BFI Film Classics/BFI Modern Classics: Search and Destroy

Search Durgnat on 'W. R. Mysteries of the Organism'. Durgnat is my favourite film writer and this is among his best. I love MacCabe's too. Thomson on 'The Big Sleep' is a bit lazy but still worthwhile.

Destroy: the one on 'Red River'. I wasn't taken with Mulvey on 'Citizen Kane' either.

I'm very excited by V. F. Perkins on 'Rules of the Game' (dropping June).

For once, I was trying hard not to approach you as if you were not predisposed to spewing vitriol against something or other. Won't happen again thanks.

Now... yes, Paglia seems to be playing the devil's advocate card rather too often during the Birds monograph (and she would do well to realize that Marnie has a far better performance by Hedren in the first place), but I'm not as bothered by the scene-by-scene examination as others. What I could've used a bit more of was production-details and explicit critical readings. But, hey, I like-a da variety within the series.

richard corliss's book on "lolita" is kind of interesting - it's written as a parody of "pale fire." it's not half as good as pauline kael's review of the movie, but it's a good read.

agreed about robin wood's "rio bravo," that book is TERRIBLE.

i really shouldn't have to answer to a caricature

you said this on some other music thread:

i think i've been pretty useless, and i'm sure most would agree. i don't know how one would gauge usefulness anyhow. i sort of post to get things off my chest more than to make "contribution."

laisse-le tomber

greil marcus's "manchurian candidate" is great, easily the best book from this series i've read thus far.

have they done one on If.... ?

I assume you're joking, Morbs, but in case you're not

roffle :)

I look pretty idiotic on this thread (among all the others).

bfi is cutting this series out i heard, axing their publishing group or something

I wasn't joking, Colin, as I buy very few $20 96-page books.

ie I haven't read any of these and ain't burning to.

ie fuck critics.

(sorry, I'm having a bad week)

Oh, I just thought you might be joking because the author of the If... book is ILX's own Mark S.

I look pretty idiotic on this thread (among all the others).

-- Eric H., Tuesday, August 21, 2007 3:44 AM (15 hours ago) Bookmark Link

aye me to :/

gershy -- yeah quite possibly. the britishes film institute had its funding frozen by the govt for a few years and weird shit happened within the institute (ie they fucked the dog on a building project), so the publishing arm has been/is being sold to another publisher, palgrave-macmillan.

i don't know if they'll end the series: i'd imagine it's one of their more profitable lines rly.

http://www.bfiwatch.blogspot.com/

bfi is such a big deal in uk film publishing that everyone has an angle. from personal experience some shit along these lines was in the offing over two years ago.

ILX's own Mark S.

:o ! I don't know who a lot of ppl are around here.

I never bumped this thread after reading the NotLD one, but that's at the top of my list now. Kind of curious to see how reactionary the Star Wars and Back to the Future ones get.

lol the star wars one is written by the brother of a 'well-known' ilxor, to add to the incestuous nature of this thread.

agree that the NOTLD one is really gd, and (from the recent(ish) list) so are the 2001 and Invasion of the Body Snatchers volumes. funnily enough, it was mark s who recommended the michel chion one on Eyes Wide Shut, which (along w/ the Durgnat) is my fave of the ones I've read.

Dud = Kim Newman's Cat People one, which is basically a glorified plot recap, v. disappointing (newman's bfi bk on doctor who is much better)

A well-done plot recap can be a great frame on which to hang a bunch of criticism tho. Not saying Newman's is (haven't read).

Biggest pitfall of this series is, imo, a writer I like tackling a movie I don't.

i dunno, plot recaps mostly feel p redundant these days (guess they made more sense when ppl cldn't access the texts digitally or whatever) tho of course they can work in certain cases. def one of the strengths of the BFI series is the way that they take in different styles/schools of critical whatsit

Biggest pitfall of this series is, imo, a writer I like tackling a movie I don't.

absolutely, christopher frayling's book on Shape of Things to Come is exemplary, but the film itself is a total bore, and I'm not that fussed abt 42nd Street, either (sorry j hobe).

I guess the flip would be, say, Camille Paglia writing about The Birds (a match I still say paid off in this case).

Man, the Greil Marcus Manchurian volume has some crazy scathing reviews over at Amazon.

weird -- i liked marcus's book and didn't think his approach was that unusual.

kind of interested in reading 'shadows' by ray carney if only because carney is such a uniquely peculiar critic.

Ordered the Durgnat bk, can't wait to read it.

Found Mark Kermode's Exorcist monograph last night and am tearing through it today.

lol

he is the living end

LOL, so you're saying I should literally tear through it with a knife?

Oh right ... he's the guy who puts Exorcist and Mary Poppins on his BFI ballot: http://explore.bfi.org.uk/sightandsoundpolls/2012/voter/344

god he is like the bbc's 'film person' even though he is pretty much third rate provincial eng lit lecturer with passable tv skills and seems to have no knowledge of anything except imdb staples and a bit of 50-80s 'cult'/horror

his segment about stalker with geoff dyer was some sort of nadir

Love that this book has had three editions already.

http://wa3.cdn.3news.co.nz/3news/AM/0-Articles/234646/iran-flag.jpg?width=460

tho' i pretty much agree w/ Nilmar, have to say that Kermode's Exorcist bk is p gd as a production history of the film, and obv benefits from the access he enjoyed to friedkin, blatty etc

Absolutely love the Durgnat book.

To be read alongside this piece on Jancso's Red Psalm.

Only just now found out they're releasing a whole bunch of horror-related monographs later this fall (strangely one week too late for Halloween): http://us.macmillan.com/series/BFIFilmClassics

No one mentioned Night of the Hunter?

They're tying these horror-related titles into a larger BFI 'Gothic' season which incorporates UK-wide screenings, dvds, talks etc etc. Newman's Cat People has been issued before, and I think the Caligari one as well. Def want to read Frayling's The Innocents - his commentary track on the BFI Region 2 DVD of the movie might be the best I've ever heard.

Its the kind of tip I live for so I'll give it: Londoners should know that quite a few of these are going at 3 quid a pop at the BFI shop.

London Live (Freeview channel 8)
Saturday 18th July 2015

19:00 - 19:15
BFI London: Festival in London
Record of the 1951 South Bank Exhibition and the Battersea Pleasure Gardens.

19:15 - 19:30
BFI London: The Fairy of the Phone
Musical comedy based on instructions given in the London telephone directory.

19:30 - 19:45
BFI London: Nice Time
Impressions of Piccadilly Circus on a Saturday night in 1957.

19:45 - 20:00
BFI London: London Can Take It!
London Can Take It! is the most renowned cinematic representation of the resilient heroism of ordinary Londoners during the early days of the Blitz.

(same channel has been showing ealing b-movies as matinees. http://www.londonlive.co.uk/schedule/category/films )