The Missing Movie Files

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Posted by Rock
6/03/2022 12:01 am
#21

I haven't watched them personally, but I believe Harmy's Despecialized Editions bring the movies back to their original release state, more or less.

https://archive.org/search.php?query=creator%3A%22Harmy+And+Fox%22

Would be nice if Disney could put them out officially, though.


I am not above abusing mod powers for my own amusement.
 
Posted by Rampop II
6/03/2022 12:44 am
#22

Rock wrote:

I haven't watched them personally, but I believe Harmy's Despecialized Editions bring the movies back to their original release state, more or less.

https://archive.org/search.php?query=creator%3A%22Harmy+And+Fox%22

Would be nice if Disney could put them out officially, though.

Hell yes. Nice to see it on archive.org. I remember looking into Harmy's edition and running into some kind of snare but I can't remember what that snare was. I remember getting the feeling one had to be a longtime member of their forum or something.

I seem to recall reading about some kind of exception to Disney's purchase of the Fox catalog specifically with regards to the ownership of the 1977 original but now I can't find where I read that.

The decades–long saga of the fate of the Saga has been covered extensively but it still warrants lip–service, here. Has any other filmmaker created something so impactful, only to later buy up all the physical copies... then tell us we really didn't see what we all know we saw? 

"...obviously it upset people because they wanted Solo to be a cold-blooded killer, but he actually isn't. It had been done in all close-ups and it was confusing about who did what to whom. I put a little wider shot in there that made it clear that Greedo is the one who shot first, but everyone wanted to think that Han shot first, because they wanted to think that he actually just gunned him down." 

George Lucas, Grand Wizard of the Galactic Gaslighter's Guild, 2012. 

See, folks? We brought this upon ourselves!

 

Last edited by Rampop II (6/03/2022 12:56 am)

 
Posted by Jinnistan
6/03/2022 1:29 am
#23

The problem is defining "original", because Lucas almost immediately began tinkering with the film, especially the sound mix.  There are three separate audio mixes from the 1977 release, all of which feature a number of differences.  The 1980 70mm and 35mm versions of Empire are significantly different.  And nearly all of the initial rereleases of Star Wars, between 1979 and 1981, have a number of minor tweeks.

The Harmy version is, I believe, supposed to be more of an idealized version than a true authentic "original" version, that focuses more on removing the post-trilogy changes.  It's been available on torrents for a while, and is probably as good as it's going to get.  Although I think that someone tracking down that original 70mm print of Empire, with differences in "dialogue, visual and sound effects, shot choices, and transitions between shots" would definitely have an interesting find on their hands.

Along the same lines, there's some extremely rare Kubrick for those seeking them them, like the purported 2001 which had a voice-over narration in the Dawn of Man sequence when it initially premiered in New York, or an original Shining before Kubrick made several edits including excising the ending of Wendy in the hospital.

Last edited by Jinnistan (6/03/2022 1:31 am)


 
Posted by Jinnistan
6/03/2022 1:35 am
#24

And if Lucas has the balls, he'd release his work print that was shown to friends at that notorious 1976 Christmas party with footage from Hell's Angels substituting the yet-to-be-finished Ti-Fighter/X-Wing fights.

Let's give a shout out to our friend MKS who produced what's likely the best and only way to experience the prequels:



 


 
Posted by Rampop II
6/03/2022 8:01 pm
#25

Jinnistan wrote:

The problem is defining "original"

Ah yes, naturally. Personally I'd be satisfied with any cut previous to the Greedo and Jabba insertions, and I wouldn't have reservations about calling it the "original." It would be original enough for me. I wouldn't miss, say, the little green boxes around the TiE fighters. I may have watched the 1982 VHS so many times as a kid that even the slightest editing tweak can disrupt my suspension of disbelief, but I'm prepared to own that problem. 

Jinnistan wrote:

And if Lucas has the balls, he'd release his work print that was shown to friends at that notorious 1976 Christmas party with footage from Hell's Angels... 

Yes, that would be some serious buried treasure. I wonder if the print still exists.

I'd also be curious to see a version with Burt Reynolds' parts restored:

Short doc Blast It, Biggs, Where Are You? Dir, Jamie Benning
I couldn't find it on YouTube but here it is on Vimeo, the other YouTube. With superior sound and picture quality to YouTube, taken seriously by professionals but rarely used by the general public, Vimeo feels like the Beta to YouTube's VHS. 

I know, I know that's not Burt Reynolds, and I know Garrick Hagon doesn't resemble Reynolds in real life, but with the helmet and push-broom, I can imagine him holding up a thumb saying "10–4, good buddy!"

The mystery remains and has been a point of speculation for decades: Why, George, why?

Contempt for his fickle audience? Personality disorder? Drugs? Alzheimer's? 
Putin?
The neck? Choking the blood flow to his brain? 

Considering George's chronic lies (reminiscent of Michael Jackson's plastic surgery denials) and abusive gaslighting, I'm going with narcissism. 

 "...I'm sorry you saw half a completed film and fell in love with it."
—George Lucas, said while fucking Indiana Jones' face. 

 
Posted by Rampop II
6/11/2022 6:09 am
#26

Today's installment highlights the work of a Missing Movie Sleuth of the noblest order. 






Matsuda Shunsui (松田春翠)


Matsuda Shunsui is credited with almost single–handedly recovering and preserving the bulk of surviving films from the Japanese silent era. As was the case in other parts of the world, films were considered disposable in early 20th Century Japan. Originally a professional benshi  — narrator and voice actor for for silent film presentations — Matsuda dedicated his life to film preservation beginning in the 1940s, traveling around the country "scouring pawn shops and old theatres" for these lost relics. In 1952 he founded Matsuda Film Productions "with the purpose of excavating and restoring the then lost from sight Japanese film genre." Today the Matsuda Film Productions library includes over six thousand reels of film that may have otherwise never seen the light of a theater again. 

 Blood Spilled at Takadanobaba AKA Bloody Duel at Takadanobaba (1937), Dir Masahiro Makino and Hiroshi Inagaki


In 1959 Mastuda founded 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]Friends of Silent Films Association[/url], which continues to provide regular screenings of selections from the Matsuda Film Productions library, complete with live music and benshi accompaniment, to recreate for modern audiences the experience of seeing the films as they were originally shown. 



Incidentally, Matsuda's massive collection completely upends the myth that chanbara was a later development in Japanese cinema. On the contrary, not only was it a staple of Japanese cinema from the very beginning, chanbara (onomatopoeia for the sounds of clashing swords and armor) pre–dates cinema altogether; it was originally a form of stage combat in Japanese theatre (see my politely brutal "talk page" smackdown of the abysmally inaccurate Wikipedia article on chanbara here by scrolling down to the heading "Numerous severe falsehoods"). 


Chūkon giretsu: Jitsuroku Chūshingura (忠魂義烈 実録忠臣蔵) (1928) dir. Shōzō Makino;  one of the many "Loyal 47 Ronin" films


These recovered reels reveal just how talented the actors of the time were, and how violent the films. Many early chanbara film actors were specifically trained in methods known for their realistic depictions of stage combat. In the YouTube videos at the end of this post, note the physical presence of these actors with their nimble movements and commanding fighting stances. They seem to not only rival but outmatch performances from any era since. These clips may provide the most authentic glimpses we could hope for of what old–school Japanese badasses would have looked like in action. Note as well the length of the takes, with their dizzyingly elaborate stunt choreography and coordination of camera movement. In fact, when one looks at cinematic swordplay from a chronological standpoint, the (d)evolution of on–screen swashbuckling suggests a decades–long history of a steadily–deteriorating discipline. Note also the menacing tones and staggering body–counts; often the frame is positively littered with the corpses of the slain while the fighting continues unabated. Watch Denjirō Ōkōchi slowly slurp the blood from his sword in the midst of fighting a seemingly endless flood of attackers in this scene from Chōkon AKA An Unforgettable Grudge (1926), of which only 12 minutes are known to have survived. I've cued it up to said slurp at 3:03 in the above link, but I'll also include a regular YouTube window below because the full 12 minutes should not be missed. As one reviewer on Letterboxd points out, it's worth re–watching the action at half–speed to get an even better sense of the intricacies behind all that is going on.



Matsuda continued his work as a preservationist and benshi performer, as well as benshi teacher, until his death in 1987. His son Yutaka Matsuda carries on his legacy today, and selections from the Matsuda Film Productions library are available worldwide for rental, research, and other special purposes, as well as for purchase on physical media

Matsuda

The fact that the preservation of an entire era's worth of cinema, representing incalculable discipline, talent and hard work, seems largely due to the painstaking efforts of a single man (who just happened to care enough) speaks of the unsettling fragility of cinema history, and the fragility of history itself. No matter how trite it feels to write it that way, the gravity of that truth remains all–too–real. 

Kanjūrō Arashi as Kurama Tengu (鞍馬天狗) (1928)


And now, for your viewing pleasure...
The following YouTube videos were most likely ripped from one or more of the Matsuda Film Productions physical releases. The voice we hear in the latter three is most likely Matsuda's. Sometimes he's merely talking about the films being shown, other times he is delivering an authentic benshi performance, doing the voices of the various characters.

Chōkon, AKA An Unforgettable Grudge, AKA 長恨 (1926)



Video highlighting the films of famed actor Denjirō Ōkōchi:



This one, the films of famed actor Kanjūrō Arashi:



...and last but not least, the films of famed actor Tsumasaburō "Bantsuma" Bandō:



 

Last edited by Rampop II (6/11/2022 6:11 am)

 
Posted by Jinnistan
6/11/2022 3:08 pm
#27

Great post.

Japanese cinema seems to have suffered one of the worst bouts of post-silent neglect, but it's jaw-droping even to consider the many Western films, considered their equivalent of "blockbusters" like Cabiria, Napoleon or Metropolis, which have had a mighty difficult struggle to preserve and restore, but, after many decades, there is at least some semblance of their finished form available, however imperfect.

I'll add one exapmple of a Japanese film that was considered lost for decades, got semi-restored in the 1970s but yet remained obscure and unavailable until fairly recently.

A Page of Madness was directed and co-written by Teinosuke Kinugasa in collaboration with the avant-garde literary group, Shinkankakua ("New Perceptions"), which included co-writer Yasunari Kawabata, who'd become the first Japanese writer awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1968.  The film was released in 1926 in Tokyo and performed with a benshi, Musei Tokugawa, and live music.  The film involves a janitor of a sanitorium whose wife is a patient (or inmate, really), and tells the story of their relationship, their daughter, and how this situation came to be.

Kinugasa would continue making films into the sound era, most notably the classic Gate of Hell in 1953, but, for whatever reason, the film Kurutta Ichipeiji (A Page of Madness; sometimes The Forgotten Pages) was forgotten for nearly 50 years.  In 1971, Kinugasa found the print in his shed, but had lost the original benshi script and had forgotten the sequence of the reels.  Despite this, he reassembled the film into a vaguely linear running order and recorded a new musical score.  This restoration premired at Cannes in 1973 and at MoMA in 1975 to some acclaim, but continued to be obscure for years afterward.  It wasn't until a festival revival in 2008, and an illicit but gracious upload to Youtube following that, that the film came to begin receiving more and more recognition.  In 2017, a slightly longer version was restored using a newly recorded score, but I say stick to Kinugasa's 1971 original.



 


 
Posted by crumbsroom
6/11/2022 5:02 pm
#28

I'm so ignorant on early Japanese cinema.

 
Posted by Rampop II
6/12/2022 9:11 pm
#29

crumbsroom wrote:

I'm so ignorant on early Japanese cinema.

Now you know the reason for that, and know that you're far from alone. We're all ignorant of early Japanese cinema because most of it no longer exists, having been destroyed either by the particularly horrific Kantō Earthquake of 1923 or the devastation of WWII, which reduced most Japanese cities to absolute rubble. What remains of those early films represents a tiny fragment of what once existed. Many of those early silent era filmmakers and actors continued working in film long after, though, including familiar figures like Takashi Shimura and Kenji Mizoguchi.

I gained a wee bit of insight into this stuff having lived in Japan for a few years. There are some enthusiasts on YouTube uploading a wealth of Japanese cinema and TV, and one never knows how long the uploads will last because Japanese anti–piracy measures are notoriously strict:

n99 is a great resource for old feature–length Japanese films, with English subtitles, including some Criterion releases.
Free Film Heritage's channel has a bunch of old Japanese stuff with subtitles.   
Timescape Japan has a variety of relics, including a trippy little anime from 1923.
ニャガニャガ is a treasure trove of old feature–length Japanese films, albeit usually without subs.
Ditto for ねこむすめ. Lots of old Japanese movies, but don't expect subtitles.

MO T gets the grand–font treatment for emphasis; his channel is rapidly becoming an orgasmically great resource for 1960s-70s tv chanbara and samurai drama, with subtitles, including Zatoichi and Epic Chūshingura (Daichūshingura), a year–long miniseries of the Loyal 47 Ronin story with our man Toshiro Mifune in the lead role (where he belongs, as opposed to the bit part he played in the 1967 version, Chūshingura: Hana mo Maki, Yuki no Maki). The Epic Chūshingura series is sooo fucking good! The opening music gives me chills every time. Heart–crushing gravitas! Admittedly, two or three of the episodes in the middle feel kind of disposable, as though intended to stretch the series out so the finale broadcast would land on the New Year's holiday, but they are worth enduring for the greater good.

He has some old movies as well. I imagine it's only a matter of time before MO T's uploads start getting blocked so I recommend taking advantage while we still can.

Oh shit, I see some of them might already have been deleted! Not to worry...
Scott Gettman, another YouTuber, has also been uploading both Epic Chūshingura and Zatoichi episodes. Get em while you can!

Of course, when it comes to the Loyal 47, Kenji Mizoguchi's 1941 The 47 Ronin (Genroku Chūshingura) is an undisputed classic and absolute must. But while we're on the subject, here's another great Loyal 47 Ronin from 1938. It's not a great transfer (I forget what this method is called, looks like a video camera pointed at a projection screen or something) and there are no subtitles, but that's ok if one already knows the story. It's still quite good.

Of course we could go all day with "Loyal 47 Ronin" movies; over 80 of them have been made. Kenji Mizoguchi's later iteration Ugetsu AKA Ugetsu Monogatari (1953) gets a lot of praise. But one of my personal favorites is Kunio Watanabe's Loyal 47 Ronin (Chūshingura) from 1958. Actor Kazuo Hasegawa is tremendous in the lead role. Unlike the many stone–faced samurai portrayals of Kuranosuke, Hasegawa's seems always teetering at the strained floodgates of emotion, a swollen vesicle of bitter samurai tears, stretched to the verge of rupturing at any moment into demolished, unconsolable weeping. 

Stop, Rampop, stop I say! This pedantic overkill will consume your whole Sunday! Do you want the testicle clamps? Knock it off before I put the leaches on you, you fiend! Mou takusan desu! 








All Epic Chūshingura episodes here!

Last edited by Rampop II (6/12/2022 9:27 pm)

 
Posted by Jinnistan
6/12/2022 9:33 pm
#30

I guess I'm not wanted here.


 
Posted by Rampop II
6/12/2022 9:38 pm
#31

Jinnistan wrote:

I guess I'm not wanted here.

Remember what you said about Jurassic World: Raptor Whisperer?



 

 
Posted by Rampop II
6/12/2022 9:53 pm
#32

I'm kinda crushed that the Epic Chūshingura episodes on MO T's channel are mostly missing now, save a handful; Scott Gettman's uploads are far inferior in sound and picture quality. Like I said, the Japanese anti–piracy patrol is brutal. I'm glad I downloaded the entire series when I had the chance. 

 
Posted by Rampop II
6/13/2022 4:29 am
#33

Ohhhh shit! I found it! Somebody just uploaded the 1958 version of The Loyal 47 Ronin to YouTube exactly two weeks ago; get it while you can! It's a good transfer, too, with subtitles. This is the one with Kazuo Hasegawa playing Ōishi Kuranosuke. I am downloading this shit right fucking now. I'll make up for it by buying the DVD import later, cross my heart and hope to commit seppuku.

The Loyal 47 Ronin (1958) dir Kunio Watanabe, Daiei Film Company

Brace yourselves, citizens of Ako! This sorrowful samurai's tsunami of tears shall nowise be contained! 


Kazuo Hasegawa as Ōishi Kuranosuke in The Loyal 47 Ronin (1958)


Kuranosuke bids farewell to his wife and mother in The Loyal 47 Ronin





"You know something, Joe? There is nothing sadder... than a sad Japanese man."


.

Last edited by Rampop II (6/15/2022 3:27 am)

 
Posted by Rampop II
6/14/2022 1:20 am
#34

     Sometimes I just can't help myself. After succumbing to my impulsiveness, downloading the 3+ gigabyte 1958 version of The Loyal 47 Ronin last night, I stayed up 'til dawn in spite of my better judgment watching the whole thing, thus ensuring today's painful consequences (resembling a three–alarm hangover but without the alcohol part). All I had to do was pay for the DVD. Rampop is truly his own worst enemy. 

     It's still a glorious piece of work, though, and was Japan's highest–grossing film of that decade. I had also forgotten Takashi Shimura's brief but superb cameo.

     I may have been a little unfair to Toho's earlier 1952 version in my previous comments. The acting, pacing and cinematography have my full approval, Akira Ifukube's dramatic score is thoroughly effective even if derivative of his iconic Godzilla theme, and the dramatic tension of the raid scene is so intense it almost makes me reach for the adult diapers. 

     One of the cool things about these dozens of iterations of the "Loyal 47" story is the variety of different takes on it. We're not talking about just an endless series of remakes. Each version focuses on different aspects, and, as is often the case with traditional stories, many versions assume that the audience is already familiar with the narrative. Some versions are action–packed while others forgo the action almost entirely. Some go into great detail speculating on the initial cause of the animosity in question, others only pay it brief lip service within the first few minutes. The 1958 version ends on the morning following the raid while the 1941 version dedicates a great deal of attention to the events that follow it. A 1994 version, 47 Ronin (Shijūshichinin no shikaku), dedicates the bulk of its attention specifically on the preparations for the raid on Kira's home, only briefly showing the actual raid and only depicting the events leading up to it in flashback, while Kinji Fukusaku's rendition of that same year, Crest of Betrayal, AKA Loyal 47 Ronin: Yotsuya Ghost Story (Chushingura Gaiden: Yotsuya Kaidan), incorporates supernatural elements, with ghosts of the slain participating in events and influencing the outcome. 

     And of course, as Jinnistan rightly mentions above, Universal's unforgivable bastardization from 2013 focuses entirely on Hollywood studios' uncanny knack for spreading their long scrawny legs to straddle an entire nation and spew a massive miasmic Hollywood–shaped putrid soup of shit all over another culture's most cherished traditions, then scratching their heads in bewilderment at a box office failure so complete that it almost plunged Universal Studios into bankruptcy... only to later announce their tone–deaf intentions to proceed with a sequel!  A sequel to the profaning of one of Japan's most treasured stories, representing over 300 years of tradition, and one widely embraced as being emblematic of Japanese national and cultural identity. Now that's how you do cultural appropriation! Godspeed, I say. Onwardhopefully, to wholesale and irreparable fiscal ruin. The Missing Movie Files' deepest darkest recesses eagerly await your rancid deposits. Burn, Hollywood, burn with a million morbid scorching hemorrhoids, born of the strain from between those shameless, scrawny, shit–stained stems.

     But bringing it back around, hopefully bringing Rampop's lengthy fawning wonk to a close (that's "wonk" with an "n"), and if it pleases our fellow shrimp lovers, cinephiles and distinguished guests, I now present the oldest surviving rendition I can find, which I previously failed to mention, complete with authentic benshi performance, from 1928. Though it lacks subtitles, subtitles may be unnecessary once one is familiar with the story: 

Heroism of the Faithful Dead: True Testament of the Chūshingura, AKA Chushingura: The Truth (Chūkon giretsu: Jitsuroku Chūshingura 忠魂義烈 実録忠臣蔵) (1928):



 

Last edited by Rampop II (6/14/2022 1:25 am)

 
Posted by Jinnistan
6/14/2022 11:26 am
#35

Rampop II wrote:

And of course, as Jinnistan rightly mentions above, Universal's unforgivable bastardization from 2013 focuses entirely on Hollywood studios' uncanny knack for spreading their long scrawny legs to straddle an entire nation and spew a massive miasmic Hollywood–shaped putrid soup of shit all over another culture's most cherished traditions, then scratching their heads in bewilderment at a box office failure so complete that it almost plunged Universal Studios into bankruptcy... only to later announce their tone–deaf intentions to proceed with a sequel!  A sequel to the profaning of one of Japan's most treasured stories, representing over 300 years of tradition, and one widely embraced as being emblematic of Japanese national and cultural identity. Now that's how you do cultural appropriation! Godspeed, I say. Onwardhopefully, to wholesale and irreparable fiscal ruin. The Missing Movie Files' deepest darkest recesses eagerly await your rancid deposits. Burn, Hollywood, burn with a million morbid scorching hemorrhoids, born of the strain from between those shameless, scrawny, shit–stained stems.

I'm impressed that you bothered to sit through it.


 
Posted by Rampop II
6/15/2022 2:50 am
#36

Jinnistan wrote:

I'm impressed that you bothered to sit through it.

Oh, my dear adorable Kitty Chan, how uproariously you jest, for I know well thou knowest me better than that. Moi? Sit through a shitshow like that? And grant those devils the satisfaction? Sacrifice even one of my precious few hours on this planet… for this? This dysfunctional, denigratory, goat rope hairball??? Laughable, ludicrous, jocular poppycock, bruaaahohohohohohhh!



But Rampop, you say, if you haven’t watched this movie from beginning to end, how can you condemn it so? Are you not playing the hypocrite? Are you not unfairly judging a book by its cover? 

No, not really. The plot description alone is more than sufficient to condemn this unforgivable atrocity. Among the myriad insults painfully evident therein — all the hunks of corny contrived bullshit injected into the traditional story, all the rewrites distorting it almost beyond recognition, including of course a white savior— the most egregious offense is almost undeniably this:
Unlike the traditional story, which is based on actual events and almost always centers around the real–life folk hero Ōishi Kuranosuke, the head councilor to whom the other retainers answer, who leads his fellow ronin in the plot to storm Kira’s palace and take revenge for their fallen master... unlike that famous true story, I say, this Hollywood fiasco instead shoves said folk hero aside, and has Keanu Reeves lead the 47 ronin instead. Just let that sink in. One of Japan’s most famed folk heroes, revered as the essential embodiment of the Samurai code of honor, the undisputed leader of the Loyal 47 Ronin for over 300 years of the story's retelling, is here defenestrated and supplanted by Keanu fucking Reeves.

In 1701, I might add.

Hi-ho, Silver, the mythical White Savior strikes again! 

The closest comparison I can think of to this asinine atrocity comes from the true tale of the infamous Hollywood executive who proposed casting Julia Roberts as Harriet Tubman.  

Blasphemy unforgivable.



Small wonder Japanese audiences largely gave this movie the stinkface. Nevertheless, Hollywood executives and critics alike blamed everything but this monumental blunder to explain its crushing box office failure. 

The above–linked article actually leads with the clueless question, "If a samurai movie can't work in Japan, where can it???" This, despite the fact that, as evidenced by previous posts, samurai movies and tv shows are, and always have been, hugely popular in Japan. Folks, you can hardly get away from samurai drama in Japan! Samurai movies and tv, and jidaigeki in general, remain as ubiquitous in Japan as westerns were for decades in the States. 


Mito Kōmon (水戸黄門): the longest–running jidaigeki tv series in Japanese history



Rurouni Kenshin (2012): one of the top 50 all–time highest–grossing films in Japan...
ONE YEAR PRIOR TO UNIVERSAL'S 2013 TURD



The Loyal 47 Ronin (1958): Second–highest–grossing film of the 1950s in Japan



People in Japan apparently like samurai movies just fine; they just don't seem to like bad samurai movies.

TONE! DEAF! 

Kirsten Acuña of Business Insider wrote that the film flopped for three reasons: First, it opened in December when there is an over-saturation of films for the Christmas season; second, the film took "too long in the Universal vault", having been pushed back several times due to reshoots and edits; and third, Keanu Reeves hadn't commanded much "box office draw" since The Matrix Revolutions.

I trust I need not articulate how incredibly dumb this assessment is. Of these three "reasons" presented, none include the fact that Hollywood had once again tried to foist a rancid turd upon the world. For good measure, this dumb bitch apparently doesn’t know that there is no goddamn Christmas holiday in Japan!!!  Now, Japanese retailers have recently, and only very recently, begun to adopt Christmas as a sort of “Hallmark holiday," something resembling Valentine’s Day, a time to buy pretty things for your sweetheart. But that morsel of trivia is hardly consequential. There is no “Christmas season.” New Year’s Day is a national holiday, and quite a big deal to be sure, when people visit and feast with family. But it’s a day, not a “season.” People usually get one or two days off at most, just enough time to hop on a train, chill with the family for a day, and then get back to work. It’s nothing like the "season" we have on this side of the pond, the bustling string of holidays including Christmas, Hanukkah and New Year’s, spanning several weeks and permeated with the wild–eyed holiday insanity we all know so well. 

Apparent in all this mess is just how condescendingly low these bean–counters’ opinion is of their audience’s intelligence. That was so long ago these nips won’t even know the difference! Hulk is on the poster!

It’s reminiscent of an insight Naomi Klein provided in her 1999 book No Logo:

“David Lubars, a senior ad executive in the Omnicom Group, explains the industry's guiding principle with more candor than most. Consumers, he says, ‘are like roaches - you spray them and spray them and they get immune after a while.’”

We aren’t people to them, my fellow roaches. We are livestock at best. Pesky, unpredictable numeric variables. Mere beans to be counted. Human beans, badoom–tshht. 

Hollywood's 2013 bastardization of the "Loyal 47 Ronin" story epitomizes everything that is wrong with the Hollywood machine. Indeed, this cinematic wonder–turd bears all the hallmarks of having been shat out of a machine, and we now know that Hollywood is in fact letting artificial intelligence determine which movies to make, which plot elements to include, and which actors to hire (and fire) in order to maximize box office profits. 

If these doofuses were in the restaurant business, they might well conclude that lobster donut kombucha lattés are guaranteed to take the world by storm. 


Just another badass shot from The Loyal 47 Ronin (1938)

Last edited by Rampop II (6/15/2022 3:38 am)

 
Posted by Jinnistan
6/15/2022 3:56 am
#37

Rampop II wrote:

Hi-ho, Silver, the mythical White Savior strikes again!

But he's one-quarter Hawaiian!  So....horseshoes and handgrenades?


 
Posted by Rampop II
6/15/2022 1:22 pm
#38

Jinnistan wrote:

Rampop II wrote:

Hi-ho, Silver, the mythical White Savior strikes again!

But he's one-quarter Hawaiian!  So....horseshoes and handgrenades?

MMM! Horseshoe hand grenade chocolate chip ketchup kale cupcakes!

Incidentally his character is supposed to be half–English half–Japanese.  

So, half horseshoe, half hand grenade? 

Scone sushi?

Wot we need's anotha war!

 
Posted by Jinnistan
6/24/2022 11:49 pm
#39

x


 
Posted by Jinnistan
6/24/2022 11:49 pm
#40

Some classic rock films that are still (2022) not available for virgin eyes.  Why?  Well, they all have their stories.



Dylan's 1966 European tour is justifiably legendary, not only because Bob and The Band were innovating the then-cutting edge of what an electric rock band can sound like on stage, in that murky transistion between the pure energy of monitor-less scream-and-beat British Invasion shows of '64-'65 to the mammoth Marshall stack era of Cream-Hendrix-Who in '67, but also because of the notorious indulgences of the then-Dark Prince period that Dylan was embracing, where his psychedelic insights had to compete with the speed-psychosis of weeks of sleep deprivation.  It was probably the first attempt in the rock era of a star pushing the nervous limits of excess, and thankfully he survived by (according to witness Victor Maymudes) toppling off his motorcycle at approx. 5 mph.

That "spill" would become equally legendary, and Dylan, with a legitimate vertebral fracture, would spend his recuperation deciding that he needed to re-edit DA Pennebaker's footage (DA's cut, called Something Is Happening, has never surfaced), despite having no skill or experience with any form of editing equipment.  And, on top of that, attempting to conform the material into a network TV special, which was probably why he chose to open the film with a shot of himself snorting an unknown substance (my guess is methedrine) off of a hotel lobby piano, and so unfortunately it only runs a meager 50 minutes.  In other words, the film has very rarely seen the light of day, but it is impossible not to be fascinating for fans and morbid inquirers.

Clearly, Scorsese's assembly of this footage in No Direction Home is roundly superior, and there's really no need for anyone unfamiliar with that definitive document to bother with it.  But if you are like me, and you've masticated over No Direction Home enough to venture further, then this little film does offer some interesting pieces.  Most of the footage here was not used by Scorsese, so there's little overlap.  Although none of the performances are full-length, there is that irresistably giddy take of "I Don't Believe You", and "Ballad of a Thin Man" was nearly always epic on this tour.  Plus all of the backstage footage, including songs that were apparently disposable, like "I Can't Leave Her Behind", used on boots and eventually included as an extra on one of the live discs of the 1966 Live Recordings box.  And guest stars like Johnny Cash and John Lennon.  The latter's expanded footage is usually included as an extra on the bootleg DVDs, about 20 minutes of the two, stoned and talking past each other, in the back of a limousine before Dylan apparently vomits below the camera frame.  Essential rock star stuff.  A complete version of Eat The Document is unavailable on Youtube, but there's never a problem finding the limo footage.



 

Last edited by Jinnistan (6/25/2022 12:27 am)


 


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