We're Back: The Last 10 Films We've Seen

We are back from our ice-fishing trip to Colorado (ok, we are kidding a bit), but we were away for a long time. Hopefully those of you in Atlanta, Ottawa, London, Praque, Istanbul and Dubai were able to find other ways to inform/educate yourselves. And, with that in mind, here are the last ten films we've seen. Many of these were from Netflix streaming, which we are getting more hip towards.


The image of stand-up comedian Sarah Silverman is meant to be ironic, as she was one of the Jewish stand-up comedians who was NOT interviewed for the documentary film "When Jews Were Funny," which we heard about when the film was being screened at the River Run Film Festival in Winston-Salem, NC.

Here we go:

1) "When Jews Were Funny" doc. 2013. dir: Alan Zweg (top image)

2) "Like Crazy" 2011. dir: Drake Doremus

3) "Days of Being Wild" Hong Kong. 1990. dir: Wong Kar Wai.

4) "Blue is the Warmest Color" France. 2013. dir: Adellatif Kechine (center image)

5) "Into the Abyss" doc. 2011. dir: Werner Herzog (bottom image: the film is about an execution in Texas, the American state with the highest number of executions)

6) "Barbara" Germany.  2012. dir: Christian Petzold

7) "West of Memphis" doc. 2012. dir: Amy Berg

8) "No" Chile. 2012. dir: Pablo Larain

9) "Soylent Green" 1973. dir: Richard Fleischer (it's a science-fiction film with Charlton Heston)

10) "Climates" Turkey. 2006. dir: Nuri Bilge Ceylan



http://www.whenjewswerefunny.com


http://www.sarahsilvermanonline.com


http://www.tcadp.org


http://www.wernerherzog.com

http://www.filmcomment.com

Billy Bragg on the Death of Margaret Thatcher

Yesterday on his Facebook page and his official web site the unapologetic left-wing folk/rock English singer Bill Bragg who was getting ready for a concert in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, issued a statement of the death of long-time conservative British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, also known as 'The Iron Lady.'

Bragg was heavily critical of Thatcher and in 1985, he released a powerful ballad "Between the Wars" about what he perceived to be her neglect of the working class and a useful war with Argentina over the Falkland Islands.

Here is Bragg's statement:

"This is not a time for celebration. The death of Margaret Thatcher is nothing more than a salient reminder of how Britain got into the mess that we are in today. Of why ordinary working people are no longer able to earn enough form one job to support a family; of why there is a shortage of descent affordable housing; of why domestic growth is driven by credit; not by real incomes; of why tax-payers are forced to top up wages; of why a spiteful government seeks to penalise the poor for an extra bedroom; of why Rupert Murdoch became so powerful; of why cynicism and greed became the hallmarks of our society.

Raising the glass to the death of an infirm old lady changes none of this. The only real antidote to cynicism is activism. Don't celebrate---organise."

Bragg comes to America with concert dates that include a concert at the Eagle Theatre in Iowa City, Iowa, on April 15th.

The American right-wing Republican political figure Newt Gingrich, the former Speaker of the House, who ran unsuccessfully for president last year was quite different in his remarks regarding Thatcher, who was called the 'Demir Leydi' in Turkey.

Gingrich tweeted yesterday that: "Margaret Thatcher, Pope John Paul and Ronald Reagan changed history. The world would be a different place without them."

SIDEBAR: On a personal date, I was very saddened to hear about the death of American filmmaker Les Blank who died at age 77 after a bout with cancer at his home near San Francisco. His landmark films included "Burden of Dreams" (1982) about eccentric German film director Werner Herzog and his grand efforts to put the epic film "Fitzcarraldo" with the late Klaus Kinski. I had the change to meet Blank in person and talk to him over the years. As one person said on his Facebook page today: "An artist may die, but his art never does."

http://www.billybragg.co.uk

http://www.twitter.com/newtgingrich

http://www.lesblank.com

Quote of the Day- Klaus Kinski

Today, we start our quotes from famous Germans with a quip from the late, great eccentric actor Klaus Kinski (1926-1991) who appeared as the title vampire in the 1979 remake of "Nosferatu" entitled "Nosferatu the Vampire."

The film was one of many that Kinski did with director Werner Herzog, which also included "Fitzcarradlo" (1982). The feud between the two during the shoot in the Amazon River basin of Peru became the basis for Les Blank's acclaimed documentary "Burden of Dreams."

Kinski also appeared in several spaghetti westerns, including the vintage "Bullet for the General" (1966).

Here is his quote:

"I am your fairy tale. Your dream. Your wishes and desires, and I am your thirst, your hunger, your food, and your drink."

Quote of the Week- Werner Herzog

Today, we quip the legendary German film director Werner Herzog, who has directed such features as "Aguirre: The Wrath of God" (1972) and "Fitzcarraldo" (1982) with his late collaborator and frenemy Klaus Kinksi. Documentary film director Les Blank, whom I am a huge fan of, captured the tension between the two in his film "Burden of Dreams." Herzog's own latest film "Cave of Forgotten Dreams," which happens to be a documentary," is now presumably available on dvd in the USA.

This quote comes from Herzog's earlier doc "Grizzly Man" (2005) which was in the top ten of contemporary docs to see 'before you die' in a recent Current TV show hosted by documentarian and social commentator Morgan Spurlock of "Supersize Me" fame.

Here is the quote:

"I believe the common denominator of the Universe is not harmony, but chaos, hostility, and murder."

Dead or Alive?- Klaus Kinski

We conclude our three entries devouted to the fall of the Berlin Wall by asking our blog visitors if the egotistical German actor Klaus Kinski is dead or alive.

Kinski collaborated with German director Werner Herzog five times even though the two openly despised each other. The making of one of those films "Fitzcarraldo"
(1982) is the subject of an excellent documentary entitled "The Burden of Dreams" by my friend Les Blank.

The German actor was born on Oct. 18, 1926, in what is now Sopot, Poland. He grew up in Berlin and was drafted into the German army. He was taken prisoner by British forces in Holland.

Kinski was married and divroced four times, and he is the father of actress Nastassja Kinski, best known for her starring role in Roman Polanski's "Tess."

Though he starred in some classic films of German cinema, Kinski also starred in some infamous or dreadful films like "Venus in Furs" (1969) from the sometimes notorious Spanish filmmaker Jesus Franco.

Kinski also turned down the role of the villain for "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981) because he thought the script was awful?!

PS- The subject of our last entry in this series Christopher Lee is indeed alive and well, and still starring in films.

Quote of the Day- Jonathan Demme

Due to time constraints, we are publishing quotes from great movie directors on our respective blogs today. Here is one from Jonathan Demme whose film "Rachel Getting Married" got rave reviews last year:

"I don't think it's sacrilegious to remake any movie, including a good or great movie."

Hmmm......does that mean I can't question Gus Van Sant for remaking "Psycho?"_ shot for shot no less!

I am choosing Demme because I saw a great interview he gave with Werner Herzog about Herzog's latest documentary film "Encounters at the End of the World." The interview is part of a dvd extra for the film which takes a revealing look at life in Antartica.