Sukhov

The Pervert's Guide to Ideology

Still a better haircut than Merle Oberon's in Wuthering heights. Just look at that forehead. It looks like she's balding.

Some major spoilers in that article. I wish I hadn't read that.

There are no foreign additions for this year.

My top FF films of 1973... 1.) The Society of the Spectacle, Guy Debord, France 2.) Amarcord, Federico Fellini, Italy 3.) The Spirit of the Beehive, Victor Erice, Spain 4.) Fantastic Planet, Rene Laloux, France/Czechoslovakia 5.) Day for Night, Francois Truffaut, France 6.) World on a Wire, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, West Germany 7.) Belladonna of Sadness, Eichi Yamamoto, Japan 8.) Scenes From a Marriage, Ingmar Bergman, Sweden 9.) La Maman et la Putain, Jean Eustache, France 10.) The Seventh Bullet, Ali Khamraev, Uzbekistan The Holy Mountain, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Mexico Touki Bouki, Djibril Diop Mambéty, Senegal Lady Snowblood, Toshiya Fujita, Japan Ludwig, Luchino Visconti, France Ali: Fear Eats the Soul, Rainer Werner Fassbiner, West Germany Godzilla vs Megalon, Jun Fukuda, Japan Turkish Delight, Paul Verhoeven, Netherlands A River Called Titas, Ritwik Ghatak, India Deaf Smith & Johnny Ears, Paolo Cavara, Italy Lisa & the Devil, Mario Bava, Italy A Slightly Pregnant Man, Jacques Demy, France And I have also seen... She Devils of the SS, Erwin C. Dietrich, Switzerland Ten Fingers of Steel, Lung Chien, Taiwan/Hong Kong Santo vs. Doctor Death, Rafael Romero Marchent, Mexico Infernal Street, Chiang Shen, Taiwan/Hong Kong The Return of the Evil Dead, Amando de Ossorio, Spain Three Giant Men, T. Fikret Uçak, Turkey The Spirit of Bruce Lee, Ling Shang, Hong Kong/Thailand A Virgin Among the Living Dead, Jesús Franco, France Vengeance of the Zombies, Leon Klimovsky, Spain Batman and Robin, Günay Kosova, Turkey

The redhead is Alicia Malone and she is a TV host and film reporter. I'm not sure who Clare is though.

The Criterion edition of La Haine has been on TCM before (or it may have been from Janus. I don't remember). Either way, it was pretty good and looked touched up. I hope you enjoy your copy!

It looked like either Dutch or Afrikaans.

Cut Throats Nine - This is an extremely violent western from Spain. An officer is leading a group of criminals in covered wagons across the mountains when they are attacked by bandits. Unknown to the prisoners, their chains are made of gold (for some reason unexplained???) The officer, his daughter and a few of the criminals survive and he tries to lead them to their destination. One of the criminals killed his wife and he isn't sure which one it is. The film deals with the main characters as they torment each other while stuck in the desolate mountains during a blizzard. This film is very graphic and is said to be a partial inspiration for Tarantino's Hateful Eight. Not the best film but okay as far as violent, exploitation cinema goes. If you don't have a weak stomach I recommend giving it a shot. IMDB says this is getting a remake but it has been listed as "in development" for years so I don't think it will be made unfortunately.

Mabel's Blunder - Crude slapstick comedy short from Mabel Normand. Mabel is an office worker jealous of her lover's affection for another woman so she dresses up in men's clothes and follows them. Meanwhile the man is now in woman's clothes and has to take her place to stop the lover's father from finding out about the gender swap. Some hijinks ensue and it turns out that the pretty woman Mabel sees Harry embracing is Harry's sister, who Harry gave an innocent hug. Mabel's jealousy had gotten the better of her and embarrassed her in front of everyone. This one had clever gags and a funny pay off but the soundtrack was very out of place and didn't fit the scenes on the screen. Some of the humor and acting is also a bit crude. I give it a 5/10. Caught in a Cabaret - I liked this one more. This early Chaplin film covers some of the themes that would be expanded upon in his later films. First, Chaplin appears as a hero who saves a girl from being attacked. This differs from some of the other early films where he is a devious, selfish tramp. Secondly, we see the theme of struggle between the classes that often pops up in his films. After saving her he pretends to be an Ambassador from Greenland even though he is only a waiter. We see the lavish dinner scene he has contrasted with the lowly restaurant he actually works at. Eventually he has to return to work but the rich people from the party go to his restaurant to "slum." His lie is exposed and this causes a free for all of slapstick gags (Mabel even gets a pie in the face ) This one is very well shot and had some pretty good gags. Compared to some of the crude early Chaplin films, this one covers a variety of themes and manages to be funny also. I give it a 7/10.

That comments section. LOL

Well that makes a lot of sense. Some of those short films don't get listed on the schedule. I too am glad that they're listing more of them on the schedule now.

Suspense and Mabel's Blunder aren't premieres though. Suspense was definitely on during the Story of Film: an Odyssey series and Silent Sunday Nights. Mabel's Blunder was also on a Silent Sunday Night too I think.

Semi-related. https://www.streamingobserver.com/the-average-cable-bill-is-now-107-a-month/ THE AVERAGE CABLE BILL IS NOW $107 A MONTH, UP MORE THAN 50% SINCE 2010 The most common reason so many households are kicking their cable TV habit is the cost. Cable bills keep soaring ever higher, yet millions of households still pay ridiculous costs each month for hundreds of channels they’ll never watch, endless hours of commercials, and contracts with hidden fees. Despite the fact that streaming video has become the new norm for millions of households, some people seem to hang on to their cable subscriptions no matter what the cost. According to new data collected by consumer research firm Leichtman Research Group, Inc. (LRG), the average cost households pay for cable is now up to $107 a month. How high will it go before more households decide to cut the cable for good? The average cost of $107 a month is up 1% from last year, thanks in large part to increasing fees for things like regional sports licensing and taxes – fees which are often excluded from initial contracts and introductory pricing. While the 1% increase might not seem like much, the average price of cable has risen by over 50% since 2010, when cable bills were $71.24 a month at the time. LRG’s data was gathered through a telephone survey of 1,152 households from throughout the United States. The research found that 78% of American households still subscribe to a paid TV subscription. That percentage is down from 86% in 2013, 87% in 2008, and 81% in 2004, but 78% is still a pretty high figure given how high cable costs continue to rise each year and how affordable streaming video services are in comparison. Due to these ever-rising costs, more and more households are cutting the cable for good, taking advantage of streaming services that offer skinny bundles of popular channels at a fraction of the price, like Philo (starting at $16 a month) and Sling TV ($25+ a month). In a separate study, market research firm eMarketer found that the number of households cutting the cable has risen 32.8% this year. 33 million people are expected to cut the cable this year. Still, the majority of households who hang on to their cable subscriptions say they do so because their internet and/or phone service is bundled along with pay TV. In some areas, particularly rural areas, these bundles are the only way to get high-speed internet or landline service. Nevertheless, as more and more streaming services hit the market and the menu of cable cutting options with live TV continues to expand, it’s likely that the percentage of households cutting the cable once and for all will continue to rise. So why are cable companies continuing to raise prices in the face of a new competitor?

I hadn't heard of it before but it looks interesting. Thanks for the recommendation!

The Flower Girl - This movie is based on an opera supposedly written by Kim Il Sung. Koppun sells flowers at the market to help support her family. Her mother is seriously ill and her sister was blinded by the landlord Mrs. Pae after she hit the girl for spilling food. To make matters worse, her brother is taken away to a slave labor camp where she believes he dies. Koppun is despondent and takes revenge on the landlord with the help of the other townspeople and then her brother miraculously arrives with the guerillas to save her. This film portrays the kind of racism the Koreans experienced from the occupying Japanese. The Japanese soldiers and civilians spit on Koppun and the Koreans and call them backwards leaving them despondent. In one scene, the blind girl and her sister attempt to get food but the butcher says it is reserved for the priest and the Japanese soldiers. The Japanese are portrayed as the occupiers who help the Feudalist lords to enslave the populace. This film won a "Prix Special" at the 1972 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. This film is genuinely very sad and will pull at your heart. The music is very pretty too. This is one of the few films from the North to be widely distributed outside of the country as it was played throughout East Asia in the 1970s in countries like China and Malaysia. Overall the propaganda is very blatant here but it is a well crafted film that knows how to play on your emotions. I give it a 6/10.

The only ones I haven't seen are 1.) A City of Sadness 2.) A Separation 3.) To Live 4.) 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days 5.) Eat Drink Man Woman 6.) In the Heat of the Sun 7.) Landscape in the Mist.

That segment was shot well and Alain Delon was a very good actor so I understand why it's your favorite. That segment just didn't click with me though.

Mine didn't even make the top 100! Good list though. Lots of famous, must see films.

Spirits of the Dead - A good horror anthology film from the directors Federico Fellini, Roger Vadim and Louis Malle. The Toby Dammit segment was my favorite where a drug addicted, melancholic actor meets the devil. It had the best visuals and story and had a nice Nino Rota soundtrack too. If you are a fan of Fellini as I am this one must not be passed up. The media and television people are mocked heavily in this. This one really seemed like a bit of a precursor to Ginger and Fred. I also liked the Metzengerstein segment. It had a good soundtrack and the story was intriguing. The cruel and wicked woman played by Jane Fonda is served a poetic fate after killing the man she loves. My least favorite was William Wilson. God, that one was really, really boring.

You had it in the 9th spot which isn't that bad.

Halloween at 11:45 AM, Spirits of the Dead I don't think I've seen this one before and Lawrence and Bogie both ranked this very highly in their 1968 lists so I'll probably record it. Also has scenes directed by Fellini (one of my favorite directors).

Man of the East - funny comedic western about a fish out of water starring Terence Hill. Terence Hill plays an upper class Englishman who has moved out west and is now trying to survive among the cowboys and bandits. He befriends some bandits who were pals of his father. He also romances a woman who is wanted by another violent man in the town who wants him dead. The movie follows his attempts to learn to become a man and defeat this man and get the girl. Some of the humor in this was pretty funny, including two bounty hunters who keep getting beaten and progressively more covered in bandages by the bandits. Overall, I give it a 6/10.

Lacan Speaks - This is a documentary on the psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan. The first half covers a lecture he gave at a university in Belgium and the second part is an interview with the female director. In the documentary states his opinions on Analysis, transcendence, love, death, childhood, and development. An angry student interrupts him in an attempt to make a point but he cleverly turns it around. This documentary covers the bare points of his ideas so it is a very easy film to watch. You don't need to have prior knowledge of Lacan or his ideas like the Big other to understand this documentary. Also included are historical facts about the life of Lacan. I recommend this one.

The Dawns Here Are Quiet - Fedot is an old fashioned military officer put in charge of a squadron of female soldiers. They constantly clash over how to fight and take prisoners but also over recreational things. Soon the entire squadron is called up to fight against invading German soldiers in the nearby forest. They learn to work together and fight with honor for their country. This film has very good cinematography with the flashbacks and daydreams the only parts done in color. This gives them a mystical effect that is very nice. The theme of teamwork and fighting together is very prominent in this one. Fedot thinks very little of woman soldiers but soon learns that they fight and give up just as much as men to win the war for their homeland. I like this film very much. A very good war film.