Film and Video

I ran across a website with an impressive collection of movie title stills. I love that moment occurs either right at the beginning of the movie, after some credits, or after an introductory scene, when you already have a feel for the movie, where the title hits the screen, either boldly or subtly or somewhere in between. If you don’t have a feel for the movie yet, the  movie title screen should probably help you out with that. Really good ones do.

I collected the near-complete stills of the Coen Brothers’ movies, from Blood Simple to Burn After Reading. We are missing The Hudsucker Proxy and The Ladykillers. I’ve got to say…the typography on Blood Simple really blew me away. Take a look and a trip down memory lane.

The retrospective begins (as did the Coens’ career) with Blood Simple on September 18.

Something kinda nerdy. Look at Blood Simple and Fargo next to one another. BEAUTIFUL!

Everyone loves free stuff, regardless of what the free thing is. In my humble opinion, free art, especially free film screenings, is even better. Film/Video has two events coming up, both of which are at no cost.

The first takes place on September 15th as a part of the “A Think and a Drink” member program with the screening of Herb and Dorothy, a documentary about the legendary art collecting couple the Vogels. Herb and Dorothy, he a retired postal worker and she a retired librarian, have built one of the most influential and extensive modern art collections to date. The documentary features a handful of artists the couple has collected from and consequently developed a relationship with over the years.

This event is free to Walker members.

Walker Film/Video is also pleased to announce, as a part of the Premieres: First Look series, the screening of No Impact Man on September 16^th in the cinema. The documentary is based around author Colin Beaven’s (and consequently his wife and daughter) 2007 initiative to live a no-impact lifestyle. What started as perhaps a farfetched idea spiraled into a high-traffic blog, news stories, and documentary film, but ultimately the transformation from the Manhattanite lifestyle Beaven and his wife Michelle were accustomed to.

Co-Directors Laura Gabbert and Justin Schein followed Beaven’s family as they changed habits and adapted to their new lifestyle. The film and blog have created quite a stir, not only about the concept of living a no-impact lifestyle, but also around Colin Beaven’s motives (rumored as a gimmick for his new book). Regardless of your take on the issue,  it seems best to actually see the film and decide for yourself. Viewers have reacted across the spectrum, from being moved by the lifestyle concept, to not being sold on the Manhattanite’s motivation. And now it is your turn to see the film (for FREE!) and make your own mind up.

Co-Director (and native Minnesotan) Laura Gabbert, who has a lush history with Walker Film/Video (participating in Women with Vision and other programs) will be in attendance for the screening along with a Q&A session following the film.

Check out the No Impact Man blog and/or book for more background on the project.

No Impact Man will be playing at the Landmark Cinema beginning October 2nd.

John Hughes

I have to admit that the news about john Hughes’ death yesterday hit me like a swift punch in the gut.  We can talk about the “greatest” films, the “best” filmmakers, and it’s likely that John Hughes and the films he made may never come up in those conversations.  However, I can think of few filmmakers that had as big an impact on me personally as Hughes did. I know I’m not alone in this.  I was in Junior high when he was making the work that would define his career.  His Shermer, Illinois didn’t seem much different than the suburbs I grew up in.  He had an incredible knack for putting these teenage characters on the screen with all of their anxieties, issues, and flaws without being condescending, superficial, or pandering — this is no small task.  He gave kids like me characters we could identify with, characters that could make us feel normal even when we were feeling weird and alone like every teenager does. Unlike most any other filmmaker, he was able to capture and present what felt like the true essence of what it really felt like to be a kid growing up in the 80s. John Hughes may not be considered a great or important artist, per se, but I can think of few filmmakers that did so much to define a generation. In many ways, he made my generation’s Rebel Without a Cause. and for that I will always be grateful.