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Double Suicide: Japanese Summer (1967)
Filmmaker(s): Nagisa Ōshima

A sex-obsessed woman, a suicidal man she meets on the street, and a gun-crazy wannabe gangster become trapped in an underground hideaway.

Solid Shadows with Conflicting Death Wishes know a few of this man's films. They are among the richest experiences I know, but I was surprised at how deeply this one worked on me. The surprise comes in part from knowing how specific his target audience was....


Published December 10, 2024
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Othello (1951)
Orson Welles' magnificent screening of Shakespeare's immortal tragedy
Filmmaker(s): Orson Welles

When a secret marriage is planned between Othello, a Moorish general, and Desdemona, the daughter of Senator Brabantio, her old suitor Roderigo takes it hard. He allies himself with Iago, who has his own grudge against Othello, and the two conspire to bring Othello down. When their first plan, to have him accused of witchcraft, fails, they plant evidence intended to make him believe Desdemona is unfaithful.

Dimensional Filmmaking on Shakespeare films is rather like admiring Easter Eggs. First the inside: this was never a great play, relative to Shakespeare's other works. His great plays are about ideas, with characters as vectors to prod and activate them. This play is merely about characters,...


Published December 10, 2024
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Danse serpentine (1897)
Filmmaker(s): Louis Lumière

Angelic and demonic serpentine dance from dawn of cinema. Hand-colored frame by frame. Lumière no. 765 or 765.1 (colorized, different dancer?).

Fireworks comment was made on a collection before IMDB broke out each film as a separate record.) This collection has provided some of the deepest cinematic journeys I have had. And to think: these are over a century old, are less than a minute each and...


Published December 10, 2024
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The Muppet Movie (1979)
More entertaining than humanly possible!
Filmmaker(s): James Frawley

A Hollywood agent persuades Kermit the Frog to leave the swamp to pursue a career in Hollywood. On his way there, he meets a bear, a pig, a whatever – his future muppet crew – while being chased by the desperate owner of a frog-leg restaurant!

Life is a Movie all lost something important when Jim Henson died. But his magic alone wasn't sufficient to do more than clever skits, both before and after this gem. Some fated match of director, writers, songwriters and puppeteers came together to create an under-appreciated...


Published December 10, 2024
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Rear Window (1954)
It only takes one witness to spoil the perfect crime.
Filmmaker(s): Alfred Hitchcock

A wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his apartment window and becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.

Copernican Cinema just don't like Hitchcock. I admit that he ‘delivered value' in his day, but as I review his films today, I find them trite, badly dated. The style of acting he used now looks ’actorly.' His camera framing is well considered but unimaginative...


Published December 10, 2024
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Rashomon (1950)
The husband, the wife… or the bandit?
Filmmaker(s): Akira Kurosawa

Brimming with action while incisively examining the nature of truth, "Rashomon" is perhaps the finest film ever to investigate the philosophy of justice. Through an ingenious use of camera and flashbacks, Kurosawa reveals the complexities of human nature as four people recount different versions of the story of a man's murder and the rape of his wife.

Nested, Folded, Parallel Narrative about truth, this is more fundamentally about the nature of nested and floating narrative. Kurosawa is one of three men who invented film, and this is his most influential one. Much is made of the construction of the story, which you can...


Published December 10, 2024
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Forbidden Planet (1956)
Earthmen on a fabulous, peril-journey into outer space!
Filmmaker(s): Fred M. Wilcox

Starship C57D travels to planet Altair 4 in search of the crew of spaceship "Bellerophon," a scientific expedition that has been missing for 20 years, only to find themselves unwelcome by the expedition's lone survivor and warned of destruction by an invisible force if they don't turn back immediately.

Parallel Futures creating my own list of favourites, I put this at the top of my SciFi category. But that was based on viewing a long time ago. So I rented it recently and was shocked. Times have changed, and science fiction depends so much...


Published December 10, 2024
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Death by Hanging (1968)
Filmmaker(s): Nagisa Ōshima

A Korean man is sentenced to death in Japan but somehow survives his execution, sending the authorities into a panic about what to do next.

Film as Execution of the benefits of writing film comments is that readers will sometimes send me recommendations. If that were the only benefit, and if this were the only recommendation I would get, it would be worth it. By reading the comments, you may think...


Published December 10, 2024
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Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
Nothing is written.
Filmmaker(s): David Lean

The story of British officer T.E. Lawrence's mission to aid the Arab tribes in their revolt against the Ottoman Empire during the First World War. Lawrence becomes a flamboyant, messianic figure in the cause of Arab unity but his psychological instability threatens to undermine his achievements.

A Vision that Defines Itself man has an inner drive that makes him peculiar and intense. He goes to the desert and falls in love with it and its people. Gaining powerful sponsors, he has a grand vision that he accomplishes by inspiring and directing...


Published December 10, 2024
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The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933)
Madman? Monster? Murderer? Scientist?
Filmmaker(s): Fritz Lang

After a detective is assaulted by thugs and placed in an asylum run by Professor Baum, he observes the professor's preoccupation with another patient, the criminal genius Dr. Mabuse the hypnotist. When Mabuse's notes are found to be connected with a rash of recent crimes, Commissioner Lohmann must determine how Mabuse is communicating with the criminals, despite conflicting reports on the doctor's whereabouts, and capture him for good.

Viewer Possession comment is on the fully restored Criterion edition.) I see that my comments on the Mabuse films have been deleted. There was an IMDb era when any offended reader could exact revenge by successfully complaining of scores of comments. But I guess that's apt...


Published December 9, 2024
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