Authors — Vadim Rizov
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Nigeria Turns Out Two Boko Haram Movies
For even casual observers of the Nigerian film industry, it’s not surprising news that the nation’s second largest-employer (behind agriculture) has already churned out two films about the April kidnapping of 276 girls by Boko Haram: at an average of 50 movies a week, the industry makes a routine point of speedily incorporating topical concerns. Last year’s Boko Haram: The Movie (understandably retitled Nation Under Siege at home) is far from unique, with a particularly high-profile example in 2012’s Last Flight to Abuja, a plane crash drama inspired by the nation’s spate of air disasters that coincidentally premiered just after […]
by Vadim Rizov on Jun 11, 2014 -
This is the Electro-Optic Camera, the World’s First DSLR
A few years ago, former Kodak engineer James McGarvey posted photographs and information about the world’s first DSLR camera, which he worked on at the government’s request in 1987 as part of Kodak’s Federal System Division. Along with a team of three others, McGarvey designed an Electro-Optic Camera “intended for unobtrusive use” in situations requiring a film camera. It’s unclear whether this first prototype still exists, but McGarvey scanned his 8×10 photos of the finished product and put them online, along with an admirably detailed explanation of the camera’s circuitry and supplementary parts. The only sample image that remains (army […]
by Vadim Rizov on Jun 10, 2014 -
Edge of Tomorrow: The Anxiety of Expendability
Despite perpetual predictions of the imminent end of Tom Cruise’s viability as a box office draw — a fate presumably tied to his Scientology, perceived egotism or the general difficulties of maintaining longterm A-list status — the actor keeps trucking along in vehicles that, consciously or not, tap into anxiety about how he’s perceived. There is, most notably, the precedent of Vanilla Sky, which seemed like a mid-life crisis writ large: a movie about a wealthy, successful man whose sudden downfall is precipitated by facial disfigurement — surely as much an actor’s nightmare as much as anything. This type of […]
by Vadim Rizov on Jun 9, 2014 -
Video: Steven Soderbergh Talks About Koyaanistqatsi Director Godfrey Reggio’s Work
“I saw Koyaanisqatsi in 1983, when it came out, so I was 20,” Steven Soderbergh explains in this interview clip about Godfrey Reggio’s influence on his work. “It was pretty significant to be that age and an aspiring filmmaker and to see that.” Soderbergh has long been vocal about his admiration for Reggio’s movies, having served as one of the presenters of the Qatsi trilogy as well for the director’s latest film, last year’s Visitors. The film is available for DVD, Blu-Ray and digital download purchase tomorrow. [jwplayer player=”1″ mediaid=”86264″]
by Vadim Rizov on Jun 9, 2014 -
“Wait, That’s Your Dream Project?”: Michael Tully on Ping Pong Summer
Summer, 1985: Casey Kasem is on the radio and mastering the moonwalk is a must. Radford “Rad” Miracle (Marcello Conte) has to go on family vacation with his patient mom (Lea Thompson), sneeringly cool goth sister Michelle (Helena May Seabrook), and cheapskate cop dad (John Hannah), who insists on driving to Ocean City, Maryland in his police car to save money. All Rad wants to do is play ping pong, get cooler, and get the girl, but the local rich kid bullies are an impediment. Can Rad up his ping pong craft enough to beat them? And what’s up with […]
by Vadim Rizov on Jun 6, 2014 -
Win an Alejandro Jodorowsky Prize Pack
Thanks to our friends at ABCKO Films, Filmmaker has a prize pack to give away tied to Alejandro Jodorowsky’s The Dance of Reality, the cult favorite’s first feature since 1990’s The Rainbow Thief. In this new film, Jodorowsky revisits his ’30s Chilean childhood while producing typically fantastical imagery. The prize pack includes an El Topo Blu-ray, The Holy Mountain Blu-ray, and the El Topo soundtrack on both CD and vinyl. To win, be the first to answer this question: what sci-fi novel did Jodorowsky try and ultimately fail to bring to the screen, as chronicled in a recently released documentary? […]
by Vadim Rizov on Jun 5, 2014 -
Two New Apichatpong Weerasethakul Gallery Shows, Plus a New Journal About His Work
Though it’s no secret that Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives director Apichatpong Weerasethakul is probably even more prolific as a gallery artist than as a director, coverage of his non-film work often gets short shrift. Reviews of two recent exhibitions shed light on the latest developments in this arena of his work. From London, Marco Bohr reports on “Double Visions,” a recently closed exhibit held at the Anthony Reynolds Gallery. Bohr is skeptical of the success of this exhibition, which includes Dilbar, a ten-minute video of a Bangladeshi migrant worker in the UAE, and Teem, three mobile […]
by Vadim Rizov on Jun 4, 2014 -
Streaming More Eco-Friendly Than DVDs, Study (Sort Of) Says
A study published last week in the journal Environmental Research Letters under the self-explanatory title “The energy and greenhouse-gas implications of internet video streaming in the United States” looks at numbers from 2011 to conclude that streaming services and servers have become much more energy efficient. As a result, streaming consumes significantly less energy and emits less carbon dioxide than the manufacture and distribution of DVDs. (This is all explained in plain language here and here). The easy-to-extrapolate conclusion is not only that streaming is the increasingly dominant distribution platform of choice but that that turns out to be a […]
by Vadim Rizov on Jun 3, 2014 -
“Why Don’t We All Go Blow Stuff Up?” Kelly Reichardt on Night Moves
In Night Moves, Jesse Eisenberg’s baleful, twitchy intensity finds another fitting incarnation. His Josh is an environmentalist visibly dissatisfied with perceived half-measures who plans to blow up a dam as an act of eco-terrorism-/-activism with the help of ex-Marine buddy Harmon (Peter Sarsgaard) and Dena (Dakota Fanning). To do this, they’ll need to purchase suspicious quantities of ammonium nitrate and buy a boat to pack it into. The middle-aged suburban guy selling his fishing vessel couldn’t be more innocuous in his personal manner, but we see his neighborhood through Josh’s angry eyes: the backyard waterfall is a clear misallocation of […]
by Vadim Rizov on May 30, 2014 -
“The Unseen Seen”: Reiner Riedler’s Photos of Film Reels
Very neat: Reiner Riedler has come up with a new way to look at the death throes of 35mm. Granted access by the Deutsche Kinemathek to its archives, Riedler photographed a broad cross-section of movies — features and trailers, original negatives and copies, preserved and decayed, nitrate and acetate — in their increasingly-rarely-seen state as coiled reels around a core. “I drew up a list of well-known films and those with unusual titles,” Riedler explained to Design Boom. “I set up a little photo studio inside the cinema of the archive and backlit the film rolls by installing film lights […]
by Vadim Rizov on May 28, 2014
