Movies You May Have Missed: 7/15/08
Jason Statham and Saffron Burrows in The Bank Job
All of those weeks in the early part of the year where there was nothing good in the Weekend Forecast have now carried over to the DVD releases. There doesn’t appear to be much to get excited about on this particular Tuesday.
Though it doesn’t quite fit the spirit in which MYMHM was created, The Bank Job looks to be the best bet for the week and I’m guessing a lot of you skipped it when it was in theaters. My March 9th 3-star review began with the longest single sentence in the history of Living in Cinema at 106 words. Suffice it to say, The Bank Job is a decent enough heist picture for adults that might not be worth running out to a theater to see, but it’s a solid rental especially if you love the genre like I do.
Filed under: Miscellaneous
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Just saw that there’s a new 50th Anniversary Edition of a Touch of Evil coming out in October. Restored version, theatrical version, and preview version, all 3 in the box.
I know somebody here has said they prefer the original cut with the Mancini music and the credits over the opening long-take. But can’t remember who said that. Sounds like something Craig “Please let me keep this memory, just this one!” Kennedy would want.
Knowing you guys, you’ve already discussed this months ago. But I’m just finding out.
“…the longest single sentence in the history of Living in Cinema at 106 words.”
Sounds like a dare. Don’t taunt me, conjunction boy.
“The Bank Job” only opens in SA cinemas this Friday!
That is quite a sentence, but cogent and gramatically sound, and a fine lead-in to a reasonably entertaining film. I remember this review well, and the film-THE BANK JOB is reasonably entertaining.
As it turns out this week, July 15th offers up more by way of DVD releases than initially meets the eye, but Craig is right to bemoan the sparcity of releases from early season trips to the cinema. The Brazilian film, THE YEAR MY PARENTS WENT ON VACATION, which is a kind of coming-of-age in a small town during the World Cup (won the Brazilians) in 1970 may not make year-end ten best lists, but it’s nonetheless an observant and sensitive film that in essence shows how the sporting fervor and political chaos of that time is filtered through the eyes of a 12 year-old Jewish-Brazilian boy, who is brought up by a hardliner, after his parents go on the lam. The film is still a candidate for my own honorable-mention list, and I know several LIC readers have recommended it too. It survives some admittedly saccharine moments, and its all so straitforward, but it modestly hits its mark and is wortha look-see. I like the name of the director of the film: Cao Hamburger. Sounds like an exotic dish. (released by City Lights DVD)
Inexplicably, a 1947 black and white French film that won the Best Foreign language Oscar, MONSIEUR VINCENT, has been tied up in rights issues for years, and only this week is now a legitimate DVD from Lions Gate. The print from Studio Canal (typically) is quite solid, and the film, while not the classic it is purportd to be, is still one of the better films in the religious genre, on par with the likes of “The Song of Bernadette” while trumping “The Miracle of the Lady of Fatima” and “The Shoes of the Fisherman.” The story, which chronicles the rise of a saint from slavery has some “Les Miserables” elements in the plot and characters, but it is far simpler. The director is Maurice Clochet, the lead actor, Pierre Fresnay. The Vatican says its among the greatest religious films ever made, so I guess we should all bow down and remain awestruck. Right? Well, not quite–it is a harmless enough diversion, if not particularly profound biopic about a humanitarian. I watched it last night for the first time after the DVD arrived in my mailbox and found it reasonably entertaining, while my cousin, who watched it with me, found it better than that.
Finally, this week’s Criterion offering is Jacques Tati’s final film, TRAFIC, which is a 1971 color feature that many (rightly) consider a minor film in his canon; still any Tati film must be part of a comprehensive DVD collection, and TRAFIC is not without its pleasures. Tati portrays the iconic M. Hulot again, and the film could be seen as a story of lost control, both Hulot’s and Tati’s. Having reduced Hulot to merely one figure amid PLAYTIME’S multitudes, Tati was reluctant to use him again as a central protagonist, but was obliged to in order to get funding. Hulot’s role here is different than in the earlier films: he is neither the cause of chaos, as in M. HULOT’S HOLIDAY, nor a bemused observer of modernity, himself belonger to a saner world, as in PLAYTIME and MON ONCLE. Implicated as much as anyone else in the automobile universe, Hulot is himself the designer of a futile lifestyle project. Hence we see him in the end as powerless, as standing apart, as an exile on life’s roadside, instead of the befuddles but active explorer of PLAYTIME’S futuristic urban jungle.
The jokes in TRAFIC are often languid and the film is often one of melancholy and despair, but as it chronicles Tati’s own descent near the end of his career, it is still essential as part of this most important artist’s output. The film in the end is not consistantly funny, but it still has its moments and it remains significant. I picked up this DVD over the weekend at Kim’s and it evinces Criterion’s typical high-quality standards with its restored, high-definition digital transfer; it includes an interview with the cast from 1971, a television episode, “The Comedy of Jacques Tati,” and one a second disc, “In the Footsteps of M. Hulot (1989), a two-part documentary by Sophie Tatischeff tracing the evolution of Tati’s beloved alter ego. I haven’t had a chance to look at this yet.
As a follow-up post, I would also like to note that there is yet another worthwhile DVD release this week from Kino. A THROW OF DICE, a 1929 by Franz Osten, which for months has been circulating on a fine-quality DVDR, is finally getting the legitimate transfer it has long deserved.
The film is based on “The Mahabharata” the ancient Indian epic, about two kings who fall in love with the same woman. Some here on LIC may have seen or remembered Peter Brooks’ own take on this, called THE MAHABAHARATA, which is a marathon but rewarding cinematic experience. That DVD set is available from Image in a remaster that trumps the initial release.
DICE combines the aesthetics of German silent moviemaking wth the lavish sensibilities of Indian cinema, and the combination somehow works, as it showcases a common ground for both elements to work–the art of the spectacle.
It’s essential. My own copy is on its way.
I’ve got The Year My Parents Went on Vacation And All I Got Was This Lousy T-shirt as well as Shotgun Stories on the way from Netflix. Bank Job was already in my queue, but I appreciate the mentions Craig.
In further DVD news, I see that Baby Mama is now set for a Sept 9 release with an audio commentary and alternate ending!! Most importantly for Craig, it will also be released on Blu-ray so that he can enjoy that sink-urination scene in Hi-def.
Don’t say I didn’t get you anything good for your birthday, Craig, as belated as this tidbit may be.
Samuel, if I may call you Samuel…The Year My Parents Went on Vacation is an excellent addition. I swear my eyes passed over it when I was going down the list, but somehow I forgot about it when I sat down to actually write the post. It doesn’t help that I didn’t see it myself. Thanks also for your DVD update. I don’t know about you, but I’m content to stick with new releases and have you chime in with the Classics.
Trafic is especially good news even if it’s considered minor Tati. It’s the one Hulot film I haven’t yet seen. I’m not sure which one is my favorite.
Ryan, the Mancini version was the first version I ever saw so I have a fondness for it, though I almost always side with the vision of the original artist…unless it’s James Cameron’s Aliens, but that’s another story. It’ll be cool to be able to watch both versions. Neither is perfect, but they’re both good.
Also, I cheated on that sentence with semi-colons. I remember writing it now and trying to come up with a less wordy way, but nothing satisfied. Not a very good way to open a review and I’m sure that was the last sentence many people read before moving on to more ADD friendly pastures.
Nick, are you going to check it out? Like I said it’s not one I’d recommend a person run out and see, but it’s a pretty easy rental.
Joel, I will file it right next to my Perfect Weapon laserdisc.
Jeff Speakman is the Perfect Weapon, Craig, regardless of whether or not he’s located in your Corner of Shame.
But you are so getting Baby Mama in Blu-ray for Christmas. Santa loves you Craig.
Thanks for the heads up about Touch of Evil, Ryan. That’s exciting news. Perhaps Craig’s epic sentence was a prose style equivalent of an extended no-cuts opening movie sequence.
And as always, Sam provides us with comprehensive and insightful reviews of upcoming arthouse and classic DVD releases. Together with Alexander (and his clones) you’re a great champion of such films Sam. As I’ve noted before, you two function as LiC’s David Kehr.
What is it with Americans and sink urination? As Craig previously noted it’s occurred in a few films over the past several months. And I know from a script it’ll make yet another appearance in an upcoming high profile one.
Urinating in the sink is the new black. All the cool kids are doing it.
Including Nathan junior?
Nathan Jr is in Arizona somewheres…or maybe it was Utah. Anyway, it takes about 6-9 months for the newest trends to filter out there. So no, or at least not yet.
Samuel is most distinguished Craig. LOL!!! Thanks! I would be most honored to continue to supplement this most worthy Tuesday thread.
Sartre, you and Alexander are top-rank LIC members! Neither one of you is shy in issuing compliments and making someone feel like they are wanted. Both of you are humble, gracious, and of the highest intellect, much like the site’s fearless leader.
Kehr’s a tough act to follow! LOL!!!
Quick DVD reminder and heads-up:
Next week—7/22/08 will bring two new Criterion releases, which I will more than happy to make a contribution on when we get to that date. Since I will be obtaining both discs at Kim’s on Thursday, I will at least be able to report on the actual packages and extras.
In view of Alexander’s recent (fascinating) discourse on Kurosawa and “Kagemusha” in particular, I can say I’m sure he would himself be excited over the new two-disc remaster of a film that has been in the Criterion Collection for several years, HIGH AND LOW. This is a highly-touted reissue of one of Kurosawa’s masterworks, and DVD Beaver is already reporting a significant improvement over the earlier disc.
And then there’s Carl Theodore Dreyer’s VAMPYR which is only one of the supreme masterpieces in the entire history of the cinema, making it’s long anticipated Region 1 DVD debut in a two-disc set.
Both have the usual discounts on Amazon and elsewhere and will probably ship by Monday.
It will be glorious to comment on these two ultra-urgent-to-acquire masterworks on Tuesday. I bet Alexander, sartre, Ryan, Daniel, Evan, Ari, Pierre, Chuck, Alison, Jeff, Hedwig, Miranda and of (course) Craig are fans of these films.
I’m indeed excited about High and Low two-disc remaster, Sam, as well as Dreyer’s magnificent Vampyr, one of my favorite films of all time. I’m also an admirer Tati’s Trafic even if it is something of a lesser accomplishment compared to his “greats.”
The Year My Parents Went on Vacation is a film I’ve been meaning to see for a long time and this will be a good opportunity indeed.
Alexander: I agree that the long-last release of VAMPYR may be the year’s most stunning DVD moment of all.
Oh dear. I must admit that I have not seen Dreyer’s VAMPYR yet, nor was I even familiar with HIGH AND LOW. Although I am well versed on Kurosawa, having seen all of his greats (I personally have a soft spot for SANJURO), I was not familiar with this one.
So thankyou Sam for including me in your list of cinephiles, but I confess these two were blindspots in my vocabulary.
However, I can’t wait to check them both out, as they sound positively brilliant.
Well, Evan, they will be easy enough to netflix.
Your big marathon is three days away. Like a number of LIC devotees I await your reaction.
Alexander, would you consider VAMPYR your absolute favorite Dreyer, or does PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC, DAY OF WRATH or ORDET enter into the mix? I’m curious to know.
High and Low is a welcome re-issue. It’s not the first film to roll off the lips in a Kurosawa discussion, but it’s a good one. A must-see for anti-samurai film professors.
“Urinating in the sink is the new black.” hahahah. Sink peers unite!
“A must see for anti-samurai film professors.”
LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’m a Dreyer fan, but for me, Vampyr is his most baffling film. I’ve seen it two or three times and each time, I’m hornswoggled as to how to enter into it.
On the other hand, I ‘got’ Ordet and Joan of Arc on my second viewing, and Day of Wrath was an immediate gut-punch.
I must say you are not alone, Jeff. VAMPYR is a surrealistic dream of a film, and I continue to find it as baffling as you do. Additionally, I agree with what you say about DAY OF WRATH flooring you, and ODET and JOAN OF ARC creaping up.
I consider JOAN OF ARC as his greatest film, and one of the supreme treasures of silent cinema, but those others push very close. JOA contains what is surely the greatest performance by a female in a leading role in movie history–that of Renee Falconetti. But hey, I know, too many superlatives in one day. LOL!!!
Haha, Craig, which anti-samurai professors could you be writing about? :)
I too consider Joan of Arc Dreyer’s absolute best film, Sam. That film leaves scars after you watch it. It screws you up and it’s immediately, bracingly accessible, something that may not be said about several of Dreyer’s other films, Vampyr obviously included.
I’ve seen Vampyr a bunch of times, and I approach it a little like a David Lynch film: I’m pretty sure I may never “get it,” or at the least find myself on the outside as Jeff notes, but I find it simply brilliant despite its (I think intentionally) baffling qualities.
Ordet is definitely a film that “creaps up” on you, and Day of Wrath is certainly the immediate gut-punch of which Jeff writes.
Dreyer’s in that super heavyweight class, though, in that I think you could defend any one of these as his best, but I have to go with (what I think is) the conventional pick, The Passion of Joan of Arc. Like I said, that film leaves scars.
Sam, THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC is my all time favorite film, and I consider it to be the greatest film of all time.
I’ve been waiting on VAMPYR to be released on DVD since I first saw it in high school. It has a haunting, elegant eeriness that goes nearly unsurpassed in the annals of cinema. The fact that Criterion is releasing it makes it even better.
The Passion of Joan of Arc is a very worthy choice as your all time favorite film, Matthew. It’s unquestionably near the very top for me as well (and Vampyr is not far down). I agree about Vampyr possessing that porous “haunting, elegant eeriness that goes nearly unsurpassed in the annals of cinema,” and those attributes are partially why I keep revisiting it, I’m sure.
Wonderful choice there Matthew, and ditto for Alexander’s usual enrichments. PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC, depending on what day it is, could be my #1 favorite film. I have argued about it for years, and yes I agree it does leave you with scars.
In a still-running all-time French film poll that I am conducting with my e mail network, I have PASSION as the #2 greatest French film of all-time, with Bresson’s AU HASARD BALTHAZAR at #1 and Renoir’s LE REGLE DU JEU at #3. I know that these positionings can be shuffled at any-time. LOL!
But I do agree that are few of any films in cinema that leave you shakin like PASSION.
BREAKING DVD NEWS!!!!!!!
The Criterion releases for October are upon the site!
Two more Melvilles:
Le Doulos
Le Deuxime Souffle
Costa-Gavres’
Missing
The new “Eclipse” box slated for the same month is to die for!!!
Mizoguchi’s “Fallen Women” It includes:
The Osaka Elegy
Sisters of the Gion
Women of the Night
Street of Shame
Although I own the BFI Region 2 of LE DOULOS, and like the film,I look forward to this new Criterion edition with some interesting extras. Likewise, for LE DEUXIME SOUFFLE, which is one a sub-standard DVDR.
MISSING is not a great film, but its still a good one–taut, gripping and disturbing. An interesting and welcome surprise.
The first appearance of THE OSAKA ELEGY on DVD is cause for celebration as is the debut of SISTERS. The other two in the set have been available in wonderful Region 2 editions from Masters of Cinema, but they still embellish the Eclipse set. Kenji Mizoguchi is truly one of the greatest of directors by any barometer! I’m quaking in my boots!
Great news Sam. I don’t remember Osaka well, but Sisters is terrific. Glad to see it coming to US DVD. As well as the other two which I’ve never seen.
Stupendous news, Sam, thanks for passing that along. I’m especially pleased to hear about those Mizoguchi works, and the Melvilles, as I had to go to the Castro approximately eleven months ago to see Le Doulos (which was very fun experience, though).
Nevermind. It won’t let me delete my comment so here we go, lol.
The Castro sounds like a great revival house Alexander!
I agree with you on LE DOULOS.
I had a discussion with a friend last week about Melville. My favorite five of his in order are:
1.) LE CIRCLE ROUGE
2.) LE SAMURAI
3.) ARMY OF SHADOWS
4.) LES ENFANTS TERRIBLES
5.) LA SILENCE DE LA MER
Le Doulos and Bob le Flambeur push close. I know, I am a hopeless “list” maniac. All part of the affliction. If you (or anyone else) sees this, I would love to hear how you would place his best films.
Sam, one day you must make the transamerican pilgrimage to The Castro.
That’s a wonderful list of Melville favorites.
1) Le Samurai
2)Les Enfants Terribles
3) La Silence De La Mer
4) Le Circle Rouge
5) Le Doulos
6) Army of Shadows
7) Bob le Flambeur (never really fell in love with this one, but it was certainly quite solid… Melville was still perfecting his craft…)
As expected, a fantastic list by a true lover of cinema, Mr. Coleman. I completely agree with the essence of what you say about BOB LE FLAMBEUR, and I admit SAMURAI could be my favorite on another day. LES ENFANTS (your #2) is an emotional gem…..another that could be at the top on another day. Alexander, are you familiar with or do you own the Masters of Cinema DVD set of LA SILENCE?
Sartre, I will make that trip one day. That is a certainty. Thank You.