MIFF 2014 - Day 5
I'm slowing down in my old age, only two today.
Life Itself
Chances are you know who Roger Ebert is, one of the most influential film critics ever. Siskel and Ebert and their thumbs up/down reviews are more well known in the US, but their fame was worldwide. Documenting Ebert's struggles with cancer, as well as looking back over his storied career, it's an enlightening and uplifting story. I'd forgotten that he'd won the Pulitzer, the first film critic ever to do so. And there was so much more about the man I didn't know. The film is at its best when it talks about Ebert and his family, and his fraught but deep relationship with his on-screen sparring partner Gene Siskel. Off the back of this film, I think I'd like a doco dedicated solely to the two men and the trajectory of their program. The behind the scenes footage is fascinating. What's great is to see how a love of cinema and communication let Ebert remain vital until the end of his life. It's a really lovely tribute to the man.
Phase IV
Saul Bass's only feature film doesn't have a fancy title sequence, instead the titles are cleverly worked into the structure of this very trippy film about two men and a young girl under siege by an army of super-intelligent ants. It's weird, really really weird. And weird in a really good way. The performances are solid, the ant footage is gorgeous, and I really want a copy of the soundtrack. I feel sorry for the people who raced out of the cinema before they ran the alternate ending. It's Bass unleashed, a psychedelic montage detailing (I think) man's subjugation by the ants. I can't imagine why the producers cut it from the original release, but I'm glad it's been rediscovered, and I'm really glad I had the chance to see it all on the big screen.
Life Itself
Chances are you know who Roger Ebert is, one of the most influential film critics ever. Siskel and Ebert and their thumbs up/down reviews are more well known in the US, but their fame was worldwide. Documenting Ebert's struggles with cancer, as well as looking back over his storied career, it's an enlightening and uplifting story. I'd forgotten that he'd won the Pulitzer, the first film critic ever to do so. And there was so much more about the man I didn't know. The film is at its best when it talks about Ebert and his family, and his fraught but deep relationship with his on-screen sparring partner Gene Siskel. Off the back of this film, I think I'd like a doco dedicated solely to the two men and the trajectory of their program. The behind the scenes footage is fascinating. What's great is to see how a love of cinema and communication let Ebert remain vital until the end of his life. It's a really lovely tribute to the man.
Phase IV
Saul Bass's only feature film doesn't have a fancy title sequence, instead the titles are cleverly worked into the structure of this very trippy film about two men and a young girl under siege by an army of super-intelligent ants. It's weird, really really weird. And weird in a really good way. The performances are solid, the ant footage is gorgeous, and I really want a copy of the soundtrack. I feel sorry for the people who raced out of the cinema before they ran the alternate ending. It's Bass unleashed, a psychedelic montage detailing (I think) man's subjugation by the ants. I can't imagine why the producers cut it from the original release, but I'm glad it's been rediscovered, and I'm really glad I had the chance to see it all on the big screen.
posted by Andrew Lee at 12:24 AM
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