DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movies continues to make a monkey out of me with their chapter on monstrous apes as it doles out another comedic entry. That being said, I’m not a W.C. Fields fan. His character is always the same, and is extremely unlikable as far as I’m concerned. He’s an alcoholic, and…
Tag: surreal
Meshes of the Afternoon (1943) – Maya Deren and Alexander Hammid
As I explore the final pages of DK Canada’s immensely informative The Movie Book, I’ve moved into the last section of this catalogue of films. Herein lies another title from The Directory, a selection of titles that are exceptional but didn’t make the cut for the main body of the text. Meshes of the Afternoon…
Un Chien Andalou (1929) – Luis Bunuel and Salvador Dali
The Directory in DK Canada’s The Movie Book is going to provide me with a number of films I’ve never seen, or a chance to revisit old friends. Having said that I’m not sure where Un Chien Andalou fits. True I had never seen the entire short, running twenty-one minutes, but I feel that everyone…
Moonlighting (1986) – Big Man on Mulberry Street, and Atomic Shakespeare
David (Bruce Willis) was married?! Maddie (Cybill Shepherd) is as shocked as the audience as the detective travels to New York after he learns that his former brother-in-law has died in Big Man on Mulberry Street. Written by Karen Hall this episode debuted on 18 November, 1986. Maddie trails David to New York to learn…
Secrets of a Soul (1926) – G.W. Pabst
The next film in the What Else to Watch category for the fantastic The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari as featured in the massive The Movie Book from DK Books is the 1926 silent film, Secrets of a Soul. A dark and moody film, taken from events in real life, the story follows a husband, Martin…
Star Trek: The Original Series (1968) – The Empath and Elaan of Troyius
Captain’s log: stardate 5121.5 The Empath is an interesting episode, written by Joyce Muskat and with an original airdate of 6 December, 1968, this one uses a bit of minimalist set design to give it an almost surreal feel. Captain Kirk (William Shatner), Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley) find themselves trapped in…
The Twilight Zone (1959) -The Lonely, Time Enough at Last, and Perchance to Dream
Paramount Pictures takes me deeper into the Twilight Zone this week as I continue my exploration of the dark reaches of the mind and psyche with The Complete Series blu-ray set. The first episode this week was The Lonely. Penned by Rod Serling, and having an original airdate of 13 November, 1959, this story definitely…
La Belle et la Bete (1946) – Jean Cocteau
The Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book returns me to the Science Fiction and Fantasy genre, and this time, it’s to plunge me into this wonderfully imagined fairy tale. Long before Disney retold the story, first in animated format, then a stage musical, and then in a live action film, French director Cocteau…
Tetsuo (1989) – Shinya Tsukamoto
I don’t often react with a “What did I just watch?” but this entry on the 101 Sci-Fi Movies list definitely had that effect. This one was bizarre, surreal, with hints of live-action manga, Lycnhian and Cronberg overtones and beyond that, just odd. Running at a sleek 67 minutes all I could do for most…
Valerie And Her Week of Wonders (1970)
We’ve come across the first movie that left me thinking “huh.” I can say I didn’t hate it, and visually it’s gorgeous to look at, but it’s just a little… well… huh. This Czechoslovakian film is haunting, and disturbing. The story follows young Valerie who very early in the film, has her very first menstruation….
