tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8347718.post6889161830087408147..comments2024-03-28T02:21:05.851-07:00Comments on VINYL IS HEAVY: San Francisco Silent Film Festival 2008: A Series of Introductions, A Question of Communion.Ryland Walker Knighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09233954424885027837noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8347718.post-19314563872766857472008-07-21T11:59:00.000-07:002008-07-21T11:59:00.000-07:00Naturally, naturally, Michael. Thanks again for th...Naturally, naturally, Michael. Thanks again for the ticket to _The Red and the White_. It was a treat. A nice balance to the weekend that began with _The Dark Knight_.Ryland Walker Knighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09233954424885027837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8347718.post-3035584589421699502008-07-20T15:09:00.000-07:002008-07-20T15:09:00.000-07:00Thanks for the shout-outs, Ryland. I enjoyed disc...Thanks for the shout-outs, Ryland. I enjoyed discussing <I><B>Bigger Than Life</B></I> on the way to the BART. This was my third viewing. I had first seen it on TCM as one of the guest programmer selections, then at the Castro, now at PFA.<BR/><BR/>Though the side effects of cortisone have been somewhat subsumed by the public debate on steroids in general, and though the audience was more willing to ironize than empathize, its never untimely to consider the side effects of so-called "miracle drugs": "The pills give you brand new ills and the bills bury you like an avalanche," Joni Mitchell cautioned not so many years ago.<BR/><BR/>It had slipped my mind that you, Girish and Darren had ducked out of SFSFF's screening of <I><B>The Man Who Laughs</B></I>. Too bad, primarily for missing Clark Wilson's incredible organ accompaniment, though the entire film is available on YouTube for narrative purposes at least.Michael Guillenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15464792353062386579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8347718.post-91830897136758460252008-07-19T23:48:00.000-07:002008-07-19T23:48:00.000-07:00One final thought: it seems like M Night Shyamalan...One final thought: it seems like M Night Shyamalan is after this kind of melodrama but he's just off target usually, because of other concerns. I will say that I still dig _Unbreakable_ and most of _Signs_, but when you get down to it _The Happening_ is pretty silly, straight up.Ryland Walker Knighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09233954424885027837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8347718.post-281240926175114062008-07-19T23:22:00.000-07:002008-07-19T23:22:00.000-07:00Of course, Brian: your enthusiasm was the main rea...Of course, Brian: your enthusiasm was the main reason I thought of attending! And it proved most worthwhile. I'm quite grateful.<BR/><BR/>Brakhage, eh? I keep thinking about it and not doing it. SO, yes, I accept this challenge.<BR/><BR/>I kind of loved _Bigger Than Life_. Makes me think, while shaking a fist at the ether, gee, they don't make 'em like that any more. As with the silent films, though, the crowd reaction was curious. I'm guilty, too, as I failed to stifle one noticeable guffaw at something Mason says during the big shadow lesson scene but, what I mean is: what's with all this 'tude? Just because a film bears its history does not make it quaint. That's condescending. There's real stuff happening in Ed's dementia. One could argue that melodrama isn't completely dead in Hollywood (as evidenced by this weekend's Batmania) but it's this kind of melodrama that I think gets lost today with all the distractions that irony can provide. (_The Dark Knight_ understands hyperbole but I don't know if it understands melodrama as things teeter on corny throughout, although I dig how big the film shoots/dreams.) But back to Ray: the real highlight of the piece, as I see it, is that climactic day after church. So rich. I'd like to say more but I feel my energy waning. Maybe we can continue this in person -- failing that, there's this thread -- because right now all I want to do is eat a snack, brush my teeth and read bit before I get some sleep. Hopefully I won't dream about scissors or too much red or a circus of warped ubermensch platitudes crashing through banisters and tumbling over couches. Hopefully I will dream about what makes my utopia. However, even those dreams sour sometimes. Guess that's what makes Batmania possible. That and Heath Ledger.Ryland Walker Knighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09233954424885027837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8347718.post-49931375753878278082008-07-19T20:49:00.000-07:002008-07-19T20:49:00.000-07:00Oh, and we'll have to talk about Bigger Than Life ...Oh, and we'll have to talk about <I>Bigger Than Life</I> sometime once you've come back from it. One of my favorites, and I'm a bit sad I'm missing it.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11188203309797275712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8347718.post-38912991015509597432008-07-19T20:47:00.000-07:002008-07-19T20:47:00.000-07:00Eager to see the House article when it gets put up...Eager to see the House article when it gets put up! In the meantime, great linkage! Thanks for including me. Hopefully there will be a follow-up in the next week or so. <BR/><BR/>I was stunned by <I>Kaleidoscope</I>. I'd love to learn more about its production history, though the remarks from the stage seemed to imply that there's not much of anything documented. In lieu of that, perhaps I can at least try to find out the circumstances of its (re)discovery. <BR/><BR/>As to investigating the avant-garde, why not start with <I>Dog Star Man</I>, playing at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts next month? Might as well climb Mount Everest if there's an opportunity...Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11188203309797275712noreply@blogger.com