Rewatch: Film

I want to talk about two films, one of which is 1986's Caravaggio by Derek Jarman. If you're a fan of the Italian artist [1571-1610], it's a must watch [here, for example, and other places]. It stars Tilda Swinton and Sean Bean as well. Some of his most famous works are shown and discussed, and the film has a great laid back, almost Beat sense of time and life. It would really appeal to people who like Kerouac or drowsy, intense Modernism. If you liked 1961's Alain Resnais classic L'année dernière à Marienbad, it's that type of work, only more accessible.

One really interesting short black and white silent film is the 1903 Alice in Wonderland. Watch it here--it's quite incredible. Silent film seems odd when you first try it, but many of the earliest ones are really moving. It's easy to feel that it's 'over-acted', but it's also a really satisfying view experience. You can often feel the emotion, it's just visceral.

When you find out that 1919's film Broken Blossoms [watch it right here quick] had such wild screaming at the end that people rushed in at the studio, afraid someone was being actually attacked, you're not surprised. It's that terrifying.