Ser Supremo (o no Ser, esa es la cuestión)

Por qué Mr. Anderson, ¿Por qué lo hace? ¿por qué se levanta? ¿Por qué sigue luchando? ¿De verdad cree que lucha por algo además de por su propia supervivencia? ¿Querría decirme qué es, si es que acaso lo sabe? ¿Es por la libertad? ¿Por la verdad? ¿Tal vez por la paz? ¿Quizás por el amor? Ilusiones Mr. Anderson, desvaríos de la percepción, concepciones temporales de un frágil intelecto humano que trata con desesperación el justificar una existencia sin sentido ni objetivo.

martes, 10 de julio de 2012

SPANISH Exploitation: Sexo, sangre y balas

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El libro de Victor Matellano, SPANISH EXPLOITATION. En su prólogo dice:

Hablamos de un tiempo en que los directores jamás disfrutaron de una subvención estatal para filmar, dependían de un productor que creyera en el proyecto y de que el público acudiera al cine. Sabían que, por fuerza, manejaban un material que debía ser vendible. Sin ningún complejo de inferioridad frente al cinéma de quialité crearon cientos de películas comerciales y entretenidas que revisitaron a su manera los subgéneros icónicos de la segunda mitad del siglo XX: fantástico, terror, extraterrestres, monstruos, vampíros, acción prehistórica, luchadores romanos, dioses griegos, ficción bíblica, juventud descarriada, sexo, drogas y rock´n´roll. Es una maravilla tener entre mis manos este libro. Descubrirá el profano otra mirada hacia nuestro cine más querido y permitirá que el iniciado se pierda entre sus páginas.

OTROS LIBROS SIMILARES:

Perverse Titillation: the Exploitation Cinema of Italy, Spain and France, 1960-1980

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Tapa blanda: 338 páginas
Editor: McFarland & Co Inc (15 de junio de 2011)
Idioma: Inglés
ISBN-10: 0786448881
ISBN-13: 978-0786448883

The book Perverse Titillation: The Exploitation Cinema of Italy, Spain and France, 1960-1980 by Danny Shipka is a remarkable chronicle of a genre of film and its creators that has not previously been told by media or film historians. Accented with reprints of posters and other promotion memorabilia from the period and narrated in an entertaining style, Perverse Titillation covers the shocking, yet relevant, social, political and cultural phenomena that gave rise to a brand of cinematic storytelling that spread throughout the world. As Dr. Shipka points out, these films were very popular in American movie theaters and drive-ins, and greatly influenced more modern Hollywood filmmaking. The book is not a defense of the content of these movies or their auteurs; rather, Perverse Titillation helps us understand these films in the context of their times. Anyone who teaches film appreciation courses, popular culture, women's studies or general social and/or media history classes would find this book to be a valuable resource for reference or as a supplemental text.

Swedish Sensationsfilms: A Clandestine History of Sex, Thrillers, and Kicker Cinema

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Tapa blanda: 320 páginas
Editor: Bazillion Points (24 de marzo de 2011)
Idioma: Inglés
ISBN-10: 0979616360
ISBN-13: 978-0979616365

Engaging, informative and highly humorous chronicle concerning Sweden's sensationsfilms, a little-known genre that covers soft and hardcore films of the 50's, 60's and 70's, ligonberry westerns (Swedish spaghetti westerns?!), cult films, seedy crime dramas, political thrillers and 'Kicker' flicks (imagine 'Clockwork Orange' in Stockholm) along with other noteworthy oddities, as well as those who starred, directed and produced them. Prior to reading this delightful tome, I thought Sweden's only exports were meatballs, Ingmar Bergman, cheese, suicide and Christina Lindberg. Little did I know.

The format is simple, for the most part - a one paragraph synopsis, another detailing fun facts about the producer, director and actors, accompanied by any social or political revelations that correlate with the film or timeframe, followed by a third paragraph peppered with the author's appraisal and often caustic and scathing insight on any or all of these factors. It makes for an entertaining read, though not necessarily an intellectual one, but there are already way too many heady re-evaluations of grindhouse, sex and exploitation, Eurosleaze and giallo, cult and midnite movie filmbooks flooding the market that take themselves too seriously. This isn't one of them, and therein lies its worth.

I learned many things within these pages, but several stuck with me - in most reviews, author Daniel Ekeroth cites the offensive elements that make these films worthy of inclusion (early examples of nudity, extreme violence, etc.), but in one he lists "non-consensual sex with a dog". See, I've been a dog owner most of my life and never knew there was such a thing as consensual sex with a dog...now I'll have to re-evaluate those flirtatious looks I get from my female canine companion periodically...
Another noteworthy and hysterical thing that appalled the author was a woman using a kielbasa sausage that's about fifteen inches long and as wide as a beercan as a masturbatory aid in a porno film; the size and girth didn't bother him so much as the fact that it's comprised of only 17% meat! You learn something new every day...

The book is packed with B+W pictures, posters and press releases of every film entry, and there are two color sections as well, so it's got great graphic appeal too (but keep it away from the kiddies), and the actors in each flick are listed. The films are listed alphabetically, but unfortunately in Swedish/Danish, so a quick reference for us yanks is impossible, but this is a minor quibble. A history of Swedish censorship is chronicled so we can understand how rigidity and laxness came to ebb and flow over time, as well as the unforseen and unwelcome byproducts that came with them (child pornography, gang violence, brothels everywhere, and yet homosexuality was considered a mental illness). This might account for the high suicide rate...

A Rogues Gallery biography/filmography of all the major actors and directors is included near the book's end, and we are then treated to a glossary of curious Swedish culture and understanding of the region and nearby countries, where we find that most, if not all, of the holidays are comprised of Swedes "being swept up in complete mayhem with violence, delirium, drinking and countless brief sexual relationships". I'm planning my trip as I write this.

A book that's as much fun as it is informative is a rare commodity, but this one fits the bill. When you see the pic of author Daniel Ekeroth on the rear flap and find out he's been in many deathmetal bands and has written books on them as well, it's hard not to hear the voice of Skiwsgaar from 'Metalocalypse' as you read this, but I mean that as praise - we're yanks, for chrissakes, whatyd'ya expect??? Buy this book - it's a Swedish Sensation!

X-rated: Adventures of an Exploitation Filmmaker

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Tapa dura: 256 páginas
Editor: Reynolds & Hearn Ltd (3 de julio de 2008)
Idioma: Inglés
ISBN-10: 190528778X
ISBN-13: 978-1905287789

Looking at it from today's perspective, it seems incredible to think that Stanley Long's films from the 1960s and the 1970s could have elicited such trouble with the censors. But they did, and, arguably still do; his 1971 documentary-style look at pornography, `Naughty!', is still not available uncut in the UK. A film about prostitution in London, `West End Jungle' (1960) was banned outright. Not that it contained any nudity, but, as the president of the British Board of Film Censors put it, "This film is a disgrace. I have never seen anything so anti-London in all my life." A cursory look at the BBFC's website shows a litany of cuts against Long's and other filmmakers' movies during the swinging sixties and saucy seventies. While hardcore had hit the United States and parts of Europe, here in dear old Blighty, the censors were sharpening their knives in readiness for the thoroughly innocuous Eskimo Nell.

It would not be right, in my opinion, to call Stanley Long a maverick. Yes, some of his films gave the censors a touch of the collywobbles, but he did not set out to trouble them deliberately. Aside from his filmmaking expertise, Long had the happy knack of gauging the Zeitgeist with well-timed releases of The Wife Swappers and Groupie Girl just as these films' subject matter had begun to seep into the nation's consciousness. This, along with an entrepreneurial flair which led to other film-related activities, notably distribution and the leasing of editing facilities, kept the wolves from the door after Long had ceased making movies. Keeping the cash rolling in was uppermost in his mind when others in the exploitation film game were considering flouting the law by including harder material in their movies. In the 1970s, it was not unheard of for British sex films to have two versions: the tame version for the home market and another, stronger version, for the European market. Long's one-time collaborator, Derek Ford, went down this route, notably with his movie, `Sex Express' which was re-cut and re-titled as `Diversions' with more graphic content. Long would not allow this with his own projects. The shooting of hardcore was still illegal and the prospect of spending time in jail did not appeal.

`X-Rated' is a fascinating book which should appeal to anyone interested in the British exploitation film genre. It's written by Simon Sheridan (author of the excellent Keeping the British End Up: Four Decades of Saucy Cinema) in an easy-going conversational style. This is much in evidence when the subject of morality campaigner, Mary Whitehouse is raised. Long's contempt for her and her cronies is colourfully phrased.

The book focuses almost entirely on Long's professional life. Little is mentioned regarding his two failed marriages. Similarly, his childhood experiences as an evacuee are not dwelt upon. But this is not a major criticism: the book's subtitle is `Adventures of an Exploitation Filmmaker' and it's this aspect of his life that is of most interest to fans. There's a wealth of anecdotes including the Elaine Page saga (Adventures of a Plumber's Mate); the British comedy legend hired to appear in the same film who arrived on set blind-drunk and stayed that way until Long fired him. And, during the filming of `Naughty!' at London Zoo's monkeys' enclosure, Long was hoping to capture some scenes of primate self-love. The monkeys would not perform until . . .

Well, it had me doubled up with laughter when I read that little story. `X-Rated' is an engrossing read and highly recommended particularly for fans of the British sexploitation films of the 1960s and 1970s for which Stanley Long is probably best known. His early career in photography and documentary filmmaking is also covered as is his time on Roman Polanski's Repulsion on which Long worked as co-cinematographer.

Nazisploitation!: The Nazi Image in Low-Brow Cinema and Culture