2004-03-01 - 02:32:00
Current music: .... the Beatles?

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A HARD DAY'S NIGHT (1964) - d. Richard Lester
I hadn't seen this since I was a little kid. I barely remembered it, but remembered enough to know I'd like it. I love Richard Lester - 'The Knack' in particular - and this was more of the same.

So, The Beatles - other than George - can't really act but that's a huge part of the charm. Lester basically laid the foundation for 99% of music videos here and the photography and editing in the music sequences are terrific. Ringo's horrible, but a blast to watch. Who knew that he'd end up the coolest of them all? Even here, he looks like the only one who really understands that he's just won the lottery.

Fun. The DVD is packaged pretty nicely, too; I'm going to buy it.


DIVA (1981) - d. Jean-Jacques Beineix
This was a surprise. I'm not a fan of Beineix's other famous film, 'Betty Blue,' so it was a nice shock to find out that this film's as good as it is. It all starts with the cinematography by Philippe Rousselot, which is amazing. Just fucking great. If the film came out now, people would still be talking about the photography. Too bad the DVD transfer's such a disappointment.

Anyhow, this is one cool film for 1981. It feels like one of the last vestiges of the New Wave, but acknowledges the punk and post-punk movements as well. Dead cool.