WEIRDLAND

Monday, October 03, 2011

Satellite of Love, Satellite Solutions

"Digital electronic technologies atomize and abstractly schematize the analogic quality of the photographic and cinematic into discrete pixels and bits of information that are transmitted serially, via satellite. As well, unlike the cinema system, the electronic is phenomenologically experienced not as a centered, intentional projection but rather as a simultaneous and neural/ “neutral” transmission.

Kristen Stewart and Jesse Eisenberg as Em & James in "Adventureland" (2009).

"I believe in love. I mean, I think that love is very transferable, I mean, transformable. I think that love makes things transform together". -James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg in "Adventureland").

"Satellite of Love" is one of Lou Reed's best known songs from his solo career. It is the second single from his 1972 album "Transformer".

"Satellite of Love" is about a man who observes a satellite launch on television and contemplates what Reed describes as feelings of "the worst kind of jealousy" about his unfaithful girlfriend. David Bowie, who produced the album, can be heard providing background vocals. The chorus is: "I watched it for a little while / I love to watch things on tv / Satellite of love / Satellite of love"

Mottola sets his film in 1987, but doesn’t play the period for excessive nostalgia. Lou Reed’s “Satellite of Love” is a plot point, but it’s not thrown in simply for credibility, a la the name-dropping soundtrack of Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist. The film gives us a summer-love romance, but it’s real, consequential and believable – so much so that these characters linger in your heart long after the movie’s over, just like the girl you fell in love with that summer long ago". Source: www.orlandoweekly.com

"Non-cable TV distributors -- satellite and IPTV -- continue to eat into the market share of cable systems.

The Television Bureau of Advertising, through data obtained by Nielsen Media Research, says "alternative delivery systems" now hold just under a 30% market share among all TV homes -- at 29.3%, its highest levels ever.

Satellite distribution continues to comprise the lion's share of all ADS. Satellite distribution is 29% in all TV homes, up from 28.4% a year ago." Source: www.mediapost.com

As far as international and specialized channels go, satellite may be the better option, as the broad range of a satellite dish can often reach channels that local cable companies cannot offer.

Satellite signals are transmitted to the tv terminals. Satellite transmission covers a wider range than cable providers, since Satellite signals contain higher quality digital data. Using DISH Network Channels, switching over basic Cable TV to PC TV online, you can choose from a wide range of channels, news, sports, movies or local channels, with suppleness and easy access, selecting from a variety through a simple DSL broadband connection that allows you receive a neat picture quality of recent movies and news broadcasts, keeping up to date with your favorite shows

"There is a final fight scene between Steven and the Cable guy on top of a huge satellite dish during a thunderstorm. The dish has filled with rain water and the Cable guy tries to drown Steven.Despondent, the Cable guy jumps to his "death" from the satellite dish.
"We see that the Cable Guy is beginning to have a hard time telling the difference between TV and reality."The satellite dish represents everything that the Cable Guy is about in terms of entertainment and information and the future," Stiller notes. "Also it represents the lack of personal contact between people. So, that's where the climax of the movie plays out. It's this very angular steel structure that has a really retro, '50s feel to it, which the Cable Guy mirrors in his own way."
The biggest concern for each location used in the "tower/satellite dish" sequence was that rain was called for in much of the footage.
According to production designer Sharon Seymour: "The dish is the real thing. We were lucky to get them because the large dishes are rapidly going out of style. Only two manufacturers still make them. We modified ours to fit the film's needs. Ours has a small reflector in the middle, plus it had to be able to fill with water and move." Source: www.jimcarreyonline.com

Sunday, October 02, 2011

Book Review: What Is Film Noir? by William Park

Unimpressed with recent neo-noir films, William Park, author of the new book "What Is Film Noir?" (2011), confesses: "As much as I admire 'Chinatown' I come away disappointed that John Huston can get away with incest and murder. I thought 'The Long Goodbye' the very worst of all Raymond Chandler's adaptations. And I detested the triumph of evil in 'Se7en'." Park also doesn't understand Camille Paglia's admiration of 'Basic Instinct', criticising the amount of moral pollution enclosed in Verhoeven's film.

Brian De Palma expressed a similar opinion to Park's: "I think traditional noir doesn't work in contemporary storytelling because we don't live in that world anymore."

Through its eight chapters — "Theory of Genre", "Film Noir: The Genre Defined", "Objections", "Style", "Period Style", "Alfred Hitchcock", "Meanings", "Last Words" — and three appendices: "Within the Genre", "Borderline" and "Period Pieces", Park dissects with academic detail the definition of the noir film as genre and style and its progression during the Golden Age (1940-1958).

"Film noir is unique in film history as being the only genre that was also a style. Components of the style existed in the silent era, notably in the German films of the 1920s. Orson Welles also brought them together in 'Citizen Kane' (1941)", confirmed by historian Eddie Muller (author of 'Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir', and 'Dark City Dames: The Wicked Women of Film Noir'): "Citizen Kane forever changed the grammar of motion picture storytelling and set the cinematic syntax for film noir: the shadowy quest for truth in morally ambiguous terrain." Yet despite being the chief model for all that followed in the genre, 'Citizen Kane' rarely is classified as noir.

Park explains that Hitchcock is often excluded from this list on the basis that his films lack the integration provided by voiceovers and flashbacks. But if we think of the canonized noir which lack these two elements we have: 'The Maltese Falcon', 'The Asphalt Jungle', 'The Big Combo', 'The Big Sleep', 'The Dark Corner', 'Fallen Angel', 'In a Lonely Place', 'Kiss Me Deadly', 'Scarlet Street', 'This Gun for Hire', 'Woman in the Window' and 'Touch of Evil'.

Park also cites Paul Schrader's essay "Notes on Film Noir": "... most every dramatic Hollywood film from 1941 to 1953 contains some noir elements", and some of these "one-shots" were terrific: Edmund Goulding's adaptation of 'Nightmare Alley', Frank Borzage's 'Moonrise', Lewis Milestone's 'The Strange Love of Martha Ivers' and Fred Zinnemann's 'Act of Violence' were made by directors who had never been previously associated with film noir.

Fritz Lang's 'The Blue Gardenia' (1953), while not quite a noir, morphs into a tale of romantic despair (the Wagnerian theme of Tristan und Isolde) and an exploration of America's obsession with pulp, tabloids and personal violence, starring Anne Baxter as telephone operator in fear of becoming a murderess.

The heroes in the classic noir tended to be cynical, tough, and overwhelmed by sinister forces beyond their control. Although most of the settings in the noir were urban spaces in the downtowns of big cities (Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Chicago), they appeared in exotic enclaves too, i.e. in 'Cornered' (1945) directed by Edward Dymytrk: Dick Powell is an ex-POW who acts relentless and ends harming some of the good guys before killing in self-defense a Nazi collaborator. Buenos Aires is here the Dark City.

In Appendix A, Park categorizes in his list Within the Genre the films that established their plots immersed entirely in the noir concept, such as 'Criss Cross' (1949): directed by Robert Siodmak, shot almost entirely in the day, as dark as it gets, with multiple double-crosses, flashbacks, the iconic Dan Duryea, a genuine femme fatale (Yvonne De Carlo) and a script to die for.

"What Is Film Noir?" is a highly recommended reading for fans of the genre who want to elucidate their doubts about the categories and context their favorite noir films belong to.

In this Dark Land the usual suspects who inhabitated their shady alleys and seedy dives were actors such as Humphrey Bogart, Robert Mitchum, Robert Ryan, Alan Ladd, Edward G. Robinson, John Garfield, Dana Andrews, Dan Duryea, Richard Widmark, Sterling Hayden, Elisha Cook Jr., Richard Conte, Raymond Burr, Dennis O'Keefe, Lawrence Tierney, Victor Mature, etc.

John Garfield and Lilli Palmer in "Body and Soul" (1947)

As wicked femmes, some of the actresses who impressively played these eternal dames were: Claire Trevor (The Queen of Noir), Gloria Grahame, Barbara Stanwyck, Rita Hayworth, Lauren Bacall, Audrey Totter, Ida Lupino, Mary Astor, Lizabeth Scott, Joan Bennett, Marie Windsor, Jane Greer, Rhonda Fleming, Jean Peters, Coleen Gray, Mary Beth Hughes, etc.

As a colophon, a video-compilation of vintage stills of actors and actresses that include: Ann Savage, Tom Neal, Burt Lancaster, Deborah Kerr, Lana Turner, John Garfield, Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, Kirk Douglas, Humphrey Bogart, Gloria Grahame, Cary Grant, Joan Fontaine, James Stewart, Jean Harlow, Gene Tierney, Ida Lupino, Irene Manning, Ava Gardner, Lawrence Tierney, Ann Jeffreys, Orson Welles, Rita Hayworth, Mary Astor, Lizabeth Scott, Peggy Cummins, Veronica Lake, Alan Ladd, Glenn Ford, Cornel Wilde, Helen Stanton, Linda Darnell, Marlon Brando, Van Heflin, Evelyn Keyes, Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh, Joan Bennett, Edward G. Robinson, Dan Duryea, Dorothy Lamour.

Plus: Sterling Hayden, Shelley Winters, Barbara Stanwyck, Jayne Mansfield, June Vincent, Yvonne De Carlo, Robert Mitchum, Deanna Durbin, Dick Powell, Rhonda Fleming, Ann Sheridan, James Cagney, Priscilla Lane, Marsha Hunt, Mary Beth Hughes, Claire Trevor, Dennis O'Keefe, Fred MacMurray, Robert Ryan, Jean Gabin, Mamie Van Doren, Faith Domergue, Jean Gillie, Marie Windsor, Victor Mature, Diana Dors, Audrey Totter, Kim Novak, Hedy Lamarr, Sylvia Sidney, Jeanne Crain, Jan Sterling, Dolores Moran, Gail Patrick, Martha Vickers, Ann Dvorak, Virginia Grey, Barbara Payton, Ramsay Ames.

Classic/Noir Films include Detour, From Here to Eternity, The Postman Always Rings Twice, Out of the Past, In a Lonely Place, Suspicion, Laura, High Sierra, The Big Shot, The Killers, Step by Step, The Lady from Shangai, The Maltese Falcon, The Strange Love of Martha Ivers, Dark City, The Company She Keeps, I Walk Alone, Desert Fury, Gun Crazy, The Blue Dahlia, Gilda, The Big Combo, Fallen Angel, The Wild One, The Prowler, Touch of Evil, Scarlet Street, Manhandled, Too Late for Tears, Johnny Stool Pigeon, Ball of Fire, The Burglar, Black Angel, The Woman in the Window, Criss Cross, Macao, Lady on a Train, Cry Danger, They Drive by Night, The Bad and the Beautiful, The Roaring Twenties, Winner Take All, Kid Glove Killer, The Great Flamarion, Murder My Sweet, Raw Deal, Double Indemnity, On Dangerous Ground, Moontide, Naked Alibi, The Racket, My Forbidden Past, Where Danger Lies, Decoy, Dead End, The Two Mrs. Carrolls, The Killing, Human Desire, The Long Haul, Lady in the Lake, Vertigo, etc.

Article first published as Book Review: What Is Film Noir? by William Park on Blogcritics.

Classic Actors and Actresses in Noir films

Claire Trevor plays femme fatale Mrs.Helen Grayle in "Murder, My Sweet" (1944) directed by Edward Dmytryk

Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman in "Casablanca", Gloria Grahame ("In a lonely place"), Lauren Bacall ("The Big Sleep"), Lizabeth Scott ("Dead Reckoning", "Too Late for Tears", "Desert Fury"), Joan Bennett ("The Woman on The Beach"), Marilyn Monroe ("Niagara"), Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford ("Gilda), Ida Lupino ("High Sierra", "Roadhouse", "On Dangerous Ground"), Martha Vickers, Marlon Brando and Eva Marie Saint ("On the Waterfront"), Yvonne De Carlo and Burt Lancaster ("Criss Cross"), Tom Neal and Ann Savage ("Detour"), Rhonda Fleming and Dick Powell ("Cry Danger"), Edward G. Robinson ("The Woman in the Window"), Ava Gardner ("The Killers"), Van Heflin ("The Strange love of Martha Yvers"), Claire Trevor ("Murder, My Sweet"), Dennis O'Keefe and Marsha Hunt ("Raw Deal"), Dan Duryea ("The Burglar", "Scarlet Street"), Evelyn Keyes ("The Prowler"), Robert Mitchum and Faith Domergue ("Where the Danger lives"), Orson Welles ("The Lady of Shangai"), Mary Astor ("The Maltese Falcon"), Robert Ryan and Audrey Totter ("The Set-Up"), Lana Turner and John Garfield ("The Postman Always Rings Twice"), Sterling Hayden and Dorothy Lamour ("Manhandled"), Kirk Douglas and Jan Sterling ("Ace in the Hole"), James Stewart and Kim Novak ("Vertigo") Mary Beth Hughes ("Sleepers West"), Marie Windsor ("The Narrow Margin"), Jean Gillie ("Decoy"), Janet Leigh ("Act of Violence"), Gene Tierney ("Laura"), Cornel Wilde and Jean Wallace ("The Big Combo"), Veronica Lake and Richard Widmark ("Slattery's Hurricane"), Ann Blyth and Ella Raines ("Brute Force"), Lawrence Tierney and Ann Jeffreys ("Step by Step"), Robert Mitchum and Jane Greer ("Out of the Past"), Jean Simmons ("Angel Face"), Alan Ladd ("This Gun for Hire"), Shelley Winters ("Larceny"), June Vincent ("Black Angel"), Barbara Stanwyck ("Double Indemnity", "Clash by Night"), Robert Montmogery ("Lady in the Lake"), Joan Crawford ("Possessed"), Charlton Heston ("Dark City"), etc.

Good Girls gone noir: Coleen Gray, Cleo Moore, Jennifer Aniston

Coleen Gray aka The Good Girl:

She could play the bad girl if she had to (her drug-dealing nurse is easily the best thing about the underbaked THE SLEEPING CITY), but Coleen Gray almost always played a dependable gal in a pinch.

She tried in vain to steer Sterling Hayden away from his final doom in THE KILLING, saved what was left of Tyrone Power at the end of NIGHTMARE ALLEY, and she helped John Payne wade through a river of thugs in KANSAS CITY CONFIDENTIAL. Source: thenighteditor.blogspot.com

Cleo Moore was born on Halloween, 1928 in Baton Rouge. At 15 she was briefly married to Huey Long's youngest son, and had very likely already assumed the sort of undulating corporeal proportions that can make a guy break down and weep. She would eventually set records for the longest filmed kiss on live television, run for governor of Louisiana and enter the world of real estate before dying of a heart attack at the age of 44.

Robert Ryan as Jim Wilson and Cleo Moore as Myrna Bowers in Nicholas Ray's "On Dangerous Ground" (1952)

But in the 1950s she was a star of sorts, the muse of eccentric Czech-born auteur Hugo Haas, slated at one point to star in a bio-pic of Jean Harlow, though I knew her only for her memorable cameo in Nicholas Ray's On Dangerous Ground (1952). If we shave off just one of its four titles, the recently released Bad Girls of Film Noir, Vol. 2 could just as easily be titled The Cleo Moore Signature Collection.

Cleo Moore and Ida Lupino were co-stars in "On Dangerous Ground" (1952) and "Women's Prison" (1955)

The girls in these titles tend to not be all that bad, and the films certainly not all that noir. Too transparent for manipulation, Moore didn't play the femme fatale. At the start of Haas's One Girl's Confession (1953), Moore's waitress steals $25 000 from her scumbag employer, hides it, and thereafter turns herself in.

This strange tale of feminine self-reliance and the perils of coveting dirty money is highlighted by pleasingly bizarre plot twists and Haas's distinctive use of close-ups. It's a bit disappointing when Moore winds up content to be romanced by a horny fisherman, but in her private thoughts, conveyed through dreamy voice-over, she confesses that she's genuinely drawn to him. He has clean fingernails, she thinks: "From all that salt water, I guess."
Source: vueweekly.com

"Married to the doltish Phil (John C Reilly), Justine’s bored. Bored at home. Bored at work. Then she meets passionate young checkout boy Holden (Jake Gyllenhaal), and trips into a fiery affair.

Jake Gyllenhaal as Holden Worther in The Good Girl (2002)

Easily Aniston’s most accomplished screen performance, Good Girl finds the actress being bold and daring for the first time. Outside of her comfort zone, she’s electric as Justine – frumpy, miserable and borderline unlikeable. Ironically, it makes us like Aniston all the more. Source: www.totalfilm.com