oh my

I haven't found an addition to my canon in quite a while.

This makes it in spades.

You just know nothing good goes on in these nightclubs.

Let's see: suicide, rape, slavery, drugs, murder, blackmail, revenge, deception, adultery, sex, assault, prostitution, extortion, seduction, an attempted heist and (somehow entwined within this all) singing and dancing. It seems all so Bollywood and yet this is part of the cabaretera (cabaret movies) genre from Mexico during the late '40s and early '50s.

Busby Berkeley would surely wince at the aerial photography but I really admire the big production numbers that burst the proscenium arch of the nightclub stages wide open. The ballads, mambos, rumbas and sambas that feature many top Mexican musicians [including Carmen Miranda's nightclub band] had me humming the tunes for days after watching this.

All this and noir-ish elements too - femme fatale, expressionist lighting, fog enshrouded streets, nihilist attitude, dark and dreary subject matter. Yet it never quite slides over into camp. Its all so lovingly embellished that I can suspend my disbelief and for the whole wild plot-wringing ride I'm right along with them.

Aventurera (1950)

directed by Alberto Gout

cinematography by Alex Phillips

production design by Manuel Fontanals

i saw a cottage on dartmoor on the big screen

i have to share the most incredible cinematic experience i've ever had in a movie theatre.

photo courtesy of San Francisco Silent Film Festival

a cottage on dartmoor 1929
directed by anthony asquith
cinematography by stanley rodwell

it starts with a dramatic scene in which an escaped convict enters a lonely farmhouse. the woman, home alone, discovers him and screams- his name.

after that, the suspense hangs over the flashback that takes up most of the film. in no time, i noticed that my arm muscles hurt from clenching my fists, i was holding my breath, my pulse was racing and that sitting anywhere other than the utmost edge of my seat was way, way too far from the screen. and you know, everyone in the theatre row beside me was sitting the same way. i think at times the entire audience was holding its breath. no one was talking or fidgiting through this showing.

it was at times [often overlapping] hitchcockian in suspense, dziga-vertov-like in the editing, german-expressionist in the lighting and composition and film-noirish in the script. somehow, every element in film that creates the irresistible magic which steals my heart is combined in a cottage on dartmoor. it was a sublime hour and a half.

the musical score written and performed by stephen horne was a large portion of why the showing was so impressive. you may know from my earlier posts that i'm very discerning about musical accompaniment to silent films. now, mr horne has raised my standards much higher. it was a true soundtrack that deftly followed the on-screen action, subtly nuanced to increase the suspense and at times even completely silent. it was almost seamless- the only time my attention was drawn to the piano was to realize how it was heightening the tension, cranking it up to a delicious, almost unbearable level.

if i was independantly wealthy, i'd be following this film which is showing in film festivals around the world. somebody better put out a copy of this on dvd, and with the stephen horne score. i can't wait to get my hands on that!

read more here
and here

film canon additions march 2007

1920
manhatta d. charles sheeler and paul strand
excellent framing of various shots around manhattan (manhatta being the original indian name for the island). the reflections off the water around the tugboats at night are hypnotic.




1929
woman in the moon (frau im mond) d. fritz lang
very long, but so beautiful. i don't think i could edit it down anymore myself if i had created this masterpiece. the first half takes place on earth and features the most modern of the moderne interior design. the lead has mastered the brooding stare. special effects and some directing was done by oskar fischinger.


allegretto- oskar fischinger



1943
lifeboat d. alfred hitchcock
i'm a little embarassed to have so many hitchcock movies in my canon, but each is included for a different reason. lifeboat is stylistically unique- its shows his german expressionism roots more than any other film i've see of his. limiting himself to a single set gave him the freedom to experiment with mis en scene, camera techniques, and editing. one character's soliloquy is punctuated by rapid cutting amongst different angles, close-ups, medium, long shots- all seemlessly connected to the speech patterns. just brilliant.