9 posts tagged “film”
But the internet, in what sounds like the best worst idea ever, has decided to make its own Movie. Using the collaborative film production site Wreck A Movie, a group of Finnish film-makers are trying to make a top notch science fiction film.
The film is called Iron Sky, and a teaser was just released. I'll be honest, it has very high production values.
The premise of the film automatically makes it awesome: In 1945 the Nazis escaped to the Moon, and now they're coming back to Earth. So, if this sounds like the kind of movie you'd like to help produce/shoot/promote/distribute, you can sign on to the project.
Thanks, Finland and internets!
Nader Talebzadeh is an Iranian filmmaker who made a movie about Jesus (around the same time as Mel Gibson's more violent take). Jesus is an important prophet in Islam although the version of his story is a little different.
He hopes the film increases interfaith and intercultural dialogue and presents a different view than the western news media about Iran and Islam.
Sounds good to me.
You may have heard of their hijinks before, but the conspiracy is bigger than I thought!
Les UX are a Parisian counterculture urban "guerilla" group with a variety of branches and many secretive projects. Branches include an all-female infiltration team, and teams for photography, radio, database, communications, and restoration. Basically, they tend to break laws and make life better, or at least more interesting.
Last year the restoration branch called Untergunther repaired the clock in The Pantheon, where French heroes are interred. The group broke into the landmark building at night for a year and set up shop including electricity and internet, but were never caught. They broke in one last time to connect the restored clock to the bells which rang on Christmas in 2006. The group was prosecuted but released.
Earlier restoration projects included an ancient crypt and a bunker.
La Mexicaine de Perforation is a branch that occupies underground spaces. Their most famous episode is the subterranean movie theater carved out of rock near the Eiffel Tower. Secret film festivals were held there. It was discovered by the police during training in the city's extensive catacombs. They had tapped into the city's electricity, sewer, and phone network and had set up a movie screen and projector, bar, and things for making couscous. The police returned later to investigate; the entire area had been cleared out. Paris actually has a team of police responsible for the spaces underground, as they are extraordinarily extensive.
French police are worried by this group and its organization. Although they flout the laws, they do not seem to aim at the downfall of society; yet the authorities seem to believe that the group could be a model of how terrorist cells organize and execute projects.
Joost just went into public beta (instead of invite-only beta). I definitely recommend you check it out.
Joost is a free (i.e. ad-supported) video delivery system along the lines of the YouTube, but slicker and less crazed.
Users can't upload content - it's one way. However the content includes some stellar TV and film sources like CNN, Comedy Central, National Geographic, Aardman Studios, and new CBS shows. There's also some full length feature films (most of which are bad, but many of which are awesomely bad, if you know what I mean). Lots of independent content, and the documentary section looks really interesting. Also, older content like silent films and vintage horror.
There are commercial breaks (seems like just one 15 or 30 second ad at a time) plus the occasional small pop-up during the show.
To use, you have to download the video player application and sign up as a user, all of which was painless. The interface is attractive and intuitive. Unlike YouTube, the video quality is always good (it's TV and film after all) and the video screen can be whatever size you want.
The downside of this service is that the content options are fairly limited. The major players are not putting some of their prime shows up for grabs (alas, no Daily Show in the Comedy Central feed). However if you like some of these companies' underdogs (Stella, Strangers with Candy) it's your lucky day. Also a lot of really great content providers are conspicuously absent - NBC, FOX, BBC
One important illsuion is anamorphosis. It means to distort an image which can only be "decoded" when viewed from the proper angle or with a special instrument. Artists like Leonardo da Vinci have been experimenting with it since at least the Renaissance, and even earlier in China.
Slant, or oblique anamorphosis can be seen in the top photos. The hallway is (I think) from a boutique hotel. It only forms the "correct" circle image when viewed from the proper angle. Another artist you may have seen is Julian Beever who does anamorphic chalk drawings. Photos on the internet abound. But for an older example, see Hans Holbein's 1553 painting The Ambassadors. Near the floor you can see a slanting blob. When viewed from the side (obliquely) the distorted part clearly resolves into a skull. The famous dome of the Church of St. Ignazio in Rome is not a dome at all. The flat ceiling was painted by Andrea Pozzo to look like a dome - but only when viewed from the right angle.
Mirror, or catoptric anamorphosis is an image like this weird Renault advertisement that is highly distorted. When a cylindrical metal or mirrored object is placed properly, the "correct" image can be seen in the reflection. I suppose the mirror doesn't have to be a cylinder, but that seems to be the standard.
Anamorphosis has been used as entertainment, to add another layer of meaning and objects to fine art, to exploit architectural elements, and to transmit the forbidden, such as pornographic or satirical images in the 17th century.
Although anamorphic art is still being made today, the most common place to find it is in the cinema. The first anamorphic film format was the French system Hypergonar by Henri Chretien (He's got an Academy Award and a crater on the moon for his efforts in optics). Although the optical technique was used by the military and in giant telescopes, the film industry didn't pick up on it again until the 1950s. Ever since, it has been the standard. Film is shot using a lens that stretches the image to fit on the 35mm film. When projected at the theater a special lens adjusts the stretched image to form the correct one we see on the screen.
This film would no doubt have been the Snakes on a Plane of the 1970s, but it is no excuse for it never having been filmed.
However, someone has stitched together old TV and film clips to approximate an "episode" of this thrilling tale.
Awesome note: In its heyday Hammer Films produced Dracula, The Mummy, One Million Years B.C., Curse of Frankenstein, and Phantom of the Opera (all the original films, mind you)
One of the
early important films (i.e. with a storyline and not some guy sneezing) was actually a western called The
Great Train Robbery in 1903. It was written and directed by Edwin S. Porter and
distributed by Edison Company.
It’s only 12 minutes long but it contains some
very innovative techniques. These included cross cutting (alternating between
two different scenes, suggesting two different but simultaneous events), camera movement and location shooting. Some scenes in some of the prints
were in color (painted by hand).
The film has several scenes. Robbers hold up a
train station. They board the train and have a shoot out on board. The robbers
force everyone off the train and rob them, then make their grand escape.
However, the train station agent from the first scene rallies the town to catch
the criminals.
One of the most impactful scenes is a character firing
point-blank at the camera. Apparently this frightened early viewers – some fainted.
Martin Scorsese continues to use this shot in movies like Goodfellas and The
Departed.
I’ve seen part of this film, and it is fairly impressive how modern it ends up being, considering it was made so early on. True motion picture systems had only been around for a decade. It also goes to show you that cinematic violence has been popular since the beginnings of commercial feature films.
The main character is a London cop who is too competent and is making the rest of the department look bad. His superiors transfer him to a sleepy country town. It seems idyllic, but bodies soon start piling up. Friends are made, the self is discovered, arrests are made, and eventually the bullets start flying - and they don't stop.
Simon Pegg and Nick Frost star. There are also great roles and cameos by some awesome people like Timothy Dalton, Bill Nighy, Steve Coogan, Martin Freeman, Steve Merchant, Cate Blanchett, and Bill Bailey.
Georges Melies created Le Voyage dans la Lune (A Trip to the Moon) in 1902. It's a melodramatic but heartfelt imagining of launching a manned rocket to the moon.
The special effects are very impressive for the time period. It is not the first science fiction or fantasy film, but it's the best from this era.
If the film or the style looks somewhat familiar, the Smashing Pumpkins based one of their music videos extensively on this film.
