In Through The Mirror...

The Dancing Image was kind enough to tag me in a new meme that is going around so what follows is my little contribution to it. This meme began at this link from Checking on My Sausages and I am thrilled to take part in it. The original meme asked that we submit "a gallery of images ...to stand for so much of what makes Cinema such a rich and exciting medium." Now, I gotta tell ya, that's a pretty tall order so I am just following The Dancing Image's lead of offering up some stills I have captured with a certain theme. This particular theme, as you can see below, focuses on mirrors and self-image in film. I simply captured stills from the first twelve films I thought of that had a pivotal moment involving a character staring into a mirror. Some are shocked by what they see, others are thrilled, but they are all discovering something new and different about themselves. For most of these characters, they simply no longer recognize the person staring back. I relate to all these shots for various reasons and I find them all moving in there own way. Of course, there are hundreds of other films I could have selected for this but, like I said, I simply went with the first twelve that popped in my head.
Here are the rules for the meme if you choose to participate as copied partially from The Dancing Image:

1. Pick as many pictures as you want - but make them screen-captures. These need to be moments that speak to you that perhaps haven't been represented as stills before.

2. Pick a theme, any theme. If you want, you can follow my lead and chose "Mirror Shots" but won't it be more interesting if everybody chooses something different?

3. You MUST link to Stephen's original gallery and my post if I am tagging you and you choose to participate (hey, I could use some new readers so help a brother out!)
Also, if you could please link back to The Dancing Image as well, I would greatly appreciate it.

4. Tag five blogs.


Here are the five bloggers I would like to see tackle this interesting and wide-open meme if they are interested:

Amanda at Made for TV Mayhem

J.D. at Radiator Heaven

DforDoom at Cult Movie Reviews

Hans at Quite Cool

David at Tomb it May Concern.





Rita Hayworth in Orson Welles' The Lady From Shanghai (1947)



Sylvia Kristel in Just Jaeckin's Emmanuelle (1974)



David Bowie in Nicolas Roeg's The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)



Sylvester Stallone in John G. Avildsen's Rocky (1976)



Roy Scheider and Jessica Lange in Bob Fosse's All That Jazz (1979)



Zoe Tamerlis in Abel Ferrara's MS.45 (1981)



Lysa Thatcher in Cecil Howard's Neon Nights (1981)



Nastassja Kinski in Wim Wenders' Paris Texas (1984)



Elisabeth Shue in Mike Figgis' Leaving Las Vegas (1995)



Asia Argento in Dario Argento's The Stendhal Syndrome (1996)



Mark Wahlberg in Paul Thomas Anderson's Boogie Nights (1997)



Isabelle Fuhrman in the unused ending of Jaume Collet-Serra's Orphan (2009)

Reading The Movies (A Meme)

I’ve been tagged by the always terrific Dancing Image in a meme going around focusing on the film books that have proved inspirational in the way I think and write about films. It’s a terrific idea for a meme and I am more than happy to participate. I’ve selected a dozen or so of my favorite books on cinema that have proved invaluable references to me throughout the years, and I would recommend any of them to any fellow film lover. While these choices definitely show me as a cineaste more interested in film history rather than theory or criticism, I could have easily selected any number of critical works from a Kael, Rosenbaum, Ebert or Sarris that I have left off here…I just went with my gut though and these were the books that jumped out at me as I was constructing the list.

In alphabetical order by title:

Abel Ferrara: The Moral Vision: Brad Stevens penetrating look at the films and career of Ferrara is one of the great film studies I have ever read. Carefully balancing history and criticism with one of the sharpest pens around, Stevens finds the depth and complexity in Ferrara’s work that so many others miss.

Charlie Kaufman and Hollywood’s Merry Band of Pranksters: Derek Hill’s wonderfully perceptive book on a movement most haven’t even noticed yet will continue to resonate for years to come, especially when the work of folks like Sofia Coppola and Wes Anderson have had time to really sink into film history’s collective psyche.

Double Lives, Second Chances: Annette Insdorf’s tremendous book on Kieslowski’s life and career is my favorite on the much-missed Polish director. As with her studies on Truffaut, Insdorf brings an equal amount of passion and intelligence to her look at Kieslowski and her thoughts will make even the most seasoned watchers notice something new in his films after reading.

Flesh and Blood Compendium: Flesh and Flood was a daring British film magazine that stretched throughout the nineties. This massive best-of collection features many of their best interviews, reviews and studies. Just like the magazine, it is a truly ambitious and quite astonishing look at the outer edges of cinema history.

Future Noir: The Making of Blade Runner: Paul Sammon’s extremely exhaustive and entertaining book on the making of Blade Runner remains perhaps the finest single look at the making of a film ever written.

Greta Garbo: A Cinematic Legacy: The ever popular “Films of” type book has been done time and time again but never has it been so meticulously researched or as beautifully presented as Mark Vieira does here.

Immoral Tales: I have written of the profound effect this Tohill and Tombs book has had on me, and it has lost none of its importance in the near fifteen years since it first hit American shores.

Mario Bava: All The Colors of The Dark: Tim Lucas’ monumental book is not only one of the great biographies ever written on a filmmaker, but it also stands as one of the great film histories ever published. Tim’s ambitious work will make you rethink not only Mario Bava's place among the great filmmakers of the 2oth Century, but also the history of film itself.

The Exorcist: BFI Modern Classics: I love these little BFI film books and Mark Kermode’s look at William Friedkin’s much-misunderstood classic is a great read.

The New Wave: James Monaco’s book had a huge impact on me when I discovered it in high school, and I still think it is the best thing ever written on the films of perhaps cinema’s most influential movement. I like it so much that I am choosing it over another favorite, Godard on Godard.

The Other Hollywood: Legs McNeil and Jennifer Osbourne's extremely entertaining and informative work on the part of film history so many like to ignore is important stuff. The first half of the book covering the earliest days of the adult film industry up through the early eighties when video take over is always eye opening and at times jaw dropping.

Truffaut by Truffaut: I have an entire book shelf dedicated to books on Truffaut and this gorgeous coffee table collection is my favorite. Told through his own words and including hundreds of rare documents and photos, this is my favorite book on my favorite director.

I would love to see the lists of the following...so consider yourself tagged, but don't feel any pressure to join in if the timing isn't right:

J.D. at Radiator Heaven.

Kate at Love Train for The Tenebrous Empire.

IbeTolis at Film for the Soul.

Amanda at Made for TV Mayhem.

Brandon Colvin at Out 1.

The Twenty Actresses Meme Redux (An Alternate List)

Even though it was supposed to have just been in fun, I must admit that I don't think I have ever been unhappier with a post as I was with the twenty actresses meme I posted earlier this week. By attempting to make it easier on myself by making the selections post 1970 actresses only, I kind of shot myself in the foot. While I was really happy to highlight a few actors I hadn't here before like Charlize Theron, the post finally just doesn't feel much like a Moon in the Gutter entry (don't ask me what that is). So, while it wasn't asked for I have decided to create an alternate list of sorts highlighting twenty favorites that were working before 1970...my actual 'favorites' list would most likely be a combination of this and the last one. Once again, thanks to Flickhead for tagging me and to The Film Experience for starting the meme.

Laura Antonelli:



Anouk Aimee:



Tine Aumont:



Brigitte Bardot:



Florinda Bolkan:



Francoise Dorleac:



Marie Dubois:



Edwige Fenech:



Greta Garbo:



Claude Jade:



Carole Lombard:



Soledad Miranda:



Marilyn Monroe:



Kim Novak:



Stefania Sandrelli:



Sharon Tate:



Monica Vitti:



Tuesday Weld:



Carol White:



Natalie Wood:

Alphabet Meme

I have been tagged by both Cinema Viewfinder and Film for the Soul in the following Meme.
Here are the rules:

1. Pick one film to represent each letter of the alphabet.

2. The letter "A" and the word "The" do not count as the beginning of a film's title, unless the film is simply titled A or The, and I don't know of any films with those titles.

3. Return of the Jedi belongs under "R," not "S" as in Star Wars Episode IV: Return of the Jedi. This rule applies to all films in the original Star Wars trilogy; all that followed start with "S." Similarly, Raiders of the Lost Ark belongs under "R," not "I" as in Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. Conversely, all films in the LOTR series belong under "L" and all films in the Chronicles of Narnia series belong under "C," as that's what those filmmakers called their films from the start. In other words, movies are stuck with the titles their owners gave them at the time of their theatrical release. Use your better judgement to apply the above rule to any series/films not mentioned.

4. Films that start with a number are filed under the first letter of their number's word. 12 Monkeys would be filed under "T."

5. Link back to Blog Cabins in your post so that I can eventually type "alphabet meme" into Google and come up #1, then make a post where I declare that I am the King of Google.

6. If you're selected, you have to then select 5 more people.

I decided I would choose a film I dig for each letter that I haven't covered in-depth here previously. This isn't really any kind of all time favorite list (although some of these rank among my favorite films), just some titles I admire that will hopefully feature sometime here in the future.

A. The April Fools (Stuart Rosenberg)
B. Bodies, Rest and Motion (Michael Steinberg)
C. Ciao Manhattan (John Palmer and David Weisman)
D. Discrete Charm of the Bourgeoisie (Luis Bunuel)
E. Exhibition (Jean-Francois Davy)
F. Fabulous Baker Boys (Steve Kloves)
G. Go (Doug Liman)
H. Happiness (Todd Solondz)
I. If It’s Tuesday It Must Be Belgium (Mel Stuart)
J. Jennifer Eight (Bruce Robinson)
K. Killing Zoe (Roger Avery)
L. Lord Love a Duck (George Axelrod)
M. Mr. Jealously (Noah Baumbach)
N. New Rose Hotel (Abel Ferrara)
O. Out of the Blue (Dennis Hopper)
P. Panic (Henry Bromell)
Q. Queen’s Logic (Steve Rash)
R. Racing with the Moon (Richard Benjamin)
S. Sharky’s Machine (Burt Reynolds)
T. The Tenant (Roman Polanski)
U. Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Jacques Demy)
V. Virgin Among the Living Dead (Jess Franco)
W. Waterdance (Neal Jimenez)
X. X: Man with the X-Ray Eyes (Roger Corman)
Y. You’ve Got Mail (Nora Ephron)
Z. Zoolander (Ben Stiller)

I am tagging:

Keith at Sugar and Spice
Steve at Last Picture Show
Mr. Peel at Mr. Peel's Sardine Liqueur
Ed Howard at Only The Cinema
Kimberly Lindbergs at Cinebeats

My apologies to any of them that have already been tagged...

Tagged Twice

Now that I have a little more time on my hands I can hopefully have more of an opportunity to participate in any “Meme” invitations I might receive. Recently I was tagged by both Kimberly at the always essential Cinebeats and Bob at the always wonderful Eternal Sunshine Of The Logical Mind for a Meme with the following rules:

1. Pick up the nearest book.
2. Open to page 123.
3. Locate the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences on your blog and in so doing…
5. Tag five people, and acknowledge who tagged you.

So thanks to both Kimberly and Bob for tagging me and since I was tagged twice here are two selections.
I’ve been working my way through several books as of late with one being the Fab Press published Making Friday The 13th: The Legend of Camp Blood by Dave Grove.
This 2005 book is quite a nostalgic blast and is crammed full with information concerning every film in the series, as well as hundreds of eye popping behind the scenes photos, films stills and promotional materials. Grove’s writing is very nice and the book seems to me to be pretty damn definitive on the subject of The Friday series (although I haven’t had a chance to get Peter Bracke’s Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday The 13th yet.)

Here are those sentences from page 123 describing a behind the scenes story regarding one of the key moments in Part 4: The Final Chapter:

"In a twist on the scene in Friday the 13th Part 2 where Ginny impersonated Pamela Voorhees, Tommy shaves his head and darkens his eyes to distract Jason Voorhees into thinking he's seeing his younger self so Trish can attack. Rather than have Feldman shave his head, Savini applied a latex cover over Feldman's head, which was problematic since the latex appliance restricted the actor's circulation and made him sick during filming. Savini and Zito were concerned, prior to shooting the scene, whether Jason would be fooled by Tommy's deception."

Another film book I have been working through is one I read about twenty years ago that I recently revisited. Susan Dworkin's Double De Palma is a fascinating, if occasionally frustrating, look at Brian De Palma on the set of Body Double. Published by NewMarket in 1984, this book has some wonderful anecdotes, great stills and you really get a sense of what the great De Palma is like on the set and in life...however occasionally Dworkin's writing ventures off target a bit for me with too much contextualizing. Flipping to page 123, I found these sentences centering on a scene between actors Craig Wasson and Deborah Shelton.

"'Right after you called, my wife called,' Craig said. 'She's here now. I'm kind of in a strange situation.'"

I’m tagging
Steve Langton at The Last Picture Show
Mr. Peel at Mr. Peel’s Sardine Liqueur
Mariana at Gatochy
Brandon Colvin at Out One
And
J.D. at Radiator Heaven

All five can definitely feel free to not participate of course and I apologize to any of the above who have already been tagged numerous times for this.