Nifty eh?
Wednesday, 31 October 2007
Another View of the New Program
Here is another way of looking at the new program. Click on the pic to enlarge.
Nifty eh?
Nifty eh?
A Response to The Guru by Pia Santaklaus
29 Octotal 2007.
Hey Brett...
Permit a few words about tonight’s Cinemateque feature...
‘SAI BABA’ feature didn’t eventuate; never mind. It’s fantastic how the reel just exploded all over the place and film flew everywhere just before the session....
“Imagine all the people”...you know, the vindicated ones who always suspected Sai Baba was a fraudster...can you hear them singing John Lennon’s words loudly? “Instant Karma’s gonna get you”
Now to another suspected fraudster...The Guru!!!
I was most impressed to discover that tonight’s main feature THE GURU (1969) was an early Merchant-Ivory effort.
Merchant-Ivory are obvious Anglophiles with deep roots in India, successfully blending both worlds evenly...we only have to look at the title of their 1965 film to see that... ‘SHAKESPEARE WALLAH!!!
A long-standing gay couple, I suspect Merchant-Ivory have always been attracted to powerful, regal, dandy men [eg MAURICE (1987)].
Fashionable London with its famous/infamous characters during the swinging sixties must have held a deep fascination for Merchant-Ivory as their next project after ‘SHAKESPEARE WALLAH was to be set in trendy London. Called ‘A LOVELY WORLD’ (unfortunately shelved), it would follow the London adventures of a young lady called Lizzie Buckingham (An obvious play on words on Queen Elizabeth of Buckingham palace).
I would hazard a guess and say that Merchant-Ivory’s research and work for A LOVELY WORLD probably led them to wonderful London connections and tales of the truly rich, young and famous, further fixating them on the extrovert colours, sounds and wild parties [years later they even made THE WILD PARTY (1975)].
Merchant –Ivory surely were impressed by the rich, young, handsome dandies strutting around London wearing Carnaby Street fashions; none more famous, fashionable or flamboyant than the real-life blonde megastar and Rolling Stone, Brian Jones. Of all the Stones, Brian Jones was also the greatest seeker of the exotic and traveler to the exotic…even his London pad was decorated in the latest exotic drapery.
Brian Jones too was the Rolling Stone who played the sitar as George Harrison was The Beatle who played the sitar. I imagine that Merchant-Ivory were tickled pink that 2 such famous and influential men were bringing Indian culture to the Western masses.
As such, I think (and may be the first to say so), that THE GURU is more than just a George Harrison parody…Merchant-Ivory created the Tom Pickle character as a composite of BOTH George Harrison AND Brian Jones.
Yes, the film definitely has solid roots in the character of George Harrison. An obvious clue is one line in the film where a character at a party yells: “It’s all too much”. This reference is to an actual 1968 George Harrison song called “It’s All Too Much”, but there are many references to Brian Jones as well.
George Harrison was not so well known for his flamboyant fashion sense.
When Michael York’s character lands in India (clothes designed by Carnaby Street) and again as he leaves India, he is dressed in a stunning, slick, all-white outfit, which by the way, Brian Jones had already made one of his trademark looks by that stage.
Michael York played ‘Tom Pickle’ perfectly:
Soft-spoken, working-class English (like George Harrison)
Long-haired, blonde (like Brian Jones)
Down to earth (like George Harrison)
Fashion conscious peacock (like Brian Jones)
Tom Pickle’s girl friend ‘Jenny’ was possibly a composite of the quiet and sweet seeker Pattie Boyd and the more hard-faced, long-haired temptress Anita Pallenberg. Both blondes with heavy make-up…they were George Harrison and Brian Jones’s companions on their real life trips to the exotics. (I wonder if Merchant-Ivory would ever ‘fess up’)
[Note: Patty Boyd’s real-life sister was called ‘Jenny’ and actually went to India with The Beatles in 68. She was so delightful and willing to be enlightened that Donovan wrote a song about her called JENNIFER JUNIPER].
The word ‘pickle’ is a good choice of surname for Merchant-Ivory’s Rockstar from the West. Pickles and Chutneys originated in India but were very popular in hip London (the flavour of the month at most happening restaurants), where The Beatles had recently released their sensational Sgt Peppers album (1967). On that album, George Harrison included his long and wonderful sitar-drenched song-piece called ‘WITHIN YOU WITHOUT YOU’. Had the English finally become Indian? Did Merchant-Ivory see George Harrison as a ‘Pickled Pepper’? HaHaHa.
At that very moment, the world’s 2 most famous bands (The Beatles & The Rolling Stones) had lead guitarists who also sported sitars. George Harrison & Brian Jones both publicly dabbled in Eastern sounds and showed off their recently acquired rudimentary sitar skills.
Merchant-Ivory, along with the rest of the world had learnt that The Beatles had spent time in India in early 1968, only evacuating after they felt disillusioned and suspected they’d been had by their so called ‘guru’ The Maharishi... John Lennon wrote a song about it called SEXY SADIE where he admits the Maharishi “made a fool of everyone” and pointed the finger; “You’ll get yours yet”.
One story unfolds that the Beatles’ ‘guru’, The Maharishi tried to seduce the waif-like Mia Farrow with favours, flavours and sexual advances. Hypocritically, the Maharishi showed double standards while secretly offering Mia Farrow succulent mangos where other ashram guests received no such flavours.
Interestingly and along similar lines, Tom Pickle finally decides to leave India in a hurry after witnessing his sitar ‘guru’ being sexually aggressive and predatory.
Also interesting in The GURU is the sitar teacher’s double standards. On the one hand he admonishes Tom Pickle for running about and partying when he should stay put and focused on music practice and yet when Tom Pickle’s manager offers to fly the sitar teacher to London, the teacher can barely contain himself for the possibilities and excitement of the new. Tom Pickle quashed that idea and the ‘guru’ felt crushed.
I really enjoyed the simple but deep storyline of THE GURU. It pressed on so many human weaknesses; Jealousy, vanity, animosity, fear and yearning. The sitar teacher had many wives all jealous of each other, while he secretly envied and longed for Tom Pickle’s lifestyle, fame and money.
Tom Pickle’s journey in THE GURU is quite similar to Dorothy’s journey in THE WIZARD OF OZ. Both landed in a strange, exotic, puzzling land ruled by a weak, insecure thundering despot who can sometimes be seen to do wonders. There are witches, spells, potions and advice along the way, passing over and through colouful landscapes.
Wiser and wearier, the protagonist will leave this strange place at the close of the story because in the end, ‘There’s no place like home”. It seems to suggest that people fit only where they belong and perhaps should stay put.
Check out how embarrassing the young white dropout Westerners look as they desperately attempt to assimilate themselves into their perceived ideals of Indian culture and how equally embarrassing the envious Indians longing to embrace the young, hip London drug scene n’ style?
Unfathomable laughable stretches..
In THE GURU, the East and the West look towards each other for advice and enlightenment. Unfortunately, every potential guru is rendered unworthy to be an expert spiritual mentor as mostly weaknesses shine through. No one could really be a true Guru with their flawed humanity so exposed.
Tom Pickle was adored by thousands of screaming fans but was somehow still seeking and unfocused.
The sweet character of young Jenny, so admired by the Indian wives was gullible and foolish to follow the sitar teacher with blind obedience. Finally, a bout of food poisoning helped her realize this world was not her world.
The sitar teacher was a first class musician, yet too often serious, envious and weak.
The sitar teacher’s own old man ‘guru’ exposed weaknesses when he too revealed dependencies craving sweets and admitting he couldn’t do without his hookah and milk.
A very fine effort! Good choice of movie. Thanks Brett.
Pia Santaklaus
Hey Brett...
Permit a few words about tonight’s Cinemateque feature...
‘SAI BABA’ feature didn’t eventuate; never mind. It’s fantastic how the reel just exploded all over the place and film flew everywhere just before the session....
“Imagine all the people”...you know, the vindicated ones who always suspected Sai Baba was a fraudster...can you hear them singing John Lennon’s words loudly? “Instant Karma’s gonna get you”
Now to another suspected fraudster...The Guru!!!
I was most impressed to discover that tonight’s main feature THE GURU (1969) was an early Merchant-Ivory effort.
Merchant-Ivory are obvious Anglophiles with deep roots in India, successfully blending both worlds evenly...we only have to look at the title of their 1965 film to see that... ‘SHAKESPEARE WALLAH!!!
A long-standing gay couple, I suspect Merchant-Ivory have always been attracted to powerful, regal, dandy men [eg MAURICE (1987)].
Fashionable London with its famous/infamous characters during the swinging sixties must have held a deep fascination for Merchant-Ivory as their next project after ‘SHAKESPEARE WALLAH was to be set in trendy London. Called ‘A LOVELY WORLD’ (unfortunately shelved), it would follow the London adventures of a young lady called Lizzie Buckingham (An obvious play on words on Queen Elizabeth of Buckingham palace).
I would hazard a guess and say that Merchant-Ivory’s research and work for A LOVELY WORLD probably led them to wonderful London connections and tales of the truly rich, young and famous, further fixating them on the extrovert colours, sounds and wild parties [years later they even made THE WILD PARTY (1975)].
Merchant –Ivory surely were impressed by the rich, young, handsome dandies strutting around London wearing Carnaby Street fashions; none more famous, fashionable or flamboyant than the real-life blonde megastar and Rolling Stone, Brian Jones. Of all the Stones, Brian Jones was also the greatest seeker of the exotic and traveler to the exotic…even his London pad was decorated in the latest exotic drapery.
Brian Jones too was the Rolling Stone who played the sitar as George Harrison was The Beatle who played the sitar. I imagine that Merchant-Ivory were tickled pink that 2 such famous and influential men were bringing Indian culture to the Western masses.
As such, I think (and may be the first to say so), that THE GURU is more than just a George Harrison parody…Merchant-Ivory created the Tom Pickle character as a composite of BOTH George Harrison AND Brian Jones.
Yes, the film definitely has solid roots in the character of George Harrison. An obvious clue is one line in the film where a character at a party yells: “It’s all too much”. This reference is to an actual 1968 George Harrison song called “It’s All Too Much”, but there are many references to Brian Jones as well.
George Harrison was not so well known for his flamboyant fashion sense.
When Michael York’s character lands in India (clothes designed by Carnaby Street) and again as he leaves India, he is dressed in a stunning, slick, all-white outfit, which by the way, Brian Jones had already made one of his trademark looks by that stage.
Michael York played ‘Tom Pickle’ perfectly:
Soft-spoken, working-class English (like George Harrison)
Long-haired, blonde (like Brian Jones)
Down to earth (like George Harrison)
Fashion conscious peacock (like Brian Jones)
Tom Pickle’s girl friend ‘Jenny’ was possibly a composite of the quiet and sweet seeker Pattie Boyd and the more hard-faced, long-haired temptress Anita Pallenberg. Both blondes with heavy make-up…they were George Harrison and Brian Jones’s companions on their real life trips to the exotics. (I wonder if Merchant-Ivory would ever ‘fess up’)
[Note: Patty Boyd’s real-life sister was called ‘Jenny’ and actually went to India with The Beatles in 68. She was so delightful and willing to be enlightened that Donovan wrote a song about her called JENNIFER JUNIPER].
The word ‘pickle’ is a good choice of surname for Merchant-Ivory’s Rockstar from the West. Pickles and Chutneys originated in India but were very popular in hip London (the flavour of the month at most happening restaurants), where The Beatles had recently released their sensational Sgt Peppers album (1967). On that album, George Harrison included his long and wonderful sitar-drenched song-piece called ‘WITHIN YOU WITHOUT YOU’. Had the English finally become Indian? Did Merchant-Ivory see George Harrison as a ‘Pickled Pepper’? HaHaHa.
At that very moment, the world’s 2 most famous bands (The Beatles & The Rolling Stones) had lead guitarists who also sported sitars. George Harrison & Brian Jones both publicly dabbled in Eastern sounds and showed off their recently acquired rudimentary sitar skills.
Merchant-Ivory, along with the rest of the world had learnt that The Beatles had spent time in India in early 1968, only evacuating after they felt disillusioned and suspected they’d been had by their so called ‘guru’ The Maharishi... John Lennon wrote a song about it called SEXY SADIE where he admits the Maharishi “made a fool of everyone” and pointed the finger; “You’ll get yours yet”.
One story unfolds that the Beatles’ ‘guru’, The Maharishi tried to seduce the waif-like Mia Farrow with favours, flavours and sexual advances. Hypocritically, the Maharishi showed double standards while secretly offering Mia Farrow succulent mangos where other ashram guests received no such flavours.
Interestingly and along similar lines, Tom Pickle finally decides to leave India in a hurry after witnessing his sitar ‘guru’ being sexually aggressive and predatory.
Also interesting in The GURU is the sitar teacher’s double standards. On the one hand he admonishes Tom Pickle for running about and partying when he should stay put and focused on music practice and yet when Tom Pickle’s manager offers to fly the sitar teacher to London, the teacher can barely contain himself for the possibilities and excitement of the new. Tom Pickle quashed that idea and the ‘guru’ felt crushed.
I really enjoyed the simple but deep storyline of THE GURU. It pressed on so many human weaknesses; Jealousy, vanity, animosity, fear and yearning. The sitar teacher had many wives all jealous of each other, while he secretly envied and longed for Tom Pickle’s lifestyle, fame and money.
Tom Pickle’s journey in THE GURU is quite similar to Dorothy’s journey in THE WIZARD OF OZ. Both landed in a strange, exotic, puzzling land ruled by a weak, insecure thundering despot who can sometimes be seen to do wonders. There are witches, spells, potions and advice along the way, passing over and through colouful landscapes.
Wiser and wearier, the protagonist will leave this strange place at the close of the story because in the end, ‘There’s no place like home”. It seems to suggest that people fit only where they belong and perhaps should stay put.
Check out how embarrassing the young white dropout Westerners look as they desperately attempt to assimilate themselves into their perceived ideals of Indian culture and how equally embarrassing the envious Indians longing to embrace the young, hip London drug scene n’ style?
Unfathomable laughable stretches..
In THE GURU, the East and the West look towards each other for advice and enlightenment. Unfortunately, every potential guru is rendered unworthy to be an expert spiritual mentor as mostly weaknesses shine through. No one could really be a true Guru with their flawed humanity so exposed.
Tom Pickle was adored by thousands of screaming fans but was somehow still seeking and unfocused.
The sweet character of young Jenny, so admired by the Indian wives was gullible and foolish to follow the sitar teacher with blind obedience. Finally, a bout of food poisoning helped her realize this world was not her world.
The sitar teacher was a first class musician, yet too often serious, envious and weak.
The sitar teacher’s own old man ‘guru’ exposed weaknesses when he too revealed dependencies craving sweets and admitting he couldn’t do without his hookah and milk.
A very fine effort! Good choice of movie. Thanks Brett.
Pia Santaklaus
Summer 07 Program
SUMMER CINEMATHEQUE PROGRAM
Cinematheque screenings are open to members and their guests.
Membership is available at the door.
Trial Membership (1 month/4 screenings/1 guest) $18/$15
3 Month Membership (12 screenings/3 guests) $36/$32
Annual Membership (52 screenings/12 guests) $85/$75
PLEASE NOTE: Screening times have changed -
Saturdays now commence at 12 noon sharp.
Mondays commence at 6:30 sharp.
Mailing list and Enquiries: brettgarten@iprimus.com.au
Website: http://www.chauvelcinema.net.au/
Sat. 3/11 & Mon. 5/11 DIRECTOR’S CHAIR - TOBY ZOATES
Meet Toby Zoates, misunderstood genius of Australian animated film, at this special screening, followed by a Q&A session.
The Thief of Sydney Australia/1984/12mins/Colour/16mm Dir: Toby Zoates. This science fiction combination of live action and animation tells of an impoverished young man who dreams/ fantasises/hallucinates about a post-holocaust Sydney of the future.
Virgin Beasts Australia/1992/Colour/16mm Dir: Toby Zoates. A science fiction musical burlesque about an ageing arms dealer, described by the filmmaker as, “A grungy ‘agit-prop’ folk-tale of the late 20th Century, Beauty meets the Beast at the Masque of the Red Death, on a Quest to win Landrights for Gay Whales. Winner of Best Trash Film at the 1996 1st. International Trash Film Festival, Freakzone, Lille, France. Cast includes Michelle Grannieri, Mathew Cooke, Simon Reptile, Mark Easton, Goose Presley, Tex Perkins and Toby Zoates. Music by Box the Jesuit, Candy Harlots, Paul Vassalos, Dorian Dowse, Tex Perkins and Toby Zoates.
“Whacked out.” http://www.imdb.com/
Sat. 10/11 & Mon. 12/11 SECRET LIFE OF PUPPETS
A program of animated puppet films by three masters of the form: George Pal, Ladislav Starewicz and the Brothers Quay.
Big Broadcast USA/1938/5mins/B&W/16mm Dir: George Pal. A "radio revue" with puppets performing three musical numbers.
Puppet Love France/1930/20mins/B&W16mm Dir: Ladislaw Starewicz. Tells the story of a puppet's adventures as loyalty drives him to return to his original owner. Combines puppet animation with live action footage. “Endlessly inventive.” http://www.imdb.com/
Rehearsals for Extinct Anatomies UK/1988/15mins/B&W/16mm Dir: Brothers Quay. A dreamlike trip into the Quays' surreal world of unusual architectural forms, living skulls, psychedelic patterns and robots using tools and other found objects.
The Voice of the Nightingale France/1923/9mins/Colour/16mm Dir: Ladislaw Starewicz. A nightingale captured by a little girl sings to her while she sleeps of his urgent search for his lost mate.
“Pure joy.” http://www.imdb.com/
Punch & Judy: Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy UK/1980/ 49mins/Colour/16mm Dir: Keith Griffiths, Timothy Quay, Stephen Quay, Larry Sider. A cultural history of Punch and Judy and a documentary homage to Giovanni Piccini, probably the greatest Punchman to have lived.
Sat. 17/11 Only TRASH COMPACTOR
By popular demand, Australia’s leading film historian, Barrie Pattison, returns with a manic parade of the hyper weird movies that twisted his outlook, including excerpts from German Expressionist horror movies, Randolph Scott Westerns, Flash Gordon, Orson Welles, and Mexican wrestler, Santo, and other rich and strange experiences from down the years and across the planet, in original and often rare film prints – some the only copies in the hemisphere.
Mon. 19/11 Only DIRECTOR’S CHAIR – BARRIE PATTISON
Following up from Saturday, see the results of Barrie’s over-exposure to cinema shonk, with this rare screening of his unreleased feature, Zombie Brigade from Lizard Gully, followed by a Q&A session with Barrie.
Zombie Brigade Australia/1986/92mins/Colour/35mm Dir: Barrie Pattison. A Vietnam War Memorial is dynamited to make way for a Japanese ‘Robot Man’ theme park, unleashing a plague of vampiric zombies in a small West Australian town. A horror spoof satirising Australia’s veneration for its war dead.
“One of the dumbest horror flicks I have ever seen.” http://www.imdb.com/
Sat. 24/11 & Mon. 26/11 SCARE FILMS
Blurring the boundaries between propaganda and education, scare films use shock tactics to affect social, political and behavioural changes. NOTE: This program contains graphic scenes.
My Japan USA/1945/16mins/B&W/16mm. Complex and disturbing anti-Japanese propaganda film produced to spur the sale of U.S. war bonds. The film takes the form of a mock travelogue of Japan, presented by an impersonated Japanese narrator speaking in a crude accent. NOTE: Explicit racism and war violence.
“Hilarious, ghastly, violent, racist, and historically inaccurate.” www.archives.org
“One of the most unusual documentary films ever made” http://www.archives.org/
Mechanized Death USA/1961/27mins/Colour/16mm Dir: Dick Wayman. This "safety" film was a consequence of a dramatic increase in road fatalities during the late 50's and early 60's. This film was designed only to shock and does this with back to back, real-life footage of roadside carnage. There is no film-making style here, no plot, no drama, no clever editing, just grainy handheld footage of accident scenes and incessant, droning, judgmental narration.
NOTE: Some scenes may disturb. Contains road accident footage.
Know Your Children Australia/1951/20mins/B&W/16mm Dir: John Martin-Jones. A study of the causes of juvenile delinquency.
Duck and Cover USA/1952/10mins/B&W/16mm. A film made to inform children of protective measures to be taken in the event of atomic attack.
Hospitals Don’t Burn Down Australia/1977/24mins/Colour/16mm Dir: Brian Trenchard Smith. From the director of The Man from Hong Kong comes this disturbingly realistic film about a fire in a high-rise hospital.
Hands Off Australia/1974/12mins/Colour/16mm. A film made for children about the dangers of playing with unexploded ammunition.
Sat. 1/12 Only CANADIAN SHORT FILM RETROSPECTIVE
Neighbours Canada/1952/8mins/Colour/16mm Dir: Norman McLaren. A parable about two neighbours who come to blows over the possession of a flower growing on the boundary of their gardens. Made in response to the outbreak of the Korean War.
End of Summer Canada/1964/27mins/B&W/16mm Dir: Michel Brault. Candid observations of a group of French Canadian teenagers in holiday activities, illustrating their natural behaviour and conversations reflecting their views on various subjects.
Freefall Canada/1964/9mins/B&W/16mm Dir: Arthur Lipsett. A collage of 'found' images on the theme of 'mankind's fall from grace into banality'.
Devils Toy Canada/1966/15mins/B&W/16mm Dir: Claude Jutra. Dedicated 'to all victims of intolerance' this is a gently satirical look at the victimisation of skateboard riders.
The Huntsman Canada/1972/16mins/Colour/16mm Dir: Doug Jackson. A 10-year-old boy ferrets out golf balls from the rough, then sells his findings to passing golfers.
If You Love this Planet Canada/1982/26mins/Colour/16mm Dir: Terri Nash. Dr. Helen Caldicott presents a lecture on the medical effects of nuclear war.
Still from Neighbours.
Mon. 3/12 Only CANADIAN ANIMATION RETROSPECTIVE
Chants Populaires: En Passant Canada/1943/3mins/B&W/16mm Dir: Alexandre Alexeieff & Claire Parker. A French Canadian folk song animated using pinboard techniques.
Chants Populaires: C'est L'aviron Canada/1944/3mins/B&W/ 16mm Dir: Norman McLaren. A traditional French Canadian folk song animated using cut-outs and still pictures.
Walking Canada/1968/5mins/Colour/16mm Dir: Ryan Larkin. An Oscar nominated film study of the various ways of walking.
Bambi Meets Godzilla Canada/1969/2mins/B&W/16mm Dir: Marv Newland. A spoof of film credits with an unexpected twist.
Illusion? Canada/1975/12mins/Colour/16mm Dir: Frederic Back. In the midst of a friendly country scene, children are busy playing, surrounded by familiar animals. There is gaiety, harmony, discovery, accompanied by laughter and bird song. But a strange magician enters the scene and their world is turned into a different place.
La Rue (The Street) Canada/1976/10mins/Colour/16mm Dir: Caroline Leaf. An innovative film about a grandmother whose lingering death is suffered impatiently by her Jewish family.
Histoire de Perles (The Bead Game) Canada/1977/5mins/Colour/ 16mm Dir: Ishu Patel. Coloured beads are animated to depict the evolution of combat and weaponry culminating in the threat of nuclear warfare. “Absolutely mesmerizing.” http://www.imdb.com/
Le Chateau de Sable (The Sand Castle) Canada/1977/13mins/ Colour/16mm dir: Co Hoedeman. Sand creatures build an elaborate sandcastle in this Oscar winning animated short.
The Seigneury Canada/1978/3mins/Colour/16mm Dir: Janice Brown
A history of the Hotel Chateau Montebello.
Special Delivery Canada/1978/7mins/Colour/16mm Dir: John Weldon, Eunice Macaulay. A love triangle involving a nagging wife, her forgetful husband and the postman. Oscar winning animation.
Log Drivers Waltz Canada/1979/3mins/Colour/16mm Dir: John Weldon. The Log Driver's Waltz, based on the song by Wade Hensworth, shows birling - the art of driving logs.
Crac Canada/1981/15mins/Colour/16mm Dir: Frederic Back. Oscar winning story of a rocking chair from tree trunk to old age accompanied by French Canadian folk music.
Cat Came Back Canada/1988/7mins/Colour/16mm Dir: Richard Condie, Cordell Baker. Oscar nominated story of a man who is plagued by the persistent return of a cat. “Full of dark humour.” http://www.imdb.com/
Paradise Canada/1984/16mins/Colour/16mm Dir: Ishu Patel.
A blackbird, through the window of a golden palace, covets the magnificent plumage of the bird performing for the emperor.
Still from Paradise
Sat. 8/12 & Mon 10/12 PSYCHO CELLULOID
A program of films exploring the world of psychology.
Brain and Behaviour USA/1962/29mins/B&W/16mm. Demonstrates the way in which electrical activity in the brain gives us information about man's behaviour.
Over-Dependency Canada/1949/32mins/B&White/16mm Dir: Robert Anderson. A case study of a young man whose life is crippled by behaviour patterns carried from his too-dependent childhood. The third film in the National Film Board of Canada’s Mental Mechanisms series notable for their psychological realism.
Emotional Development USA/1973/18mins/Color/16mm Dir: Barbara Jampel. Examines the theory that aggression, in both children and adults, is a behaviour that is learned in a social context. Narrated by Leslie Nielsen.
Sigmund Freud's Dora: A Case of Mistaken Identity USA/1979/ 34mins/Colour/16mm Dir: Anthony McCall, Claire Pajaczkowska, Andrew Tyndall, & Jane Weinstock. A critique of the representation of women in psychoanalytic discourse is linked, in the form of an 'essay', with modes of representation of women's sexuality in the visual media. NOTE: Contains sexually explicit material.
Sat. 15/12 & Mon. 17/12 EARLY COMPUTER ANIMATION
From early experiments in abstract art to the success of Pixar, this program charts the development of the art of computer animation.
Poem Field (No. 1): A Study in Computer Graphics USA/1967/ 4mins/Colour/16mm Dir: Stan VanDerBeek & Ken Knowlton. Pioneering computer animation explores variations of abstract geometric forms and words generated on an IBM 7094 computer.
Around Perception Canada/1968/17mins/Colour/ Dir: Pierre Hebert. An experiment in the use of computers to animate images on film. The result is a dazzling vibration of geometric forms in vivid colour.
Experiments in Motion Graphics USA/1968/13mins/Colour/16mm Dir: John Whitney. Whitney explains some of the processes involved in programming and animating his computer-made abstract films.
Binary Bit Patterns USA/1969/3mins/Colour/16mm Dir: Michael Whitney.
Kaleidescopic computer-made film. Optically printed from images generated on a digital computer, the film is a delightful burst of vibrant colour, movement and sound.
White Hole Japan/1969/7mins/Colour/16mm Dir: Toshio Matsumoto. Described by the filmmaker as "a cosmic hallucination spun by the computer-controlled image synthesizer, in which you will pass through the brilliant tunnels and the mystic prospects." Music by Joji Yuasa.
Matrix III USA/1970/11mins/Colour/16mm Dir: John Whitney. Computer generated forms evolve, merge and subdivide on a black background. Music by Terry Riley.
La Faim (Hunger) Canada/1974/12mins/Colour/16mm Dir: Peter Foldes. Oscar nominated satire of self-indulgence in a hungry world. Music by Pierre Brault. “Not easily forgotten.” http://www.imdb.com/
Arabesque USA/1976/7mins/Colour/16mm Dir: John Whitney. The geometry of Islamic art is translated into computer graphics.
Two Space USA/1979/8mins/B&W/16mm Dir: Larry Cuba. Twelve two dimensional patterns set upon a basic figure produce illusions of figure ground reversal and after-images of colour accompanied by gamelan music.
Vol de Reve (Dream Flight) Canada/1982/13mins/Colour/16mm Dir: Philippe Bergeron, Nadia Magnenat-Thalmann, Daniel Thalmann. An extraterrestrial creature dreams of new horizons, flies to Earth and discovers Paris and New York.
Luxo Jr USA/1986/2mins/Colour/16mm Dir: John Lasseter. Pixar’s first film, featuring father and son Luxo lamps. Oscar nominated.
Red's Dream USA/1987/4mins/Colour/16mm Dir: John Lasseter. A Pixar film that speculates on what unicycles might dream about on rainy nights.
Tin Toy USA/1988/5mins/Colour/16mm Dir: John Lasseter. Pixar’s Oscar winning tale of a prickly relationship between a rambunctious diapered baby and musical clockwork toy.
Knickknack USA/1989/4mins/Colour/16mm Dir: John Lasseter. A snowman in a glass bubble is tempted by a toy beach woman across the shelf. He attempts a desperate escape from his confinement.
The Chauvel Cinematheque gratefully acknowledges the assistance of the National Film and Video Lending Service, the National Film & Sound Archive, the Australian Film Commission, Barrie Pattison and Toby Zoates in the creation of this program.
Cinematheque screenings are open to members and their guests.
Membership is available at the door.
Trial Membership (1 month/4 screenings/1 guest) $18/$15
3 Month Membership (12 screenings/3 guests) $36/$32
Annual Membership (52 screenings/12 guests) $85/$75
PLEASE NOTE: Screening times have changed -
Saturdays now commence at 12 noon sharp.
Mondays commence at 6:30 sharp.
Mailing list and Enquiries: brettgarten@iprimus.com.au
Website: http://www.chauvelcinema.net.au/
Sat. 3/11 & Mon. 5/11 DIRECTOR’S CHAIR - TOBY ZOATES
Meet Toby Zoates, misunderstood genius of Australian animated film, at this special screening, followed by a Q&A session.
The Thief of Sydney Australia/1984/12mins/Colour/16mm Dir: Toby Zoates. This science fiction combination of live action and animation tells of an impoverished young man who dreams/ fantasises/hallucinates about a post-holocaust Sydney of the future.
Virgin Beasts Australia/1992/Colour/16mm Dir: Toby Zoates. A science fiction musical burlesque about an ageing arms dealer, described by the filmmaker as, “A grungy ‘agit-prop’ folk-tale of the late 20th Century, Beauty meets the Beast at the Masque of the Red Death, on a Quest to win Landrights for Gay Whales. Winner of Best Trash Film at the 1996 1st. International Trash Film Festival, Freakzone, Lille, France. Cast includes Michelle Grannieri, Mathew Cooke, Simon Reptile, Mark Easton, Goose Presley, Tex Perkins and Toby Zoates. Music by Box the Jesuit, Candy Harlots, Paul Vassalos, Dorian Dowse, Tex Perkins and Toby Zoates.
“Whacked out.” http://www.imdb.com/
Sat. 10/11 & Mon. 12/11 SECRET LIFE OF PUPPETS
A program of animated puppet films by three masters of the form: George Pal, Ladislav Starewicz and the Brothers Quay.
Big Broadcast USA/1938/5mins/B&W/16mm Dir: George Pal. A "radio revue" with puppets performing three musical numbers.
Puppet Love France/1930/20mins/B&W16mm Dir: Ladislaw Starewicz. Tells the story of a puppet's adventures as loyalty drives him to return to his original owner. Combines puppet animation with live action footage. “Endlessly inventive.” http://www.imdb.com/
Rehearsals for Extinct Anatomies UK/1988/15mins/B&W/16mm Dir: Brothers Quay. A dreamlike trip into the Quays' surreal world of unusual architectural forms, living skulls, psychedelic patterns and robots using tools and other found objects.
The Voice of the Nightingale France/1923/9mins/Colour/16mm Dir: Ladislaw Starewicz. A nightingale captured by a little girl sings to her while she sleeps of his urgent search for his lost mate.
“Pure joy.” http://www.imdb.com/
Punch & Judy: Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy UK/1980/ 49mins/Colour/16mm Dir: Keith Griffiths, Timothy Quay, Stephen Quay, Larry Sider. A cultural history of Punch and Judy and a documentary homage to Giovanni Piccini, probably the greatest Punchman to have lived.
Sat. 17/11 Only TRASH COMPACTOR
By popular demand, Australia’s leading film historian, Barrie Pattison, returns with a manic parade of the hyper weird movies that twisted his outlook, including excerpts from German Expressionist horror movies, Randolph Scott Westerns, Flash Gordon, Orson Welles, and Mexican wrestler, Santo, and other rich and strange experiences from down the years and across the planet, in original and often rare film prints – some the only copies in the hemisphere.
Mon. 19/11 Only DIRECTOR’S CHAIR – BARRIE PATTISON
Following up from Saturday, see the results of Barrie’s over-exposure to cinema shonk, with this rare screening of his unreleased feature, Zombie Brigade from Lizard Gully, followed by a Q&A session with Barrie.
Zombie Brigade Australia/1986/92mins/Colour/35mm Dir: Barrie Pattison. A Vietnam War Memorial is dynamited to make way for a Japanese ‘Robot Man’ theme park, unleashing a plague of vampiric zombies in a small West Australian town. A horror spoof satirising Australia’s veneration for its war dead.
“One of the dumbest horror flicks I have ever seen.” http://www.imdb.com/
Sat. 24/11 & Mon. 26/11 SCARE FILMS
Blurring the boundaries between propaganda and education, scare films use shock tactics to affect social, political and behavioural changes. NOTE: This program contains graphic scenes.
My Japan USA/1945/16mins/B&W/16mm. Complex and disturbing anti-Japanese propaganda film produced to spur the sale of U.S. war bonds. The film takes the form of a mock travelogue of Japan, presented by an impersonated Japanese narrator speaking in a crude accent. NOTE: Explicit racism and war violence.
“Hilarious, ghastly, violent, racist, and historically inaccurate.” www.archives.org
“One of the most unusual documentary films ever made” http://www.archives.org/
Mechanized Death USA/1961/27mins/Colour/16mm Dir: Dick Wayman. This "safety" film was a consequence of a dramatic increase in road fatalities during the late 50's and early 60's. This film was designed only to shock and does this with back to back, real-life footage of roadside carnage. There is no film-making style here, no plot, no drama, no clever editing, just grainy handheld footage of accident scenes and incessant, droning, judgmental narration.
NOTE: Some scenes may disturb. Contains road accident footage.
Know Your Children Australia/1951/20mins/B&W/16mm Dir: John Martin-Jones. A study of the causes of juvenile delinquency.
Duck and Cover USA/1952/10mins/B&W/16mm. A film made to inform children of protective measures to be taken in the event of atomic attack.
Hospitals Don’t Burn Down Australia/1977/24mins/Colour/16mm Dir: Brian Trenchard Smith. From the director of The Man from Hong Kong comes this disturbingly realistic film about a fire in a high-rise hospital.
Hands Off Australia/1974/12mins/Colour/16mm. A film made for children about the dangers of playing with unexploded ammunition.
Sat. 1/12 Only CANADIAN SHORT FILM RETROSPECTIVE
Neighbours Canada/1952/8mins/Colour/16mm Dir: Norman McLaren. A parable about two neighbours who come to blows over the possession of a flower growing on the boundary of their gardens. Made in response to the outbreak of the Korean War.
End of Summer Canada/1964/27mins/B&W/16mm Dir: Michel Brault. Candid observations of a group of French Canadian teenagers in holiday activities, illustrating their natural behaviour and conversations reflecting their views on various subjects.
Freefall Canada/1964/9mins/B&W/16mm Dir: Arthur Lipsett. A collage of 'found' images on the theme of 'mankind's fall from grace into banality'.
Devils Toy Canada/1966/15mins/B&W/16mm Dir: Claude Jutra. Dedicated 'to all victims of intolerance' this is a gently satirical look at the victimisation of skateboard riders.
The Huntsman Canada/1972/16mins/Colour/16mm Dir: Doug Jackson. A 10-year-old boy ferrets out golf balls from the rough, then sells his findings to passing golfers.
If You Love this Planet Canada/1982/26mins/Colour/16mm Dir: Terri Nash. Dr. Helen Caldicott presents a lecture on the medical effects of nuclear war.
Still from Neighbours.
Mon. 3/12 Only CANADIAN ANIMATION RETROSPECTIVE
Chants Populaires: En Passant Canada/1943/3mins/B&W/16mm Dir: Alexandre Alexeieff & Claire Parker. A French Canadian folk song animated using pinboard techniques.
Chants Populaires: C'est L'aviron Canada/1944/3mins/B&W/ 16mm Dir: Norman McLaren. A traditional French Canadian folk song animated using cut-outs and still pictures.
Walking Canada/1968/5mins/Colour/16mm Dir: Ryan Larkin. An Oscar nominated film study of the various ways of walking.
Bambi Meets Godzilla Canada/1969/2mins/B&W/16mm Dir: Marv Newland. A spoof of film credits with an unexpected twist.
Illusion? Canada/1975/12mins/Colour/16mm Dir: Frederic Back. In the midst of a friendly country scene, children are busy playing, surrounded by familiar animals. There is gaiety, harmony, discovery, accompanied by laughter and bird song. But a strange magician enters the scene and their world is turned into a different place.
La Rue (The Street) Canada/1976/10mins/Colour/16mm Dir: Caroline Leaf. An innovative film about a grandmother whose lingering death is suffered impatiently by her Jewish family.
Histoire de Perles (The Bead Game) Canada/1977/5mins/Colour/ 16mm Dir: Ishu Patel. Coloured beads are animated to depict the evolution of combat and weaponry culminating in the threat of nuclear warfare. “Absolutely mesmerizing.” http://www.imdb.com/
Le Chateau de Sable (The Sand Castle) Canada/1977/13mins/ Colour/16mm dir: Co Hoedeman. Sand creatures build an elaborate sandcastle in this Oscar winning animated short.
The Seigneury Canada/1978/3mins/Colour/16mm Dir: Janice Brown
A history of the Hotel Chateau Montebello.
Special Delivery Canada/1978/7mins/Colour/16mm Dir: John Weldon, Eunice Macaulay. A love triangle involving a nagging wife, her forgetful husband and the postman. Oscar winning animation.
Log Drivers Waltz Canada/1979/3mins/Colour/16mm Dir: John Weldon. The Log Driver's Waltz, based on the song by Wade Hensworth, shows birling - the art of driving logs.
Crac Canada/1981/15mins/Colour/16mm Dir: Frederic Back. Oscar winning story of a rocking chair from tree trunk to old age accompanied by French Canadian folk music.
Cat Came Back Canada/1988/7mins/Colour/16mm Dir: Richard Condie, Cordell Baker. Oscar nominated story of a man who is plagued by the persistent return of a cat. “Full of dark humour.” http://www.imdb.com/
Paradise Canada/1984/16mins/Colour/16mm Dir: Ishu Patel.
A blackbird, through the window of a golden palace, covets the magnificent plumage of the bird performing for the emperor.
Still from Paradise
Sat. 8/12 & Mon 10/12 PSYCHO CELLULOID
A program of films exploring the world of psychology.
Brain and Behaviour USA/1962/29mins/B&W/16mm. Demonstrates the way in which electrical activity in the brain gives us information about man's behaviour.
Over-Dependency Canada/1949/32mins/B&White/16mm Dir: Robert Anderson. A case study of a young man whose life is crippled by behaviour patterns carried from his too-dependent childhood. The third film in the National Film Board of Canada’s Mental Mechanisms series notable for their psychological realism.
Emotional Development USA/1973/18mins/Color/16mm Dir: Barbara Jampel. Examines the theory that aggression, in both children and adults, is a behaviour that is learned in a social context. Narrated by Leslie Nielsen.
Sigmund Freud's Dora: A Case of Mistaken Identity USA/1979/ 34mins/Colour/16mm Dir: Anthony McCall, Claire Pajaczkowska, Andrew Tyndall, & Jane Weinstock. A critique of the representation of women in psychoanalytic discourse is linked, in the form of an 'essay', with modes of representation of women's sexuality in the visual media. NOTE: Contains sexually explicit material.
Sat. 15/12 & Mon. 17/12 EARLY COMPUTER ANIMATION
From early experiments in abstract art to the success of Pixar, this program charts the development of the art of computer animation.
Poem Field (No. 1): A Study in Computer Graphics USA/1967/ 4mins/Colour/16mm Dir: Stan VanDerBeek & Ken Knowlton. Pioneering computer animation explores variations of abstract geometric forms and words generated on an IBM 7094 computer.
Around Perception Canada/1968/17mins/Colour/ Dir: Pierre Hebert. An experiment in the use of computers to animate images on film. The result is a dazzling vibration of geometric forms in vivid colour.
Experiments in Motion Graphics USA/1968/13mins/Colour/16mm Dir: John Whitney. Whitney explains some of the processes involved in programming and animating his computer-made abstract films.
Binary Bit Patterns USA/1969/3mins/Colour/16mm Dir: Michael Whitney.
Kaleidescopic computer-made film. Optically printed from images generated on a digital computer, the film is a delightful burst of vibrant colour, movement and sound.
White Hole Japan/1969/7mins/Colour/16mm Dir: Toshio Matsumoto. Described by the filmmaker as "a cosmic hallucination spun by the computer-controlled image synthesizer, in which you will pass through the brilliant tunnels and the mystic prospects." Music by Joji Yuasa.
Matrix III USA/1970/11mins/Colour/16mm Dir: John Whitney. Computer generated forms evolve, merge and subdivide on a black background. Music by Terry Riley.
La Faim (Hunger) Canada/1974/12mins/Colour/16mm Dir: Peter Foldes. Oscar nominated satire of self-indulgence in a hungry world. Music by Pierre Brault. “Not easily forgotten.” http://www.imdb.com/
Arabesque USA/1976/7mins/Colour/16mm Dir: John Whitney. The geometry of Islamic art is translated into computer graphics.
Two Space USA/1979/8mins/B&W/16mm Dir: Larry Cuba. Twelve two dimensional patterns set upon a basic figure produce illusions of figure ground reversal and after-images of colour accompanied by gamelan music.
Vol de Reve (Dream Flight) Canada/1982/13mins/Colour/16mm Dir: Philippe Bergeron, Nadia Magnenat-Thalmann, Daniel Thalmann. An extraterrestrial creature dreams of new horizons, flies to Earth and discovers Paris and New York.
Luxo Jr USA/1986/2mins/Colour/16mm Dir: John Lasseter. Pixar’s first film, featuring father and son Luxo lamps. Oscar nominated.
Red's Dream USA/1987/4mins/Colour/16mm Dir: John Lasseter. A Pixar film that speculates on what unicycles might dream about on rainy nights.
Tin Toy USA/1988/5mins/Colour/16mm Dir: John Lasseter. Pixar’s Oscar winning tale of a prickly relationship between a rambunctious diapered baby and musical clockwork toy.
Knickknack USA/1989/4mins/Colour/16mm Dir: John Lasseter. A snowman in a glass bubble is tempted by a toy beach woman across the shelf. He attempts a desperate escape from his confinement.
The Chauvel Cinematheque gratefully acknowledges the assistance of the National Film and Video Lending Service, the National Film & Sound Archive, the Australian Film Commission, Barrie Pattison and Toby Zoates in the creation of this program.
Tuesday, 30 October 2007
New Session Times start this week
Starting November 3, 2007, the new session times are:
Saturdays - 12 noon sharp
Mondays - 6:30 pm sharp
Please take note.
Thanks.
Saturdays - 12 noon sharp
Mondays - 6:30 pm sharp
Please take note.
Thanks.
Wednesday, 26 September 2007
Czech Retrospective details
Here are the details for the upcoming Czech retrospective. Please note that some of the dates and times have changed since the original calendar was printed. These dates are final.
Click to enlarge the image below.
Click to enlarge the image below.
Thursday, 13 September 2007
Press Release for Barrie Pattison's History of the Chinese Kung Fu Film
CROUCHING FILM FREAK - SLEEPING CRITIC.For a while there, Chinese language(s) cinema was the number two film industry on the planet. Jackie Chan was the most popular actor in history and it was easier to see him in down town Toronto, Melbourne or Sydney than it was to see Clint Eastwood or Mel Gibson. This is only the visible tip of activity, which has continued over a century and tells us alot about China, the movies and even ourselves.
Beginning in the silent period, we find the wu zia pian swashbucklers with their roots in Chinese Opera. As the material develops from mainland small screen black and white to the 'scope, colour and stereo Hong Kong spectaculars, they take on the shades of Hollywood epics, Japanese Samurai movies and Italian westerns. Some elements remain constant and others are added in. The acrobat heroes of the opera schools replace actors going through the motions and action stars learn from the martial artists. The sun hangs low in the purple studio sky, where the fields are sewn with paper flowers. Blood and sweat shine on perfect bodies, unaffected by gravity. The frame fills with saffron robed Shaolin monks, hermaphrodite cannibals, villains with fifty foot legs, heroes who balance sword points on lily pads and master martial artists whose skill derives from drinking the blood of venomous serpents.
This was all a bit much for critics who thought in terms of Pearl Buck, Chairman Mao and Charlie Chan and they never did catch up. However Kung fu movies were made around the world in imitation. Hollywood went on to assimilate Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, John Woo, Jet & Gong Lee. When one of his routines turned up in a Steven Seagal movie, action star Sammo Hung commented ruefully, "We steal from them. They steal from us." Now, since the end of the colonial period, the central government has made it their business to reclaim the martial arts spectacular. The success of Crouching Tiger... sits badly with them. What luck have they had?
Film maker and writer Barrie Pattison has done programs for the London NFT and the Paris Cinematheque. He studied the Chinese film phenomenon over decades, met many of the key figures of the classic period and has put together a program drawing on often rare material from official and private sources.
The screenings at Paddington Town Hall'sChauvel Cinema on Saturday October 20th at 1:00 pm and Monday 22 at 7:00 pm are unique opportunities to assess this material and decide what weight to give it's admirers.Captions:
Love on a Foggy Liver - NY Chinatown - photo BrettRixon.
Jackie Chan gives stick - Liu Chia-liang's 1994 Drunken Master II.
Fifties martial arts action.
Hey that hurt! Raymond Liu's 1982 The Crane Fighter.
Fun in a Chinese movie - Chu Yuan's 1972 Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan.
Enquiries phone 02 9211 6514,
email:mozjoukine@yahoo.com.au
Thursday, 6 September 2007
Under the Beds: A Response to the War Hot and Cold Program by Barrie Pattison
UNDER THE BEDS.
Well I wasn't around when Coldicutt and Mathews were crossing swords with ASIO in the forties but I was there for the Great Red Scares of the 1950s.
Up to that point, the film people had all got along quite nicely in a we-all-did-in-Hitler -together atmosphere. The church groups ran BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN and the leftists put on MONSIEUR VINCENT - on the principle that they were works of art. They'd go to one another's Xmas parties.
The problem was that everyone showed the same forty odd films. I kept on seeing John Huston's WEWERE STRANGERS, BERLIN OLYMPICS, SPANISH EARTH or BACK OF BEYOND. The D.of I.'s THE QUEEN IN AUSTRALIA got a run because it was somuch nicer than the (American owned) Movietone version. The British Film Institute publications and Penguin Film Review were Holy Writ, even though a lot of their revered material - include nearly all Luchino Visconti or Luis Buñuel - hadn't been aired here. Discussions centred on whether Eisenstein or Pudovkin was the true artist.
This was a bad fit with my own experience of cinema, derived from Newtown Majestic, The Capitol and judicious use of the kiddie matinees which hadprovided me with NANOOK OF THE NORTH, De Mille's CRUSADES, the Fleischer Brothers and METROPOLIS. To these the Savoy added Jean Cocteau and Martine Carole.
Well I wasn't around when Coldicutt and Mathews were crossing swords with ASIO in the forties but I was there for the Great Red Scares of the 1950s.
Up to that point, the film people had all got along quite nicely in a we-all-did-in-Hitler -together atmosphere. The church groups ran BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN and the leftists put on MONSIEUR VINCENT - on the principle that they were works of art. They'd go to one another's Xmas parties.
The problem was that everyone showed the same forty odd films. I kept on seeing John Huston's WEWERE STRANGERS, BERLIN OLYMPICS, SPANISH EARTH or BACK OF BEYOND. The D.of I.'s THE QUEEN IN AUSTRALIA got a run because it was somuch nicer than the (American owned) Movietone version. The British Film Institute publications and Penguin Film Review were Holy Writ, even though a lot of their revered material - include nearly all Luchino Visconti or Luis Buñuel - hadn't been aired here. Discussions centred on whether Eisenstein or Pudovkin was the true artist.
This was a bad fit with my own experience of cinema, derived from Newtown Majestic, The Capitol and judicious use of the kiddie matinees which hadprovided me with NANOOK OF THE NORTH, De Mille's CRUSADES, the Fleischer Brothers and METROPOLIS. To these the Savoy added Jean Cocteau and Martine Carole.
The Americans, with their veneration of David WarkGriffith and 1939 Hollywood, seemed a much better model. I would later find that the French were delighting in the same Delmer Daves and Frank Tashlin movies I was.
I was as curious as the next man about the leftist material - the Russian SADKO, the American NATIVE LAND and SALT OF THE EARTH, the Chinese BUTTERFLY LOVERS on their new colour stock that was near impossible to splice. To this day I follow the career of Czechoslovakia's Otaka Vavra with some fascination. However my interest quickened when JohnHoward Reid retaliated, showing a near complete Elia Kazan retrospective.
The big score seemed to be the old Hollywood movies on which the often battered Sixteen Millimetre prints looked like they would be our last glimpse of many notable titles - Litvak's BLUES IN THE NIGHT, George Stevens' MORE THE MERRIER, Boleslawski's THEODORA GOES WILD. Bad guess actually. Though these never made it back onto projection screens, the new commercial TV companies bought three digit studio packages, which turned Australia into the best place in the world to see the early Hollywood sound film for a decade, even if Nancy Carroll and John Gilbert were still ignored by the old Sight & Sound readers, soon joined by the newly minted Sam Fuller fans.
Then as now, there were unfamiliar movies tucked away in under-used libraries. One had a hundred or so US silents, many printed on the original tinted stock from the camera negatives - Sidney Franklin's THE SAFETY CURTAIN, William S. Hart in RETURN OF DRAW EGAN and the William Seiter-Lewis Milestone LISTEN LESTER. Along with, these you could find Gallone's ULTRIMI GIORNI DI POMPEII or the short films of William Cameron-Menzies, Danielle Darrieux in RETOUR À L'AUBE and a raft of intriguing British material - Conrad Veidt in UNDER THE RED ROBE, the Powell-Pressberger SMALL BACK ROOM, Doug Fairbanks in ACCUSED, Cary Grant in THE AMAZING QUEST or George Arliss in DR. SYN. Some of these proved to be unique and would never be seen again.
All this changed brutally. As well as the ASIO spook activity, there was a fear of the Communist world in the local high art circles. Many professionals were alarmed at the humiliation of creative people like Eisenstein and Shostakovich in Russia, where portraits painter teams, combining on group canvases of receptions, were considered to be the peak of Socialist Realism.
Whether Eisenstein was any less humiliated in Hollywood is speculative but concern over control passing from artists to doctrinaire bureaucrats is legitimate. The deterioration of the Czech film, after the ascent ofthe Communists, had been remarkable and, closer to our time, Mainland ownership of Hong Kong film has dropped it from being the world's number two film industry to nowhere. It didn't take long for a mixture of Political Correctness and salaried bureaucracy to stifle the emerging seventies Australian film, either. In fifties Sydney, Neil Gunther's Film User's association set itself up to steer things away from the ubiquitous Soviet bloc material and Andrea, a now forgotten tabloid columnist, ran an item about finding a flier for the Sydney Film Society's screening of a (shock horror) Polish film about YOUNG CHOPIN, on her seat at the Sydney Film Festival. "Non political, non sectarian - I wonder," she fumed.
This was a trigger for much name calling and fingerpointing. Selecting the East German film DER RATDER GÖTTER caused a split in the Sydney Film Society, with Robert J. Connell's dissident faction scurrying off to start their own screenings at Anzac House. I watched all this with some concern. I'd had good nights with Eddie Allison's Realists or the Kings Cross Film Club, as well as the Catholics - not to mention the Christian Anti-Communist League, who had access to a killer library, including Project 20: NIGHTMARE IN RED and Stuart Rosenberg's QUESTION 7. I'd found them all amiable people. The declining Sydney Film Society was a particular concern. The oldest group in the country, it had JohnHeyer, Bruce Beresford and radio writer Colin Free on its board at different times. The Society had imported major films, like LE MILLION and INTOLERANCE, and it was the one group to run regular, open previews of possible material.
I signed on, doing donkey work. To the standards (LAURA, JOURNAL D'UN CURÉ DE COMPAGNE, POTEMKIN with the then new Kruikov score) we added in some of the neglected films and continued to space this with politically sensitive material. The audience seemed as willing to be amused by Stalin as the comic sidekick in LENIN V OKTABRE, as they were prepared to ponder the clerical anguish in Harald Braun's NACHTWACHE (Lutherans and Catholics combine post WW2).
I premiered the LindsayAnderson MARCH TO ALDERMASTON (good cause - dreary film) but never could get Clouzot's MANON (founding Israel) or Mike Curtiz' SANTA FE TRAIL (nasty abolitionists) into the schedule. The Sydney Film Society did manage to draw respectable numbers for unfamiliar work, organised joint showings with other groups, created translations of items like Helmut Kaütner's FILM OHNE TITEL, did 35mm. screenings on MÄDCHEN IN UNIFORM and the Germi-Fellini CAMINO DELLA SPERANZA. They utilised collectors, with Don Harkness' copy of the Syd Chaplin CHARLEY'S AUNT a hit. I suspect it was the world's first such group to run any Anthony Mann.
Screenings became more frequent and numbers went back up, though never reaching those of the pre-confrontation days and it outlasted the disintegration of the breakaway group by many years. These disputes were never really about politics. They were about personalities. The Anzac House lot themselves ran DER RAT DER GÖTTER - couldn't find enough German films without it. The Sydney University Film Group dug its heels in against Film Users but refused to support the Sydney Film Society over the even more obvious red baiting.
It all became so acrimonious that many of the people, whose efforts and good will the film societies had coasted on, just went home to their TVs, never to return. It meant an end to the days of a the movement as a lobby of any consequence, though it had generated the Festivals, the AFI and a few of the country's more influential critics. The Sydney specialist film scene's debilitated condition caused the centre to shift to Victoria, where film society types were more interested in the profits of the Melbourne Film Festival which, unlike Sydney, is still going gangbusters. They even sustain a Clayton's Cinémathèque there.
Ten years after, at the height of the Vietnam war, Keith Gow joked about the effect his work with the wharfies film unit would have on his Film Australia security clearance and their unit covering L.B.J.'s motorcade. He said they filmed one of the staff throwing themselves in front of the Presidential limo. No one cared. That was the scariest part of all.
EPILOGUE: David Stratton's Sydney Film Festival inherited a movie called SONS & DAUGHTERS, about the youth movement 'Nam protest in SanFrancisco. Remembering the Andrea incident, the recently bearded director shifted from foot to foot. Everyone over twenty five stormed out in the first ten minutes and the sympathiser audience remaining cheered when Jane Fonda came on, cheered when Joan Baez came on, cheered when the Hells Angels came on - and suddenly went quiet, realising that the Angels were against the protesters and for the war. ("This isAmerica!") The rest of the film played in silence.
It's not easy being trendy.
Barrie Pattison - first appeared in Australian Film Files.
Then as now, there were unfamiliar movies tucked away in under-used libraries. One had a hundred or so US silents, many printed on the original tinted stock from the camera negatives - Sidney Franklin's THE SAFETY CURTAIN, William S. Hart in RETURN OF DRAW EGAN and the William Seiter-Lewis Milestone LISTEN LESTER. Along with, these you could find Gallone's ULTRIMI GIORNI DI POMPEII or the short films of William Cameron-Menzies, Danielle Darrieux in RETOUR À L'AUBE and a raft of intriguing British material - Conrad Veidt in UNDER THE RED ROBE, the Powell-Pressberger SMALL BACK ROOM, Doug Fairbanks in ACCUSED, Cary Grant in THE AMAZING QUEST or George Arliss in DR. SYN. Some of these proved to be unique and would never be seen again.
All this changed brutally. As well as the ASIO spook activity, there was a fear of the Communist world in the local high art circles. Many professionals were alarmed at the humiliation of creative people like Eisenstein and Shostakovich in Russia, where portraits painter teams, combining on group canvases of receptions, were considered to be the peak of Socialist Realism.
Whether Eisenstein was any less humiliated in Hollywood is speculative but concern over control passing from artists to doctrinaire bureaucrats is legitimate. The deterioration of the Czech film, after the ascent ofthe Communists, had been remarkable and, closer to our time, Mainland ownership of Hong Kong film has dropped it from being the world's number two film industry to nowhere. It didn't take long for a mixture of Political Correctness and salaried bureaucracy to stifle the emerging seventies Australian film, either. In fifties Sydney, Neil Gunther's Film User's association set itself up to steer things away from the ubiquitous Soviet bloc material and Andrea, a now forgotten tabloid columnist, ran an item about finding a flier for the Sydney Film Society's screening of a (shock horror) Polish film about YOUNG CHOPIN, on her seat at the Sydney Film Festival. "Non political, non sectarian - I wonder," she fumed.
This was a trigger for much name calling and fingerpointing. Selecting the East German film DER RATDER GÖTTER caused a split in the Sydney Film Society, with Robert J. Connell's dissident faction scurrying off to start their own screenings at Anzac House. I watched all this with some concern. I'd had good nights with Eddie Allison's Realists or the Kings Cross Film Club, as well as the Catholics - not to mention the Christian Anti-Communist League, who had access to a killer library, including Project 20: NIGHTMARE IN RED and Stuart Rosenberg's QUESTION 7. I'd found them all amiable people. The declining Sydney Film Society was a particular concern. The oldest group in the country, it had JohnHeyer, Bruce Beresford and radio writer Colin Free on its board at different times. The Society had imported major films, like LE MILLION and INTOLERANCE, and it was the one group to run regular, open previews of possible material.
I signed on, doing donkey work. To the standards (LAURA, JOURNAL D'UN CURÉ DE COMPAGNE, POTEMKIN with the then new Kruikov score) we added in some of the neglected films and continued to space this with politically sensitive material. The audience seemed as willing to be amused by Stalin as the comic sidekick in LENIN V OKTABRE, as they were prepared to ponder the clerical anguish in Harald Braun's NACHTWACHE (Lutherans and Catholics combine post WW2).
I premiered the LindsayAnderson MARCH TO ALDERMASTON (good cause - dreary film) but never could get Clouzot's MANON (founding Israel) or Mike Curtiz' SANTA FE TRAIL (nasty abolitionists) into the schedule. The Sydney Film Society did manage to draw respectable numbers for unfamiliar work, organised joint showings with other groups, created translations of items like Helmut Kaütner's FILM OHNE TITEL, did 35mm. screenings on MÄDCHEN IN UNIFORM and the Germi-Fellini CAMINO DELLA SPERANZA. They utilised collectors, with Don Harkness' copy of the Syd Chaplin CHARLEY'S AUNT a hit. I suspect it was the world's first such group to run any Anthony Mann.
Screenings became more frequent and numbers went back up, though never reaching those of the pre-confrontation days and it outlasted the disintegration of the breakaway group by many years. These disputes were never really about politics. They were about personalities. The Anzac House lot themselves ran DER RAT DER GÖTTER - couldn't find enough German films without it. The Sydney University Film Group dug its heels in against Film Users but refused to support the Sydney Film Society over the even more obvious red baiting.
It all became so acrimonious that many of the people, whose efforts and good will the film societies had coasted on, just went home to their TVs, never to return. It meant an end to the days of a the movement as a lobby of any consequence, though it had generated the Festivals, the AFI and a few of the country's more influential critics. The Sydney specialist film scene's debilitated condition caused the centre to shift to Victoria, where film society types were more interested in the profits of the Melbourne Film Festival which, unlike Sydney, is still going gangbusters. They even sustain a Clayton's Cinémathèque there.
Ten years after, at the height of the Vietnam war, Keith Gow joked about the effect his work with the wharfies film unit would have on his Film Australia security clearance and their unit covering L.B.J.'s motorcade. He said they filmed one of the staff throwing themselves in front of the Presidential limo. No one cared. That was the scariest part of all.
EPILOGUE: David Stratton's Sydney Film Festival inherited a movie called SONS & DAUGHTERS, about the youth movement 'Nam protest in SanFrancisco. Remembering the Andrea incident, the recently bearded director shifted from foot to foot. Everyone over twenty five stormed out in the first ten minutes and the sympathiser audience remaining cheered when Jane Fonda came on, cheered when Joan Baez came on, cheered when the Hells Angels came on - and suddenly went quiet, realising that the Angels were against the protesters and for the war. ("This isAmerica!") The rest of the film played in silence.
It's not easy being trendy.
Barrie Pattison - first appeared in Australian Film Files.
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