It's the 2015 WHITE ELEPHANT BLOGATHON, people!

By now, you all know the drill: film bloggers the world over have submitted their favorite (or, if they're particularly sinister, least favorite) film oddities to me. Those films have gone into a hat and been randomly assigned back to the members of the the film blogletariat.

There were a lot more "hey, you should check out this weird, overlooked idiosyncratic work" submissions this year (as opposed to the usual, "ha ha ha! watch this garbage, dumdum!" selections). So I'm looking forward to seeing how it all unfolds.

Links to all of the submissions will appear here throughout the day, in order of when they post, with some stragglers rolling in later this week. Enjoy (and thanks again to all who participated):

- Bill Ryan introduces the concept of "The Cinema of Cars Pulling Up in Front of Houses" in his review of Griffin Dunne's FIERCE PEOPLE

- Glenn Kenny tackles another work by White Elephant's favorite auteur, Ken Russell; this time the focus is on the "alcoholic bender"-inspired aesthetics of Russell's LISZTOMANIA

- Michael May discusses Joel Hopkins' JUMP TOMORROW, a film featuring everyone's favorite TV On The Radio personality, Tunde Adebimpe

- David Blakeslee jumps on the Enterprise and revisits Robert Wise's STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE

- Kirk Michael arises to have a look at Jim Jarmusch's DEAD MAN

- Roderick Heath has a go at Bertrand Blier's HOW MUCH DO YOU LOVE ME?

- Stacia Jones goes out of her tree with CLIFFORD

- Dennis Cozzalio gets behind Charles Burnett's GLASS SHIELD

- Don Marks would rather hang than watch HIGH STRUNG again

- Patrick Miller opens up John Cromwell's CAGED

- Andrew Bemis ambles his way through Robert Downey Sr.'s TWO TONS OF TURQUOISE TO TAOS TONIGHT

- Craig Lindsey AKA Uncle Crizzle AKA Tavis Not-So-Smiley AKA Etc. confronts the 3RD WORLD COPS

- Craig Phillips fiddles while PARIS IS BURNING

- Christianne Benedict takes a VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA

- Even though his entry was late, Josh Ralske is NUMBER ONE WITH A BULLET in all of our hearts

- Josh Bell writes A REPORT ON THE PARTY AND THE GUESTS

- Paul Clark lives JOHNNY DANGEROUSLY

I Have A Way

"Bresson is a rarity among filmmakers: he apparently knows exactly what he does and why he does it... any study of Bresson must take into account his astute self-criticism."

 - Paul Schrader, Transcendental Style In Film

"A MAN ESCAPED would seem of all Bresson's films the most plot-oriented; it is about a prison break. But the title dispenses with any possibility of suspense - UN CONDAMNE A MORT S'EST ECHAPPE (a man condemned to death has escaped)."

- Paul Schrader, ibid. 

“‘Fear Eats the Soul’... there’s more truth in that title than most whole films.” 

 - Jennie (Naomie Harris) in TRISTRAM SHANDY: A COCK AND BULL STORY

* * *

Last year, I participated in The Skuriels, a joint effort between the Skandies and Muriels to come up with the twenty greatest films ever made (released in conjunction with Sight and Sound's decennial list). When considering my own ballot, my "short list" of around 150 films was weighed heavily toward certain directors: Scorsese, Lynch, Hitchcock, Welles, Tourneur, Dreyer, etc. etc. Of all the repeat filmmakers, Robert Bresson probably had the most impressive track record; six of the eight films of his I'd seen were contenders for my top ten.

Sun, Sweat, and Smoke: The Visuals of Koreyoshi Kurahara

One of the most striking things about the films in Criterion/Eclipse’s new Koreyoshi Kurahara set is that – despite their disparity in theme, genre, and tone – they all share an urgent, kinetic style that reminds me of Scorsese at his most gutsy. From the chaotic WARPED ONES to the ostensible romantic dramedy I HATE BUT LOVE, Kurahara never lets his audience feel secure for very long. 

Which makes it hard for me to convey Kurahara’s skittering style via the staid still frame showcase that I love so much. But I’m going to try it anyway since I really believe he’s a filmmaker whom young, piss-n-vinegar-filled filmmakers would do well to study.  With his Ginsu editing and kamikaze camerawork, Kurahara’s got style to burn (as I say in my review over at GreenCine) and knows how to fill a frame. Here’s a brief, frame grab-heavy tour of the set (and, note well, it contains spoilers).