And it is a great pleasure to crawl from the pool of shit that is The Rock (108) into the next five films in this crazy Quest 'o' mine. It's a big old batch of Euro this go-around, dominated strongly by French surreal comic Jacques Tati. Never seen any of the exploits of M. Hulot, but hot damn if I'm not licking my sunbaked lips with anticipation.
Criterion films scene 108, Criterion films to watch, currently, 402.
Must. Keep. Watching.
#109. The Scarlet Empress dir. Josef von Sternberg
I've expressed my worry many times over, that near-silent films of the 1930s are like potent sleeping pills to me. This one's set in Russia in the 19th century though and is supposed to feature "lavish sex and deceit." Sex and deceit always keep me wide awake, so maybe this'll be the new precedent. Also, director von Sternberg was obsessed with his lead, Marlena Dietrich, and obsession always leads to fascinating film.
#110. M. Hulot's Holiday dir. Jacques Tati
#111. Mon Ocle
#112. Playtime
Criterion threw together a three film run of films by the renowned actor and director Jacques Tati that focuses on his famed character M. Hulot. Each of the films, released across two decades, features the incorrigible Hulot getting himself in to some sort of slapstick situation amongst the rich and famous. I'm most excited about entry number two that finds Hulot stuck inside a Jetson's like home where technology goes hilariously awry.
#113. Big Deal on Madonna Street
1950s Italian crime-caper ... satire? Mmmmmm ... sounds brilliant. The 1950s are a goldmine of film and whenever the Criterion Collection, and it often times does, dips its pretty little head in to those waters, well, I get a little sweaty on my back. It's not weird, it's natural.
This is an interesting batch of films for me as they're all well known bits of European filmmaking that I've never touched upon in my perusal of cinema. Sometimes these work out, sometimes I find myself sprawled on my floor in a puddle of my own drool.
---
Criterion Counsel: The Scarlet Empress (109) she's still just sitting there, mouth all pout-filled, waiting for a watching, I just haven't found a moment to enjoy yet. Soon my lady, soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment