f i l m j o u r n e y . o r g

La Promesse
I was asked to contribute a chapter in a new book from Cambridge Scholars Publishing in the UK, Faith and Spirituality in Masters of World Cinema, edited by Kenneth R. Morefield. Faith and spirituality are large and ambiguous topics, of course, but they’re frequently reduced to marketing terms for niche publishing groups, something [...]

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This past weekend, LACMA began its new film series–“Torn Curtain: The Two Germanys on Film”–impressively filled with a number of unusual and rare titles; I’m particularly excited about the inclusion of Straub-Huillet’s first film, Not Reconciled (1965). The series is also at the center of a web of fascinating links and events.
The first two [...]

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I’ve recently enjoyed reading David Beronä’s book, Wordless Books: The Original Graphic Novels (2008), which describes (with select examples) the work of early-20th century woodcut storytellers such as Frans Masereel and Lynd Ward. Beronä makes glancing suggestions that these initially small publications (descended from block-books and playing cards) are the missing link between the [...]

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We’re lucky here in Los Angeles to have a major organization for the promotion of abstract animation–the Center for Visual Music, which restores and exhibits classic titles from an elusive genre, and releases excellent DVDs showcasing the work of filmmakers like Oskar Fischinger and Jordan Belson.

Last week, CVM and UCLA screened over a dozen films [...]

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Over the holidays, I spent some time indulging in a periodic hobby of mine–science fiction literature. After poking around, I discovered that Orion Books in the UK has been printing a series entitled SF Masterworks for a number of years (with decreasing frequency), putting out major works by authors from Bester to Stapledon to [...]

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I don’t know how I missed this until now, but the wonderful Cinefamily revival group–presenting “interesting and unusual programs of exceptional, distinctive, weird and wonderful films” at the Silent Movie Theatre in Hollywood–commissioned famed comic artist Chris Ware to illustrate the cover of their current Nov/Dec calendar, a beautiful tribute to Yasujiro Ozu’s Tokyo Story [...]

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The last few weeks, I spent a lot of time in doctors’ offices, which wasn’t good for my blogging but was good for my reading, and fortunately my love for the films of Carl Theodor Dreyer. For cinephiles familiar with the lack of resources on Dreyer, the last few months have offered a bonanza:

• The [...]

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“Back to that balcony at the place de la RÈpublique where all huge demonstrations have always started or ended. I manage to frame again the top portion of my old photograph. In between I have been in Japan, Korea, Bolivia, Chile. I have filmed students in Guinea-Bissau, medics in Kosovo, Bosnian refugees, [...]

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Before heading off to the Palm Springs film festival, I thought I’d post a collection of links I’ve amassed inspired by a book I recently received: Animation Unlimited: Innovative Short Films Since 1940. It’s a large, glossy paperback published in the UK in 2003 that features short write-ups on 50 animators, over 500 color [...]

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Master of the House (1925)
The British Film Institute has Dreyer fever these days, having just released David Rudkin’s study of Vampyr (1932) for their Film Classics book series and several region 2 DVDs, beginning this week with Master of the House and Ordet (1955).
No complaints here, as I’m solidly within the ranks of [...]

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