Jul
29
The Early Films of Peter Greenaway 1
Filed Under DVD, Experimental, Peter Greenaway, Short Films | Leave a Comment
| The Early Films of Peter Greenaway 1 |
|
| Year | 1960s-1970s |
| Director | Peter Greenaway |
| Actors | None |
| Disc Layers | 1 |
| Source | DVD |
| Image Quality | Very Good |
Peter Greenaway’s artistic and painterly approach to filmmaking is polarizing. Most of us get our first exposure to Greenaway through one of his feature films (typically one from the 1980s) and we pretty much know right away whether we like him or not.
His early films manage to be both entertaining and tedious, with Greenaway’s admittedly self-conscious style in full effect. Here we see his experiments with superimposed text, a fascination with paintings and other forms of art, and the way in which he combines documentary-style imagery with quirky, often ludicrous narrative.
Included on this DVD are the beautifully preserved films:
A Walk Through H - (40min) - In this film, the longest on the DVD, the narrator takes us on a journey through the fictional town of “H” by presenting several painted maps he has collected over the years. The maps have been organized and displayed by his friend, Tulse Luper, and the narrator delivers many personal stories about how he obtained the map, what its relevance is, and what eventually happened to it. The paintings were actually painted by Peter Greenaway and make for an interesting film.
H Is For House - (9min) - An exploration of the alphabet and how it brings together unrelated words in its fairly simple organizational structure.
Windows - (3min) - Shots of windows with narration about the number of people who died after falling out of windows “last year.”
Intervals - (6min) - Lessons in Italian are delivered over black and white shots of Italy.
Dear Phone - (17min) - Humorous tales of telephone obsession are told over shots of various English telephone boxes. Interesting both for its visuals and its narrative.
Water Wrackets - (11min) - A difficult-to-understand study of some type of water creatures is discussed over poorly lit and boring close-ups of stagnant lakes.
The DVD also includes two incredible galleries of Greenaway paintings, as well as a 15 minute introduction in which Greenaway discusses these films and his early experiments. The best way to watch this disc is to go to the “Special Features” and select the option to view each film’s introduction, followed by each individual film.
On a side note, I once drove several hours to see Greenaway present a screening of The Pillow Book which, at the time, he didn’t think would be picked up for distribution in the United States. I missed the earlier, snobby showing at the American Film Institute and instead caught a much later (and I imagine much more enjoyable) screening at a local theater that night.
May
21
Industrial Symphony No. 1
Filed Under David Lynch, Laserdisc | Leave a Comment
| Industrial Symphony No. 1 |
|
| Year | 1990 |
| Director | David Lynch |
| Actors | Julee Cruise Michael J. Anderson Laura Dern Nicolas Cage |
| Disc Layers | 1 |
| Source | Laserdisc |
| Image Quality | Very Good |
UPDATE: Industrial Symphony No. 1 is now available in the United States and other countries as part of the David Lynch Lime Green DVD Set. I no longer trade this title.
This collaboration between David Lynch and Angelo Badalamenti, an avant garde stage performance, takes all of Lynch’s signature elements and presents them in a surreal show filled with symbolism, the haunting voice of Julee Cruise, and the unforgettable music of Badalamenti.
Industrial Symphony No. 1 contains a large number of references to Lynch’s other work. It begins with two lovers breaking up over the phone (Laura Dern and Nicolas Cage in roles almost identical to those they played in Wild At Heart), then abruptly switches to a stage performance that symbolizes the thoughts inside the head of the heartbroken girl. Julee Cruise, seen briefly in Twin Peaks, is the focus of the performance as she flies about the stage and lip syncs songs from the two albums she created with Lynch and Badalamenti. Michael J. Anderson, the little man from Twin Peaks, plays an integral part, as do Lynch’s ubiquitous power lines and unsettling imagery. Badalamenti himself makes an appearance on stage and plays a clarinet.
What makes Industrial Symphony No. 1 interesting to fans of Lynch’s other work, however, may not be the music or the presence of Lynch affiliates, but how it predicts the “psychogenic fugue” style of narrative that he would fully explore seven years later in Lost Highway - a style that he has continued to develop and perfect. Lynch’s recent work tries to replicate that lucid dreaming moment when one is aware of being in the dreamstate. To fully enjoy films like Mulholland Drive or Inland Empire you have to sit back and imagine you’re enjoying a good dream - one in which logic, continuity, and linear storytelling are unnecessary. Looking at it this way, Industrial Symphony No. 1 is closer to Inland Empire than it is to Wild At Heart, which was made at roughly the same time as this performance. It moves through moments of calm, moments of nightmare, and moments of uncertainty like a bad dream. Or a really good one.
The source for this DVD is the Japanese laserdisc. There are no subtitles (all dialogue and lyrics are in English) and the picture quality is very good. It runs just under an hour.
Apr
30
Twin Peaks: The Visual Soundtrack
Filed Under David Lynch, Laserdisc, TV Shows | Leave a Comment
| Twin Peaks: Visual Soundtrack | |
| Year | 1992 |
| Director | Unknown |
| Actors | None |
| Disc Layers | 1 |
| Source | Laserdisc |
| Image Quality | Excellent |
This Warner Brothers-licensed oddity of Twin Peaks fanaticism, released only on laserdisc in Japan, presents the Twin Peaks soundtrack album accompanied by professional-quality, shot-on-video images of various Twin Peaks locations. Japanese captions and subtitles play throughout, along with the occasional English title card.
For those familiar with Angelo Badalamenti’s incredible score to Twin Peaks, the presentation of the images perfectly suits each track. “Laura Palmer’s Theme” plays over shots of an abandoned railroad car “graveyard.” “The Bookhouse Boys” takes you on a tour of the Twin Peaks Sheriff’s Office. You’ll also get a glimpse of the RR Diner and its famous pies, among several other famous film spots.
Though it may test your attention span towards the end, this is an interesting piece of documentation for fans. In fact, the best way to watch it may be the imagine that the events of Twin Peaks actually happened and that you are watching a documentary film about the murder of Laura Palmer. The broken-down reality of the locations, in contrast with the romanticized beauty of the show, certainly make it feel this way.
The source for my DVD is the original laserdisc and the video quality is excellent. I wish the Japanese titles could be removed, but after a while I stopped being bothered by them. The scenery changes with each song, making what could have been the world’s most boring home video a moderately interesting look at the people and places of a real life Twin Peaks.