Capsules, Shorts

CAPSULE: PARIS, JE T’AIME (2006)

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DIRECTED BY: Christopher Doyle, Oliver Schmitz, The Coen Brothers, , Wes Craven, , and others

FEATURING: Steve Buscemi, Miranda Richardson, Juliette Binoche, Willem Dafoe, , , Seydou Boro, Aïssa Maïga, , Elijah Wood, Olga Kurlyenko, Gena Rowlands, Ben Gazarra, , Li Xin, and many, many more

PLOT: Eighteen short films (averaging about six minutes each), each set in a different Paris neighborhood and each focusing loosely on the theme of amour.

Still from Paris Je T'aime (Christopher Doyle's "Porte de Choisy" segment) (2006)

WHY IT WON’T MAKE THE LIST: Of the eighteen shorts, only Christopher Doyle’s offering is actually weird (although a few others have some mildly weird elements).

COMMENTS: Like any anthology film, Paris, Je T’aime is a box of chocolates, with some bittersweet bon-bons, a few of the dreaded coconuts, and one oddly shaped piece with a taste you can’t quite place.  Putting the most curious confection aside for last, there are a few novel flavors in this box of sweets.  The Coen brothers serve up an absurdly paranoid—and laugh-out-loud funny—sketch.  A bemused and horrified Steve Buscemi stars as an American tourist who unwisely forgets his guidebook’s advice not to look Parisians in the eye in the subway, with strange, unfortunate, and hilarious results.  Impossible teleportations and lusty Gallic vindictiveness remove this one from the realm of reality.  Climbing a rung down the weirdness ladder brings us to Vincent (Cube) Natali’s offering, a stylized, silent eroto-vampire number starring Elijah Wood and luminous Bond girl Olga Kurlyenko; shot in faux black-and-white with hyperreal pools of red blood, it’s a mood piece tapping elegant cinematic myths.  Further down, Juliette Binoche is a grieving mother who dreams of cowboys in “Place des Victories”; and Sylvian (The Triplets of Bellville) Chomet brings us a slapstick story of love among mimes that won’t change your view of those despicable creatures, but offers respite from the reality of the surrounding tales.

The most memorable segment of all, it should be mentioned, isn’t one bit weird: Oliver Schmitz’ “Places des Fêtes” is the account of an injured Nigerian immigrant who wants to share a cup of coffee with the cute paramedic who comes to his aid.  His story is told in flashback, and the piece ends on a quiet but shattering image.  Compressing a lifetime’s heartbreak into five minutes of film is an amazing achievement.

The one fully weird sequence comes courtesy of respected cinematographer Christopher Continue reading CAPSULE: PARIS, JE T’AIME (2006) →

Canonically Weird (The List), Free Online Weird Movies

59. THE BEAST OF YUCCA FLATS (1961)

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“There’s a rare kind of perfection in The Beast of Yucca Flats — the perverse perfection of a piece wherein everything is as false and farcically far-out as can be imagined.”–Tom Weaver, in his introduction to his Astounding B Monster interview with Tony Cardoza

Beware

DIRECTED BY: Coleman Francis

FEATURING: Tor Johnson

PLOT: Joseph Javorsky, noted scientist, defects to the United States, carrying with him a briefcase full of Soviet state secrets about the moon. Fleeing KGB assassins, he runs onto a nuclear testing range just as an atom bomb explodes. The blast of radiation turns him into an unthinking Beast who strangles vacationers who wander into the Yucca Flats region.

Still from The Beast of Yucca Flats (1961)

BACKGROUND:

  • The Beast of Yucca Flats can always be found somewhere on the IMDB’s “Bottom 100” list (at the time the review was composed, it occupied slot #21).
  • All three of the films Coleman Francis directed were spoofed on “Mystery Science Theater 3000“.
  • Tor Johnson was a retired Swedish wrestler who appeared in several Ed Wood, Jr. movies. Despite the fact that none of the movies he appeared in were hits, his bestial face became so iconic that it was immortalized as a children’s Halloween mask.
  • All sound was added in post-production. Voice-overs occur when the characters are at a distance or when their faces are obscured so that the voice actors won’t have to match the characters lips. Some have speculated that the soundtrack was somehow lost and the narration added later, but shooting without synchronized sound was a not-unheard-of low-budget practice at the time (see The Creeping Terror, Monster A-Go-Go and the early filmography of ). Internal and external evidence both suggest that the film was deliberately shot silent.
  • Director Coleman Francis is the narrator and appears as a gas station owner.
  • Per actor/producer Tony Cardoza, the rabbit that appears in the final scene was a wild animal that wandered onto the set during filming. It appears that the feral bunny is rummaging through Tor’s shirt pocket looking for food, however.
  • Cardoza, a close friend of Francis, suggests that the actor/director may have committed suicide in 1973 by placing a plastic bag over his head and inhaling the fumes from his station wagon through a tube, although arteriosclerosis was listed as the official cause of death.
  • The film opens with a topless scene that lasts for only a few seconds; it’s frequently clipped off prints of the film.
  • The Beast of Yucca Flats is believed to be in the public domain and can be legally viewed and downloaded at The Internet Archive, among other sources.

INDELIBLE IMAGE: Tor Johnson, in all his manifestations, whether noted scientist or irradiated Beast; but especially when he cuddles and kisses a cute bunny as he lies dying.

WHAT MAKES IT WEIRD: Coleman Francis made three movies in his lifetime, all of which were set in a reality known only to Coleman Francis. His other two films (The Skydivers and Night Train to Mundo Fine [AKA Red Zone Cuba]) were grim and incoherent stories of despairing men and women in desolate desert towns who drank coffee, flew light aircraft, and killed off odd-looking extras without finding any satisfaction in the act. Though his entire oeuvre was more than a bit bent by his joyless outlook on life, his natural affinity for the grotesque, and his utter lack of attention to filmic detail, this Luddite tale of an obese scientist turned into a ravening atomic Beast survives as his weirdest anti-achievement.


Trailer for The Beast of Yucca Flats with commentary from director Joe Dante (Trailers from Hell)

COMMENTS:  Touch a button on the DVD player. Things happen onscreen. A movie Continue reading 59. THE BEAST OF YUCCA FLATS (1961) →

Miscellanea

WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE

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In a highly unusual development (for us), we actually have reviews prepared before the deadline, so we can tell you with absolute certainty that you what reviews are coming up next week:

  • First up is the Tor Johnson opus The Beast of Yucca Flats (1961), the only atomic monster movie narrated by a Dadaist.  A blurry vision of things that never were nor could be from the incomparable, uncomprehending mind of the late great Coleman Francis.
  • The short film omnibus Paris Je T’Aime (2006), 18 shorts films on love in the City of Light, which contains one weird outing about Chinese hairdressers and some semi-weird attempts involving vampires and Steve Buscemi making eye contact on the Metro among its dramatic stories.  Featuring offerings from the Coen Brothers, Vincenzo (Cube) Natali, and Wes Craven, among others.
  • From the reader suggested review queue we’ll tackle Tales of Ordinary Madness, Marco Ferreri‘s boozy take on the Charles Bukowski myth.  Don’t worry, the “ordinary” in the title is meant ironically.

Not forgetting the weirdest search term used to locate the site this week: in most weeks, a search for info on the “bizarre growing penis cult” would win, hands down.  But this week, the extremely disturbing “boys motels that is but naked that show there pinus on a videos” wins, hands down.  Is this what happens when the Alabama penal system grants illiterate pedophiles Internet access, or is it just someone’s idea of a joke?

Here’s the reader-suggested review queue: Tales of Ordinary Madness (this week!); Trash Humpers (DVD release is imminent, but this will probably be pushed back while we wait for it); The Wayward Cloud; Kwaidan; Six-String Samurai; Andy Warhol’s Trash; Altered States; Memento; Nightmare Before Christmas/Vincent/Frankenweenie; The Science of Sleep; The Attic Expeditions; After Last Season; Getting Any?; Performance; Being John Malkovich; The Apple; Southland Tales; Arizona Dream; Spider (2002); Songs From The Second Floor; Singapore Sling; Alice [Neco z Alenky]; Necromentia; Hour of the Wolf; MirrorMask; Possession; Suspiria; Mary and Max; Wild Zero; 4; Nothing (2003); The Peanut Butter Solution; Ninja Scroll; Perfume: The Story of a Murderer; Danger: Diabolik; Faust; Sublime; Battle Royale; Pink Floyd: The Wall; Escanaba In Da Moonlight; Jesus Christ, Vampire Hunter; Zardoz; The Films of Suzan Pitt; Toto the Hero [Toto le Héros]; Paprika; The Holy Mountain; Brazil; The Casserole Masters; Dark Crystal; Throw Away Your Books, Rally in the Streets; The Nines; 964 Pinocchio; The Pillow Book; Final Flesh; Lunacy [Sílení]; Inmortel; Tetsuo; Dead Ringers; Kairo [AKA Pulse]; The Guatemalan Handshake; Dead Leaves; The Seventh Seal; Primer; Maniac (1934); Hausu; A Boy and His Dog; 200 Motels; Walkabout; Private Parts (1972); Possession; Saddest Music in the World; Mulholland Drive; The American Astronaut; Blood Tea and Red Strings; Malice in Wonderland; The Films of Kenneth Anger, Vol. II (for Lucifer Rising, among others); Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory ; The Bride of Frank; La Grande Bouffe; Uzumaki [Spiral]; Hedwig and the Angry Inch; Even Dwarves Started Small; Bunny & the Bull; “I Killed My Lesbian Wife, Hung Her on a Meat Hook, and Now I Have a Three-Picture Deal at Disney” (assuming I can find it); Cinema 16: European Short Films; Freaked; Session 9; Schizopolis; Strings; Dellamorte Dellamore [AKA Cemetery Man]; The Hour-glass Sanatorium [Saanatorium pod klepsidra]; The Addiction; Liquid Sky; The Quiet; Shock Treatment; Tuvalu; “Zombie Jesus” (if we can locate it); 3 Dev Adam; Fantastic Planet; “Twin Peaks” (TV series); Society; May; The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension; Little Otik; Final Programme; Careful; Sweet Movie; The Triplets of Belleville; “Foutaises” (short); Johnny Suede; “Jam” (TV, UK, 2000), The Tale of the Floating World, Un Chien Andalou, Bloodsucking Freaks; Fellini Satyricon; Three Crowns of the Sailor; 8 1/2; Death Race 2000; Dororo; Lost Highway; Valerie and Her Week of Wonders; Dogville; and Julien Donkey-boy.

Saturday Short, Shorts

SATURDAY SHORT: THE BOX MAN (2002)

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Inspired by a Kobel Abe novel, “The Box Man” is a great example of Nirvan Mullick’s keen attention to detail.  The beautifully hand-crafted scenery and smooth frame rate both serve as evidence of the excruciating amount of time he sacrificed for this short.

Mullick is currently working on an ambitious project called The 1 Second Film. His goal for this film is to generate one million dollars, and donate all profits to the “Global Fund for Women”. For more information visit The 1 Second Film homepage.

Also, For more of Mullick’s work, go to nirvan.com.

Miscellanea

WEIRD HORIZON FOR THE WEEK OF 5/21/2010

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A look at what’s weird in theaters, on hot-off-the-presses DVDs, and on more distant horizons…

Trailers of new release movies are generally available on the official site links.

The summer doldrums appear to have arrived early.  There’s nothing of weird interest opening in theaters this week.  Plan a picnic this weekend. Or better yet, catch up on some DVDs.

SCREENINGS (NEW YORK CITY, FILM FORUM)

Two in the Wave [Deux de la Vague] (2009): Those living in New York City with a specific interest in French New Wave cinema might want to check out this documentary about the rocky personal relationship between Francois Truffant and the occasionally weird Jean-Luc Goddard.  Two in the Wave at the Film Forum.

NEW ON DVD:

Burning Inside (2009):  Low budget, self-proclaimed surrealist black and white horror movie about an amnesiac driven to seek revenge for a wrong he doesn’t remember suffering.  There is very little solid information available on this one, but it does seem to be offered in a weird, indie spirit.  Buy Burning Inside.

Eclipse 21: Oshima’s Outlaw Sixties:  Criterion Collection’s Eclipse series focuses on underground/cult collections that wouldn’t have a large enough audience to justify single disc releases.  This 5-disc set collects the 1960s movies of boundary-pushing director Nagisa Ôshima, who’s sexually provocative cinema—culminating in In the Realm of the Senses, his explicit, controversial exploration of a sadomasochistic love affair—helped cultivate the taste for some of the “extreme” stuff we see coming out of Japan today.  The set spans his work from 1965-1968 and includes Pleasures of the Flesh, Violence at Noon, Japanese Summer: Double Suicide, Sing a Song of Sex, and Three Resurrected Drunkards.  We have a duty to check out at least three or four of those movies as candidates to make the List of the 366 Best Weird Movies of All Time. Buy Eclipse 21: Oshima’s Outlaw Sixties.

Walkabout (1971):  The Criterion Collection releases this cult film from Nic Roeg (Performance, Don’t Look Now) about two young children stranded in the Australian outback who are rescued by an Aborigine on a quest for manhood (the “walkabout” ritual).  This release is welcome news, as the movie is currently in our reader-suggested review queue. Buy Walkabout (The Criterion Collection).

NEW ON BLU-RAY:

Walkabout (1971): See entry in DVD above. Buy Walkabout (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray].

What are you looking forward to? If you have any weird movie leads that I have overlooked, feel free to leave them in the COMMENTS section.

Celebrating the cinematically surreal, bizarre, cult, oddball, fantastique, strange, psychedelic, and the just plain WEIRD!