Misfortunes of Imaginary Beings

A blog formerly known as Bookishness / By Charles Matthews

"Dazzled by so many and such marvelous inventions, the people of Macondo ... became indignant over the living images that the prosperous merchant Bruno Crespi projected in the theater with the lion-head ticket windows, for a character who had died and was buried in one film and for whose misfortune tears had been shed would reappear alive and transformed into an Arab in the next one. The audience, who had paid two cents apiece to share the difficulties of the actors, would not tolerate that outlandish fraud and they broke up the seats. The mayor, at the urging of Bruno Crespi, explained in a proclamation that the cinema was a machine of illusions that did not merit the emotional outbursts of the audience. With that discouraging explanation many ... decided not to return to the movies, considering that they already had too many troubles of their own to weep over the acted-out misfortunes of imaginary beings."
--Gabriel García Márquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude

Thursday, May 23, 2019

Christopher Strong (Dorothy Arzner, 1933)

Christopher Strong (Dorothy Arzner, 1933)

Cast: Katharine Hepburn, Colin Clive, Billie Burke, Helen Chandler, Ralph Forbes, Irene Browne, Jack La Rue, Desmond Roberts. Screenplay: Zoe Akins, based on a novel by Gilbert Frankau. Cinematography: Bert Glennon. Art direction: Van Nest Polglase, Charles M. Kirk. Film editing: Arthur Roberts. Music: Max Steiner.

Wednesday, May 22, 2019

Revanche (Götz Spielmann, 2008)

Revanche (Götz Spielmann, 2008)

Cast: Johannes Krisch, Irina Potapenko, Andreas Lust, Ursula Strauss, Johannes Thanheiser, Hanno Pöschl. Screenplay: Götz Speilmann. Cinematography: Martin Gschlacht. Production design: Maria Gruber. Film editing: Karina Ressler.

Tuesday, May 21, 2019

The Bride's Play (George Terwilliger, 1922)

The Bride's Play (George Terwilliger, 1922)

Cast: Marion Davies, Wyndham Standing, Carl Miller, John B. O'Brien, Frank Shannon, Richard Cummings, Eleanor Middleton, Thea Talbot, John P. Wade, Julia Hurley, George Spink. Screenplay: Mildred Constantine, based on a story by Donn Byrne. Cinematography: Ira H. Morgan. Art direction: Joseph Urban.

Monday, May 20, 2019

My Brilliant Career (Gillian Armstrong, 1979)

My Brilliant Career (Gillian Armstrong, 1979)

Cast: Judy Davis, Sam Neill, Wendy Hughes, Robert Grubb, Max Cullen, Aileen Britton, Peter Whitford, Patricia Kennedy, Alan Hopgood, Julia Blake. Screenplay: Eleanor Witcombe, based on a novel by Miles Franklin. Cinematography: Donald McAlpine. Production design: Luciana Arrighi. Film editing: Nicholas Beauman. Music: Nathan Waks.

Sunday, May 19, 2019

The Toast of New York (Rowland V. Lee, 1937)

The Toast of New York (Rowland V. Lee, 1937)

Cast: Edward Arnold, Cary Grant, Frances Farmer, Jack Oakie, Donald Meek, Thelma Leeds, Clarence Kolb, Billy Gilbert. Screenplay: Dudley Nichols, John Twist, Joel Sayre, based on a book by Bouck White and a story by Matthew Josephson. Cinematography: J. Peverell Marley. Art direction: Van Nest Polglase, Carroll Clark, Darrell Silvera. Film editing: Samuel E. Beetley, George Hively. Music: Nathaniel Shilkret.

Saturday, May 18, 2019

The Night of the Shooting Stars (Paolo Taviani and Vittorio Taviani, 1982)

The Night of the Shooting Stars (Paolo Taviani and Vittorio Taviani, 1982)

Cast: Omero Antonutti, Margarita Lozano, Claudio Bigagli, Miriam Guidelli, Massimo Bonetti, Enrica Maria Modugno, Sabina Vannucchi, Giorgio Naddi. Screenplay: Paolo Taviani, Vittorio Taviani, Giuliani G. De Negri, Tonino Guerra. Cinematography: Franco Di Giacomo. Production design: Gianni Sbarra. Film editing: Roberto Perpignani. Music: Nicola Piovani.