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| Photo credit: Stephen Yang |
"Film culture is at its best when it's in conversation."
Miriam Bale is interested in cinema, but she's almost more interested in the conversations that develop out of cinema. So naturally, Peter thought it would be a great idea to bring the programmer and critic to discuss how she found her way to the movies. Miriam discusses how music taught her how to curate cinema, her love of repertory cinema, and the love of minor literary genres from actress autobiographies to cookbooks. The two also talk about her feminist film criticism and the journal Joan's Digest she started, as well the La Di Da Film Festival and the ways to build a new type of "community" film festival. Finally, they dig into Johnny Guitar, Nicholas Ray's intoxicating western starring Joan Crawford, which Miriam sees as a way to truly build surreal space and time.
0:00-1:05 Opening
1:45 -6:15 Establishing Shots - Michael Mann's Miami Vice / Trivia Round
6:57-1:06:07 Deep Focus - Miriam Bale
1:07:00-1:26:27 Double Exposure - Johnny Guitar (Nicholas Ray)
1:26:29-1:28:12 Close
Read Miriam Bale at The Reeler, L Magazine, Mubi, Bomb Magazine, NY Daily News, Filmmaker Magazine, and The House Next Door.
Notes and Links from the Conversation
-This conversation was recorded before the passing of both Roger Ebert and Les Blank, and especially given Miriam's relationship with the latter, it was something we certainly would have addressed.
-Peter's Miami Vice Letterboxd Review
-St Etienne's "Railway Jam"
-Some history on Edith Kramer
-Jonathan Rosenbaum's "Essential Cinema"
-Martin Scorsese's "A Personal Journey Through American Movies"-Film Society's Elaine May Retrospective
-J. Hoberman on A History of Violence
-Girish Shambu's Program Notes Project
-Miriam's Jennifer Jones article
-Some history on Edith Kramer
-Jonathan Rosenbaum's "Essential Cinema"
-Martin Scorsese's "A Personal Journey Through American Movies"-Film Society's Elaine May Retrospective
-J. Hoberman on A History of Violence
-Girish Shambu's Program Notes Project
-Miriam's Jennifer Jones article
-Molly Haskel's From Reverence to Rape
-Yonic Symbolism in Cronenberg
-Persona Swap Movies
-Linda Williams's "Hardcore"
-Cleo: A Journal of Film and Feminism
-Calum Marsh on Lynne Ramsey
-Yonic Symbolism in Cronenberg
-Persona Swap Movies
-Linda Williams's "Hardcore"
-Cleo: A Journal of Film and Feminism
-Calum Marsh on Lynne Ramsey
-Elizabeth David's French Provincial Cooking
-Godard on Godard
-A Web page with Jacques Rivette's criticism
-Godard on Godard
-A Web page with Jacques Rivette's criticism
Theme Music: “Forward” by Northbound
You said "Wong Kar Wai's muse Gong Li" at 3:00. I think you meant "Zhang Yimou's muse Gong Li". Wong's muse would be Maggie Cheung. Johnny Guitar is great.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Alex...you are right that Zhang has used Li much more than Wong, though I think at the time I was thinking of 2046, which I see very much as some sort of a spiritual precedent (along with a lot of WKW's films to MIAMI VICE). But certainly Li is better known for her films with Zhang.
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