Dreaming in Color: Tony Scott (1944 – 2012)

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Aug 202012
 

Tony Scott, brother of Ridley Scott, and producer/director of stylish cinematic staples such as Top Gun, The Hunger, True Romance, Crimson Tide, and the recent Unstoppable, has died at the age of 68 of an apparent suicide.

 

Tony Scott

My first exposure to Tony’s films was 1983′s The Hunger, with David Bowie, Catherine Deneuve and Susan Sarandon in a story about the tragic realities of falling in love for a literal forever. Almost immediately, I realized I was witnessing the beginnings of something truly special. Here was a visual style that was almost purely sensual. Images were ephemeral; dream-like in a way that soothed the subconscious, seeping into your skin like a living perfume.  It was deeply erotic, deeply affecting and deeply, unapologetically, romantic. Continue reading »

 Posted by at 12:27 am

The Darkest Night

 Film Stuff  3 Responses »
Jul 202012
 

Words. How do you come up with words to describe the horror of what happened at the midnight screen of The Dark Knight Rises in Aurora, Colorado?

To a cinephile, a darkened theater is special place; equal parts cathedral, magic show, and time machine. We go to the movies to escape from the harsh realities of every day life; the politics, the bigotry, and the partisanship that are making America less a beacon of light and more a cautionary tale.  We go to the cinema because we believe that somehow spending a few hours alone in the dark can restore our belief in the better part of our humanity; that by exploring the stories of lives vastly different from our own we can discover bridges between past and present, insights into culture and ideology, touchstones between people seking to live a life as best they know how.  We seek cinema as an expression of not only who we are but who we can be. Continue reading »

Still Looking for “My Movie”

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Aug 102011
 

[Before I go to far, let me encourage you to read two remarkable essays describing the event I'm about to discuss. Over at "The Cooler" you'll find a surprisingly moving account by Jason Bellamy here; and the ever wonderful Sheila O'Malley's (of The Sheila Variations) companion piece here.  Go on, I'll wait...]

A while back, a group of my favorite film bloggers met up at a party, and, as they stood in a small circle basking in the warm glow of a love equally shared, a magical thing happened.  Stephen Boone, a blogger for Capital New York, quietly posed a question that crystallized a moment in time, and focused the minds of his companions as sharply as etched and frozen glass:

“I want to know, from all of you, what movie …” he put his hand over his heart. “is your heart.” Continue reading »

The Twilight Samurai

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May 162011
 

What do you do when the life you thought you were born to live becomes a mere shadow of what you thought it would be? When the dream that once drove you dissipates; replaced by empty routines that perpetuate the way things were more than the way they could be? And what of the evolution of your self? As time passes, and traditions fade, the things that once mattered pale in comparison to the possibilities for change. However, the past doesn’t always relinquish it’s hold so easily, and there are often times when the old ways are summoned forth to address challenges heretofore unmet; presenting obstacles that can interfere with one’s changing attitudes and demand psychological and moral compromises that can upset one’s mental balance. What would you do if such a challenge looked to destroy what appears to be your one true shot at happiness, and peace? Continue reading »

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