"Marvelous Argento" - Dario Argento in Conversation - BFI Gothic

I apologise for the delay in this event report (essays' fault), but I am glad to tell you everything about Dario Argento in Conversation, interviewed by the author, critic and film programmer Alan Jones. 
It's always a beautiful experience when someone from Italy is recognized here, and you see how many people around the world apppreciate his work.
I loved this event, mostly because Dario Argento is a proper Italian: he can't express himself in a perfect English? Nevermind, we Italians are famous for using our hands to emphasize what we are saying, and, in the end, everyone understands. Marvelous Argento did exactly this.

LIFE AND CAREER

First of all, as I did for the Roger Corman's event, a few background lines for those of you who are not familiar with the director's work:
"Dario Argento was born in Rome on 7 September 1940 to a family already entrenched in the visual arts. Although starting his career as a film critic, he was lured into directing afer his collaboration with Bernardo Bertolucci on the script for Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West (1968). His directorial effort The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970) marked an enormous sea change for the Italian film industry. Its massive critical and box-office success led to more graphically bloody thrillers filmed with the stylish Hitchcockian flair for which he became justly famous - The Cat o' Nine Tails (1971), Four Flies on Grey Velvet (1971) and Deep Red (1975). Showcasing a score by Goblin, the latter chiller would also set an international benchmark for soundtrack use of high decibel rock music. But it was the visually ornate, shocking horror Suspiria (1977) that brought Argento worldwide recognition, cult status and credit for influencing the modern splatter genre. His celebrated imagery and striking technique added lustre to the further disturbing visions Inferno (1980), Tenebrae (1982), Phenomena (1985) and Opera (1987)."

EARLY WORK AND INFLUENCES

The conversation started with Argento's childhood context: his father was very important in the film industry ad he grew up in the Neorealism period. He went to Catholic school and he wanted to write: a newspaper asked him to work at 17, he dropped school and at 20 he was the only critic of the paper. He was watching many films in that period, the nouvelle vague was especially influential because it represented a global change in the way of making films. Among his favourites there are Fellini, Antonioni, Bergman, Hitchcock, and Powell and Pressburger's films.
The Red Shoes had a great influence on Suspiria in terms of colour, and he loved Peeping Tom.

WORKING WITH SERGIO LEONE

Leone has this idea of a spaghetti Western starring leading women, but he had a difficult relationship with women, so he asked Argento and Bernardo Bertolucci for help. Working with him taught him a lot, Leone always listened, he never talked about films. He taught him the importance of the camera: the camera is the master, more than the story and the dialogues. Argento loves silences in film, because those are the moments of pure cinema. When he was young his father used to give him many screenplays to read, so he grew up with that and decided to start writing films almost as a joke.

THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE

Mr. Argento explained that in the clip we were shown he was impersonating the killer. Mario Bava might have been a suggestion for the film, even though he had a different style, he was more comic. The Italian giallo was born. The soundtrack was fundamental for its modernity. Concerning this Argento talked about his relationship with the legendary Ennio Morricone. They lived quite close to each other and he often went to his house filled with vynils. At the time the film was very fresh and new, but it took a while to get a big audience response. However, it was big in America where Argento was nicknamed: the Italian Hithcock. He said that at the time the success didn't touch him a lot, the film came one after the other. The producers, distributors and exhibitors wanted the giallos, because they sold. This is also the reason why the only time he explored something different with Le cinque giornate (1974), a political film, people didn't appreciate it, because they were waiting for its new giallo. He then decided to go back to the giallo with a different perspective.

PROFONDO ROSSO - DEEP RED

The film was shot in Turin, an easier city for a film in comparison to Rome. The film represents a landmark moment in Argento's work because there's a big change in the soundtrack: a progressive rock sound. At first he wanted the Pink Floyd for the soundtrack, but since they were shooting The Wall they weren't available. He then decided to listen to demos from young and unexperienced people from the Conservatory.

THE THREE MOTHERS TRILOGY: SUSPIRIA, INFERNO AND THE MOTHER OF TEARS

Explaining some of the most graphic moments in the clip we watched, Argento said that, for example, the heart we see is  a real lamb art, because there was no digital at the time. The very much discussed remake of Suspiria by other directors is resultingimpossible: it keeps being rewritten, it's just impossible to remake the film with his same style. Talking about the trilogy as a whole, it wasn't planned, it just came naturally from Thomas de Quincey's section from Suspiria de Profundis.

BEING A PRODUCER AND THE ITALIAN INDUSTRY TODAY

He famously produced Dawn of the Dead with George A. Romero, sequel of the Night of the Living Dead. He is  not into producing anymore both for lack of money and possibilities, in Italy especially. Italian giallo and horror are over. The ones he prefers come from Asia because their horrors rediscover the psychology of the characters, a good few from France, better from Spain. The American horrors today, says Argento, with a very simple but sadly true example, are all the same. The most important thing in this genre is the fear. The fear has now disappeared from the movies for the sake of special effects.
The Italian industry has been invaded by the vulgarity of television, which corrupted people's taste. The films for the television, especially, are always the same stereotyped naive comedies, in which everyone has to be happily ever after. And with this I couldn't agree more, every time I go back to Italy watching television is a pain, and a shame.

TENEBRAE AND OPERA

We were shown a beautiful directing example from Tenebrae: a very difficult crane sequence realised on the rooftop, which had to be handmade at the time, but would be done with digital today. It's a long-take, making the film talking through images: that is cinema. Mr. Jones who saw Argento working on set said that when he works he is everywhere, he becomes the camera.
The clip from Opera shows the image he's most famous for: the protagonist's eyes kept open by a torture instrument, as she has to assist her boyfriend's murder. In Italy there is currently the film's theatre production, very well done and conserving the same special effects of the movie.

HIS DAUGHTER ASIA AND DRACULA 3D

He made and produced six films with his daughter, Asia Argento. He explains she works with digital very easily. Dracula 3D came out last year, we were shown a clip. Argento said that it was great to work in 3D and the different depths, extremely difficult though: they needed four people just to move the camera.

SOME ARGENTO'S ANSWERS FROM THE Q&A

About his use of colours

He uses different techniques depending on the film's style. Examples: Suspiria had to look like a fairytale, he took inspiration from the colours from the John Ford's movies, the Technicolor, and Disney.

About his editing style

He prefers the long-take, very different from modern horror films in which cutting is the main thing. But cutting is artificial. (His conception of cinema is very close to Bazin's: the long-take corresponding to realism.)

A comment on Westerns

"I don't like horses!"

And with this last hilarious quote from the event I want to thank Mr. Argento for being an Italian pride, but also an unforgettable and picturesque character. Thank you!

"I make movies for kindred spirits. I'm attracted to extreme violence because it's a form of protest - a refusal of established values. It's why my work is seen as so controversial and often banned or censored in many countries. I'm always ahead of the times. Sometimes it takes a few years before people catch up with my directional approach. But horror fans, my fans, always want something different. And I'll constantly provide  it."

Roger Corman in Conversation - BFI Gothic

This evening has been one of the greatest and most thrilling experiences of my life so far. I got to meet one of my myth: the legendary Roger Corman.

LIFE AND CAREER
For those of you who are not familiar with his work, here's a little background:
"Roger William Corman is an Academy Award-winning American film producer, director and actor. He has mostly worked on low-budget B movies. Much of Corman's work has an established critical reputation, such as his cycle of films adapted from the tales of Edgar Allan Poe. Admired by members of the French New Wave and Cahiers du Cinéma, Corman was the youngest filmmaker to have a retrospective at the Cinémathèque Francaise, as well as the BFI and the Museum of Modern Art. In 2009, he was awarded an Honorary Academy Award. Corman mentored and gave a start to many young film directors such as Ron Howard, Martin Scorsese and Peter Bogdanovich. He helped launch the career of actor Peter Fonda. Corman has occasionally taken minor acting roles in the films of directors who started with him, including The Silence of the Lambs, The Godfather Part II, Apollo 13, The Manchurian Candidate, and Philadelphia. A documentary about Corman's life and career entitled Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel premiered at Sundance and Cannes Film Festival in 2011, directed by Alex Stapleton. In total, Roger Corman has produced over 300 movies and directed more than 50."

INTERVIEW - The Gothic and the Edgar Allan Poe Cycle
Mr. Corman talked about his childhood experience of the Gothic, in terms of films he was a big fan of Frankenstein and The Bride of Frankenstein, but the big infatuation came when he was 12 and was assigned a work on an Edgar Allan Poe's short story for school. After that he asked his parents for the whole collection of Poe's works. 
When he started working as a filmmaker Gothic genre was out of fashion.
Producing films for the American International Pictures (AIP) meant having a very low-budget, working on a double bill over 10 days and shooting in black and white. Mr. Corman suggested to use colour for the adaptation of Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher. Since they were complaining about the lack of monsters in the story, Corman clarified that the house is actually the monster.
Going back to his first big experiences with horror The Undead was his first horror picture (1956), we then moved to a clip from A Bucket of Blood, the opening credits sequence.
Corman explained that the character's speech was meant to be meaningless in order to represent a pretentious and fake artist. This was his first comedy-horror film and it was shot in 5 days. The setting is a beat cafè of the time, it was also one of the first films to have such a contemporary setting, and to be a very innovative approach to an "house of wax" story.
As you will notice by watching it the opening is shot in long take with a frequent use of dollies, he wanted the camera to wander around and show the space while the fake artist's speech went on.
We then moved to one of his most interesting works: the Poe Cycle:

1. House of Usher (1960)

2. The Pit and the Pendulum (1961)

3. The Premature Burial (1962)

4. Tales of Terror (1962)

5. The Raven (1963)

6. The Haunted Palace (1963)

7. The Masque of the Red Death (1964)

8. The Tomb of Ligeia (1964)

We watched House of Usher's trailer, the title is different from the original story because the company wanted to put emphasis on the "house".
Corman thought about the most clichè way of opening a picture regarding a classic, so he brought in the idea of the book opening on the story as a kind of joke to open the film.
Since the AIP was a very small company, having 15 days for the making of a film was a gamble, but also meant a step forward for them.
He was then asked about the use of Cinemascope and widescreen in the cycle, since all Poe's stories are very claustrophobic. That was again the company's idea since Cinemascope was selling very well, and it fortunately was a success for the House.
After that he really wanted to make The Masque of the Red Death, but Bergman's The Seventh Seal had just come out. So, he made The Pit and the Pendulum first.
He started using horror stars from the earlier period such as Boris Karloff, bringing in better and good actors was a great improvement for the pictures also. 
There's an anecdote about the making of The Raven that I found very interesting. The film starred Vincent Price, Peter Lorre and Boris Karloff. Three great and very different actors. On the second day of shooting Karloff went to Roger to tell him Lorre was improvising the whole script and he had no idea on what to do. This problem between the actors was connected to their training: Lorre, German actor, studied with Bertolt Brecht and the Stanislavsky method, whereas Karloff, had an English background. They finally managed to solve everything. I haven't seen the film yet, but the interviewer quoted the wine-tasting scene of which Corman is very pleased, especially for the idea of introducing humour in the picture, because in that way they were always trying to vary from one production to the other.
We continued with the trailer of Tomb of Ligeia, shot in England. The Poe films were doing very well there, and by shooting in England they could also get a subsidy and obtain a longer schedule, plus the casting of very good British actors.
For The Masque of the Red Death he explained that the script looked too simple for him, so, together with a writer, they incorporated another Poe's short-story as a subplot to make it more complex.
In 1961 he had faced his first failure: The Intruder. 
A film I was waiting to hear about was The Man with X-Ray Eyes (1963). The film is sci-fi/horror story, an attempt to combine these two genres. The original idea saw the protagonist as a man having x-ray visions, he then changed the character into a doctor working on vision. The ending of the film is also a religious moment: we see the doctor seeing through the centre of the universe, being blindened by the powerful vision of God. Stephen King actually wrote an alternative ending to the film. He thought of redoing it in the future since it would improve a lot thanks to the new technologies.
The Terror (1963) has a very intricate story concerning its making rather than the actual film plot. He shot it in two days shooting 15 pages a day with Boris Karloff and Jack Nicholson. The latter saying that Corman would be the only person to hire him for 10 years. He always believed in his talent, and said that Nicholson is always a great writer, who wrote many things for him too.
For the last Poe picture, Tomb of Ligeia, he tried to work with the unconscious mind as both Poe and Freud did, without being aware of external influences. He tried to work on an hermeneutic environment. 
An interesting common element in his films are the figures of heroines who become monstrous, which is also a theme that ran through Poe. He often took a story and turned the lead into a woman, because it brings more dramatic value and complexity. 

INTERVIEW: The street films and the New World Pictures
Being a member of the counterculture in the 60s he wanted to take some time apart from the studio and actually go shoot on the streets.
So he made the first biker movie: The Wild Angels (1966). The producers wanted a story in which the "monsters" were the Hell's Angels, he wanted the opposite: he wanted them to be the main focus, the heroes or antiheroes, his identification being with the "bad guys".
In 1970 he decided to turn to producing by funding his company: New World Pictures. He was a bit tired of the genre and was more interested in contemporary subjects.

INTERVIEW: What about Jaws? The coming of the blockbuster.
The big come-back of the monster movie actually happened in 1975 with Spielberg's Jaws about which a scholar said: "What is Jaws but a big-budget Roger Corman's film?"
Corman explained that the big studios were starting to understand. And then there was Star Wars. These pictures were bigger and better. This was a big problem for B-movies and smaller companies. He actually talked to both Spielberg and Lucas and they both watched his films and the old monster movies when they were young.
Even with these complications, Roger Corman managed to stay, and still be, in the business.

Q&A

• What's next in the monster world?                     
• He is now looking back, working on Greek mythology, with a subject like Medusa, for example.
• 3D in the 50s and today.
• 3D is great when naturally and intelligently used such as Cameron did with Avatar. On the other hand, there are films which are not as good which damage the concept. Gravity is another recent and excellent example of 3D use. 
• Can you talk about the making of The Trip?
• Joe Dante is working on a documentary about the making of this film. The purpose of the film was to shoot a long LSD trip, with the help of Nicholson and many others. The funny thing is that Bruce Dern, the main character, had no experience with LSD.
• Are there today actors of the caliber of Karloff, etc.? 
• Yes, there are good equivalents today. 
• Contemporary filmmakers he admires.
• Coppola, Scorsese, Christopher Nolan, Alfonso Cuàron. 
• How do you manage to work on a very small budget?
• The small budget is a challenge, and it allows you to use intelligence and creativity more.
• Which filmmakers influenced you the most?
• He has been influenced by every film he saw, he particularly admires Eisenstein (The Battleship Potemkin staircase scene), Hitchcock, Hawks, Ford. He said: "I was absorbing the world around me."
• What about women directors?
• He worked with quite a few great women: Tina Hursh, Amy Jones, but even if we did not have so many great women directors we have a great number of women producers. Usually the most successful and richest. 

Last, but not least, I bought the book about his career (Crab monsters, teenage cavemen and candy stripe nurses. Roger Corman: King of the B Movie, Chris Nashawaty) 

and got his autograph and the picture with him. It was a great moment, a unique chance probably, I am glad I did not miss it.

p.s: Corman keeps a pencil and a pad near his bed because he happens to wake up in the middle of the night with ideas to write down. (I should start doing that too.)

London Film Festival: Screentalk - Ralph Fiennes

In occasion of the London Film Festival the BFI hosted a very special guest: Ralph Fiennes presenting his film The Invisible Lady which he directed and in which he starrs as Charles Dickens. 
Last Friday I went to attend his Screentalk about his acting and directing career and future aspirations.
His first aspiration was that of becoming a painter. This changed for him after watching Laurence Olivier's Henry V which made him understand his love for Shakespeare and the language leading him to the theatre.
His first key role on screen was that of Heathcliff in Wutherings Heights adaptation (Peter Kosminsky, 1992), and this role is what brought him to Steven Spielberg's attention. 
His video audition for Spielberg's Schindler's List was actually the first time he got to direct and direct himself.

We then watched a clip from Schindler's List: when his character, Amon Goeth is looking at himself in the mirror. Raplh Fiennes explained his understanding of the character and the film, the Nazis portrait in that case is that of a real man, the film is trying to depict the day by day reality, it is not a judgemental review. He did a lot of study on the character, in this sequence we are shown someone examining themselves: "Do you ever think of forgetting people?" 
Being asked about S. Spielberg's attitude in directing his actors, he explained Spielberg has a really powerful vocal energy, and he is very specific about physicality, moreover, he stated, "Steven always has great ideas".

The English Patient (Anthony Minghella, 1996) is the film during which he got more curious about the directing, the actual making of the film.
In 2011 he had his first directing experience with Coriolanus, one of the most difficult Shakespeare's works. The play turned into a film made it even harder. He had to figure out a way to make it cinematic, this is also why he said that one of the hardest works is that of the screenwriter's: the responsibility of conveying the film to the reader and viewer.
The clip we watched was that of the "gladiatorial fight" between Coriolanus and Gerard Butler's character.

Talking about his latest film, we had the chance to see a couple of extracts. The film is about Charles Dickens's relationship with a younger actress when he was still married. The film is filled with the idea of a woman seeking a kind of closure with a past love.
But the film also presents the tragic figure of the other invisible woman: Catherine Dickens, the wife, who was she really? She wanted to keep and donate Dickens's letters so that one day the world would know he loved her once.
I really liked the extracts, so I can't wait to see the film! Here you can see the video of Fiennes on the red carpet: http://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/video/video-ralph-fiennes-red-carpet
I'll leave you this phrase Ralph Fiennes said during the Q&A:

"The theatre is the purest arena for an actor."

Screenwriters on Screenwriting: Tony Gilroy

Second year has started, and I've been a little busy trying to readjust to the rhythm of the course (and the lenght of the readings).

However, last Sunday I had the pleasure to attend another screenwriting event, a lecture lead by Tony Gilroy.

As I did with Susannah Grant, here's a list of his greatest works:

The Cutting Edge (1992)

Dolores Claiborne (1995)

The Devil's Avocate (1997), co-writer

Armageddon (1998), co-writer

Proof of Life (2000)

The Bourne Identity (2002), co-writer

The Bourne Supremacy (2004)

The Bourne Ultimatum (2007), co-writer

Michael Clayton (2007), writer and director

Duplicity (2009), writer and director

The Bourne Legacy (2012), director and co-writer

Nominations and Awards:

Academy Awards Nomination for Best Direction and Best Original Screenplay for Michael Clayton

Saturn Award Nomination for The Devil's Advocate

BAFTA Awards Nomination for The Bourne Ultimatum

BAFTA Awards Nomination for Michael Clayton

Boston Society of Film Critics Awards (2nd Place) for Michael Clayton

Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards Nomination for Michael Clayton

Chicago Film Critics Association Awards Nomination for Michael Clayton

Directors Guild of America for Michael Clayton

Edgar Allan Poe Awards Won for Michael Clayton

Edgar Allan Poe Awards Nomination for The Bourne Supremacy

Online Film Critics Society Awards Nomination for Michael Clayton

Satellite Awards Nomination for Michael Clayton

Toronto Film Critics Association Awards Nomination for Michael Clayton

USC Scripter Award Nomination for The Bourne Supremacy

Venice Film Festival Golden Lion Nomination for Michael Clayton

Writers Guild of America Nomination for Michael Clayton

First of all, Mr. Gilroy decided to give a lecture about the thing he knows the most: how to build an original screenplay. 

We have to remember that screenwriting is an imaginative work, and because of this it is unteachable.
This is why it's always good to start from something small and specific. Our characters have to rise from the dialogue.
But here is what made me think the most: to be a good screenwriter, one must know human behaviour, one must have empathy and when writing the outline be able to feel every scene as real. One has to see what he/she is writing. 

Tony Gilroy has had an interesting family life: son of a screenwriter who didn't want his children to end up in the industry, and here they are now: three sons, one editor, two screenwriters. Having a brother as a screenwriter, from what I understood during the meeting, is also very funny in terms of working on each other's work, advicing, and especially formatting: Mr. Gilroy described both his brother and him as "formatting freaks."
He sold his first screenplay when he was 30, before he had been doing the most different kinds of jobs, and, especially, that of musician. At some point he realized he could do much better as a writer, however the musician job earned him a great skill, fundamental to the film industry: he learned how to be a very good collaborator, which as screenwriter, and part of the film process, is something one should always be.
A very good exercise he and his brother did was reading screenplays, try to find the most of them, and read, learn through them. In fact, the more experienced you are the more you realize your screenplays become less and less dialogue, and more and more camera work.
During the Q&A he said two things I will add to my quotes Moleskine:
1. We have to get visually excited about what we're writing. (that's the way to make it work)
2. We should be directing every script we're writing before the director.
Last, but not least, his advice on writing action scenes:

• write what you know
• write what you see
• keep it real
• be specific

I was pleased to notice some similarities in explaining how the screenwriter's works during the two lectures I attended. Even though these two screenwriters couldn't be more different, they both underlined the pros and cons of the job, the risks one has to take, but, they both showed the love for their job, which should be everyone's goal in life. Not to end up doing something for money or to please others, but reach what you love because that is where you'll succeed.

I leave you with my favourite quote from The Bourne Identity, and the unforgettable Al Pacino's speech in The Devil's Advocate:

"How could I forget about you? You're the only person I know."

"Let me give you a little inside information about God. God likes to watch. He's a prankster. Think about it. He gives man instincts. He gives you this extraordinary gift, and then what does He do, I swear for His own amusement, his own private, cosmic gag reel, He sets the rules in opposition. It's the goof of all time. Look but don't touch. Touch, but don't taste. Taste, don't swallow. Ahaha. And while you're jumpin' from one foot to the next, what is he doing? He's laughin' His sick, fuckin' ass off! He's a tight-ass! He's a SADIST! He's an absentee landlord! Worship that? NEVER!"

Screenwriters on Screenwriting: Susannah Grant

Since I moved to London last year the Screenwriting Lectures organized by the BFI and the BAFTA have always been my favourite moments.
Yesterday I had both the honour and pleasure of attending a lecture by Susannah Grant.
If you don't know this name, well here's a list of some of her greatest works:

Pocahontas (1995)

28 Days (2000)

Erin Brockovich (2000)

In Her Shoes (2005)

Catch and Release (2006)

Charlotte's Web (2006)

The Soloist (2009)

And titles like these couldn't not have awarded her with important nominations such as:

Academy Award nomination for Erin Brockovich

BAFTA Film Award nomination for Erin Brockovich

Edgar Allan Poe Awards nomination for Erin Brockovich

Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards WON for Erin Brockovich

PEN Center USA West Literary Awards WON for Erin Brockovich

Satellite Awards nomination for Erin Brockovich

Writers Guild of America WON

Writers Guild of America nomination for Erin Brockovich

She revealed to be the kind of screenwriter I aspire to be, I felt like she was talking to me and telling me what I've been waiting to hear for years.

First of all, the fact that she, as me, comes from a background in which people prefer discouraging you from your dreams, and from a career in films. Most people I know just look at me thinking:

"Where do you think the film career will take you in life?"

Well, this is what I believe in.

Screenwriters make something out of nothing, they have the ability of making the invisible visible.

Her revelation film was Network (1976) by Paddy Chayefsky. And this is the scene she showed us: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dib2-HBsF08

Going to the movie theatre has been her youth's greatest pleasure, especially because of the love she has for the whole movie-going experience. 

She reminded us that everyone has a unique voice and we don't have to be afraid to spread it: it could be admired by a huge audience, or by a minor one, but it's still our voice, the one and only.

However, the greatest thing that I was expecting to hear was this...

"I write myself into everything. With films is like getting a whole bonus life."

And this is exactly what I've always done since I first held a pen in my hands, and this is what I'll keep doing, knowing that someone who had my own fears and not a lot of support, really made it.

Last, but not least, here's her advice to aspiring screenwriters. Polite Persistence. 

Thank you Susannah, I will keep a note with these two Ps, and remember to look at it when the future gets harder. And this is my thank you:

From how a person talks you can understand she/he is a writer. It couldn't have been more evident with this woman. She was born to tell stories. 

I leave you with some of the best lines written by Susannah:

"Even a pain in the ass needs someone to take care of them."

28 Days

"That's all you got lady. Two wrong feet in fucking ugly shoes."

Erin Brockovich

"I hope you sleep well Mr. Lopez. I hope the whole world sleeps well."

The Soloist

The Observer's Philip French receiving BFI Fellowship

On Wednesday I had the pleasure to attend my first BFI Fellowship ceremony. And this honour is even greater when received by a film critic for his stunning contribution to the film industry.
Philip French, the legendary The Observer's film critic, retired after 50 years at the age of 80. His career had begun back in 1963, and he has been defined as Britain's "greatest living movie analyst."
Not only did he lead one of the best and most read columns of the country, but he is also the author of great books such as:

• I found it at the Movies: Reflections of a Cinephile
• Westerns: Aspects of a Movie Genre 
• The BFI Film Classics on Wild Strawberries

The interview was great, first of all because it was conduced by Mr French's choice of some of his favourite moments in films. You will have the chance to watch them in a few lines.
One of the things I was most pleased with was the relevance he has as a critic especially because he is capable of making connections between films and different forms of art: theatre, literature, etc. which is what I am always trying to do. So I want to thank this wonderful writer, for being another great inspiration.

The first moment Philip French chose is from his favourite genre: the Western. Sequence from the delightful Stagecoach (1939) John Ford's first western after the coming of sound.
Since I couldn't find the sequence, keep reading and it will be explained.
After the clip there was a reflection on the importance of John Ford and this film, quoting the famous words of Orson Welles:

"I prefer the old masters, by which I mean John Ford, John Ford, and John Ford."

(And his statement about watching Stagecoach over 40 times while writing Citizen Kane.)

Also the novel that inspired French's love for films, The Movie Goer (1961) by Walker Percy, quotes the film:

“The fact is I am quite happy in a movie,even a bad movie...What I remember

is the time John Wayne killed three men

with a carbine as he was falling to the

dusty street in Stagecoach, and the time

the kitten found Orson Welles in the doorway in The Third Man.”

The following clip is, in fact, from The Third Man (1949) by Carol Reed:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKKq5LPnpIM

The following three moments where then connected to the uncredited cameo appeareances by three of his favourite writers:

1. Raymond Chandler in Double Indemnity (1944) by Billy Wilder (watch out for the man reading the newspaper):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vN9THMXxndw

2. Jorge Luis Borges in Performance (1970) by Donald Cammell and Nicolas Roeg , I couldn't find the exact scene but here are a video about the making of the film, and the link to the Borges' reference in it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGmZYKm7FGo

http://www.themodernword.com/borges/borges_film_performance.html

3. Graham Greene in Day For Night (1963) by Francois Truffaut, I wasn't able to find this one either, but here's Philip French's review:

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/feb/20/day-for-night-francois-truffaut-review

Mr. French moved then to the British realism, with a beautiful sequence from Secrets & Lies (1996) by Mike Leigh: ( I apologize for the bad quality of the video).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNmJNjJkOpg

I really liked the definition he gave of this clip: "It's an highly cinematic clip." All in long-take as you can see, which makes it so cinematic because, as Mr. French said, "you see the characters reacting to each other."

The clip from The Chess Players (1977) by Satyajit Ray, was incredible, I apologize because I couldn't find it. However, I am glad this meeting basically gave me a whole list of films to watch.

And, then, one of the last clips, the most significant one. It isn't only a film clip, it is a reflection on life, on a life-time career, and also a salute to 50 years of unforgettable words. Clip from A Late Quartet (2012) by Yaron Zilberman.
Watch it, and then you will feel as I felt in the cinema, it really moved me, so I cannot even imagine how emotional and thrilling that moment must have been for Mr. French.
Thank you again for your reviews, your humour, your kindness and honesty. As The Observer's editor John Mulholland said:

"There are readers who will feel that his writings are simply irreplaceable."

I leave you, as he did, with his last chosen clip, which I fortunately found. From Woody Allen's Hannah and her Sisters (1986):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftiIPJky_Vs

Back In London - September Updates

I apologize again for my frequent absence, but I can finally say I'm back in London, the new house is perfect, I'm almost done with moving out, and I'm ready to get the most from the city and tell you everything.
So, first things first.
Next week I will tell you my opinion about Paolo Sorrentino's The Great Beauty, which I'm finally going to see, but also about the new Woody Allen's film coming out tomorrow: Blue Jasmine.

Moreover I'll have the pleasure to attend Q&A with two amazing screenwriters at the BFI:

Susannah Grant (28 September). Do you remember a certain Erin Brockovich (which gained her both BAFTA and Oscar nominations) Or Pocahontas? Without forgetting the Cinderella story Ever After starring Drew Barrymore, 28 Days, In Her Shoes, and many others.
About her writing process:

"I always have a road map. It is an outline that gets revised as I move along. I start with, "How does this movie start? What's the first scene? What's the scene after that? And I bite off a little piece at a time. It's like climbing a mountain. You can't look at the mountain top, you just have to look at the ridge you're on."

Tony Gilroy (29 September). I'm looking forward for this meeting because of my love for thrillers. He is known for the Bourne films, The Devil's Advocate, Proof of Life, Michael Clayton winning him both BAFTA and Oscar nominations.
Quoting the BFI booklet:

He says the films that inspire him must have "a singular voice. You get some really strong point-of-view all the way through. The more concentrated, consolidated and ballsy that is - those are our best films."

Last, but not least, I leave you with a reading advice. I read many good reviews about Marisha Pessls' new book: Night Film. Here's The New York Times review of it:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/15/books/night-film-is-marisha-pessls-new-novel.html

My Favourite Tweets

As almost everyone knows, nowadays we have an important medium, Twitter, which allows us to keep track of what happens around the world, and to follow the areas we are more interested in.
I am not saying Twitter has replaced newspapers, because there will always be a different style, and way of reading between the two. However, when one doesn't have time to buy newspapers or to visit their websites (especially because Italian Newspapers make you pay to read the news), tweets are the easiest way to acknowledge the daily news for free.

Here are some of my Favourite Tweets regarding BFI, which lets you know when actors', and directors' birthdays are, and advertises very interesting articles, or short posts. They are very useful when you look for fresh and short news, and they always link the tweets to their website, check the ones dedicated to Stanley Kubrick, Audrey Hepburn, and Lars Von Trier. 

09/04/2013: “Being afraid is the worst sin there is.” – Breathless star Jean-Paul Belmondo, who turns 80 today #bornonthisday

26/04/2013: Magnifico! Terence Stamp does a Federico Fellini impression: http://youtu.be/cbZkJNN8mRY 

17/05/2013: The many faces of Lars von Trier: http://bit.ly/19DvrlH 

21/05/2013: Discover the real roaring 20s through vintage film footage: http://bit.ly/19UASwA 

30/05/2013: BFI Gothic blockbuster project launches with Monster Weekend @BritishMuseum. Welcome to the dark heart of film: http://bit.ly/bfigothic 

11/06/2013: Did you know? Rita Hayworth broke two of Glenn Ford’s teeth while filming the fight scene in Gilda http://bit.ly/1aHK4F3 

11/07/2013: “We are born alone, we live alone, we die alone. Everything in-between is a gift.” - Oscar-winning actor Yul Brynner #bornonthisday

16/07/2013: “Film is like a drug. It is a shelter when you cannot deal with reality” Director Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 43 today http://bit.ly/10XYEHm 

19/07/2013: The letter that made Audrey Hepburn a star: http://bit.ly/13piXyj 

24/07/2013: “I see planets that don’t exist and landscapes that have only been dreamed.” More Herzogisms from Werner Herzog: http://bit.ly/18CFFrw 

26/07/2013: Hitchcock's Dial M for Murder 3D will be popping out of screens @BFI Southbank from today: http://bit.ly/1bnSSEZ 

And my most recent favourites, Happy Birthday Mr. Kubrick:

26/07/2013: “I know that he hated The Wizard of Oz.” @SightSoundMag explore Stanley Kubrick's taste in film: http://bit.ly/1dZRuFh 

26/07/2013: “A film is – or should be – more like music than like fiction.” – Stanley Kubrick #bornonthisday http://bit.ly/Ma2xnS 

26/07/2013: Wonderful items from the production of Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, including a model of the Overlook Hotel: http://bit.ly/V8fTEI 

You can follow me on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/irene_olivo

An Evening with John Henshall

I apologize for the lack of new posts lately, but I had been trying to enjoy my last days in London, and face my first moving out experience. I came back to Italy on Tuesday, and since the nostalgia for the city is increasing day by day, the only way to defeat the sadness is to remember the last amazing events I have attended.
Right after the meeting with Lois Burwell's inspiring persona, I had the chance to meet and listen to the life, the brilliant genius and humour, of John Henshall, a key figure in British Television.

The evening was structured in this way: Mr Henshall had prepared a rich and awesome presentation covering his whole career and showing rare (and sometimes considered lost) footage, part of his incredible archive.
John Henshall is so well known that the audience was already smiling waiting for his jokes, and, in my opinion, the presence of most of the audience meant friendship, and that gratitude you can only develop while working together on something so special as the moving image. Ex-colleagues, directors, actors, photographers, television personalities, everyone was there to be amazed by the great man behind his camera.

John Henshall started working at the BBC Studios when he was 18, two years later he was already part of the staff. His talent, uncredited for many years, was finally acknowledged after he left the BBC.
He worked on all kinds of television productions: commercial, tv drama, Top of the Pops, comedies, early music videos, etc.

However, his career's distinctive feature is that he has been an inventor in both photography, and camera-work. Many of the effects, and television tools we are used to today have to be accredited to his experimentations: the fish-eye lens, the first home-telerecording, early experimental colour transmissions, early light-weight videocameras, and, the great work he did on early music videos.

In fact, I now want to focus on the last part of this memorable evening. He had the chance to work and film some of the most famous artists of the 60s and 70s, who are still immortal icons nowadays: David Bowie, Paul McCartney, Elton John, Blondie, Cher, Freddie Mercury, The Rolling Stones, Roy Orbinson, Cher, and many many others.
How to forget David Bowie's "The Jean Jenie", from the 1973 Christmas episode of Top of the Pops which was considered lost until two years ago? Mr Henshall had a copy of it.
On that particular performance, he used his experimental lens, along with other visual special effects, through his camera-work that epic performance is representative of the 70s as a decade, and of the glam rock.

Here is the performance, shown on the BBC, December 2011:

Thanks to these meetings I'm developing a 360° view on films' world. I now think that we don't have to think only in directors/actors terms. There is much more to discover, and many more people who stay behind the curtain (or behind the camera, in this case), but give a massive contribution to the film/tv show/music video/tv drama and its status of work of art.
My congratulations and greetings go to John Henshall, and the people who worked with him , like Moira Armstrong (director), Miriam Margolyes (actress), Ron Green (colleague cameraman), to the present or not in the audience, to all who share this passion, for making me understand that making films and television together is not only a job, it is a wonderful way to find real, and lasting friendship ties.

The old Great Gatsby: suggested readings before Baz Luhrmann's film

While waiting to see the new Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby, I have found some nice readings offered by the BFI.

First of all, discoveries from Jack Clayton's archive will become available at the BFI Reuben Library for all film researchers. Meanwhile, this great article offers previews on some extracts from Clayton's work, unforgettable director of 1974 The Great Gatsby starring Robert Redford and Mia Farrow.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/features/third-gatsby

Other interesting quick readings on the subject:

Ten great films set in the roaring 20s
http://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/lists/10-great-films-set-roaring-20s

Focus on Marcel L'Herbier's cinema, the fashion of the roaring 20s
http://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/features/fashion-film-jazz-age-look