With Cannes Film Festival now just around the corner, updates are coming in for our most-anticipated cinematic event of the year. The Un Certain Regard––which has now confirmed its full jury with Andréa Arnold (President), Mounia Meddour, Elsa Zylberstein, Daniel Burman, and Michael Covino––has unveiled its opening night film.
Arthur Harari’s Onoda – 10 000 Nights In The Jungle will premiere on the first night of the festival. Shot in Japanese, this international coproduction tells the story of the soldier Hiroo Onoda that was sent to an island in the Philippines in 1944, to fight against the American offensive. As Japan surrenders, Onoda ignores it, trained to survive at all costs in the jungle, he keeps his war going. He will take 10 000 days to capitulate, refusing to believe the end of the Second World War.
As the Cannes synopsis reads, “Between Kon Ichikawa’s Fires on the Plain, Josef von Sternberg...
Arthur Harari’s Onoda – 10 000 Nights In The Jungle will premiere on the first night of the festival. Shot in Japanese, this international coproduction tells the story of the soldier Hiroo Onoda that was sent to an island in the Philippines in 1944, to fight against the American offensive. As Japan surrenders, Onoda ignores it, trained to survive at all costs in the jungle, he keeps his war going. He will take 10 000 days to capitulate, refusing to believe the end of the Second World War.
As the Cannes synopsis reads, “Between Kon Ichikawa’s Fires on the Plain, Josef von Sternberg...
- 6/14/2021
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
French filmmaker Arthur Harari’s “Onoda – 10 000 Nights In The Jungle” will open the Un Certain Regard section of Cannes’ Official Selection.
The film tells the story of soldier Hiroo Onoda who was sent to an island in the Philippines in 1944 to fight against the American forces. As Japan surrenders, Onoda ignores it, and, as he is trained to survive at all costs in the jungle, he keeps his war going. He will take 10,000 days to capitulate, refusing to believe the end of WWII.
The cast includes Endō Yūya, Tsuda Kanji, Matsuura Yūya, Chiba Tetsuya, Katō Shinsuke, Inowaki Kai and Ogata Issei.
“Between Kon Ichikawa’s ‘Fires on the Plain,’ Josef von Sternberg’s ‘Anatahan’ and ‘They Were Expendable’ of John Ford, with lighting by Tom Harari, the director’s brother, ‘Onoda – 10 000 Nights In The Jungle’ is a staggering internal odyssey, an intimate and universal view of the world and the history,...
The film tells the story of soldier Hiroo Onoda who was sent to an island in the Philippines in 1944 to fight against the American forces. As Japan surrenders, Onoda ignores it, and, as he is trained to survive at all costs in the jungle, he keeps his war going. He will take 10,000 days to capitulate, refusing to believe the end of WWII.
The cast includes Endō Yūya, Tsuda Kanji, Matsuura Yūya, Chiba Tetsuya, Katō Shinsuke, Inowaki Kai and Ogata Issei.
“Between Kon Ichikawa’s ‘Fires on the Plain,’ Josef von Sternberg’s ‘Anatahan’ and ‘They Were Expendable’ of John Ford, with lighting by Tom Harari, the director’s brother, ‘Onoda – 10 000 Nights In The Jungle’ is a staggering internal odyssey, an intimate and universal view of the world and the history,...
- 6/14/2021
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
It is the second film by French director Arthur Harari.
French director Arthur Harari’s second feature Onoda - 10 000 Nights In The Jungle has been revealed as the opening film of Un Certain Regard at Cannes next month.
This brings the number of films due to be showcased in the section to 20.
The film follows real-life Japanese soldier Hiroo Onoda who was sent to an island in the Philippines in 1944, to fight against the US offensive. When Japan surrendered, Onoda, who has been trained to survive in the jungle, refused to capitulate and kept his war going. It took 10 000 days...
French director Arthur Harari’s second feature Onoda - 10 000 Nights In The Jungle has been revealed as the opening film of Un Certain Regard at Cannes next month.
This brings the number of films due to be showcased in the section to 20.
The film follows real-life Japanese soldier Hiroo Onoda who was sent to an island in the Philippines in 1944, to fight against the US offensive. When Japan surrendered, Onoda, who has been trained to survive in the jungle, refused to capitulate and kept his war going. It took 10 000 days...
- 6/14/2021
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Close-Up is a feature that spotlights films now playing on Mubi. Josef von Sternberg's Anatahan (1953) is showing June 4 – July 3, 2019 in the United States.Its premise alone is intriguing. A group of Japanese sailors are attacked at sea and become stranded on an island for seven years, with no knowledge of how the outside world carries on without them. A world, it’s worth noting, that is currently at war. The 1944 incident served as the basis for Michiro Maruyama’s 1954 novel, Anatahan, in which he detailed the ordeal and his time on the Northern Mariana island of that name. Intriguing, yes, but perhaps not a subject immediately associated with filmmaker Josef von Sternberg, a director best known for ornate, cloistered, exotic, and sometimes romantically convoluted dramas. Yet von Sternberg had, in fact, harbored an interest in Japanese culture and art for some time, and the prospect of translating Maruyama’s text to film,...
- 6/10/2019
- MUBI
Film culture moves awfully fast sometimes. I had never even heard of The Saga of Anatahan when the New Beverly here in Los Angeles showed it (under the title Ana-ta-han) about a year and a half ago on 16mm. It being Josef von Sternberg’s final feature, it was paired with another not-on-dvd title of his, The King Steps Out (1936). Now here we are, Anatahan has toured in a full restoration and is now available on Blu-ray for all to see. The somewhat-superior The King Steps Out has not yet had its day, sadly, but I’m glad for any von Sternberg on Blu in general, and for the chance to revisit and further consider this sincerely odd film.
Von Sternberg was born to a Jewish family in Vienna, emigrated to the United States when he was seven, then back to Vienna three years later, and back to the United States three years after that.
Von Sternberg was born to a Jewish family in Vienna, emigrated to the United States when he was seven, then back to Vienna three years later, and back to the United States three years after that.
- 9/10/2017
- by Scott Nye
- CriterionCast
Eureka! Entertainment has announced the latest titles to join its revered Masters of Cinema label, with highlights including Josef von Sternberg’s The Saga of Anatahan and Naomi Kawase’s The Mourning Forest. The last film directed by von Sternberg, already in the collection with The Blue Angel and The Last Command, The Saga of Anatahan (also known as simply Anatahan) is the story of 12 Japanese soldiers, marooned on a remote island during WWII, who tear each other apart over control of two pistols and a beautiful local woman. The film will be receive a dual-format release on 14 August. Cannes darling Naomi Kawase won the Grand Prix in 2007 for The Mourning Forest, the story of a bereaved care-giver (Machiko Ono) who embarks...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 6/10/2017
- Screen Anarchy
With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options — not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves — we’ve taken it upon ourselves to highlight the titles that have recently hit platforms. Every week, one will be able to see the cream of the crop (or perhaps some simply interesting picks) of streaming titles (new and old) across platforms such as Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, and more (note: U.S. only). Check out our rundown for this week’s selections below.
The Age of Shadows (Kim Jee-woon)
Eyebrows were raised when it was announced that South Korea will submit the as-yet-unreleased espionage thriller The Age of Shadows for Oscar consideration instead of Cannes hits The Handmaiden and The Wailing. Premiering out of competition at the 73rd Venice Film Festival, writer/director Jee-woon Kim’s return to Korean-language cinema after a brief stint in Hollywood with the Schwarzenegger-starrer The Last Stand...
The Age of Shadows (Kim Jee-woon)
Eyebrows were raised when it was announced that South Korea will submit the as-yet-unreleased espionage thriller The Age of Shadows for Oscar consideration instead of Cannes hits The Handmaiden and The Wailing. Premiering out of competition at the 73rd Venice Film Festival, writer/director Jee-woon Kim’s return to Korean-language cinema after a brief stint in Hollywood with the Schwarzenegger-starrer The Last Stand...
- 4/28/2017
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
This Week in Home VideoPlus 20 more new releases to watch at home this week on Blu-ray/DVD.
Welcome to this week in home video! Click the title to buy a Blu-ray/DVD from Amazon and help support Fsr in the process!
Pick of the WeekCatfight
What is it? Two old college friends cross paths as adults and beat the ever-loving crap out of each other.
Why see it? Onur Tukel’s latest is also his best thanks in part to the lead performances by Sandra Oh and Anne Heche. They do a good job of manipulating our sympathies and concerns ensuring that our loyalties shift from act to act. Themes of female friendships, class distinctions, and redemption run through alongside a satirical look at modern life, and there’s a terrifically wicked streak throughout. Funny, smart, and brutal are all apt descriptors for this cynical look at our violent selves.
[Blu-ray/DVD extras: Commentaries, featurette, deleted scenes]
Catfight...
Welcome to this week in home video! Click the title to buy a Blu-ray/DVD from Amazon and help support Fsr in the process!
Pick of the WeekCatfight
What is it? Two old college friends cross paths as adults and beat the ever-loving crap out of each other.
Why see it? Onur Tukel’s latest is also his best thanks in part to the lead performances by Sandra Oh and Anne Heche. They do a good job of manipulating our sympathies and concerns ensuring that our loyalties shift from act to act. Themes of female friendships, class distinctions, and redemption run through alongside a satirical look at modern life, and there’s a terrifically wicked streak throughout. Funny, smart, and brutal are all apt descriptors for this cynical look at our violent selves.
[Blu-ray/DVD extras: Commentaries, featurette, deleted scenes]
Catfight...
- 4/25/2017
- by Rob Hunter
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Every week we dive into the cream of the crop when it comes to home releases, including Blu-ray and DVDs, as well as recommended deals of the week. Check out our rundown below and return every Tuesday for the best (or most interesting) films one can take home. Note that if you’re looking to support the site, every purchase you make through the links below helps us and is greatly appreciated.
Anatahan (Josef von Sternberg)
Josef von Sternberg called Anatahan his best film. Borne from more than a decade’s worth of frustration with the studio system, it was, as the last picture he completed, his stamp on his time as a director. Even then, when released in 1953, it was only released in a butchered format, and, as it often goes in such cases, was subsequently abandoned by popular consciousness. But a few times each year, cinephiles (at least...
Anatahan (Josef von Sternberg)
Josef von Sternberg called Anatahan his best film. Borne from more than a decade’s worth of frustration with the studio system, it was, as the last picture he completed, his stamp on his time as a director. Even then, when released in 1953, it was only released in a butchered format, and, as it often goes in such cases, was subsequently abandoned by popular consciousness. But a few times each year, cinephiles (at least...
- 4/25/2017
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
Director Josef von Sternberg’s last film, Anatahan (1953), represents one of those rare cases where a director got to go out on the absolute perfect note: it sums up many of his philosophical and aesthetic preoccupations while also starkly departing from the kinds of lavish Hollywood productions that made him famous. Loosely based on a true story, it follows ten Japanese soldiers who are stranded on an island during World War II and remain there for years, reduced to their primal instincts by their surroundings as well as the lone woman they discover inhabiting the island. Von Sternberg shot the […]...
- 4/21/2017
- by Jim Hemphill
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
In one of the distributor’s most exciting unveilings of 2017, Kino Lorber re-released Josef Von Sternberg’s obscure final film Anatahan (1953) in early February.
Continue reading...
Continue reading...
- 4/18/2017
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Take one fiercely individual auteur fed up with the Hollywood game, put him in Kyoto with a full Japanese film company, and the result is a picture critics have been trying to figure out ever since. It’s a realistic story told in a highly artificial visual style, in un-subtitled Japanese. And its writer-director intended it to play for American audiences.
The Saga of Anatahan
Blu-ray
Kino Lorber
1953 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 91 min. / Anatahan, Ana-ta-han / Street Date April 25, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95 Starring: Akemi Negishi, Tadashi Suganuma, Kisaburo Sawamura, Shoji Nakayama, Jun Fujikawa, Hiroshi Kondo, Shozo Miyashita, Tsuruemon Bando, Kikuji Onoe, Rokuriro Kineya, Daijiro Tamura, Chizuru Kitagawa, Takeshi Suzuki, Shiro Amikura.
Cinematography: Josef von Sternberg, Kozo Okazaki
Film Editor: Mitsuzo Miyata
Original Music: Akira Ifukube
Special Effects: Eiji Tsuburaya
Written by Josef von Sternberg from the novel by Michiro Maruyama & Younghill Kang
Produced by Kazuo Takimura
Directed by Josef von Sternberg...
The Saga of Anatahan
Blu-ray
Kino Lorber
1953 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 91 min. / Anatahan, Ana-ta-han / Street Date April 25, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95 Starring: Akemi Negishi, Tadashi Suganuma, Kisaburo Sawamura, Shoji Nakayama, Jun Fujikawa, Hiroshi Kondo, Shozo Miyashita, Tsuruemon Bando, Kikuji Onoe, Rokuriro Kineya, Daijiro Tamura, Chizuru Kitagawa, Takeshi Suzuki, Shiro Amikura.
Cinematography: Josef von Sternberg, Kozo Okazaki
Film Editor: Mitsuzo Miyata
Original Music: Akira Ifukube
Special Effects: Eiji Tsuburaya
Written by Josef von Sternberg from the novel by Michiro Maruyama & Younghill Kang
Produced by Kazuo Takimura
Directed by Josef von Sternberg...
- 4/11/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
One of the most unusual, and unusually moving swansongs in cinema history, Josef Von Sternberg’s Anatahan (a.k.a. The Saga of Anatahan) returns to American screens this spring in a new restoration which seems destined not to only buff up the movie’s obvious visual splendor but also its standing as an essential and fully engaged work of a master Hollywood stylist rather than simply a curious end post to a remarkable career.
In the early ‘50s Sternberg was coming off two movies made for Howard Hughes—the gorgeously sublimated cold-war adventure Jet Pilot (finished in 1950 but cut extensively by Hughes and held up for release until 1957) and Macao (1952), on which Sternberg and Hughes clashed again, resulting in the director’s replacement by Nicholas Ray. Disillusioned by Hollywood, Sternberg, a long-time devotee of Japanese culture, capitalized on his separation from Hughes and began investigating the possibility, one he...
In the early ‘50s Sternberg was coming off two movies made for Howard Hughes—the gorgeously sublimated cold-war adventure Jet Pilot (finished in 1950 but cut extensively by Hughes and held up for release until 1957) and Macao (1952), on which Sternberg and Hughes clashed again, resulting in the director’s replacement by Nicholas Ray. Disillusioned by Hollywood, Sternberg, a long-time devotee of Japanese culture, capitalized on his separation from Hughes and began investigating the possibility, one he...
- 2/18/2017
- by Dennis Cozzalio
- Trailers from Hell
Since any New York City cinephile has a nearly suffocating wealth of theatrical options, we figured it’d be best to compile some of the more worthwhile repertory showings into one handy list. Displayed below are a few of the city’s most reliable theaters and links to screenings of their weekend offerings — films you’re not likely to see in a theater again anytime soon, and many of which are, also, on 35mm. If you have a chance to attend any of these, we’re of the mind that it’s time extremely well-spent.
Metrograph
The restoration of Josef von Sternberg’s Anatahan, about which more here, is now playing. Fellini’s Roma also shows on Friday.
Hitchcock, Lucas, and more are highlighted in a ’70s Universal series.
The Land Before Time plays on Saturday.
Museum of the Moving Image
The Martin Scorsese retro continues with The King of Comedy and Taxi Driver.
Metrograph
The restoration of Josef von Sternberg’s Anatahan, about which more here, is now playing. Fellini’s Roma also shows on Friday.
Hitchcock, Lucas, and more are highlighted in a ’70s Universal series.
The Land Before Time plays on Saturday.
Museum of the Moving Image
The Martin Scorsese retro continues with The King of Comedy and Taxi Driver.
- 2/3/2017
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Josef von Sternberg called Anatahan his best film. Borne from more than a decade’s worth of frustration with the studio system, it was, as the last picture he completed, his stamp on his time as a director. Even then, when released in 1953, it was only released in a butchered format, and, as it often goes in such cases, was subsequently abandoned by popular consciousness. But a few times each year, cinephiles (at least ones in major cities) are treated to big-screen resuscitations of long-neglected works. Now, Anatahan has been restored by Kino Lorber to Sternberg’s uncensored version, and it hits theaters again this week.
Anatahan tells the true story of a group of Japanese sailors stranded on the namesake island after a series of shipwrecks in 1944. Abruptly cut off from the war they were fighting, the seamen struggle to maintain order and sanity on the tiny stretch of jungle.
Anatahan tells the true story of a group of Japanese sailors stranded on the namesake island after a series of shipwrecks in 1944. Abruptly cut off from the war they were fighting, the seamen struggle to maintain order and sanity on the tiny stretch of jungle.
- 2/3/2017
- by Daniel Schindel
- The Film Stage
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveriesNEWSJohn Hurt and Emmanuelle RivaCurrently, due to American President Donald Trump's executive travel ban, Academy Award-winning Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi cannot travel to the United States. But in a statement made to The New York Times, the filmmaker, who is nominated again this year for The Salesman, says he wouldn't attend even if granted an exception:Instilling fear in the people is an important tool used to justify extremist and fanatic behavior by narrow-minded individuals.
However, I believe that the similarities among the human beings on this earth and its various lands, and among its cultures and its faiths, far outweigh their differences. Last week we lost two great actors, John Hurt (1940 - 2017) and Emmanuelle Riva (1927 - 2017).Francis Ford Coppola's recent forays into moving images, whether the super-local indie thriller Twixt or his "live cinema" project, have been ambitious and unusual,...
However, I believe that the similarities among the human beings on this earth and its various lands, and among its cultures and its faiths, far outweigh their differences. Last week we lost two great actors, John Hurt (1940 - 2017) and Emmanuelle Riva (1927 - 2017).Francis Ford Coppola's recent forays into moving images, whether the super-local indie thriller Twixt or his "live cinema" project, have been ambitious and unusual,...
- 2/2/2017
- MUBI
It’s finally the month of the Oscars, and while you catch up on the best films of last year, there’s also a wealth of promising new films to check out in theaters. From horror to action to documentaries to the top Sundance winner to a Polish cannibal horror mermaid musical, there’s something for everyone. We should also note that, for those looking to repertory options, Josef von Sternberg’s newly restored final film Anatahan will start rolling out this week.
Matinees to See: Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back (2/3), Youth in Oregon (2/3), The Space Between Us (2/3), David Brent: Life on the Road (2/10), The Great Wall (2/17), Land of Mine (2/17), Kiki (2/24)
15. Xx (St. Vincent, Karyn Kusama, Roxanne Benjamin, Sofìa Carrillo, and Jovanka Vuckovic; Feb. 17)
Synopsis: An all-female horror anthology.
Trailer
Why You Should See It: After the anthologies V/H/S and The ABCs of Death ran their course,...
Matinees to See: Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back (2/3), Youth in Oregon (2/3), The Space Between Us (2/3), David Brent: Life on the Road (2/10), The Great Wall (2/17), Land of Mine (2/17), Kiki (2/24)
15. Xx (St. Vincent, Karyn Kusama, Roxanne Benjamin, Sofìa Carrillo, and Jovanka Vuckovic; Feb. 17)
Synopsis: An all-female horror anthology.
Trailer
Why You Should See It: After the anthologies V/H/S and The ABCs of Death ran their course,...
- 2/1/2017
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
One positive side to the growing digitalization of cinema is the seemingly increased output of classic restorations. The latest is Josef von Sternberg‘s WWII drama (and final film) Anatahan, which has been restored by Kino Lorber. Along with assumedly a Blu-ray later down the road, Kino will release the film back into theaters for a limited run next month.
Sternberg’s last sole directing effort is set during the final days of the war, as a group of Japanese sailors are stranded on the island of Anatahan. Without the knowledge that the war has ended, a much more intimate one breaks out amongst the group over control of the island. The trailer features gorgeous, crisp imagery, and a perfectly fitting ’50s-style narration.
See the trailer below, along with a poster.
Inspired by an actual event during WWII, Josef von Sternberg’s Anatahan, tells the story of a dozen Japanese...
Sternberg’s last sole directing effort is set during the final days of the war, as a group of Japanese sailors are stranded on the island of Anatahan. Without the knowledge that the war has ended, a much more intimate one breaks out amongst the group over control of the island. The trailer features gorgeous, crisp imagery, and a perfectly fitting ’50s-style narration.
See the trailer below, along with a poster.
Inspired by an actual event during WWII, Josef von Sternberg’s Anatahan, tells the story of a dozen Japanese...
- 1/26/2017
- by Mike Mazzanti
- The Film Stage
Kino Lorber is issuing a new 2K restoration of Josef von Sternberg’s final film “Anatahan“ in theaters next month. Von Sternberg was a prominent figure in the late silent-movie era of the ’20s and transitioned easily to sound pictures. In his 1930 film, “The Blue Angel,” he introduced Marlene Dietrich to the world; they would collaborate together on six more pictures, including “Morocco” (1930), “Blonde Venus” (1932) and “The Devil Is A Woman” (1935).
Continue reading The War Isn’t Over In Trailer For Josef von Sternberg’s Newly Restored ‘Anatahan’ at The Playlist.
Continue reading The War Isn’t Over In Trailer For Josef von Sternberg’s Newly Restored ‘Anatahan’ at The Playlist.
- 1/25/2017
- by Christian Gallichio
- The Playlist
Kino Lorber has hired the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Nicholas Kemp as director of theatrical marketing. Kemp has served as the Film Society’s digital marketing manager for the past five years.
Read More: Film Acquisition Rundown: Samuel Goldwyn Picks Up Laff Winner ‘Green Is Gold,’ Kino Lorber Buys ‘Son of Joseph’ And More
At Kino Lorber, he will report to senior vice president of theatrical and nontheatrical distribution and acquisitions, Wendy Lidell. His first day is January 30.
At the Film Society, Kemp oversaw cross-channel content and digital marketing for the New York Film Festival, New Directors/New Films, and year-round programming. He pioneered the Film Society’s video initiatives, mining its video archives and creating new content, while also co-producing its weekly podcast The Close-Up.
“A passionate cinephile, Nick has unique knowledge and experience in the digital marketing arena,” Eugene Hernandez, deputy director of the Film Society,...
Read More: Film Acquisition Rundown: Samuel Goldwyn Picks Up Laff Winner ‘Green Is Gold,’ Kino Lorber Buys ‘Son of Joseph’ And More
At Kino Lorber, he will report to senior vice president of theatrical and nontheatrical distribution and acquisitions, Wendy Lidell. His first day is January 30.
At the Film Society, Kemp oversaw cross-channel content and digital marketing for the New York Film Festival, New Directors/New Films, and year-round programming. He pioneered the Film Society’s video initiatives, mining its video archives and creating new content, while also co-producing its weekly podcast The Close-Up.
“A passionate cinephile, Nick has unique knowledge and experience in the digital marketing arena,” Eugene Hernandez, deputy director of the Film Society,...
- 1/18/2017
- by Graham Winfrey
- Indiewire
We're mourning the loss of Peter von Bagh along with countless others in the world cinema community. Many are sharing past articles on or by von Bagh. Here's Jonathan Rosenbaum's piece on the man, and his extraordinary film Helsinki, Forever:
"We’ve met at various times in Paris, London, New York, Southern California, Chicago, Helsinki, Sodankylä, and Bologna — and probably in other places as well, although these are the ones I currently remember. The first times were in Paris in the early 1970s, when he looked me up, and it must have been either in San Diego in 1977 or 1978 or in Santa Barbara between 1983 and 1987 that he convinced me to buy a multiregional Vcr. Most likely it was the latter, where I was mainly bored out of my wits apart from my pastime of taping movies from cable TV, and Peter maintained that if we started swapping films through the mail,...
"We’ve met at various times in Paris, London, New York, Southern California, Chicago, Helsinki, Sodankylä, and Bologna — and probably in other places as well, although these are the ones I currently remember. The first times were in Paris in the early 1970s, when he looked me up, and it must have been either in San Diego in 1977 or 1978 or in Santa Barbara between 1983 and 1987 that he convinced me to buy a multiregional Vcr. Most likely it was the latter, where I was mainly bored out of my wits apart from my pastime of taping movies from cable TV, and Peter maintained that if we started swapping films through the mail,...
- 9/25/2014
- by Notebook
- MUBI
Director Josef von Sternberg's "chart" of emotional modalities (click to enlarge) for filming The Saga of Anatahan (1953) in Japan:
Compare to Sergei Eistenstein's "chart" for filming Alexander Nevsky (1938):
And to Dziga Vertov's breakdown of a film (see more here):
"Sternberg and his crew also created amazingly detailed flow charts and storyboards to visualize the dramatic progress in the narrative. In the flow chart titled "Anatahan Chart," different colors [missing from this image -Ed] specify different feelings (jealous, nostalgia, etc.) and actions (violence, surrender, etc.) of each character in each sequence. The intensity of each color specifies the intensity of emotion or action, and lines are drawn to clarify how these emotions or actions of characters interact... Instead of using verbal languages to make the cast undestand his idea, Sternberg chose to largely depend on the visual aids to articulate how meanings of actions in each sequence constitutes a psychological and dramatic flow.
Compare to Sergei Eistenstein's "chart" for filming Alexander Nevsky (1938):
And to Dziga Vertov's breakdown of a film (see more here):
"Sternberg and his crew also created amazingly detailed flow charts and storyboards to visualize the dramatic progress in the narrative. In the flow chart titled "Anatahan Chart," different colors [missing from this image -Ed] specify different feelings (jealous, nostalgia, etc.) and actions (violence, surrender, etc.) of each character in each sequence. The intensity of each color specifies the intensity of emotion or action, and lines are drawn to clarify how these emotions or actions of characters interact... Instead of using verbal languages to make the cast undestand his idea, Sternberg chose to largely depend on the visual aids to articulate how meanings of actions in each sequence constitutes a psychological and dramatic flow.
- 4/1/2014
- by David Phelps
- MUBI
Above: Swedish one sheet by Gösta Åberg for Broken Lullaby (Ernst Lubitsch, USA, 1932).
This rather unusual Swedish design, a mélange of various type and illustrative styles, is a poster for one of Ernst Lubitsch’s lesser known and most atypical films: Broken Lullaby (a.k.a. The Man I Killed). A dark film about a French soldier tormented by the memory of a German soldier—and fellow musician—whom he killed in Wwi, it screens this weekend and next in New York at Anthology Film Archives as part of "Auteurs Gone Wild," a tantalizing series programmed by Notebook contributor David Phelps.
The series includes nine refreshingly less-than-obvious works—all on 35mm—by such canonical figures as Hitchcock, Chaplin, Cukor, Capra, Lang and Von Sternberg. Phelps has chosen to shine a light on these authors’ least representative films: films that have been overlooked because they don’t fit the mold, because...
This rather unusual Swedish design, a mélange of various type and illustrative styles, is a poster for one of Ernst Lubitsch’s lesser known and most atypical films: Broken Lullaby (a.k.a. The Man I Killed). A dark film about a French soldier tormented by the memory of a German soldier—and fellow musician—whom he killed in Wwi, it screens this weekend and next in New York at Anthology Film Archives as part of "Auteurs Gone Wild," a tantalizing series programmed by Notebook contributor David Phelps.
The series includes nine refreshingly less-than-obvious works—all on 35mm—by such canonical figures as Hitchcock, Chaplin, Cukor, Capra, Lang and Von Sternberg. Phelps has chosen to shine a light on these authors’ least representative films: films that have been overlooked because they don’t fit the mold, because...
- 3/22/2014
- by Adrian Curry
- MUBI
A 9-film series of not-quite-classics (on 35mm), "Auteurs Gone Wild" runs at Anthology Film Archives from March 20-30, 2014; what follows are the director's cut of the program notes (with production stills of the auteurs themselves, mid-wild)—
***
If the Hollywood auteurs were the ghosts in the studio machine, what would they look like exorcised? Rather than author, the word "auteur" might have referred to a kind of rhetorician working within genre codes that, once decoded, would only reveal his own commentary on them. But what would happen if this auteur cleared his throat, managed a sip of water, and tried speaking in his own tongue? Typically, the critics who had authored the auteur as a placeholder and retroactive justification for their own generic interpretations would have to snub such attempts to break out of genre molds to go strange, personal places. For the irony is that these works, kind of laboratory...
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If the Hollywood auteurs were the ghosts in the studio machine, what would they look like exorcised? Rather than author, the word "auteur" might have referred to a kind of rhetorician working within genre codes that, once decoded, would only reveal his own commentary on them. But what would happen if this auteur cleared his throat, managed a sip of water, and tried speaking in his own tongue? Typically, the critics who had authored the auteur as a placeholder and retroactive justification for their own generic interpretations would have to snub such attempts to break out of genre molds to go strange, personal places. For the irony is that these works, kind of laboratory...
- 3/21/2014
- by David Phelps
- MUBI
The Moon, the opposite of the sun, hovers over us by night, the opposite of day.
In F.W. Murnau’s Tabu (1931), Reri, the sacred maiden of the small island of Bora Bora, writes this to her lover Matahi:
And indeed, when Matahi chases after her, the moon spreads its path on the sea.
He runs and swims after her, moving faster than a normal human being, defying the laws of gravity.
Miraculously, he catches up to the boat.
Thus, he must die, sinking back into a void…
…while ghost ships linger on in the distance…
…carrying another hopeless romantic, and a moving corpse—A second Nosferatu.
The moon is absent in Murnau’s earlier film, made nearly ten years before Tabu, but it is in the one he made nearly five years after Nosferatu, when George O’Brien leaves his wife for a midnight rendezvous with another woman.
And indeed,...
In F.W. Murnau’s Tabu (1931), Reri, the sacred maiden of the small island of Bora Bora, writes this to her lover Matahi:
And indeed, when Matahi chases after her, the moon spreads its path on the sea.
He runs and swims after her, moving faster than a normal human being, defying the laws of gravity.
Miraculously, he catches up to the boat.
Thus, he must die, sinking back into a void…
…while ghost ships linger on in the distance…
…carrying another hopeless romantic, and a moving corpse—A second Nosferatu.
The moon is absent in Murnau’s earlier film, made nearly ten years before Tabu, but it is in the one he made nearly five years after Nosferatu, when George O’Brien leaves his wife for a midnight rendezvous with another woman.
And indeed,...
- 3/17/2014
- by Neil Bahadur
- MUBI
Above: A rack focus in Bullitt.
Trespassers Will Be Eaten
Perhaps a less eye-grabbing, but still “driving” title for this third Mubi soundtrack mix should be Shifting Gears...as such, it’s a free-falling, propulsive survey of scores focusing on the thriller in all of its manifestations: detective procedurals, bank heists, neo-noirs, spy films, psychodramas, giallos, chases, races, and sci-fi mind-games. Featured also are a few composers better known for their more famous musical projects. Police drummer Stewart Copeland’s metallic, rhythmic score for Rumble Fish, gamely taunts the self-conscious black and white street theatre of Francis Ford Coppola's film. So-called fifth Beatle, producer George Martin’s funky Shaft-influenced Live and Let Die score ushers in a more leisurely 70s-era James Bond, as incarnated by Roger Moore. Epic crooner visionary Scott Walker’s fatally romantic melodies for Leos Carax’s inventively faithful Melville adaptation Pola X is remarkably subdued and lush.
Trespassers Will Be Eaten
Perhaps a less eye-grabbing, but still “driving” title for this third Mubi soundtrack mix should be Shifting Gears...as such, it’s a free-falling, propulsive survey of scores focusing on the thriller in all of its manifestations: detective procedurals, bank heists, neo-noirs, spy films, psychodramas, giallos, chases, races, and sci-fi mind-games. Featured also are a few composers better known for their more famous musical projects. Police drummer Stewart Copeland’s metallic, rhythmic score for Rumble Fish, gamely taunts the self-conscious black and white street theatre of Francis Ford Coppola's film. So-called fifth Beatle, producer George Martin’s funky Shaft-influenced Live and Let Die score ushers in a more leisurely 70s-era James Bond, as incarnated by Roger Moore. Epic crooner visionary Scott Walker’s fatally romantic melodies for Leos Carax’s inventively faithful Melville adaptation Pola X is remarkably subdued and lush.
- 10/15/2012
- by Paul Clipson
- MUBI
In this episode of They Shot Pictures, I am joined by Sean Gilman and Marc Lawless to discuss the films of Josef von Sternberg. In particular, we discuss The Docks of New York, Morocco and The Saga of Anatahan.
Be warned, there’s a lot of gushing, not only over Sternberg’s gorgeous filmmaking but also Dietrich, Cooper and Cary Grant (can you blame us?). Sean and Marc also bring up some really fun anecdotes surrounding these films.
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Be warned, there’s a lot of gushing, not only over Sternberg’s gorgeous filmmaking but also Dietrich, Cooper and Cary Grant (can you blame us?). Sean and Marc also bring up some really fun anecdotes surrounding these films.
Download MP3 in a new window
Subscribe via iTunes...
- 7/20/2012
- by Seema
- SoundOnSight
Josef von Sternberg's The Saga of Anahatan announces itself as "a postscript" to the Asian portion of World War II, and for many years the film itself has been regarded as a footnote in Sternberg's own career. This has to do at least in part with its rarity. It isn't so rare that it's been entirely possible to see. At the press conference for the 2009 New York Film Festival's screening of Independencia, director Raya Martin's proclamation that Anatahan had been a major influence on his film had a lot of the Bright Young Things of film writing scratching their heads. Point being, you know, that the not-yet-30-year-old Martin has been able to actually see the film. Although one gathers that he did so in an academic context, which now and then provides opportunities that our local repertory cinema doesn't. In any event, a recent French DVD release...
- 2/23/2010
- MUBI
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