Q Branch

Udine Far Eastern Film Festival, exclusively devoted to Asian cinema, is now entering its eleventh year. It is the most important exhibition site for East Asian and Southeast Asian films in Europe, other than the Deauville Film Festival held in France. Originally programmed to showcase one national cinema per year, since its conversion to first Hong Kong and later Asian cinema as a whole in 1990s, Udine has drawn industry specialists, critics, journalists and most significantly enthusiastic viewers from all over Western Europe.

While Udine is an old city with beautiful churches, a farmer’s market in the central piazza and extraordinarily good wine and food, the FEFF takes place in the large, gleaming and coolly angular Teatro Nuovo Giovanni. Most screenings are packed with highly enthusiastic audience, a good deal of them local Italian speakers from all walks of life and a whole gamut of generations. And the FEFF usually has something to offer to almost everyone. While the cornerstone of the festival remains muscular martial arts/action films, every stripe of Asian cinema, with the possible exception of the experimental and avant-garde, is offered: one can usually find a film that speaks to his or her taste, no matter how “exotic.” The die-hard kung fu film enthusiasts, the obsessive otakus in the lookout for the next mind-twister from a Miike Takashi or a Sono Sion, the unabashed romantics craving for a three-hankie melodrama fix, or the cinematic adventurers seeking the envelope-pushing visions of horror and dark fantasy can all happily find their niches in Udine.

Thanks to the longstanding effort from Darcy, who has been serving as a South Korean cinema programmer for seven years, Korean cinema has always been well-represented in the FEFF. Despite industry-wide difficulties in 2008, analyzed in the program notes by Darcy Paquet and Ryan Law, this year’s K-film selections illustrate the diversity and strengths of individual filmmaker’s visions fairly well. Aside from what is expected to be a crowd-pleasing unveiling of The Good, the Bad, the Weird, with director Kim Ji-woon attending as a special guest, some of 2008’s most critically lauded works (My Dear Enemy, Crush and Blush) and robust commercial hits (Scandal Makers, Rough Cut) are to be unleashed upon the European fans. Choe Equan’s animation film Life is Cool, Ryu Jang-ha’s quirky melodrama Hello Schoolgirl and the Kim Ok-vin vehicle Accidental Gangster are also included. I am personally most interested in the (European) audience response to Yoo Ha’s Frozen Flower, a different kind of Asian period piece (I assume most European viewers are unfamiliar with some interesting facts of Korean history such as that the Koryo King Gongmin-wang used to keep a harem of beautiful boys for personal pleasure, and was eventually assassinated by one of them—only obliquely referenced in the actual movie: I wish more filmmakers would tackle the medieval Korean history, as its non-Confucian, non-moralistic milieu is yet to be captured convincingly in Korean cinema).

The opening night gala, attended by a thousand-and-plus very excited and happy fans (Teatro Nuovo being capable of seating 1,400 viewers), introduced major guests– Kim Dong-ho, the veteran festival director who put Pusan Film Festival on the global map: Ann Hui, whose TV works are being honored in a sidebar program: Parchya Pinkaew and Panna Rittikrai, the producer-director team behind the Muay Thai action extravaganzas: and Dante Lam and Nick Cheung, the director and star of another highly anticipated Hong Kong thriller The Beast Stalker. Unfortunately the opening film was less than an optimal choice. Considering the FEFF’s leanings, it was not surprising to see the over-produced martial arts “epic” Ong Bak 2 opening the festival. The sequel-in-name-only is a wall-to-wall martial arts action with virtually no plot exposition or character development. Set in 15th century Thailand, the movie is like a bizarrely dour version of Conan the Barbarian (if it’s possible to imagine a sword-and-sandal fantasy any dourer than the original Conan). It’s obviously intended as a franchise pilot for Tony Jaa, complete with a (pretty deflating) cliffhanger ending, but I can’t see anyone except the most undiscriminating Muay Thai fans warming up to the movie’s utter lack of charm and mind-numbing repetition of boxing bouts. The episodes involving the teenage years of the protagonist Tien, played by Natdanai Kongthong, amounting to a total of maybe twenty minutes or so, give the film some desperately needed breathing room, but Tony Jaa as the adult Tien is, I think there is no charitable way to put it, simply terrible. But for me the most problematic element of Ong Bak 2 is that, in its desire to elevate Tony Jaa into the new global star status, it abandons the homespun virtues that made the original Ong Bak attractive in the first place. It is pretty painful to see Jaa trying to best Bruce Lee and Jacky Chan at their own games and failing miserably, at one point rather ungracefully swishing a three-segmented nunchaku against black-clad ninja assassins dressed up like Goth metal rockers. The FEFF should have chosen Chocolate– stuck in a midnight screening– as the opening film instead, a much more persuasive evidence for an optimistic future of Thai action cinema.

The 11th FEFF is turning out to be a banner year for Indonesian cinema. Like Korean films, the roster from the country, which boasts a robust and long history of eye-poppingly energetic local exploitation films (well known to fans of the Mondo Macabro DVD label), is strikingly diverse genre-wise and also in terms of political positions. The Rainbow Troops appears to be an inspiring children’s film in praise of Islamic educational institutions, while the hot young turk Joko Anwar’s Forbidden Door is a metaphysically complicated thriller with direct reference to David Lynch. Horror is represented by Fiction. (The title comes wth the period) and Takut: Faces of Fear, praised by the Udine programmer Paolo Bertolin as possibly the best Indonesian film of 2008.

Chants of Lotus, which I managed to catch in a surprisingly well-attended 9 am screening, is an omnibus film consisting of four shorts helmed by four women directors, Fatima T. Rony, Upi, Nia Dinata and Lasja F. Susatyo. The shorts cover a range of socially relevant topics, focusing on the abuses heaped on women: abortion, abuse of the mentally handicapped, hypocrisies of the legal system that privileges patriarchy and condones machismo, teen pregnancy, child molestation and even intolerance towards AIDS patients. Nothing terribly insightful or cinematically innovative takes place in Chants of Lotus, even though the elemental sentimentalism and undeniable horrors of women’s suffering do strike emotional chords, especially among sympathetic female viewers. The best segment is probably Upi’s “Chant from a Tourist City,” which shows uniform-clad teenagers clearly operating in a Muslim society—including those dutifully wearing hijabs– yet engaged in shockingly open and frank conversations (and behaviors) regarding sexuality. In this and “Chant from Jakarta,” the extraordinary, almost intimidating Eurasian beauty of the actresses– Kirana Larasati and Susan Bachtiar in particular– actually work against the rather simplistic nature of the stories being told. Apparently in 2008 the Indonesian government decided to strengthen censorship against public depiction of nudity and sexual situations: one can only hope that feminist visions of women filmmakers like Nia Dinata and Upi do not fall victim to such a conservative turn in the near future.

The Udine viewers whooped and applauded The Beast Stalker, Dante Lam’s taut crime thriller with an unexpectedly thoughtful approach to characterizations. Neither its English title, which suggests a variant of a Silence of the Lambs-like serial-killer-vs.-cop suspenser, nor its Chinese title, simply “a witness,” leading one to expect a courtroom procedural, accurately describes this ultimately improbable but powerful film. It shares some plot points with the slick Korean suspenser Seven Days, but taken as a whole it reminds one more of Park Chan-wook’s Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, especially its characters desperately struggling against Job-like twists of fate and trying to surivive the crushing weight of guilt and obsession. Nicholas Tse plays a straight-laced detective Tong, whose pursuit of a career criminal results in a terrible car crash and a shoot-out, partially maiming his partner and killing a young girl. Nearly unhinged by guilt, Tong becomes obsessed with protecting young girl’s mother, a prosecuting attorney (Zhang Jingchu), and her remaining child. When the latter is kidnapped by the criminal’s underlings seeking to sabotage the prosecution by a mysterious hitman Hung (Nick Cheung), Tong goes after him with the unofficial help from his former teammates.

-Nick Cheung and Dante Lam are greeted by the enthusiastic Udine audience

The Beast Stalker has a terrific rhythm and sweeps the viewers in an explosive adrenalin rush of its high-caliber action sequences, buttressed by ingenious sound design and superb editing job, but what distinguishes it from other above-average Hong Kong actioners is its resolute focus on the characters. Perhaps most surprisingly, Nick Cheung’s intimidatingly scarred kidnapper, slowly going blind and showing great devotion to a paralyzed wife (Miao Pu), turns out to be the most intriguing figure in the film. Director Lam manages to keep us in great suspence regarding Hung’s moral capacity, in the end making us care about him, without making us ever forget how evil he is. Nick Cheung, on his part, rises to the occasion by giving a splendidly restrained performance, cold and menacing when needed, but also making us see Hung’s numbing despair. The film’s major weak link is Zhang Jingchu’s barrister, reduced to a weepily repentant “career woman.” I found Miao Pu’s performance much more affecting, especially given that the only tools available to her were her eyes. The Beast Stalker is not perfect: it lacks the kind of auteurial elegance and ironic sense of humor found in a high-end Johnny To film, and as I mentioned above, the plot contrivances in the end stretches credibility to the breaking point. Yet, it has a virtue that other popular—and possibly better-made– actioners like The Breaking News lack—a deep engagement with the moral struggles of the characters, that aspires to the plane of Kurosawa-like hard-boiled humanism.

Not nearly as enthusiastically received but nonetheless showered with appreciation was Prachya Pinkaew’s Chocolate, starring the pixie-like dynamo Jeeja Yanin as a half-Japanese autistic teenager capable of mimicking any martial arts move she observes on TV, on training ground, etc., turning her into a mean fighting machine. Chocolate is a great fun, in my estimation, far more enjoyable than Ong Bak. Some hardcore martial arts film fans might derisively chuckle at it, saying why, it’s nothing more than a crude rip-off of Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill, filled to the brim as it were with weirdly synthetic takes on the conventions of Japanese yakuza films and girl’s comics, not to mention an almost hilariously bald hommages to Bruce Lee, especially his early flick The Big Boss. There’s some truth to that observation, but crude or not, Chocolate is delectable: it retains wit and charm crushed flat by the rampaging bull elephants in Ong Bak 2. Channeling Bruce Lee’s charisma, the film nonetheless relies on a tried-and-true Jacky Chan template of staging physically punishing acrobatic action sequences one after another, each phase escalating the stake until the jaw-dropping climax (It even runs end credits over the footage of Jeeja and other actors running into various cringe-inducing accidents). What makes it all work is Jeeja Yanin at the center: perky but not saccharine, always fully present, never mugging for camera. She is actually a rather good actress and I hope she gets chances to appear in in non-Thai films as well. Sure, she is not a model-like beauty but who cares? I would rather see her than Jeon Ji-hyun as pouty Saya in the screen adaption of Blood: The Last Vampire.

On the other hand, the Udine viewer’s response to Yu Ha’s Frozen Flower was decidedly mixed. More than a few viewers seem to have been bothered by the plot that seemingly points to a negative stereotyping of gay characters: not the ultimately cruel king (Joo Jin-mo) but the pretty-boy protagonist Hong Rim (Zo In-sung), whose unwilling coupling with an initially insulted queen (Song Ji-hyo) develops into a full-blown romance, implying that his “gay tendencies” have been “cured” by a sex with women. Frozen Flower has other problems. Despite upscale production values and technical acumen, the Koryo kingdom depicted in the movie does not look lived-in: the costumes—even underwear—are just too darn colorful, and the palace grounds look like rock concert stages rather than a medieval court. (However, the musical interludes in which the king and the queen each sings a Koryo-period song are rather nice. We never get to see crooning royals in a historical drama set in Joseon dynasty!) The music samples classical music yet again for a period piece (this time it’s Brahms) and is unintentionally funny. The martial arts choreography is boring and turgid. It is altogether obvious that Yu Ha has not mastered conventions and tools of the period piece as well as he has done with an urban crime drama or a coming-of-age autobiography.

Yet, Frozen Flower does exert considerable power as a passionate melodrama. The best performance is given by Song Ji-hyo (Wishing Stairs): like her big, gleaming eyes that fill to the brim with tears but never overflows, she tightly controls her emotional expression and maintains the queen’s dignity. Joo Jin-mo handles an ultimately unsympathetic king with skills as well. On the other hand, Zo In-sung’s performance is uneven: at some points he looks merely uncomfortable rather than internally conflicted. Zo fans will probably have mixed reactions to the way his character is essentially reduced to an object of passion—sexual or otherwise—by two headstrong royals. Even though seriously flawed, Frozen Flower is an interesting addition to the filmography of all concerned, and a laudable effort to cultivate new grounds for Korean cinema.

(Following portion of the report written by Darcy Paquet)

The FEFF has concluded on May 2. Two Korean directors arrived at Udine during the second half of the festival to present their films. Kim Jee-woon introduced his latest film The Good, the Bad, the Weird to a crowd seemingly already familiar with his works (His wrestling comedy Foul King was the winner of the audience award at Udine). In some ways the biggest star at the festival, director Kim not only gave a generous stage greeting, confessing his love for Italian cinema, but also participated in a panel devoted to Korean cinema, followed by a press conference with enthusiastic local journalists. Although somewhat reserved by nature, Kim’s sense of humor and love of cinema were apparent in the sincere and detailed answers he gave to all questions fielded to him. The version of The Good played at Udine was a slightly trimmed international print, which Kim himself professed to like better. Some of the trims involve the Jeong Woo-sung character’s involvement with the Korean independence army, making the movie more tightly focused on characters, and making his initial appearance is much stronger. The appearance of the Japanese troops cause less potential confusion for the logistically-minded viewers. And so on. The loud and kinetic film was greeted warmly by the viewers, who clapped and cheered at the end of the film (As is common when the director is present).

The second director who flew in from Korea was Kang Hyoung-chul, introducing his domestic box-office hit Scandal Makers, together with the producer Lee An-na. Scandal Makers had a difficult beginning, rejected by many companies during its scenario stage, but the debut film proved skeptics wrong and became the biggest comedy hit in Korean film history (8.3 million tickets sold). Despite its smashing success at home, both the director and producer admitted to being a bit nervous about whether its smart dialogue and comic situations would be appreciated by Udine’s predominantly European audience. They needn’t have worried: 1,300-strong Udine viewers roared with laughter, at virtually all of the film’s physical and verbal gags (except for one funny bit: a scene at the pre-school where the child actor Wang Seok-hyun’s sitting in a posture of a very old woman, which would have sent a Korean viewer into a laugh attack). The audience reaction is in keeping with a very interesting trend of the Udine viewers embracing Korean comedies, which many Korean critics assume cannot really work outside their own culture. Koreans should seriously examine their conviction that their culture is so unique and is incomprehensible to the outsiders: the foreigners do get your jokes (if they are well done)! Ultimately among the 50-plus contemporary features screened at Udine, Scandal Makers received the second highest audience rating, giving the director a nice trophy to take home. The top honors went to Departures, the crowd-pleasing Japanese drama (and a Oscar foreign film award winner) starring Motoki Masayuki.

Audience Award rankings:

1. Departures (Japan) 4.57 out of 5

2. Scandal Makers (South Korea) 4.36 out of 5

3. The Rainbow Troops (Indonesia) 4.22 out of 5

Black Dragon Award rankings (calculated among privileged Black Dragon member’s votes):

1. Departures (Japan) 4.71 out of 5

2. 4BIA (Thailand) 4.18 out of 5

3. Connected (Hong Kong) 4.04 out of 5

MyMovies Audience Award (voted through the www.Mymovies.it website)

1. One Million Yen Girl (Japan)

Udine allows the kind of Korean films often ignored by the so-called “big” international film festivals like Cannes, Berlin and Toronto—usually mid-level commercial productions in genres like comedy, melodrama and period piece—to show their mettle to non-Korean viewers. This year I was very lucky to procure all of my top choices. Next year it might be a little more difficult, considering that precisely this type of films were hardest hit by the economic downturn. Udine FEFF is still one of the best opportunities outside Korea to appreciate the full range, a genuine diversity, of Korean commercial cinema, and also to see Korean productions in the broader context of Asian cinema.

Holy Mackerel, 2007 was only one page ago in this blog, and already only five days left to go before 2009! 2008 has been a pretty eventful year in my life, as it turned out—what with the book finally coming out and also with nearly killing myself in a car accident– but enough about little old me… it’s time to select the favorite DVDs of 2008, girls and boys.

The big non-event of the year, DVD-collecting-wise, was that I finally relented (after Criterion announced its first spate of Blu Ray releases) and bought a Blu Ray player as well as a slew of discs in the new format. I think losers in a war should shut up and not make any excuses, so as a former supporter of Toshiba and HD DVD, I will refrain from cracking “I told you so”-’s to those who got stuck with the Blu Ray discs unplayable in your instantly obsolete players and have to deal with the consumer-insulting concept of “firmware update.” So far my unassuming Pioneer player has shielded me from any major hiccups, and that’s just the way I hope things stay. Blu Ray, while not God’s perfect solution to the problem of high-def upgrading, still does allow us to have access to a goodly number of cinematic arts in the form that makes us a lot more appreciative of their visual and aural capacities. I guess I have made peace with the format, for now: I don’t expect me to switch over to downloadable files in HD anytime soon. I am watching the latest season of Law & Order: Criminal Intent on iTunes, for sure, but that will not stop me from buying them on DVDs, or even Blu Ray, if NBC bothers to release them at all.

Korean cinema industry continues to struggle with a host of problems, most of which are of their own making. The truly pathetic decline, or near obliteration, of the secondary market for motion pictures has been an ongoing issue for several years now, but no one is doing anything about it. The DVD market is on the last lines of life support and is paging Dr. Kervokian or anyone else who could just put it out of its misery. The proposed bill to apply the more strict anti-trust regulation on the distribution of motion pictures languishes on the shelf, gathering dust. Hollywood-ization of Korean cinema, in the sense of relentless pursuit of “high concept” movies, slavery to fashions and fads and marketing-driven film production, continues unabated, exactly when the old Hollywood models are crumbling into pieces to make way for the new architectural designs of the Darren Aronofskys and Christopher Nolans.

As for illegal downloading, all I want to say is that this is not the problem that can be fixed through legal or political means. The heart of the problem lies in the Korean consumer’s basic lack of respect for motion pictures as cultural products, and the idiotically myopic industrial policies that cater to such lack of respect to make quick bucks: the kind of marketing campaign, for instance, that suggests a movie-goer paying regular ticket price is a sucker compared to some teenaged sharpie getting discounts from using certain credit cards, etc. If you are not willing to pay your own hard-earned bucks for a product, then you don’t give a poop about it, I mean, really. You cannot call yourself a fan of Korean movies if you didn’t make any contribution to the livelihood of the people who make dem movies (unless you are Kim Jong Il, of course). Down with the illegal download!

One bright spot that warms my heart is the Korean Film Archive’s heroic and greatly underappreciated effort to preserve, excavate and make available in public old Korean films, some of which have been dug up among archives of North China and never seen the light of day for more than 40 years. And the Korean film industry continues to draw ridiculously talented men and women thoroughly devoted to filmmaking, still capable of knocking us out with films like The Chaser.

Oh well, enough of patriotic jeremiad. Let’s get down to business. As was the case with the 2007 list, the following choices do not reflect my calmly collected, rational evaluations of the movies, animations and TV series found in the respective DVDs and Blu Rays: neither do they represent what I consider to be the highest-quality presentations of the titles. This is simply a very personal and subjective list of the discs that I found intriguing, delightful, surprising, emotionally galvanizing and/or otherwise memorable. And again like last year, there is a separate list for Korean-language speakers at Djunaboard here. I know, the items are not identical. It was actually extremely difficult to pare the list down to even twenty, much less ten.

10. How the West Was Won- Blu Ray (Warner Brothers- No Region Code)

Is How the West Was Won the kind of timeless classic that can be compared favorably to the best works of John Ford and Henry Hathaway? Probably not. Still, this title was one Blu Ray disc that I thought the disc producers (in this case, Warner Brothers) could proudly point to when confronted with a consumer’s cynical question, “So what does this incredibly enhanced capacity of a Blu Ray disc do for us exactly?” The second disc features the “Smilebox” presentation of the movie that curves visible areas of the screen to simulate the original Cinerama projection: in a regular widescreen, the image projected onto three-panel screens becomes inevitably distorted. I had initially expected something borderline cheesy or in any case pretty gimmicky, but no, as soon as I started watching the first three minutes of the Smilebox version I got totally sucked into the jaw-dropping vista of snow-bound canyons, raging river currents, etc. Breathtaking is the only appropriate word here. Also included in the set is the documentary Cinerama Adventure, an exhaustive run-down on this specialty format, that is worth the price of purchase by itself.

9. The Invaders- The First Season (CBS/Paramount- Region 1)

I have still managed to miss The Man from U. N. C. L. E. but otherwise no classic TV series was as much of compelling viewing as Quinn Martin’s The Invaders. Starring Roy Thinnes as an architect who is privy to a planetary conspiracy by the aliens from outer space (whose true form is never revealed), The Invaders is a quintessential paranoid thriller in the serial form, ahead of its time in its cynical attitude toward the military and government (In one stunning episode, Jack Lord—that’s right, Steve McGarrett himself—portrays a disabled former military hero who unrepentantly sides with the aliens just so that he can reclaim his “heroic” status) as well as its subtle critique of the rural America’s parochialism and conformity. Seen 30 years later, The Invaders still does its job extremely well, in many ways remaining superior to its more obvious descendants such as X-Files in its no-nonsense dramatics and cool, unsentimental presentation of alien beings.

8. Kim Ki Young Collection (Korean Film Archive/Taewon Entertainment- Region 3)

In 2008 Korean Film Archive also released the second volume of The Past Unearthed DVD collections, this time focusing on the freshly discovered Korean motion pictures from late 1930s, and other classic titles, but for the sheer non-academic, movie-nut desirability, nothing could surpass the Kim Ki Young Collection, which gathers together four major films of the idiosyncratic filmmaker: Goryeojang (1963), The Insect Woman (1972), Promise of the Flesh (1975) and Ieodo (1977).

A filmmaker of unique talent, Kim struggled mightily against the horrid material conditions of the Korean film industry in 60s and 70s, producing arch melodramas and bizarre thrillers that defy classification or even explanation. While many of his films, including their titles, were clearly inspired by the Japanese New Wave (Even though his Goryeojang, made in 1963, is intriguingly positioned between the two internationally renowned versions of The Ballad of Narayama, one by Kinoshita Keisuke and the other by Imamura Shohei), he was far from a copycat. Simply put, no one makes movies like Kim Ki Young’s. Sometimes his films are nightmarish and otherworldly in the most fundamental sense of the words. At other times, they are unbelievably kitschy, stupefyingly pretentious or just unimaginably bizarre, funnier than any intentional satire ever could. Who could possibly forget a prostitute’s necrophilic tryst with a drowned corpse in Ieodo (1977)? Or the “vibrating multicolored candies” sex scene, filmed from below a glass table in Insect Woman (1972)?

Alas, the films collected in this box set are pretty beat up, horrendously marred by scratches, spots and splices. The Insect Woman, in particular, is shown in what is reputed to be the only surviving print, one made for submission to the Sitges Festival, badly discolored in spots with burnt-in Spanish subtitles. It grieves me to think that his films remain outside the purview of the kind of loving restorations given to a Dario Argento or a Mario Bava in the Region 1 DVD market. Still, the Korean Film Archive has done its best, especially from the academic end, including with four DVDs a hefty booklet with two bilingual critical essays and a reconstructed scenario of the permanently lost sequences from Goryeojang.

7. Man of the West (MGM/UA- Region 1)

This year’s most amazing blind-purchase DVD discovery was hands-down Anthony Mann’s Man of the West, which, despite its plain (even boring) title and bland opening sequence, is one of the most mind-boggling Westerns I have ever seen. Man of the West wrecked the entire frigging concept of “revisionist Western” for me and stunned me into contemplating just how many unsung masterpieces you don’t even heard about are out there. Had it not been directed by (recent critic’s darling) Mann and not starred Gary Cooper, would it have even seen light of the day? The only weak point of the movie is that Cooper is obviously too old to play Lee J. Cobb’s nephew, but otherwise Coop’s as dangerously ambivalent—he’s darn right scary when he begins to violently undress the howling Jack Lord while pummeling him into pulp—as I ever seen him.

6. Hammer Films: Icons of Horror Collection (Sony/Columbia- Region 1)

Sony and Columbia also released another fan favorite this year, the mis-named Icons of Adventure Collection with the sinister (and racist) Stranglers of Bombay, but I am leaning toward this one. The draw for Hammer fans is the inclusion of the rarely-seen Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll, but for me a beautifully remastered Gorgon was the big surprise: compared to the drab VHS version, it really was like seeing an entirely different movie, the Sony DVD version totally unexpectedly managing to evoke the Gothic-romance atmosphere (courtesy of the superb direction by Terence Fisher), despite the sorry quality of make-up on the Gorgon. The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb and Scream of Fear are the other selections. All in all, a highly satisfactory package, with the quality of presentation decidedly superior to the earlier Anchor Bay releases of Hammer titles.

5. The Dark Knight- Blu Ray (Warner Brothers- No Region Code)

For some reasons a few people whose opinions I greatly respect seem determined not to like The Dark Knight. Ah well, it would actually stimulate my Contrarian Impulse if everyone agrees with me on the merit of this summer blockbuster that also happens to be a head-spinning crime thriller qua film noir, a complex multi-character drama with a miraculous ensemble of actors delivering thoroughly satisfying performances on all accounts and a startling treatise on the hypocrisies of American law-and-order mentality and yes, even comic-book super-heroism. Can a super-hero franchise movie deconstruct its own myth to this extent and get away with it? Sure, to the tune of 900 million bucks in worldwide box office performance. And this is way before even mentioning the terrifying mystery that is the Joker as interpreted by the late Heath Ledger.

I claim that The Dark Knight has a far, far more perceptive take on the post-9/11, Bush-year American Zeitgeist than any so-called liberal anti-Iraq War film made in last two years (Rendition? Lions for Lambs? I don’t think so. In the Valley of Elah, a very good movie, still cannot match the diagnosis of the problem and prescriptions provided in the Batman sequel), but hey, let’s not get too excited. All I want to note here is that it is a movie like The Dark Knight that indeed provides rationalizations for switching to Blu Ray, or run to the nearest IMAX theater.

4. The Exquisite Short Films of Kihachiro Kawamoto (Kim Stim Collection/Kino Video- Region 1)

The “exquisite” in the title is not hyperbole. Neither would be adjectives like “haunting,” “enchanting” and “mystifying.” This DVD collects seven short animated films of Kawamoto Kihachiro, a master of puppet animation and long-time President of the Animator’s Association in Japan. Kawamoto, who had apprenticed at Kratky Studio in Prague under the mentorship of Jiri Trnka, soon developed his own unique style that combines the austere aesthetics of bunraku and noh with the stop-motion techniques. The DVD includes the utterly unforgettable showcases of this style, “The Demon” and “Dojoji Temple,” both adapted from folk stories in the Tales of Now and the Past, but it also demonstrates, in other works including the Kafkaesque parable “An Anthropo-Cynical Farce” (with dialogues in French) and the indescribable “A Poet’s Life,” the stunning range of his skills and the sumptuousness of his tastes as an artist. Finally, even though most of the animated shorts are squarely intended for adults, I would be remiss if I neglect to mention the subtle yet expansive sense of humor that infuses them.

3. The Naked Prey (Criterion- Region 1)

‘50s minor action star Cornell Wilde was also an independent producer and director. Taking the real-life story of the explorer John Colter and his dire experience with Blackfoot Indians as a basis, he fashioned a harrowing tale of survival and filmed it in South Africa with some of the top-class black actors living under the apartheid system. Dismissed by some critics as in poor taste and overly brutal at the time of theatrical release, Naked Prey is now positioned to be properly appreciated not only for its directorial acumen and wonderful performances, but also for its lyrical beauty and astoundingly cathartic finale. Criterion’s 2.35:1 widescreen transfer is absolutely magnificent, standing out even among its staple of restorations.

2. The Fire Within (Criterion- Region 1)

Watching The Fire Within was at once an explosively exhilarating and a deeply unsettling experience. With apologies to Michelangelo Antonioni, L’Aaventura feels like a fashion show with a very egotistical designer harboring in the background next to this searing portrayal by Louis Malle of a man who is slowly sliding into spiritual, and soon to be culminating in physical, death.

Malle has always been my favorite nouvelle vague filmmaker, even though there are few films of his that I could enjoy or have fun with, as I could with Truffaut or even Godard. The Fire Within is probably one of the monumentally feel-bad movies I have seen in my life, and yet the particular truths laid bare in it, embodied in the extraordinary performance of Maurice Ronet, a European actor of yesteryear whose early passing I mourn more than anyone else’s, haunt my dreams like no other.

1. L. A. Confidential- Blu Ray (Warner Brothers- No Region Code)

And here we go, the no. 1 disc I bought this year. L. A. Confidential. This velvety-on-surface but tough-as-iron-inside dame has not aged at all. No, I take it back, she actually improves with age, in all aspects. For me this is what contemporary American cinema is all about, and to build superb characters around an exceptionally well-managed narrative and come up with a story that alters the reality of the lived world through our newfound perception of it. The very definition of cinematic art.

Enough ramblings! I hope you enjoyed my list this year around, too, and as anyone who puts something like this together would wish, you might be a tad more interested in checking out one or more items mentioned in it for yourself. Thanks for reading, and I will be back with more DVD reviews and interviews of SF/cultural studies people very soon.