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Jan 4, 2007 3:40:41 PM Archived Entry: "Movie list 2007"

I'm afraid I may have topped out at 56 movies two years ago now that I'm living in a city where a typical movie costs $20.

January
1. The Pervert's Guide to Cinema (3, very thought provoking)
2. Through a Scanner Darkly (3, great to watch and interesting story)
3. The Confederate States of America (3, likewise)
February
4. Uproar in Heaven (2 1/2, China, 1964 - fun animated tale of Monkey, the Chinese trickster figure)
5. Team America, World Police (3, too wrong to not score this high)
March
5. Hot Fuzz (2 1/2, silly action movie)
6. Nashville (1975 - 3)
7. Science of Sleep (3 - gorgeous to watch but the lead character didn't seem very three dimensional)
April
8. Blades of Glory - 3 (I laughed myself silly)
9. Man with a Movie Camera (with Michael Nyman score) - 3 (it's an art film, all montages, so difficult to judge)
June
(In June I saw Xanadu again but it doesn't count as I'd already seen it in a theater, albeit 25 years ago ...)
July
10. Ratatouille - 3 (Great fun)
11. Harry Potter and the somewhat better sequel - 3
12. Naruse's Late Chrysanthemums (1954) - 3
13. The Simpson's Movie - 3 (also great fun, especially because I saw it on work time and on work's dime)
14. Tales of Earthsea (Ged No Genki - Ged's Saga) - 3 1/2 (beautiful animation, cool story, and I saw it as a preview at the NFT, neenur neenur)
15. Yearning - 3 (Naruse Mikio, Japan - 1964) (Nice cinematography and another fascinating tale focused on a female heroine that surprised me by turning tragic.)
August
16. Stray Dog - 2 1/2 (Kurosawa, Japan - 1950-something)
September
17. A Throw of Dice - 2 1/2 (India - 1929)
October
18. Stardust - 2 1/2 (2007, just not magical enough, and horrible costuming)
19. Asphalt - 2 1/2 (1928, Berlin - the restoration with the original cut and intertitles. Suffered occasionally from hysterical silent-movie style acting, but very good cinematography and fun costumes)
20. Across the Universe - 3 1/2
21. Persepolis - 3 (the animation style was delicious and the story it told was very moving - to think of what was going on in Iran all of those years when all we heard about was their external conflicts! Higly recommended.)
November
22. Yobi, the Five Tailed Fox - 2 1/2 (really cute and an interesting story but the sloppy translations and occasional problems with perspective knocked this down a notch for me)
23. Pied Piper - 1 1/2 (Jacques Demy, France - 1972)
24. Rebels of the Neon God - 2 1/2 (Tsai Ming Liang, Taiwan - 1992)
December
25. The Golden Compass - 3 (2007)

With a new recorded score by Nitin Sawhney
Performed by Nitin Sawhney and the London Symphony Orchestra
A Throw of Dice (Prapancha Pash)
India-Germany-UK 1929 Dir Franz Osten
77 mins. Cert U. With Himansu Rai, Seeta Devi, Charu Roy

This spectacular silent epic, based on an episode from the Mahabharata, is the tale of two neighbouring kings, both addicted to gambling and in love with the same woman, Sunita, the daughter of a hermit.

Described by composer Nitin Sawhney as "a cross between Chaplin, Cecil B. DeMille and an early Bollywood movie", this German-Indian co-production was shot on location in Rajasthan, featuring thousand of extras and an array of elephants and tigers.

The BFI's new digital restoration features Nitin Sawhney's ravishing score which effortlessly blends delicate vocals, Indian flute, acoustic guitar and tabla percussion with the sounds of a symphony orchestra.

"Great film music which shows how the increasingly assured Sawhney is breaking down the barriers between pop, classical and world music."
The Guardian

Produced by Fandango srl/BFI and Silent Music
With the generous support of the UK Film Council

Notes on Asphalt:
Directed by: Joe May
Written by: Rolf E Vanloo, Fred Majo, Hans Szekely
Cast: Gustav Fröhlich, Betty Amann, Else Heller
Country: Germany
Year: 1928
Running time: 94 mins

The largely undersung Asphalt, a vibrant portrayal of Weimar street life, was one of the last and best collaborations between the German UFA Studio's respected director-producer team of Joe May and Erich Pommer, both of whom subsequently moved to Hollywood, May to direct mainly B-pictures.

In an entertaining imitation of UFA's arty Kammerspiel-style movies, complete with eye-catching sets, a lovely prostitute-thief (Betty Amann in Louise Brooks mode) uses all her seductive charms to prevent a young policeman (Gustav Fröhlich) from arresting her, and their lives become intricately entwined.

The film is justly celebrated for its evocative opening sequence (strongly influenced by Walter Ruttmann's Berlin: Symphony of a Great City, made two years earlier) which shows the evening bustle on Potsdamer Platz, store and street lights ablaze, with shoppers and workers on their way home.

Asphalt is preserved at the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung and in the Berlin Filmmuseum, whose conservator Martin Koerber will introduce and present the film with recorded music based on a contemporary score.

Thanks to Transit Films

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