Classic Cinema | Coosa Creek Cinema

Openings: Andrei Rublev

By Rick, on April 17th, 2009 |

Here’s the famous — and famously enigmatic — opening sequence of Andrei Tarkovsky’s Andrei Rublev.

We open on a shot of the balloon in front of a massive church; the camera pans down from its crown. It is misshapen, phallic, with a bulbous, swollen upper end and a bottom end [...]

Dodes’kaden opens with Rokuchan watching a trolley go by. But we only see its reflection, and that’s as close as the characters in this film — the poor, marginalized denizens of a garbage dump — can come to the world of comfort and plenty. It is reflected in their sensibilities, refracted through their vision, like [...]

Kurosawa in Color

By Rick, on March 27th, 2009 |

Rukochan and his mother

The last half of the 1960s were terrible for Akira Kurasawa. He had released Red Beard in 1965 to international acclaim, but the two-year production had cost him, both in terms of reputation and craft. It had helped cement his reputation as a monomaniacal, autocratic auteur and ruined his personal and [...]

Thoughts on Milk

By Rick, on March 25th, 2009 |

What can I say about Milk that hasn’t already been said? Yes, it’s Gus Van Sant in commercial, non-Elephant, non-Paranoid-Park mode, yes it has another great performance by Sean Penn who indeed opens up more than usual, and yes, he won — and probably deserved — the Oscar for Best Actor. All that is true, [...]

Les Diaboliques

By Rick, on February 27th, 2009 |

At the very end of Les Diaboliques, there is a title card saying “Don’t be devils. Don’t ruin the interest your friends could take in this film. Don’t tell them what you saw. Thank you for them.” It reminds me a lot of of the hype surrounding more recent films like The Crying Game and [...]

Favorite People: Marcello Mastroianni

By Rick, on February 24th, 2009 |

A post over at Marilyn’s got me thinking about Marcello Mastroianni, and then, lo and behold, this morning on Turner Classic Movies, there he was trying to get into Sophia Loren’s pants in Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow. So it seemed only right that, scouring around for post topics, I should write about him.

IMDB lists over [...]

A DVD I Just Saw: Humboldt County

By Rick, on February 22nd, 2009 |

As I sit here watching the Oscars — Penelope Cruz, Milk and now Slumdog Millionaire have already won awards — I thought I’d put down a few thoughts about a DVD I just saw. And I have to admit that I’m biased when it comes to Humboldt County. Filmed in the California county just to [...]

Triptych (or The Post That Ate This Blog)

By Rick, on February 21st, 2009 |

Once upon a time, the word “triptych” referred only to a species of Medieval/Renaissance art. It’s a Greek term, meaning three (tri) fold (ptyche ), and that pretty much sums it up: a series of three panel paintings, or bas-reliefs, arrayed side-by-side. Here’s one from around 1310 by the Italian artist Duccio di Buoninsegna. It’s [...]

Happy Holidays I: The Bishop’s Wife

By Rick, on December 20th, 2008 |

Cary Grant is the Angel Dudley, sent to help David Niven learn the true meaning of Christmas and, more importantly, reconnect with his hot wife (a regal Loretta Young). It’s sappy, happy Holiday [...]