"The Salvation Hunters" To Be Preserved By MOMA

The Association of Moving Image Archivists (AMIA) newsletter notes that Josef von Sternberg's first film, The Salvation Hunters, has received a grant from the National Film Preservation Foundation to be preserved by the Museum of Modern Art (i.e. costs cover a preservation master and two viewing copies). Film historian Tag Gallagher is quoted in AMIA as saying: "It is good news indeed that a restoration of this groundbreaking feature is in the works."— so perhaps the film is actually getting a full restoration as well. In addition to being von Sternberg's debut, The Salvation Hunters is also noteworthy as a forerunner in American independent filmmaking. This film has a checkered past in terms of its evaluation. As noted by Gallagher in the AMIA mention, the film was "hissed at its premiere and later hailed a masterpiece." Currently there is an imdb review that rates it 2 out of 10! Hopefully a DVD release is on the way so we can all evaluate it....

Alfred Hitchcock's Silent Features: "The Lodger"

Continuing my irregularly scheduled capsule reviews of Alfred Hitchcock's eight extant silent features, I present The Lodger. Easily, his most well-known silent, The Lodger is a capable, if minor work. The Lodger follows next after The Pleasure Garden, which I reviewed in my previous blog entry. The Mountain Eagle (which is lost) was made before, but released to the general public slightly after The Lodger— The Lodger got a February 1927 general release; The Mountain Eagle got a May 1927 release.

Hitchcock's silents were his training ground; and his later films are that much more visual as a result of his having started in the silent era. His silents are unfortunately either unreleased on VHS/DVD or in unrestored state on poorly presented DVDs. For the best quality/most reliable seller out there, if you are looking for Hitchcock's unreleased DVD titles (such as The Pleasure Garden and Downhill, among others) I recommend this seller.

The Lodger (1926)
A young, blond model falls for the man renting the room upstairs despite the fact that he may be the notorious “Avenger” who is terrorizing London by murdering a fair-haired girl every Tuesday night.

The master of suspense’s first and only suspense film among his nine silent films makes this essential viewing, if only a minor achievement in itself. The narrative is primitive, the titles are flat (“I’m sick and tired of your interference, I never want to see you again.” and “Tell that to the judge.” are examples), and the acting is frequently overly dramatic. Also ineffective are the (scant) comedy moments, usually a highlight in Hitchcock films. The movie does have a few stylish moments however, including the opening close-up of the ‘silent’ scream, the lodger’s pacing in his room seen from below as if looking through a transparent floor, and the handcuffed lodger dangling on a wrought-iron fence onto which he is trapped. Also noteworthy is Hitchcock’s approach to filming Ivor Novello in his first scene, which effectively convinces the viewer that he is the Avenger with no need for titles— particularly when he scans the paintings of the fair-haired girls when he sees his room for the first time. Additionally, nearly every scene is set after dark, which gives the movie a particularly eerie feel. Worthwhile, if limited, to the Hitchcock student/scholar.

Top Ten 1960s Films To See

The 1960s in film. It was the decade-in-flux internationally; in America, the decade when the Hollywood studio system crumbled and "new Hollywood" entered the fray. The old masters were still hard at work though, as movies reinvented themselves. Here's a list of ten classic 1960s films that have managed so far to elude me, but I've got them on my radar:

Sons and Lovers— 1960

Yojimbo— 1961

David and Lisa— 1962

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance— 1962

Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow— 1963

The Night of the Iguana— 1964

Repulsion— 1965

A Man and A Woman— 1966

In Cold Blood— 1967

Playtime— 1967

"Indy" Out of the Running for the Silver

This weekend was a big weekend for ticket sales. Admidst the big box office, Iron Man found itself quietly added to 133 more theaters and Indy found itself at 145 less. I wonder, if, since the same studio put them both out (Paramount) that they made this happen, wanting the bigger boost to the Iron Man franchise. I know this sounds farfetched but it just seems so odd, but either way, it looks like Indy will never catch up to Iron Man now (as I speculated about in my blog entry of June 28), despite the fact that it reduced Iron Man's lead from $8 million to just over $1 million last month.

"Twilight Zone" Movie?

As I noted in an earlier blog entry, the Twilight Zone episode "Death Ship" is currently being developed as a feature film. But it also looks like, according to the Hollywood Reporter, another Twilight Zone film is in the works.

In the article, the trade magazine reports that Warner Bros. owns the right to the Serling-penned episodes (the bulk of the series) and that Leonardo DiCaprio's production company wants to develop a few of them as a single-plotted movie. The Twilight Zone is apparently DiCaprio's favorite series. Would love it if this comes to pass!

"The Dark Knight" to Beat "Titanic"?

On many a film fan's lips is this very query. To the devoted it's a fait accompli. But some aren't quite so sure. I admire the bold prediction by Entertainment Weekly's Mark Harris, who in this week's issue said, in a nutshell, "hell no." (p. 20 of issue 1005).

My thinking is, if The Dark Knight should fall short of grossing $50 million on it's third weekend (i.e. this weekend), I agree with Mark Harris— that it'll become the second biggest moneymaker of all-time— over Star Wars, but under Titanic. However if it should gross over $50 million this weekend, I think they'll be no stopping it from toppling Titanic. Eager to see this weekend's numbers....

UPDATE 8/4: The Dark Knight grossed $42.7. Hmmmm.

Title for New Woody Allen Movie Revealed— "Whatever Works"

According to this blog, the new Woody Allen film, starring Evan Rachel Wood and Larry David (photo, left) is called Whatever Works— the last likely Allen effort for this decade. The blog has a funny interview with Woody too. Link to imdb, that still lists Untitled Woody Allen Project (2009).

Vicky Cristina Barcelona, one of Woody's only films of late that has garnered Oscar-buzz, opens this month— can't wait!