r.i.p. antonioni (1912-2007) & bergman (1918-2007)

Some respect for two filmmakers who passed away last week. BTW: The New York Times articles will require registration (well worth it IMO!).

LINKS:
Antonioni
New York Times's Antonioni Obit.
Via R. Ebert. "In Memory: Antonioni."
UK Gaurdian: Antonioni's Best Scenes.

Bergman
New York Times's Bergman Obit.
Via R. Ebert. "In Memory: Bergman."
Via R. Ebert. "Artists Paying Tribute to Bergman."
UK Gaurdian: Bergman's Greatest Scenes.
UK Gaurdian: "How the Muppets made us all Bergman experts"


And now for some discourse...
J. Rosenbaum's "Scenes From an Overrated Career." A full on Op-Ed debunking of Bergman's work and importance?

Leading on to a response from R. Ebert Defending Ingmar Bergman.

Via Guardian Unlimited.
A look back at the differences between the filmmakers.

I also think that Antonioni has somehow aged less well than Bergman. Perhaps it is the fate of all "modernists" to eventually turn antique, or even retro. Through no fault of his own, Antonioni seems to have been almost too fashionable, too much an index of his age. For many contemporary viewers his cool inquiries can now look a little too mannered and clinical.

Update 8/14: Rosenbaum responds to Ebert in another article.

Woody Allen and Marty Scorsese both chime in for Bergman and Antonioni respectively with articles for the New York Times.

On other news:
Oldest Living Directors

1911
Jules Dassin, December 18, Circle of Two (1980)

1915
Kon Ichikawa, 20 November, The Inugamis (2006)

1920
Eric Rohmer, 4 April, Les amours d’Astree et de Celadon (2007)

1921
Chris Marker, 29 July, The Case of the Grinning Cat (2004)

1922
Alain Resnais, 3 June, Private Fears In Public Places (2006)
Jonas Mekas, 24 September, Elvis (2001)

1923
Seijun Suzuki, 24 May, Princess Raccoon (2005)

1924
Stanley Donen, 13 April, Love Letters (1999)
Sidney Lumet, 25 June, Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead (2007)

1925
D. A. Pennebaker, 15 July, Addiction (2007)

(Via Movie City Indie)

patti smith "covers"

"I always wanted to do a covers album, but I didn't really feel I had the range to do the kind of album I wanted to do," Smith told Spinner. "As the project evolved, a lot of the songs on the [original] list didn't make the final cut, and a lot of songs that I didn't plan on doing wound up being the ones I chose. They're all special to me for different reasons. But Nirvana was the most emotional experience."

Video for "Smells Like Teen Spirit" directed by Jem Cohen.

(Via spinner.com)

chapas!

blog co-started by my friend paz in argentina right now.

Well when Paz first arrived she said ¨Tracy, did you notice how all the guys in Argentina have the same hair cut? Kind of like the mullet?¨

No in fact, I had not noticed this phenomenom. But how right she was... here are some examples of the many mullets Buenos Aires has to offer. It is quite an array. They call them chapas. Please keep in mind, these are only a few examples of the vast expansion of south american mulletism I have bestowed upon my camera. I hope to upload the rest soon.

linky: the mullets project

red, white, and blue: the conservapedia

"We have certain principles that we adhere to, and we are up-front about them," Schlafly writes in his mission statement. "Beyond that we welcome the facts."

Conservapedia defines environmentalists as "people who profess concern about the environment" and notes that some would want to impose legal limits on the use of toilet paper.

Femininity? The quality of being "childlike, gentle, pretty, willowy, submissive."

A hike in minimum wage is referred to as "a controversial manoeuvre that increases the incentive for young people to drop out of school."

And the state of the economy under President Bush? Much better than the "liberal media" would have you think: "For example, during his term Exxon Mobile has posted the largest profit of any company in a single year, and executive salaries have greatly increased as well."

Hurray for freedom of speech?

link: la times story
link: www.conservapedia.com
link: www.rationalwiki.com

teaser art.

location, location, location.

Flashback #1 - Catherine Wheel "Black Metallic"

This one floors me everytime.

WKW & Cat Power!?

In New York Times (Sept. 20th, 2006)
By WINTER MILLER

Like Will Oldham, another indie-folk rocker who is currently starring in the film “Old Joy,” Ms. Marshall is considering a foray into acting. She said that the cult director Wong Kar-wai invited her to play Jude Law’s ex-lover in the movie he is now shooting. Mr. Wong, she said, told her he was in the habit of playing “The Greatest” for his actors before each scene.

NYT Cont'd Article (login req'd)

Cat Power
Old Joy's Website

Sven Nykvist (1922-2006)

STOCKHOLM, Sweden Oscar-winning Swedish filmmaker Sven Nykvist, who was director Ingmar Bergman's cinematographer of choice, has died after a long illness, his son said. He was 83.

Nykvist died Wednesday in his bed at a Swedish nursing home where he was being treated for aphasia, a form of dementia, said his son, Carl-Gustaf Nykvist. The exact cause of death was not immediately known.

Nykvist won Academy Awards for best cinematography for the Bergman films "Cries and Whispers" in 1973 and "Fanny and Alexander" in 1982.

Cont'd:
The Associated Press

Additional Links:
IMDB Filmography
Wikipedia
ASC Lifetime Award
Sven Nykvist on working with Tarkovsky

Cig # 5 - Le Notti Bianche

Le Notti Bianche (1957) - Luchino Visconti

Cig # 4 - Butterfield 8

Butterfield 8 (1960) - Daniel Mann

Saddam's a Vegan.

Carrie Brownstein plays as Cindy Overton in a strange & bizzare interview with Saddam Hussein (Fred Armisen) on the cable access show, "Boink!"

(Via Pitchfork)

Bishop Allen + Mutual Appreciation

Andrew Bujalski's latest film Mutual Appreciation is starting a theatrical run later this month and will be playing throughout September.

Some of you might have heard me raving about this film earlier this year (I bought the dvd via their website, which was loaned and then horribly snapped into a billion pieces). This film nails the twenty-something period so well, I'm jealous. As I can go on and on about the film, I'll stop and just encourage you to checkout the screenings list and catch "one-of-the-best-2005/2006-films" in theaters.

If you liked the jams in Mutual Appreciation, Justin Rice (the lead in the film & pictured above) and Christian Rudder (one of the leads in Bujalski's other film Funny Ha Ha), form Brooklyn based Bishop Allen. They will be releasing EP's via their website throughout 2006. Plus they'll be playing a few shows here and there (though not stopping by the West Coast!).

Upcoming Screenings: link
New York City @ Cinema Village, begins 9/1
Los Angeles @ Laemmles' Sunset 5, begins 9/8
Pasadena @ Laemmles' Playhouse 7, begins 9/8
Boston @ The Brattle Theatre, begins 9/13
San Francisco @ The Red Vic, begins 9/29

The Rolling Eyesore Tour:
Bishop Allen w/ Chris Mills
8/17 Detroit @ the Lagerhouse
8/18 Chicago @ Subterranean
8/19 Milwaukee @ Mad Planet
8/20 Cleveland @ Beachland Tavern
8/22 Cambridge @ the Middle East [Up]
8/23 New Haven @ Cafe Nine
8/25 New York @ Pianos
8/26 Philly @ World Cafe Live
8/31 New York @ Joe's Pub AA

linksies:
film trailer
mutualappreciation.com
bishop allen

(Via Pitchfork)

Ok Go, Not OK but Ok Guilty Pleasure.

I hate showing up late to the Ironic Hipster party. Combining Busby Berkeley, West Side Story and well dressed boys in a dance off. OK GO's "A Million Ways" music video has been out for a year, plenty of time for people to perform their own versions of the dance out in public and now finally... YouTube. The band caught on and decided to throw a contest for the best version of the dance. If your dancing shoes want to join in the party, the deadline's been extended 'til August 30th.

Some horrible, but still fun standouts:
UCSD Tritones : An acapella version of the song...
Lord of Dance : The crowd goes crazy!
In the Fountain : Wet and wild.

links:
http://www.youtube.com/group/okgodance

PS. Cigs are coming back. I promise.

"The Scene" with Christopher Doyle

"The Scene" travels to Hong Kong to meet acclaimed cinematographer Christopher Doyle and hears how his adopted city has inspired him in his work. (Thanks Via Sean!!)

Cig # 3 - Bugcrush

Bugcrush (2006) - Carter Smith
2006 Sundance Short Filmmaking Award

www.bugcrush.net

Cig # 2 - Accidents Happen

George Washington (2000) - David Gordon Green

Cig # 1 - Sic transit gloria.

Cigarette #1 out of 100.
Rushmore (1998) - Wes Anderson

This will be fun. 100 Cigarettes in 100 Days.
We hope that you choke.

World Cup Art

The Beautiful Game
July 10, 2006

In this Episode of CH Video we explore 'The Beautiful Game' (soccer that is) and its correlation with contemporary art by spotlighting a recent New York City wide exhibition of the same name curated by Trevor Schoonmaker and Franklin Sirmans. In a recent tour of Roebling Hall Art Gallery, co-curator Sirmans explains the motivations and ideas of contributing artists from around the globe.

(Via Cool Hunting)

La Jetee

Google Video of Chris Marker's La Jetee. It's without subtitles, so here's a copy of the script. (via pas au-dela)