Anthony’s Top 10 (Films of all Time): #8 & 7
The list continues:
Number 8: American Graffiti (1973) dir. George Lucas
Where would Happy Days be without American Graffiti? Would we have gotten to see Dazed and Confused?
If there’s a movie on this list that is horrifically underrated, this one is it. George Lucas is best known as the creator of Star Wars. His empire was built on the backs of robots, laser swords and special effects. However, what people don’t realize is how diverse of a filmmaker George Lucas can be. American Graffiti not only showed his versatility, but also showed a softer and more personal side to his work.
The film’s influence is as underrated as the film itself. It was the driving force towards many cinematic innovations that have become common practice. The most important being the extensive use of popular music. George Lucas described it as “a wall of sound.” It is nearly impossible to find a scene in the film that does not have a popular song from the late 50’s or early 60’s. The soundtrack is completely diegetic. Each song emanates from either a car or local radio. Originally, the producers insisted on having Lucas hire an orchestra to simulate the songs. However, it would have cost the film its authenticity. That and its natural dialogue are the strongest points of the film. In the end, the authenticity would have suffered immensely without the natural performances and great music selection based heavily on the director’s own experiences.
At the time, the cast of actors may not have generated a tremendous amount of buzz. However, many of them would go on to play very iconic roles. Ron Howard, Richard Dreyfuss and Harrison Ford would become just a few of the recognizable faces on television and film in the following years.
The format of the film was also an original breath of fresh air. The image of the lost youth in the early sixties played a major role. It was a brief peek into the lives of several teenagers looking for their calling. Not only does it accomplish this, but it also gives us a vivid image of growing up in the early sixties on the west coast. The life of fast cars and rock & roll has an air of innocence about it. This is not long before the Vietnam War and racial turmoil of the mid-sixties. In a way, it speaks of a simpler time without denigrating what would later come.
This may not be the last George Lucas film on my list, but it is definitely one that most people have probably not seen. If there’s one movie on this list that is an absolute joy to watch, this one is it. After the opening credits, you’ll completely forget that this was a film directed by the creator of Star Wars.
(As a side note, this was one of only two films that George Lucas ever received an Oscar nomination for. It was nominated for Best Feature and Best Director)
Number 7: Casablanca (1942) dir. Michael Curtiz
If you think that war films can’t be romantic, if you think that old black & white movies look old or antiquated, you’ve probably never experienced Casablanca. This movie is just as new now as it was the day of its release. It is sexy, dirty, romantic, tragic and almost any other adjective you could think of.
At first, this film did not receive any of the acclaim I’ve just expelled. It was released briefly on November 26th, 1942, the day the Allied Forces advanced on Northern Africa. By the time of the film’s national release in January of 1943, Casablanca was already in the news. It was the site of a high level meeting between Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt. Needless to say, many of the critics panned it as an Allied propaganda film. The New Yorker went so far as to call the film “pretty tolerable.” It was a slow burn to success after its release. It wasn’t until it hit television screens in the seventies that it caught on and garnered the respect it deserved.
It is definitely a film that is carried by phenomenal acting. Humphrey Bogart as the tough but sensitive Rick Blaine jumps off of the screen. He masks his romantic tragedy with slick words and alcohol. Ingrid Bergman balances his New York harshness perfectly with a gentler performance. She bore a subtler beauty than that of many actresses of the time. Most importantly, she could distract you from her looks with decent acting ability.
The story itself is simple. A heartbroken man must help his lost love’s husband escape from German occupied Africa. It is the liner notes of the film that create the tapestry of this cinematic classic. The desperate attempts of people to escape through the black market, the never ending fight for freedom during a time of war, and the desire for something more than what we’ve been given speaks volumes for a film that was made at the tail end of the Great Depression.
Furthermore, Casablanca is a quote machine. “Here’s lookin’ at you, kid,” has been quoted and parodied more times than can be counted. The film’s major song “As Time Goes By” is iconic. There are people who recognize the film’s dialogue and music without ever knowing where its from. The fact that this film was not looked upon as a tremendous achievement upon its release, shows that Hollywood was truly in its Golden Age.
to be continued… (please leave a comment with your thoughts)
Anthony’s Top 10 (Films of all Time): #10 & 9
Everyone on the internet has a list of their top ten films. I figured I’d throw mine on top of the pile. The only thing that will differentiate between those and mine will be that I am freely saying that you will probably disagree with me. Every top ten list I’ve read treats itself as the holy grail of film lists. Its like if you haven’t seen the films on Bubba from Texas’ top ten list, you don’t know jack about film. I won’t be saying that at all. This is strictly a list of films that have influenced me as a filmmaker and hopefully will make you interested as well.
Before I dive straight into the list, I’d like to share some of my thoughts on how the list is compiled. I like to treat films like wine. This means that there probably won’t be many films on this list from the past 5 to 10 years. The reason for this is that my general feeling towards a film could change as I get older. It has happened many times. Had I made this list five years ago, it would have looked strikingly different. I also like to give credence to the entertainment value of a film. This isn’t going to be a list consisting of mostly foreign experimental films, although there may be one in there. I am a believer in the idea that art has to be entertaining as well as thought provoking. Leave one of those elements out and it isn’t quite cinema any longer.
So, without further hesitation, let the list begin!!!
Number 10: Almost Famous (2000) dir. Cameron Crowe
There are very few films that address the awkward periods of adolescence without treating them like the worst years of our lives. Yes we’re naive and still discovering who we are. However, most films like to treat this as hell on earth. Almost Famous treats this simply as a time of discovery, physically and emotionally. The film is loosely auto-biographical. The director, Cameron Crowe, has interviewed and traveled with legendary bands of the 70’s such as Allman Brothers Band, Led Zeppelin, The Eagles and King Crimson. This was mainly due to the fact that many rock journalists of that era saw these bands as inferior. The main character of the film, William Miller, who in the same vein as Crowe is hired to interview the fictional 70’s band Still Water.
The movie deals heavily with hero worship and humanization. As we grow older we realize that those we thought were perfect are just as feeble as we are. William’s journey takes him deep into the under belly of the rock & roll lifestyle. Sex, drugs and the illusion of double identities test young William’s developing characteristics. Unlike many films, we watch a teenager with enough blind confidence and naivety to pass through the belly of the beast and come back unharmed. Surprisingly, he’s better off after the fact.
From a technical standpoint, the subtleties in the cinematography helps to keep you involved in the story. There is nothing overly beautiful, and thus not distracting, about the way its shot. A softness in the lighting helps to keep the material from entering a more “adult” realm. We are constantly kept in the mindset of a young teenager. The writing and acting also delivers. Very rare is it possible to get a believable performance from a young actor. Many times, they are avoided for that very reason. However, Patrick Fugit is guided masterfully by both Kate Hudson and Billy Crudup. Not one performance over shadows the other, helping us to stay locked in to the imaginary world created for us.
Almost Famous pulls up the rear of the list primarily because of its sincerity. Sometimes its the little things you do on screen that makes the experience the most enjoyable.
Number 9: Lost in Translation (2003) dir. Sofia Coppola
In the preface to this list I said that there probably weren’t going to be many films from the last 10 years. This will be the last of them. To say that Sofia Coppola comes from cinematic royalty would be an understatement. Her father is arguably one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. At first, it seemed that she was destined for a mediocre career in acting. She never seemed to flourish as a performer. It wasn’t until 1999 that her talent as a director appeared. Four years later she made what may be her best film, Lost in Translation.
Lost in Translation is not your typical film. The story is experimental, loose, uneventful, and lacking in pure drama. “Why would this movie make my list,” you say? It makes the bottom half of the list for its cinematography and over all experience. I’ve been to Japan, Tokyo in particular, several times. Watching this movie is the closest I’ve ever seen to capturing that experience. At first, Tokyo is shown as dizzying, frustrating and robotic. It lacks any sense of romanticism. The flashing lights of Shinjuku in the opening sequence is more overwhelming than stimulating. It takes the perspective of a first time foreigner in a land he doesn’t care to understand.
It isn’t until that foreigner meets a young woman sharing the same mindset as his own that the movie truly shows the type of experience Tokyo can be. I’m not trying to say that traveling alone is a horrible experience. One of the interpretations of the film can be that we never truly travel alone. Our worries and doubts travel with us. Bill Murray’s character, Bob Harris, is at the same point in his life as the much younger Charlotte, played by Scarlet Johansson. Say what you will about Scarlet’s acting career, this is one of the few times where her deadpan delivery actually worked well. She appeared lost and hopeless, looking towards an older man for the answers to the unknown questions of the future. Unfortunately, his years have not helped to provide any answers.
Together, and through the brilliant photography of Lance Acord, they succeed in not attempting to explore for answers. Instead, they enjoy the company of someone equally as lost and unsure as the other. The characters don’t come off as wimpy or emo. They seem more unfulfilled than anything else.
It could be said that this is a look at the formative years of Sofia Coppola’s directorial career. The characters are a physical representation of the turmoil in transition. The feelings that they express mirror a universal fear of transition and thus a fear of the unknown. This is something that Coppola herself has probably had a lot of time to think about and why it is definitely her best and most relatable film.
One of the common complaints about the film is its treatment of Japanese people as clownish. The moments of beauty and understanding seem to be lost in these complaints. It can be argued that the foreign characters, especially Bob Harris, come off as more clownish. These moments of comedy sprinkled into an otherwise brooding film help to break the potential monotony.
In the end, we are left with an experimental film that balances entertainment with an unorthodox storytelling style. It makes the list more so for its cinematography and location than anything else.
To be continued… (tomorrow: #’s 8 & 7)
(Please leave a comment with your thoughts)
The New Star Wars Trilogy Defense!
At first, I thought I’d write about an interesting concept in popular cinema. There was an article floating around the internet about research done on the top grossing films of the last thirty years. The one thing all of these films had in common was the length of each shot. I was going to analyze this further until I realized that most people probably don’t give a crap. Maybe I’ll talk about it at some point in the future… when I fully understand the concept, but for now let’s talk about Star Wars.
Star Wars is, beyond the shadow of a doubt, the most successful movie franchise in history. Six films in the list of 100 highest grossing films of all time, a successful line of action figures, LEGO toys, Mark Ecko t-shirts, lunch boxes and anything else you can think of, is just a small sample of the series’ popularity. The dialogue and imagery has permeated the very fabric of American culture. Yet, with all of this, I find it hard to believe that so many people find the new trilogy (Episodes 1-3) so unwatchable. I’d like to take a moment to not only compare the two trilogies, but to also defend what could be the final installments to the storied franchise.
One of the first arguments made about the new films was the absolutely terribly acting. I will be the first to admit that this was not Hayden Christensen’s, Natalie Portman’s, Ewan McGregor’s, or anyone else’s shining performance. However, to say that this is a reason to hate the films, or even to dislike the films, is absolutely unwarranted. Most of us viewed the Star Wars films as young children. The flashy laser lights and flying triangles are what kept our eye holes glued to the screen. It wasn’t the performance of Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill or Harrison Ford that kept us watching. Out of the entire cast, Harrison Ford was the only one to make a star-studded career for himself. Even then it wasn’t the acting that carried the Indiana Jones films. If you can, re-watch the first twenty minutes of the original Star Wars film. If you honestly can say that the acting was better than that of any of the new films, you are probably quite the dramaturge.
The second common argument is that the film is overdone with special effects. This is another argument that I can’t wrap my brain around. The original trilogy was built on groundbreaking green screen and stop motion techniques. Puppetry was taken to new levels and set design was unparalleled for its time. The new trilogy is no different. C.G.I. (Computer Generated Images) became the norm in cinema just after Episode 1. The reason for this is because ILM (Industrial Light and Magic), the special effects company created by George Lucas, went through a pain staking process that would create a method usable over the entire film medium, not just George’s pet projects. Films such as Spiderman 2 and Iron Man relied heavily on ILM to produce the special effects that made those movies great. In the same form, those effects made the Pod Race scene one of the more memorable adventure moments in the trilogy.
The third and final argument I will tackle is the writing… actually, I don’t know if I’ll tackle this one. To be honest, the writing for these films is not all that great. The lines from the original trilogy that we remember most came from The Empire Strikes Back. That’s a story conceived by George Lucas but executed perfectly by screenwriters Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan. When we think of Lando Calrissian, we can safely know that Lucas did not come up with the dialogue that made him the pimp of the galaxy. Imagining what Lucas’ dialogue would have been like is a painful thought. The original Star Wars film, written by George Lucas, had the adventure but lacked the raw emotion that completed the initial trilogy. So if you were looking for the dramatic explosion seen in the second and third film, you were definitely disappointed by the wooden dialogue spewed out by Natalie and Hayden. However, Lucas did a phenomenal job weaving an adventure that bridges the gaps between the fantasy history.
So, with this rant over, we’ve learned that I’m a Star Wars nut. We’ve also learned that expectations can sometimes be our worst enemy. Going into a film and expecting something other than a good time is usually a recipe for disaster. I suggest you try to re-watch the later trilogy with an open mind. I’m not saying you’ll find it to be a hidden treasure, but maybe you’ll see something you like.
Blog returns!!! Oscar Talk and My Love/Hate Relationship with It!
My blog has returned!!!
Thanks to the wonderful, talented and beautiful Jen Gallardo, I am now able to post freely without worrying about blogger doing weird things or without having to worry about whether or not things actually post… hopefully.
Its been quite sometime since my last blog post (September 8th, 2009 to be exact) and a lot has happened in the world. While I’m sure all of those things are interesting, I’ve chosen to discuss something that really doesn’t pertain to anything that truly matters. I’m talking about the Oscars. As a jaded film student, I constantly hated watching the uber-rich and uber-famous Hollywood blobs parade their accomplishments in front of each other. To be perfectly honest, I still do. The only thing that has changed is that I may have finally figured out the value of such a show. Now, saying that I’ve figured out this value actually says that I stopped stomping my feet around the apartment protesting why some awesome micro low budget film didn’t get nominated for best picture and actually paid attention to what the potential of the show could be. I’m sure this year’s parade will feature smurf-like aliens carrying James Cameron to the alter of gluttony so that he can ramble on about how appreciative he is of being the Zeus of modern day Hollywood. As he should. Avatar is a major cinematic accomplishment. Spielberg himself likened it to watching the original Star Wars. While I wouldn’t give it that much praise, Avatar was a fun experience that reminds us why we go to movies.
We go to not care.
Cinema has always been the “Everyday American’s” way of escaping whatever stress is cutting years off of their lives. Over the past several years, we’ve been blasted with messages of how our government in inept, people are inherently evil or how some action film compares to its comic book counterpart. Avatar did away with all of this. We just sit back and watch stuff blow up. Obviously, there is a message of environmentalism and imperial entitlement sprinkled into the story. However, this message does not weigh down the experience of watching the film. Everyday we are blasted with images of governmental failures and natural disasters. We don’t need another blasting in our theaters. Should we feel the need, there are plenty of alternatives out there.
Getting back to the Oscars… one of the realizations that I’ve come to is that this show provides films with what they need, a firm push in the face of the public. It is easy to forget how many films go unnoticed. I’m a filmmaker, its my duty to keep up on these things. However, the school teacher with three kids doesn’t have to the time to scour the internet for a 15 year old’s review of Hurt Locker. They have to rely on such blubbering parades as the Oscars to let them know what they might not have seen. What films trailers they might have missed outside of commercials during Monday Night Football or the Simpsons. This is why I’m in firm support of the inclusion of ten pictures for the Best Picture Category. While I may not fully agree with the selection, each of these films garners a different demographic. By bringing them all together, you expose new things to new people. The audience that watched A Serious Man may not have given District 9 a chance.
This sort of things breaks the exclusivity of the award and actually gives it a modern purpose. It is a new tool for advertising and as we all know advertising is all that really matters in the end. 
Falling Back to the Fall
Okay… September 8th isn’t quite August 31st… but that’s cool. I’m blogging a lot sooner than I might have. In my last entry, and the one before that, I stated that I’d be digging up some past memories to put on the blog. I’ll definitely get to that but first I’d like to write about this past weekend.
For the second straight year, Jen and I traveled down to Piney Point Maryland for the annual Labor Day Pig Roast. This event is thrown each year by the super awesome Dad of one of Jen’s close friends. Unlike last year, rain didn’t drench the large plot of land her father owns before we got there. So playing Ultimate Frisbee, rolling around in the grass, and being spastic in general was a lot easier than the previous visit. While I normally pride myself on being in shape, Ultimate Frisbee showed me just how out of shape I’ve fallen. You could say that the slippery slope began back when I quit Jiu Jitsu in 2004. It really wasn’t much of an option. I could have continued and sacrificed a few meals a week but I wasn’t dedicated enough for that route. That and I really didn’t see the point of draining a few hundred dollars a month into something that really wasn’t doing much for me at the time.
It became startlingly evident to me after our first play that I didn’t quite have the stamina that I had years earlier. That and the fact that beer never mixes well with physical activity. I can’t remember too much about the game other than that I gained a new appreciation for oxygen. It was however tons of fun. This was followed by massive amounts of pig, spicy hot dogs, and more beer.
One of the more memorable parts of the trip came on Saturday night, when our group proceeded to play “Personality Guess Who?” I’m sure most people are familiar with the common children’s board game “Guess Who?” Well, this is a slightly modernized and perverse version of the same game. Instead of asking what the physical characteristics of the mystery person might be, players ask what the personality type is based on their looks.
Yes! Its a shallow version of the game. However, it creates interesting descriptions. For example your game could go something like this:
-Does your person look like they could be a pedophile?
Answer: Maybe. Although an act of sexual deviance wouldn’t be beyond them.
This went on for several rounds. The conclusion of all of this was that I was a very good judge of character. My team won 3 out of 4 games. I suggest anyone who has this timeless game gathering dust in their parents closet dust it off and give it a second try. This time with new rules.
While I may have been away from New York for the weekend, I didn’t completely leave my ways behind me. I came loaded with two video cameras and shot at least two hours of footage. What am I going to do with this footage you might ask? Well, I plan on doing an editing exercise that will be quite humorous. So all I can say is that I’ll have something to show by the end of the week.
I also intend on putting Charetta’s live performance on the site by the end of the week. They had a tremendous performance at Crash Mansion in July that the world must see. Hopefully people will visit my little site and witness one of the better bands coming out of New York. And one of the few bands that aren’t hipsters.
I think that’s all for today. I’m sure there are more stories from Pig Roast that will come to me but for now I think that’s enough. Updates will be done far more often so please keep checking back in if you are reading.
New Blog, New Tonight Show, New Pearl Jam, New Website!!!
So! If you couldn’t tell… things are a bit different around here.
With the new website comes a new blog and new things to talk about. I’ve taken the last six months to bare down and focus on different aspects of my life and art. Now I’ve reemerged, focused and ready to conquer all. I’m working on a series of shorts that begin shooting this month. As time passes this blog will be used as a production diary as well as a place for me to place strange stories that go on in my everyday life. Speaking of which:
Did anyone else see Eminem get tea bagged by Bruno? That was ridiculous! While I laughed loudly at what I say, I can’t help but think of how I would have reacted had a 160 pound man fallen face first into my crouch. Come to think of it Eminem’s reaction was actually pretty tame compared to what I would have done. Its always funny until its done to you. Truthfully, I think the whole thing was as staged as a wrestling match including Eminem’s reaction. Go MTV. They finally succeeded after twenty million attempts at shock television. Lets hope they don’t try it again.
Tonight felt like the dawn of a new era… of sorts. I’ve been considering a return to school within the next year and a half. Working for peanuts in non profit theater isn’t quite what I envisioned myself doing with a college degree. Granted, I’m only a year removed from college, it just never sits well when you’re not doing what you spent four or more years learning to do. Don’t get me wrong. I didn’t expect to graduate from college and land a multi million dollar film deal on the first swing. But I spent a long time working in theater and film so that maybe I wouldn’t have to work for peanuts. Unfortunately it seems that focusing on marketing was a bad idea considering that’s the area where most people are getting laid off. I should be grateful that I have a job, and I am. But to say that I am satisfied with my work would be a flat out lie.
So Conan O’Brien took over The Tonight Show. And not surprising, this was the first time I’ve ever watched a full episode. Not only did it feel like one of those crazy must watch tv moments, but my favorite band performed on the show as well. Pearl Jam played the new single off their upcoming album. The best part is that I’ve been so out of the loop that I didn’t even realize they had a new album coming out. I expected some oldie to come out of the band. Instead what I got was a fantastic first single… at least that’s what I think it is. I modeled much of what I wanted to be like as an artist after what Pearl Jam managed to accomplish. They’re a band that never sold out to the mainstream and made the music that they were inspired to make. Hell, the band fought Ticketbastard for Christ’s sake! I still envision myself as an artist that will never need to compromise what I want to do just because it’ll make a buck. Great artists bring the mainstream to them. And watch Pearl Jam go out there in their t shirts and jeans still proves that its possible. While other band… Green Day… go out there in mascara and black leather (an image they never would have taken up five years ago) Pearl Jam continues to be the same awesome band they started out as twenty years ago… Has it really been that long?
Anyway, expect more entries and expect more updates as things start to pick up this summer!!!
Memories from the not so distant past
I’ve come to realize that I’ve yet to write one word about Andrew Cragg in my blog yet since everything that has happened. For those of you who read this site and don’t know Andrew, he was a very good friend of mine who I met during my run at the Duke Theater. Oddly enough, I’m actually wearing my work shirt underneath my awesome Rey Mysterio hoodie (thanks Nik) right now… mainly because its one of the few long sleeve shirts I have to help me endure this brutal NY winter. Andrew and I shared in ribbing not only each other but the poor, helpless, staff at the New 42. No one, house manager to usher, was safe from our wrath. The best part of it all was that we saved the best insults for each other. He was one of those people that you feel you’ve known all your life the moment you meet them.
The week before Thanksgiving was incredibly hard. On Sunday of that week, I got a call from one of his close friends telling me that he had died. Even as I’m typing this a surreal feeling still comes over me. Its been well over two months now, but I still find myself expecting him to call. Now more than ever so that we can drink beer and bullshit about how very few people actually understand anything about politics and hockey. I’ve always considered myself slightly knowledgable but when he spoke it was like opening the Big Book of American politics. His love for the Buffalo Sabres also led to some interesting spats during this time of year. I’d throw around my hopeless dreams of the Rangers winning a Stanley Cup. Andrew would ramble about how Buffalo could never hold on to talented player long enough to win a Cup. We’d throw around stories about where we grew up and the stupid situations we’d get ourselves into. The amazing thing about it was that a boy who grew up in the South Bronx (me) connected so well with a Rochester polar bear like him.
Now, most days when I see someone acting like an idiot, I think of how he’d look at them with a straight face and ask them to continue with their idiocy. Or I think about how much he’s day he hates Eli Manning while watching his Oreo commercial. Instead he’s gone. And all that’s left is his memory that will be preserved through those who were lucky enough to interact with him. Why it took me so long to put words together for appreciation is a testament to how deeply affected I was by his passing. If you can learn this lesson early I suggest everyone learn it soon: We are all finite. Immortality comes from the memories we leave in the lives of those we meet. And for that reason Andrew will always live forever.
This blog is dedicated to more than just Andrew. Unfortunately I’ve lost a lot of people in my life and through them I have learned to appreciate everything that I have. So this is also dedicated to Hildalina, Brenda, Chris, Joe, Diana, and Nancy.
My Favorite Memory of Yankee Stadium
On October 31st, 2001 there were many feelings going through my body as I boarded the D train at 175th St and the Grand Concourse. My legs were stiff from standing for hours the night before on the uneven floor of the Continental Airlines Arena. Slipknot and System of a Down played to a packed house which caused not only the pain in my legs but the continuous ringing in my ears. Even though the train was relatively empty, I found myself standing in front of the doors. I was excited as two hours earlier I discovered I would be enjoying game 4 of the World Series from behind home plate instead of in my small apartment on Clay Ave. Several years earlier, an aquaintance of mine, was caught spraypainting profanity on the side of Yankees Stadium. When he was questioned about his intentions, he stated it was because he had nothing else to do. Two weeks later, he was contacted by Yankees Stadium and given a job as an usher in the Diamond Level seats. Normally I would watch a game through the first inning before getting a call that a seat was open. Then I would hop down to the stadium, a mere 10 minutes from where I lived, and see the game in seats that would have normally cost several hundred dollars.
Unfortnately we were in a post 9/11 world. Businesses had disappeared freeing up several seats in prime real estate behind home plate. I never wondered whose seat I actually sat in until recently. I figured it was just a comped ticketee that was busy elsewhere. Many of them had been given to police officers and firefighters still on duty. But whether or not someone had purchased that seat before 9/11 never struck my mind. It could very well have been someone lost in the tragedy. Or as I found out recently, when businesses close, their comp tickets open up with them. I hope that this was the case.
Either way, I recieved a call from my friend at 7:30pm on Halloween night. I quickly threw on my World Series Yankees hat, but forgot how cold it would be at the Stadium. I wore only a thin hoodie, paying the price the following week. I was stuck in bed and out of school for three days. I used various excuses as to how I got sick, knowing that admitting I just went to a baseball game in October without a jacket would not have flown over well with anyone.
After arriving at the Stadium, two things were obvious. People wanted something to believe in and people wanted to forget. The Yankees were all that was left to avoid what many of us saw day after day during those months. On this night, both requests would be fulfilled. However, at first, like any great opera, there was nothing to cheer for. The Yankees couldn’t score and the Diamondbacks looks like they were toying with baseball’s legendary franchise. After 8 innings, Arizona manager Bob Brenly must have thought things were going pretty smoothly. Everyone else in the building thought it was going their way as well. The crowd was silent for most of those 8 innings, with no real reason to get excited. However, in the bottom of the 9th inning, as if by some miracle, everything changed. Yankees first baseman, Tino Martinez, blasted a two run game tying home run off of closer Byun Yun Kim. While most of this is to me is a fuzzy memory of being cold and excited, I can remember with great clarity almost losing my voice after seeing the ball leave the park. That excitement lifted my voice from a dull murmor at the start of the day, another effect of the previous night’s concert, to an epic roar.
While normally I hate to admit to being a fanboy of a particular player, that night established one of my all time favorite players with one of my all time favorite baseball memories. Watching Derek Jeter hit the game winning home run at midnight on November 1st was a moment that I sometimes look to immortalize on film. There are moments that even film cannot capture and this is one of them. I’ve seen the game replayed dozens of times, however it doesn’t capture the feeling of being at the stadium on that night. I remember being at the bottom of a dogpile of fans after the ball left the yard, I remember hugging people I didn’t even know, and I remember that no one left the ballpark after the game. My ten minute trip home turned into 4 hours. I didn’t walk through my door until 4 in the morning. It had nothing to do with traffic. I could have walked home if I felt like it. But the feeling around the stadium and of the fans was intoxicating and nearly impossible to separate from.
It may seem cheesy at this point in time considering how many documentaries and commentaries have been done on that night. Throwing one more on a large pile may be overkill. However, I figured it would be best if I wrote a few words on not just the final game at Yankees Stadium but of the moment that stuck out the most in my mind.
The Terror We Disown
With the recent release of Cloverfield, I felt it was the right time to talk a bit about the horror film and its importance in our society. Many cinema goers would agree that the horror film has lost its way over the past decade. However, there is a more disturbing trend that has become very apparent. It is the idea the we no longer have horror icons in which to attach ourselves too. JJ Abrams made this abundantly clear when he wanted to provide a “Godzilla” for Americans with the Cloverfield monster. While he helped to create a legitimately mean looking creature for the screen, there is a denial of what has already been created before and the lust for something which is not ours.
Godzilla is a Japanese creation. It is inherently Japanese and cannot be removed from that environment with any kind of success. The 1998 film where a gofer looking lizard crawls around New York City subways is a good example of this. Godzilla is the embodiment of atomic war to the Japanese people. By rampaging through the streets, viewers are able to release their pent up fear and anger over a point in time where true terror took place. Godzilla is a product of a post World War Japan and belongs there. We as American film goers can never fully understand the true meaning behind such a character when it is placed in our environment. While we experienced 9/11 as the pinnacle of destruction and terror in our time, and Cloverfield does have very specific references to that event, the monster does not and cannot embody the same fear that was experienced through Godzilla. This is not a bash on the film. I personally did not like Cloverfield but I am not instructing anyone else to like or dislike it. The movie failed to provide substance for a rampaging figure. Instead what it did do was make us see how ridiculous we might look under circumstances outside of our small social sphere. It was more of an embarrassment than and exercise in terror.
Our monster is one that is inherently American. King Kong is the microcosm of American history. It is a representation of slavery, oppression, civil and uncivil disobedience, and the success or failure of the “American Dream.” The black ape is taken from his homeland, forcefully chained, presented to white (American) society, and is eventually killed for its continuous disobedience. That is our monster, these are our demons. While it seems that we wish to fully understand destruction from an outside aggressors point of view, it is nearly impossible to do for American audiences without a sense of camp or unbelievability. Foreign tanks have never rolled down the streets of Times Square, bombs have never leveled Harlem, and war has never touched the modern United States. The idea of racism, an uneven class structure, and frustration with capturing what we believe the American Dream might be, is a very understandable situation.
For some reason, leaving business out of this, many horror productions are remakes of foreign films or an American swing on an outside idea. Instead of attempting to recreate new franchises, we should embrace the ideas that we have. Look back to the great works of filmmakers such as Tod Browning for where to go in the future. Leave outside terror to those who can interpret it best. The forced assimilation in films such as, Shutter, The Grudge, and The Ring are not only forced but creating holes in an already insecure genre.
The more I watch current horror films the more I notice the past slink away in a false insecurity. There needs to be more confidence in the future of home grown horror films and less of a dependence on what is being done on the other side of the world. They are great films as they are but not meant for reproduction here.
A small list of classic American made horror films are:
Freaks
Dracula
Dracula’s Daughter
Frankenstein
Bride of Frankenstein
The Wolfman
The Thing From Another World
Halloween
The Exorcist
King Kong (except for Peter Jackson’s)
A Nightmare on Elm Street
Friday the 13th
Last House on the Left
The Shining
This is just a few and I’m sure others will have a ton more.
New things and consistency
This blog has been relatively useless to me since I created it. That’s very unfortunate considering I really should let out all of my thoughts in some form that doesn’t consist of ranting about them to Jen for several hours. So I’ve decided to share many of my philosophies on film and life through this blog, which will hopefully keep me updating it more regularly:
I heard a very interesting fact about Woody Allen today that triggered a whole inner debate within my mind. He was quoted as saying that he doesn’t believe in the Special Features on dvds. This is why when you opened your 40 dollar deluxe edition of Manhattan on dvd, all you got was a few trailers and an interview with Diane Keaton a hundred years after the movie was made. I began to think of why he would say such a thing. It didn’t dawn on me until I went to one of my usual movie news sites for my usual fill of useless Hollywood information. LORD KNOWS I NEED TO KEEP UPDATED ON THE GI JOE MOVIE! Suddenly it hit me like a bolt of lighting. Literally! My hair stood on end with a realization that of a concept that may transcend and rip the very fabric of the internet. I’ll put it in a different context to better explain it.
If you ever get a chance to meet a magician you’ll notice two things about them. One is that they all have a different set of traits that they play up before a crowd, and two is that they will never reveal the secrets of their trade. To ask them is itself an insult since you definitely will not get an answer. Filmmakers, at one time, were modern age magicians. They create elaborate pictures that only the imagination could spawn before the invention of celluloid. These days, the wall between the audience and the production has become quite blurry. Because of this, critics have become harsh, fans have become cynical, and the average movie goer now believes they have a firm understanding of everything that goes into making a film. The truth is they don’t. At times most filmmakers don’t even know what makes a good film or not. It’s 99 percent hard work and 10 percent luck that makes even the best script come to life on a screen.
The comparison between the filmmaker and the magician is a powerful one. If you know how the magic trick is done, will you be shocked or surprised the next time you see it? If you knew how much of an asshole Marlon Brando was on the set of the Godfather or Apocalypse Now would you still have appreciated the movies for what they were? These are fundamental questions that film critics and fans have to ask themselves. Access is at an unprecedented high to screener copies or unfinished cuts to films. News sites give access to what is going on behind the scenes that affect the audience perception of not only the production but the actors or director. Stanley Kubrick was well known for pushing actors to their mental limits. He nearly gave Shelly Duvall a heart attack making The Shining. Had we known this while the movie was being made, would we still look at it as the great horror classic that it is or would we have a bitter taste watching it?
I personally feel that there is too much of an emphasis on what’s going on behind the camera instead of what we are getting in front of it. I don’t want to look at a screen and see Robert DeNiro or Brad Pitt. I want to see Jake Lemotta or Tyler Durden. Characters need to take precedent over reality. Film only exists because of our own suspension of disbelief. I’m not saying we can’t hate movies for bad acting or horrible directing. Our basic love for film should be focused on what is in front of us and not what is behind the camera. Trust me, those things are a lot more boring than you may think. The glitz and glamor of film making disappears underneath 5am shoot and endless pre production. The amazement is not in how it is made but in the product you see before you… besides, magicians killed the disappearing birds… I saw The Prestige!