In 1937, Walt DisÂney StuÂdios shot Snow White and the SevÂen Dwarfs with a new-fanÂgled camÂera, the mulÂtiÂplane camÂera, which allowed carÂtoon aniÂmaÂtion to take a quanÂtum leap forÂward. Thanks to this new “super carÂtoon camÂera,” aniÂmatÂed scenes sudÂdenÂly looked more realÂisÂtic and three-dimenÂsionÂal. You only need to watch this preÂsenÂtaÂtion by Walt DisÂney himÂself (recordÂed in 1957) and you’ll see what I mean. DisÂney shot many of its clasÂsic feaÂture films – PinocÂchio, FanÂtaÂsia, BamÂbi, and Peter Pan – with the mulÂtiÂplane camÂera, and it remained in proÂducÂtion right through The LitÂtle MerÂmaid, filmed in 1989. Today, only three origÂiÂnal DisÂney mulÂtiÂplane camÂeras surÂvive.
A big thanks to Sergey for sendÂing this vinÂtage clip our way. If you see a good piece of open culÂture, don’t hesÂiÂtate to send it our way…
SheerÂly Avni is a San FranÂcisÂco-based arts and culÂture writer. Her work has appeared in Salon, LA WeekÂly, MothÂer Jones, and many othÂer pubÂliÂcaÂtions. You can folÂlow her on twitÂter at @sheerly.
How do you adeÂquateÂly porÂtray life in a high-rise buildÂing? LonÂdon filmÂmakÂer Marc Isaacs found a rather unconÂvenÂtionÂal answer to this quesÂtion. He installed himÂself inside the lift/elevator of a high rise on the East End of LonÂdon. And for ten hours a day, over two months, he would ride up and down with the resÂiÂdents, with his camÂera pointÂing at them. It is fasÂciÂnatÂing to see how the resÂiÂdents react to him being there — some are susÂpiÂcious or even hosÂtile at the beginÂning. OthÂers open up about their perÂsonÂal lives and their daiÂly life in the buildÂing. And then othÂers bring him someÂthing to eat, a chair to sit down on, or even litÂtle presents. The result is a movÂing and “quiÂetÂly fasÂciÂnatÂing medÂiÂtaÂtion on the munÂdanÂiÂties of LonÂdon life.” WritÂing about the film, the Times Online put it best: “Isaacs has an astoundÂing gift for getÂting peoÂple to open up to him and he uses film the way a skilled artist uses paint. The result is beauÂtiÂful, heartÂbreakÂing and proÂfoundÂly humane.”
Here’s some bonus mateÂrÂiÂal: a review of “Lift” and Isaacs’ two othÂer short docÂuÂmenÂtaries “Calais” and “TravÂellers,” a SunÂday Times artiÂcle entiÂtled “Marc Isaacs on his docÂuÂmenÂtary art,” and an interÂview with Mark by The DocÂuÂmenÂtary FilmÂmakÂers Group dfg.
By proÂfesÂsion, Matthias RaschÂer teachÂes EngÂlish and HisÂtoÂry at a High School in northÂern Bavaria, GerÂmany. In his free time he scours the web for good links and posts the best finds on TwitÂter.
ThirÂty-five years ago today, New York magÂaÂzine pubÂlished “TribÂal Rights of SatÂurÂday Night,” a beauÂtiÂfulÂly-writÂten paean to the dancÂing teens of the city’s borÂoughs. And the stoÂry focused on a workÂing-class disÂco dancer named VinÂcent:
VinÂcent was the very best dancer in Bay Ridge—the ultiÂmate Face. He owned fourÂteen floÂral shirts, five suits, eight pairs of shoes, three overÂcoats, and had appeared on AmerÂiÂcan BandÂstand. SomeÂtimes music peoÂple came out from ManÂhatÂtan to watch him, and one man who owned a club on the East Side had even offered him a conÂtract. A hunÂdred dolÂlars a week. Just to dance.
“VinÂcent” become the modÂel for Tony Manero, the hero of John BadÂham’s 1977 disÂco-ganÂza SatÂurÂday Night Fever, a hit film which launched the 70’s hottest dance craze and the career of young John TraÂvolÂta. Plus it gave us the best-sellÂing soundÂtrack album of all time and introÂduced the line dance, an exerÂcise in ineÂbriÂatÂed comÂmuÂnal humilÂiÂaÂtion that would domÂiÂnate the dance floors of AmerÂiÂcan wedÂding recepÂtions for decades to come.
With all this to its credÂit, perÂhaps it shouldÂn’t matÂter that Nik Kohn’s artiÂcle was more ficÂtion than non-ficÂtion, and that “VinÂcent” was, in Kohn’s own words, “comÂpleteÂly made up, a total fabÂriÂcaÂtion.” The ostenÂsiÂbly conÂscience-strickÂen jourÂnalÂist came clean in the Guardian in 1994:
My stoÂry was a fraud, I’d only recentÂly arrived in New York. Far from being steeped in BrookÂlyn street life, I hardÂly knew the place. As for VinÂcent, my stoÂry’s hero, he was largeÂly inspired by a ShepÂherd’s Bush mod whom I’d known in the SixÂties, a one-time king of GoldÂhawk Road.” [Ed. Note: The Guardian piece is not availÂable online, but it was quotÂed extenÂsiveÂly in CharÂlie LeDufÂf’s 1996 artiÂcle, “SatÂurÂday Night Fever: The Life”]
SheerÂly Avni is a San FranÂcisÂco-based arts and culÂture writer. Her work has appeared in Salon, LA WeekÂly, MothÂer Jones, and many othÂer pubÂliÂcaÂtions. You can folÂlow her on twitÂter at @sheerly.
CharÂlie ChapÂlin is said to have added his 4 1/2 minute final speech to The Great DicÂtaÂtor (1940) only after Hitler’s invaÂsion of France. The speech both showÂcasÂes the actor’s conÂsidÂerÂable draÂmatÂic gifts and makes a preÂscient, eloÂquent plea for human decenÂcy. So the idea of adding any kind of extra music, espeÂcialÂly a comÂpoÂsiÂtion by the freÂquentÂly bomÂbasÂtic Hans ZimÂmer, might seem like first gildÂing the lily and then dousÂing it with lysol and neon paint. But we think this ZimÂmer track from the 2010 sci-fi head trip hit IncepÂtion actuÂalÂly kinÂda works. Give it a look/listen and let us know what you think.
SheerÂly Avni is a San FranÂcisÂco-based arts and culÂture writer. Her work has appeared in Salon, LA WeekÂly, MothÂer Jones, and many othÂer pubÂliÂcaÂtions. You can folÂlow her on twitÂter at @sheerly.
Ever since Jack KirÂby and Stan Lee creÂatÂed the very first installÂment of the The UncanÂny X‑Men for MarÂvel in 1963, the beloved team of mutant superÂheroes known as the X‑Men have conÂquered almost every mediÂum in popÂuÂlar culÂture from teleÂviÂsion to video games, to movies and of course comÂic books. Their endurÂing popÂuÂlarÂiÂty isn’t hard to underÂstand: What AmerÂiÂcan teenagÂer (redunÂdant, we know, since all AmerÂiÂcans are basiÂcalÂly teenagers) could ever say no to an angsty band of telegenic outÂsiders who are perÂpetÂuÂalÂly reviled and perÂseÂcutÂed for the very attribÂutÂes that make them supeÂriÂor?
But there’s more than narÂcisÂsism at play. The core of the X‑Men myth — genetÂic mutaÂtion — is someÂthing sciÂenÂtists have been learnÂing how to manipÂuÂlate for decades, and now it’s just a matÂter of time before we know how to build X‑Men of our own. But just as in the case of nuclear bombs, killer virusÂes and 3‑D action movies, the fact that we can make them doesÂn’t mean we should. In the above video from Emory UniÂverÂsiÂty, Bioethics proÂfesÂsor Paul Root Wolpe explores this moral dilemÂma via the latÂest iterÂaÂtion of the beloved mutants’ saga: X‑Men: First Class (In theÂaters June 3rd, and, praise be to Mendel, NOT in 3‑D).
SheerÂly Avni is a San FranÂcisÂco-based arts and culÂture writer. Her work has appeared in Salon, LA WeekÂly, MothÂer Jones, and many othÂer pubÂliÂcaÂtions. You can folÂlow her on twitÂter at @sheerly.
Watch to the end. As you might expect, the masÂter upstages his co-star, flapÂping wings and all.
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We’ve already writÂten about the excelÂlent film blog MUBIdaiÂly, which is pubÂlished by the online screenÂing room Mubi.com. We’ve nevÂer realÂly pushed Mubi itself, even though the site feaÂtures a wide selecÂtion of indeÂpenÂdent and forÂeign films.It’s a subÂscripÂtion site, and we preÂfer to focus on culÂturÂal offerÂings that you can access free of charge.
Still, for the next month, you can watch cerÂtain films on Mubi free of charge — specifÂiÂcalÂly, selecÂtions from mulÂtiÂple years of Cannes’ La Semaine de la CriÂtique (CritÂics’ Week), one of the fesÂtiÂval’s most conÂsisÂtentÂly interÂestÂing sideÂbars. Each year a panÂel of interÂnaÂtionÂal critÂics selects a curÂrent crop of shorts and feaÂtures from first and secÂond time direcÂtors, and now MUBI has made a numÂber of past selecÂtions freely availÂable online. The selecÂtion is a litÂtle uneven, but still often inspirÂing. Of the choicÂes offered at Mubi’s mini-retÂroÂspecÂtive, we recÂomÂmend the JapanÂese film ChickÂen Heart, the clever Swedish short Seeds of the Fall, and espeÂcialÂly Round Da Way (LasÂcars), a liveÂly French aniÂmatÂed feaÂture about life in the projects. You can watch Round Da Way above.
The full selecÂtion is availÂable for free on Mubi until June 30th, with a caveat or two: Each film is only free for its first 1,000 viewÂings, you do need to regÂisÂter to watch, and there may be some geoÂreÂstricÂtion at work (though we can’t say for sure since we’re based in the US).
And finalÂly, of course, don’t miss our big curatÂed colÂlecÂtion of 380 Free Movies, which includes a few major films from Cannes too.
SheerÂly Avni is a San FranÂcisÂco-based arts and culÂture writer. Her work has appeared in Salon, LA WeekÂly, MothÂer Jones, and many othÂer pubÂliÂcaÂtions. You can folÂlow her on twitÂter at @sheerly.
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