Ryan McNeil
It was almost exclusively first-timers this week, interrupted one night by the film pictured above.
When one pulls all of those first-timers together into the list below, it turns into quite a wonderful week of watching but I feel like focusing on two of the last entries on the list below.
THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ELEANOR RIGBY was a film I really wanted to get into my schedule when it played at TIFF in 2014. Unfortunately due to what else was playing up against it – and its requirement of three-plus hours of my time – I couldn’t make it work. So it would have to wait. However the waiting put me into a precarious spot since the fully fleshed out versions of ‘HIM’ and ‘HER’ were condensed down into the more commercially-friendly THEM by the time it hit theatres. Or rather, by the time it was dumped into theatres. Ditto its blu-ray release; one edit only on the disc, the most-accessible THEM.
So when I noticed HIM and HER had shown up on Netflix recently, I made sure to clear a night.
Watching the two films back to back was wonderful. It wasn’t what I thought it would be – a RASHOMON-like portrait of one story told from multiple perspectives. Instead it used a few common moments as landmarks on the path that two people would walk as their love for each-other was fading. I’d heard that one might take a side depending on whose end of the story they saw first, but I didn’t really feel as though it was a situation that required picking sides. And I love it for that.
Whenever love splinters, it sends shards in all directions. It affects not only the people falling out of love, but their friends and family too. What’s more, everything is dug up in these instances for all to see…and everyone is afraid to talk about what’s been exhumed. RIGBY explores this for two whole people, and two whole families. All of their friends get a say as do their acquaintances. It’s a three-hour post-mortem of love gone sour and I can’t remember if I’ve ever seen anything like this before.
There’s not quite enough weight to it to make me start reconsidering my year-end best-of list, but I’m deeply happy that it exists, and love the time I have spent with it. It uses the medium to try something different and explore a story in ways that don’t normally get explored.
This is a film that could have been a special event in cinemas – like CHE when both parts of it were shown back-to-back in certain theatres. Instead it was dropped on the side of the road. Pity that, but then again, I guess screenings are valuable.
…after all, we wouldn’t want to take space away from being able to watch all nine Marvel movies back-to-back.
Here’s the week at hand…
Streaming/Blu-Rays/DVD’s I’ve Never Seen
THE HUNTING GROUND – Every American should be forced to watch this documentary.
Streaming/Blu-Rays/DVD’s I’ve Never Seen
IRMA LA DOUCE – I should have made this the final Wilder I watched. Pure joy.
RAIDERS! – Hot Docs 2015 screener
SOAPDISH – Kevin Klein is a national treasure.
YOUR SISTER’S SISTER – Nifty, but not as good as I’d hoped it’d be. Love The Blunt though.
WESTERN – Hot Docs 2015 screener
THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ELEANOR RIGBY: HER – Feels like the more tragic part of the pair.
THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ELEANOR RIGBY: HIM – The more straightforward, and the one that fills in the gaps.
Streaming/Blu-Rays/DVD’s I’ve Never Seen
(500) DAYS OF SUMMER – Handily one of my favorites of this century.
I can’t believe you’d never seen SOAPDISH! One of my favs – RDJ gagging at the end kills me.
Glad DISAPPEARANCE holds up.
Kevin Klein’s bit about his work in Death of Salesman altering the way he looked at his own fingers made me lose it. That and the final ad-libbed scene.
First-Timers: The Gunman, Suzanne’s Career, The Bakery Girl of Monceau, and right now, Wild Tales.
Re-Watches: Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach and Summer Rental.
First time:
Curse II: The Bite
The Wind Rises – a wonderful final film for Miyazaki.
God Told Me To
And I re-watched:
Project A
I was actually rather charmed by the dub of The Wind Rises. My second go-round with it was accidentally in English, but the Ghibli/Disney tag team has started casting some pretty talented actors for the english versions.
So would you recommend watching Disappearance: Her before Disappearance: Him? I want to block out time for that soon. I’ve also gotta give Irma la Douce a rewatch. It’s one of the Wilder films I’ve seen but barely remember. Love in the Afternoon is also in that category.
I actually watched enough to make a list this week, thanks to TCM Fest (I’m holding you to your promise to come next year!)
First time:
Oculus (Jon’s pick on our regular movie night; really enjoyed)
Chimes at Midnight (wasn’t sure when I’d have another chance to see this Welles film, and I’m glad I saw it)
Don’t Bet on Women (charming Pre-Code, with Jeanette MacDonald’s only non-singing role – she should’ve done more)
Why Be Good (Colleen Moore’s final silent film might just be my favorite thing I’ve seen all year)
Air Mail (rare John Ford Pre-Code; pretty good story, VERY good aerial photography/model work)
Rewatches:
Steamboat Bill Jr. (as good as ever and better with a live orchestra)
So Dear to My Heart (a favorite of mine as a kid, and it held up pretty well)
Christmas in July (was one of my least favorite Preston Sturges films, but it definitely moved up in my estimation on rewatch)
And then a bunch of 1898-1913 shorts shown through a hand-cranked projector. The best was Lois Weber’s Suspense from 1913, which has some pretty remarkable and effective camera placements for the time. And The Dancing Pig, which might be the most bizarre thing I’ve seen for a LONG time.
You can hold me to my promise so long as you promise to be my go-to for all questions regarding ticketing, accommodations and the like.
So all of that leaves me deeply green with envy…but I have to ask one thing: what happened to THE APARTMENT with Miss Kubelik in attendance?
And yes, watch HER before HIM. HER is a tad bleaker, and I prefer to rise up than descend down.
I’m sorry! I had family in town so I was picking and choosing, and they came up to Hollywood the evening The Apartment played and I chose to have supper with them at Mel’s Diner instead. Sounds like she talked a good bit about working with Wilder, etc.: http://thefilmexperience.net/blog/2015/3/29/shirley-maclaine-talks-the-apartment-at-tcmff.html
Feel free to ask me anything you like about the festival! I’ve gone five out of the six years, so I’m pretty knowledgable. 🙂