It seems to be a very hectic weekend for me. A lot of things that were beyond my control happened that caused me to act. Many people needed my help and I heeded their beck and call. I have chosen two very controversial films for this weekend's film night. Fireworks by Kenneth Anger, and A Clockwork Orange by Stanley Kubrick.
First up, Fireworks a significant film from 1947. This was directed by Kenneth Anger at the age of 20 during a weekend when his parents were out of town. It is silent save for a spoken prologue. According to sources, this film was inspired by the Zoot Suit Riots of 1944, in which flamboyantly dressed Mexicans were beaten by sailors. It plays as a reactionary dream to those events. Anger plays the dreamer, the main character in the film. He discovered his homosexuality early in life and explored in through film, what very few film makers at that time were doing. He studied film at USC, and made an indelible mark with this short. He waited a year before he made public showings of it, and it garnered much praise and support from acclaimed men of the film and stage: most notably, Jean Cocteau and Tennessee Williams. Due to this films images and subject matter, Anger was hit with obscenity charges two decades before Lenny Bruce, and it was later dropped as not obscene, but a work of art.
When I watched this for the first time, I wrote my friend and simply said, "I'm blown away!" To think that a 20 year old could make something so bold, so brave, so emotive, so impactful, so visionary, and reactionary, and with something to say boggles the mind. I even watched it again. It begins with a the prologue, and an image of a sailor holding an incapacitated dreamer. It cuts to the dreamer waking up naked to a series of photos of the sailor holding the dreamer. He gets dressed, puts the photos in the fireplace, and enters a bathroom labelled 'Gents' inside, in an almost dream-like world, the dreamer encounters a sailor at the bar, who shows off for the dreamer by flexing his muscles. The dreamer takes out a cigarette and asks for a light, at which point the sailor slaps him and beats him. It cuts to a sailor picking up a flaming bundle of sticks to help light the dreamer's cigarette. After smoking for a bit, the dreamer is confronted by a group on sailors with chains to jump the dreamer. The dreamer's chest is ripped open showing a compass inside his heart. Milk is poured on him, and suddenly he comes out of the bathroom. The sailor lights a phallic firework and it goes off like sparkling jism, as a Christmas tree is lit and is is thrown in the fireplace burning the photos and the tree. It jumps to the dreamer in bed with a sailor, and the film ends.
There is so much going on in this film. Sure there may be so framing issues, lighting issues, and maybe a few scenes should have been cut down a few seconds, but come on! Twenty years old. I've dabbled in short films and nothing even compares to this. I am very fond of many of the images contained in the film. I love the firework crotch. The witty gayisms interspersed throughout. How the sailor lights the fag (cigarette) with a fagot (bundle of sticks). The symbolism of the cigarette representing homosexuality is fantastic and the heart representing the moral compass for each individual and not for society to decide was also head of its time.. I enjoyed the placement of the camera as the sailors walked past showing only their crotches as they approached the dream to jump him. I apologize that this is disjointed, I am just speaking with bits that popped out at me. I found this film to be a revelation. It was way ahead of its time, and beautifully shot. To think, also, that this was filmed in just one weekend is baffling. A wonderful and lasting image is hand motive throughout the film. In the beginning is a broken hand, and is shown in a couple of more shots, when it is revealed that the dreamer is in bed with a sailor it shows the hand, complete and whole. The film was inspiring, saddening, even maddening. Maddening because I have not made such an impact to the world of cinema, and this film definitely make an explosion.
**** 1/2
A Clockwork Orange became the second X-rated film to be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars, and has become a cult classic since its release in 1971. This was Kubrick's follow-up to 2001, and proved that Kubrick can keep up with his own aesthetic and grandiose film making style. A lot has been written about this film, and it goes without saying that it is one of the best films of the seventies, a decade filled with momentous hits. I remember I started to watch this film for the first time with my best friend ten years ago. My best friends father was my pastor at the time, and we put it on when his parents were away. As we were watching it, we were piqued, but at the same time very nervous. The shit hit the fan, when my best friend's father came home and we stopped the film, ejected the VHS and slid the movie under his couches, and pretended to be doing something else. At the time, we thought it was just taboo to watch the film. We had heard it was a good film, after all, it's been on IMDB's list of 250 best films forever, but we were ignorant of the true aesthetic realities, and brilliant film making contained in the film.
I finally finished the movie a year later, and felt it was worth the watch. Since then, I have seen it at least a half a dozen times, and I have been remarked how good this film really is. Upon this viewing, I have come to the conclusion that 2001 is definitely better than A Clockwork Orange, but, nevertheless, has an enormous amount to say about the government, politics, religion, free will, and violence. In juxtaposition the our short film of the evening, the themes work well together. Where in Fireworks it is a man exploring his possibilities and trying to free himself, and is put down by society, A Clockwork Orange, is about a man who is exploring excess, while snuffing out life, and being controlled by society. It's interesting to note that the Orange in the title could be a reference to a synonym for orangutan, man. So, its about a man, who is predictable in his actions (under certain circumstances), choice is extinguished, and he'll not do certain things like clockwork. Of course, this is just my take.
Speaking of takes, with all Kubrick films, no doubt this film had many sequences with multiple takes. Most notably, the exhaustive takes of the "Singin' in the Rain" rape sequence was too much for the original actress and she had to be replaced, also the shot with the bodybuilder bringing the writer down the steps was shot so many times the bodybuilder, nearly passed out. The film is beautifully shot. Kubrick knew how to frame a shot, knew when to cut, knew when to utilize new and inventive camera techniques and angles. When Alex jumps through the window, Stanley Kubrick decided to drop a camera out of the window and use that footage. His use of angles is effective throughout the film. And, of course, Kubrick's use of music! The decor an art deco, mixed with a retro feel, coupled with interesting and erotic art pieces throughout. The thing that strikes me throughout the film is how frenetic everything is. The pace of the film is calm, but the performances, the furnishings and scene design, even the Beethoven songs are frenetic and add to the heightened fear and frenzy of Alex DeLarge. He starts out the film as a free hedonist, doing what he wanted to do, but became a cog in the government. A wild 180 caused by the Ludovic treatment allowed for fanciful and frenzy deco and performances. This is a outstanding piece of cinema, and stands out from other films by Kubrick. Some of the themes continued to be explored in Kubrick's latter films, most notably Eyes Wide Shut. I enjoy this film, like I enjoy most all of Kubrick's films. This stands as a testament to his genius and his sense of style.
****
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