Chris Marker’s haunting, fractured memory tale La Jetée is getting a Criterion Blu-ray release tomorrow (along with experimental essay Sans Soleil). Dubbed “one of the most influential, radical science-fiction films ever made … ” Marker’s 1962 black and white film is composed almost entirely of still photographs, using voice-over narration to tell the 28 minute-long tale about a man held prisoner after World War III who traverses time, sees the future, and uncovers the secrets of his past.
The film’s themes are palpable in modern science fiction, where the exploration of time travel as an agent of self-discovery, use of looped narrative and multiperiod storytelling, experimental filmmaking, dystopian themes, and more have been carried into the present. Just look at Terry Gilliam’s 12 Monkeys, which is directly inspired by Marker’s film.
With that in mind, we wanted to celebrate a few other influential sci-fi movies that have made their mark on filmmakers and cinemagoers throughout history. Check out our picks below, and share yours in the comments section.
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Thanks to the ever-growing popularity of Michel Hazanavicius’ critical darling The Artist, we’ve all had the silent film genre on the brain lately; Flavorwire film editor Jason Bailey even rounded up ten great “silent” scenes from the sound era in homage to the bygone era. If all this talk has merely whet your appetite for more (or if you’d like to brush up on your film history), then you’ll want to check out Turner Classic Movies’ new list of the 10 most influential silent films, which the French auteur helped the network compile.
“People don’t really know how a silent movie works,” Hazanavicius has said. “Usually they are amazed by the experience of watching a silent movie, which is another form of expression. It works with another part of the brain. They come expecting to be bored, and they’re amazed by the fact that it’s easy to watch and it’s a story.” Click through now to see which vintage titles made the cut; in many cases, we’ve got the entire movie streaming for your viewing pleasure.
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Cinephiles will certainly appreciate this gallery of old Hollywood publicity shots, rare photographs, and production stills from the dreamy Old Hollywood Tumblr. It’s a lovely curated collection of soundtrack clips, glamorous images, and interview snippets from Tinseltown’s Golden Age through 1975. Catch a glimpse of how Stanley Kubrick approached the shooting of his 1962 classic, Lolita, and see what a 1929 publicity still looked like (and how much more amazing it was than anything Hollywood churns out today) after the jump. Let us know which images wooed you most.
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Bernard Tschumi Architects design buildings, bridges, and plazas that blur the boundaries between art, society, symbol, and function.
They are responsible for some of the most staggeringly original and unforgettable — and sometimes controversial — edifices and public projects, both built and imagined, in the modern world. From the 1983 high-profile urban sculptural experiment of Paris’ Parc de la Villette, to the more recent Blue residential tower watching over New York’s Lower East Side, Tschumi’s progressive vision of fractured, expressive architecture embraces new materials, vibrant color, and the element of surprise.
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Over the weekend, three X-rays of Marilyn Monroe’s chest were sold for a grand total of $45,000 at a movie memorabilia auction in Las Vegas. The X-rays were originally taken from a hospital visit in 1954, when Monroe was 28. Experts estimated the X-rays would fetch $3,000, but it turns out the price of owning objects that have some sort of relationship to famous people, no matter how tenuous, is worth a whole lot more.
To celebrate celebrities — because that’s what they’re for, aren’t they? — we decided to make a list of cherished memorabilia that people were willing to pay a hefty fee to possess. The list includes a helmet, wig, and pair of glasses.
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Architecture infuses our lives — subtly and not so subtly — with emotions, ideas, splendor, and stress all the time. It’s only fitting it does the same in great movies. After the jump are eight classic films where the buildings are more than a backdrop. Which ones are we forgetting? You know what to do. Read More »
