monstrosity is a 1963 film directed by joseph v. mascelli .

it is perhaps better known under its alternate tv release title , the atomic brain .

monstrosity ( film )

monstrosity ( 1963 ) directed by joseph v . mascelli • reviews , film + cast • letterboxd
in the monthly season of december 2017 ,
monstrosity
was awarded best web and new media film in calcutta international cult film festival , in india .
unnatural reproductions and monstrosity and over 2 million other books are available for amazon kindle . learn more
monstrosity is a danish horror film by kasper juhl and rose milling . a danish tribute to fred vogel ' s
august underground
.
hellbound productions presents
monstrosity
. a film by kasper juhl & rose milling . a sick and disturbing tale from the depths of denmark ! on dvd april 2014 urltoken
director of photography samrod shenassa works with writer - director alyssa price on the set of “the monstrosity . ” / / contributed
monstrosity ( 1964 ) aka the atomic brain . stars : marjorie eaton , frank gerstle . director - joseph mascelli . moria - the science - fiction , horror and fantasy film review .
monstrosity skirts that extremely fine line between being unwatchable garbage or a mildly amusing farce . those expecting classic andy milligan will be disappointed / delighted with the film’s gutter punk silliness rather than the usual milligan melodramatic misanthropy . monstrosity’s take on the golem legend begins like most classical farces with a light - hearted rape by some geriatric ( not joking ) punks setting off a chain of death , destruction , and jon balogh taking his shirt off . monstrosity also has a guardian angel , more geriatric ( of the non - raping variety ) punks , and an adorable carrie anita as the bride of the monstrosity .
one of the best books written about a horror film and one of the best contributions to film reception studies .
. however jamie lee curtis didn ' t make a horror film until 1978 , only 11 years before this film was made .
monstrosity is a short starring jamey anthony , sebastian michael barr , and kim bateman . earth and a planet inhabited by monsters collide , when a scientist ' s experiment goes wrong .
a bus ride on the first day of school proves to be more challenging than expected for milly ( leanna zamora ) , left in the movie “the monstrosity” that stars local children and was written and directed by former valley resident alyssa price . the film will have its world premiere at the santa barbara international film festival this week . other local actresses in the film include monica berch , center , and alexis healey . / / contributed
15 . steven schneider ,
monsters as ( uncanny ) metaphors : freud , lakoff , and the representation of monstrosity in cinematic horror .
in horror film reader , ed alain silver and james ursini ( new york : limelight editions , 2000 ) , 167 - 91 .
hutchings , peter ( 2004 ) the horror film . essex : pearson education limited
( 1959 )  and was supplanted by the atomic monster and alien invader film .
deftly weaving together similar strands of queer theory , childhood studies , and horror film scholarship , andrew scahill argues for the queer pleasures and revolutionary potentials inherent in the figure of the monstrous child . his work makes a significant contribution to the growing scholarship on childhood and monstrosity , offering fresh perspectives on iconic bad kids from rhoda (
address monster studies and intersectionality . of particular interest to the editors are popular depictions of monstrosity and disability , non - binary gender and sexuality , feminism , and non - traditional / deconstructed families within a broad identity politics frame . .
the film was directed by rocky morton and annabel jankel , who created “max headroom . ” this is their first feature , showing an almost sensuous love for the shadows and secrets of film noir .
the book not only offers a feminist interrogation of gynaehorror , but also a counter - reading of the gynaehorrific , that both accounts for and opens up new spaces of productive , radical and subversive monstrosity within a mode of representation and expression that has often been accused of being misogynistic . it therefore makes a unique contribution to the study of women in horror film specifically , while also providing new insights in the broader area of popular culture , gender and film philosophy .
scheunemann , dietrich ( 2006 ) ‘activating the differences : expressionist film and early weimar cinema’ . in expressionist film : new perspectives . edited by dietrich scheunemann , pp . 1 - 31 . new york : camden house
“it was alarming working with toby , and when you’re playing a deeply disturbing serial killer that’s not someone you want to hang with , ” moffat said . “he’d come storming off the set , scrunch himself up in a corner , and keep hold of the monstrosity . ”
of course , the case for establishing a connection between the depiction of a monster and creating / seeing a film as a horror film no longer needs to be made . steven jay schneider ' s classification of monster metaphors as primary cues in horror films demonstrates how different kinds of monsters function as signifiers of horrality in cinema . [ 15 ] but is a film that contains a monster always a horror film ? certainly not . it becomes a horror film only when , and because , the monster ' s role in the narrative renders a specific and reasonable meaning to all ( or most ) of the film ' s other signs and metaphors .
tries to combine the atomic monster and mad scientist film , a genre amalgamation that one is surprised was never more popular than it was  about the only other film that ever did so was edward d . wood jrs
a visual feast of science fiction that left audiences cold , dune is the epic and unbeloved adaptation of frank herbert ' s much loved 1965 novel . now , 20 years on , and after some memorably poor dvd releases , we have a plush special edition two - disc release that not only presents the film beautifully but also takes a frank look back at this intriguing monstrosity of cinema .
“the monstrosity” will be screened as part of the “local filmmakers” series at 7 p . m . thursday , feb . 3 , at the lobero theatre and at 10 : 30 p . m . saturday , feb . 5 , at the metro theater , both in santa barbara .
robert weine’s 1920 film the cabinet of doctor caligari is unanimously agreed to be both a prime example of german expressionist cinema , and also a seminal horror film . however , the film is also something of an enigma , combining as it does , a mixture of gothic , psychologically motivated narrative , and expressionist set design . the film’s influence on the horror genre can certainly be attributed to this gothic narrative , but the influence of it’s expressionist aesthetic has to be considered far more sceptically than it has been by past theorists . the question of why the expressionist aesthetic influenced film noir so strongly , and not horror , has to be asked when considering the film’s legacy as horror .
starting from the premise that monsters / monstrosity allow for the ( dis ) placement of anxieties that contemporary social mores do not otherwise sanction in the public space , editors artenie and szanter seek original essays for an edited collection on manifestations of monsters and monstrosity in all facets of popular culture and entertainment with an emphasis on film and television . within the last years , there has been an explosion of movies and television shows that incorporate monstrous characters such as the vampire , zombie , werewolf , revenant , witches , and ghosts . while monsters continue to remain strong in the human conscious , the recent proliferation of monstrous characters includes new and innovative interpretations that not only attract mainstream audiences but transform traditional folklore and mythologies . this collection aims to analyze the new forms taken by monsters in film and television for their cultural impact on modern entertainment and popular culture .
the film : still terrence malick ' s best film ,
days of heaven
is an infinite tragedy , a film that ' s at once both unspeakably beautiful and bluntly matter - of - fact . a hardscrabble romance , a
timeless american idyll ,
a portrait of the american soul frozen in amber . . . it ' s all of these things and more in 94 minutes of indelible imagery , narrated by what might be the most perfect voiceover in film history .
why the criterion is essential : jonathan rosenbaum ' s commentary track is among criterion ' s finest , and a documentary on the film ' s tragic hero ( the film itself hardly qualifies as such ) is a revelatory thing to watch . as if that weren ' t enough , criterion kindly includes
the traveler ,
abbas kiarostami ' s first feature film .
naremore , james ( 1998 ) more than night : film noir in its contexts . london : university of california press .
on its long road to a theater near you , “tangled” had a few different titles . as far as i know , none of them were “rapunzel : based on the novel ‘push’ by sapphire , ” but the film’s portrait of maternal monstrosity may remind you of “precious , ” albeit without the incest , the poverty or the violence . ( a weaponized frying pan does come into play , but not as an instrument of domestic abuse . )
the tomatometer score — based on the opinions of hundreds of film and television critics — is a trusted measurement of critical recommendation for millions of fans . it represents the percentage of professional critic reviews that are positive for a given film or television show .
ernest mathijs is lecturer in film studies at the university of wales , aberystwyth . his current interests include the reception of horror film , cult film and reality television , and cinema of the low countries . essays appeared in literature / film quarterly , tv and new media , cult movies ( ed mark jancovich , et al ) , foundations of science , and cinema journal ( forthcoming ) . he is currently editing books on the cinema of the low countries , big brother international , and alternative european cinema .
you know , those horror films made on a micro budget that the film maker sells themselves . i ' ll try and stick…
the revised edition of tracking king kong updates a groundbreaking study of king kong as the iconic character enters the twenty - first century . scholars of film and television studies as well as general readers interested in film and popular culture will appreciate this significant volume .
erb’s book , revised from her earlier 1998 version , comprehensively details global and national interpretations and analyses of king kong , and includes a section on peter jackson’s king kong . it is indispensable for film studies scholars who want to situate the film within competing discourses .
this week ' s release from the criterion collection is
the tree of wooden clogs ,
an italian film from ermanno olmi (
il posto
) . set in the 19th century the film follows four peasant families who all work the farms for the same landlord . the film has been praised for its dedication to realism as the majority of the actors are actual farmers , rather than professional actors . the film takes a long look at the decaying italian social structure and the cruel relationship between landlord and the families in their emply .
“when i started pre - production on ‘the monstrosity , ’ i decided to go back to my hometown to hold auditions and give local kids a chance to participate . the turnout was very encouraging — with only two days’ notice , over 40 local kids showed up and i was able to cast more than 20 of them , ” she said .
why the criterion is essential : the dvd is sufficient , i suppose , but the way criterion ' s blu - ray renders and preserves the film ' s murky blue lighting ensures that the suffocating mood of melville ' s greatest film won ' t be diminishing anytime soon .
this book offers an in - depth analysis of women in horror films through an exploration of ‘gynaehorror’ : films concerned with all aspects of female reproductive horror , from reproductive and sexual organs , to virginity , pregnancy , birth , motherhood and finally to menopause . some of the themes explored include : the intersection of horror , monstrosity and sexual difference ; the relationships between normative female ( hetero ) sexuality and the twin figures of the chaste virgin and the voracious vagina dentata ; embodiment and subjectivity in horror films about pregnancy and abortion ; reproductive technologies , monstrosity and ‘mad science’ ; the discursive construction and interrogation of monstrous motherhood ; and the relationships between menopause , menstruation , hagsploitation and ‘abject barren’ bodies in horror .
the film philosophy which underpins the exploration of these films is primarily continental philosophy , rather than the more dominant field of cognitive film philosophy , utilizing increasingly attractive philosophers for film theory such as deleuze , guattari , ranciere , foucault , irigaray and kristeva . the series ultimately seeks to establish a refined and sophisticated methodology for re - invigorating issues of alterity both in the films chosen and the means by which continental philosophers of difference can paradigmatically alter ways of address and representation that lifts this kind of theory beyond analysis and criticism to help rethink the terrain of film theory itself .
bordwell , david and thompson , kristin ( 2001 ) film art : an introduction ( 6 th ed ) new york : mcgraw - hill .
in tracking king kong cynthia erb charts the cultural significance of the character of king kong , from the early 1930s , when merian c . cooper and ernest b . schoedsack’s classic film king kong was first released , to peter jackson’s 2005 remake . although king kong has received much academic attention over the past twenty - five years , the bulk of these analyses deal with the film’s human characters rather than kong himself . in this revised edition of an influential study , erb argues that king kong is a particular kind of cultural outsider who represents a cross - penetration of american notions of exoticism and monstrosity . tracking king kong considers problems such as race and gender in the king kong tradition , as well as historical , international , and contemporary audience and fan responses to this classic film and its popular protagonist .
this early 1960s black and white
horror
film is a prime example of the misunderstood evil genius - reanimated zombie genre typical of the era .
an excellent essay , well done ! the theme of otherness i too believe , is omnipresent in caligari even though it takes different forms . on the one hand being the sinister mesmerist / murderer and on the other a benevolent psychiatrist , caligari is certainly an ambiguous figure , even when it comes to his monstrosity . perhaps this also fits with the theme of the doppelganger you mentioned above .
the ballad of narayama
is a japanese film of great beauty and elegant artifice , telling a story of startling cruelty . what a space it opens…
why the criterion edition is essential : though it arrived just before the time when criterion started releasing everything on bluray , this standard definition transfer is nevertheless the best the film has ever looked , and it shed some much - needed light on what is maybe the best film of godard’s 60s period . – cm
i see a new world . the family dysfunction , the toilet bowl film prints , the period piece melodrama ; the ghastly ones kick starts it all .
we are the flesh ,
a rare non - catalog release from arrow films , is a mexican horror film from director / writer emiliano rocha minter . set in a post - apocalyptic world ,
we are the flesh
follows a brother and sister as they try to survive in the barren world . it ' s a particularly difficult film to wade through as the horrors of the wasteland prove to be incredibly brutal and salacious . minter ' s story is vicious and primed to offend . it ' s well made , but be prepared for a film that shares many characteristics with the notorious
a serbian film .
“‘the monstrosity’ follows in the tradition of ‘the wonder years , ’ but from a female perspective , ” price said . “it’s about a brand new sixth - grader named milly who is entering george adams middle school . . . . when dylan , the cutest boy on the bus , makes fun of a huge zit on her forehead , she realizes that fitting in is going to be harder than she expected .
the film : the cinema of robert bresson is dedicated to destroying those false constructs as people encounter them at a corporeal level , his films mining the mundane to unearth the divine .
au hasard balthazar
, as bresson ' s most mundane film ( it ' s protagonist is a donkey ) , is the bresson film most completely devoted to this idea , every element of its construction designed to confound and contradict the ideologies which orient our existence around the transactional rather than the transcendental .
film philosophy at the margins picks up on the burgeoning field of ‘film philosophy’ - the shift from film analysis and explication to bringing together film with philosophy - and coalesces it with films , genres and spectator theory which have received little critical attention . these films could be defined as marginal due to containing marginalizing representations of violence and marginal invocations of sexuality and queer performativity , showing the margins of bodily modification from disability to performance art , being marginal in their abstraction of representative codes or in reference to their address to the politics of social control , spectatorship and cinematic pleasure as marginal due to its unique status and quality , and many other interpretations of extreme .
the film : from the top drawer of the “more relevant than ever” file we have gillo pontecorvo’s
the battle of algiers
, a ground - level portrait of colonial resistance unlike anything else ever committed to film . shot in gritty black & white on the streets of the casbah , pontecorvo’s film uses the transformation of a politically radicalized criminal ( brahim hagiag as ali la pointe ) as his primary means of chronicling the algerian struggle for independence against occupying french forces that scarred the area throughout the 1950s .
one of the best books written about a horror film and one of the best contributions to film reception studies . i don ' t know of a book that brings these two areas together more richly than tracking king kong . erb combines dazzling historical research with a clear and engaging prose style to make her book refreshing for the academic reader and a pleasure for every sort of reader . the most ardent lover of the original king kong will learn new things about the film ' s enduring impact and its myriad cultural manifestations .
10 . thomas elsaesser ,
look deep inside yourself : the silence of the lambs .
paper presented at the 1st european psychoanalytic film festival , london ( 2001 ) .
( 1994 ) , an early film by director peter jackson , chronicles the true story of pauline parker and juliet hulme , two adolescent girls in 1954 new zealand . in the film , the girls develop a deep romantic friendship based in shared fantasy , but their forced separation leads the pair to descend into madness and commit matricide . the book turns to feminist / queer theory , postcolonial theory , auteur analysis , apparatus theory , new media studies , and reception studies to unpack the film’s complex portrait of adolescent turmoil and tragedy .
one of the best books written about a horror film and one of the best contributions to film reception studies . i don ' t know of a book that brings these two areas together more richly than tracking king kong . erb combines dazzling historical research with a clear and engaging prose style to make her book refreshing for the academic reader and a pleasure for every sort of reader . the most ardent lover of the original king kong will learn new things about the film ' s enduring impact and its myriad cultural manifestations .
according to kracauer , this change effectively converts almost the film into the hallucination of a mad man , not a revolutionary story of rebellion against authority . as kracauer puts it ,
in the remainder of this essay , i will look briefly at a couple of significant examples of metaphors and aspects of hannibal that are discussed by reviewers in relation to either their identification of the film as horror , or to the difficulty they have in coming to terms with attributing a label to the film that doesn ' t quite fit . first , there is the general remark many critics make about hannibal ' s structural unevenness , with regular reference to the fact that the film consists of several parts , some successful , others not .
, is an amusingly lurid b budget film from the 1960s . the production came from producer / writer jack pollexfen who had made various other b genre films in the previous decade
a movie that stars santa ynez valley children , written and directed by former valley resident alyssa price , will have its world premiere at the santa barbara international film festival this week .
tatty , rather sad , no budget , stitched together mess from andy milligan has a backyard monster taking revenge on useless rapist / bullies . a lot of it takes place in a shed and the film just . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ends . bizarre ' anti - film ' home movie best left for milligan completists .
the film : in 1952 , kurosawa had death on the brain . so he made a movie called
to live ,
or
ikiru
, and takashi shimura was finally given the chance to carry a film on his own , a film that would feed off of his unformed slab of a face and its echoing cavities . ikiru is the unassuming , faustian tale of an unthinking and unloved bureaucrat named watanabe , who we are uniquely privileged to learn in the film ' s first frame is dying from terminal stomach cancer . watanabe is a cog in a meaningless machine , and after learning of his impending demise he ' s confronted with his own pitiable insignificance - he doesn ' t even have the moxie required to feel bad for himself . and then . . . well , and then in a way more wistful , delicate , and profound than any film before or since , kurosawa and shimura unpack and distills the human condition . recreationally . depending on when you ask me ,
ikiru
might be my favorite film , but shimura ' s work as watanabe is always my favorite performance . ( original )
why the criterion is essential : criterion spared no expense on this ( sadly still relevant ) release , putting a must - own version of this must - watch film into stores across the united states . the disc is loaded with passionate and informed talking heads , but is truly worth owning for the collection of milk ' s audio recordings that were ultimately excised from the film .
on the minus side , such a wonderfully lurid and amusing stew of b movie elements fails to come to a boil as a film . joseph mascellis direction is drearily dull and the photography downright primitive . the drama is accompanied by a portentous and dull musical score . judy bamber who plays bea affects what is possibly the worst attempt to create a british accent ever recorded on film .
* all of the reviews / articles on hannibal mentioned herein are located in the belgian royal film archive library . in total , 87 reviews from seven countries have been consulted for this essay .
the influence of the cabinet of doctor caligari on the horror genre is not its expressionist aesthetic . the film’s world is certainly a terrifying place , an external physicalisation of a nightmare , it is horrific , and the film deserves its place as part of the birth of the horror genre , but its influence on the genre must not be confused with what the film is famous for – its expressionism . the true influence of the film is what it shares in common with many other weimar films which are not expressionist , though they have been mistakenly referred to as such . these films share a common gothic , romantic narrative structure , and themes like the monster , the male anxiety , the ‘other’ . it is these themes which have lived on to shape horror today .
the film : made at the pinnacle of godard’s early period and arriving just before his sudden break from traditional narrative filmmaking , “2 or 3 things about her” represents one of godard’s most intriguing fusions of essayistic experimentation and standard dramatic practice , resulting in a film that’s both deeply heady and emotionally compelling—a fertile middleground he’d not return to until the early 1980s , a period criterion has unfortunately neglected .
the german film industry re - fashioned modernism’s formal and stylistic innovation for its own purposes , and expressionism provided the most material for experimentation with perception , subjectivity and objectivity ( budd , 1990 : 25 ) . the cabinet of doctor caligari was inarguably the most successful example of this selective use of expressionism in film , retaining a conventional narrative structure whilst wowing the audience with its breathtaking expressionist scenography .
, the production company went bankrupt about halfway through shooting , leaving no money to finish the film . they tried fixing it in the editing room over the next few years , but it was impossible .
falls into the sub - genre of mad scientist films that was all the rage about two decades earlier . the mad scientist film had fairly much died away during the 1950s  apart from odd throwbacks like
despite jack carter being so abusive about the place , geordies took the film to their hearts . with it ' s re - release in 1997 it also attracted a huge uk fan base with constant tours of the locations , with excerpts from the film being re - enacted . consequently , when the demolition of the car park was mooted , a groundswell of opposition managed to delay its destruction for decades .
the film ( excerpted from
why ' breathless ' will always be relevant
) : one of the defining features of “breathless” is the degree to which its characters self - identity through the lens of the cinema , seeing in its images idealized reflections of themselves and modeling their attitudes and mannerisms to better cohere with that vision . perhaps unsurprisingly , that’s one of the film’s most enduring characteristics : as we find ourselves increasingly subsumed in pop culture , our personalities cultivated to best reflect our tastes and interests , the quintessential film about living out a life inspired by the movies is bound to resonate . – cm
how wonderful to have cynthia erb ' s tracking king kong updated . added to the first edition ' s remarkable insights and methodological syntheses is a definitive reading of peter jackson ' s remake . demonstrating that film ' s intricacy and arguing that it is a quintessential example of melancholic cinema , erb expertly tracks the cultural fate of kong into the present and beyond . an extraordinary contribution to film studies .
a work of insight , scholarship , and substance , ' tracking king kong ' is informed , informative , and a highly recommended , core addition to academic library film studies history and reference collections .
the question with which this essay began has now been answered . hannibal is indeed a horror film . this is not just because extra - textual factors , coming from the film ' s surroundings , have led people to label it as horror , but , just as importantly , because we have been able to link these extra - textual elements to textual features—to what belongs to the film text itself . the dominance of the developing horror discourse around the sotl - character hannibal did and still does play a crucial role in determining what the film
is .
on a broader level , i hope i have shown how elements of reception and , more generally , ancillary discourses , are not limited to extra - textual discussions . they can have , and in fact do have , an impact on how we think about films , what we think particular films
are
and , in some cases ( as with hannibal ) , they influence debates concerning what a film will become , even before such determinations have been made .
one of the big surprises of the year was denis villeneuve ' s
arrival ,
an intellectual sci - fi film starring amy adams as a linguistics professor asked to communicate with the alien creatures who have landed in various locations around the world . are they peaceful ? or do they come as conquerors ? let this film heal the carnage that
independence day : resurgence
caused to our collective souls .
erb begins her examination of king kong in the 1930s , when the original film was produced and released , extending through the 1970s , when the film and its hero reached the height of their cultural visibility in a remake by dino de laurentiis , and concluding with a look at peter jackson’s version in 2005 . the book includes a detailed production history of the original 1933 film based on primary historical and archival sources ; a genre study examining kong’s relations to horror , jungle adventure , and travel documentary genres ; an analysis of kong’s influence on the japanese film godzilla ; and a look at sequels , remakes , and spinoffs related to king kong , such as mighty joe young . erb also analyzes jackson’s remake of king kong , to determine how and why jackson revised the main character , casting him as a melancholy hero .
kracauer , seigfried ( 1947 ) from caligari to hitler : a psychological history of the german film . new jersey : princeton university press . ( 2004 version , revised and expanded , edited by leonardo quaresima )
in revisiting graverobbers , it seemed only appropriate to watch the movie that inadvertently introduced me to it . somehow i still remember the day that i bought this video kart dvd release , it was in a now defunct media play in rochester , new york , when dvds slowly started pushing out all of the vhs merchandise . sure , i became obsessed with the b - side of the [ andy milligan ] monstrosity release , but it was this somewhat misleading coverart that convinced my drug - addled brain it was a must - have .
why the criterion is essential : universal’s 20th anniversary bluray edition completely botches the color scheme central to the movie’s aesthetic , making criterion’s ( sadly out of print ) dvd the definitive version of this film . – cm
jackie stacey in her essay ‘she is not herself’ , explores the theme of teratology – the scientific study of monsters and marvels – and also the motif of the double , in the horror and sci - fi genres , especially the theme of abjection , and what she calls “the monstrosity of sameness” ( stacey , 2003 : 3 - 7 ) . this motif of the artificially created and programmed double or the doppelganger has been integral to the horror genre from its very inception , stemming from its gothic roots , and the motif of the doppelganger .
it is the idea of ‘otherness’ which is the key to defining the horrific element of the monster . robin wood explores the theme of ‘otherness’ in horror . wood posits that the ‘other’ is a project of a repressive society in which powerful groups impose or project identities upon subordinate groups ( wood , 1986 : 73 ) . however hutchings warns that over emphasis on this interpretation results in the assumption that “a horror film deals with notions of the other because that is what horror films do , and if a film is not doing this in some way , then it is probably not a horror film at all” ( hutchings , 2004 : 102 ) .
the film :
tokyo story
is routinely acknowledged as one of the greatest films ever made ( the directors surveyed in sight & sound ’s most recent poll concluded that it is the greatest film ever made ) , but what often gets lost in the deserved swirl of accolades is something that’s at the heart of yasujiro ozu’s masterpiece . it’s accurate to label the film as “wise” or “wistful , ” but perhaps the reason that people immediately reach for such flowery terms of appreciation is because it’s easier to reflect on the tragic truths of ozu’s film than it is to confront them . in other words ,
tokyo story
is “sad” when you’re able to keep it at a distance , when you’re able to watch it as a movie about the things that happen to other people . but the film is unshakably chilling when you accept that it’s a movie about you , and everyone you know - - a movie about the things that you can see hiding under the bed , but are powerless to prevent . it’s a movie about . . . your parents coming to visit .
the film : forget best criterion release—powell and pressburger’s 1943 technicolor epic is perhaps the greatest movie ever made , period . foregoing the major points of interest of the traditional life - story template in favor of the minor details and the color of the in - between , “colonel blimp” is overflowing with the passions and tragedies of lived experience , coming as close as any film has before or since to encapsulating what it’s like to be alive .
8 . janet staiger ,
taboos and totems : cultural meanings of the silence of the lambs .
in perverse spectators : the practices of film reception ( new york : new york university press , 2000 ) .
the movie is filled with gestures that meaningful . like the bfg , it cares about the little things , and it moves with a grace that belies its size . it ' s a film about about dreaming and storytelling , parenting and childhood , nostalgia and pragmatism , and the necessity of standing up for yourself even when you know you can ' t win . but most of all , it ' s a film about two unlikely friends .
other local children selected for the film were alexis healy as joanna , caden scott fallon as sam , elton roberts as milly’s younger brother , preston gorr as milly’s youngest brother , and beau allen of santa barbara as dylan .
price is a writer , director and producer who won los angeles magazine’s “get l . a . ” film competition last year with her entry titled “pearl , ” the story of an actress’ day told from her car’s perspective .
the film : without
the spirit of the beehive
there probably wouldn ' t be a guillermo del toro ( i ' ll leave judgements as to the severity of that hypothetical tragedy up to you ) . a haunting yet ineffably beautiful fairy tale about two young girls who are attempting to make sense of the world in post - franco spain , victor erice ' s greatest film begins with a print of
frankenstein
being wheeled into a rural village , and resolves with a sense of wistful wonder that resonates with even today ' s most film - saturated viewers . the castilian landscapes are so scarred and barren , but by the end they feel like home .
the film : one of the truffaut’s most enduringly popular films in many ways encapsulates the charming side of the french new wave , its romanticized atmosphere and free - spirit sensibility both hallmarks of a movement split cleanly in two .
1 . martin barker ,
news , reviews , clues , interviews and other ancillary materials : a critique and research proposal .
scope : an online journal of film studies ( forthcoming 2002 ) : 3 - 6 .
however , in their rather overconfident assertion , referring to the asylum ‘framing device’ of the film , that “ [ i ] n caligari , the expressionist stylisation functions to convey the distorted viewpoint of a madman . we see the world as the hero does” ( bordwell and thompson , 2001 : 407 - 8 ) is woefully simplistic , and is an example of the mis - readings and debates around the framing device and the perspective of the film .
why the criterion is essential : worth it alone for the feature - length documentary about the making of this game - changing film ( but stick around for godard ' s 1959 short ,
charlotte et son jules
) .
provides the reader with information on the production of king kong and reception of the 1933 film , including animation of willis o’brien . includes reviews , discussions of the writing , interpretations , animation , and an interview with fay wray .
“it perverted , if not reversed , their intrinsic intentions . while the original story exposed the madness inherent in authority , wiene’s caligari glorified authority and convicted its antagonist of madness . a revolutionary film was thus turned into a conformist one…”
why the criterion is essential : david downton ' s cover art is among criterion ' s best , and makes this a shelf standout , but my favorite thing here is an 18 - minute video essay starring “sexual - politics activist” susie bright , who focuses this no - holds barred look at the film through a very particular lens . bright is fiercely intelligent , and should effectively unmoor any readings of the film that have become a bit too settled and secure .
elsaesser , thomas ( 2006 ) ‘weimar cinema , mobile selves , and anxious males : kracauer and eisner revisited’ . in expressionist film : new perspectives . edited by dietrich scheunemann , pp . 33 - 71 . new york : camden house
the film : on a purely aesthetic level , wong kar - wai’s “in the mood for love” is practically peerless : its sumptuous , expressionist cinematography—by none other than chris doyle , of course—is enough to make you want to simply sit back and bask in the style . add to that the fact of its emotional maturity , intelligent conception of time and memory , and utterly heartbreaking ending , and you start to wonder whether this isn’t the best film of the past twenty years .
one contemporary phenomenon is the almost mystical status paid to locations used in films and television . many have become places of pilgrimage . i must take responsibility for one such place – the car park owned by the property developer cliff brumby , one of many villains in my 1971 film get carter . whilst most of the locations featured in the film have long since been demolished , the trinity centre in gateshead has survived . until today . this morning it will meet the wrecking ball .
the film : with the tenenbaums , wes anderson may not have created america ' s favorite family ( though they ' re not far from it ) , but – for all of their wealth and strict eccentricities , he may have created its most honest . a beautifully measured portrait of disappointment and second chances that somehow straddles the divide between family album and fairy tale ,
the royal tenenbaums
is the rare film that makes us love how strange we are while appreciating how strange we ' re not .
why the criterion is essential : well , for starters , you get peter bogdanovich reading a commentary by alexander sesonske , so that ' s something . there ' s also a david thompson video series , writings by renoir , tributes to the film by paul schrader , robert altman , wim wenders and more . . . criterion did this one right . the transfer inevitably inherits some flaws from the surviving negative , but i ' d wager that the film hasn ' t looked this good since its first run .
the film : this is a good movie about people and stuff . i like the quiet older guy and also i like the loud jumpy guy , too . and ( looks at title ) , there are like five other guys who are also pretty cool .
armed with the knowledge he has long been seeking , victor spends months feverishly fashioning a creature out of old body parts . one climactic night , in the secrecy of his apartment , he brings his creation to life . when he looks at the monstrosity that he has created , however , the sight horrifies him . after a fitful night of sleep , interrupted by the specter of the monster looming over him , he runs into the streets , eventually wandering in remorse . victor runs into henry , who has come to study at the university , and he takes his friend back to his apartment . though the monster is gone , victor falls into a feverish illness .
the film : i don ' t mean to dismiss edward yang ' s masterpiece ( one of several , really ) as
comfort cinema ,
but
yi yi ,
as much if not more so than any other film , is the movie i return to time and again for respite and guidance . a deceptively casual three - hour drama about the wishes and regrets of a contemporary taiwanese father and their impact on his extended family , yang ' s film seems to contain the entire world . i think of that bit in
you ' ve got mail
where tom hanks swears that everything you need to know about life can be found in
the godfather ,
and i ' m reminded that
yi yi
didn ' t come out until a few years later .
the film ( excerpted from an essay i wrote for film school rejects ) : the best biopic ever made , paul schrader ' s
mishima : a life in four chapters
fuses form and function to the point where its very structure is hugely expressive of its subject . a trite and true biopic of the conventional mold ( think
amelia
, if you can ) would have implicitly drawn a line between mishima and his image , whereas schrader’s approach blends it all together , uniting man and myth in much the same way as mishima ostensibly harmonized pen and sword . but if the film assumes the fractured shape of mishima’s ideology , schrader is equally careful that he’s never beholden to it . schrader doesn’t cooperate with mishima so much as he uses him to reach a higher strata of portraiture .
the references to horror have not stopped since hannibal ' s release , with critics and reviewers describing it as a horror film on an international scale . although donald o ' donoghue calls it a
serial thriller
in the headline of his rte review , throughout the actual article he repeatedly emphasises the horrific elements of both novel and film , singling out the gruesomeness of earlier script versions , the
terrified reactions
of preview audiences and , of course , the
grisly conclusion featuring man - eating pigs .
both le monde and echo de la bourse refer to the film as
horror
in their headlines , whereas the guardian weekly describes it as a
guignol horror comedy .
finally , david ansen , in newsweek , devotes at least one paragraph to a discussion of why he doesn ' t like the film : for its lack of
suspense
( thriller ) and its emphasis on
disgust
and
yuk
( horror ) . other terms which appear frequently in reviews include
grotesque ,
baroque
and numerous variations on
cannibalism .
is ridley scott ' s hannibal ( 2001 ) a thriller or a horror film ? it is a question that could keep film theorists occupied for decades , debating the futility of straightforward genre classifications in contemporary hollywood cinema , analysing the historical overlap between the two genres , interpreting the weight of prior labels ( was jonathan demme ' s the silence of the lambs [ 1991 ] horror or thriller ? what about thomas harris ' s source novel ? ) and , finally , questioning the film ' s style , the psychology of its characters and the implications of its story and design on the audience ( are they scared ? what if they ' re only
so - so
scared ? ) . arguably , there would be no way out of such discussions , apart from perhaps a settlement on the basis of authority .
i don ' t even know what to say about what i witnessed while viewing this film . it is a really bad movie , but worth being part of my collection . the gore scenes are entertaining , not bad , but not executed the best . this sort of has a troma quality to it , that is the only comparison i can give it . i believe this was andy milliagan ' s last film . he definitely went out in appropriate b - movie style . . . or should i say c - movie ? this is only for the viewer who has patience . a lot of patience . i sort of felt the same way i did after i saw my first porn video . you know , asking questions like ,
where did they get these people from - to do this on film
.
why the criterion is essential : because enshrinement in the criterion collection ensures that pasolini ' s final film will be considered as a profound work of art , and not just a vile provocation . and because you really need to read gideon bachmann ' s diary from the set .
prior to hannibal ' s opening at the festival of berlin , newpapers and magazines carried headlines declaring their expectation that the film would
make berlin shiver .
[ 5 ] in addition to all this , side stories on veteran producer dino de laurentiis ( no stranger to the horror genre ) , satanic film series in the history of cinema [ 6 ] and stephen king ' s remark that hannibal lecter ( anthony hopkins ) qualifies as the
dracula of the cellular phone era
all made the connection to horror , if not explicitly then certainly by inference .
scheunemann , dietrich ( 2006 ) ‘the double , the décor , and the framing device : once more on robert weine’s the cabinet of dr . caligari ’ . in expressionist film : new perspectives . edited by dietrich scheunemann , pp . 125 - 156 . new york : camden house
why the criterion is essential : disc two includes about ten minutes of footage from orson welles’s still - unreleased final film , “the other side of the wind” , couched in the middle of a ( very good ) documentary on the second disc . worth the price of admission alone . – cm
can you feel it ? that’s hate . pure , voracious hate . you and i would never think about , let alone act upon , impulses such as these . but somewhere else , people do . proof exists . just examine any film that begins with “photographed and directed by andy milligan” .
the film : with the exception of his most well - known and well - regarded film , his debut “citizen kane” , orson welles films are nearly impossible to find in good quality and in their original form . “mr . arkadin” , or at least the version of “mr . arkadin” that welles had intended to make and release , was long thought to be lost to time and rights issues in much the same way that “magnificent ambersons” and “the other side of the wind” continue to be—we thought we’d have only a botched version if one at all . this set is an crucial historical corrective .
why the criterion edition is essential : besides the obvious reasons , these dvds boast some of the best non - hd transfers ever committed to disc : the film grain is so rich that it’s practically palpable , especially on the nearly perfect - looking disc for “a woman under the influence” . – cm
man kann diesen film hier als deutlich billigere version von der august underground reihe abstempeln .
billig
ist hier nicht unbedingt als schlecht oder laienhaft gemeint ! schließlich ist das hier doch nochmal etwas anderes . die essenz der vorlage ist komplett mit dabei . jedoch bekommt man hier eine dynamik zu spüren , welche ich bei…
note : it’s true . legacy of horror has yet to stumble onto dvd . it’s often confused with legacy of blood aka legacy of horror , which stars john carradine and features the same plot . that film appears on several public domain dvd packs , including a recent release under the “elvira’s movie macabre” dvd line .
the films : if you came across experimental filmmaker hollis frampton in a dark alley , you’d probably be a bit startled , and not just because he’s been dead for almost 30 years . the man looked like he was 70 % lsd , with a few wisps of hair running across his balding head and a beard so thick that even an editor of his skill couldn’t seem to cut it . by the time he finished his career with magellan , a 36 - hour monstrosity intended to reimagine the history of cinema as it should have been , it’s likely that frampton had lost it completely . but his legacy endures , in part because his exploratory tinkerings maintained a warmth rare in such nonnarrative works , and in part because his structuralist confections made questioning the cinema as fun as watching it . ( original )


sita sings the blues is a 2008 animated film written , directed , produced and animated by american artist nina paley .

it intersperses events from the ramayana , light-hearted but knowledgeable discussion of historical background by a trio of indian shadow puppets , musical interludes voiced with tracks by annette hanshaw and scenes from the artist 's own life .

the ancient mythological and modern biographical plot are parallel tales , sharing numerous themes .

sita sings the blues

i love
sita sings the blues
. a beautifully done movie : )
crying a river : a scene from the animated feature “sita sings the blues . ”
sita traveling with rama and hanuman in the 2008 animated film “sita sings the blues” directed by nina paley .
nina paley mixes the ramayana , blues songs and her personal tale of heartbreak in sita sings the blues . courtesy nina paley
rama about to be crowned as the new king . nina paley ” sita sings the blues”
sita sings the blues can be watched or downloaded for free from the filmmaker ' s website .
idyllic life of nina , dave and lexi the cat . nina paley ” sita sings the blues”
a scene from the animated feature sita sings the blues ,  written and directed by nina paley .
sita sings the blues , ramayana . by nina paley ( the greatest break up story ever told )
the shadow puppets trying to remember exact names of the ramayana characters . nina paley ” sita sings the blues”
sita sings the blues , ramayana . by nina paley ( the greatest break up story ever told ) - youtube
mix - sita sings the blues , ramayana . by nina paley ( the greatest break up story ever told )
… we would like to bring to your attention that ‘sita sings the blues’ denigrates hindus’ revered scripture ramayan , and deities rama and sita .
looking for movie tickets ? enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing sita sings the blues near you .
sita sings the blues . tenerife espacio de las artes ( tenerife arts place ) . canary islands , february 2013 . poster
i am hereby changing sita sings the blues ‘ cc - by - sa ( share alike ) license to cc - 0 .
last week , the beautiful animated movie sita sings the blues was going to be screened at starlight pavilion in queens , new york .
see the sita sites page for the complete , community - maintained list of where sita sings the blues can be found online . below is a sampling from that page :
nina paley ' s delicious sita sings the blues finds solace in autobiography and an animated gold mine in the caverns of an ancient sanskrit epic .
[ … ] will others take action like nina paley ? ahimsa : sita sings the blues now cc - 0 “public domain” . [ … ]
i’d still love sita to be offered through netflix’s online channels ; if they ever offer drm - free video - on - demand , i hope they remember sita sings the blues .
there is an award winning film called
sita sings the blues
available to watch for free on youtube . you can read about the film here :
you are not free to copy - restrict ( “copyright” ) or attach digital restrictions management ( drm ) to sita sings the blues or its derivative works .
so , some months go by and another friend mentions sita sings the blues . i shine it on by telling myself i’m too busy to watch it .
sita sings the blues is going to be broadcast on new york pbs station wnet channel 13 on saturday march 7 at 10 : 45pm on the series reel13 .
“i hereby give sita sings the blues to you . like all culture , it belongs to you already , but i am making it explicit . please distribute , copy , share , archive , and show sita sings the blues . from the shared culture it came , and back into the shared culture it goes . ”
sita sings the blues is a creative retelling of the hindu epic the ramayana . the story focuses on the relationship between rama and sita and presents the story very much from sita’s perspective . through her thoughts , the songs she sings , and a contemporary analog , we’re presented with a sympathetic and compassionate view of the character .
roger ebert has discovered nina paley’s sita sings the blues and he’s written a lengthy piece raving about how wonderful it is . among other things , he writes :
nina paley plans to publish much of her work , including “nina’s adventures” , and all original work in sita sings the blues , under a copyleft license . the website for sita sings the blues include a wiki where its fans contributed translated subtitles for the dvd of the film . on january 18 , 2013 , nina posted on her blog that the copyright license for sita sings the blues was switched from cc - by - sa to cc - 0 , thus placing the work into the work into the public domain .
i ' d still love sita to be offered through netflix ' s online channels ; if they ever offer drm - free video - on - demand , i hope they remember sita sings the blues .
[ … ] nina paley on why she turned down a deal with netflix for sita sings the blues . it’s a gorgeous film and you can watch or [ … ]
it turns out that sita sings the blues is profound ; a compelling , original , dynamic , beautiful , hilariously funny and deeply sacred retelling of the ramayana with surprising touches .
all illustrations are taken from the film sita sings the blues and were created by nina paley , also under the terms of the creative commons attribution - sharealike license , version 3 . 0 .
i just wanted to take the time to thank you so much for such a brilliant film . sita sings the blues has been my all time favorite animated film since its release . i have purchased a few copies from you and shared it with wonderful compliments . despite some of the hardships in releasing sita sings the blues , it has been a treasure and honor to view .
[ … ] is the director of the 2008 full - length animated film sita sings the blues which she released in public domain in 2013 . the film narrated the indian epic poem ramayana by [ … ]
a :
sita sings the blues
is released under a creative commons share alike license , which means there are no exclusive rights to be granted . you are already free to broadcast
sita
— everyone has that right .
sita sings the blues is a movie starring annette hanshaw , aseem chhabra , and bhavana nagulapally . an animated version of the epic indian tale of ramayana set to the 1920s jazz vocals of annette hanshaw .
ever seen hanuman pluck a double bass ? animator nina paley has created a witty , ’20s jazz musical version of the ramayana , sita sings the blues ( via turbanhead ) . her lovely , highly stylized characters evoke betty boop , amul butter ads and ghee happy , and sita is voiced by ’20s blues singer annette hanshaw .
sita sings the blues , which retells the ramayana in contemporary fashion , is one of those . who would think that it would be possible to bring together an old indian story of heroes , battles and lovers together with blues music from the 20s , and that within a cartoon setting ?
[ … ] paley , creator of the fantastic animated film sita sings the blues , is still fighting the copyright fight . her crusade for copylefting is noble , courageous and extremely frustrating . if you haven’t [ … ]
[ … ] a lot of authors aren’t in agreement . film maker nina paley turned down an offer from netflix to distribute her film sita sings the blues because netflix refused to distribute it without [ … ]
last week in queens , young hindu - american organized a screening and discussion of an animated film called
sita sings the blues ,
to draw other young hindus and sikhs into conversation about their faiths .
sita sings the blues is an animated film inspired by the director , nina paley’s , break - up with her husband . after she faced the sadness from her failed marriage , she became connected to the stories within the ramayana , particularly the story of sita , the wife of the worshipped king rama .
“attacking this film is an act of such ignorance and small - mindedness when hinduism is expansive and lends itself to unlimited questioning by its adherents . as a hindu raised by devout hindu parents and raising three hindu sons , i have to say that the people who have a problem with sita sings the blues do not represent me . in fact , sita sings the blues is a wonderful way to keep hindu mythology alive . ”
sita sings the blues has surrounded the areas of religion and culture , but unfortunately these issues have come secondary to the issue here in america . what is being held in scrutiny here is copyright . who owns this movie ?
the greatest irony about sita sings the blues is the copyright bind that it falls into . this is an arcane situation , owing to the bizarreness of the retroactive - active copyright extensions foisted upon the us public in the 1998 copyright term extension act .
any chance you folks are tuned into… [ the ] desi music scene in ny ? i’m desperately seeking a composer / remixer to do remixes and additional music for “sita sings the blues . ” please let me know !
so , to the nfb , to netflix , to all you publishers and broadcasters , to you legions of fucking lawyers : sita sings the blues is now in the public domain . you have no excuse for suppressing it now .
don’t get the impression that sita sings the blues is a faithful adaptation of the ramayana or an unchallenged portrayal of sita . this isn’t a cliff’s notes version of the epic . it’s one person’s interpretation of certain events and characters and how that story has parallels to her own life and experience .
my feature film , sita sings the blues , was removed from german youtube . i ' m aware of no standard protocol for americans to contest fraudulent takedowns in germany , so i made this video . hopefully german youtube will put sita sings the blues back up . or maybe gema ' s censor - bots will take this video down , because i intentionally used the same music / movie clips in it ! germans : can you see this ? urltoken
nina paley : sita sings the blues is a musical , animated personal interpretation of the indian epic the ramayana . the aspect of the story that i focus on is the relationship between sita and rama , who are gods incarnated as human beings , and even they can ' t make their marriage work [ laughs ] .
the audience for
sita sings the blues
might be a tiny fraction of
coraline
and
up ,
but nina paley ' s effortlessly cross - cultural and totally original animated feature should be considered with the same lofty regard .
sen is talking about the songs of indian village women , but she could just as easily been talking about american blues . that is the point of sita sings the blues : we all struggle with this story , which connects humans through time , space and culture , whether we ' re aware of it or not . just as the ramayana has mostly been written down and controlled by men , the songs in sita sings the blues were mostly written by men ; but sung by a woman - hanshaw - they pack an emotional wallop and express a woman ' s voice .
[ … ] a bit too much like an adult reading a story to a child–can be jarring . waltz with bashir and sita sings the blues are two films that had better success in combining conventional animation with complex stories [ … ]
this entry was posted in archive : feature films , from the archives and tagged annette hanshaw , comedy , diversity , drama , nina paley , religion , representation , sita sings the blues , traditional animation , women of colour . bookmark the permalink .
i just finished watching the independent spirit awards and just found out about sita sings the blues . as an artist and a lover of hindu and indian art , i have to see this film . the stills above are gorgeous and rendered beautifully . i am also a blues lover and am totally intrigued by this . have to rent the dvd !
i am hereby changing sita sings the blues‘ cc - by - sa ( share alike ) license to cc - 0 . a few years ago i started thinking about taking a vow of non - violence : a commitment to . . .
several local hindu organizations joined forces aug . 6 to protest the san jose museum of art’s screening of nina paley’s 2008 animated film , “sita sings the blues” - which intersperses events from the indian epic ramayana with the artist’s own life - at the camera 12 theater here .
several local hindu organizations joined forces aug . 6 to protest the san jose museum of art’s screening of nina paley’s 2008 animated film , “sita sings the blues” — which intersperses events from the indian epic ramayana with the artist’s own life — at the camera 12 theater here .
sita sings the blues ,
nina paley ' s delightfully subversive feminist musical version of the
ramayana ,
spans continents and millennia in parallel stories of two wives being unfairly dumped , one in the american autobiographical present , the other in the mythical indian past .
sita sings the blues is an animated film which weaves together the stories of two doomed marriages using a remarkable variety of animation styles , heartfelt and humorous storytelling , and dazzling musical segments . it was written and directed by cartoonist and animator nina paley .
that means you can donate to help with the costs of getting
sita sings the blues
out of copyright jail ( see below ) , and your donation will be 100 % tax - deductible in the u . s . to the extent permitted by law .
[ … ] you : sita sings the blues . this , folks , is a perfect example of why current copyright law blows . seriously . also , che , unless you’re in a city that got the roadshow edition . screw the two part [ … ]
an animation movie directed by american artist nina paley in 2008 , sita sings the blues tells us the story of ramayana , interspersed with episodes of the author’s own life . a delightful watch , the film has simple yet charming animation that easily strikes a chord with the viewer .
sita sings the blues is a film i will watch over and over again , not only because it’s visually stunning and an inspiring story , but because it’s like stepping into another universe for a little while , and drinking deeply at the well of timelessness , courtesy of the rishi valmiki , rama , sita and hanuman .
i just saw sita sings the blues on a dvd we rented from netflicks . i agree , i’m glad i saw the movie on our oversized screen . i loved it ! thank you for being so fun , creative , and sensitive to the underlying story . bill
one remarkable thing about
sita sings the blues
is how versatile the animation is . consider sita ' s curvaceous southern hemisphere . when she sings an upbeat or sexy song , it rotates like a seductive pendulum . look at those synchronized birds overhead . when they return they have a surprise , and they get a surprise . regard the marching greybeards . watch hanuman ' s dragging tail set a palace on fire .
[ … ] thinking about doing this for a while ; aaron’s death and — more specifically — nina paley’s release of sita sings the blues as cc0 have pushed me into doing it . i’ve encountered the same issues she has — people ask me [ … ]
nina paley is an american cartoonist , animator , and free culture activist . she directed the animated feature film sita sings the blues . she was the artist and often the writer of comic strips nina’s adventures and fluff , but most of her recent work has been in animation .
to sum up ,
sita sings the blues
is based on an adaptation of the the ramayana , a hindu epic , and some hindus find the film offensive . an organized ( lawful and peaceful ) protest caused the venue to cancel the showing , which later took place in a private home .
“sita sings the blues , ” nina paley’s delightfully subversive feminist musical version of the “ramayana , ” spans continents and millennia in parallel stories of two wives being unfairly dumped , one in the american autobiographical present , the other in the mythical indian past . punctuated with classic bluesy ballads mouthed by a highly stylized betty boop - ish “sita” and sung [ … ]
11 . false representation : sita sings a song saying ‘ram is mean to me’ and lord ram is depicted kicking sita into the fire at the time of her agnipariksha ( test by fire ) and he kicks her at the time of banishing her from the kingdom . lord ram nonchalantly also walks over sita’s pregnant stomach
nina paley was not looking for an international controversy . nevertheless , in april , when the now 40 - year - old jewish cartoonist screened her latest film , “sita sings the blues , ” at this year’s tribeca film festival , she said that’s precisely what she got .
he isn’t alone : sunita viswanath , board member at the non - profit women for afghan women , told me : “attacking this film is an act of such ignorance and small - mindedness when hinduism is expansive and lends itself to unlimited questioning by its adherents . as a hindu raised by devout hindu parents and raising three hindu sons , i have to say that the people who have a problem with sita sings the blues do not represent me . in fact , sita sings the blues is a wonderful way to keep hindu mythology alive . ”
. i did not think that sita should come in the film in the form of a woman . that is why sita appeared in the film as
at its heart , sita sings the blues is an animated and multilayered retelling of the indian epic , the ramayana . the tag line for sita is “the greatest break - up story ever told” , and paley intertwines words and images from the ramayana , and of rama and sita , with ones from the dissolution of her own marriage ( although in the film itself it isn ' t clear if the characters of dave and nina are married or cohabiting ) .
sita sings the blues by nina paley is licensed under a creative commons attribution - share alike 3 . 0 united states license . based on a work at urltoken . permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http : / / urltoken / license . html .
sita ' s role is to suffer , especially through loving a man who rejects her . women especially connect emotionally to her story and these emotions are clearly expressed in songs . as nabaneeta dev sen writes in
lady sings the blues : when women retell the ramayana
:
nevertheless , the artistic techniques of the film have truly been praised and awarded . sita sings the blues is an award - winning film that was screened in over 150 film festivals and on the pbs network . the filmmaker magazine says it’s “the type of low - fi animated musical that puts disney to shame . ”
uncut and in full hd ! urltoken sita sings the blues is a musical , animated personal interpretation of the indian epic the ramayana . the aspect of the story that i focus on is the relationship between sita and rama , who are gods incarnated as human beings , and even they can ' t make their marriage work . urltoken lice . . . urltoken dona . . .
the response so far has been tremendous , and gratifying to nina as well . but we ' ve still got a long way to go . if you liked
sita sings the blues
, and liked the fact that you can make copies for all your friends , please consider donating .
schmader , david .
cinematic ravishment ; or , the third dimension is overrated ; or , ignore my babbling and just go see sita sings the blues at central cinema tonight
. slog . may 20 , 2009 . thestranger . com . accessed june 1 , 2009 . urltoken
ramsitagods , nina paley | cc by - sa last week , the wall street journal posted a fascinating article on the profits made by nina paley for her film sita sings the blues . widely available for free online under a creative commons attribution - share alike license , sita has garnered $ 55 , 000 to date , an impressive amount for a film that …
[ … ] and animator nina paley asked them to stream her film “sita sings the blues“drm - free , they told her it wasn’t possible with their electronic delivery system . they also refused to allow her to add a notice telling viewers where they could find and download [ … ]
i just seen your cartoon ‘sita sings the blues’ and i was horrified to see that how you have misused your freedom of expression . you must be an good artist and you are free to express but at least you should not twist the facts and scripture just to make your movie nice .
a screening of “sita sings the blues” was cancelled last month at the starlight pavilion in new york , after the forum for hindu awakening and the hindu janajagruti samiti sent more than 1 , 000 e - mails protesting the event to 26 - year - old organizer rohan narine . the film was shown at narine’s parents’ home instead .
you know you’re in for a treat the minute you see the level of animation in sita sings the blues . it’s cute and simple and yet incorporates multiple layers to tell one legendary story . paley has found a way to mix the two most strikingly opposite forms of art – the blues and traditional indian mythology in a way that lends to the flavour of the film . it’s a set of vibrant versions of the ramayana that should not be missed .
nina paley ' s sita sings the blues , which makes its north american premiere friday at the festival , tells two parallel stories : the ancient hindu epic the ramayana and the breakup of paley ' s 21st - century marriage . it does so through four distinct styles of animation , a
greek chorus
of indonesian shadow puppets and wildly imaginative musical interludes that use authentic 1920s blues recordings to link narratives 3 , 000 years apart .
a few months ago , a friend of mine suggested i see an animated movie called sita sings the blues — he even went so far as to bring a netflix dvd over and leave it in the temple where i live . “just send it back once you’ve seen it , ” he told me .
nina paley was approached by netflix to offer her amazing animated feature sita sings the blues on their streaming service . sita retells the saga of rama and incorporates some vintage jazz , to marvellous effect . in order to clear this old jazz music , paley had to go through an enormous rigamarole , and this experience has turned her into an advocate for a more liberal copyright .
tags : female directors , female writers , films by women , indian women , myrna waldron , nina paley , religion , sita sings the blues , uncategorized , women of color , women of color week bookmark the permalink . follow comments with the rss feed for this post . both comments and trackbacks are closed .
since then nina paley had added episodes and other material to her work , which is now called sita sings the blues , thus expanding it into the feature - length treatment of the ramayana focused on rama’s wife , sita , using a variety of animation styles and techniques . many of the episodes have appeared in recent animation festivals . the finished work premiered at the berlin internation film festival on february 11 , 2008 .
i think the film has amazing graphic style which is inspiring . hinduism has survived for so many years only because we have been open minded towards various opinions / visualizations of gods and goddesses . i am working on my thesis project which is also very stylized and music - based like ‘sita sings the blues’ .
. but aravindan took the extraordinary cinematic step of representing sita as prakriti .
thoraval 1977 kanchana sita : the equation of woman with nature , p . 402
sita sings the blues is fresh , delightful , original , and disturbingly stark with its juxtaposed narrative style of music , dialogues , monologues and one - of - a - kind animation . watch it to be amused , enchanted , moved and empowered . it is a work of sheer brilliance and inspiration .
there are many reasons why people see the films that they do . story . stars . genre . source material . curiosity about how a film was made . nina paley ' s sita sings the blues highlights another , more unusual reason , but one likely to become more common : how a film is distributed .
sita sings the blues is a crowning achievement of animation over the last decade , and it’s a film that really deserves to be seen by as large an audience as possible . if you’ve not seen it already , there’s really no excuse for you not to rectify that immediately . it couldn’t be easier to watch .
in sita sings the blues , there are three layers of narrative – sita’s legend , outsiders’ comment on sita’s story and the author’s own experience of breaking up with her boyfriend . the author employed different styles of drawing to separate the three layers ; and in each layer the painting style is also varied to differentiate the narrator . for example , in sita’s story , the author uses realistic , indian classical drawing style in the objective narrative , whereas in the music part where sita sings her own feeling , we see simplified and modern drawing lines . it reminds me of some bollywood movies in which the songs and dances are weaved into the feature films . usually these songs and dances have little to do with the development of the plot , but they are serviceable transitions between huge plot changes in indian - featured movies . i like the music in sita sings the blues . “rama is right” , the adaption of “apple round , apple red” , is especially ironic . it suggests her stance in the story ramayana and her broken relationship . i think i can learn a lot from the author’s employment of different painting style and music in terms of distinguishing the narrator and emotional change .
to take the story forward , simple flat cut - out animation is used , and characters speak in typically thick indian accents , and laugh or cry hysterically while the camera zooms in into their faces as they stare agape and a sudden loud musical chord is struck ; a clear spoof of the old fashioned soap - operatic storytelling . when sita breaks into the blues songs , the animation changes into flat round caricatures , with sita being an exceptionally buxom woman who sings blues , of course , with playback singing by annette hanshaw .
sita sing the blues has a few endorsed dvd distributors . in addition to urltoken and myself , there’s filmkaravan , a distribution collective that handles “downstream” deals with vistaindia and indiepix . their . . .
while the character sita performs its like shes actually annette hanshaw . annette hanshaws recordings from the 1920s are mainly used for the soundtrack which gives sita a kinda of flapper effect .
while the transformation of sita sings the blues into a free culture case study happened most immediately because of legal issues involving the songs sung by hanshaw , even without that impetus , it is not hard to see how nina paley could go from this film to activist . sita sings the blues borrows , splices , and mixes influences from multiple sources , incorporating different versions of the ramayana , using the shadow puppets as a nod to the already trans - national nature of the old story , and combining different styles in both the music and animation to tell its own story . the film is an exemplar of remix culture , freely and openly showing its roots and influences , but in the service of a clearly original work .
partly out of her own experience with copyright and songs featured in the film , paley has released sita sings the blues under a creative commons attribution - share alike license , which allows others to freely view , distribute , and create with her movie . this has made her and her film leading figures in the free culture movement . the political import of her film has drawn attention to her work , but also , arguably , overshadowed it , which is too bad , if not unfortunate , because sita sings the blues is a beautiful and vibrant film that should be seen as much for its own merits as for what it represents in ongoing struggles over the copyright system .
the activists began their rally mid - morning on the steps of the museum , and then marched two blocks over to camera 12 , carrying signs exhorting paley not to blame hinduism for her failed marriage and chanting “m . f . husain , shame , shame , ” along with “sita sings the blues , but nina paley has no clue . ”
the animated sita sings the blues is a groovy , jazzy retelling , definitely the most modern interpretation , though a rather simplistic one ( understandable given the fact that it is a 90 minute 2d animation ) . the fate of the abandoned writer is shown to mirror the fate of the abandoned sita in clever montages of the writer ' s real life alternating with segments of the ramayana . sita thus becomes a symbol for every other woman left behind or neglected by the husband in favour of power or ambition . the narrators ' interpretations of the ramayana seems to favour that angle as well .
nina paley created the unapologetically quirky , irreverent , and unconventionally animated film sita sings the blues after her own divorce from her husband . she saw in the tale of ramayana , which the film juxtaposes with the story of nina’s own divorce , “ the greatest break - up story ever told . ” the film tells the tragic story of sita , who was first kidnapped by ravana and then cast away ( twice ) by her husband rama on suspicions of infidelity .
nina paley’s sita sings the blues , released online a little over two months ago , has been generating great press and even greater viewership , closing in on 70 , 000 downloads at urltoken alone . for the non - inundated , there is great background information on the film at paley’s website . we recently had the opportunity to talk with paley about …
when nina paley was reeling from the pain of a failed marriage , she did what any good artist should do : she turned her pain into art by creating sita sings the blues . she apparently did not have any plans to create a free - licensed film , but her experience in publishing her project made her into a believer .
because sita sings the blues uses some music from the 1920s that ' s still under copyright , nina paley had to pay a lot of money — approximately us $ 50 , 000 . 00 plus another $ 20 , 000 in transaction costs — to get it out of copyright jail ( she talks about it in this interview . )
sita is a goddess separated from her beloved lord and husband rama . nina is an animator whose husband moves to india , then dumps her by email . three hilarious shadow puppets narrate both ancient tragedy and modern comedy in this beautifully animated interpretation of the indian epic ramayana . set to the 1920 ' s jazz vocals of annette hanshaw , sita sings the blues earns its tagline as
the greatest break - up story ever told .
she is not doing a dis - service to her fans by refusing netflix carring sita sings the blues . she’s doing them a favor . the reason why digital rights management is so bad is that it doesn’t allow you to make copies for your own personal use and enjoyment . nor does it allow you use on multiple computers you own .
netflix has shown interest in carrying your title “sita sings the blues” for electronic delivery . for a 12 month license period they are offering $ 4 , 620 . 00 . you would received $ 2310 . 00 no later than 60 days after the netflix title release date and the balance of $ 2310 . 00 will be paid 6 months after the initial payment .
i got a dvd in the mail , an animated film titled
sita sings the blues .
it was an version of the epic indian tale of ramayana set to the 1920 ' s jazz vocals of annette hanshaw . uh , huh . i carefully filed it with other movies i will watch when they introduce the 8 - day week . then i was told i
sita sings the blues is freely available from various sources . and when i say “freely available , ” i literally mean “for free . ” director nina paley ran up against a whole host of legal and copyright issues with the film ( due to the annette hanshaw songs ) , so she did the unthinkable ( at the time ) . she made it free for everyone .
sita sings the blues , a product of this shared cultural heritage , is set to be screened and discussed on this coming thursday , july 21 st at 5 : 00pm . the event will be held at the starlite pavilion located at 130 - 05 101st avenue in richmond hill . admission is $ 5 . 00 and children under 10 years are free .
so while my feelings on sita sings the blues are conflicted , i still think that it is a well made film despite its flaws . i encourage people to make up their own minds about it . if nothing else , the film gets us to consider differences in cultures and religions , and white women’s feminism vs the feminism / womanism of women of colour .
of course , this supreme - god - battle is not the only possible take - away or interpretation of the rich text . sita sings the blues takes on sita’s fate and renders thoroughly a more contemporary female perspective . being an avatar of lakshmi , wife of vishnu , she could take all challenges and follow her dharma with un - shattered devotion , but what would a mere mortal woman feel ? probably not be as stoic as the legendary nepalese princess .
this link urltoken shows that the complete full - length version of “sita sings the blues” received its world premiere screening at the 58th annual berlin international film festival in germany this week . it looks like a fun and clever film . i have two teenage daughters who would probably enjoy it . hopefully it will be screening in manhattan soon . anyone know anything about it ?
sita sings the blues and its creator have won several awards such as “best film not playing at a theater near you” at the 2008 gotham awards and “someone to watch” at the 2009 independent spirit awards . come see it on november 30th , in the intimate , state - of - the - art private viewing room at videology bar & cinema . table service for food and drinks is available .
at one point she is shown as a blood - thirsty puppeteer out to get raavana killed , instead of saving herself . nonetheless , sita singa the blues is the most faithful retelling of the ramayana , even if oversimplified , as it takes the story all the way to its finale where mother earth swallows a sita who has essentially had enough .
sita’s sufferings have nothing to do with women rights , but ram and sita suffered because life is never easy for truthful people . thats the reason they are worshipped as gods .
talented animator , writer and producer nina paley has freely released her animated film , sita sings the blues under our copyleft license , attribution - sharealike . copies of paley’s feature length film are available on archive . org , legaltorrents , and various other sites in many different formats . nina explains her decision to her audience on the film’s site : dear audience , i …
this past weekend’s viewing pleasures included a long - standing , and much - awaited , resident of my movie queue : nina paley ‘s 2008 graphically and musically eclectic reworking of the indian epic ramayana , sita sings the blues . the movie incorporates four elements : a reworking of the traditional narrative of the ramayana ; a mystery science theater - like commentary on the ramayana carried out by shadow puppets ( in my mind , the highlight of the movie ) ; musical episodes from the ramayana , featuring blues classics performed by annette hanshaw ; and an autobiographical parallel tale featuring paley herself .
“sita sings the blues , ” based on a story from the hindu epic “the ramayana , ” is also notable because paley released the film under a “copyleft” license from the creative commons foundation . while the film has had many weeks run in theaters in new york city and elsewhere , and has had steady dvd sales , the film is also freely available online and can be found on youtube and is available for free for the iphone .
this article is about the 1977 film . for the 1961 play , see kanchana sita ( play ) .
the jazzy sita is a symbolic satire to how she conveys messages through her songs , singing very relevant tunes to the condition of sita in the ramayana . slow and steady we see a saddening state of affairs as sita is made to suffer despite her being a faithful and courageous wife .
ha ha classic : “it begins with a semi - nude goddess lakshmi emerging from the sea and dancing on tune of a ‘blues’ song . ”
some people say it’s not good art unless it pisses someone off . by that score , sita sings the blues is great art . not only does paley live with the threat of losing hundreds of thousands of dollars in suits over using hanshaw’s songs , hindu fundies have threatened to hang her for turning the ramayana into a feminist yarn in which rama comes across as kind of a dick .
now playing at urltoken written , directed , produced and animated by nina paley , except for some fight scene animation done by jake friedman . sita sings the blues is an inspirational adaptation of the ramayana , and involves a contemporary parallel based on nina paley ' s experience in this greatest breakup story ever told . please visit urltoken for more information about this movie and nina paley .
consider for a second the amazing nature of this photo’s contents . nina paley made sita sings the blues in her apartment–all by her lone self , on a shoestring budget , using a desktop computer . one short year after its debut , with absolutely no promotional budget , no theatrical distribution and little mainstream media coverage , the film has traveled around the globe and fans are creating sculptures based on her work .
paley ' s film has been a target of criticism by right wing hindu groups and it doesn ' t come as a surprise given the narrow - mindedness of any extremist religious group . all the controversy and troubled production process notwithstanding ,
sita sings the blues
is an enjoyable film , a fun take on serious issues in the great indian epic the ramayana that seem to have reflected in the modern indian society as well .
when ms . paley recounted this , it was back in november and she was sitting in the dining room of a friend’s house in oakland . that evening “sita sings the blues” would open the san francisco international animation festival . ( it also opened the museum of modern art’s annual series best film not playing at a theater near you in new york that month and went on to win a gotham award . )
3 . aranya kand - the forest ( aranya ) chapter , which includes the kidnapping of sita by ravana .
rama seated with sita , fanned by lakshamana , while the monkey - god hanuman pays his respects .
the movie is about sita , the hindu goddess from the epic
the ramayana
, who accompanies lord rama on a 14 year exile in forest . sita is abducted by ravana , the ruler of lanka . this movie tells the story of rama and sita , along - with a biographical account of the director ' s relationship with her husband .
a : some criticize the film as too irreverent , and find the way sita is portrayed offensive , with her narrow waist and big hips . it is inappropriate to others just because the film is a cartoon . others feel that the film focuses too much on sita rather then rama . in the ramayana , sita is only a footnote in the story , but obviously my film is about sita and her suffering . ( source )
nina paley’s sita sings the blues –now a film that everybody can ( and should ) watch –continues to make an impact in surprising and unexpected ways . last week , the above reuters photo by krishnendu halder appeared online with the following caption : “members of laughter clubs attend a session during ‘world laughter day’ celebrations in hyderabad , india . ” the celebration in india included a huge sculpture of the mythical figure ravana based on nina’s design from the film .
compare this with another text , the 2008 animated feature film “sita sings the blues” . here too , sita the central female protagonist is a re - imagining of queen sita of the ancient indian epic ramayana . yet , its author - director - singer - writer nina paley does not need an interpreter or interlocutor to translate it . instead , she uses the lyrics of 1920s jazz singer annette hanshaw and creates a multi - layered story , complete with ironic giggling and disagreements in the recording studio with her cousins . nina paley credits the ancient saint valmiki as co - writer and has made the film using commercial - free sources . on her website , she states :
sita sings the blues is the story of a woman who follows her exiled husband into dangerous lands . there , she faces terrible hardships , but throughout her experience she continues to worship him , and has faith that he will carry her out of her misery . he does just that , only to banish her soon after , suspecting her of adultery . that’s right ; the story is that of the ramayana , from the perspective of the wife of rama .
your examples of statements made by government officials serve to emphasize the comparison of women to the ideal archetype of ‘sita’ .
it’s obvious when you see the film that simply nothing else could have brought the same quality as hanshaw . a different movie could have been made , but not sita sings the blues . hanshaw is just a couple years more recent than the magic 1923 number for public domain , and therefore locked away from use without a license for many years to come . despite the fact that nobody but paley seems to have known about her , being publicized in sita can only generate more interest and sales , the rightholders are strict . it would cost somewhere between $ 50 , 000 and $ 200 , 000 to ever show sita in a theatre legally .
this narrative serves the educational purpose of the film , using the traditional dramatic style of story telling . it sets it apart from the musical episodes of the ramayana , which uses a more comfortable and digital animation . these episodes include jazz vocals of the 1920s by annette hanshaw , suggestively trying to imply a convergence between musical entertainment and tradition - also because story telling for us has now become just that . sita sings the blues in this narrative to tell us her story .
the movie is about sita , the hindu goddess from the epic
the ramayana
, who accompanies lord rama on a 14 year exile in forest . sita is abducted by ravana , the ruler of lanka . this movie tells the story of rama and sita , along - with a biographical account of the director ' s relationship with her husband . written by pulkitanand
i still wanted sita to be in netflix’s on - demand system . i want as many people to see sita as possible ; surely many viewers now rely on such a convenient delivery system to explore new films . anyone who became a fan of sita this way might still find the film’s web site , and learn how to download a free copy for themselves . although sita’s site states :
the creative commons license attached to sita sings the blues means that film is widely available and in different formats . the filmkaravan dvd under review here includes a commentary with paley and urltoken ' s karl fogel , a trailer , and a wnet interview with paley . the dvd also includes press and publicity material for the film . it is also a “creator endorsed” disc , which means not only that paley participated in the production of the dvd , but that she shares in the profits , too .
sita sings the blues is a 2008 film written , produced and directed by nina paley , who also features in the film . in a rather unorthodox fashion , the entire film is created using the adobe animation program flash , something highly irregular for a feature - length film . in addition to this , paley has made the film entirely free to watch online , to screen in public , and even broadcast on television , without ever having to seek her permission .
4 . kishkindha kand - the episode of kishkindha . this chapter describes the killing of bali , and the initiation of the active search for sita .
, or all - pervading nature , and the different moods of sita are shown as different aspects of nature .
sita sings the blues is not recommended for conservative religious folk . having said that , it is a must - watch film for everyone else . funny , unique , and well made , the story deals with some serious issues such as egotism and mistrust , but is depicted in a way that makes the viewer smile . the whole movie is filled with subtle , smart humour , which is one of its best features . all in all , a pleasant experience .
sita sings the blues is not simply a version of the ramayana . it is a work that incorporates elements of the ramayana and fuses them with elements of american culture and elements of the artist ' s life . it is really an original work which strongly references and interprets the ramayana . paley describes it as
her ramayana
, as opposed to
the ramayana .
these works are the beginnings of a new , more international , culture composed from the elements of the past , but speaking to new generations of viewers .