chafed elbows is a 1966 film directed by robert downey sr . a manic comic parody made for $ 12,000 , chafed elbows was a commercial success that raised the flag of the underground film scene and elevated the good cause of bad taste .

the film was premiered at the gate theater in new york city and ran for over one month alongside scorpio rising .

downey photographed most of the movie with a still 35 mm camera and had the film processed at walgreens drugstore .

these pictures were animated alongside a few live-action scenes and almost all the dialogue was dubbed to rather hilarious effect .

one scene was shot in anthology film archives ’s upstairs theater back in the days when the building was still a defunct downtown courthouse .

all 13 of the female roles were played by elsie downey , robert downey 's wife , and the lead male role by george morgan .

chafed elbows

with the headline : screen : ' chafed elbows ' ; underground film has flashes of humor .
chafed elbows : photography , william waering , robert prince ; editor , robert prince ; music , tom o ' horgan .
chafed elbows : follows a shiftless downtown manhattanite having his
annual november breakdown
as he wanders from one odd job to the next .
[ disc 1 ] . babo 73 ( 56 min . ) ; chafed elbows ( 58 min . ) / producer , robert downey sr .
the early films of robert downey , sr . ( a prince ) : babo 73 ( 1964 ) , chafed elbows ( 1966 ) and no more excuses ( 1968 )
the early films of robert downey , sr . ( a prince ) : babo 73 ( 1964 ) , chafed elbows ( 1966 ) and no more excuses ( 1968 ) | 366 weird movies
2 thoughts on “the early films of robert downey , sr . ( a prince ) : babo 73 ( 1964 ) , chafed elbows ( 1966 ) and no more excuses ( 1968 ) ”
george morgan and elsie downey in robert downey sr . ' s
chafed elboes
( 1966 )
somewhere in the upper left hand corner of robert downey ' s mind dances a little vaudevillian with cane and striped hat . downey often discusses his work with him . the product of their collaboration is the most excellent and funny chafed elbows .
babo 73 ( 1964 , 56 min . ) - - chafed elbows / a goosedown production ( 1966 , 58 min . ) - - no more excuses / a film by robert downey and robert soukis ( 1968 , 46 min . ) .
presents five feature films directed by robert downey sr . , showcasing his comedic and experimental style , and featuring
babo 73 ,
chafed elbows ,
no more excuses ,
putney swope ,
and
two tons of turquoise to taos tonight .
the retrospective , funded by martin scorsese ' s film foundation , ends with sunday ' s double feature of
no more excuses
( 1968 ) and
moment to moment ,
( 1975 ) a tour de force for the director ' s then - wife , elsie downey ( the mother in
chafed elbows
) , who plays 10 roles .
other directors sense the farce in the drama of any still picture . fellini ' s white sheik is a parody of the italian fumetti , romantic cartoon strips with real pictures instead of drawings . but white sheik was made as a movie , with due respect paid to continuity of motion and thought . chafed elbows , whatever it is , has not paid respect to anything .
one of these days , robert downey , who wrote , di rected and produced the underground movie ,
chafed elbows ,
which opened at the downtown gate theater last night , is going to clean himself up a good bit , wash the dirty words out of his mouth and do something worth mature attention in the way of kooky , satire comedy . view full article in timesmachine »
i guess that it ' s not really a mystery why robert downey sr . ' s films get some weirdly bad reviews . though his films are smart and hip , downey goes after straight culture with an unmatched , gleeful , subversive eye , and generally hits what he aims at . chafed elbows epitomises this style , going after everything , including the making of movies itself . in chafed elbows , like chris marker , he uses still photographs to great effect , but more in the vein of national lampoon magazine than f - stop . this film plays like jazz , riffing from one theme to another , one scene to another , one character to another , eschewing plot for wit and speed and surreal wordplay . it ' s a wonder that this , and downey ' s other movies , were ever made , they are so wonderfully offensive . his audience is , perhaps intentionally , small . the rewards , however , for those who do love his films , are great indeed . viva downey !
no more excuses ,
the latest , almost - feature - length satire by robert downey , is as american as apple pie . the movie essay , from the young man who made the , underground hits
chafed elbows
and
babo 73 ,
manages in 52 minutes to interrelate the assassination of president james a . garfield , east side singles bars , sex , the society for indecency to naked animals and large portions of
balls bluff .
view full article in timesmachine »
chafed elbows is my favorite of the downey sr . explorations . it was the story of a man involved in incest with his mother , and is a direct involvement in a murder . it was a hysterical piece , the dry humor therapist scene had me laughing my ass off . just these wise one liners all the way through , and underground cinema inside jokes made it an extremely interesting film . i thought the dubbing was annoying though , and would be better just to make it a regular shoot .
chafed elbows is also an experiment in visual humor . downey uses still pictures for more than half the movie , treating the frozen action as a cartoon . dinsmore is on a roof undressing a girl . stop . comment . he makes love . stop . he throws her off the roof into long island traffic . comment , existential chuckle . dinsmore gets a stop - action hysterectomy which , allowing for differences of taste , is still not the last laugh . but that it is humorous at all is downey ' s victory .
okay . chafed elbows is without a doubt one of the most unique flicks i ' ve ever seen . made in 1966 by robert downey sr . ( no clue pops was a film - maker ) , chafed elbows is a satire that completely dissects and makes fun of almost every single aspect of society . from racism and the police , to incest and music . filmed in a very peculiar but successful way , you ' re shown stills from a scene with very well - done dubbing . it ' s remarkably effective , especially in the laughs department . the flick follows around walter dinsmore , who basically goes around town interacting with whomever he crosses paths with . from a dude who wants to sell him as a painting because the weirdo painted his initial on his jacket , to his brother who wants to build a racist amusement park so he can help black people . god this flick was weird . but , it was also good , and intelligent , and funny . check this out if you ' re in the mood for good old - time satire .
in tonight ' s zany double feature , a man undergoes a breakdown , has a hysterectomy , discovers hundreds of dollars growing inside his body and carries on a passionate affair with his mother in
chafed elbows
( 1966 , in which milk appears as , believe it or not , a cop ,
for like 2 seconds ,
downey said ) . in 1964 ' s
babo 73 ,
the president of the united states deals with a communist plot to curtail the birthrate of the united states by distributing condoms . one new york critic said the film looked like it was shot on scotch tape .
new yawk new wave has been running at film forum since january 11 but still has a couple of precious days of life left . in a way , it’s one of the more ambitious curatorial projects to emerge from the theater’s august archivists . the series isn’t bound to a single era ( it encompasses the period from 1953 to 1973 ) , genre ( everything from madcap comedy to downcast drama makes an appearance ) , or even style ( there’s new wave , cinema vérité , post - noir , and whatever you want to call robert downey sr . ’s still - photos - plus - voiceovers oddity , chafed elbows ) . besides new york origins , the main thing this wildly [ … ]
i saw chafed elbows at the underground movies in about 1968 . very cheap production - rapid fire still pictures with a hilarious soundtrack . the throwaway one liners have a cumulative effect . a few of my favorites : walter is walking down a side street in new york . a man is sitting in the middle of the street with a can of white paint and a brush painting a line down the middle . walter says ,
what ' s going on here ?
man says ,
you ' ve gotta draw the line somewhere !
you can never guess what the next line is . in another scene , walter sits in a pew in church . a naked woman appears in the pew right behind him and says ,
i ' ll give you five dollars for your socks . i ' m a sock sniffer .
walter , completely serious , says ,
how can you think about sniffing socks when all those people are starving in china ?
feeling the onset of his annual november breakdown , walter dinsmore ( george morgan ) checks himself into a hospital . while there , he finds himself pregnant and gives birth to 189 ten dollar bills . after which , he is turned into a work of art at gunpoint ( or a walking advertisement for a fast food chain ) which brings on his annual january breakdown . his psychiatrist ( lawrence wolf ) tells him not to worry , not believing walter ' s worries about impregnating his mother ( elsie downey ) , at least until she confirms it over the telephone .
chafed elbows
is an unpredictable and amusing movie , definitely belonging to the times it was made and the underground scene where it was formed in warning against the dangers of commodification . as such , it is influenced by the works of preston sturges ( according to the director robert downey sr . at the q & a ) , and chris marker through its use of collage work , with the assistance of some wacky voices . the movie works so well in its own absurd and motley way that the otherwise tasteless incest storyline has little negative impact . if nothing else , elsie downey playing all of the female parts could imply the third biggest oedipal complex of all time .
this riot of bad taste was a breakthrough for downey , thanks to rave notices . visualized largely in still 35 mm photographs , it follows a shiftless downtown manhattanite having his “annual november breakdown” as he wanders from one odd job to the next , coming across all sorts of sordid types , from a desperate independent filmmaker to a destitute dirty - sock sniffer . and there is something to offend everyone : incest , murder , bad pop songs , you name it .
“it was just fun , ” robert downey sr . says of his early new york filmmaking days , in a new interview with bilge ebiri for the village voice .
these five films chart the unlikely ascendance of a hero of american underground cinema .
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anthology film archives evolved from roots and visions that go back to the early 1960s , when jonas mekas , the director of the film - makers’ cinematheque , a showcase for avant - garde films , dreamed of establishing a permanent home where the growing number of new independent / avant - garde films could be shown on a regular basis .
this dream became a reality in 1969 when jerome hill , p . adams sitney , peter kubelka , stan brakhage , and jonas mekas drew up plans to create a museum dedicated to the vision of the art of cinema as guided by the avant - garde sensibility . a film selection committee – james broughton , ken kelman , peter kubelka , jonas mekas , and p . adams sitney – was formed to establish a definitive collection of films ( the essential cinema repertory ) and to determine the structure of the new institution .
anthology film archives opened on november 30 , 1970 at joseph papp’s public theater . jerome hill was its sponsor . after hill’s death , in 1974 it relocated to 80 wooster street . pressed by the need for more adequate space , it acquired manhattan’s second avenue courthouse building in 1979 . under the guidance of the architects raimund abraham and kevin bone , and at a cost of $ 1 , 450 , 000 , the building was adapted to house two motion picture theaters , a reference library , a film preservation department , offices , and a gallery , opening to the public on october 12 , 1988 .
at the courthouse , anthology has found an ideal home as a chamber museum , dedicated to the preservation , study , and exhibition of independent and avant - garde film . it is the first museum devoted to film as an art form , and is committed to the guiding principle that a great film must be seen many times , that the film print must be the best possible , and that the viewing conditions must be optimal .
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lakeith stanfield and his sorry to bother you director boots riley discuss the stress of filming sex scenes .
nyc weekend watch : robert downey sr . , anna mangani , ‘black girl’ & more
a celebration of the films of robert downey sr . , l . a . december 5 - 9
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downey takes his camera and microphone onto the streets ( and into some bedrooms ) for a look at manhattan ' s singles scene of the late sixties . of course , that ' s not all : no more excuses cuts . . . see full summary »
an experimental , ludicrous , plotless , absurd , surreal comedy . it is seemingly intentionally impossible to understand . it leaps from scene to scene , world to world , with recurring names and . . . see full summary »
dark satire in which the token black man on the executive board of an advertising firm is accidentally put in charge . renaming the business
truth and soul , inc .
, he replaces the tight . . . see full summary »
a young woman arrives in new york to visit a friend and lands in one hot spot after another as she fends off the perverted advances from every man she meets .
in an era when dick , jane , and discipline ruled america ' s schools , albert cullum allowed shakespeare , sophocles , and shaw to reign in his fifth grade public school classroom . through the . . . see full summary »
a parable based on the life of christ . this ain ' t your father ' s bible story , full of references about the destruction of the world through massive constipation and a new mexican setting .
the zany crew of a new york cable television station accidentally bounce a signal off the moon , bringing them worldwide attention .
hugo pool is a quirky tale of a los angeles pool cleaner who falls in love with a young man dying of lou gerhig ' s disease .
a documentary filmmaker , who has spent the last 15 years making films like
aluminum : our shiny friend ,
is finally given the chance to make the documentary on indian farming he has always . . . see full summary »
this puber - comedy is a kind of mixture between
animal house
and
police academy
. four boys are sent , for different reasons , to the sheldon r . wienberg military academy . the life of . . . see full summary »
: my mother says that kissing a boy only leads to trouble and danger and skepticism .
the opening credits state :
special hindrance : n . y . c . police dept .
this is among the strangest and most plot less comedies i have ever seen . after thinking about the film , i ' ve realized that it the protagonist manages to be insane and incestuous murderer . the film sort of follows him around over the course of two
mental breakdowns
in which he encounters a
sock sniffer
, marries his own mother , visits heaven , and much more . the film is wonderfully satirical , and it makes fun of almost everything , much like the very best of kurt vonnegut ' s novels . it ' s a highly creative work from a highly creative director , the underground filmmaker robert downey , sr . at this point , i ' m beginning to really adore downey sr . ' s sense of humor . it ' s always very satirical , dark , and offensive , and his filmmaking style is highly experimental , surrealistic , and absurd . all of these elements of humor and filmmaking are right up my alley and it seems that i ' m really going to enjoy the rest of the films on the
up all night with robert downey sr .
eclipse set from the criterion collection . i ' m seriously looking forward to
putney swope
!
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putney swope ( 1969 ) - dir . : robert downey , sr . - 480p
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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 .
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this new york art film is almost totally comprised of still photographs . it chronicles the hip and colorful life in soho during the 1960s . the filmmaker also comments and makes observations about the issues and cultural icons of the day ; included are his insights concerning the underground film movement .
about some crude and silly childish business over shock gags and rages against convention .
it ' s all good clean fun , of course . i can ' t believe disney hasn ' t remade it yet .
a chronicle of walter dinsomore ' s
annual breakdown ,
1966 : he gives birth to ten dollar bills , shoots a policeman , marries his mother and goes on welfare . this ultra - low budget underground comedy is told mostly through ( cleverly manipulated ) stills with only three actors supplying dozens of voices : it ' s almost like an illustrated radio play utilizing lots of leftover marx brothers jokes (
i ' ve never been so insulted !
you ' re young still .
) the incest , police corruption and murder is too silly to count as
transgressive .
an interesting experiment from the intriguing robert downey , sr .
the tomatometer rating – based on the published opinions of hundreds of film and television critics – is a trusted measurement of movie and tv programming quality for millions of moviegoers . it represents the percentage of professional critic reviews that are positive for a given film or television show .
the movie is a series of one - liners and short skits involving the oedipian walter dinsmore . the straightmen are the black comedy figures of the new york scene : the bald psychiatrist ( who speaks like groucho marx ) , the underground movie maker (
in underground movies the action is all behind the camera
) , and the jewish caterer . the show recalls the most thunderous moments of burlesque , irreverence armed and swaggering .
there is a crudeness in this joking , and the crudeness is the best part of the movie . downey will do anything with the camera to get a laugh , even if it means leaving the screen black at the end of the film while a negrohippie voice slanders all that is good .
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zambrero opens in harvard square and warwick , rhode island , donating a meal to someone in need for every burrito or bowl sold .
lancer , 1967 . soft cover . condition : very good . 1st edition . first printing .
lancer books 1967 , 1967 . ed . paperback good + condition with some wear and paper tanning - shipping via usps .
lancer , new york , 1967 . paperback . condition : very good . 144 pp . illus . rubbing to covers , tiny horizontal crack in spine paper , price - sticker . includes screenplay with many stills form the film .
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walter dinsmore ' s annual january breakdown begins shortly after he leaves his mother ' s apartment . he is delivered by caesarian section [ or through a hysterectomy ? ] of 189 ten - dollar bills , an accumulation which is the result of swallowing a nickel when he was a child . psychoanalysis proves of little help to him inasmuch as he sees nothing wrong with being in love with his mother . death offers no solution ; heaven promptly rejects walter and sends him back to earth , whereupon he is sold as a pop art creation . he takes an acting job as a policeman in an underground film but finds that
all the action takes place behind the camera .
after the movie project folds because someone knocks over the camera , walter keeps his policeman ' s uniform , directs traffic at times square , and accepts bribes from pornography peddlers . he helps cater potato salad at a bar mitzvah and meets a woman who is hiding under a table . when their rooftop orgy is interrupted by the caterer , walter flings him to the street below . walter ' s cousin , in a telephone call from the dixie hotel on 43d street , complains that walter has made her pregnant . he throws her from the window , and she lands on a theater marquee , gaining instant
star billing .
after becoming a rock and roll singing sensation with a song entitled
in your black leather negligee ,
walter returns home and finds that his father has died . walter marries his mother , becomes a proud father , moves to the suburbs , and lives happily on welfare . [ the order of events is uncertain . ]
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first off , where did those preposterous ratings come from ? have any of those nincompoops actually seen the movie ? it ' s certainly understandable if they hadn ' t , as it is extremely rare . more ' s the pity . this movie is a whoopee , stops - out , take - no - prisoners satire of absolutely everything : independent film - making , pop music , american mores , psychology , politics , family , education - - whatever popped into downey ' s head . it ' s completely plot less and totally absurd , and it feels very much like a
monty python
episode made by new yorkers in the ' 60 ' s . it ' s absolutely hilarious and i could go on for days about the performances too ( why didn ' t elsie downey and lawrence wolf have huge careers beyond their films with downey ? ) , but let ' s just leave it at this : if you ever get the chance , see it .
, test screenings , filming guns in washington d . c . and the trump administration
back to one podcast : keith poulson on developing as an actor in the ny indie film scene .
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robert downey sr . ’s films are ribald , socially - conscious , highly experimental works that make richard lester’s oeuvre seem polite and godard’s plot - heavy . though he achieved cult success with 1969’s putney swope , some of downey’s other , more radical works from the period are arguably more interesting , and their revival by way of an eclipse box set is exceptional news . up all night with robert downey sr . brings together five early films which show the director at his unhinged best , and if nothing else should prove a hedge against downey becoming a mere footnote to his more famous son’s career . a part of new [ … ]
i like being aggressive in the storytelling . . .
: michael dinner on his cbs james ellroy adaptation ,
plot : a guy named walter experiences his annual breakdown , gives birth to cash , and marries his mother .
. i ' m a fan of the other robert downey movies i ' ve seen , mostly because the guy seems fearless . with this early flick , you get kitchen sink satire , goofball avant - garde , spotty comedy , and a cheap but completely unique style . like chris marker ' s
, this story - - though it would be a mistake to go into this looking for a story - - is told through a series of still images rather than moving pictures . the dialogue is ludicrously dubbed , and the music often feels like an assault . but i mean that as a positive . downey ' s wife elsie and george martin do all of the voices as director / writer takes on politics , art , religion , and relationship , attacks on everything with dada bullets and kooky gags that sort of recall a more surrealistic or drugged marx brothers . it ' s wild stuff , man .
looking at the ultra - conventional career of sherlock holmes / iron man robert downey , jr . , it’s hard to imagine that this talented but timid mcmoviestar was sired by a disreputable ultracool beatnik hepcat . indeed , if not for the implication of the “jr . ” designation and the genetic necessity of fatherhood , the average moviegoer would have no idea that a
exists . but exist he does , and a strange life has he led . to those who know him at all , downey is known as a director of obscure cult films and hollywood flops ( including his first hollywood flop , the sacrilegious but certified weird vaudeville jesus western
, a satire about a black power advocate who accidentally becomes head of a madison avenue advertising firm , the elder downey had led a fascinating life . by age 29 , downey
had lied about his age so he could enlist in the army , been court martialed , won a golden gloves amateur boxing championship , played semi - professional baseball , and written and directed his first underground movies , mostly shot in manhattan without permits , guerrilla - style . “after being thrown out of the house , four schools , and the united states army , i discovered that i was on the right track , ” said downey .
( 1964 ) . the story follows sandy studsberry , the meek “president of the united status” as he deals with an invasion from the red siamese and the antics of his own crazy cabinet , led by chester kitty - litter . all the attributes of early downey make their appearance here : absurd anything - can - happen plotting , amateur acting , dubbed audio , scenes filmed in public spaces , slapstick
silliness , and a single color sequence . with the exception of a few routines addressing racism ,
. understandably , this broth concocted by an amateur chef is far thinner than the comedy stewed by groucho and crew .
s sets are minimal ; the cabinet entertains ( then shoots ) luxembourg’s ambassador while sitting on folding chairs on a beach , and at other times characters are filmed in public running up the steps of the capitol or other national monuments to lend a sense that they really are politicos going about their business . taylor mead plays the prez as a sleepy - eyed spaz , and there are plenty of absurd moments : the cabinet pauses to do calisthenics in an empty field while a jugband medley of patriotic favorites plays on the soundtrack , studsbury tries to talk his private secretary out of a trash can after he has a nervous breakdown , and a peace poet’s monologue about enrolling in a negro college is interrupted by a parade of slaves . although there are occasional clever bits—one of the cabinet members is dubbed “the fascist gun in the west” and president studsbury is told he will be remembered as “a retarded foster dulles”—for the most part the improvised comedy falls flat and feels juvenile . basically , it’s just “public figures” acting like clowns—and unscripted clowns , at that .
for inexplicable reasons , downey credited himself in his early films under the title “robert downey ( a prince ) . ” it was a weird signature for a weird guy , who would only get weirder as his career built towards the ridiculous and sacrilegious greasers’ palace . these first three films show a young auteur , warts and all , finding his footing and honing his skewed sense of satire . downey would find a modicum of success the year after he made no more excuses with the outrageous adverting spoof putney swope . each of his first three movies runs under and hour and could be watched back - to - back - to - back almost as a single piece . the eclipse series publishes them together on disc 1 of the 2 disc “up all night with robert downey sr . ” set ( disc 2 contains swope and two tons of turquoise to taos tonight , an experiment which outweirded all previous downey attempts ) . no more excuses had been seldom seen since its debut , and eclipse restored the film from the only surviving print ; it’s not the greatest movie of the 1960s but it would have been a shame to lose this piece of underground film history from one of cinema’s few true originals . let’s just hope jr . will be treating dad to a beer ( or even two ) with the advance he’ll see from iron man iii . sr . ’s earned it ; he’s truly a prince among men .
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on the phone with a reporter from san francisco , filmmaker robert downey sr . was taking a trip down memory lane - of the city he first visited in the 1950s while in the navy , and of the harvey milk he knew in the days when the future mayor of castro street was working on wall street .
i remember this vividly : we were going down the street with tom o ' horgan ( milk ' s friend and a composer for downey ' s films ) ,
downey said .
and harvey said , ' you guys go ahead . i ' ll catch up . ' so i looked back . . . and he was helping a bum . givin ' him some money and helping the guy to his feet . that was it . that was who he was .
that was in the 1960s , when downey was the self - described
prince
of the new york independent film movement , a time and place vividly captured in the restored prints of four of his most anarchic movies in a series at the yerba buena center for the arts .
there were some people that got into that one ,
downey said .
it ' s kind of a mess , but we actually shot at the white house . jfk was in europe , so we just had ( the actor ) walking around .
it also features the director ' s famous son , robert downey jr . , and the film is the
iron man
actor ' s favorite of his father ' s films .
i ' m really happy for my son ,
said downey sr . , referring to the younger downey ' s triumph over his troubles .
he ' s turned his life around . i ' m so proud of him .
downey sr . , 72 , is still active . he ' s directed 18 movies , has completed a script updating his best - known film , his 1969 madison avenue satire
putney swope ,
and is working on a documentary about german singer and actress lotte lenya .
the last two or three weeks have been my best times ,
said downey , who has battled his own demons in the past .
i feel better and have come through some health issues . my writing ' s sharp .
7 : 30 p . m . today , 7 p . m . sun . $ 6 - $ 8 . yerba buena center for the arts screening room , 701 mission st . , s . f . ( 415 ) 978 - 2700 . urltoken .
with the headline : the screen ; bleecker cinema gets ' no more excuses ' .
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urltoken
1 videodisc ( 242 min . ) : sd . , b & w ; 4 3 / 4 in .
babo 73 : taylor mead plays the president of the united states , who , when he isn ' t at the white house , conducts his top - secret affairs on a deserted beach .
no more excuses : downey takes his camera and microphone onto the streets ( and into some bedrooms ) for a look at manhattan ' s singles scene of the late sixties .
eclipse ( criterion collection ( firm ) ) . series 33 , up all night with robert downey sr .
dvd ; ntsc , region 1 ; dolby digital mono . ; 1 . 33 : 1 aspect ratio .
in english with optional subtitles in english for the deaf and hard of hearing .
babo 73 : taylor mead , james antonio , tom gaines , james greene , richard roat , william rydell .
babo 73 : music , tom o ' horgan ; photography , william waering ; editor , fred von bernewitz .
ignore this text box . it is used to detect spammers . if you enter anything into this text box , your message will not be sent .
2 videodiscs ( ca . 301 min . ) : col . and b & w ; 4 3 / 4 in .
[ disc 2 ] . putney swope ( 85 min . ) / produced by robert downey sr . , henri pachard
two tons of turquoise to taos tonight ( 56 min . ) / producers ray lofaro , max raab , bette wanderman ; screenplay by l . c .
special ed . - [ irvington , ny ] : criterion collection , c2005 .
2 videodiscs ( 105 min . ) : sd . , b & w ; 4 3 / 4 in . + 1 booklet ( 41 p . ; 19 cm . )
considered truffaut ' s greatest film , this is a story of friendship between two artists and their mutual love for the same woman .
special ed . - [ united states ] : the criterion collection , c2011 .
1 videodisc ( 91 min . ) : sd . , col . ; 4 3 / 4 in . + 1 booklet ( unpaged : ill . ; 19 cm . )
the legendary gilbert and sullivan troupe , the d ' oyly carte opera company , joined forces with hollywood for this 1939 technicolor version of the fabled comic opera , the first complete work by the famed duo to be adapted for the screen , directed by musician and oscar - nominated filmmaker victor schertzinger . the result is a lavish cinematic retelling of the british political satire set in exotic japan .
2 videodiscs ( 96 min . ) : sd . , b & w ; 4 3 / 4 in . + 1 booklet .
special features : schaffner ' s 1955 television version , with an introduction by ron simon , director of the paley center for media studie ;
12 angry men
: from television to the big screen , a video essay by film scholar vance kapley ; archival interviews with lumet ; new interview about the director with writer walter bernstein ; new interview with simon about television writer reginald rose ; new interview with cinematographer john bailey .
a behind - closed - doors look at the american legal system as riveting as it is spare , the iconic adaptation of reginald rose ' s teleplay stars henry fonda as the initially dissenting member of a jury of white men ready to pass judgment on a puerto rican teenager charged with murdering his father . what results is a saga of epic proportions that plays out in real time over ninety minutes in one sweltering room . one of the most radical big - screen courtroom dramas in cinema history .
special ed . - [ united states ] : the criterion collection , 2009 .
money , sex , fashion , the city , love , language , war . in a word , everything . the film takes as its ostensible subject the daily life of juliette janson , a housewife from the paris suburbs who prostitutes herself for extra money . features include interviews , essays , and more . juliette , a bourgeois housewife , is a loving wife and mother whose domestic moments alternate with her days and nights as a call girl .
blu - ray edition . - [ irvington , n . y . ] : the criterion collection , [ 2013 ]
4 videodiscs ( 305 min . ) : sound , black and white ; 4 3 / 4 in . + 1 booklet ( 86 pages : illustrations ; 17 cm ) . sound : digital ; optical ; mono . lpcm . digital : video file ; blu - ray . region a .
stromboli / directed by robert rossellini ; produced by robert rossellini ; story by robert rossellini ; screenplay by sergio amidei , g . p . callegari , art cohn , renzo cesana ( 1950 , english version 106 min . , italian version 100 min . )
europe ' 51 / directed by robert rossellini ; produced by robert rossellini ; story by robert rossellini ; screenplay by sandro de feo , mario pannunzio , ivo perilli , brunello rondi ( 1952 , english version 109 min . , itlian version 118 min )
journey to italy / directed by robert rossellini ; produced by robert rossellini , adolfo fossataro , alfredo guarini ; story and screenplay by vitaliano brancati , robert rossellini ( 1954 , 85 min . ) .
the resulting collaboration produced a series of films that are works of both sociopolitical concern and metaphysical melodrama . stromboli , europe ' 51 , and journey to italy are intensely personal portraits that reveal the director at his most emotional and the glamorous actor at her most anguished , and that capture them and the world around them in transition .
dvd special edition . - [ irvington , n . y . ] : the criterion collection , 2013 .
5 videodiscs ( 518 min . ) : sound , black and white ; 4 3 / 4 in . + 1 booklet ( 84 pages : illustrations ; 19 cm ) . sound : digital ; optical ; mono ; dolby digital . video : ntsc . digital : video file ; dvd video ; region 1 .
[ v . 1 . ] disc 1 . stromboli ( english - language version ) ( 106 min . )
disc 2 . stromboli terra di dio ( italian - language version ) ( 100 min . ) .
[ v . 2 . ] disc 1 europe ' 51 ( english language version ( 109 min . ) disc 2 . europa ' 51 ( italian language version ) 118 min . )
[ v . 3 . ] viaggio in italia ( 85 min . ) = journey to italy .
stromboli . after world war ii , a lithuanian refugee marries a simple italian fisherman she meets in a prisoner of war camp and accompanies him back to his isolated village on an island off the coast of sicily . cut off from the world , she finds herself crumbling emotionally , but she is destined for a dramatic epiphany .
europe ' 51 . ingrid bergman plays a wealthy , self - absorbed rome socialite racked by guilt over the shocking death of her young son . as a way of dealing with her grief and finding meaning in her life , she decides to devote her time and money to the city ' s poor and sick . her newfound , single - minded activism leads to conflicts with her husband and questions about her sanity .
journey to italy . among the most influential films of the postwar era , robert rossellini ' s journey to italy charges the declining marriage of a couple from england on a trip in the countryside near naples . more than just the anatomy of a relationship , rossellini ' s masterpiece is a heartrending work of emotion and spirituality .
[ s . l . ] : criterion ; los angeles , ca : distributed by the voyager company , [ c1988 ] .
1 videodisc ( 110 min . ) : sd . , b & w ; 12 in .
special ed . - [ united states ] : criterion collection , [ 2010 ? ] .
1 videodisc ( 92 min . ) : sd . , b & w ; 4 3 / 4 in . + 1 booklet ( [ 18 ] p . : ill . ; 18 cm . )
in this beautifully shot and acted , psychologically complex western , van heflin is a mild - mannered cattle rancher who takes on the task of shepherding a captured outlaw , played with cucumber - cool charisma by glenn ford , to the train that will take him to prison . this apparently simple plan turns into a nerve - racking cat - and - mouse game that will test each man ' s particular brand of honor .
dvd ed . - [ new york , n . y . ] : criterion collection , [ 2009 ]
1 videodisc ( 86 min . ) : sd . , b & w ; 4 3 / 4 in .
a young canadian man makes the acquaintance of an international spy . when he finds her murdered in his flat , he takes over her mission and is pursued across scotland by both the police and a dangerous spy ring .
the 39 steps is a heart - racing spy story by alfred hitchcock , follwing richard hannay , who stumbles into a conspiracy that thrusts him into a hectic chase across the scotish moors . a chase in which he is both the pursuer and the pursued , as well as into an expected romance with the cool pamela .
1 videodisc ( 86 min . ) : sd . , b & w , single sided ; 4 3 / 4 in .
a man falsely accused of murder is chased across scotland as he tries to find those responsible .
dvd ed . - [ new york , n . y . ] : criterion collection , [ 2009 ] .
follows the exploits of richard hannay , a dapper everyman who ends up on the run after he is mistaken for a murderer .
set in the impoverished back alleys of victorian london , the threepenny opera follows underworld antihero mackie messer ( a . k . a . mack the knife ) as he tries to woo polly peachum and elude the authorities . with a palpable evocation of corruption and dread , set to weill ' s irresistible score , the threepenny opera remains a benchmark of early sound cinema .
- - container .
director - approved special ed . - [ irvington , n . y . ] : criterion collection , c2007 .
4 videodiscs ( ca . 354 min . ) : sd . , col . and b & w ; 4 3 / 4 in . + 1 booklet ( unpaged ; 19 cm . )
[ v . 2 . ] cléo de 5 à 7 = cleo from 5 to 7 ( 1962 ) ( 89 min . )
[ v . 3 . ] le bonheur = happiness ( 1965 ) ( 80 min . ) - - [ v . 4 . ] sans toi ni loi = vagabond ( 1985 ) ( 105 min ) .
la ponté courté . a film about a fishing town and a couple who are evaluating their changing relationship . varda juxtaposes the two tales to create a unique perspective on life .
cléo from 5 to 7 . a girl waiting for the result of a medical examination wanders around paris thinking she has cancer ; the film focuses on her ever - changing moods , and her search for answers .
le bonheur . though married to the good - natured , beautiful thérèse young husband and father françois finds himself falling unquestioningly into an affair with an attractive postal worker .
vogabond . mona , an aimless drifter in the french countryside , deeply touches the lives of the people she meets and confronts them with her own ideas of freedom .
1 videodisc ( ca . 99 min . ) : sd . , b & w ; 4 3 / 4 in .
sensitively recreating the trials of truffaut ' s own childhood , portraying aloof parents , oppressive teachers , petty crime , and a friendship that would last a lifetime .
blu - ray special ed . - [ irvington , ny ] : criterion collection , [ 2008 ]
1 videodisc ( 99 min . ) : sd . , b & w ; 4 3 / 4 in .
antoine doinel is a young parisian boy who is neglected by his derelict parents , skips out on school , sneaks into movies , runs away from home , steals things , and tries , with disastrous results , to return them . like most kids , he gets into more trouble for things he thinks are right than for his actual trespasses . but , unlike most kids , he gets whacked with the big stick . he lives in a paris filled with dingy flats , seedy arcades , abandoned factories , and workaday streets . paris is a city that seems big and full of possibilities only when seen through the eyes of a child .
1 videodisc ( 95 min . ) : sound , color ; 4 3 / 4 in . + 1 folded booklet ( unpaged ) sound : digital ; optical . digital : video file ; blu - ray ; region 1 .
as kate and geoff prepare to celebrate their 45th wedding anniversary , their marriage is shaken when unexpected news threatens to change their lives .


rage ( originally tokarev ) is a 2014 american action crime thriller film directed by paco cabezas and written by jim agnew and sean keller .

the film stars nicolas cage , rachel nichols , peter stormare , danny glover , max ryan , judd lormand and pasha d. lychnikoff .

rage ( 2014 film )

the film was crowdfunded in the beginning of 2014 and released on the 28th of may 2015 .
reviewed at edinburgh film festival ( new perspectives ) , june 21 , 2014 . running time : 96 min .
someone marry barry trailer # 1 ( 2014 ) - damon wayans jr . movie hd
the play debuted in london in 2014 and was both a critical and financial success .
a scene from
a rage in harlem .
( courtesy gene siskel film center )
reviewed online , los angeles , july 11 , 2014 . running time : 98 min .
april 8 , 2014 at 7 - 9pm northeastern illinois university 5500 n . st . louis ave golden eagles room ( su 103 )
sadly , rage is generally a slog and it ' s not cage ' s fault .
abduction leaves mad dad nicolas cage in a ' rage '
rage
isn ' t as terrible as its title suggests , or as deep as it aspires to be . check out this story on urltoken urltoken
rage
isn ' t as terrible as its title suggests , or as deep as it aspires to be .
the film , which released in 2014 , opened to rave reception from fans and critics , and became one of the highest grossing film that year . its telugu dubbed version , raghuvaran b . tech , too received overwhelming reception . there are several things that paved the way for the stupendous success of vip , which , in several ways , is a well - packaged commercial film .
a movie called rage starring the man himself nick cage can some how come off not that funny and overall just dull .
rage is a movie about rage . its alternate title is tokarev , presumably because it is also about a tokarev . the tokarev is not raging , however . as a gun , it is an inanimate object incapable of feeling such emotions . no , the tokarev is an instrument used by those who are raging to express their rage . in spite of this , nicolas cage’s character seems to prefer knives to guns , and the titular tokarev is never used . this is a fantastic film .
rage is so full of cliché , convention and just plain odd narrative choices that it can ' t get out of its own way .
the film will be around 30 minutes long and released for free on the internet .
another day , another nicolas cage movie . rage brings nic back to the basics . he’s a good guy who had a bad past and really just is a weird badass . after his daughter caitlyn is kidnapped and murdered , nic goes on a “rage” spree trying to bring down the people who did it .
rage is so full of cliché , convention and just plain odd narrative choices that it can ' t get out of its own way . which is a shame , because director paco cabezas has something to say about violence and the futility of vengeance . but rage ' s message drowns in wince - inducing lines and pointless outbursts of cruelty .
those interested in being extras in the film should submit their information to tokarevextrascasting @ gmail . com .
the film has more surprising turns than a honeycomb has bees . absurdity and calamity collide without warning .
film : an adaptive species . part 2 of 2 : brainy , sexy , and not totally doomed
detective peter st . john ( danny glover ) is on the trail of former mobster paul maguire ( nicolas cage ) after maguire ' s daughter is abducted in
rage .
this week nicolas cage began filming his next action - packed film , tokarev , in mobile , alabama .
whether it is a pure fantasy or something close to reality , the film is an exuberant . . .
hitting its 20th anniversary milestone this year , the black harvest film festival runs through the month of august at the gene siskel film center , spotlighting black cinema . the fest hasn ' t always been especially discerning about quality . i ' m not sure that does anybody any favors . quantity seems to be its primary goal , and my top pick of the remaining fest is a screening of
a rage in harlem ,
the 1991 heist comedy starring robin givens and forest whitaker . more on the film below .
englewood international film festivals kicks off tonight ! ! ! # goodinenglewood | r . a . g . e .
rage stumbles regularly on those
huh ?
moments . in another scene , paul is screaming
don ' t die !
to a villain whose head he ' s opening like a grape .
even the stylish fight sequences don ' t have much of an impact because the film takes itself way too seriously .
alas , we need cage to get more animated here to approach the father ' s fury of mystic river , or the determined repayment of taken . among paternal thrillers , rage is too much a deadbeat dad .
the short film kung fury is a homage and a love letter to the 80 ' s from the director david sandberg .
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 .
it ' s a film worth seeing before the crowd of oscar contenders sweeps it out of the way for the holiday season .
tired , lazy , incongruous , shocking and hilarious in all the wrong places ,
rage
is destined for the graveyard television slot , squeezed between infomercials for mops . perhaps there is a good drinking game in here somewhere .
julius caesar production closes , but debate over art and politics likely to rage on a production of shakespeare ' s julius caesar has drawn the ire of conservatives for its depiction of president trump as the ill - fated roman politician .
nicolas cage stars in the revenge thriller rage . after his 16 - year - old daughter is kidnapped and murdered former mobster paul maguire reaches out to his old crew to help him find and kill those responsible . rachel nichols , danny glover , and peter stormare co - star and deliver strong performances . but this is cage ' s film to make or break , and his performance is especial good and quite nuanced ; showing the weight of a man haunted by his past . the plot is pretty formulaic for the most part , but it does do an impressive job at showing the cycle of violence and its costs . while limited by the material , rage ends up being a little better than the standard action film .
according to a press release , the alabama film incentives program was the primary reason why producers chose to shoot the movie in mobile .
the black harvest film festival continues through the end of the month . for a full schedule of films and events go to urltoken .
the film offers a landscape to match the emotional isolation ; this land is as empty and lonely and unforgiving as it is lovely .
join us at 3pm at the jane addams hull - house for a screening of
natural life
a film by tirtza even .
anyways so much going on , but more to come as we ' re working our way towards a fun year and developing a feature film .
thursday , march 3 , 6 - 8pm double feature : a place to stand + the insiders march 3 , 6 - 8pm join us for double feature of two intriguing films ! a place to stand ( 2014 ) is a film based on jimmy santiago baca’s memoir of the same name , which explores the life and mind of a man who – through the power of poetry – found his place to stand . the insiders ( 1970 , 16mm film ) portrays daily life at a state prison filmed by an incarcerated person at missouri state penitentiary for the nbc educational enterprises series . this event is hosted in partnership with the poetry foundation . presented in partnership with the poetry foundation .
after the panel , join the aacm ( association for the advancement of creative musicians ) in concert from 6 - 8pm . performers : now generatio n . admission is $ 10 , youth ages 15 and under are free ! purchase tickets online through : urltoken performers are now generation dec . 6 , 3 - 5pm : first annual alternative state of the illinois department of corrections report : 2014 ¡presente !
following the film tirtza even , mariame kaba , shobha mahdev and jill petty will be in conversation about current issues around juveniles serving life without parole .
marry bee cuddy : come on , girls . how grim is too grim and when does it just start becoming a little humorous ? earlier this year we had a novel idea for a film in the form of a million ways to die in the west . that film did not work for me overall , but the idea of making a western film that put emphasis on how terrible a time it could really be was a funny one . tommy lee jones ' second directorial effort , the homesman , based on the novel by glendon swarthout , is a film that sits in grim territory , but pushes things so far that it becomes a strange sort of dark comedy . the film has a large cast of great actors , but they all provide merely decent to good performances . hilary swank stands out , but that makes sense , given that she does most of the heavy - lifting , with strong support from jones to back her up . really , the film seems confused by how sprawling it could be versus how effectively poignant it may be if the film felt a bit more consistent . the good news is , this film is far too interesting to write off . read the whole review at urltoken
rage is an action packed , 16 - bit injected , 80s revenge tale . the story follows kurt niles , an every day guy living in the neon - lit halogen city . after being left dead in the streets by a . . . see full summary »
there are nice touches that keep rage engaging , particularly plot twists that stem from suspicion , anger and communication gaffes , a theme throughout . and danny glover is solid as a beleaguered cop chasing the carnage ( though he really is getting too old for this stuff ) .
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…
the 4th annual englewood international film festival ( eiff ) kicks off tonight with a private reception and then all are welcome to attend the opening film “englewood” – friday , oct . 24th ! the red carpet reception starts at 6 p . m . at the chatham 14 theater – 210 west 87th street ! !
bernstein ' s career spanned decades ( it ' s a remarkable list of credits and you can see the full range and scope by checking out his filmography on urltoken ) but by the ' 90s he was mostly scoring dramas .
a rage in harlem
is the rare exception . the film doesn ' t quite deliver on those big brazen horns , but it gets there in fits and starts . it ' s a worth a look .
so far , stories has plans for adaptations of genesis and dreamcast classics such as altered beast , streets of rage , shinobi , rise of nightmares and crazy taxi . variety reports that both virtua fighter and golden axe also are part of the portfolio of properties that could get some treatment .
actually , i knew only one minute into this film that i was in for a great night . look at this face nicolas cage makes ! look at it !
this is a guerrilla film made on a production budget of $ 10 , 000 usd and shot in new york , los angeles and las vegas ,
a title card announces at the outset . that figure isn ' t unusual for microbudget indies , but i ' ve never seen film declare its budget and under - the - radar methods before it even begins . transparency has its place , but it can also come across as a pre - emptive justification for the film ' s flaws .
this was the banlieue where la haine had been filmed , and i was here with my friend , producer geoff bird , to make a radio 4 programme , twenty years of hate , looking back at what it meant . our starting point was that the film could not have been made without the people around here , many of whom had featured in the film . we wanted to know how they felt about the film , its historic significance , and what , if anything , had changed since then .
this might be pardonable if we had a reason to like anybody . yet rage has few discernible heroes : even paul ' s primary backups , kane ( max ryan ) and danny ( michael mcgrady ) are so bland and indistinguishable that they could be the second cousins you confuse at a family reunion .
sunday , jan 16 , 3 - 5pm weight of rage families and communities event join prison + neighborhood arts project ( pnap ) for a walk through of the exhibition the weight of rage . families , friends , advocates and allies of incarcerated folks are invited . lasana kazembe will read poems from current pnap poets at stateville . william estrada will photograph participants for free as part of the portraits of resolution project - - a mobile photo studio documenting the impact incarceration has on the community . and alderman walter burnett and benny lee will be there to say a few words ! sponsored by st . leonard’s ministries .
he must have really liked taken and mystic river , too , given the homage to those films that is rage ( * * out of four unrated , opens friday in select cities ) , a picture that isn ' t as terrible as its title suggests nor as deep as its story aspires to be .
not exactly an original revenge picture or a great one . while it gives off the impression as a taken rip - off meets man on fire but this film does not have any of the quality ' s that those films had . even though nicholas cage is starting to get his groove back , but sadly this film does not showcase anything special .
i asked abdel how much had changed since 1995 . “nothing much , ” he said . we talked about the riots here in 2014 , which were every bit as serious and confrontational with police as those of 1995 . as we chatted , we were followed by unmarked police cars , sharking between the narrow avenues of the area . youths stood look - out for the drug gangs at the edges of apartment blocks . “it’s still here , ” he said . “it’s all the same . ”
anyway , this is a cage flick , if you couldn’t tell . that’s a term that has meant different things at different times , but nowadays it tends to involve a story where a family member ( usually a daughter ) is kidnapped or killed and cage is out for revenge . the high point of this era of cage flicks was drive angry , which was the best film of 2011 if you didn’t see it . now , though , it’s devolved through movies like stolen into films like rage . if there’s one word that describes nicolas cage in rage , it’s “tired” . he’s just like , “fuck . another one of these redbox classics ? ” we feel your pain . hell , the movie even includes this scene where cage helplessly looks at the script , trying to do anything but open it and start reading :
it ' s hard to say this is the worst film nicolas cage has ever made - there are just too many contenders to choose from . but it ' s near the bottom .
the movie’s portrait of kashmir is radical by bollywood standards . avoiding nationalist arguments , the film portrays the tragic human cost of the conflict and its netherworld of disappearances , military torture and extrajudicial killings .
when an ex - mobster’s daughter is found dead , the repressed return with a vengeance that feels more like a whimper in “rage , ” a silly and shopworn nicolas cage action vehicle that plays like a poor man’s “taken , ” “mystic river” and “a history of violence” rolled into one . proficiently made but fatally unpersuasive in its portrayal of [ … ]
kung fury was funded mainly through a kickstarter campaign , where people from all around the world showed their support for this crazy project . david worked on the film for a more than a year with almost no budget but a strong vision , with the help of friends and family . most of the film has already been shot , but additional filming and lots of visual effects remain to be done .
i wanted to like this film . i really did . the main titles alone — animated with sharp , angular midcentury graphics — speak to a filmmaker ( dana verde ) with a sense of style .
rage is an action packed , 16 - bit injected , 80s revenge tale . the story follows kurt niles , an every day guy living in the neon - lit halogen city . after being left dead in the streets by a gang called the dangers , kurt returns from his asphalt grave and goes on a bloody rampage to save the girl he loves .
it is the sight of the homeless , mud - smeared tom on the heath that inspires the outcast lear to ponder the state of “unaccommodated man” and to realize that we are all thus , in essence , even if our royal cloaks conceal it . mr . langella’s eyes , which had been wide with inchoate rage , memorably narrow into the focus of recognition .
of course , the main highlight of vip was the pulsating score composed by anirudh ravichander , which became a rage after release . however , sean roldan , who gave a soul - stirring album with pa paandi , is in charge of the music . in fact , apart from dhanush ' s solid screen presence , the main attraction of the trailer is sean ' s music .
anthology film archives 32 second avenue tickets are $ 7 and are good for the whole night . tickets go on sale at 5 : 30pm the night of screening at the anthology box office and are available all night .
in salon , andrew o’hehir makes explicit what is perhaps less so in other reviews . the cultural debates over american sniper , he writes , “demonstrate how cultural works get reduced to ‘politics’ in the least interesting sense of that word . ” here , o’hehir is voicing not only a lament about the regrettable way our public debates treat artworks , but also a traditional critic’s complaint : in focusing on the content of the film – how many people the protagonist kills , or the degree to which the depiction of the character accords with the real - life man on whose autobiography the film was based – people are ignoring the film’s notable formal elements . he closes his review by noting that “there’s a level of sardonic commentary at work that is sometimes subtle and sometimes pretty damn obvious , ” and that at base the film was about “an american who thought he knew what he stood for and what his country stood for and never believed he needed to ask questions … and then paid the price for it . so did we all , and the reception of this film suggests that the payments keep on coming due . ”
it was not all fear and misery however . this was also the year a new film had crash - landed into the french imagination , becoming ultimately a worldwide hit . the film was called la haine ( hate ) and was the story of three young men in one of the wretched housing projects outside paris , commonly referred to as la banlieue . the three lads were a north african , a black guy and an eastern european jew – an echo of the multiracial mix that would bring france victory in the 1998 world cup . they were cheeky , funny and likable – a gang of what the french call “ branleurs ” , which is literally translated as “wankers” but really means young guys who mess about . the core of the story was , however , that they were also full of rage – against the police , but ultimately against a society that has pushed them to the margins . much of the film’s comedy as well as its social comment comes from the gang’s misadventures in central paris , a world as distant and alien to them as america .
finally , here’s a great shot of nicolas cage composing himself before delivering more dialogue in this film . sometimes , you just need a moment , you know ? just close your eyes , imagine the paycheck , and do it .
in a career spanning over 15 years , dhanush has donned several characters . we ' ve seen him as psychopath lover in kadhal kondein . an innocent kaaru in aadukalam and a fierce gangster kokki kumar in pudhupettai . however , raghuvaran became a rage mainly because of his guy - next - door character . while we ' ve adored his innocence in vip , raghuvaran in vip 2 seems to have a lot of action scenes .
these are all intelligent takes , and they all share in some sense o’hehir’s gripe : people who wanted to politicize the film aren’t really seeing it well . like many critics , these writers are to a greater or lesser degree formalists , and believe that to understand a film is to be aware of the subtleties of its construction , in addition to its content . this is what makes it so surprising that there is little mention in their reviews of how formally weak so much of the movie is .
in the weeks after its release , not surprisingly , the film spawned a great deal of public controversy , which broke down along familiar liberal and conservative lines . the critical reception has been more nuanced , less willing to see the film as a blank political statement , and generally celebratory . richard brody , writing in the new yorker , explains that the film “contains valor and horror – the destructive and self - destructive conflicts that are intrinsic to a person endowed with a warrior’s noble nature . as such , it’s a cinematic tragedy in the deepest and most classical sense of the term . ” thomas powers , writing for the new york review of books , takes essentially the same approach , noting that the film is one of “disciplined art and moral complexity” that presents an evolution from the “gung - ho enthusiasm of young men eager to go forth and kick ass for the greatest country in the world , to the half - strangled confusion of men who have suffered and killed for reasons that slip away like water in sand . ”
kassovitz was fearless too . when the film premiered at the cannes film festival – where it was a huge critical success – the police on duty turned their backs on kassovitz and his crew , perceiving the film as an anti - police polemic . kassovitz swaggered his way through the storm . inevitably , jean - marie le pen , then leader of the front national , stormed into the fray , calling for “these yobs to be sent to jail” . kassovitz shrugged off the criticism . the fact that alain juppé organised a special screening for his cabinet more than proved the point : that in 1995 la haine seemed to describe exactly what was wrong with france . in one of its blackest years , it seemed both to capture the mood of the country and turn it into great art
the film , which opened internationally on oct . 2 , drew a fierce reaction on social media from hindu nationalists , who called for a boycott . kashmir , a disputed territory claimed by both india and pakistan , remains a sensitive subject on the indian subcontinent .
velai illa pattadhari was an important film for dhanush , as much it was for velraj , the cinematographer - turned - director . vip , which happened to be dhanush ' s 25th film , left an indelible mark among the tamil audience . sure , one might argue over the fact that it ' s a masala film of the highest degree . and that ' s true . in some ways , vip is also a textbook example of how to tell a masala story . for the same , writer - director velraj deserves credit . velai illa pattadhari tells the story of an unemployed youth raghuvaran ( dhanush ) , a civil engineer , who aspires to work in a core company . when everything falls in place , raghuvaran locks horns with a business tycoon arun subramaniam ( amitash pradhan ) .
la haine , the controversial 1995 drama that held up a mirror to the social ills of modern france , arrived during a dark time in the country’s history . twenty years on , with a sequel mooted and france again experiencing uncertain times , we reflect on the film’s lasting significance
it’s just incredible , really . i couldn’t take my eyes off of it for the entirety of the film , but in those first ten minutes , i understood what dave saw in the monolith . it’s ok . it’s alright . i can die now . i have found peace .
i would like to be an extra in this film . i also have an 12 yr . old son and 10 yr . old daughter that would love the experience . is there any age requirements ? my phone number is 251 - 577 - 6825 . please call if you need anything .
it is sad to see a film begin so well , relying on stunning visuals and an impressive performance by swank , and then go downhill in a second half that suffers from some serious problems of tone and does itself a great disservice by abruptly shifting the lead role from her to jones .
even in the film’s fourth week in theaters , the controversy surrounding it shows little sign of abating . it has been banned in pakistan , where the censors claimed — surprisingly , for a movie that casts a negative light on the indian state — that “haider” was “against the ideology of pakistan . ”
neither tragic or particularly unintentionally funny , rage slogs forward with blood - spurting pathos to an ultimately disingenuous twist conclusion , offering little more than a revenge relic pretending that the ethical treatise of a history of violence never happened . it’s as if director paco cabezas relishes the shotgun - pumping climax of rolling thunder not as an end , but a methodology , since the film takes every opportunity to be as gruesome as possible . perhaps even this is giving cabezas too much credit , since his sophomoric , gut - check theatrics are more tailored to direct - to - video aesthetics , replete with atrocious dialogue like “i need some help . can you meet me by the construction site ? ” and perpetual bursts of violence , ultimately amounting to an unsightly cinematic mélange of bloodshed and mayhem , accompanied by grating heavy metal on the soundtrack .
the consensus back in paris , however , is that this wouldn’t be a follow - up in the conventional sense but rather a much darker version of what was already a tough film . in the banlieue of bobigny i spoke to gilles favier , the photographer who had worked on the original film . he was clear about what had got worse in the banlieue . “in 1995 i had my doubts whether a black guy , a jew and an arab would be friends , ” he said . “but now everything is much more divided . and this is because of the rise of political islam in the banlieue . this is what created more division and tension and so now it is not just youth against the police or the state , but also youth who are wanting to kill jews and go to syria . la haine was about friends and maybe some hope . nowadays i think you could only make a film about despair . ”
“i’m not apologetic , or scared , or afraid , ” he said , noting that he had been denounced or threatened for his journalistic work on several occasions . “i’m proud of a lot of stories and moments in this film . within the limits of bollywood , we pushed things as far as we could . ”
this brings me back to my sympathy - for - cage theme . everybody gives nic a hard time for these paycheck roles in wretched movies—and believe me ,
rage
is pretty wretched , a dull , lifeless thing even in spite of its efforts , old - school grindhouse picture - style , to put an exploitation - nihilist spin on the dad - with - action - movie - skills - on - the - rampage boilerplate—but , you know , peter stormare actually used to work for ingmar bergman , and he earns no disapprobation for turning up in the likes of this , let alone for egregiously hamming it up as he does . one of the odd features of these latter - day wannabe b - pictures is the way they pander to their more ostensibly distinguished cast member , in this case giving the characters played by stormare , glover , and finally cage these big dramatic monologues , each filled with hot air lines such as “not everyone could get out as clean as you could . ” the only way to get out of
rage
clean is not to get into it in the first place .
i hadn ' t seen this 1991 heist comedy until last week , and although it is not a lost masterwork , the film has its charms ( notably a terrific score and deep bench of acting talent ) . it ' s one of those movies that may not fully hang together , but it works in select moments .
wednesday , march , 16 the power of letters in this creative writing workshop will be open to village leadership academy students ! workshop participants will begin with a walk - through of the “weight of rage” exhibition , paying particular attention to open letters crafted by p - nap students in a “writing time and place” seminar . students will compose their own open letters in response to the exhibition , and have the opportunity to expand and refine their written work through the workshop process . this workshop will be facilitated by audrey petty , writer and member of the p - nap teaching collective .
velai illa pattadhari 2 is impressive in terms of its supporting characters . the film has national award - winning actor samuthirakani playing dhanush ' s father , while amala paul retains her role as his raghuvaran ' s love interest . the success of velai illa pattadhari goes partly to saranya ponvannan , who left the audience teary - eyed .
as for la haine , it’s ironic that a film once held up as the mirror of all french social ills now seems to be , in retrospect , a document from a golden age . but these are difficult and dangerous days in france – and all the more the reason why la haine 2 is awaited with bated breath .
i’m still not entirely sure what happened in the film . nic does one of his standard “crazy eyes and yells” at the val kilmer look alike before murdering him and i didn’t get it . the twist is also super underwhelming as it just leads to a terrible misunderstanding bringing up old wounds and it never really was interesting beyond that .
in the new york times , rachel saltz suggested that the movie “grafts its source story less convincingly to its setting” than mr . bhardwaj’s previous efforts while providing “the occasional sharp reminder of how cinematically he can construct shakespearean moments . ” over the weekend , “haider” won the people’s choice award in the world genre category at the rome film festival .
mr . peer said he felt that “haider” could chart a new direction . “when i told vishal the basic premise , he had no problems with it , ” he said . “i felt , this is already a big start . nobody in mumbai , nobody in the last 25 years in the film industry , had even come close . ”
the homesman
is a remarkable western delving into numerous social issues all but ignored by other films of the genre ( such as the role of marriage , the church ' s role in society , women ' s role in society , and social standing ) . very good acting by all players and skilled directing by jones make this nearly action - free film well worth seeing .
the hindu front for justice , a group of rightist lawyers , petitioned india’s allahabad high court to seek a ban on screenings of the film , arguing that “haider” was against the “national interest . ” mr . bhardwaj and mr . peer have until nov . 15 to reply . the movie is likely to complete its theatrical run in india by mid - november , in any case .
the film takes a more eccentric turn as the action relocates to rural connecticut , where brinnin stows thomas away in a desperate attempt at detoxification ahead of the poet’s next scheduled speaking engagement . there , the boozy , beat - aspiring intervention of a local literary couple ( played by kevin eldon and shirley henderson , the latter in her most impishly neurotic form ) briefly pulls the film into burroughs - lite territory before a more sentimental streak kicks in . even at its most disheveled , however , “stars” retains a certain disciplined coziness . the deranged deterioration of thomas’ psyche is successfully channeled in only one genuinely unnerving scene : a hallucinated , reproachful monologue from his wife caitlin , startlingly played by kelly reilly with enough concentrated erotic fury to steal the entire picture in a matter of minutes .
going by the teaser , it ' s not surprising that soundarya rajinikanth has retained most of the elements that worked in the film ' s predecessor . though she made her directorial debut with superstar rajinikanth playing the titular role , kochadaiiyaan was a box - office dud . that said , soundarya is very likely to make a strong comeback with velai illa pattadhari 2 and is evident in the trailer .
when an ex - mobster’s daughter is found dead , the repressed return with a vengeance that feels more like a whimper in “ rage , ” a silly and shopworn nicolas cage action vehicle that plays like a poor man’s “taken , ” “mystic river” and “a history of violence” rolled into one . proficiently made but fatally unpersuasive in its portrayal of internecine gang warfare , this thuggish melodrama piles on the foreign accents and paint - by - numbers brutality , all served up with a grim , operatic self - seriousness that gives cage’s antihero little room to maneuver . spanish genre helmer paco cabezas’ english - language debut will find a few fans on vod , where it’s rolling out simultaneously with its limited theatrical release .
about halfway through we ( he and director bill duke ) were looking at a scene , and i turned to bill and said ' you know , that wasn ' t quite as funny as it was in the script . and i don ' t know why . ' and he said to me , ' we ' re not making no g - - damn comedy . ' i ' d raised the entire money for this film on the basis that it was a comedy . it was chester himes , it was supposed to be funny . and a shiver went down my spine and i hoped that bill was joking . but i realized he thought we were making ' porgy and bess ' and from there on in , i had to be on that film , on that set all the time .
there is again something oddly revealing , i think , in this rather gentle attempt to turn another of the film’s formal deficiencies into a strength . to create a plot about a rather plotless situation – a sniper doing four tours – eastwood and his screenwriter create not one , but two individual villains for kyle to defeat . the first is a particularly nefarious iraqi henchman – “the butcher” – and the second is the enemy sniper mustafa . in terms of a war film , this is a childish decision : it reduces a large - scale situation of chaos and violence into a morally manageable , small - scale scenario in which “bad guys” are identified and put down . to slide past this , we insist that it’s not really a war film at all , but a western , and further that the character of mustafa isn’t ridiculous – he’s evil , he dresses in black – but is actually a symbolic representation of the “savagery” in kyle’s own heart . ( one is tempted to ask how far this symbolism goes . of what are the kid and woman in the first scene symbolic ? how about the iraqi who is hiding in a palm tree and falls rather comically into the midst of the american troops when kyle kills him ? )
for some reason , they had water on the camera lens during this scene and didn’t bother to clean it . so this entire sequence is slightly blurry , and the technical incompetence behind the scenes on this film obscures the majesty of cage’s flowing mane . this is up there with vic morrow’s death on the set of the twilight zone in terms of horrible filmmaking , and everyone involved should be ashamed of themselves .
not to be confused with the disposable 1989 eddie murphy vanity project
harlem nights ,
the movie is adapted from the chester himes crime novel of the same name . its pulpy 1950s setting straddles the line between comedy and hard - boiled — though not always successfully . tonally , there ' s something a little confused about the film . producer stephen woolley described tensions behind the camera a few years ago in an interview for bbc radio :
toward the end of the film , when kyle finally kills his nemesis , the evil enemy sniper mustafa , he places himself and his fellow soldiers in great danger . they’ve been secreted on top of a building , and the enemy troops hear the shot and surround them . as the firefight begins , kyle calls his wife and tells her that he’s ready to come home . things look bleak . fortunately , a massive sandstorm descends on the city , which gives kyle and his comrades a chance to escape . in the blurry running firefight that ensues , kyle is almost left behind . he symbolically and melodramatically loses his grip on his sniper rifle . we cut to a shot of the rifle lying on the ground , being covered over with blowing sand . it is a perfect image . not because of the metaphor the film seems to think it’s making – look at this object of expertise and violence and manhood , wasted by the folly of the world . no , it’s perfect because the baldness of the symbolism captures exactly the way the film’s vision of itself as non - ideological is a poor mask for its ideology . it confuses pathos with the serious moral considerations incumbent in making art about the act of killing , and mistakenly believes that an argument for the wasted nobility of the warrior can be disconnected from an argument about the nobility of war .
this sequence is an object lesson in narrative cynicism . it presents us with what is purportedly a moment of real tension , involving the possibility of shooting an innocent child : kyle reports to his superiors that he believes he sees a grenade ; his spotter notes that if he’s wrong he’s going to prison . but we have seen very clearly that the kid is in fact holding a grenade . the composition and clarity of the shots leave no doubt in our minds . thus , the film builds an edifice of serious moral danger , while at the same time resolving that danger in advance ; it allows us to wallow in the threat of the moment while knowing the whole time that it will be okay in the end . what is presented as peril is nothing more than a disguised confirmation of infallibility : kyle will not – here or anywhere else in the film – kill someone who does not deserve it .
largely a two - hander , or a two - seater , “ # stuck” sticks with a man and a woman who are cooped up together during an interminable los angeles traffic jam , and every minute of their captivity is keenly felt . all they start with in common is a drunken hookup the night before , and this allows the film’s writer and director , stuart acher , to lead us down a nattering road to mutual appreciation and triumph over shame .
the ever - committed actor is invariably the most interesting thing in whatever schlock he turns up in , and that’s the case with
rage ,
a payback thriller that’s not quite a gloss on
taken .
the reason he’s the most interesting thing here is not because his performances is particularly intense or eccentric but because everything around him is so wretchedly dull . “pete , i’m out of the game , you know that , ” cage’s character , paul , announces to a character named pete , aptly enough , early on in the movie ; dialogue like that only means the character’s going to be drawn back into the game at some point in the movie . paul is a one - time criminal turned building contractor , which is a great profession for a one - time criminal to be in because there’s so little corruption in that field .
this was dazzling cinema but most importantly , it was the first time the banlieue had ever been represented to a mainstream french audience . the film was an immediate and massive hit and galvanised the part of france that knew the banlieues existed but had never seen them up close or dealt with in a sympathetic way . the director of la haine , mathieu kassovitz , was then only 26 years old , but he had somehow managed to rewrite everything that people thought they knew about french cinema .
szoka declines to dig up more than a smattering of old photos ; old snapshots are a documentary trope but a reliable one for a reason . context is everything , and it ' s not so much that rain is an unreliable narrator but that the film is missing any kind of outside perspective . visually , the camera rarely strays anywhere beyond the inside of the theater where rain performs and a few glimpses on her on the beach with child . it all feels so contained . too contained .
still , there’s a lot of content in that hair , and nicolas cage makes this movie worth watching because of it . if that isn’t the sign of a great actor , i don’t know what is . the film itself is so depressing and boring that i’m glad cage had the foresight to give us something to talk about . so , i’d like to spend the rest of this review sharing the remaining screenshots i took with all of you . let’s take a look at a side view :
the homesman is a thoroughly depressing experience with little energy . the idea of throwing a feminist and a curmudgeon on a road trip is inspired . but our central duo are not nearly engaging as they should be . it ' s mostly forgettable except for a few amusing moments . out of the blue a grizzled tommy lee jones gets up and dances a zesty jig while singing by the campfire . in another scene , he torches a hotel in a spiteful rage and that got my pulse quickening a bit . oh james spader ' s pompous hotelier is another high point in a production that usually operates a constant low . the story is inert . to make matters worse , a late dramatic development just happens abruptly . the perplexing act ostensibly motivated by religious guilt . the script is frustratingly cloudy on that point and when the chronicle isn ' t vague , it ' s just dull . urltoken
how , given this context , does american sniper operate as a revisionist western ? it presents us with exactly the ideological metaphor – the innocent sheep , evil wolves , and noble sheepdog – that is under attack from much of the revisionist western tradition . and it never seriously challenges this metaphor . clearly , the central assertion of the film is that there are strong men who represent the paragon of “manhood” and who pay a heavy price for defending the rest of us . ( this is the point of richard brody’s invocation in his review of the “warrior’s noble nature . ” ) kyle is a born sheepdog . there are wolves out there – nearly every iraqi presented in the film is shown to be evil , and to have no legitimate reason for their actions , other than their evilness . there are sheep , too . these are the american public and kyle’s family , of course , but also the american soldiers who are weaker , or who doubt the war , are less manly than kyle . all of them need to be protected .
new delhi — the bollywood director vishal bhardwaj has made his name by adapting shakespeare into film , using the plays to reflect the violence and vicissitudes of modern india . “ maqbool , ” an adaptation of “macbeth , ” was set in the mumbai underworld ; “ omkara ” transported “othello” to the feudal badlands of northern india . his latest effort , a loose adaptation of “hamlet” called “ haider , ” which takes place in kashmir during the turbulent 1990s , has become the most acclaimed and contentious bollywood movie of the year .
it’s in groping for the full weight of tragedy that “rage” turns risible . cabezas ( “neon flesh” ) has a weakness for treating cliches like epiphanies : the moment of caitlin’s disappearance is signaled by the ominous plop of a raindrop , and laurent eyquem’s dramatic score tends to surge excessively whenever the characters raise their voices , which is fairly often . one sequence at the end , played out in agonizing slow - mo , has the perhaps unintended effect of momentarily turning the picture into a gun - control ad . cage , still an agile and inventive performer ( see david gordon green’s recent “joe” ) , isn’t well served by the solemn , bludgeoning tone of the proceedings ; his occasional outbursts and the movie’s title aside , the actor actually seems somewhat straitjacketed here . still , he fares better than danny glover , who plays a world - weary detective forced to utter lines like “a rap sheet as long as my dick . ”
the semi - contemporary classic ode to journalism all the president ' s men by bob woodward and carl bernstein , which chronicles the washington post ' s watergate investigation , is experiencing a revival . book sales are on the rise and the la times this week reported that it may get a made - for - tv makeover . additionally , there may even be a tv or film version of the duo ' s sequel , the final days , which recounts the days inside the white house leading up to president richard nixon ' s resignation .
and then , when you arrive , it all starts to feel a bit weird . this is mainly because chanteloup is a cheaply built piece of 1960s brutalism , grafted on to the french countryside . like nearly all of the most notorious french banlieues , it has the queasy artificiality of a science - fiction set . this strangeness is captured in the film when vinz , who is not sure if he is stoned or not , sees a cow wandering through the estate’s concrete alleyways . weirder still are the giant frescoes of the poets rimbaud , baudelaire and others that dominate the market square . these were well - meant gestures of cultural aspiration from the 1960s – but today the effect is orwellian , like a big picture of ts eliot glowering down at you in tower hamlets . i asked my newfound mates at the sfenj stall if they recognised the images and whether they meant anything to them . they all shrugged with indifference . “to us , they’re just like a cultural gestapo , ” said abdel moulah bouloudji , who featured in the original film . “nothing to do with us . ”