FEATURED POSTS

10 Questions with Shane Briant

The talented British' born actor Shane Briant made his screen debut in the Hammer horror film Demons of the Mind. Since then he's gone on to appear in over 60 films and television productions including Straight On Till Morning (1972), The Picture of Dorian Gray (1973), The Mackintosh Man (1973), Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter (1974), Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974), The Naked Civil Servant (1975) and Lady Chatterley's Lover (1981). Currently Briant is focusing his attention on writing fiction and he has recently completed a psychological thriller called Worst Nightmares that will be released May 12th. I've admired his film work for many years so I was thrilled to get the opportunity to ask Shane Briant a few questions about his early movies and current writing projects. READ MORE

THIS MONTH'S FEATURED POSTS

The Girl On a Motorcycle (1968)

The talented director and cinematographer Jack Cardiff has passed away at the age of 94. As the tributes start to roll out from various news sites and film blogs its become clear to me that most people regard Jack Cardiff as a great cinematographer and have little regard or knowledge of his directing contributions, which is a shame. Cardiff was a brilliant photographer and his groundbreaking contributions to cinematography are well worth celebrating. But his impressive work as a director on films like the wonderful D.H. Lawrence adaptation Sons and Lovers (1960), the entertaining spy thriller The Liquidator (1965), the excellent erotic drama The Girl on a Motorcycle (1968) and the effective horror film The Mutations (1974) is also worthy of applause. READ MORE

THIS MONTH'S FEATURED POSTS

Favorite DVD Releases of 2008

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but overall 2008 was somewhat of a lackluster year for new Region 1 DVD releases of '60s and '70s era films when compared to the previous two years (See: 2006 and 2007). Some of my favorite DVD companies such as BCI Eclipse and most recently New Yorker Films have folded. Boutique DVD companies are releasing fewer products and what is being released is often of questionable quality. With the failing economy and the rise in popularity of Blu-ray discs, it seems like the number of new worthwhile DVD releases might continue to drop dramatically in 2009. READ MORE

THIS MONTH'S FEATURED POSTS

Resurrecting Yusaku Matsuda

Toru Murakawa's Resurrection of the Golden Wolf (aka Yomigaeru kinrô; 1979) is a wildly uneven Japanese crime film that left me wishing it had been helmed by another director. The film's script was adapted from a popular novel by Haruhiko Ooyabu and directors like Seijun Suzuki have had great success turning Ooyabu's hard-boiled fiction into films, but Toru Murakawa doesn't have Suzuki's eye for detail or his pop art sensibility. Resurrection of the Golden Wolf runs much too long and the dramatic filler weighs down the action, but even with its flaws the movie still keeps your attention thanks to the star performance of Yusaku Matsuda. READ MORE

THIS MONTH'S FEATURED POSTS

We Are Controlling Transmission

This year analog broadcasting is coming to an end. On June 12th 2009 television stations in the United States will stop broadcasting in analog and switch permanently to digital. Digital broadcasting promises to provide viewers with a sharper picture and more diverse programming options, but this unavoidable change is forcing millions of people to buy new television sets or opt for getting a converter box that will often cost them $40 or more. I feel for these people because I didn't have complete cable TV Access or a digital television myself until 2007. READ MORE

Bits & Pieces

by Kimberly Lindbergs | June 2, 2008

Categories | News, Soundtracks, Costume Design

Jean Seberg in Moment to Moment (1965) wearing a Yves Saint Laurent Design.

Just a brief round-up of some news & info that I thought I’d share . . .

- Fashion and costume designer Yves Saint Laurent died today at the age of 71. In the world of film, costume designers rarely get the acclaim that they should but Yves Saint Laurent’s wonderful work appeared in some great movies throughout the years and he helped define women’s fashion in the sixties. To read more about Laurent’s impressive contribution to the art of cinema please see my brief tribute to Yves Saint Laurent’s work called The Fine Art of Fashion: Yves Saint Laurent.

Actresses and models’ Ira von Fürstenberg and Capucine
modeling Yves Saint Laurent designs in 1965/66.

On a lighter note . . .

- Film director Paul Schrader has a terrific website now where he has published a lot of his film writing and lately I’ve been enjoying going through the archives. Schrader’s early film writing was heavily influenced by the legendary critic Pauline Kael and I don’t agree with a lot of his youthful opinions but his writing is still fascinating to read and naturally improves over time. Some highlights you can find on his site include Yakuza-Eiga: A Primer, which he wrote for Film Comment in 1974 and his 2001 essay in Film Comment on his break from Pauline Kael called Pauline Kael 1919 – 2001: My Family Drama. It’s interesting to read about how the director broke away from Kael’s influence and started thinking more for himself, which is somewhat highlighted in one of the richest pieces available on his site titled The Film Canon from a 2006 issue of Film Comment. A direct link to Paul Schrader’s writing archives can be found here.

- Peppino De Luca’s terrific score for Dorian Gray (Il Dio Chaimato Dorian, 1970) has long been one of my favorite film soundtracks and it was recently released on CD for the first time by Italy’s Digitmovies. Previously some tacks from the film were only available on a a compilation CD called Barry 7’s Connectors Volume 2 but now fans of the film can finally enjoy De Luca’s soundtrack in its entirety.

Hopefully my next post will be a little longer!