Med Hondo’s 1979 musical extravaganza West Indies: The Fugitive Slaves of Liberty is a satirical skewering of the legacy of French imperialism in the West Indies and beyond. From the outset, it defies categorization through its distinct sense of free association as it leaps from one colorful image to the next, often shunning context along the way. Throughout Hondo’s film, the xenophobic and racist rhetoric of haughty, predominately white French aristocrats, bureaucrats, and citizens is combatted, challenged, or lampooned by various African figures. Some are slaves, some are revolutionaries, while some are simply power hungry. The result is a deliriously iconoclastic anti-colonialist work that’s worthy of the finest films from roughly the same period by Ousmane Sembene and Dijbril Diop Mambéty.
Adapted by Hondo and Daniel Boukman from the latter’s novel Les Negriers, West Indies traces an epic history of colonial oppression and enslavement in the West Indies,...
Adapted by Hondo and Daniel Boukman from the latter’s novel Les Negriers, West Indies traces an epic history of colonial oppression and enslavement in the West Indies,...
- 3/17/2024
- by Clayton Dillard
- Slant Magazine
Some audiences search out the most disgusting and depraved films that they can find. Movies have the ability to leave their mark on a psychological level or a more visceral one that seeks to leave you feeling queasy and dirty. Here’s a look at 10 movies that are sure to scar you for life.
10. ‘Grotesque’ (2009) L-r: Hiroaki Kawatsure as Kazuo Kojima and Shigeo Ôsako as The Doctor | Media Blasters
A mysterious man identified only as “the doctor” kidnaps a young couple (Hiroaki Kawatsure and Kotoha Hiroyama) and begins to perform extreme torture on them. He puts them through a game for survival designed to slowly destroy their hopes of making it out with their lives.
Kôji Shiraishi’s Grotesque falls into the “torture porn” sub-genre that James Wan’s Saw and Eli Roth’s Hostel popularized in the 2000s. However, this Japanese exploitation horror flick pushes all boundaries, introducing...
10. ‘Grotesque’ (2009) L-r: Hiroaki Kawatsure as Kazuo Kojima and Shigeo Ôsako as The Doctor | Media Blasters
A mysterious man identified only as “the doctor” kidnaps a young couple (Hiroaki Kawatsure and Kotoha Hiroyama) and begins to perform extreme torture on them. He puts them through a game for survival designed to slowly destroy their hopes of making it out with their lives.
Kôji Shiraishi’s Grotesque falls into the “torture porn” sub-genre that James Wan’s Saw and Eli Roth’s Hostel popularized in the 2000s. However, this Japanese exploitation horror flick pushes all boundaries, introducing...
- 2/21/2023
- by Jeff Nelson
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
In the past four months or so since I last did this, the following on my @movieposterofthday (leave off the last e for elegance) Instagram has more than tripled, which makes this best-of round-up more competitive. Sadly, as is often the case, a lot of my posts were occasioned by the passing of an actor or director, or, in the case of the most popular poster yet, by a composer. The lovely two-color American half sheet for The Umbrellas of Cherbourg was posted in honor of Michel Legrand, who passed away in January at 86 just the day after Serbian director Dušan Makavejev, who was also 86 and whose ribald German poster for Sweet Movie also made the top 20. Other passings recognized were Stanley Donen (with a Japanese Funny Face), Nicolas Roeg (a Us Performance), and Bruno Ganz (a French Wings of Desire). It’s impossible to tell if people are liking...
- 3/22/2019
- MUBI
It’s a strong group of limited releases for a July weekend: Kathryn Bigelow’s “Detroit,” “An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power,” and the Yiddish-language “Menashe” all performed well, as did Sony Pictures Classics’ “Bigsby Bear.”
Opening
Detroit (Annapurna) – Metacritic: 86
$365,455 in 20 theaters; PTA (per theater average): $18,273
Kathryn Bigelow’s first film since “Zero Dark Thirty” is the first released by Megan Ellison’s production company through its own distributor. With reviews nearly as strong as “Zero” and “The Hurt Locker” but shifting to the home front in this recounting of the Detroit riots exactly 50 years ago, this opened in 10 markets ahead of its wide release this Friday. This is a tough subject, however well received, and Annapurna and its team has a challenge opening this outside of the festival/awards season and finding a wide swath of African-American and other upscale audiences.
Read More‘Detroit’ Review: Kathryn Bigelow’s...
Opening
Detroit (Annapurna) – Metacritic: 86
$365,455 in 20 theaters; PTA (per theater average): $18,273
Kathryn Bigelow’s first film since “Zero Dark Thirty” is the first released by Megan Ellison’s production company through its own distributor. With reviews nearly as strong as “Zero” and “The Hurt Locker” but shifting to the home front in this recounting of the Detroit riots exactly 50 years ago, this opened in 10 markets ahead of its wide release this Friday. This is a tough subject, however well received, and Annapurna and its team has a challenge opening this outside of the festival/awards season and finding a wide swath of African-American and other upscale audiences.
Read More‘Detroit’ Review: Kathryn Bigelow’s...
- 7/30/2017
- by Tom Brueggemann
- Indiewire
Kyle Mooney and Dave McCary are well aware that keeping secrets in Hollywood can be a futile endeavor, but that hasn’t stopped them from trying to keep too much information about their comedy “Brigsby Bear” from leaking to potential moviegoers. Armed with a deliberately thin official synopsis and a gleefully weird set of trailers, the filmmakers are eager for audiences to see their film without knowing too much beforehand, instead experiencing the special charms of “Brigsby Bear” with as little prejudice as possible.
It’s a pretty big ask for a movie that debuted over six months ago. It’s also part of the reason why the first-time filmmakers are so high on their distributor, Sony Pictures Classics, which made it clear from their first meeting that they were all-in on the childhood best friends’ big vision — even if it meant keeping mum on some of its most inventive twists.
It’s a pretty big ask for a movie that debuted over six months ago. It’s also part of the reason why the first-time filmmakers are so high on their distributor, Sony Pictures Classics, which made it clear from their first meeting that they were all-in on the childhood best friends’ big vision — even if it meant keeping mum on some of its most inventive twists.
- 7/27/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Every summer movie season needs at least one completely original indie movie. Last year it was the Daniels’ outrageous “Swiss Army Man,” and this year that breath of cinematic fresh air could very well be “Brigsby Bear.”
Directed by Dave McCary and co-written by and starring “Saturday Night Live” cast member Kyle Mooney, “Brigsby Bear” is a highly unusual tale of self-discovery that demands no spoilers. The teaser below won’t give away the plot, but it will leave you scratching your head and very, very intrigued.
Read More: ‘Brigsby Bear’ Review: The Lonely Island’s Sundance Debut Is a Sweet Movie, But It’s a One-Joke Slog
Sony Pictures Classics’ official synopsis reads: “‘Brigsby Bear Adventures’ is a children’s TV show produced for an audience of one: James (Kyle Mooney). When the show abruptly ends, James’s life changes forever, he sets out to finish the story himself...
Directed by Dave McCary and co-written by and starring “Saturday Night Live” cast member Kyle Mooney, “Brigsby Bear” is a highly unusual tale of self-discovery that demands no spoilers. The teaser below won’t give away the plot, but it will leave you scratching your head and very, very intrigued.
Read More: ‘Brigsby Bear’ Review: The Lonely Island’s Sundance Debut Is a Sweet Movie, But It’s a One-Joke Slog
Sony Pictures Classics’ official synopsis reads: “‘Brigsby Bear Adventures’ is a children’s TV show produced for an audience of one: James (Kyle Mooney). When the show abruptly ends, James’s life changes forever, he sets out to finish the story himself...
- 6/13/2017
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
Gunpowder & Sky has acquired the comedy “The Little Hours,” which premiered on January 19 in the Sundance Film Festival’s Midnight section. The deal for the film was in the low seven-figures, Deadline reports.
Written and directed by Jeff Baena, “The Little Hours” follows three nuns played by Alison Brie, Aubrey Plaza, and Kate Micucci whose world is disrupted when a young servant (Dave Franco) takes refuge at their convent after escaping from his master. Molly Shannon and John C. Reilly co-star.
Elizabeth Destro and Plaza served as producers on the film. CAA and Wme Global negotiated the sale.
Related stories'Band Aid' Review: Zoe Lister-Jones And Adam Pally Rock Their Marriage Back To Life In a Sincere Music Comedy -- Sundance 2017Sudden Impact: How Sundance Documentaries Have Gained (or Lost) Relevance in the Trump Age'Brigsby Bear' Review: The Lonely Island's Sundance Debut Is a Sweet Movie,...
Written and directed by Jeff Baena, “The Little Hours” follows three nuns played by Alison Brie, Aubrey Plaza, and Kate Micucci whose world is disrupted when a young servant (Dave Franco) takes refuge at their convent after escaping from his master. Molly Shannon and John C. Reilly co-star.
Elizabeth Destro and Plaza served as producers on the film. CAA and Wme Global negotiated the sale.
Related stories'Band Aid' Review: Zoe Lister-Jones And Adam Pally Rock Their Marriage Back To Life In a Sincere Music Comedy -- Sundance 2017Sudden Impact: How Sundance Documentaries Have Gained (or Lost) Relevance in the Trump Age'Brigsby Bear' Review: The Lonely Island's Sundance Debut Is a Sweet Movie,...
- 1/26/2017
- by Graham Winfrey
- Indiewire
There was nothing that “The Catcher in the Rye” protagonist Holden Caulfield despised more than phonies, from his own family, to strangers on the street, to silly old Sally Hayes. He might feel the same about Danny Strong’s J.D. Salinger biopic “Rebel in the Rye,” which frequently suffers from shallow observations about the author’s astounding life.
Based in part on Kenneth Slawenski’s Salinger biography “J.D. Salinger: A Life,” “Rebel in the Rye” is mostly occupied with Salinger’s early years, specifically the period when which he conceived of Holden Caulfield and finally completed “The Catcher in the Rye.” Despite the focus on such a fertile period, it suffers from a meandering narrative and a jarring pace, particularly as it pushes on into his later years without bothering to age star Nicholas Hoult in the slightest.
Read More: The 2017 IndieWire Sundance Bible: Every Review, Interview, And News...
Based in part on Kenneth Slawenski’s Salinger biography “J.D. Salinger: A Life,” “Rebel in the Rye” is mostly occupied with Salinger’s early years, specifically the period when which he conceived of Holden Caulfield and finally completed “The Catcher in the Rye.” Despite the focus on such a fertile period, it suffers from a meandering narrative and a jarring pace, particularly as it pushes on into his later years without bothering to age star Nicholas Hoult in the slightest.
Read More: The 2017 IndieWire Sundance Bible: Every Review, Interview, And News...
- 1/26/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Peter Kubelka. Photo: (S8) Mostra de Cine Periférico. María Meseguer.At the end of Martina Kudláček's biographical documentary Fragments of Kubelka (2012), the avant-garde filmmaker Peter Kubelka is shown in his kitchen in Austria, expressing in words and action his passion for cooking, as he prepares Wiener Schnitzel. Kubelka has for many years taught cooking alongside film and by talking about food he is able simultaneously to elaborate on his long-held views on cinema, and the uniqueness of each physical medium as a conduit of meaningful expression.Metaphor is essential to Kubelka’s vision. He compares the process of making and eating Wiener Schnitzel, or any dish, to creating and ‘reading’ a metaphor—an “edible metaphor”. Elsewhere in the documentary he is seen lecturing on the qualities of the film strip. Kubelka likens editing to cooking, whereby a selection of images—like recipe ingredients—are mixed, creating a satisfying totality. The ‘dance’ of the cook,...
- 8/24/2015
- by Yusef Sayed
- MUBI
Most politics in film end up coded, oblique, and vague, and not without reason. The direct, didactic political message can be bracing, but more often than not it doesn’t seem to hold up for posterity very well; the specifics of time get forgotten. The major stories of politics each day end up as nothing more than footnotes the vast majority of the time. When you want your message to be appealing, powerful, and understandable for future generations, it often serves you poorly to be specific. Even as someone who is moderately well versed in American history, I found myself often lost watching Secret Honor, Robert Altman’s one actor movie of Richard Nixon’s private breakdown. The broad strokes made sense, and I was able to glean plenty from it (and Philip Baker Hall giving the performance of a lifetime helped things greatly), but the specifics are lost to the time it was made,...
- 4/7/2015
- by Michelle
- SoundOnSight
The Bitter Ash
A rather precious thing happened in Montreal in the mid 1970s. Canadian cinema had been dominated by the National Film Board since its formation in 1940, and the generally-perceived character of Canadian film was all educational documentary, and not a lot of fun. Directors such as Claude Jutra, Don Owen, and Gilles Groulx struck off on their own to make the first Canadian new wave fiction films (A tout prendre [1963], Nobody Waved Goodbye, and Le chat dans le sac [both 1964] respectively), on the back of independents like Sydney J. Furie’s groundbreaking A Dangerous Age (1959) and Larry Kent’s student feature The Bitter Ash (1963), but for all their youthful, semi-bohemian trappings, these were still quite po-faced affairs. Then came the “genial loser” films of the 70s, led by Owen’s Goin’ Down The Road (1970), and others such as The Rowdyman (Peter Carter, 1972) and Paperback Hero (Peter Pearson, 1973), for the...
A rather precious thing happened in Montreal in the mid 1970s. Canadian cinema had been dominated by the National Film Board since its formation in 1940, and the generally-perceived character of Canadian film was all educational documentary, and not a lot of fun. Directors such as Claude Jutra, Don Owen, and Gilles Groulx struck off on their own to make the first Canadian new wave fiction films (A tout prendre [1963], Nobody Waved Goodbye, and Le chat dans le sac [both 1964] respectively), on the back of independents like Sydney J. Furie’s groundbreaking A Dangerous Age (1959) and Larry Kent’s student feature The Bitter Ash (1963), but for all their youthful, semi-bohemian trappings, these were still quite po-faced affairs. Then came the “genial loser” films of the 70s, led by Owen’s Goin’ Down The Road (1970), and others such as The Rowdyman (Peter Carter, 1972) and Paperback Hero (Peter Pearson, 1973), for the...
- 2/20/2015
- by Tom Newth
- SoundOnSight
As you can probably tell, this list feels more arbitrary than others. That’s not by design, but the unfortunate premise of the list leaves some room for interpretation. As we move forward, we will start seeing the films that, if you asked a lay person to give an example, would probably be a response. In other words, more people have heard of them, which, in turn, often makes them more “definitive.” Don’t worry, though – there are still some underseen and underappreciated gems the rest of the way through.
40. Werckmeister Harmonies (2000)
Directed by: Béla Tarr
It’s certainly not the swiftest film on the list, but you can’t expect much quick plot development from Béla Tarr. Wreckmeister Harmonies takes place in a tiny Hungarian town surrounded by nothing. The winter is incredibly cold, but it never snows. Yet the townspeople are excited in the middle of town as...
40. Werckmeister Harmonies (2000)
Directed by: Béla Tarr
It’s certainly not the swiftest film on the list, but you can’t expect much quick plot development from Béla Tarr. Wreckmeister Harmonies takes place in a tiny Hungarian town surrounded by nothing. The winter is incredibly cold, but it never snows. Yet the townspeople are excited in the middle of town as...
- 8/24/2014
- by Joshua Gaul
- SoundOnSight
Blu-ray Release Date: May 7, 2012
Price: Blu-ray $39.95
Studio: Criterion
Anna Karina makes it happen in Godard's Band of Outsiders.
Four years after his landmark Breathless, the great Jean-Luc Godard (Weekend) re-imagined the gangster film even more radically with his 1964 crime drama Band of Outsiders.
In the Nouvelle vague classic, two restless young men (Sweet Movie’s Sami Frey and Eyes Without a Face’s Claude Brasseur) enlist the object of both of their fancies (Pierrot le fou’s Anna Karina) to help them commit a robbery—in her own home. An audacious and wildly entertaining French New Wave gem, Band of Outsiders is at once sentimental and sour, effervescently romantic and melancholy, and it features some of Godard’s most memorable set pieces, including the headlong race through the Louvre and the ultra-cool Madison dance sequence.
Criterion released a DVD edition of Bande à part back in 2003 which is still available.
Price: Blu-ray $39.95
Studio: Criterion
Anna Karina makes it happen in Godard's Band of Outsiders.
Four years after his landmark Breathless, the great Jean-Luc Godard (Weekend) re-imagined the gangster film even more radically with his 1964 crime drama Band of Outsiders.
In the Nouvelle vague classic, two restless young men (Sweet Movie’s Sami Frey and Eyes Without a Face’s Claude Brasseur) enlist the object of both of their fancies (Pierrot le fou’s Anna Karina) to help them commit a robbery—in her own home. An audacious and wildly entertaining French New Wave gem, Band of Outsiders is at once sentimental and sour, effervescently romantic and melancholy, and it features some of Godard’s most memorable set pieces, including the headlong race through the Louvre and the ultra-cool Madison dance sequence.
Criterion released a DVD edition of Bande à part back in 2003 which is still available.
- 2/18/2013
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
The 11th annual Lausanne Underground Film Festival is packed to the gills with outrageous cinema from all over the world, featuring several filmmaker retrospectives and movies screening in competition at several locations on Oct. 17-21.
The big guest of honor this year is the legendary John Waters, who will be attending the fest with several of his own classics, such as Pink Flamingos, Female Trouble and Desperate Living, as well as showing some of his favorite B-movie inspirations, such as William Girdler’s blaxploitation demonic possession flick Abby, Armando Bo’s Argentinian sexploitation Fuego, Robinson Devor’s controversial bestiality doc Zoo and more. Plus, Waters will perform his acclaimed “This Filthy World” one-man show.
Other Luff special guests include Christoph Schlingensief, the confrontational German filmmaker of 100 Years of Adolf Hitler, The German Chainsaw Massacre, The 120 Days of Bottrop and more; Richard Stanley, the South African genre filmmaker of the cult...
The big guest of honor this year is the legendary John Waters, who will be attending the fest with several of his own classics, such as Pink Flamingos, Female Trouble and Desperate Living, as well as showing some of his favorite B-movie inspirations, such as William Girdler’s blaxploitation demonic possession flick Abby, Armando Bo’s Argentinian sexploitation Fuego, Robinson Devor’s controversial bestiality doc Zoo and more. Plus, Waters will perform his acclaimed “This Filthy World” one-man show.
Other Luff special guests include Christoph Schlingensief, the confrontational German filmmaker of 100 Years of Adolf Hitler, The German Chainsaw Massacre, The 120 Days of Bottrop and more; Richard Stanley, the South African genre filmmaker of the cult...
- 10/18/2012
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Welcome to Beast’S Flashback, where like the critics said of Elias Mehrige’s Begotten: "we point a flood light in those places we choose not to look."inaugural edition of what is hoped to become a regular feature, allow the author to explain. In this space we will look at films from the past and present that have, for some reason or another, gone relatively unnoticed....
Even in these modern times, where nothing seems to be hidden, these films have evaded mass viewings, major DVD/Blu-Ray revivals, and far-reaching retrospectives, remaining below the surface, clawing at the coffins of avoidance, screaming to be let loose.
While these movies may not be well known, they still have a resonance on those few who have experienced them, some of which have become well-known genre auteurs, using these underground gems as the measuring stick against their own levels of celluloid depravity. You...
Even in these modern times, where nothing seems to be hidden, these films have evaded mass viewings, major DVD/Blu-Ray revivals, and far-reaching retrospectives, remaining below the surface, clawing at the coffins of avoidance, screaming to be let loose.
While these movies may not be well known, they still have a resonance on those few who have experienced them, some of which have become well-known genre auteurs, using these underground gems as the measuring stick against their own levels of celluloid depravity. You...
- 2/7/2011
- by Keepers of the Bid
- Horrorbid
I've spent a lot of time telling you all about the different aspects of Severin Films' home video catalog and even their theatrical releases. You would think that would be all, perhaps they'd found their niche and they'd be glad to hang out in their comfort zone, but you'd be wrong. Having admirably tackled EuroSleaze, horror, the eternal works of D'amato, Borowczyk, and Franco, and dipped their toes into feature film distribution and production, you'd think they would be satisfied. However, Severin Films has so much more to offer, their future is bright, and I predict that at least a couple of their upcoming releases will blow the minds of home viewers in the coming years.
I never got around to talking about one of Severin's best complete packages, the two disc special edition of Ozploitation biker classic, Stone. A good five years before Mel Gibson hit the wide...
I never got around to talking about one of Severin's best complete packages, the two disc special edition of Ozploitation biker classic, Stone. A good five years before Mel Gibson hit the wide...
- 11/30/2010
- Screen Anarchy
Mladen Djordevic's wonderfully transgressive The Life and Death of A Porno Gang is a romantic lust-for-life road movie that happens to be covered in blood, sweat, cum, vomit and more than a few honest tears. In a round about way, the film could almost, but not quite, slot into formula: love and passion broken on the rocks of eastern Europe. But its grungy near-documentary style, it lies somewhere in between The Misfortunates, Ex-Drummer and Dusan Makavejev's Sweet Movie, elements seemed to loosely evoke the Otto Muehl segments, and manages to tuck some of the more 'it was our time and place' elements away from the obvious.
The story follows Marko, a struggling young director fresh out of film school, as he attempts to combine his passion for genre films with his desire to make something of artistic or political relevance. Finding nobody who seems to understand his vision, he...
The story follows Marko, a struggling young director fresh out of film school, as he attempts to combine his passion for genre films with his desire to make something of artistic or political relevance. Finding nobody who seems to understand his vision, he...
- 10/9/2010
- Screen Anarchy
One of the most exciting programmes at Fantasia this year is its Subversive Serbia, a showcase of a wide variety of aesthetics and styles in the exciting new wave of Serbian filmmakers. It is stuff like this, getting a major coup over other prestige festivals such as Venice, Berlin or Toronto, that makes Fantasia so much more than a simply a fan and genre festival.
Mladen Djordevic's wonderfully transgressive The Life and Death of A Porno Gang is a romantic lust-for-life road movie that happens to be covered in blood, sweat, cum, vomit and more than a few honest tears. In a round about way, the film could almost, but not quite, slot into formula: love and passion broken on the rocks of eastern Europe. But its grungy near-documentary style, it lies somewhere in between The Misfortunates, Ex-Drummer and Dusan Makavejev's Sweet Movie, elements seemed to loosely evoke the Otto Muehl segments,...
Mladen Djordevic's wonderfully transgressive The Life and Death of A Porno Gang is a romantic lust-for-life road movie that happens to be covered in blood, sweat, cum, vomit and more than a few honest tears. In a round about way, the film could almost, but not quite, slot into formula: love and passion broken on the rocks of eastern Europe. But its grungy near-documentary style, it lies somewhere in between The Misfortunates, Ex-Drummer and Dusan Makavejev's Sweet Movie, elements seemed to loosely evoke the Otto Muehl segments,...
- 7/11/2010
- Screen Anarchy
Denis is in the tradition of Rivette, Renoir and Vigo, who found a way of unpeeling the real to discover inner meanings
Let's dispose of the old-fashioned opening straight away – it isn't that Claire Denis has a strong case for being considered the best female film director working today; it's far more that she is one of the most intriguing and provocative film-makers of any kind. Her latest film, White Material, is dominated by a woman, Maria (embodied with startling but characteristic commitment by Isabelle Huppert), a coffee-grower in a unnamed African country who becomes caught up in a terrible but inexplicable civil war. You can say it's a feminist picture in that Denis and Huppert build a complicated sensibility – helpless but angry, desiring but detached, an onlooker and a victim. But it's also a film that makes us feel we are seeing Africa as if for the first time.
Let's dispose of the old-fashioned opening straight away – it isn't that Claire Denis has a strong case for being considered the best female film director working today; it's far more that she is one of the most intriguing and provocative film-makers of any kind. Her latest film, White Material, is dominated by a woman, Maria (embodied with startling but characteristic commitment by Isabelle Huppert), a coffee-grower in a unnamed African country who becomes caught up in a terrible but inexplicable civil war. You can say it's a feminist picture in that Denis and Huppert build a complicated sensibility – helpless but angry, desiring but detached, an onlooker and a victim. But it's also a film that makes us feel we are seeing Africa as if for the first time.
- 7/8/2010
- by David Thomson
- The Guardian - Film News
[Note: Simon accidentally omitted this from his original Disturbing Movies List but we think it was worth waiting for.--ed]
18. Sweet Movie artistic: 7 / gross out; 6
Once you begin to watch this 70's oddity--an obscure and shocking ode to the joys of communal living and nonconformist thinking--you soon think to yourself: "When is something going to happen?' And then realize nothing is going to happen...at least not in the way you think or could reasonably expect. Director Dusan Makavejev's bizarre trip down a river in Amsterdam in a ship of revelry and rebellion--a journey both literal and figural into heart of counterculture idealism--consists of a surreal series of episodes, loosely involving the strange adventures of a beauty contestant.
"Miss Monde 1984" symbolizes just about everything wrong with American capitalism (greed, possession, conversion of people into commodities) and, like the protagonist of Terry Southern's Candy, another well-known freak-out, she encounters a series of lovers and loonies who defile or enlighten her in one way or another (in the process,...
18. Sweet Movie artistic: 7 / gross out; 6
Once you begin to watch this 70's oddity--an obscure and shocking ode to the joys of communal living and nonconformist thinking--you soon think to yourself: "When is something going to happen?' And then realize nothing is going to happen...at least not in the way you think or could reasonably expect. Director Dusan Makavejev's bizarre trip down a river in Amsterdam in a ship of revelry and rebellion--a journey both literal and figural into heart of counterculture idealism--consists of a surreal series of episodes, loosely involving the strange adventures of a beauty contestant.
"Miss Monde 1984" symbolizes just about everything wrong with American capitalism (greed, possession, conversion of people into commodities) and, like the protagonist of Terry Southern's Candy, another well-known freak-out, she encounters a series of lovers and loonies who defile or enlighten her in one way or another (in the process,...
- 12/18/2009
- by underdog
- GreenCine
1891 Miriam Cooper silent film star of the Dw Griffith wing of Hollywood (Intolerance, Birth of a Nation)
1903 Dean Jagger Oscar winner for the war drama Twelve O'Clock High. Can't say I've seen that one. Anyone?
1923 Gene Callahan started working in feature films in 1960. He'd won two Oscars for Art Direction (The Hustler and America, America) by April, 1964. Quick study, yes? I imagine he had great stories to tell: his first movie scenery was chewed by none other Liz (BUtterfield 8) and Brando (The Fugitive Kind) and he worked right up until his death, closing a fine career out with those Steel Magnolias and Reese Witherspoon's debut Man in the Moon. If you haven't seen the latter, I recommend. Sweet movie and Reese had full star charisma even at 14.
1943 Joni Mitchell ♫ oh I could drink a case of you, darling... and I'd still be on my feet
1949 Judy Tenuta Buy her gifts,...
1903 Dean Jagger Oscar winner for the war drama Twelve O'Clock High. Can't say I've seen that one. Anyone?
1923 Gene Callahan started working in feature films in 1960. He'd won two Oscars for Art Direction (The Hustler and America, America) by April, 1964. Quick study, yes? I imagine he had great stories to tell: his first movie scenery was chewed by none other Liz (BUtterfield 8) and Brando (The Fugitive Kind) and he worked right up until his death, closing a fine career out with those Steel Magnolias and Reese Witherspoon's debut Man in the Moon. If you haven't seen the latter, I recommend. Sweet movie and Reese had full star charisma even at 14.
1943 Joni Mitchell ♫ oh I could drink a case of you, darling... and I'd still be on my feet
1949 Judy Tenuta Buy her gifts,...
- 11/7/2009
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
By far the biggest brat to sneak his way through Eastern Bloc culture during the New Wave era, Yugoslav bomb-thrower Dušan Makavejev wasn't someone who took on his vocation with a somber air; I don't know for sure how much fun he had making movies, but he seems to have been locked into a constant euphoria of half-soused, giggling movie love. He comprised a kind of one-man Yugoslav film movement at a time when the tense Communist nation barely had a global cultural identity of its own, and his filmography reads like a litany of post-Godardian social felonies, scattered with torched taboos and sly indictments of Soviet influence.
He's most famous for "W.R. - Mysteries of the Organism" (1971), which sent him into exile, and "Sweet Movie" (1974), which was nothing if not a petulant apostate's hocked loogie of revenge. But his earlier features, though just as disrespectful and fragmented with documentary asides,...
He's most famous for "W.R. - Mysteries of the Organism" (1971), which sent him into exile, and "Sweet Movie" (1974), which was nothing if not a petulant apostate's hocked loogie of revenge. But his earlier features, though just as disrespectful and fragmented with documentary asides,...
- 10/13/2009
- by Michael Atkinson
- ifc.com
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