GITS contributor Rob Fuller emerged from his weekly descent into the Web’s wild, wooly, and weird relationship with movies, returning with these gems:
Will “Field of Dreams” see you through a midlife crisis? Can “Groundhog Day” help you visualize your way out of a rut? What with America’s penchant for quick fixes, one can’t help but look askance at a recipe for personal evolution incorporating a pastime as popular as movie watching. But what goes by the name “video work” and “cinema therapy” is not without precedent. Aristotle, after all, theorized that tragic plays have the capacity to purify the spirit and aid us in coping with those aspects of life that cannot be reconciled by rational thought. Applying the concept in the 20th century, psychoanalytic critics have postulated that films, because of their dreamlike quality, transmit ideas through emotion rather than intellect, in some cases neutralizing the instinct to repress. One illustration of this: Some people will cry buckets over a sentimental movie but rarely in real life, even under duress.
News from the Library of Congress
While Hollywood sets records at the box-office this holiday season, the Librarian of Congress James H. Billington today selected 25 motion pictures that will be preserved as cultural, artistic and/or historical treasures for generations to come. Spanning the period 1911-1995, the films named to the 2009 National Film Registry of the Library of Congress range from the sci-fi classic “The Incredible Shrinking Man” and Bette Davis’ Oscar-winning performance in “Jezebel” to the Muppets’ movie debut and Michael Jackson’s iconic video “Thriller.” This year’s selections bring the number of films in the registry to 525.
Just to name a few:
Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
Director Sidney Lumet balances suspense, violence and humor in Frank Pierson’s Oscar-winning adaptation of a true-life bank robbery turned media circus. Al Pacino is the engaging Sonny, a smart yet self-destructive Brooklyn tough guy whose plan to rob the local bank to pay for his lover’s sex change goes awry. Lumet artfully conducts his talented cast through machinations that twist and turn from the political to the personal, and inevitably lead to a downward spiral played out before an audience of millions.
The Exiles (1961)
Released nearly 48 years ago, “The Exiles” remains one of the few non-stereotypical films that honestly depict Native Americans. With the perspective of a true outsider, filmmaker Kent MacKenzie captures the raw essence of a group of 20-something Native Americans who left reservation life in the 1950s to live among the decayed Victorian mansions of Los Angeles’ Bunker Hill district. MacKenzie’s day-in-the-life narrative pieces together interviews that allow the people in his film to tell their own stories without ascribing artificial sentimentality.
Heroes All (1920)
The Red Cross Bureau of Pictures produced more than 100 films, including “Heroes All,” from 1917-1921, which are invaluable historical and visual records of the era with footage from World War I and its aftermath. “Heroes All” examines returning wounded WWI veterans and their treatment at Walter Reed Hospital, along with visits to iconic Washington, D.C., landmarks. Several Red Cross cinematographers achieved notable film careers, including Ernest Schoedsack and A. Farciot Edouart.
Guy turns himself into one of James Cameron’s avatars
One designer from Copenhagen decided that he’d want his own Avatar after watching James Cameron’s epic film.
Peter Ammentorp Lund is a creative art director and just used his digital photo manipulation skills to create this effect. He’s done a really great job. As you might already know, some of the features of the Avatar stay the same, while others change.
And while the Na’vi aren’t really blue Smurfs, hopefully the following video is blue enough for you. In the movie, the Avatars are created by mixing human and Navi DNA. In this case, it’s human DNA plus Photoshop.
Speaking of The Smurf Meister:
James Cameron.Yes, the man who brought you The Terminator, Aliens, First Blood Part II, Titanic, and this year’s blockbuster Avatar, will be appearing at SolidWorks World 2010 to talk about all kinds of things that are sure to blow your minds. Don’t be surprised if he talks about developing the 3D Fusion Camera System. That thing is pretty cool.
If there was anything you could ask James Cameron, or something specific you’d want to hear him talk about, what would it be?
And saving the best for last from FearNet.com:
Not only is this trailer for Nobuhiko Obayahshi’s 1977 fantasy horror film Hasu aka House the strangest trailer you are likely to see, it also looks to be one of the strangest horror films you are likely to see. Thanks to a renewed interest in Obayahshi’s flick, Janus Films have theatrical screenings planned across the US before House eventually hits DVD for the first time.
The trailer for “House”:
Man, that is one freaky movie trailer. Has anybody seen this movie? How many months of therapy did it take for you to regain a sense of normalcy?
Anyway thanks, Rob. A grateful nation honors you for lo the innumerable hours you waste finding these hidden gems. Next week, drop by at the same time for more intriguing tidbits and general movie weirdness courtesy of Rob Fuller.
@One illustration of this: Some people will cry buckets over a sentimental movie but rarely in real life, even under duress.
Interesting: I've got a project "loosely" titled " I Only Cry at the Movies".
It's in an early development stage but I've ALWAYS had this inkling of an idea about the secret power of film on emotions where in "real life" they are not apparent.
As always, GITS "gits" it out as far as allowing a writer to explore ideas!
Yup, that was SOME trailer, all right! Have to admit, the perky, "family film" interlude right there in the middle is what really did it for me.