The surviving members of Monty Python are reuniting for a science fiction film farce called Absolutely Anything.
I am so there.
Posts Tagged ‘Terry Gilliam’
Much More Important Than ABBA
Friday, January 27th, 2012National Film Registry Adds 25 More Films
Wednesday, December 29th, 2010The National Film Registry has announced this year’s selection of 25 important films worthy of preservation, and there are a lot of gems on the list:
- Airplane! (1980)
- All the President’s Men (1976)
- The Bargain (1914)
- Cry of Jazz (1959)
- Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB (1967)
- The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
- The Exorcist (1973)
- The Front Page (1931)
- Grey Gardens (1976)
- I Am Joaquin (1969)
- It’s a Gift (1934)
- Let There Be Light (1946)
- Lonesome (1928)
- Make Way for Tomorrow (1937)
- Malcolm X (1992)
- McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971)
- Newark Athlete (1891)
- Our Lady of the Sphere (1969)
- The Pink Panther (1964)
- Preservation of the Sign Language (1913)
- Saturday Night Fever (1977)
- Study of a River (1996)
- Tarantella (1940)
- A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945)
- A Trip Down Market Street (1906)
Airplane!, The Exorcist, The Empire Strikes Back and The Pink Panther are all great films, arguably among the top 100 ever made. I believe it was K. W. Jeter who said that the student version of THX 1138 was much better than the theatrical release, so I’ve always been curious to see that. Strangely enough, I’m also curious about Saturday Night Fever, despite my loathing of disco, as many critics (the late Gene Siskel among them) consider it one of the great films of the 1970s, and National Review‘s John Derbyshire says it’s one of the best films about blue collar American life ever made. I also remember Dwight being impressed with Malcolm X, despite not having seen Malcolm I–IX.
Of course, a lot of these are notable only for being early examples of the form rather than gripping cinema, such as Newark Athlete:
Or A Trip Down Market Street:
Let There Be Light is John Huston’s pioneering documentary on the treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder following World War II:
And Our Lady of the Sphere is sort of like Terry Gilliam’s work on Monty Python, but not as interesting:
Then again, it was made in San Francisco in 1969, so there’s nothing about it that can’t be explained by the phrase “Dude, I was so high…”
When I Think NASCAR, “Terry Gilliam” is the First Name That Comes to Mind
Monday, October 18th, 2010If you haven’t heard, Terry Gilliam is making a NASCAR-themed short film that will premiere on Halloween and then be available free online. Sounds like a ghost story/Sleepy Hollow sort of thing.
A few random observations:
- I’ll watch it.
- While I’m firmly in the “I’m not watching a bunch of guys turn left for two hours” camp, I have no particular antipathy to the sport.
- I’m still amused by this Fark headline: “New Dale Earnhardt documentary to be in theaters next year. Don’t mean to spoil it for you, but it goes left turn, left turn, left turn, right turn, death”
- This Tom Wolfe piece on the origins of NASCAR in the bootlegging industry of Appalachia is a great piece of writing.
- Maybe Gilliam is a big NASCAR fan, though I dare say you would be hard-pressed to glean it from his films.
- I’m glad he’s getting work.
- I have a sinking suspicion that we’re going to see a lot more movies made this way: As promotional loss-leaders for products. (“The Googleing: An M. Night Shyamalan Film”)