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Ode to Pneuma
In both theme and “spirit,” Pneuma on the new Tool album is the most inspiring.
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In memory of Grandpa Knight
This weekend, we celebrated the life of a beloved family member and friend. I knew him as Grandpa, but he was born Clylas Elwood Knight, Jr., on his mother’s family farm in Hawley, Texas, on Christmas Eve 1925. In his early 20’s, he became known as “Tex,” and it stuck with him the rest of…
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1920’s Painlevé nature films on new Criterion Channel
While browsing through the oldest films available on Criterion’s new streaming service, I noticed several by Jean Painlevé.* These are from a DVD collection released in 2009 called Science Is Fiction: 23 Films by Jean Painlevé (parts also released earlier by BFI). From 1925 to 1982, Painlevé directed hundreds of short films, most around 10…
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114 Lumière shorts now on Amazon Prime
It’s been more than 20 years since we’ve seen a home video release of the inventors of cinema, Auguste and Louis Lumière. Their catalogue was produced between 1895 and 1905, so what could have changed in the past 20 years? In 2015, the Institut Lumière led an effort to release many of their films through…
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Box office movie records
Normally I don’t pay much attention to blockbuster movies, but in listening to one of the Oscars episodes of the Unspooled podcast, my curiosity was piqued. Box Office Mojo is a treasure trove of stats on gross earnings of mostly-American films. There are all sorts of metrics you can investigate on their site, but I…
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Archway screenshots from The Great Dictator
Inspired by the cinematography and set design of The Great Dictator (1940), I stitched together the vertical pan shot of the great arch at the Tomainian rally, about 3/4 of the way into the movie. I’m still baffled as to how this was made, considering you can see people clapping in the audience. Also, my…