teenage, based on Savage’s 2007 book, Teenage: The Creation of Youth Culture. Although it may seem that being a teenager is an ahistorical fact of life, Savage’s book detailed the cultural creation of the teenage class, tracing its relationship to art, political movements, and the rise of consumer culture. Their feature will bring this all to life with, as their new teaser trailer exhibits, archival footage, an evocative voiceover by Jena Malone, and music by Deerhunter’s Bradford Cox.
From Wolf’s director’s statement:
I wanted to bring this explosive history to life and to create a historical film like none that I’ve seen before. In Teenage archival footage will reveal fascinating youth movements from the early 20th century. Narration performed by actors will dramatize the broader...
From Wolf’s director’s statement:
I wanted to bring this explosive history to life and to create a historical film like none that I’ve seen before. In Teenage archival footage will reveal fascinating youth movements from the early 20th century. Narration performed by actors will dramatize the broader...
- 3/21/2011
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Karel Reisz's 1966 film about a young man broken down by the new consumer culture is a bizarre, brilliant portrait of changing times. Jon Savage explains its influence
Morgan Delt is in court. In the preceding hour or so of screen time, he has ignored an injunction preventing him from contacting his ex-wife Leonie, broken into their once shared house, run a sequence of extremely loud animal noises to disturb Leonie and her new partner Charles Napier, exploded a thunderflash under his mother-in-law, and finally, kidnapped Leonie in an abortive attempt to live in the wilderness of deep Wales.
This rapidly escalating sequence of harassment has been undercut by Morgan's ineptitude, but there's no doubt he's in big trouble. So what does he do? He daydreams. A giraffe is being lassoed by a group of horsemen: then we see a number of these wild animals run free through the veldt.
Morgan Delt is in court. In the preceding hour or so of screen time, he has ignored an injunction preventing him from contacting his ex-wife Leonie, broken into their once shared house, run a sequence of extremely loud animal noises to disturb Leonie and her new partner Charles Napier, exploded a thunderflash under his mother-in-law, and finally, kidnapped Leonie in an abortive attempt to live in the wilderness of deep Wales.
This rapidly escalating sequence of harassment has been undercut by Morgan's ineptitude, but there's no doubt he's in big trouble. So what does he do? He daydreams. A giraffe is being lassoed by a group of horsemen: then we see a number of these wild animals run free through the veldt.
- 2/11/2011
- by Jon Savage
- The Guardian - Film News
That was the week in which the first picture of Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher got people a lot more excited than the casting of the new Superman
Mamma Mia! 2
The big story of the week was just one big picture: the first still of a snaggle-toothed, big-haired and curiously alluring Meryl Streep as Mrs Thatcher in The Iron Lady, Streep's latest collaboration with Mamma Mia! director Phyllida Lloyd. Stuart Jefferies thought it boded well; Ben Walters reviewed Maggie moments on the screen thus far.
In other news
• How to Train Your Dragon is on fire at Disney-boycotted animation awards
• Kremlin critic documentary stolen prior to Berlin premiere
• The Inbetweeners get set for big-screen summer outing
• Sky Movies making 'excess profits', says Competition Commission
• Finally, The Hobbit set to film in March
• Michael Moore sues Weinstein brothers over Fahrenheit 9/11 profits
• Mr Men to arrive on big screen – but will Little Misses join them?...
Mamma Mia! 2
The big story of the week was just one big picture: the first still of a snaggle-toothed, big-haired and curiously alluring Meryl Streep as Mrs Thatcher in The Iron Lady, Streep's latest collaboration with Mamma Mia! director Phyllida Lloyd. Stuart Jefferies thought it boded well; Ben Walters reviewed Maggie moments on the screen thus far.
In other news
• How to Train Your Dragon is on fire at Disney-boycotted animation awards
• Kremlin critic documentary stolen prior to Berlin premiere
• The Inbetweeners get set for big-screen summer outing
• Sky Movies making 'excess profits', says Competition Commission
• Finally, The Hobbit set to film in March
• Michael Moore sues Weinstein brothers over Fahrenheit 9/11 profits
• Mr Men to arrive on big screen – but will Little Misses join them?...
- 2/10/2011
- The Guardian - Film News
The all-star line-up for Josh Eisenstadt's new thriller Spreading Darkness has been announced.
The film stars Eric Roberts (The Expendables, The Dark Knight), James Duval (Donno Darko, Gone in 60 Seconds), Jon Savage (The Godfather III), Musetta Vander (Xena Warrior Princess, Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Rena Riffel (Mulholland Drive, Showgirls, Striptease), Louis Mandylor (My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Friends) and Tara Cardinal (Legend of the Red Reaper, Delivery).
According to the official description, Spreading Darkness is a dark psychological thriller about Stu Undercoffler (Roberts), a man who seems to have it all. That is, until the people he took it from decide they want it back. Stu seems to have it under control, but then visions of his dead wife (Cardinal) become more and more real.
Tara Cardinal is pictured right; above are (top, from left) Eric Roberts, James Duval, Jon Savage and (bottom, from left) Louis Mandylor, Musetta Vander and Rena Riffel.
The film stars Eric Roberts (The Expendables, The Dark Knight), James Duval (Donno Darko, Gone in 60 Seconds), Jon Savage (The Godfather III), Musetta Vander (Xena Warrior Princess, Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Rena Riffel (Mulholland Drive, Showgirls, Striptease), Louis Mandylor (My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Friends) and Tara Cardinal (Legend of the Red Reaper, Delivery).
According to the official description, Spreading Darkness is a dark psychological thriller about Stu Undercoffler (Roberts), a man who seems to have it all. That is, until the people he took it from decide they want it back. Stu seems to have it under control, but then visions of his dead wife (Cardinal) become more and more real.
Tara Cardinal is pictured right; above are (top, from left) Eric Roberts, James Duval, Jon Savage and (bottom, from left) Louis Mandylor, Musetta Vander and Rena Riffel.
- 1/31/2011
- by David Bentley
- The Geek Files
Eric Roberts The exciting, all star cast line up for Josh Eisenstadt's new psychological horror thriller "Spreading Darkness" has just been announced.
The film stars Eric Roberts (The Expendables, The Dark Knight), James Duval (Donno Darko, Gone in 60 Seconds), Jon Savage (The Godfather III), Musetta Vander (Xena Warrior Princess, Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Rena Riffel (Mulholland Dr., Showgirls, Striptease), Louis Mandylor (My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Friends) and Tara Cardinal (Legend of the Red Reaper, Delivery).
Spreading Darkness is a dark psychological thriller about Stu Undercoffler (Eric Roberts), a man who seems to have it all. That is, until the people he took it from decide they want it back. Stu seems to have it under control, until visions of his dead wife (Tara Cardinal) become more and more real.
-Source: Facebook My question is this: What's wrong with being haunted by visions of Tara Cardinal (seen to...
The film stars Eric Roberts (The Expendables, The Dark Knight), James Duval (Donno Darko, Gone in 60 Seconds), Jon Savage (The Godfather III), Musetta Vander (Xena Warrior Princess, Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Rena Riffel (Mulholland Dr., Showgirls, Striptease), Louis Mandylor (My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Friends) and Tara Cardinal (Legend of the Red Reaper, Delivery).
Spreading Darkness is a dark psychological thriller about Stu Undercoffler (Eric Roberts), a man who seems to have it all. That is, until the people he took it from decide they want it back. Stu seems to have it under control, until visions of his dead wife (Tara Cardinal) become more and more real.
-Source: Facebook My question is this: What's wrong with being haunted by visions of Tara Cardinal (seen to...
- 1/27/2011
- by Big Daddy aka Brandon Sites
- Big Daddy Horror Reviews - Interviews
Some pretty nifty casting news coming in for indie filmmaker Josh Eisenstadt's latest foray into terror, Spreading Darkness! Get ready to see lots of familiar faces all frightened and grimacing!
According to the official Spreading Darkness Facebook page Eric Roberts, Jon Savage, James Duval, Rena Riffel, and Tara Cardinal are all set to star.
"Spreading Darkness is a dark psychological thriller about Stu Undercoffler (Eric Roberts), a man who seems to have it all. That is, until the people he took it from decide they want it back. Stu seems to have it under control, until visions of his dead wife (Tara Cardinal) become more and more real."
Look for more on this one soon!
- Uncle Creepy
Visit The Evilshop @ Amazon!
Got news? Click here to submit it!
Spread things in the comments section below!
According to the official Spreading Darkness Facebook page Eric Roberts, Jon Savage, James Duval, Rena Riffel, and Tara Cardinal are all set to star.
"Spreading Darkness is a dark psychological thriller about Stu Undercoffler (Eric Roberts), a man who seems to have it all. That is, until the people he took it from decide they want it back. Stu seems to have it under control, until visions of his dead wife (Tara Cardinal) become more and more real."
Look for more on this one soon!
- Uncle Creepy
Visit The Evilshop @ Amazon!
Got news? Click here to submit it!
Spread things in the comments section below!
- 1/24/2011
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
Music writer Jon Savage has compiled a CD of California Punk titled Black Hole. The 26-track mix is released through Domino on November 15 and features songs celebrating the 1976-1980 first wave of punk from the area. "This compilation contains ideas, anti-establishment rants, sharp comments about the world, attempts at transcendence and plenty of savage wit," a record label statement read. Tracks featured on the disc include the Dead (more)...
- 9/13/2010
- by By Mayer Nissim
- Digital Spy
A good film producer hires the right personnel and makes sure the production doesn't go over budget. A great film producer does that and supports talented new voices. You could say that Kyle Martin appears to often be at the right place at the right time. In a very short time frame, he has supported a talented batch of skilled folk such as: Jody Lee Lipes (NY Export: Opus Jazz - see pic), Lena Dunham (Tiny Furniture) and is currently developing Bluebird alongside filmmaker Lance Edmands. A 2007 graduate from Nyu’s Maurice Kanbar Institute of Film and Television in 2007, before getting into producing strictly indie and doc films, Martin oversaw television spots and online branding. His first producer cred was by way of 2007 shot film Blue Dress, while his first pair of doc features came with Matt Wolf's Wild Combination: A Portrait of Arthur Russell and Lipes’ Brock Enright: Good Times Will Never Be The Same...
- 7/16/2010
- IONCINEMA.com
What makes a great critic? As we launch our third Young Critics' Competition, Guardian reviewers offer some expert advice – and reveal the writers who first inspired them
'A critic is more than a spectator' Michael Billington, theatre critic
I started reading reviews avidly in my teens. I'm still haunted by a phrase Harold Hobson used about Waiting for Godot in the Sunday Times: "If you have only 15 shillings left in the world, go and see Waiting for Godot. If you have 30 shillings, see it twice."
But the critic who really obsessed me, and most of my generation, was Hobson's great rival, Kenneth Tynan at the Observer. What Tynan showed is that criticism is principally about writing well. Open his collected reviews on any page and you find the phrases lock perfectly into place. Here's one example, from a 1956 review of Graham Greene's The Power and the Glory: "Puffing on a cheroot,...
'A critic is more than a spectator' Michael Billington, theatre critic
I started reading reviews avidly in my teens. I'm still haunted by a phrase Harold Hobson used about Waiting for Godot in the Sunday Times: "If you have only 15 shillings left in the world, go and see Waiting for Godot. If you have 30 shillings, see it twice."
But the critic who really obsessed me, and most of my generation, was Hobson's great rival, Kenneth Tynan at the Observer. What Tynan showed is that criticism is principally about writing well. Open his collected reviews on any page and you find the phrases lock perfectly into place. Here's one example, from a 1956 review of Graham Greene's The Power and the Glory: "Puffing on a cheroot,...
- 5/25/2010
- The Guardian - Film News
Jon Savage has said that the Sex Pistols were never specific enough to be a political band. The author of the award-winning England's Dreaming told The Quietus that the punk movement changed over time as it was critiqued by the media. Savage said: "It was more emotional when it started. It only became politicised once people started writing about it and when The Clash started singing about tower blocks. "The Sex Pistols were never so specific. (more)...
- 8/6/2009
- by By Mayer Nissim
- Digital Spy
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