Director Terrence Malick’s return to the multiplex in 1998 with The Thin Red Line was one of the more remarkable comebacks in the 100-year history of the movie industry. Malick, a Texas native who made two of the most celebrated and influential American dramas of the 1970s, Badlands and Days of Heaven, promptly vanished for a good 20 years before returning with, of all things, a meditation on nature and humanity on the front lines of the Second World War. That his comeback film saw only modest box-office returns but earned seven Oscar nominations is an indicator of the esteem in which Malick is held by his peers.
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Robert Elswit interview
My interview with cinematographer Robert Elswit, who’s in the running for an Oscar nomination for Good Night, And Good Luck., is online at the Film & Video Web site. Most interesting bits? Faces was the primary influence on how Good Night, And Good Luck. was shot. And the look of Syriana was modeled in part on The Insider. Elswit’s a pretty interesting guy, I think.
Miyazaki on TCM
Sweeeeeet.
Turner Classic Movies is having a Studio Ghibli fest every Thursday during the month of January. Films are being shown in their English-dubbed versions in the evenings, so you can safely go about your regular routine. But during the overnight hours, each one will be re-broadcast in the original Japanese. Which is, of course, the only way to fly.
TCM is a fine channel — there are no commercial interruptions, films are uncut, and these will likely be letterboxed. And Ghibli impresario Hayao Miyazaki, who directed most of these titles, is a filmmaker and fantasist second to none. Trust me on this. Even if you think you hate anime, you really need to go there; Miyazaki’s work stands well apart from the rest of the genre. The films included in the series are Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Nausicaa of the Valley, Castle in the Sky, My Neighbor Totoro, Porco Rosso, Whisper of the Heart, Only Yesterday, and Pom Poko.
Movies Seen, 2006 (by title)
Movies Seen, 2006 (by letter grade)
In cars
While you wait for that new Pixar feature to make its way to theater screens, check out this blast from the past — a spectacular stunt-heavy advertisement for the Isuzu Gemini (also marketed as the Pontiac Sunbird) from the days before photoreal CG models of cars made this a cakewalk for any L.A. visual effects house. If you appreciate old-school stuntwork, I bet this footage will induce some pleasant combination of nostalgia and exhilaration.
Richard Stanley
I’ve posted a long blog entry on RIchard Stanley’s Hardware and Dust Devil over at Cinemarati. These aren’t great horror movies, but they’re intelligent, interesting ones — and they were a highlight of my movie-watching year.
King Kong (2005)
The best thing about Peter Jackson’s King Kong may be that his attachment to the project likely kept anybody else from getting the job. For all its flaws, and there are many — that bloated running time chief among them — King Kong at its best ranks as an extraordinary work of heart and soul, with a computer-generated beast at its heart that shames every other digital monster to date.