Film Discoveries of 2020

 

Here's a list of new films I discovered in 2020. They're in no particular order. Many of these were discovered on Amazon Prime, which I consider the closest thing to visiting those mom and pop video stores back in the VCR era. TCM deserves credit as well for another stellar year of programming. Many were also discovered form podcasts, notably the Pure Cinema Podcast and The Projection Booth Podcast. Mike White hosts the Projection Booth Podcast and has been hosting excellent virtual watch parties of rare films throughout the year on Friday nights. I also want to include a shout out to the Important Film Podcast hosted by Will Sloan and Justin Decloux who cover a staggering variety of films and genres each week, both are unabashed proselytizers for the cinema of Matt Farley. Here they are in particular order:

American Scary (2006, John E. Hudgens) - I enjoyed this documentary on horror hosts on American television. Local stations from the 60s to the 80s would run horror movies on the weekend that were accompanied by a host providing entertainment, usually to distract from the low quality films. Unfortunately, local TV stations would rather run infomercials or CSI reruns instead of original programming. In their own way horror hosts allowed local talent to shine and provided a sense of community.

The Cremator (1969, Juraj Herz) Brilliant and haunting film about a cremator who views his vocation as divine - transforming once living people into ashes. Set in Czechoslovakia on the eve of the 1938 German invasion, the plot takes some unexpected turns that deals with collaboration, antisemitism, nationalism, and the corrosive psychology of fascism.  Innovative editing with astounding performances. 

Baby It's You (1983, John Sayles) Set to a Bruce Springsteen soundtrack, the best example of anti-nostalgia I've yet to see. John Sayles zeroed in on the sense of ennui and desperation of the Sixties that's hardly ever represented in movies. Many people (including myself) who weren't there for the 1960s tend to see it through rose colored glasses.

My Beautiful Launderette (1985, Stephen Frears) Set in Thatcher's Britain, Pakistani, the examines the complex relationship between the English and Pakistani communities. Omar (Gordan Warnecke) aspires to be an entrepreneur with the help of his lover, a one time street thug/fascist played by Daniel Day Lewis. The film feels more relevant than ever with its intertwining themes of politics, economics, race, and sexuality. Roshan Seth gives an awesome performance as a radical journalist exiled to England. 

The Spook Who Sat by the Door (1973, Ivan Dixon) Too inflammatory for 1973 due to its sympathetic approach to black militancy, there's few films quite like it then or since. Am African-American man working for the CIA (hired as a token black by WASPS who run the agency) leaves out in disgust and applies CIA subversion tactics to American cities under going civil unrest.

Park Row (1952, Sam Fuller) Engaging and fast paced story about journalism in 1886.  The unveiling of the Statue of Liberty is a key plot point, an idealistic and even romantic film at times. Every character has their eye on the future as if pulled by some magical force. Fuller's direction moves like a freight train. 

Cosmos (2019, Elliot Weaver, Zandra Weaver) A modern Sci-Fi film with a beating heart, accomplishing what many set out to do on a much larger budget. Three astronomers come across strange signals and make some astonishing discoveries over the course of a night. Although the dialogue is stilted at times, it's a slow burn in the best possible sense. You might have to an amateur astronomer to appreciate this one. 

You Only Live Once (Fritz Lang, 1936) Star crossed lovers on the run, it would make a great pairing with They Live by Night. Henry Fonda and Sylvia Sidney exude tragic fate in their performances, downbeat in the best possible sense. 

Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams (1973, Gilbert Cates) Heavy going Bergman influenced drama about a middle aged couple at a crossroads. Excellent performances from all. Martin Balsam gets a lead role for one and he's memorable alongside Joanne Woodward. 

This Giant Paper Mache Boulder is Actually Really Heavy (2016, Christian Nicolson) Endlessly inventive Sci-Fi parody from New Zealand. If you're fan of Edgar Wright films or Spaceballs, you'll love this gem. 

Tribulation 99: Alien Anomalies in America (1992, Craig Baldwin) A hilarious mockumentary imagining the  post WWII political climate from a tripped out right wing perspective imagining a shadow war against hollow earth people manipulating world history. The filmmaker definitely did his research and used stock footage to perfection. The narration is surreal and hilarious. 

Tomorrow I'll Wake Up and Scald Myself With Tea (1977, Jindrich Polak) A wacky time travel film from Czechoslovakia. It's 1996 and time travel using rockets is a vibrant part of the tourism industry. A group of ex-Nazis want to travel back and give Hitler the H-bomb, but that's only scratching the surface of the plot. Yes, a character getting scalded with tea is a key part of the story. I was reminded of Chaplin films, imagining the tramp on a time travel journey. Pratfalls and metaphysical jokes - endlessly inventive and fun!

Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley's "Island of Dr. Moreau" (2014, David Gregory) One of the best troubled production genre of documentaries. You get a visionary director pushed to the edge of sanity, Val Kilmer behaving badly, and (very) late period Brando. 

Don't Let the Riverbeast Get You! (2012, Charles Roxburgh) My intro to this film universe. Set in New Hampshire, the deadpan humor and dialogue are unique. It had the feeling of a live action Simpsons episode with an Ed Wood sensibility. Lots of great physical comedy as well, fighting and dancing!!

Harold and Maude (1971, Hal Ashby) I was late to this one, but if you haven't seen it - it's great!

No Subtitles Necessary: Laszlo & Vilmos (2008, James Chressanthis)  Engaging on documentary on the careers of legendary cinematographers Vilmos Zsigmond and Laszlo Kovacs. Both refugees from Hungary, they would revolutionize cinematography during their careers. Many familiar faces appear, but there are so many great films to cover I feel like some got short thrift. A must see for fans of New Hollywood.

Stay Tuned (1992, Peter Hyams) Light hearted parity of early 90s pop culture with John Ritter and Pam Dawber. So much of its time period, it's hard to resist. Ritter plays a couch potato who gets sucked into his television set. 

Going Back (1983, Ron Teachworth) It's the summer of 1964 and best friends Clee and Brice (early Bruce Campbell performance) decide to hitchhike around Michigan. Along the way they befriend a lonely older man and help him out with his farm, meanwhile Brice connects with a shy local girl. Four years later they return and discover it's hard to recapture the past. Going Back is a moving film about the decisions we make and how time passes quickly. The acting in this regional film is perfect and real. Streaming on Prime - highly recommended.

Images (1972, Robert Altman) Mesmerizing and haunting, with an awesome performance by Susannah York. My favorite Altman period, would be make a good double bill with Rosemary's Baby (I know Repulsion is the obvious choice). Interesting John Williams score.

Horror All-Nighter: 2020

 Inspired by the Pure Cinema Podcast, I decided to do a horror movie all night marathon. The goal is to watch six movies from 7pm-7am, from dusk till dawn. As a rule, classic trailers are interspersed between the features. 

Trailers: The Last House on the Left (1972); The Hand (1981)

7pm - Natural Born Killers (1994, Oliver Stone) Technically not a horror film if one is strict about genre definitions, but Natural Born Killers is very much about American horror. From a Quentin Tarantino story, which he sold for $10,000, leading to an acrimonious feud between Mr. Stone and Tarantino. Still a divisive film with its sensationalistic depiction of violence, the story follows couple Mickey (Woody Harrelson) and Mallory (Juliette Lewis) who go on a killing spree after they tie the knot, are subsequently captured, and sent to prison where they foment a bloody riot. Edited in a hyperkinetic style that recalls 60s psychedelia, but also mimicking MTV videos that were airing 24 hours a day in the 1990s, Stone never gives the audience a chance to breathe. Much of the controversy revolves around whether Stone was scolding Americans for their love of media hyped crime stories or, even worse, inviting audiences to revel in the chaos. As Stone states in the blu-ray introduction, effective satire must shock audiences. As the Mickey and Mallory unleash madness across the American West they become media heroes, a Bonnie and Clyde for the MTV generation. In flashbacks to their childhoods we see a history of neglect and abuse, especially in Mallory's awful household that's set to a sitcom laugh track. Rodney Dangerfield plays her lecherous father in one of the most disturbing performances you'll ever see in any movie. In 2020 the film has prophetic overtones. A killing spree has the look of a mass shooting, now a staple of life of America. True Crime podcasts and TV shows are bigger and more mainstream than ever before. The tabloid culture of the 1990s elected a tabloid president in 2016 (got 60 million votes) who proclaimed he could start shooting random people from a skyscraper and not lose any support. So yes, the crude, violent, and hypocritical America trumpeting family values while dooming their children's future, yeah, felt relevant this time around. Moving on!

Trailers: M (1931); Shadow of a Doubt (1943) 

9pm - Bluebeard (1944, Edgar G. Ulmar) I watched this one on a poor quality DVD which may the only appropriate way to experience it. After the onslaught of Natural Born Killers, Bluebeard plays as some garbled fever dream from the Victorian era about a psycho killer terrorizing Paris known as Bluebeard. John Carradine's (who also played Dracula) plays a dashing puppeteer and painter wooing Parisian women and then murdering them. Inspector Lefevre suspects Barrymore is the killer and sends in a beautiful undercover agent to reveal him. Directed by the legendary Edgar G. Ulmar, best known for his low budget masterpieces of expressionism., Bluebeard marked a surreal detour for the evening. 

Trailers: Rosemary's Baby (1968); Race with the Devil (1975); Wolfen (1981)

11pm - The Believers (1987, John Schlesinger) Now a change of pace: supernatural evil intruding upon the modern world. As a thriller The Believers is consistently effective, thrilling and often creepy on a subterranean level. The first five minutes are about as shocking as it gets, capturing how the routine of everyday life can quickly devolve into tragedy. Martin Sheen stars as a recently widowed psychologist who moves to New York City with his young son. Working with the Police Department, Sheen is helping them investigate a rash of child murders that appear to be ritual sacrifice tied to the Santeria community. Further investigation reveals an even deeper conspiracy involving Manhattan's elite crowd. These plot points do bring up some of the strengths and weaknesses of the film. On the first point, the plot could serve as a conspiracy theory fuel for audiences susceptible to stories involving elites and the occult (the 1980s was the decade of Satanic Panic, a dry run for today's even grander scale mass delusions). The second point is the xenophobia, any religion outside of mainline Christianity in American movies rarely gets handled with any finesse. While The Believers clumsily tries to address the issue, one character points out being a non-traditional Christian is an easy way for white Americans to marginalize a community, that particular theme is paid mere lip service (Wolfen handles it in a more interesting way). Stoking up fear over Caribbean religions has long been a cottage industry in Hollywood from the very beginning, White Zombie from 1932 being an early example. Even Sheen, a liberally minded protagonist, is revealed to have xenophobic attitudes. Christianity is not used to symbolize Western morality here, but modernity itself - another trope in supernatural thrillers. What makes The Believers effective is its sense of the uncanny, Schlesinger's focus on mundane details of everyday life create an ominous subtext carried through to the final shot. 

Trailers: Abby (1974); Needful Things (1993); Kuroneko (1968)

1am - The Wailing (2016, Na Hong-jin)

Next came The Wailing, a 150 minute horror epic from South Korea. A mysterious visitor arrives at a village and a terrifying infection begins to spread among the residents. Kwak Do-won stars as a cop investigating a string of gruesome murders possibly linked to the malady ravaging the village. A shaman is brought into town to chase the away the evil spirits, leading to one hell of an exorcism sequence. Then you realize there's still an hour to go! Tropes from so many other genres are employed from ranging from animal to zombie attacks to body horror, but The Wailing is also character driven, including wry humor and heartbreaking drama. The first hour is mostly set up and the horror slowly creeps in until the very end when you are literally inside a nightmare. Like The Believers, dueling world views are in conflict. The Catholic Church plays a peripheral (and ineffectual) role in the story. Family ties and the links people will go to protect their loved ones is another major theme. But like any masterwork of supernatural horror, it's the inexplicable aspect of the story that truly haunts the imagination. Sometimes awful things happen with no explanation, mocking our human need for reason behind senseless tragedies. The acting and cinematography are amazing.

Trailers: The Hunger (1983); The Horror of Dracula (1958)

3:30am - Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992, Francis Ford Coppola)

Another often told tale about an ancient evil intruding upon the world of science and reason. The many incarnations of Dracula up to this point had taken elements from the 1897 Bram Stoker novel, Coppola's adaptation follows the novel fairly close in structure and theme. My own memories of reading the novel are the creepy early chapters in Transylvania, but the second half became a slog (lots of blood transfusions). The film also follows that arc. The saving grace is the stunning production design by Coppola's team, pretty much every shot could be a still painting. The focus is on the sensual side of the story, staying within the Gothic tradition. Winona Ryder is strong as the lead Mina Harker who must defeat Dracula. Gary Oldman is no Bela Lugosi and his makeup is ridiculous, somewhere between Emperor Palpatine and Mr. Burns. Anthony Hopkins plays a shifty Dr. Van Helsing and a young Keanu Reeves plays the meek Jonathan Harker. A tad overlong, but a triumph of cinematic vision and production design.

Trailers: Ghost (1990); Dark Man (1990)

5:30am - The Crow (1994, Alex Proyas)

Closing out the night with The Crow felt right. A classic and influential film combining a comic book sensibility with Gothic themes, gritty action, and grunge music. The story is straight forward, a man returns from the dead to avenge those who murdered him and his girlfriend. Brandon Lee tragically died on set after being shot by what was supposed to be a fake bullet adds a layer of tragedy to the film. Lee shows potential here, if he had lived The Crow could've launched an amazing career. The set pieces are imaginative, mostly shot at night evoking a noir atmosphere. A superb supporting class including Ernie Hudson and Michael Wincott. A perfect movie for Halloween with its mix of darkness and light, an urban futuristic backdrop synthesizing Blade Runner with Escape From New York. 

Happy Halloween!