The Coronavirus Film Festival

Hey all you cool cats and kittens, how’s life in quarantine? Same, anyways we are in unprecedented times and you might have noticed that things are different right now. Our society is learning that many of the arbitrary constraints of our government, society, and economic system are frankly useless bullshit. Here in Chicago our short meme-worthy mayor has told her cops to ease off parking tickets and towing, which makes me wonder why the hell they do this stuff regularly. Many people have eviction and/or rent freezes, and of course the ever-present need for free healthcare has become readily apparent.

I could spend a good amount of virtual ink discussing the myriad ways this has exposed our faulty infrastructure, listing reasons why this could lead to a patented socialist(ish) revolution, but this is a film blog, and I’ll stick to what I know. The big question regarding film is whether or not covid-19 can do what television, home video, cable, the internet, and streaming never could; which is kill movie theaters once and for all. As many studios have pushed back release dates on upcoming films, others have been pro-active about lending first run films to streaming platforms. We all know that no one needs to go to a movie theater, even dedicated cinephiles like myself can admit that watching in the comfort of your own home is quite acceptable. The gotta see it first mentality of going to a movie theater on opening day/weekend is what has largely driven the mainstream film industry in recent years/decades. It’s the reason that so much of a new release's success is measured by opening weekend box office. Only a few select art house pictures can gauge success on limited screens and growing distribution. For the average $100 mil+ budget CGI spectacle it’s all about how you do in those first crucial days.

Often these films are forgotten about instantaneously. If a film is deemed unsuccessful, most studios just cut their losses, hope they make it up in the international market, and call it a day. The fact that there are a single digit amount of companies that own all of the media, none of them are particularly devastated by a flop. There are so many additional sources of revenue that even a disastrous bomb like the recent Doolittle still can turn a profit. The theater though is where you get into “no spoilers” pop culture buzz. This was no more apparent with the recent Marvel movies and other lesser franchise pictures. Even before Rise of Skywalker came out, I thought you could spoil the shit out of that movie for me. I really didn’t care what happened, and after seeing it, well I care even less.

My current favorite of MANY Tiger King memes

 

This brings us to streaming, which is assuming the mantle as the dominant form of pop culture consumption right now. Netflix unleashed Tiger King, and holy shit is it magical. It’s been awhile since there was such a must-see streaming show (maybe Making a Murderer?) that has captured the public eye. The memes have been one of the bright spots in these dark and uncertain times. This series really has everything, too much to keep track of. We’re even discovering now that Joe Exotic’s country songs were actually sung by someone else and police have actually re-opened the disappearance case of Carol Baskin’s husband who was totally fed to tigers. Must-see TV indeed.

This has captured the public’s interest in the same way the last two Avengers movies have, albeit for wildly different reasons. Many people, myself included are not working during this lock-down. Quite a few others are working from home, so even they have extra hours in the day without a commute to consider. There are some essential businesses still open and of course medical professionals that are putting in serious over time. You’re all wonderful brave heroes and I hope you’re ok. For the rest of us, we got all the time in the world to binge.

There might be pressure to read a book, learn a new language, paint, and for far too many people start baking bread. The path of least resistance is of course movies/TV/video games. Think of all the shows you said you were going to get around to when you have time, well now you do. Did you see Parasite, no time like the present? Were you 30% through Red Dead Redemption 2, time to log some hours. I will say this loud for all to hear, YOU DO NOT NEED TO FEEL GUILTY FOR SPENDING THIS TIME WATCHING MOVIES AND TV. These are stressful times, and even a certified puzzle addict like myself has only so many jigsaw puzzles.

The catch-up mentality is only going to get more extreme in the coming weeks/months. Make no mistake this will go on for a few more months. I’d like to be optimistic and say life will be back to normal around Memorial Day, but this is based on wishful thinking. I’ll be lucky to be gainfully employed by July. So right now there is still new content coming out. Some movies like Mulan and Black Widow have been pushed back a bit, but it’s entirely possible they may see their debut on Disney+. Sony just recently announced all of it's 2020 summer films were getting pushed back to 2021. 

As for new means of distribution, Steven Soderbergh experimented with this back in 2006 with the release of his experimental and barely seen film Bubble. He released it on DVD the same day it hit theaters, and no one cared. Netflix did a similar tactic for awards consideration and legitimacy with limited theatrical runs for The Irishman and Marriage Story, but this is new. We may go straight to streaming first run features as our only alternative.

Most live action shows and a good many upcoming movie have been shot and edited, so with the exception of live TV, most programs will continue as is for the foreseeable future. Many network shows don’t run new episodes over the summer either so the delayed production could take some time to be felt. The solution is to hunker down and cross off all of those things you’ve been meaning to get around to. So let me take some time to show you what I’ve been doing with my suddenly oppressive amount of free time.

The Criterion Channel is a delightful streaming service. I did start a blog about it back in September, but never finished it. It is Criterion’s third attempt at streaming following their one-time agreement with Hulu, the short-lived FilmStruck which was run primarily by Time Warner, and now their own. It makes sense to have their own service, because of being somewhat screwed over by other hosts. Also by this point in time they’ve got a decent hold on what the hell they’re doing. Now as far as interface and features, this service has a good amount of ways to go, things that I no doubt feel will be optimized in the future.

Now I will say before anyone gets too excited, the channel does not have EVERY Criterion release available. Most of these titles are leased, and there are some complicated legal hoops as to who has broadcast or streaming rights. The good news is there are hundreds of films never released by Criterion that are available. Every month different films come and go, and I have noticed in general the library of available content has ticked upwards in recent months. Some long out of print Criterion films are available to stream, which is great considering a few of these have special features included.

When I say I’ve used this to catch up, that is quite specifically what I’ve done. If at any point over the past year or so I’ve wondered whether the channel has been worth it, I’ve gotten my money out of it now. Thanks to the Criterion Channel, I’ve finally crossed off 1961 in the 50 film department. So I’ve looked towards the past, tackling the 30s, 40s, and parts of the 50s. For some of these films they are just ticks. Me saying I have to see more movies from any given year so watching nearly anything available. I have noticed that Hollywood absolutely dominated film during this period. With all due respect to the myriad Japanese, British, Swedish, and French films I’ve watched they can’t hold a candle to the classic Hollywood studio picture.

The classic Hollywood studio film (officially until 1948 when the landmark Paramount anti-trust case was ruled) showed a remarkable and well run film industry. Hollywood’s dominance began during World War I, when their late involvement gave them an advantage in terms of production. Throughout the next few decades they made a point of snatching up as much foreign talent as possible. As Hitler’s rise to power came in Germany, all too many extremely talented Jewish filmmakers were more than happy to take those American paychecks. Hollywood also imported technicians, composers, movie stars, writers, etc.

One such star was Ingrid Bergman who saw her fame rise over a few years in Sweden during the late 30s. Eclipse put out a series of her early Swedish films, and thanks to the channel I’ve finally gotten around to watching them. With no exception they are, well unexceptional. It is fascinating to see Bergman’s individual evolution though. She would become one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, winning a couple of Oscars, alienating the entire industry with her out-of-wedlock affair with Roberto Rossellini, then eventually having a comeback for the ages. It makes it all the more fascinating to see her in her native language, often a bit player, stealing every single scene she was in. Sweden was known for beautiful women, and it makes it all the more striking when Bergman can stand out among that crowd.

From the otherwise forgetful June Night

The other unique star I was watching a couple of films from was Sabu. Truly one of the anomalies of film stardom, he was a one-named Indian who became a massive child star. Rarely seen without a shirt, he was a go-to in Alexander Korda’s lavish Technicolor films. He is perhaps best known for playing Abu in the 1940 Thief of Bagdad as well as Mowgli in the 1942 Jungle Book. I had seen Thief many years ago, but never watched Korda’s version of The Jungle Book. Since I had never read Kipling’s original story I couldn’t tell if this was much more accurate or a complete abomination compared to the Disney version. Knowing the massive liberties Disney took with source material I’m sure it is somewhere in the middle. The talking animals are to a minimum but it was fun to watch especially after Tiger King because there are real animals in this movie. Something to be said for actual sets and animals, although there are certainly a number of tricks employed here. Just forgive the massive amount of white people playing Indians, which sadly was the style at the time.

 

In addition to some of the random things I’ve watched, including two films starring Danny Kaye and Virigina Mayo (The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and A Song is Born), I’ve been playing a different kind of catch-up. Have you ever had someone ask you if you’ve seen a movie and you had to think a little too long about your answer? Well it happens to the best of us, and after watching many thousands of films, I can barely keep track of things myself. Often I’ll start watching something and recall it, other times I have to consult my list. I also hope that list is accurate, but some films always slip through the cracks. Despite my best intentions I will never see everything. When Sidney Lumet’s films The Fugitive Kind and Fail-Safe came out I assumed I had seen both years ago. After all, Marlon Brando was one of the first actors I sought out, and Fail-Safe I simply assumed I watched. Turns out I hadn’t seen either, as well as the much less remembered The Anderson Tapes.

Lumet was a strange figure in the history of cinema. By the sheer number of great films he directed, he has certainly earned his place among the all-time greats. However he defies the auteur approach considering there really is no unique Lumet style. There were certainly some films he seemed better suited to, but Lumet was something of a chameleon as a director. Counting his 5-star films would lead most people to believe he belongs in the upper echelon of filmmakers but something doesn’t ever pass the smell test with him. Perhaps after I finish the other two of his films on my list I’ll have a better understanding of what made him tick as a filmmaker, but perhaps he will remain an enigma. After all this is the man who directed Murder on the Orient Express in between Serpico and Dog Day Afternoon.

Back in late 2007 I focused my energies on watching all the available movies from my top 20 favorite directors. It led to a greater understanding of all of their work, and helped my completionist streak immensely. In the case of some directors this did them few favors, others I gained a deeper respect for. Sometimes you can’t always find every film. I pushed a few off to the side, or simply tackled what I could find and didn’t pay too much attention to films that were unavailable or considered lost. In the case of a few, I didn’t dedicate a lot of resources to tracking some down and kind of forgot about it. David Lean was a director that I thought I had done. I found a copy of The Sound Barrier which I remembered being his only feature that was unavailable. Turns out Facets, my main source for rentals at the time, had a lost/damaged copy of Madeline that I never got. Fast forward 13 years and after double-checking I added this long lost Lean film to my queue. Jean Renoir, whose run of greatness in the 30s might be the greatest single decade any director also had a gap. I always thought La Chienne was his first sound film, turns out he had one released earlier that year On purge bebe. I didn’t even know this film existed, and I missed it back then.

This quarantine has given me far too much time to be left alone with my thoughts, but also a great opportunity to plug up some of these missing gaps. Ingmar Bergman’s first English language film The Touch, was another movie I simply forgot I never sat through. It’s not often you find a film from the second greatest director to ever live that you never saw. Tomorrow (April 1^st) will reveal a new slew of titles to the channel, some of which might be well worth my time. Curious to see what’s included in the upcoming Columbia noir series. This is the studio responsible for The Big Heat and Murder by Contract, two of the all-time greats. Watching I Walk Alone, the first of many collaborations between Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas whetted my appetite for more hard boiled seedy stories.

The point through all of this is during the next several months we can all learn a little more about the history of cinema, dig into some deep cuts from our favorite directors and stars, and illuminate some dark areas of knowledge. We can also spend ample time wondering what the hell we want to be when we grow up, the lack of time excuse is temporarily moot.