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I'm glad to hear that. Junior year in HS is certainly tough, not to mention very important. But the year after is certainly fun!Quote:
Originally posted by HorseradishTree
School's been a bitch. Junior year is everything people said it would be: lots of work with little reward. I frequent this site and rarely post because I don't have the time. But don't worry. I shall return!
Apologies, I've been unable to contribute lately much to my dissatisfaction. Believe it or not I do not own my own computer-I'm always using someone else's/a cafe's and it conflicts greatly with my internet activities. I'm always finding myself unable to complete threads...
I'll post more when I have the resources of time and access
in better sync with each other.
Loving the journal oscar. I guess it's your version of "Two weeks in the Midday Sun"?
Welcome back! I've missed you. Wish you had a laptop to hook up at your local café, man.
Good to hear from you Johann, hopefully you'll the find the means to contribute soon.Quote:
Originally posted by Johann
I'll post more when I have the resources of time and access
in better sync with each other.
I too have been out of commission with a very time consuming new gig. Still very much enjoying a good read here at FilmWurld; just not as much writing as id like to be doing. Johann, for gods sakes man...get a computer!!
Originally posted by Johann
I guess it's your version of "Two weeks in the Midday Sun"?
This version is 56-week long and interactive! Glad to hear you've been keeping up with this, Johann. I owe you (and Howard) an apology. The guy who was going to make the vhs copies moved to NYC with my Comandante and Blind Shaft dvds, two blank tapes, and some dvds he had borrowed from me. Ces't la vie, right? Hope you post whenever possible because you are irreplaceable. As far as the journal, it's helping me comment (and get feedback) on everything I watch without opening a new thread every time. BTW, I wrote a lenghty reply last night and my pc malfunctioned right before I was ready to post. Hate when that happens...Hope I remember half of what I wrote.
Mon. February 14th
I've always wanted to sample classic commercial Bollywood. I'm not talking about "art" directors like Satyajiy Ray and Ritwik Ghatak (check out The Cloud-Capped Star if you get a chance) but films from the 50s and 60s directed by Raj Kapoor, Bimal Joy, and others. Research I've done indicates the following are recommended: Mother India, Two Acres of Land, Jagte Raho and Boot Polish (reviewed elsewhere by H. Schumann who states Kapoor directed, not Prakash Arora as listed).
Tonight I watched Awaara (1951), directed and starring Raj Kapoor, and featuring the sensual and expressive Nargis. A woman married to a judge gets kidnapped by a bandit. She's pregnant but she had yet to tell the judge, who believes rumours that the baby is not his and abandons her. The woman raises her son Raj in the Calcutta slums. Raj is a good student but gets kicked out of school when his low status becomes known. The hungry Raj steals bread and gets sent to reform school. Upon his release, the only option is to join a gang of thieves. His fate will reunite him with the cute girl he loved in school (now a lawyer) and with the father whose identity he is unaware. Close to three hours of somewhat contrived, melodramatic plot, charismatic and emphatic performances, melodious music and singing, cunningly staged musical numbers, and accomplished cinematography. You know if this is for you or not. Please reply if you want to watch or have watched any of the titles above.
One by Raj Kapoor that was extremely popular in Cairo in the Sixties is Sangam, which everyone saw when I was living there. Including me. The entry below by somebody gives an idea of what I also remember.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058547/.
From Viewer's Comment in IMDb:
It's almost four hours long.Quote:
One of the best parts of "Sangam" is the honeymoon sequence in Europe, that is - in contradiction to the melancholy and fatality of most of plot - very lighthearted, with some pricelessly lovely and funny moments (Vyjayanthimala dancing in sexy "Western" clothing in a Paris hotel room) - and even a kissing scene (though enacted by non-Indians). The playback singers (Mukesh for Raj, Lata Mangeshkar for Vyjayanthimala, Mohd. Rafi for Rajendra) are great as always, the songs are beautiful.
Great timing Monsieur Knipp!! This normally sells for over $20 on dvd, but there was a "Buy It Now" on Ebay for $9.98 including s/h. Thanks. Weird that the film was shot in Europe. Will comment upon viewing.
Tuesday February 15th
Oldboy, a film shown at the fest which I already owned on dvd. One of those that's simply escapist fun, but some (Q.T. and Miike worshippers) will love because it's hip, twisted and violent while others call it crap or worthless because they find it offensive (the spineless and squeamish). More comments on MIFF thread.
Let's be clear that Sangam was not "shot in Europe"; only a half-hour travel interlude of it was, an interlude which broke the monotony of the drama with a period of light entertainment. Typical of the genre I should say. I'd never seen anything like it. The outrageous mixture of genres and moods. We have comedy within tragedy in Shakespeare, but still..... If Kapoor interests you, I'm sure Sangam will be a worthwhile example to have. It was wildly popular in Cairo and had a long run. That was surprising perhaps since of course it was in a language nobody understood. But Ameican movies were also very popular in Cairo, not dubbed but with French and Arabic subtitles (running in two directions: you can go crosseyed trying to read them). Traditional Egyptian movies of the Thirties and Forties also combine drama with musical interludes (and they're very well done and hold up today), but there was nothing in Arabic quite as outrageous and lush with music and melodrama as Sangam. The Cairo audience at this time also loved Zorba the Greek, which was very popular and had a long run. Titles of American films were translated into classical Arabic; hence Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines became "Ha'ulaa' ur-rijaal al-cudhaam fii aaalaatihim at-taa'ira." Priceless.
Damn! That's a lot of "aaas". While Hollywood has always engendered a lot of good feelings toward the US of A throughout the globe, our government has done the exact opposite: murdered thousands of innocents in Vietnam (and Cambodia as I learned from recent docs), supported the burning of entire indian villages ("scorched earth policy" in Guatemala), helped to overthrow democratically elected governments (Chile a clear example), made it possible for Israel to occupy Palestine for over 3 decades in defiance of the U.N., etc. etc. etc. Hooray for Hollywood!
Quote:
Damn! That's a lot of "aaa's"!
There weren't meant to be any "aaa's." "aaalaatihim " was a mistake. It should be "aalaatihim." "aa" just means a long "a" sound as opposed to a short one.
There's at least one book on the negative images of Arabs in Hollywood movies, sort of the Arab version of The Celluloid Closet. It's Jack Shaheen's Reel Bad Arabs. -- Interlink, paperback, 500+ pages, July 2001 (ha!) http://film.guardian.co.uk/interview...38852,00.html.
The Guardian, typically, has a piece about it you wouldn't find in a major US newspaper. It was covered in the US alternative media, of course; I heard Shaheen interviewed a year or so ago on Pacific Radio. Here's an excerpt from the Guardian piece:
Nor can most Americans. But Kiarostami fans might differ from the norm?Quote:
The tragedy" he admits, "is that we've begun to unlearn other stereotypes" - about Blacks, Jews, Native Americans. "But we haven't with this one. And 9/11 took it to another level."
So why is it still acceptable to slander the Arabs? "The stereotype is embedded in the US psyche," Shaheen explains. "I think it reflects American policy in the region. Politics plays a dominant role, especially with the wars." Shaheen takes "the wars" back as far as the Iranian hostage crisis of the 1970s, pointing out that many people in Hollywood cannot distinguish between Arabs and Iranians.
Raj Kapoor was/is known as a "showman," some even called him an Indian Charlie Chaplin after a certain film he made. While Indian commercial cinema existed before he came onto the scene, he was the one who brought it to the forefront. He basically introduced the studio and the star system which still exists in India today and his own banner "Raj Kapoor Films" is still going strong.
Some argue that his films (whether he directed or simply produced/starred in them) incorporated the elements that appealed to the masses along with purposefully fighting for social issues present during that time. Having seen some of the films from the greats like a Bimal Roy, or a Guru Dutt, as both worked within the paramaters of "commercial" cinema; I don't particularly see that in Raj Kapoor films. The kind of films he made during that time are still being made today and are justly reviled. Admittedly, the exuberance displayed on screen is contagious but even the most blithe-spirited person can see the sub-par direction, lack of editing skills, cliched characters and over-abundance of "actorly" acting (as Pauline Kael liked to say). Raj Kapoor films shouldn't be ignored but they need not be celebrated either, especially, considering how some of his contemporaries aren't even mentioned when people talk about "classic" Indian cinema.
However, one film I particularly liked is called Mera Naam Joker (My Name is Joker/1970) in which he almost put his own persona to task (not to mention his bank account), needless to say, it was a huge flop but now has become somewhat of a cult classic.
*Boot Polish was only produced by Raj Kapoor, Prakash Arora did direct it.
Originally posted by arsaib4
even the most blithe-spirited person can see the sub-par direction, lack of editing skills, cliched characters and over-abundance of "actorly" acting
Your opinion has been duly noted. I am no expert on Bollywood or Kapoor but, based solely on my reaction to Awaara (The Vagabond), I disagree. This essay seems more in synch with my viewing experience:
http://www.chireader.com/movies/arch.../000818_2.html
BTW, Did you notice that the teens in Jia Zhang-ke's Platform go to the cinema to watch Kappor's Awaara?
*Chris, you bring up an interesting topic. I read The Guardian's article with great interest. Thanks.
Wed. February 16th
I love the three films written/directed/edited by Christopher Munch that I've seen. Tonight I watched Color of a Brisk and Leaping Day. I wish Munch received some of the attention his contemporaries are getting, lesser directors like Anderson, Russell and Payne. Lisa Alspector captures my opinion about this 1996 film to perfection:
http://onfilm.chicagoreader.com/movi...ND_LEAPING_DAY
It looks like the article was written by an Indian/American and it's hard for me to believe that given the chance to write about certian films for a publication like the Chicage Reader, a person would be as discerning as possible - some recent articles on Bollywood in the NY Times are a proof of that. Still, I would've preferred to hear your thoughts as none of us here are experts on anything really. It becomes very easy to use other's writing and I think we should avoid doing that as much as possible otherwise it defeats the purpose. I hope this doesn't sound offensive.
Thanks for reminding me about Platform, I had forgotten about that. There were certainly a few "vagabonds" in Zhang-ke's film.
I wouldn't want to make up my mind about the worth of a director based only one viewing of a single film. My own thoughts on that one film can be found on my Valentine's Day journal entry above. Based on this scant evidence and for the time being, I find myself in disagreement with you, most particularly with the bit I quoted from your post. I remain open to the possibility that, after watching more films, I may agree with you that Kapoor's directing skills are "sub-par" and that he lacks editing skills. For now I am offering a link to a piece of writing I found informative and concordant with my preliminary reaction to him. I am offering access to a point of view alternative to yours. I am not willing to dismiss it because it "looks like it was written by an Indian/American".