Author: Ryan Swen

3rd (1965): “Films: Fashion of the Fashionable” Show Notes

Ryan Swen Catalyst and Witness Leave a comment

Table of Contents: Description, Corrections/Clarifications, Housekeeping, General, Main Slate, Ephemera, Recurring Directors, Recurring Countries, One-Time Directors, Debuts/Final Features, Festivals/Oscar Nominees, Events/Shorts, Discussions By Length, Specifications

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Listen to the podcast here.
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Description
The third episode of the Catalyst and Witness podcast, devoted to exploring the films and format of the New York Film Festival, hosted by Ryan Swen and Dan Molloy. This covers the third edition of the festival in 1965.

0:00-9:08 – Opening
9:09-54:11 – Part One [Alphaville to Charulata]
54:12-1:31:16 – Part Two [The Wedding March to Shakespeare Wallah]
1:31:17-2:18:36 – Part Three [Les Vampires to Le Petit Soldat]
2:18:37-3:10:38 – Part Four [Gertrud to Red Beard]
3:10:39-3:17:39 – Closing

Corrections/Clarifications

  • “Les Jeux Des Anges” was directed by Walerian Borowczyk.

Housekeeping

  • Hosted by Dan Molloy & Ryan Swen
  • Conceived and Edited by Ryan Swen
  • Recorded in Seattle and Portland on MacBook GarageBand, Edited in Audacity
  • Podcast photograph from Yi Yi, Logo designed by Dan Molloy
  • Poster by Bruce Conner
  • Recorded April 6, 2018
  • Released April 18, 2018
  • Music (in order of appearance):
    • Alphaville (opening night)
    • The Koumiko Mystery (another favorite)
    • Charulata (favorite of the first section)
    • Walkover (favorite of the second section)
    • Les Vampires (favorite of the third section)
    • Gertrud (favorite of the fourth section)
    • Red Beard (closing night)

General

  • Selection Committee: Richard Roud (program director), Amos Vogel (festival director)
  • Location: Philharmonic Hall
  • Prices: 2 for terrace, 2.50 or 3 for orchestra, 3.50 or 4 for loge; add 0.50 for Les Vampires; 12.50 and 17.50 for opening (ACLU benefit with champagne reception; rush tickets one dollar more than regular)
  • Films seen for the podcast:
    • Ryan
      • Seen before podcast watching period: Alphaville
      • Seen for the podcast: All available except Raven’s End, The Shop on Main Street, Thomas the Impostor, Of Human Bondage*; Alphaville rewatched
      • Favorite films: Gertrud, Les Vampires*, Seven Chances*, Charulata, Red Beard, The Koumiko Mystery
      • Least favorite films: Black Peter
      • Catch-up films: The Big City (2nd), Pasazerka (2nd), Before the Revolution (2nd)
    • Dan
      • Seen before podcast watching period: Alphaville, Seven Chances*, Gertrud, Red Beard
      • Seen for the podcast: All available except Knave of Hearts*, The Lady Without Camelias*, Les Vampires*, The Wedding March*; none rewatched
      • Favorite films: Seven Chances*, Gertrud, Charulata, Alphaville, Red Beard
      • Least favorite films: Black Peter, Sandra
      • Seen after the podcast: Les Vampires (4th)
  • Discoveries of the festival: Not Reconciled, The Koumiko Mystery, Raven’s End, Walkover, The Lady Without Camelias*
  • Unavailable films: Sweet Substitute, Twilight of Empire

Main Slate

Opening Night: Alphaville [Alphaville: une étrange aventure de Lemmy Caution] (1965, Jean-Luc Godard)
September 7, 9:00
Released 1965
Retrospective: Knave of Hearts [Monsieur Ripois] (1954, René Clément)
September 8, 6:30
Released 1954
Mickey One (1965, Arthur Penn)
September 8, 9:30
Released 1965
Raven’s End [Kvarteret Korpen] (1963, Bo Widerberg)
September 9, 6:30
Released 1970
The Shop on Main Street [Obchod na korze] (1965, Ján Kadár & Elmar Klos)
September 9, 9:30
Released 1966
Retrospective: The Lady Without Camelias [La signora senza camelie] (1953, Michelangelo Antonioni)
September 10, 6:30
Released 1981
Charulata [Cārulatā] (1965, Satyajit Ray)
September 10, 9:30
Released 1974
Retrospective: The Wedding March (1928, Erich von Stroheim)
September 11, 3:00
Released 1928
Black Peter [Černý Petr] (1964, Milos Forman)
September 11, 6:30
Released 1971
Thomas the Impostor [Thomas l’imposteur] (1964, Georges Franju)
September 11, 9:30
Never released
Identification Marks: None [Rysopis] (1964, Jerzy Skolimowski)
September 12, 3:00
Released 1968
Walkover [Walkower] (1965, Jerzy Skolimowski)
September 12, 6:30
Released 1969
Shakespeare Wallah (1965, James Ivory)
September 12, 9:30
Released 1966
Retrospective: Les Vampires (1915, Louis Feuillade)
September 13, 5:00
Never released
Retrospective: Buster and Beckett
The Railrodder (1965, Gerald Potterton)
Film (1965, Alan Schneider)
Seven Chances (1925, Buster Keaton)
September 14, 6:30
Never released/Released 1968/Released 1925
Retrospective: Tribute to Bette Davis: Of Human Bondage (1934, John Cromwell)
September 14, 9:30
Released 1934
Sweet Substitute (1964, Laurence L. Kent)
September 15, 6:30
Never released
Six in Paris [Paris vu par…] (1965, Omnibus: Jean Douchet, Jean Rouch, Jean-Daniel Pollet, Eric Rohmer, Jean-Luc Godard, Claude Chabrol)
September 15, 9:30
Released 1969
Retrospective: Le Petit Soldat [The Little Soldier] (1961, Jean-Luc Godard)
September 16, 6:30
Released 1967
Gertrud (1964, Carl Theodor Dreyer)
September 16, 9:30
Released 1966
Fists in the Pocket [I pugni in tasca] (1965, Marco Bellocchio)
September 17, 6:30
Released 1968
Sandra [Vaghe stelle dell’Orsa] (1965, Luchino Visconti)
September 17, 9:30
Released 1966
The Koumiko Mystery [Le Mystère Koumiko] (1965, Chris Marker)
And: Twilight of Empire (1964, Kevin Billington)
September 18, 3:00
Released 1967/Never released
Not Reconciled [Nicht versöhnt oder Es hilft nur Gewalt wo Gewalt herrscht] (1965, Jean-Marie Straub & Danièle Huillet)
September 18, 6:30
Released 1969
“Closing Night”: Red Beard [Akahige] (1965, Akira Kurosawa)
September 18, 8:40
Released 1968

Ephemera

  • “Film ’65”: Thirteen panel discussions coordinated by Arthur Knight at the Library and Museum of Performing Arts in Lincoln Center, all free
  • Excerpts from Dark Victory, All About Eve, and Jezebel shown after Of Human Bondage

Recurring Directors
Key: films in this iteration excluding shorts/omnibus/retrospectives, films in this iteration including, films in the festival up to this point excluding, films up to this point including, number of gala spots (when applicable), number of festivals with more than one film shown (when applicable); † indicates their last appearance, fraction in parentheses indicates number of features shown from oeuvre, features released in the eligible timeframe, features in oeuvre

  • Jean-Luc Godard: 1/3/3/6/1/1
  • Jerzy Skolimowski: 2/2/2/2/0/1
  • Satyajit Ray: 1/1/2/2/1
  • Chris Marker: 1/1/2/2
  • Akira Kurosawa: 1/1/1/1/1
  • Marco Bellocchio: 1/1/1/1
  • Milos Forman: 1/1/1/1
  • James Ivory: 1/1/1/1
  • Jean-Marie Straub & Danièle Huillet: 1/1/1/1
  • Luchino Visconti: 1/1/1/1
  • Bo Widerberg: 1/1/1/1
  • Michelangelo Antonioni: 0/1/0/1
  • Claude Chabrol: 0/1/0/1
  • Louis Feuillade: 0/1/0/1
  • Eric Rohmer: 0/1/0/1
  • Jean Rouch: 0/1/0/1
  • Erich von Stroheim: 0/1/0/1

Recurring Countries
Key: films in this iteration excluding shorts/retrospectives, films in this iteration including, films in the festival up to this point excluding, films up to this point including, number of gala spots (when applicable)

  • France: 4/7/16/19/2
  • USA: 2/6/7/13
  • Italy: 2/3/8/9
  • Poland: 2/2/5/5
  • Czechoslovakia: 2/2/2/3
  • Canada: 1/2/2/3
  • Japan: 1/1/8/8/1
  • UK: 1/1/3/3
  • India: 1/1/2/2/1
  • Sweden: 1/1/2/2
  • Denmark: 1/1/1/1
  • Germany: 1/1/1/1

One-Time Directors

  • Kevin Billington (short)
  • René Clément (retrospective)
  • John Cromwell (retrospective)
  • Jean Douchet (omnibus)
  • Carl Theodor Dreyer
  • Georges Franju
  • Buster Keaton (retrospective)
  • Laurence L. Kent
  • Ján Kadár & Elmar Klos
  • Arthur Penn
  • Jean-Daniel Pollet (omnibus)
  • Gerald Potterton (short)
  • Alan Schneider (short)

Feature Debuts

  • Marco Bellocchio
  • Jerzy Skolimowski
  • Jean-Marie Straub & Danièle Huillet

Final Features

  • Carl Theodor Dreyer

Festivals

  • Cannes
    • Knave of Hearts (1954, Special Jury Prize)
    • The Shop on Main Street (Special mention for actors)
    • Raven’s End (1964)
    • Walkover (International Critics’ Week)
  • Berlin
    • Alphaville (Golden Bear)
    • Charulata (Silver Bear for Best Director, OCIC)
    • Shakespeare Wallah (Silver Bear for Best Actress)
    • Thomas the Impostor
    • Six in Paris (?)
    • Not Reconciled (?)
    • The Railrodder (Short Silver Bear)
  • Venice
    • Sandra (Golden Lion)
    • Red Beard (Volpi Cup for Best Actor, OCIC; also Moscow)
    • Mickey One
    • Gertrud (non-competition, FIPRESCI)
    • Film (short)
  • Other
    • Black Peter (Locarno, Golden Sail)
    • Fists in the Pocket (Locarno, Prize for Best Direction)
    • The Koumiko Mystery (Locarno)
    • Identification Marks: None (London)
    • Sweet Substitute (Montreal, Special Jury Prize)
  • N/A
    • The Lady Without Camelias
    • The Wedding March
    • Les Vampires
    • Of Human Bondage
    • Le Petit Soldat
    • Twilight of Empire

Oscar Nominees

  • The Shop on Main Street: Best Foreign Film (won), 1966 Best Actress
  • Raven’s End: 1964 Best Foreign Film
  • Of Human Bondage: 1934 Best Actress (unofficial)

Events/Shorts

events
shorts

Discussions By Length (Approximate)

  • 12:32 “Buster and Beckett” (1:40:20-1:52:52)
  • 11:01 Red Beard (2:59:37-3:10:38)
  • 11:01 Six in Paris [Omnibus] (2:00:05-2:11:06)
  • 10:23 Charulata (43:48-54:11)
  • 10:19 Gertrud (2:19:24-2:29:43)
  • 10:10 Not Reconciled (2:49:26-2:59:36)
  • 9:26 Identification Marks: None/Walkover (1:12:44-1:22:10)
  • 9:10 Alphaville (9:47-18:57)
  • 9:05 Shakespeare Wallah (1:22:11-1:31:16)
  • 8:17 Les Vampires [One Person] (1:32:02-1:40:19)
  • 7:29 Le Petit Soldat (2:11:07-2:18:36)
  • 7:20 The Koumiko Mystery (2:40:59-2:48:19)
  • 6:54 Black Peter (1:01:54-1:08:48)
  • 6:51 The Wedding March [One Person] (55:02-1:01:53)
  • 6:44 Mickey One (22:15-28:59)
  • 6:15 Of Human Bondage [One Person] (1:52:53-1:59:08)
  • 5:51 The Shop on Main Street [One Person] (32:41-38:32)
  • 5:42 Sandra (2:35:16-2:40:58)
  • 5:31 Fists in the Pocket (2:29:44-2:35:15)
  • 5:14 The Lady Without Camelias [One Person] (38:33-43:47)
  • 3:54 Thomas the Impostor [One Person] (1:08:49-1:12:43)
  • 3:40 Raven’s End [One Person] (29:00-32:40)
  • 3:16 Knave of Hearts [One Person] (18:58-22:14)
  • 1:05 Twilight of Empire [Unavailable] (2:48:20-2:49:25)
  • 0:55 Sweet Substitute [Unavailable] (1:59:09-2:00:04)

Specifications

  • Jean-Luc Godard, Alphaville, 1965, 35 mm, black-and-white, sound, 99 minutes, 1.37:1, France.
  • René Clément, Knave of Hearts, 1954, 35 mm, black-and-white, sound, 100 minutes, 1.37:1, France.
  • Arthur Penn, Mickey One, 1965, 35 mm, black-and-white, sound, 93 minutes, 1.85:1, USA.
  • Bo Widerberg, Raven’s End, 1963, 35 mm, black-and-white, sound, 101 minutes, 1.37:1, Sweden.
  • Ján Kadár & Elmar Kos, The Shop on Main Street, 1965, 35 mm, black-and-white, sound, 128 minutes, 1.37:1, Czechoslovakia.
  • Michelangelo Antonioni, The Lady Without Camelias, 1953, 35 mm, black-and-white, sound, 101 minutes, 1.37:1, Italy.
  • Satyajit Ray, Charulata, 1965, 35 mm, black-and-white, sound, 117 minutes, 1.37:1, India.
  • Erich von Stroheim, The Wedding March, 1928, 35 mm, black-and-white and color, silent, 113 minutes, 1.33:1, USA.
  • Milos Forman, Black Peter, 1964, 35 mm, black-and-white, sound, 85 minutes, 1.37:1, Czechoslovakia.
  • Georges Franju, Thomas the Impostor, 1964, 35 mm, black-and-white, sound, 94 minutes, 1.85:1, France.
  • Jerzy Skolimowski, Identification Marks: None, 1964, 35 mm, black-and-white, sound, 73 minutes, 1.66:1, Poland.
  • Jerzy Skolimowski, Walkover, 1965, 35 mm, black-and-white, sound, 77 minutes, 1.66:1, Poland.
  • James Ivory, Shakespeare Wallah, 1965, 35 mm, black-and-white, sound, 120 minutes, 1.78:1, USA.
  • Louis Feullade, Les Vampires, 1915, 35 mm, black-and-white, silent, 417 minutes, 1.33:1, France.
  • Gerald Potterton, The Railrodder, 1965, 35 mm, color, sound, 24 minutes, 1.37:1, Canada.
  • Alan Schneider, Film, 1965, 35 mm, black-and-white, sound, 20 minutes, 1.37:1, USA.
  • Buster Keaton, Seven Chances, 1925, 35 mm, black-and-white and color, silent, 56 minutes, 1.33:1, USA.
  • John Cromwell, Of Human Bondage, 1934, 35 mm, black-and-white, sound, 83 minutes, 1.37:1, USA.
  • Laurence L. Kent, Sweet Substitute, 1964, 35 mm, black-and-white, sound, 90 minutes, 1.37:1, Canada. (?)
  • Jean Douchet/Jean Rouch/Jean-Daniel Pollet/Eric Rohmer/Jean-Luc Godard/Claude Chabrol, Six in Paris, 1965, 16 mm, color, sound, 95 minutes, 1.37:1, France.
  • Jean-Luc Godard, Le Petit Soldat, 1960, 35 mm, black-and-white, sound, 88 minutes, 1.37:1, France.
  • Carl Theodor Dreyer, Gertrud, 1964, 35 mm, black-and-white, sound, 116 minutes, 1.66:1, Denmark.
  • Marco Bellocchio, Fists in the Pocket, 1965, 35 mm, black-and-white, sound, 105 minutes, 1.85:1, Italy.
  • Luchino Visconti, Sandra, 1965, 35 mm, black-and-white, sound, 105 minutes, 1.66:1, Italy.
  • Chris Marker, The Koumiko Mystery, 1965, 16 mm, color, sound, 54 minutes, 1.37:1, France.
  • Kevin Billington, Twilight of Empire, 1964, 16 mm, black-and-white, sound, 21 minutes, 1.37:1, UK. (?)
  • Jean-Marie Straub & Danièle Huillet, Not Reconciled, 1965, 35 mm, black-and-white, sound, 55 minutes, 1.37:1, Germany.
  • Akira Kurosawa, Red Beard, 1965, 35 mm, black-and-white, sound, 185 minutes, 2.35:1, Japan.

April 2018 Capsules

Ryan Swen Reviews Tags: Leave a comment

Les Vampires
If a summation of what makes Les Vampires such a pleasurable experience inevitably devolves into a description of just a handful of its most indelible moments, this is by no means a weakness on the part of the film. Even more than most of the great directors, Feuillade seems to think in terms of the scene, plotting out all of the possibilities of drastic narrative change within this discrete block of time and then executing any number of them. The suspense aspect most associated with a “crime thriller” such as this is quickly replaced with the pleasure of the unexpected, and the even greater pleasure of seeing so many twists and turns executed so flawlessly, with such a skillful restraint in technique matched with the most outlandish developments imaginable.

Also everyone is superhuman in this.

Seven Chances

Gertrud

Oxhide

Oxhide II

2nd (1964): “All Over the World” Show Notes

Ryan Swen Catalyst and Witness Leave a comment

Table of Contents: Description, Corrections/Clarifications, Housekeeping, General, Main Slate, Ephemera, Recurring Directors, Recurring Countries, One-Time Directors, Debuts/Final Features, Festivals/Oscar Nominees, Shorts, Discussions By Length, Specifications

poster

Listen to the podcast here.
Subscribe to the podcast here.

Description
The second episode of the Catalyst and Witness podcast, devoted to exploring the films and format of the New York Film Festival, hosted by Ryan Swen and Dan Molloy. This covers the second edition of the festival in 1964.

0:00-9:58 – Opening
9:59-1:21:50 – Part One [Hamlet to Salvatore Giuliano]
1:21:51-2:21:44 – Part Two [A Woman Is a Woman to The Last Clean Shirt]
2:21:45-3:04:05 – Part Three [Pasazerka to Alone on the Pacific]
3:04:06-3:44:17 – Part Four [King & Country to The Big City]
3:44:18-3:50:37 – Closing

Corrections/Clarifications

  • The decision to withdraw the Museum of Modern Art from the New York Film Festival was made by the board of trustees, not the board of donors.
  • Though various New York Times articles claim that shorts were attached to the films at the 1st New York Film Festival, I was unable to find the titles of the shorts (aside from the Robert Drew short documentaries).
  • The song that plays in the scene from A Woman Is a Woman is sung by Charles Aznavour, not Maurice Chevalier.

Housekeeping

  • Hosted by Dan Molloy & Ryan Swen
  • Conceived and Edited by Ryan Swen
  • Recorded in Seattle and Portland on MacBook GarageBand, Edited in Audacity
  • Podcast photograph from Yi Yi, Logo designed by Dan Molloy
  • Poster by Saul Bass
  • Recorded March 5, 2018
  • Released March 12, 2018
  • Music (in order of appearance):
    • Hamlet (opening night)
    • A Woman Is a Woman (another favorite)
    • Woman in the Dunes (favorite of the first section)
    • Nothing But a Man (favorite of the second section)
    • Pasazerka (favorite of the third section)
    • King & Country (favorite of the fourth section)
    • The Big City (“closing night”)

General

  • Selection Committee: Richard Roud (program director), Amos Vogel (festival director)
  • Location: Philharmonic Hall
  • Prices: 2 for terrace, 2.50 or 3 for orchestra, 3.50 or 4 for loge, with 1 added to all seats for opening night
  • Pass for all programs: 42.50 vs. 50 for terrace, 55.00 vs. 62.50 and 67.50 vs. 75.00 for orchestra
  • Films seen for the podcast:
    • Ryan
      • Seen before podcast watching period: A Woman Is a Woman
      • Seen for the podcast: All available except Pasazerka, Before the Revolution, The Big City (partial); A Woman Is a Woman rewatched
      • Favorite films: Woman in the Dunes, The Brig, Nothing But a Man
      • Least favorite films: Salvatore Giuliano, Siberian Lady Macbeth, The Last Clean Shirt
      • Seen after the podcast: The Big City (3rd), Pasazerka (3rd), Before the Revolution (3rd)
    • Dan
      • Seen before podcast watching period: Salvatore Giuliano, A Woman Is a Woman, Band of Outsiders, Nothing But a Man
      • Seen for the podcast: All available; A Woman Is a Woman rewatched
      • Favorite films: Nothing But a Man, Woman in the Dunes, Band of Outsiders
      • Least favorite films: Siberian Lady Macbeth, Alone Across the Pacific
  • Discoveries of the festival: Hamlet, The Brig, Pasazerka, Life Upside Down
  • Unavailable films: The Inheritance, To Love, Cyrano and d’Artagnan

Main Slate

Opening Night: Hamlet [Gamlet] (1964, Grigori Kozintsev)
September 14, 9:00
Released 1966
The Inheritance [La Herencia] (1964, Ricardo Alventosa)
Also: Joseph Kilian [Postava k podpírání] (1963, Pavel Juracek & Jan Schmidt)
September 15, 6:30
Never released/Released 1966
Fail-Safe (1964, Sidney Lumet)
September 15, 9:15
Released 1964
Nobody Waved Good-bye (1964, Don Owen)
September 16, 6:30
Released 1965
Woman in the Dunes [Suna no Onna] (1964, Hiroshi Teshigahara)
September 16, 9:15
Released 1964
Hands Over the City [Le mani sulla città] (1963, Francesco Rosi)
September 17, 6:30
Never released
Salvatore Giuliano (1962, Francesco Rosi)
September 17, 9:15
Released 1964
A Woman Is a Woman [Une femme est une femme] (1961, Jean-Luc Godard)
September 18, 6:30
Released 1964
Band of Outsiders [Bande à part] (1964, Jean-Luc Godard)
September 18, 9:15
Released 1966
Nothing But a Man (1964, Michael Roemer)
September 19, 6:30
Released 1964
Lilith (1964, Robert Rossen)
September 19, 9:15
Released 1964
Shin Heike Monogatari [Taira Clan Saga] (1955, Kenji Mizoguchi)
September 20, 3:00
Never released
The Brig (1964, Jonas Mekas)
Also: The Last Clean Shirt (1964, Alfred Leslie)
September 20, 6:30
Released 1966/Never released
Pasazerka [Passenger] (1963, Andrzej Munk)
Also: …A Valparaiso (1963, Joris Ivens)
September 20, 9:15
Released 1970/Released 1965
L’Age d’Or (1930, Luis Buñuel)
September 21, 6:30
Released 1980
Diary of a Chambermaid [Le journal d’une femme de chambre] (1964, Luis Buñuel)
September 21, 9:15
Released 1965
Enjo [Conflagration] (1958, Kon Ichikawa)
September 22, 6:30
Never released
To Love [Att älska] (1964, Jörn Donner)
September 22, 9:15
Released 1964
Alone Across the Pacific [Taiheiyo hitori-botchi] (1963, Kon Ichikawa)
September 23, 6:30
Released 1964
King & Country (1964, Joseph Losey)
September 23, 9:15
Released 1966
Life Upside Down [La vie à l’envers] (1964, Alain Jessua)
September 24, 6:30
Released 1965
Before the Revolution [Prima della rivoluzione] (1964, Bernardo Bertolucci)
September 24, 9:15
Released 1965
She and He [Kanojo to kare] (1963, Susumu Hani)
September 25, 6:30
Released 1967
Cyrano and d’Artagnan [Cyrano et d’Artagnan] (1964, Abel Gance)
September 25, 9:15
Never released
Ça Ira (1964, Tinto Brass)
Replaced With: Siberian Lady Macbeth [Sibirska Ledi Magbet] (1962, Andrzej Wajda)
September 26, 6:30
Never released/Never released
“Closing Night”: The Big City [Mahanagar] (1963, Satyajit Ray)
September 26, 9:15
Released 1967

Ephemera

  • Excerpts from quartet of Andy Warhol films shown on the Grand Promenade at Philharmonic Hall: Eat, Kiss, Haircut, Sleep

Recurring Directors
Key: films in this iteration excluding shorts/omnibus/retrospectives, films in this iteration including, films in the festival up to this point excluding, films up to this point including, number of gala spots (when applicable), number of festivals with more than one film shown (when applicable); † indicates their last appearance, fraction in parentheses indicates number of features shown from oeuvre, features released in the eligible timeframe, features in oeuvre

  • Luis Buñuel: 2/2/3/3/1/1
  • Jean-Luc Godard: 2/2/2/3/0/1
  • Kon Ichikawa: 2/2/2/2/0/1
  • Francesco Rosi: 2/2/2/2/0/1
  • Joseph Losey: 1/1/2/2
  • Grigori Kozintsev: 1/1/1/1/1
  • Satyajit Ray: 1/1/1/1/1
  • Bernardo Bertolucci: 1/1/1/1
  • Abel Gance: 1/1/1/1
  • Sidney Lumet: 1/1/1/1
  • Jonas Mekas: 1/1/1/1
  • Kenji Mizoguchi: 1/1/1/1
  • Michael Roemer: 1/1/1/1
  • Andrzej Wajda: 1/1/1/1
  • Joris Ivens: 0/1/0/1

Recurring Countries
Key: films in this iteration excluding shorts/retrospectives, films in this iteration including, films in the festival up to this point excluding, films up to this point including, number of gala spots (when applicable)

  • France: 6/7/12/13/1
  • Japan: 5/5/7/7
  • USA: 3/5/5/7
  • Italy: 3/3/6/6
  • Poland: 2/2/3/3
  • India: 1/1/1/1/1
  • USSR: 1/1/1/1/1
  • Argentina: 1/1/2/2
  • UK: 1/1/2/2
  • Canada: 1/1/1/1
  • Sweden: 1/1/1/1
  • Czechoslovakia: 0/1/0/1

One-Time Directors

  • Richardo Alventosa
  • Tinto Brass (replaced)
  • Jörn Donner
  • Susumu Hani
  • Alain Jessua
  • Pavel Juracek & Jan Schmidt (short)
  • Alfred Leslie (short)
  • Andrzej Munk
  • Don Owen
  • Robert Rossen

Feature Debuts

  • Ricardo Alventosa
  • Luis Buñuel (retrospective)
  • Alain Jessua
  • Don Owen
  • Michael Roemer

Final Features

  • Andrzej Munk
  • Robert Rossen

Festivals

  • NYFF World Premiere
    • Fail-Safe
  • Cannes
    • Woman in the Dunes (Special Jury Prize; also Montreal)
    • Pasazerka (Special Mention, FIPRESCI)
    • Alone Across the Pacific (also San Francisco)
    • Before the Revolution (International Critics’ Week, Young Critics Prize)
    • The Inheritance (International Critics’ Week)
    • Joseph Kilian (International Critics’ Week)
  • Berlin
    • A Woman Is a Woman (1961, Silver Bear for Best Actress and Silver Bear Extraordinary Prize)
    • Salvatore Giuliano (1962, Silver Bear for Best Director; also 1963 Montreal)
    • The Big City (Silver Bear for Best Director)
    • She and He (Silver Bear for Best Actress, OCIC, Best Feature Film Suitable for Young People)
  • Venice
    • Hands Over the City (1963, Golden Lion)
    • Hamlet (Special Jury Prize)
    • To Love (Volpi Cup for Best Actress)
    • King & Country (Volpi Cup for Best Actor)
    • Life Upside Down (Best First Work; also Cannes International Critics’ Week)
    • Nothing But a Man (San Giorgio Prize)
    • The Brig (Documentary Festival, Grand Prize)
    • Lilith (withdrawn)
  • Other
    • Nobody Waved Good-bye (Montreal)
    • Diary of a Chambermaid (Karlovy Vary, Best Actress; also Venice?)
  • N/A
    • Band of Outsiders (Berlin and Locarno?)
    • Shin Heike Monogatari
    • The Last Clean Shirt
    • …A Valparaiso
    • L’Age d’Or
    • Enjo
    • Cyrano and d’Artagnan
    • Ça Ira
    • Siberian Lady Macbeth

Oscar Nominees

  • Woman in the Dunes: Best Foreign Film, 1965 Best Director

Shorts

shorts

Discussions By Length (Approximate)

  • 15:35 Fail-Safe (30:55-46:30)
  • 14:24 The Brig (2:03:29-2:17:53)
  • 11:56 Hamlet (11:03-22:59)
  • 11:47 Woman in the Dunes (57:43-1:09:30)
  • 11:11 Nobody Waved Good-bye (46:31-57:42)
  • 10:44 Nothing But a Man (1:37:32-1:48:16)
  • 10:37 The Big City (3:33:40-3:44:17)
  • 8:44 Pasazerka (2:23:19-2:32:03)
  • 8:14 A Woman Is a Woman (1:23:02-1:31:16)
  • 7:47 Lilith (1:48:17-1:56:04)
  • 7:36 Diary of a Chambermaid (2:42:31-2:50:07)
  • 7:23 Shin Heike Monogatari (1:56:05-2:03:28)
  • 7:06 Joseph Kilian [Short] (23:48-30:54)
  • 7:03 Salvatore Giuliano (1:14:47-1:21:50)
  • 6:40 Alone Across the Pacific (2:57:25-3:04:05)
  • 6:26 King & Country (3:04:57-3:11:23)
  • 6:14 Band of Outsiders (1:31:17-1:37:31)
  • 5:42 Enjo (2:50:08-2:55:50)
  • 5:32 Life Upside Down (3:11:24-3:16:56)
  • 5:31 Before the Revolution [One Person] (3:16:57-3:22:28)
  • 5:29 L’Age d’Or (2:37:01-2:42:30)
  • 5:15 Hands Over the City (1:09:31-1:14:46)
  • 5:00 She and He (3:22:29-3:27:29)
  • 4:56 …A Valparaiso [Short] (2:32:04-2:37:00)
  • 4:17 Siberian Lady Macbeth (3:29:22-3:33:39)
  • 3:50 The Last Clean Shirt [Short] (2:17:54-2:21:44)
  • 1:51 Cyrano and d’Artagnan [Unavailable] (3:27:30-3:29:21)
  • 1:33 To Love [Unavailable] (2:55:51-2:57:24)
  • 0:47 The Inheritance [Unavailable] (23:00-23:47)

Specifications

  • Grigori Kozintsev, Hamlet, 1964, 35 mm, black-and-white, sound, 140 minutes, 2.35:1, USSR.
  • Ricardo Alventosa, The Inheritance, 1964, 35 mm, black-and-white, sound, 78 minutes, 1.37:1, Argentina.
  • Pavel Juracek & Jan Schmidt, Joseph Kilian, 1963, 35 mm, black-and-white, sound, 38 minutes, 1.37:1, Czechoslovakia.
  • Sidney Lumet, Fail-Safe, 1964, 35 mm, black-and-white, sound, 112 minutes, 1.85:1, USA.
  • Don Owen, Nobody Waved Good-bye, 1964, 16 mm, black-and-white, sound, 80 minutes, 1.66:1, Canada.
  • Francesco Rosi, Hands Over the City, 1963, 35 mm, black-and-white, sound, 101 minutes, 1.85:1, Italy.
  • Francesco Rosi, Salvatore Giuliano, 1962, 35 mm, black-and-white, sound, 123 minutes, 1.85:1, Italy.
  • Jean-Luc Godard, A Woman Is a Woman, 1961, 35 mm, color, sound, 85 minutes, 2.35:1, France.
  • Jean-Luc Godard, Band of Outsiders, 1964, 35 mm, black-and-white, sound, 97 minutes, 1.37:1, France.
  • Michael Roemer, Nothing But a Man, 1964, 35 mm, black-and-white, sound, 95 minutes, 1.37:1, USA.
  • Robert Rossen, Lilith, 1964, 35 mm, black-and-white, sound, 114 minutes, 1.85:1, USA.
  • Kenji Mizoguchi, Shin Heike Monogatari, 1955, 35 mm, color, sound, 108 minutes, 1.37:1, Japan.
  • Jonas Mekas, The Brig, 1964, 16 mm, black-and-white, sound, 68 minutes, 1.37:1, USA.
  • Alfred Leslie, The Last Clean Shirt, 1964, 16 mm, black-and-white, sound, 40 minutes, 1.37:1, USA.
  • Andrzej Munk, Pasazerka, 1963, 35 mm, black-and-white, sound, 62 minutes, 1.85:1, Poland.
  • Joris Ivens, …A Valparaiso, 1963, 16 mm, black-and-white and color, sound, 34 minutes, 1.37:1, France.
  • Luis Buñuel, L’Age d’Or, 1930, 35 mm, black-and-white, sound, 63 minutes, 1.19:1, France.
  • Luis Buñuel, Diary of a Chambermaid, 1964, 35 mm, black-and-white, sound, 97 minutes, 2.35:1, France.
  • Kon Ichikawa, Enjo, 1958, 35 mm, black-and-white, sound, 99 minutes, 2.35:1, Japan.
  • Jörn Donner, To Love, 1964, 35 mm, black-and-white, sound, 90 minutes, 1.66:1, Sweden.
  • Kon Ichikawa, Alone Across the Pacific, 1963, 35 mm, color, sound, 104 minutes, 2.35:1, Japan.
  • Joseph Losey, King & Country, 1964, 35 mm, black-and-white, sound, 88 minutes, 1.66:1, UK.
  • Alain Jessua, Life Upside Down, 1964, 35 mm, black-and-white, sound, 92 minutes, 1.85:1, France.
  • Bernardo Bertolucci, Before the Revolution, 1964, 35 mm, black-and-white, sound, 115 minutes, 1.85:1, Italy.
  • Susumu Hani, She and He, 1963, 35 mm, black-and-white, sound, 110 minutes, 1.37:1, Japan.
  • Abel Gance, Cyrano and d’Artagnan, 1964, 35 mm, color, sound, 145 minutes, 2.35:1, France.
  • Andrzej Wajda, Siberian Lady Macbeth, 1962, 35 mm, black-and-white, sound, 93 minutes, 2.35:1, USSR.
  • Satyajit Ray, The Big City, 1963, 35 mm, black-and-white, sound, 136 minutes, 1.37:1, India.

March 2018 Capsules

Ryan Swen Reviews Tags: Leave a comment

In the Mood for Love (rewatch)
Wong Kar-wai’s films are full of ambiguities, little moments of languor or frenzied motion that don’t so much stick out of the dense textures as infuse them with an odd charge. But I can’t recall anything in his filmography quite like Mr. Chow’s and Mrs. Chan’s spouses, in both their exclusively back-facing appearances and their place in the emotional narrative. Aside from a few direct, curt but not impolite interactions, they function as structuring absences, fitting into the abbreviated scene structure of the first third of the film with furtive phone conversations, often comprised of single lines that convey a whole world of feeling, just outside of their spouses’ – and the viewer’s – comprehension. Chow’s wife, and perhaps Chan’s husband towards the end, leave them so suddenly that I didn’t even notice it on first watch, and yet they are brought to life by those reenactments, those attempts to subsume identities that can’t help but become something more real, more mysteriously captivating.

Inevitably, the most traditionally Wongian sentiments and dialogue come in the final interactions between Chow and Chan, almost sounding like the voiceover of one of his other film’s protagonists, when the emotional connections and bittersweet recollections of missed romances come to the fore. All else is cloaked and yearning, which the filmmaking makes almost unbearably heartbreaking.

The Day After
“…a rare art that utilizes concrete human forms to reveal the phenomenal disposition and attitude of humans.”

Ever since the introduction of the zoom, Hong’s filmmaking has relied to some palpable extent upon the conspicuous, the emphatic gesture of a tripod-mounted camera. But I can’t recall him utilizing his main outlet for stylistic flourishes to the degree that he does for most of the conversations, panning back and forth, never holding on one face for more than ten seconds at a time. This suits The Day After, undeniably fractious and heated even by Hong’s standards, and especially the frazzled headspace in which Bongwan (Kwon Hae-hyo) is in. But what makes it so much more effective are the “bookend” conversations, both of which display a deep well of disappointment, in which the camera holds on the two figures for the majority of the shot. At one end of the film, there is total deceit and a stubborn lack of clarity. At the other, genuine change and a willingness to embrace a new beginning. In the middle lies every emotion, every obsession, everything that comprises the films of Hong.

Close-Up (rewatch)
I feel like the conceptualization of Close-Up – both in the general film cultural sense and specifically in my recollection – as a seamless docufiction runs counter to the actual experience of seeing the film. In truth, it is a true hybrid, with something more than half the film taken up by the “real” courtroom scene, shot in 16mm, and the rest by “fictional” reenactments, shot in 35mm. Of course, Kiarostami’s touch in this is such that both take on elements of the other – in particular, the chronicling of certain moments (like the conversation in the taxi) that takes on a whole new charge when considering that real people are telling their own stories. But a key factor in what makes the ending so overwhelming is the long-awaited fusing of these two impulses. The real is shot with a clarity that nevertheless is interrupted; the viewer strains to hear what ultimately cannot be spoken, and can simply be expressed with universal languages: music and vision.

2017 Muriel Awards

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Best Feature-Length Film

  1. On the Beach at Night Alone
  2. The Work
  3. Faces Places
  4. Princess Cyd
  5. Good Time
  6. Baahubali 2: The Conclusion
  7. The Post
  8. Resident Evil: The Final Chapter
  9. 120 BPM (Beats Per Minute)
  10. Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Best Lead Performance

  1. Kim Min-hee, On the Beach at Night Alone
  2. Saoirse Ronan, Lady Bird
  3. Rebecca Spence, Princess Cyd
  4. Vicky Krieps, Phantom Thread
  5. Cynthia Nixon, A Quiet Passion
  6. Robert Pattinson, Good Time
  7. Jessie Pinnick, Princess Cyd
  8. Kristen Stewart, Personal Shopper
  9. Daniel Day-Lewis, Phantom Thread
  10. Tim Robbins, Marjorie Prime

Best Supporting Performance

  1. Hong Chau, Downsizing
  2. Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, 120 BPM (Beats Per Minute)
  3. Elizabeth Marvel, The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)
  4. Robert Pattinson, The Lost City of Z
  5. Tiffany Haddish, Girls Trip
  6. Lesley Manville, Phantom Thread
  7. Laurie Metcalf, Lady Bird
  8. Willem Dafoe, The Florida Project
  9. Christopher Plummer, All the Money in the World
  10. Lois Smith, Marjorie Prime

Best Direction

  1. Josh & Benny Safdie, Good Time
  2. Bertrand Bonello, Nocturama
  3. Eduardo Williams, The Human Surge
  4. Steven Spielberg, The Post
  5. Paul W.S. Anderson, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter

Best Screenplay

  1. Hong Sang-soo, On the Beach at Night Alone
  2. Stephen Cone, Princess Cyd
  3. Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird
  4. Noah Baumbach, The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)
  5. Matías Piñeiro, Hermia & Helena

Best Cinematography

  1. Sean Price Williams, Good Time
  2. Darius Khondji, The Lost City of Z
  3. Janusz Kaminski, The Post
  4. [no credit], Phantom Thread
  5. Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, Call Me by Your Name

Best Editing

  1. Nocturama
  2. Wonderstruck
  3. Ex Libris – The New York Public Library
  4. Lady Bird
  5. Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Best Music

  1. Oneohtrix Point Never, Good Time
  2. Jonny Greenwood, Phantom Thread
  3. Carter Burwell, Wonderstruck
  4. Jon Brion, Lady Bird
  5. Bertrand Bonello, Nocturama

Best Documentary

  1. The Work
  2. Faces Places
  3. Ex Libris – The New York Public Library

Best Cinematic Moment

  1. Heartbeats, The Work
  2. Digital magic, The Florida Project
  3. Webcam transition, The Human Surge
  4. Projector breakdown, By the Time It Gets Dark
  5. Face dissolves, Félicité
  6. Photographs, A Quiet Passion
  7. Miranda’s monologue, Princess Cyd
  8. Questions with father, Hermia & Helena
  9. Dream memory, Call Me by Your Name
  10. Swan boat, Baahubali 2: The Conclusion

Best Youth Performance

  1. Millicent Simmonds, Wonderstruck
  2. Brooklynn Prince, The Florida Project
  3. Oona Laurence, The Beguiled

Best Cinematic Breakthrough

  1. Vicky Krieps
  2. Tiffany Haddish
  3. Rian Johnson
  4. Timothée Chalamet
  5. Greta Gerwig

Best Body of Work

  1. Sean Price Williams
  2. Nahuel Pérez Biscayart
  3. Robert Pattinson
  4. Buddy Duress
  5. Damien Bonnard

Best Ensemble Performance

  1. Lady Bird
  2. 120 BPM (Beats Per Minute)
  3. The Post
  4. Marjorie Prime
  5. Mudbound

Other remarks:
If it were eligible, Twin Peaks: The Return would take up most of the spots on this ballot.

10th Anniversary Award, Best Feature Film 2007

  1. Death Proof
  2. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
  3. Hot Fuzz
  4. The Darjeeling Limited
  5. Persepolis

25th Anniversary Award, Best Feature Film 1992

  1. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me
  2. Rebels of the Neon God
  3. The Last of the Mohicans
  4. Raising Cain
  5. The Story of Qiu Ju

50th Anniversary Award, Best Feature Film 1967

  1. The Young Girls of Rochefort
  2. Dragon Inn
  3. Wavelength
  4. La Chinoise
  5. Playtime

February 2018 Capsules

Ryan Swen Reviews Tags: Leave a comment

Sansho the Bailiff
A man is not a human being without mercy. Even if you are hard on yourself, be merciful to others.

That the practitioners of these words are both empowered and powerless, torn asunder by the forces of evil in this world and yet brought back together in the most elemental ways, is the great mystery and the great beauty of this film. A fable, yes, but one with a direct conduit to the heart of human emotion.

Dragon Inn (rewatch)
Among the endless amount of perfect things that Dragon Inn does, perhaps the ending is the most telling. If the ending is abrupt, it is so because the elemental perfection of the scenario and its execution is such that there simply cannot be a continuation. The heroes ride off into the sunset, but it is almost an afterthought: what matters is the completion of the task, the visceral, punctuated triumph of motions.

Fallen Angels
Though Fallen Angels certainly has a dialogue in both narrative and production with Chungking Express, it’s important to stress just how exaggerated, how forceful so much of this film feels in comparison to even the glorious excesses of its predecessor. Especially for the almost purely sensorial opening fifteen minutes, where all narrative aside from the Wongian fundamentals of longing and disaffection is cast aside, every single shot feels nearly as revelatory as Takeshi Kaneshiro running through the blur of Hong Kong. Fallen Angels doesn’t settle down so much as overheat, but Wong running on the fumes of narrative still allows for some of the most sublime image-making I’ve witnessed. A film that feels like the Most version of itself, which means that it ranks among the Most films, for good and ill.

Woman in the Dunes
During perhaps the most primal scene among a film composed almost solely in a primordial key, the visages calling for physical titillation are concealed behind a multiplicity of masks, deliberately contrasting and jarring in their almost anachronistic qualities. In the grand sweep of surveillance on the part of both tribal masks and gas masks, an entire film’s sensibility is unlocked.

Woman in the Dunes, in its sparseness and yet its overpowering sensuality, in the perfect opacity of its central metaphor and structuring landscape, aims to capture something of both the distant past and all-too-present now; in other words, all of humanity. That it does so without ever once explicitly saying so is but the tip of its achievements.

1st (1963): “The Film As Art” Show Notes

Ryan Swen Catalyst and Witness Leave a comment

Table of Contents: Description, Corrections/Clarifications, Housekeeping, General, Main Slate, Ephemera, Recurring Directors, Recurring Countries, One-Time Directors, Debuts/Final Features, Festivals/Oscar Nominees, Discussions By Length, Specifications

poster

Listen to the podcast here.
Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes here.

Description
The first episode of the Catalyst and Witness podcast, devoted to exploring the films and format of the New York Film Festival, hosted by Ryan Swen and Dan Molloy. This covers the first edition of the festival in 1963, and includes an introduction to the mission of the podcast as a whole.

0:00-16:07 – Introduction to the Podcast
16:08-26:27 – Opening
26:28-1:09:45 – Part One [The Exterminating Angel to Elektra at Epidaurus]
1:09:46-1:48:11 – Part Two [Hallelujah the Hills to Ro.Go.Pa.G.]
1:48:12-2:39:48 – Part Three [The Servant to Sweet and Sour]
2:39:49-2:48:06 – Closing

Corrections/Clarifications

  • The editorial with the title “The Film As Art” was not written by Amos Vogel, likely written by the editorial team in collaboration with the publisher, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger.
  • Avery Fisher Hall was renamed as David Geffen Hall in 2015.
  • The Terrace is an Argentinian film, not an Italian movie.
  • Harakiri played in the 1963 Cannes Film Festival.
  • Barravento was released in New York City in 1987.
  • The last film to play at the festival was Sweet and Sour.
  • The whole festival was sold out.
  • Ted Zarpas directed Elektra at Epidaurus, not Takis Mouzenidis.

Housekeeping

  • Hosted by Dan Molloy & Ryan Swen
  • Conceived and Edited by Ryan Swen
  • Recorded in Seattle and Portland on MacBook GarageBand, Edited in Audacity
  • Podcast photograph from Yi Yi, Logo designed by Dan Molloy
  • Poster by Larry Rivers
  • Recorded January 28, 2018
  • Released February 1, 2018
  • Music (in order of appearance):
    • Sansho the Bailiff (first film to play at the New York Film Festival)
    • The Exterminating Angel (opening night)
    • Harakiri (second favorite of the first section)
    • An Autumn Afternoon (favorite of the first section)
    • The Trial of Joan of Arc (favorite of the second section)
    • Muriel, or the Time of Return (favorite of the third section)
    • Sweet and Sour (closing night)

General

  • Selection Committee: Richard Roud (program director)
  • Location: Philharmonic Hall
  • Prices: 1.50 for terrace, 2.25 for orchestra, 3.50 for loge
  • Films seen for the podcast:
    • Ryan
      • Seen before podcast watching period: An Autumn Afternoon
      • Seen for the podcast: All available; none rewatched
      • Favorite films: Muriel or the Time of Return, An Autumn Afternoon, The Servant
      • Least favorite films: Magnet of Doom, All the Way Home
    • Dan
      • Seen before podcast watching period: The Exterminating Angel, Harakiri, An Autumn Afternoon, The Trial of Joan of Arc
      • Seen for the podcast: All available except Ro.Go.Pa.G.; An Autumn Afternoon rewatched
      • Favorite films: An Autumn Afternoon, Muriel or the Time of Return, Le Joli Mai
      • Least favorite films: All the Way Home, Magnet of Doom
  • Discoveries of the festival: Il Mare, Glory Sky, In the Midst of Life
  • Unavailable films: A Cozy Cottage, The Terrace, Elektra at Epidaurus, Sweet and Sour

Main Slate

“Opening Night”: The Exterminating Angel [El ángel exterminador] (1962, Luis Buñuel)
September 10, 9:15
Released 1967
In the Midst of Life [Au cœur de la vie] (1963, Robert Enrico)
September 11, 6:30
Never released
Knife in the Water [Nóż w wodzie] (1962, Roman Polanski)
September 11, 9:15
Released 1963
A Cozy Cottage [Kertes házak utcája] (1963, Tamás Fejér)
September 12, 6:30
Never released
Harakiri [Seppuku] (1962, Masaki Kobayashi)
September 12, 9:15
Released 1964
An Autumn Afternoon [Sanma no aji] (1962, Yasujiro Ozu)
September 13, 6:30
Released 1973
The Terrace [La terraza] (1963, Leopoldo Torre Nilsson)
September 13, 9:15
Released 1964
Elektra at Epidaurus (1962, Ted Zarpas)
September 14, 3:00
Never released
Hallelujah the Hills (1963, Adolfas Mekas)
September 14, 6:30
Released 1963
All the Way Home (1963, Alex Segal)
September 14, 9:15
Released 1963
Glory Sky [Ouranos] (1962, Takis Kanellopoulos)
September 15, 3:00
Released 1963
The Trial of Joan of Arc [Procès de Jeanne d’Arc] (1962, Robert Bresson)
September 15, 6:30
Released 1965
I fidanzati [The Fiances] (1963, Ermanno Olmi)
September 15, 9:15
Released 1964
Ro.Go.Pa.G. (1963, Omnibus: Roberto Rossellini, Jean-Luc Godard, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Ugo Gregoretti)
September 16, 6:30
Never released
The Servant (1963, Joseph Losey)
September 16, 9:15
Released 1964
Il Mare [The Sea] (1963, Giuseppe Patroni Griffi)
September 17, 6:30
Never released
Magnet of Doom [L’Aîné des Ferchaux] (1963, Jean-Pierre Melville)
September 17, 9:15
Never released
Le Joli Mai [The Lovely Month of May] (1963, Chris Marker)
September 18, 6:30
Released 1966
Muriel, or the Time of Return [Muriel ou le Temps d’un retour] (1963, Alain Resnais)
September 18, 9:15
Released 1963
Barravento [The Turning Wind] (1962, Glauber Rocha)
September 19, 6:30
Released 1987
“Closing Night”: Sweet and Sour [Dragées au Poivre] (1963, Jacques Baratier)
September 19, 9:15
Released 1964

Ephemera

  • Crisis (Robert Drew) [shown with The Trial of Joan of Arc]
  • 
The Chair (Robert Drew) [shown with The Fiancés]
  • O.K. End Here (Robert Frank) [shown with Hallelujah the Hills]
  • 
Museum of Modern Art side-bar:

    • Sansho the Bailiff (Kenji Mizoguchi)

    • The Exiles (Kent MacKenzie)

    • I Live in Fear (Akira Kurosawa)
    • 
The Olive Trees of Justice (James Blue)
    • Point of Order (Emile de Antonio)
    • 
La Terra Trema (Luchino Visconti) [replaced with Peace to Him Who Enters (Aleksandr Alov & Vladimir Naumov)]

    • Fin de Fiesta (Leopoldo Torre Nilsson)
    • 
Bread of Our Former Years (Herbert Vesely)

    • The New Angels (Ugo Gregoretti)

    • Lola Montés (Max Ophuls)

Recurring Directors
Key: films in this iteration excluding shorts/omnibus/retrospectives, films in this iteration including, films in the festival up to this point excluding, films up to this point including, number of gala spots (when applicable), number of festivals with more than one film shown (when applicable); † indicates their last appearance, fraction in parentheses indicates number of features shown from oeuvre, features released in the eligible timeframe, features in oeuvre

  • Luis Buñuel: 1/1/1/1/1
  • Robert Bresson: 1/1/1/1
  • Masaki Kobayashi: 1/1/1/1
  • Joseph Losey: 1/1/1/1
  • Chris Marker: 1/1/1/1
  • Adolfas Mekas: 1/1/1/1
  • Jean-Pierre Melville: 1/1/1/1
  • Ermanno Olmi: 1/1/1/1
  • Roman Polanski: 1/1/1/1
  • Alain Resnais: 1/1/1/1
  • Glauber Rocha: 1/1/1/1
  • Leopoldo Torre Nilsson: 1/1/1/1
  • Jean-Luc Godard: 0/1/0/1
  • Pier Paolo Pasolini: 0/1/0/1
  • Roberto Rossellini: 0/1/0/1

Recurring Countries
Key: films in this iteration excluding shorts/retrospectives, films in this iteration including, films in the festival up to this point excluding, films up to this point including, number of gala spots (when applicable)

  • France: 6/6/6/6/1
  • Italy: 3/3/3/3
  • Greece: 2/2/2/2
  • Japan: 2/2/2/2
  • USA: 2/2/2/2
  • Mexico: 1/1/1/1/1
  • Argentina: 1/1/1/1
  • Brazil: 1/1/1/1
  • Hungary: 1/1/1/1
  • Poland: 1/1/1/1
  • UK: 1/1/1/1

One-Time Directors

  • Jacques Baratier (gala)
  • Robert Enrico
  • Tamás Féjér
  • Ugo Gregoretti (omnibus)
  • Giuseppe Patroni Griffi
  • Takis Kanellopoulos
  • Adolfas Mekas
  • Alex Segal
  • Ted Zarpas

Feature Debuts

  • Giuseppe Patroni Griffi
  • Takis Kanellopoulos
  • Adolfas Mekas
  • Roman Polanski
  • Glauber Rocha

Final Features

  • Yasujiro Ozu

Festivals

  • NYFF World Premiere
    • All the Way Home
  • Cannes
    • The Trial of Joan of Arc (1962, Special Jury Prize)
    • The Exterminating Angel (1962, FIPRESCI)
    • Harakiri (Special Jury Prize)
    • I fidanzati (OCIC)
    • A Cozy Cottage
    • Glory Sky
    • Hallelujah the Hills (International Critics’ Week; also Locarno, Silver Sail)
    • Le Joli Mai (International Critics’ Week)
  • Berlin
    • The Terrace
  • Venice
    • Muriel, or the Time of Return (Best Actress)
    • The Servant
    • Sweet and Sour
    • Elektra at Epidaurus (1962 Information Section)
    • Knife in the Water (1962 Information Section)
    • Il Mare (1962 Information Section)
  • Other
    • An Autumn Afternoon (Montreal)
    • Barravento (Sestri Levante)
    • In the Midst of Life (San Sebastian, Best Director and FIPRESCI)
  • N/A
    • Magnet of Doom
    • Ro.Go.Pa.G.

Discussions By Length (Approximate)

  • 11:33 The Servant (1:49:09-2:00:41)
  • 10:44 Ro.Go.Pa.G. [Omnibus] (1:37:27-1:48:11)
  • 10:22 The Exterminating Angel (26:43-35:05)
  • 9:49 Muriel, or the Time of Return (2:24:23-2:34:12)
  • 9:10 An Autumn Afternoon (59:02-1:08:12)
  • 8:43 In the Midst of Life (35:06-43:49)
  • 8:34 Harakiri (50:27-59:01)
  • 8:32 Le Joli Mai (2:15:50-2:24:22)
  • 8:23 Il Mare (2:00:42-2:09:05)
  • 6:43 Magnet of Doom (2:09:06-2:15:49)
  • 6:23 Hallelujah the Hills (1:10:42-1:17:05)
  • 6:01 All the Way Home (1:17:06-1:23:07)
  • 5:41 Knife in the Water (43:50-49:31)
  • 5:16 The Trial of Joan of Arc (1:26:57-1:32:12)
  • 5:13 I fidanzati (1:32:13-1:37:26)
  • 3:49 Barravento (2:34:13-2:38:02)
  • 3:48 Glory Sky (1:23:08-1:26:56)
  • 1:45 Sweet and Sour [Unavailable] (2:38:03-2:39:48)
  • 0:55 Elektra at Epidaurus [Unavailable] (1:08:50-1:09:45)
  • 0:54 A Cozy Cottage [Unavailable] (49:32-50:26)
  • 0:36 The Terrace [Unavailable] (1:08:13-1:08:49)

Specifications

  • Luis Buñuel, The Exterminating Angel, 1962, 35 mm, black-and-white, sound, 95 minutes, 1.37:1, Mexico.
  • Robert Enrico, In the Midst of Life, 1963, 35 mm, black-and-white, sound, 95 minutes, 1.37:1, France.
  • Roman Polanski, Knife in the Water, 1962, 35 mm, black-and-white, sound, 94 minutes, 1.37:1, Poland.
  • Tamás Fejér, A Cozy Cottage, 1963, 35 mm, black-and-white, sound, 80 minutes, 1.37:1, Hungary.
  • Masaki Kobayashi, Harakiri, 1962, 35 mm, black-and-white, sound, 133 minutes, 2.35:1, Japan.
  • Yasujiro Ozu, An Autumn Afternoon, 1962, 35 mm, color, sound, 113 minutes, 1.37:1, Japan.
  • Leopoldo Torre Nilsson, The Terrace, 1963, 35 mm, black-and-white, sound, 90 minutes, 1.37:1, Argentina. (?)
  • Ted Zarpas, Elektra at Epidaurus, 1962, 35 mm, black-and-white, sound, 82 minutes, 1.37:1, Greece. (?)
  • Adolfas Mekas, Hallelujah the Hills, 1963, 16 mm, black-and-white, sound, 88 minutes, 1.37:1, USA.
  • Alex Segal, All the Way Home, 1963, 35 mm, black-and-white, sound, 97 minutes, 1.66:1, USA.
  • Takis Kanellopoulos, Glory Sky, 1962, 35 mm, black-and-white, sound, 87 minutes, 1.37:1, Greece.
  • Robert Bresson, The Trial of Joan of Arc, 1962, 35 mm, black-and-white, sound, 65 minutes, 1.66:1, France.
  • Ermanno Olmi, I fidanzati, 1963, 35 mm, black-and-white, sound, 77 minutes, 1.85:1, Italy.
  • Roberto Rossellini/Jean-Luc Godard/Pier Paolo Pasolini/Ugo Gregoretti, Ro.Go.Pa.G., 1963, 35 mm, black-and-white and color, sound, 122 minutes, 1.85:1, Italy.
  • Joseph Losey, The Servant, 1963, 35 mm, black-and-white, sound, 116 minutes, 1.66:1, UK.
  • Giuseppe Patroni Griffi, Il Mare, 1963, 35 mm, black-and-white, sound, 110 minutes, 1.85:1, Italy.
  • Jean-Pierre Melville, Magnet of Doom, 1963, 35 mm, color, sound, 102 minutes, 2.35:1, France.
  • Chris Marker, Le Joli Mai, 1963, 16 mm, black-and-white, sound, 145 minutes, 1.66:1, France.
  • Alain Resnais, Muriel, or the Time of Return 1963, 35 mm, color, sound, 117 minutes, 1.66:1, France.
  • Glauber Rocha, Barravento, 1962, 35 mm, black-and-white, sound, 78 minutes, 1.37:1, Brazil.
  • Jacques Baratier, Sweet and Sour, 1963, 35 mm, black-and-white, sound, 93 minutes, 1.37:1, France.

Taipei Story (1985, Edward Yang)

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One important, vital aspect of my heritage that took me far too long to understand was the role of the Taiwanese dialect, specifically Taiwanese Hokkien. For many years, my parents spoke to each other semi-frequently in a language that sounded similar to the Mandarin that I knew, but which was generally unintelligible to me. I must confess that I still know very few words of Hokkien, but more important to me is the context in which my parents used it. Whether they intended it as such or not, I always felt as if they were keeping some form of secret from me, discussing things in front of my sister and me that we couldn’t understand, whether we wanted to or not.

Taipei Story, Edward Yang’s second masterful feature, doesn’t traffic in this level of a language barrier, but its use of language is no less revealing. In its portrayal of two estranged partners – Lung (Hou Hsiao-hsien) and Chin (Tsai Chin) – living in a rapidly modernizing Taipei, the film switches frequently and consistently between Hokkien and Mandarin Chinese. Without perhaps no exceptions, the conversations that only involve Lung, whether it be with childhood friends or elderly acquaintances, utilize Hokkien, while all conversations involving Chin – except those, crucially, with her parents – use Mandarin.

Though it is never stated outright in the film, my general impression of the role of Mandarin in Taiwan is that of the language of modernity – notably, Hokkien was banned in schools until roughly around the time this film was made. Accordingly, the business world of Chin and the deadbeat society of Lung are carried out in entirely different manners of speaking.

Yang is wise to never make Taipei Story a simple story of the struggle between the memories of the past, which Lung is never able to shake off, and the promises of the future. The conflict is complicated by both parties: Lung constantly tries to move to the United States, in a way not dissimilar to that of my own father, while Chin falls in with the youthful biker gangs that her younger sister hangs out with. Both members of the couple, to put it plainly, strive to capture and retain something of their youth while still prospering in the modern capitalist society of the mid-’80s.

In Yang’s vision of Taipei, this seems to be little more than a fantasy, as one has to choose between one or the other. But of course, this is never approached in a didactic or obvious manner, allowing for, as the film puts it, fleeting moments of hope to linger. That the film is maybe the most tragic of the Yangs I’ve seen is a testament to this sense of latent fatalism, of people too caught in the past, whether they realize it or not.

Through these inextricably entwined journeys, Yang shoots with his particular combination of intimacy and distance that never fails to surprise and move me. A shot from the other side of a mammoth office building, two perfectly rhymed tracking shots, numerous gazes down onto the busy streets of Taipei, all coalescing perfectly with the immaculately posed figures quietly discussing troubles in an apartment, or on a playground, or at a bar.

Those figures move inexorably towards their ends – one trading the world of physical architecture for the digital architecture of big data, the other beaten in a final attempt to prove his own sense of self-worth over the generation already overtaking him – but they do so with an inordinate sense of care on the part of Yang. Not one interaction, one small gesture ultimately feels out of place, and what resonates is the forlorn face of Lung, the implacability of Chin, each equally conveying an overwhelming sadness.

January 2018 Capsules

Ryan Swen Reviews Tags: Leave a comment

Millennium Mambo
“Dream of a dove flying.”

Always on the cusp of something but stranded in the moment, many beginnings but no endings.

A Man Escaped
There’s something very vital about the subtitle of A Man Escaped or: The Wind Bloweth Where It Listeth, which I can’t recall reading before I actually saw the film. Lifted from a scene almost exactly at the midpoint of the film, it is one of the points where the film becomes its most clear and removed from the (terrific) abstraction that otherwise characterizes it. Through the words of Jesus through John, as spoken by our hero Fontaine, the escape that he succeeds at is directly equated with spiritual salvation, even as his predecessor is being shot at that very moment. This divergence between the realm of the spiritual and the realm of the actual is key, layering ideas of transcendence that never distract from the intense, slow procedure of escape but rather enhance and contextualize them. Without more than a hint of background given to Fontaine, the viewer must draw the reason, the emotion from the struggle to survive itself, and the cell becomes its own crucible. Whether it is faith, chance, sheer will, or a combination of all that enables Fontaine to make his escape, there is no way to describe that feeling of cathartic release other than overwhelming grace.

The Hole
Yes, those musical sequences. Even if they weren’t so delightfully varied, so transcendently effervescent and yet grounded in the dilapidated Taipei that traps the protagonists, their programming alone is nothing short of masterful. I hadn’t noticed the placement of them at ~15 minute intervals, but what matters is their complete harmony with the emotional tenor of the film’s development, coming just after what would be considered an emotional crescendo in a regular movie and acting as the logical extension of that.

But, of course, this is still the realm of Tsai Ming-liang. The overtly apocalyptic tone and scenario feels like his trademark vision pushed to a kind of breaking point, and it’s remarkable to see his locked-down perspectives open up to no small degree, boasting pans, extended tracking shots, and even what appears to be a handheld shot, hurtling through a mall as it follows a squad of exterminators. But these don’t disrupt the stasis so much as heighten it, fleshing out the spaces so as to render them all the more claustrophobic yet cavernous. Decay and madness come hand in hand, the malaise is literalized, and any method of escape, no matter how fleeting, is what matters.