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From the obscure to the obscurest to the merely overlooked or underappreciated; they all have a home in the TiVoPlex! All times Pacific.

Tuesday 10/23//07

2:30 AM Starz Edge
Fog City Mavericks (2007 USA): A Starz original documentary, Fog City Mavericks takes a look at filmmakers from, or based in (or near), Baghdad By the Bay. The good news is that the film features some fascinating stuff about Anglo-American film pioneer Eadward Muybridge, cowboy star Broncho Billy Anderson, and the Niles-based Essanay Studios, where Charlie Chaplin honed his Little Tramp character to perfection. The bad is that the film is ultimately overlong and poorly focussed, with narrator Peter Coyote's hyperbolic narrative massively overstating the significance of filmmakers Coppola, Lucas, and (gag) Chris Columbus. The claim is made, for example, that American Graffiti was the first film to rely on pop songs for the bulk of its soundtrack (a dubious honor at best), when in fact that style had already been developed two years earlier in Floyd Mutrux's far superior Dusty and Sweets McGee. There's a case to be made here regarding the contrast between Southern and Northern California moviemakers, but lumping in everything from Skywalker Ranch to Pixar — neither of which reside within the San Francisco city limits — does it no favors. My advice: watch the first 40 minutes, then fast-forward through the balance of the film. Also airs at 12:15 PM and 7:50 PM.

1:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Rembrandt (1936 GB): The famed Dutch painter had already received the biopic treatment in a silent German film, but that production is no longer extant, leaving Alexander Korda's Rembrandt as the earliest film to explore the subject. It stars Charles Laughton as the Amsterdam painter man who found inspiration in the form of his second, common-law wife Hendrikje (Laughton's real life spouse, Elsa Lanchester). The film is a serious, non-Hollywood attempt to accurately depict the life of Rembrandt, and Laughton actually took up painting (and grew a moustache) in an effort to get inside the artist's skin. The result is a gorgeous but rather episodic film that relies a bit too much on theatrical convention and speechifying, with long monologues breaking up what little action there is. Still, it's always a pleasure to watch Laughton and Lanchester together, not to mention co-stars Roger Livesey, Abraham Sofaer, and a very young Wilfrid Hyde-White.

6:45 PM Turner Classic Movies
Zazie dans le Metro (1960 FRA): A two day mega-block of rare (and not so rare) Louis Malle features commences this evening with the filmmaker's international breakthrough, a delightfully edgy comedy about a young French girl (Catherine Demongeot) who spends a two day Paris vacation exploring the city of lights via mass transit whilst, theoretically at least, being in the care of her uncle, a cross-dressing dancer named Gabriel (Philippe Noiret). Zazie's mother wants to spend some quality time with her lover (I thought the French were open minded about this stuff?), and has packed her precocious daughter off to the big city, where the eight-year-old gets involved with a transit strike (torn from today's headlines!), Marxism, and, er, child molestation (like many of Malle's films, there's a creepy weird undercurrent of pre-adolescent sexuality here). Brilliantly lensed in color by the estimable Henri Decae, Zazie dans le Metro captures Paris as we would all like to imagine it - a city of carefree abandon, stunning beauty, and gorgeous women - and it's still not available on Region 1 DVD, making it essential viewing this evening. It's followed at 8:30 PM by a 1963 psychological drama that's Zazie's polar opposite, The Fire Within, featuring Maurice Ronet as a depressed alcoholic on the verge of suicide; at 10:30 PM by the director's 1971 paean to incest, Murmur of the Heart; and (on 10/24) at 12:30 AM by his surreal 1975 fantasy Black Moon. The latter two titles have had some recent exposure on premium cable, but all these films offer rich rewards to the viewer, and none should be missed.

6:35 PM Sundance
Energy War (2007 HOL): A blunt and compelling take on what author Michael Klare has more broadly termed ‘Resource Wars', Energy War posits a dog eat dog 21st century where we're all fighting for the remaining oil scraps on the table, whilst also competing for whatever alternative energy sources are available. Recent reports that we are now on the backside of the ‘Peak Oil' mountain render this film more important than ever. Produced for Dutch television, it's an important addition to the debate about our very tenuous future, though the reliance on more often wrong than right bloviator Thomas Friedman does Energy War no favors in the believability sweepstakes. Also airs 10/25 at 9:35 PM.

Wednesday 10/24//07

2:05 PM Showtime 3
After Innocence (2006 USA): According to Congress and the White House, we no longer need Habeas Corpus in these here United States, but this first rate Showtime original documentary suggests Americans might just want to be a little suspicious of that claim. Focussing on the stories of seven imprisoned men whose convictions were later overturned by DNA evidence, the film raises important and disturbing questions about the compromised nature of the American justice system - even when evidence DOES get presented at trial. Blunt and unfussy, the film simply and eloquently presents the men's stories, including that of one poor gentlemen who spent a further three years behind bars - AFTER being exonerated - thanks to the butt-covering efforts of embarrassed local law enforcement officials. Also airs 10/25 at 11:45 AM, 10/27 at 12:40 PM, and 10/28 at 2:30 AM.

7:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Lacombe Lucien (1974 FRA): Part two of TCM's Louis Malle festival commences with Lacombe Lucien, a troubling tale of the eponymous young man (amateur actor Pierre Blaise, who would die in a car accident in 1975) during the days of the Nazi occupation. 18-year-old Lacombe is looking for a cause to support, and offers his services to the Maquis, who reject him on the grounds that he's still a bit too young to fight on behalf of the Resistance. Miffed at their snubbing, the lad takes a 180 degree turn and volunteers to join the Gestapo - an outfit who are all too pleased to enlist as many collaborators as possible. Needless to say, Malle's film, though based on fact, was widely scorned in his native France, where accusations of fraternization with the enemy could still cause white hot anger in the 1970s, but was received better overseas, where it earned a nomination for Best Foreign Language Film at the 1975 Academy Awards. Beautifully (if gauzily) shot by cinematographer Tonino Delli Colli, Lacombe Lucien also benefits from a generous helping of Django Reinhardt on the soundtrack. It's followed at 9:30 PM by the 1969 documentary Calcutta, a sprawling tribute to India's fourth largest city; at 11:30 PM by 1975's Place de la Republique, which examines the lives of Parisians caught on camera at the titular landmark; and (on 10/25) at 1:15 AM by Malle's only American-made documentary, 1985's God's Country, a portrait of life (and cow insemination) in the small Minnesota bailiwick of Glencoe.

Friday 10/26/07

3:00 PM Fox Movie Channel
Pretty Poison (1968 USA): I recently revisited this unusual character study from director Noel Black, and found it a much more satisfying (if still slightly maddening) experience than in years past. It stars Anthony Perkins as Dennis Pitt, a convicted arsonist released on parole in the supervisory care of Morton Azanauer (John Randolph), who has arranged for Dennis to get a job at a Massachusetts lumber mill. Dennis, who is a fantasist at best and a murderer at worst (his aunt died in the fire he set), seems to co-operate, but as soon as he relocates, finds himself deeply attracted to blonde high school cheerleader Sue Ann (a top-of-her-game Tuesday Weld). In order to make an impression on the lass, Dennis weaves an absurd tale of his activities on behalf of the CIA, who, he claims, need her assistance in helping him destroy part of the very same paper mill that employs him. Much to the chagrin of Sue Ann's mother (wonderfully acerbic Beverly Garland), the girl falls hook, line and sinker for the tall tales, and things soon get out of hand. What's most interesting about Pretty Poison is the transformation the main protagonists undergo in the course of the film, which turn our expectations upside down and generate some unusual sympathy pangs. To say more would give away too much, and the film flounders in the final reel without any satisfactory resolution, but it's still a fascinating feature that raises intriguing questions about human nature, causality, and responsibility.

Saturday 10/27/07

12:30 PM Sundance
Summer In the Cage (2007 USA): This brand new documentary started out as a film about street basketball, but took a bizarre turn when one of the filmmakers (former NCAA hoopster Sam Murchison) suddenly became afflicted with bipolar disorder. Fellow director Ben Selkow immediately switched the focus of the film, and the result is Summer In the Cage, a moving if predictable cry for understanding, and a somewhat less predictable (but much needed) talking point regarding the ethics of documentary filmmaking itself. Selkow's film initially screened at Manhattan's Tribeca Cinema and makes its worldwide television debut this afternoon.

7:00 PM Sundance
Help! (1965 GB): I started writing this review with my usual complaint about how The Beatles' second film still isn't on DVD - but a little birdie informed me of the impending (November 6) release of the film in a double disc package from Capitol Records. So, yay for that! Now where's that much-mooted Let It Be disc that was announced over a year ago? And how about Magical Mystery Tour? Moaning aside, I'm delighted to note the return to the small screen of this marvelous musical comedy, which has for too long been overshadowed by the equally wonderful (if, at this point, over-exposed) A Hard Day's Night. Help! finds Ringo's highly decorative digits the target of a religious cult led by Leo McKern and Eleanor Bron, who need the drummer to make the ultimate sacrifice on behalf of their God. The lads attempt to evade the cult by undertaking a surreal and hilarious trip half way round the world, from the Austrian Alps to the Bahamas, with a memorable stopover amidst Army manoeuvres on Salisbury Plain. I'll admit that the story is complete nonsense and has none of the neo-realist aspirations of its predecessor, but I love Help! just as much thanks to the broad humor, wonderful music (the UK issue of Help! is my second favorite Beatles album), and colorful cinematography. Few films have the capacity to make me feel happier than this one.

11:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Five Miles to Midnight (1962 FRA): If you didn't get your fill of Anthony Perkins in Pretty Poison, you'll want to take a look at this obscure French drama from director Anatole Litvak. This time, Perkins plays Robert Macklin, an American émigré in Paris whose marriage to Lisa (Sophia Loren) is on the rocks. After a plane carrying Robert on a business trip crashes, Lisa is surprised to find her husband has miraculously survived - and has plans to split the insurance money with her if she'll put up with him for just a little bit longer. The simple plan soon gets complicated, with Lisa's lover David (Gig Young) becoming suspicious and Robert becoming increasingly distraught at the thought of losing his spouse. As far as insurance fraud films go, this is average fare, but Perkins and Loren are an excellent (if unlikely) screen pair, and Mikis Theodorakis' score is better than the film deserves.

Sunday 10/28/07

3:50 AM Encore Love Stories
All Night Long (1962 GB): Patrick McGoohan scores as a troublemaking jazz musician in this engaging drama from director Basil Dearden. McGoohan plays Johnny Cousins, a drummer trying to ingratiate himself with jazz greats Dave Brubeck, Charles Mingus, and Tubby Hayes (who appear here as themselves) whilst throwing a spanner into the works of the fledgling marriage of black bandleader Aurelius (Paul Harris) and white singer Delia (Marti Stevens). The film takes place over the course of a single night and mostly in a single location, but the excellent Paul Jarrico/Nel King screenplay has enough twists and turns to compensate for the claustrophobic set-up, and there's satisfying retribution delivered during the final reel.

4:30 AM Fox Movie Channel
The Undying Monster (1942 USA): The Undying Monster belongs to the same genre of films that Val Lewton was producing at RKO in the forties: something I call 'gothic noir'. Lucien Ballard's rich black and white photography hints at his future work on noir classics like Laura and The Killing, and John Brahm's assured direction makes the absolute most of the rather pedestrian scenario. There are some simply amazing compositions for what was obviously a second feature, and the cast is buoyed by stalwarts Halliwell Hobbes and Holmes Herbert (I love the way their names sound together!). There's even a brief scene that features a shaky cam in extreme closeup - half a century before Blair Witch Project. Highest recommendation for noir fans, though blood and guts horror mavens will probably be disappointed.

9:00 PM Sundance
Natural City (2003 ROK): Hey, Asian filmmakers can make mediocre science fiction movies, too! This Korean take on the Philip K. Dick/cyberpunk trope didn't do it for me, but Asia Extreme completists may want to give it a look anyway.