Daily Archives: January 30, 2017

The Sun’s Burial (1960)

Posted on January 30, 2017 | Leave a comment

The Sun’s Burial (Taiyô no hakaba)
Directed by Nagisa Oshima
Written by Toshiro Ishido and Nagisa Oshima
1960/Japan
Shochiku Eiga
First viewing/FilmStruck

 

[box] “Teenagers. Everything is so apocalyptic.” ― Kami Garcia, Beautiful Creatures[/box]

I could admire the production values even if I could not entirely figure out the plot.

We are introduced to the dregs of post-War Osaka youth and gang culture.  Mostly we follow the story of Hanako, a tough young woman who is in the blood business but is open to do just about anything in the way of illicit commerce.  (The blood is used to manufacture cosmetics).  The various gangs also deal in prostitution and forgery.  A lot of sex and violence is involved.

The “sun” in the title undoubtedly symbolizes Japan and the film takes a bleak view of both the country’s future and human nature.  The main thing that struck me was how modern the film looked.  It could have been a color film made maybe 30 years later in its lighting and composition.  The score is fantastic.  You could see that Oshima was on his way to being an auteur.  Judging from most of his output (In the Realm of the Senses, etc.), I somehow doubt that I will become a fan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqBtqBgpT-I

Clip (no subtitles)

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Orson Welles: The Paris Interview (1960)

Posted on January 30, 2017 | 2 comments

Orson Welles: The Paris Interview
Directed by Allan King
1960/Canada
Allan King Associates/Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
First viewing/YouTube

[box] A film is never really good unless the camera is an eye in the head of a poet. — Orson Welles[/box]

An engaging look into the mind of a master.

In this documentary made for Canadian TV, the 45-year-old Welles talks about his career to date and philosophizes on Hollywood, acting and life.

This was the kind of interview where the interviewer tries to show how clever he is with his questions.  Fortunately, the answers are always candid and to the point.  Welles has the kind of voice that just makes him seem like he would be pompous.  To the contrary, he is completely disarming.  Recommended.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9JmE-ABElQ

Clip

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Posted in 1960

Body in the Web (1960)

Posted on January 30, 2017 | 4 comments

Body in the Web (Ein Toter hing im Netz; AKA Horrors of Spider Island)
Directed by Fritz Böttger
Written by Fritz Böttger, Eldon Howard and Albert G. Miller
1960/West Germany
Intercontinental Film GmbH; Rapid Film
First viewing/Amazon Prime

 

 

Gary Webster: A hammer! There must be someone on this island! A hammer… with a long handle… It must be for the purpose of excavating some sort of metal, most probably Uranium.

Recommended only for those who are interested in heaping helpings of very mild soft-core porn mixed in with some bad horror.  I am in the wrong demographic.

A promoter is hiring a bevy of beautiful exotic dancers for a tour of Singapore.  First we are treated to a long sequence of their auditions.   Their plane crashes and the troupe washes up on a desert island.  After they discover the body of a uranium prospector trapped in a huge web, the girls start competing for the attentions of the studly promoter.  Various cat fights ensue.  Then a couple of the prospector’s horny young associates arrive.  More cat fights and hanky-panky follow.  All the while a very bad giant spider puppet and the promoter, who has been transformed into a spider-man, sporadically menace.

This very bad German movie was made not much worse by its complete Americanization. Dubbing and aliases protected the identities of the guilty.  I watched this so you don’t have to.

Trailer

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Posted in 1960