All posts by Dennis Hartley

Secrets and lies: Vermiglio ***1/2

February 24, 2025 Dennis Hartley Leave a comment

By Dennis Hartley

(Originally posted on Digby’s Hullabaloo on February 22, 2025)

Despite a slow-burning start, once I got pulled into writer-director Maura Velpero’s intimate World War 2 family drama Vermiglio (winner of the Silver Lion at the 2024 Venice Film Festival and Italy’s Official Selection for the 2025 Academy Awards), I didn’t want it to end.

Imbued with shades of The Leopard, The Last Valley, and Little Women, this tale (set in 1944) takes place in an Alpine hamlet in Italy. Save the occasional sound of a passing aircraft, the war doesn’t intrude directly into the villagers’ daily life. However, the effects of war are palpable; food is scarce (money even more so), infant mortality is high, and most of the young men are serving at the front.

Valpero frames her narrative around a year or so in the life of the populous Graziadei family. The patriarch is Caesare (Tommaso Ragno). Caesar is the village’s resident schoolteacher, conducting general ed classes for children and reading classes for illiterate adults.

His visibly life-tired wife Adele (Roberta Rovelli) is pregnant with their 11th child (two of their children died as infants), and is chagrined that Caesare continues to take money out of their meager finances to purchase classical records (he haughtily defends the purchases as necessary tools to teach the arts).

He counts a number of his own children among the students in the one-room school; he is hardest on his eldest son Dino (Patrick Gardner), who he cruelly browbeats in front of his classmates. He shows a soft spot for his daughters, particularly precocious Flavia (Anna Thaler), who is one of his brightest students.

The heart of the tale is parlayed via the tight relationship between three of the sisters: the aforementioned Flavia and her older siblings Ada (Rachele Potrich) and the enigmatic Lucia (Martina Scrinzi), who all share a bed (and their secrets).

One day, a Sicilian army deserter (Giuseppe De Domenico) takes refuge in the village. Lucia is instantly smitten; the feeling appears to be mutual. Once nature takes its inevitable course, a seismic shift ensues within the family’s dynamics.

This is a simple, yet universal tale that transcends the era it is set in (which is captured with great verisimilitude). I think the story also works as both an elegy to the final vestiges of Old World traditionalism and as a harbinger of post-war mores (I gleaned a nascent feminism in Lucia’s character, a la “Linda” in David Leland’s Wish You Were Here).

Naturalistic performances all around; particularly from first-time actor Scrinzi. Lovely cinematography by Mikhail Krichman (that lush Alpine scenery paints itself). An honest, raw, and emotionally resonant film.

(Opens in Seattle February 28; check for theaters near you here)

Romantic Comedy

My funny valentine: 10 Romantic Sleepers

February 17, 2025 Dennis Hartley Leave a comment

By Dennis Hartley

(Originally posted on Digby’s Hullabaloo on February 15, 2025)

I know …Valentine’s Day was yesterday. But at least I remembered. OK, I’m on the couch.

Anyway. I’ve combed through my review archives of the last decade or so and assembled a “top 10 list” of romantic comedies that may not have set the box office on fire, but are definitely worth seeking out. You may even fall in love with a few of these. Alphabetically:

Blind Date – Is there a level of humor below “deadpan”? If so, I’d say that this film from Georgian director Levan Koguashvili has it in spades. A minimalist meditation on the state of modern love in Tbilisi (in case you’d been wondering), the story focuses on the romantic travails of a sad sack Everyman named Sandro (Andro Sakhvarelidze), a 40-ish schoolteacher who still lives with his parents. Sandro and his best bud (Archil Kikodze) spend their spare time arranging double dates via singles websites, with underwhelming results. Then it happens…Sandro meets his dream woman (Ia Sukhitashvili). There’s a mutual attraction, but one catch. Her husband’s getting out of jail…very soon. This is one of those films that sneaks up on you; archly funny, and surprisingly poetic. (Full Review)

Emma Peters – As she careens toward her 35^th birthday, wannabe thespian Emma (Monia Chakri, in a winning performance) decides that she’s had it with failed auditions and slogging through a humiliating day job. She’s convinced herself that 35 is the “expiry” date for actresses anyway. So, she prepares for a major change…into the afterlife. Unexpectedly lightened by her decision, she cheerfully begins to check off her bucket list, giving away possessions, and making her own funeral arrangements. However, when she develops an unforeseen relationship with a lonely young funeral director, her future is uncertain, and the end may not be near. A funny-sad romantic romp in the vein of Harold and Maude, from Belgian-American writer-director Nicole Palo. (Full Review)

Hot Mess – Comedian-playwright Sarah Gaul does an endearing turn in writer-director Lucy Coleman’s mumblecore comedy about a 25 year-old budding playwright and college dropout who suffers from a lack of focus in her artistic and amorous pursuits. She expends an inordinate amount of her creative juice composing songs about Toxic Shock Syndrome. She becomes obsessed with a divorced guy who seems “nice” but treats her with increasing indifference once they’ve slept together. And so on. The narrative meanders at times, but when it’s funny, it’s very funny. (Full Review)

Let the Sunshine In – The best actors are…nothing; a blank canvas. But give them a character and some proper lighting-and they’ll give back something that becomes part of us, and does us good: a reflection of our own shared humanity. Nature that looks like nature.

Consider Julilette Binoche, an actor of such subtlety and depth that she could infuse a cold reading of McDonald’s $1 $2 $3 menu with the existential ennui of Shakespeare’s Sonnet 123. She isn’t required to recite any sonnets in this film (co-written by director Claire Denis and Christine Angot), but her character speaks copiously about love…in all of its guises. And you may think you know how this tale of a divorcee on the rebound will play out, but Denis’ film, like love itself, is at once seductive and flighty. (Full Review)

Liza, the Fox Fairy – If David Lynch had directed Amelie, it might be akin to this dark and whimsical romantic comedy from Hungary (inspired by a Japanese folk tale).

The story centers on Liza (Monika Balsa), an insular young woman who works as an assisted care nurse. Liza is a lonely heart, but tries to stay positive, bolstered by her cheerleader…a Japanese pop singer’s ghost. Poor Liza has a problem sustaining relationships, because every man she dates dies suddenly…and under strange circumstances. It could be coincidence, but Liza suspects she is a “fox fairy”, who sucks the souls from her paramours (and you think you’ve got problems?).

Director Karoly Ujj-Meszaros saturates his film in a 70s palette of harvest gold, avocado green and sunflower orange. It’s off-the-wall; but it’s also droll, inventive, and surprisingly sweet. (Full Review)

A Matter of Size – When you think “star athlete”, it invariably conjures up an image of a man or a woman with zero body fat and abs of steel. Then there’s Herzl (Itzak Cohen), the unlikely sports hero of this delightful comedy from Israel.

Sweet, puppy-eyed and tipping the scales at 340 pounds, he lives with his overbearing mother, Mona (Levana Finkelstein) and works at a restaurant. After being cruelly fired for (essentially) his overweight appearance, Herzl falls into gloom. But when he experiences a mutual spark of attraction with a woman in his weight watchers group (Irit Kaplan) and finds a new job at a Japanese restaurant, managed by an ex-pro sumo coach (Togo Igawa)-his life takes unexpected turns.

It would have been easy for directors Sharon Maymon and Erez Tadmor to wring cheap laughs from their predominantly corpulent cast, but to their credit (and Danny Cohen-Solal, who co-scripted with Maymon) the characters emerge from their trials and tribulations with dignity and humanity intact. (Full Review)

Mutual Friends – I’ve always found dinner parties to be a fascinating microcosm of human behavior; ditto genre films like The Anniversary Party, The Boys in the Band, and my all-time favorite Don’s Party. Sort of an indie take on Love, Actually, director Matthew Watts’ no-budget charmer centers on a group of neurotic New Yorkers (is that redundant?) converging for a surprise party.

In accordance with the Strict Rules of Dinner Party Narratives, logistics go awry, misunderstandings abound, unexpected romance ensues, and friendships are sorely tested. Despite formulaic trappings, the film is buoyed by clever writing, an engaging ensemble, and cheerful reassurance that your soul mate really is out there…somewhere. (Full Review)

A Summer’s Tale – It’s nearly 8 minutes into this delightful 1996 Eric Rohmer film (which had a belated U.S. first-run in 2014) before anyone speaks; and it’s a young man calling a waitress over so he can order a chocolate crepe. But not to worry, because things are about to get interesting. In fact, our young man, an introverted maths grad named Gaspar (Melvil Poupaud) will soon find himself in a dizzying girl whirl. It begins when he meets the bubbly Margo (Amanda Langlet) an ethnologist major who is spending the summer working as a waitress at her aunt’s seaside crepery.

In a way, this is a textbook “Rohmer film”, which I define as “a movie where the characters spend more screen time dissecting the complexities of male-female relationships than actually experiencing them”. Don’t despair; it won’t be like watching paint dry; even first-time Rohmer viewers will surely glean the late French director’s ongoing influence (particularly if you’ve seen Once, When Harry Met Sally, or Richard Linklater’s “Before” trilogy). (Full Review)

2 Days in New York – Writer-director-star Julie Delpy’s 2012 sequel to her 2007 comedy 2 Days in Paris catches up with her character Marion, who now has a son and a new man in her life, a long-time friend turned lover Mingus (Chris Rock) who has added his tween daughter to the mix. The four live together in a cozy Manhattan loft.

Marion and Mingus are the quintessential NY urban hipster couple; she’s a photo-journalist and conceptual artist; he’s a radio talk show host who also writes for the Village Voice. Marion is on edge. She has an important gallery show coming up, and her eccentric family has just flown in from France for a visit and to get acquainted with her new Significant Other. The buttoned-down Mingus is in for a bit of culture shock. And yes-Franco-American culture-clash mayhem ensues. Smart, funny and engaging throughout. (Full Review)

Your Sister’s Sister – This offering from Humpday writer-director Lynn Shelton is a romantic “love triangle” dramedy reminiscent of Chasing Amy. It’s a talky but thoroughly engaging look at the complexities of modern relationships, centering on a slacker man-child (Mark Duplass) his deceased brother’s girlfriend (Emily Blunt) and her sister (Rosemarie Dewitt), who all bumble into a sort of unplanned “encounter weekend” together at a remote family cabin. Funny, insightful and well-acted. (Full Review)

On Music

Nineteen Forever: 10 Essential Albums of 1975

February 3, 2025 Dennis Hartley Leave a comment

By Dennis Hartley

(Originally posted on Digby’s Hullabaloo on February 1, 2025)

1975. Smack in the middle of the Me Decade. President Gerald R. Ford was stumbling around the White House after taking the reins from Richard M. Nixon, who had made his Watergate-weary exit the previous year to slink back to his castle by the sea (not unlike mad King Lear). Former Nixon advisors John Mitchell, Haldeman, and John Ehrlichman were convicted and sentenced for their involvement in the Watergate coverup. The country was in a recession, and people were lining up for hours at the gas pumps due to an OPEC-imposed oil embargo.

And yet…were we not entertained? The top 5 highest-grossing films of the year (domestically) were Jaws, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Shampoo, and Dog Day Afternoon. Saturday Night Live premiered in October (as NBC’s Saturday Night), hosted by a coked-out George Carlin. The top 5 TV shows were All in the Family, Laverne & Shirley, Maude, The Bionic Woman, and Rich Man, Poor Man. People were spending their hard-earned bucks on Pet Rocks (don’t ask). Those were heady days.

Yeah, I know. “OK, Boomer”.

I was all of 19 years old in 1975. That was the year I visited L.A. for the first time, while still living in Alaska. I went with a friend, a fellow music geek who had grown up there. He introduced me to his “holy trinity” of record stores: Tower Records on the Strip, Aron’s on Melrose (their sidewalk sales were legend), and of course, the original Rhino Records store on Westwood Boulevard. I went absolutely nuts with the vinyl hunting (I remember flying back north with about 150 LPs in tow). We didn’t have record stores like that in Fairbanks.

50 years later, I’m still listening to a lot of that music haul (as I write this, in fact). Does that point to the quality of the music, or simply an adherence to nostalgia? As I wrote last year:

“They” say that your taste in music is imprinted in your high school years. Why do you suppose this is? Is it biological? Is it hormonal? Or Is it purely nostalgia? According to a 2021 study, it may have something to do with “arousal, valence, and depth”. Say what?

Have you wondered why you love a particular song or genre of music? The answer may lie in your personality, although other factors also play a role, researchers say.

Many people tend to form their musical identity in adolescence, around the same time that they explore their social identity. Preferences may change over time, but research shows that people tend to be especially fond of music from their adolescent years and recall music from a specific age period — 10 to 30 years with a peak at 14 — more easily.

Musical taste is often identified by preferred genres, but a more accurate way of understanding preferences is by musical attributes, researchers say. One model outlines three dimensions of musical attributes: arousal, valence and depth.

“Arousal is linked to the amount of energy and intensity in the music,” says David M. Greenberg, a researcher at Bar-Ilan University and the University of Cambridge. Punk and heavy metal songs such as “White Knuckles” by Five Finger Death Punch were high on arousal, a study conducted by Greenberg and other researchers found.

“Valence is a spectrum,” from negative to positive emotions, he says. Lively rock and pop songs such as “Razzle Dazzle” by Bill Haley & His Comets were high on valence. Depth indicates “both a level of emotional and intellectual complexity,” Greenberg says. “We found that rapper Pitbull’s music would be low on depth, [and] classical and jazz music could be high on depth.”

Also, musical attributes have interesting relationships with one another. “High depth is often correlated with lower valence, so sadness in music is also evoking a depth in it,” he says.

“They” may be right…I graduated in 1974, and the lion’s share of my CD collection/media player library is comprised of (wait for it) albums and/or songs originally released between 1967-1982.

OK, enough with the science already. I just wanna dance. Here are my top 10 album picks of 1975, with an additional 10 appended (to temper the hate mail that I’m going to get anyway).

And just remember kids…it’s only rock ‘n’ roll.

T.N.T. – AC/DC

AC/DC is one of those bands that came roaring out of the gate with such a perfect formula that it required no additional tweaking for the life of the product. Consequently, you only really need one of their albums in your collection to adequately represent the entire catalog. For me, it’s this 1975 Australian release (their second studio effort). It may be simple, balls-out four chord hard rock…but it’s the right four chords that fans (apparently) never tire of. There’s something elemental about their sound that compels you to crank it to “11” and scream along with no inhibitions (my neighbors hate me). R.I.P. Bon Scott and Malcolm Young.

Choice cuts: “It’s A Long Way to the Top”, “Rock and Roll Singer”, “Live Wire”, “T.N.T.”.

Ambrosia-Ambrosia

I imagine this choice may raise a few eyebrows, as most casual listeners likely (and understandably) primarily associate Ambrosia with well-worn Adult Contemporary radio staples like “How Much I Feel”, “You’re the Only Woman”, and “You’re the Biggest Part of Me”. However, their eponymous 1975 debut, while definitely sporting a slick L.A. studio veneer, could easily be cross-filed in the “prog rock” section. Led by gifted singer-songwriter-guitarist David Pack, the quartet delivers a strong set with chops musicianship and lovely harmonies

Choice cuts: “Nice, Nice, Very Nice”, “Time Waits for No One”, “Holdin’ on to Yesterday”, “Drink of Water”.

Futurama – Be-Bop Deluxe

Formed in the UK in the early 70s by eclectic (and prolific) guitarist-singer-songwriter Bill Nelson, Be-Bop Deluxe defied categorization, flitting between art-rock, electronica, glam and prog. This 1975 release (their sophomore effort) is no exception, and chock full of great tunes. Nelson’s solo career (under various monikers) began in the 70s and is still going strong (dozens and dozens of albums in his catalog…this guy is like Picasso, he never slows down!).

Choice cuts: “Maid in Heaven”, “Sister Seagull”, “Music in Dreamland”, “Jean Cocteau”.

Blow By Blow – Jeff Beck

Like all great artists, guitar maestro Jeff Beck (who left us in 2023) was loathe to dawdle too long in a comfort zone; he never stopped exploring, pushing the boundaries of his instrument ever-further with each performance (whether on stage or in the studio). While he was generally relegated to the “rock” section, he could slide effortlessly from blues, boogie, and metal to funk, R & B, soul, jazz and fusion (more often than not, all within the same number). A perfect case in point is this outstanding instrumental album (which went platinum). Inspired by Billy Cobham’s influential 1973 album Spectrum, Beck set out to explore new textures and soundscapes within the realm of jazz-rock fusion. He enlisted legendary producer-arranger George Martin to helm the sessions (to great effect). Stevie Wonder contributed two songs.

Choice cuts: “She’s a Woman”, “Cause We’ve Ended as Lovers”, “Thelonius”, “Freeway Jam”.

Marcus Garvey – Burning Spear

A highlight of the 1978 cult film Rockers is a scene featuring Winston Rodney warbling his haunting and hypnotic Rasta spiritual “Jah No Dead” a cappella, backed only by the gentle lapping of the nighttime tide. A true Rastafarian to the core, Rodney (aka Burning Spear) is on a par with Jimmy Cliff and Bob Marley as one of the seminal artists of roots reggae music. This 1975 release is one of his best.

Choice cuts: “Marcus Garvey”, “Slavery Days”, “Red, Gold, and Green”, “Jordan River”.

HQ – Roy Harper

Idiosyncratic English folk-rocker Roy Harper has always marched to his own drum, but has nonetheless garnered a rep as a “musician’s musician”, noted as an inspiration by the likes of Ian Anderson, Pete Townshend, Kate Bush, and Led Zeppelin (the latter band gave him a musical nod with their song “Hats Off to Roy Harper”, which appeared on Led Zeppelin III). This 1975 effort is my favorite Harper album, which features guitarists Chris Spedding and David Gilmour. Gilmour was working on Pink Floyd’s Wishing You Were Here album in an adjoining studio, and (as the story goes) was returning a favor to Harper for contributing the lead vocal to “Have a Cigar”. Roger Waters apparently had developed a throat malady during the sessions, and Harper offered to step in (Waters reportedly still carries a grudge for allegedly not having been consulted-but then again he has a rep for being a cranky fellow).

Choice cuts: “The Game (Parts 1-5)”, “The Spirit Lives”, “When an Old Cricketer Leaves the Crease”.

Dreamboat Annie – Heart

After paying their dues playing the bar band circuit in Seattle and Vancouver B.C. for several years, gifted siblings Ann and Nancy Wilson and band mates built up a loyal following, becoming known for their searing Led Zeppelin covers. Dreamboat Annie is an astonishing debut, a perfect set of dynamic rockers that run the gamut from the whisper to the thunder. While the album was released in 1975, it was on a small label that didn’t have wide distribution, so it wasn’t until the chart success of the album’s first single release “Magic Man” in 1976 that the band really broke big nationally. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Choice cuts: “Magic Man”, “Crazy on You”, “Dreamboat Annie”, “Sing Child”.

Physical Graffiti – Led Zeppelin

With this sprawling two-record set, Led Zeppelin continued to draw from the well of Delta blues, English folk, heavy metal riffing and Eastern scales that had come to define their sound. This time out, however, they really pulled out all the stops…tossing in everything from country honk to pop and hard funk. And it worked; this is Zeppelin at their creative zenith (subsequent albums had their moments, but it was kind of a slow downhill slide from here).

Choice cuts: “Houses of the Holy”, “The Rover”, “Bron-Y-Aur”, “In My Time of Dying”, “Kashmir”, “Ten Years Gone”, “Night Flight”, “Black Country Woman”.

Mind Transplant – Alphonse Mouzon

Alphonse Mouzon made his bones playing drums in Larry Coryell’s Eleventh House, one of the pioneering jazz-rock fusion bands of the early-to-mid 70s (powering through impossible time signatures with dazzling speed and accuracy on a par with Billy Cobham’s work with The Mahavishnu Orchestra). For this (mostly instrumental) solo project, he recruited top flight players, including guitarists Lee Rittenour and Tommy Bolin. One of the best genre entries.

Choice cuts: “Mind Transplant”, “Some of the Things People Do”, “Nitroglycerin”, “Golden Rainbows”.

Horses – Patti Smith

Being a bit ahead of its time in many ways, Patti Smith’s debut album has aged like a fine wine. Backed by minimalist musical arrangements, Smith’s poetry (sometimes recited, sometimes sung) is by turns raw, confessional, and enigmatic, but compelling at every turn. Some of the cuts border on invocations (the first time I heard “Birdland” I was mesmerized, but as soon as it ended I vowed to never again listen to it alone, in the dark). This is not background music.

Choice cuts: All of them. Bring a friend.

Bonus Tracks!

Here are 10 more gems from 1975 worth a spin:

Artful Dodger – Artful Dodger

Born to Run – Bruce Springsteen

Evening Star – Fripp & Eno

Flat as a Pancake – Head East

Free Hand – Gentle Giant

Katy Lied – Steely Dan

Metropolitan Man – Alan Price

Teaser – Tommy Bolin

Tomorrow Belongs to Me – The Sensational Alex Harvey Band

The Tubes – The Tubes

Previous posts with related themes:

10 Essential Albums of 1970

10 Essential Albums of 1971

10 Essential Albums of 1972

10 Essential Albums of 1973

10 Essential Albums of 1974

Con Game, Cult Movie, Dramedy, Heist Caper

Blu-ray reissue: The Linguini Incident (***)

January 27, 2025 Dennis Hartley Leave a comment

By Dennis Hartley

(Originally posted on Digby’s Hullabaloo on January 25, 2025)

The Linguini Incident (MVD Marquee Collection)

While this film was originally released to theaters in 1992, it may be a misnomer to label the 2024 Blu-ray as a “reissue”, due to the project’s strange and byzantine history. As director/co-writer Richard Shepard explains:

The movie was taken away from me, re-cut, barely released, and opened on the weekend of the 1992 L.A. riots. Even though it garnered some nice reviews, many missed the point (I believe the San Francisco Chronicle complained about the number of trees that were destroyed printing the script), and the film soon disappeared onto dusty video store racks of unloved VHS, and inglorious midnight cable runs. Still, the film had its ardent fans, but the fact was — I wasn’t one of them. […] The film was released at various times [in different cuts and lengths] not only as The Linguini Incident but also as Houdini & Co., The Robbery, The Restaurant, The Incident, and yes, Shag-a-Rama.

The director expounds further in that essay, which is included in the accompanying booklet-it’s quite a saga. So what version is on the 2024 Blu-ray? Well, it’s what one assumes to be the ultimate (and belated) director’s cut (which according to Shepherd is essentially a new film).

Having never seen any of the previous (and next to impossible to find) versions, I can’t compare the newly minted cut to anything but itself-which I found to be a quirky, uneven but ultimately fun and undemanding 90-minute caper dramedy.

I’ll admit to never having even heard of the film until this release; what intrigued me to check it out was a.) David Bowie’s involvement and b.) Shepherd at the helm (huge fan of his hit man dramedy The Matador). The main attractions here are the two leads (Bowie and Rosanna Arquette) and the New York City setting. While it was shot in 1990, the film shares an identifiable vibe with 1980s “downtown scene” time capsules like Desperately Seeking Susan, Liquid Sky, After Hours, Smithereens, and Downtown 81.

MVD’s package includes a sparkling 4K transfer of the new cut; the original theatrical cut (not restored), a full-length documentary about the making of the film, and a commentary track with the director and members of the cast and crew. Perhaps not essential viewing for all tastes, but a definite must-have for Bowie completists (guilty!).

Gangsters, Neo-Noir

Blu-ray reissue: Prime Cut ***1/2

January 27, 2025 Dennis Hartley Leave a comment

By Dennis Hartley

(Originally posted on Digby’s Hullabaloo on January 25,2025)

Prime Cut (KL Studio Classics)

This spare and offbeat 1972 “heartland noir” from director Michael Ritchie (with a tight screenplay by Robert Dillon) features one of my favorite Lee Marvin performances. He’s a cleaner for an Irish mob out of Chicago who is sent to collect an overdue payment from a venal livestock rancher (Gene Hackman) with the unlikely moniker of “Mary Ann”.

In addition to overseeing his meat packing plant (where the odd debt collector ends up as sausage filler), Mary Ann maintains a (literal) stable of naked, heavily sedated young women for auction. He protects his spread with a small army of disturbingly uber-Aryan young men who look like they were cloned in a secret Nazi lab.

It gets even weirder, yet the film has a strangely endearing quality; perhaps due to its blend of pulpy thrills, dark comedy and ironic detachment. It’s fun watching Hackman and Marvin go mano a mano; and seeing Sissy Spacek in her film debut. Also with Gregory Walcott (a hoot as Mary Ann’s oafish, psychotic brother) and Angel Tompkins.

Gene Polito’s artful cinematography comes to the fore with Kino’s new 4K transfer, taken from the original 35mm camera negative (delivering an image far superior to the 2014 German Region B Blu-ray, which I happily retired). No extras to speak of, but there are two new commentary tracks, one by a Lee Marvin biographer and another by two film historians.

Animated, Drug Culture, Family Issues, Fantasy

Blu-ray reissue: Heavy Traffic (***)

January 27, 2025 Dennis Hartley Leave a comment

By Dennis Hartley

(Originally posted on Digby’s Hullabaloo on January 25, 2025)

Heavy Traffic (Sandpiper Pictures)

Within the realm of animated films, Ralph Bakshi’s name may not be as universally recognizable (or revered) as Walt Disney or Studio Ghibli, but I would consider him no less of an important figure in the history of the genre. During his heyday (1972-1983) the director pumped out 8 full-length features (including Fritz the Cat, The Lord of the Rings, Wizards and American Pop) using his signature blend of live-action, rotoscoping, and traditional cel animation.

I view this semi-autobiographical 1973 entry (his 2nd feature) as Bakshi’s Mean Streets. A young man obsessed with drawing cartoon caricatures lives in a cramped Brownsville apartment with his constantly bickering parents (a Jewish mother and an Italian father).

Yearning to strike out on his own to sow his wild oats, he moves out and ingratiates himself with an array of dubious characters who lurk in some of NYC’s seedier neighborhoods. The ensuing eye-popping (and very adult) misadventures may (or may not) be a figment of the budding artist’s wild imagination. Surreal, outrageous, cringing, hilarious and guaranteed to contain something to offend everybody in a contemporary audience (you have been warned).

This is my first awareness of Sandpiper Pictures; the image and sound quality is decent, but the package is bare bones; no extras or commentary track. That said, I’m glad to see this belated Blu-ray release, as it officially completes my Ralph Bakshi collection!

Behind the Music, Documentary, Jazz Musicians, On Music

Blu-ray reissue: Let’s Get Lost (****)

January 27, 2025 Dennis Hartley Leave a comment

By Dennis Hartley

(Originally posted on Digby’s Hullabaloo on January 25, 2025)

Let’s Get Lost (Kino Classics)

The life of horn player/vocalist Chet Baker is a tragedian’s dream; a classic tale of a talented artist who peaked early, then promptly set about self-destructing. Sort of the Montgomery Clift of jazz, he was graced by the gods with an otherworldly physical beauty and a gift for expressing his art. By age 24 he had already gigged with Stan Getz, Charlie Parker and Gerry Mulligan. He began chasing the dragon in the 1950s, leading to jail time and a career slide.

There are conflicting versions of the circumstances that led to a brutal beating in 1968, but the resultant injuries to his mouth impaired his playing abilities. While he never kicked the substance abuse, he eventually got his mojo back, and enjoyed a resurgence of his career in his final decade (he was only 58 when he died).

The nodded-out Chet Baker we see in Bruce Weber’s extraordinary warts-and-all 1988 documentary (beautifully shot in B&W) is a man who appears several decades older than his chronological age (and sadly, as it turned out, has about a year left to live). Still, there are amazing (if fleeting) moments of clarity, where we get a glimpse of the genius that still burned within this tortured soul.

One scene in particular, where Weber holds a close up of Baker’s ravaged road map of a face as he croons a plaintive rendition of Elvis Costello’s “Almost Blue”, has to be one of the most naked, heartbreaking vocal performances ever captured on film. Haunting and one-of-a-kind, this is a must-see. The film snagged a well-deserved 1989 Critics Prize at the Venice Film Festival.

Kino Classic’s 2025 Blu-ray edition sports a beautiful 4K picture restoration and newly remixed audio (noticeable improvements over Metrodome’s 2008 Region 2 DVD). The package also features a number of Weber’s short films. It would have been nice to include the two Weber-directed Chet Baker music videos that are on the 2008 DVD (which also contains two short films curiously not included on the Kino Blu-ray)…but that’s a minor quibble, as I was just happy to see this fabulous doc get an upgrade.

Tribute

The Carnival is Over: RIP David Lynch

January 17, 2025 Dennis Hartley Leave a comment

By Dennis Hartley

(Originally posted on Digby’s Hullabaloo on January 16, 2025)

Outside
The circus gathering
Moved silently along the rain-swept boulevard.
The procession moved on the shouting is over
The fabulous freaks are leaving town.

They are driven by a strange desire
Unseen by the human eye.
The carnival is over

-from “The Carnival is Over” by Dead Can Dance

I did a piece in 2015 about my 10 favorite midnight movies. One of my picks was David Lynch’s Eraserhead, of which I wrote:

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my fifty-odd years on the planet, it’s that when it comes to the films of David Lynch, there is no middle ground. You either love ‘em, or you hate ‘em. You buy a ticket to a Lynch film, my friend, you’d best be willing to take the ride-and he will take you for a ride. And do you want to know the really weird thing about his films? They get funnier with each viewing. Yes, “funny”, as in “ha-ha” . I think the secret to his enigmatic approach to telling a story is that Lynch is in reality having the time of his life being impenetrably enigmatic-he’s sitting back and chuckling at all the futile attempts to dissect and make “sense” of his narratives. For example, have you noticed how I’ve managed to dodge and weave and avoid giving you any kind of plot summary? I suspect that David Lynch would find that fucking hysterical.

When I heard the news today about Lynch’s passing at age 78, my first thought was anger (I skipped denial and shook my fist at a bleak and indifferent universe) This isn’t fair. Then I went straight to bargaining: I still have a few tickets left over…I want to take more rides! Then I leapfrogged over depression and went straight to acceptance, thinking to myself: Well, I guess David Lynch’s Carousel of Dreams has closed down, the dwarf has danced his last waltz, and the carnival is over.

Oddly enough I’ve had Lynch on the brain, as I recently finished my annual Twin Peaks binge. From my 2014 review of a Blu-ray box set of the first two seasons:

Who killed Laura Palmer? Who cares? The key to binge-watching David Lynch’s short-lived early 90s cult TV series about the denizens of a sleepy Northwestern lumber town and their twisted secrets is to unlearn all that you have learned about neatly wrapped story arcs and to just embrace the wonderfully warped weirdness. The real “mystery” is how the creator of avant-garde films like Eraserhead and Blue Velvet managed to snag a prime time network TV slot in the first place…and got away with it for two seasons!

Of course, I watched in proper order; beginning with Lynch’s 1992 theatrically-released prequel Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, then proceeding with the original 2 season TV run (1990-1991) and concluding with the belated Season 3 , which debuted on Showtime in 2017.

I don’t know why it’s become a holiday tradition for me. Maybe it’s something about living in such close proximity to the exterior shooting locations. Maybe it’s the mood; the Northwest noir vibe that permeates Twin Peaks complements my annual mid-winter Seattle blues.

If there was a commonality in Lynch’s films, it was their distinctive mood; a dream-like (or nightmarish, if you prefer) kind of mood. There’s a reason that “Lynchian” has entered the lexicon. Even his less lauded films were nothing, if not dreamlike. From my 2021 review of Denis Villenueve’s Dune:

In an interview published by The Hollywood Reporter in April of 2020, David Lynch made these observations regarding Denis Villenueve’s (then) upcoming remake of Dune:

(Interviewer) This week they released a few photos from the new big-screen adaptation of Dune by Denis Villeneuve. Have you seen them?

I have zero interest in Dune.

Why’s that?

Because it was a heartache for me. It was a failure, and I didn’t have final cut. I’ve told this story a billion times. It’s not the film I wanted to make. I like certain parts of it very much — but it was a total failure for me.

You would never see someone else’s adaptation of Dune?

I said I’ve got zero interest.

If you had your choice, what would you rather make: a feature film or a TV series?

A TV series. Right now. Feature films in my book are in big trouble, except for the big blockbusters. The art house films, they don’t stand a chance. They might go to a theater for a week and if it’s a Cineplex they go to the smallest theater in the setup, and then they go to Blu-ray or On Demand. The big-screen experience right now is gone. Gone, but not forgotten.

[…]

Obviously, David Lynch is not a fan of his own 1984 adaptation; the first time I saw it 37 years ago I wasn’t either …but in the fullness of time, it has grown on me (as Lynch’s films tend to do). Yes, it has certain cheesy elements that even time cannot heal, but how can you possibly top Kenneth McMillan’s hammy performance as an evil, floating bag of pus, Brad Dourif’s bushy eyebrows…or Sting’s magnificently oiled torso?

He may be gone, but like “the big screen experience” his work will not be forgotten. Rest in dreams, Mr. Lynch.

Here’s a few more of his films that grown on me in the fullness of time:

The Elephant Man – This 1980 film (nominated for 8 Academy Awards, including Best Picture) dramatizes the bizarre life of Joseph Merrick (magnificently played by John Hurt), a 19th Century Englishman afflicted by a physical condition so hideously deforming that when he entered adulthood, his sole option for survival was to “work” as a sideshow freak. However, when a compassionate surgeon named Frederick Treaves (Anthony Hopkins) entered his life, a whole new world opened to him.

While there is an inherent grotesqueness to much of the imagery, Lynch treats his subject as respectfully and humanely as Dr. Treaves. Beautifully shot in black and white (by DP Freddie Francis), Lynch’s film has a “steampunk” vibe. Hurt deservedly earned an Oscar nod for his performance, more impressive when you consider how he conveys the intelligence and gentle soul of this man while encumbered by all that prosthetic. Great work by the entire cast, which includes Anne Bancroft, Freddie Jones and John Gielgud.

Blue Velvet– Any film that begins with the discovery of a severed human ear, roiling with ants amid a dreamy, idealized milieu beneath the blue suburban skies instantly commands your full attention. Writer-director David Lynch not only grabs you with this 1986 mystery thriller, but practically pushes you face-first into the dark and seedy mulch that lurks under all those verdant, freshly mowed lawns and happy smiling faces.

The detached appendage in question is found by an all-American “boy next door” (Kyle MacLachlan), who is about to get a crash course in the evil that men do. He is joined in his sleuthing caper by a Nancy Drew-ish Laura Dern. But they’re not the most interesting characters. That honor goes to the troubled young woman at the center of the mystery (Isabella Rossellini) and her boyfriend (Dennis Hopper). Hopper is frightening as the 100% pure bat shit crazy Frank Booth, one of the all-time great screen heavies.

Mulholland Drive – This nightmarish, yet mordantly droll twist on the Hollywood dream makes The Day of the Locust seem like an upbeat romp. Naomi Watts stars as a fresh-faced ingénue with high hopes who blows into Hollywood from Somewhere in Middle America to (wait for it) become a star. Those plans get, shall we say, put on hold…once she crosses paths with a voluptuous and mysterious amnesiac (Laura Harring).

What ensues is the usual Lynch mindfuck, and if you buy the ticket, you better be ready to take the ride, because this is one of his more fun ones (or as close as one gets to having “fun” watching a Lynch film). This one grew on me; by the third (or was it fourth?) time I’d seen it I decided that it’s one of the iconoclastic director’s finest efforts.

Inland Empire – From Richard A. Barney’s 2009 book David Lynch: Interviews:

Barney: I’ve read some comments you’ve made about the pleasures of [writing a script ‘as you film’]. Can you talk about that and whether [working that way on Inland Empire] was a horror at other times?

Lynch: There’s no horror. The horror, if there is a horror, is the lack of ideas. But that’s all the time. You’re just waiting. And I always say, it’s like fishing: Some days you don’t catch any fish. The next day, it’s another story – they just swim in.

When I read that excerpt (featured in the booklet that accompanies Criterion’s Blu-ray package), a light bulb went off in my (mostly empty) head. Lynch’s answer is analogous to my experience with Inland Empire. The first time I watched it…he didn’t hook me. I watched it once in 2007, found it baffling and disturbing (even for a Lynch joint) and then parked the DVD for 16 years.

Being a glutton for punishment, I purchased the Blu-ray last year (the extras looked interesting, and life is short). When I re-watched the film, I kept an open mind. This time, he caught me – hook, line, sinker and latest edition of Angler’s Digest.

In Inland Empire, Laura Dern stars as an actress (or is she?) who lands a part (or does she?) in a) a film b) her own nightmare, or c) somebody else’s nightmare. It’s Rod Serling’s Alice In Wonderland. It’s a wild ride.

Also recommended: Wild at Heart, Lost Highway, The Straight Story

On Music

L.A. is a feeling: A mixtape

January 13, 2025 Dennis Hartley Leave a comment

By Dennis Hartley

(Originally posted on Digby’s Hullbaloo on January 11, 2025)

Drivin’ down your freeways
Midnight alleys roam
Cops in cars, the topless bars
Never saw a woman
So alone, so alone

– from “L.A. Woman”, by The Doors

In my 2019 review of Jacques Demy’s 1969 drama Model Shop, I wrote:

George’s day (and the film) turns a 180 when he visits a pal who runs an auto repair shop and espies a lovely woman (Anouk Aimee) who is there to pick up her car. On impulse, he decides to follow her in his MG (yes, it’s a bit on the stalking side). He follows her high up into the hills over L.A., and then seems to lose interest. He stops and takes in a commanding view of the city and the valley beyond, deeply lost in thought.

In my favorite scene, he drives up into (Laurel Canyon?) to visit a friend who’s a musician in an up-and-coming band. George’s pal turns out to be Jay Ferguson, keyboardist and lead singer of the band Spirit (and later, Jo Jo Gunne). Ferguson (playing himself) introduces George to his band mates, who are just wrapping a rehearsal. Sure enough, the boys in the band are Ed Cassidy, Randy California, and Matthew Andes-which is the classic lineup for Spirit! The band also provided the soundtrack for the film.

After the band splits, Jay plays a lovely piano piece for George; a song he’s “working on”. After some small talk, George sheepishly hits Jay up for a loan. No problem, man. Jay’s got him covered. George delivers this short, eloquent soliloquy about Los Angeles:

I was driving down Sunset and I turned on one of those roads that leads into the hills, and I stopped at this place that overlooks the whole city; it was fantastic. I suddenly felt exhilarated. I was really moved by the geometry of the place…its harmony. To think that some people claim that it’s an ugly city, when it’s really pure poetry…it just kills me. I wanted to build something right then; create something. It’s a fabulous city.

It is a fabulous city…as far as I know. I don’t live there, but the “L.A.” that lives in my mind will always be a fabulous city. I’ve visited maybe 10 times in my life, and it’s always a fresh kick.

I was all of 19 years old in 1975 the first time I visited L.A., while still living in Alaska. I went with a friend, a fellow music geek who had grown up there. He introduced me to his “holy trinity” of record stores: Tower Records on the Strip, Aron’s on Melrose (their sidewalk sales were legend), and of course, the original Rhino Records store on Westwood Boulevard (as immortalized by Wild Man Fischer).

I actually remember picking up a copy of that 45, which Rhino was offering for free with any purchase. At any rate, I went absolutely ape shit (I remember flying back north with about 150 LPs in tow). We didn’t have record stores like that in Fairbanks. We returned the following summer for a rinse and repeat.

The L.A. music scene was a real eye-opener for me. I was there only a week or so for both trips (1975 and 1976), but was able to catch quite a few acts at The Roxy and The Troubadour (and possibly the Whisky A Go Go…I was in a Thai Stick haze at the time). I can’t recall which acts I saw which year, but the list includes Captain Beefheart, Nils Lofgren, The L.A. Express (with a surprise appearance by Joni Mitchell!), Kinky Friedman and the Texas Jewboys, Larry Coryell, Chunky, Novi & Ernie, Procter & Bergman, and others I’m fogging on.

My most recent visit was in 2019, to hang for a few days with my pal Digby and her husband. We took a road trip from Santa Monica to Santa Barbara to catch The Cult at the Bowl. I’d never been to Santa Barbara, so I was really digging the 90-mile drive along the Pacific Coast Highway. For locals, I’m sure the road signs you pass along the way are incidental, but for me, it was like “Ventura? As in Ventura Highway in the sunshine? Malibu? Redondo Beach?! Point Dume?! You mean…THE Point Dume? As in god damn you all to hell?”

I may not be a resident Angelino, but my heart certainly goes out to the people who have lost loved ones, homes and businesses in the unprecedented wildfires that continue to threaten life and property in the greater Los Angeles region as of this writing. Having been through a house fire where I literally lost nearly everything I owned, I can empathize. I was in my early 20s at the time, so I had the resilience of youth on my side and got back on track relatively quickly-but I think about people who are getting on later in life (like I am now) and how difficult it must be to lose everything and have to start over again. This too shall soon pass.

In the meantime, there are good vetted resources available if you want to help victims. And for this week’s post, I’ve curated a special mixtape as a musical love letter to that “fabulous city” that lives in my mind.

L.A. Woman – The Doors