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HKFanatic

About Me

I’m a senior writer at the Asian film website City on Fire. I know I’m biased but I have to say this site is a great resource for fans of Asian or cult films. I hope you enjoy the site if you check it out but, regardless, thanks for supporting my film blurbs on Mubi. This site has greatly enhanced my film viewing since I became more active on here back in August of 2011 and I love reading what you folks have to say about cinema.

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They Live by Night

Nicholas Ray's proto-"Bonnie & Clyde" is a visually sumptuous film, all the more impressive considering it was Ray's debut. The filmmaker utilizes helicopter shots way before they were en vogue, lush shadows and beautifully lit close-ups, and a rather seamless blend of location shooting with RKO sets. Frances Granger is far too mannered to play a hardened criminal, but the camera loves him and you can see why Ray was so captivated by his subject. The cutting and mise-en-scene here strike one as more French New Wave than 40's Hollywood, while Ray's unadorned and empathetic approach to his criminal subjects links the film with the work of Robert Bresson. Even with a smattering of misjudged lines or unconvincing performances, "We Live By Night" remains a sensitive portrait of true outsiders.

Favorite Films

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The Tenant

Runaway Train

Au hasard Balthazar

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Lists

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Style

Auteur-driven
Melancholy
Deliriously surreal
Pop Art

Following

Following 105 people

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Mark_Med

Gondo

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richmondhill

I.L.

Wall

Displaying 4 of 98 wall posts.

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Arsaib

10May13

Damn! The DVD of 'A Time to LOVE and a Time to Die' is an import, right? (Sirk insisted on slightly changing the original title of Remarque's source novel, 'A Time to LIVE and a Time to Die', which, by the way, is also the title most often associated with a Hou masterpiece from 1985.) I don't recall it ever being available in region-1. Anyway, looking forward to your thoughts on this and the other Sirks you've pillaged. And the Ray one as well. // Thanks for the encouragement regarding Minnelli. I'll keep those films in mind, and the book, too.

HKFanatic

10May13

Yeah, the cover of the Sirk film looks Japanese to me. I was almost hesitant to rent it but the back says it's All-Region compatible. This particular library always manages to surprise me with the breadth of their collection. I will miss it when I move but I'm sure there's even more treasures awaiting me. // The book by Schatz is a pretty solid read, we used it for an American Film Genres course I took many years ago as an undergrad. The other problem with the book is that it was written in 1982 but Schatz's focus more or less ends at 1968. It also only includes 4 genres - screwball comedy, family melodrama, Western, and gangster/film noir.// Another Minnelli film that seems to have fans on Mubi is Two Weeks in Another Town - unfortunately, yet another hard to come by picture (although at least you can rent it for about $4 on Amazon streaming).
Arsaib

10May13

I'm aware of a Korean edition, but won't be surprised if a Japanese one exists as well. The 2-disc set issued by U.K.'s Eureka/MoC is probably the best out there. It's truly a shame that this film still hasn't been released in the U.S. Yeah, the collection at your library does sound exhaustive. // This book seem quite interesting. I need to delve further into screwballs, so I might just end up acquiring it.

Zach Closs

8May13

Re-watched "The Man from Nowhere," and determined that my post you so rightly questioned was fucking retarded. It no longer exists. Just thought I'd let you know. :P

HKFanatic

9May13

Ha, I forgot, what did it say?
Zach Closs

9May13

Oh something along the lines of "it lacks quality as a film, but it's emotional and intense and the action is amazing."
Zach Closs

9May13

For the record I still think some of the more expository opening bits are a tad clumsy, but there is no stopping this movie once it shifts into gear.

Arsaib

6May13

Glad you liked it. I hope you get a chance to take a look at the others as well, especially 'A Time to Love and a Time To Die' and 'The Tarnished Angels'.

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HKFanatic

6May13

Will do! I don't think 'Imitation of Life's' greatness can be overstated. Jaunita Moore's performance is like a religious experience. And it's kind of criminal that Netflix doesn't carry a lot of these Sirk films on DVD. Fortunately, it looks like they're both available at the library I frequent. I also want to look into seeing some more films from Vincente Mannelli and Nicholas Ray.
Arsaib

7May13

I can count on one hand the moments I've witnessed in film as powerful Mahalia Jackson singing 'Trouble of the World' at the funeral. The whole ending has the dramatic scope of a grand opera and force of a bursting dam. Yeah, Moore gives an astounding performance. Most of her film work is uncredited. Life imitating Art. // What have you seen so far from Ray and Minnelli?
HKFanatic

7May13

Yes, from the scene where Jaunita confronts her daughter in that Hollywood motel room through the end credits, I was just in pieces. For me that film really comes together because you have Sirk doing his usual sort of ongoing commentary on the film's own gilded artifice, but this time combined with an incredibly warm and soulful performance from Jaunita Moore. It adds this whole other element to the picture. // Fairly certain I've only seen Ray's Rebel Without a Cause (why is this not on Blu-ray?) and Bigger Than Life (great Blu-ray). For Minnelli, I recently watched both An American in Paris and Lust For Life.
Arsaib

8May13

I can't think of a Ray film I dislike. He is among those very few Hollywood directors whose '50s work to me even surpasses that of Sirk. I particularly think very highly of 'The Lusty Men' for a number of reasons, including how neglected it is; even its VHS copies are hard to come by. In many ways it's nearly as devastating as 'Imitation of Life'. I hope you're able to get a hold of it. Let me know if you can't. I also love 'Bigger Than Life', perhaps his most formally accomplished film, and 'On Dangerous Ground', not to mention 'The Savage Innocents', 'Rebels', 'They Live by Night', 'In a Lonely Place', among others. Yeah, 'Rebels' deserves to be available on Blu-ray. I'm not too familiar with Minnelli. I remember watching 'Lust for Life' in order to compare it with Pialat's 'Van Gogh'. It didn't fare too well, I must say, but not many films would against what is one of Pialat's most remarkable achievements. Looking forward to 'An American in Paris' (if I haven't seen it already).
HKFanatic

9May13

I return from the library with spoils! From Mr. Douglas Sirk I have "There's Always Tomorrow," "A Time to Live and a Time to Die," and "The Tarnished Angels" on DVD. Also in my batch are Nicholas Ray's "In a Lonely Place" and Vincente Minnnelli's "The Bad and the Beautiful." I'm feeling pretty good. I think you might like Minnelli if you explored his filmography. I've been reading Thomas Schatz's book on Hollywood Genres and he makes no secret how he feels Sirk, Ray, and Minnelli are the best Hollywood filmmakers of their era. The issue with Minnelli is that what Schatz singles out as possibly his best or most complex film - "The Cobweb" with Lauren Bacall - is only available on made-to-order DVD-R on Amazon. Or you can buy it digitally for $10. I might have to take the plunge soon because the film sounds too good to pass up. What else? Schatz also recommends Minnelli's self-reflexive musical "The Band Wagon" with Fred Astaire, and he argues that the original "Father of the Bride" is almost as subversive as Sirk (although mostly because of a dream sequence, which is kind of a cheat to me).

Mr. Arkadin

5May13

Finally posted the "in progress" version of the Giallo List. Lots more to add, but here's the start: http://mubi.com/lists/10025-the-giallo-list

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HKFanatic

6May13

Fantastic! Looks incredibly thought out and comprehensive. Thanks for sharing. I'll have to raid your list for the giallo I haven't seen yet.