To date from the 65th Venice Film Festival we have shown you Coffin Joe, Fabrice Du Welz, Kaiju and now Hayao Miyazaki! A super size image of him at the festival today is at the link below and several more added super size images from Ponyo On The Cliff. Hayao Miyazaki was at Venice screening his latest work and proclaiming his steadfast and unending love for non-computer animation. He told reporters after the Ponyo screening:

“I think animation is something that needs the pencil, needs man’s drawing hand, and that is why I decided to do this work in this way. Currently computer graphics are of course used a great deal and, as I’ve said before, this use can at times be excessive. I will continue to use my pencil as long as I can.”

More from Silvia Aloisi of Reuters

We have already seen Coffin Joe stomping down the red carpet of the 65th Venice Film Festival (here) and now at last we see Minoru Kawasaki stomping down the red carpet Takemajin-style! While audiences and critics seemed shocked the Coen Brothers, heaven forbid, would make a silly comedy, Kawasaki was sexying up Venice with gigantic romping kaiju action. Click the link below to witness pictures from its showing at Venice and images from the film itself, Monster X Strikes Back: Attack the G8 Summit that feature destruction, confused world leaders, kaiju paparazzi, mayhem and… Takemajin and Guilala locked in fierce deadly fighting!

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Vinyan, a film we have been covering fairly thorough here at Twitch, had its world premiere today at the 65th Venice Film Festival. Reviews and comments should start streaming in over the course of the next 24-48 hours. At the moment we have Neil Smith from the BBC talking to Fabrice Du Welz and Emmanuelle Beart (here) and a rather grumpy take on the film by Andrew Pulver at the Guardian (here). I expect Vinyan to be somewhat divisive as its rumored to be a very strong and emotional film told with cracking and feverish intensity. Basically anyone walking into expecting to see something like Bogart in The Africa Queen will probably be disappointed. Strongly told films tend to cause strong reactions.

Super size images from the world premiere at the link below.

REMINDER: Hayao Miyazaki’s Ponyo On The Cliff will be screening at the 65th Venice International Film Festival on August 31st (event listing). From all accounts so far of the film it seems Miyazaki explores new ground this time around with details so intricate and dense that anything less than seeing it on film on the big screen would be a crying shame. It even lead to a member of KineJapan wondering if even Blu-Ray would be able to represent its multitude of details and artistic touches. At the moment from everything I’m hearing, Summer 2009 would be the earliest Disney would release it in the US. Some additional images for Ponyo at the link below.

Synopsis:

This is the story of Ponyo, a little fish from the sea who struggles to realize her dream of living with a boy named Sosuke. It also tells of how five-year old Sosuke manages to keep a most solemn promise.

Ponyo On The Cliff places Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid in a contemporary Japanese setting. It is a tale of childhood love and adventure.

A little seaside town and a house at the top of a cliff. A small cast of characters. The ocean as a living presence. A world where magic and alchemy are accepted as part of the ordinary.

The sea below, like our subconscious mind, intersects with the wave-tossed surface above. By distorting normal space and contorting normal shapes, the sea is animated not as a backdrop to the story, but as one of its principal characters.

A little boy and a little girl, love and responsibility, the ocean and life - these things, and that which is most elemental to them, are depicted in the most basic way in Ponyo On The Cliff. This is my response to the afflictions and uncertainty of our times.

- Hayao Miyazaki

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If in an alternate universe, Edgar Wright had a brother living in Iceland making his own Spaced feature on the fanboy culture, then Astrópía (Dorks & Damsels) is at that film and Gunnar B. Gudmundsson is that brother (no they are not really related). Astrópía is a rush of fantasy cinema that is drawn to parallel the current world of fanboys. It’s a refreshing and highly entertaining comedic spin through all things fanboy that is dare say the most charming film in theaters this year. You don’t have to know a single thing about it to enjoy it as Gudmundsson carefully layers the film whereby novices and more intimately familiar audiences can follow along. He also wonderfully realizes the real world of the characters and shows us in full detail their fantasy worlds. If ever there were a perfect film for Comic-Con audiences, this is it. Astrópía makes certain to poke fun at everything while also highlighting its thrills and excitement without ever seeming condescending. In any other hands this film certainly would have been plagued with too broad or simplistic takes showing how nerdy everyone is that reads comics, LARPs, watches cult videos and more. Gudmundsson and the Astrópía screenwriters have demystified this culture, which is a very diverse and passionate one and has now made walking into a comic book store feel cooler than a Reservoir Dogs movie opening. This indie low budget gem is by far one of my favorites for 2008.

I recently interviewed Gunnar B. Gudmundsson to go over Astrópía in more detail and learn about its making. Interview follows after the link bump.

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With its Wait Until Dark nods, underwater sea helmut night lights, chainsaw action, amnesia, bad guys with nonstop colds and a tiny dog named Whisky all in tow, the 1974 Duccio Tessari giallo Puzzle (L’ Uomo senza memoria) manages to weave around its budget shortcomings with plenty of offbeat fun. Luc Merenda (Violent Professionals) is the central character with amnesia that has no idea what the hell is going on. He wakes up one day and slowly learns he has a wife and life, but no clue where they are. Suddenly fate kicks in and he finds himself on the run and put back in touch with his wife, played by Senta Berger (Quiller Memorandum). The title comes into play as the layers of the story slowly start peeling back revealing more and more clues, along with numerous red herrings as to why he has amnesia and why the bad guys are circling his every step like frothing vultures. No one can be trusted and no small dog, no matter how cute is safe as the film spirals into one of the more memorable giallo climaxes. For the record this is the film that finally put Senta Berger on the map for me. So much so the effect is retroactive in making you want to seek out her other titles. Duccio Tessari seems to want to give her a more everyday feeling and natural beauty to her character so that the audience can more closely follow her character arc. Duccio Tessari also directed one of the better and lesser seen Italian crime films in the 70’s in Tony Arzenta that starred Alain Delon and Richard Conte. He packs in many scenes in Puzzle with his trademark low angle framing and always creative blocking that he likes to use to keep even the most routine of situations interesting.

After the link bump we have Lars from Weird Wednesday introducing Puzzle to a packed Austin audience. Note that the DVD label Another World Entertainment has a video version of this film with an English audio track (the ending in it seems to be longer that the one in the film print).

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Jesus Franco is one of the most prolific filmmakers alive and one of the few that makes Miike look lazy by comparison, which is really saying something! At the 2008 NIFFF (Neuchatel International Fantastic Film Festival) in Switzerland I sat down with him and went over a wide variety of topics.

In this interview we talk about:
* On Projects Like Far Out That Pay Homage to Him
* Making Films Then Versus Now
* Favorites of the Films That He Made
  - Venus in Furs from 1969 aka Black Angel
* He Really Likes Jerry Bruckheimer
* On Daniel White

Interview after the link bump.

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Tomas Alfredson has crafted one of the most memorable films I’ve ever seen with his latest effort, Let the Right One In (Låt den rätte komma in). I recently had the chance to talk with him about his film. Magnet will be releasing the film to US theaters in late October and festival audiences can catch it at the upcoming Fantastic Fest in Austin and the Sitges International Film Festival of Catalonia in Spain. The interview follows after the link bump.

In times with endless remakes and a general malaise in cinematic storytelling, it’s refreshing for a film like Let the Right One In to come along that weaves classical stories we are already familiar with, that offers up something new and fresh that we have never experienced before on the big screen. We have seen coming of age films dealing with isolation and bullying before. We have seen films that deal with vampires before. Alfredson and crew go beyond where previous films have gone to offer up this universal tale that take us the audience to new terrain and unimagined heights of classical cinematic storytelling. Like the best films it lets our imagination soar, our hearts connect to what is happening on screen, a relief from our daily grind and that rare moment of redemption and euphoria where we feel our lense of life is forever altered. The films redemptive powers not only work for the characters in the film, but for the audience that experiences it as well. There is no bigger joy in cinema for 2008 than Let the Right One In. With it paving the way and becoming a festival darling from Tribeca to NIFFF to Fantasia and more, the future of new cinema has never looked brighter.

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In previous editions of the Hideo Nakata interview at the 2008 NIFFF (Neuchatel International Fantastic Film Festival) we have covered upcoming projects, horror remakes and more. In this last part of the interview we go over Amityville Horror and filmmaker Nobuo Nakagawa. I had read slight pieces here and there with Nakata referencing or slightly mentioning Amityville Horror, but never much where it was specifically asked or gone into any detail. So in this clip we get much more to flesh out how this series influenced him. In addition we cover his thoughts on legendary filmmaker Nobuo Nakagawa, which includes him mentioning a conversation he had with him in a dream.

In this interview we talk about:
* The Amityville Horror Influence
* The Nobuo Nakagawa Influence
* On Jigoku aka Hell (1960)

Interview after the link bump.

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In part one, I neglected to mention the Raro DVD for Il Profumo della signora in nero (The Perfume of the Lady in Black). According to Manlio Gomarasca, this video release was possible with the personal uncut pristine film print that its director Francesco Barilli had. All other home release versions out there have too much cut out. The Raro release is the real deal and it also features a great interview with Manlio and Francesco Barilli. Chances are if you have watched an interview on a Raro DVD, it was Manlio doing the interview.

Additionally, I should note in the current Italian monthly (print only), Il Caffe Del Teatro, there is a good article on Barilli on pages 48-49. This profile seems to highlight how though he hasn’t been able to make a film, he has channeled his passion for making movies over the years into paintings.

Now for part two of this interview we talk Mimsy Farmer and the painstaking detail Barilli went into getting his singular vision onto the screen.

In part two of this interview we talk about:
* Working with Mimsy Farmer
* Creating a Single Cinematic Vision & Voice

Continue Reading "NIFFF 2008 - Perfume of the Lady in Black Interview Part 2"...

I’ve already spoken here on my love for the 1974 giallo, Il Profumo della signora in nero (The Perfume of the Lady in Black),
After the link bump we have part one of my interview with Italian filmmaker and noted painter, Francesco Barilli. Il Profumo della signora in nero to this day maintains a cult-like status among connoisseurs of gialli for its uniqueness to the genre and surpassing it as one of the better films in cinema to blur the line in a narrative between reality and fantasy, without ever fully tipping its hat.

In part one of this interview we talk about:
* Setting up the Story
* The Opening Sequence
* Camera for the Opening Shot
* The Main Building
* Blurring the Line Between Reality & Fantasy in the Film
* SPOILER - Ending Discussion

Continue Reading "NIFFF 2008 - Perfume of the Lady in Black Interview Part 1"...

Salivate and prepare to be completely blown away by the first half of the Sitges 2008 program!

With a furious drum beat and TNT Jackson kick to the face and Braveheart battle roar, Sitges 2008, announced one amazing lineup today and even better… it’s only half the titles and events! Between their highlights and focus of key science fiction films of the past and new titles playing, this could be a fantastic film festival for the ages. The kind where you have a grandson that has a grandson that has a grandson that tells people as bragging rights that their distant relative Frank was at Sitges 2008. Sitges this year seems to be rolling out all the stops to outdo everything they have ever done before and It only makes me wonder if festival director Angel Sala morphed into James Cagney screaming “Top of the World” as he drew down the curtains with a furious display of festival fireworks to announce the Sitges 2008 films and events earlier today in Barcelona. As Mr. Sala drove off into the streets of Barcelona immediately after the conference on perhaps his BATPOD, we are left to only wonder how amazing the unannounced second half will be.

Sitges now in its 41st edition kicks off on October 2nd and runs through the 12th. This year they will have an expansive highlighted focus with special guests and planned events for the 40th anniversary of 2001: A Space Odyssey, 40th anniversary of George A. Romero’s, Night of the Living Dead and also on the 75th anniversary of King Kong (highly appropriate with the Kong icon being so well connected with the festival). If your a fan of these films, then your in for a real treat with what they have in store! The Nosferatu Award this year will be going to Italian maestro Umberto Lenzi. Of special note this year is the fact that the Méliès d’Or award by the EFFFF (European Federation of Fantastic Film Festivals) will be handed out at Sitges via special guests and members of Monty Python.

Let us now quickly mention just some of the titles announced today: Vinyan, Martyrs, Surveillance, Let the Right One in, Tokyo!, Crows-Episode 0, The Good The Bad and the Weird, The Chaser, Blindness, JCVD, The Monster X strikes Back: Attack on the G8 Summit, Transsiberian, Synecdoche, New York and retrospective screenings of Barbarella, The Man Who Fell to Earth, Planet of the Apes, Forbidden Planet, Logan’s Run and Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind. Whew, just saying that lineup in one breath feels like an incredible cinematic rush.

If your a fan of cinema this year certainly delivers. The Sitges film festival sits about 30 minutes southwest from Barcelona and is right along the Mediterranean coast. The main movie theater the Melia is something of cinema goer legend, as it boasts a giant screen and sound system that will forever leave you spoiled and wishing you had a local theater that was just half as good. It’s a movie theater where you fully experience a movie, when bullets fly in a Johnnie To movie, you feel like bullets are flying past your head! Despite being a smaller coastal town there is plenty of affordable hotel and apartment sublets available from anywhere from 50-80 Euro a night. The overall atmosphere of the festival is very communal and very laid back. Festival goers can easily mingle with each other and stars without all the fuss.

FULL PRESS RELEASE AFTER THE LINK BUMP.

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On July 8th, the latest film from Belgium director Fabrice Du Welz cleared censors with a 12 and under rating. We chatted with Fabrice on this and the film. Previously Todd posted the incredible trailer to his latest film (view here). All thanks to the all mighty X who took time from his incredible Korean cinema coverage to translate this interview for me and to Rodney for the two of the questions on the script and score.

X translating French? You bet you! And let us now clear up some things on Vinyan!

Interview after the link bump.

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Collin talked about sequels (read here) and now let us talk about all these remakes! At the 2008 NIFFF (Neuchatel International Fantastic Film Festival) in Switzerland, I talked with filmmakers - Hideo Nakata, Xavier Gens and Jesus Franco on what they thought on all these remakes that seem to be coming out these days. Hideo Nakata alone seemed prime to talk on the subject after having his original Ringu reworked so many times I’ve lost count on its mutations.

The Jesus Franco piece may not be immediately accessible, but after repeat listens I think you can get at the very real beating heart of cinema that he is speaking about.

Interview after the link bump.

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Back on June 19th we brought you the Lars introduction to Jesus Franco’s 1969 women in prison film, 99 Women (view here), and today we have Jesus Franco himself talking about the film. This interview took place at the 2008 NIFFF (Neuchatel International Fantastic Film Festival) in Switzerland. As you will see Mr. Franco is quite a character and still full of a tremendous passion for cinema. 99 Women is a pivotal women in prison film from the late late 1960’s as it created a tidal wave industry for this type of film that proved to be commercially profitable and with an updated template to exploit and entertain audiences with.

In this interview we talk about:
* Thoughts on 99 Women
* Mercedes McCambridge as Thelma
* Rosalba Neri as Zoe
* Last Shot of Neri & Censorship
  - He doesn’t have much to say on the last shot, but agrees at how great it is.

Interview after the link bump.

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