For The Thrill Of It All…The Magic Of Movies
Though I have been writing for websites for quite some time, I am fairly new to the “blog” world and I have now been tagged for my first “meme”…thanks to my good friend Stephen at Peel Slowly. It took me a few minutes to figure out what the hell a “meme” was, but I think I’ve got it and I’m here to participate!!!
From what I understand, here is how it works:
Stephen of Checking on My Sausages and Joel “MovieMan0283” Bocko of The Dancing Image have cosponsored it, and the directive is to come up with a collection of similarly-themed images that celebrate the “thrill of cinema.”
Here are the rules:
1. pick as many pictures as you want, so long as they are screen-captures
2. pick a theme, any theme, as long as it supports the notion of “the thrill of cinema”
3. you MUST link to Stephen’s gallery and Joel’s gallery
(I apologize if any of you have already been tagged…like I said, I am new at this.)
As I began this little journey to find “similarly themed” images that represent “the thrill of cinema”, I originally found it extremely difficult. There were a multitude of images that came to mind, but finding a theme was what was stumping me. So ultimately I have decided to abandon the notion of “similarly themed” (at least in the traditional sense) and instead focus on what “the thrill of cinema” means to me.
STAR WARS (Lucas, 1977) Before he ruined a perfectly wonderful film franchise, George Lucas created a work of cinema that, more than any other, represents the magic of movies to me. To this day it still wows. It not only reminds me of how magical movies can be, but reminds me what it is like to be a kid. It takes me back to a time before I became tainted with the “how”, “why” and “how much” of cinema and helps me remember a time when the magic of movies could just transport me to a “galaxy far far away”.
Surely there are more “thrilling” images to be found in STAR WARS, but this one is special. A simple farm boy looking to the horizon and longing for more; longing for adventure and longing to be a hero…little does he know that 60 minutes later, he will have saved a princess and an entire galaxy.
ROCKY (Avildsen, 1976) Whether it is the excitement, the goosebumps or the tears, no film elicits a physical response from me more than ROCKY. Since 1976, it has been tarnished by five sequels that (though entertaining) undermine the magic of this film. From the script, to the music, to the acting…no film may be as perfectly executed as this one and few moments are more magical than when Rocky and Adrian proclaim their love for each other for the first time…maybe that’s why Avildsen freezes on it before the end credits. 
BLADE RUNNER (R. Scott, 1982) A flawed, but visually stunning piece of work. I attended a screening of this film at a wonderful old movie house in NYC a few years ago. The minute this shot came on screen, I literally said to myself, “Holy shit movies used to be awesome.” With all the money and all the computers today, how come nobody can make a movie that looks as amazing as this one does? 
THE THING (Carpenter, 1982) Its financial and critical failure nearly ruined his career, but today THE THING is regarded as John Carpenter’s greatest achievement…go figure. It never ceases to amaze me how great this film is. Carpenter’s direction, Morricone’s score, Cundey’s cinematography, Bottin’s special effects and the performances of an excellent ensemble cast…I really don’t know how one could make this film any better than it already is. Again, why can’t we make movies and special effects that look as good as they did 1982? Why damn it?!?!
SHERLOCK JR. (Keaton, 1924) Possibly more than any other filmmaker of his time, Keaton truly did understand the magic of the moving image and pushed the technical side of the medium further than most (if not all) of his contemporaries. THE GENERAL and STEAMBOAT BILL JR. may be his most famous films, but (for my money) no film demonstrates his grasp on the art of cinema more than SHERLOCK JR. From an obscene amount of expertly executed double-exposures and edits to death defying stunts, brilliant sight gags and a suspense sequence (involving an explosive billiard ball) that would make Hitchcock jealous, this is truly Keaton at his best. As for the image, well no one image could do the man or the film justice, but with the double-exposure, the dreamy quality and the film projectors…not only does this one say “magic of movies” to me, it reminds me that the film itself, is actually about the “magic of movies”.
SUSPIRIA (Argento, 1997) With this film, Italian horror maestro Dario Argento put his stamp on the “fairytale”. Aided by vivid primary colors and exotic production design, Argento weaved a horrific tale of witchcraft that, to this day, is so incredibly unique that many consider it to be the benchmark of Italian horror cinema.
This is far from the most “thrilling” image that can be found in SUSPIRIA, but if you were lucky enough to go into this film completely cold the first time you saw it, like I was, the minute Suzy Bannion (played by Jessica Harper) leaves that airport in the pouring rain and gets into that cab, you know that you’re “not in Kansas anymore”; and you have no idea the ride you’re in for. The colors, the rain, Goblin’s musical score…it sets a mood…to say the least.
ZOMBI 2 (a.k.a. ZOMBIE) (Fulci, 1979) The phrase “Fulci Lives” has become a mantra for horror fanatics all over the world since the director’s death in 1996 and it is true. Fulci does live…in the hearts and minds of every person that is completely awed by the visual of a zombie wrestling a shark under water. Leave it do the Italians to create a cinematic moment as magically transcendent as this one…and as shamelessly exploitive. God bless Lucio Fulci.
THE MATRIX (Wachowski & Wachowski, 1999) With two unbelievably bad sequels, appreciation for this film has fallen by the wayside since its release 11 years ago. What I can say about it is that it came at the exact right time for me. I was having a less than pleasant experience at film school and had, for all intents and purposes, “lost my way.” Then one afternoon I walked into a movie theater and watched a movie that ultimately reminded me why I loved movies and why I aspired to make them. It may sound stupid, but THE MATRIX and specifically the moment of realization pictured above, made me feel like I did when I was kid watching the original STAR WARS trilogy.
FEED THE KITTY (Jones, 1952) Few filmmakers understand the importance of “a look” better than Chuck Jones and FEED THE KITTY is his tour de force. I’m not sure animation, or even comedy gets much better than this. It will make you laugh one minute and then make you shed a tear the next…and it is only 7 minutes long. The gags are almost entirely visual and it is purely cinematic. Chuck Jones was a genius…and I don’t throw that word around lightly.
Ironically, looking at the images I have chosen, I now see that there is a bit of a theme going through the majority of them. I’ll leave it to you to see if you can figure out what it is.
I would love to keep going, but I think that perhaps this is a good place to stop. Narrowing down images in order to keep this post down to a reasonable length has become difficult, but I will leave you with one last image. Consider it a bonus, just to round out the collection to an even ten.
RETURN OF THE STREET FIGHTER (Ozawa, 1974) In this scene Sonny Chiba karate-chops a guy’s eyes right out of his head. Perhaps it is a little lowbrow, but it’s still awesome nonetheless.
I wouldn’t say I’m biased to your content as much as pre-informed, so I’m not surprised by some of your images. (We’ve talked a lot about some of these films.) I say some because there’s a few films that I’m unfamiliar with and, therefore, they were unexpected. So, with that full-disclosure out of the way, I think you hit a home run here. The very nature of a meme makes it difficult to compare it with another (or at least compete), but you obviously went through the same thought process I did (frustration followed by liberation) and I find the results to be, well, magical. These are definitely images–and moments–in these films that get tattooed onto your brain. (And in the case of Suspiria, it’s a retroactive tattoo; the second time I saw that film, I got scared during the cab scene because I knew what she was in for.)
And the Feed the Kitty image is amazing. Great choice!!
Well yes, you and I have spoken about most of these films many times, but I’m happy that I still was able to throw you a couple of curve balls. This post was a lot of fun…thanks for including me in this “meme”.