The Road Movie is a unique Russian film composed entirely of clips from dashboard cameras. There are guys negotiating with a prostitute though we can’t see any of the participants. There are fires and vehicles that turn on their sides. There’s a car that plows through two fences.
It’s worth seeing. I watched the Blu-ray and it’s on Pluto TV.
International House (1933) has a cast that includes W. C. Fields, Bela Lugosi, Cab Calloway and Burns and Allen. I’ve seen it but don’t remember it well. The first tweet reminded me of it today. It’s on DVD.
Tod Browning directed many fine films starting in the silent era. He is best known for horror films such as Dracula (1931) and Freaks (1932), featuring a large cast of carnival performers. Dracula is widely available on DVD and Blu-ray. Freaks was on DVD but I think it’s out of print now. TCM shows it sometimes and I highly recommend it. It must have been shocking when it was new. It was popular during the late 1960s and early 1970s as I recall.
I have been watching the DVD of the documentary Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin’ About Him)?.
The format is very conventional – interviews with family and friends plus performance clips. It’s very well done, though and goes over his good points and bad ones. I recommend checking it out. He was a unique writer and performer who does not get much attention now but his best material still holds up. If you don’t know his music, this is a great introduction.
I posted links to the trailer and entire film on YouTube.
I also posted links to some videos that have briefer clips in the film.
Pussy Cats, his 1974 album, was a mixed bag but I love his cover of “Many Rivers to Cross”. It was produced by John Lennon and reminds me of his own records of that era.
The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978) was not well received and has never been officially released. It is on YouTube. There is now a documentary about it.
I recently watched The Last Waltz (1978) for the second time. I saw it in a theater as one of five customers on an afternoon show when it was new.
Here are some random comments:
It was sad to see so many young people in 1976 and know what happened to them later. Many of the performers are no longer with us.
There have been criticisms that the film focused too much on Robbie Robertson and they are valid.
Most of the songs are not complete but they are skillfully edited and well-photographed. Criterion has done a fine job with the Blu-ray disc.
Neil Diamond still sucks.
Muddy Waters is great.
None of the Band performances is better than the original recording. I saw them four times between 1970-1974 and thought they were better earlier. They were certainly more animated by 1976.
I wish they had credited the horn section players and arrangers (or did I miss it).
It’s surprising that the big group singalong (“I Shall Be Released”) and the final actual song they played (“Don’t Do It” were not originals. They had plenty of songs they wrote they could have selected.
Dylan’s choice of songs was odd. The performance of “Baby Let Me Follow You Down” is outstanding. I have never liked “Forever Young”. On the album, the Dylan/Band songs include “Hazel” a mediocre song from Planet Waves. Why?
People smoking cigarettes
No unusual song choices for the Band performances. This is true of their live albums too. It’s always “The Weight”, “Stage Fright”, “The Shape I’m In’, “Up On Cripple Creek”. I would like to have seen “Look Out Cleveland” or “Sleeping” for example.
The Running Man (1987) has a really eclectic group of actors in it. Here’s a list from Wikipedia:
Sad! 