Like Anna Karina's Sweater

Histoire(s) d'aftershave

Paris, 1971. Early morning, disheveled flat. A young couple awakens. He immediately turns on the radio which is blaring news about Palestine. She'll have none of that. They argue. She puts the coffee on. He shaves. They shout. He splashes Schick over his visage. She loves the smell. All is calm. It's love all over again thanks to the healing power of aftershave.

This mini-drama buried in an advert (political overtones and all) was directed by none other than Jean-Luc Godard and Jean-Pierre Gorin, who at the time had signed a lucrative deal with the Dupuy-Compton ad agency. As long as they proposed one idea a month, and shot one of those ideas each year, they'd get paid. For the Schick ad, they requested a budget for about a week's worth of shooting, but completed the entire advert in half a day. Doesn't sound very Maoist (or Marxist) to me.....

Regardless, enjoy what is no doubt one of Godard's shortest works -- think Une Femme est une Femme meets Pierrot le Fou in just under sixty seconds. 

Enjoy! (Crossposted to my Tumblr page.)

Schick...Pour Etre Mieux Dans sa Peau from Filmbrain on Vimeo.

Filmbrain's Screen Capture Quiz: The All Opening Credits Edition!

Better late than never, I guess...

Yes, it's the start of a new round (the 19th!) of Filmbrain's weekly screen capture quiz. The rules are pretty much as they always were -- every Wednesday for the next twelve weeks a new quiz will be posted. Responses must come via email (please don't post in the comments) and you can submit your answers up until the moment the new quiz is posted. At the end of twelve weeks, the person with the highest number of correct answers will win be able to choose DVD used in the round as their prize. (Unfortunately, the economic crunch has hit chez Filmbrain, and for the time being I can no longer offer the prize to the top three winners.) In the event of a tie, I'll keep posting quizzes until there is a clear victor.

There's a slight twist to this round, and the inspiration came from an exhibit I saw in Berlin back in February with The Auteurs' Danny Kasman called Vorspannkino, which was a celebration of the art of the opening credit sequence. In darkened rooms over four floors were monitors displaying credit sequences from approximately fifty films. Though most of the exhibit was from the usual suspects (plenty of Saul Bass), there were some nice surprises as well. As a tribute to the exhibit, this round will consist solely of grabs from opening credits.Should be fun...

I'll start off with an easy one. Appropriately enough, this film is itself a first. Name it. Submit your answers to this address. Good luck!

Catching Up...

I realize there's been a longer-than-usual period of silence on this blog, so I thought I'd provide a quick update on recent happenings.

SXSW
I was at the South by Southwest Film Festival for a few days last week, primarily for the premiere screening of Tobe Hooper's Eggshells, which Watchmaker/Benten are currently in the process of restoring. The screening was a great success, even though what we projected was a work-in-progress. (There's still a ton of restorative work to be done.) Jette Kernion of Cinematical (who I finally met in person) has a report on the screening.

Sadly, I didn't get to see too many films at the festival, as my days were tied up in meetings, and my nights tied up in booze and party after party. In fact, I'm almost convinced SXSW is more about the social element than the films themselves. (That's no doubt bound to be an unpopular sentiment.) Then again, I was hopped up on painkillers most of the time owing to a torn calf muscle, so perhaps my perspective was clouded. But that's another story...

New Yorker Films
Late last week I began receiving a flurry of emails about the situation and status about New Yorker Films. Having had little time to keep up with the blogosphere, I was unaware of Richard Brody's piece on the New Yorker blog that referenced my post about the auction.

For obvious reasons there's not a whole lot I can reveal, but I will confirm that discussions are still happening, and we're making significant progress in piecing together the many as-yet-unanswerable questions about the collection -- its status, contents, etc. Though it's still too soon to say, I'm far more optimistic than I was two weeks ago.

New Yorker Films, Round 1

Just a quick summary of today's (non) events.

The Place: A conference room in a law firm high above Park Avenue.
The Time: Shortly after 1:00 PM

It was standing-room-only in the somewhat impressive conference room, as players big and small from the New York film world eagerly awaited the commencement of the auction for the holdings* of New Yorker Films. On a giant monitor, a conference room in the Los Angeles office where the auction was officially being held. It was empty, save for the lawyer handling the sale. (Proof that Hollywood doesn't give a toss about such films?)

After a brief explanation of the ground rules, the auction officialy began. Technicolor opened the bidding at [REDACTED]. Anybody? Anybody? Bueller? Going once, going twice, done.

It was over in matter of seconds.

Any hope of films being auctioned off individually were soon dashed.

What happens next? We'll see. However, I did receive some late-breaking (and unexpected) news just prior to the auction that could help matters tremendously. Stay tuned.

_{*There's a great story to be told here, but one that will have to wait.}

What Happens When Two Film Critics Meet a Watchmaker?

Benten Films and Watchmaker Films Announce International Partnership.

New job titles, new films, new strategies. Click the above link to read the details. Alternatively, click here to download a PDF of the press release. 

It's been an extremely busy week so far, and it's only Tuesday. This is the first of several (hopefully!) upcoming announcements.  

Filmbrain's Screen Capture Quiz: Round 18 - The Winners!

Before I get to the winners of Round 18, a quick aside: I've just returned home from a screening of Watchmen, and..well...I kind of liked it. Sure, it's 2.5 hours of mostly expository dialog, and Zach Snyder may be the most unimaginative director in Hollywood since Chris Columbus, yet there's something about the film that's just a bit off-kilter, but in a good way. During the magnificent opening credit sequence, a re-visioning of key cultural moments from 20th century American history, all I could think was, "what would Godard make of this?" Go see it. 

As for the quiz, the entries have been tabulated, and we have a three contestants with perfect 12 -- quiz regulars Mike F and J.K. M, and a first time winner, Martina K from Germany. Congratulations to the three of you, and remember that any DVD used in the round is yours for the asking.

Be sure to check back next week for a the start of a special round -- one inspired by an exhibit I saw in Berlin.

[Update: Completely forgot to mention that the answer to last week's quiz was Straub-Huillet's The Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach. Sorry about that.]

Things Afoot...Certain and Uncertain...Taking a Brief Pause

Remember Felix Farmer, the manic director played to perfection by Richard Mulligan in Blake Edwards' S.O.B.? If so, then you'll have a perfect image of how my life has been over the past few weeks, for like Farmer, I'm frantically trying to pull something together that is as inconceivable (and perhaps as daft) as Julie Andrews doing a nude scene. I honestly don't believe I've ever been this stressed out. But a good stress, of sorts.

As the post title indicates, things are indeed afoot, mostly related to Benten Films. Some are confirmed, and you'll be hearing a few announcements in the next week or two. Then there's another thing....and oh what an other it is....but I can't reveal details at this time. However, regardless of the outcome, there will be an incredible story to tell. Though I'm doing my best to remain optimistic, the theme song from a 1980s movie sung by Phil Collins keeps running through my head...

I had hoped to finish my Berlinale postmortem by now, as well as my piece on trends and developments (or lack thereof) in American independent cinema versus the Berlin school. Then there's the pile of rarities I managed to get my hands on (including a hard-to-find Fassbinder title and a 60s Euro-omnibus film I've literally waited decades to see.) All that will have to wait until the dust settles.

I'll keep up with the quiz, at least, but it might be a few weeks before regular posting recommences. Then again, I might find myself on several lengthy flights in the coming days, so....we'll see.

Thanks for your patience and understanding.

Filmbrain's Screen Capture Quiz: Round 18, Week 12

Martin Scorsese in the backseat of taxi explaining why New York City is superior to Paris? It can only be Bertrand Tavernier's 'Round Midnight, a film that's not without flaws, but is easily one of the best films of all time about jazz and jazz musicians.

Well, the big news on everybody's lips this week is about the sudden, unexpected shuttering of New Yorker Films. It is indeed a great loss, but the bigger concern is the future status of the archive. There's 40 years of curation there, and the thought of having it broken up is nothing short of tragic.

The blogosphere is buzzing with articles, most of them full of speculation, half-truths, and idealized outcomes. I don't have much to contribute at this point other than to say -- remember the story of David and Goliath?

Well, this is the final quiz of the round, and I thought it would be fitting to close it out with a shot from one of my favorite New Yorker DVDs. It's an easy one, I know. Name this black and white masterpiece. Be sure to check back next week for the winners! Submit your answers to this address. Good luck!

Filmbrain's Screen Capture Quiz: Round 18, Week 11

I was inspired to use the screen shot in last week's quiz after reading Hippolyte Conneries' seminal (but sadly out-of-print) French film text La vache dans le lit: la poésie du cinéma sur ses quatre pattes, which includes his groundbreaking controversial essay De Rin Tin Tin à Rivette. Great stuff.

That's Bunuel's cow from the surrealist masterpiece L'Âge d'or, but judging by the flood of correct entries, I guess you all knew that.

I'm still in the final stages of recovering from the Berlinale -- an average of four hours sleep per night over two weeks does a body bad. Apologies once again for missing last week's quiz. 

This week: As Jeff Spicoli might say, "I know that dude!" Name the famous New Yorker and the film he appears in. Submit your answers to this address. Good luck!

Berlinale Dispatch 2: Yay Austria!

Well the 59th Berlinale has come to an end, and I've now returned home, much worse for the wear, owing to a severe lack of sleep, too many cigarettes, and too many bad films.

While I was sitting at the early morning press screening of The Milk of Sorrow with David Hudson, I said to myself, "this is going to win the Bear." Later that night I was given 28/1 odds against by a festival programmer who shall remain nameless. Best €2 I ever spent...

I'm going to be posting a festival wrap-up later this week as soon as the fog enveloping my brain clears. Oh yes....as many noticed, there was no quiz last week. Apologies. All will be back to normal on Wednesday.

I've posted a second dispatch over at GreenCine, where I write about two Austrian films that won me over, Das Vaterspiel (Kill Daddy Goodnight) and Der Knochenmann (The Bone Man). Click here to read the entire post.