treasure in the snow

sir arne's treasure 1919

directed by mauritz stiller

camera by julius jaenzon

i sought out this film because of the set design, but watching the location shooting took my breath away. julius jaenzon, the cinematographer, was largely responsible for moving outside of the studio to capture the natural beauty of the land. he eventually went into teaching- one student was ingmar bergman's cinematographer, sven nykvist.

as in the chess player, the camera movement is remarkable. i have no idea how such smooth movement of the camera over the rough terrain is even possible. the naturalistic acting, the close matching of film speed plus this camera movement make this film feel contemporary.

adventures in early film design- repetition

a nous la liberte 1931

directed by rene clair

art direction by lazare meerson

I know this film is already well known, maybe even because of the Charlie Chaplin controversy (thought personally, I think the antics in this film are derivitive of Buster Keaton- i guess all's fair in film criticism.) What impresses me is the architecture that relentlessly reinforces Rene Clair's themes.

A major theme is repetition, evidenced by the arrangement of the actors as well as the costumes, decor and lighting. There's often an asymmetrical placement of these visual cues, so it feels as though everything continues into infinity. The situation seems hopeless and impossible to change.

Its a visual restriction of movements, pointing out the direction for characters to move.

Another theme is conformity; the straight lines and occasional curves provide the templates.

Also: why is Rene Clair so mean to his female characters? Still, this film is far more toned down than Under The Roofs of Paris where the poor female protagonist is under attack throughout the film, either directly or indirectly.

Sheesh.

the beauty of the cotter pin

Mechanical Principles (1930)

directed by Ralph Steiner

This film is just a series of static shots of moving gears and pistons but also so much more. No still photo can do justice to the gentle wave of motion in each connection and subsequent parting.

There's something almost sensual in the willing manipulation of attractive parts by the attractive parts of another. Each movement is nothing less than graceful.

This is precisionism in motion.

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.

personal film canon

FEBRUARY 2007

There are many more films I love that didn't make it onto this list. Indeed, there are many more movies that I watch more often than these. It was a definite exercise to examine why I think these films are more important. I thought about the magic created when different elements come together, and about finding intelligence within an atmosphere; but I still can't identify a common theme.

I am not ranking them as there is no reason to compare them to each other. Instead I've listed them by date - I've learned lately that technology should be judged by its time. Films are as much art as technique.

Oh, and I'm including the name of the director(s) or producers(s), although I'm not always convinced that they are responsible for what I like about the film....


1895-1897
Serpentine Dances of Chrissie Sheridan and Annabelle d. Biograph Films

1906
A Trip Down Market Street p. the Miles Brothers

1913
Suspense d. Lois Weber

1920
Manhatta d. Charles Sheeler and Paul Strand

1922
Foolish Wives d. Erich von Stroheim

1924
Greed d. Erich von Stroheim
He Who Gets Slapped d. Victor Sjostrom

1927
The Chess Player d. Raymond Bernard
The Unknown d. Tod Browning

1928
The Crowd d. King Vidor

1929
A Cottage on Dartmoor d. Anthony Asquith
Diary of a Lost Girl d. Georg W Pabst
Man With a Movie Camera d. Dziga Vertov
Pandora's Box d. Georg W Pabst
Queen Kelly d. Erich von Stroheim
Woman in the Moon d. Fritz Lang

1930
The Big Trail d. Raoul Walsh

1931
M d. Fritz Lang
Public Enemy d. William A Wellman
White Zombie d. Victor Halperin

1932
Scarface d. Howard Hawks
Vampyr d. Carl Theodor Dreyer

1933
Footlight Parade d. Lloyd Bacon
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse d. Fritz Lang

1934
L'Atalante d. Jean Vigo
Imitation of Life d. John M Stahl
The Thin Man d. W S Van Dyke

1935
Mark of the Vampire d. Tod Browning

1936
After the Thin Man d. W S Van Dyke
My Man Godfrey d. Gregory La Cava
The Petrified Forest d. Archie Mayo

1937
Snow White and the Seven Dwarves p. Walt Disney
Stage Door d. Gregory La Cava
A Star is Born d. William A Wellman

1938
The Lady Vanishes d. Alfred Hitchcock

1940
His Girl Friday d. Howard Hawks

1941
Citizen Kane d. Orsen Welles
Shadow of the Thin Man d. W S Van Dyke
Sullivan's Travels d. Preston Sturges

1942
Bambi p. Walt Disney
The Magnificent Ambersons d. Orsen Welles
The Man Who Came to Dinner d. William Keighley
To Be or Not To Be d. Ernst Lubitsch

1943
Lifeboat d. Alfred Hitchcock
Ossessione d. Luchino Visconti
Shadow of a Doubt d. Alfred Hitchcock

1944
Aventure Malgache d. Alfred Hitchcock
Double Indemnity d. Billy Wilder
Miracle of Morgan's Creek d. Preston Sturges

1945
Leave Her to Heaven d. John M Stahl
Mildred Pierce d. Michael Curtiz
The Southerner d. Jean Renoir
And Then There Were None d. Rene Clair

1946
Best Years of Our Lives d. William Wyler
Ritual in Transfigured Time d. Maya Deren

1947
Crossfire d. Edward Dmytryk
Gentlemen's Agreement d. Elia Kazan
Radio Dynamics d. Oskar Fischinger

1949
Holiday Affair d. Don Hartman
Le Sange des Betes d. Georges Franju
The Third Man d. Carol Reed
White Heat d. Raoul Walsh

1950
All About Eve d. Joseph L Mankiewicz
DOA d. Rudolph Mate
Gun Crazy d. Joseph H Lewis
Sunset Boulevard d. Billy Wilder

1951
Strangers on a Train d. Alfred Hitchcock

1953
Wages of Fear d. Henri-Georges Clouzot

1954
It Should Happen to You d. George Cukor
Rear Window d. Alfred Hitchcock
A Star is Born d. George Cukor

1955
All That Heaven Allows d. Douglas Sirk
Night of the Hunter d. Charles Laughton

1956
The Solid Gold Cadillac d. Richard Quine

1957
Desk Set d. Walter Lang

1958
A Night To Remember d.Roy Ward Baker

1959
Fires on the Plain d. Kon Ichikawa
North By Northwest d. Alfred Hitchcock
Wedlock House an Intercourse d. Stan Brakhage

1960
Jazz on a Summer's Day d. Bert Stern
Psycho d. Alfred Hitchcock
Yeux Sans Visage d. Georges Franju

1962
Carnival of Souls d. Herk Harvey
Days of Wine and Roses d. Blake Edwards

1963
Lord of the Flies d. Peter Brook

1964
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer p. Rankin /Bass

1965
A Charlie Brown Christmas d. Bill Melendez
The Collector d. William Wyler

1966
Mademoiselle d. Tony Richardson
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf d. Mike Nichols

1967
Point Blank d. John Boorman

1968
Bullitt d. Peter Yates
Razor Blades d. Paul Sharits
The Swimmer d. Frank Perry

1971
The Abominable Dr. Phibes d. Robert Fuest

1973
Badlands d. Terrence Malick
Don't Look Now d. Nicolas Roeg
Paper Moon d. Peter Bogdanovich

1974
The Conversation d. Francis Ford Coppola
Day of the Locust d. John Schlesinger

1975
Monty Python and the Holy Grail d. Gilliam/ Jones
Overlord d. Stuart Cooper

1976
Carrie d. Brian De Palma
Sybil d. Daniel Petrie

1978
Halloween d. John Carpenter

1979
Kristallnacht d. Chick Strand

1980
Bad Timing d. Nicolas Roeg
The Shining d. Stanley Kubrick

1982
Blade Runner d. Ridley Scott

1985
Brazil d. Terry Gilliam
A Zed and Two Noughts d. Peter Greenaway

1987
Angel Heart d. Alan Parker
Wish You Were Here d. David Leland

1988
Drowning By Numbers d. Peter Greenaway
I... Dreaming d. Stan Brakhage

1990
Wild at Heart d. David Lynch

1991
Barton Fink d. Joel Cohen
Man Bites Dog d. Belvaux/Bonzel
Zentropa d. Lars von Trier

1992
Enchanted April d. Mike Newell

1993
Passage a l'Acte d. Martin Arnold

1994
Heavenly Creatures d. Peter Jackson
Mrs Parker and the Vicious Circle d. Alan Rudolph

1997
Butcher Boy d. Neil Jordan

1998
Last Night d. Don McKellar

2000
American Psycho d. Mary Herron
Requiem for a Dream d. Darren Aronofsky

2003
In The Cut d. Jane Camion

2006
Brilliant Noise d. Semiconductor