"I supposed it's like a two pronged approach: you had the serious business of film criticism, and at the same time...you had the geeks, the nerdish aspect of it. Still today, there is a huge disconnect, and I find myself firmly in both."
Peter takes cinema very seriously, but sometimes we all need a good laugh, and no one makes Peter howl in laughter than reading the work of Ali Arikan. So laughs are abound when Ali comes in from Turkey to join The Cinephiliacs. Ali discusses his early forays into movies while in his home country (as well the troubles with viewing films there) and the journey he took to becoming an established critic working for English language sites like The House Next Door, Press Play, and as a member of Roger Ebert's Far Flung Correspondents. From there, the two dive into the problem of nostalgia in film, a bonafide love for Steven Spielberg, and a defense of one of the most derided films in the last twenty years. Finally, Peter challenges Ali to make him love Withnail & I, a cult comedy from Bruce Robinson that might be more tragic than even its alcoholic protagonists realize.
0:00-0:56 Opening
1:43-4:40 Establishing Shots - Pierre Étaix and Le Grand Amour
4:56-1:01:56 Deep Focus - Ali Arikan
1:03:09-1:24:19 Double Exposure - Withnail and I (Bruce Robinson)
1:24:20-1:26:10 Close / Outtake
Read Ali Arikan at Dipnot.TV (Turkish language only), The House Next Door, Press Play, Fandor, and his own blog.
Follow Ali on Twitter.
Highlighted Articles by Ali Arikan
-A Video Essay on 24 Hour Party People
-On Hitchcock's To Catch A Thief
-What Goes on in a Turkish Cinema
-On Nostalgia and Super 8
-The Summer of 1984: Gremlins, Ghostbusters, and Top Secret!
-Magic and Light : The Films of Steven Spielberg
-The Myth of Sisyphus and Groundhog Day
-Defending The Phantom Menance
-A conversation on John Williams with Matt Zoller Seitz
-The Opening Shot of Withnail & I
Other Notes and Links from the Conversation
-The Films of Pierre Étaix
-Beauty & and the Beast...in German!
-The Best Death Scene Ever
-William Goldman's Adventures in the Screen Trade
-James Berardinelli
-The Far Flung Correspondents
-The Films of Pierre Étaix
-Beauty & and the Beast...in German!
-The Best Death Scene Ever
-William Goldman's Adventures in the Screen Trade
-James Berardinelli
-The Far Flung Correspondents
Theme Music: “Forward” by Northbound
To clear the air, belatedly, Ali, if it makes any difference by now:
ReplyDelete1) I don't hate you; I took issue with something you wrote. There's a difference.
2) It's true, I've never met you. What you don't know is that I tried to meet you, at Ebertfest two years ago. I walked directly over to you with my hand outstretched, and you turned and walked up the Virginia Theatre's aisle. After that, I'll admit, I did not feel like trying again.
3) In retrospect, I know you didn't do #2 intentionally.
4) #2 has nothing to do with #1, at least not in any way I was conscious of. Maybe, subconsciously, a little bit, it did.
5) Clearly, #1 still upsets you. I sincerely apologize. I hope you can forget it.
6) There is no #6.
7) I will gladly break bread with you - i.e., buy you a beer - at Ebertfest 2013, if you are so inclined. If not, I understand.
Cool beans, Craig. And I genuinely apologise for walking away when you came to introduce yourself, but I assure you that I was then, and have been until now, completely unaware of my oversight. In fact, I feel rotten about it now, if it's any consolation (even though, I just stress once again, that it was unintentional).
ReplyDeleteAnyway, it's all water under the bridge. I don't drink much these days, but I look forward to grabbing a burger with you at Ebertfest. All the best.