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Thursday 05/31/07

2:00 AM Turner Classic Movies
The Cheat (1915 USA): A fascinating silent drama, The Cheat stars the great Japanese actor Sessue Hayakawa as Tori, a Long Island ivory merchant who has his eye on Edith (Fannie Ward), the wife of wealthy stockbroker Dick Hardy (Jack Dean). After Edith spends some of hubby Dick's vast wealth on an ill-advised stock tip, she turns to Tori for help-which he is willing to offer in exchange for a night of carnal bliss with the attractive matron. Unfortunately for Edith, Tori has a taste for sado-masochism, and an encounter with his branding iron leaves her in considerable pain. Enter stage right the local necktie party, who don't take too kindly to mysterious foreigners from the East leaving their mark on white women. Somehow, Hayakawa manages to maintain his dignity whilst working within the confines of a blatantly racist and sexist script, and the result casts fascinating light on American social, sexual, and racial mores of the time. After complaints from a Japanese-American group in 1918, Hayakawa's character was re-branded (so to speak) as a Burmese-I guess at the time there were very few Burmese in the country to protest-but I don't know which version will be airing on TCM this morning.

9:40 AM The Movie Channel
The Century Plaza (2005 USA): A documentary examining the last days of a rundown residence hotel in Portland, Oregon, The Century Plaza returns to the small screen today. Director Eric Lahey took his assignment seriously and rented a room in The Plaza, which once primarily housed traveling salesmen but had long since become a resting place for vagrants and drug dealers. Lahey spent seven months in the ramshackle (and now closed) SRO - which has since reopened under a new name as city-funded low-income housing - and got to know residents such as Bob the paroled pedophile and Mr. Friedman the bloodthirsty World War II vet. Inspired by the experiences of Lahey's father, who spent much of his life residing in similar domiciles, The Century Plaza is a fascinating and non-exploitative feature that would make a great double bill with 2001's equally fine look at life on New York's Bowery, Sunshine Hotel. Also airs at 12:40 PM.

6:00 PM Showtime
Shame (2006 PAK-USA): This Showtime original documentary takes a look at the deeply disturbing case of Mukhtaran Mai, a thirty-year old Pakistani woman who found herself sentenced in 2002 to being gang-raped-for a crime allegedly committed by her brother, no less. The case drew international condemnation when Ms. Mai refused to go quietly into that good night, using her outrageous treatment as a way to cast light on her nation's woefully inadequate system of rural justice-and as a way to help her community via the construction of a school. Alternately maddening and life-affirming, Shame was shot over a span of five years by director Mohammed Naqvi, a Canadian of Pakistani descent. Also airs at 9:00 PM.

Friday 06/01/07

6:20 AM Flix
The Last Waltz (1978 USA): Long considered one of the forefathers of the rockumentary, The Last Waltz is Martin Scorsese's tribute to The Band, the group of Canadian musicians who grew to prominence supporting Bob Dylan and then established themselves as a rock n roll attraction in their own right. In 1976 the group decided to chuck it in after spending 16 years on the road, and Scorsese was there to record the event. Clearly at the end of their collective tethers, The Band plod through all their 'hits', with able if over-earnest support from the like of Neil Young, Van Morrison, and others. The result is an impressive historical document, but the poker-faced participants bring a dour atmosphere to the proceedings and seem to be going through the motions. The bottom line is, if you're a fan of Robbie Robertson and company, The Last Waltz is essential viewing-especially as it's airing in widescreen today. If, on the other hand, you're like me and prefer your rock a little more upbeat and a little less serious, you can safely fast forward your way to Muddy Waters' appearance, the segment featuring The Staples Singers, and the truly bizarre appearance of an apparently embarrassed Bob Dylan towards the end.

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