POV: I'm Scared Of Ingmar Bergman

I, much like most film geeks have holes in my movie watching history. I don't know much about the Iranian New Wave or Tony Richardson films. I've never been a huge fan of Marylin Monroe, so I'm always taken a little off guard when I see one of her movies and like it. These are just examples of course, there are many more.

The biggest of these crimes is my total and unequivocal fear of Ingmar Bergman. I have only seen Persona (1966) back when I was in college. I remember really enjoying it, but it never made me say, "It's safe, I'm comfortable with this. I can watch these."

The problem is fear, very simple. I've always known that Bergman was a thinking mans filmmaker. I don't see myself as much of a thinking man and fear the mysterious knowledge that these films impart will fly over my shallow skull. My feeble mind is just too frightened of not getting it.


Will I lose my own sense of cineaste credibility if I discover I can't understand his movies? Am I simply over thinking (very ironic) this whole thing and should just relax and view them like an other film? All I know is that the thought of tackling his movies leave me with an odd petrified fear that I have with no other filmmaker.

I'm a fan of Antonioni, Fellini, Godard, Tarkovsky, Tarr and many others. As a matter of fact, I'm a bit of a foreign film nut. I have no fear of subtitles or themes or nonlinear storytelling. As a matter of fact there isn't anything in film that does intimidate me when it comes to choosing something to watch. I even prefer the challenge. There is just something about Bergman that overcomes me with a certain type of cinematic panic. I don't get it and there is a part of me that really wants to understand it.


The only logical conclusion that I have been able to come up with is pretty simplistic. I'm worried about not liking him. That's pretty straight forward. He is an admired and honored director. He has made movies that are considered classics in form and narrative. The visuals, created mostly by frequent collaborator Sven Nykvist, are world renown. Anyone who even dabbles in movie circles knows the shot of Max Von Sydow playing chess with death against those back lit clouds. It's an incredible image and I only know it through still photos.

It's all a sad, sad thing. A place where I shouldn't be and a corner I have painted myself into. Someday, hopefully soon, I can pull myself out of this pit of despair and just relax. I'll throw a couple of Bergman's films onto the top of my Netflix queue and make a day of it. These feelings I have, these emotions that hold me hostage are sure to melt away once those first few frames flicker across the screen, right? Right?

Posters: The Hurt Locker

This is a great movie and the poster, as well as the trailer, take advantage of one of the best shots in the film. There are actually a ton of great shots in this movie, but this one is a real moment. It's when you actually feel that all of these incendiary devices actually live and breathe. Mabye not in still form, but wait until you see the entire sequence in motion, it's frays nerves.


The poster itself is nice. It does the one thing that it really needs to do, show how people are going ape shit over this film. It's my sincere wish that this turn into the sleeper of the year and make money hand over fist. Kathryn Bigelow deserves a hit, she a really impressive talent and she's constructed a film of real tension and beauty.

The Eclectic Choice: Performance

Performance (1970)
dir. Donad Cammell & Nicholas Roeg


Another pick from Cammell and his cohort in crime Nicholas Roeg who would go on to a very impressive career of his own. This was the first directing gig for both of them and the results would be a mind bending look at identity, inspiration and culture clash.

Mick Jagger plays a rock and roller who is dried up and looking for that magic touch. James Fox plays a hitman who is on the lamb from a job gone wrong and ends up renting the guest room in Jagger's pad. Then all the rules are thrown out the window.

This is a really bizarre flick that is all over the map as it delves into philosophy and the surrounding counter culture. More than anything though it is an incredibly well acted and stylized, showing off the developing talents of both of its creators. Plus it contains one of the best lesser known Mick Jagger songs, "Memo From Turner" as well as a psychedelic soundtrack from the likes of Jack Nitzsche, Randy Newman and Merry Clayton.

Well worth the purchase if you want to see something very off the wall.

24 Frames: Black and Whitezation

Recently two movies have been released with a new bent on realization.


The first was Frank Darabont's The Mist (2007) which was released over the Thanksgiving weekend and quickly disappeared. Then came the DVD release which offered a two disk special edition with an alternate version in black and white. This is a curious and new approach. Apparently Darabont originally wanted to make the movie in b&w, but the studios refused. See, he wanted it to be like those great matinee horror and sci-fi films of the 50's. It's an interesting idea and Darabont got his wish with the DVD release. This of course makes it even more interesting for the cinephile who would like to see this alternate version and see if it improves the film.

Now I didn't like The Mist the first time I saw it. It was a late show and was packed with a bunch of drunk teens who made tons of noise and talked on cell phones the entire time. Really, you spend ten bucks on a movie and talk on the phone the entire time? Officially, you're an idiot. Anyway, the audience had a major impact on my movie going experience so I was not thrilled with the film.

When the DVD was released with this b&w Director's Cut, I was intrigued and decided to check it out. I'm glad I did, but not for the reasons you might think. I watched the new version and I must say, I was disappointed. Even with the aid of computer technology, you can time something to look black and white, the film itself wasn't shot for the look. Costumes, production design and visual effects were designed for a color film and it doesn't mesh very well when transferring over. Scenes were too dark and details would be lost. At times it just looked muddled.

The Mist (2007)

Plus all of the handheld camera work didn't feel right when used with the format. The older films that Darabont wanted to imitate never used this type of style so the entire experiment feels unfocused. But it did make me re-watch the color version and I discovered that it is quite an enjoyable little horror film with some standout performances. The visual style also works incredibly well in color and I found myself really engrossed. The idea of presenting it in black and white may have been unsuccessful, but it does help a person appreciate the original.

Then this past week Peter Bogdanovich released a movie that he also originally intended to release as a black and white movie. Nickelodeon (1976) was Bogdanovich's homage to the silent film era, a slapstick comedy about those pioneers of the silver screen. It stars Burt Reynolds, Ryan O'Neal, John Ritter, Stella Stevens and Tatum O'Neal.

Apparently this ran into the same problem as The Mist and the studio felt shooting in color would be beneficial to the film. Odd since Bogdanovich had already had two very successful b&w films prior to this one, The Last Picture Show (1971) and Paper Moon (1973). It could be Bogdanovich rewriting history by saying the studio wouldn't let him, but it really doesn't matter because the move to black and white actually helps this film quite a bit.

Nickelodeon (1976)

Some of the initial reviews were that it was a little old fashioned and slapsticky. Which is dead on because it's designed to be that way. It's supposed to reflect all those old comedies that Bogdanovich adores so much. The entire project is mannered and some of the humor seems goofy when you witness it in color.

This time though because the film itself is a period piece, all of the costumes and sets were designed with a bent towards b&w and shots are designed to reflect an older visual style. According to Bogdanovich's commentary track, cinematographer Lazlo Kovacs even styled some of the lighting after old b&w movies. All of these factors add up to make it feel like you're watching a different film. Scenes of slapstick have a different energy and feel more natural and less gimmicky. This is most apparent in a bakery scene where Reynolds keeps hitting a guy with an oven board.

Even though only one of these movies seems successful though its de-colorization, it is a great way to show that black and white is an esthetic choice that is underused and under appreciated these days.

Clip Art: The Road Warrior

The Road Warrior or Mad Max 2 (1981)
dir. George Miller


As far as post apocalyptic movies go, this is the king of kings. A great story about survival, humanity, amazing car stunts, cinematography and a new star being born. Yep, there was a time when Mel Gibson was a cool guy and not the sexist, antisemitic, drunk driving, religious wacko that he's better known for being today.

But I admit, I still love the guy despite his flaws because he was Max Rockatansky and Martin Riggs, two great action heroes of the 80's. Plus he was one hell of an actor. Before he started falling back on his celebrity and rely more on mannerism, he actually worked at creating his characters psychology.

Back on topic: I like this scene because with very simple strokes it introduces a lot of the characters and gives us an idea of what type of characters they are. Then there is the great bonding moment that Max has with the Feral Kid. This is one of the few moments where Max shows a little bit of softening as the kid lights up when hearing the music gear. Plus it ends with one of the greatest Bad Ass lines of dialog and is complimented by camera movement and Mel's delivery. A real cinematic moment.

Great stuff and part of a trilogy that really holds up. People can complain about aspects of Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome (1985), but come on, look at the history of movie trilogies and you'll realize it's a pretty solid entry in an excellent series.

On The Boulevard: Elmo Lincoln

I had no idea who this guy was when I took the picture, I just loved the name, but apparently he's got a bit of history.

Elmo Lincoln is the silver screens first Tarzan The Ape Man. Yep, he was the first guy to wear a loin cloth and do that "Ahheeeyyaaaaaa" yell. Actually, he was in the silent movies so he may have never done the yell.

He appeared in three Tarzan movies which were, Tarzan Of The Apes (1918), The Romance Of Tarzan (1918) and finished his run with The Adventures Of Tarzan (1921). He Also appeared in a few other notables like Birth Of A Nation(1915) and Intolerance (1916).

According to his Wikipedia page he gave p acting to pursue a career as a miner. Let's face it, who wouldn't give up the backbreaking work of stardom to take it easy as a miner. But apparently his mining dreams were crushed for reasons unknown and he returned to Hollywood to pick up the laborious work of acting again.

This is the factoid that I find interesting, he ended up with minor roles in later Tarzan movies as a Net Repairing Fisherman and a Circus Roustabout. Admit it, you'd love to have Circus Roustabout on your resume.

He passed away in 1952 and in 2001 his daughter decided to answer all of those questions we'd been wondering about in the book My Father, Elmo Lincoln: The Original Tarzan. All joking aside though, if you were the first Tarzan in cinematic history, you deserve a star.

It's been nice meeting you Mr. Lincoln.

Review: Crank: High Voltage

Crank: High Voltage (2009)
starring: Jason Statham, Amy Smart, Bai Ling, Clifton Collins Jr., Corey Haim, Dwight Yoakam, Efren Ramirez
dir. Mark Neveldine & Brian Taylor


The Crank series are nothing but obscene Looney Tunes movies. If they ever change that formula, I'll start hating them. Sure, they are silly, racist, sexist, dumb, borderline mentally challenged, but that's what makes them so fun. Everyone involved knows exactly what type of hyper-kinetic-goof-ball movie they are making and they do it very well. They are also some of the more expiremental films being made for commercial distribution.

Just look at all of the different styles they use for conveying action, or the way text is used in both subtitles and it's own form of montage. It's almost like a Godard film but steeped in dumb dick and fart jokes instead of intellectual dick and fart jokes. They even have a fight scene that jumps into a Godzilla style man-in-suit battle. No explanation why, they just do it because they can. They've set up a structure that allows for anything. I laugh at the crude sophomoric humor because it works and everyone can enjoy crude and sophomoric if they know that's what they are getting themselves into. You'd never see another action hero do the things that Chev Chelios does. As a matter of fact, you'd never see any character do what Chev Chelios does.

The acting is always over the top, the situations are always over the top and the filmmaking is always over the top. Plus these movies are around 85 minutes, perfect timing for junk food.

If you want something with meaning or a soul, or something that has weight, this ain't it. There are no pretensions here, Crank: High Voltage is a popcorn movie for people who need a junk food fix.

Oh and Amy Smart is sexy fun.

8.0 out of 10