Labyrinth and Sunset Blvd, top the list
“There’s simply no denying that director Tim Burton (“Edward Scissorhands,” “Sweeney Todd”) has a distinctive vision. He also knows how to tell a story–even if, like other eccentrics like Terry Gilliam and David Lynch, Burton’s stories do sometimes take a back seat to the visuals. Still: His movies always make an impression.

That’s why there are plenty of other films besides the new, trippy-looking “Alice in Wonderland” that could use the Tim Burton touch. Which ones?”

via metromix

“Looks like the inhabitants of Wonderland aren’t the only ones revolting against an evil tyrant. Theatre owners across the world are reportedly none too happy about Disney’s recently announced plans to push the DVD release date of Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland up to within 12 weeks of the theatrical run, and they’re doing something about it. Disney hopes to increase sales of the DVD by having it out in time for the summer, a full 5 weeks earlier than the usual theatrical-to-DVD release window. In response, several cinema chains have threatened to boycott the film, voicing concerns about a potential loss of big screen revenue.
In the U.K., both Vue Entertainment and Odeon Cinemas have taken up arms, along with four of the major exhibitors in The Netherlands who have already decided not to carry the film. Now AMC in the U.S. is also staring down Disney; with less than two weeks before the movie’s scheduled release, they still have not agreed to screen it. If AMC were to boycott the movie it would be a huge blow, considering that they account for over 4500 screens worldwide. I don’t know if extra DVD sales could make up for a loss like that. It is expected that an agreement will be reached in the coming days, but it is unclear who will blink first. Who do you side with on this one, and does a shortened DVD release window make you less likely to see a movie in theatres?”

via moviefill

“La Jetée belongs to a genre that breeds opportunity for elaborate vision and little thought; the film is responsibly contrary to both assessments,” writes Rumsey Taylor at Not Coming to a Theater Near You. “Its strength is its simplification.”

“Lasting 29 minutes, shot in black and white and consisting almost entirely of still photographs – imaginatively blended with dissolves, wipes and fades – this is the bare bones of science fiction.” Simon Sellars at Ballardian: “It highlights why we are attracted to SF in the first place: not for bug-eyed aliens or galaxy-hopping spaceships, but for the way in which the form can twist our most cherished versions of reality inside out…. La Jetée’s influence is palpable. In a 1966 review for New Worlds magazine, JG Ballard considered it to be one of the few convincing acts of SF cinema, while a scene from Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner – in which a photo of Rachel’s ‘mother’ animates for a second – is a direct homage to the truth and beauty at the core of this film (Blade Runner was co-scripted by David Peoples, and is famously about the unreliability of memory).”

And of course, Peoples co-wrote Twelve Monkeys, Terry Gilliam’s adaptation of La Jetée, today’s feature in the Recyclage de luxe Online Film Festival. For more on Chris Marker’s landmark work, see, for example, Nathan Lee in the Voice and Catherine Lupton at Criterion’s Current.”

via the auteurs

Dr. Strangelove, What’s in a name?

Title: Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Release Date: 29 January 1964
Plot: An insane general starts a process to nuclear holocaust that a war room of politicians and generals frantically try to stop.

Dr. Strangelove is actually a companion film IMHO that must be paird with Failsafe in order to gain the full impact of the film.

Dr. Strangelove begins with an aero-ballet between Air Force bombers and refueling planes as the title sequence set to calm tranquil music. This sets a tone, albeit false, that the viewer accepts until we are greated with the actual movie title screen. Kubrick’s choice of giving Dr. Strangelove two titles sets us up, unknowingly, to absorb his serious as well as comedic content.

The title “Dr. Strangelove” is a classic one, we expect a direct and straight forward name. On a closer look we have to deal with the word “Strangelove”. Firsly, with this name, Kubrick is transforming whatever concept of “love” we have in our head and playing with it. When we hear “strangelove” our minds can wander to anything from perverse relationships to something as benign as a short person dating a tall person. Whatever it is, he has taken us to a place of malleability. Another take, given the nature of the film, is that we could jump directly to the strange love of atomic weapons, war, killing or the military. Either way, the use of “Dr.” plants a stamp of approval and authority on this feeling.

When confronted with “or How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the Bomb” we are thrown off. First of all, its just too long. We aren’t accustomed to such a long name, casual audiences immediately have to switch on the suspension of disbelief and revert back to “Dr. Strangelove”. Second, during this time of extreme cold war fears, are we going to be given a way to actually stop worrying? Is Kubrick offering up a solution to our national worries? This has to be taken with a grain of salt.

Kubrick has now, with just the opening title sequence, moved our mind and emotions around in several places. As an audience, we are now plyable and ready to be taken on a journey.

Failsafe

Title:Failsafe
Director:Sidney Lumet
Release Date:7 October 1964 (USA)
Plot:American planes are sent to deliver a nuclear attack on Moscow, but it’s a mistake due to an electrical malfunction. Can all-out war be averted?

Failsafe is the serious counter to Dr. Strangelove. Released in October of the same year, based on the 1963 novel of the same name by Eugene Burdick, director Sidney Lumet presents to us a serious and challenging question about atomic war.

I tried to write about the story and production but really the most fantastic part of this film is in the last 2 minutes. Lumet takes 10 quick scenes of New York people and animals to establish a perception of “New York” and to, hopefully, have the audience connect with one of them. After /something/ happens, I will not spoil it for those who have not seen this film, the 10 scenes are re-visited but this time with a quick zoom and a freeze-frame at the end, stopping the action from happening. Lumet ends on a childs face, fade to black and a crowd’s cheers are heard. After the rollercoaster that the audience has gone through, this is an eerie and frightening ending. This film leaves the audience shocked and with questions. These are scenarios that no one wants to have to go through and subsequently feel the emotions of having to go through them in this film.