Goodnight, Prince of Darkness

The contributions of celebrated cinematographer Gordon Willis to movies are so monumental it's hard to imagine what modern filmmaking would look like without his influence. Here's a look back at some of his most memorable images:

Final Cut 2013: A Cinema Tribute

Nick Bosworth over at JoBlo.com has put together this fantastic tribute to the movies of 2013. Containing a phenomenal 283 films spread over 8 minutes of sensory overload, the mash-up does an effective job of encapsulating the landscape of cinema in the past year -- although the choices, understandably, are mostly geared towards Western audiences. A number of films haven't made it to our shores just yet, but see how many you can spot:

Leonard Maltin vs. The Multiplex

Maybe Leonard Maltin's not so cool anymore, I dunno, but his 1995 Movie Guide remains one of my most frequent go-to books for quick film reviews. Anywho he's recently set up his own Youtube channel, and just made this rant against underwhelming service in movie theatres, particularly addressing how the digital era has automated everything and ushered out the requirement of any human presence behind the scenes. Call him an old-fashioned coot or whatever, but he makes some points which in my experience, are entirely valid and common today. If theatre owners are going to charge crazy prices for tickets these days, the least they could do is make sure every aspect of the movie-going experience is worth every penny, including checking little things like focus, audio, etc.

The Story of Life as Told by the Movies

This great little mash-up pieces clips from a whole bunch of movies together to tell the story of life through its various stages, from birth to death etc. See if you can spot where the clips are from...

The Sixth Annual Xmas Exploitation Screening

If you're looking for an unorthodox way of celebrating Christmas, make your way down to the Academy Cinemas in Auckland tomorrow night for a special double feature screening of the gory Xmas slasher Saint and the indescribable chunk of cine-insanity known as Raw Force (in rare 35mm!). Tickets are only $12. Here's a sneak peek of what to expect:

Future of Cinema Projection in a Picture

 

"On your left, the past: A person and a film. On your right, the future: A black box." - David Bordwell, "Pandora's digital box: In the multiplex". The piece leans towards the geekier/technical end of things but it provides a lot of insight and context into the forces that have influenced the current industry-wide switch to digital projection in cinemas.

Fight for 35mm

Here's another boring post/moan about the death of celluloid which everyone should sit up and take notice of, of course. Especially when you have high profile film critics like Roger Ebert writing heartfelt eulogies to 35mm, and Julia Marchese of New Beverly Cinema, a revival theatre in L.A. which Tarantino saved not too long ago, starting a petition to fight for the film's survival. The end is truly nigh. So if you still love seeing living, breathing, beautiful film projected in theatres, as opposed to the ALL-DIGITAL ROUTE things are eventually heading in, read this, and then go sign Marchese's petition to show you care (see also: Death of the Film Camera).

The Outer Limits: A Post-24 Hour Movie Marathon Wrap-Up

One of the oddest things about the 24 Hour Movie Marathon each year is the feeling that it doesn't seem that long since that last one. I only ever venture out to Avondale once a year, for the marathon, and whenever I'm on the way there, taking the motorway exit, driving pass the Avondale shops, I get struck with a de ja vu-like sensation that it was just the other week I was here. This may be in part due to the fact that the marathon is such an indelible experience that it actually stays with you throughout the year, whether you're conscious of it or not. Or least that's how I'm trying to justify the feeling.

Not to sound like my judgement has been coloured by Fatso's involvement as sponsor or anything, but this year's marathon has to go down as one of the best, an opinion I think - I hope anyway - will be shared by many marathon-goers. The line-up of films was as delirious and varied and unpredictable as ever, ranging from pulpy '70s crime dramas to dime-store period horrors to super-obscure spaced-out student films to surreal regional oddities.

For those wondering what the effect of watching around 12 movies in a row in a theatre is like... first off, there WILL be some nodding off at some point. Unless you're wildly hopped up on V, or caffeine or some similar sleep-deprivation substance, there's a high chance you won't be fully awake at 3 in the morning trying to comprehend the non-existent plot of a glacially paced sexploitation flick that features an ailurophobic gangster. Everything starts to blur before breakfast time. You'll be confusing the line-up of films ("did Film X come first or Film Y or..?"), or forgetting something even played. It is a sort of druggy state of mind, something enhanced especially when the program fearlessly plunges into depths of cinema so unconventional, so extremely removed from norms of taste and technique that you feel zapped into another dimension. Which is to stay, whilst the marathon will provide you with many hours of laughter and entertainment, it is also a COMPLETE SENSORY EXPERIENCE. You won't be the same person you were earlier during the day when you sat down and eagerly awaited the first film out of the gate while the innocuous old-timey sounds of a live wurlitzer opened the event.

Kudos to Ant and the Incredibly Strange team, the Hollywood Cinema crew, and the appreciative, douche-bag-free audience for a fantastic 24 hours.

Stray thoughts:

• The dinner/breakfast catering seemed to work really well.
• If most people knew the rarity of some of the prints shown... mind-blown.
• It seems to be warmer upstairs than downstairs. I usually sit down stairs at the back. There's a lot of legroom. 
• Few projection issues this year, i.e. nothing broke (Correction: there was a break at the end of Don't Be Afraid of the Dark according to marathon attendee Doug Dillaman - I must have slept through it)
• Ant mentioned that this would be the last year that the marathon will be mostly 35mm (sob).
• The superette next door has expanded!

The Most Overused Line in Cinema

In the tradition of It's Gonna Blow, No Signal, We've Got Company, Let's Enhance, etc., here's You Look Like Shit. Kudos to whoever has the time to compile these - always a good laugh. Warning: contains offensive language.