De Palma a la Mod

Monday, February 8, 2016

CINEMATARY LOOKS AT 'PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE'
FIRST PART OF A SERIES ON DE PALMA, WEEKLY PODCAST

Cinematary, a weekly movie podcast, begins a series on Brian De Palma with this week's episode. The second half of the hour-long episode features Zach, Dylan, Lydia, and Nathan discussing Phantom Of The Paradise. All but one of the four watched De Palma's film for the first time in preparation for the discussion. The discussion is worth listening to, as it becomes quickly apparent that the participants have a smart, invested interest in cinema. While it is disappointing to hear two of them agree in the wrap-up that De Palma "tries" to cram too much into this film, they also have the insight to note that Phantom seems socially and culturally aware of the time in which it was made. At one point, one of the participants states that the thing about De Palma is, "the more you see his movies, the more everything makes sense."

Some of the most interesting comments come from Lydia. When asked to explain her first impressions of the film, she says, "It starts off, and you’re not really sure you’re with it, because it just goes so fast, the plot points, it doesn’t waste any time. But then, I was kind of into it by the time we got to the staging of Faust, and the big performances. I kind of got on board with it, because De Palma has a very specific vision and cinematic goals. I mean, whether or not you like it, it’s very clear he’s an artist, and is able to put what he wants on screen, every second. And I really appreciated that."

Posted by Geoff at 11:49 PM CST
Updated: Monday, February 8, 2016 11:51 PM CST
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Saturday, February 6, 2016

EVERY '70s MOVIE LOOKS AT 'DIONYSUS IN '69'
"AS HEADACHE-INDUCING AS IT IS MIND-EXPANDING"

Today at Every '70s Movie, Peter Hanson looks at Dionysus In '69. "Experimental theater being what it is," Hanson begins, "any document of this offbeat genre is sure to divide audiences. As such, something like Dionysus in ’69 can’t be appraised in only one way. Those with adventurous spirits and an eagerness to see postmodern rethinks of longstanding storytelling conventions will be able to appreciate Dionysus in ’69 as a form of artistic exploration. Concurrently, those who enjoy understanding what the hell they’re watching will lose patience quickly. Even those who seek out Dionysus in ’69 because of Brian De Palma’s involvement are likely to be confounded. The picture has a couple of significant connections to the director’s later work, but he didn’t conceive or singlehandedly helm the piece, [and] the execution is avant-garde in the extreme."

In the concluding paragraph, Hanson focuses on the film's use of split-screen throughout: "De Palma, who shares an 'a film by' credit with fellow NYU students Bruce Joel Rubin (later an Oscar winner for writing the 1990 hit Ghost) and Robert Fiore, employs one of his favorite cinematic devices, split-screen photography. Therefore, the entire 85-minute film comprises two angles of grungy-looking black-and-white images projected side-by-side. As with everything else about Dionysus in ’69, the split-screen effect is as headache-inducing as it is mind-expanding. Incidentally, Dionysus in ’69 received an X-rating during its original release, though its edgiest elements are full-frontal nudity, rough language, and simulated sex."

Posted by Geoff at 5:44 PM CST
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Friday, February 5, 2016

FANGORIA LOOKS AT 'THE FURY'
DE PALMA'S SUPERB THRILLER NOW ON NETFLIX STREAMING & OTHERS

Brian De Palma's The Fury is now available to watch on Netflix Streaming, as well as on Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, Google Play, and YouTube. Fangoria's Ken W. Hanley writes about the film in a column called "Crossing Over," which looks at films and series that are not considered part of the horror genre, yet have undeniable elements of horror, all the same. "To be honest," writes Hanley, "this writer heavily debated featuring this film for this particular column because on many levels, The Fury is a horror film. With make-up FX from Rick Baker, a post-Carrie Brian De Palma and an tension-ramping score from John Williams, The Fury has some truly shocking moments of bloody insanity throughout. And yet with all the aspects of action, mystery and political thriller strewn throughout, the horror of The Fury often becomes a footnote in the film’s legacy, which is a damn shame."

Read the full column at Fangoria.

Posted by Geoff at 12:42 AM CST
Updated: Friday, February 5, 2016 12:43 AM CST
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Tuesday, February 2, 2016

DE PALMA AT 'HAIL CAESAR!' PRESS SCREENING
WITH JAKE PALTROW, NOAH BAUMBACH & WES ANDERSON IN NEW YORK, ACCORDING TO TWEETS & BLOG REPORT

Meanwhile, Roger Friedman at Showbiz 411 reports that Jake Paltrow also joined his friends for the Coen Brothers screening: "There was no official star studded premiere in New York for Joel & Ethan Coen’s Hail, Caesar!,” states Friedman. "But the 'all media' screening on Tuesday night yielded quite a powerful foursome in the [front] row. This jury of the Coens’ peers included Brian De Palma, Wes Anderson, Noah Baumbach, & Jake Paltrow sitting together. They went mostly unnoticed, but it’s hard to miss Wes’s hair. And Brian De Palma is not someone you see everyday at a press screening."

Posted by Geoff at 6:00 PM CST
Updated: Wednesday, February 3, 2016 6:10 PM CST
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Sunday, January 31, 2016

ANYTIME THERE'S A SPLIT SCREEN THESE DAYS...

Posted by Geoff at 6:41 PM CST
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Saturday, January 30, 2016

TRAILER: DE PALMA DVD COLLECTION IN BRAZIL
ALL-REGION INCLUDES 'BLOW OUT' - 'SISTERS' - 'PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE'

The trailer above is for the just-released Versátil limited edition 2-DVD set, "A Arte de Brian De Palma". The set includes "restored versions" of three films: Blow Out, Sisters, and Phantom Of The Paradise, as well as extras that include separate interview segments with De Palma, Pino Donaggio, and Vilmos Zsigmond discussing Blow Out, De Palma talking about Phantom Of The Paradise, the making of Sisters, and the usual trailers.

Posted by Geoff at 5:54 PM CST
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Thursday, January 28, 2016

'CARRIE' ON IMAX AT GLASGOW FILM FESTIVAL
IMAX PRESENTATION CELEBRATES ANNIVERSARIES OF FOUR FILMS FROM 1976-1996

Brian De Palma's Carrie will be one of four films to get an anniversary IMAX presentation at next month's Glasgow Film Festival. Carrie, celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, will be screened on Friday, February 19th-- otherwise known as the day after De Palma's Obsession, which also turns 40 this year, will screen in Hollywood as part of a double feature in remembrance of Vilmos Zsigmond. The other film on that Zsigmond double-bill? De Palma's Blow Out, celebrating its 35th anniversary this year.

Two of the other four films in the Glasgow "Anniversaries at IMAX" series are James Cameron's Aliens and Tony Scott's Top Gun, both released in 1986. A 1996 film will be voted on and chosen by readers of The List from among three candidates: From Dusk Till Dawn, Scream, and Trainspotting.

Posted by Geoff at 9:49 PM CST
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Wednesday, January 27, 2016

'BLOW OUT' & 'OBSESSION' - FEB 18 IN HOLLYWOOD
PART OF AMERICAN CINEMATHEQUE TRIBUTE TO VILMOS ZSIGMOND AT THE EGYPTIAN THEATRE

Posted by Geoff at 9:56 PM CST
Updated: Wednesday, January 27, 2016 9:56 PM CST
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Tuesday, January 26, 2016

PODCAST COMMENTARY TRACK FOR 'DTK'
INFORMED DISCUSSION ENSUES

A Podcast titled Illusion Travels By Streetcar posted a commentary track yesterday for Brian De Palma's Dressed To Kill. The informed discussion/commentary is designed to run while you watch the film with the sound not-too-loud, and is actually pretty good. Near the beginning, Tom Sutpen shares the De Palma quote from early in his career about wanting to be the American Godard, and asks Jeremiah McNeil what he thinks of the idea that later De Palma films such as Dressed To Kill are seen "as an abandonment of that early intention."

"There is a critical misunderstanding in that assumption," McNeil replies. When asked to elaborate, he says, "There is no De Palma film that bears the mark of his authorship that is not in some way a comment on the film itself. And the fact that the person watching is committing an act of voyeurism, and is engaging with an art object. That kind of self-reflexivity is Godardian in its intention, or even Brechtian in some cases." And then the podcast is off to the races after that.

Posted by Geoff at 1:22 AM CST
Updated: Tuesday, January 26, 2016 1:22 AM CST
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Saturday, January 23, 2016

2 VIDEOS ABOUT FILM FROM CARL RODRIGUE
CLIPS FROM 'SCARFACE' & 'THE UNTOUCHABLES' INCLUDED

Our old friend Carl Rodrigue, who used to run the website "Le Paradis de Brian De Palma," got together with a friend to create the video above, which zips through 120 years of cinema in 120 seconds (and includes a quick clip from Brian De Palma's Scarface). That video was created to celebrate cinema's 120th anniversary a few weeks ago. Here's what Rodrigue has to say about the video:

After a brief overview of the processes that led to Cinema, from Nicéphore Niépce's oldest surviving photograph in 1826 or 1827 to Charles-Émile Reynaud's Théâtre optique in 1892, you'll find 75 movies by 75 different directors starting with La Sortie de l'Usine Lumière à Lyon (Workers Leaving The Lumière Factory in Lyon) which opened the first commercial public screening in Paris on 28 December 1895. Though the first film was an obvious choice, we don’t have the necessary perspective to choose the last one objectively. By selecting Avengers: Age of Ultron we simply acknowledge the fact that the comic book movies have dominated the box office in the past decade.
Keep in mind that it’s not a ranking of the best movies of all time by any means, but merely a celebration of cinema's 120th anniversary. Though we did include the best movies according to SIGHT & SOUND and THEY SHOOT PICTURES, DON'T THEY? such as Vertigo, Citizen Kane and Tokyo Story, we also considered BOX OFFICE MOJO's all time box-office movies like Gone With the Wind, The Sound of Music and Titanic, the INTERNET MOVIE DATABASE's #1 The Shawshank Redemption and other cult movies such as Blade Runner, Scarface and The Matrix.

Below is a newer video created By Carl and his friend, who go by the name Moon Film. This one looks at homages to silent film in more recent works, and includes De Palma's homage to the "Odessa Steps" sequence in Sergei Eisenstein's Battleship Potemkin in The Untouchables.

Posted by Geoff at 5:43 PM CST
Updated: Sunday, June 17, 2018 9:45 AM CDT
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