I bet you have all been wondering (well,
no you haven't, given the low attendance at meetings recently)
what has happened to the film group. Due to declining attendance
I've put the group on hiatus (that's "hiatus" in the
TV schedule meaning of "hiatus").
There still seems to be interest in talking about films, so I
have started a blog (how very techy-librarian of me) as a way
of keeping in touch with all of you and as a means of sharing
information about what we are all watching.
This bloggy stuff is new to me, so if we find there are better
formats for our forum (a shared newsgroup?) help me out. I've
posted a few things (an introduction, a bloggy ramble, a review
of a DVD I watched on Thursday) and I will try to keep up with
the postings you all add. Feel free!
Point your browsers to http://watchthisinstead.blogspot.com
and let me know what you think.
So no "live" meetings for a while, but we should try
to get together informally sometime this summer if we can.
Malkievicz,
J. Kris
Cinematography: a Guide for Filmmakers and Film Teachers
A good “how-to” book on filmmaking. Lots of insight into the
craft. The only person who ever pronounced Nick’s last name right
on the first try. Malkievicz was Polanski’s cameraman when both
were in film school.
Murch, Walter
In the Blink of an Eye: A Perspective on Film Editing
An editor can make or break a film. Murch shows how.
Tarkovsky,
Andrei
Sculpting in Time
Shameless plug for one of Nick’s favorite directors. The late
Tarkovsky talks about film, memory, and art.
Bogdanovich,
Peter
Who the Devil Made It?
Director Bogdanovich in conversation with great directors including
Welles, Cukor, Lang, Hitchcock, Lumet, Hawks, and Preminger
This is Orson Welles
Viola, Bill
Reasons for Knocking at an Empty House
Notes from the well known (as well known as one can be) MacCarthur
grant recipient and video artist. His traveling retrospective
hits SFMOMA in spring of 99 (after opening at NYMOMA and LACMA)
Brakhage, Stan
Film Biographies
Peary
Alternate Oscars
Peary picks his favorites and puts them alongside the actual
Oscar winners. A great game to play.
Eisenstein,
Sergei
Notes of a Film Director
The Film Sense
Film Form: Essays in Film Theory
Three works from one of the earliest and most influential directors.
A fun thing to try is to watch a few Eisenstein movies and then
spot all of the scenes copied by other directors.
Kracauer
Theory of Film: The Redemption of Physical Reality
Film theory for those of you wanting some intellectual gristle
to chew on. See also Bazin, below.
Lally
Wilder Times: The Life of Billy Wilder
Bazin
What is Cinema
Orson Welles: A Critical View
Constantini
Conversations with Fellini
Richie
The Films of Akira Kurosawa
Bresson, Robert
Notes on the Cinematographer
A collection of little aphorisms on the art of film making.
