as promised here’s pier paolo pasolini’s film starring laura betti, silvana mangano, massimo girotti, and the amazing terence stamp (toby dammit and the most amazing article by george porcari in cineaction on that film). much inspiration for nicholas mendez i would assume… by dd
ok don’t kill me for the 16 image post but im obsessing over nicholas mendez film. it’s like a cliff notes on pasolini and may i say it’s more successfully disturbing than the film itself because of its very sporadic, short clips. not sure i’ve seen another music video as effectively lingering as this. like to meet nicholas for a coffee one day and i’m sure ill be visiting pasolini on the screen again soon. by dd
amazing film. a must see by all bela, ed wood, johnny depp fans. i should hope that you have already. by dd
above the classic dialogue and orson welles in his hotter years, i love the experimentation with lighting to overcome the age’s lack of special effects. a little mystery can go a long way. you can see the full film here (please excuse the intro slide) by kl
alain robbe grillet and book
still from “glissements progressifs du plaisir”
still from trans europe express
a little background on robbe grillet who wrote the script for the film last year at marienbad directed by alain renais (another gem worth watching). he was a french writer and director who was originally trained as an agricultural engineer. during the years 1943 and 1944, robbe grillet participated in compulsory labor in nuremberg, where he worked as a machinist. in his words he found it to be a vacation as it allowed him time to think and write. his first novel, the erasers, was published in 1953 and aftre just 4 novels he worked with renais on the notable marienbad film. after which he went to direct many films most of them lost to the archives with only a few remaining and available negatives on the market. if you find a book or a film get it as it will only gain value. i found an amazing book in a used store on his films which i will one day photograph and post. by dd
one of my favorite films by alain robbe grillet with one of my all time favorite actors, jean-louis trintignant (also in the film by bernardo bertolucci, the conformist). along with marie-france pisier and nadine verdier, this film is nothing short of beautiful. by dd
what an amazing film, faye dunaway in the “thomas crown affair” playing next to steve mcqueen. the chess scene was aclassic one that unfortunatly was made into a cliche in the years after. its a must see film. by dd
i don’t quite recall this frame from the film but it made me want to see it again. was this where he meets with the prostitutes? leave it to godard to shove in the pretty birds one way or another. if only we were as good as him on TS ; ) by dd
talk about handsome men and fine tailors. no doubt mcqueen visited savile row at the time for his personal pleasure (when there was no abercrombie & fitch anywhere in sight). douglas hayward of course supplied the suits for the thomas crown affair but that relationship didn’t just stop there. there is a great book on savile row, with a forward by tom ford (of course) which i will try and find to post. makes for good reading for anyone interested in dropping 10-20K on a suit. by dd
great film by the amazing photographer william klein whom i met at a lecture years ago and had the privilege to work with on a shoot. music score by legendary michel jean legrand. by dd
actress anita ekberg – la dolce vita
orson welles – still from the film touch of evil
when picking a mate, just keep in mind… well, the mind. the rest will soon be gone. a couple of specimens demonstrate my point.
swedish actress/pin-up anita ekberg was much like bardot in her days. the story goes that when ekberg met howard hughes, who at the time was producing films, hughes wanted her to change her nose, teeth and name. hughes felt “ekberg” was too difficult to pronounce. she refused to change her name, saying that if she became famous, people would learn to pronounce it, and if she didn’t become famous, it would not matter…. hmmm. promising point but what about the nose and the teeth? regardless, in her later days one does hope that she turned out to be an interesting person one could still love.
orson sure didn’t age much better than anita, but he was indeed more than an interesting man. he had it all, if only he wasn’t the gourmand that he was. a recollection from writer jim harrison’s dinner with orson goes something like this…“orson began by clearing his palate with a half dozen bull shots in quick succession. as we were hungry, the first course was a half-pound of fresh caviar with an iced bottle of stolichnaya. the next course was a wonderful ragu of sweetbreads in pastry covered by a half-quart of black truffle sauce, accompanied by a rare old burgundy. then without a moment’s rest arrived a whole poached atlantic salmon in a sorrel sauce and a white bordeaux…” and that was just 1 out of 3 meals that lead him to where he went. by dd
i wish we had a must TRY and see films section. a killer black and white still from ed ruscha’s early film miracle from 1975. if anyone knows where you can see it, let us know. by dd
a visual collective outlet of inspiration
