The Silver Screen Oasis

by Mr. Arkadin » Wed Jun 24, 2009 7:49 pm

I saw Abel Ferrara's Ms. 45 (1981) recently (thanks to a glowing endorsement by Mr. Dewey), which seemed to have similar themes and parallels to The Bride Wore Black, although much grittier and more linear...

HA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(And "THE BRIDE WORE BLACK" is one of my favorite foreign films).

I like the one about a lady who refuses the traditional wedding gown, preferring a more casual look.

THE BRIDE WORE SLACKS!

Not too far off with the slacks comment Red, now that gay marriage has been legalized in some states.

Say, did someone mention Abel Ferrara a few posts back? Oh--it was
our friend Ark! Ferrara is a filmmaker with a fountain of dark and
brooding fantasies flowing from his twisted imagination. Perhaps
none more twistier than what is shown in his mid-90s modern day
vampire film, THE ADDICTION. Wow. Did any of this actually
happen? Was it all a dream? And is it even about vampires in the
first place? An unforgettably disturbing film--and
one tailor-made for this thread.
[youtube][/youtube]

The Addiction is one of Ferrara's most interesting films. Like most vampire works, there is a battle between flesh and spirit, but St. John's screenplay pushes the film deeper by using philosophical viewpoints juxtaposed by drug addiction. While I can't say the film is perfect, it is very different from any other vampire movie you will see:

[youtube][/youtube]

The Short Night of Glass Dolls (1971), All the Colors of the Dark (1972), and Footprints (1975) might not be noir, but as Giallo films they are definitely inspired by the genre. Short Night of Glass Dolls, begins with the protagonist in a paralyzed, lifeless state (although he is still alive) and then jumps into flashback as he tries to remember what led to his condition (Sunset Blvd. [1950]). Alfred Hitchcock Presents fans will remember this narrative device from the episode, Breakdown:

http://www.hulu.com/watch/284/alfred-hi ... -breakdown

....but with all things Giallo there's an unexpected twist.

Well done, Ark. The whole Giallo movemnet seems to share a little bit with our featured director
of this thread, William Conrad. Take a look at this trailer for Conrad's 1964 film TWO ON
A GUILLOTINE and I think you'll get what I mean. (The clip for this trailer, unfortunately,
is a pan & scan version, which doesn't do justice to the thrilling beauty of the film's wide screen
monochromatic treatment.) But it's pretty freaky nevertheless...
[youtube][/youtube]

One book on Film Noir, (by Nicolas Christopher, or Christopher Nicolas?) really praised "Brainstorm." I'm interested in seeing it.

Hi Mike - Thanks for bringing Nicholas Christopher's excellent book, SOMEWHERE IN THE NIGHT:
FILM NOIR AND THE AMERICAN CITY into the mix! And you're right; he has a lot of praise for
BRAINSTORM, one of the few who have written significantly about this sadly neglected film. It
occurs in chapter 8 of the book--and here's a link to the entire chapter (it's a great read!):
http://books.google.com/books?id=DqjqzC ... &q&f=false

Tonight's the night! Will the faithful be rewarded, or have we blown the whole thing out of proportion with this crazy thread?

Arrrgh! My power has just come back on this morning at 6:00 AM.

Needless to say, I missed Brainstorm by six hours.

are you safe and dry, Jacks?

Oh yeah! We are fine - I'm trying to post in the weather thread but I am having trouble with my network connections right now. Some things go through and some don't.

So...did anyone watch BRAINSTORM???

Dewey1960 wrote:So...did anyone watch BRAINSTORM???

I did for 10 minutes until a glitch in the cable system that knocked out TCM for a day or two. Now, my cable is all messed up and unable to watch any television until a guy come out next Monday. Something like 120-180 customers are affected by all this.

Man, I have no TCM for 7 days now. I still got my local channels. Man, I wanted to watch BRAINSTORM so bad.

Sorry Dewey, I can't report anything on BRAINSTORM.

I am anxiously awaiting a copy someone was sweet enough to make for me.