Category Archive: Uncategorized

1. Rossellini ’77: Outrage at Cannes

   May 10, 2016 5:58 pm Leave a Comment

   The 69th Cannes International Film Festival kicks off tomorrow, and Austinite Jeff Nichols’ LOVING will appear in competition, alongside other global greats like Asghar Farhadi, the Dardenne brothers, Pedro Almodovar and Andrea Arnold.

   But LOVING isn’t the only thing that Austin and Cannes have in common this week, the other is Roberto Rossellini, who is highlighted in Austin Film Society’s retrospective through the end of May.

   Rossellini had an interesting relationship with Cannes. His ROME, OPEN CITY was one of the prize-winning films in 1946 at the festival, but this was before a single film was selected for the Palme D’Or. He presented several other films at the festival to varying response, since his films tended to be out of fashion with their time, they were frequently overlooked in favor of hotter titles.

   His episodic, observational docu-fiction, INDIA, MATRI BHUMI, which was later professed as a masterpiece by Godard and others, was presented out of competition the same year that THE 400 BLOWS and BLACK ORPHEUS swept the festival. At that time, Rossellini and even neo-realism seemed a bit passé.

   But in 1977, Rossellini was responsible for one of Cannes biggest artistic scandals, which resulted in a major turning point for the festival. At this point in his career, Rossellini had turned all of his attention to television, and was viewed as a TV director. Yet his impact on global cinema was recognized and appreciated, particularly in France, where one of his TV dramas, THE RISE OF LOUIS XIV, had been released in cinemas and well received critically. He was invited to be President of the Jury of the 1977 festival.

   Rossellini led his fellow jurors (including Pauline Kael, Jacques Demy, Carlos Fuentes and Yuri Ozerov, among others) to a Palme D’Or pick that would scandalize the festival. The Palme D’Or had previously been considered a prize for a film that had wide global appeal in commercial cinemas. Several French, Italian and American films were favored to win. Instead, Rossellini and team selected the Taviani brothers PADRE PADRONE, a film that was produced for television. It was the first time in the festival’s history that a TV film was selected for the Palme D’Or, during a time when TV films often had lower budgets and more artistic freedom than commercial films for cinema, which was certainly the case with PADRE PADRONE.

   But the real unbelievable detail here is that the festival actually spoke out against the jury’s decision, declaring that this film, presented in competition would not have been the festival’s pick, and they did not support the jury’s decision.

   Imagine this happening at the festival today—where all films in competition are supposed to be given equal consideration, without interference from the festival administration. In 1977, the festival had yet to aspire to this level of tact!

   A few weeks after the festival, one of the organizers phoned Rossellini to let him know that the festival had come around on their outrage, and decided that they supported the change that he had brought to the institution via the Rossellini-led TV revolution. Rossellini was supposedly invited back to jury the festival in 1978, but Rossellini passed away a month after the Cannes scandal, in June, 1977. – Holly Herrick

2. Watch This: Two Time Oscar Winner & British MP Glenda Jackson Raises Hell in Parliament

   May 9, 2016 4:26 pm Leave a Comment

   Glenda Jackson, born 80 years ago today, had an enviable acting career both on stage and screen. As a member of the prestigious Royal Shakespeare Company, where she and her cohorts helped to bring about a widespread, modern reappraisal of the Bard’s work and later as a film actress, where she brought a new kind of screen presence to the fore. Her breakthrough screen role was in Ken Russell’s adaptation of D.H. Lawrence’s WOMEN IN LOVE (1969) and she won nearly every award in the book: Academy Award, National Board of Review, National Society of Film Critics, New York Film Critics Circle, etc.

   She followed this triumph with other major performances in films like SUNDAY, BLOODY SUNDAY (1970), MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS (1971), A TOUCH OF CLASS (1973), for which she won her second Academy Award, and many more, through the ’80s and into the ’90s.

   Her acting legacy could be called, with some understatement, secure. Which is why it is so admirable that she retired altogether from acting in pursuit of a new career, that of a Labour MP. In Parliament, she used her magnificent voice and bearing to advocate for progressive causes, often excoriating her opponents for cutting education and other services, and maintaining a staunch antiwar stance. She retired in 2015 after 23 years of service in Parliament.

   Here she is in 2013, during Parliaments remarks about the departed Baroness Margaret Thatcher. On a day when the room was filled with sober tribute and remembrance, Jackson made sure that the spirit of anti-Thatcherism was heard loud and clear. By the time her argument reaches its climax, the dissents in the chamber are loud and raucous. It’s really something, especially when Jackson refutes the argument of one who has come to pay tribute to her political enemy Thatcher for being the first woman prime minister. Jackson’s response is personal, brilliantly phrased and acidic.

3. Amazing But True: Orson Welles and The Mercury Wonder Show

   May 6, 2016 8:20 pm Leave a Comment

   Orson Welles produces Rita Hayworth from a steamer trunk, 1943

   In 1943 world famous actor and filmmaker Orson Welles (who was born on this date in 1915) was eager to do something special for the war effort. Though he was a poor physical candidate for service – he rated a 4F – he could do quite a lot in terms of raising money and troop morale. So Welles wrote up a proposal for a circus-like revue that could travel around the country raising funds for the war effort and providing first class entertainment for returning or furloughed service members, who could attend at no cost. For civilians, tickets started at $1.65.

   Welles himself was the master of ceremonies and, as The Magnificent Orson, its magician headliner. Welles’ wife, the glamorous Rita Hayworth, also performed a variety of headline acts. Comic relief was provided by Jo-Jo The Great (whom we now know as Joseph Cotten). Other collaborators were the great French star Jean Gabin, who put his great shoulders to work moving scenery, and actor Keye Luke, who was tasked with the creation of culturally respectful Asian scenery and props. Later, after her boss at Columbia forced Hayworth to drop out of the show, Welles was forced to fall back on Hayworth’s understudy, Marlene Dietrich (!).

   Here’s the entire advertised bill of fare for a performance of The Mercury Wonder Show:

   The Mercury Wonder Show

   For Service Men

   Program

    

   ORSON THE MAGNIFICENT

   Defies the laws of science in feats of legerdemain never before presented in America. The occult secrets of antiquity and the present day reproduced for your delight and fascination in: Born In Flames, A Rabbit From a Headpiece, Le Chapeau en Pair, The Devil’s Orchard, Horticulture From Hell, The Strange Aquarium, Birds From The Blue, The Fourth Dimension, Audubon’s Dream, The Hindu Mango Mystery (as advertised), Fruit Under a Spell, and THE HAUNTED AVIARY with Invisible Pigeons and Transparent Doves.

    

   THE MIRACULOUS CHICKEN FARM

   Twenty-five (25) Living Hens Manufactured as You Watch , Without The Aid of a Single Egg. DE- and RE-CAPITATION: A Strange Feat of the Barnyard as Never Before Presented in the Western Hemisphere: Ballet of the Roosters: Chanticleer Takes It on the Lam: The Hens’ Delight.

    

   Dr. Welles presents his

   Original Experiments in Animal Magnetism

   (All Nature Freezes at His Glance)

    

   Psychic Readings

    

   The Magic Crystal 

   Due to the unbelievable strain on the practitioner of this incredible feat the  management must reserve the right to change this portion of the program without notice.

    

   Secrets of the Sphinx

   THE ANCIENT LORE OF THE DARK CONTINENT ASSEMBLED FOR THE FIRST TIME UNDER CANVAS

    

   CHAINED IN SPACE

    

   WITCHES FARMYARD

   An Incredible Assortment of Sortilege Not To Be Duplicated in the Most Famous Repertoires in the History of Thaumaturgy, presenting: Bovine Obedience; At the Shooting Gallery (including “Marksmanship’s Reward); Evaporation in the Mystic Diary; The Dalai’s Milk Pail (Direct From Tibetan Lamaseries); The Flight of the Hare; Fowl Elusive; La Rapiere du Diable; A Voice From the Dead; Faster Than Light; THE WORLD FAMOUS “BALSAMO’S SECRET,” and the CASKET OF COUNT CAGLIOSTRO.

    

   PEKIN NIGHTS

   An Interlude from Old Cathay

   The Manchu Marvel; The cages of Han Lun; Enchanted Porcelain; Rain-making “Orientale”; Drought by Witchcraft (including Feats of Dexterity – a Dazzling Display); Hungkwel’s Downfall; The Fan of Fu Ling.

    

   THE CHEF’S SURPRISE

   A Fantasy in Smoke; Shampoo Sorcery; The Indestructible Playing Card (Culled from the Secret Archives of Jared Higgenbottom); Humpty Dumpty Restored; Battledore.

    

   $ TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS CHALLENGED! $

   (Performed Under Rigid Test Conditions)

    

   IMPROVISATIONS

   THE GOOSE, THE GUINEA PIG AND THE LADY

    

   THE GIRL WITH X-RAY EYES

   An Extraordinary Demonstration by Miss Rita Hayworth of Strange Powers Recognized, but Unexplained by Science. Featuring Thought Transmission and Projection, Extra-Sensory Perception, Lightning Calculation, and Second Sight.

    

   THE GREAT JOSEPH

   The Wizard of the South Presents Split Second Escapology. The redoubtable J. Cotten Risks His Life at Every Performance.

    

   THE DEATH OF THE SILKEN GORDS

   FIRST TIME IN THE WEST

    

   MILLION $ MYSTERY

   Miss Hayworth and Mr. Cotten Make You Doubt Your Senses is a Bewildering Display.

    

   INTERMISSION AND CONCERT

    

   SCENES FROM A HINDOO MARKETPLACE

    

   THE FAKIRS OF INDIA OUTDONE

   THE WORLD’S FASTEST CANARY

   (Three Surprises and a Miracle)

    

   DEATH CASKET

   THE FLIGHT OF TIME

    

   PAINLESS SURGERY

   Doctor-Sorcerer and His Apprentices Defy Laws of Dissection

    

   THE HUMAN SEWING MACHINE

   MUST BE SEEN TO BE BELIEVED

    

   PRINCESS NEPHROTITE

   The Queen of Egypt Brought Back From the Dead. Her Materialization, Levitation, Evanishment and Lightning Reappearances.

    

   GRAND FINALE

   VOODOO!

   A re-enactment of Mr. Cotten’s Interesting Experiences Among the Witchdoctors in Dark Africa

   
   
   
   

4. Watch This: OUTSIDER, Episode 1: The True Story Behind MIAMI CONNECTION

   May 4, 2016 8:12 pm Leave a Comment

   As the screwed-and-chopped narration intones at the beginning of the first episode of the new Vice show OUTSIDER, “Welcome to the show that reveals the beautifully complex and unique minds behind the world’s most inadvertently insane movies.”

   This new show, produced by sometime-AFS staffer Zack Carlson and Vice-lord Evan Husney, promises to take us into the lives and stranger-than-fiction stories of the filmmakers behind some of the wildest movies we’ve ever (or never) seen.

   Many have seen THE MIAMI CONNECTION, thanks to the tireless efforts of Carlson and Husney to rerelease it through Drafthouse Films. Now, the true story of master Y.K. Kim, and his central Florida followers, can be revealed.

   One word: WOW.

   Watch here:

5. Austin Moviegoers Alert: Cine Las Americas 19 Starts Wednesday

   May 2, 2016 5:30 pm Leave a Comment

   

   MAGALLANES

   
   

   There are tons of small film festivals around the world, good ones, bad ones, specialized ones, generalized ones. The very best of these are the well-curated festivals of discovery – the ones whose lineups reflect a scholarly approach by expert programmers. We’re lucky enough to have a number of these in Austin, none better than Cine Las Americas, in its 19th year of presenting films from Latin America and the Iberian peninsula. 

   “Cine” (as it is most frequently abbreviated by Austinites, in the same manner as “South-By”), presents films that are far off the radar, like MAGALLANES, the opening night presentation, which screens on Wednesday May 4 at the Marchesa.

   Made in Peru by actor-turned-director Salvador del Solar, MAGALLANES is, as you might expect for a film made by an actor, a showcase for its exceptionally fine performers, who enact a story full of historical resonance for Peruvians and Americans alike. The theme of a nation coming to terms in a hard way with its cruel past is a big one, and its maker makes exactly the right choice by making the story a small one – a morose middle-aged taxi-driver, formerly a member of a paramilitary torture squad, spots a young woman who had escaped from the general’s clutches as a child and is attempting to make a life for herself in the city. He attempts to make amends secretly by helping her, but the buried past is powerful and casts a shadow on their lives and the lives around them. It’s a remarkable film and the climax packs a rare punch.

   MAGALLANES, like so many films in the fest, will likely never have American theatrical distribution, which means that for most of us, this fest will be the only way to see this film. This is the case with most of the films presented by Cine Las Americas, and that’s a big part of what makes the fest so important.

   

   LAS PLANTAS

   On Friday May 6, AFS is honored to copresent the Chilean film LAS PLANTAS, a dark, transgressive coming-of-age story about a teenage girl who escapes her familial problems first via the fantastic world of a popular comic book and then through the world of furtive, internet-aided sexual assignations.

   Cine Las Americas runs from May 4-8 at a variety of Austin venues, including the Marchesa Hall & Theatre. There are 38 feature films this year and a whole raft of short films. Badges are available, as are individual tickets. One third of this years presentations are free for all. More details at cinelasamericas.org.

6. Essential Cinema: “Roberto Rossellini: Restored & Revisited” Series Begins May 3

   April 28, 2016 4:00 pm Leave a Comment

   Ingrid Bergman on the set of STROMBOLI (1950), screening May 12

   Roberto Rossellini was a force. His production achievements are legendary—he made one of the greatest films about World War II, ROME, OPEN CITY during World War II, hustling the prohibitively scant resources available in newly liberated Rome in order to get his production going; or shooting Hollywood’s biggest star, Ingrid Bergman, tromping around barefoot on an erupting volcano. While his exploits behind the camera are often heroic/insane, his films are the opposite of bombastic. What makes Rossellini so special, and so relevant today, is that he was a facilitator of miracles.

   Eschewing screenplays, sometimes entirely (the shooting script for JOURNEY TO ITALY was three scribbles on a piece of paper and an expletive for his producer), Rossellini brilliantly assembled just the right elements to create powerful, unique narratives. Today, as acclaimed television shows are made with an industrial “shoot it out” approach that favor script over performance, Rossellini is a reminder of how observation and a deep understanding of film grammar are the ingredients of a transcendent film.  Consider Anna Magnani in the final sequence of ROME, OPEN CITY, a scene so emotional that it set off the brilliant actress to partially improvise one of the all time greatest moments of cinema. In JOURNEY TO ITALY, the film’s poetic climax was an unscripted accident, a moment created by the connectedness of the performances, an excellent cinematographer, and Rossellini’s ability to trust his heart, and his nose, which often found the action so he could lead his production there.

   In May, AFS presents five post-war period Rossellini films, four of them digital restorations from the Cineteca di Bologna’s “Rossellini Project”, which bring the films to life in a completely new light, as all previous copies had a myriad of technical issues. Each of the films in the series points to Rossellini’s ability to seek and find wonders. (AFS Associate Artistic Director Holly Herrick)

    

   Dates, times and ticket links follow.

   	ROME, OPEN CITY  Tue, May 3, 2016, 7:30 PM  During the last gasps of WWII in newly liberated Rome, young and still green director Roberto Rossellini begged, borrowed and cheated to create this masterpiece that told the story of the heroism of everyday Romans in wartime. Presented here in a beautiful DCP restoration by the Cinneteca di Bologna. More info & Tickets>>
   	PAISAN Tue, May 10, 2016, 7:30 PM One of the most moving and precise cinematic renderings of the personal experience of war can be found in PAISAN, the film that defined Rossellini as a humanist, and drew criticism from all sides, particularly his Communist and Catholic supporters. Digital restoration. More Info & Tickets>>
   	STROMBOLI Thu, May 12, 2016, 7:30 PM Rossellini and Ingrid Bergman became lovers on this first collaboration, which features the actress as a war refugee whose marriage of convenience makes her a stranger in a strange land on the desolate volcanic island of Stromboli. Digital restoration. More Info & Tickets>>
   	THE FLOWERS OF ST. FRANCIS Thu, May 19, 2016, 7:30 PM Fri, May 20, 2016, 8 PM Inspired by Saint Francis’ love and empathy and his own interest in spirituality, Rossellini tells the stories of Francis and his followers through a series of short episodes. More Info & Tickets>>
   	JOURNEY TO ITALY Thu, May 26, 2016, 7:30 PM Sun, May 29, 2016, 1 PM Ingrid Bergman’s third collaboration with Rossellini (appropriately about a couple’s failing marriage), draws on the magic of Italy as its subject and inspiration. Rossellini’s love of observing and discovering local culture made love letters to Italy of all his films, and JOURNEY TO ITALY draws that wonderful aspect of Rossellini’s work into focus. More Info & Tickets>>

7. Happy Birthday Carol Burnett! Watch Her Texas Film Hall Of Fame Speech

   April 26, 2016 9:39 pm Leave a Comment

   Last month we were honored to welcome Carol Burnett to our annual Texas Film Awards Gala. She was formally inducted into the Texas Film Hall Of Fame. Presenter Maya Rudolph said it all in her introductory remarks, and then Carol Burnett walked off with our hearts.

   Today is Carol’s birthday and we’re all thinking fondly of her and her legacy of comedy.

   Happy birthday Carol.

8. EMBRACE OF THE SERPENT Director Ciro Guerra Speaks About His “Violent, Psychedelic” Film

   April 25, 2016 6:12 pm Leave a Comment

   We were fortunate enough to be joined by Ciro Guerra back in October for a pair of events, including an advance screening of his EMBRACE OF THE SERPENT. The film, which critic David Edelstein has called “a reverse angle Heart Of Darkness,” has become something of a sensation since then, and will surely be represented on numerous year-end Best-Of lists. We are bringing it back this week for two shows, one on Thursday April 28 and one on Sunday May 1.

   Here is an LA Times interview with Guerra in which he shares some of the special challenges of working in the Amazon rain forest and also in finding a balance of perspectives in a film based on the diaries of white explorers.

   Here’s Guerra on the decision to shoot in black and white:

   “The film is inspired by the diaries of the explorers, but also by the photographs they took — those vintage pictures that are almost daguerreotypes. It’s different from the image of the Amazon you have. It doesn’t have that exuberance or the exoticism that you see in the travel brochures. It’s another world, another perspective.

   And the idea behind this perspective is very close to the idea of the indigenous perspective of the world — that the world is much bigger than our senses allow us to see. Being there I realized that I wasn’t going to be able to recreate the way the Amazon looks. The indigenous people have 50 words for the word “green.” We have one.

   In this way, it was possible that the viewer could imagine things — and the Amazon the viewer imagines could be more real than what I could deliver.”

   On the matter of narrative perspective:

   “My point of departure was the diaries. But when I went to the Amazon and I started interacting with the people there, I realized that that was the story that hadn’t been told. That’s what we Latin American filmmakers can do. The stories of the explorers have been told. What we can do is turn history on its head, give another perspective.”

9. Watch This: John Waters’ In-Theater “No Smoking” Announcement

   April 22, 2016 4:00 pm Leave a Comment

   John Waters, the Baltimore-based filmmaker who has become a kind of filthy uncle to all of us (and whose 70th birthday is today) was so appreciative of the long run of his movie PINK FLAMINGOS at Los Angeles’ Nuart Theatre that he starred in this special policy announcement trailer for them.

   It’s a mixed message, but we think you’ll appreciate it anyway.

10. SLASH Filmmaker Clay Liford To Upset Superhero Movie Fans: Drop Dead

    April 19, 2016 5:15 pm Leave a Comment

    SLASH writer/director Clay Liford

    The above headline, a riff on the famous New York Post headline “Ford To City: Drop Dead,” is perhaps a tiny bit inflammatory, but not much more so than the title of today’s excellent Talkhouse piece, “Fanboys, Hollywood Owes You Nothing,” by filmmaker Clay Liford.

    Liford, whose new movie SLASH premiered at SXSW to packed houses and excellent reviews, is fascinated by the complicated dynamic that exists between fans and content creators. SLASH is about a pair of amateur erotic fan fiction writers who absorb their favorite sci-fi characters into their private fantasy worlds. In the film it’s all part of a step towards greater maturity and growth of these characters, but the whacked out sex-on-a-spaceship scenarios are always merely private reveries, and the sense of “ownership” of these characters is a temporary phase. More rental than ownership.

    It’s a thought-provoking article, from a person who has clearly given the subject a lot of thought, and who has, since the premiere of SLASH, spent a fair amount of time engaging with franchise fans about these issues. Just as he resists, in the film, easy solutions to his characters problems, Liford would rather take the long, thorny path through the thicket of fan expectations.

    Here’s an excerpt:

    “Social media allows fans to maintain an unprecedented degree of up-to-the-minute discourse with creators across a wide swath of creative works – many who respond to fan praise or critiques arguably more than they should. This engagement can imply a social contract. And it’s a contract you enter into, willingly or not, the moment you make yourself known to your audience. If I am your customer, and you acknowledge that you can indeed hear my thoughts, then by the nature of free commerce, you should adjust your product to my stated whims. Except this is obviously a fallacy. I think simply stating it plainly makes that apparent, however easy it is to get caught up in the illusion. Especially because fans should have a voice, and it’s been proven many times that voice has an impact. It can save shows or movie franchises. Shows with less than stellar numbers, such as Supernatural, basically troll their own fans in order to affect ratings. Though this sometimes backfires, it’s only now that we’re beginning to see fan engagement used in an attempt to actively trample intellectual properties.”

    Read the whole article here. 

11. Frederick Wiseman Talks About His Method & “The Only Safe Assumption” About Audiences

    April 18, 2016 5:21 pm Leave a Comment

    Here’s a video interview with Frederick Wiseman recorded at the time of the release of his documentary NATIONAL GALLERY. In it, he gives a nice, concise overview of his aesthetic. In May and June, AFS will show three new 35mm prints of Wiseman’s early films TITICUT FOLLIES, HIGH SCHOOL and HOSPITAL.

    “The way I try to make the films is to give the viewer enough information that they can feel that they are present. And, at the same time, they can make up their own minds about what they are seeing and hearing. I don’t like films that are didactic or that condescend toward the viewer. The only safe assumption for me is that the viewer of the film is as smart or as dumb as I am.”

12. Listen Here: An Audio Interview with Screenwriter/Author Leigh Brackett

    April 15, 2016 10:43 pm Leave a Comment

    People are always surprised when you tell them that the same screenwriter who wrote 1946’s THE BIG SLEEP (with those journeymen collaborators Jules Furthman and William Faulkner) also wrote (in collaboration with Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas) THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. For some reason they are also surprised to find out that the writer in question was a woman.

    Leigh Brackett began her career writing for the sci-fi pulps, turning out large numbers of Martian adventures in the mold of Edgar Rice Burroughs. When producer/director Howard Hawks read a mystery novel that she wrote he asked his secretary to call up “this guy Brackett” to work on the adaptation of Raymond Chandler’s novel “The Big Sleep.” The film was a success and has become a highly influential classic.

    After a couple of other far less prestigious assignments, Brackett and her husband, fellow science fiction pulp author Edmond Hamilton moved to Ohio to raise their family. The pair continued to make a living at writing for a good many years and Brackett would have surely stayed away from films altogether had not Howard Hawks been such so persuasive, and so in need of her services. She returned to the film business in 1959 to write RIO BRAVO for Hawks, again in collaboration with Furthman.

    RIO BRAVO was a big hit and Hawks signed her to a multi-film deal. She then wrote HATARI (1962), EL DORADO (1967), RIO LOBO (1970) and did uncredited dialogue and polish work on other films. In 1972 she was engaged by producers Jerry Bick and Elliott Kastner to adapt Raymond Chandler’s novel “The Long Goodbye” for director Brian G. Hutton to direct and Elliott Gould to star in. Things did not go exactly as planned and Robert Altman took over as director. Naturally, Altman with his improvisational style made some major changes but the thrust of Brackett’s script remains.

    In 1977, George Lucas, a fan of Brackett’s science fantasy novels, hired Brackett to write the script for STAR WARS II. Upon reading it, Lucas had a number of major changes but Brackett died of cancer before being able to resume work on the script. The film was eventually made, of course, and the rest is a different kind of history.

    Here is an audio interview with Leigh Brackett recorded by author Tony Macklin in 1975. Enjoy.