The mailman came today...

The mailman came today and he brought me this.

Then I almost came. Because I thought I was going to jizz in my pants... from the orgasmic rush that was watching "Easy Rider" for the first time on blu-ray. Good God! that was fucking awesome. But more on that later.

Anyway, two films in, my first impressions of the Criterion box set America Lost and Found: The BBS Story is that it's great. The overall packaging is awesome for a set of seven films and a book providing detail and insight to all of the films.

While there will be a lot said, no doubt, from me on these movies ... especially for two of my favorite films "Easy Rider" and "The Last Picture Show" ... so far, I find BBS Productions to be quite interesting. 

"Head" is a very trippy film and showed a lot of panache and very awesome effects on the film itself to create this movie. I never was a big fan of The Monkees. My impressions have always been that they were some type of joke band from a TV show that was popular. Well, they are... sort of. The Monkees are just one big parody of other bands of that era and "Head" allows them to poke fun at themselves while goofing off in the movie. It was actually quite nice to see a new side of the group and learn something new about them than my knowledge that they had some type of lame variety show and that everyone's mom was in love with Davy Jones (who isn't even the star of this show... nope, it's Micky Dolenz and Michael Nesmith who are absolutely fucking hilarious the entire movie). It was also nice to see a new side of Dolenz as my only knowledge of him prior to this film and knowing he was a Monkee was seeing him on Broadway in "Aida" (which sucked). The cameos in this movie were kind of fun to see too... like Teri Garr or Jack Nicholson (who wrote the movie) and Bob Rafelson (who directed it) showing up in one scene or, best of all, Frank Zappa walking a cow. And Ray Nitschke make an appearance for you Packers fans...

All I ever thought I knew about The Monkees was that they were kind of lame. But this movie changed my entire perception of that. And I get it. They are a joke. And they're meant to be a joke. And it's kind of funny...

As for "Easy Rider," I said, GOD DAMN! I've owned the standard DVD of this film for close to 10 years now. And this is by far the best I've EVER!!! seen this film. I'm sure that the Criterion remaster on standard DVD is awesome because Criterion does very good work when they give the treatment to new movies in the collection. They always do a wonderful job. But in blu-ray? WOWSERS!

The crystal clear picture on blu ray is amazing. I'm noticing things I never saw before because the standard def versions of the film were either so blurred that I was missing details in the picture or because I was watching on a tube TV. The colors are much more vibrant and there's more brightness to it so you can see what's going on, especially in scenes that are and were poorly lit, like the campfire scenes.

The big thing about BBS is that these were experimental films back in 1969. This is guerilla film-making at its finest where you give a guy or a small crew some filming equipment and what you get is a gritty, realistic movie that isn't sanitized like the shit the stuffed shirts in the established studios were producing. These were independent films getting picked up. And because of the lack of good lighting available for the camera, it's amazing that Criterion was able to pick out the detail on the original negatives for these scenes. But, aside from the technical bullshit, it's just awesome that they were able to brighten it and get the rich details in the dark, which were hard to decipher on the standard edition. That faces are easier to see in these scenes and no one is getting lost in the shadows.

The movie stays the same... that doesn't change. Which is too bad, because I was kind of praying that Peter Fonda would finally get his way and cut out the city kids trying to grow crops in the desert scene. But that didn't happen... :( jk.

That's OK, though. This film -- camera tricks, soundtrack, story, acting -- it's just plain awesome. And even my wife, who walked into the room midway through the film, was like this soundtrack is awesome. It features some of the best songs from 1969 and Dennis Hopper, Fonda, Jack Nicholson ... they don't disappoint.

Thanks, Criterion!

I am sorry, Dave

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Adam’s rating: ★★★★ ½   (out of 5)

Director: Stanley Kubrick

Rated: none. 141 min.

No. 22 on  AFI 100

No. 15 on AFI 100 reissue

No. 86 on IMDB Top 250

Starring: Keir Dullea,
Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester

“2001: A Space Odyssey”: No. 22 on AFI 100;
No. 15 on AFI 100 (2008); No. 86 on IMDB Top 250

When it comes to science fiction, this film is Mecca.

The story – although long, drawn-out and a little boring at times – offers up very little dialog and relies on demonstration to get its point across throughout the entire film. The story covers human evolution, artificial intelligence (with a human-like computer that runs an entire spaceship) and life outside of Earth.

While some consider this film an epic, due to its story mixed with a classical score and broken into three different parts, the special effects for space travel are what make this movie epic in its magnitude.

There are several memorable scenes in this film, most notably a spaceship docking at a space station, spinning in motion to the sounds of Johan Strauss II’s “Blue Danube Waltz”; Dave Bowman shutting down the HAL 9000 (more on this later); and the final scene transition where Bowman travels through a time-space continuum to ultimately what we can presume is his death and rebirth.

The special effects for 1968 are astonishing, really.

But this is a work of art and it’s arguably the pinnacle of Kubrick’s work (although I’m just as big a fan of “Dr. Strangelove,” “Barry Lyndon” and “Paths of Glory” as I am this piece).

To me, the best science fiction element in this entire film – and it’s an element that seems to be the common thread of most science fiction – is the HAL 9000, or Hal, the computer that controls the ship (and the mission) in Act III, Jupiter Mission. Rated at No. 13 on the AFI’s list of best villains, Hal starts off as a likeable, artificial intelligence character. He converses with astronauts Dave Bowman and Frank Poole aboard the ship and he keeps them company for the long duration of their trip.

But when they suspect that Hal is malfunctioning and plan to shut him down, they take the precaution of making sure he can’t hear them – but overlook the fact that this A.I. is so advanced he can read their lips.

As Frank is out performing some maintenance on the ship, Hal severs his oxygen and lets him drift into outerspace. Dave goes on a rescue mission in a pod and doesn’t realize that Hal is responsible until he arrives back at the ship and Hal informs him that he isn’t going to let Dave in because the mission is too important to be jeopardized by the humans. (Hal also kills the remaining crew members sleeping in their cryogenic chambers aboard the ship.)

Dave then bursts his way into the ship in the airlock with a manual override and without a helmet, holding his breath all the while. He then proceeds to shut Hal down – with Hal pleading for his life the whole time. Once shut down, Hal’s messages for the crew about the purpose of their mission start playing once the ship begins its final approach of Jupiter. Dave is finally informed of the perilous mission at hand – that a monolith (extraterrestrial life) has been found and that the last expedition sent to investigate mysteriously disappeared and that his mission was to help the Hal recover data from the monolith.

Upon descent into Jupiter, it appears you – the viewer – has taken some LSD, as strange, vibrant colors float around the screen. I’m kidding of course and the bad trip ends when Dave awakes in a bright, white, pristine room. He sees something and walks to the door where he sees himself eating and suddenly he becomes the Dave he sees. Then he drops his fork, and as he looks up, he sees himself as an old man on his deathbed and he again becomes the Dave he sees. Then he sees the monolith, and in an instant, he is dead and being reborn as we are taken to the image of a fetus in outerspace looking at Earth.

The themes and elements of science fiction are at the top of their game in this film. And despite all of that, the most impressive element to me is the special effects, since the majorities were performed by hand with miniatures, models, etc. since this movie was made pre-CGI.

Kubrick really made a masterpiece here, despite stretches that seem dry and mundane as there is nothing happening in the film.

A boy's best friend is his mother

Psycho (1960)

Adam’s rating: ★★★  (out of 5)

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Rated: none. 119 min.

No. 18 on AFI 100

No. 14 on AFI 100 reissue

No. 24 on IMDB Top 250

Starring: Anthony Perkins,
Janet Leigh

“Psycho”: No. 18 on AFI 100, No. 14 on AFI 100 (2008);
No. 24 on IMDB 250

To the casual film viewer, this movie is the most recognizable of Alfred Hitchcock’s work.

What this film does have going for it is the shot selections, cinematography and the character development. In terms of developing characters, it takes the entire movie for us to realize that Norman Bates has a psychological disconnect in which he is both himself and his mother. I’m not a fan of the film’s final scene where this is described to us while Anthony Perkins is looking at us in his cell like a psycho, but nonetheless the character development of Perkins’ character Norman Bates is top-notch suspense throughout the film.

As for shot selections and cinematography, the signature scene in this film is hands down when Norman Bates kills Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) in the shower. While pushing the limits of the Hayes Administration (don’t worry, we’ll have articles on that later) by having Leigh cover up any full-frontal nudity, Hitch has Bates – dressed as his mother and in a jealous rage – kill Crane, a guest at his motel, while she is taking a shower. The surprise scream of Leigh is iconic as is the shot where she is lying on the shower floor in a pool of blood that is flowing down the drain in a circular motion. Hands down, the most vivid and best artistic scene in the entire film to get such a signature shot that has been the subject of parodies and praise.

Unfortunately, this movie is about as far as some people get with Hitch. For those who don’t get past the tip of the iceberg, they are the ones who are missing out. “Psycho” is OK. I think in terms of its elements of suspense and plot twists that it’s far from Hitch’s worst film and it’s actually a good film. However, having gone a little further down the rabbit hole, I’m not left satisfied with this film in terms of overall story like I am “Rebecca,” “Shadow of a Doubt,” “North by Northwest,” “Rear Window,” “Vertigo,” “To Catch a Thief,” “Suspicion,” “Notorious,” “Spellbound,” “The Lady Vanishes,” “The Man who knew too much,” “Saboteur,” “Strangers on a Train” and “Dial M for Murder.”

I feel that several of Hitch’s previous works weave a very satisfying web in terms of suspense, plot, a murder or some type of crime, and a motive, etc. Some of them keep you on the edge of your seat while the others are just very fulfilling in their entertainment factor of a good story. I also feel that “Psycho” is too simple; it’s too easy and too point blank where it revolves around some woman who stole money, decides to skip town, realizes she made a mistake, decides she’ll go back but gets murdered before she can leave and the money goes missing forever in a series of unfortunate events.

Yeah, it’s an OK story … it’s just not as deep or interesting as his previous films.

And sadly, the film’s popularity, I would argue, is what earned it such a high spot on these “lists.”

Trick shots and fake suicides...

Vertigo (1958)

Adam’s rating: ★★★★  (out of 5)

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Rated: none. 128 min.

No. 61 on AFI 100

No. 9 on AFI 100 reissue

No. 43 on IMDB Top 250

Starring: James Stewart, Kim Novak

"Vertigo": No. 61 on AFI 100; No. 9 on AFI 100 (2008);
No. 43 on IMDB Top 250

I absolutely love this movie and it is one of my favorite Alfred Hitchcock films. As the master of suspense, Hitch proves it with this film.

The movie is about John “Scottie” Ferguson (Stewart), a San Francisco detective hired by an old friend to tail the strange activities of his wife. He investigates, but becomes strangely attracted to the point of obsession with the woman. I’ll stop right now before I spoil the entire movie for you, but the story is rife with mystery and suspense.

While I love the story, it tends to lull at points while it is establishing itself for what’s to come. The story is one that is still very interesting, but when it feels like the film is dragging along just to go from point A to point B, it’s hard to give this a five-star rating.

The other aspect of this film I wish to discuss is the effects. Hitchcock was a genius with camera effects before the use of special effects or CGI in movies. And possibly the most famous effect in this movie is the “vertigo” effect – also known as a Dolly zoom – which Hitch pulled off masterfully for this movie. Basically, the way the effect works, is you pull the camera away from the subject while zooming in on the subject to create an effect where the subject stays the same size but everything around the subject is in motion or is blurred. In the film, the effect is used every time Jimmy Stewart’s character has a bout with his acrophobia, or his vertigo.

It’s these technical shots – revolutionary for 1958 and 1950s American cinema – coupled with the story and the acting that make this film one of the best in American cinema.

Fake Criterion: Star Wars

I found a gallery of Fake Criterion fan art so I decided to make some of my own.


Criterion once released the Star Wars Trilogy on Laserdisc. Who knows? Maybe they'll one day get the rights from Georgie Porgie and give 3PO the treatment again? Here's my Star Wars art...

Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope

 

Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi