Shorts, 3/5.

"The worst thing that can happen to this body of work is for it to become an 'elite' and 'hard to find' object, enjoyed for its celebrity status." And so, Daniel Stuyck and Ross Wilbanks have created, "entirely as a labor of love," Order of the Exile: About the Films of Jacques Rivette. An annotated filmography, two interviews (from 1968 and 1973) and eight essays - so far. Invaluable already.

"More than 50 years after Truffaut first expounded his politique des auteurs and after all the theoretical dust has settled, where does that leave authorship today (2007)?" asks Drew Morton at Dr Mabuse's Kaleido-Scope. "In a sense, this issue has much to do with my own research on what I dub 'twin cinema.' Using the films of Steven Soderbergh as a case study, I argue that, in the vast majority of cases, there is not a differentiated film culture consisting of 'independent film' (director as author) and 'Hollywood film' (studio as author), rather there is a system of compromises and assimilations that results in the cinemas of the independent and the mainstream fully colliding, assimilating one another's characteristics and, in a sense, becoming two sides of the same coin."

"[T]he paranoid theories hatched during the cold war would come to inspire a peculiar, cold-hearted idea of personal freedom - one that helps explain everything from the rise of Prozac and Viagra to Labour's obsession with healthcare targets, from the military crusades of George Bush and the rise of the Iraqi insurgency to the rampant diagnosis of attention deficit disorder in children," writes Oliver Burkeman in the Guardian. "This is an audacious hypothesis, even by the standards of the documentary-maker involved, Adam Curtis, whose 2004 series The Power Of Nightmares asserted that al-Qaida, as an organized entity, was essentially an invention of the west. The new series, The Trap: What Happened to Our Dream of Freedom, argues that we have unwittingly subscribed to a bleak ideal of liberty that has, ironically, 'become our cage,' reducing our true freedom and fuelling a dramatic rise in inequality."

Also in the Guardian:

• Peter Bradshaw and Andrew Gilchrist offer ten tips on "How to make a surrealist film."

• Ryan Gilbey: "It may be too early to start handing out brickbats for the worst film of 2007, but it will be a depressing year if we see anything more repugnant than the British thriller Outlaw."

• "The story of former US ambassador Joseph Wilson, who travelled to Niger in 2002 to probe claims that Saddam Hussein was trying to purchase yellow-cake uranium for a possible nuclear weapons programme, is to be made into a film."

"Leni Riefenstahl was a liar," writes Charles Matthews in the Washington Post. "She was many other things: a dancer, an athlete, an actress, a feminist, an explorer, a bestselling author and even the world's oldest licensed scuba diver. But she was also Adolf Hitler's favorite filmmaker. Hence the lies. And hence two new biographies of Riefenstahl, one by German film scholar Jürgen Trimborn, the other by former film producer Steven Bach, who has also written biographies of Marlene Dietrich and Moss Hart."

"The latest chapter in a series of taboo-breaking television dramas, a two-part series shows Germans as victims of violence at the end of World War II and sparks controversy among Polish and German political leaders," reports Deutsche Welle.

"Hitchcock is certainly no longer merely 'the master of suspense,' but is in fact a cottage industry of film theory, tenure security, cultural trope and remake business," writes Michael Atkinson at IFC News. "Which is good, because many of his films are far from suspenseful, and in any case what is best considered to be Hitchcockian has more to do with visual eloquence and cinematic innovation than suspense. The new, beautifully designed Lionsgate box of five restored early films - all of which have been roaming around as untouchables in the public-domain circle of home video hell for decades - is what we're talking about: each film, from the 1928 revenge drama The Ring to 1931's outrageous satire-farce Rich and Strange, is virtually a glimpse into the young Brit filmmaker's skull as he attacks the limitations of silent film narrative, as well as the technical encumbrances of early sound, with a Da Vinci-esque lust for invention."

"The first thirty minutes or so of Satya may constitute the most exciting half hour of Indian cinema that I have ever seen," writes Jeff at Cinema Strikes Back. Satya is "the one film [Ram Gopal] Varma has made (to date) that is for the ages."

"A old piece of reconstruction, Blockade is a testament to the power of archival footage," writes Ed Gonzalez. Also at Slant: Nick Schager on Antibodies and Ghost Rider, Ed Gonzalez on Bridge to Teribithia and Rob Humanick on The Taste of Tea.

"I'll return home with incredible memories, zero celebrity phone numbers, a pair of flip flops and, if I'm not mistaken, the beginnings of Stephen Frears's cold." Dan Mazer, one of the screenwriters behind Borat, has kept four-day diary, leading up to Oscar Night, for the Observer. Also: Chrissy Iley interviews Guy Pearce.

In the Telegraph, SF Said interviews David Lynch and Sheila Johnston talks with Bobcat Goldthwait about one of his favorite movies, Peter Jackson's Braindead.

"I'm not sure Bugsy is a great film," writes Robert Cashill, "but it is greatly interesting, and a new extended edition DVD (released last December) makes a good case for it."

Speaking of Warren Beatty, Ishtar does have its defenders, you know. Ray Pride finds another one.

Brendon Connelly notes a few upcoming Region 1 DVD releases: The Magnificent Ambersons and African Queen. "[D]on't hold your breath," warns Jeffrey Wells, who has better news on other restoration projects in the works.

Joe Leydon: "Warner Home Video (WHV) and Paramount Home Entertainment (PHE) will join forces on an unprecedented initiative to honor John Wayne on May 22 - just four days before what would have been The Duke's 100th birthday."

Nikki Finke's reporting that Anne Thompson - oh, and Hollywood Reporter editor Cynthia Littleton, too - are suddenly off to Variety.

"Yes, Film Forum has moved from Christianity Today Movies to Looking Closer, and things are going to change somewhat," writes Jeffrey Overstreet, announcing the first round.

Online gazing tip. Three drawings for the Lumière Reader by Lyndon Barrois.

Online browsing, downloading and lounging tip. PDF-Mags.com, via John Coulthart.

Online compare-n-contrast tip. DVD cover art for Borat at I Watch Stuff!, via Fimoculous.

Posted by dwhudson at March 5, 2007 1:59 PM