Monday 29 September 2014

Film Ads in Iran#32: Westerns, 1969-70

The Cheyenne Social Club (Gene Kelly, 1970)
The Good Guys and the Bad Guys (Burt Kennedy, 1969)
Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here (Abraham Polonsky, 1969)

Sunday 21 September 2014

The 66th Hitler: A Party In Hell (1956)

Samuel Khachikian
Olaf Möller, in his introduction to Conference - Notes on Film 05 (Norbert Pfaffenbichler, 2011), speculates on configuration of 65 Hitlers that are assembled and put in a cinematic conference in this 8-minute-long Austrian film: "[Hitler] appears as if from the depths of space, the darkness, and the Erewhin, from beyond the frame. As if through certain gestures, routines and repetitions thereof, variants and variations, a narrative, an essay, a study is created of what's characteristic about Hitler and it spans decades."

The film was shown at Il Cinema Ritrovato as a part of "Cinema at War Against Hitler." I promised Olaf to add a film to that entry, a very fascinating piece of surrealist kitsch from Iranian cinema, A Party In Hell (1956).

Party was partly directed by veteran Iranian filmmaker Samuel Khachikian [picture above], co-directed by rather insignificant Mushegh Sarvarian. It revolves around Haji Jabbar's journey in Hell, visiting famous residents and enjoying half-naked dancers.

Executed with the technique of Ed Wood and the imaginative innocence of Georges Méliès, there is a scene in the film towards the end, when Hitler is seen dancing around the globe (lifted from Chaplin) along with Napoleon and Genghis Khan! That's the 66th Hitler, and as far as I know, the only one from the Middle East. (Any Hitler film made in other Asian countries?)

I have extracted this superb sequence from a horrible copy of the film. If the faces are not clearly visible, please do use your imagination:

Saturday 20 September 2014

Westerns (Introduction From My New Book, 2014)

سينماي وسترن (كتاب) - احسان خوش‌بخت

از مقدمه كتاب:
به جز موسيقي جاز، وسترن يگانه تاشِ اصيل هنري خلق شده در ايالات متحده آمريكاست، كه موضوع فيلم‌هاي ساخته شده در آن كمابيش دربارۀ چگونگي ساخته شدن خود اين «ايالات متحده» است. اما بيش‌تر فيلم‌هاي برجستۀ اين ژانر سينمايي از سطحِ تاريخي فراتر رفته و احساساتي مشترك را بين تماشاگراني از هر جاي دنيا نشانه مي‌روند. براي همين است كه وسترن جهاني‌ترين ژانرها هم هست.
چرا وسترن؟ آنتوني مان، هنرمند بزرگي كه وسترن مي‌ساخت در جواب اين سوال مي‌گويد: «فكر مي‌كنم دليل محبوبيت وسترن در آزادي عملي است كه در مناظر طبيعي و در خلق هيجان به آدم‌ها مي‌دهد. فرمي بدوي است كه هر كاريكه بخواهيد مي‌توانيد با آن انجام دهيد. كيفيت بصري مطلوبي دارد. هرجور شخصيتي كه بخواهيد در آن هست؛ خشونت، گستره‌اي از تمام احساسات، لذت تجربه‌هاي ناكرده و بيرون از استوديو همه در آن وجود دارند. وسترن افسانه است و افسانه بهترين شكل سينما را مي‌سازد. چيزي است كه تخيل را به شور مي‌آورد. وسترن آدم را از قواعد دست‌وپاگير رها مي‌كند. وسترن حالا در جريان نيست، اما روحي است كه نوعي از آزادي و تحرك را در خود دارد و براي هميشه در ذهن بيننده ماندگار مي‌شود. كاري كه وسترن انجام مي‌دهد، رها كردن شماست. در دشت‌ها پيش مي‌رويد، مي‌توانيد آسمان‌هاي دل‌انگيز را در تسخير داشته باشيد، مي‌توانيد مخاطبتان را رها كنيد و آن‌ها را به جاهايي كه خوابشان را هم نمي‌بينند ببريد. و از همه مهم‌تر، وسترن شخصيت‌هايي را ارائه مي‌كند كه مي‌توانند كمي بدوي باشند،‌ همچون يوناني‌ها باشند، مثل اديپ يا آنتيگون.»
در اين‌جا، به عنوان يك شيفتۀ سينماي ژانري در مقابل سينماي كارگردان‌محور، من علاقه ديرينه‌ام به فيلم‌هاي وسترن را در سيري تاريخي و زيبايي‌شناختي پيگيري مي‌كنم، اما سال‌ها و دهه‌ها فقط بهانه‌اي هستند براي بررسي مهم‌ترين دگرگوني‌ها‌ در سبك و مضامين وسترن‌ در سال‌هاي محبوبيت اين ژانر از سرقت بزرگ قطار (1903) تا جنگوي از بند رها شده (2012).

Tuesday 16 September 2014

Clint Eastwood on Westerns


گفت‌وگوي كنت توران با كلينت ايستوود - 1992
وسترن، ژانرِ پيچيدۀ بي‌تكلف

چرا تصميم گرفتيد نابخشوده را بسازيد؟
هيچ‌وقت نمي‌خواهم در ژانرهاي خاصي فيلم بسازم فقط محض خاطر خودِ ژانر. اين ژانر را چون به ريشه‌هاي من به عنوان بازيگر نوظهور وسترن‌ها برمي‌گردد، دوست دارم.

چه‌گونه با فيلمنامة ديويد پي‌پِل جلو آمديد؟
اين فيلمنامه سال‌ها پيش نوشته شده بود، اواخر دهة 1970 و براي فرانسيس كاپولا، ولي او درگير پروژه‌اي بزرگ بود و نمي‌توانست با يك دست دوتا هندوانه بردارد. اين طرح نظرم را در اوايل دهة ،1980 وقتي دنبال نويسنده بودم تا كارهايي برايم بكند، جلب كرد. فكر كردم واقعاً دوستش دارم ولي افسوس كه در حقوقش مال من نبود. اما وقتي به كارگزار نويسنده زنگ زدم، گفت كه كاپولا دو روز پيش از اين طرح منصرف شده است. فيلمنامه را خريدم و سال‌ها منتظر ماندم. هميشه فكر مي‌كردم جواهر كوچكي است كه بايد براي ساختنش كمي پابه‌سن‌گذاشته‌تر به نظر بيايم.

Cities Light and Dark: 2013

افزودۀ موزۀ «رينا سوفيا» از ژان نوول - عكس از احسان خوش‌بخت
از يكي از شماره‌هاي ماهنامه سينمايي «24». نسخه انگليسي پيش‌تر در Keyframe منتشر شده است.

شهرها و فيلم‌هاي برگزيدۀ سال 2013

با آن كه يكي از محبوب‌ترين فيلم‌هاي سال، Gravity، در فضاي لايتناهي مي‌گذرد، بيش‌تر فيلم‌هاي سال با تصوير يك شهر سروكار دارند. بهترين‌هايشان، شهر را يكي از منابع الهام عمده‌شان قرار داده‌اند، شهري كه روياها و كابوس‌ها را تقويت مي‌كند، شخصيت‌ها را پس مي‌زند و وادار به كشف شهرهاي تازه‌ مي‌كند، يا اين‌كه آن‌ها را كاملاً در خود غرق مي‌كند. نگاه توريستي وودي آلن به رم در تقديم به رم (كه در مجموعه آثار اخيرش بعضي از پيش و پا افتاده‌ترين بازنمايي‌هاي اروپا در سينماي آمريكا را عرضه كرده) با تصوير تقريباً علمي-تخيلي و تاريك  Sacro GRAخنثي مي‌شود. تهرانِ هيستريك، زندان‌گونه و قلابيِ آرگو (با مساجدي با معماري تركي!) با تهران شلوغ، زنده و صحنۀ كشمكش نزاع طبقاتي در پرويز رو درروي همديگر قرار مي‌گيرند. حتي فيلمساز جواني مثل وكيلي‌فر تهراني تقريباً خالي از سكنه و علمي‌تخيلي را در تابور تصوير مي‌كند و سفر اگزيستانساليتي قهرمان طعم گيلاس كيارستمي در تپه‌هاي شمال تهران را در دنياي فانتزي تصوير مي‌كند كه در آن متافيزيك با زوال پيوند خورده. زوال شهري در پس‌زمينۀ بخش‌هاي ديترويتِ مستند در جستجوي شوگرمن همان‌قدر حضور دارد كه در رانندگي‌هاي شبانۀ تنها عشاق زنده ماندند. هر دوي اين فيلم‌ها جايي در روايتشان شهرِ رو به مرگ را به مقصد شهرهاي كهن (طنجه) يا شهرهاي جواني اميدوار به آينده (ژوهانسوبرگ) ترك مي‌كنند. ژوا پدرو رودريگز و ژول رويي گرا دِماتا در آخرين باري كه ماكائو را ديدم به جستجوي ماكائوي گم شدۀ جين راسل و رابرت ميچم و ميراث مستعمره‌داران پرتغالي‌اش مي‌روند و اروتيسيزم نئون‌ها، كوچه‌هاي پشتي باريك و هتل‌هاي ارزان دلگير را كشف مي‌كنند. حتي جايي كه محل زندگي فعلي من است، شرق لندن، در مستند سرراستِ Late At Night: Voices Of Ordinary Madness، در مقابل دوربين يك expat ديگر شبيه به شهري از سياره‌اي ديگر به نظر مي‌رسد كه ساكنان‌اش در بداهه‌نوازيِ شبانه‌روزي‌اي از تك‌افتادگي و جنون زندگي مي‌كنند. بلاخره شهر مي‌تواند صحنۀ وداع با زندگي باشد، وقتي در آواز قوي رائول روئِس، Night Across the Street، او به زير آفتاب سانتياگو برمي‌گردد تا وصيت‌نامه‌ سينمايي‌اش را با پرسه در كوچه‌هاي خلوت شهر به نگارش درآورد. 

ده فيلم زير شهرهاي سينمايي محبوب من از سال 2013 بودند:

Friday 22 August 2014

Wellman Chart of Colors and Their Associated Emotions


In 1937, William Wellman directed his first Technicolor film, A Star Is Born. "I honestly believe that the black-and-white film is an obsolete - or will be in a few seasons - as the silent screen," Wellman told reporters. However, it took more than "a few seasons" that color cinema could develop itself into something technically and aesthetically competent and much longer to become the new production norm of Hollywood studios.

Shown this year at Il Cinema Ritrovato in Bologna were both A Star Is Born and Wellman's other color feature from 1937, Nothing Sacred. Even though both prints suffered from an unnatural color boosting, common among public domain versions of early color films, it proved to be a dazzling cinematic experience.

Wellman, justifying his use of color,wrote an article which was published on various newspapers, including the New York Times. He tried to explain why he valued color and how the color could come to the assistance of a director in emphasizing emotions. The newspaper piece also featured a chart which became known as the William Wellman Chart of Colors and Their Associated Emotions.

This is the chart Wellman drew (click to enlarge):


Saturday 16 August 2014

My Top 10 Documentaries (The Sight & Sound Poll)

Forugh Farrokhzad directing The House Is Black (1962)

From the September issue of Sight & Sound:


1
The Sound of Jazz (Jack Smight, 1957)

This is the greatest improvised documentary ever, and features a super-stellar line-up of 32 leading jazz musicians gathered at the CBS Studio in New York City in December 8, 1957. It was made in one hour and broadcast live on television. Cameramen were as into ad-libing as Thelonious Monk, and when Billie Holiday and Lester Young started to play Fine and Mellow everybody in the control room was crying.

2
Quince Tree of the Sun (Victor Erice, 1992)

Documentary cinema as meditation. No film, fiction or documentary, has captured the meticulous, painfully stagnant process of artistic creation with such rich expansion of cinematic time and space.


3
Shoah (Claude Lanzmann, 1985)

There is a logical, aesthetic and moral relation between the scale of the tragedy and the length of the film, which leaves a lasting physiological and psychological impact on the viewer.

4
Histoire(s) du cinéma (Jean-Luc Godard, 1988)

A multi-dimensional, free-form history of 20th century which proves all one needs is some ideas and an editing table, because the images are already out there.

5
The House Is Black (Forugh Farrokhzad, 1962)

The crowning achievement of Iranian documentary movement of the 60s and 70s, and singular in its hypnotic melancholy, its profound humanism and its poetic imagery.


6
Hôtel Terminus: The Life and Times of Klaus Barbie (Marcel Ophüls, 1988)

This film taught me the methodology of cinematic inquiry, as well as lessons in persistence and integrity. In every documentary Ophüls has ever directed, he proves that cinema is, above all, a machine of humanism, if one knows how to use it.

7
Robinson in Space (Patrick Keiller, 1997)

My traveling guide to Britain. Behind its cold, bureaucratic, un-poetic shots, lie a majestic world of complex emotions.

8
Lektionen in Finsternis (Werner Herzog, 1992)

I was born and raised during the Iran-Iraq war, and every bit of the horrendous landscape portrayed on this film is also carved in my memory. What Herzog with his hel(l)i-shots does is to dive into that collective memory shared by millions who were inside that hell.

9
P for Pelican (Parviz Kimiavi, 1972)

A haunting and stylized mediation on solitude, beauty and language through the story of a real-life protagonist, Agha Seyyed Ali Mirza, who’s been living in the ruins of the earthquake-shaken Tabas for forty years. A day arrives when he has to leave the ruins and face the great, strange, Lynch-like beauty: a pelican!

10
The Battle of Chile (Patricio Guzmán, 1976)

The film’s bleak transition from the hope and ardor of the first part to the harrowing shot-from-the-rooftop second section, tells not only of the history of Chile, but also of the process of toppling other democratic governments in 20th century (namely, Iran of 1953).

Sound of Jazz (1957)

Notes:

In order to narrow down the range of choices, I exclude documentaries if an experimental nature such as great city symphonies of the late silent era, as well as actor-less fiction films such as Soy Cuba.

There are many jewels of documentary cinema hidden in the vaults of TV stations. In that regard, Cinéastes de notre temps, a French produced-for-TV film-portrait of masters of cinema, of which only a few titles are available to the public, is the greatest film university one can attend, as well as a perfect example of a masterpiece produced by filmmakers whose names are not yet in the canon.

As a trained architect who has designed, written and filmed about architecture and cinema, I still feel there are many unexplored territories in this field, and that many great films are waiting to be made. However, it doesn’t mean overlooking what’s already been done, especially works of Thom Andersen, Hiroshi Teshigahara, Man Ray and Alexander Kluge.

Lastly, there are directors whose body of work has influenced me more than any single film. Georges Franju’s early work, Fredrick Wiseman and Chris Marker are among them. Kamran Shirdel’s clandestine documentation of the lives of unprivileged in pre-revolutionary Iran, in particular, stands out.

P Like Pelikan (1972)

Thursday 14 August 2014

Dial M for Murder - 3D (Alfred Hitchcock, 1954)



DIAL M FOR MURDER IN 3D 
reviewed by Kiomars Vejdani
To grasp the full dramatic impact of Dial M for Murder it must be seen in its 3D format, the way it was envisioned and conceived by Hitchcock.
Although 3D films have been in existence since 1920's  (with Anaglyph system, creating separate images for each eye with the use of complementary red and green colours), the real birth  3D cinema started in early 1950's  with the advent of Polaroid  system (using polarised light to create two separate images).   Among the forerunners of using the system was Warner Brothers starting with House of Wax, followed by some other 3D films such as Charge at the Feather River, Hondo, and of course,  Hitchcock’’s Dial M for Murder.      
However,  due to the difficulties of the system, after a short while the companies were discouraged to continue with its use.  (It was expensive due to having to print two prints to be projected simultaneously by two separate projectors.  Besides the incomplete harmony and synchronisation of the two images could give the audience a severe headache. )
 The 3D system was forgotten and out of use for about three decades before its use was started again in 1980's.  Later it was technically refined (especially with contribution from IMAX 3D) and routinely used commercially specially for its spectacular effects.  A more serious use of  3D was taken up by James Cameron in his artistic creation of the magical world of Avatar.  . His efforts were followed by works of Wim Wenders in Pina and Werner Herzog in Caves of Our Forgotten Dreams.  Two documentary films worlds apart in their choice of subjects but having a common aim of using 3D effect to create a physical space to give their films an extra dimension in reality. . Later they were joined by Martin Scorsese in Hugo by using 3D effect to give the nostalgic world of silent cinema and the magic of Georges Melies a concrete and tangible reality.  These film makers were all aiming at use of  3D as part of film language.

Friday 1 August 2014

The Greatest Documentaries of All Time

شماره اول آگوست ماهنامۀ سينمايي «سايت اند ساوند» نتايج يك رأي‌گيري تازه را چاپ كرده است؛ اين‌بار انتخاب بهترين مستندهاي تاريخ سينما توسط 340 منتقد و فيلمساز. من هم يكي از شركت كنندگان هستم.

نتايج نهايي عبارتند از:

مردي با دوربين فيلم‌برداري (ژيگا ورتوف، 1929)
شوا (كلود لانزمان، 1985)
بي‌آفتاب (كريس ماركر، 1982)
شب و مه (آلن رنه، 1955)
خط باريك آبي (ارول موريس، 1989)
خاطرات يك تابستان (ژان روش و ادگار مورن، 1961)
نانوك شمال (رابرت فلاهرتي، 1922)
خوشه‌چينان و من (آنيس واردا، 2000)
پشت سر را نگاه نكن (دي اِي پني‌بيكر، 1967)
باغ‌هاي خاكستري (برادران مِي‌زِلز، 1975)