Anything Gauche » video

The Thin Man: Murder By Death

Trish — Sat, 30 May 2009 18:12:34 +0000

Murder By Death is a comedy (written by Neil Simon) with an all-star cast that pokes fun at some well-known and beloved mystery novel detectives (Charlie Chan, Nick and Nora Charles, Hercule Poirot , Sam Spade, and Miss Marple).

I’ve seen it a number of times. It’s a really silly movie but it cracks me up every time I watch it!

The movie is a lot of fun and I think the opening credits do a good job in showing that.

{Point of Reference}

Into the Sunset: The Dragon’s Claw

Trish — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 16:30:16 +0000

A timely tangent on my Spaghetti Western tangent!

Like the lone heroes of the spaghetti westerns, the protagonist in friend and animator Robert Bruce’s recently released and lauded video for Justice of the Unicorns‘ The Dragon’s Claw lives in solitude… until, of course, he sees reason for action. Check out this modern day Man with No Name, sporting a monster costume instead of a poncho.

“The Dragon’s Claw” by Justice of the Unicorns from Robert Bruce on Vimeo.

{Point of Reference}

Into the Sunset: Spaghetti Westerns

Trish — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 17:50:19 +0000

Geographically, Spaghetti Westerns are filmed nowhere near the American West, but they’re obviously about/influenced by it. These low-budget films introduced an international audience to cinematic and musical talents and maintain a significant place in film culture and history.

They’ve also produced some badass film posters.

(This is a DVD cover. And it has Klaus Kinski in it! I didn’t know he did Spaghetti Westerns!)

(The head on the ground is disgusting. I could do without that…)

. . .

And, in case you missed Mike’s comment, check out this wonderful short film by Salla Tykka featuring music by the great Morricone.

{Point of Reference}

Kid: Storybook Art

Trish — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 23:42:02 +0000

Apartment Therapy featured these lovely painted frames with illustrations from children’s books…

…which put me on the hunt for more whimsical wall art.

That reminds me! My friend Margaret told me about the following, which is, believe it or not, both creepy and delightful!

{Point of Reference}

Tangent from: The Third Man

Trish — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 04:45:50 +0000

I’d forgotten all about the excellent opening credits to The Third Man until I borrowed the DVD from a friend and watched it again this week.

It’s the perfect introduction to the film. The zither score contributes so much to the tone of this movie and is far more versatile than I ever imagined. The Third Man is about an American writer who travels to Vienna to visit his old friend, but ends up investigating this friend’s death instead — all this to the sweet playfully melancholic sound of the zither. Like I said — versatile.

Other reasons why I enjoy this movie:
1) My infatuation with Joseph Cotten. We also share the same birthday, so I’m pretty sure that if fate did a better job of coordinating the year of our births we would have been an awesome match.

2) The sinister brilliance of Orson Welles.

3) The sharp and clever dialogue of Graham Greene.

4) The subtle and beautiful imagery of Carol Reed, reinforcing the emotion and mood at the core of the scene (a swinging door and a coat on the floor; fingers through a sewer grate; the twisted body of a teddy bear). I would frame the final scene if I could.

If you’ve seen this film, then you know that these are fairly obvious reasons and you understand why ‘The Third Man’ is now stuck in my one-track mind.

Third Man Theme by The Band

Maneaters: Bringing It All Back Home

Trish — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 04:24:46 +0000

Woa… there’s a Rock Band version of Neko Case singing People Got A Lotta Nerve.

And speaking of Calamity Janes…

The Many Faces of Calamity Jane

But my favorite is the most musical Calamity of them all: Doris!

{Point of Reference}

Maneaters: When I See An Elephant Fly

Trish — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 23:19:28 +0000

He’s got wing-like ears, makes nice with a mouse, and rolls with the circus. These are crucial points to the story of Dumbo and some key elements used in the design of the film posters.

I like the circus lettering on the promotional material and especially enjoy the use of the train in the DVD packaging.

But my favorite visual from Dumbo is when our dear pachyderm has a little more juice than he can handle. And it looks like Sun Ra is pretty into it, too.

These elephants on parade are pretty awesome as well.

{Point of Reference}