blonde venus

marlene dietrich smoking shanghai express

starting this evening, our wonderful friends at BAM will feature a retrospective of the seven collaborations between director josef von sternberg and the german goddess marlene dietrich. the series begins with morocco and shanghai express (which i am fortunate enough to be attending) and will continue through the next week. if you’re in the new york area, do yourself a favor this week and pay a visit. by sv

shirley–visions of reality

shirley visions of reality film 001

thirteen edward hopper paintings are brought to life through various eras in american history in gustav deutsch’s extraordinary film. follow shirley’s journey through myriad social and political crises as she remains a strong and determined woman. this was internationally released last year, i am crossing my fingers and toes for a united states release in the nearest future. read more about the film hereby sv

ms. 45

zoe tamerlis lund ms 45

here’s the trailer from abel ferrara’s 1981 exploitation film about a beautiful mute girl, and the tumultuous events surrounding her over the course of a few days in the pre-Giuliani-sex-ridden new york city. starring the late zoe tamerlis-lund, she gives a hilariously awkward and sexy performance. ferrara can be a bit too gritty for me sometimes, but having the pleasure of seeing this over the weekend with great company was certainly a night of joy. by sv

love is to die

warpaint love is to die


anyone with two eyes and even the teensiest morsel of a brain was/is a fan of chris cunningham and his tremendous and often off-putting music videos for such artists as madonna, aphex twin, bjork squarepusher, and portishead amongst others. cunningham’s wife, jenny lee lindberg is the bassist of warpaint, an extraordinary musical act with whom he’s been working on this documentary for nearly two years. here’s the teaser trailer for love is to die. can’t wait to see the rest. by sv

film

samuel beckett and buster keaton on set of film

 

i know beckett isn’t for everyone, but i still laugh out loud every time i read waiting for godot; and of course, what’s not to love about buster keaton? a pastiche of buñuel, gary baseman, cocteau and hitchcock with an impulsive disposition. film is a film to preserve experience and cohesively explore beckett’s paradigms through the movements of a silent genius. by sv

dead ringer

bette davis dead ringerposter for the paul henreid directed film starring ms. ruth elizabeth davis herself. henreid and davis also starred together in now, voyager; one of my all time favorite films, and the one to launch henreid as a romantic lead. i’ve never seen dead ringer, well, besides the cronenberg of a similar name, but this poster is certainly intriguing.
by sv