Tag Archives: black & white

In the Shadow: A Short Film Noir by Fabrice Mathieu

by Cimaxion

Written and directed by Fabrice Mathieu, ‘In the Shadow’ is a film noir about the separate lives of shadows.  It is made entirely from existing film noir shadow shots. What happens when a person’s shadow kills its ‘wearer’ and lives its own life? I love all of this film noir stuff with black and white shadows and contrast. The sense of graphic dread is missing from mainstream films today.  This short film is apparently a prequel for a feature length project.

Interplanetary Revolution – 1924 Soviet Animation

by Cimaxion

Paul Gallagher at Dangerous Minds posted this 1924 Russian propaganda masterpiece. It’s a wild, science fiction, abstract work of art that just keeps pumping out wondrous images, one after the other. I love the ragged edges and mix of photographs, hand-drawn animation and cutouts.

Knout – a Film by Deco Dawson

by Cimaxion

I found the work of filmmaker Deco Dawson via Mike Everleth at Bad Lit: The Journal of Underground Film. This is one of the films Dawson has on his Vimeo page and it’s a brutal but gorgeous piece that suggests the violence one can commit against one’s self.

The film is all gnarled and fuzzy and stained. It looks like something shot in the twenties and dug up in a basement somewhere. Right around the 8:15 mark there’s a sequence of images that are just simply stunning. The actress, Jenovia Tretiak, is frenzied and beautifully insane. The original score by Patric Caird is perfect and hair-raising.

Film: World’s Most Boring Musician Proves It

by Editor

I’ve always said that the world’s most boring musician is John Mayer and now the accommodating fellow has gone and proven my point.  He’s made a film about his average day during a tour.  From the looks of this film he could be attending a corporate seminar to give a PowerPoint presentation.  Shiny hotel fixtures and breakfast buffets laid out in one’s room certainly must go far toward making exciting music.  And look!  Sneakers!  He’s wearing sneakers!  How charmingly boyish.  And he finishes the film with ‘Fin.’  Just like the French do!  Gosh!  Fin!  And look at that audience of his!  My goodness!  They look like they’re at a Bed Bath & Beyond shopping for a new duvet cover.

I think the best shot in the movie is the elevator man opening the doors and ushering Mr. Mayor out into the lobby.  But John Mayer should stay in the elevator.  And play there.

Every once in a while I like to post something I hate.  It keeps things real.