Offscreen Notes
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Ray Harryhausen: 1920-2013
The last survivor of the three muskateers of the fantastic, Ray Harryhausen (1920-May 7, 2013), has died at the age of 92. The first to die was Forrest J Ackerman at same age 92 on Dec. 4, 2008, followed by Ray Bradbury age 91 on June 5, 2012. These three giants of the field of the Fantastic did more to shape and promote the field of the popular Fantastic than perhaps any other people in their field. Ackerman as a writer’s agent, ambassador and founder of the first ever monster magazine, Famous Monsters of Filmland, Ray Bradbury as a science-fiction and fantasy writer and Harryhausen as the greatest ever stop motion animator and visual effects creator, an art that has now given way to digital animation. These three figures met in the late 1930s and remained close friends until the end. Harryhausen was inspired by the stop mositon animation work of pioneer Willis O’Brien, noting in particular King Kong as the film that inspired him to take up the field. Harryhausen first solo film was loosely based on a Bradbury short story, “The Fog Horn,” The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953), which quickly established him as the heir apparent to O’Brien. Over a dozen key works in the genre of fantasy/science-fiction followed in the 1960s, 1970s, including the classics Mighty Joe Young (1949), 20 Million Miles to Earth (1957), The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958), Jason and the Argonauts, and The Valley of Gwangi (1969). Although a cliche, an era has well and truly come to pass.
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Jesus Franco (May 12, 1930 - April 2, 2013)
The passing of prolific (over 200 films, an apparent Guinness Book of World Records for most films) Spanish director Jesus Franco, revered by some, reviled by others, marks the end of a wonderful era of Euro-horror, of which he was one of its prime movers and shakers. Euro horror is hot right now (with the first ever dedicated book just out by Ian Olney, entitled Eurohorror, 2013, published by Indiana University Press) and the deaths now of Mario Bava (1980), Riccardo Freda (1999), Lucio Fulci (1996), Paul Naschy (2009), Jean Rollin (2010), and now Jesus Franco leaves only a handful of younger directors who made films at the tale end of the euro-horror boom alive and kicking (Lamberto Bava, Dario Argento, Pupi Avati, Harry Kumel, Sergio Martino, and others). The recent passing of both Franco and Rollin is most strongly felt because they, perhaps, are two filmmakers who best exemplified the highs and lows of the euro-horror film: unabashedly personal, without care for taste or decorum, yet marked by a tasty streak of exploitation that made their films ultimately populist (if not for all tastes); at times veering toward artfully sublime, other times marred by the affects of time and budget restrains; never afraid to mix the once taboo elements of fierce violence and naked sexuality. The works of Franco and Rollin challenged the way films were told, the roles of women (who were often cast as powerfully iconic figures, dangerous, Amazonian, lethal, sensual, seductive, ‘monstrous’ female fatales, lesbian or bisexual lovers, and tragically fated to repeat the sins of their past incarnations), and the limits of what constitutes horror. With the recent boom in interest, academically and by ‘fan scholars’, the groundwork laid out by figures such as Franco and Rollin will only grow in historical stature.
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Donald Richie (1924-2013)
One of the foremost advocates of Japanese cinema and culture for the West, Donald Richie, passed away on February 19, 2013 at the age of 88 in Japan, where he lived since the late 1940s. Richie’s goal in life was to open up the west to the art of the great Japanese filmmakers, notably Ozu, Kurosawa and Mizoguchi and did so across numerous books and essays. His advocacy of Japanese art and culture will be sorely missed.
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Acting Workshops (Starting May 18, 2013)
After a 3 year absence, Carole Zucker will be back in Montreal, teaching an acting workshop. The workshops are taught to develop the actor’s imagination, flexibility, focus, concentration, responsiveness, emotional intelligence and vitality. The workshops only work in so far as the student is committed to the process; you must be willing to do the work. We often start the workshops with breathing and meditation exercises to help students to focus on the day ahead of them. The workshops are offered to those with an interest in acting, amateur theater, those who may wish to go on to drama school and people who want to explore their creativity. Experience is not necessary.
The workshops have been given annually in Montreal, Canada, Burlington, VT, and in the UK since 1999. They are not intended as a substitute for the full conservatory experience, but are offered to those with an interest in acting, amateur theater, those who may wish to go to drama school and those who want to explore the acting process and their creativity. The workshop is invaluable for film makers who want to learn more about the acting process and how to direct actors. Commitment to the process is all that is required of the student. The Beginners Meisner Technique Workshop will be held in the Faubourg Building, starting on May 18th. A special discounted rate is available for all students in the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema. Check out the website to find out more about the technique, the dates, and the instructor. Check the website for more information. -
Michael Winner: 1935-2013
Prolific British director Michael Winner passed away on January 21, 2013 at age 77. I reviewed one of my favorite Winner films, The Sentinel, a few years back on Offscreen. Winner is perhaps best known for his classic vigilante action revenge film starring its iconic star Charles Bronson, Death Wish, and its two sequels. Winner formed a strong working bond with Bronson, who he would direct in several other action/crime films (The Stone Killer, The Mechanic). Horror fans will also remember his take on James’s story Turn of the Screw, The Nightcomers, starring Marlon Brando.
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Mariangela Melato (1941-2013)
One of the greatest female comedienne’s at the tail end of Italy’s ‘golden era’ of film comedy, Mariangelo Melato, passed away on January 13, 2013 at the age of 71. Melato starred on the stage and screen since the 1970s and lit up both with an intelligence and vigor that made it appear as if she were living life at a constant full throttle. International fame came to her in her roles starring opposite Giancarlo Giannini in Lina Wertmuller’s Mimi the Metal Worker (1972) and Swept Away (1974). Melato worked with other great directors such as Luchino Visconti (Monaca di Monza, 1967), Elio Petri (The Working Class go to Heaven (1971), Steno (La polizia ringrazia, 1972), Vittorio De Sica (Lo chiameremo Andrea, 1972), Claude Chabrol (The Nada Gang), Sergio Corbucci (Di che segno sei?, 1975), Fernando Arrabal (The Tree of Guernica, 1975), and Luigi Comencini (Il Gatto, 1977).
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Film Studies For Free
Nice to see that Offscreen has once again made the cut in the indispensable Film Studies For Free year end poll of Top 12 Established online Film Studies Journals. Thanks to Catherine Grant again for her continued amazing work in holding together the single most amazing online film studies resource. FSFF rules.
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Gualtiero Jacopetti: 1919-2012
With the popularity of the documentary continually on the rise due to its permeability to splinter out into fictional terrains such as mockumentary, fake documentary, and reality programs, a special mention should go to one half of the co-founder of what he called the “anti-documentary,’ the mondo film, Gaultiero Jacopetti. Jacopetti worked in tandem with Franco Prosperi and Paolo Cavara to make the first mondo film, Mondo Cane, in 1961, and then a slew of follow-ups that would go on the influence a generation of even more lurid and more staged films in the 1970s and 1980s. Jacopetti died on Wednesday, Nov. 28 in Rome at the age of 91.
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The Film Society
There is a new event being hosted at Concordia, in VA-114 and JA De Seve, The Film Society screenings. The Film Society is run by Phil Spurrell, who has been serving the film community in Montreal for 20 years, hosting monthly or bi-monthly screenings of 16mm (and sometimes 35mm) old, classic and contemporary films. The nice thing about The Film Society is that with the transition to digital projection, this is one of the few places where you can still see actual celluloid in Montreal, where right now there are very few remaining venues that still screen 35mm (Cinema du parc, Ex-Centris and the Cinémathèque). Thisi Friday, Nov. 23, the FS is having a special 20th anniversary event to launch its new Concordia Partnership, at the J.A. deSeve theatre at 7:30pm. It is a surprise title of a 35mm cinemascope (BIG) film. The actual regular screenings will be held normally on Sunday nights.
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Cinema Politica
A listing of upcoming November and December 2012 screenings.
