MetaFilter posts tagged with film

"More than one American has offered to buy up our Tower and erect it on Palm Beach as a bungalow!"

fearfulsymmetry — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 06:16:06 -0800

The Open Road London pioneering colour footage from 1927 (SLYT)

"I am an American as you can see from my shirt."

Pope Guilty — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:59:44 -0800

Ya'll remember Johnathan "The Impaler" Sharkey, Minnesota gubernatorial candidate for the Vampires, Witches, and Pagans Party? Of course you do. But have you seen Impaler, the documentary about him? hulu

More than 50 years of the big red blobby thing

filthy light thief — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:46:20 -0800

What's 51 years old and made of silicone with red food dye? The Blob, best known for it's work in The Blob, an independent film released in 1958, with Steve McQueen's second movie role (following Never Love a Stranger, which was released earlier that same year). The movie has been considered the definitive '50s film about a town that won't listen to the kids until it's too late (as noted in a review for the Criterion laserdisc release), with a super-catchy theme song (extended single version and b-side Saturday Night in Tiajuana) that was Burt Bacharach's third US hit song. (See more: theatrical trailer, full film on Veoh, full film as YouTube playlist) Times change, and so do monsters, and things got a bit wacky in the 1970s, with Beware! The Blob (aka Son of Blob; wiki, trailer, full film). The sequel played more to the slapstick comedy than the sci-fi/horror spectrum of things. Thirty years after the original, The Blob was remade in 1988 (wiki, trailer, full film), and is supposedly being re-created by Rob Zombie, though his statement about reviving The Blob without "the big red blobby thing" has people asking, then why remake The Blob? (previous blobby goodness) The Blob was not intended to be about Communism, according to the film's producer, Jack Harris, when he was interviewed at BlobFest VIII in 2007. BlobFest started as a fundraiser in 1999 to restore The Colonial Theater, a prominent feature of the original film. Since the first fundraiser, the event has become an annual celebration of All Things The Blob, including a scream competition, run-out re-enactment, Shorty Film Contest, and more. For gobs more on (classic version of) The Blob, see TheBlobSite.

Now you gonna be Gandalf the Red!

shakespeherian — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:57:00 -0800

'This is not a joke, this is not a scam, this is not available on TV. I will write a check TODAY for $10,000, and viola! Terminator off your hands.'

With the rights to the Terminator franchise up for sale, Joss Whedon makes a bid.

The Lurking Fear

Artw — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:13:44 -0800

Lovecraft 101: Get To Know The Master of Scifi-Horror. For more detailed insights into each of Lovecraft's tales in publication order you might want to follow the H.P.Lovecraft Literary Podcast. For another story-by-story guide to Lovecraft you might want to check out Kenneth Hite's Tour De Lovecraft (also available in expanded form as a book). China Mieville on Lovecraft and racism and a lecture at Treadwells by Archaeologist James Holloway which delves deep into Lovecraft and identity. The making of the Call of Cthulhu RPG. The making of Cthulhu (Hipsters! Ego! Madness!). Happy Halloween with H.P. Lovecraft!

Can You Save Her?

benzo8 — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:34:57 -0800

James Moran, script-writer on shows such as Doctor Who and Torchwood and the feature-film Severance has launched his latest project, the web-series Girl Number 9. The first 5-minutes episode was launched tonight, and set the scene for a taught psychological thriller to be screened over the next five days, covering an actual 30 minutes of story-time. The main characters are also tweeting, in real-time - The Villain and The Police Inspector on his tail...

David Lynch's "Rabbits"

Iridic — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 09:59:04 -0800

In a nameless city deluged by a continuous rain, three rabbits live with a fearful mystery... [Rabbits - David Lynch, 2002.]

Create An Effect

netbros — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 07:09:21 -0800

Just Add New Zealanders — a compilation of short-form film, music videos, movie trailers, and interactive promos. Check out the locations section for photos of the world-class scenic beauty New Zealand is famous for.

Early Animated Films, Lost and Found

filthy light thief — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:02:23 -0800

While some might believe that Walt Disney had the first feature-length animated film with Snow White and the Seven Dwarves in 1937, the Disney film is the fourth animated feature-length film, and was two decades late for first place. The first two animated feature-length films were directed by an Italian in Argentia in 1917 and 1918, though all prints of those films are presumed lost or destroyed. The third animated full-length feature, Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed (The Adventures of Prince Achmed), came out the same year that the first two were lost to fire. This third animated film was a silhouette animation made by a German artist named Lotte Reiniger. The original negatives are considered lost, but a supposedly first-generation positive (from the camera negative) remains and the film has been restored from this stock (full film with limited subtitles, 5 minute preview with English subtitles and the full film viewable with Veoh plug-in). More information and videos inside. The first animated feature film was El Apóstol, followed by Sin dejar rastros, both written and directed by Quirino Cristiani. His career in film was limited to 27 years in film (1916-1943), but rather notable for early animation firsts. Cristiani's last major film, Peludópolis, was the first full-length animated motion picture with sound, presented with sound-on-disc. The only known prints of his first films were destroyed in a fire in 1926, and his final work was also lost to fire, this time in 1961, giving Cristiani two films on a list of Top 50 Lost Films of All Time. Lotte Reiniger was born in 1899, and she was fascinated by Chinese silhouette puppets from an early age (shadow puppetry previously). She created her first shadow theater at the age of six, and ultimately had a career that spanned 60 years (1919-1979, not counting her early credits going back to 1916) and some 70 film credits to her name. Her most recalled accomplishment was creating the first German animated film, Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed. The animation was made with cardboard and thin sheets of lead, and color tinting. Reiniger wrote about the process of creating and restoring the film (PDF, Google html cache), and she noted that the complete original Wolfgang Zeller accompanying score was preserved in the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Silhouette puppetry of a sort lives on in a new mini-series, The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello. The series currently consists of four episodes (called "voyages") that are set in a the world of steampunk aeronautics, utilizing a silhouette animation style that has been likened to The Adventures of Prince Achmed. The first voyage, Jasper Morello and the Lost Airship is on YouTube in full (previously). Unlike Anthony Lucas' earlier stop-motion animation, the Mysterious Geographic Explorations are a mix of 3D computer graphics, photographic composition and miniatures. The Gothia Gazette has more information on the series. This rambling journey through early animation and silhouette work was set off by Tor Books, who have laid claim to October as Steampunk Month on their website. The Jasper Morello video was one of three animations, the other two being shorts (#2: The Aeronaut {also on mtvU with sharper sound, but also watermarks} by Nicholas Lombardo; #3: Komedi - A Gentelan's Duel, by Blur Studios, who were mentioned previously twice). Selections from the List of Lotte Reinger works 1920 - Das Geheimnis der Marquise (MP4) (The Marquise's Secret) for Nivea skin cream 1954 - Cinderella (10:29), The Little Chimneysweep (9:53), The Frog Prince (10:24) 1955 - Hansel and Gretel (10:32), Jack and the Beanstock (from the beginning, missing the first minute, and a bit of the end) 1971 - The Art of Lotte Reiniger (17:02), featuring Ms. Reiniger herself, creating silhouette puppets and describing the process Extra links Previously: steampunkery, Czech animator Karel Zeman, German animator Hans Fischerkoesen Etcetera: Bullet Bill and Bob-Omb as Victorian gentlemen Bonus video: Grand Drive "Firefly" (4:05), music video with shadow-puppet animation inspired by Lotte Reiniger, produced by Trunk Animation

Classic Cinema Online

Turtles all the way down — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 04:28:11 -0800

Classic Cinema Online. A ton of old movies watchable in an embedded player.

Eleanor Powell

Joe Beese — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 15:00:02 -0800

Eleanor Powell was born to dance. Ann Miller - who named Powell as the inspiration for her dancing career - credited the popularity of Powell's late-30s films with helping keeping MGM from bankruptcy. The quality of her dancing even intimidated co-star Fred Astaire - who wrote in his autobiography: She 'put 'em down like a man', no ricky-ticky-sissy stuff with Ellie. She really knocked out a tap dance in a class by herself.

Heroes only slightly less evil than villains

amyms — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 08:01:37 -0800

In their heyday in the 1960s and '70s, "spaghetti westerns" redefined a genre. The Spaghetti Western Database has a Beginner's Guide to the Spaghetti Western, a tribute to Sergio Leone, and Top 20 viewing lists, including Quentin Tarantino's favorites. A Fistful of Pasta has its own Essential Top 20 and an article about Spaghetti Westerns and Politics. Shobary's Spaghetti Westerns has trailers and bloopers. More on the history of the subgenre from Images Journal. More to explore at A Fistful of Westerns.

“Watching him light is like watching two monkeys fuck a football.”

fearfulsymmetry — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 04:01:21 -0800

“I try to do my testosterone movie and it’s a chick flick. That’s how it is for me.” The New Yorker profiles James Cameron

The power of ten prints per cartridge

ardgedee — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 20:22:07 -0800

The Polaroid SX-70. A 10 minute promotional film by Charles and Ray Eames.

New York, You've Changed

monospace — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 10:32:31 -0800

A New York City film location scout (mentioned before, here and here) revisits the scenes of the movie Taxi Driver (1976) and compares them to what's there now. Previously, he covered the movie Ghost Busters (1984).

Matt Helm

Joe Beese — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:37:37 -0800

Matt Helm is a fictional character created by author Donald Hamilton. He is a U.S. government counter-agent—a man whose primary job is to kill or nullify enemy agents—not a spy or secret agent in the ordinary sense of the term as used in spy thrillers. ... The character appeared in 27 books over a 33-year period beginning in 1960... A movie series was made in the mid-to-late 1960s starring Dean Martin... the series bore no resemblance at all to the character, atmosphere, or themes of Hamilton's original books, nor to the hard-edged action of Bond. One reason was the attitude of the filmmakers that the only way to compete with the Bond films was to parody them. - Wikipedia (links may be mildly NSFW) We reported earlier this year that the messy breakup of Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks and Paramount Pictures may have killed the director's opportunity to bring the swinging, pulp fiction super-spy, Matt Helm, back to the big screen... a source close to the project tells us a new director has his hands on the project — none other than Gary Ross, writer-director of "Pleasantville" and "Seabiscuit"... - The Playlist The first - and by all accounts the best - of the Dean Martin films is The Silencers. It can be viewed in its entirety here. Don't miss the opening credits - featuring Elmer Bernstein's razzmatazz score and a bombshell performance by Cyd Charisse. (previously)

Kitchen Sink by Alison Maclean

sciurus — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:06:08 -0800

Kitchen Sink is a creepy short film made by Alison Maclean.

Alfred Hitchcock on The Tomorrow Show

dhammond — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 18:34:50 -0800

"Long thought to be lost or destroyed, this complete recording of one of the few hour long interviews of Alfred Hitchcock has been found." From the description on the YouTube page:

Originally broadcast as one of the first Tomorrow Shows with Tom Snyder in the Fall of 1973. This recording appears to be from a second repeat of this show broadcast on Memorial day, 1980. The VHS (SP) tape itself was found to be in excellent condition. While properly stored in a climate controlled environment it apparrently had not been played in decades. Great care has been taken to make the digital transfer.

Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

Fracture/Frame

Ambrosia Voyeur — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 14:11:20 -0800

Split Screen is a blog about      |   From Edwin S. Porter's Life of an American Fireman
the eponymous film technique    |   to Andy Warhol's The Chelsea Girls to Michel Gondry's
and its alternatives, with many   |   Sugar Water (the BEST EVER, imo), split screens have
surprising, intriguing examples.  |   encouraged alternate and ideally unlimited perspecitves.

Les Freres Lumière

netbros — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 17:14:13 -0800

The Lumière brothers, Auguste Marie Louis Nicolas and Louis Jean, were among the earliest filmmakers. Their father, Claude-Antoine Lumière, ran a photographic firm and both brothers worked for him. It was not until their father retired in 1892 that the brothers began to create moving pictures. They patented a number of significant processes leading up to their film camera — most notably film perforations as a means of advancing the film through the camera and projector, and the cinématographe. Their first public screening of films at which admission was charged was held on December 28, 1895 in Paris. This history-making presentation featured ten short films, including their first film, Sortie des Usines Lumière à Lyon (Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory). Each film is 17 meters long, which, when hand cranked through a projector, runs approximately 50 seconds. Lumière Brothers - The Little Girl And Her Cat Lumière Brothers - The Serpentine Dance Lumière Brothers - Indochina: Children Gathering Rice Lumière Brothers - Whole Dam Family and the Dam Dog Lumière Brothers - Sky Scrapers of New York City first films video review Lumière Brothers still photography - (previous MeFi post)

20 seconds of history on film

HuronBob — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 14:31:06 -0800

Anne Frank - The only known film image of Anne Frank from July 22, 1941, a year later she went into hiding.

Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid

Artw — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 19:57:14 -0800

Is mysticism overtaking science in sci-fi? Does Every SF Show Need Jesus Now?

CGI-brows short mockumentary

planetkyoto — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 19:04:40 -0800

CGI-brows (link goes to video on Vimeo which contains a naughty word but is otherwise SFW.) A short mockumentary about extreme emoting through SFX by RocketSausage (Dir. Andrew Gaynord) which has won the Virgin Media Shorts People's Choice Award for 2009.

i don't wanna editorialize this thing but I'm just saying soul survivors was actually pretty decent okay

kittens for breakfast — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 16:28:55 -0800

Early or not, Rotten Tomatoes brings us the 100 worst films of the decade.

How accurate was Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey" about the future?

feelinglistless — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 12:37:13 -0800

How accurate was Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey" about the future? "Part of the reason that Dr Floyd has been sent to Clavius Base is to deliver a morale-boosting speech to a crew bemused by what they have unearthed on the moon. [...] Frankly, there is no way that this would have been done in the real 2001 without the judicious use of PowerPoint featuring Excel charts and inspiring pictures of puppies, and probably some free branded goodies to take away and cheer everybody up."