one third of the trio

Marked men.

Strong diagonal lines often suggest movement.
To me, they also suggest violence;
like a slashing perhaps
or a cross punch.
Here, they often coincide with betrayal.







This is one of the three films by Fernando de Fuentes
examining the Mexican revolution,
beginning with El Prisionero 13
and ending with Vamonos con Pancho Villa.
All highly recommended.

El Compadre Mendoza (1934)
directed by Fernando de Fuentes
and Juan Bustillio Oro
cinematography by Ross Fisher

the fog season has returned

From the trailer to the film;



there are lots of intentionally obscured faces in this one.







All the better to visually blur the true state of the character's sanity.
I love all the fog and blur contrasted with the gorgeous
documentary-quality clarity
in the rest of the film.



I would like to locate the original
radio play, Cabin B-13.


Dangerous Crossing (1953)
directed by Joseph Newman
cinematography by Joseph Lashelle
art direction by Lyle Wheeler
and Maurice Ransford

only 25 days until...

the 2010 San Francisco Silent Film Festival,
now showing over four days.
[full line-up here]

Actually, that photo resembles the Castro Theater
with the escaping steam generated by the sold-out
shows throughout the festival.
It'll be interesting to see if an extra day will
affect the attendance.
Nearly everyone I know in town attends at
least one show.

I'm especially interested in Rotaie,
A Spray of Plum Blossoms,
The Flying Ace and Haxan
- and of course the newly expanded Metropolis.


Any suggestions or comments about the rest of the program?

4 sons, 2 images

As beautifully constructed as John Ford's films are, I can't get behind them.
This poor woman hasn't a thought in her head that doesn't involve one of her sons.
I feel certain that it's an easier character to grasp
if the viewer is a son, and that's just not me.
I'll keep trying, though.
I'm especially excited about seeing "Upstream" once it is restored and released.

This was going to be an entry in the Single Shot series,
but I couldn't choose a favorite son/image.
The form in the first is very strong
(not to mention the four window panes for four children),
but this second one reminded me so much of this painting,
Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash by Balla.



Who can resist a cute dog with a helmet?

Four Sons (1928)
directed by John Ford
cinematography by Charles Clarke
and George Schneiderman

cornered

I've been on a blurry portrait run lately.
I particularly love this framing.



But who can resist those crisp, clean angles and deep contrasts
of film noir?

Its what I turn to when I run through a list of duds and disappointments,
experiments that go nowhere, pictures made by innovators past their prime.



Nowhere near feeling like a human punching bag
or throwing myself under a bus,
but it's a nice visual link.

The Set-Up (1949)
directed by Robert Wise
cinematography by Milton Krasner