8mm Celluloid

"Kodachrome
They give us those nice bright colors
They give us the greens of summers
Makes you think all the world's a sunny day"

Paul Simon, "Kodachrome"


If you were born/raised sometime before the late 1980's, perhaps some of your childhood existence is preserved on 8mm or Super 8mm film.  My family owned a Kodak Super 8 Camera during my childhood and my father would record many of the important moments of my own and three younger brothers' lives:  Christmas mornings, birthdays, baby learning to walk, crawling, etc.  I am grateful for these preserved memories even if the medium on which is recorded has since been replaced my camcorders and digital video recording devices. 

There is something about the warmth and vivid colours of Super 8mm film that is irreplaceable by anything that has come afterwards.  The scratchy, highly-flammable brilliance of 8mm celluloid projected onto a screen has an allure that is impossible to reproduce and describe unless you have witnessed it.

All of my own 8mm memories are stored somewhere in my parents' basement.  I sometimes worry about them being preserved and think about transferring them to DVD somehow.  They are after all, evidence of a pristine, idyllic time in my life.

When I was a pre-teen, I made a primitive attempt at linear editing by stitching together a number of these old films in somewhat chronological order so that there would be a longer, continuous viewing of some of the films.  I would imagine that the Scotch tape I used to splice them together is not the ideal means of preservation but last time I viewed one of them, they seemed to hold up OK.

Along with my own childhood memories on celluloid, there is also a vast collection of 8mm films from my father's childhood that my grandfather recorded.  It is truly amazing to witness homemade movies from the 1950's and 60's of a person who I only have ever known as an adult.

The silence of these 8mm films add an element of mystery and wonder to their viewing.  I often wish I could hear how certain people sounded way back then, but I have to leave it to my imagination.

If you have memories preserved on 8mm film like I do, don't take them for granted.  They are a treasure-trove of picturesque, beautiful remembrances of things past and, in this age of digital, should not be forgotten.

Formative Film-Going Experiences

As a lover of cinema, I often think back to my first experiences of going to the theater to watch movies, remembering my initial awe, fear, and enjoyment.

I recall going to see Return of the Jedi in 1983 with my father.  I was four or five years old at the time.  Perhaps there had been movie-going experiences before this, but this one stands out.  I distinctly remember being frightened and clutching to my father during the first half hour that takes place in Jabba the Hut's Palace.  The creatures were so bizarre and creepily-alive.  I don't think there would have been the same reaction had we been in the age of CGI special effects that George Lucas resorted to in Episodes 1-3.  The aliveness of the beings were punctuated by their actual presence in the pro-filmic world.  I don't remember much more about that initial experience of Return of the Jedi, but the memories of being in a state of fear in that first half hour later relaxed into an overall enjoyment and wonder during the remainder.

Although several years older at the time, another formative experience for me was seeing Major League in the theater in 1988.  As a ten year old, my main passion at the time was baseball - playing, watching, collecting cards, and dreaming about the sport.  Major League did a masterful job of capturing the reality of the game as few baseball films have done before or since.  The excitement of the games, the idiosyncratic characters, and the choreography of the on-field action combined to create a life-long fondness for my first experience of this movie.  I remember walking out of the theater with a feeling of glee having witnessed Ricky Vaughn (Charlie Sheen) strut onto the field to the sound of "Wild Thing" and pumping in strikes that exceeded 100 mph.

These formative experiences with movies are just two examples of how I came to appreciate and love cinema - wanted to study it in all its aspects.  These films aren't even considered all that great critically but to a young, impressionable mind, they seemed like masterpieces.  We all have memories of going to the cinema and being changed, for better or worse, in our youth.  The memories I have provided are two in an ever-developing accumulation of films that shape and determine our destinies.

Midnight Special (2016, dir. Jeff Nichols)

Midnight Special often defies understanding and explanation.  It doesn't pander to you, constantly dictate its meaning, nor assume its audience can't labor over what they see.  This is what makes it so intriguing, engaging, and rewarding.

It is surprising and mysterious.  It is a sci-fi movie with a child named Alton (Jaeden Lieberher) as its central protagonist.  He is a child who possesses other-worldly powers and it isn't until the end that the extent and nature of these powers reveal themselves, though even then, not completely.  There is a cult-like church group built up around the child's abilities and at the film's beginning, the biological father (Michael Shannon) has kidnapped him.  What unfolds over the next hour and a half are often unexpected, always riveting.

Midnight Special is a film that demonstrates imagination and intelligence.  The special effects are nice to look at, as is the cinematography.  The acting is strong and the direction by Jeff Nichols is fine too.  Nichols last directorial effort was Mud starring Matthew McCaunaghey and that was a fantastic film.  This film is great too and shows that the director/writer has wide-ranging vision and an eye for intriguing stories and compelling characters.

Thoughts on "Happy Valley" (A Netflix Original Series)

After watching a variety of British police dramas in recent months, I was excited to start watching another.  "Happy Valley" turns out to be the cream of the crop.  It outshines "Broadchurch", "Luther" and "River", all of which are brilliant in their own ways.  What sets "Happy Valley" apart is the psychological depth and complex intelligence of its characters and the way it blurs the line between good and evil.

Sarah Lancashire's performance as the lead character, Sgt. Catherine Cawood is absolutely riveting.  She brings the character to life in a way that makes her sympathetic.  At the same time, you may find discomfort in liking her sometimes:  she does things that are morally questionable and that add extra dimensions to her performance and character.   She has been through so much hell.  The fact that she maintains dignity and strength adds tension and suspense to her character's trajectory.

The line between good and evil is tenuous in this series.  One of the criminals in the show, Tommy Lee Royce (James Norton) is reprehensible and cruel in many of his actions.  However, the show does clever things to make the viewer identify and sympathize with him.  All the characters in the first two seasons seem to be connected in some way.  The connections and convoluted relationships add interest and surprise.  Some are related by blood, others by action but all combine to draw the viewer in and keep him or her in a constant state of agitation and anxiety.

The film takes place in Yorkshire, England and the title of the series is ironic.  As Jake Bugg's theme song "Trouble Town" iterates this is a broken, dismal place to live at times.  The cinematography efficiently captures the run-down, gritty feel of many of the city's locations.

This is the best British Police Drama on television.  It is riveting and real, bold and beautiful.  The first two seasons are available on Netflix.

Dark Victory (1939, dir. Edmund Goulding)

Watching a film like "Dark Victory" from the eyes of a 1939 viewer is difficult for someone born much later.  A lot has changed and developed in film aesthetics, narration and style since its release.  From the perspective of a viewer in the 21st century it seems quite unspectacular.  Bette Davis's performance is amiable and draws you in.

The film tells the story of a female equestrian champion who's headaches and lapses in perception frequently disable her.  This leads to the diagnosis of a life-threatening disease.  The film deals with the final months of her life.  She develops a relationship with her doctor and how she deals with her time-limited predicament is explored.

The film was nominated for Best Picture, Actress and Original Score but didn't win.  Though considered a classic of Hollywood cinema, young viewers of today who want to explore old films will probably not be won-over or thoroughly entertained.

Season 2 of "Broadchurch"

Season two of the British crime-drama, "Broadchurch" picks up where season one left off and follows the trial of the accused child murderer from the first season, Joe Miller (Matthew Gravelle). 

What makes the show so compelling and unique is the way the show delves into the private lives of its characters and meanders and diverges in directions that force us to witness the raw, emotionally-charged universes of each character's private world.  The show's characters have a lived-in, realistic quality to their portrayals.  Olivia Colman's performance as Ellie Miller is the most riveting aspect of the show.  We witness the toll the indictment of her husband has had on her, but her character weathers the turmoil in a dignified, resilient way that draws the viewer into her soul.

To make things interesting, the show introduces a new side-story to the over-riding plot.  Another investigation by Alec Hardy (David Tennant) into the murder and disappearance of two children from a few years back.  Tennant's portrayal of Hardy is as an obsessive, unwavering man who refuses to give up.

There are number of surprising twists and turns in the second season of "Broadchurch" and it adds depth and interest to the overall series.  The show proves that some of the best drama on television is happening on the other side of the Atlantic.

Schindler's List (1993, dir. Steven Spielberg)

Few films manage to pack as much of an emotional punch as Steven Spielberg's 1993 epic
"Schindler's List".  It is his visceral tribute to the survivor's of the Holocaust, specifically those saved by the film's main protagonist, Oskar Schindler.

Some have criticized Spielberg for manipulating emotions in his films.  But sometimes we go to the cinema to have our emotions manipulated, do we not?  There are scenes of sheer terror, horror, joy amidst sorrow, surprise, catharsis, and triumph.  The whole spectrum of human emotions is explored thoroughly and expertly.

The black and white cinematography lends a newsreel feel to the film and is, at the same time, transfixing in its beauty.

Some shy away from ever watching "Schindler's List" because of its subject matter.  But, the film must be seen and experienced by all at least once in life.  It is a staggering achievement and a monumental testimony to the resilience of the human spirit in the face of tragedy and despair.