stephen

film: Lubitsch: Das Fidele Gefängnis (1917)

I found Das Fidele Gefängnis to be very funny, very modern in its comedic virtues, making an excellent show of allowing the audience to see the whole picture while characters do not, so that we stamp our feet gleefully, awaiting what fun we just know must occur soon. It was acted very well–and all theContinue reading “film: Lubitsch: Das Fidele Gefängnis (1917)”

film: Feuillade: Les Vampires [e4] : Le spectre (1915)

Feuillade’s next installment in Les Vampires series is not nearly as good as the last, partially because Irma Vep isn’t nearly as sexy. But also the plot is kinda dull. However, I will note one piece of interest: a flashback. It’s never occurred to me before now that media dependent on time, similar to ourContinue reading “film: Feuillade: Les Vampires [e4] : Le spectre (1915)”

drama: Aristophanes: the Clouds (419 BCE)

The most important thing Meredith taught me was that I should shut the fuck up. Meantime, I have no regrets about the scene I just made in an Applebees in the middle of the Maine woods, in which I got into a very angry debate over French/American political relations, which always comes down to theContinue reading “drama: Aristophanes: the Clouds (419 BCE)”

poetry: Blake: Poetical Sketches (1783)

Bloom shows how elements of Poetical Sketches I’ve hitherto taken seriously are actually meant to be ironic, parodic of Augustan verse. Ohh. I didn’t recognize there was a history of “mad songs” nor was I quite sure what they were. It’s hard to separate oneself from some era and read its verse properly. What struckContinue reading “poetry: Blake: Poetical Sketches (1783)”

drama: Frayn: Copenhagen (1998)

When there’s a great historical question, an event that has baffled minds for over half a century, upon which hinged the fate of the earth, and whose participants were famously esoteric about the whole thing, it’s natural that what we imagine took place would be fascinating. In reality it wouldn’t be. But, let’s say someoneContinue reading “drama: Frayn: Copenhagen (1998)”

film: Ardolino: Dirty Dancing (1987)

Somebody questioned my gender today, shouting “are you a boy or a girl?” as I left the library. When I asked Caleb about the noise my shoes make he said, “it’s a mark of high quality soles, it shoes that they’re leather and not rubber, and yeah, they’re going to sound like high-heels, and everyone’sContinue reading “film: Ardolino: Dirty Dancing (1987)”

film: Golem, wie er in die Welt kam (1920)

Golem, wie er in die Welt kam was far longer than I hoped it’d be. This is because I got confused and watched the wrong Golem film. I’d have been much less eager to watch it if I’d known beforehand that the director was Paul Wegener, whose 40 minute feature Der Student Von Prag wasContinue reading “film: Golem, wie er in die Welt kam (1920)”

film: Wilder: Sunset Boulevard (1950)

As they’re walking down a fake street in a movie lot, the middle of the night, abandoned, real headlights appear approaching through the darkness…they’re from the next scene, and that’s how the two scenes fade one into the other. Smart. This is a perfect picture for me now, as I go between films from theContinue reading “film: Wilder: Sunset Boulevard (1950)”

film: Branagh: Frankenstein (1994)

Frankenstein has long held a place in my heart because it deals with the reckless life of a poet, and its destructive tendency, and thus I see myself in it, and I grow concerned, wondering if such tragedy really is so tragic. Considering Frankenstein at any point after WWI turns Mary Shelley into a prophetContinue reading “film: Branagh: Frankenstein (1994)”

film: Walsh: Regeneration (1915)

I’m beginning to really enjoy these silent films. I was doubtful of American technical abilities after comparing the stillness of Birth of a Nation with Feuillade’s capacity to make a traditional stage setup seem to come alive, to grow deep and epic in space. Perhaps Feuillade has a more positively raw sense of illustration, sexyContinue reading “film: Walsh: Regeneration (1915)”