Friday Night Mashup - Matrix/OfficeSpace + TaxiDriver/Disney

Neo Hides from Lumberg

The Matrix and Office Space were released in 1999 - thus eligible to be nominated to the National Film Registry. Both films have their own particular brand of rabid fans. Deservingly, these movies are mashed-up in to this funny video by Askel at MttM (Movies for the Masses).

Do you think 'The Matrix' or 'Office Space' belong on the National Film Registry? If so, send an email of support for either film (or another one that is meaningful to you) to Donna Ross at the Library of Congress: dross@loc.gov
How to nominate a film to the National Film Registry.



Walt Disney's Taxi Driver

Another funny mashup is Taxi Driver (1976) and Walt Disney by San Francisco filmmaker and photographer, Bryan Boyce.

Everyone loves Emma/She loves the movies.

Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy in 'The Amazing Spider-Man."

Emma Stone (The Amazing Spider-Man, The Help, Easy A) has captured America's heart and become a movie star. So now we must pay attention to what she thinks. And, honestly, I kind of really want to - not just because I am suppose to. Evidently she grew up loving the movies. She describes what movies are important to her in EW.com (Entertainment Weekly). It's a fun and charming article. You can access the article at the following link (caution - the webpage design is kind of clunky. You view the article bit by bit by clicking on the arrows located at the upper right side above the article title.): http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20483133_20607486,00.html

Here are a couple of highlights:

THE FIRST MOVIE I REMEMBER WATCHING
It's my dad's favorite movie. Laughter is what symbolizes love to me because of watching The Jerk with my dad. I think that's partially why I do comedy.

THE MOVIE I'M ALWAYS TELLING PEOPLE TO SEE
You've got to see City Lights. It's my favorite movie of all time. The last five minutes of that movie will change your life. It changed mine. I realized where every romantic comedy comes from — what everyone is trying to achieve. It's the most romantic, touching... If I think about it too long, I'll cry. It's just so simple.








Of the movies she mentions four are on the National Film Registry:
Network, City Lights, Annie Hall, and The Exorcist.

Is John Ford's 'The Searchers' Racist?

John Wayne as Ethan Edwards in John Ford's 'The Searchers' (1956).

In one of our These Amazing Shadows segments we take John Ford's masterpiece, The Searchers, to task for what we perceive is its racism. On occasion we have been taken to task for our take on what is often called the best western ever made. While we believe at its heart it is racist there is no doubt that John Wayne's performance is fantastic, the photography by Winton C. Hoch is nothing less than astonishing and John Ford's direction masterful. In a huge oversight it did not receive any Oscar nominations.

One person who has a different view than ours on The Searchers is Corey Atad. After watching These Amazing Shadows he tweeted that we were unfair to The Searchers. We tweeted back asking if he would expand on his thoughts. So, he did. The following is his email unedited and in its entirety. We love exchanging ideas and talking about the movies. Thanks, Corey!

Corey is a film lover and blogger, and writer for Dork Shelf and Sound on Sight.
Corey's twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/CoreyAtad

Hi,

Just thought I'd respond to/expand on my tweet. I don't think that the point of view presented about The Searchers is invalid, I just think it's more complicated. The documentary follows Birth of a Nation with The Searchers and then only seriously takes into consideration the critique of the film's racist elements. This makes it seem like the film is of a piece with something like Birth of a Nation which is unquestionably a racist and historically nasty film.

I find that what makes The Searchers interesting as a film inducted into the National Registry is not that it's racist, but that it's complex with regards to its approach to race. No doubt the film is very flawed, and it does rely on nasty stereotypes and the ending has some seriously racist undertones (especially considering the true case that inspired the story had the girl refusing to give up the Comanche way of life completely.)

It's also important to consider the film in the context of its time and in John Ford's career. It came quite late in the Western craze, with earlier films being much more clearly racist and destructive over a long period of time. John Ford directed many of these films. Stagecoach, another Ford western in the Registry, could easily be criticized for the way it depicts Native Americans as little more than a faceless enemy to the white Americans.

Rather than simply fall into standard racist portrayals, The Searchers attempts to confront the racism of its main character. He's not the hero of the film by any stretch. He's a dark character and the film doesn't really promote his racist point of view. Also, the Comanche's are presented in an interesting way. They story requires them to be the villains, which is unfortunate, and their visual depiction isn't quite kosher, nor is the way they are used for comic fodder, but the brutality of their violence upon immigrant settlers is fairly true to life. Furthermore, the film actually gives the leader of the Comanches, Scar, motivation beyond being the savage Indian.

The Searchers isn't a perfect film, and it does fall into the racist trappings of the genre at the time, but it also takes them on in a manner more serious and more complex than almost any other western at the time. In this sense, the documentary making it seem of a piece with Birth of a Nation is unfortunate. Where that film is quite binary, important more for its social and technical qualities, The Searchers is an important marker in the way race was approached within its genre and American film in general. That is to say, not perfectly, but with complexity. I kind of wish These Amazing Shadows touched on this rather than just using The Searchers as a stand-in for racism in westerns.

Honestly though, that was a tiny quibble. I loved the rest of the doc. Fantastic work. Made me want to go through the National Film Registry and check out all the films I've likely missed. Particularly the shorts.

Thanks,

Corey Atad

justAtad

Superhog vs. The National Film Registry

Screen grab detail from Superhog's user page on flickchart.com

As the Librarian of Congress Dr. James Billington says in These Amazing Shadows, "The National Film Registry is not just another list of great films." Well, perhaps the same could be said for Superhog's list of Favorite Movies of All Times. Superhog is the nom de plume for a young fellow who is a member of flickchart.com, which is one of several Internet sites that allows you to post lists of your favorite (or least favorite) movies. Superhog's ratings list is up to 746 movies and (drum roll please) These Amazing Shadows ranked number 153 (between The Muppets and Cowboys and Aliens!).  Superhog rates The Empire Strikes Back as his all time favorite movie - and rates Rogers & Hammerstein's Cinderella as the biggest stinker of all time.

Superhog is Daniel McFadin who is a senior journalism major at Arkansas State University. You can follow him on twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/danielmcfadin

We like flickchart.com because it was established by real film fans and one of its cool features is to calculate how many days, hours and minutes you've spent watching movies (the number is based on the number of films you rate).

Blog UPDATE: Friend of These Amazing Shadows Garry Swanson alerted us to another great film list site - Letterboxed - that has the catchy catch phrase of, "Your life in films." On Letterboxed Garry's nom de plume is gicalgary and he has watched 707 films! We love his film list he calls, "Films I sat through, but wished I didn't" that includes: This Means War, Bolero, Xanadu and a few more that you'll have to check out.

You can follow Garry on twitter (he is worth the follow): https://twitter.com/?iid=am-150023031913400819212221276&nid=22+dm_sender_screenname_profile&uid=30769253&utm_content=profile#!/Garry_Shttps://twitter.com/?iid=am-150023031913400819212221276&nid=22+dm_sender_screenname_profile&uid=30769253&utm_content=profile#!/Garry_S

Other sites to consider:
FilmCrave
Criticker
Mubi
Flickster

Party Like a Movie Star - Sort of...

Orson Welles Estate

 If you really want to wow your friends and family why not have your next party at the former home of an actor, director or pop star. A company called Eventup has a huge selection of properties (that is real estate lingo) that you can rent for a special occasion. Some of them once belonged to a celebrity. We don't have any connection to Eventup. We post this information just because it is kind of fun.

1) Director/writer/actor Orson Welles former Hollywood Hills home.  COST: $2000.00
Property Description: Hollywood Hills Historic Property with 16,000 Sq Ft Yard. Great for small weddings and get togethers with pool and waterfalls. City view from front and back yards.
TAS Comment: Big stinky cigars and a cape are de rigueur.
Webpage: http://eventup.com/venue/the-gable-1920s-building/

Orson's (and maybe your) view of Los Angeles.

Cary Grant and Charles Bronson's former front yard. Wonder if Cary ever mowed the lawn?

 2) Cary Grant and Charles Bronson's former home in Hancock Park area of Los Angeles. COST: $500
Property Description: Once home to Cary Grant & Charles Bronson, the Larchmont Character Fourplex is located in exclusive Hancock Park, just blocks from quaint Larchmont Village, with unique boutiques, restaurant & cafes…our “Bronson” suite features wonderful natural light, large French windows that open to beautiful Bougainvillea, a private 1 car garage, ample space & more – all while just steps to Larchmont Village, Paramount or Raleigh Studios!
TAS Comment: Can't quite picture Cary and Charles as a couple.
Webpage: http://eventup.com/venue/the-gable-1920s-building/

MM and Joltin' Joe's digs in San Francisco.

3) Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio's former home in San Francisco. COST: $1000
Property Description: On January 15, 1954, Marilyn Monroe married baseball player Joe DiMaggio in San Francisco. They lived for a time in this house in the Marina District.
TAS Comment: This is the place where Joe tried to make Marilyn into a demure housewife.
Webpage:  http://eventup.com/venue/joe-dimaggio-and-marilyn-monroes-home/

Gaga's crib in NYC.

4) Lady Gaga's former apartment in New York City. COST: $12,500
Property Description: The pop icon's former one-bedroom apartment on the Lower East Side is available for filming and photo shoots. On the building's ground level, there is a retail space available for events and pop-up art galleries or shops.
TAS Comment: Lady Gaga is not associated with the movies, but we include this listing because of the price - $12,500!!! for one evening!!!!
Webpage: http://eventup.com/venue/lady-gagas-former-apartment/

Internet Film Critic June Mason Speaks!

The Internet gives everyone the opportunity to express their particular point-of-view to the world. Some people choose to express opinions, but remain anonymous. That is somewhat understandable given how unpredictable the world can be. However, when you choose to unleash your views on the world you should take on the responsibility to stand behind them. Some people do - like June Mason. He is a young fellow that reviews movies. We present his charming review of These Amazing Shadows.

How did 'Back to the Future' get selected to the National Film Registry?

Our broadcast on PBS/Independent Lens was a 53-minute cut-down version from our original theatrical/DVD/Blu-ray 88-minute version. One of the segments that was not included in the PBS 53-minute version was about how Back to the Future came to be selected to the National Film Registry. Stephen Clark over at BTTF.com (BTTF = Back to the Future) posted that segment from our doc on his youtube channel. It is a great story of the insider (Liz Stanley) and a grass roots campaign organized by Stephen.

If you have been meaning to buy a Flux Capacitor - get it at bttf.com:
http://www.bttf.net/Back_to_the_Future_Part_II_Flux_Capacitor_p/21014.htm

Room 125 Productions - Lawrence (KS) High School

These Amazing Shadows has received a lot of great reviews from traditional and new media film critics. Every so often, like every film, we will get a bad review. This week we got a real stinker. As we were briefly semi-succumbing to this particular blog critic's negative vibes ("How could this be! Why! Why!") we received an email from, Jeffrey Kuhr, who teaches film and media at Lawrence High School in Lawrence, Kansas. He told us how much he loved our documentary and how useful it is to his curriculum. Mr. Kuhr has developed a great program for his students called, Room 125 Productions. The above video is one of their recent projects and is a homage to the 1985 film, The Breakfast Club. It is a lot of fun and shows the power of film/video to bring us all together to express ourselves, communicate and have fun. Go, you Lions!

Room 125 Productions YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/room125productions?feature=watch

Late Night Oscar Diaries from Lois Vossen

Lobby of the formerly named Kodak Theater - now called the Hollywood and Highland Center

We pass along this fun blog post from the ITVS Beyond the Box Blog.

Independent Lens Series Producer Lois Vossen attended Sunday night’s Academy Awards in Los Angeles. She was there to support two nominated films for Best Documentary feature: Independent Lens’ Hell and Back Again and the ITVS-funded If a Tree Falls (which aired on POV). The documentary Undefeated wound up taking the prize. Still, Lois had a blast and as the evening came to a close, she phoned in (literally) this recap via the BTB hotline. Here are the highlights….

Lois Vossen looking quite glamorous - wearing...let me guess...Atelier Versace? Vera Wang?

Hi there! Well it was a great night. The debate is on whether or not Billy Crystal was funny and whether or not the show was well paced. As we were leaving, I ran into Wim Wenders who made Pina and I went over and spoke with him and he said “I’m very, very sorry that Hell and Back Again lost because it was a magnificent film and I would have been honored to have lost to Hell and Back Again, honored!” So I introduced him to Fiona Otway who edited the film.

Overall, I thought the show was fun. Maybe not the best Oscars of all time but certainly best for me, maybe because I was there! The show played quickly and seem to fly by. Tony Bennett played at the Governors ball afterwards and he sounded great.

Right now, people are scattering off to after parties at Vanity Fair and Elton John’s thing. We’re getting together back at the hotel with a friend of ours who’s a member of the Academy. Interesting to hear how it played on Television versus inside the theatre. Apparently Circque du Soleil played better in the theatre.

Also, I was right in front of Sasha Baron Cohen when he dumped the ashes on Ryan Seacrest! I thought it was really funny but apparently that pissed off a lot of people? Maybe you had to be there because watching it live was just silly and unexpected.
Of course, the women all looked fabulous!