Roxie Redux, Brit Noir, the First Doctor, Summer Blockbusters and the Demise of the Critics

The first noir screenings were so popular (i.e., an actual audience showed up), that the Roxie has, wisely, decided on running a second show in September. Elliot Lavine will once again be hosting. From the Roxie webpage: "Now, in answer to the huge demand from noir enthusiasts all over the Bay Area, Elliot Lavine has programmed a stupendous ten day fest of noir classics and curios from the famed vaults of Columbia Pictures. A total of twenty great films - all presented in beautiful 35mm studio vault prints---and none currently available on DVD." For more info, see: http://roxie.com/events/details.cfm?eventid=80E856EB-ACC8-FC5D-A2373DFE6FB28ADB

Thanks to Ned D. for informing me of the NYC Brit Noir showings. Yes, that's William Hartnell with Richard Attenborough in the photo in the 1947 film "Brighton Rock". Extra points if you know what television show for which Hartnell is most famous. Hartnell also appeared in one of the popular "Carry On" episodes. Here's a hint: Hartnell is instantly recognizable by leagues of Brit Sci Fi fans. "Brighton Rock" was based on the Graham Greene novel of the same title (published in 1938). Greene, of course, also wrote the screenplay for that most famous of all Brit noirs: "The Third Man" (the novella was published afterwards). See http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/07/30/arts/20090802_NOIR_index.html?emc=eta3 for more info.

Speaking of the Brits, Cahiers du Cinéma has changed hands. And, yes, it was purchased by a British publisher -- Phaidon. Phaidon is "the world's leading publisher of books on the visual arts" (if they don't mind saying so themselves). Cahiers du Cinéma was founded in 1951 and has become an icon of the cinephile world. You can blame Cahiers for lionizing Jerry Lewis, but you can credit them for recognizing the artistry of Hollywood noir (when we thought those films were just "crime dramas"). Editors and writers included: Andre Bazin, François Truffaut, and Jean-Luc Godard. After Cahiers published a list of the 100 most important movies, according to their readers, oddly enough (wink) not a single one of those movies were from across the channel. Well, now's a chance to even the score.

Speaking of critics, has this summer's wide-appeal movies been less than appealing? Consider the fact that Harry Potter has lost a bit of his magic (at the box office, but not with the critics) and that the Transformers sequel has shown just how unimportant film criticism is with respect to the summer box office. The critics hated it. Audiences flocked to the film. Next up is the G.I. Joe film, which appears to have nothing at all to do with the G.I. Joe of our youth (assuming it was part of your youth at all). G.I. Joe, like Transformers, is based on the action figure toys. Then came the comic book series. Inevitably, the mass-market movies followed. Paramount figures why risk the bad reviews. Audiences will flock to the movie anyways.

There were some good movies this summer. Public Enemies (with Johnny Depp) was better than expected and really enjoyable (is it noir?). Soul Power, which appeared on very few screens, was interesting. It was really less of a documentary as opposed to concert footage of the 1974 concert in Zaire (now the Republic of Congo). A great opportunity to see B.B. King, Mohamed Ali, James Brown and many others. Getting back to movies based on comic books, the star of the summer was The Watchmen. The Watchmen was penned by British comic book writer Alan Moore over 20 years ago. And no one, especially Moore, thought it could be turned into a decent movie. But it was. Another comic book inspired movie, Wolverine, was a dud, according to the critics (this time, the fans seemed to agree). Star Trek returned to the big screen and this time it was done right. Moon was the small distribution hit of the summer, and if it is still lingering in some theaters, I suggest seeing it.