Sunday, March 01, 1981

MARCH 1981, STOCKHOLM

Painters Painting. US 1973. D: Emile de Antonio. Filmklubben / Filmhuset. Unexpectedly powerful. Barnett Newman, Willem de Kooning, Frank Stella, Robert Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, Robert Scull (the dealer piranha), Leo Castelli (the asshole). A seminal film of the 1970s
Notorious. Fkl / Fst. [3] Bad print, ingenious film.
The Horror Show. US 1978. D: Richard Schickel. Palladium. CBS compilation in theatrical distribution. Strong scenes from The Phantom of the Opera (Chaney), Island of Lost Souls (Laughton), Frankenstein (Karloff), Creature from the Black Lagoon, etc. Many strange moments.
Ensayo de un crimen. MX 1955. D: Luis Buñuel. Fkl / Fh. Surprise: a key film, ironic, black comedy, the precursor of B's late work.
Under Capricorn / Kauriin merkeissä. GB 1949. D: Alfred Hitchcock. Ingrid Bergman. Fkl / Fst. Lauded by Rohmer and Chabrol, maybe not quite so great.
Der Stolz der Firma. DE 1914. D: Carl Wilhelm. Ernst Lubitsch. Fkl / Fh. Not impressed.
Fräulein Piccolo. DE 1914. D: Franz Hofer. Ernst Lubitsch. Fkl / Fh. Not impressed.
Schuhpalast Pinkus. DE 1916. D: Ernst Lubitsch. Fkl / Fh. Not impressed.
Wenn vier dasselbe tun. DE 1917. D: Ernst Lubitsch. Fkl / Fh. Not impressed.
The Young One / Neitsytsaari. MX/US 1960. D: Luis Buñuel. Fkl / Fh. Original in English. A little masterpiece.
Kaze no naka no mendoori / A Hen in the Wind. JP 1948. D: Yasujiro Ozu. Fkl / Fh. I'm still struggling to get Ozu. His earlier films like this are easier to access, as the narration is more concrete, more dense.
Ein fideles Gefängnis. DE 1917. D: Ernst Lubitsch. Fkl / Fh. Not impressed.
Ich möchte kein Mann sein. DE 1918. D: Ernst Lubitsch. Fkl / Fh. Not impressed. Having seen many weak early L. films I missed the charm of this, too.
Die Augen der Mumie Ma. DE 1918. D: Ernst Lubitsch. Fkl / Fh. A bad print. Not impressed.
Carmen. DE 1918. D: Ernst Lubitsch. Pola Negri. Fkl / Fh. A good print, screening of 85 min. In this film I experienced the L. touch at its earliest.
Die Austernprinzessin / Osteriprinsessa. DE 1919. D: Ernst Lubitsch. Ossi Oswalda. Fkl / Fh. A worn print but full length. Funny, fantastic satire.
Dracula / Kreivi Dracula. GB 1973. D: Dan Curtis. Jack Palance. Saw part. tv. Not impressed.
Intolerance / Suvaitsemattomuus. US 1916. D: D.W. Griffith. Fkl / Fh. A toned print, screening of 165 min. Impressed me much stronger than The Birth of a Nation. Crazily ambitious, with a sense of humour.
Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex *But Were Afraid to Ask / Mitä kaikkea oletkaan aina halunnut tietää seksistä *mutta et ole uskaltanut kysyä. US 1972. D: Woody Allen. Rigoletto. Another surprise. My favourite W.A. besides Annie Hall. Great parodies of film styles: 1: the court jester (costume drama), 2: the hungry wolf (en glupsk varg) (Italian story of alienation), 3: the lamb (Love Story), 4: the man in drag (empathy), 5: What's Your Perversion? (tv commercial and a sponsored tv show), 6: the mammoth breast (science fiction), 7: the machine room (a nature documentary).
Madame Dubarry / Madame Dubarry. DE 1919. D: Ernst Lubitsch. Pola Negri. Fkl / Fh. A worn but almost full-length print. History is not the forte of L.
Nihon no yoru to kiri / Night and Fog in Japan. JP 1960. D: Nagisa Oshima. Fkl / Fh. Not impressed.
Die Puppe / Nukke. DE 1919. D: Ernst Lubitsch. Ossi Oswalda. Fkl / Fh. A worn but full-length print. Fantastic, charming, moving.
Party Girl / Chicagon yöperhoset. US 1958. D: Nicholas Ray. Cyd Charisse. Fkl / Fh. Ray meets the hard MGM glamour.
Kohlhiesels Töchter. DE 1920. D: Ernst Lubitsch. Henny Porten. Fkl / Fh. A very worn print. A broad Bavarian farce. Laughter non stop.
Cabiria / Cabiria. IT 1914. D: Giovanni Pastrone. Bartolomeo Pagano (Maciste). Fkl / Fh. A fine print from the vintage Swedish-titled version. An astounding mastodont film, better than its reputation, but not in the class of Griffith.
Romeo und Julia im Schnee. DE 1920. D: Ernst Lubitsch. Fkl / Fh. A good print. Another broad Bavarian farce, and another laughter success.