La Nouvelle Vague - #1

My favorite moment in the history of film so far has to be La Nouvelle Vague, roughly the period from 1958-1962 when a group of young French cinephiles took their passion and redefined what was possible for the medium.  I'd like to make this the beginning of a new series of posts, in the future also covering Italian Neorealism, the American New Wave, and perhaps even the German or Iranian New Wave.
 
The purpose, highlight the must-see films of the "movement".  If you see gaps or have suggestions, I'd love to hear from you.  It's tricky because a good number of the key works of the Nouvelle Vague are still hard to find stateside.  Here goes:

*Une histoire d'eau - Francois Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard (1958)
Le Beau Serge - Claude Chabrol (1958)
*Operation 'Beton' - Jean-Luc Godard (1958)
*Une vie - Alexandre Astruc (1958)
*Blue jeans - Jacques Rozier (1958)
*Moi, un noir - Jean Rouch (1958)
Les amants - Louis Malle (1958)
The 400 Blows - Francois Truffaut (1959)
Les Cousins - Claude Chabrol (1959)
*Tous les garcons s'appellent Patrick - Jean-Luc Godard (1959)
*La tete contre les murs - Georges Franju (1959)
A double tour - Claude Chabrol (1959)
*Le signe du lion - Eric Rohmer (1959)
Hiroshima Mon Amour - Alain Resnais (1959)
Breathless - Jean-Luc Godard (1960)
Shoot the Piano Player - Francois Truffaut (1960)
*L'eau a la bouche - Jacques Doniol-Valcroze (1960)
Les bonnes femmes - Claude Chabrol (1960)
Eyes Without a Face - Georges Franju (1960)
*Les godelureax - Claude Chabrol (1961)
Lola - Jacques Demy (1961)
Last Year at Marienbad - Alain Resnais (1961)
*La pyramide humaine - Jean Rouch (1961)
*Chronique d'un ete - Jean Rouch (1961)
*La proie pour l'ombre - Alexandre Astruc (1961)
Paris nous appartient - Jacques Rivette (1961)
Une femme est une femme - Jean-Luc Godard (1961)
*Ce soir ou jamais - Michel Deville (1961)
*Description d'un combat - Chris Marker (1961)
*Bonne chance, Charlie - Jean-Louis Richard (1962)
*La punition - Jean Rouch (1962)
Jules and Jim - Francois Truffaut (1962)
*Adieu Philippine - Jacques Rozier (1962)
Vivre Sa Vie - Jean-Luc Godard (1962)
Cleo de 5 a 7 - Agnes Varda (1962)
*Adorable menteuse - Michel Deville (1962)
Antoine et Colette - Francois Truffaut (1962)

*The ones I have marked are ones I still need to see myself.

September 13-October 13

The Last Lullaby, starring Tom Sizemore and Sasha Alexander, released on Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, and in a multitude of other places, exactly a month ago today!  Thank you all for your incredible support; it's been an amazingly gratifying first month.

Why I love Pandora

Don't get me wrong.  I still love to listen to a great album (i.e. Paul's Boutique, Bringing It All Back Home, Maxinquaye) from start to finish. And there are times, in this fragmented world, where I think it's important to throw something cohesive on to glue everything back together for a moment.

But I also love the randomness of the Pandora experience.  Here was my morning listening experience, as I logged onto my Radiohead station. These four songs in a row (can find them all on YouTube):

Mazzy Star - Into Dust
Thomas Newman - Any Other Name
Placebo - Hang On To Your IQ
Bill Withers - Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone

Contemporary Film Noir -- My Top Fifteen

My first feature, The Last Lullaby, just released on DVD on Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, and in a bunch of other places.  It's a hybrid of genres, probably, but it's also probably a film noir.  So to mark this big occasion for the film, I thought I would throw out a list of my personal favorites from the contemporary noir period (I started it, as many people do, after 1958.) 


Pierrot Le Fou
Shoot the Piano Player
Blue Velvet
Mulholland Dr. 
Techine's Thieves
Fargo
Straight Time
King of New York
Chinatown
Heat
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
Night Moves
Blow Out
Carlito's Way
Godard's Breathless

Film Noir -- My Top Ten

My first feature, The Last Lullaby, just released on DVD on Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, and in a bunch of other places.  It's a hybrid of genres, probably, but it's also probably a film noir.  So to mark this big occasion for the film, I thought I would throw out a list of my personal favorites from the classic noir period (I cut it off, as many people do, at 1958.)

Criss Cross
The Big Heat
Out of the Past
Night and the City
Grisbi
In a Lonely Place
The Killers
The Killing
The Set-Up
Pickup on South Street