Montage: Come On Over, Veronique (video)

My Montage series, which resumed last week with a pairing of Federico Fellini and Tim Buckley, concludes with my first "one-film" montage. Usually I feature at least a couple movies in these videos, whether from a similar genre (Haxan and the Hellraiser series), director (Out 1 and Duelle; La Strada, Nights of Cabiria, and La Dolce Vita), or other association (Malcolm X and Opening Night to honor the Honorary Oscar winners). This time, however, the clips I cut to Amy Winehouse's "Valerie ('68 Version)" are all from The Double Life of Veronique. Yet the pattern persists because the film is, of course, a dual narrative following two characters named Veronica (or variations thereof) from Poland and France. In a way, this video provided an opportunity to restructure their stories, in time to the verses of the song, and to put a new visual spin on their run-ins.

I discussed The Double Life of Veronique in my September Patreon podcast, as part of my "Twin Peaks Cinema" series, comparing it to the use of doubles in Twin Peaks and Laura's story in Fire Walk With Me.

Update 3/17: the video is now available on Vimeo as well...

Montage: Far Away Music (video)

After three years, I am finally beginning to publish video essays again. As outlined in yesterday's announcement, a new video will be cross-posted here every Monday and Wednesday morning, concluding the series I began back in 2015 with five entries each. First up is the Montage series, with a tribute to one of my favorite directors: images from Federico Fellini's work - La Strada (1954), Nights of Cabiria (1957), and La Dolce Vita (1960) - paired with a stirring version of "Song to the Siren." Each film is matched with a different verse, and I love the way the films are able to echo both the images and themes of one another, as well as the spirit of the song.

Update 3/17: the video is now available on Vimeo as well...

Oscar Blues montage: Honoring Spike Lee & Gena Rowlands

It's been a busy week. Since last Thursday, my long-delayed Fandor video on Anna Karina went up, I released three more (also long-delayed) videos that I'd been working on for a while (see The Killing & The Asphalt Jungle Side by Side and Rimbaud's "The Stolen Heart" in addition to this one), my short guest spot on the Twin Peaks Unwrapped podcast went up (and I also made appearances, via feedback, on a Star Wars episode of No Ship Network and guested on Obnoxious & Anonymous - jump to 35:16 for the beginning of our Twin Peaks season 3 speculation/discussion). Additionally, one of my videos was featured on this week's Twin Peaks Tuesday column on One Perfect Shot. After something of a dry spell in terms of productivity and (especially) output, the old saying "It don't rain but it pours" certainly applies.

With all of that catch-up out of the way, this latest entry in my Montage series may be the work I'm most excited to present this week. Its origins stretch back to my dissatisfaction with the Academy Awards six years ago, when I learned that they had decided to stop airing the Honorary Awards. Frequently given to film veterans who had never actually won an Oscar in competition, the Honoraries were a great way to pay tribute to the medium's past and remind us, amidst all the superficiality of the ceremony, that the movies are an art form created by imaginative, hard-working individuals, many of whom are misunderstood or underappreciated in their time.

Further explanation, relevant links, images from the video, and the Vimeo upload all follow the jump.

Montage: Two and One (Jacques Rivette & Brian Eno) (video)

A new video entry in my montage series, combining movies and music. The previous entry joined two eras of horror (the first two Hellraiser films & Haxan) with duelling guitar solos from a live version of "Sympathy for the Devil." This time I have used clips of Jacques Rivette's films Duelle (1976) and Out 1 (1971) alongside Brian Eno's song "Golden Hours" from 1975.

Update (YouTube upload): 

& the Cinepoem is also available now.

Montage: Symphony of the Devils (video)

Update (10/18): The video is finally up, two weeks later! Good grief. At least it made it in time for Halloween.

BEST EXPERIENCED IN STEREO WITH HEADPHONES OR GOOD SPEAKERS! This montage explores horror films from very different eras by pairing each film or series with a different guitar part in the Rolling Stones' live version of "Sympathy for the Devil" from Madison Square Garden in 1969 (featured on the 1970 album Get Yer Ya Ya's Out). Haxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages (1922), a silent horror/documentary by Benjamin Christensen, is paired with Keith Richards' raw, earthy solo that opens the instrumental (as well as his louder licks when Mick Taylor comes in, before he mostly fades into background rhythm). Hellraiser (1986) and Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988), 1980s gore extravaganzas by Clive Barker and Tony Randall, are paired with Mick Taylor's fluid, passionate solo that dominates the passage. Sorry for the late posting, but at least it's up in time for Halloween!